What Strike King does

Strike King Lure Company is a privately held U.S. fishing lure and tackle manufacturer headquartered in the Memphis, Tennessee area and operating as a subsidiary of Rather Outdoors, Corporation (a diversified outdoor sporting goods group that also owns Lew's). The company designs, manufactures, and sells a comprehensive portfolio of freshwater and saltwater fishing tackle, including hard baits (crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, topwaters), soft plastics, jigs and spoons, wire baits, terminal tackle, fishing line, eyewear, tools, and apparel. Strike King operates three specialty sub-brands — KVD (Kevin VanDam signature baits), Rage Tail (action-focused soft plastics), and Mr. Crappie (Wally Marshall's crappie-specific tackle) — and licenses or partners for specialty designs such as the Hybrid Hunter crankbait originally manufactured by Taiwan-based Strike Pro.

The company's go-to-market combines a national authorized dealer network with a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at strikeking.com featuring a loyalty rewards program and free shipping on orders over $50. Marketing is anchored by a pro staff sponsorship program covering 12+ professional anglers across Major League Fishing, Bassmaster, and National Walleye Tour circuits, supplemented by an educational content ecosystem (Strike King TV, Tips & Techniques, Regional Bait Selector, Student Angler Programs). Unit pricing on the catalog ranges roughly from $5.99 (compact soft jerkbaits) to $16.99 (KVD Squarebill 8.0 Magnum), reflecting a high-velocity consumables model aimed at tournament anglers and recreational consumers.

Strike King serves a horizontally segmented customer base — tournament bass anglers as the primary use case, with secondary segments in crappie, walleye, saltwater, and general recreational fishing. The company reports no public financials, operates exclusively in the United States, and has no disclosed venture funding or institutional investment. Rather Outdoors' ownership positions Strike King within a multi-brand outdoor sporting goods portfolio with shared distribution infrastructure.

Name

Strike King

Legal name

Strike King Lure Company

Website

https://strikeking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strike King Lure Company is a privately held U.S. manufacturer of fishing lures and tackle, including hard baits, soft plastics, jigs, and terminal tackle, sold via authorized dealers and direct e-commerce to tournament and recreational anglers across specialty sub-brands KVD, Rage Tail, and Mr. Crappie.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fishing Tackle & Lures

NAICS

Sporting and Recreational Goods and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (423910)

akta.pro primary industry

Lures, Flies & Terminal Tackle Specialty Retail (CRAMALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Fishing Tackle & Bait Retail (CRAMALAA), Hunt, Fish & Shooting Sports Distribution (CRAOAJAC)

Keywords

• Fishing lure manufacturing
• Fishing tackle products
• Bass fishing gear
• Soft plastic baits
• Crankbaits and jigs

Headquarters

HQ city

Collierville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Fishing Lure and Tackle Sales: Strike King generates revenue through the manufacture and sale of fishing lures, including hard baits (crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, topwater baits), soft plastics, jigs, spoons, wire baits, terminal tackle, fishing line, tools, accessories, eyewear, and apparel. Products are sold through direct e-commerce, authorized dealers, and retail partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Strike King manufactures and sells fishing lures and tackle — hard baits (crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, topwaters), soft plastics (worms, swimbaits, creatures, jerkbaits), jigs, spoons, wire baits, terminal tackle, fishing line, tools, eyewear, and apparel — under the core Strike King brand plus specialty brands KVD (Kevin VanDam), Rage Tail, and Mr. Crappie. Products are sold direct-to-consumer via strikeking.com and through authorized dealers to tournament and recreational anglers in the United States.

Product overview

Strike King is a fishing lure and tackle company offering a comprehensive portfolio of fishing products. The core offerings span hard baits (crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, topwater baits), soft baits (plastic worms, jerkbaits, swimbaits, creatures), jigs & spoons, wire baits, terminal tackle, fishing line, eyewear, tools, and apparel. The company operates three specialty sub-brands: KVD (Kevin VanDam signature baits and tools), Rage Tail (soft plastic lures with unique action designs), and Mr. Crappie (crappie-specific products owned by Wally Marshall). Strike King lures are designed for bass fishing with various products targeting different conditions, depths, and techniques, and the company also distributes complementary Lew's fishing rods and reels through its platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KVD: Specialty brand featuring pro Kevin VanDam's line of baits and tools including squarebill crankbaits and KVD Perfect Plastics
• Rage Tail
• Mr. Crappie

