35 Steps to Quality
35 Steps to Quality, that was the Bagley difference. Difference in many things, good and bad some might suppose. While the Balsa Revolution had given way to plastic extrusion for some, the Bagley Lure Company double down on what made them what they were and would still be decades later, a quality fishing plug. With Bagley coming in 50 years later than the big 5 lure makers, the principle of an industrialized process in a capitalistic society still holds true. Below is an article which takes a look at the “Bagley Way”.
We Have some great Bagley lures in on Consignment this week, click below to view.
I know you may be scratching your head at one of my first sentences, what could be bad? Anyone who has owned a small business or medium or even large will tell you the most of the cost of doing business is labor. Well over 50% of any standard company overhead is labor and maintaining quality and holding dear to your principles can cost money. See the Federal Governments seizure of the Bagley Bait Company to pay back taxes as my point.
A good friend of mine in the High Tech sales world used to tell his customers they had 3 choices (This still holds true in just about any industry).
Good, Fast, or Cheap. Pick 2.
Bagley Lure Company Had 35 Steps to Quality and that cost money, but the lures have stood the test of time even with Pro Fisherman today.
SELL OR CONSIGN YOUR ANTIQUE FISHING GEARHave Antique Lures, Reels, Rods you would like to Sell or Consign? Please Contact Us.We offer both a Ebay & Angling Marketplace Consignment Service, email for rates.
Have Antique Lures, Reels or other collectibles to Sell or Consign, Please Contact Me
35 Steps to Quality
Hello, my name is Bill Stuart. Jr. I am President of Bagley Bait Company. I want to take is opportunity to briefly tell you about the history of this Bagley Bait Company, explain the manufacturing process used to produce the best quality lure available, and share with you some of the exciting new things happening at Bagley.
The Bagley Bait Company began in the early 1950’s when Jim Bagley purchased “Bill’s 13 Pork Rind Magic. The “Magic” were pork skin strips cut to look like frogs and other bait fish. The Bagley Magic Eel (also cut from pork-rind) was Jim’s first development. In the late 50’s the messy, smelly pork rind gave way to plastic, or as some call them. rubber worms. When balsa wood lures came on the market, Jim saw the potential and moved the company into the manufacture of these new lures.
The Bang-0-Lure was Jim’s first balsa lure. It ls a floating bait, designed to be twitched, wiggled and dived: it got its name from an anti-tank bomb used in the war. For more than 25 years the Bang-O-Lure has caused thousands of explosions daily as it ls blasted out of the water by game fish the world over.I purchased the lure part of Bagley Bait from Jim Bagley in 1988. My family and I live in Bartow, a neighboring town. We have been involved in many businesses over the years. but primarily agricultural -citrus, cattle, fertilizer, etc.
I had learned over the years that the Bagley name was synonymous with quality and Innovation, something which attracted me to the company. It is my Intention to build this reputation for Innovation and quality even further.
WHY WOODEN LURES?
In this age of plastic, the question is always asked, “Why Wood” Wood is, orat least once was, a living material and none of the plastics, or foams, can give the lure action the same finesse as wood.(Ifs almost like the difference between picking up a child that weighs 5O pounds. and then picking up a 50 pound bag of cement. They both weigh the same, but the live weight has a totally different feel.)We do manufacture a couple of Injection molded plastic lures, but the only reason for them, is to have a “rattling-type” lure in our line up.
But there are other reasons for selecting wood. It gives us far more flexibility In our production process. Wood is very versatile; It responds to the touch of the master craftsman’s knife. Wood’s shapes and forms are limited only by the crafter’s Imagination. Lastly, somewhere at Bagley would have you believe that above and beyond all other purposes, God put wood on this earth for making fishing lures.
OUR MANUFACTURING PROCESS
I believe the fact that most impressed me when I made my first visit to Bagley ls that each wooden lure is actually handcrafted. Our lures go through up to thirty five different handcrafting steps after they leave the carving shop.
Let’s take a few minutes to walk through the steps In making a typical lure such as the Bang-O-Lure so you too can have a greater appreciation is Involved in making these high quality lures.
Our balsa and other types of wood, arrive by the truck load in large sized boards. Each is inspected for quality and proper curing. The wood ls then sawn to the proper size. Next the wood is cut, dadoed and a hardwood spine is glued in. This new and improved construction is what gives our lures the backbone to stand up to the vicious fish attacks it will invite as all the lure “hardware” is bedded deep within its spine. Then the raw bodies are carved one at a time. As the bodies are carved, they are constantly gauged and checked for accuracy of dimensions.
The raw bodies move to the Woodshop where each body is individually hand sanded and cut to the proper length. Each body is then carefully drilled for inserting weights and dowels. Quality control alignment holes are also drilled. High strength glues are used to anchor the weights, etc., in the proper location.
Lures that do not lend themselves to the hardwood spine are drilled for hardwood inserts on which to “hang” hardware. Before leaving the woodshop, each lure is individually inspected: any holes, dents or crevices are backfilled, then hand sanded. Hush before each lure is racked for the coating process.
