Hideki Maeda, ebay killer
If you’re a bass angler you may not know the name Hideki Maeda, but you definitely know his work. He’s developed some of the most storied lures in recent bass fishing history, and while they’ve crossed several genres and categories, his true obsession is topwater fishing.
Unfortunately, in the earlier days of his career, many of the designs were owned or controlled by other companies. Thus, when those companies went out of business or decided to for some other reason discontinue those valuable shapes, the online auction market went through the roof. In certain sizes and colors, his creations consistently went for over $100 apiece, and sometimes much more.
In deference to our friend, I won’t name the “originals,” but in several key cases he’s managed to reclaim the molds or designs, and has reintroduced the following four highly-desirable shapes – and blown the retirement dreams of people who’ve been hoarding the old models:
Teckel Lures Notes:
“Teckel” comes from Hideki’s love of wire-haired dachshunds.
The Kicknocker is now available at Tackle Warehouse in five different sizes/classes, plus the similar bladed Goodpecker and Chopkicker.
Of his many great inventions, I think that the most exciting one in my fishing has been his Sprinker, the first hollow-bodied frog with a plopper-style tail.
In addition to his many trips to El Salto and Picachos, Hideki travels the world looking for great topwater experiences. They’re catalogued on the Teckel Lure TV YouTube channel. One of my favorites is frogging for Murray Cod in Australia.
