Don't Get Hooked

Norbert Zebny was fishing with his grandkids one day when he realized the lures on his fishing rods dangled dangerously at their eye level.

Sure, Zebny could play it safe and snip off the lure each time he fishes instead of hooking it to a ring on his pole. But that means cutting off the leader, too, and each one of those costs about $1 to replace.

So Zebny, a veteran of the manufacturing industry, devised an ingenious plastic shield that snaps around the lures. Surprisingly, there's nothing quite like Lure-Guard on the market, and he's now got a patent for it in the U.S. and Europe.

Although the Lure-Guard may look simple, bringing the product to market has taken nearly two years. Zebny estimates he's invested $20,000 to $25,000 in the product. Besides this project, Zebny is a manufacturer's representative in Florida for a half-dozen companies.

But the reception he's gotten from prospective buyers and industry experts has been positive. Tackle shops are obvious buyers, but so are sellers of kayak accessories, for example. In addition to the safety aspect, his device keeps the lures from scratching an expensive pole, too.

Zebny, an avid sailor who was a finish-line official at the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996, likes to share anecdotes from his customers. One woman at the Miami Boat Show recently bought a dozen Lure-Guards after her husband ripped the leather seats of her new Lexus car with fishing lures dangling on his poles. A young boy at the show told Zebny he had the coolest product at the boat show because he could now safely put lures in his pocket.

But taking the Lure-Guard to market has been a lengthy process. For starters, it took Zebny time to get the design right and find a manufacturer. Making a mold was expensive, too. Zebny estimates the mold alone cost between $5,000 and $8,000. Zeus Industries in Largo can now produce several thousand a day, Zebny says.

Zebny hired Fort Myers patent attorney William Noonan to apply for patent protection in the U.S. and Europe, a process that took over a year. Still, Zebny was fortunate because many patent applications take a lot longer to be approved. He credits his simple design for his successful application.

Pricing the Lure-Guard was a challenge. Initially, Zebny says he priced it at $5.99. “The retailers came back and said we can sell them for $3.99,” he says. The margins are thinner at that price, but Zebny says he can still make a profit.

To overcome the lower pricing, Zebny says he's planning to sell Lure-Guard through distributors to large retail chains such as Walmart. “You've got to sell to major distributors to get the big numbers,” he says.

So far, Lure-Guard is available at a dozen stores and via the company's website, lure-guard.com. He's hired Concept Digital Media in Sarasota to boost the company's marketing on Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.

In addition, Zebny says he's received inquiries from as far away as Australia, Panama and the Bahamas. He recently attended a meeting with U.S. trade experts to learn more about exporting. “There's so much help available,” he says.

Still, Zebny's been so busy with Lure-Guard that it hasn't left him much time for the pursuit that got him into the business in the first place. “I haven't fished in a while,” he laughs.

Follow Jean Gruss on Twitter @JeanGruss