KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII — ACTIVE YEARS 1970s – PRESENT (Scott Crampton d. 2020; carried on by Brian Crampton)

Crampton Baits is a two-generation Kona story. The name was built by Capt. Scott Crampton, a legendary Hawaiian charter skipper and one of the early plunger-era lure makers, whose shell-inlaid heads earned a devoted following over more than four decades. Scott was making plungers early enough that, by Jim Rizzuto's account, he once suspected Rizzuto had copied his design — the kind of good-natured rivalry that marks a genuine pioneer.

Scott passed away in 2020, but before he did he handed the craft to his son, Brian Crampton, who had spent years learning the techniques in his father's shop. Brian now builds each lure by hand using Scott's exact original molds, faithfully reviving the classic shapes — like the straight-running Hog, a proven design for over four decades — while bringing back older patterns that had fallen out of production. To honor his father while distinguishing his own work, Brian recently began adding a "Crampton Baits" signature to every head he makes.

The Crampton look is consistent and recognizable: real mother-of-pearl shell — sometimes a single bold slab, sometimes delicately placed crushed shell — set over the family's hallmark silver-and-red wrapped leader tube, which shows through beneath the insert. The lures carry a long record on marlin, tuna, mahi, and ono, and remain in heavy demand in fisheries from Hawaii to the Azores and Cape Verde.

As a museum and archive, we're honored to document Crampton Baits and the Crampton family's place in Kona lure-making history.

Notable shapes: The Hog (straight runner), plungers, bullets (7" and 9"+), tubes, jetted heads

Identification tips:

• The signature tell is the silver-and-red wrapped leader tube visible beneath real mother-of-pearl shell slabs
• Scott's originals are unsigned; Brian's newer work carries a "Crampton Baits" signature
• Both generations use the same molds, so shapes run consistent across eras — the signature and finish help date a piece

Fun Fact: The infamous bevel on Scott Crampton's lures wasn't from a certain theory or technique or any of that. He had dropped the lure right before molding it, and ended up filing down the chipped edge so that it wasn't funky looking. After molding that head afterwards, the beveled edge lure actually ran better than expected.

Below, you’ll find our ever-growing digital archive showcasing every lure that has come through our shop. This collection is constantly evolving as new lures arrive, making it a living record of rare, limited-production lures. We will continue updating this database regularly, building what we aim to be the largest digital archive of offshore trolling lures in the world.

If you have any further information or any lures you believe deserve to be showcased, please reach out to us at ren@luremonger.com