One more tip needed
 

Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com

One more tip needed
 

Interesting to go into a business you know so little about.

My three for spring would be 5" Senko, Zoom Trick Worm and Zoom 6"
Lizard

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

One more tip needed
 

You can't go wrong putting in the whole line of Zoom Plastics, and then
supplementing it with a full line of Senkos.

I'm not kidding.

Ask the locals what colors they like and triple or quadruple order those,
but have a few bags of the full lines in all colors.





"Sprattoo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

One more tip needed
 

On Oct 17, 8:30 am, Ronnie wrote:
Interesting to go into a business you know so little about.

My three for spring would be 5" Senko, Zoom Trick Worm and Zoom 6"
Lizard

Ronnie


Ronnie,
I does seem strange,
The truth is Pro bass fishing is just something I never really
considered much. Before getting into this new shop. We were a fly shop
primarily. I am pretty good with stick baits, popper fishing and the
like. I can pick and suggest fly patterns nd presentations all day
long.... usually.
My use of soft plastics up to this point was really by chance and
almost never really planned. I have always been fishing... ever since
I was old enough to hold a stick. My dad taught me plenty about
fishing in the brooks and rivers with worms, how to tie flies.... but
neither of us got into using plastics for some reason.

Our old shop was small and our locals at the old location really
didn't have the money to invest in bass boats, $300 + bait casters, or
$20 packs of yamamotos. they were primarily economy bait fishermen.
The new shop location is a whole new story though, and we have found
ourselves at a loss to support the local bass fishermen and I feel
like we might miss out and disappoint some of these guys if we don't
carry what is needed. However, now with the boats getting stored for
winter, we haven't been seeing many of the bass guys in the shop.

Thanks for your favorites, I have added them to my running list. We do
have a bunch of the 5" senkos in, but none of the trick worms.

To fix this, myself and my business partner have a spot reserved with
a pro bass guide next spring so we can learn more about fishing with
plastics. I have done some reading up on fishing drop shot, and wacky
rigs. I practice pitching, flipping and the like in the shop when I
get a chance.

I have always enjoyed bass fishing.... but historically fall back on
my 3" black and gold floating rapala, or a popper to catch them. This
spring we will be leaving the hardbaits at home purposefully to learn
more about plastics. (not to mention watchng Bill Dance on OLN)

Do you have a color preference on those patterns for spring bass?

One more tip needed
 

Buying habits strongly reflect regional preferences. Few anglers are really
analytical thinkers -- may 15% at most. For the most part, fishermen keep
their ears and eyes open to learn what other people are using to catch fish
and then buy those lures for themselves. They are trend followers.

For that reason, when a particular soft plastic bait, spinnerbait, jig or
crankbait is reported to have caught a big fish or many fish, that
particular lure is swept off the racks by eager buyers. You will do well to
recruit some of the leading guides and tournament anglers in your area --
the trend-setters, innovators, and early adopters -- as your store's
Prostaff. Provide them with discounts on their purchases, perhaps, or
provide some other incentive. In return, they can advise you on what is
"hot" locally. They may also be trend-setters, although that is a difficult
thing to predict.

I suggest you buy a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's books _The Tipping Point -
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference_ and _Blink - The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking_.

I could name some excellent soft plastics that I am confident would catch as
many or more bass than any soft plastic in the tackle shops around you. If
you stock them and your customers buy and use them, they would be delighted.
For example, GoTo Baits (http://gotobaits.com/) offer soft plastics with
excellent quality, better than average productivity, much better durability,
and vastly better value than Yamamoto or other big-name brands. But if you
were to buy them and put them on your racks, since they have no name
recognition in your local market, they might just gather dust.

If you, your clerks, and your Prostaff use and promote them as
high-performance, high-value lures that local bass haven't grown accustomed
to, and that will give the few anglers who know about them an edge, then you
can drive sales. And the fact that you would carry something that few other
shops in your region do would be a good marketing point.

I go in a lot of small mom & pop tackle shops, and I can tell immediately
which ones stock products desired by tournament anglers and people looking
for an edge on the water. The shop owners stock plenty of the big name
brands, but they also lay in some "special" lines for their regulars and
visitors in the know. And that's how they position them, too.... If someone
walks in and knows exactly what they want and see it on the Zoom or Berkley
wall, then everyone is happy.... But if someone comes in and asks for
advice, the clerk or shop owner can say "here's what most people are
throwing, but the secret weapon of some of our best anglers is this right
here...."

Even though I've seen that pitch fifty times, it still works on me when I
walk into a tackle shop by an unfamiliar lake. It did two weeks ago on
Guntersville. I went in to buy some plastic frogs (having unwisely used up
all my Watermelon Red GoTo Bait frogs in practice), and I found some that
resembled the patterns I wanted. The shop owner commented that those were
indeed popular, but that he and his son (who guide on the lake) preferred
another brand. Guess which ones I walked out of the store with?

So.... here is what I think bass anglers will expect you to carry your
sto

5" and 7" stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko
Frogs
3-inch Teaser Tubes
3", 3-1/2" to 3-3/4", and 4" Tubes
4", 7", 10" Worms
Finesse worms
Drop-shot baits, like the Wiggle lure*
Crawfish (large and small)
Jerk baits/shad bait like the Zoom Fluke
2-1/2" and 3-1/2" fat, curly-tail grubs
4-inch craw worms
Creature baits like Water Wizards, lizards, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beaver

Some national names you will want to consider: Lunker City, Zoom, Yamamoto..
most of the ones you can find on the BPS Website.

