Thanks for the kudos, Rodney. And you've got a point there. If SW were TOO
well kept a secret, then our only customers would be a few tight-lipped
tournament winners.

On the other hand, lots of anglers think they've heard of our company
already, some almost certain we've been around for years. They've seen guys
stomp up to the weigh-in scales with bulging sacks o' bass, claiming with a
sly grin that they caught 'em on their secret weapon. Thanks to a good
brand name, we are the beneficiaries of fishermen's natural evasiveness and
a catchy cliche.

We started asking folks who paused to glance around SW's Nashville Fishing
Expo booth if they needed more blades for their Secret Weapons. Not, "Have
you ever heard of Secret Weapon?" Our question assumed they already knew
about us. A good percentage of them felt pretty sure they had heard of the
brand but just had not tried one yet. In fact, few of them had been exposed
to us before.

So we don't begrudge fishermen's reluctance to reveal their most productive
lures. As long as they just continue to say they're using a secret weapon,
we'll make out ok.

So far, it seems that our customers have trouble keeping these lures a
secret. Word of mouth has been, and will continue to be, our best marketing
channel. Even tournament winners don't seem to mind saying they use Secret
Weapons. They might even reveal the lure weight and model. As long as they
don't mention the specific blade configuration they discovered to be most
productive, those within earshot still have to figure out which of several
hundred possible blade combinations might have been used. As much or even
more than we, anglers are responsible for Secret Weapons' productivity,
since the design permit anglers so much control over lure configuration,
profile, and action.

RR... I hope you and your buddy will get a lot of good use out of your
lures. I calculate the 8 assorted baits you two selected should yield over a
thousand good lure combinations. Our standard offer is, send us a photo with
a braggin' size bass caught on your SW spinnerbaits, and if we tack it to
the Board on our site, we'll let you pick out a lure and send it to you.
Hope to see you there soon.

Joe Haubenreich


"Rodney" wrote in message
...
RR wrote:

At least if they work, we wont be lying to the members of our bass club
when
we say we caught them on a 'secret weapon'.


You guys just don't understand,, you find something like this and kick
butt, in your clubs, don't tell a soul, then wonder why you can't buy
more of them in a few years, that small company has went belly up
because of not enough sales.

Or even worst, when someone else in your club mentions that they heard
about a new secret weapon,, you tell them you tried it and it stunk, all
the while your taking their money at the tourney's using it. and grinning.

The Big tackle companies can weather that storm for the few years it
takes for that hot bait to get widely known, even though every
tournament guy hides what they are winning with.

The Secret weapon is as good as it gets with spinner baits, I just hope
he can last long enough for the secret to get out. Think about that,
next time your asked what you were using


--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Boomerang Fishing Pro. , Stand Out Hooks ,
Stand Out Lures, Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, Mojo's Long
Shot rig
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com