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Nick of Island X lures came on the show and explained how to fish topwater lures in the surf. Even with waves, the Island X lures are designed for success.
Podcast by a Panhandle Surf Angler for all anglers of any level. We will talk weekly to guests that are anglers and also industry professionals. I want you to walk away from this podcast with some knowledge either refreshed or new for you to become a better angler. Though it will start in the Panhandle of Florida, it will be around the entire United States so we can all learn something about fishing in different regions.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah. But speaking of the lures, and with that, one of the things I loved about your website is, is on every one of your rigs, it, it labels it down. It tells you size, it tells you weight. But if you scroll to the bottom of this on the website, it tells you how to fish it. And they're one of the ones that always, you know, has caught my eye. Each one I've looked at specifically says, Hey, look, if you leave it alone, it's gonna sink a little. Um, you know, cause like you said, these are mostly top water. That's, and they will come down a bit, but it tells you, Hey, look, if you do a fast retrieve, yeah, you're gonna get up top. Um, keep a slow to mid retrieve, it's gonna stay right there in the first few inches of the water column. You're gonna be able to play it. Give it a couple twitches here and there. It really explains it. Have you found for you though, a certain way to fish them is just this way is a constant killer?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, those are the best. Like, you know, i, I, it has to be presented to guys that are in the novice range in fishing, just because it's the easiest way to explain for them to have success. Um, a lot of these things are, a lot of these lures are great for experienced fishermen because they can take a look at it. They can feel the weight. Uh, they can, they can, they don't need to look at the package to know exactly what they're gonna do with it. So a lot of that really is for the guys that are fir or anyone that's gonna grab it for the first time and doesn't get out all the time. Or it isn't a psycho about fishing. Like some of us are that knows, uh, exactly when they grab a lu or what they're gonna do with it. Yeah. Cuz I can give, I can give some of these to some people and they're, I started be like, no, no, no, I, I, I'll, I'll figure it out.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
You know, they, they want to figure it out. They want a cast of a thousand times. They wanna know if it can do, uh, or, or they can put cer you can put certain actions on it. I mean, those pencils, um, can be erratic and all over the place, or in a certain cadence, you can get them to walk the dog like a spook. It's really difficult. But it c it absolutely can be done. Um, but that's the beauty of these lures that it's like unlocking a secret, uh, level on it. But in explaining that on a website description, no, it's not, uh, it's not advantageous just because, uh, no one's gonna read all that and really get the impression through reading what they need to do. It's all through experimentation. That's kind of how we figured out what all these things can do. But it's all centered around the weight and the body mass being able to balance all that so that you can manipulate the action lower the way you want it to. But yeah, uh, the next step in that is to be able to, I have this grand idea that when I have time, or the next is to hire a company to help, is to have a QR code on the back of these lures and have it scanned. So it directs you straight to like a YouTube tutorial on each lure. Really it, to try to make these things user friendly. Um, but that's in the, uh, future, uh, not right now.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
, dude, there's still a,
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I have this idea every year. I just can't, I just can't get around to it. It's, it's, I gotta, I gotta, I think I gotta bite the bullet and have someone, uh, do all that legwork for me while I'm still in transition here.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
So let's talk after the show because I, you just, I have an idea on how to help you with that.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Hey, there we go. . I like it. . I think
Speaker 1 (03:22):
That's perfect. I think, I think we can get that. We can get that situated here. Um, alright, so let, let's push into this one. So you talk about the species you have up there, uh, with the, you know, bonitos, the shads, al Alvis, stripers, all that. And are these, would you say these rigs will hit just about anything? Or do you feel that they are target specific?
