Lure Hub OZ - B

Lure Manufacturers Australia B

If you know of an Australian lure maker no matter how young or old that we have not mentioned in the following list feel free to contact us to have the details added or updated.

*Cover photo - Early Buck lures c.2009

Baga Lures - NSW:

Made by Murray Sugden from the early 1990's, the earlier timber Blitz Bagas were labelled as Baga Lures.  Originally handcrafted from timber the lures went to moulded construction c. 2002. Whilst there is no denying they were modeled off the highly successful Flicks Cobras, they are one of the best ultra deep divers made for impoundment trolling.  Murray started making these out of necessity when Flick Robertson was unable to supply his Cobras. The profile was altered slimmed down and refined enough not to be a direct copy as well as adding a shallow and medium bibbed version in two sizes. The Blitz Baga went on to be a highly successful lure in Sth East QLD impoundments for recreational anglers and in fishing competitions. They have only been available in moulded now for many years which makes the timber versions highly sort after by collectors. Murray sold the rights to make them to 'Smak Lures' (Matthew Mott & Co). Murray currently lives in Ipswich, QLD.

Above shows some of the lures made by Murray before producing the Blitz Baga in larger numbers.

Baigent, C.A Baigent - NSW:

An historic company that made the legendary 'Catchmore Spinner', C.A. Baigent was advertising in 1949 including advertisments where they were lsited as being situated in Morden Street, North Sydney. See Catchmore Spinner

Baker, Keith Baker lures - NSW:

Keith Baker has become one of the most admired of Australian lure makers in recent years with collectors placing a high value on anything Keith has made. He carved his last lures in 2012 after many years and Keith is now in his 7o's. Keith grew up on a Dairy in Vic and he showed a keen interest in entomology spending time in the bush studying bugs, insects, plants and animals of interest. See full page in Keith Baker Lures section

Barlow, Les Barlow Lures - QLD:

Les Barlow started making lures in 1987. He has 14 different styles and his colour patterns vary immensely. Initially he sold his lures from the side of the road and local markets but nowadays from the back of his shed at his Mc Gregor Terrace, Stanthorpe address. Les prides himself on the fish catching ability of his lures; 

Rex Hunt once said to him “You make a good lure young Barlow but you’re a rough painter”. Les’s simple reply - “Fish aren't art critics!”  Every lure that leaves Les’s shed is signed “Les Barlow Lures, the model name, $5.00 and Stanthorpe”. An interesting point to note is that every lure he sells is for a mere $5.00, the main reason being so that kids can afford them and go fishing. Les’s pet hate is people who “load up” and buy multiple numbers of his lures with the intent of making money off them instantly either via e-bay or on selling them.  Taking into account time spent making, painting and hardware costs (hooks, split rings & bibs) he should be selling them for alot more but that’s not what he's  is about. Les says they are made to be used. Over time the biggest Cod reported on one of Les’s lures has been 56lb while his personal best stretched the scales out to 32lb. Asked how long he'll keep going for? He smiled and said “As long as the fingers keep hanging in there”! Lure Lovers 2014

Barra Boss Lures -NSW:

These are a moulded lure that were made by Rob Gaden. Were available on a yellow card and packaged as Robs 'Baby Barra Boss'. See Rob Gaden full page bio.

Barradise Lures, Richard Orchard - QLD:

The lures made by Richard Orchard were also marketed and known by the name of Barradise Lures. See Orchard, Richard Orchard 

There are alot of variations however the above product was made by Barra Products Ltd in Rockhampton which would be c.1960's. The original Sid Boland Barra Frog had three raised posts on the underside as shown in Vic Mc Cristals article.

Barra King Lures - Mossman, Nth QLD

Barra King lures were originally made by Henry and Aileen Hall. See full page bio under Barra King Lures. barraking.php

Barra Trooper Lures - NT:

Barra Tropper Lures are made by David Lovegrove in Palmerston, Northern Territory. Started around 2011 and makes a quality handmade timber lure.

Bass Tad Lures - N.T:

Bass Tad lures were made by Bob Forrester and distributed by Forrestwood Products. The Forrester brothers were keen anglers and lure makers from the Northern Territory and both were shaping timber lures for the market. Bass Tad lures are made in Howard Springs and feature twisted eyelets and a hard durable finish with a great range of fish attracting colours. There are two different colour charts shown below - an early Forrestwood Products version c.1999 and a slightly later MO's catalogue after 2000. Unsure if Basstad lures are still being made today. Sales remain strong in the $15-25 range for mint packaged models.

