Wild Northerner Magazine Summer 2016 | Page 25

BY SCOTT HADDOW

Wild Northerner staff

Jeff Lutecki and Mat Koprash have been building a durable and reliable friendship over the last five years since meeting on a road work project. This reflects in their side business, Teck-Ko Baits, which they established a few years ago in North Bay.

Teck-Ko Baits produces hand-made and hand-painted premium jigs, spinner baits and fluorocarbon leaders designed and tested in northern Ontario for northern Ontario anglers.

“It started as a hobby, but it has grown from there,” Lutecki said. “It means a lot to do this.”

There are no corners cut or short-cuts taken with the building process at Teck-Ko. Lutecki and Koprash both have extensive fishing backgrounds and have put it to good use to create unique and practical fishing gear. They use only top grade materials for the jigs, spinner baits and leaders - the main pillars of the business. They wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We make everything to be durable and reliable,” Koprash said. “This is what we want to be known for. Everything is done by hand. The jigs go through a twice-baked process with powder coat. It ensures solid curing of the paint. We use a heavier, premium hook. I have fished these jigs and put them through hell and they hardly chip. The paint durability is second to none. We use thicker gauge wire on the spinner baits and a Colorado blade to keep the bait up - it makes for a long-lasting lure and it also sets it apart from what is out there already.”

These two keep their eyes trained on the market at all times and look for niche areas to fill.

“We didn’t see a lot of fluorocarbon leaders in the 50 to 80-pound test range for pike and musky, so we filled the gap there with our leaders,” Koprash said. “We cater to northern Ontario anglers’ choices and experiences. We offer premium baits and we are local and we are competitive with what is out there.”

Lutecki has been dabbling in lure making for a while. Years ago, he use to make musky baits. It “died off” and Lutecki found some jig moulds about four years ago. It rolled from there.

Teck-Ko sells the majority of products through their Facebook page, word-of-mouth and out of the back of vehicles and even Lutecki’s garage from time to time. Lutecki routinely pumps out 500 to 600 jigs a week in a variety of colours and sizes. There are jigs for all kinds of species and applications, ranging from 1/16 to one-ounce. The jigs retails from 25 to 75 cents depending on type of jig and hook. The spinner baits go three for $10. The leaders sell for five dollars for two. Teck-Ko also likes to keep 100 spinner baits in stock. Teck-Ko also prides itself on custom orders for jigs and spinner baits and they will fill any order and get discounts on bulk orders.

Expect to see Teck-Ko at more outdoors shows in the future. They attended their first in the spring in Azilda for Muskies Canada.

“We are going steady,” Lutecki said. “It’s been good. We had our first show and I wasn’t sure what to expect. We did well and sold more than I thought. We also got some good advice on colours. We will be going to more shows.”

Teck-Ko products can be found and ordered on Facebook as well as Ramakko’s Source for Adventure in Greater Sudbury.

Making lures to last