What is a Kona head, and why does it matter on an octopus skirt lure?
Short answer
The name comes from Hawaii. The dished-out shape was first called a conventional head, and a Kona head is the version with a scooped nose and an offset pulling point where the leader exits below centre at the front.
In detail
That offset is what makes the lure wander instead of tracking straight. FishTrack describes it as a wild head that will not sit still, and notes that Sevenstrand began making them in bulk in the 1970s, which is how the shape reached the rest of the trolling world. For a buyer, Kona is a head geometry, not a brand.
The numbers behind this answer
| Speed window | What runs there | What it demands of the head and skirt |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 6 knots | The original Hawaiian Kona heads, whose leader hole sat below centre at the front (InTheBite) | A head that still works at low speed; the offset pulling point is what makes it wander and duck |
| Speed window | What runs there | What it demands of the head and skirt |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 8 knots | Octopus skirts, whose thicker strands pulse at this speed (Tackle Room) | Strand weight and skirt length do the work, so the head tooling itself can stay relatively simple |
Where this answer comes from
Part of the product record Octopus skirt trolling lures: Kona heads and speed windows (Octopus Skirt). The record carries the tables this answer is drawn from, the fields a factory needs before quoting, and an explicit list of what has not been verified.
Products that solve this
Sampled listings from the same product family (Octopus Skirt). Reference price per unit with the MOQ stated; a quotation against your specification governs a transaction.
All octopus skirt listings · factory identity is released after a trade account is approved.
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Other questions in this record
- Which skirt length should a buyer stock?
- How do strand style and strand count change the lure?
- Should the head be resin or lead?
- What trolling speeds should the product be sold for?
- Who actually buys skirted trolling lures, and how?
- How is an octopus skirt trolling lure priced from a Chinese factory?
- How should skirt durability be specified on an order?
Related questions
- What is a sea urchin soft lure and what does it imitate? - Sea urchin soft lures
- What makes a fork tail a fork tail, and what does the fork do? - Fork-tail soft plastics: the multi-pack value tier
- How is an octopus skirt trolling lure priced from a Chinese factory? - Octopus skirt trolling lures: Kona heads and speed windows
Still unsure?
Send the product, the quantity and the destination market, and you get an answer against verified factory records within one business day. If the question is useful to other buyers we publish it as a page like this one.
Sources
- Slant vs. Cupped Head Lures: Action Makes the Difference, InTheBite - Kona head origin, 4 to 6 knot Hawaiian speeds and the 7 to 15 knot band
- Anatomy of a Trolling Lure, FishTrack - Kona head shape and behaviour, resin against soft heads, jets and inserts
- Vinyl Revival, FishTrack - skirting a trolling lure, vinyl against silicone, fringe width and trimming
- Fishing Lure Skirts, Tackle Room - 8 to 9 inch and 13 to 14 inch skirt matching, octopus against squid strands, 6 to 8 knot pulsing
- Fatboy Lead Bullet Trolling Lure, Fathom Offshore - 13 oz and 25 oz lead heads, 9 inch and 14 inch builds, rigging options and lead warning
- Octopus Skirt price band and MOQ range quoted from our own sampled listings at /products/
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Last reviewed: 2026-09-18 · build 2026-09-18-0kfwu