1977 Aquasonic Ad February 1977 Bassmaster Magazine.

I’ve been wanting to write about two ads from Aquasonic Lures that I found in two 1977 issues of Bassmaster Magazine for a long time.  The problem is, there is very little information anywhere on them or the company.  I’ve scoured Bassmaster and all the old bass magazines, the internet, and two newspaper archives I subscribe to.  The only thing I came up with was more ads and an image featuring the full line of baits and color chart.

I was able to find out an approximate date Aquasonic Lure went into business, that being 1975.  I say this because the bait was being introduced at all the 1975 sport shows across the country.

I think I also pinpointed when the company went out of business, which I believe was 1980.  The reason being advertising, which was fervent in newspapers across the country goes dry at the start of 1980.

Aquasonic Lures had an interesting, almost gimmicky line of baits they developed and sold.  From the side, each of the five models looked like normal crankbaits or vibration baits.  But look at the bait head on and you see a huge hole in the face of the bait.  This hole then tapered down into the body and vented through two smaller holes on the bottom of the bait.

The concept was water would move through the hole in front as the bait was being cranked back to the boat and this would cause water to push through the bait creating hydrosonic waves or noise. 

Gimmicky?  Yes.

Did it work?  Based on fish reports I read, it caught fish.

I mentioned the newspaper search earlier.  I was astounded at how many hits I got when I searched the database.  I wasn’t too surprised about all the ads in newspapers across the country, but I was surprised about all the positive fish reports given in the weekly columns and lake reports.

1977 Aquasonic Ad March/April 1977 Bassmaster Magazine.
Aquasonic Color Chart. Image www.texasbaits.com.

My question is this.  Did the baits create this wave or noise in the water.  I have no idea.  But it wouldn’t be difficult to test with a hydrophone and a swimming pool.

All baits make noise going through the water even if they have no rattles.  Hooks scrape the side of the bait making noise, split rings, even the bait itself pushes water, thus creating waves.  But did the Aquasonic have a different frequency, one the company claimed was like a baitfish.

The company was based out of Cibola, Texas and like I said, seems to have folded in or around 1980.  During the five years it was around, you couldn’t find a bass magazine without one of their ads in it.  The hundreds of fish reports I found in the newspaper archives attested to its ability to catch fish.

Why did they go under?  Were the fish reports and columns touting the baits just fish stories.  At this point it’s hard to say.  On thing is for certain, companies don’t go out of business because their products are selling.

If any of you reading this know about Aquasonic Lures please jot us a line down in the comments.  I’d love to find out more about this mysterious company and they not-so-gimmicky gimmick lure.