The legend of Dixie Jet Lures returns to the lake
In upstate New York, tradition holds that new members of a local bass fishing club receive a Dixie Jet Lure when they join. Striper guides around Arizona swear by the silver spoon’s ability to land fish worthy of a place on the mantel. If they or any of their counterparts from Alaska to Florida look at the lure’s package, they’ll find their next fish tale spawned in the Ozarks.
Retired Lt. Col. Tom Murphy knew the magic of a Dixie Jet Lure from his own experiences fishing with his late father, Ray. The former paratrooper retired from active duty with the U.S. Army in 2002, but fishing his way through retirement looked a little different from the experiences of the average angler. Tom, a lifelong tournament fisherman, wanted to bring back the lure that landed him so many memorable catches.
“This was like self-preservation, because I was addicted to fishing with Dixie Jet spoons,” Tom says with a smile as he sorts through a handful of his original Dixie Jet Lures and bucktails still in the package. “It was getting hard to find a Dixie Jet and I said, ‘Why don’t I see if I can’t bring it back?’ ”
Tom’s first encounter with a Dixie Jet was on a fishing trip to Missouri with his father in 1973. Unbeknownst to the duo at the time, the lure which was manufactured in Houston, Texas, had already ceased production. Dixie Jets were still on hand at grocery stores and bait shops in the Show-Me State. Fishing strip pits near Calhoun, Tom found how effective the lure was at landing lunker bass.
“We’d camp out and fish from the bank. We didn’t have a boat, but you can cast a Dixie Jet a long ways,” Tom recalls. “That’s how I started catching fish, and they catch big fish.”
Once he’d received the blessing of the original manufacturer, Schumacher Co., in 2009 Tom set to work. Using a CAD program he modeled an original lure and recreated the lure’s cupping, bends and eye twists in marine grade brass. Those elements are the keys to how the spoon — modeled off of a gizzard shad — fools fish.
“The fall and flutter of an injured shad is what we try to replicate. It falls slowly through the water column and it’s very consistent,” Tom says as he flicks his line into the Lake of the Ozarks.
Between his own experience on the water and the photos sent to him by guides and customers, he’s found the lure effective at landing everything from crappie to muskie and anything in between. Soon, a white crappie hits the aptly named Slab Spoon and is dancing on Tom’s line. “If a fish eats shad, they’ll eat a Dixie Jet. You throw it out there and you don’t really know what might hit it.”
One year after he set out to resurrect Dixie Jet Lures, the legend had returned to the lakes of Missouri. Today, only one piece of the lure — the hook — is made in France. The rest of the components are manufactured in the U.S. and assembled by Tom’s team in Richland. The angler fills every order from his home.
To market the spoons, Tom went back to the source by handing out lures to fishing guides on Bull Shoals and Table Rock lakes. As word spread from the dock to the bait shop, Tom found himself in a unique and enviable position: rather than beat a path to the doors of major retailers and distributors, Tom soon had some of the biggest names including Bass Pro Shops, Pitman Creek and Sportsman’s Warehouse asking him for his product. Missouri-born pro angler Cody Huff landing a 6-pound-plus largemouth bass on TV using one of Dixie Jet’s Talon Spoons didn’t hurt matters, Tom adds with a laugh.
“Life is good but I want to grow the business,” Tom says. “Coca-Cola’s vision statement is ‘a Coke within arm’s reach’ and my view is a Dixie Jet spoon within arm’s reach. I want to see this last forever.”
Dixie Jet Lures are available from retailers in 26 states. For more information, or to download the product catalog, visit www.dixiejetlures.com.