Lure Body Blanks
Berger Ops. Fishing® lure body blanks are 100% original designs CNC milled or hand carved from “Made in the U.S.A” woods and plastics. I have done hours of research and have determined a need for solid hard bait bodies that are resistant to, shattering, cracking, leaking, splitting, sinking, and UV degradation. Our new bodies will meet these demands and more.
CNC Milling
My U.S.A. bodies are milled or hand carved right here in the U.S.A. CNC milling allows us to make baits with superior strength compared to more common production methods such as hollow body injection molding, blow molding, or 3D printing that are prone to cracking, splitting, and leaking.
Base Coat Primer
Depending on final desired finish, each bait is primed with a special clear or self etching white primer to make sure our patterns really stick. The bonding power of the primer also adds a significant amount of strength to each lure body to prevent cracks, rot, leaks, and chipping.
Adding Color
Each lure is airbrushed by hand using high quality “Made in the U.S.A.” oil and water based paints that are UV resistant and remain flexible after drying. This flexible layer helps prevent chipping of the finish and adds yet another layer of protection. Our patterns are carefully created to attract both the savviest of anglers and the slyest of fish. Contact us for custom paint jobs!
Top Coating
To finish off our baits we use between 6 and 10 coats of a special hardening clear finish which gives our baits a remarkably consistent sheen, adds an incredible amount of strength, and makes our lures impervious to all solvents, salts, even gasoline!
Hook Hangers
Our hook hangers are made from hand twisted Made in the U.S.A. marine grade stainless steel wire and are cemented into our bodies using a special Made in the U.S.A. 2-stage adhesive making some of our larger lures capable of pulling well over 200lbs. before mechanical failure.
Hooks
Our U.S.A. custom baits come standard with Eagle Claw® “Made in the U.S.A” Lazer Sharp™ barbed or barbless hooks. Why? Oversized barbless hooks are less likely to get swallowed and are much easier to free from the mouth of a fish making them more humane to use. They also add more weight to floating baits to allow for a slower, more realistic, rising and swimming action underwater. Lastly, oversized hooks overhang the geometric boundary of the lure body slightly. This allows the prongs of each hook a greater chance at actually contacting the mouth of a fish during a strike.
Bills
Our new carbon fiber bills are CNC milled from EXTREMELY strong “Made in the U.S.A.” carbon fiber sheet.
Rings
As a final touch, we only use high quality stainless steel split rings. These rings won't rust, and offer superior strength and resistance to bending compared to standard coated steel rings. We also downsize our rings by 0.5mm to accommodate our increased hook size. Why? Using smaller rings keeps the hooks on our lure bodies just far enough apart from each other that they cannot easily entangle while casting.
Taxes
We pay our taxes. Many people do not know that most fishing equipment bought and sold in the United States is subject to a 10% Federal Excise Tax in addition to sales tax. This additional tax supports government funded programs aimed at environmental protection, conservation, and education, all of which ultimately help preserve the countless waterways used around the United States for recreational and competitive angling. We include all taxes in the prices of our items.
Final Remarks
At Berger Ops. Fishing®, no expense is spared for the quality of our lures. With this being said, each bait is a little different, and as much as we strive for perfection, MINOR imperfections (especially in fit and finish) should be expected. Lure tuning is the responsibility of the purchaser, however each lure should perform "okay" right out of the box. Feel free to call/text us for deals, discounts, custom orders, wait times, questions, or concerns. We're happy to help in any way that we can! If you ever have an issue with one of our baits, let us know and we will do everything that we possibly can to make it right.