A Fisherman Raised on the Water

You could say Ryan Williamson, founder of Pulsator Lures in Durban, South Africa, was home-schooled. Not fond of the classroom, Williamson spent his youth fishing with his lure-making father, John Williamson, and experimenting with his own designs in the family factory—laying the groundwork for launching Pulsator in 2005.

While Williamson’s Big Blue Instigator is a grander-catching, two-generation creation, it’s his highly successful Pulsator Tube, developed exclusively under the Pulsator name, that has earned him global recognition for momentous catches around the world.

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An Idea Takes Hold

Williamson’s father began his working life in the 1960s in South Africa’s thriving shoe industry, at a time when stilettos were in vogue and heel materials shifted from wood to polystyrene resins. He incorporated flowers, tiny fish, and other decorations into heel designs and later into key rings. But by the early 1970s, the business failed.

Searching for a new path, he turned to what he knew best—resins—and began crafting fishing lures just as South Africa emerged as a hotspot for near-grander black marlin, particularly off Sodwana Bay and Cape Vidal north of Durban.

“There was a tackle store in South Africa where my father literally went in on his knees and said, ‘Listen, I think I can make fishing lures. Will you give me a chance?’” Williamson said. “They agreed, and that’s how it all began.”

Buoyed by early success, Williamson recalls his father flying to the U.S. with a bag of lure samples, only to be turned away—until Captain Harry’s Fishing Supply founder Harry Vernon saw potential. He asked him to produce a specific lure under the Captain Harry brand, marking the elder Williamson’s entry into the U.S. market as an OEM. Years later, with his own brand established, he exported lures worldwide.

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Pulsator Takes Shape

“My father had a deep love for fishing and lure-making, and I naturally followed in his footsteps,” Williamson said. “I barely went to school. What I really wanted was to fish and tinker with lures.”

Williamson traveled with his father to tackle shows around the world, deepening his passion for both fishing and lure design. In 1998, at age 16, he left school and spent two years fishing the East African coast. When he returned, his father had sold the lure business and started a charter operation in Durban aboard the 42-foot Bertram Allure, targeting striped and black marlin.

After his father fell seriously ill and passed away, Williamson kept the charter business running while also commercial fishing—chasing dorado, tuna, and king mackerel in summer and bottom fishing in winter.

“Around age 25 or 26, I decided it was time to start something of my own,” he said. “That’s how Pulsator Lures was born in 2005.”

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Fishing the World, Refining the Craft

Marlin fishing has always been in Williamson’s blood. He chartered across the Bazaruto Archipelago, waters off Kenya and Tanzania, the Great Barrier Reef, and Madeira. For the past seven seasons, from March through August, he has based operations in Cape Verde, running Ryan Williamson Marlin Charters out of São Vicente.

His boat, Smoker, is a 37-foot Bertram, fully outfitted with Pulsator lures and dredges, targeting world-class blue marlin.

“When you’re constantly fishing different regions and species, you start to understand what works and what needs adjusting,” Williamson explained. “The more time you spend fishing, the more you learn how to refine lure designs to match the conditions.”

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The Big Blue Instigator and the Pulsator Tube

Two lures define Williamson’s legacy. The Big Blue Instigator, originally designed by his father as the Big Blue Captivator, helped catch one of South Africa’s first grander blue marlin. Over the years, it accounted for record fish, including a 1,112-pound Pacific blue marlin in 2002 and a 1,238-pound Pacific blue marlin five years later—still the 80-pound-test world record today.

But the now-iconic Pulsator Tube is Williamson’s signature creation.

Unlike traditional flat-nosed tube lures, the Pulsator Tube features a reverse taper with an upward-angled nose, creating an unpredictable, erratic surface action that aggressive predators can’t ignore.

“I’ve used it consistently in Cape Verde on the center rigger,” Williamson said. “The lure stays in the water in rough conditions and just keeps catching fish—big fish.”

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Proof in the Numbers

Williamson isn’t telling fish stories. During the 2022 Cape Verde season, he released 101 blue marlin, including four over 900 pounds.

On May 19, 2022, angler Ben Vorster caught a 1,370-pound Atlantic blue marlin off Cape Verde using a 16-inch Pulsator Tube.

“Ever since then, the tube in all sizes—10, 12, 14, and 16 inches—has taken off,” Williamson said. “That variety covers every spread and every fisherman.”

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A Family Tradition Continues

Today, Pulsator Lures is led by Williamson alongside Managing Directors Lande and Matt Swemmer. Using ballistic resin technology, the team handcrafts lures that resist cracking and damage common in traditional resin designs. Pulsator also continues producing OEM lures.

Combined with decades of on-the-water experience, it’s a family tradition of fishing-driven innovation that remains true to its roots.

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