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Local duo launch tackle company
By Craig F. Eisenbeis

Mark McIntire (left) and Mike Abbott own and operate Suttle Lake Tackle Company.

"If you can't catch it with Suttle Lake Tackle, you probably can't catch it."

Those are the words of Mike Abbott, Suttle Lake Resort manager and co-founder of one of Central Oregon's newest businesses.

Abbott and Mark McIntire, who also works at the resort, partnered up to form the Suttle Lake Tackle Company, which specializes in meeting the needs of Northwest fishermen.

"This past year," Abbott said, "there was some stuff we needed for fishing our lake, and we couldn't find it. So, we ended up making our own -- like extremely light trolling gear."

"Our signature is that we incorporate a glow bead into each piece we make," said McIntire. Then he laughed and added, "And we personally test each glow bead to make sure it glows!"

Humor appears to be a staple at the new business, and the pair seems to have arrived at a practical division of responsibility.

"Mike does all the talking, and I do all the work," said McIntire.

Abbott rolled his eyes but admitted that McIntire's wisecrack probably wasn't too far from the truth. Abbott went on to say that he handles sales, marketing, product development and packaging.

"Mark," he said, "is responsible for manufacturing and is in charge of the overall business."

With glow beads and bright reflective markings, Suttle Lake Tackle makes a pretty eye-catching product.

They swear that it catches the eyes of fish, too.

Their products also have some catchy names like the "Screemin Demon," "Frightnin Lightnin," and the sure-to-be-a-hit "Dock Holiday."

Suttle Lake Tackle plans to expand into bass gear; and, in keeping with its Western theme, the first of the line is already named the "Bass Masterson."

The Suttle Lake duo are also packaging standard fishing tackle accessories such as weights, swivels and hooks.

Abbott is proud of their packaging, which, he says, is more environment-friendly than the plastic "blister packs" commonly used in the industry. The semi-hard plastic blister packs are useless once opened and often end up as litter.

Abbott packages Suttle Lake gear in reusable plastic zip-lock bags.

"It's a little more expensive," he says, "but it's the right way to do it."

The tackle company's logo insert features a bald eagle soaring above a topographical depiction of the east end of Suttle Lake, site of the Suttle Lake Resort.

Another extra feature that Suttle Lake Tackle offers on its trolling gear is nylon-coated stainless steel cable wire.

"The nylon coating keeps it 100 percent rust free," Abbott said. "Plus it lets the blades turn more freely and the connectors seat better on the cable."

The company's trolling rigs also sport metal -- rather than plastic -- rudders, which are drilled along the bottom edge to facilitate downrigging.

Locally, Suttle Lake Tackle is, of course, available at Suttle Lake Resort and at Lutton's Ace Hardware in Sisters.

"Lutton's Hardware was our very first account," said Abbott.

"They bought everything we had and are putting in a 4-by-6-foot display area devoted entirely to our product. That's really cool for a local business to support us like that."

The Camp Sherman store on the Metolius River has also just added Suttle Lake Tackle to its line of retail sporting goods.

So far, sales are running ahead of expectations.

"We're now selling to major sporting goods retailers throughout the Northwest," Abbott said. "Our goal is to establish about 100 accounts at $1,000 each in our first year, and we're already ahead of where we thought we'd be.

"In fact, we're thinking that we may need to hire additional help."

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