Lure Business?

[D.W. Verts]

Lure making/building/designing is addictive. I've done it since my sophomore year in high school under the tutelage of the likes of Guido Hibdon (maybe the BEST bait tinkerer ever). And you can't just build a few, or even a dozen lures. Sometimes the numbers get into the hundreds.

And now I've had requests for baits from some of my YouTube community. I have some locals that got my stuff years ago and are waiting for more. My wife says it's cool. Hmmm.

I understand the business side of this. I sold baits for a few years in the early to mid 90's. I know exactly what it does to you when you make your fun into work.

So I'm looking for input. There's just about a Gazillion tackle companies out there. My stick will be more towards "custom" baits. Hard baits, old-school jigs, a very unique bladed jig, spinnerbaits, buzz baits, and maybe one-off hand-pour plastics. Maybe.

No one will ever replace Bo and I'm not going to try. But I'm looking for input. Of course if I do this the very first act will be to place a sponsorship on Ultimate Bass. Of course.




Dale

[Princeton_Man]

First off Dale, I support your entrepreneurial thoughts and efforts 100%, but do you really want to take that leap? 

I'm reminded of a guy living up here in the mountains of WV. He's retired, very skilled, and loves to build bird houses and other small woodcraft items. He doesn't take orders, he doesn't even sell from his home. He fills his cargo trailer during the Spring and Summer. Then he attends dozens of flea markets and craft shows in the Fall. Once his trailer is empty and his wallet is full, he and his wife spend their Winters or Mexico or Florida.

If you can crank out your baits in your workshop in your spare time, sell them to local bait shops for cash when you have enough to sell, not have to take orders, or keep records, that's a great deal.

[Donald Garner]

Sounds like a good idea if that's what you want to do.  I would think that this would be something fun and something to do during the Winter Time?  I also think that at some point you would get tired and find this not fun anymore. 

Having this hobby should be fun and that means you can stop when you want too and finish up when you feel like it.

Why create a headache that you don't presently have?

[bigjim5589]

Dale, you know that I have a tackle business and if you do decide to go forward with this, I would be happy to help you with anything that I can.

You have extensive business experience, so I don't know that I could add much there, but I have been making and selling tackle for years, so maybe something I could help you with. If folks are already wanting lures from you, then that's not a bad reason to get started.

Since covid started, there have been a lot of folks get involved in tackle making & fly tying and a good many have started to sell what they make.

My view on that is there's some talented folks and there's some not as talented as they think they are.  That works itself out! 

I know a lot of folks now who pour lead, plastics & of course the tyers, both those who tie flies & those who only tie jigs. Most are helpful, some are not and there's a lot of excellent products being sold too. It's not easy to put a price on what ideas are in folks minds, and you likely fall into that category for as long a you've been making lures for yourself!

As far as going forward with a business, only you can decide whether it's worthwhile for you & your personal situation. With my own life events this past year, I had considered giving up, but I really do enjoy it, and most of all the people I may meet. I believe the Lord has something in mind for me too with all this, as it's one of the few talents I have. Perhaps that's the case with you too!   

[Smallie_Stalker]

Ask yourself some questions like " aside from friends who will buy from me to support my business what can I offer to those I don't know that's different from all the other stuff out there"? "Can I price my products competitively and still turn a profit or at least break even"? "With everything else going on in my life, how much time can I put into this and how much product can I produce in that time"?
You get the idea.

Twice in my life I have taken something I loved and had fun doing and turned it into "work". Both times it totally ruined my enjoyment and passion and ultimately I stopped doing them.

Not saying that will happen to you. Just saying ask yourself a lot of questions,  think it all the way through and if you can find a way to keep it fun then I say go for it.

You only live once so you might as well spend whatever time you can doing something you enjoy.



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[D.W. Verts]

Thanks guys. It's something to think about. I love to build baits. And as Jim will tell you it's impossible to stop at just a few. You know how folks get when you leave them wanting. Anyway, I mentioned it on my YT channel and folks have gave very positive feedback.

In the last week I've poured several hundred of bass jigs and grub & swim bait heads. I've learned to powder coat with a fluid bed. And I've open-poured a bunch of plastics, and used my first ever injection molds. Been a good week.

Of course, when the weather gets warm and I get to fishin' again...

Dale

[J.W.]

Thanks guys. It's something to think about. I love to build baits. And as Jim will tell you it's impossible to stop at just a few. You know how folks get when you leave them wanting. Anyway, I mentioned it on my YT channel and folks have gave very positive feedback.

In the last week I've poured several hundred of bass jigs and grub & swim bait heads. I've learned to powder coat with a fluid bed. And I've open-poured a bunch of plastics, and used my first ever injection molds. Been a good week.

Of course, when the weather gets warm and I get to fishin' again...

Dale

Maybe you could make the building an "off-season" thing. Make up enough in the winter, sell through the year, and still be able to go fishing come spring?

[bigjim5589]

Thanks guys. It's something to think about. I love to build baits. And as Jim will tell you it's impossible to stop at just a few. You know how folks get when you leave them wanting. Anyway, I mentioned it on my YT channel and folks have gave very positive feedback.

