Luremaker Eric "Koya" Koyanagi

Eric "Koya" Koyanagi began fabricating custom trolling lures about eight years ago as a backup plan for retirement. He constantly updates his designs using a range of materials to achieve a signature look, and demand continues to grow. What began as a hobby has turned into a full-time gig. Story by Charlie Levine. Photos by KJ Robinson.

Believe it or not, Koya is not a hardcore fisherman. He works with captains and mates to achieve a perfectly balanced lure. "Captains are so picky about how a lure has to run," Koya says. "But I figured out that the only way to better myself as a lure maker is to find the real picky ones and ask the picky ones about my lures."

All of Koya's lures use keel weights (left). This helps the lure run straight and not roll as much. The abalone shells (right) are used in the lure heads for reflection and color. Koya will often break the shells and play with the small pieces to give his lures a salt-and-pepper look.

Koya's Poi Dog is the largest lure he currently makes. The old-school Kona shape is known for catching big marlin, but Koya is always trying new color combinations and designs to keep it fresh and different. "I get bored doing the same thing over and over," he says. "I always try to come up with new things."

The black and dark blue colors on the top of these lures and their silvery underbellies mimics the same colors found on the small tuna that marlin feed on. "The best color really depends on where you're using the lure. Here in Hawaii the mirror, black backs and blues work well. People will ask me, 'Will that color work here?' It just depends on what you target."

Bullet lures catch everything from mahimahi to blue marlin. This traditional lure shape is one of Koya's standbys. "I make five different shapes of 9-inch bullets because of the way they run," he says. "It all depends on the boat and the captain."

When it comes to lure shape, Koya has all of the bases covered. "I have molds for about 40 to 50 shapes that I can make right now. It's not so much about making so many more shapes, it's about coming up with new ideas for regular shapes... a new thing that everyone has to have again."

Thanks to the advent of Facebook, Koya is getting more custom orders from around the country and finding that everyone wants things a little bit different. "Some guys want doll eyes, some guys want red eyes," he says. "We can make them however they want." That's the beauty of working with a true craftsman. Koya makes every order by hand.

In his simple shop, located in Hawaii, Koya can make about 300 lures a month. He calls himself a small-time lure maker, but he's very grateful for the work.

Koya came up with the salt-and-pepper, cracked shell design by playing around with some leftover materials. "I had all this scrap shell so I started fooling around and I made a lure for this one guy. I was cleaning it up and I thought, wow this might be something. It's been going off ever since."

While he doesn't fish his own creations much, Koya makes some of the best lures out there. You can tell this little gem has been swatted around by a bevy of big fish.

Kona's top charter captains run Koya's lures and have tallied some big catches on them. The lures are beginning to gain a larger following. For more information on where to purchase these lures, you can contact Eric through his Facebook page.