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The RoeMaster Spinner: The world’s most deadly lure that never was!

June 7, 2016 By JD 6 Comments

RoemasterCould the RoeMaster Spinner have been the world’s deadliest lure?  We’ll never know! A radically new concept conceived of by a diabolically brilliant lure designer,  it appeared briefly in the early 1990’s but then disappeared into the night and was never heard from again.

But what happened?

I’m glad you asked! Considering I was the “mastermind” behind the RoeMaster, I guess I am qualified to tell its story…and in case you haven’t already guessed, the answer is no…No, it wasn’t destined to become the planet’s greatest fish catcher of all time. But it was fun to pretend. :)

Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together!

As a college student at Humboldt State University, I must confess that I spent more time pursuing girls and steelhead than good grades. Back in those days, we skipped a lot of class to fish the nearby Mad, Eel, Klamath, Trinity and Van Duzen rivers — and those endeavors are what inspired the RoeMaster.

During those river sessions, I quickly learned that salmon and steelhead were really susceptible to roe – and well presented spinners. So, why not combine the two and make the world’s most deadly offering: A spinner/roe combination?

An evil plan indeed…and with it, I would soon rule the salmon and steelhead world!

Well, not so fast there, junior!

RoeMaster Comes to Life!

So, with my idea now hatched, I borrowed some cash from pops and bought some components and started bending wire. After some trial and error, I settled on a design that consisted of a French blade (RoeMasters were available in the odd size range of #1, #3 and #5) and then a hand-painted lead bullet weight (or worm weight that bass anglers use with Texas Rigs)…though I eventually switched to brass worm weights on later versions. Then, the “roe” was a Luhr Jensen Gooey Bob slid up the shaft below the weight. I’d then finish it off with a Gamakatsu treble or siwash hook (your choice).

One of the original early models

One of the original early models

Before I had a wire forming tool, the early editions were bent with a set of pliers and the results were…well…let’s just say they weren’t super pretty!

Design Flaws

Well, it all seemed like a good idea, but the RoeMaster wasn’t exactly the best design of all time. First off, at high RPM’s, the blade would hit the Gooey Bob, causing it to stall out. At super slow speeds, however, it worked okay. Then there was that whole faux roe thing. My idea of combining two of the great salmon and steelhead offerings into one kinda fell flat on its face when you consider that the rubber egg cluster was totally lacking in one key ingredient: that milky, smelly goodness that leeches out of real roe.  Hmmm…didn’t really think that one through! Sure, you could lather it up in scent, but it was still no match for the real deal.

Early Tests

Despite all the lure’s imperfections, it actually fished pretty darned well. Its first day on the water took place at the confluence of the Eel and Van Duzen rivers, where it actually hooked a few nice steelhead and out-fished my buddies who were using the standard for that spot, gold/red Little Cleos.

My bride (then girlfriend) with a cutthroat trout taken on a small RoeMaster. She'd probably kill me for posting this pic! :)

My bride (then girlfriend) with a cutthroat trout taken on a small RoeMaster. She’d probably kill me for posting this pic! :)

That winter, the RoeMaster had its finest hour on the Mad River just below the hatchery in Blue Lake, where I hooked 6 winter steelhead in off-color water one February afternoon while the other 23 anglers in the lineup hooked a grand total of 3 while using an assortment of drift gear. The fact that I was standing in the meat of the hole was totally lost on me and I chalked my success up instead to the deadly effectiveness of my new creation!

The first-ever king taken on the RoeMaster -- Feather River, CA

The first-ever king taken on the RoeMaster — Feather River, CA

That fall, the new brass weight edition of the RoeMaster made its debut on the Feather River’s infamous Outlet Hole. Again, the lure preformed well and the Chinook seemed to like it.

The Rise & Fall of the Empire

Bolstered by the success of the tests, my dad and I got down to the business of marketing the lure that we were certain would soon propel us into Fortune 500 status. Step one: Come up with a catchy name…RoeMaster. Done.