In the last week I've poured several hundred of bass jigs and grub & swim bait heads. I've learned to powder coat with a fluid bed. And I've open-poured a bunch of plastics, and used my first ever injection molds. Been a good week.

Of course, when the weather gets warm and I get to fishin' again...

Dale

Maybe you could make the building an "off-season" thing. Make up enough in the winter, sell through the year, and still be able to go fishing come spring?

That's a great plan, until one of your best customers wants something you didn't have made up ahead! 

I've tried that and it always changes what folks will want!

Dale is correct, that if you get folks wanting what you make, a few is never enough, and it can get difficult to keep up.

I used to do a small show in MD that was usually in Feb or early March, and would spend weeks preparing for it. No matter what I had with me, someone wanted something different! 

It's just how fishing folks are! 

[D.W. Verts]

Man, what great stuff! Jim is dead-on. I did  one show the winter of '92 and'93. I took something over 1000 spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and jigs with me, and all I heard was- "You ever do them like THIS?" or "How come you don't have THIS color?"

I was like Charlie Brown- AARRRGGGHHH!!!

Still, I paid a bunch of entry fees after that show, and re-stocked supplies, some that I still have to this day. You get a LOT of blades buying them several hundred at a time.

I've injected about 200 baits this past week, including 50 this morning. I poured about 220 lead heads. And I used my fluid bed for the first time. Next week I'm going fishin'. All of this, except for a few promised baits, may rest until next winter. Can you tell how gung-ho I am about this?

Dale

[Donald Garner]

Dale, best of luck with the lure business.

Some of the Boat Dealerships here now have Tackle Stores inside of the show rooms.  I seen a lot of really nice looking Baits & Custom Rods that were made and for the most part did well in the sells. 

One of the things I always heard the customers mentioned at the Boat Shows was just what you said...How come you don't have this color or this style etc.

A lot of the guys that are making baits now just focus on 'What's' being used and catching fish in a Specific Area / Lake now.

I have a question here:  Are you making A Gator Tail Worm?  I've been looking around for the G-Man Gator tail worm that Zoom used to make.  Of course they don't make them anymore.  That worm is one of my favorite Swimming / Flipping and Pitching Worm.

[D.W. Verts]

Thanks Don, I always appreciate your input.

That G-Tail deal. You know it's one of my favorite worms. Okay, it IS my favorite overall. I should have bought Doc Irv's mold. I didn't pull the trigger fast enough, and then it was gone.

THAT BEING SAID. It's on my list. Injection molds are expensive, and I'm only buying so many. But lure business or not, the Gator Tail is on MY list. Heck, very few folks are going to throw it anyway. Thanks again sir.

Dale

[Smallie_Stalker]

Thanks Don, I always appreciate your input.

That G-Tail deal. You know it's one of my favorite worms. Okay, it IS my favorite overall. I should have bought Doc Irv's mold. I didn't pull the trigger fast enough, and then it was gone.

THAT BEING SAID. It's on my list. Injection molds are expensive, and I'm only buying so many. But lure business or not, the Gator Tail is on MY list. Heck, very few folks are going to throw it anyway. Thanks again sir.

Dale

If you make the Gator Tail please let us know.

Swimming that worm with a light weight in around and through pads saved the day for me so many times.



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[D.W. Verts]

If you make the Gator Tail please let us know.

Swimming that worm with a light weight in around and through pads saved the day for me so many times.



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Thanks Jim. Even if I never start a company, that G-Tail is going to happen, even if I have to have a custom mold built (choke!). It's that good of a bait.

Started injection pouring last week. While I've open-poured many a lure over the years, this is my first attempt at "real" plastic molding.





Dale

[Donald Garner]

Dale, you got the RIGHT COLOR combinations going there in those baits.  Those are some KILLER colors down here in Texas 





Can you T-Rig those baits or they just used as a Jig Trailer?

[Smallie_Stalker]

I second what Don said about the colors. IMO they should cover every water condition from ultra clear to muddy.

Don, you absolutely can T-Rig them. Rigging options are wide open for this style of bait.

Before Yamamoto started calling them Hula grubs (because of the "skirt" and the way they "danced" on the fall) most people called them spider grubs.

Here up north they were a staple for deep water rigged on a football head. They were also commonly fished on the Charlie Brewer slider heads especially among small mouth anglers. Zippy is a master at this technique.

You can fish them weightless or with a weight of your choice, on a jighead of your choice, you can pitch or flip them drag them across bottom or swim them. The only real limitation is our imaginations.

As a bonus, they are also 3 baits in 1. You can fish them the way they are, you can remove the skirt and you've got a twin tail grub, or you can remove the legs and you have an Ika style bait (think solid body tube bait).

The possibilities are so varied which is probably why I have so many of this style bait.

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[D.W. Verts]

What Smallie said. We always called 'em "Spider Grubs" and thought they were a little fish bait. Oops.

My PRIMARY use for them is in cold water (right now) and I fish them on 8# line and a 1/8, 1/4, or 5/16 ounce head, mostly dragging them. BUT, they work on spawning bass. They work as a flippin' bait. You can swim them. Oh yeah.

