History of Jim Bagley Lures
It was in 1954 that Jim, then working as a Master Electrician, first invested $3,500 to buy a small bait business from a man who worked out of his garage. The name was “Bill’s 13 Pork Rind Magic.” It consisted of strips of pork skins that resembled frogs and other fish prey, attached usually to a fishing spoon. In 1955 Jim came up with a pork rind eel called the “Black Magic Eel,” which became the first real taste of success for Bagley Bait Company. National attention then came quickly as an article was written about Jim and his bait in a 1955 issue of Field & Stream.Still working days as an electrician, Jim set up shop in a small building in Winter Haven. Evenings found him there working all hours of the night, even until the wee hours of dawn. He knew even then that if he put enough hours into his project that it would pay off.The pork rind had to be cured and cut into a variety of shapes and sizes. The process was tedious and required careful attention. The curing solutions were messy, often laced with dyes that stained the hands and clothes. This was the start of things-to come. He left his job and decided to risk making a go of the bait business on his own.Several years later, a new innovation arrived on the scene soft plastic. Plastic worms seemed the natural successor to the long strips of pork rind. They weren’t quite as messy and it required less time to make them by melting down and pouring plastic into a mold. Today plastic injection can make dozens in a matter of seconds, but in those days the going was slow. With plastic heated in large vats, each worm was poured one at a time. By present-day standards, one wonders how any money was made with such time consuming productions. In the 60’s, technology was changing in the world and changing for Bagley Bait Company. Balsa wood lures appeared and Jim immediately saw the potential for a completely different direction than the way he was heading with plastic worms.Here was a whole new concept. A new type of bait that didn’t slither along the bottom, but, instead, floated and dived. The prospect captured his imagination. It also posed several problems. Just how to cut the wood, shape, paint and mass produce a hand-crafted bait. With only the prior experience of some mechanical drawings he received in high school. Jim went about designing the machines that would be the key opening a whole new world of industry. The first balsa wood bait he produced was a Bang-o-lure. It has become a classic. Today, some 25 years later, it is still one of the top selling baits. But just one bait was not enough. It was obvious that he needed a variety of wooden lures to offer the public. So, experimentation went into devising different shaped bodies, lips and colors. It was a slow evolution in which each bait was improved upon as new needs and techniques showed themselves. The original machines used to cut the Bang-o-lure seem primitive when compared to the machines used now. Even the methods of production, such as the long cut down the belly to insert a copper wire, were dropped years later as new advancements were made. And yet, the methods we use, old and new, all contribute to the extraordinary fact that each bait is crafted by hand. There are over 35 stages the bait goes through from the time it is cut out of a block of balsa, until it is hooked and packaged. The sandings, glueing and painting are all hand-held operations for Jim Bagley Lures.The average fisherman has little idea what is involved in the creation of a new lure. First. The shape has to be determined. Should it be realistic, resembling an actual baitfish or some stylized, abstract shape that has action and and enticement? Many sketches are made before working models are hand-carved out of wood. Plastic lips are inserted to make them dive and wiggle. As many as 15 to 20 models or more are made before the final version is even approached. The angle of the lip has to be right on target. The lead weights have to be precise for buoyancy control. The size of the hooks are crucial. If they are too big or too small ii: can kill the action. The initial stages of testing is done in our testing tank full of water. The prototypes are cast and retrieved over and over until the desired effect is reached. Then the final test-how does it work on fish? Our research & development team spends many hours on the lakes finding out just how effective the new lures are on fish. If the fish don’t want it. we don’t either. We have found, though, that few fish can pass up a Bagley Bait.It was a long, hard road for Jim Bagley Lures to get started on his own and slowly build his organization. Not only was there the work that had to be done manufacturing the original pork skin baits, but these were the hungry years that meant packing his station wagon with his bait displays and driving to the fishing tackle shows. Through the years efforts earned a respect and reputation in the tackle industry. People knew that the Bagley name meant only quality products. Only the finest ingredients and craftsmanship goes into each bait. These baits please anglers throughout the world. The letters and photos we receive daily support this. It is a magnificent story of triumph to know that from the smallest seed of hope in the beginning, Jim Bagley Lures has managed to build an empire.Dean Bagley