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe
--
Secret Weapon Lures
Tackle systems engineered for innovative anglers
--------------------------------------------------------:~ 0")))
Subscribe to our mail list for intel briefings and
chances to win free tackle every month at
http://secretweaponlures.com
Better designs = better performance = better results


"Sprattoo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com

One more tip needed
 

Joe Haubenreich wrote:

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe


Man,, Thanks Joe, that was one heck of nice thing

--
SpecTastic Wiggle Rig,
Fishing lure remote control
See lure video you won't believe
http://ezknot.com/videos.html

One more tip needed
 

On Oct 17, 4:00 pm, "Joe Haubenreich"
wrote:
Buying habits strongly reflect regional preferences. Few anglers are really
analytical thinkers -- may 15% at most. For the most part, fishermen keep
their ears and eyes open to learn what other people are using to catch fish
and then buy those lures for themselves. They are trend followers.

For that reason, when a particular soft plastic bait, spinnerbait, jig or
crankbait is reported to have caught a big fish or many fish, that
particular lure is swept off the racks by eager buyers. You will do well to
recruit some of the leading guides and tournament anglers in your area --
the trend-setters, innovators, and early adopters -- as your store's
Prostaff. Provide them with discounts on their purchases, perhaps, or
provide some other incentive. In return, they can advise you on what is
"hot" locally. They may also be trend-setters, although that is a difficult
thing to predict.

I suggest you buy a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's books _The Tipping Point -
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference_ and _Blink - The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking_.

I could name some excellent soft plastics that I am confident would catch as
many or more bass than any soft plastic in the tackle shops around you. If
you stock them and your customers buy and use them, they would be delighted.
For example, GoTo Baits (http://gotobaits.com/) offer soft plastics with
excellent quality, better than average productivity, much better durability,
and vastly better value than Yamamoto or other big-name brands. But if you
were to buy them and put them on your racks, since they have no name
recognition in your local market, they might just gather dust.

If you, your clerks, and your Prostaff use and promote them as
high-performance, high-value lures that local bass haven't grown accustomed
to, and that will give the few anglers who know about them an edge, then you
can drive sales. And the fact that you would carry something that few other
shops in your region do would be a good marketing point.

I go in a lot of small mom & pop tackle shops, and I can tell immediately
which ones stock products desired by tournament anglers and people looking
for an edge on the water. The shop owners stock plenty of the big name
brands, but they also lay in some "special" lines for their regulars and
visitors in the know. And that's how they position them, too.... If someone
walks in and knows exactly what they want and see it on the Zoom or Berkley
wall, then everyone is happy.... But if someone comes in and asks for
advice, the clerk or shop owner can say "here's what most people are
throwing, but the secret weapon of some of our best anglers is this right
here...."

Even though I've seen that pitch fifty times, it still works on me when I
walk into a tackle shop by an unfamiliar lake. It did two weeks ago on
Guntersville. I went in to buy some plastic frogs (having unwisely used up
all my Watermelon Red GoTo Bait frogs in practice), and I found some that
resembled the patterns I wanted. The shop owner commented that those were
indeed popular, but that he and his son (who guide on the lake) preferred
another brand. Guess which ones I walked out of the store with?

So.... here is what I think bass anglers will expect you to carry your
sto

5" and 7" stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko
Frogs
3-inch Teaser Tubes
3", 3-1/2" to 3-3/4", and 4" Tubes
4", 7", 10" Worms
Finesse worms
Drop-shot baits, like the Wiggle lure*
Crawfish (large and small)
Jerk baits/shad bait like the Zoom Fluke
2-1/2" and 3-1/2" fat, curly-tail grubs
4-inch craw worms
Creature baits like Water Wizards, lizards, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beaver

Some national names you will want to consider: Lunker City, Zoom, Yamamoto..
most of the ones you can find on the BPS Website.

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe
--
Secret Weapon Lures
Tackle systems engineered for innovative anglers
--------------------------------------------------------:~ 0")))
Subscribe to our mail list for intel briefings and
chances to win free tackle every month athttp://secretweaponlures.com
Better designs = better performance = better results

"Sprattoo" wrote in message

oups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd Mhttp://www.mainetackle.com

Glad mentioned Goto Baits. I was going to sugegst maybe asking Randy
to do a line of private label for you.

One more tip needed
 

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:50:52 -0500, Rodney Long
wrote:

Joe Haubenreich wrote:

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe


Man,, Thanks Joe, that was one heck of nice thing

Lloyd

You asked about soft plastics, and Joe told you soft plastics - and
good stuff too - but -----

something he only mentioned in passing was spinner baits......

and what his post didn't have is his normal sig lines - telling
the reader that he affilated with Secret Weapon (he is the head
cheese) - they make spinner baits and buzz baits - good ones.

See this URL: www.secretweaponlures.com

Many (most?) of the regulars on this group throw SW's - including
myself. They are the only ones I buy now - and those that I have that
aren't I've modified to use the SW blade system.

Get your self and your customers some SW's - you won't be sorry.

Jim

One more tip needed
 

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:35:47 -0500, Jim Laumann
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:50:52 -0500, Rodney Long
wrote:

Joe Haubenreich wrote:

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe


Man,, Thanks Joe, that was one heck of nice thing

Lloyd

You asked about soft plastics, and Joe told you soft plastics - and
good stuff too - but -----

something he only mentioned in passing was spinner baits......

and what his post didn't have is his normal sig lines -

I didn't read far enough - it did have his sig line...duh!!

Jim

One more tip needed
 

Joe, I am part of that 85% who doesn't think analytically about the subject;
I don't even know much is valid based on what the 15% think. In my
experience, less than many other members, any hunk of plastic catches fish.
Yes, on any given day they might reject some and accept others.

As to a "hot" lure in a given area, why is it hot? Is it a superior lure or
is it heavily used due to good marketing? Millions of fish are caught on
Senkos. Is it superior or are a lot of people using it for other reasons? If
all the Senkoers switched to Tiki Stick or Yum Dingers, would fewer fish be
caught? Put slightly differently, do people use Senkos because they catch
fish or do they catch fish because people use them?

The Sweet Beaver was (maybe still is?) a hot lure. I can't help but think
that one reason it became hot is because of the catchy name. Does it work?
Absolutely. But is it superior to other lures in that category? I'm a
Doubting Marty.