BDL Lures - :

BDL Lures . . . Black Dog Lures?? 

Beardys Lures -  VIC:

Beardys Lures are hand made in Beaconsfield,  Victoria. A good quality lure with some inventive designs. Started selling lures around 2013 and still available.

Beardys Paddlers in the first six colours at Expo 2018

Above - Beardys Lures at Expo 2017 in Ipswich

Below - New range 2018

Bebendorf, Karl and Bryce Bebendorf Lures - QLD:

Karl Bebendorf was making quality timber lures and heavily involved in angling clubs in northern Queensland for many years. He has now sadly passed away but some of his lures occasionally enter the collector market and are sometimes hard to identify. These photos were kindly shared by Mick Maskell after talking to relatives. 

Bellbrook Lures - NSW:

The 'Bellbrook' brand of lures was a product of the manufacturer Wm. Southam Pty Ltd from Artarmon in Sydney. Included the series of Bellbrook Wobblers and Swayback series of lures. See Wm. Southam Pty Ltd. wm-southam.php

Bennett Lures - NSW:

John Bennett went solo after the split with Steve Mc Grath and is still producing both plastic and timber lures to this day. His paint finishes are one of the best around and his high level of craftsmanship means he remains one of the most influential Australian lure makers. See full page for Bennett Lures.

Bennett/Mc Grath Lures - NSW:

The Bennett-McGrath lure story starts pre 1984 when John Bennett and Steve Mc Grath started developing an ultra light lure targeting trout and Australian native fish in the Albury/Wodonga region. The history of Bennett - McGrath Lures has been covered under McGrath Lures. See full page bio under McGrath Lures. mc-grath.php

Benos Lures - NSW:

Lures made by Robert Bennett, Forster NSW. Hobbyist maker who makes a solid timber lure. Signed on belly with pinned bibs. Lure below sold on Ebay in November 2019.

Bespin Lures - NSW:

The Bespin 'Skipper' lure was released in the early 1950's and was made in Bondi Junction, Sydney. The two advertisements below show two variations of the same advert. The bottom left is c. 1952 when Bespin Products sold from the factory in Bondi and the other advert is from 1953 when the Bespin 'Skipper' was sold through Fullers Agencies located in Clarence Street, Sydney.

Big T Lures - QLD:

Big T Lures are made by Adrian Thompson from Toowoomba. Designed for Murray Cod and yellowbelly fishing there are a number of models being made including the 'RIP', 'Duckbuh'. 

Big T Lures had their first Expo stand in 2019 with a nice range of  well finished lures and designs.

Bills Bugs - NSW:

Bill Clark is a very inventive lure maker from Yamba in northern NSW. Maybe his most famous lure was the 'Flutterbug' which came in a number of sizes suitable for any surface feeding fish. Originally shaped from timber with heavy duty metal bibs Bills Bugs were available from the late 1980's and then moulded plastic as demand became higher. 

Other models include the 'Fuzz Bug' with either metal props (earlier models) or clear perspex props (later models). Bills Bugs also made small minnows like the 50mm 'Mantis', large minnows 'Barra Bug' (135 and 155mm), 'Jewfish Bug' (160mm) and  green and brown frogs. Earlier lures both wooden and moulded may be signed 'Bills Bugs' on the belly. See full page bio under Bills Bugs

Bills Lures - N.T:

Uncommon 'Scorpion' shaped timber lures made by Bill Feast from Palmerston, Northern Territory with metal bibs, hand painted eyes. Lures are unmarked. Also makes other models including poppers. The lures below came up for sale on Ebay between 2014 and 2018 and all have the characteristic masked arrow paint jobs.

Bingara Lures - NSW:

This lure came up for sale via Ebay in April 2016 and was signed on the belly Bingara 'Kerra'. It was confirmed with the help of Debbie Dare that this lure was made a long time ago by Darcy Menchin before Mencho Lures started.

