Rybecca - Gulf Stream Outdoors

Posted on September 14, 2022September 14, 2022 by Rybecca

The Best Way to Buy Fishing Lures with Crypto

If the Crypto winter has you down, we have a suggestion: purchase your lures with cryptocurrency. W.M Bayou has a big announcement, you can now buy fishing lures with crypto.

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a virtual asset that is secured by cryptography, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit or duplicate. It is distributed across decentralized computer networks, this allows the digital currency to be exist outside the control of the government. In recent years, cryptocurrency has become a method for normal people to place their cash into to make double the amount in digital assets.

Types of cryptocurrency?

While Bitcoin is the most recognizable cryptocurrency, many more have taken the reigns of being apart of everyone's digital asset portfolio. Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, and even one called DogeCoin, a cryptocurrency that hit all-time high in popularity in 2021. In short, all these are types of tokens that can be exchanged for goods and services like remain money, however these are digital assets that can be transferred instantly.

That leads us onto the current “cryptocurrency winter.” While the value of digital assets fluctuate often, in recent months, cryptocurrency has experienced a new low. The original 2021 boom during the pandemic made normal Americans a lot, but as more and more people withdraw their funds from their digital wallet, the value of the currency has gone down.

Buy fishing lures with Crypto

W.M Bayou is now the first to accept cryptocurrency to purchase fishing lures. You cannot sell your digital assets because doing so would mean that you accept the loss if you purchased crypto at a higher price than it's being sold for. If you feel like you aren't getting mileage out of your crypto investment, then now is the perfect time to convert your digital assets into the purchase of a W.M Bayou Techno Frog.

How to buy fishing lures with Crypto

We have made a simplified experience for you when you purchase when you buy your fishing lures with crypto. When you are on the checkout screen, select the Check out box and follow the onscreen instructions when it prompts you to use your Coinbase account, a digital asset wallet application. Please note that we are only accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum and Doge. Click HERE to see the Techno Frog.

There's no better time to buy fishing lures with crypto than now, especially since we are offering a special discount code on your first purchase using crypto currency. Use code CRYPTO15 at checkout to receive 15% off your first order. Not only are you dumping your unwanted crypto, but you are also receiving your Techno Frog, it's a win-win.

For more articles, please click here. Take care, tight lines!

Posted on September 7, 2022September 7, 2022 by Rybecca

The Best Intro to UPC Codes for Tackle Makers

What are UPC Codes?

UPC, or Universal Product Code, is a unique string of numbers expressed as a barcode that identifies your product as unique, with GS1 being the main supplier of UPC codes and acts as the database for all unique products.

Why do I need one?

Truth be told, you probably don't need a UPC unless you are planning on selling in a retail store. If you want to get into your local tackle shop or major retail chains like Walmart, Bass Pro Shop, or Academy, these companies will require you to have a UPC. At the very least your products will need a SKU, or Stock Keeping Unit, a unique code that identifies your product, so when you purchase your item at the register, your item will appear on the system; a UPC will accomplish the same. Any reasonable shop online or in-store will require you to have codes on your products, even major online selling platforms like Amazon and Ebay require UPC codes.

How many do I need?

One thing to keep in mind with UPC codes is that it also identifies the variety of product you have. For instance with the TechnoFrog lure, it comes in various colors, such as Watermelon, Black & Blue, and Green Pumpkin, all of these different colors need UPC Codes, so bare that in mind when you're purchasing UPC codes. Even items like apparel need unique codes depending on the style on the shirt. For instance, if you have a custom shirt, and you offer it in six colors, with three different sizes, you'll have eighteen unique UPC codes.

Where can you get UPC codes?

You can purchase codes from online services, even UPC codes that have been used before! However, it's best practice if you avoid purchasing a used UPC code because if you place your product on Amazon or another online selling platform, it could get confused for another product with the same UPC. The correct way to obtain a UPC code for your product is to head over to the GS1 website and go in and purchase either individual barcodes or bulk barcodes.

We purchased ten and the total was ~$450, a painful purchase considering you're just purchasing numbers. When you make the purchase you can receive a prefix, it's essentially a set of numbers that your codes with all adhere to. Personally, not a big issue of the numbers on your barcodes for your products don't have matching prefixes, it would just be for internal consistency purposes.

Does EVERYONE need UPC Codes?

If you're only going to sell your products online, you don't need codes for your product, it's not technically a requirement. However, if you want to sell into retail organizations, typically they will require UPC codes for your products. However, you can get a code in a matter of minutes.

If you're looking for GSO apparel for your next fishing trip, click here to browse our exclusive online collection. Take care, tight lines!

Posted on August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 by Rybecca

Know All About the Best Lure Bags

A question that comes up in Facebook groups I’m a part of is, “where can I acquire bags for my soft plastic fishing lures?” If you are facing the same issue then you’ve come to the right place, we’ve compiled the tips and tricks all about lure bags so that you don’t make the same mistakes we did.