I'm just majorly skeptical any time I hear about one lure being better than
another. Based only on personal observations, the Horny Toad doesn't draw
any more strikes then Sizmics or Ribbits, but they seem to be the industry
leader.

Not trying to start any ****ing contests, I'm just venting my skepticism.
There are way too many fishermen who think they can buy their way to greater
success. The tackle industry knows this and exploits it to the max.

(End of rant).

"Joe Haubenreich" wrote in
message ...
Buying habits strongly reflect regional preferences. Few anglers are
really
analytical thinkers -- may 15% at most. For the most part, fishermen keep
their ears and eyes open to learn what other people are using to catch
fish
and then buy those lures for themselves. They are trend followers.

For that reason, when a particular soft plastic bait, spinnerbait, jig or
crankbait is reported to have caught a big fish or many fish, that
particular lure is swept off the racks by eager buyers. You will do well
to
recruit some of the leading guides and tournament anglers in your area --
the trend-setters, innovators, and early adopters -- as your store's
Prostaff. Provide them with discounts on their purchases, perhaps, or
provide some other incentive. In return, they can advise you on what is
"hot" locally. They may also be trend-setters, although that is a
difficult
thing to predict.

I suggest you buy a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's books _The Tipping Point -
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference_ and _Blink - The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking_.

I could name some excellent soft plastics that I am confident would catch
as
many or more bass than any soft plastic in the tackle shops around you. If
you stock them and your customers buy and use them, they would be
delighted.
For example, GoTo Baits (http://gotobaits.com/) offer soft plastics with
excellent quality, better than average productivity, much better
durability,
and vastly better value than Yamamoto or other big-name brands. But if you
were to buy them and put them on your racks, since they have no name
recognition in your local market, they might just gather dust.

If you, your clerks, and your Prostaff use and promote them as
high-performance, high-value lures that local bass haven't grown
accustomed
to, and that will give the few anglers who know about them an edge, then
you
can drive sales. And the fact that you would carry something that few
other
shops in your region do would be a good marketing point.

I go in a lot of small mom & pop tackle shops, and I can tell immediately
which ones stock products desired by tournament anglers and people looking
for an edge on the water. The shop owners stock plenty of the big name
brands, but they also lay in some "special" lines for their regulars and
visitors in the know. And that's how they position them, too.... If
someone
walks in and knows exactly what they want and see it on the Zoom or
Berkley
wall, then everyone is happy.... But if someone comes in and asks for
advice, the clerk or shop owner can say "here's what most people are
throwing, but the secret weapon of some of our best anglers is this right
here...."

Even though I've seen that pitch fifty times, it still works on me when I
walk into a tackle shop by an unfamiliar lake. It did two weeks ago on
Guntersville. I went in to buy some plastic frogs (having unwisely used up
all my Watermelon Red GoTo Bait frogs in practice), and I found some that
resembled the patterns I wanted. The shop owner commented that those were
indeed popular, but that he and his son (who guide on the lake) preferred
another brand. Guess which ones I walked out of the store with?

So.... here is what I think bass anglers will expect you to carry your
sto

5" and 7" stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko
Frogs
3-inch Teaser Tubes
3", 3-1/2" to 3-3/4", and 4" Tubes
4", 7", 10" Worms
Finesse worms
Drop-shot baits, like the Wiggle lure*
Crawfish (large and small)
Jerk baits/shad bait like the Zoom Fluke
2-1/2" and 3-1/2" fat, curly-tail grubs
4-inch craw worms
Creature baits like Water Wizards, lizards, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beaver

Some national names you will want to consider: Lunker City, Zoom,
Yamamoto..
most of the ones you can find on the BPS Website.

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe
--
Secret Weapon Lures
Tackle systems engineered for innovative anglers
--------------------------------------------------------:~ 0")))
Subscribe to our mail list for intel briefings and
chances to win free tackle every month at
http://secretweaponlures.com
Better designs = better performance = better results


"Sprattoo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com

One more tip needed
 

Marty wrote:

I'm just majorly skeptical any time I hear about one lure being better than
another. Based only on personal observations, the Horny Toad doesn't draw
any more strikes then Sizmics or Ribbits, but they seem to be the industry
leader.

Not trying to start any ****ing contests, I'm just venting my skepticism.
There are way too many fishermen who think they can buy their way to greater
success. The tackle industry knows this and exploits it to the max.

(End of rant).

Man you are so right !

The only way to know for sure is head to head testing against the same
fish, at the same time, (two fishermen in the same boat) over many days,
and all conditions . (more to it than that but you get the picture) The
more fishermen involved the better,, it is just not done today.

I believe it should be,, it is the way I tested my Wiggle rig, over 5
years of it.

--
SpecTastic Wiggle Rig,
Fishing lure remote control
See lure video you won't believe
http://ezknot.com/videos.html

One more tip needed
 

What you really need to do is talk to some local fishermen and see
what they use - I suspect my picks here in Georgia might not be the
best baits there. Are there any local bass clubs in your area?
Asking for club members advice might get you in good with them.

My local bait store will special order anything I want - and he
usually orders a dozen extra to stock. That stuff usually sells -
doesn't hurt when I mention it in my local newspaper column.

Good luck with your new store.

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

One more tip needed -- comments on marketing
 

Are you saying that you don't analyze data you collect as you fish? Surely
you don't just tie on whatever lure happens to be closest to you and fling
it in the water, hoping for the best? And as you fish and observe the
conditions and the responses you get, does none of that register with you
and suggest ways to refine your strategy?

If you throw a lure for eight hours straight without getting a bite while
the person in the back of the boat is throwing another lure all day and has
caught 60 in the same time, does the thought not occur to you that maybe,
just maybe, the lure is making a difference?

If so, then you are being analytical... slow, but analytical.

Some anglers are definitely analytical. They observe carefully and become
adept at pattern recognition. As patterns become apparent, they refer to
memory of lures, tactics, and presentations that produced well in similar
situations in the past.

