Making music on the water
A growing number of bass fishermen in and around the Atchafalaya Basin are tuning into a spinnerbait that hums through the water much the same way a piano makes its melodic music.
That’s because the Instigator Lures spinnerbait is made with piano wire instead of stainless steel wire by an accomplished veteran bass club angler who knows from experience the bass want a compact-bladed artificial lure with a distinctive vibration in southcentral Louisiana. Piano wire has more spring to it, explains Doyle Martin of Thibodaux.
Martin, a 45-year-old electrician for Rain CII Carbon in Norco, designs and builds artificial lures when he isn’t working his regular job, and there are hundreds of bass fishermen in the region who are grateful to have his products in their hands. With that in mind, Martin plans to market on the Internet his spinnerbait that can be custom made for bassers who go to a website that should be online this month or in February.
As of the first week of December, Martin was waiting on a retail license (which at the time he believed would be approved in four to six weeks) and a close friend to finish getting the website up and running. He expected and welcomes the volume of increased interest his spinnerbait is sure to generate.
“The customer will actually be able to build what he wants on the website,” Martin said.
But more about that later.
The Bayou Boys bass club member, who has been fishing with the group for 16 years, said he has been tinkering with artificial lures since he was a boy. His Instigator Lures spinnerbait has been in the making the past two years, “a lot of tryouts and trial and error.”
The spinnerbait’s 32,000-gauge piano wire was a must, he said, when he decided to improve on other local spinnerbaits on the market. He said he gets the piano wire in bulk.
“I heard a lot of people make those, not with stainless steel. It’s got good vibration, more vibration. It’s got more spring to it,” Martin said.
Kevin Voisin of Morgan City, a BASS Weekend Series regular who owns Atchafalaya Bail Bonds and is a St. Mary Parish councilman, was unaware the Instigator Lures spinnerbait he has thrown for about a year was based on piano wire.
“I don’t know what it is,” Voisin said, “but it works.”
“It’s not an indestructible bait, now,” said Martin, “but while you have it you will get good vibration. People say it bends a little easier. But we’ve caught 7-, 8-pound redfish on it. We don’t find that it bends so much.”
Voisin, a veteran source of fishing reports for Louisiana Sportsman, gave the spinnerbait’s durability high props and said about his favorite 1/4-ounce model, “I haven’t thrown the 3/8, but I’ve caught a lot on the 1/4. I’ve probably caught 100 fish on it and I’m still throwing it. It’s easy to throw. I fish it on 20-pound-test line and have no problem.”
Martin said he can make 300 to 400 spinnerbaits a week — “but that’s getting it, weekends, too.” He gets a big assist from 14-year-old Hayden Martin, his son, he said, an up-and-coming basser in his own right who helps by adding beads and the forward blade so it’s lined up for him to come back and put the final bend in the spinnerbait. Hayden also helps with packaging, his dad said.
The artificial lure maker could get a lot busier once the news about his spinnerbait gets out in print. His game plan is to give bass fishermen the chance to go to a website and build the spinnerbait they want, starting with the head and the wire, to the weight, the blade(s) (Indiana, Colorado and willowleaf) and the skirt color.
“I think it’s a good deal. They can even get oversized if they want. The spinnerbait still runs upright,” Martin said, noting the reason for that is the way they are built. Keeping the arm short keeps the center of gravity low, he explained.
Also, he said, “Everybody likes the profile of the spinnerbait.”
Another major selling point for the Instigator Lures spinnerbait is the 4/0 Mustad extra-long-shank hook, Martin said. Voisin agreed.
“Most of my customers love it. They like the big hooks because they don’t have to put a trailer hook,” Martin said, noting another popular spinnerbait used in the region has a shorter hook.
Voisin said, “I switched to his when he told me he uses a long hook. He’s got a long hook on it. That’s why I like it.”
Besides the 3D eyes and powder paint job, the other major reason so many bassers are tying them on the business end of their fishing line is the H&H rubber skirt.
“That skirt is what makes it work, in my opinion,” said Martin.
“I like how he uses rubber skirts,” said Voisin. “I like his components that he uses.”
Those components include quality blades, including 24-karat gold blades, and Sampo ballbearings are standard with the spinnerbait.
When people order their spinnerbait(s), they can even order oversized spinnerbaits, which still run true and upright, Martin said.
“It’s all in the science of it, really, trial and error,” he said. “I think I’ve finally got it where I want. I want to think it’s going to do pretty good, especially doing it the way I’m planning.”
For more information on Instigator Lures, call 985-209-9282.
