Home > Larry Dahlberg's Great Lure Build Off of 2012

The Story...

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!

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. Sometimes great ideas are too specific to justify large production, but they're still great ideas.

I'd get a grin from helping guys pay for their fishing habit, plus I think it’s good Karma and might increase my odds for a really, really big one on the next cast I make with of my own lures!

Here's how it works …

Lures submitted can be either hard, soft, or hybrid combinations of both.

The "inventor" will submit a photo of their design with an explanation of the lure’s "purpose", and reason for being developed, plus a video of it in the water. Only if requested by any of the judges, will samples be required for evaluation. If samples are requested, the inventor will send 4 sample lures that will need to be submitted within 3 weeks of being requested. Samples will only be required if requested by the judges for further evaluation if pictures and video were not sufficient.

Lure designers may submit as many designs as they wish to the contest. There is no limit to the number of designs an inventor can submit.

Originality, functionality, feasibility ("do-ability"), performance, breadth of application and overall effectiveness, will out weigh cosmetic aspects with regards to judging. The judges will be Larry Dahlberg and a couple of others who are highly qualified but must remain anonymous. Visitors to the site will also get to rate designs submitted.

If two submissions are nearly identical, the earliest submission will be given credence.

Don’t worry, you own your designs. You retain any and all ownership rights. (See 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 lure judged to be the best will be given the opportunity to have their lure manufactured and distributed at by River2Sea at no cost to the inventor.

*The inventor will receive a royalty based on fair industry standards on every lure sold.

*The submissions must be made from Alumilite products where applicable.

*Fishing lure patent attorney specialist Richard Ogawa will provide pro bono service on matters of intellectual property to the winner. The winner will also have the opportunity to fish with Larry and possibly appear on The Hunt for Big Fish.

*Submissions will be accepted beginning March 15. The 2012 contest submissions must be entered by Sept 1.

*The winner will be announced on October 1.

*If the winning lure does not meet the manufacturer’s criteria of being a worthwhile investment in terms of tooling, manufacturing and development, although the winner will not have their lure put into production, they will receive $1,000 of Alumilite products and $1,000 worth of Alumilite Engineering services to assist in furthering the development and/or other production venues of the inventor’s design. They will also receive $2,000 worth of River2Sea products, and a cash prize of $1,000.