When something unexpected and wonderful happens (for instance, when they
cast out, get a backlash, take two minutes to pick it out and then discover
a bass has picked up their inert bait off the bottom), they wonder why?
What? Where? And they may take the next step to see if what happened can be
replicated by repeating the conditions as closely as possible. To do that
requires that they analyze the data.

Some folks are just wired that way. They enjoy working out puzzles for
themselves.

The majority, though, are completely content to let someone else come up
with solutions, and they just go along with the crowd.

In between those are those who are what you might call aspiring analytics.
They go to where the fish were biting yesterday and throw the lures that
produced well in other situations, but they haven't noodled out the patterns
that are developing in front of them or don't have a good frame of reference
by which to compare. Maybe they just haven't spent enough time on the water
to recognize patterns when they recur and profit from their past
experiences.

There are several analytical anglers here in this group. It's obvious from
the observations they make. Ronnie Garrison, for instance, keeps careful
logs of his fishing experiences that help him recall past events,
conditions, and results. You can tell from his accounts of fishing
tournaments that he is experimenting throughout the day.... observing,
forming hypotheses, testing them, evaluating his results, modifying his
assumptions, coming up with alternative theories and testing them.

On the other hand, some in this group can be counted on to report success
(or failure) with the same lures, fishing the same ways over, and over, and
over. They may have only two or three confidence baits or many... it doesn't
matter. If they just choose lures based on esthetics, or pleasant memories,
or what worked last spring (even though conditions have changed radically
since then)... they're not going to catch as many fish as their analytical
counterparts.

Now, having said that, I will concede an important point: much of what makes
a bait "hot" is based not on actual performance, but on marketing hype. Why
would someone spend three dollars for one company's jig instead of a
buck-fifty for another manufacturer's identical product? Marketing.
Marketing is intended to build brand awareness, create expectations, and to
increase familiarity, comfort, and confidence. It also influences our likes
and dislikes. Is it a coincidence that so many cars in the fifties had fins?
How come cars today don't have those cool fins and bullet tail lights?
Marketing.

Marketing created the demand for cars that resembled jet airplanes, and
marketing killed the demand. In fishing lures, rods, reels, sports clothing,
boat design, engine size, etc. changes in our choices often result more from
our swallowing whatever ad agencies are dishing out and less on what we
actually decide we need in order to meet carefully thought out objectives.

So, Marty, you are right to be skeptical. Some of the biggest grossing lures
on the market today are no better or worse than ones they resemble, but they
have million dollar ad campaigns that are driving public perception, or they
were used by an angler or two to win some major tournaments. When it comes
to putting more bass in your boat, though, they're no better than their
lower-profile counterparts.

That doesn't mean, though, that there is no difference between lures when it
comes to performance and results. Some designs are better in certain
situations than others. Some lures actually attract more strikes and results
in more hook-ups than their competition. As Rodney pointed out, the cleanest
way to test the relative merits of two or more products is in head-to-head
blind tests, where one eliminates as many variables as possible so that the
one characteristic that you're comparing alone is responsible for different
results. That's what I used to do back when I was engaged in cancer research
at a university. Exhaustive, repetitious, mind-numbingly slow, methodical
research, where we tested one thing after another, and then repeated the
experiments multiple times to see if the results repeated themselves.

You can do that with fishing lures, but it is expensive and time-consuming,
and it is, therefore, rarely done. I remember a very good study that
Tru-turn hooks did twenty years ago or thereabouts, where they tested one of
their hooks with a crooked shank against one or two competitor brands with
straight shanks. They conducted the test in stocked ponds, traded rods
between test participants after every cast, used identical rods, lines, and
baits, casting in the same area. They caught over a hundred bass on several
hundred casts, continuing until they had statistically valid samples, and
then they analyzed and reported their results. Of course, Tru-turn hooks
came out on top. Otherwise, that study would never have seen the light of
day. The point is, though, that they conducted an objective, controlled
study and the data clearly supported their claims to superior hook-up
effectiveness.

Analytical anglers aren't perfect. They're out to have a good time, compete
in tournaments, and enjoy themselves. But even though they're not doing the
kind of scientific research and much of their evidence is anecdotal, they
are having fun trying to figure out where to cast, how to modify their lures
or their retrieves, what effect they'll have by making changes... and it
pays off. I've seen that trait in several top professional anglers I've come
to know and observed while we fished together.

If you are acquainted with some analytical anglers, you would do well to pay
attention to what they say, how they fish, and what they have tied on. But
more importantly, you would do even better to pay attention to how they
determine what to tie on next and how they will present it to best effect.

Joe


"Marty" wrote in message
...
Joe, I am part of that 85% who doesn't think analytically about the subject;
I don't even know much is valid based on what the 15% think. In my
experience, less than many other members, any hunk of plastic catches fish.
Yes, on any given day they might reject some and accept others.

As to a "hot" lure in a given area, why is it hot? Is it a superior lure or
is it heavily used due to good marketing? Millions of fish are caught on
Senkos. Is it superior or are a lot of people using it for other reasons? If
all the Senkoers switched to Tiki Stick or Yum Dingers, would fewer fish be
caught? Put slightly differently, do people use Senkos because they catch
fish or do they catch fish because people use them?

The Sweet Beaver was (maybe still is?) a hot lure. I can't help but think
that one reason it became hot is because of the catchy name. Does it work?
Absolutely. But is it superior to other lures in that category? I'm a
Doubting Marty.

I'm just majorly skeptical any time I hear about one lure being better than
another. Based only on personal observations, the Horny Toad doesn't draw
any more strikes then Sizmics or Ribbits, but they seem to be the industry
leader.

Not trying to start any ****ing contests, I'm just venting my skepticism.
There are way too many fishermen who think they can buy their way to greater
success. The tackle industry knows this and exploits it to the max.

(End of rant).

"Joe Haubenreich" wrote in
message ...
Buying habits strongly reflect regional preferences. Few anglers are
really
analytical thinkers -- may 15% at most. For the most part, fishermen keep
their ears and eyes open to learn what other people are using to catch
fish
and then buy those lures for themselves. They are trend followers.