Step two: A clever slogan: “It’s not a lure, it’s a Weapon!” Ah yes, we obviously turned the queso index to “high” to come up with that one! Cheesy tag line accounted for, we then went to the only place I knew of to advertise such a fish-catching machine, Salmon Trout Steelheader magazine. 

The ad that ran in Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine

So, the RoeMaster ad made its debut in the Feb/March 1992 issue of STS and ran three times that year. The ad copy included several bullet points, highlighting the lure’s attributes. My favorite was “Field tested and recommended by fisheries biologists.” The biologists were my uncle and his buddy and I can’t help but think about how damned funny that sounds now. One could argue that if the fishery biologists were endorsing the product, maybe it was because they realized it posed no serious threat to fish populations! Obviously, a marketing guru I was not…

The last there remaining originals have a place of honor on my fishing shack wall.

The last there remaining originals have a place of honor on my fishing shack wall.

I think most hard-core anglers could see the inherent flaws in the design right in the picture in the ad and RoeMaster sadly never took off. Needless to say, thanks to sales that could be counted on one hand, I never got my Gulfstream G3 and that island in the Bahamas. Instead, I ended up with a garage full of components (that I cannibalized down to nothing over the years), and a couple good laughs looking back after all the years. These days, there’s not much left of the mighty RoeMaster except for bags and bags of unused Gooey Bobs and a couple originals left on the garage wall.

Oh well, it was a good ride. Maybe someday I’ll have to update the design and bring RoeMaster outta retirement. Or, perhaps some things are best left alone…

We even had some shirts back in the day…

RoeMaster Tee

Filed Under: Fishing Stories, Pure Entertainment Tagged With: roemaster, Salmon, spinner, Steelhead

So, what is it about steelhead??

February 11, 2014 By JD 25 Comments

My passionSteelhead haunt my dreams and run through my veins. They have taken me to the top of the mountain and they have broken my heart. I’ve bled for them; I’ve frozen for them and I’ve driven, flown, hiked and floated thousands and thousands of miles for them…and there’s not a single day of the year that I don’t think about them.

I was once doing a phone interview with a writer from a big East Coast magazine. From his cozy office in New York City, he asked me what it was that made steelhead fishing such a special sport.

It was hard for me to answer. I mean, with steelhead…you either get it or you don’t. There are so many deep-seeded feelings and emotions for me that are tied to these fish that it’s almost impossible to articulate in a way that somebody on the outside can understand.

So, I spat out the first thing that came to mind:

“I fish for steelhead so I can see them up close…”

Huh?

And then, I just got on a roll and rattled off a total unabated stream of consciousness…

I fish for steelhead because I want to get as close to them as I can. I feel that they are like fine art, each one to be viewed quietly, taken in and remembered. I told him that I have never felt more alive and in touch with the world–and myself–as when I’m standing in a misty canyon, with a ribbon of emerald flowing in front of me.

Steelhead haunt my dreams and run through my veins. They have taken me to the top of the mountain and they have broken my heart. I’ve bled for them; I’ve frozen for them and I’ve driven, flown, hiked and floated thousands and thousands of miles for them…and there’s not a single day of the year that I don’t think about them.

Steelhead make me straight-up crazy. Even on dry land, I can close my eyes and literally feel what that moment of first contact is like, that initial tight line surge. And I can make my heart rate jump by simply imagining a float going under or a plug rod going off. Oh man…the plug takedown of a steelhead…wow…if that doesn’t get your juices flowing, you’d better check your pulse because you’re probably dead.

Steelhead make me want to follow every single anadromous river from the mouth to the source–and then float back down them again. They make me think irrational thoughts like maybe I should just sell the house and get a toy hauler that fits a drift boat and hit the open road…and never come back! They drive me to drink; they drive me to the limits–mentally, physically, emotionally. Steelhead make me wear the numbers off my credit cards and sometimes pull the hairs off my head.
Perfect Beauty
They give me this insatiable desire to fix all the damage that has been done to the rivers they call home. They drive me to pick up trash, fight for flows, plant trees and dump spawning gravel by the truckload into the water.

