WooDream Lures
WooDream lures are handmade wooden lures, made in Japan, and they are beautiful. Unfortunately, the photos on this page do not do them justice. When they move you see subtle shifts in color that a still photo can never capture. The sides are checkered, which looks like fish scales. They even have a lateral line! The shiny, silvery cheeks look a bit like gill covers, and will give you all the fish-attracting flash you could want.
When I first started importing Japanese spinning and baitcasting rods, people asked me if I would also import Japanese lures. I'm sure they weren't thinking of the Daiwa Crusader spoons, as good as they are. They were thinking of the handmade Japanese lures that are available there and for some reason are not available here.
Well, actually I know why they are not available here. They are expensive (very expensive, actually) and most American anglers won't pay that much for a lure - no matter how beautiful (and probably, no matter how effective, either). They are beautiful, and they are effective, and I am confident that at least some people will buy them - just not enough people for most shops to even consider stocking them.
I suspect that some buyers will display the lures rather than fish them. They were clearly meant to be fished, but I see nothing wrong in buying them for display. I've been to enough fly tying shows to know that none of the full dress salmon flies sold at the shows ever get wet! There are little display stands for lures, but I don't plan to carry them.
WooDream Arbor FHR50
WooDream Arbor FHR50 - detail
WooDream Arbor 50S
WooDream Arbor 50S - detail(The blue on the gill cover is a reflection of my blue camera.)
WooDream Arbor 50S Flat
Woodream Arbor 40S
WooDream Arbor 38Fat (color AKO) and brookie. Craig T photo.WooDream does make lures with treble hooks, but at least for my first order I chose lures with single hooks - just in case you do want to fish with them (and I truly hope you do). I would suggest using 4 lb line instead of 2 or 2.5 lb line, and would suggest checking the line for abrasion frequently during the day. I personally wouldn't fish them tight to the far bank of a river that is too deep to wade, though. l just know I would go retrieve any snag!
WooDream Arbor 50S (color IB). Craig T photo.Warning:
The hooks are sharp.
The coffee's hot.
The fish are slippery when wet.