With the 28th Annual Nassau Sport Fishing Association’s Tournament of Champions Kingfish Tournament right around the corner, everyone will be searching to find the best rods, reels, bait, and lures to catch the biggest fish.

The perfect lure may just provide that competitive edge needed to win the purse, or just catch fish at a favorite fishing hole.

Ancient Chinese and Egyptians fashioned fishing lures from bones or bronze. Today, there are many types of fishing lures made of plastic, rubber, metal, cork, or wood. Many people collect antique fishing lures, especially the ones made of wood.

These handmade lures are designed to look like injured or dying fish and these attract fish that are looking for prey. The purpose is to attract the attention of the fish, using movement or color, and hope that he will bite the hook!

Choosing a color and design for your lure is a matter of preference, but it can be based on the weather, water clarity, and water temperature. You may need to experiment with different colors. It is also helpful to ask your friends and fellow fishermen what has worked best for them.

Florida Sportsman says that white or blue-and-white seem to be the most attractive colors to Kingfish.

There are many commercially made fishing lures that you can find in any sporting goods store, specialty bait shops or even your local department store, but if you are a collector, an avid fisherman or looking for a unique gift idea for Father’s Day, you may appreciate a custom, affordable, handmade wooden lure.

Granddad’s Lures (www.granddadslures.com) are made right here in Northeast Florida by a local craftsman and avid fisherman. All of the lures made by Randall Dippmann are primed, given two coats of base color lacquer, painted with a color scheme, and then epoxy-dipped for durability.

They create poppers, crank baits, injured minnows, jerk baits, and even big game lures, all designed and proven to catch many types and sizes of fish.

While not everyone enjoys competitive sport fishing, these wooden lures can be used to catch many other types of saltwater and freshwater fish such as bass, pike, musky, redfish, and trout.

They are beautiful as well and make great gifts for any one that enjoys dropping a line in the water.