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Gilbert,
SC. – South Carolina pro Michael Murphy enjoyed a productive rookie year on the FLW Tour in 2007, with a season that culminated in an appearance at the FLW Championship in Hot Springs, Arkansas. While he's understandably proud of that achievement, as his 2008 journey commences he's equally excited about his business interests.
He ran a Slim Jim wrapped Ranger last year, and ConAgra's decision to pull out of FLW has left that deal high and dry, but all of his other sponsors have stepped it up for '08.
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"Berkley
is a new sponsor for 2008. That'll
cover rods, reels and lines, with a
focus on the Gulp! line of products.
Navionics has really kicked up their
support. Yamaha and Ranger have also
increased their support of my
career."
Through IMA lures of Japan, he's
also the signatory for a high-tech
new jerkbait, the "Flit,"
introduced at last summer's ICAST
show.
While all of those brands are
integral parts of his portfolio, the
endeavor that seems to take up the
most time these days is his
involvement in a new tackle company
called TABU – which stands for
"Tournament Approved By
Us" – in which he has
partnered with Kelly Jordon, Anthony
Gagliardi, Matt Herren, Dave Lefebre
and, most recently, Fred Roumbanis. |
The purpose behind TABU is to improve the tools available to them, while also cutting out the financial middleman.
"It's based on the concept that in many cases pro fishermen are working for companies, but not getting paid sufficiently. A lot of time if you have a signature series (product) you only get a fraction of the benefits you deserve. The company gets millions and the pros get nothing. We wanted something of our own."
Murphy's Contributions
While Murphy's accomplishments on the water speak for themselves, he's not quite as seasoned as his partners, who between them have BASS Elite, BASS Major, FLW Tour and FLW Series wins, as well as AOY titles. But he does bring a distinct skill set to the table – three post-college years of tackle industry experience with SPRO and Shakespeare.
"I befriended Anthony (Gagliardi) and Lefebre through David Simmons of Yamaha two years ago while fishing the FLW Series. I've had success, but they've won tournaments. Kelly Jordon has probably won more big fish titles than anyone. It was a group of guys that instantly fit together."
All of them had substantial sponsor stables, but none of them had a jig sponsor. Meanwhile, they all had a lot of ideas about proper construction of a jig.
"I learned a lot about jig fishing from these guys," Murphy said. "All about weedguard angle and thickness. Most jigs come in combinations of at most two skirt colors, but they were using blends of colors."
As the company matured, he played a critical role in the design and production side of the business. "I knew about distribution contracts and which rep groups were in place. I also had industry connections," he said. "Not that these guys are any less knowledgeable. They definitely had more fishing experience. But I knew how to work with customs and with the factories. Working together, we could bring things in on a mass production scale but at affordable prices."
Design Characteristics
With so many skilled and opinionated anglers, one obstacle to overcome to get the products to market was the anglers' nitpicking and perfectionism, but the end result is that the jig incorporates all of their thoughts and ideas only after they've been examined by their collective brains.
"It's
a new mold, not just a standard
Do-It mold," Murphy said.
"We have more precise sizes
than just the typical 3/8 and 1/2.
We'll have 5/16, 7/16, 9/16, 3/4 and
1 ounce. We'll have unique colors,
with blends of skirts that have
worked around the country."
They've also integrated a unique
high-end Japanese hook which has
consistent wire thickness even as
the hook size increases.
"Usually, when you get to 4/0
and above, the thickness of the wire
goes up," Murphy said.
"But sometimes all you want is
a thicker gap. We were able to find
a hook where a 2/0 hook and a 5/0
hook use the same wire, which means
that when you use the bigger hook in
deep water, your hook-up ratio goes
up." |
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The
weedguard also differs from the industry
standard: "A lot of weedguards go
straight up, which impedes hooking. They're
usually too strong and don't bend. We moved
it closer to the head, closer to the line
tie and put some lead around the base of the
guard. We also changed the angle. It's 55-60
degrees vs. 80 degrees. It's all simple
basic stuff that no one does."
They also integrated a wire trailer keeper, which makes it quick and easy to affix a plastic trailer and which he claims "doesn't get hung up as much." They've also used a chip resistant matte finish head.
"The key thing is that you can fish it right out of the package. You don't have to tweak it at all," he said.
Going Forward
The jigs will be available for the first time at the upcoming Bassmaster Classic, within the massive Tackle Warehouse display, but they've already earned their first tour-level win – Herren's FLW Series victory last year at Dardanelle.
For the time being, Tackle Warehouse will be the primary point of sale, but Backwaters Online will also carry the TABU label in the near future.
Next on their development list is a finesse swimbait. That was part of the reason they brought Roumbanis into the fold. "We needed west coast guys to bring a new spin on things. It's hard to get dollars out of the industry and a lot of people are overlooked, so Roumbanis came to mind even before his (Major) win."
Rather than one of the monstrous 8-12" lures, the TABU "Tiny Tim" swimbait will be "a crossover finesse lure," Murphy said. "A lot of times you get followers on a swimbait and they nip the tails. There aren't a lot of smaller baits for those conditions. Optimum has one, but that's about it. This one, you can swim it, you can fish it on a dropshot or on a jighead. It's made to be real versatile."
After an offseason of surgery and physical therapy, Murphy is once again ready to hit the FLW Tour running in '08, with a new Ranger Z520 and increased confidence. But he also has corporate goals for the near and distant future that motivate him.
"I hope that by the end of the year TABU is respected and well-known for producing serious products that we use. There are a lot of things that have been secret for 15 or 20 years that we're sharing. We want to be known for top-end product, the best of the best of the best. The industry is ever-changing. Fishermen are getting smarter but you have to do more to make a buck."
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