Speaker 2 (03:47):
These are about anything. Uh, we got guys that take 'em, uh, mahi mahi, they'll go offshore and catch, I mean, guys will catch a bunch of stuff on it. The problem is we just, I love social media. Some guys are very, very giving and they like want you to see, um, you know, pictures and, and and what they've done with 'em and other guys. They, they're kind of, they kind of hold the back a little bit on you . Uh, so every, every now and then, um, I'll, you know, I won't, I'll be asked not to share a picture or something, but I'll, I'll get a glimpse of, you know, it was used uh, off the coast of here and they caught all these, oh man, I've lost the post
Speaker 1 (04:21):
, but did, no one needs to know, no one needs to know my magical lure. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (04:26):
. Yeah. No, I don't know what they're, you know, why they don't want it or anything, but it's fine. Um, it's just nice to see, you know, cuz I, I can be in the dark about until I'm getting out there. Um, I'm, I'm relying on, on the feedback I get from anyone that's using, uh, these lures. So, uh, I'm sure they've caught much more species than I am able to tell you here. But, um, the one firsthand I can't tell you is that one, the stinger with the willow blade is a fresh water killer. A lot of guys, they, they're little secret weapon in the spring here, um, in the ponds because we have, we have substantial size, uh, holdover, striped bass, um, in the 40 inch over range. Wow. Um, oh, easily. There's some that are even bigger. We've seen some pictures of some, uh, 48 to 50 inch fish pulled out of ponds that don't have more than five feet of water in.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It's incredible. Um, but these things are lethal in there. It's crazy that blade the flash. Um, they've caught, uh, white perch, uh, crappy pickle roll, um, old pickles. Yeah. These holdover bass and they old pickle roll the pickle one, anything. I wasn't, I wasn't proud when that one happened, but like still, you know, it's cool. Just added to the little list. Uh, yeah. Guys have caught, uh, taking them, uh, in different areas. Uh, I had 'em down in Virginia. Guys are catching, uh, large mouth bass with a sidewinder. It was, I got the picture of that one. I almost died. Uh, cuz we don't, like I said, we don't put generally have, uh, trouble hooks on these things. The guy had caught two large mouth baths. It had two tres on it. I couldn't even recognize the lure. I just, it, it looked nothing like the lure . Cause it had like tassels, trebles. I'm like, what is this
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Thing? What'd you do to my lure?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
He had caught, he got a, I got two large mouth, uh, on it. It was, it was, it was, it was pretty impressive. I had to give them that. But, uh, I, uh, I couldn't advertise using those up here. Yeah, no. But that in the condition it was, I couldn't imagine it would even cast very well at that rate. But, um, that's what I mean, they're, they're interchangeable, you know, guy, uh, people will, will strip these hooks right off and, and, and put troubles on. And that's not something we're, you know, we can do anything about. I mean, hook selections your, your own. Yeah. We prefer, at least if we put 'em on there, we're making it a little difficult for you to, uh, . You have to take 'em off. Put
Speaker 1 (06:51):
It that way. . There's a reason that we choose what we've chosen. I mean, it's, it's not
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Does it, it does tie into the balance of the lure. Yeah. And its castability and its action. But, um, you know, conservation is definitely one of the points. Um, we do focus on with running those hooks, really trying not to gouge the gills on some of these bats, uh, if at all possible. But like I said, we didn't really see a massive difference in the, uh, in the hookup ratio. Um, it actually, it can be more fun. Sometimes they, they'll, instead of hitting it once and the lu's gone, they'll come after five, six times. Um, you get to really see a show. So it can be interesting in that regard as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (07:31):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Running those singles.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Well, you talked, you, you nailed one little topic here, uh, but I'll have to ask because you're already named into one, but what's another very memorable fish caught on your rigs?
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Hmm. I know right? Today I just went down to list of those things. Oh
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Dude, you're crushing it. I'm loving it. You're crushing right through this.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
It's
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Like you got this
Speaker 2 (07:50):
When it first happened. Uh, now it's kind of a, it's kind of a norm. Uh, but false albacore, they kind of blow by you guys. Don't, you don't really get a, a season with them,
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Do you? Not a lot in our area. Uh, cuz since we're in the Gulf, we don't really, I mean, we get bon we get Bobos Bonita, but, uh, not so much falsies. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yeah. So, um, that, like I said, that's a prized fish up here. When it makes it up here, people go crazy for it. That first, like I said, when we first started that first lu uh, the 180 came out, like, it, it, it just drew disbelief that it was gonna have any effect, um, outside of bass and bluefish. Like it, that's just what it was gonna be. I remember the first, uh, false albacore I caught on it. I was, it was probably the most important fish I had caught that whole year just because it was, you know, constantly said, no, no, no, no. They'll never touch something of that size. It's always after small, small, small. And you got this seven inch top water thing slashing through the surface and, you know, there's no way they're gonna hit it. Now we're finding they're more than willing to hit it.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Um, and that's just, that's a lot to do with the bait. Um, that's present up here. Squid is actually on their menu and these have one of the better squid profiles that you could probably put out there for top water. And man, do they, I mean, they just hit the hell out of it. It's, that's probably one of my, if I could just sit there and throw these top water at, at, at falls saboor that would, you could skip the bass and stuff like that. I know that's bass is my favorite, but, uh, they just hit it so hard, you know, um, which probably begs me to get out there and fish, um, other areas more. Um, so I can add to that list. I'd really love to see that thing in action. It's just, you, you're so confident with it just because of how ha you know, how successful it is up in this area that I could take it. You know, you could take it anywhere and fish it. Uh, and guys have, and, and have done really well on a personal level. I can't say I, I gotta, I gotta bite the bullet and tell my wife we're going on a, uh, fishing vacation .
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I just, I I I've rehearsed it, it just doesn't come out right. So
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Yeah, that's marriage. , .
