Another little bit of BBH (Big Bait History).
The original name of this bait was the "Frying Pan Bait", because it was not made in a Silpac Silicon mold. It was made, in a five dollar frying pan, on Jerry's stove, in Independence, CA., much like a pancake is made. Before the first 3D Generic Trout (I named this bait), there were no 3D hand pour molds, only injection molds. John Zank developed the first 3D hand pour molds around 2002.

I went to Jerry's house to see this bait, and while looking rough, I was completely blown away by the way it swam in the creek behind Jerry's house. The third 'frying pan' bait had a clear hard lip melted into the bait, and this evolved into another one of Rago's lures.

Although the first few were dynamite, OEM is what killed this killer design. Once the hand of the master crafter was not involved in the making of each lure, it became a different animal.
:+

Although this lure was not a sauces, one must remember that this lure was years before the Hudd that everyone is comparing this bait to (as far as sink rates, body finish, rigging, etc.)
From a handful of use plastic and a frying pan, this bait still has come a long way, IMO.

"Known as the person who introduced swimbait fishing to Japan"