Random question - How often do you established lure makers make a batch of lure?

Not looking to "stir the pot" (no pun intended ) and reveal any big secrets or cause drama.

Like most nights, as I toss and turn trying to get to bed, random thoughts rattle around in there.

1 - How often do you guys make a batch of lure (or bait) ? Couple times a year, once a year, monthly? Is a batch a 55 gal drum, bunch of 5 gal buckets?

2 - Do most of you do it solo or do you get a few helpers and grind/mix/pack ?

3 - The most secret question I don't expect an answer to - For the biggest makers, is it still a small time operation with you sniffing and taste testing every batch or is it made in a pole barn somewhere else by a crew of guys with your recipe and you aren't even around during mixing?

Again - Not trying to ruffle feathers or expose anything. Just hearing "supply chain" thrown around all the time and knowing in the past I have seen guys say "when this lure is gone, it's gone till next season", got me wondering, Add in low fur prices = less trapping = less glands being sold..

Then I remembered the few times I was in Asa's lure shack and wondered how some of the big timers crank out the number they do and how often they mix up batches..

Great questions, I hope you get some answers!

1 - How often do you guys make a batch of lure (or bait) ? Couple times a year, once a year, monthly? Is a batch a 55 gal drum, bunch of 5 gal buckets?

I use 5 gallon buckets. A batch of Backbreaker will be 3.5 gallons. That extra 1.5 gallons of space in the bucket makes stirring a lot easier. I make Backbreaker continuously. When I get castor, I dry it for about 60 more days. Then I grind it and add a bit of Vodka to inhibit any mold growth. I'll seal it up and let it age a bit in my shed, which has A/C. When it's ready (I can tell by the smell), it's ready to be formulated into Backbreaker. This formulation process takes about three months.

This process varies depending on which lure is being formulated. I do use 5 gallon buckets for all of them.

2 - Do most of you do it solo or do you get a few helpers and grind/mix/pack ?

I do all the formulating. My youngest son comes over once a week and does some bottling for me.

3 - The most secret question I don't expect an answer to - For the biggest makers, is it still a small time operation with you sniffing and taste testing every batch or is it made in a pole barn somewhere else by a crew of guys with your recipe and you aren't even around during mixing?

The key to making a good lure from one batch to the next is being consistent in measurements, using the same ingredients from the same source, proper aging and keeping good records. I'm the only one who makes my lures. I've been asked to make lures for others, but I didn't want to do that. I'm basically a one man operation, with the exception of my son giving me a hand in bottling.

Very cool of you to post Paul!

Interesting thanks for the info.

Great answers Paul.
If you do the math it might put it in perspective
3.5 gallons = 348 (1oz) bottles
55 gallons = 7040 (1 oz ) bottles (a lot of lure)
5 gallon buckets are a lot easier to work with who wants to stir and mix a 55 gallon drum or move it?

I do occasionally make one of Dave Edwards lures as a give-away. I was fortunate to inherit his lure formulas. This year I'm going to make a batch of his Cold River Call, which is a beaver lure he produced. I will be giving bottles of this away with any lure order I receive this fall/winter until I run out.

1 - How often do you guys make a batch of lure (or bait) ? Couple times a year, once a year, monthly? Is a batch a 55 gal drum, bunch of 5 gal buckets?


We formulate lure based upon projected annual sales, current inventory plus consideration of unprojected sales. We formulate 50 + lure and bait products in all. Keeps us busy.

Formulation can be at any time of year that we see that our inventory is getting low on a product(s).We generally formulate 12-13 gals. of lure at one time in one batch as needed.

That way you will have consistent aging on those dated batches of lure. Most of our lure is 2-3 years old prior to bottling for sale. We use a 60 Qt Hobart commercial mixer for most all formulation of lure and bait. It's the way to go when blending volume thoroughly and efficiently..

We make 40-50 gallons of bait at a time several times a year. We try to keep 100 + gal of prepared baits in inventory at all times in 5 gal buckets. That takes alot of space.

Annually handled glands are all processed according to our methods of preparation and set back to age and then each bucket is dated. Product consistency as Paul stated is key. This is greatly determined by using all the same consistent ingredients all the time. Handling and using all key materials made in house is what allows that product consistency to be maintained.

The challenge is when purchasing outside materials such as urines, essential oils, powders and musks that may change without notice at times.


2 - Do most of you do it solo or do you get a few helpers and grind/mix/pack ?


