Charlie Murat owned Murat's Tackle Shop in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. Charlie was one of the first custom rod builders in New England and his rods were highly sought after. The talented Murat started making lures sometime around 1946 and was soon well known throughout New England for his jointed and straight swimming plugs. Charlie's earliest plugs were cotter-pin constructed and later on he started thru wiring his lures, some of the styles also changed slightly over the years. Most of his lures were unmarked making them very difficult for collectors to identify today. Over and over through the years I have come across many lures that I couldn't identify. But thinking back now, I realize that many of them were Murat's.

  It is said that one night in the late 1960's, Charlie Murat died fighting a large cow from the beach. What a fitting ending for such a dedicated surf fisherman.