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I know Ash. Let me go. We'll, we'll go one of these ones once we're not busy, we'll go. And that, that'll be probably my top priority is to just fish that thing until my hands bleed.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Yeah, it'll
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Be great. Well hopefully for roosters, but
Speaker 1 (10:17):
We'll see. That'll be really cool. Well, uh, last two questions in this category here. The, the first one, let's talk about a business question here and then we'll talk about, uh, the final one. What have been some very valuable lessons learned while mastering your craft at this?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Trying to figure out which failure I should talk about that.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
See, but that right there, that word I, and a lot of, I grew up in the Marine Corps. That's been my life. You know, I spent 20 years in and the words of failure, if you fail, oh, this is this. But one of the greatest things that I've learned in my life is failure is one of the greatest lesson learned things ever because it teaches you all right, I couldn't make it work that way. Let me try a different way. So failure to me is awesome. I, you call it a failure. And I'm all like, no, that can't be a failure. You just found a different way to make the lure.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
No. Yeah. And, and, and my and my interpretation of that word has, has significantly changed since starting this business. No, uh, for sure. You know, failure can come off as, um, a stop sign, uh, in a lot of ways. Um, it's, yeah, it's the ability to ignore that. Just keep on going. The, the reason it works, uh, that I'm, I'm able to, you know, fail and not have anything go so terribly wrong, uh, besides having a blunt load of extra lures hanging around, um, is, is, yeah. Is the, is the work ethic part is being able to, you know, balance three jobs and do this thing. Uh, it's, it's not what, uh, puts food on the table just yet. So I can, I, I can slip up and we'll still survive. Um, and I, and I, I, I gotta keep it that way until I get it, get this business right where I want it. But, you know, in regards to the lures, um, I'm staring at one, but I have, uh, probably 3000 units left. Just I kind of, I, I, I throw 'em out of the website at a, at a nice, uh, heavily, heavily discounted rate. Um, because it's the, it's that chrome stinger, if you kind of get exploring in there.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
You mean the website where my cart's full and all you have to do is push by now. Yeah, I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
. I'll, the discount cards, all
Speaker 1 (12:26):
,
Speaker 2 (12:28):
The, uh, those, those ones are, uh, they're gr honestly, they, they're a fish catching machine. And we kind of knew that going into building the prototype of it. And then we kind of tried, we tried to do something intricate and that just hadn't seen. And I think the fantasy of it and wanting to, uh, just go from A to Z real quick with it, and we thought, we thought of everything and it was gonna be great. Um, it, you know, that's, uh, not how it works. It, it literally kicked our and said, no, no, no, start again. Um, the lure works great. It it's tail breaks off pretty sometimes you don't even, you, you don't even catch a fish and it, it breaks off. And I remember going back to the manufacturer, what have you done? It's like, what did you do to these things?
Speaker 2 (13:19):
And in no fault, to their own. Um, it was a lack of investigation and specifics. Um, the one thing I can tell you is that, you know, we work with China and their amazing, uh, very, uh, I have a ton of respect for them. Um, they're very, very kind, uh, very, very giving. I said, when you, when you experience failures, they're failing with you. Uh, because they're investing in you. Uh, at this stage, at this stage, how I work with them. My successes are theirs. So, right. Um, and vice versa, you know, if they put on a good product, if, if they're able to, you know, really go through these lures and, and, and make sure every step is so calculated and, and, and perfected. I have a sound lure. I, I don't have to worry. So when that isn't the case, you know, everything changes.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
So, you know, apart in this, um, stinger, minnow was installed that swivel, and it's not the swivel that's actually weak, it's just the end point that connects the, uh, split ring to the willow blade. It, it's uber thin for some reason. Just, uh, you know, when you don't take that bat little tiny aspect of the swivel into account in the entire lure, there's failure. Uh, it was incredible. It snuck up on us. Um, it was the biggest, uh, high to a low probably since starting this business, because if you see this thing in your hand, it's, it's beautiful. It's like you look at it, this is gonna get some fish, and then that happens, and the tail, the, the blade's gone and then the lure looks empty junk , and it can happen in an instant. And it's just, oh, I remember the first one I broke off and I was like, this sucks so bad.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
What did we do? And it's funny cuz this, I think this, you know, I can't say it until it's done. Um, and we have, uh, no failure at all, but I've been fishing the prototype that we got in, I always get a prototype, you know, uh, six, eight months in advance before any of this stuff's produced and goes out. And I've been fishing it and it did not break it, I mean, it had been hit and hammered and I've smashed it off a concrete floor. I've done a bunch of stuff to it. Cuz I just, when you re you realize you have to go overboard. You have to purposely try and hurt these things and, and, and break them because, um, the harshness of, you know, fishing, you can't calculate what that computes in like, um, torsion or, or, or force against the lure. Um, you just have to go more.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And that's kind of how a lot of these lures you. If we could chronologically put these things out in front of yourself, you'd see the development in them embassy a while. They've gotten a lot stronger since the beginning. You just can't take chances like that, especially when you need to, you know, you have the fees put forth to do a c n aluminum mold, you know, you're, you're investing thousands without ever seeing anything. And then, you know, then you gotta put an initial order in of, you know, 5,000 units or something like that and hooks and every, you know, all of a sudden you're in the tens, twenties, thousands of dollars for allure and it hasn't hit the public yet. You know, and you, you know, at a, at a company my size, you can't, you can't take that hit like Rafa could or any of these other companies could.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
