Mike Matulonis, founder of Montauk Mike’s Lures, was tossing a baby bunker spoon from a boat to a school of bluefish.

But he was struggling to catch many, and his dad was throwing another lure and scoring more.

So Mike tried adjusting the lure, bending the spoon into an “S” shape.

Not only did he start catching more fish, but he started wrestling bigger ones aboard.

The patented “S” shape of his lures was born.

Mike’s dad told him he should put away the lure before it was lost to a hungry bluefish.

Back at home, Mike experimented and created a few crude versions of his lure, combining the “S” bend with the traditional cup of a spoon.

The result was a vertical swimming action, reportedly unlike any other lure in the world.

What’s more, the slower the lure was retrieved, the better the action. So striped bass loved them.

“So we started the company,” Mike said. “I’m Mike, and I love Montauk, and we thought the name would be familiar with fishermen.”

The business, headquartered in Shrewsbury, N.J., evolved into a complete lure company, producing the Baby Bunker Spoons, other metals, wooden plugs, plastic plugs, jigs, fluke balls and more.

A line of crease flies is also available, and in 2009 offshore lures will be added. T-shirts and gifts are also produced.

The Baby Bunker Lures, the lures that started it all, also feature a unique hook placement, a little forward of the tail, for fewer short hits or more frequent hook-ups.

The tail comes in a plain hook or a hook with a colored tube, bucktail or jelly worm.

The Baby Bunker is available in 1-1/2-ounce or 3-ounce sizes and features a single hook to avoid the trouble of removing a treble hook from fish.

It comes in a number of finishes: silver-plated smooth or hammered; solid orange; solid chartreuse; bronze with a black back; Lime Glow, a lime back over a white body; and Blue Runner, a blue back over a white body. Custom finishes are also available.

The Baby Bunkers can be cast, trolled or fished on downriggers and will catch both saltwater and freshwater fish.

In saltwater they’re deadly on striped bass, blues, weakfish, snook, redfish, tuna and mahi mahi.

In freshwater the 1-1/2-ounce Baby Bunker fools pike, salmon, trout, bass, muskies and walleyes.

The Baby Bunkers and the Montauk Mike’s other lures have become popular.

“The one thing I do know is that they work, and they’re priced right,” Mike said. “We now have fishermen going into shops asking for our lures, and that’s a good feeling.”