Products and services

• Hard Baits Hard plastic fishing lures including crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, and topwater baits with squarebill and lipless designs targeting bass across all depths. Includes Pro Model Series 3, 4, 6XD, 10XD crankbaits, the Hybrid Hunter, KVD Squarebills, and the KVD Sexy Dawg Topwater.
• Soft Baits Soft plastic lures with lifelike action including trailers, swimbaits, sticks, creatures, frogs, and jerkbaits. Features proprietary coffee scent and salt-infused formulations for enhanced fish attraction. Includes Rage Swimmer, Rage Bug, Rage Craw, Rage Cut-R-Worm, 3X Zero Sinking Stick Worm, 3X Baby Z-Too Soft Jerkbait, KVD Perfect Plastics Ocho and Swim-N-Shiner, and Coffee Fat Tube.
• Jigs & Spoons Jig baits and spoons designed for flipping, swimming, skipping, and vibrating. Includes Premier Pro-Model Jig, Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Flippin Jig, Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swimming Jig, and spoon offerings across multiple sizes and colors.
• Wire Baits Wire construction baits including spinnerbaits and other wire-formed lures. Includes the Premier Pro-Model Spinnerbait Willow and the Tour Grade Heavy-Hitter Rig umbrella rig.
• Terminal Tackle Fishing weights, jig heads, hooks, and skirts for securing hooks and maintaining fishing action. Includes Mr. Crappie Sausage Head, Scizzor Shad Head, and Shadpole jig heads and tubes.
• Saltwater Fishing Products Lures and tackle designed specifically for saltwater fishing applications, built to withstand corrosive saltwater environments.
• Fishing Eyewear Fishing eyewear and sunglasses designed for anglers.
• Tools & Accessories Fishing tools and accessories for anglers.
• Fishing Line Fishing line products for various fishing applications.
• Apparel Clothing and apparel items for anglers.
• KVD Brand (Kevin VanDam Signature Line) Specialty brand featuring Kevin VanDam's line of baits and tools including KVD Squarebill 1.5 and 8.0 Magnum crankbaits, KVD Jerkbait 300, KVD Sexy Dawg Topwater, and KVD Perfect Plastics soft baits, personally designed and tested by the professional angler.
• Rage Tail Brand Soft plastic lure brand featuring Rage Swimmer swimbait, Rage Lizard creature bait, Rage Bug, Rage Craw, and Rage Cut-R-Worm with action-focused appendage and paddle tail designs.
• Mr. Crappie Brand Crappie-specific brand owned by Wally Marshall featuring Sausage Head jig heads, Scizzor Shad Head jig heads, Tube baits, and Shadpole soft plastics for crappie fishing.
• Thunder Cricket Vibrating Swimming Jig Bladed vibrating swimming jig available in multiple weights (3/8oz, 1/2oz, 5/8oz, 3/4oz) for fishing around grass and vegetation. A tungsten-weighted version is also offered. Designed for pre-spawn periods when water temperatures reach mid-to-upper 50s.
• Hybrid Hunter Crankbait Unique crankbait with flat sides and hunting action, runs 4-6 feet deep, designed for retrieving over submerged grass without getting hung up. Features loud rattling sound and unique swimming action. Originally manufactured by Strike Pro (Taiwan) and brought under the Strike King brand.
• Red Eyed Shad Lipless Crankbait Lipless crankbait featuring a realistic shad profile and rattle system, effective in cold water around 50 degrees. A tungsten-weighted 2 Tap 1/2oz version is also offered for enhanced sensitivity.
• Pro Model 10XD Crankbait Deep-diving crankbait designed for deep water structure fishing.
• Pro Model 5XD Silent Crankbait Silent deep-diving crankbait for finicky fish in deeper water.
• KVD Sexy Dawg Topwater Topwater walking dog-style bait designed by Kevin VanDam for surface strikes.
• KVD Perfect Plastics Soft Baits Soft plastic stick baits and swimming shad-style plastics from Kevin VanDam's Perfect Plastics line, including the Ocho 5" stick bait and Swim-N-Shiner 5".

Quantifiable outcome

• Strike King sponsored pro Keith Combs has accumulated over $1.6 million in combined tournament earnings across BASS, FLW, and PAA events
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rapala: Global fishing lure and tackle manufacturer (parent of VMC, Storm, Luhr Jensen) with a similarly broad hard-bait and terminal tackle portfolio. Most direct peer given comparable product mix, retail distribution, and tournament sponsorship strategy.
• Berkley (Pure Fishing): Major fishing lure and tackle brand under Pure Fishing (Sycamore Partners). Directly competes across hard baits, soft baits, and terminal tackle, with similar pro staff sponsorship and DTC distribution.
• Zoom Bait: U.S. soft plastic lure specialist widely used by bass tournament anglers. Comparable to Strike King's Rage Tail and KVD Perfect Plastics lines in soft-bait category positioning.
• Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits: Premium soft plastic bait maker for bass fishing with strong pro angler following. Direct competitor in the soft plastic category where Strike King competes with Rage Tail and KVD Perfect Plastics.
• Megabass: Premium Japanese-designed bass lure brand with strong tournament angler following. Direct competitor in the high-end hard bait and crankbait category where Strike King's KVD and Pro Model lines compete.
• Savage Gear: Multi-species lure brand (owned by Pure Fishing) known for swimbait and predator fishing products. Comparable to Strike King in covering both bass and saltwater segments with realistic-profile lures.

Emerging players

• Missile Baits: Tournament angler-led soft plastic brand (founded by John Crews) competing directly in the bass finesse and creature bait categories where Strike King's Rage Tail and KVD lines are sold.
• Lunkerhunt: Innovative hard bait and soft plastic lure brand competing across multiple species including bass and crappie. Overlaps with Strike King's multi-species strategy including Mr. Crappie.

Broad incumbents

• Lew's: Sister brand under Rather Outdoors, manufacturing fishing rods and reels. While not a direct lure competitor, Lew's distribution channels and parent synergy make it a strategically adjacent peer within the same corporate portfolio.
• Bass Pro Shops Private Label: Vertical retailer that markets proprietary fishing lures and tackle under its own brands. Represents both a major retail channel and a competitive producer of competing lures that could pressure Strike King's authorized dealer shelf space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/strikekinglures
• Facebookfacebook.com/strikekinglure
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strike-king-lure-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strike King