So it's important that going through this phase, because it's kind of the gauntlet to get to the light. You know, you know, if you fail so many times, you know, it might be best to take up another picture, , but it could be a sign. But no, it, the fail the failures are, are where all the learning is going on right now. So some stuff, I'm, I'm, you know, if I'm not a thousand percent, you know, I gotta be way over a hundred percent with some of these things. If I'm not a thousand percent on it, I go low in terms of what I'm trying to like put out quantity wise in an order. You know, I, I got an inch in, so, you know, I'll order 15,000 of these 180 s you know, next year. And then I'll order maybe a thousand of these stingers.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
If all is well, I'll crank the order right up. But I have to, you know, those type of things, you have to limit the amount of damage, um, until it's perfected. So I can't have, um, you know, tens of thousands of useless lures, um, or lures that are just not gonna, you know, function the way I want them to. Yeah. So getting through those, uh, hoops has been kind of the, the tough part, you know, especially when you're doing it on your own. Right. So yeah. The, the failure, the the success is in the failure.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
I love it, man. True stuff. So which one out of all your rigs is your personal favorite and why?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
It's gotta be the one that we started with, which is the 180, uh, it's, it's 90, it's 99% of the time it's on my rod. Um, and it doesn't come off. I just, maybe I, I go up a size, but it's, it's always on there. Um, I've, you know, I've mastered it. I've mastered powder fish, and I think that can be said for a lot of people with any lure, once you've mastered that lure, it's, it's hard to break away from something that's so successful in your own mind. So kind of looking to, to break away from that, even though I know I, I, I love casting it. It's a ton of fun. And I, it's like you can catch any, it seems, well we've caught every species in this area on it. Uh, that would be near the surface of the water, put it that way.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Somebody did get a black sea bass on. It was kind of comical. Um, but that one's a rare and you don't count on it. Um, a bottom feeder, it'd be like a, a fluke or a flounder coming up off the bottom, hitting top water . Yeah. But, um, this, the, the, the new sign winder that we're gonna have out next season is really, I, I got to fish the prototype a lot this fall. And I don't know, I that I might have a new favorite and I think it's gonna be a lot of people's, uh, favorite that get to fish it just because there's gonna be a straight floating that sits, uh, uh, parallel on the water surface, you know, which is kind of different than the 180. The 180 has that, um, you know, more vertical position in the water. So it has a different action. This is gonna have that spook style action. But the, the difference in a lot of these lures we didn't really even touch on. If you look at 'em, uh, on the website or anyway, the eyelet, the front eyelet is under the lip. Yeah. Um, it's something we didn't talk about. It's kind of unique.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Talk about it, man. We're here. Let's do, cuz I mean, I, no, I know it's on the bottom and not directly off the nose. Yeah. But yeah, hit it up, man. Let's do that. Oh,
Speaker 2 (19:54):
It gets a, it we generate. So especially with the weight in the rear, it just generates so much more action. Um, pulling from the bottom of the lip there. Uh, moving water wise, um, in a lot of scenarios, it, the movement is dictated by that position right there. Uh, like the side winder has a little flat face right where, uh, the front eyelet is, and it darts left and it dies and it'll still curl out. And then you can pull it back and you pull it back straight and then it's gonna die out. Right, right, right. And then you pull it back and it goes, it, it goes all over the place. And that keeping that subsurface, because there it, the movable weights on this one are in the back, so you get that front kick. Um, that was kind of the key to this lure is ha I think it was 10th 0.1 ounce balls, uh, that are in the back here in this, uh, chamber, in this rolling chamber.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
