Anglers, fish alike snapping up Wizard’s custom-made lures

PINEWOOD SPRINGS — Bass fishing is big business. An estimated 40 million people enjoy the sport, making bass the most sought after game fish in the United States.

This popularity has spawned equally huge fishing tournaments. With prize money of up to $250,000 for a single event, top anglers on the bass fishing circuit can reel in annual six-figure winnings.

Already more than $200,000 has been won in major Western tournaments by anglers using lures from a small but flourishing cottage industry just outside Lyons.

At his Pinewood Springs home, Davy Allard runs Wizard Tackle, turning out handmade lures that increasingly are being snapped up by anglers and fish alike.

Allard’s top-of-the-line lures, spinner baits once custom-made only for pro-tournament anglers, are miniature works of art now selling through select dealers for about six bucks.

He uses only the best materials; high carbon stainless steel hooks from Japan, fine American made ball bearing swivels, and blades coated with either 24 carat gold or silver to create more realistic effects in the water.

The lure is completed with a handmade, 50-strand silicon skirt attached to a custom-molded lead body, which receives seven coats of special paint before beady little eyes are added.

These and other types of Wizard Tackle lures, which go down in price to $2.75, are available in a choice of half a dozen colors. Allard says fish see color better than we do, and so he makes different shades for different water conditions.

The total effect, says Allard, is to create something that looks like a fish or a small shoal of fish flashing through the water. This fleeting sight grabs the attention of bass and in an instant, almost as reflex, they strike and are hooked.

One of the most successful anglers using Wizard Tackle is Terry Pierskalla, formerly of Boulder and now living in Higley, Ariz. Allard says his prize haul to date with these lures includes three bass boats and a new Chevy truck, total value well over $100,000.

Last year Allard reckons he made about 3,000 spinning lures and another couple thousand smaller jigs — all in his spare time while holding down a full-time job.

“I make a lot during the winter, preparing for the busy spring, summer and fall fishing, and try to do something at least every day,” says Allard. “I work at home; in fact all over the home!”

Allard has lived in the Boulder County area for 30 of his 49 years, but he’s been fishing a lot longer than that. “We lived in Minnesota when I was a kid, and there’s a photo of me ice fishing when I was about two and a half.”

Since then he’s fished for saltwater and freshwater species around the world — from the South Pacific to the Mediterranean, in Central America, Canada and across the United States. “It’s a passion,” he says simply.

Besides bass, Allard’s regular quarry includes walleyes, tiger muskie and trout. “I’ve caught just about everything in my time,” says Allard, who stresses that he harvests very selectively and mostly practices catch-and-release.

Allard, who owns an arsenal of around 50 rods and almost as many reels, also has tasted some tournament success himself, picking up a handful of titles in Colorado and Kansas.

His first lures were based on existing baits though he soon started changing and improving things — “making a better mousetrap” — by experimenting with new shapes, colors and finishes.

The use of 24 carat gold plate and silver were good examples. “Ten to 12 years ago lures were mostly made of brass or nickel. After I started using gold and silver to give better flashing and reflection, everyone else copied me.”

Making lures for himself soon spread to friends and in 1986 he launched Wizard Tackle. His first outlet was McGuckin Hardware (where he started work in the sports goods section about a year ago) and today he sells through half a dozen stores, including two in Indiana.

Allard, an accomplished musician who played professionally for a time, says he’s aiming for controlled growth and gradual expansion. He does no marketing and relies on word-of-mouth, though he has now taken on sales rep Kirk Dalton.

“Davy’s only problem is the world doesn’t know Davy exists,” says Bob Todd, owner of Bennett’s, a specialist fishing shop at Berthoud, just north of Longmont.

Todd says he sells a lot of Allard’s spinner baits and jigs, and once people use them they invariably come back asking for more.

“Davy’s a fisherman-designer, and I think that’s the secret of his success,” says Todd. “He starts with some commonly used concepts and takes them to a higher level. He works hard to produce better baits and does a really good job.”

on Facebook on LinkedIn