RKane Interview

SU teamed up with artist & fisherman Robert Kane to bring a new logo into our winter apparel lineup: the Swimbait Underground x Rkane Collaboration Bass design. Robert was kind enough to answer some questions for us to give the community a better idea about the designer.

Where are you from?

So I’m from Whitman Mass, the South Shore, about 35-40 min south of Boston.

How long have you been fishing?

I've been fishing since I was like 7/8. I actually learned and caught the bug from my aunt Kathy. She would take me as a kid and that’s where I found the love. And also my neighbor Mark - he taught me how to tie flies around the same time.

When did you hear about swimbaits / start throwing them and getting interested in them?

About 4/5 years ago I got into the big baits and that’s only because I had this fisherman hit me up and asked if I could re paint some of his swimbaits. I never painted baits before but I was willing to give it a try. I didn’t charge him but in return of painting his baits he gave me a box full of swimbaits. One of the baits he gave me was a Roman Trick, and that bait is what ultimately gave me a swimbait addiction.

I heard that you make your own baits?

Yea, about a year and a half ago I decided to give it a go. I like to be creative and work with my hands and it gave me a chance to create outside of drawing and tattooing.

I started to make myself swimbaits in the aspect if I lost it or destroyed it my wallet wouldn’t be hurting lol. Swimbaits are expensive and a lot of them are so hard to get your hands on. I never made anything out of wood before but one day I ran to Home Depot bought a band saw & a little belt sander, came home and started to carve a fish.

It was interesting, from the first to my most recent bait I’ve caught fish on. Each one I make, I adjust a little to perfect the little things in it - length, swim , weight , and shape. I figure do it this way before I start really getting into the “look” and waste time on carving a face and gills and paint. All those are aesthetics and are meaningless if the bait as a whole don’t work. So far I’ve made a 3 peice crankdown , and a wake, and a 4 peice slow sink.

What inspired or influenced the way you made your baits?

Not sure to be honest. The shape of them right now is nothing special. I pretty much drew a football shape cut it out and sanded/rounded it out. It’s almost like the little fish drawings you would make as a kid. As far as joints and cuts I just measured all the baits i had in my swimbait box , figuring there had to be some common ground between each of them.

What is your favorite memory in regards to swimbait fishing?

We fished all day in a light drizzle , hit everywhere with no bites , I was literally falling asleep inside the boat , not knowing my buddy was doing the same , we fished for about 8/9 hours but didn’t say a word we kept grinding, I tell my buddy "dude I just fell asleep." Haha he said he did too. We agreed to make our way back to the truck as we are going back we can’t help but toss a few casts here and there at every tasty spot. Might as well right? It’s on our way.

We come up to a point and my buddy Donnie says a fish just jumped behind us. I laughed cause it was the first bit of action all day. I reeled in and kind of made a joke and casted behind us like a jackass not thinking anything of it. The bait (6 inch Hudd) hit the water and no more than 2 seconds my Low Down H rod loaded up! This thing nailed it... I start reeling & I could feel it’s weight. It jumped we saw it my heart was like ohhhhhh f*%kkkkk, so I kept reeling tip in the water but I felt nothing. I thought I lost her... I kept reeling and there was no tension. I’m almost at the boat and I stopped reeling being super bummed out that I lost the only fish of the day. Then all of a sudden this clever fish turned around and went straight down loading up the rod again. Smart fish just swam towards the boat faster than I could reel!

My buddy scooped her up in the net, I was like holy crap that’s a smallie of a lifetime here in Massachusetts. My heart was racing adrenaline was pumping & hands are shaking. That’s why we do what we do. How emotions and everything can change with a single cast. Just in that one moment, you forget about the 9 hours in the cold, rain, falling asleep, hungry, ect. None of that even matters we fish for that moment & that memory.

What your favorite thing about the swimbait community?

My favorite thing is that people that are into swimbaits are extremely into swimbaits. The community is great - it’s hardcore in the aspect of dedication to that style of fishing and the craft that goes with it.

What is your artistic background?

I’ve always been drawing ever since I was like 3/4 years old - its all I ever wanted to do. I went to college with a scholarship for illustration. I wanted to work for Disney but tattooing fell in my lap right after college. Not knowing anything about that industry I gave it a whirl, and it’s allowed me to create my art and travel the world and meet so many amazing people and open up so many doors it’s incredible.

I have been tattooing now for almost 10 years and I feel blessed everyday that I get to wake up and make a living drawing things I love. The first shop that I learned at closed after the first 2 years. I’m now at Stinky Monkey tattoos in Kingston Mass where I get to work alongside some truly amazing people.