B.J's Custom Baits:

The following information and history of B.J's Custom Baits was supplied by Brian Bochow;

"B.J.s Custom Baits is the brain child of Brian J Bochow. The little backyard operation began life back in 2007. Brian had previously worked with two former Australian national spinnerbaits companies but he soon found a desire to create products of his own designs and so like so many others he imported in from the U.S.A. a range of mold and parts to construct his own spinnerbaits. Originally he played the game and used the standard silicone skirts that was the accepted skirt material of the day. The little operation was just simply called B.J. Spinnerbaits. Within this time frame a customer from Berri in S.A. used a twin spin designed bait complete with silicone skirt and a Atomic soft plastic curl tail grub measuring 5 inches.This bait caught the first 100lb cod in South Australian waters on a bladed lure presentation. Unfortunately though the rubber bands that hold the silicone skirt in place would deteriorate leaving the skirt to just fall off and come apart. In 2008 Brian changed tact and start tying rabbit fur zonkers to his spinnerbaits range with huge success.

A name change to B.J.s Custom Baits was facilitated some 2 years later in 2010 reflecting Brian's attitude in thinking outside the square of more conventional lure making standards and creating his own custom designed lures with varying degrees of success. These days Brian has developed a large range of designed lures that are sold under the custom baits logo. All models sold are firstly put in the field to make sure each design catches fish. When they are proven fish catchers they are then added to the Custom Bait range for buyers consideration. Sales have boomed World wide with lures heading to overseas buyers on more than one occasion. The Custom Bait range has caught many fresh and saltwater fish species in North America, Amazon River South America, PNG black Bass, etc to name just a few locations."

BK Lures - QLD:

B K Lures were started by Bruce Kilpatrick who lives on the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland. He made his first lures at school in 1973 and proceeded to make them for friends and family for 20 years until 1993. Early lures were quite crude and were cut from Red Cedar or White Beech with a jigsaw then machine sanded and then hand sanded for painting.

From 1993 - 2002 BK made lures commercially for shops and markets. An airbrush was used in conjunction with auto paint. His early lures are characterised by gal twisted wire hangers, hand cut s/steel bibs while his later lures have s/steel hangers and alloy bibs. In 1997 BK made a bib press that cut 2 alloy bibs of 2 different sizes at the same time.

Two BK 'Mouse'lures that sold on Ebay in 2021 in the $20-25 range. There was also a BK 'Little Rat'card

The photos below show some of the many prototypes and variations of the 'Spin er Pop'

Blinky's Lures are no longer made today after Blinky sadly passed away in 2019. Modern packaging and  'Barradise' model is shown below

Blitz Baga Lures - QLD: 

Blitz Baga lures were  made by Murray Sugden c. 1995. Originally handcrafted from timber the lures went to moulded construction c. 2002. The name Blitz Baga has been commonly adopted when referring to these creations however they were marketed under the Baga Lures name. See Baga Lures

Blockhead Lures - NSW:

Made in Leeton, NSW around 1996 - no other information.

Bloomfield's Fishing Lures - NSW:

An obscure vintage lure maker, the line of Bloomfiled's fishing lures were manufactured Rosebery Spray Pty Ltd who were located at Greens Road in Greenwell Point. The 'Parallax Flasher' is shown below in size number 2 which indicates there were other sizes made. The example of the 5-pack illustrated is the only example ever cited.

Blue Heeler Lures - VIC:

Made by Daniel Baker. No current photos.

Blue Nic Lures:

No information other than the photos - this lure appeared on Ebay in 2014. Marked 'Blue Nic' on back and 'Bill' on the belly.

B.O.B Lures - Newcastle, NSW:

Bob Schofield  has a distinctive style to his lures and is a very inventive lure maker. Unfortunately, Bob passed away in February, 2024. More info coming soon.

Boland, Sid Boland Lures - QLD:

Sid Boland is one of Australia's early lure makers who created the legendary Sid Boland's 'Barra Frog'.  He was from Ingham and created the lure in the Depression Years of the late 1930's. The following extract from Vic Mc Cristals book tells the whole story;

Booth, George William Booth Lures - QLD:

Little information on this vintage maker. The lure shown has interesting construction with multi segmented body being held quite rigidly with a one piece 'spine', hook hangers rear and belly are heavy duty wire with nose tie using a wire noose glued into the body.

Borella, Ross Borella Lures - NSW:

The lures below were offered for sale in early 2019 and are a moulded yabby style lure that were made by Ross Borella from Albury area. They were originally made in the late 1990's in small numbers and were moulded from original hand carved timber versions.

Bounty Hunter Lures - NSW:

Steve Jolly made a fantastic range of heavy duty timber lures that had a reputation for catching and holding up to Papuan Black Bass. Marketed as the 'Jolls' Bounty Hunter lure and available in 3 sizes,  70mm, 75mm, and 120mm in  Mo tackle catalogue 1997. The 70mm was a new size for 1997 and they were offered in 10 colour variations. Also available was the 'Cane Toad' in 5 colours. The 'Bucket Mouth Popper' was available in 2000 in one size 100mm and 40gm. The advertisement below is from 2003. See Jolls Bounty Hunter Lures. 

Bowker, Steve Bowker Lures - NT:

Made in Nakara, Northern Territory, another of the cottage makers who build specialist lures. Steve is a barramundi fisherman who knows his stuff and makes a few lures in colours and patterns that he knows work.

Bowman, Ziggy Bowman Lures - QLD:

An uncommon lure but quite easy to recognise when found. Through wire construction and interesting design. Lures shown are in various colours but with a common striped stencil theme. Vintage and no longer made.

Boys, Keith Boys Lures (Boysey Lures) - QLD:

Keith Boys from Townsville, QLD made some amazing lures including the 'Boys Mouse' and many other original patterns. Keith passed away in 2012. Many but not all of  Keith Boys lures can be identified by a red or black paint spot on the belly. The early mouse patterns will have a shoelace attached to the rear treble to imitate the mouse tail. The more recent lures will have elastic instead of shoelace as the tail. Keith also made surface poppers, minnow shapes and wide variety of lure designs that were both original but also had similarities to some of the earlier QLD lure makers.

http://www.lurelovers.com/forum/bradkek-065-bega_topic2257_post190270.html?KW=bradkek#190270

Brad Smith Lures - QLD:

Brad Smith is a local identity on the Gold Coast and owns a tackle shop on the banks of Currumbin Creek including some fishing guiding. The lures were developed in the 1990's to suit local conditions and species. The 'Lil' Mate' was the original model designed for the bream population in the canals of the Gold Coast. The 'Digger' was for flathead, jacks, trevally and the 'Yobbo' is the newest model.  Originally moulded by either Mac's lures or Lively lures however newer  models are made in China.

Brown, Maurie Brown Lures - QLD:

Maurie Brown is another of the keen northern anglers who made timber lures in small quantities to fish. Made in the early 1970's and into the early 1980's in the Cairns area. Maurie made a wide range of different timber models such as the Nilsmaster influence below but was probably best known for making bibless trolling lures. Maurie was an ex-navy petty officer who moved to Cairns prior to 1970 and was a boilermaker by trade having lived in Weipa at some stage. 

BTD Lures - NSW:

Benn Durkin formerly of Texas, QLD, now Gin Gin, QLD. Makes high quality lures from red cedar and white beech. He was awarded 'Lure of the Year' at the 2013 Australian Lure expo. His lures are designed to target Murray Cod and he is a keen competition angler. He is now looking at producing more lures to specifically target barramundi. 

                                                    Photo from https://www.facebook.com/AustralianLureExpo 

Budda Lures - QLD:

Budda Lures were made by Keith Holland in small numbers and were handcrafted from timber. For those who recognise the shape there is a connection here with Ashley Holland who made Ringtail Lures being related - Keith is Ashley's uncle.

Bullship Lures - QLD:

Made by Peter Griffiths who has been making lures for many years since the mid 1990's. Shane Murphy from Viper Lures showed Peter how to make lures around 1994

Above: Good friend Steve 'Starlo' Starling has had a lure signed for him. This model is a well made with a distinctive shape made for targeting barramundi.

 Below are some photos that were posted on Facebook and the Lure and More forum 

Butler Lures - NSW:

Made by Ernie Butler who grew up in Wallangarra and who moved around with the railway, Roma, Mt Isa and Toowoomba and now resides near Stanthorpe. Typical Tenterfield influences and normally signed on underside of lure. Maker used to work  as a train driver and now runs a boutique brewery. Lures not made for many years and hard to find.

Butler, Stewart Butler Lures - NSW:

Made with conduit in Deniliquin by Stewart Butler. An extremely interesting design.