Up TO 16 COATS
The wood is sealed in the first step of the coating process with several coats of sealer. Before the lure ls completed, it may get as many as 16 separate coats of paint to seal and protect it. All along the way these lures are constantly checked for quality. The second set of coats are the base coats which may differ depending on which of will go rom here. Those three directions are: foiling, what we refer to as chrome platting; and or spray painting.
Foiled bodies have been a Bagley hallmark for more than 20 years. This is a slow tedious process where each lure body is coated with glue; and then individually wrapped in metal foil. Much skill is required to make this application “seamless“. After foiling, the next step for these lures is spray painting.
The chrome plated lure are vacuum metalized under very exacting temperature and humidity condition’s. A mirror-like silver-metal finish is plated on to the bodies.
35 Steps to Quality
After plating these lures then move to Spray Painting. Spray Painting might better be described as our art or decorating department. Freehand air brush artistry applies the colors. patterns and decorations one at a rime. Each color pattern – some life-like, some abstract, and others in combination – is, applied by hand using a variety of masks and screens to get the desired effect. In a, very few cases, such as the Small Fry series, we print gills and small fins on the lure as apart of the decoration process. Visualize the process, and you will be mesmerized as a single colored piece of wood becomes your favorite color before your very eyes. At present, we have more than 120 different color combinations to choose from.
THE EYES HAVE IT!
Speaking of eyes, eyes right! No! Eyes down! Just as a fish’s eyes In real life lookdown – so do ours – in two steps – first the eyeball, then the pupil. Our eyes are hand-painted one at a time. Some say the eyes have it – Bagley eyes for sure because they are the most life-like of alI lures and are a great part of our fish catching tradition.
Now each lure gets multiple final coats of tough urethane to further protect the wood and its decorations. Throat cutting is the next step for all our lipped lures and it requires tremendous precision in execution whether it’s a full cut or a dado. The cut throat lets us insert and secure the lip which controls the dive of the lure, as well as its wiggle. As you can imagine. regardless of the lip size or type of cut, this process must be very accurate to insure for proper fit and performance.
The diving characteristics of a lure are controlled by the design of the lip, and therefore, there is more than one lip for each lure. There is a lip for a shallow diver and another for a deep one. After the lure has been carefully applied, each lip is individually gauged and checked by hand for the proper angle and extension before the glue dries. After the glue has set, the throat is cut is backfilled to assure a clean and even finish.
Our signature is next. If, and if the lure has passed all of our inspections with fishing. I mean flying, colors is it packaged for sale. When it is signed, I guarantee it, and I dont take that obligation lightly!
Before final packaging two important steps in the handcrafting process remain. The first is to put the hooks on the split rings on the lure. A high degree of dexterity is required of the craftsman doesn’t want to get hooked in the process.
THE LAST STEP
The second step Is to test the lure for proper tuning. Tune a lure? That is correct – because I want the lure to run true for you right out of the package. Lots of fishermen intentionally “untune” to make it run to the right or left. This could be a situation where they want the lure to run up under lily pads or do a bumping routine down the side of a dock or structure. However for a lure to be in tune, the point from which the lure is pulled by the line must be 1. centered, and 2. exactly at aright angle to the lip. If it is a lipless lure, it must be centered and at right angles to the top of the lure’s nose.
From the time the carving began until the lure is hand packaged, anaverage of 11 working days have passed. In those 11days, a block of wood is transformed into the highest quality, best “fish catching” lure available.
I’ve left out several of the steps, but I trust you have enjoyed visualizing a walk through our manufacturing process. We say 35 steps to quality when we make alure, but we know that more than 50 pairs of hands and eyes works on, nurtures and move along each lure to produce a Bagley product. I tell our craftsmen, “B.P.M.T.D.” which stands for Bagley People Make The Difference, and you know, I mean every word of it.
WHATS NEW
I haven’t even mentioned the important research and development. and product analysis that goes into bringing you new lure innovations for catching fish. I am happy to announce our newest innovation, which is a wooden spoon-type lure called the “Grass Rat.” It is designed to literally walk over grass, lily pads, hydrilla, milfoil or other vegetation. Wooden spoon? Yes, and it’s unique because it lets you pause anywhere – In the grass patch- or that dear spot – to pick up that second strike which you could never do with a spoon, jig, wire or buzz bait. That might just be the pause that catches. Let me introduce our all new Grass Rat available in 9 colors.
When you invest in a Bagley lure, you have purchased a true handcrafted American lure recognized throughout the world as the fishing lure industry’s standard of quality. If you are serious about fishing, as with any investment, your primary Interest is in results. Bagley lures produce results. Fishermen the world over take pride, and justifiably so, in investing in their boat and motor. their rod and reel, but they all know that it ls the quality of what /you hang on the end of the line that makes the difference. Whatever your fishing aspirations, whatever your fishing conditions, there is a Bagley lure designed with you in mind.