I do all the formulation of the lures and baits all the time. I do have help as needed with volume grinding meats, bases, castor, glands etc. when I can't handle it all myself. My one helper has been with me for many years.

I do have two designated bottlers that come in as needed. In the busy season it is weekly. I use to do all the bottling myself but those days are long over. I still bottle in a pinch when I get cleaned out of product. Keeping good inventory on the shelves keeps a smooth running business. Then it is just picking product and packing orders for UPS.

Thanks for answering Paul and Bob. I found the info very interresting. Both of you have offered alot of insight over the years on many posts.

X2!

1 - How often do you guys make a batch of lure (or bait) ? Couple times a year, once a year, monthly? Is a batch a 55 gal drum, bunch of 5 gal buckets?
I have to 14 lures and 3 baits. Every lure is made at least once a year in 5 gallon buckets based on an inventory of sales stretching back almost 4 decades. Some lures like Fox Frenzy, Coyote Frenzy, and Windwalker are made several times annually depending on sales trajectories. Anyone whose ever seen my lure shop will see a place that is pretty spick and span clean. I run a tight ship.

2 - Do most of you do it solo or do you get a few helpers and grind/mix/pack ? I have had my sons work alongside me in the biz at points in the past, but it's passion thing. Yes, we do well financially, but you have to have a passion for being self-employed day in, day out, and they didn't have the root passion for it all day every day. Donna is the fastest labeler you've ever seen. I bottle after she labels the cases of bottles or jars. We box as we go.

3 - The most secret question I don't expect an answer to - For the biggest makers, is it still a small time operation with you sniffing and taste testing every batch or is it made in a pole barn somewhere else by a crew of guys with your recipe and you aren't even around during mixing? We have always done our own lures. The buck stops with the guy whose name is on the product.

Blessings,
Mark

I will piggyback a question...how did you formulate your recipe? Without the obvious "years of experience" that is. There has to be a time when you threw something in "on a whim" and just got lucky perhaps, or was there something actually scientific? Again, like OP, not looking for specific ingredients, just wondering about the thought process of ingredient usage.

I would agree that consistency is key. I recall reading in one of Nick Wysinski's books that he said his formulas for some of his lures changed from time to time according to what ingredients he had available. I thought that was a poor way to run a business and basically frauding the customer (although if he was upfront about different batches of the same named lure having different ingredients so his customers knew that they were buying a pig in a poke, I guess it wouldn't be fraud.)

Are there many or any luremakers that are not small time operations?

I had the advantage of two mentors. Dad taught me to make the lures he formulated, Backbreaker, Woodchipper, Beaver Plus, Muskrat#1 and Bait Solution. Dave Edwards, who owned Buffalo Creek Lures, helped me along with the lures I formulated.

My first lure was Canine Select. I started with a base that would be attractive to canines, and then I built on that. This was a lucky stab, being my first attempt at formulating on my own. I made test sets by punching a hole in the ground and sifting dirt in a three foot circle around the hole. The response to the lure was evaluated by what I could read in that circle. It did well for me, so I put it on the market. I actually had a trapper in Alaska threaten to sue me over this lure. Dusty McDonald said I mislabled the lure, because it wasn't selective to canines. It also attracted marten and lynx. He was pulling my leg, and I thought it was hilarious. When I first formulated this lure it was very runny. I showed it to Dave, and he took a sample home and at the next convention I saw him, he presented me the same bottle of lure, but in a paste. He told me what he did and why.

When I was a young'un I went with dad to a friend of his. His name was Sheldon Colvin, and he had a line of lures called Good Luck Animal Lures. He and dad were good friends. When we would visit, we would go into his lure formulating area, and I loved the smell where he formulated his lure. Dad tested his lures when he worked for the state of Virginia trapping foxes for rabies control. Dad also provided Mr. Colvin with glands for his lures. The very first red fox I caught was on his GL40 red fox glad lure back in 1962. So, I developed a red fox gland lure and named it GL40 in honor of Mr. Colvin. It was not the same formulation as Mr. Colvin's.

As time went on after dad passed and Dave took me under his wing, so to speak, and he taught me about what ingredients were compatible, and those that were not so much so. I also learned that lures that worked for me here didn't necessarily mean they worked everywhere. I began the process of formulating a lure, testing it here, then if it looked promising, I'd send it to trappers across the country to try. This would give me a good eval on whether it was good enough to put on my shelf.

Once I got my hands on trail cameras, the process of evaluating the lures became a whole lot easier. There were variables shown on the cameras that could not show up on a dirt pattern.