For that reason, when a particular soft plastic bait, spinnerbait, jig or
crankbait is reported to have caught a big fish or many fish, that
particular lure is swept off the racks by eager buyers. You will do well
to
recruit some of the leading guides and tournament anglers in your area --
the trend-setters, innovators, and early adopters -- as your store's
Prostaff. Provide them with discounts on their purchases, perhaps, or
provide some other incentive. In return, they can advise you on what is
"hot" locally. They may also be trend-setters, although that is a
difficult
thing to predict.

I suggest you buy a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's books _The Tipping Point -
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference_ and _Blink - The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking_.

I could name some excellent soft plastics that I am confident would catch
as
many or more bass than any soft plastic in the tackle shops around you. If
you stock them and your customers buy and use them, they would be
delighted.
For example, GoTo Baits (http://gotobaits.com/) offer soft plastics with
excellent quality, better than average productivity, much better
durability,
and vastly better value than Yamamoto or other big-name brands. But if you
were to buy them and put them on your racks, since they have no name
recognition in your local market, they might just gather dust.

If you, your clerks, and your Prostaff use and promote them as
high-performance, high-value lures that local bass haven't grown
accustomed
to, and that will give the few anglers who know about them an edge, then
you
can drive sales. And the fact that you would carry something that few
other
shops in your region do would be a good marketing point.

I go in a lot of small mom & pop tackle shops, and I can tell immediately
which ones stock products desired by tournament anglers and people looking
for an edge on the water. The shop owners stock plenty of the big name
brands, but they also lay in some "special" lines for their regulars and
visitors in the know. And that's how they position them, too.... If
someone
walks in and knows exactly what they want and see it on the Zoom or
Berkley
wall, then everyone is happy.... But if someone comes in and asks for
advice, the clerk or shop owner can say "here's what most people are
throwing, but the secret weapon of some of our best anglers is this right
here...."

Even though I've seen that pitch fifty times, it still works on me when I
walk into a tackle shop by an unfamiliar lake. It did two weeks ago on
Guntersville. I went in to buy some plastic frogs (having unwisely used up
all my Watermelon Red GoTo Bait frogs in practice), and I found some that
resembled the patterns I wanted. The shop owner commented that those were
indeed popular, but that he and his son (who guide on the lake) preferred
another brand. Guess which ones I walked out of the store with?

So.... here is what I think bass anglers will expect you to carry your
sto

5" and 7" stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko
Frogs
3-inch Teaser Tubes
3", 3-1/2" to 3-3/4", and 4" Tubes
4", 7", 10" Worms
Finesse worms
Drop-shot baits, like the Wiggle lure*
Crawfish (large and small)
Jerk baits/shad bait like the Zoom Fluke
2-1/2" and 3-1/2" fat, curly-tail grubs
4-inch craw worms
Creature baits like Water Wizards, lizards, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beaver

Some national names you will want to consider: Lunker City, Zoom,
Yamamoto..
most of the ones you can find on the BPS Website.

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe
--
Secret Weapon Lures
Tackle systems engineered for innovative anglers
--------------------------------------------------------:~ 0")))
Subscribe to our mail list for intel briefings and
chances to win free tackle every month at
http://secretweaponlures.com
Better designs = better performance = better results


"Sprattoo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com

One more tip needed -- comments on marketing
 

Wow Joe, if I wrote that much the way I type it would have taken me a
week to get that out. Things a little slow at the spinnerbait factory
right now. Just kidding, great article. The marketing really hits
home with the senko. Lots of guys claim they will only use the real
ones. I have caught fish on every off brand version I have. Got some
really nice ones from Randy but haven't used them yet. They are like
works of art and are so nice looking that I hate to waste them on
fish. I do believe your spinnerbaits are different from everyone
elses and that makes a big difference. By the way when are you going
to post the October winners of your monthly contest on your website.
Not that I need more, you've given me plently of baits already. I
hope business is going good for you and the word about secretweapon
lures is getting out there.

Gary

One more tip needed -- comments on marketing
 

Thanks for reminding me about updating the Website and for the compliment,
Gary. We just updated the sweepstakes winners for October.

Joe
--
Secret Weapon Lures: http://secretweaponlures.com
Tackle systems engineered for innovative anglers
--------------------------------------------------------:~ 0")))
Subscribe for a chance to win free tackle every month


---------------------------------
"gwilber" wrote in message
oups.com...
Wow Joe, if I wrote that much the way I type it would have taken me a
week to get that out. Things a little slow at the spinnerbait factory
right now. Just kidding, great article. The marketing really hits
home with the senko. Lots of guys claim they will only use the real
ones. I have caught fish on every off brand version I have. Got some
really nice ones from Randy but haven't used them yet. They are like
works of art and are so nice looking that I hate to waste them on
fish. I do believe your spinnerbaits are different from everyone
elses and that makes a big difference. By the way when are you going
to post the October winners of your monthly contest on your website.
Not that I need more, you've given me plently of baits already. I
hope business is going good for you and the word about secretweapon
lures is getting out there.

Gary

One more tip needed -- comments on marketing
 

Wow... Thanks to everyone who replied.
I have read every word and absorbed it all.... with notes.

Right now the shop is just staffed with myself and my business
partner. We have already taken action on some of your advice, both
before and after the great posts. We have 2 guys who are B.A.S.S
members and we offered them a 15% discount to help us chose our sprinf
bass baits.

As I mentioned in an earlier post we have already sceduled ourselves
withh a Bass guide and tourney fisherman, for a good price (half his
gas). Although he is thinking about not doing tourney fishing next
year, he will still be guiding and has been bass fishing for something
like 20 years.

I would love to try and or carry some secret weapons.... do you
wholesale to retailers? and can we set up an account?

I will start watching the Bassmaster catalogs with a closer eye...
considering the million dollar ad campaigns to force baits to be "hot"
and keep my ears to my customers to see what they are actually using.