So you twitch it, the balls move forward, it gives you just enough of that kick to give an, an erratic, you know, spontaneous direction going forward. Uh, and then you can, you know, once you, you know, get the line tight on and redirect it, you know, you twitch it again and it goes, it's unpredictable at that point and it's a lot of fun. But the, the real success with the hell fire 180 having that underlip is, is the balance of those, the weight holding in the water and basically getting the face to pull down and slap. I don't think that lure would work nearly as well. It probably work in some capacity, but it wouldn't have the action it has if the eyelet was either centered or reversed of where it is. Not at all. It's easy to think about in your head, you know, the, the, all the weights grabbing in the water and the water's kind of putting force on it. And you have that eyelet, you know, almost facing you directly, not straight up in the air. And, you know, you're pulling in it, it's cranking that face down to the surface, the water, and it just slashes in, slashes across, keeping it under the lip like that. Uh, I feel like we get a lot more action out of the lure in coordination with the waiting.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I love that the weight and the beads. I mean, uh, the way you did the conjunction, the fixed point there, but the beads with the noise and the way you did it that it keeps it in the tail end and how it helps with the action. I love the thought process with that.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Yeah. So the, like the 180 s kind of like the, the brainchild of that one. Uh, just because the way that the weights are situated, they're, um, symmetrical of each other. They all the weights balanced of itself. Uh, there's a pit, there's a quarter ounces, all it's, it had to be led. The other ones are steel to get the weight up to that. And there's two on, its right, there's two on its left and there's some, they're uh, like 15 and 0.1 ounce. So the weights evenly distributed in front of it and behind it. But the two front ones are act, act as rattles inside larger chambers. Yeah, that one, it's, it'd be hard to top that lure that, uh, a lot of guys have a ton of success with it. A lot of guys say it's their favorite to throw. Yeah. But it's still getting out there. So I'm interested to see the ceiling on this lure cuz right now it, it, it's, it's still growing. It's definitely the, the most ordered one I have.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I'm looking forward to fishing it. .
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well
Speaker 1 (23:09):
That's, we definitely nailed into some good stuff there. Is there anything you wanted, else you wanna talk about? The lures that I left out? I'm sorry. I know you know this one better than I do. I've only got the framework here.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
No, we, I mean we talked about it. I have, um, the next thing I do now is, uh, well, but what am I trying to do is, uh, there's a lot of legwork and we started by doing just customs. So there, everything was painted by me in the beginning, uh, like the first year. Um, obviously our most successful patterns. I, I can't, I can't paint 5,000 of 'em. I don't, there, there's just no physical way. I think I learned that when I worked my off for, you know, 10 hours a day during Covid and it took me three months to produce a thousand of them. So, um, yeah, uh, some of this stuff i I, the main colors I had to have, uh, produced, but I still kind of, I never wanted to lose that touch with the company in that way where I'm not creating, um, especially color patterns.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
So a lot of unique, any color pattern that we, we have on the website, I've hand painted at some at some point earlier on and, and it's been successful enough where it gets thrown in rotation. Um, the website's gonna have a bunch of the customs that I do in general, but we have, um, like the top five, it's like blood splatter, sandal, amber squid and uh, we added a bunker in there and it's, it's good to run on that base five colors cuz I mean they have just our go-tos. Um, but at some point along the line I had painted that and there was an epiphany that it was, it was that productive. Um, which is fun cuz I don't like to lose touch of that. So I, I have a, like I'm talking to you, I'm staring, I got a ton of blanks staring back at me that are waiting to get, waiting to get painted.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Um, which I will certainly get to. But that's kind of the, the other half of the business that I really, really enjoy. Uh, cuz I, you know, I'll do, I'll do custom stuff for like, uh, company gifts for guys, you know, guys that really like to fish, um, that know the product. Um, I'm able to like water slide their logos onto it and seal it in epoxy. Um, you know, so they kind of have like a memento. Um, some guys fish it and lose it and I hear from them again to make another one. But ,
Speaker 1 (25:29):
That was a
Speaker 2 (25:30):
One off connected movie.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
That's it. You had one
Speaker 2 (25:32):
One. Oh, I it needs to be cuz it is, the process is painful enough anyways. And then to have to do that, I, I I actually, it sucks cuz I can wreck the entire lure on a process like putting the logo on and have to start again. Ah, so
Speaker 1 (25:50):
The Oopsy
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Lu, I'm trying to turn myself from that, but I, i, I keep a bunch of these, uh, these blanks on hand for, you know, more or less color testing. You know, I like to have those available so that I can, uh, mess around, you know, and find the next new hot color to use .
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally get that. Well, all right, well let's transition then. Let's move into the next subject. And while we're doing that,
Speaker 1 (26:18):
It is your final bait check of the episode. This so bait. This bait check has been brought to you by Sword Fishing products. Need a new blade. Oh man. Sword blades are one of my favorite to use, whether it's the bait knife or my filet knife. They've got the different sizes and shapes. They've also got the serrated. If you also need new pair of pliers, they've got one set and then another magic set coming out soon. Keep watching. That's right. Sword Products has got you all set up there. So go ahead and over to swordfishing products.com. Take a look at all the stuff they have on the website and get it ordered. You will not be sorry with that lifetime, no questions asked. And I do mean no questions asked. Warranty, don't believe me. Call and ask. They'll tell you all about it. Now that we're moving into this one, we are, we talked a little bit earlier with, uh, a brand new angler. Uh, and I kind of wanna tie back into it here. What knowledge would you like to give if one came up to you and like, Hey, tell me something. What knowledge would you like to give to a brand new angler?
