About Us

COMPANY MISSION STATEMENT
To improve angling results through understanding and innovation.
 
 
CRANKA ESTABLISHMENT
CRANKA Pty Ltd was incorporated as a company on the ninth of September 2009. The company was founded by Mr Steven Steer who is the current Managing Director. The company was structured to research, develop and commercialise a range of unique fishing products that Mr Steer had been working on for more than 10 years prior to the company incorporation.
 
 
COMPANY - BRAND BACKGROUND
From a very young age Steve Steer developed a keen passion for fishing and a love for time spent in the outdoors. With the guidance and loving support of his family and close friends, his passion grew daily and by the age of 12 he was already tinkering with existing fishing tackle in an attempt to improve its fish catching ability. By age 14, he was making some of his own fishing tackle in the form of customized hooks, handmade floats, hand poured sinkers and creating some of his own basic lure and fly designs. Steve became a self-confessed tackle junkie with an insatiable thirst for knowledge of different fishing tackle and fishing techniques. He committed every waking moment to becoming a more accomplished angler and towards developing a greater understanding of fish behaviour and the behaviour of common prey items that fish regularly feed upon. In 1996 Steve quit a well-paid job as a special class electrician to follow his passion and pursued a career working within the tackle industry. Steve spent the next 13 years working in various roles and positions within the Australian Fishing Tackle industry, roles which ranged from the manager of a successful tackle store, working as an angling guide / photo journalist and to managing his own new product, research and development company. It was in this final role that he learned all the necessary skills for successful brand creation, new product design, development and commercialisation. Throughout this 13-year period, Steve also worked behind the scenes on the research and development of a range of unique fishing lure ideas that had been playing on his mind for many years prior. He worked tirelessly to build up his angling experience, to develop necessary skills, to establish industry contacts and he studied to gain the necessary business acumen that was required for the development and commercialisation of these unique ideas. Finally, in September 2009 he registered CRANKA Pty Ltd as a company under which he would develop and launch what was to become the CRANKA brand of today!
 
 
PRODUCT – BRAND DEVELOPMENT
From the brands inception back in September 2009, the long term goal was to deliver to market some very unique and exciting products under the CRANKA brand name. From industry experience, Steve Steer had a clear understanding that it would typically take many years for a new industry brand to earn respect and to gain a strong following from the experienced anglers that he specifically planned to target. From the outset a dedicated, staged, long term approach to the growth of the business and the CRANKA brand was planned. The growth and development of the CRANKA brand to date is as follows:

  • CRANKA started out with the market release of a 40mm, Sinking, Lipless Crankbait Style lure model which was originally released in only eight production colours and was marketed as the ‘CRANKA Vibe’. This lure model was first released onto the Australian market place in early 2010. This lure proved to be highly effective for targeting the Australian Bream species for which it was specifically intended for. This lure quickly gained a strong following from well-respected Australian Bream tournament anglers and it was reported as the winning lure in multiple Australian Bream tournament event wins. This lure model held an all-time Australian Bream Tournament bag record of 13.77kg for a ten fish bag of Bream for over 10 years.

  • The next lure model released by CRANKA in 2010 was a small, 42mm long, ‘Shad’ profile lure model which was marketed within Australia as the ‘CRANKA Shad’. Again this lure model was specifically tuned for targeting Australian Bream species. This small, silent running, suspending, shad style lure profile soon became popular amongst keen bream anglers and it wasn’t long before multiple Australian Bream tournament wins were attributed to this lure.

  • In 2011… after several years of colour development and more than twelve months of solid, design, research, development and field testing… CRANKA released its third lure model in its range which was marketed within Australia as the ‘CRANKA Shallow Crank’. This is a small 35mm hard body, Crank profile style lure model which is designed to run in shallow water and to suspend when paused in brackish/salt water fishing situations. It was designed specifically for targeting ‘Acanthopagrus Butcheri’ which are more commonly referred to as Australian Black Bream. It was the first crank style lure of its type on the Australian Market place that is specifically designed to suspend in saltwater, it was also the first crank style lure to be running oversized / glare style eyes in four different eye colours… It was originally released in 20 fish catching colour designs. This CRANKA Crank lure model has developed a keen following from many well respected tournament anglers and has secured multiple Australian Bream tournament wins to its name since its market release.

