About Kavorka Salmon Lures

I’ve been blessed to have been pulling salmon and brown trout out of the harbors of Lake Michigan since I was almost. smaller than the fish. My dad, grandpa, and uncles were the ones who first took me down to those harbors, and that’s where it all started.

But like most guys, I had to learn the hard way what actually works… and what doesn’t.

In my early 20s, I started dabbling in musky fishing up in northern Wisconsin. With limited knowledge on true predator fish, it was humbling.  That challenge lit something though — it made me want to understand what actually triggers big fish.

Not long after, I got the itch to troll for salmon.

We picked the calmest day in August, grabbed four undersized rods and reels, threw together what we thought was “gear,” and headed out of Sturgeon Bay in a 16-foot Alumacraft — me and a younger cousin, thinking we were ready for war.

We weren’t.

After a full morning of getting completely skunked, a charter boat slid into our wake and started hooking king after king like it was nothing. By the end of it, the score was about 18–0.

That day taught me three things:

• You’re never going to keep up with a charter

• Don’t run steel leaders

• And if you know what you’re doing… you can absolutely hammer big kings

The next summer, we came back with a bigger boat, better gear, and a different mindset.

That’s when it clicked.

There’s nothing like it — rods screaming, wire ripping out, and a deep king salmon rising up and breaking the surface with 15 colors still out. That moment will get anyone’s blood pumping.

As I started dialing things in — depth, speed, light, time of day — I noticed something frustrating:

Most lures only worked in very specific windows.

Morning bite? One setup.
Midday grind? Switch everything.
Evening? Start over again.

I didn’t want that.

I wanted a lure I could trust from low light through the long hours of the day — something I didn’t feel the need to constantly swap out.

So I started building my own.

After a lot of trial, a lot of late nights, and more than a few wrecked blanks, the first two designs came to life:

The Baileys Harbor Bandit
Eye Candy

Those weren’t just names — they were confidence.

From there, Kavorka and many more designs were born.

What We Believe

At Kavorka Salmon Lures, we’re not chasing trends or pumping out mass-produced baits.

Every spoon is handmade, built with intention, and designed to trigger aggressive fish — not just imitate bait.

That said — these aren’t a cure-all.

Even in my own boat, I’m more than happy to run proven staples like Dreamweaver, Beavers, or Stingers. They’ve all earned their place.

But Kavorka spoons are built to stand out in the spread that's not made in China — something different that's not built in Vietnam, something fish haven’t seen a thousand times like our Canadian cousins have been known to do — and something that can absolutely earn its spot in your lineup. Because pressured fish see everything.

And when it matters, different wins. 

The Goal

Build lures you can trust.

Not just for one bite window — but all day.

The kind you leave in the water because you know they’re going to fire.

A Thank You

None of this would exist without my wife — who has supported me, helped me, and put up with the long nights, ideas, and obsession that comes with building something like this.

Kavorka Salmon Lures
The Lure of the Animal