Strike King sets out to lure in crappie anglers
Since Strike King Lure Company was founded back in 1966, the Collierville-based tackle producer has been known as one of the giants in the bass fishing industry.
They've catered mainly to bass anglers because, for the longest time, that's where all of the money was.
But with fishermen broadening their horizons more and more, Strike King has decided it's time to either branch out or get left behind.
So this year, for the first time, the company will unveil a complete line of fishing lures aimed solely at the growing craze known as crappie fishing.
"We've had a few items for crappie fishermen at times in the past," said Chris Brown, marketing and consumer relations director for Strike King. "But we always just mixed those in with our bass lures, hoping crappie anglers would find them. "Now we're jumping into crappie fishing with both feet. These lures were designed specifically with crappie fishermen in mind."
The new lineup
Everything about Strike King's new line of "Slab Hammer Crappie Baits" screams crappie fishing -- right down to the crappie-oriented packaging and the marketing plan the company plans to launch soon.
The lineup will feature three types of lures, including crankbaits, curly-tail grubs and multi-colored tubes.
Slab Hammer Cranks, which will be available in several popular crappie-fishing colors, were designed with numerous angling methods in mind. Anglers will be able to use them for pushing, pulling, trolling or just single-rod fishing around isolated structure.
Slab Hammer Rage Tail Crappie Grubs also were designed for ultimate versatility. They have the same curly-tail action as the popular Rage Tail bass baits available from Strike King, and they can be trolled or pitched for crappie.
Slab Hammer Tooty Fruity Tubes are causing perhaps the biggest buzz of all the new Strike King crappie baits. Each tube features a four-color scheme that was designed for optimum visibility.
The baits have a heavy salt content for scent and taste, and they're sized perfectly for most standard jig heads.
"All of the new baits are really good, but those multi-colored baits are just amazing," said Billy Blakely, a longtime fishing guide on Reelfoot Lake and one of the first members of Strike King's new crappie fishing pro staff. "There's nothing else like them on the market these days, and I believe fishermen are gonna go crazy over them.
"I know for a fact the fish are gonna go crazy over them -- I've already seen it happen."
Full speed ahead
To further announce its presence in the world of crappie fishing, Strike King will be sponsoring the Crappie Masters Tournament Trail for 2011. The trail has events scheduled in nine states this year, including Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The trail will visit Mid-South venues like Reelfoot Lake on March 5, Grenada Lake on April 1-2 and Kentucky Lake on May 13-14.
Strike King officials are also hoping to quickly expand their crappie fishing pro staff, signing more experienced anglers like Blakely to help promote their products in a variety of ways. Anglers wearing Strike King patches will be a much more common sight at major crappie tournaments this year.
The company also sponsors numerous television shows, and all of the programs are planning to air episodes centered around Strike King's new line of crappie lures.
"We're not doing any of this halfway," Brown said. "Crappie fishing has gotten so popular that it just makes sense for us to do this. We're moving full speed ahead."Read More ...
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