Our Story

Natural Selection Custom Fishing Lures is owned and operated by me, Steve Gdula. I started fishing as soon as I was big enough to cast a line and I haven't stopped since. Growing up in the lower Hudson Valley of NY, I started fishing seriously in my early twenties. An expert scientific angler, I have chased almost everything that swims - from fresh water to estuaries to salt water.

I have vast experience fishing the streams and rivers of the Catskill and Adirondack mountains, the lower tidal portion of the Hudson River and its tributaries, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Champlain, Lake George, the Northeast Kingdom and the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to Virginia.

I'm an experienced club/tournament angler and guide who enjoys helping clients not only catch fish, but also to understand the theory and practice of seasonal species-specific angling. I started Natural Selection Custom Fishing Lures to serve my clients further by making exactly what they need for any species in any season.

I personally make every single lure to your specifications, or I can develop the specifications based on the species you're chasing. For about the price of off-the-shelf lures you can have a unique piece of art that fishes strong and lasts until you lose it. I don't use commercial stencils and I don't mass-produce my lures. Every piece is made by hand, one at a time, for the utmost originality and the highest quality.

I've been promoting natural selection in fish populations and furthering Darwinism my entire fishing career. This is the reason for Natural Selection Custom Fishing Lures...they straight up kill fish.

In 2023 I left my career as the CEO of a medical device manufacturing company to get back to my roots and do what I truly love full-time once again - fishing and making fishing fishing equipment. I'm grateful for your business and your support!

Steve