ANNOUNCEMENT!! LIKE AMERICAN IDOL FOR LURE MAKERS!
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 6:47 amLarry Dahlberg's Great Lure Build-Off 2012
A person might be the greatest guitarist, or be gifted with a once in a century voice, or have the ability to design the best mouse trap or fishing lure ever made, BUT unless the absolute right set of circumstances come together, only a few people may ever be aware of it.
In the case of fishing lures it seems like the deck is especially stacked against better mouse trap makers.
Even with the use of the internet, consolidations in manufacturing and distribution have made it almost impossible for individuals or small companies to get their "single" products into the market place.
I guess it's understandable when you look at the progression of product performance and progress.
Less than 100 years ago the best fishing rods were hand made out of bamboo by largely self-trained individuals in "basement workshops". That all changed with the advent of synthetic fibers and resins and the sophisticated machinery needed to work with them. It made sense to consolidate everything from fishing rods and golf shafts, to radio antennae. Today, the best of all these things are made in sophisticated factories by sophisticated engineers.
But, for some reason, fishing lures and music are different. The very best still get cooked up in the hearts and minds of passionate, creative, individual people in their own private space and time.
Unfortunately, some great creative concepts never gain the exposure or funding they need to develop. Worse, sometimes life savings are lost pursuing a dream and the ideas are simply stolen outright. I had it happen with a couple of great ideas when I was much younger.
Then I got lucky and bumped into three people. One of them made
silicone and urethane resins for modeling. His company is called Alumilite and his name was Mike. He helped me in my struggle to go from wood to more modern materials in my basement workshop and more or less into the 21st century. The other two guys, brothers Simon and KK Chan of River2Sea, are connected to the largest high quality lure factory in the world, and have in the last year helped me take some of my designs I had hidden away through the manufacturing process and into distribution.
I'd like for the same opportunity to be available to someone who deserves it.
We've created the Great Lure Build Off so each year the person who comes up with the best great original lure will have the opportunity to get it fast-tracked into both manufacturing and distribution, PLUS receive patent help, full credit and a fair royalty!
Here's the barebones of how it works. (In the next few weeks/days we'll reveal more details.)
The "inventor" will submit a design with an explanation of the lures
"purpose", and reason for being developed, plus video of it in the water, and of course hopefully, working samples if chosen as a finalist by our panel judges and peers.
There will be two categories, Hard Lures and Soft Lures.
Originality, functionality, feasibility "do-ability", breadth of application and overall effectiveness, will out weigh cosmetic aspects with regards to judging. The judges will be me, and a couple of others who are highly qualified but must remain anonymous. Visitors to the site will also get to vote.
Don’t worry, you own your designs. You retain any and all ownership rights. (We will provide an online agreement which spells out all the legal stuff that's required for our mutual protection.)
In a nutshell, it's pretty simple. Anyone 18 can enter. The best will be given the opportunity to have their lure manufactured and distributed at no cost to them by River2Sea. The submissions must be made from Alumilite products. Fishing lure patent attorney specialist Richard Ogawa will provide pro bono service on matters of intellectual property.
You might be asking, what does Larry get out of this?
I get the satisfaction of seeing someone who deserves a shot get one.
It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to share what I've discovered over the years with other anglers in hopes of adding to the body of knowledge.
Plus, I'm hoping the fallout from our Build Off will help launch, or inspire small custom batch basement/garage lure builders to follow their dream.
GOOD LUCK!!
L
A person might be the greatest guitarist, or be gifted with a once in a century voice, or have the ability to design the best mouse trap or fishing lure ever made, BUT unless the absolute right set of circumstances come together, only a few people may ever be aware of it.
In the case of fishing lures it seems like the deck is especially stacked against better mouse trap makers.
Even with the use of the internet, consolidations in manufacturing and distribution have made it almost impossible for individuals or small companies to get their "single" products into the market place.
I guess it's understandable when you look at the progression of product performance and progress.
Less than 100 years ago the best fishing rods were hand made out of bamboo by largely self-trained individuals in "basement workshops". That all changed with the advent of synthetic fibers and resins and the sophisticated machinery needed to work with them. It made sense to consolidate everything from fishing rods and golf shafts, to radio antennae. Today, the best of all these things are made in sophisticated factories by sophisticated engineers.
But, for some reason, fishing lures and music are different. The very best still get cooked up in the hearts and minds of passionate, creative, individual people in their own private space and time.
Unfortunately, some great creative concepts never gain the exposure or funding they need to develop. Worse, sometimes life savings are lost pursuing a dream and the ideas are simply stolen outright. I had it happen with a couple of great ideas when I was much younger.
Then I got lucky and bumped into three people. One of them made
silicone and urethane resins for modeling. His company is called Alumilite and his name was Mike. He helped me in my struggle to go from wood to more modern materials in my basement workshop and more or less into the 21st century. The other two guys, brothers Simon and KK Chan of River2Sea, are connected to the largest high quality lure factory in the world, and have in the last year helped me take some of my designs I had hidden away through the manufacturing process and into distribution.
I'd like for the same opportunity to be available to someone who deserves it.
We've created the Great Lure Build Off so each year the person who comes up with the best great original lure will have the opportunity to get it fast-tracked into both manufacturing and distribution, PLUS receive patent help, full credit and a fair royalty!
Here's the barebones of how it works. (In the next few weeks/days we'll reveal more details.)
The "inventor" will submit a design with an explanation of the lures
"purpose", and reason for being developed, plus video of it in the water, and of course hopefully, working samples if chosen as a finalist by our panel judges and peers.
There will be two categories, Hard Lures and Soft Lures.
Originality, functionality, feasibility "do-ability", breadth of application and overall effectiveness, will out weigh cosmetic aspects with regards to judging. The judges will be me, and a couple of others who are highly qualified but must remain anonymous. Visitors to the site will also get to vote.
Don’t worry, you own your designs. You retain any and all ownership rights. (We will provide an online agreement which spells out all the legal stuff that's required for our mutual protection.)
In a nutshell, it's pretty simple. Anyone 18 can enter. The best will be given the opportunity to have their lure manufactured and distributed at no cost to them by River2Sea. The submissions must be made from Alumilite products. Fishing lure patent attorney specialist Richard Ogawa will provide pro bono service on matters of intellectual property.
You might be asking, what does Larry get out of this?
I get the satisfaction of seeing someone who deserves a shot get one.
It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to share what I've discovered over the years with other anglers in hopes of adding to the body of knowledge.
Plus, I'm hoping the fallout from our Build Off will help launch, or inspire small custom batch basement/garage lure builders to follow their dream.
GOOD LUCK!!
L
