BUZZBAIT [TACK LE]
JUNK FOOD S
BY TOM KIRKENDALL
o, you really enjoy the outdoors and you love fishing. After play- ing around with your tackle and applying a little innovation, you
have come up with something new. The fish ignore all the other lures and come straight to yours. Eureka! Time to quit your day job. But a career in the fishing tackle industry isn’t without its dan-
gers—even if you’re not working on Deadliest Catch. What does it take for a small tackle manufacturing business to succeed? How do you catch a fisherman? Tackle manufacturing is an industry ripe for small business suc-
cess. Local knowledge and angler loyalty give a small tackle manu- facturer an edge over multi-national conglomerates. One of my favorite lures for salmon is a Dick Nite spoon (www.
dicknite.com). Dick Nite Spoons makes three styles in 80 colors and ships over 300,000 spoons each year. The lures are popular all over the world and they are made in Seattle, Washington. When we ask owner Dick Figgins for advice on starting a tackle
company he says, “Don’t.” Then he laughs and adds, “Don’t expect miracles.” He says that starting a company takes loads of energy, work and passion for the product and sport. To get the company off the ground, the original owners trav-
eled up and down the coast giving out free samples, attending trade shows and meeting with anglers. “And a lot of fishing,” he adds. Today, product development and marketing is driven by a loyal
pro staff and customer recommendation. “Don’t expect retailers to carry your lures right away, either,” he
says. Shelf space is valuable in a bricks-and-mortar store; a shop owner will only stock what his customers demand. That can be good for a tackle manufacturer if his lure is a proven winner. “A tackle shop won’t carry something unless it has a track record,” Fig- gins says, “they are looking for known producers.” His best advice, “Don’t tell anyone what you are doing.” The tack-
le market is cutthroat, and knock-offs are inevitable as big compa- nies try to fill a niche created by the little guys. “There are countless companies set up for manufacturing who have no qualms about stealing an idea and beating you to market.” To combat competition, Figgins maintains a high level of qual-
ity and manufactures his products in the U.S. with domestic parts. “The big guys manufacturing overseas have a larger margin, but we have lower overhead, so we can live with a smaller margin.” Don’t expect to make any money the first few years, either. “If you
want to be a millionaire in the tackle industry,” he jokes, “start with $2 million and only work for one year.” As customers catch fish with your lures and the word spreads, you
won’t be able to keep your product on the shelves. Over a work sta- tion in his small factory, Figgins scrawled the words, “We don’t make junk!” in permanent marker. “An effective product, high quality, honesty and a commitment to
customer service are the four most important things to obtain and keep customers,” Figgins says. “That’s how we’ve done it for 85 years.”
22…KAYAK ANGLER
THE RIGHT ATTITUDE HAS KEPT THIS FAMILY COMPANY IN BUSINESS, AND
DICK NITE SPOONS SHARES SECRETS TO MAKING IT IN THE TACKLE INDUSTRY
THE FISH BITING, FOR 85 YEARS. PHOTO: TOM KIRKENDALL
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