What are “Beard Baits”? Isn’t that kind of weird?

The short answer is that beard baits are once in a lifetime lures that were made from my massive beard that was cut off for an event raising money for the Head and Neck centre at Princess Margaret hospital. And yes, it is kind of weird.

See the auction items here! Or make a donation to a great cause here

The long answer starts with the company.

In 2001, my dad, Steve, started Blackfly Lures because he couldn’t find a decent spinnerbait. So he did what any passionate (read stubborn) person would do; he started his own company. He focused on making top quality spinnerbaits made right here in Ontario.

For the better part of two decades, he made unique designs that met his quality standards. From our Flash (Hatchet blades) to our Musky Grub, he knew how to make lures that flat out catch fish!

I took over Blackfly Lures in 2018 when he was diagnosed with tongue cancer. It was a difficult time for all of us, between the surgery, the chemo, the radiation, and a stint living in Toronto, but it gave me an appreciation for how passionate he was about his lures.

Whether it was tying bucktails between radiation, to talking about ways to improve our website during chemo, and telling his surgeon all about his lures, you could tell he truly loved what he was doing. Equally passionate about what they did was his team at Princess Margaret hospital. From his doctors to the nurses in the RNC, they put as much care into the treatment of my dad, as he did into his lures. That care continued until his passing in 2019.

I could think of no better tribute than to give back to the Head and Neck centre at Princess Margaret hospital.

2021 marked our 20th year in business, so I wanted to do something special. With the help of some local companies, Blackfly Lures did a prize pack event. Half way through, I announced that I would be trimming off my beard if we raised enough money. Now, this was a beard that I had been growing for 19 months just for this, so it was over 13” of beard. 

Not surprisingly, when I announced that I would trim the beard, donations doubled overnight. We tripled the threshold for me to trim the beard, and I trimmed it off in a live stream. See the video here!

The story doesn’t end there!

After the live stream, I kept the trimmed off beard and was able to make 5 lures out of it. 1 Haymaker, 2 Big ‘Bass’Tards, 2 Flash (Hatchet Blades). I had them framed, and now we are auctioning them off, with all the proceeds going to the Head and Neck Centre at Princess Margaret hospital.

Now is your chance to get that once in a lifetime conversation piece, who else is going to have a fishing lure made of beard on their wall?!

If that isn’t for you, we have put together a few other packages that we are auctioning off. From Blackfly apparel to a rod and reel, or lure packs, we have more items! As well, you can donate to this great cause.

See the auction items here! Or make a donation to a great cause here