Basic Lure Bag Option

For the standard bag you have two options, the first being a bag that can be purchased from clearbags.com. It’s essentially a Ziplock bag, while it’s not rigid, it’s super cheap and comes in various different sizes. I’ll use this bag to send samples of bait to testers. In our last blog, we discussed how you could purchase bulk lures from D&J Plastics, these basic bags could be used to package your lures along with some branded cardboard and sell them like that, however when it’s packaged in a standard bag, you’re showing this is a budget friendly option.

Standard Bait Lure Bags

The next option you have would be a standard bait bag, I’ve purchased these from baitplastics.com. You can also get them from most lure shops. These are also available in various sizes, are more rigid and higher-quality than a standard Ziplock bag, and come with a hanger so you can display these in your storefront. From a material standpoint, these are the lure bags that you want for anything you're doing.

Stickers

So now that you’ve decided on your bag, now you can make it your own. The first way you can customize your lure bags are with stickers. You can bulk purchase stickers very inexpensively, in fact if you look online for stickers and you hop on to Facebook, you’ll be treated to multiple introductory offers from sticker printing companies. You will have to design the sticker logo, and you can include information about what’s included in the package like the color, model number, quantity, and of course, your company logo. Stickers offer a cheap way to brand your lure bags and it elevates the look of your product.

Pro Level Lure Bags

The highest level of bag you can use for your soft plastic fishing lures are screen printed bags. These plastic bags are double-side, printed with multiple colors and sport a high-quality sealed bag. However, it’s rare for manufacturers in the United States to use these lure bags. If you want to showcase a custom design on your lure bags you can consult with Chris Sands at Advocate Graphics. The process for a screen printed bag goes like this, if you want to build a bag, you’ll have to get the template for the lure bag, so you can accurately place your artwork within the dimensions of the template.

Generally speaking however, you should consult with someone who is knowledgeable in graphic design. Expect to drop more money based on the quantity of lure bags you get and the amount of colors that are used for printing. If you're dealing with a Chinese manufacturer, also expect additional shipping fees and an extended shipping time frame.

Bad Design Tips

Keep your design simple with less colors and keep the bags generic so you can use them for other products. In the corner of some bags, you’ll see safety warnings, like a California Prop 65, you’ll want to make sure that you include these warnings on your lure bags and account for them when designing your bags. Also, when making your bags make sure you leave plenty of space for your product to be showcased on your lure bags. Avoid creating busy bag designs that obstruct the view of the lures inside.

Want to check out more content like these? Click here. As always, take care, tight lines!

Posted on August 17, 2022August 16, 2022 by Rybecca

Back Slide Rigging the Techno Frog

Alright, let's talk about back rigging, back glide rigging or whatever you want to call it. Back glide rigging a Techno Frog gives it a totally different action underwater which is really cool, especially if you're skipping under docks or lily pads or any kind of cover. I first saw this technique on a video by the guys over at Hook Up Tackle out of Arizona. They cover a lot of JDM fishing stuff and this is a technique that I had never heard of before and I wanted to try it on the Techno Frog and it worked phenomenally well.

So let's start out with the hook. I found that these owner twist locks, and this particular model (5167w) is best because the weight is in the back by the curve of the hook which is going to give it the action that we really want. You can, obviously, use other twist lock hooks like we have in our other rigging video. If you do use the other hook, you'll want to grab that weight and slide it back to the curve with your pliers. I think a lot of people don't realize that you can move the weight wherever you want to relatively easily with some pliers.

Alright, so how do we rig this thing backwards? Well, you take the screw lock and you literally stick it right into its behind and the more center you can get it the better. Then, twist that bad boy down and I'm making this more difficult by having the line on there first, but when you get closer to the bottom what you want to do is hang it. This helps you to make sure it's the right way and we are upside down right now so you can move it forward or whatever to make sure it's hanging straight. If it's off to one side more than the other, then it'll glide more to that one side. Then get your hook in the middle and boom.

Now this is not completely weedless, but it's got a pretty good profile especially because the lure is going to be falling down the middle. You'll see as you use it that you're not likely to get hung up on something until you jerk it back. You can cover the back if you want and it will give you a little bit of cover there but the hook really wants to pop out because of the way it's designed. You can try that, but you're not going to hang up that much because there's not much of those there.

Alright, let's see how this thing looks in the water. So the way this tank is set up, I can't really get in the middle so it's going to act a little bit differently than it would in the real world. But, you'll get the idea. So you see it wants to basically fly away and glide away so if imagine this is you throwing it up in a dock, it's going to go deeper under that dock and really glide away. This will get you a kind of “hunting and seeking” action and it's really cool. What I really like about it is that you get this leg kick and it gives you more action than if you were fishing it in a standard format. The Techno Frog was designed for finesse but I really like the glide fall on it and how it just swings away.

Alright guys, I hope you use the technique because it's really cool. Thanks again to the guys of Hook Up Tackle for sharing it with the world!

Take care- Tight lines