Local inventor's tale not a fish story, just hard work and persistence

The serendipitous origin of John Gesik's inspiration for the Gear Grabbar is outlined on their website here.

Lesser known is the story after the "eureka" moment. According to Jennifer Gesik, this tale begins after the husband-wife duo made the decision to develop their idea for a magnetic product that would make it easier for anglers to organize and access their tackle in a fishing boat. 

"Instead of a tackle box, it is more of a pre-fish plan. You look at the conditions and barometric pressure," Gesik says. "You think fish will hit on these [lures] and use the Gear Grabbar to organize those lures for fishing. You keep the line in water more often. You are not going to catch fish with your pole in the boat."

Development of the idea was fast-tracked after a consultation with their patent attorney, who suggested they attend a product review session at the monthly meeting of the Grand Rapids Inventors Network (GRIN). At that review, one of the reviewers looked at the product and said, "Why aren't you doing this now?"

"Those words rang out," recalls Gesik. The couple then set a goal and doubled their efforts to have a product ready for the Ultimate Sports Show in 2010.

The Gear Grabbar was a hit at the show, leading to significant product exposure. The Gear Grabbar was also picked up by mega-sports retailer Bass Pro.

Gesik is quick to point out that being in Bass Pro is not the end-all. They are working hard to increase product awareness and have produced an infomercial to be shown on the Versus TV channel during a fishing program. They also have several other fishing and boating products in the pipeline, which they are confident will be the basis of a profitable U.S.-manufactured fishing and boating product company.

One lingering question about their business the Gesiks are wrestling with is "deciding how big we want to make [the business.]"

To learn more about Gear Gabbar, you can visit their website here.

Source: Jennifer Gesik, Gear Grabbar
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor