Leads Lures - Terry Leadbeater - QLD
Terry Leadbeater sure makes a mean lure and his earlier lures are in higher demand than ever. All lures are made of timber and Leads Lures has built a reputation for making hard wearing lures suitable for pelagic northern fish and lots of other applications. Early Leads lures will have hand signed bibs as shown below and paint patterns will be slightly different as they evolved over time. Leads Lures officially started in 1978 and this is recorded on the reverse side of later packaging.
(Right) This lure is possibly one of the oldest Leads Lures and was made by Terry when he was still in school (1969). Gal wire used for hangers late 1960's into the early 1970's.
Two early Leads lures with signed bibs that are signed 'LL'. These lures would pre-date 1975. Nilsmaster influence.
(Above) Some of the earliest Leads lures with signed bibs including the smaller minnow dated to 1969.
(Below) Some early Leads lures with signed bibs. These lures would date to early 1980's.
Examples of hand signed jointed Leads models are extremely rare but do show up occasionally. The lure below was unearthed in Darwin and has a red signature on the bib. There is conjecture around 'red signature' Leads as some of the original black signatures have aged with exposure to the elements and do have a red shade about them however there are a couple of examples.
Another extremely rare Leads model is the hand signed popper which was only ever made in small numbers unlike the minnow style lures Terry is most well known for.
Opposite - Early Leads 7 inch double tow bibless - hand signed
Early Leads 'Herring' models - hand signed bibs
Early advertisement from Northern Angler magazine listing 'Minnow', 'Sardine' & Bibless Trolling Minnow as models.
Another example of early hand signed Leads Lures showing the herringbone pattern - this was a popular early pattern.
This lure appeared at the 2017 Lure Expo.
Examples of the transition from hand signed to 'stamped pad signature' in 1983 when Terry stamped the bibs for a short while and then to chrome backed printed sticker around 1984. The stamped pad signatures are uncommon as they only lasted for around 9 months before moving to first generation sticker (gold in the lettering).
Bransfords Tackle Shop in Cairns had a range of Leads Lures made for the shop which are referred to as Bransfords 'Tropical Rogue'. They will sometimes be found with a Bransford's sticker which indicate the lure was sold from this outlet.
Early Lead's 'Sooty Baits' including two with creased bibs which show up occasionally
Extract from Harbord Tackle 1991 Catalogue which was one of the largest stockists of Leads Lures in NSW at the time
(Above) Extract from Harbord Tackle 1993 Catalogue showing the colour range (20 colours). It was around this time also that some of the lure range were fitted with Lexan (polycarbonate) bibs.
(Below) shows the earlier 1991 colour range. A number of colours were deleted or changed in these years and you will also notice that the scale patterns have changed from a fine scale to a much larger scale which is obvious on colours 16 and 17 for example.
Here are some fine examples of the sticker bibbed Leads lures which would be after 1985. These are all c.1990's
Here is a list of some of the models he was still producing c.2013
7" Deep Diving Mack lure, 7" Bibless, Hyjacker,
3" Shallow Jack lure, 4" Shallow Jack lure
4" Barra shallow, 4" Barra Deep with pointy bib
Shad
Terry also made the 'Tropical Rogue' lures for Bransfords tackle in Cairns.
Two examples of stickered Leads 7 inch bibless model
Leads Lures packaging which was available c. 2013. Not sure if this style is still being used in 2018. Interestingly the original price on this lure is $15.95. The metal bibbed Leads have risen in price over the years and packeted unused versions like this would fetch at least $50+ each. These have the stickers under the bibs - hand signed models will realise considerably more.
Below is an article that written by Vic Mc Cristal and was published in Fishing World, March, 1983. The article focuses on Leads Lures and the lures made by Terry Leadbeater.
