Tackle Development History: BTI, Silver Bullet and Salmon Buster

October 18, 2026

Summarized from Capt. John King's product pages on MichiganSportsman.com: 2006 BTI Report Card · 2008 Silver Bullets · 3D Tackle 2014 · Salmon Buster Spoons.

Capt. John tested every product on the water before selling it. Here's how three of his signature lines came to be.

2006: the 10" BTI flasher

John designed the shorter 10" BTI and 2-fly meat rig after seeing how hard it was to land fish on 10' diver rods in smaller boats.
Matched pairs spin in opposite directions, port and starboard, so divers on each side don't tangle.
In its debut season, John published a "report card" of captains' results and tournament finishes from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and New York, with Black Mamba, Krystal Killer, Mountain Dew and Double Glow among the producing colors.

Chrome flashers, bullet heads and meat heads with a mirror polish.
Tested from mid-August into early September 2007 off Ludington, Arcadia, Manistee and Leland, 50–130' down, with help from message board members "Getaway" Bob K. and "Codfish" Craig.
Released for 2008. The Silver Bullet flasher is still one of our best sellers.

John noted it could cost around $50,000 to bring a new lure to market, and his 2005 meat head had taken about a year and $3,000 of prototypes.
So he bought a 3D printer. From May to October 13, 2014 he spent over 2,000 hours and 8+ design revisions on the spoon.
The result: a Lexan spoon in 4.0" and 4.65" sizes with a patented reinforced perimeter, about half the weight of brass spoons.
First double header on prototypes: July 4, 2014, off Onekama.
Every spoon color matches one of his flasher or meat rig colors.

Shop: BTI flashers · Silver Bullet · Salmon Buster spoons