You would think that the absolute last thing the fishing world needs is another new lure.
Ever since the first Neanderthals stumbled out of the river and determined there had to be a better way of catching dinner than trying to just grab the fish, we have been creating objects that either imitate a fish's prey or antagonize fish into biting.
Now there are thousands of fishing lures, crankbaits, plugs, stick baits, and plastics on the market, as well as very realistic fake minnows, frogs, and worms. Just as soon as the fish believe they have literally seen it all, the newest lure splashes down.
A small, family-owned company located here in the central part of the state, along the Juniata River and not far from the Susquehanna, figured out that fish could be teased into striking by something that carried the telltale flash of a struggling baitfish, projected by a jewelry-type metal, adorned with an array of colors anchored in prism tape.
Iron Decoy has developed a line of spoons that it boasts will offer a level of quality the freshwater fishing industry has not yet seen. Besides the high-gloss metal and color display, the Iron Decoy Steely spoons also carry a ball chain trailing off the base of the spoon. This patent-pending accessory has a side-to-side motion that is adjustable by shortening the chain.
“We truly think we are onto something,” said Iron Decoy owner Jake Major. “It is hard to describe, but this has proven to be an incredibly effective lure with its left-right movement and wobble. And having the ball chain on the back accents the movement and adds vibration.”
Major, who also owns Cobra Archery and has 18 patents on the archery equipment he has designed, admits to being a chronic tinkerer who is endlessly searching for ways to improve the devices used by hunters and anglers.
“I've always been intrigued by moving parts and how they work together in unison,” he said. “I had the design for this lure for quite a while but had to get it exactly where I wanted it before we started commercializing the line.”
The Iron Decoy Steely spoons are assembled off-shore from 100 percent American-made parts, including Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp 3X platinum black hooks. The spoons come in five sizes and 80 combinations. Major said the Steely spoons are available at major retailers and at the irondecoy.com website.
With its range of sizes and variety of colors, Major said the Iron Decoy Steely line has fared well when used to target smallmouth bass, walleye, steelhead, northern pike, lake trout, perch, crappie, bluegill, trout, and salmon.
“We had some charter boat guys test it on the Great Lakes and it just crushed the fish,” he said. “Some of them just quit using the other lures they had been relying on and went with ours. It turned out to be even more versatile than we thought it would be.”
Major added that Iron Decoy's primary distributor now wants him to develop a saltwater line.
“There's a lot of interest in what makes it somewhat unique, and that's the hydrodynamics of the lure,” he said. “Its action is exactly the same no matter what size you use. As you move up to larger ones, it changes proportionally and gets thicker, but it goes through the water exactly the same.”
Major intends to make a push to get more Lake Erie walleye anglers using Iron Decoy spoons, adding that his extensive testing indicates that the spoons perform very well when trolled, the preferred approach of a majority of Lake Erie walleye anglers.
“We have certain colors that are specific for walleye and we'll get into it more in the future,” he said. “We'll play with the colors, experiment, and drill down.”
Major said that the strength of the Iron Decoy Steely spoon, however, remains its action.
“With some species, a lot of the bites we get are sheerly because of the action,” he said. “When you get down to a finicky bite, it often comes down to colors, but action produces the most bites. What we have seen with our spoons is it is more action than it is colors, and the strong point with these spoons is the action. There's nothing else like it out there.”
First Published July 19, 2022, 5:40 p.m.
