Live Target Lures, between artificial reality and live targets
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
No escape from reality...
I asked GPT Chat "Tell me about Live Target Lures and Grant Koppers!"
Let's see what artificial intelligence knows, GPT chat, about perhaps the most realistic lures on the raptor market, Live Target Lures.
"ITive Target Lures is a fishing tackle manufacturer that specializes in creating luresrealistic lures that mimic the look, movement and sound of live baits. The company was founded in 2008 by Grant Koppers, a fishing enthusiast and fashion designerluci who wanted to create a more realistic fishing experience for anglers.
Koppers, who is also the company's CEO and chief designer, has been fishing since he was a child and has always been fascinated by how fish react to different types of water.shine He started designing his ownluci in the early 2000s and quickly gained a reputation for creating some of the most realisticglosses from the market.
Live Target Lures offers a wide range of lureslures for both freshwater and saltwater fishing, including crankbait, N/Asurface gloss, N/Ashine swimbait and soft plastics. Each lure is designed to look and move like the real thing, with realistic colors, textures and patterns that mimic the target species' natural prey.
One of Live Target's most popular products is the Hollow Body Frog, which is designed to look and move like a real frog. This lure has been used by anglers to catch a wide variety of fish including bass, pike and musky.
In addition toits realistic lures, Live Target Lures is also known for its commitment to quality and innovation. The company uses the latest technology and materials to create feltdurable, reliable and efficient.
Overall, Live Target Lures and its founder, Grant Koppers, have made a significant impact on the fishing industry by creating some of the most realistic and effective lures on the market today.”
What GPT Chat Didn't Tell Us About Live Target Lure? So where do we start? From the beginning, right? Who is Grant Koppers and how did Live Target Lures come about? Let's give the AI this material, hoping it can tell us more next time, I say. Live Target Lures and Grant Koppers really deserve everyone's attention, I think.
Live Target Lures, before it was the first fish, 1977
In 1977, when he was only 8 years old, Grant Koppers caught his first fish. He had joined his father and a friend for what would be his first fishing trip. He was the only one of all the anglers on the Ontario (Canada) lake that day to catch a trout with a swinging spoon. Also that day, inexorably injected with the fishing virus, he created his own lure from a kitchen spoon, wire from a clothes hanger and a piece of red string. You can imagine what came out.
"My father introduced me to the world of fishing when I was little. There were other key times in my life that took my understanding of the sport to another level and helped me grow as a professional angler. The first was when I got old enough to ride my bike on the waters in my area. I started fishing with my friends for catfish and carp after school and on weekends. When I turned 16 and could drive the car to more remote destinations I started targeting trout, salmon, bass, pike/musky and shad/walleye. Shortly after that, I bought my first 12-foot aluminum boat.” Grant Koppers
Live Target Lures, the first step through Sport Fishing Niagara, year 1996
At age 27, with over 20,000 hours of active water experience, studies of lures, fish biology and behavior, Grant Koppers establishes Sport Fishing Niagara, a salmon, trout, bass, musky fishing guide business and walleye on Lake Ontario and the Niagara River.
“At 20, I started a part-time guiding business and went full-time three years later. In my first year I guided just over 60 fishing trips, and by the third year I had reached 240 fishing trips per year. I learned a lot being on the water so often, during peak periods I was doing two guiding parties a day. This took my fishing to a whole other level. In an attempt to have attacks throughout the day and discover a pattern, I switched from watching target fish to studying the behavior of prey fish. For me, mentoring was about growing as a fisherman. I went from fishing part time to fishing full time. You learn a lot when you're on the water every day, in the end I was able to take my fishing to a whole new level.” Grant Koppers
Live Target Lures, how it was born, years 2005, 2007
During his 10 years as a professional fishing guide Grant Koppers built brick by brick what we call Live Target Lures today. During all this time, Grant collaborated with several manufacturers of sports fishing equipment being employed as a professional angler and consultant. That's when he discovered a void in the industry, there weren't realistic, anatomically detailed lures that he dreamed of and wanted every time the fish wouldn't answer the call in Canada's crystal clear waters. To meet this need and further evolve the understanding of this sport called fishing, Grant decided to embark on a new path, creating a series of realistic lures that are unique in the world. In 2007, he founded Koppers Fishing and Tackle Corp, a lure manufacturing company. It's the year Live Target Lures hit the international fishing tackle market. Unique in the world.
"I started my magic company because I wanted to make a difference. Most anglers understand that target fish attack a certain profile of the lure, but many lure companies stop and focus their efforts only on the outside profile. But what about the anatomical profile? I've never understood why lure makers haven't added more anatomy to their lures, especially for clear water patterns. I was frustrated by this situation to the point where I decided to start my own company and brand. I have traveled to Asia and other lure producing regions for 10 years. During that time, I spent more than three and a half years on the road to the factories, developing and producing ngosh I learned a lot of little secrets about how the lure industry works. Have you ever wondered why one lure catches more fish than another? Over the years I have learned many trade secrets that have helped me understand and apply the meaning of my fishing knowledge base. This unique perspective helped me grow again as a fisherman.” Grant Koppers
Live Target Lures, inventions, innovations, pointers
Grant Koppers not only managed to produce the most realistic illusions, he patented as inventions and taught the fishermen how to use them. Unlike other lure manufacturers, Live Target Lures Lures also had a unique attitude. Few companies would go to the expense of printed instructions to educate anglers about the lure they were just buying. To educate anglers and give them an unforgettable experience with Live Target Lures, Grant Koppers attaches to each lure produced a printed paper with instructions on the location and behavior of the target fish, its evolution depth, speed and style of retrieval, recommended knots and last but not least how to retrieve it if it was hung.
“When it comes to the fishing industry, I personally feel that a manufacturer should explain more than just listing all the freshwater fish their lure can catch. Our products have instructions inside each box giving the angler information on how and where to use the lure. Anglers are like a sponge, they always want new and updated information about the lure they just bought." Grant Koppers
Live Target Lures, over 750 unique lures, 10 Icast Awards, years 2007 – 2021
From the launch of the first product in 2005 until 2021, Koppers has introduced Live Target Lures to most major chain stores in the US and Canada with requests, of course, from all over the world. For anglers who have embraced the products created by Grant Koppers with the same passion, and implicitly the tackle market, meeting Live Target Lures was love at first sight. Mutual love, we could say, as evidenced by the more than 750 unique lures produced by Live Target Lures and the 10 awards won at Icast, the world's largest fishing tackle show. Speaking of business, how did Live Target Lures start?
“Before starting the lure company, I never needed to raise capital, especially on the scale needed to launch Live Target Lures... What I can say is that I started structuring investments during the global economic crisis. In fact, some might say the timing wasn't ideal, as investors were jittery and wary of an economy that may collapse. But I say that the economic situation could have worked to my advantage because there are fewer tangible investment opportunities available. Some savvy investors were looking for smart investments. LIVETARGET made perfect sense, especially to investors who understood my business model. Almost all of our investors are outdoors enthusiasts to some degree. They understand the vision and see the exponential potential.
I assembled a team of advisors and developed a business plan. My wife Susan is my biggest supporter. She helped me build my business as a fishing guide and was instrumental in the lure company. I couldn't have done it without her. I have a select few shareholders who have invested in my vision and the company. The first and most notable was Victor Cook of Columbus, Ohio. Vic was a client of my guide company, an avid saltwater angler and selflessly supported the company over the years. The line of saltwater lures was Vic's creation.
There are a lot of trends in the lure sector right now; I could talk about this topic for days. I think the most notable is the global shift in production resources. Low-margin manufacturing is slowly being pushed out of China and into other regions with lower labor costs. I think there is a false sense of romance with the production of hard lures; it is not as easy as it seems. Consumers are aware that all lure categories are getting more and more crowded, but I think many of the new offerings are pretty much the same… Anglers are looking for proven, tangible results from their favorite brands. Those who cannot offer proven winning lures will face even tougher times when they move production outside of China, where infrastructures are limited and more complex. I think we will see more transitions in the coming years. Those with a solid business model will experience growth opportunities.
Our growth to date has been purely organic. Our focus in the coming years will shift to strategic growth with a strong focus on the US and Canada. We will soon begin to shift efforts and resources to other international markets. Our focus is to continue to build brand equity.” Grant Koppers
Live Targes Lures love Mustad and vice versa, year 2021
After the acquisition of TUF-Line in 2019, in 2021 the Norwegian brand O Mustad & Son acquires Live Target Lures, at that time one of the major players in the premium fishing lure market in North America. For O Mustad & Son this is another step forward as a complete global supplier of sport fishing products. Following the acquisition, Kenni Riise, CEO of O.Mustad & Son, revealed:
“LiveTarget is an exciting addition to the Mustad brand portfolio. Our core values of innovation and leading customer experience are perfectly aligned, making this acquisition a real catch for Mustad. Mustad and TUF-Line welcome this perfect addition to the group. While overseen by Mustad, LiveTarget's continued development of premium freshwater and saltwater lures continues under company co-founders Grant Koppers and Vic Cook, whose direction will preserve the brand's DNA."
“Partnering with Mustad to develop new LiveTarget products while accelerating the growth of the entire product line is an exciting opportunity. With this union, anglers will find outstanding hooks, lures and fishing lines in one place. Mustad's deep history and industry-leading products complement the commitment and pure passion for fishing found in Live Target Lures." Grant Koppers
"I have no words to express how excited we are about this partnership. We had other opportunities to partner with Live Target Lures, but chose to team up with Mustad because of the obvious synergy. Partnering with a hook manufacturer allows us to take our products to the next level with fully custom hooks, offering uncompromising look and action.” Vic Cook
Live Target Lures in Romania through Arrow International, year 2023
Lures catch fish and anglers alike, I've said it before and I'll say it again. But with Live Target Lures it's like it's a different story, here you let yourself be caught knowingly, the way these lures look you could almost swear you're fishing with a live bait. This is probably how the fish fooled over 18 years since Live Target Lures came into existence, literally and figuratively. In the meantime, they picked up a few more awards at Icast 2022, and there are sure to be more in 2023. I'm not going to give you technical details, technologies or buying advice, I'll let you discover this for yourself further little universe of realistic illusions by Grant Koppers. Starting from January 2023 you can find a impressive range of Live Target Lures in the Arrow International stores and partners, both physical and online. How which Arrow International? If you ask Chat GPT, he doesn't know, artificial intelligence hasn't discovered AndyArif.ro yet, so I'll tell you... Arrow International is the only distributor in Romania for other cool fishing stuff, like Daiwa, Jackall, Mustad, Savage Gear, Sierra, Stroft, Strike Pro. I didn't leave you all these blog links for nothing, if you made it to the end of this article you will surely like the other stories I wrote about needles, razors and razors. Fishing, of course.
