Marlin Magazine's Top 10 Lures of All Times

"One of the original Mold Craft lures, the Wide Range came to Frank Johnson through the suggestions of Capt. Peter Wright in 1977. Wright and Hawaiian Capt. Jeff Fay were experimenting with lures made out of rolls of sheet rubber while working together on Humdinger in the mid-’70s. Wright showed his prototypes to Johnson during a charter, and they struck a deal on the spot to make the lures.

The lure gets its name from the “wide range” of speeds and conditions through which the lure can be pulled. “It’s definitely the lure of choice for rough water,” says Johnson. “With its squared-off nose and center hole, the Wide Range stays stable in almost any conditions.”

This lure showed up in a vast majority of the responses, and all the big names seem to pull at least one Wide Range in the spread. On almost every boat I board, no matter where I am in the world, I’ll usually find a Mold Craft Wide Range.

One of my favorite testimonials came from a Richard McAdams, who fishes the Gulf of Mexico: “If I could pick only one marlin lure to fish with anywhere in the world, it would be a purple/silver/black Mold Craft Senior Wide Range. This lure gets the most vicious strikes I have ever seen. I can put it on the flat line or short ‘rigger, and it runs like a champ in all seas. I fish the northern Gulf of Mexico where the seas can jump from 3 feet to 6 feet in a matter of minutes, but this lure catches fish no matter how rough it gets. It runs well with either a single- or double-hook rig and is pretty much idiot-proof, which makes it the perfect lure for me!” -- By David Ferrell Marlin Magazine Sept 20, 2018