Muskie Discussion Forums
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| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [30 messages per page] More Muskie Fishing -> Basement Baits and Custom Lure Painting -> Copying Baits |
Builder |
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| RiverMan |
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| woodieb8 |
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| MuskyGary |
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| mercmech |
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| Builder, As a tackle manufacture I can tell you that new ideas are few and far between. I didn't invent the spinnerbait but we would love to think we perfected it. All the fish pix I get from customers, the 3200 baits we made last year and the 4450 we will finish with this year, has to say something for our stuff. We are now selling internationally as well. Further, my initial concept was simple; I stood at what used to be my most favorite "candy store" and said to myself, I said "self you can build this stuff way better!" Now i come to find out that most of the popular baits are made offshore or overseas. What the heck is wrong here!!!!! ALL our stuff is made right here in Minnesota. The only thing i import is the naturally barred hackel feathers for tails and ONLY because we ain't got them kind of chickens 'round here. I designed our spinnerbait heads from a concept I saw once, are they similar? yes are they a copy no! When I go to Chicago, Milwaukee, Rockford and Blaine 99% of my customers say we build a better quality mousetrap. Thats what helps me sleep at nite. Our blades are real nickel, real copper, or 24K gold. Them we lacquer them so they stay shiny for you folks, who spend 10, 15, 17, 20+ dollars on a quality product. Another reason I started this company was each spring i found myself shining up blades, what a pain in the dupa! Check some of 'em out at jawbaits.com and tell me what YOU think.  Kenny O. "Focused on quality," "pashionate about fishing!" | |||
| Wanderer |
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| ANONYMOUS |
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| I'd love to here what Brad from MI thinks about this subject. | |||
| esox50 |
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Posts: 2024 | |||
| chico |
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Posts: 502 Location: Lincoln UK | |||
| Lightning |
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Posts: 485 Location: On my favorite lake! | |||
| Esoxonthefly421 |
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| PamuskEhunt |
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| Guest |
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| Tackle Industries |
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Posts: 4053 Location: Land of the Musky | From my point of view I find a few things funny about the "copy" issue. Many who think that the original baits are being copied have no clue that the "original" was in fact a 90%+ copy of another lure. A lot of double #10s are out now and the brand that is considered the original is not the original by far! They just did a much better job than anyone else before them at marketing the lure. Many guys will also look at the general shape of a lure and when others come out with a similar shape it is a "copy" to them. My SuperD is a good example of this. But, if you take the time to dissect the lure to its guts my lure is about 50%-60% different than the other brands out there from the internal harness (which funny enough the brand of choice now uses this identical harness) to the plastisol, colors, hooks, split rings, etc. I just got a two-book set of vintage lures from 1840s to present. LOL I saw so many lures from the 1900-1950s that I had no clue existed but some lures today are considered the “original”. I thought some of the current lures started in the 1980s-1990 were the original. Nope, the originals are almost up to and over 100 years old. Good examples of this are lures like the Jerko, Reef Hawg, and a few others in that shape with the front cut in the nose. Those are great lures and they have been modified and made better IMO but they are still very close to the 95 year old versions Called the “Surprise Minnow” #3900 circa 1915-192? And many more brands to follow this one.). What some also need to realize is that a lot of work goes into the business side of things and if your business model is superior to another business that is very novel in its own right. At the end of the day it is up to each company to make as good of a lure as possible and if they leave any gaps in price, performance, quality, customer service, etc. they will invite competition in. I look for these weaknesses and try my hardest to improve where others have failed. I have said this before, I will never make a Suick type lure. The Suick family can't be beat right now. They have done everything right and it would be a fruitless endeavor to put a lure up against the famed Suick. I have had a few people find great negative “interest” with some of my lures. The interesting thing is that I have tracked down most of these individuals and it is funny that most of them were the manufacturer, relative/friend of the manufacturer, or receiving money from the company as a guide or TV show host, etc. Only one was a regular customer as far as I know. I know most of my customers want good prices, performance, quality, customer service, etc. and if you screw them over on one or more of those issues you will most likely lose that customer for life. At the end of the day my customers are the people I try to make happy, not my competition. I actually had a two related companies (same lure they sell together) that tried to get me fired from my day job about 18 months ago by calling and telling my company that I was embezzling among other illegal activates. I was cleared in a matter of days but at that time I knew I was on the right track and it actually caused me to change my entire business direction for the lures I was about to make. I knew if they were coming after me that hard and heavy it was worth it for me to drive those lures forward vs the other lures I was going to work on. Well, interesting subject and I am sure there are stories out there that are far more interesting than mine about the copy issues in the industry. Again, for me it is about making my customers happy and creating a nice life for my family. Personally I think many musky lures prices have gone way out of control while the quality of many lures has decreased some. All I can say to those companies is “Watch out!”. Don't let your quality fall and your prices rise because my quality will go up and my prices will be 30%-50% better  If a peon like me can figure it out why can't a lure company that has been in the biz for 10+ years figure it out. No names, just in general. Again, some companies like Suick get it and have lived by it for 50 years!!! Hope my grandkids will keep it going in 50 years after I am long gone. JMO, James Add. Here is a nice little quote from Thomas Edison about opportunity: "Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." To me that means "Don't get lazy!" and always improve your product no matter how good you "think" it is. Generation IV SuperDs will be out in 2010 and Generation V in 2011 yada yada yada… | ||
| esox911 |
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| JimtenHaaf |
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Posts: 717 Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Sure, J**es took some good ideas and made them better. Who out there doesn't buy the Walmart, Spartan, or Meijer brand cheaper product when shopping? If it's cheaper, but just as good or better, I'd be a fool not to buy it. (We were asked not to use anyone's names or companies and to be civil, remember ) | ||
| Guest |
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| lambeau |
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| my opinion on this has gone back and forth over the past few years. i'm friends with Baldy, and i will speak positively about his baits whenever i have the opportunity because the baits he makes are top quality and proven fish catchers. it's easy to say good things about good products regardless of who is making them or who invented them. it used to annoy me when the Weagle was copied, but the copies haven't really mattered from a sales perspective for Baldy because they haven't been able to improve on the original bait invented by Steve Cady. (which was itself a "new" version of a very very old bait.) it's like James said, unless you improve on the original in either quality or price, people will continue to buy the original. if someone builds it either better or cheaper, people will find room in their tacklebox for the new version...and that pressures the maker to be more competitive. competition is good for consumers. it might not be good for a manufacturer who wants to rest on his laurels, but we as customers benefit when we have options and market pressure forces companies to make better lures at better prices. when i make my own bucktails, i don't try to reinvent the wheel: i look at proven versions and i use those ideas. i even sell a few in the local baitshop here in town for waaaay cheaper than the "originals" are going for at Gander Mountain 30 miles away. i "copied" others ideas and sold them, but i don't think i'm putting anybody out of business! | |||
| sworrall |
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Posts: 32951 Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | |||
| The Wanderer |
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Posts: 158 Location: Burlington, WI | |||
| Builder |
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