Story of the Sabre Frog
There's a story behind most lures I craft and paint. The Sabre Frog is no different, except that the history begins with an 11 year old boy in 1979, late spring in North Carolina. While fishing with my Dad on our farm pond, I decided to tie on a black Jitterbug, made by Fred Arbogast. I don't recall how long it took to actually catch a fish on it, however I recall the sound that it made gurgling and wobbling across the still water. I'm pretty sure I didn't know much more about it other than to cast it as far as possible with my Zebco 33, steel rod and then reel it in. As the evening wore on and as the sun began to set, we made our way towards the head of the pond, the shallow end. There was and still is old fence posts the cut across the shallows. On the far right post was a simple bird box tacked to the side of a post. Still slingin' the jitterbug from the front end of the leaky fiberglass boat, a single cast made a lasting impression. From what I recollect now, the cast with the jitterbug wobbled right up next to the fence post with the bird box. The picture still frozen in my brain is of the water being flushed as the jitterbug disappears next to the post. I'm pretty sure that I must have jumped in the boat. The fish went airborne several times. Being that young I probably didn't realize that I was suppose to be worried about the fish coming off. He didn't. He came into the boat, black jitterbug still hanging in his mouth. Granted the fish was no monster wall hanger fit for home décor, however my eyes were opened that day to fishing & how addictive and special lures can be. After a mad dash to the local country store, the fish weighed a whopping 4 lbs 11 ounces.a top water toad to a young dude with wide eyes.
In the same spirit that Fred Arbogast crafted the famous Jitterbug, I am excited to bring the Sabre Frog to CLU. Granted this plug will not fit every wallet out there, it is not intended to, however it carries hand carved craftsmanship that will last a lifetime. The lure itself is crafted from select Basswood and each detail of the Sabre Frog, right down to the eyes, mouth and nasal passages are carved by hand. The eyes are premium, imported 3-D live eyes. All components are made of stainless steel. Internally the bait is sealed with two layers of protection, externally the lure has a hand applied clearcoat. The custom paint is airbrushed to your specifications.
The Sabre Frog comes with a 3 yr guarantee on craftsmanship and components. Now, if a fish takes it away from you, I really can't help ya' there. The Sabre Frog is fun and easy to fish. I hope some Dad out there will offer up one for his son or daughter's tackle box. I'm sure lure collectors will inquire, however this lure is built to catch fish and to be fished. It works, 3 yrs of testing and modifications to materials and parts have told me it performs. It wobbles and gurgles like no other. It has the carved detail of no other rival, wooden custom lure of its class.
The CLU Sabre Frog is about the past and also a jump to the future of custom tackle. It is my hope that anglers find the Sabre Frog incredibly familiar, yet with a serious upgrade on paint, detail, components and craftsmanship. Make no bones about it, the Sabre Frog is a high performance lure and as custom as it gets for wooden fishing lures. Nostalgic, traditional?. No way, this lure is next generation custom lures.
