September Freshwater Lure of the Month: ACME KO Wobbler

September Freshwater Lure of the Month: ACME KO Wobbler

The History of the ACME Tackle Company:

The Kastmaster is a popular and deadly spoon-type lure for both fresh and salt water. Many anglers use this lure or know about it. But very few anglers know the story of Art Lavallee, the man who discovered and perfected the Kastmaster and put it on the market.

Art Lavallee was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1918, and as a young boy liked freshwater fishing. After returning from W.W. II where he served on submarines in the Pacific, he resumed freshwater fishing and in 1947 he caught an 8 3/4 lb. largemouth bass that held the Rhode Island state record for many years. But when he caught his first striped bass in the ocean, striper fishing became his primary fishing interest.

In 1949, Art Lavallee and his brother Al formed the Spencer Plating Company, which polished and electroplated jewelry. Art took some of the jewelry and bent and changed their shapes to create metal fishing lures. He and his friends enjoyed successful angling results with these inventions, so Art decided to enter the fishing tackle business and founded the Acme Tackle Company in 1952. Then Art learned about a lure called the EDA Splune developed by the Engineering Design Associates of Severna Park, Maryland. This metal lure was the forerunner of the Kastmaster. The Acme Tackle Company entered into a royalty agreement with EDA and acquired the rights to market the lure. Art field tested the lure and then modified it, making it longer and giving it the jewelry like finish for which Acme lures are famous.

The Kastmaster was quickly accepted by both fresh and saltwater anglers and is now used to catch all kinds of fish. An amazingly versatile lure, the Kastmaster is equally deadly whether cast, trolled, or vertically jigged. It casts like a bullet, and its unique side-to-side darting action is something which pursued baitfish do, but which ordinary spoons do not.

In 1980 Acme purchased the former Seneca Tackle Co., and now makes the popular Little Cleo and Sidewinder spoons, as well as many other types of metal spoons for fresh and saltwater fishing.

Today, Acme continues to manufacture, assemble, and package all of its lures at its Providence, Rhode Island plant, under the daily management and supervision of Lavallee family. Acme's company goal is the same as it was in 1952 -- to produce the world's finest metal fishing lures.

The Fishing Enthusiast Freshwater Lure of the Month is the ACME Tackle Company's Wobbler Spoon. This lure excites by sight and sound! Gamefish are sensitive to the vibrations created by baitfish on the move K.O. wobblers MIMIC this sound with their precision-Engineered 'Sonic Flipper Tail'.