Steelhead are the fish I’d miss Christmas for and the reason I got married during the offseason. They give me sweaty palms and weak knees. Though I’ve probably shaved at least a year off my life expectancy due to all the junk food consumed on steelie road trips, I also believe that every day you fish for steelhead is one you get to tack onto the end. And speaking of the end, if I had a choice, I’d go steelhead fishing on my last day on the planet. I’ve informed my family what to do when my time is about up: Take me to the top of some whitewater gorge with a drift boat and a couple rods. No need for a life jacket or a shuttle…it will be my last ride. Hopefully, there will be a couple biters along the way!

Steelhead are responsible for all the drift and float and plug and fly and center-pin rods…the jigs and stacks of Pip’s and boxes of plugs; the BC Steels and the spinner boxes; the Slinkies and pink worms; the two deflated pontoon boats; the Fish Pills all over the floor; the nets and waders and boots and pink-stained fridge—that all make my garage useless to terrestrial vehicles. They’ve also ruined many a potentially productive day in the office…all it takes is a photo or a text from somebody on the river and I’m worthless the rest of the afternoon.

Steelhead are why my favorite color is green–because it reminds me of the perfect hue of a river just coming into shape and the giant redwoods that stand on its banks. And because of the dorsal color of one of those awesome-looking bucks that’s transitioning from ocean chrome to river camo–olive back and a faint pink cheek and stripe peeking out from silver flanks.

In short, steelhead are epic, nearly indescribable critters that make me tick and dream and feel alive. I’m not at all sure the interviewer ever really got the message, but I bet you all do…

Filed Under: Fishing Stories Tagged With: fishing, river, Steelhead

Interesting Steelhead Factoids

November 30, 2012 By JD 19 Comments

20121130-205854.jpg
Steelhead are rad. Sorry to have to go to the vault and bust out a 1980’s adjective there, but it really does fit, doesn’t it?

Everything about them is cool: The way they crush a plug or mash a swung fly. Their ability to cartwheel 3 feet out of the water and then burn 50 yards of line in a nanosecond. Their incomparable beauty. The incredible places they live. Pure and simple steelhead are indeed…rad.

But how much do you know about these amazing critters? Well, here are some random factoids to give you a better understanding of steelies…Click here to read more…

Filed Under: Fishing Stories Tagged With: fishing, river, Steelhead

The Santa Ynez River: Where 25,000 steelhead once roamed!

August 25, 2011 By JD 10 Comments

The river now, looking downstream from Buellton towards the sea.

Santa Barbara, California (about an hour and a half north of LA) doesn’t exactly inspire images of deep canyons and emerald green water full of steelhead…but it would have back in the 1940’s, when the Santa Ynez River was home to annual runs of 25,000 anadramous rainbows!

But only a token handful of the great fish make it back each year now. The usual band of culprits did the river in: Water diversions, dams and development. etc. The biggest blow came in the early 1950’s when massive Cachuma Dam was completed, effectively blocking off the bulk of steelhead spawning habitat.

Filed Under: Fishing Stories Tagged With: santa ynez river, Steelhead

Ribble River Surprise!

July 24, 2011 By JD 5 Comments

And this, folks, is why you play the game...


Here’s yet another prime example why fishing is so damn awesome: Our good friend from across “The Pond,” Richard Masters, fished the River Ribble near Lancashire in Northwest England last week. Unfortunately, the river was still high and pretty much blown out following a recent flood — and the fishing was lousy.

Masters says he threw hardware in the muddy water all day without success and then, on his way home the next morning, he made a quick stop along the river to get a feel for the new 5-weight trout fly rod he had just purchased…and then a funny thing happened: Click here to read more…

Filed Under: Fishing Stories Tagged With: atlantic salmon, england, fly fishing, river ribble

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