  • Following on from the success of the shallow running Crank model… CRANKA soon released a deeper diving version of this 35mm Crank style lure which was marketed in Australia as the ‘CRANKA Deep Crank’ this lure model has established a very keen following from well-respected Bream tournament anglers and has also secured multiple Australian Bream tournament wins to its name since its market release.

  • In 2012, after years of research, development, prototyping and extensive field testing, CRANKA released a 59mm, Suspending Minnow Style Lure model which was released in both Shallow and Deep running models at the same time. These lure models were marketed within Australia as the 'CRANKA Minnow Shallow' and 'CRANKA Minnow Deep'. Both of these minnow lure models were originally released in fifteen natural fish catching colours… these colours incorporated some unique foil finishes that are designed to closely match common Australian baitfish species. This minnow style lure was an instant success with keen anglers and the first production stocks sold out in presales before stocks had even landed at CRANKA’s Australian headquarters.

  • In 2012, after more than 10 years of extensive research, development, prototyping, field testing and refinement… CRANKA released its unique, World First, Patent Pending, 50mm CRANKA Crab lure model. This unique hybrid Crab lure design won the prestigious ‘Best New Hard Lure’ award at the annual Australian Fishing Tackle Association Tradeshow awards. It is marketed in Australia as the ‘CRANKA Crab’ and it was originally released in eight highly realistic crab colours. Since its market release, this Crab lure has become a must have item for any Bream angler and it has already achieved more Australian Bream tournament event wins than any other lure before it. In addition to the countless Bream qualifier event wins it now has to its name, the CRANKA Crab has also won multiple Australian Bream Tournament Grand Final titles and it also has a Hobie Kayak World Championship fishing title to its name. This lure is currently available in eleven highly realistic production colours, all of which closely resemble real live crabs in both look and in water action. Now in the second half of 2017 (years after its original release), This CRANKA Crab lure model is still winning Bream tournaments and is still selling off the shelf within many Australian Tackle Stores.

  • Due to customer demand for bigger CRANKA Crab lure models…CRANKA released a 65mm, scaled up version of its original Crab lure onto the Australia market place in early 2017. Demand and sales of this bigger Crab lure model are now growing fast within the AUS market place and it is already winning highly respected Australian Fishing tournaments.

  • With demand coming from anglers requesting even bigger, single hook model rigged CRANKA Crabs for the targeting of bigger, stronger fish species other than Bream… CRANKA set out several years ago now to design a strong, Single Hook Model Crab lure that would be suitable for targeting larger fish species. In August 2017 CRANKA released another world first Crab lure design onto Australian and global markets.

  • The demand for CRANKA products from offshore markets is growing daily with CRANKA having now received expressions of interest from in excess of 30+ countries globally. To cater to this global demand, CRANKA has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to create and structure a new global product range and distribution plan and we look forward to international brand growth in the coming years.

 
CRANKA MANAGEMENT TEAM  

Steven Steer  –  Founder and Managing Director

Steve has had a passion for angling and a love for the outdoors all of his life. He is the proud father of three young children aged 7-12 years and he has been a loving husband to his wife Debbie for the past 27 years. Steve developed a keen passion for angling from a very young age and by the age of 14 he was already making his own hooks, floats and sinkers and was tinkering with all his fishing tackle in an attempt to improve its performance in the field. Over the past 47 years, Steve has dedicated a great deal of his life to improving his angling ability and to developing a greater understanding of fish and prey behaviour. Steve is an accomplished tournament angler with a long list of Bream and Trout fishing tournament wins to his name. Steve started his working career as a special class Electrician until he chose to follow his passion and to seek out employment in the Australian Fishing Tackle Industry way back in 1996.  Steve grew up in Victoria, Australia but moved to Tasmania in 2003 to follow his love for fishing and the outdoors and to raise a family. After many years of extensive research, development and with more than 13 years of industry experience under his belt, Steve decided to launch his own lure brand in September 2009. Since launching the CRANKA lure brand it has gone on to become the multi award winning, highly respected and in high demand Australian lure brand that it is today.

For more detailed information about Steven Steer CLICK HERE.

 
Andrew Cox – Company Director and Investor
Andrew, a native of Northern Tasmania, has cultivated a lifelong passion for fishing. Introduced to the activity by his father at the tender age of 4, his enthusiasm and dedication to the sport has only grown stronger over the years. During his formative years, Andrew spent a significant amount of time away from home, exploring various fishing locations such as lakes, rivers, and local lagoons for trout, or pursuing saltwater species, close to home in the Tamar River. When he was at home, he would immerse himself in fly tying, restocking fly boxes, and experimenting with new patterns for future fishing trips. At 21, Andrew entered the local bream and trout tournament fishing scene in Tasmania, achieving notable success. Presently, he resides in Northern Tasmania with his partner Celestine and their three children. Andrew currently holds a full-time position at CRANKA Pty Ltd, where he collaborates closely with Steve on the company's day-to-day management.
For more information about Andrew Cox CLICK HERE.

 

Brendan McNamara – Company Director and Investor
Long-time family friend of the Steer family, Brendan has always been a keen angler. Brendan loves chasing all fish species from bream, trout and whiting… to GT’s, Tuna, Sailfish and Marlin. If it has fins and swims Brendan has probably chased it at some point in time. Like most other keen fisherman, Brendan started fishing at a very early age and his continued passion for fishing is stronger today than it ever has been!

For more information about Brendan McNamara CLICK HERE.

 

Graham Steer – Company Director and Investor

Graham is Steve's eldest brother and like Steve he established a passion for fishing from a very young age. Growing up in a family with loving parents who lived to spend as much time in the outdoors as possible has instilled in him a lifelong love for hunting, camping, fishing and an outdoors lifestyle. Graham is the proud father to three adult children and he lives with his wife Jennie in there family home on a beautiful rural property in the Dandenong Ranges in the outer Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Graham has run his own highly successful Electrical Contracting business for the last 30 years. These days Graham and Jennie spend as much time as possible travelling and spending quality time in the outdoors with friends and family.

For more information about Graham Steer CLICK HERE.

 

Neville Cox – Business Partner and Investor
Neville… the father of Andrew is also a keen fisherman himself. He grew up in Northern Tasmania and spent the majority of his childhood and teenage years out fishing with his mates and his younger brother, usually haunting the old Blackwall Jetty on the Tamar River! It was not until Neville introduced his son Andrew to fishing that a stronger following to lures began! Now days Neville owns and works in a very successful butcher shop near Launceston in Tasmania, and has 3 adult aged children. Neville still fishes whenever he gets the chance!

For more information about Neville Cox CLICK HERE.

 
GOALS AND FUTURE DIRECTION
Since the company's inception in 2009, CRANKA has worked very hard to design, create, deliver and market a range of fishing lures that have proven to deliver outstanding results to anglers in the field. Over the last ten years the CRANKA brand has managed to earn a following and gain a respect from many well-respected anglers and industry players within the Australian fishing scene. CRANKA management believes that the Australian fishing tackle market is a very tough market to crack and only through the lessons learned from successful trading within the Australian market place, does CRANKA now feel it is well placed and ready to deliver to a wider global market place. In the years ahead, CRANKA has some huge plans to deliver a range of exciting, world first, angling products to global markets and the team at CRANKA simply can’t wait to show everyone what the long term future for the brand holds… watch this space!