Deer Antler Kokanee Lures

I was scrolling through the old social media and I saw one of the most unique kokanee setups I’ve ever seen: deer antler kokanee lures. I’m a hunter as well as a fisher, so I was intrigued. I obviously had to talk to the guy, so I reached out to Mr. Emmett Miller to learn more. As it turns out, he made them himself, and they actually catch fish.

I asked him how he got into making fishing lures, and if they actually work, and this is what he told me: “The reason I started making them is because I was not catching fish and I though to myself, there’s got to be something I can do to make them look different and better. So I went to the bead shop and I’ve been catching more fish since then, so I guess to answer– Yea, they work.”

Bead style kokanee lures have been around for a while. Most kokanee tackle companies make them, with the most popular bead kokanee lure being the wedding ring lure. But how did the deer antlers get added to the mix? “I was just messing around that day in the shop making a knife and thought it would be cool to make a fishing lure out of antler, so I threw one together.”

How Do Bead Kokanee Lures Work

Bead type lures are also successful because they make noise that draw in kokanee as the beads bump against each other. This creates sound and vibration in the water. That’s the sweet spot for these deer antler lures.

Deer antler beads have been around for thousands of years. People in all sorts of early cultures made beads from antlers, bones, shells, wood, and even rocks. Deer antler has the added benefit of being one of the hardest organic materials, and it appeals to guys that both hunt and fish, like myself.

Emmett’s Knives

Emmett runs the company Emmett’s Knives, where he makes custom knives for people. He makes some awesome scale pattern knives that I was checking out and saw his deer antler lures on his page. That’s how I first saw Emmett and his creations. Currently Emmett isn’t selling these lures, but you might be able to talk him into making a special order for you, especially if you’re going to buy a knife from him. Check out his page on facebook to get in contact with him, or to see some of his other work. I’ve also included a few pictures below of some of his knives and his deer antler kokanee lures.

Make Your Own Kokanee Lures

Making your own kokanee lures is a lot of fun and allows you to really experiment and, like Emmett, you can really refine what your local kokanee population like to chase.