Peter Pakula Lures: The Evolution of a Lure Maker

Peter Pakula’s lifelong passion for fishing started with a simple chance to catch a fish during a picnic with his family. As the founder of Pakula Tackle Australia, Peter’s journey from taking his first steps towards a fisherman to becoming a world leader in Big Game Fishing tackle is both fascinating and inspirational.

From Early Passion to Becoming a Tackle Pioneer

Although Peter had a successful stint in retail clothing design and manufacturing, his real passion lay in the art of fishing. This Queenslander might not have always envisioned a career in fishing, but he’s been loyal to this passion for nearly seven decades. “My parents hated fishing with an absolute vengeance,” says Peter, who grew up in Sydney. “In fact, whenever they found me with fishing gear, they used to break it and throw it away. It wasn’t their plan for their son to be a fisherman. But I liked anything that moved when I was a kid and went towards any animal that was there. Fish moved. They attracted me.”

At just 14, Peter crafted the prototype of the renowned Original Pakula Witchdoctor Teaser, a product he still sells today. His groundbreaking lure, the Concave Face Original Pakula Lure, equipped with its unique Lumo Skirt and Eyes, eventually set the benchmark in Big Game Fishing tackle.

The Origin of the Pakula Witchdoctor Teaser

Peter’s first invention in 1969, was originally designed as a downrigger for trout fishing in the lakes. Peter crafted his first Witchdoctor out of a block of wood, which he balanced and attached a tagline to in the back, and trolled a lure 20 to 30 yards behind the Witchdoctor. He noticed the trout were following the block of wood(Witchdoctor) and not eating the lure. So he moved the lure much closer to the Witchdoctor and started reeling in fish like gangbusters. It wasn’t until a decade later that Peter used a Witchdoctor in salt water. That’s when he dressed it up with several coats of two-tone paint, waterproof mirrors and stickers. A lack of wood took the teaser out of production for several years, but Peter brought it back in 2018, and it continues to be one of his most effective pieces on the market today.

Transition from Garment to Lure Design

By age 19, though he’d fish for fun each weekend and most days after school in Sydney Harbor, Peter worked as a foreman in the retail industry as a manager in garment design and manufacturing. The job taught him about fibers and drag settings on the machinery in an engineering sort of way, also the physics and hydrodynamics of colors and dying fabrics, and how to successfully run a manufacturing business. Later, owing to a preference for making things rather than managing people, Peter landed 12-hour stints on the night shift. It proved the perfect time and place to experiment with making lures.

Big Game Fishing Evolution

Moving to Australia’s Gold Coast in the 1980s marked a turning point in Peter’s fishing journey. Here, he discovered a passion for big game fishing, especially after a memorable encounter with a marlin in Port Stephens. He went out on a friend’s boat, as Peter was still too young then to run his own vessel, and did some trolling. Using a small 3” jig, he hooked a marlin. As the fish jumped, Peter’s jaw dropped, and he stopped breathing as he looked at the marlin’s sheer size. He didn’t catch it, but after that, his concentration trained on lure-making to catch big fish and especially billfish.Peter’s relentless experimentation and innovations led him to create a suite of lures that revolutionized fishing in the region.

The Birth of Peter Pakula Lures Tackle

Peter continued to work in the textile trade after moving to the Gold Coast. He also still made lures as a part-time business at home. That’s when Johanna asked, “Why don’t you make this a business?’

“I laughed at that, as I never thought it would turn a profit. Well, I had to go to Fiji for six weeks to run Pakula Schools, and my then-girlfriend Jo, now my wife, said she’d look after the business. At that time, all my friends would come to my place and grab lures. Nobody ever paid for anything, they just grabbed them. Well, my wife caught up with them, worked out a price list, and when I got home, she handed me $5,000.

“That’s how Pakula Tackle, the real business started,” Peter says.

Legacy of the Pakula Original Series Lures

One of the best stories about the performance of Peter’s Original Series lures happened at the 1988 Australian Bicentennial Tournament in Sydney. Sixteen of some of the best teams from Hawaii and Australia fished. Rod Hall’s boat, Headhunter, won, with angler Jason Simpson’s catch of a then-Australian record blue marlin weighing 540-pounds caught on a Pakula Original Sprocket.

“Otis Red Butler, who was then president of the Hawaiian Game Fishing Association, took me under his wing. Interestingly, it was shops in Hawaii where our lures first gained a great reputation. Guys would go to Hawaii, spend a fortune on loads of lures, come back, and tell me about these great Hawaiian lures made by a guy that’s got my name. They didn’t believe it was our lures for quite a few years. That helped my business. Plus, because I had always been fishing, and had a lot of friends in fishing. Word of mouth is 100 percent the way we succeed in our business.”

Innovations and the Future

The integration of 3-D printing into his lure-making process marked a significant advancement for Peter. His continuous desire to innovate, coupled with his dedication to the craft, ensures that Pakula Tackle remains an industry leader.

Peter Pakula’s legacy goes beyond the lures he creates. It’s about passion, innovation, and a lifetime dedication to the craft of fishing.

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