For all you guys that collect them They are history.

Atom lures is no longer . They are up for sale .
Looks like Sea Striker is looking to buy them out.

50 years Bob Pond ran a great company and it only took 5 years for these new clowns to distroy it.

Great lures who have deifinitely helped define plugs and plug fishing. It is ashame.

maybe the new ones will be better than the recent models on the market ?

Sad, seem like it's a common practice that when a new company takes over it all goes down the crappper....

old news.

Gibbs too.. a real shame.

old news.

Knew when Metcaf was fired & not at any shows in November. Larrythe other owner was nowhere to be found. But had to waite to confirm

Gibbs too.. a real shame.

Not fair Karl, not fair. Dennis and Dan try hard but they bought the business to keep it from becoming history, problem is they are not plug makers, just recreational fisherman who tried to save something that was worth saving. What they need to do is hire a real plugbuilder who knows his stuff.

Thay had approached one but it didn't work out. They are still looking.

Doesn't Bassmaster need a job? Long commute from Yarmouth though.

Are you saying Gibbs is for sale or in trouble too?

Doesn't Bassmaster need a job? Long commute from Yarmouth though.

BM for head designer :cheers:

I guess I could care less about what happens with Atom now because the quality has been poor since I got into fishing. I'd rather see a product like Atom die than continue on for years putting out junk. This is true for Gibbs too. I like the older style plastic 40's but I'm sure Sea Striker will not bring them back.

I don't expect any improvements by Sea Striker. I do think there is more hope for Gibbs. Just the fact that they've looked for a resident plug builder is encouraging if it's actually true.

BM for head designer :cheers:

That would be pretty sick :blush:

I guess I could care less about what happens with Atom now because the quality has been poor since I got into fishing. I'd rather see a product like Atom die than continue on for years putting out junk. This is true for Gibbs too. I like the older style plastic 40's but I'm sure Sea Striker will not bring them back.

I don't expect any improvements by Sea Striker. I do think there is more hope for Gibbs. Just the fact that they've looked for a resident plug builder is encouraging if it's actually true.

I don't lie Luds.

and then they stole his design :behead:

I don't lie Luds.

That's cool. I guess if you have first hand knowledge then I'll take it as fact. I'm sure I'll here a different version in whatever tackle shop I land in this weekend.:spin:

Not fair Karl, not fair. Dennis and Dan try hard but they bought the business to keep it from becoming history, problem is they are not plug makers, just recreational fisherman who tried to save something that was worth saving. What they need to do is hire a real plugbuilder who knows his stuff.

Thay had approached one but it didn't work out. They are still looking.

Doesn't Bassmaster need a job? Long commute from Yarmouth though.

Sorry Steve.. call 'em like I see 'em.. lot of good folks died for this wonderful Right of Free Speach, we might as well enjoy it, and agree to disagree, it is not personal :).. I know there are a lot of other folks, who have come to the same conclusion as myself.
I hope they can find someone... Jimmy still around?, or the very able fellow that worked for him?....Noble of them to try and save the name, I guess.. but.. have they?.. No Good Deed, goes Unpunished.. so they say...

Anyway.. this is a Thread about the sorry state, of what happened to Bob Pond's company.. not Stan's... So.. hopefully, this thread can get back on track.

The past few years I have noticed that just from use the Atom plugs will split. My buddy caught 1 bluefish on a striper swiper this year, and the plug cracked right down the middle. Anyone else have this problem?

The past few years I have noticed that just from use the Atom plugs will split. My buddy caught 1 bluefish on a striper swiper this year, and the plug cracked right down the middle. Anyone else have this problem?


You should give your buddy a Super Strike or a Creek Chub popper. :)

We accually ended up using alot of super strikes. I love the way they swim when just straight retrieved.

Hi there Flap...................

Had a similar issue a few years ago, one decent blue fish and the swivels tore out of the plug. Useless.

I choose to remember the hgood, not bad, about my Atom lures and the entire time they existed, not just the last five years. Bob Pond was a great guy by all accounts though.

i cut my teeth fishing on popping atoms , ( i also remember 16"min.)my dad had a huge tackle box , nothing but blue and white popping atoms . i have not bought one in years , they turned to junk saddly . for my lite stuff i switched to yozuri hydro poppers and bigger gear i use gibbs but even they are shakey i went through 1/2 doz pencil poppers that split down the middle . all were replaced at no charge but still a pain.

i've got buckets of them,,, seconds that i got 15 years ago from charlie,,, back when you use to be able to go to the factory and pick from the seconds bin and bull %$%$%$%$ with charlie

I particularly like the old 40s, juniors, and reverse atoms. Some of the best old plugs out there. Bob Pond also did more to bring the stripers back from the brink than most people realize. Stripers Unlimited, research on chemical effects on striper fecundity and recruitment, hatcheries.

Hey Gibbs let me loose in there, I can crack a whip real good, its not a job its a passion

Hey Gibbs let me loose in there, I can crack a whip real good, its not a job its a passion


this could be your answer in life....

The new Atom guys screwed me out of good sized return the first year I was in business...Worst company I ever did business with....

Its a shame what is happening to Atom. I'm not in the industry, but it seems that it is a tough business to be in, be successful, and maintain a high standard of quality. It seems that not many of them survive the transition process from one owner to another.

I live close to the old factory. I used to go down and get seconds. I'd also buy the stripers unlimited sweatshirts and T shirts. Bob Pond was great to talk to. I guess they limited quantities to some people but he let me buy all I wanted from the seconds bins and he'd have them rigged how I wanted. Some with single hooks , some with trebles , some with the little bucktail.

I bought so mmany over the years that on day several years after it closed I found a 5 gallon pale with 40 of them in it ticked away in my cellar.

Thay were great poppers. Almost nuetral boyant but did sink. Once you learned how to take advantage of the slow sink , you could kill the fish with them. Rigged with a teaser on a dropper loop they were the best all around lure for fall blitzes IMO.

Anyway , all good things come to an end .

Yes - it is sad.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that the most important part of Bob Pond's and Stan Gibbs' respective legacies does not lie in the brand name or the continuation of lure production, but rather in their influence on those who are working with the same set of values today. If both men were still working they would not be looking backwards.

Ur right about that Joe.
Look to someone like John Habs for the same type commitment..
it shows..

My little bro' lives down the street from the old place. He has lots of "rejects"

I have a box full of about 80 seconds that should tie me over.

Saltheart,,, do you remember charlie? can't remember his last name,, he used to fish south beach with his wife and his jeep,,, i used to work on his jeep back when i worked at Fournier Jeep,,,

I remember a guy who seemed to be in charge when Bob wasn't there. he took good care of me. I also remember a lady who took care of me sometimes. She would actually enforce the 6 plug limit on seconds on me so obviously she wasn't my favorite.

Other than Bob Pond who I talked to often , I didn't really know anyone else by name.

i remember that lady,,, she was tough on that limit thing,,,

she was afraid you would turn around and sell the seconds for profit.

Is Bob still alive?