The Mr. Wiggly

Know much about striped bass
fishing, and you know the name
Tony Stetzko Jr.

Catch a 70-plus-pound striper from
the surf like him, and you might become well-known, too.

Stetzko’s record 73-pounder— one of only a handful of 70-pounders ever reeled in, and a shade lighter than the 78-pound world record—is one of the reasons for the surf master’s fame.

But now he’s probably mostly known for making Stetzko lures, handmade plugs for striped bass fishing in the surf.

The staff from Fishing Reports Now actually met Stetzko when exhibiting next to him at an outdoor sports show. We didn’t know who he was until afterward, and at first he simply seemed an easygoing, humble, almost shy person, trying to launch a line of lures beyond his local market.

He introduced himself as a painter, the owner of a copy shop on Cape Cod and the maker of surf plugs that he, along with the help of a business partner, was starting to market to a larger audience.

But one thing was clear.

He was a died-in-the-wool angler. For whatever reasons, he had the look.

Maybe it was the lanky build, the broom-like ‘stache, the eyes that seemed accustomed to focusing through the winds on the beach, the outdoorsy clothes that might’ve felt more comfortable outside than inside the show, or simply a feeling that his attention was locked in when he spoke about stripers, like a longing.

At the time, he explained that his dad originally developed the lures years ago, and they worked. He stressed that the lures were not one of the newly popular crop of custom-made surf plugs created by non-anglers. But instead these were plugs made by people who knew about fishing.

No argument there. If he seemed anything, he seemed a fisherman.

The popularity of Stetzko Lures has spread, and Tony and partner launched them up and down the East Coast. The popularity is probably still building across the county. But even the reports on this Web site talk about Stetzkos catching fish.

Tony’s dad, Tony Stetzko Sr., was a machinist and fisherman, reportedly loved to create his own lures and built the original Stetzkos.

Tony Jr. became a painter, a copy shop owner and a lifelong striped bass fisherman, and took over his dad’s lure company.

Stetzko Lures were perfected over the past 30 years in the Cape Cod surf, the company says. Their popularity first spread throughout New England, and now tackle shops carry them along the East Coast from Maine to Florida, including certain shops along the Jersey Shore.

The Mr. Wiggly, a hand-carved, wooden, jointed swimming plug, is the original Stetzko Lure. Its swimming action, a unique wiggle and roll, was perfected during decades of fine tuning, offering anglers the benefit of a lifetime of fishing experience, the company says.

The Mr. Wiggly, made from mahogany, comes in two sizes: a 9-inch 2-ouncer and a 6-inch 1-ouncer. Offered in a number of colors, the lure is through-wired and comes with two 3X-strong Mustad treble hooks and glass eyes.

The Needlefish, patterned after a design that Tony Sr. made 40 years ago, is hand-carved from mahogany and comes in different colors and three sizes: the 9-inch 2-1/2-ouncer, the 7-inch 1-3/4-ouncer and the 5-inch ¾-ouncer.  It’s through-wired and includes two 3X-strong Mustad treble hooks and glass eyes.

The Dart is made from anodized, rust-free, solid aluminum, is 5 inches long and 1 ½ ounces and is available in different colors. It comes with a single treble hook, the exact type unavailable, on its tail end. Besides being able to attract strikes from surf species from stripers to false albacore, the Dart can also drill schoolie bluefin tuna in blue water.

The Stetzko Company also makes a heavy duty surf-fishing bag, made from synthetic fabric and able to hold two Plano 3600 or similar inserts that are not included.

Besides catching the record, 73-pound striped bass, Tony Stetzko Jr. has beached many stripers over 50 pounds and two over 60. He’s been a surf-fishing guide since 1982 on Cape Cod and is also a fly fisher and a surf-fishing lecturer.

His paintings, often surf-fishing scenes and other outdoor subjects, are beautiful.

For more information about the guided surf-fishing trips and paintings,
visit Tony Stetzko Jr.’s web site.

For more info about Stetzko Lures, including a list of distributors,
visit the Stetzko Lures web site.

Also check out a few photos of the products below: