Fishing Michigan

I made a phone call today to Church Tackle Company right here in Michigan.  The purpose of the conversation was to get some background information on the company.  Secondly, I wanted to highlight a product made right here in our state, and see what makes the company tick in today’s economy.  What I found out strengthens my belief that Michigan is still one of the top leaders in today’s fishing industry.  I also was tempted to start every paragraph with, ” Did you know? “.

Church Tackle was founded about 15 years ago in Sodus, Michigan.  I have been using their Mr. Walleye Board for years now,  and I learned a lot about the company today.  For their first five years they made fishing lures, then 10 yrs ago switched over to manufacturing strictly trolling gear for anglers.

Since I have been using the Walleye Board, I wanted to know what the appeal would be for a first time angler going out and purchasing their new TX-22 Special Planer Board.  This is a reversible board, meaning you can run it on either the starboard or port side of the boat by simply using a small screwdriver to make the proper adjustment.  The benefit here is when you are trolling a weed edge or drop off, you can be stealthy and still be running two boards on the same side of the boat without actually having to buy two port or starboard boards.  The board also stands up, even while releasing the board out to its proper distance from the boat.  The walleye board lays flat on the release, and can lay down while making some turns.  The TX-22 will stay in position allowing the operator to detect bites that can occur during the procedure.  Finally because of that feature, the board allows for even slower trolling speeds when you want the bait to stay in the strike zone for longer periods of time.

They make two additional smaller sizes in their planer board line-up, the TX-12 Mini Board  and the  TX-6 Magnum Board .  Both these boards can be utilized with lighter tackle.   An example of the “12″ would be just running a light action floating crankbait like an F-18 Rapala in the spring while the eyes are shallow with leadcore to get your lure down to the desired depth.  If the TX-12 isn’t a stealthy enough approach for you, the the TX-6 can be utilized on inland lakes and reservoirs with small crankbaits, or running the big water with lead core and just a spoon at the end.

There are ton of accessories available also for the boards.  The biggest selection I have seen online or in retail stores has been at Frank’s Great Outdoors up in Linwood.  Most of your well equipped walleye and salmon tackle stores will carry the flag kits and a selection of boards to choose from though.  Frank’s has the spare flags,  which I have found will make the board level out on the troll, even without the trip wires attached.  Besides the smooth ride, it stops most of the knuckleheads from running over your trolling lines because of the higher visibility.

In addition to the boards that Church produces,  they have gotten into the flasher market the last few years.  Their Revelator and Mini-Revelator and be used in conjunction with spoons and flies for salmon, as well as spoons for walleyes.  What they do is give a relatively lifeless bait the most action possible to attract fish into the bait’s strike zone.

One of the hottest tickets for salmon fishing has been the use of cut bait over the last few years.  The trend has sustained itself with good reason due to the results the rig produces. The Shock Wave doesn’t require toothpicks to hold the bait in place as it clips in.  Because of the material used, you can adjust the amount of action that the lure produces.

They still make one lure, and it is designed to put walleye in the boat.  The Avenger is a weight forward spinner style that many folks use on Lake Erie to catch their limit of walleyes.  What the Avenger offers is action.  While most baits are pulled through the water with the small french blade producing all the appeal, this bait swims adding to its catch rate vs. other brands and models.

My last question during the interview was to ask, where do your sales come from?  I found out that this company is far from your local manufacturer with regional appeal.  I expected New York, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin because of the Great Lakes with all its’ walleye, trout and salmon fishing border these states.  I was mildly surprised to hear about the popularity down south for its striper fishery.  I was downright shocked to hear that they sell a fair amount of their product in places like Russia, Sweden and Germany.  It truly is a global player in the world’s fishing industry.

There was one constant through the interview over the phone that I really picked up on.  So much in fact that I made a point to ask about it at the end of the conversation.  I am on several pro staffs for some of the leaders in the business,  but what I heard throughout the call was how much the company listens to their testers, pro staff members and anglers in general.  I have been asked here and there for some feedback before, but much of their products were either made because of what they hear, or fine tuned in response to those actually doing the fishing.  That impressed me the most about the interview.  It wasn’t the usual company line, and I like using products that I know are going to perform  due to extensive field testing by those who know best.

I would like to thank Steve, from Church Tackle for taking the time to answer my questions and shining some light as to what makes the company tick.

 side note:  for best prices available, find the retailers that carry the product, you just might find some more goodies to pick up while making the trip.