Also, although it pains me, I have decided to pull out some of my
decking from my small 40hp fly-fishing boat, fix up the livewell, and
fish a couple of open tounaments next year. I hate selling gear that I
have no first hand experience with.

Again ,

I really appreciate everything everyone from this group has offered us
to consider. I will surely stick around.

In the mean time... if anyone wants some fly fishing tips.... ;)
I'll keep that for Fly fishing forum.

The truth is, I don't care how I'm doing it or where it is... if I
have a line in the water, I'm happy.

Lloyd M
The Fishin' Hole
http://www.mainetackle.com

One more tip needed -- comments on marketing
 

Joe, don't make the mistake of overestimating my level of angling
sophistication. Of course I don't tie on whatever lure happens to be closest
to me. And of course I'll change lures if my partner is doing significantly
better than me, more so than what could be attributed to random
distribution.

I only catch a few hundred bass per season, spread over a number of trips,
both from shore and boats. It's impossible for me to make any meaningful
tests because it's not a big enough sample and there are so many variables
in fishing. So I rely on my unscientific personal experiences and what makes
sense, what my gut tells me.

I take everything with a grain of salt, including such respected sources as
top-level pros. They certainly know HOW to catch fish, but they don't
necessarily know WHY they catch fish, as evidenced by many things they say.
When I hear a guy say blah, blah, blah, he ate it because he thought it was
a crawfish in a defensive posture, the bull**** meter goes off the dial in
my mind. Now that guy might be an ace and know that he can catch good bass
at such-and-such time of year on a jig, but when he starts telling me why,
I'm not such a believer.

The #1 ranked angler says he (under certain circumstances) retrieves as fast
as he can because he doesn't want the bass to get a good look at the lure.
The biologist tells me how on countless occasions fish have been observed
swimming alongside a moving lure. I knew that already, but who am I to
believe? As far as I'm concerned, KVD knows that a fast-moving lure will
draw strikes at times, but I don't think it has anything to do with how good
or poor a look the fish has gotten.

My personal experience and observations and reading tells me that bass are
caught in good numbers and size on every conceivable type, style, shape,
color, size, weight of lure that exists, and that fact has shaped much of my
thinking. I don't know how right or wrong I might be but I do have my
opinions. Too much of what I read just doesn't add up.

(End of rant #2).


"Joe Haubenreich" wrote in
message . ..
Are you saying that you don't analyze data you collect as you fish? Surely
you don't just tie on whatever lure happens to be closest to you and fling
it in the water, hoping for the best? And as you fish and observe the
conditions and the responses you get, does none of that register with you
and suggest ways to refine your strategy?

If you throw a lure for eight hours straight without getting a bite while
the person in the back of the boat is throwing another lure all day and
has
caught 60 in the same time, does the thought not occur to you that maybe,
just maybe, the lure is making a difference?

If so, then you are being analytical... slow, but analytical.

Some anglers are definitely analytical. They observe carefully and become
adept at pattern recognition. As patterns become apparent, they refer to
memory of lures, tactics, and presentations that produced well in similar
situations in the past.

When something unexpected and wonderful happens (for instance, when they
cast out, get a backlash, take two minutes to pick it out and then
discover
a bass has picked up their inert bait off the bottom), they wonder why?
What? Where? And they may take the next step to see if what happened can
be
replicated by repeating the conditions as closely as possible. To do that
requires that they analyze the data.

Some folks are just wired that way. They enjoy working out puzzles for
themselves.

The majority, though, are completely content to let someone else come up
with solutions, and they just go along with the crowd.

In between those are those who are what you might call aspiring analytics.
They go to where the fish were biting yesterday and throw the lures that
produced well in other situations, but they haven't noodled out the
patterns
that are developing in front of them or don't have a good frame of
reference
by which to compare. Maybe they just haven't spent enough time on the
water
to recognize patterns when they recur and profit from their past
experiences.

There are several analytical anglers here in this group. It's obvious from
the observations they make. Ronnie Garrison, for instance, keeps careful
logs of his fishing experiences that help him recall past events,
conditions, and results. You can tell from his accounts of fishing
tournaments that he is experimenting throughout the day.... observing,
forming hypotheses, testing them, evaluating his results, modifying his
assumptions, coming up with alternative theories and testing them.

On the other hand, some in this group can be counted on to report success
(or failure) with the same lures, fishing the same ways over, and over,
and
over. They may have only two or three confidence baits or many... it
doesn't
matter. If they just choose lures based on esthetics, or pleasant
memories,
or what worked last spring (even though conditions have changed radically
since then)... they're not going to catch as many fish as their analytical
counterparts.

Now, having said that, I will concede an important point: much of what
makes
a bait "hot" is based not on actual performance, but on marketing hype.
Why
would someone spend three dollars for one company's jig instead of a
buck-fifty for another manufacturer's identical product? Marketing.
Marketing is intended to build brand awareness, create expectations, and
to
increase familiarity, comfort, and confidence. It also influences our
likes
and dislikes. Is it a coincidence that so many cars in the fifties had
fins?
How come cars today don't have those cool fins and bullet tail lights?
Marketing.

Marketing created the demand for cars that resembled jet airplanes, and
marketing killed the demand. In fishing lures, rods, reels, sports
clothing,
boat design, engine size, etc. changes in our choices often result more
from
our swallowing whatever ad agencies are dishing out and less on what we
actually decide we need in order to meet carefully thought out objectives.

So, Marty, you are right to be skeptical. Some of the biggest grossing
lures
on the market today are no better or worse than ones they resemble, but
they
have million dollar ad campaigns that are driving public perception, or
they
were used by an angler or two to win some major tournaments. When it comes
to putting more bass in your boat, though, they're no better than their
lower-profile counterparts.

