Change of ownership looks to expand lure company’s products, sales

Published 12:13 am Friday, July 27, 2018

Before I ever saw anything they sold, I liked them. Who could not like something that came from a company called BoneHead?

Then I went crappie fishing using BoneHead Tackle’s Stump Bug jigs and carbon fiber rods and was hooked on their products as well.

The company was started in 2013 in Whitehouse by Josh Spain to make, of all things, walleye baits. It quickly gathered a following and expanded into crappie lures, bass baits, terminal tackle and even rods. In a short time, BoneHead crappie fishing products developed a following in East Texas and around the country.

This summer, BoneHead experienced more change as Chris Knight, owner of Nautical Mile Marine in Flint, purchased the company with sights on expanding its sales territory and product lines even more.

Long the little brother to bass fishing, crappie fishing is enjoying a resurgence brought on by a trio of things — better electronics, competitive events and a new wave of fishermen who are again interested in catching fish for food.

“It is growing. We are converting so many guys to our world,” said William Oliver, company spokesman and crappie guide who has been using the company’s products for years.

Oliver is something of an electronics guru when it comes to crappie. Fishing out of a Skeeter boat that on the trailer looks like any bass boat, he uses the most modern electronics to locate fish. He said that aspect is big with younger fishermen who have grown up more accustomed to electronics than certainly their grandfathers and maybe even more so than their dads. It does not hurt that today’s electronics makes locating the fish much easier.

“There is a challenge aspect there. People like a challenge to conquer, overcome something. That is crappie fishing to a T,” Oliver said.

While transitioning from a building in Whitehouse to one near Knight’s boat dealership, the company is in one way tightening up its product line while expanding in others. The tightening comes in the reduction of colors, eliminating shades that are similar to others.

“We want a set of core colors, and will be bringing on new stuff. Colors come and go,” Oliver said.

It will retain its five profiles — a 2 3/8-inch Slim Stick, 3-inch Slim Stick, Brush Glider, Minnow and Stump Bug.

Its soft plastics are made in-house, allowing the company better control over quality.

“It is nothing to catch 10, 15 or 20 on the bait. Some of our competitors catch one or two. I am not saying they are bad baits, they still catch fish,” Oliver said.

BoneHead sources its terminal tackle from other manufacturers based on company specs. Oliver said going forward the company is searching for as many U.S.-based manufactures to work with as possible, but knows some products will still have to come from outside the country simply because they are not available here.

“There are a lot of ways to make the prices make sense. We have put the pencil to it. There are a lot of places you can do it, and a lot of places you can’t,” Oliver said of finding American-made.

BoneHead will soon offer American-made jig heads, but will have to go outside for new premium mono and braided lines. Its rods, identifiable by their fluorescent colors, will also continue to be made offshore.

“We want a product that is marketable, and produces good results,” Oliver said.

BoneHead sees it future growth in crappie fishing. Nationally, there are a small number of major players in crappie gear, but it is certainly not as saturated as the bass tackle industry. It helps BoneHead that its crappie lures are attractive to other types of fishermen, including still having a following with walleye fishermen and even some bass fishermen and white bass fishermen who use them for different techniques.

It has been business as usual with the company that sells online and through retailers nationwide. On one day last week, the company shipped orders to Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. The company had distributed through Walmart and, although it is currently not shipping product to the company, some still remain on the shelves. BoneHead hopes to return there in the coming months and is looking to get into other big box stores as well. Fishermen can order online at https://www.boneheadtackle.com.