The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Hi Larry,

My 8 year-old boy and I are big fans of your show... he loves when you go after the exotic fish and I am enamored by muskies.

Anyhow - I have been chasing muskies for years and am an amateur lure maker. My lure, however, does seem to outperform other baits. It works well for, both, Pike and musky. I have been making them to give as gifts to family and friends and for my own personal use and my most proud moment came when a friend (a special education teacher) gave one of my lures to one of her 12 year-old students who caught a 45” musky with it.

My question is – how do you know when to take a hobby and turn it in to a business with lure making? I have looked in to patents and was quoted $20K-$25K… at a cost of about $12 to make (on a small scale) and a potential retail price of $20 my ROI seems unattainable. I’d have to sell 2,500 units at retail (on my own – without the use of a distributor) before I could even dream of making a buck and could, potentially, lose thousands.

Any suggestions?

Thanks and best wishes,

Chris

A very interesting question. There is an old saying, "You can make a small fortune in the fishing business, but the secret is to start out with a large one."
You are right about patent costs, but the biggest expense can be in defending it.
To get a patent that will "really stick" on a lure it has to be something pretty unique.

You might be best off continuing to do just what you're currently doing! I applaud you for running the numbers before you mortgage your house!

You might want to check out our lure making contest on makelure.com.
best
L