From an art studio and workshop in a Cleveland Heights home are born many of the hottest lure colors ever to dangle from anglers’ fishing lines.

Many of the beautiful hues that lure anglers to spend millions of dollars every year are created by angler and artist Frank Scalish. He creates for PRADCO Outdoor Brands, including the popular lines of Bomber, Rebel, Cordell, Heddon, Smithwick, Booyah, Bandit, Norman, Arbogast and others.

Scalish is an artisan and craftsman tasked with developing color schemes that tease fish to attack lures and inspire fishers to reach for their wallets. His years of experience resulted in many great successes.

From his studio and shop to the test waters on public lakes throughout Northeast Ohio, Scalish continues to produce winners. Many of his most artistic designs are based around the use of various pearl shades.

“Lure design is pretty intricate,” Scalish said. “With the pearls and translucences, you can create different colors even by the steps in which the different colors are painted. You can change the way it looks by adding paint over pearl or by layering different pearls to create a different base color.”

His work can be seen in the FX Series and his Frank Scalish signature series.

Scalish said he can change the way a lure reflects light underwater.

“The FX colors that I came out with, I want to say it was by design, but it was a happy accident. I wanted to find out what I’d get if I layered different pearls. Based on the light penetration and the color of the water, it changed the way the bait appeared in the water. We created the FX color scheme in the Smithwick Suspending Rogue and we sold the tar out of it.”

He cited the importance of developing the process along with the colors.

“Say I have an idea for a color I want. I hand draw the lure, scribble notes all over it, showing the shading, marbling and other details. Then I mock up the paint pattern, with arrows pointing where certain colors are applied. Then I go to my air brush and paint how I think the paint should be applied. I write down each step. Step 1, what I do, step 2, what I do. Step 3, etcetera. Everything is a step-by-step process. If I don’t like it, I go back and adjust. For most color schemes, I have anywhere from nine to 18 steps. Most take 11 to 15 steps. They have to follow the exact order or it won’t come out right during manufacturing.”

Scalish’s FX and signature series lures are painted by hand during production.

“You can’t machine-paint the lures. They have to be hand-painted. This is why the step-by-step process is important. Quality control is paramount. We work together to figure out how to make each color as exact as possible. A bunch of different people are touching each bait from start to finish. If you have a painter who doesn’t see it the way I see it, they can change the way it looks.”

While Scalish has dabbled in lures “forever,” his creativity took form and substance in 2001 when PRADCO sponsored him on the Bassmaster tournament tour.

“The real kickoff came when they came out with the Perfect 10 Rogue and I did a lemon-lime crush fluorescent lime back for smallmouths. The walleye guys got hold of it, and we couldn’t make them fast enough.”

He also cited the success of the Norman Speed N, a crankbait for cold water fishing.

“I designed it by hand, tested it at Portage Lakes and got it running great. We were ready in time for the Bassmaster Classic at Guntersville (Ala.) and I told them to give their guys that lure in red, because it would play huge. It did. Our guys finished third and fourth, and the lure wasn’t even in production yet.”

Creating lures and colors is no happenstance job.

“I don’t just sit down and say, ‘today I’m going to make a lure.’ There’s always a problem to be solved and you have to fix that problem. The lure sells because it solves that problem.”

Anglers can find Scalish’s work at fishing retailers, as well as lurenet.com.

Scalish’s podcast “Bass Talk Live Day 4” airs every Thursday. Anglers can catch episodes live, on YouTube or by download off Spotify and other podcast sources.

Jack Wollitz has been stocking exotic lure colors and writing about fishing experiences for decades. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com