Sport Show, Bait Shops, and the Spring Season

We had a fantastic time at the 2017 Wisconsin Sport Show in Eau Claire, WI. We thank all of you that checked out our lures and hope that you hammer some bass, pike, and musky this year on them! We need to give a special thanks to Kevin Rogalski and Kevin Martinek for all the help in running our booth. Both of these guys volunteered to help us setup, run, and tear down this booth all weekend. Our teardown was literally minutes thanks to all of their help. Also it was nice to have trusted friends run the booth while I grabbed lunch. Also we would like to thank Doc Gilles, Jaz Duncan, Mat Eichinger, Good Buddy Zim for help spreading the word and supporting Alex and his fishing lure company. Word-of-mouth has probably been 75% of our sales last year. Without people showing others the lures, we would have shut it down due to taxes, licenses, insurance premiums, website fees, etc. We felt like the show was a success because it felt like every bass angler that looked at our lures was blown away by our unique weedless designs, and ended up purchasing at least 1 or sometimes up to 5 of our lures. It felt great to impress these people and answer all their questions about conditions, presentations, water clarity situations to use which lure and/or color correctly to get bit. The last thing I wanted to mention, it was awesome to FINALLY meet our first Pro-Staffer, TYLER THEIDE, in person! Tyler has been extremely supportive of us from the beginning and will help spread the word with us as he starts his new Kayak Guide Service adventures in 2017. Check him out at www.smallcraftoutfitters.com and maybe book a trip with him. I know for a fact this guy has some special spots with GIANTS. I mean 6.5 lb largemouth in Wisconsin? Are you kidding me? How about his buddy Chang Lor with a 45" pike? Unreal! These guys are good and will get you on the fish safely with very high quality equipment.

Jesse James, Alex James, Pro-Staffer TYLER THEIDE

In 2017, we picked up several new bait shops to begin carrying our lures. We are so excited that we are now shipping lures to Hogans Bait & Tackle in Dana Point, CA, Ross's Sport shop in Phillips, WI, and Oemig's Sport Shop in Stanley, WI. We have a few more shops committed to sell our lures in NW Wisconsin but will announce them when the initial order is placed. Bite Me Bait & Sport in Mondovi, WI still has our Lovertail 2 spinners in stock as well. Ladysmith, WI, Hayward, WI, and Turtle Lake, WI will be ordering within the next few months.

Our plans for 2017 is to work on some better underwater footage of our lures in action in clear water, as well as produce a Buzz Frog that will be weighted correctly to prevent rolling of the lure. The Buzz size we plan to use will be smaller than any other one on the market and the frog we chose to try out is a smaller version that most. When we get it correct, it will be available to purchase online, on eBay, and hopefully in stores this summer. Our kids big bass contest will end December 2017, and a young dude in Arkansas has taken the lead with an 8 lb bass he caught from shore at a local park. All children 10 and under are eligible. Please send your pictures to 6lbsmallmouth@gmail.com or to our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/jamesgangfish. 

Have a great spring and we will be working on lures, doing some boat maintenance, planning a small, invite-only MLF Bass tournament, and waiting for the May opener in Wisconsin!!!

6 yr old Kaleb Groce 8 lb largemouth Arkansas
Current Leader 2017 Big Bass Kids Contest