About

Bill Lewis was a decorated World War II bomber pilot that grew up in the small town of Laurel, MS. He was an interesting blend of an artist, a salesman, and a fierce competitor. His brother Jack spoke of Bill selling minnows on the street as a kid. Bill went on to be a highly sought after football recruit, but went to war for his country before ever seeing any time on the field in college.

After flying over 30 missions in WWII, Bill returned home and went to art school in Chicago. Thereafter he worked as a commercial artist in Dallas, TX and Jackson, MS. During that time Bill’s passion for fishing and his entrepreneurial spirit started to lead him into designing and selling fishing lures.

Bill made many attempts and took great risks in starting a fishing lure business before making it big. When most people would have called it quits and gone for a safer career path, Bill pressed on always finding a way to continue pursuing his dream. Then in the 60’s he developed a true champion of the fishing tackle industry, the legendary Rat-L-Trap®. 

When he heard the Rat-L-Trap coming through the water and saw his buddies catching fish like never before he knew he had something special. Bill also knew he needed a good name for this bait. Driving home from Toledo Bend one day in his old Ford station wagon, it hit him, he’d just name the lure after his car, the RattleTrap. It was noisy, but dependable like no other!

Today the Rat-L-Trap brand is the number 1 selling brand of hard-baits. With over 350 size and color combinations, The Trap™ is the undisputed king of lipless crankbaits.

In recent years the Bill Lewis company has begun working closely with it’s pro-staff and customer base to bring them even more offerings. Some of these new products are inspired by innovative, original design and others have been developed out of the desire to improve on existing designs, but one thing is sure, all Bill Lewis products are held to a high standard of performance and made with quality.

We value the feedback of our customers, and encourage you to come to us with any concern, idea, or experience that you’d like to share. Our offices are open Mon-Fri, 8am-4:30pm Central Time, and we can be reached at 1-800-633-4861 or customerservice@rat-l-trap.com .