It can take a beating without chipping, bending, or corroding. The Kastmaster is machined from solid brass and is extremely durable. “But the brand of Uncle Josh is really multidimensional and committed to acquiring legendary, classic lures,” Kellogg explained. “A lot of folks think of Uncle Josh as pork and soft baits,” said Kellogg. “Every supplier that was doing the job for Acme we have kept in place.”īefore acquiring Acme, Uncle Josh was a household name in its own right. “Because quality is so important, we kept all the manufacturing in Rhode Island,” said Kellogg. Daily operations are still under the management and supervision of the Lavallee family. And Acme just fit perfectly into that.”Īll of Acme’s lures are manufactured, assembled, and packaged at their plant in Providence, Rhode Island. “At Uncle Josh, we like to think ourselves as having a portfolio of very good, quality name lures that have withstood the test of time. “We were really impressed by their national distribution and the quality of the lures,” said Kellogg. continued to run the company until October 2013, when Uncle Josh purchased the rights to Acme Lures. In 1980, Acme acquired Seneca Tackle Company, adding more classic lures to their lineup, including the popular Lil Cleo. The Lavallee brothers ran the company for several decades. “And it also allowed them to include a little instruction on the package, explaining what it was. “They were very innovative in that regard and it helped sell the lures nationwide,” Kellogg explained. Large department store chains were thriving, and the individually packaged lures nicely accommodated these self-serve retail businesses. “They were the first metal lure company that individually packaged the lure,” said Kellogg. At that time, lures were typically sold from a wallboard behind the store counter of a local mom-and-pop shop. The Lavallees also came up with an innovative packaging concept making the lure retail-friendly in a growing market. “Those cuts at specific angles give it a unique side-to-side action.” It also casts a mile, which was an especially popular feature with shore fishermen. “It has a very unique cut,” said Kellogg. An angler could catch a wide variety of game fish on the Kastmaster by simply reeling it in.
Extremely versatile, the lure could be used with just about any technique under any condition. One reason was that it was so easy to fish. The Kastmaster caught on quickly and was accepted by freshwater and saltwater anglers alike. The modified design would become the most popular lure Acme ever sold, the Kastmaster. Then, they added a high quality, jewelry-like finish and gave it a new name. They modified the lure by elongating it to create a more pronounced side-to-side darting action. The Lavallees began testing and experimenting with the Splune, tweaking the design on the workbench. Acme entered a royalty agreement with EDA for the rights to manufacture and sell the lure. Initially, the lure wasn’t called Kastmaster it had been dubbed the Splune. Then they got hooked up with Engineering Design Associates (EDA), which is actually the firm that designed the Kastmaster.” “Their first spoon was the Fiord,” said Kurt Kellogg, owner of Uncle Josh/Hard and Soft Lure Company, which acquired the rights to Acme Tackle in 2013.
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