One of today’s well known big-game lure makers hadn’t caught a marlin or even used a lure when he fashioned his first lure. Capt. Andy Moyes, the 2023 winner of the IGFA’s Gil Keech Heavy Tackle award for the impact of his custom trolling lures and teasers on the sport, started as a lure-making prodigy at age 13.

“There’s one lure back then that stands out,” Moyes said. “It had a straight cylindrical pill-bottle shape with a slight cup to the face and the top skirt tied in reverse. It looked cool, especially with the flowing black skirt, and different from anything anyone else made at the time. I called it the VI Express. That was because the guys in the Virgin Islands back in the mid-to-late 80s liked it. Capt. Paul Ivey made that lure famous. He ran the 61-foot Jim Smith, Megabyte, in St. Thomas. He would buy a dozen at a time from me, and only in black and green. He caught a lot of blue marlin with that lure.”

Early Life and Inspiration of Capt. Andy Moyes

Moyes was born in Freeport, in the Bahamas, to British parents. His dad ran several boats, including one for Grand Bahama development mogul, Wallace Groves. For many years, the Sr. Moyes also captained a Rybovich out of Montauk, New York, called Swordfish. Andy’s parents decided they wanted someplace different, and moved the family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He grew up on the north fork of the New River, where he caught tarpon and snook in the backyard.

“I was interested in lures because I liked to make things,” he said. “Back then, there was no Internet. So, I’d look at catalogs, or in the advertisements in fishing magazines, and see the lures. I was intrigued by them. Especially the original lures by Bart Miller, and the old-time lure makers in Hawaii. I liked the way their stuff looked. It was a bit of an obsession with me for a while.”

The Creation of the Iconic VI Express Lure

Moyes’s father was a machinist by trade. He had a small shop in the family’s Fort Lauderdale home, equipped with a lathe, drill press, and buffer to polish; everything needed to make lures. “I approached him one day and he said, ‘I think we can make those,’” Moyes said of how his lure-making began. “The first pill bottle I used was something that was lying around the house. I used those old amber pill bottles for my molds because they already had a center mark on them where I drilled the hole, plus a cap. I’d cut colored Lexan or mirror on a bandsaw and make my inserts. After I put the insert in, I’d pour the resin, and then cut whatever shape I wanted on the lathe.

“I used a hot glue gun to attach everything, like doll eyes from the arts and crafts store,” Moyes continued. “I’d buy reflective tape from Bill Boyd’s Tackle in Fort Lauderdale. They had rolls of it in there for replacement skirts. I’d put the tape over the top of the skirt seams and that would hide it. It was like arts and crafts. My dad watched me until he felt that I knew how to mix things competently and not make a mess. Of course, I made a mess. But once he realized that I wasn’t going to kill myself on the machine, he just said ‘have at it.”

Building Moyes Lures: A Journey of Craftsmanship

When Moyes needed more pill bottles, Dick Tanner came to the rescue. The Fort Lauderdale tackle wholesaler also worked for a medical supply company. Moyes bought 1-inch and 1.5-inch bottles a hundred at a time and for pennies apiece from him to make more lures.

“My first job was at a Fort Lauderdale tackle shop,” Moyes said. “I sold my lures there. Guys would come in to buy tackle, they’d see my VI Express and say ‘wow, that’s cool. I’ll take a couple of those.’ When Capt. Paul Ivey walked in, he saw it and said, ‘make me 20 of them.’ Every time he came back, he asked me to make 12 more. Paul was a lure fanatic. He used to stockpile them and try all kinds, but he really liked my lure.” After that, he had his foot in the door and became recognized as a lure maker.

Testing and Tweaking: Perfecting the Art of Lure Making

Bait fishing still ruled when Moyes began working professionally on boats at age 18. But it was a time when more captains in South Florida were starting to use lures. That first summer, he worked in the Bahamas on the 50-foot Bertram, JCB, with Capt. Kenny Hulsey. “That was my first testing ground,” Moyes said. “I brought a bunch of lures and started experimenting with assorted sizes and shapes. Kenny was from Texas. He lure fished and knew about lures. He helped me with a lot of things.”

Five years later, Andy stopped making lures due to the toxicity of the casting resin and dust from sanding. He started buying lures made by other lure makers instead. “What I did was tweak them a little bit,” he said. “Taking someone’s lure and making it run the way that I wanted it to run. For instance, I’d take a cup face lure that was neutrally buoyant with no top or bottom. I’d drill a hole in the backside, put in lead shot, and epoxy over it so that it had a keel. This was because I wanted to fix my hook in a certain position. That way, when the fish bit the lure, I knew exactly where my hook was positioned. It wasn’t just spinning around back there.”

In the 90s, Moyes worked on the 50-foot Post, No. 1 Deal, with Capt. Jack Plachter. They dominated the tournament scoreboards in the Bahamas Billfish Championship with big fish and lots of them. “That’s where I was really tweaking the lures,” he said. “That’s because you only got one bite and you needed to make it happen. People would look at the lure and say, ‘oh, that’s the same one.’ But it wasn’t. Lots of little things made it different.”

The VI Express Returns

Moyes has often asked himself why he hasn’t continued to make his original VI Express. As it turns out, he’ll be reintroducing it. “I’ll keep the same shape and the way it was skirted, then put in my signature keel weight,” he said. “I keel-weighted all my lures, so everything’s got a bottom to it. With a light keel weight, that lure will be incredible. I think it’ll be well received as a marlin lure and a teaser. Even guys that bait fish could use it behind a squid chain.”

Moyes plans to make his latest version of the VI Express in two sizes, large and small. The large is ideal for use on a short rigger or in a teaser position, while the small will work well on a long rigger or even a shotgun lure. “The way it runs, it just sticks to the water,” he said. “If it’s rough, it never tumbles or skips.”

Continuing the Legacy

In addition to making lures, Moyes captains a private boat based He is one of a handful of people to catch 1,500-plus giant bluefin tuna in his lifetime. And oh by the way, the original color of the VI Express is black and green. “We’ve won so much money with that color over the years that I call it the color of money,” he says.

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Read more about the early life influences of other notable sportfishing captains.