His bass upbringing in East Tennessee placed DeFoe in crankbait country , or , more specifically , flat-side central .
“[ Flat-sided crankbaits ] fit our fisheries ,” he added . “ We have older lakes , a lack of cover and hard bottom . Here , it ’ s crankbaits 365 .”
It didn ’ t take DeFoe long to learn , though , that hand-carved baits could be budget-busters . A friend ’ s father , Steve Nichols , was a premier lure maker in the area . DeFoe figured that if he could learn to make lures like Nichols , he could save some serious cash .
With lessons learned from Nichols and others , DeFoe started tinkering with crankbaits . Bodies were cut from balsa blocks , sides and shoulders rounded by hand . Bills were cut from LEXAN and circuit board using snips . Wire hook hangers were installed . Special glues were used . Lures resulted from hundreds of hours in the shop and testing on the water .
“ At the time , I didn ’ t realize the education I was getting ,” DeFoe reflected .
I doubt he thought about his nearly $ 3 million in future earnings , either .
DeFoe ’ s early tinkering quickly resulted in success . He recounted several instances where , after making a lure the night before , he and a buddy would rack up high finishes in a team tournament the following day . Oftentimes , they ’ d have only one single lure to share between them . In fact , according to DeFoe , the original prototype for his now famous Slim was just such a bait , resulting in a 3-pound bass on his buddy ’ s first cast .
from failure to slim success
The OG Slim is actually the result of an invention paired with modification . Prior to DeFoe ’ s dabbling , Rapala manufactured a similar flat-sided crankbait called the DT Flat , but it never caught on .
Back at headquarters , Quinn admits the DT Flat was doomed at that point .
“ It had no sales ; it was on its way out ,” he said . “ But once a lure is gone , it can ’ t come back . And we knew Rapala had to have a flat-sided crankbait .”
Coincidentally , DeFoe ’ s wheels got to spinning around the same time .
“ It was such a good shape ,” he recalled of the DT Flat lure . “ It was very similar to a lot of the homemade ones – I just didn ’ t like the bill and the angle .”
DeFoe can usually look at a lure in a package and know exactly how he would refine it to match his needs . Industrial shears in hand , he started in on a carton of DT Flats . After cutting off the bills and sanding down some rough spots , DeFoe was left with blanks , very much like those he ’ d turned by hand years earlier .
“ I really didn ’ t have to do much ,” he said of his early modifications .
From there , DeFoe tweaked the bill and angle , added premier hooks and quickly had a lure that would become a prototype for a smashing success – at least once he ’ d caught a couple hundred bass on it . Rapala viewed DeFoe ’ s passion as a monumental opportunity . “ A lightbulb went off ,” Quinn said . “ We knew it was a definitely a home run .”
The connection not only represented a big seller , but also a lure that could be used by Rapala pro staff to excel in competition . Members of the group were polled to determine the best colors to present on the new OG Slim , duplicating the handpainted hues used by Rapala ’ s top anglers . The unique pallette will cycle through the OG Series , then down to Rapala ’ s popular DT Series of crankbaits .
more coming from ott ’ s garage
New for the upcoming year is DeFoe ’ s second creation , the OG Tiny . A smaller , shallower-running bait than Slim , Tiny perfectly matches small forage common in the fall and excels in tough fishing conditions . DeFoe used the Rapala OG Tiny to finish third at Lake Champlain on the 2021 BPT campaign , cranking pressured largemouth off grass beds .
Often , DeFoe has both Slim and Tiny tied on , each on Bass Pro Shops cranking sticks , rotating between the two to match the specific circumstance of each cast .
Not surprisingly , expansion is on the horizon for the OG Series .
“ The third bait is done ,” he confirmed . “ That one I needed a little more help with – I couldn ’ t just make it at home in the garage .
“ Number four is being worked on . I need some ammo in reserve .” The OG series of lures has been selling out everywhere . “ It ’ s been a huge launch ,” Quinn said . “ The marriage is working .”
Not surprisingly , DeFoe remains humble in spite of the success of his designs and his success on the water with those lures in hand .
“ I ’ m just thankful that Rapala had a leap of faith and believed in me ,” he said .
How couldn ’ t they ? He ’ s Ott DeFoe .
APRIL-MAY 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 23