Article Courtesy: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ | By: Steve Waters | Originally Published: September 26, 2016 | Please click here for original article.

Above: Frank Johnson, left, and his son Frank Johnson III with their Mold Craft Soft Head lures. (Sun Sentinel file)

Frank Johnson revolutionized big game fishing with his Mold Craft Soft Head lures.

A gifted innovator, he built a pneumatic injection molding machine that made soft plastic trolling lures that marlin would bite and hold on to.

Over the next 40 years, his small Pompano Beach company produced lures that caught fish around the world and set more than 200 IGFA world records, including the all-tackle Atlantic blue marlin record of 1,402 pounds that was caught in Brazil.

Johnson, of Lighthouse Point, died at the age of 77 Monday morning after a long illness. He and his son Frank Johnson III expanded the business over the years and produced numerous other innovations, including lures, plastic rod butts and shooting targets.

“Frank was a huge legend in the fishing world, no doubt,” said George Poveromo of Parkland, who is the host of “George Poveromo’s World of Salt Water Fishing” on NBC Sports. “When it came to making sure to put products on the market that caught fish, he was relentless.”

Johnson’s charitable efforts were also legendary. He was a big supporter of artificial reefs and the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo, which helped fund numerous ship sinkings.

Former Rodeo executive director Patti Carr said Johnson “made the first donation” when the tournament decided to establish and fund a marine science program at Ely High School in Pompano Beach. He also was the first to match the Rodeo’s $10,000 donation to fund the Junior Angler exhibit at the IGFA. “That got the ball rolling and we raised about $40,000 that night,” Carr said.

A machinist, Johnson developed new ways to make airplane parts for Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut. He moved to South Florida in 1969 and got involved in the marine industry by designing machines to make hardware for boats, including rod-holders, cleats, hatches and outrigger clips. He also machined aluminum rod butts and fly reels.

He got into the lure business when he designed a machine to injection-mold plastic squids. He sold the machine, but when the buyer encountered hard times, Johnson took it back and began experimenting with different types and amounts of plastic to make the perfect lure.

“We started cooking the things in my oven,” said Sandy Johnson, his ex-wife, who remained close to him. “He ruined every pan I had in the house trying to get the formula right.”

That was in 1976. During a trip to Mexico the following year, Johnson went fishing with Capt. Peter Wright. According to Sandy Johnson, Wright had his own crude, homemade trolling lures but complained they were too hard and marlin would not hold on to them.

When he returned to Pompano Beach, Johnson designed a trolling lure with the softness of his plastic squids that he called the Soft Head.

“To this day, Mold Craft Soft Heads and Frank Johnson are synonymous with marlin fishing,” said Tom Greene of Custom Rod & Reel in Lighthouse Point. “Frank made some of the very, very first major fishing lures in the industry. Many of the shapes and styles of lures made today came from the original prototypes of the lures that Frank and his son built.”

When he wasn’t designing new products, the fun-loving Johnson loved to fish and hunt and have a drink or two. He and his wife, Shelley, would travel the country in their motorhome for months at a time.

“He had a great life. His bucket list was empty,” Frank Johnson III said. “We can’t be sad about his passing, we just have to accept it and know he touched so many lives.”

A memorial service for Johnson, who is also survived by his son Ryan and grandchildren Tate and Jake, is 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Kraeer Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 1199 NE 36th St., Pompano Beach.

Frank Johnson III said his ashes will be scattered “in some of Dad’s favorite places in far-flung destinations” at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family is establishing a fund in Johnson’s name to benefit Broward County‘s artificial reef program.