I did a YT video last month that was strictly about the Hula Grub on Lake of the Ozarks.

I'm thinking about coming up with my own fancy names and colors. Like "Punkin' Crush" (pictured). You know, something cooolll.

Dale

[caddyjoe77]

Dale I will be glad to buy some jigs off you. Some Tennessee river specials

i think one needs to do what makes the mind tick and keep said mind active otherwise we turn into a veggie.  i would say make some, see where it goes. 

[D.W. Verts]

Thanks Joe. Trying to come up with some parameters that I can live with.

Dale

[D.W. Verts]

I've been told that Terry Scroggins has the original Ditto molds, like the Gator Tail. Maybe Steve or someone could find out for me. I imagine it's a production mold, and if it was even for sale I couldn't afford it or even make it work. I CAN make an open pour mold however that would be close...

And all of the young guys don't have a clue what we're talking about.

Dale

[Blacknredflake]

Ive gotten into jig making about a year ago.  I enjoy it.  Really helps me wind down from a day at work and enjoy it more in the wee hours of the morning on weekends.

Ive made a a little cash on the side from it that goes pretty much into my fishing fund.

 Just ordered a 4 bank fluid bed and ready to roll out some jigs for local shops.. hopefully

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[No Excuses]

I guess I'm the relative newbie to the business. I'm 4 years in. I'm still loving it. I upgraded this year from my homemade silicone molds to cnc aluminum. I had an injection mold made, but didn't like it. My Truth Worm was designed for open pour, so it has a flat side. I wanted to keep that. It was easy for the mold maker because he just had a flat plate for one side of the mold. I don't think the sprue was large enough and I got a few dents in the worms. I wound up blocking off the sprue and open pouring it and I love it. Had him make me 18 more cavities and now I can pour a full 8oz at one time, which will yield about 27-28 worms with no reheating.

I have had mixed emotions of what I wanted from the business side. I am currently in 2 stores, one here and one on a lake about 40 miles away. I am working on a third in a town about 40 miles the other way. I make more if I sell the off the deck of my boat, but it's a lot easier to say, "run out to Jay's he's got a good selection." Plus they may buy a biscuit or a soda pop while they are there.

I've always said if I could get them in the right persons hands, I think it would take off. I recently discovered I have a mutual friend with MLF Pro Stephen Browning. I sent some to his son Beau and he fished it some at Okeechobee in the Bassmaster Open earlier this month. He loved it. He's currently in school at Montevallo AL. We are trying to arrange a trip on my lake when he is back this way, Our mutual friend asked what I wanted from the business. Did I want it to be my full time job? No.... I don't think I do. I have another friend that started out making custom rods. His business has now consumed his fishing. He makes all kinds of wire baits, jigs, crappie jigs, and rods, and has his own tournament trail. He can throw a rock into lake Erling from his shop. I bought a rod from him last year and wanted to fish with him when I picked it up. He told me he hadn't fished in 9 months.
I don't want to get to that point. If I can't go fishing, I'll shut the lights off.

I've thought about pitching it to a bait company, but how do I know what it's worth, and who can I trust? I pitch it to Strike King, they say no and in 3 months it's in WalMart because I can't afford to patent it. So for the time being, I'm just riding it out and having fun making them and seeing other folks having success with it. My wife and I talked about it and she asked about recouping my investment. I can't really look at it that way. If I don't ever sell another one, I will still make it because I absolutely LOVE fishing with it!

I'm rambling I know.... People asked if I can make other things. I really don't want to. My worm is super versatile. It was designed for weightless Texas rig, like Fluke. It can be fished with a 1/4 oz weight Texas rigged on the bottom, swam thru pads with an 1/8oz weight, wacky rigged, Carolina rigged, and Beau used it at Okeechobee as a trailer on the Jackhammer chatterbait. By having a product that can do multiple things, I am keeping my overhead and amount of inventory I have to keep at a smaller amount. I guess the biggest thing you have to ask yourself is, what do I want to get out of it. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide! 

[D.W. Verts]

Thanks guys. The issue here is just what do I want make? I build everything. I have great spinnerbaits that no one else has seen. Old school big bass bashin' buzz baits. A bladed jig that is unlike anything I have seen. And then the hard plastic stuff that EVERYONE seems to want.

In soft plastics I have both injection and open-pour molds. I make a crawdad like the original Guido Bug.

I build several kinds of jigs, and along with the spinnerbaits and buzzers I've been making them since 1981. But a lot of my stuff is very "old school" and that fits me fine.

Your one worm is the best way to go. Here it is, here's some different colors, there you go, thanks for the business...

I'm still thinkin' on it, but I have sold a few things off my YT channel. It's fishin' time- we'll see.

Dale

[loomisguy]

The jigs are really good. Dale, are you familiar with the Dirks jig ? Guys stand in line for them and they are still hard to get and expensive to boot. He and Lawson Hibdon came up with them as I understand it, he makes them at his house.  Sometimes less is more.

[D.W. Verts]

Oh yeah, I've known him since he started. Good fisherman. They build that one and the "Hibdon Hammer". I've actually never seen either one. Glad you like what I sent you- any criticism or input is appreciated.

Dale