When you think of Tennessee, two things come to mind:  the University of Tennessee students singing Rocky Top when they win and hand-crafted, hand-painted custom built balsa wood crankbaits.  No other region in the United States produces more high quality, in demand, hand-crafted, hand-painted custom built balsa wood crankbait.  The craftsmanship is second to none and jack the jaws of thousands of fish.

I guess it’s something in the water or pride of a southern man to build a lure they can go out and catch fish on.  It runs deep in their blood and they probably whistle Rocky Top while they cut, sand, and paint every lure to perfection.  Making a hand-crafted, hand-painted custom built balsa wood crankbait that runs true and catches fish is a challenge.  Rob and Karen Cochran, owners of JawJacker Lures (www.jawjackerlures.com) live deep in the heart of Tennessee.  Rob knows the learning curve of building a quality balsa wood crankbait.  “I have been building lures since I was 18 years old and started JawJacker Lures back in 1990,” said Rob.  Through the first number of years, Rob made a few errors but was able to rely on a mentor, a legend in making handmade custom balsa wood crankbaits for guidance.  “Having someone to help me out was definitely beneficial, but I still had to learn how to do each step myself,” explained Rob.  Every JawJacker Lure goes through a 38 step process before be shipped out.  Each one cut from a block of balsa, sanded, dipped, painted, sealed and the process goes on till all 38 steps are completed.

The history of handmade custom built balsa wood crankbaits and Tennessee goes way back into the late 1967 when a guy named Fred Young from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, carved out the Big O that was named after his brother Otis.  The demand went sky rocketing in 1972 when Larry Hill, won the Florida Invitational with a 10 bass limit that averaged six pounds on the Big O.  After that tournament, the lure was in such demand anglers would rent them from other anglers at $5 a day, paying a $20 deposit, and would put them in an egg carton to keep them safe and from scratches.  That same year, Young sold some of his balsa wood lures for an unheard of price of $15 apiece at the Tennessee Invitational on Watts Bar.  This started the ‘alphabet lure’ craze that still continues today with anglers.  “The Tennessee area is full of craftsmen that made their living building things with their hands, many did not have enough money to buy lures,” Rob continued, “so, they learned how to make balsa wood crankbaits to sell and catch their supper with.”

Balsa wood crankbaits are like no other material used to make crankbaits.  It has a completely different action and buoyancy to it.  This buoyancy gives balsa wood crankbait what anglers refer to as a hunting action when retrieved.  Rob described it best, “It’s the erratic action of the lure during the retrieve to try and center itself,” Rob went on, “it’s all in the placement of the belly weight, not the lip like most anglers think; if you want the lure to hunt more you place the weight up higher in the lure.”  Unlike plastic lures that are mass produced and run the exact same, no two hand-crafted, custom built balsa wood crankbaits are identical or run the same.

The name of JawJacker Lures came about when Rob was fishing with his dad, Robert Cochran, in a bass tournament.  Rob was missing the fish that were biting, so his dad turned to him and instructed, “Son you got to jack the jaws of those fish to catch them!”  JawJacker Lures are available in 8 models, two flat sided, two round sided, and four oval shaped.  The oval shaped models are really unique and few other lure makers can reproduce.  Model B Shallow is a small round lure that has a medium wobble and small toenail style lip measuring 2-inches by ¾-inches and runs 0 to 4-feet deep.  Model B Deep is a small round sided lure with a wide tail swapping action measuring 2-inches by ¾-inches and runs 6 to 8-feet deep. Model SSD (SS stands for Southern Secret) is a oval lure with a rounded lip with a tight wiggle measuring 2 1/8-inches by 5/8-inches and runs 6 to 8-feet deep.  Model CK is an oval sided lure measuring 2 ½-inches by ½-inches and runs 0 to 4-feet deep.  Model SSM is a oval sided, wide wobbling lure that measures 2 1/8-inchs by 5/8-inches and runs 6 to 8-feet deep.  Model KHS is a flat sided, shallow running lure designed for catching bass off their beds that measure 2 ¼-inches by ½-inches.  Model KHM is a flat sided lure with a wide wobble measuring 2 ¼-inches by ½-inches and runs 6 to 8-feet deep.  Model SSS is an oval shallow lure that has a lot of action resembling a fleeing bait fish when retrieved either fast or slow with diving depths 0 to 4-feet deep.

All the lures are hand-painted with over 30 patterns to select from or you can have them custom painted.  Rob Cochran said his best selling lures are the SSD, SSM, and SSS in blue glimmer or sneaky color patterns and come rigged with VMC treble hooks.  The lures take 6 to 8-weeks to be built from the time you order it.  This period of time is required so that the balsa lure can dry completely before being used.

Oh, Rocky Top you will always be home sweet home for hand-crafted, custom built balsa wood crankbaits, Good old Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee.

Rocky Top and Hand-Crafted, Custom Built Balsa Wood Crankbaits by JawJacker Lures provided by Brad Wiegmann for JawJacker Lures.