AP Tackleworks began when I took up the hobby of tackle-making at the age of eight. My parents grew up in families who fished, so it was inevitable for me that our summer vacations included fishing and outdoor recreation and fishing of all types have become an important part of my life, and I in turn are making it an important part of my two sons lives. My family is a crafty bunch and making things has always been something that we enjoy: making fishing tackle was no exception. My father and grandfather first started teaching me to tie flies at the age of eight.  Let’s say that I created some rather interesting flies. As ugly as they were, they did catch fish and that sparked a lifetime of interest in tackle and innovation in the realm of fishing and the primal action of putting food on the family table.

These days I spend as much time as possible making tackle and being with my two boys on the water testing gear and enjoying all that the Salish Sea has to offer. Aside from fishing, I am an avid surfer and love camping and being outdoors with my young family. 

The original AP Sandlance Spoon came as a result of my personal frustration with the lack of lures properly mimicking a Pacific Sand Lance that are available. I also wanted to make lures that could out fish bait and as a result conserve the food source of the actual target species. I dragged around dozens of different versions until I came up with one that out-fished the rest, continuously revising this version until it had the right bend and curves to achieve the natural action in the water. 

The AP Sandlance Spoon has now been fished all throughout the West Coast of North America from Alaska to California and all the way to Russia, New Zealand, Scandinavia and Japan, all with great results. Although the lures were originally designed to target Chinook salmon on the sandy bottoms of the Salish Sea, they have proven effective on Coho salmon, halibut, ling cod, large fresh water trout and many other species. The lures perform great when trolled extremely close to bottom where Pacific Sand Lance are found and are also very effective higher up in the water column. 

The same design principles were incorporated into two new spoons: The AP Anchovy Spoon and the AP Herring Spoon. Both share the life-like swimming action of the AP Sandlance Spoon, yet with the body shapes of anchovy and Pacific herring respectively.

Thanks and good luck on the water,

Andrew Paine