That doesn't mean, though, that there is no difference between lures when
it
comes to performance and results. Some designs are better in certain
situations than others. Some lures actually attract more strikes and
results
in more hook-ups than their competition. As Rodney pointed out, the
cleanest
way to test the relative merits of two or more products is in head-to-head
blind tests, where one eliminates as many variables as possible so that
the
one characteristic that you're comparing alone is responsible for
different
results. That's what I used to do back when I was engaged in cancer
research
at a university. Exhaustive, repetitious, mind-numbingly slow, methodical
research, where we tested one thing after another, and then repeated the
experiments multiple times to see if the results repeated themselves.

You can do that with fishing lures, but it is expensive and
time-consuming,
and it is, therefore, rarely done. I remember a very good study that
Tru-turn hooks did twenty years ago or thereabouts, where they tested one
of
their hooks with a crooked shank against one or two competitor brands with
straight shanks. They conducted the test in stocked ponds, traded rods
between test participants after every cast, used identical rods, lines,
and
baits, casting in the same area. They caught over a hundred bass on
several
hundred casts, continuing until they had statistically valid samples, and
then they analyzed and reported their results. Of course, Tru-turn hooks
came out on top. Otherwise, that study would never have seen the light of
day. The point is, though, that they conducted an objective, controlled
study and the data clearly supported their claims to superior hook-up
effectiveness.

Analytical anglers aren't perfect. They're out to have a good time,
compete
in tournaments, and enjoy themselves. But even though they're not doing
the
kind of scientific research and much of their evidence is anecdotal, they
are having fun trying to figure out where to cast, how to modify their
lures
or their retrieves, what effect they'll have by making changes... and it
pays off. I've seen that trait in several top professional anglers I've
come
to know and observed while we fished together.

If you are acquainted with some analytical anglers, you would do well to
pay
attention to what they say, how they fish, and what they have tied on. But
more importantly, you would do even better to pay attention to how they
determine what to tie on next and how they will present it to best effect.

Joe


"Marty" wrote in message
...
Joe, I am part of that 85% who doesn't think analytically about the
subject;
I don't even know much is valid based on what the 15% think. In my
experience, less than many other members, any hunk of plastic catches
fish.
Yes, on any given day they might reject some and accept others.

As to a "hot" lure in a given area, why is it hot? Is it a superior lure
or
is it heavily used due to good marketing? Millions of fish are caught on
Senkos. Is it superior or are a lot of people using it for other reasons?
If
all the Senkoers switched to Tiki Stick or Yum Dingers, would fewer fish
be
caught? Put slightly differently, do people use Senkos because they catch
fish or do they catch fish because people use them?

The Sweet Beaver was (maybe still is?) a hot lure. I can't help but think
that one reason it became hot is because of the catchy name. Does it work?
Absolutely. But is it superior to other lures in that category? I'm a
Doubting Marty.

I'm just majorly skeptical any time I hear about one lure being better
than
another. Based only on personal observations, the Horny Toad doesn't draw
any more strikes then Sizmics or Ribbits, but they seem to be the industry
leader.

Not trying to start any ****ing contests, I'm just venting my skepticism.
There are way too many fishermen who think they can buy their way to
greater
success. The tackle industry knows this and exploits it to the max.

(End of rant).

"Joe Haubenreich" wrote in
message ...
Buying habits strongly reflect regional preferences. Few anglers are
really
analytical thinkers -- may 15% at most. For the most part, fishermen keep
their ears and eyes open to learn what other people are using to catch
fish
and then buy those lures for themselves. They are trend followers.

For that reason, when a particular soft plastic bait, spinnerbait, jig or
crankbait is reported to have caught a big fish or many fish, that
particular lure is swept off the racks by eager buyers. You will do well
to
recruit some of the leading guides and tournament anglers in your area --
the trend-setters, innovators, and early adopters -- as your store's
Prostaff. Provide them with discounts on their purchases, perhaps, or
provide some other incentive. In return, they can advise you on what is
"hot" locally. They may also be trend-setters, although that is a
difficult
thing to predict.

I suggest you buy a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's books _The Tipping Point -
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference_ and _Blink - The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking_.

I could name some excellent soft plastics that I am confident would catch
as
many or more bass than any soft plastic in the tackle shops around you.
If
you stock them and your customers buy and use them, they would be
delighted.
For example, GoTo Baits (http://gotobaits.com/) offer soft plastics with
excellent quality, better than average productivity, much better
durability,
and vastly better value than Yamamoto or other big-name brands. But if
you
were to buy them and put them on your racks, since they have no name
recognition in your local market, they might just gather dust.

If you, your clerks, and your Prostaff use and promote them as
high-performance, high-value lures that local bass haven't grown
accustomed
to, and that will give the few anglers who know about them an edge, then
you
can drive sales. And the fact that you would carry something that few
other
shops in your region do would be a good marketing point.

I go in a lot of small mom & pop tackle shops, and I can tell immediately
which ones stock products desired by tournament anglers and people
looking
for an edge on the water. The shop owners stock plenty of the big name
brands, but they also lay in some "special" lines for their regulars and
visitors in the know. And that's how they position them, too.... If
someone
walks in and knows exactly what they want and see it on the Zoom or
Berkley
wall, then everyone is happy.... But if someone comes in and asks for
advice, the clerk or shop owner can say "here's what most people are
throwing, but the secret weapon of some of our best anglers is this right
here...."

Even though I've seen that pitch fifty times, it still works on me when I
walk into a tackle shop by an unfamiliar lake. It did two weeks ago on
Guntersville. I went in to buy some plastic frogs (having unwisely used
up
all my Watermelon Red GoTo Bait frogs in practice), and I found some that
resembled the patterns I wanted. The shop owner commented that those were
indeed popular, but that he and his son (who guide on the lake) preferred
another brand. Guess which ones I walked out of the store with?

