HONOLULU, OAHU, HAWAII — ACTIVE YEARS LATE 2023 – PRESENT (carrying on Franny Shitabata's foil-wrap style, from his molds)

KK Lures is the handmade line of Kyle Kawada, and its roots run straight back to one of Honolulu's most respected makers. Kawada has known Francis "Franny" Shitabata and his family since he was about three years old. As he got back into fishing in a serious way, he'd bring Franny fish — and Franny kept telling him to take his molds and start making lures for himself. For a long time Kawada didn't have the time to put into it, but the deeper he got into both the fishing and the craft, the more the idea took hold, and he finally took Franny up on the offer.

KK Lures took off in late 2023, built directly on Franny's molds and his signature foil-wrapped-head style, and dialed in through plenty of trial and error. That makes KK a true continuation of the Franny lineage — not merely taught by him, but carrying his actual shapes forward. Kawada's deep roots in this community show in small ways, too: longtime maker Leroy Low still remembered him from when he was a little kid visiting Hobbietat.

As a museum and archive, we're honored to document Kyle Kawada and KK Lures, a contemporary Oʻahu maker carrying Franny Shitabata's foil-wrap tradition forward.

Notable shapes: Foil-wrapped heads in the Franny Shitabata style, made from Franny's original molds

Identification tips:

• "KK Lures" / Kyle Kawada; foil-wrapped heads that continue Franny's style (from Franny's own molds)
• A new line (since 2023) — identify by branding and provenance
• Closely related in look to Franny's work by design

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