Larry Welcome has been a part of the Long Island surfcasting scene for over 40 years. As a Montauk “regular”, he has spent more hours fishing the rocks around Montauk than his wife cares to admit. Many nights spent fishing “darters” and “bottle plugs” in the famous waters beneath Montauk lighthouse have produced some very nice fish “tails”. Throughout the years, Larry found that the lures he was fishing had a few small problems. To address these issues, Larry turned to his workshop and designed a lure that crosses the darting action of the darter with the swimming action of the bottle plug. The resulting product combined the favorable characteristics of each lure while addressing the problems he had experienced with the original two designs. The Bottledarter, as it was quickly named, proved to be extremely versatile with its unbelievable action. After only a short time fishing the lure and hooking up with more than his share of big fish, Larry had guys begging him to go into production. The lure was patented in 1994 and made in small quantities through the years until his retirement in 2005.
One of the guys begging Larry to make more of these lures was Larry’s long time fishing buddy, Rob Koch. He had been fishing these lures since the mid 90’s and it was a lure that would never leave his bag. After graduating college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he decided to combine his passion for engineering with his love for fishing. The design of the plastic Bottledarter is a conglomeration of modern engineering techniques (3D computer modeling, flow analysis on the design shape, rapid prototyping, and injection molding). The first plastic lure to be tested was actually printed (much like you print from your computer at home). This special printer reads your computer file and prints the design from a plastic material in a matter of hours. The printed plastic lure halves were glued, placed between two pieces of foam, and sat on for over two hours until the glue cured…Rob felt like a chicken hatching an egg. The egg finally hatched and it was tested in the water that same day. The anticipation of seeing the lure swim was quickly satisfied when a bass came up and hit the lure on the first cast. The action was exactly as we had hoped and the lure went into production…after more than two years of R&D, the lures are finally on the market!
Northbar Tackle is a company based on great friendship and shared love for fishing. We hope you enjoy the time you spend fishing amongst great friends as much as we do. Our goal is to be at the service of fishermen and tailor specifically to your needs. If you have suggestions or comments about our products, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are interested in seeing pictures of you with the fish you catch on our lures!
Please send us your photos so that we can feature them on our website.
