This plunger runs on the same decades-proven ⅓-taper, ⅔-length weight distribution that gives it exceptional balance and a big-marlin action Gene built his reputation on. Poured from his original 1980s mold, the same mold responsible for four grander blue marlin.
Abalone shell veneer insert, teddy bear eyes.
Blue vinyl skirt, skirted by the captain himself.
Unweighted, poured from Gene's original mold.
See all Gene VanderHoek plungers
About the maker
Captain Gene VanderHoek is a veteran Kona, Hawaiʻi fisherman and the creator of one of big-game fishing's most recognizable trolling lure shapes: the plunger. Early in his career, Gene worked as a deckhand for legendary lure maker Bart Miller and Captain Scott Crampton. As Gene says, "Bart Miller had forgotten more about fishing than most people knew."
How the plunger came to be, in Gene's words: "In the 1980s, I was fishing with brothers Rusty and Jimmy Unger, makers of Lollipop Lures. I brought along two lures I had made. The shape was inspired by a stainless-steel jet head with the nose cut off. We ran two Lollipop lures on the starboard side and two of my lures on the port side. Rusty called my design a plunger because it kept plunging up and down through the water. One of my lures caught a 209-pound marlin, and the rest is fishing history."
The plunger went on to become a staple of offshore and blue marlin fishing, and today nearly every major saltwater lure maker offers a version of the design. Legendary Hawaiian lure maker Joe Yee enlarged the shape and introduced his famous Super Plunger. Captain Gene VanderHoek still runs the waters of Kona and pours plungers from his original 1980s mold, the same proven mold responsible for four grander marlin.
Shipping
USA: Free FedEx on orders $175+
Hawaii, Guam, U.S. Outer Islands: Free shipping
International: Free FedEx $449+ | $25 FedEx $250+ | $40 FedEx on all other orders