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Wow, , persistence. Don't give up. Uh, I think that's what got most of us, uh, at least to be successful in fishing, is, uh, the fact that you, you, you're gonna have some tough days out there, especially in the beginning. Um, you know, where your knowledge is a little thin on what, uh, what you're chasing after. Um, be friendly, talk to people. Uh, that's kind of one of my favorite parts of this now. Um, you know, I like to hand out lures on the beach. A lot of other guys that come here, um, you know, I have a garage, uh, that I, uh, operate a lot out of. And guys will say, I'm, yeah, can I step by the garage? I need a load up so they don't have to go to the shop cuz they're gonna buy in bulk. And um, you know, I know what, I know what they go out there and do that.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
A lot of the times they're, they're, they're catching fish and other inexperienced angles are around them scratch, you know, wondering what's going on and, you know, want to be part of the action. And these guys are out there. They're, they're giving these loo their own, the ones that they just came in and paid for. They're, they're giving 'em away. So I always like to try and make sure I top them off with a, as much as I can just cause I know that that's what they're up to. And I like to do the same thing a lot of guys, that's the point of being out there, um, is some of us can be out there for, you know, eight hours in a day and, and just get lost in fishing. Um, some people show up for an hour or two and or don't have much time and maybe brand new to fishing, but want to, you know, feel the success of, you know, hooking into your first fish.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Whether you're taking it at home for the table or just the glory of being able to say that you did it. And, um, I, I've had, that's the best part of this. I've had a ton of conversations with new anglers on the beach giving uh, some young guys some plugs and literally watching them throw it out there and, you know, hook up within the first five, 10 minutes and just, you know, their jaws drop. Like, ah, that was 100% worth seeing these guys get into fish. Cuz it's just like right place, right time. Sometimes I like to fish in areas where I'm, you know, definitely not gonna see anyone, but, um, I'll, I'll go fish the areas that are, you know, got some people hanging around just because it's nice to interact with everybody, especially if there's some, if there's some, you know, younger g younger guys that are, are, are really new and, and not quite sure what, what angle to take or, or what to be using.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Um, it's, it's, it's a great thing to kind of pass along a little, uh, of success. You know, if, if it works, you know, every time we get out there, like you said, if it's, if it's blue fish or something like that, you know, and they just want to catch fish, it, it's, it's perfect. They get to cover a lot of water and they're gonna hook up a bunch of times. Um, it makes it a memorable experience. Um, and I've had guys, like I said, I've had guys come back to me and tell'em the same thing thing. It was, uh, pictures with young kids saying, um, you know, thank you so much. You know, this was amazing. I didn't think I was gonna catch anything like you made my day. Um, you know, that's why I enjoy fishing now. Um, I go out and fish by myself for hours for sure, but I really, uh, the enjoyment of others is definitely high on my list of, uh, reasons I go out there and, um, and, and fish the more populated areas that uh, most people would probably try and stay away from.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that's cool, man. Being back with the people is always fun sometimes. But yeah, I say that and I've got,
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I go here, I'm not, yeah, I'm not,
Speaker 1 (31:03):
I'm
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Seriously fishing at that rate anyway. . I, as much as I'm like more than happy to pass along a plug, it can become a nightmare once the lines are all crossed, you know what, you have yourself a good afternoon. Catch some fish. I'm gonna be way down here down the beach. Lemme know you
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Do . Yep. There you go. Right there. All right, so with people actually coming out there, cuz I mean you, Nantucket is nice, but not everybody's gonna go to Nantucket coming up into the New England area. So if you had a new angler that's never fished that area before, come up and you were talking and he is like, oh, I've never been here. What would you recommend they do before they even start fishing
Speaker 2 (31:42):
In, in the New England area?