So.... here is what I think bass anglers will expect you to carry your
sto

5" and 7" stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko
Frogs
3-inch Teaser Tubes
3", 3-1/2" to 3-3/4", and 4" Tubes
4", 7", 10" Worms
Finesse worms
Drop-shot baits, like the Wiggle lure*
Crawfish (large and small)
Jerk baits/shad bait like the Zoom Fluke
2-1/2" and 3-1/2" fat, curly-tail grubs
4-inch craw worms
Creature baits like Water Wizards, lizards, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beaver

Some national names you will want to consider: Lunker City, Zoom,
Yamamoto..
most of the ones you can find on the BPS Website.

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe
--
Secret Weapon Lures
Tackle systems engineered for innovative anglers
--------------------------------------------------------:~ 0")))
Subscribe to our mail list for intel briefings and
chances to win free tackle every month at
http://secretweaponlures.com
Better designs = better performance = better results


"Sprattoo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com

One more tip needed
 

On Oct 17, 8:49 pm, Bob La Londe wrote:
On Oct 17, 4:00 pm, "Joe Haubenreich"



wrote:
Buying habits strongly reflect regional preferences. Few anglers are really
analytical thinkers -- may 15% at most. For the most part, fishermen keep
their ears and eyes open to learn what other people are using to catch fish
and then buy those lures for themselves. They are trend followers.

For that reason, when a particular soft plastic bait, spinnerbait, jig or
crankbait is reported to have caught a big fish or many fish, that
particular lure is swept off the racks by eager buyers. You will do well to
recruit some of the leading guides and tournament anglers in your area --
the trend-setters, innovators, and early adopters -- as your store's
Prostaff. Provide them with discounts on their purchases, perhaps, or
provide some other incentive. In return, they can advise you on what is
"hot" locally. They may also be trend-setters, although that is a difficult
thing to predict.

I suggest you buy a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's books _The Tipping Point -
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference_ and _Blink - The Power of
Thinking Without Thinking_.

I could name some excellent soft plastics that I am confident would catch as
many or more bass than any soft plastic in the tackle shops around you. If
you stock them and your customers buy and use them, they would be delighted.
For example, GoTo Baits (http://gotobaits.com/) offer soft plastics with
excellent quality, better than average productivity, much better durability,
and vastly better value than Yamamoto or other big-name brands. But if you
were to buy them and put them on your racks, since they have no name
recognition in your local market, they might just gather dust.

If you, your clerks, and your Prostaff use and promote them as
high-performance, high-value lures that local bass haven't grown accustomed
to, and that will give the few anglers who know about them an edge, then you
can drive sales. And the fact that you would carry something that few other
shops in your region do would be a good marketing point.

I go in a lot of small mom & pop tackle shops, and I can tell immediately
which ones stock products desired by tournament anglers and people looking
for an edge on the water. The shop owners stock plenty of the big name
brands, but they also lay in some "special" lines for their regulars and
visitors in the know. And that's how they position them, too.... If someone
walks in and knows exactly what they want and see it on the Zoom or Berkley
wall, then everyone is happy.... But if someone comes in and asks for
advice, the clerk or shop owner can say "here's what most people are
throwing, but the secret weapon of some of our best anglers is this right
here...."

Even though I've seen that pitch fifty times, it still works on me when I
walk into a tackle shop by an unfamiliar lake. It did two weeks ago on
Guntersville. I went in to buy some plastic frogs (having unwisely used up
all my Watermelon Red GoTo Bait frogs in practice), and I found some that
resembled the patterns I wanted. The shop owner commented that those were
indeed popular, but that he and his son (who guide on the lake) preferred
another brand. Guess which ones I walked out of the store with?

So.... here is what I think bass anglers will expect you to carry your
sto

5" and 7" stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko
Frogs
3-inch Teaser Tubes
3", 3-1/2" to 3-3/4", and 4" Tubes
4", 7", 10" Worms
Finesse worms
Drop-shot baits, like the Wiggle lure*
Crawfish (large and small)
Jerk baits/shad bait like the Zoom Fluke
2-1/2" and 3-1/2" fat, curly-tail grubs
4-inch craw worms
Creature baits like Water Wizards, lizards, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beaver

Some national names you will want to consider: Lunker City, Zoom, Yamamoto..
most of the ones you can find on the BPS Website.

*Consider stocking the entire SpecTastic line of products, too.... your
customers will thank you for it.

Joe
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"Sprattoo" wrote in message

roups.com...
Sorry to post so much right away, but I am pretty new to many of the
hot soft plastics out there, and the new shop... and our bass pro
catalog seems to be filled with choices that I was never able to order
before.

If you all could pick your top 3 favorite soft plastics for next
spring what would it be? Make and model?

We are practically interrogating all our bass customers for some help
in ordering plastics next spring, and i don't want to just fill the
shelves with cheap junk. I have one or two customers will to help so
far, but I would like a little education before relying on a couple of
guys.

I like the looks of some of the yamamoto samples i have seen, but also
heard they fall apart easily after just a few pitches or a couple of
fish. Have heard good stuff about wacky rigging Yums, but only from
one or two guys.

Any help in the bass field would be appreciated. Can anyone suggest a
good site or two to help educate me? Over the past few years i have
all but set aside my baitcaster for my flyrod.
Would like to pick it back up next year.

Lloyd Mhttp://www.mainetackle.com

Glad mentioned Goto Baits. I was going to sugegst maybe asking Randy
to do a line of private label for you.

Just as an update to everyone from this thread.....
We have picked up one more local bass guy to help with spring
selection, and I hopefully have some SW 's on the way to the house...
with a catalog.
Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts on this. I have printed
all responses and have taped it to the inside of our orders drawer for
the next Bass order.

One more tip needed
 

I would like to add a suggestion abouyt displaying the SWL baits. I think
you should display lots of single baits in the middle of a section. Then
place extra blades and extra skirts next to them on one side, and a moderate
selection of mini kits on the toehr side seperated bya couple pro kits.

This will help to sell the accessory parts as well as make it apparent to
atleast the intelligent anglers what the SWL system is. It will also make
it easier for you to show it and explain it to others.

While SWL makes a decent skirt I would include a selection of the Z-Man
skirts on the wall right next to the SWL spinnerbaits.


--
Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com



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