STORY BY GARY THOMAS
PHOTOS BY CHAS. J. DEES

Gene Cailey grew up as an all-around sportsman. He had his outdoor life pretty well mapped out. He spent the cold months with a shotgun and the warmer months on the water with a rod and reel in his hand. Life was good.

Then he got married, and kids started coming. Life was better. But with three kids, there were school and sporting events to attend and other activities requiring his presence. It soon became apparent that he couldn't continue to spend all his free time hunting and fishing. His wife suggested that he give up one of his sports—hunting or fishing.

So, he chose to give up hunting. He put away his guns and spent the colder months doing family activities. But when the weather got warm, Cailey was on the water.

Cailey's kids are grown and gone now, but the Litchfield resident remains a dedicated fisherman. In addition to organizing and participating in fishing tournaments and operating a guide business, the 54-year-old retired fireman also makes thousands of fishing lures each year.

Cailey founded Mad Dog Lures in the early 1980s when he had just started fishing competitively. He decided the only way to get the type of lures he wanted was to make them himself.

"I just bought some molds and began making the type of spinner-baits and jigs that I like using," Cailey said. "We basically launched the whole business for $300 and kept putting the profit back into it. I pretty much still do. This has never been a full-time job. It began as a part-time thing and it still is part-time. "

The company name is another interesting spin on Cailey's story. He owned a hunting dog—a Labrador retriever that he used for waterfowl hunting—but once he gave up hunting, the dog would get mad when fall arrived.

"That dog would get mad every fall and stay mad because he knew that, during the colder months, we should be out hunting," Cailey said. "My wife suggested that I name the fishing lure company after the dog, so that's what I did. I finally gave the dog away to a friend who needed a good hunting dog."

Cailey said the reason he went into lure making was that he couldn't find the kind of lures he wanted to use in tournaments.

"I was looking for spinnerbaits with real light wire. You get lots of vibration with thinner wire, and that increases the number of strikes. So I started making lures using very light wire—lighter than any of our competitors.

While the process began with Cailey pouring a few lures through the molds each week, he now has upgraded his company. He no longer uses the small molds that kept production to a minimum. His present system enables him to make hundreds of lures each day.

In the beginning Cailey also made his own skirts, although he admits he wasn't very good at it. He now uses star flash skirts that are made in Ursa.

Mad Dog Lures aren't manufactured in a large factory. Owner Gene Cailey makes the lures in a tiny corner of his garage workshop.

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A tray holds chrome-colored blades ready to go onto spinnerbaits (above). Gene Cailey inspects a finished lure (right). Loto Jig, developed and tested at Lake of the Ozarks.

"I'm not a big-time lure maker," Cailey pointed out. "I don't put out a lure for the masses. I have a product that I make on a part-time basis. I have no intention of growing into a big mass producer of lures.

"This is a family business that's operated out of a workshop in the garage," he continued. "I've tried to improve my lures each year. Going to the star flash skirts increased my sales. They're as good as any you'll find anywhere. And I use Sampo® swivels, which are top of the line. I make a specialty lure—a real high-quality lure that I sell at a reasonable price. But this isn't the kind of business that's going to make a person rich."

Today, Mad Dog Lures makes spinnerbaits, buzz baits and jigs. Cailey does nine different colors, and also will do custom-colored lures for special orders. He pours, paints, assembles, packages and markets the lures while his wife keeps the books.

Spinnerbaits and jigs are his two biggest sellers, with jigs just barely out-selling the spinnerbaits. His best-selling lure is one he calls the Loto Jig, developed and tested at Lake of the Ozarks.

"It simulates a crawfish," he said. "We designed this with a rounded head that enables it to go through rocks and over cables that are found throughout that lake. It comes in two sizes and eight different colors."

Cailey used to set up a booth and sell lures at sport shows. Now he works only a few shows with vendors who handle his line of lures.

For more information, contact: Gene Cailey Mad Dog Lures 19 Circle Drive Litchfield, IL 62056 1-800-713-2944

"That way I'm not competing against the tackle stores that carry my product," he pointed out. "That also means I don't have to do as many shows, which means I can participate in winter fishing tournaments at Coffeen Lake or just spend some time at home."

And being able to spend time at home was, after all, why he gave up hunting.

But don't expect to find him there. He puts on eight winter bass fishing tournaments at Coffeen Lake each year, plus he fishes about 20 bass tournaments in Illinois and Missouri. In addition, he and his wife also fish a bass circuit, and he finds time to work as a guide for winter fishing trips at Sangchris, Newton and Coffeen lakes and to take clients fishing for striped bass and sauger on the Ohio River.

"My philosophy has always been simple," Cailey concluded. "I try to make lures that are top of the line. Otherwise, I might just as well buy them off the shelf."

Gary Thomas is the former editor of Outdoorlllinois.

Owner Gene Cailey uses only the highest quality components when making Mad Dog Lures.

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