SMUTTLY Smuttly’s are a very high quality, hand built baits crafted by Mark Smith in Charleston West Virginia. All Smuttly’s are wooden and almost invariably of cedar though Mark occasionally uses maple. Each one is painstakingly balanced and individually tested in the river and not in a tank. They are balanced using Mustad hooks that are not the “anchors” seen on many American baits and are interchangeable with Eagle Claw 374’s in the same sizes. Smuttly’s from “Chico’s lures” are either through-wired and or screw- eyed. Mark’s painting is second to none (he custom paints for other companies too) protected by a deep, glossy high protection epoxy finish that is amazingly durable and I have never seen punctured. As every Smuttly is handmade, there are slight differences in each one regarding paint and weight but every bait is guaranteed to work as intended It seems that the West Virginian’s have a natural flair for bait building and West Virginia is the home to Hughes River, Big Game tackle, Gene’s and Jack Cobb to name but a few. Jack Cobb and Mark are the best of friends and Jack passed much onto Mark in the early days, nowadays they pass ideas, tips and techniques between each other. We stock several models and colours that are most suited to the UK and European markets, if there are models or “custom” colours that you want mail me and we’ll try to accommodate, Mark can paint just about anything.
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