Owen Lupton
Pamlico County Native
Owen Aubrey Lupton is a native North Carolinian from Pamlico County. Back in the day, Owen was very well aquainted with the Hudson Family and their fishing skills. As a young boy in the mid 1960's, Owen would frequent The Cash Corner Supermarket (Ernie Hudson's Store) and would get all the info he could on "drumming." Owen was inspired and, besides growing up to be a teacher, he grew up a skilled angler of the "Old Drum" himself; hence, developing a drum rig (AKA Owen Lupton) after seeing the need for a more humane catch and release device. In 2017, to honor the legacy, Captain Owen presented Russ Hudson (Ernie's son) with exclusive permission to carry the tradition and hand-tie the Owen Lupton Rigs exactly the way he made them, and continue to use his name for these special rigs.
Owen Lupton Rig
The Owen Lupton Rig works by preventing the fishing hook from going down to the gut and causing lethal damage to catch and release fish. By design, the sinker prevents the fish from taking the hook deeper in its mouth. The fish most often will get hooked at the corner of the mouth, secondary to the stationary weight. This set is more humane and causes less trauma to the fish.