Since dad's passing I've developed a number of lures including the following....

Purrrfect - bobcat gland lure
RdFx - Pure red fox gland lure
K903 - Curiosity lure. This was one of my early canine lures, and it was a pain in the arse to make. It took about a year to make this lure. After a few years, I quit making it. Then I got pleads to make it again. So, after about 15 years I brought it back out. This lure has glands from muskrat, mink, weasel, otter, beaver castor, beaver sac oil, ground oil sacs that have been soaking in burgundy wine for six months and Ethiopian Civet musk.
All Call - not the overpowering skunky lure, but a call that's attractive.
Coon Candy - this was a lure I developed that would work good around barns where there are barn cats.
Dig'r - I had some Beaver Medley that was about 10 years old. I ground it up finely, added some spices and came up with a caning lure that worked well.
Tri-Nitro - This lure's base is hog brains. It is a liquid canine lure that is weather resistant.
Mississippi Special - Years ago it was illegal to use bait in Mississippi. So, I developed a food lure that would work well in place of bait. The very next year, they lifted that restraint on bait. I still sells well though.
Old Grey Buzzard - This is a late season grey fox lure. Buzzard on here, caught a lot of grey foxes on Purrrfect, but during the late season his catch would fall off. So, he decided to mix RdFx with Purrrfect and try that. This seemed to get the grey's attention. He encouraged me to make this lure, so I did.
Spots&Greys - This is a bobcat gland lure that is attractive to bobcats and grey fox.
Coyote#1 - this is a coyote gland lure with a few other attractants.
Skunky Backbreaker - I decided to add some skunk to regular Backbreaker since it was attractive to canines and cats as is. I sent it to Alaska as an alternative to Gusto. It has been a great seller, and once the folks down in the lower 48 heard of it, they wanted it for a call lure.
Spicy Purrrfect - Like Skunky Bacbreaker, I added skunk to my Purrrfect to give it some reach-out power.
Klondike Call - This is a lure that Dave Edwards developed and gave the formula to me. It's a bit skunky and loaded with essential oils.

And that is the history of Dobbins' Lures and how they came about. I find it hard to believe sometimes that I've been doing this for the past 25 years since dad passed.

What do classify as "small time operations"?

Thank you for writing all of this, I love hearing about trapping history and this is one of those things that I will read no matter the day. I recently inherited some lure making supplies from someone that is getting out of trapping entirely and haven't messed around with it too much but just might after reading this thread.

I can't speak for other business's however our business is 7 days a week year round. Rarely are there many days that I don't have work to do in the shop. Not many realize the time required to operate and keep this kind of business humming along. So many parts of this puzzle.

It is complicated and so much to keep track of and to be monitored constantly. I don't know how I do it at times myself. Those close to my operation tell me that all the time.

We have hundreds of buckets, gallon containers, mid size buckets, aging product, drums of product, drums of urines all need attention. Keeping alert for flies issues and maggots that get into your facility. Being aware of some pressure issues in some aging or stopping product that may need some attention. Check the floors for leakage or boil overs indicating a problem?

Keeping track of your formula materials particularly the back bone of your work glands and bases. Stirring, rotating containers, checking for the condition of aging materials. Stopping them as needed when they reach obvious maturity. Dating and logging everything that is done and when. Then checking that work to make sure it was done thoroughly with no hot spots occurring.

Making up tinctures of various materials that must age prior to use some for several months and some a year or more. Shaking and monitoring dozens of other "in house formulas single ingredients" that are special needs materials for your formulation work. These are not quick mix materials and they all require very frequent monitoring for consistency and odor.

We have 3 buildings with aging hot odor materials. Aging skunk pods, skunk oil, fish for trout oil. That is the bad one for odor. 8 Freezers needing checked for materials that need worked up and some are storage freezeers out of commission that are used for ageing meats for bait work. All must be checked regularly for flies and product condition.

We build product for other business's as well so we are as busy as I want to be at this point.

I put it like being a Dairy farmer, you are locked into milking 2x daily . A small part of the operation. The every day grind is constant attention to other needed parts that keeps things rolling.

I would say a small time operation would be a family or possibly a couple of buddies partnering and doing all or most of the work.

I've sold literally tons of bait and gallons of lures that I make, but I'm in no where in the league of Bob or Paul and totally unqualified to answer these questions. However, it is a great post and thank you to all who have participated.

Yes, very humbling to have you guys tell your stories. Thank you!