If fishing is a hobby you enjoy, you’ll know that fishing lures are a key piece of equipment for anyone who wants to make a great catch. And if you live in the United States, chances are that you’ll want to buy from an American company.
There are loads of benefits to buying locally. For one thing, you’ll know that workers will be benefiting from American labor laws, and for another, you’ll be supporting the local economy. But which companies produce their fishing lures in the United States, anyway?
Which Companies Sell Fishing Lures Made in America? (The Short Answer)
I’ve done a fair bit of digging online. As best as I can tell, there are five brands that produce their fishing lures in the United States. Those are Yum Baits, Z-man Fishing, Roboworm, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, and War Eagle. It’s not a huge number of companies, but you’ll still have a decent selection to choose from.
American-Made Fishing Lures (5 Brands to Choose From)
In this article, I’m going to be walking you through the five companies that produce fishing lures within United States borders. I’ll give you some detailed information about each of the companies, and hopefully you’ll find it as interesting as I did when I was pulling together some of this research! Read on to learn more.
Yum Baits
YUM Bait Company was established in July 2002. The company was originally dedicated to selling attractants. I suspect the company existed in some form prior to this, because the information I have suggests that it transitioned to selling fishing lures in July 2002. YUM Bait Company uses what it terms “Live Prey Technology,” which is a cocktail of chemicals designed to simulate the chemical signature of live prey in order to better attract gamefish.
YUM Bait Company was purchased by Pradco Outdoors in 2014. Pradco Outdoors is a very large American conglomerate which focuses on producing fishing gear. The conglomerate itself is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. YUM Bait products are manufactured in Fort Smith, Arizona, in a 4,600-square-foot facility which is also responsible for the manufacturing of some of Pradco Outdoors’ other products.
The soft plastic fishing lures produced by YUM Bait company have allowed competitors to rake in, collectively, over $500,000 in prize money in 2021 alone.
Z-man Fishing
Z-Man has a history of operating behind the scenes in the fishing industry. Instead of making lures directly, it was dedicated for a long time to producing fishing lure components. Z-Man focused primarily on manufacturing silicone skirt material for fishing lures. The company was largely unknown to fishing enthusiasts as a result. However, today, Z-Man is known for producing a variety of well-regarded fishing lures.
The firm’s first success was the ChatterBait, which was responsible for a number of fishing tournament victories. Staff have since expanded on the ChatterBait line, producing variations on the design to more effectively target different kinds of fish. Z-Man also holds the patent for its ElaZtech soft plastics, which it claims to be “as much as 10X tougher than other traditional soft plastic fishing baits.”
Z-Man’s products are manufactured at a 74,000-square-foot facility the company owns and operates in Ladson, South Carolina.
Roboworm
Roboworm, Inc. was originally established as GJ&H Company by Harvey and Greg Stump in 1989. The firm is located at 764 Calle Plano in Camarillo, California. Its facility measures 5,000 square feet—the smallest on my list. I’m afraid I have been unable to find any other information beyond this, even despite extensive research.
Lake Fork Trophy Lures
Lake Fork Trophy Lures was founded in 1997 by Ronnie and Anne Parker. Unfortunately, the former passed away recently in 2022. Unlike many other companies, with Lake Fork Trophy Lures, you can purchase directly from the manufacturer.
Lake Fork runs a fishing lure outlet directly onsite at its manufacturing facility in Emory, Texas. No middle man required! The company indicates that it is now under new ownership, but I wasn’t able to find anything about who purchased the company. Fortunately for you, you can still be sure that all of the products are made in the United States.
War Eagle
War Eagle Custom Lures began as a very small enterprise. In the mid-1990s, its products were being made by two bass fishing enthusiasts in their own garages in Arkansas. The company achieved great success with its bass anglers at around the same time, when Mike McClelland and Gerald Swindle both won professional fishing tournaments using War Eagle’s bass anglers. War Eagle lures are now available in stores across the United States.
War Eagle Custom Lures was acquired by Pradco in 2018. Today, the firm’s products are made under the name of YUM Baits (another brand acquired by Pradco), in a Pradco manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
