In Memory of Wayne “Loddo” Loddington
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Wayne Loddington, affectionately known to many as “Loddo.” Wayne was a valued and much-loved member of the Jeff Frogleys Agency, now Frogleys Offshore, for many years.
Wayne was more than just a colleague – he was part of the furniture. His warm personality, generous spirit, and passion for the fishing industry forged many special relationships across our company and with countless people in the broader fishing community.
Loddo with Doug Burt & Kevin Ballantine
Based in his hometown of Ballina, Wayne’s contributions to Frogleys and to our industry as a whole were immeasurable. He will be remembered not only for his professionalism and knowledge but also for his friendship, humour, and the respect he showed to everyone he met.
On behalf of everyone at Frogleys Offshore, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Wayne’s family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him. His loss will be deeply felt, and his legacy will live on in the many lives he touched.
If you wish to send your condolences, please pass them on to Frogleys Offshore, and we will ensure they are delivered to Wayne’s family. His funeral is at the Goonellabah Crematorium at noon on Tuesday (August 19). For more information, please contact Michael or Paul.
Wayne, you will be missed but never forgotten.
From all of us at Frogleys Offshore
A prominent figure in Australia’s tackle industry for close to 40 years, Wayne Lodington died in Ballina on August 12 from illnesses related to Parkinson’s and dementia.
After graduating from Casino High School, ‘Loddo’ enlisted in the RAAF and served in various parts of Australia. Most of the planes he dealt with were paper ones, he reckoned. After his stint, he invested his modest payout in the mid-1970s to open a small tackle store in Canberra. Thanks to his astute business acumen, infectious good humour and a lifelong love of all things fishing, The ACT Angler’s annual turnover hit $1 million within a couple of years.
It was common to see Wayne giving a customer their first flycasting lesson up the central parking strip of Lonsdale Street, Braddon, or field-testing the drag on a new Penn International with a 40-metre dash up the footpath.
A keen competitor, especially during the heydays of ANSA, Loddo held some serious state and national line class records, especially for kingfish and yellowfin tuna. When Narooma was at its angling peak, fishos from all over enjoyed the hospitality of his ultra-long caravan at the Van Village.
In the early 1980s, along with his new bride and lifelong love, Anne, Loddo sold up and made the move north to Ballina to be closer to his ageing parents. It wasn’t long before his drive to fulfil the needs of local fishos led him to establish another store, which the pair ran while raising daughters Amy and then Kim. North Coast Bait and Tackle became the major drop-in store for regional fishos. Still, when Jeff Frogley moved his entire rod components operation from southern Sydney to an avocado farm outside Alstonville, and was looking for a warehouse manager, Wayne seized the opportunity to take a 9-5 job and come home to a growing family at a respectable time each night.
When Jeff Frogley Agencies merged to become Frogley’s Offshore, Wayne’s decades of experience fast-tracked the owners, industry newcomers, on their upward trajectory. He initiated and developed the range of Samurai blanks and rods and managed a burgeoning inventory of other top brands.
He was well-loved in the industry and a major figure on the Frogleys AFTA stand for almost two decades, playing key roles on many buying trips to Japan, China, Europe, and the US.
Even in retirement, it was hard to keep Loddo out of the tackle store, where he gladly helped out Brett Hyde at Ballina Bait and Tackle on many occasions. It was also hard to keep the tackle store out of Loddo: when he decided to downsize his lifelong accumulation of tackle, his garage sales were immaculately presented, labelled, priced and as cunningly haggled as in those early days on Lonsdale Street. All his life, he loved the industry, the overwhelming majority of the people in it, and all the people it serves. He loved fishers almost as much as he loved fishing, often even more.
A tribute from Tony Zann, Former Editor NSW Fishing Monthly 2000-2013