Lobo Lures history 6 years later & what a road it has been!
Lobo Lures dates back to as early as 2007 when we designed the first lure out of our machine shop. At the time it was all fun and no business plan in mind. As time passed and we fished this lure we found we had something good. Within a few months of making our first lure we had hundreds on the market. This Lure was unique in the sense that it was a 5oz. Stainless Steel dual taper 4 external and 4 internal jet hollow point lure that was near indestructible. Because of this we gave this lure a lifetime warranty and we’re proud to say they lived up to their expectation. As time progressed and the economic crash of 2008 came the lure business was pushed to the side. Life went on beyond the machining world.
While Carlos continued in the machining industry Jeff went on to continue his education studying Ophthalmic design and obtaining a degree in Biochemistry and Ophthalmic design. During his studies at University Jeff’s senior thesis continued his passion of big game fishing. His research consisted of studying the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the eye of Pelagic species mainly billfish and tuna. In this study Jeff was able to determine certain functions of the eye that namely pointed to visual perceptions these Pelagic species posses. The photoreceptors of the fishes retina and the size of the optic nerve among other CNS details pointed to the fact that these fish not only could see colors but were very perceptive to them. This ultimately led us to design lures with specific characteristics that would make our lures perform optimally.
In early 2013 we ran into one of our old customers who asked us if we were still manufacturing our Wahoo-Pro Jet heads. At the time it was as easy as plug and play. We went the the shop and machined up a batch of 100. In January of 2014 Lobo Lures was officially released as a company with one lure. Almost immediately we began testing different colors and options such as daisy chains and quickly learned they were a killer option. In early 2014 we began research and development of our resin series lures.
The resin game proved to be a challenging endeavor. We knew the characteristics of the materials we wanted and we had to find a manufacturer that could blend our requirements. The first and most important to us was durability, we knew from personal experience many lure manufacturers used a low grade resin with superior clarity. The issue with this resin was there is a compromise for clarity over durability. This resin proves easy to work with and a luster that is superior, although the downfall is this material was prone to cracking easily. In an industry where you often have large pelagic’s hitting a lure hard or a lure hitting the deck the last thing you want is that lure shattering. With that we met with 4 major resin manufacturers and created a blend of resin that was not only optically superior but it also was durable, UV damage resistant and possessed optical characteristics we desired based off our CNS/Color Vision studies.
We went back to the drawing board and took the characteristics of the Wahoo-Pro Lure and created the #50 Typhoon a dual taper lure. But we didn’t stop there! The insert of this lure was unique in the sense that we are firm believers in optics and weight reduction. Many lure makers will fill their inserts with lead or brass to make them heavy. We on the other hand designed our inserts to balance the lure and keep it lightweight. This reduces the strain on the leader so you are fighting the fish and not the lure. Our inserts are precision machined and possess a unique proprietary pattern on its top and bottom which creates a mirrored holographic appearance called Lobo Scalez. We then combined these inserts with shell and or tapes to create a mean looking lure. The Typhoon instantly became the top Marlin lure in our arsenal and to this day holds the top spot with the most tournament wins. We later released a 12” #40 Chaos and #45 Pelagic Magic that following year.
Following the success of the #50 Typhoon we set out to improve our product line by releasing variations of the Typhoon which included the #55 Soft Head Typhoon and the #80 Monsoon that to this day has our personal best marlin. One of the things that you will see across our product line is the time tested Wahoo-Pro dual taper body plan. From the 6” #10 Micro-typhoon to the #80 Monsoon we’re sure there will be a lure for your application.
In 2018 we began an extensive investment in researching and developing an idea which we believed would be a game changer. A lure that was universal could be used inshore, offshore, various positions, with bait and with out. We talked about it to the top captains around the world. Some of these captains were skeptical, while some were optimistic. The idea was taking three proven designs and blending them into a single lure. This was the development of the Skipjack Hybrid Florescent UV Series! This lure proved to be a a wild ride to develop with over 15 revisions to the design. There was times we wanted to give up on the design but we persevered. The result was a lure that featured a concave bulbous slant head, eye pockets, skirt seat that could take not only regular skirts but also mylar and hair. The kicker was that this lure also has a honed out back that allows the lure to take a bait, weight or bead for various fishing techniques. The lure proved to be lethal! In 2019 the Skipjack surpassed sales expectations and made its way into every facet of the business. From lures, chains, bars and dredges this lure is sure to make its mark in the tournament circuit.
2020 proves to be a unique year for us. 2020 is the standard for optics and vision and its the staple behind our technology. We have big plans for the year and are excited to share with you the developments in the pipeline. Currently we have the Skipjack Hybrid Florescent UV Series Dredge, Small Boat Skipjack Titanium Spreader Bar, and a new teaser on the horizon!
We want to thank all those whom have supported us over the last 6 years and look forward to the many more to come!