Speaker 1 (31:44):
No, in Nantucket come into your area.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Oh. Oh,
Speaker 1 (31:47):
. Oh, new England. No dude, we'd be here, we'd be here for days. There's so many different pieces with the fishery. I mean, hell just moving. Oh yeah, just moving from your spot to the cape is a huge change.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Exactly. I was gonna say, well the first thing is, do you have a place to stay overnight here, , then we can keep talking. Cause yeah, the housing cra the housing situation over here is not a joke. Nope. But
Speaker 2 (32:10):
That's visiting. Yeah, right. You know, and some guy, there's guys that come over for the day. Um, yeah and do and and fish all the time. Um, but if it's somebody, you know, people take up summer jobs here and need activity and if it's, uh, you know, somebody that's just trying to figure out what it is that goes on out here, cuz I kind of had to do the same thing when I first got here. I had a sense. But, you know, if you're coming in blind to it, um, like I said, I always revert back to the tackle shops, but you know, if, you know, I bought some of my first stuff online, uh, and then got out there and just, I, I found the time and I just picked spots. That one, um, I kind of went in the same direction. I went to spots where no one was at, so I didn't look like a fool not catching fish.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
So, um, a lot of the time I spent alone, um, trying to learn anything about that spot, whether there's fish there or not. Uh, and sometimes that's kind of what it takes, you know, if you're not gonna go to the tackle shop and you know, you know, speak up and see if you can get some answers, it's, it's that solo time put in. Um, you can't pay for that. That's you, you kind of learn as you go there and that stuff sticks when you, when you have something go right, uh, you kind of observe what it is that just happened there. It's like an epiphany. Um, it's kind of, I learn different structural differences on the island where, where I want to fish, different holes, different tides, you know, it all starts to kind of come together. It's just like vague information at first. But, um, you know, in in specifics on this island, if you were ever to come out here or you know, the vineyard or um, some spots in the cape, you know, you're looking for moving water.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Um, moving water is always a good sign that there's fish in and around the area. You're looking for the presence of bait. Um, you know, birds are a good overhead detector. Um, you know, that's why top water's great cuz you see the boiling on the surface here and there. Um, but a lot of the times we go into it blind with these lures and you just have, you just have to cast, you know, and change it up and constantly be, uh, working to solve the riddle. Um, cuz it can be such a subtle difference of the slight action you put on a lure that will start generating hits versus, you know, when you went through every motion in the book to try and catch one. And it's that one little tweak that did it. Um, a lot of guys have had that happen where it, it, you, you have to crack the code. Um, but it's, it's rewarding. That's what makes fishing so great. Is that not every time you go out there, is it some fantasy where, you know, you're hooking up every other cast and catching trophy sized fish. Um, the majority of it's a grind and it's, I mean, if it wasn't that side of it, fishing, fishing wouldn't be nearly as fun. Um, you have to have the failures, uh, to mix it up like we were talking earlier.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Yep. Yeah, for sure, man. All right. Well now you've made it to the very end. You're onto the last question. Woo-hoo. You made it . All right. Unscathed, . So with all the crazy that you've got going on, man, what's next for you?
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Well, that's the, uh, well, should I say I, there's stuff that I got that, uh, I I I like to keep quiet until I can, uh, solidify it, you know? Um, but outside of that, the, the, the normal growth of the company, it's always in new lures. Um, it's always in development. We're trying to, um, trying to hit that, you know, magical jackpot lure that, you know, finds use for everybody that we can start to touch different areas, uh, of the coastline, go up and down to Florida to see you guys down there hit the West coast. Um, you know, it's actually been nice since some of this stuff I've been shipping up to Canada, um, prince Edward Island.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Ah, huge
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Yacht, huge bash. Yeah, it has a huge bash fishery there. These, there's literally about five people up there and they lo I mean that fish my stuff that absolutely love it and they don't like to promote it. They don't tell people where, what it is or anything like that. , um, well they're big. Um, they throw like cotton cordells and stuff like that. Yeah. And these are, you know, action wise, they're, they're comparable. Um, but, you know, the color patterns different. The castability, he, they say the same thing sometimes. They just gotta get it way out there and they really, really like throwing these things. So that's part of, you know, what I'm looking forward to is to really try and I, and, and learning how to export. I'm importing, but I gotta learn how to export too. And, uh, you know, tax taxes, all sorts of things.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Oh yeah. Um, but that's the beauty of, uh, of growing. It's, it's learning and nonstop learning new stuff. And, uh, that's kind of what the focus is, is, is to, to absorb as much as possible, um, and put out some really unique, some new lures. Um, like I said, this Sideliner is the one for next year. Um, I got really high hopes for this one. It's, it's beautiful. It's gonna be a lot of fun to throw too. So, um, once, once the capital's way, way, way up, uh, maybe I'll be putting out 3, 4, 5 a year and spending money recklessly , uh, for my own personal needs. Uh, there's nothing better than, uh, there really is nothing better than putting together your own bluer and then fishing it. Uh, I mean, obviously seeing other people have success with it is, uh, the real goal in that. But, uh, I really love to take these things out for the first time. It's like driving a new car, you know,
Speaker 1 (37:58):
,
