Deep into the great Smokey Mountain region of Tennessee; down a hollow and beyond a creek you can find some of the most renowned craftsmen in the world. Their skills allow them to take a piece of balsa wood and turn it into a custom built balsa wood crankbait. Crankbaits that not only catch fish, but anglers who enjoy catching fish on balsa wood crankbaits. These talented craftsmen have honed their skills from hours on hours of carving. They are dedicated to the art of building balsa wood crankbaits. Rob Cochran is one of these skilled craftsmen, but the story goes beyond just owning JawJacker Lures and building one of the best balsa wood crankbait available.

Rob’s life all changed back years ago when he went to Sonny McFarland’s house to buy his dad some Tennessee Rattler for Christmas. McFarland had fished with Rob’s dad and Rob knew a custom built balsa wood Tennessee Rattler crankbait would make an excellent Christmas present. Later on McFarland would take Rob under his wing and make him his protégé. McFarland was passing on the tradition to Rob who was thrilled with the opportunity. “It was brain overload at first; I would spend a couple hours a day over there at his shop,” said Rob. One of the first things McFarland taught him was how to weld. This was critical because to make his own duplicators, Rob would have to know how to weld besides learning how to be an artist, engineer, chemist, and machinist. Rob was also going to need a machine to make flat baits from. “One thing that Sonny always impressed upon me was to never let anyone see, touch or have any of the machines and to this day no one has,” said Rob. That’s not to say Rob never made any mistakes or had trouble figuring out how to make a balsa wood crankbait. Rob wasted lots of money trying to figure out all the detailed steps of building a custom built balsa wood crankbait; in addition to manufacturing the machines and dummies. “Whenever I couldn’t figure it out, I would go over to Sonny’s and ask him. Most of the time, Sonny wouldn’t just come out and give me the answer, but would give me hints on how to do or fix it,” said Rob. McFarland’s method of teaching was tough on Rob at times, but Rob turned out to be a fast learner. 

As time went by Rob began to develop his skills and now is one of the elite custom balsa wood crankbait builders in the United States. “I remember when Sonny made me use a manual duplicator before he agreed to help me build a motorized one. He said that I would understand how they work better if I had to do all of the motions needed to produce a crankbait. That alone took almost a full year before we built my first motorized duplicator machine. As I continued to learn from Sonny and develop skills needed to make a quality balsa wood crankbait, I was also getting personal satisfaction from making lures that

anglers were catching fish on. I never gave up even when I made mistakes or couldn’t figure out how to do something; Sonny mentoring me really made the difference in my crankbaits and my life,” said Rob. McFarland knew from the beginning Rob would be the one to mentor. In fact it was a deciding factor that Rob was not in it to make money, but for the love of building balsa wood crankbaits and carrying the craft forward for future generations of anglers.

 

Rob's love of building custom balsa wood crankbaits is obvious, but besides McFarland’s assistances he relies on the support of his wife Karen. Karen plays a major part in the success of JawJacker Lures (www.jawjackerlures.com or on Facebook at JawJacker Handmade Balsa Crankbaits). The reward come in hearing from anglers who let Rob know they caught fish on them. “The overhead and taxes really take a toll on any profit we make from selling them, but I’m really not in it to make a living; just a lure that an angler can catch a fish on. That’s why every JawJacker Lure is built with only the finest components such as AAA Balsa for the body and lexan or circuit board lips,” explained Rob. Each an original design as Rob refuses to copy others. Rob knows that there is more than taking a knife to a piece of wood to making a custom built balsa wood crankbait. Every time Rob makes a custom built balsa wood crankbait he is honoring Sonny McFarland, Fred Young, and the other skilled craftsmen before him.

 

 

 

The History of Balsa Wood Crankbaits by JawJacker Lures was provided by Brad Wiegmann Outdoors for JawJacker Lures.