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Um, it's a lot fun to see where, where it started on a piece of paper to where, uh, all the little various steps it went through and, uh, to see it, you know, in your hand. Uh, and then in fish's mouth, it all, uh, it all comes full circle.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Mm-hmm. , that's funny you were talking about up there. P e i, I just did a, in October, uh, I did an episode with, uh, a guy in Nova Scotia, uh, named Stripers of the Strait. He runs a charter up there. We were talking about lures and how he throws 'em for stripers. And he is like, yeah, we go from one side of the island, I can do this for, you know, Stripe bass, but then I move over here and I can go catch the monster Stripe bass. I was like, there's a difference in Stripe bass size. He's like, oh yeah, like here, it's here. It's edibles over there. Oh no, they're tanks over there.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Yeah, they have, um, they, well, they, their fishery got decimated. Um, the guys that I talked to up there, you know, they run inline singles are part of the program up there. Um, so these fit, you know, right on schedule with them. So that's why they first got attracted to 'em. Um, and then they started fishing with 'em and getting a ton of success. I, I don't know if he's run into 'em yet. I'll have to stripers at the straight. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (39:07):
I'll have to look. I'll connect with them. I'll have to message him and be like, Hey, you ever heard of these? So
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Yeah, set us, set us up. We'll, uh, I'll have to see, see if this is something that would interest them . Um, for sure.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
That's one thing I'd love about all this. I mean, you, you mentioned it right there. You, these things are stripe bass monsters, and your video showed it that they're coming after 'em. So, you know, if you're in the New England area and you're listening to this, you're looking after stripers. Yeah. You can sit out there with that chunk of bait and wade form 'em, but you could also generate something a little bit faster with this. Or maybe you wanna catch some falsies. I mean, I don't know. I, I'd love to catch falsies all day.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Yeah, well, like I said, if you, if you make a trek and you're, make sure it's between September and uh, October, I'd be more than happy to take you out and show you the way. Oh no.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
Uh, come back to New England and hang out and fish with somebody. No, not that
Speaker 2 (39:58):
In the, in the summer. Don't make it
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Sound like that. Oh dude. I gotta, I'm actually coming back up there in for sure. I know. I'll be back there in August of, uh, 23. That's already been, my aunt has already said, you will be here for the famer reunion in Maine. So it's like, okay. Uh, I got some, I got some tissue
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Plan. I prime time up there. Oh yeah, yeah. I would a hundred percent book 90% of my time fishing and 10% for family reunions.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
, we, well, thankfully she doesn't listen to the podcast, I think. But I mean, I, I have a small plane that's coming from that one, cuz Oh yes. The surf rods will be coming.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
Just hire a body double and put some glasses on them. Sit 'em down, tell him you'll be
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Back. Yeah, that's perfect man. Uh, well Nick, dude, this has been a ton of great knowledge. Thank you for all of it. And thank you for coming on this show and just being so open and honest with all this, from all the way from the beginning to where you are now and all the lures that you've liked and the science behind it. Man, seriously, you opened up a huge bit of information on here that really, I think will help a lot of anglers. So thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Yeah, no, honestly, Brian, thank you. I'm, I'm sure a lot of guys, um, have probably explored the option themselves. Uh, and it, it, I'm just kind of proof that it's, it's a hundred percent possible. Uh, just kind of devote yourself into it and, uh, you can grow something and hopefully it keeps growing. Um, I know we missed some, some points in there somewhere. Uh, there's just so much to talk about. But, uh, thank you for having me. I really
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Enjoyed it. Ah, no problem, man. I know. We'll, I'm, I have no doubt we'll be talking again. So it's all good.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Awesome. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (41:39):
I love it. All right, man. We'll be talking soon.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
All right. See ya.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
See ya. All right, ladies and gentlemen. Well I hope you enjoyed our trip up to Old Nantucket Island in Massachusetts there because it was nice. It was a heck of a run. And these lures, you can find them all on there on Island x lures website, island x lures.com. You can see all the stuff that we've been talking about. You can see the different paint patterns that he's been painting and now they're doing out that way. And you, you can really get a sense of all the things that he was talking about, especially with the placement of the eyelet on the lower side of the jaw side of these lures. Uh, and just all those ones. So definitely take a look at it. Lots of cool stuff on there. And if you fish these, hey, let us know how you did with it. Love to hear how you caught it.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
And you don't have to give us your honey hole. It's okay. Just, you know, tell us about the lures cuz they look real cool and they look like they're a lot of fun. And yes, I will be ordering some. Don't worry. You can come back to the channel. I'll have a review up on it. It'll be all good and grand and wonderful. Life will be good. Thanks for taking hanging out with us for this episode. If it helped you, don't forget, share it out. Send it to somebody that could use, uh, a little bit of knowledge here to help them catch fish in the surf. That's what the premise is of this show. Help everyone get better and showcase these small businesses out here that are out there grinding and making this happen for all of us to become better. So you've been listening to Finding DMO and I appreciate you. I am outta here.