Karl Beitzel of Canton has become the hot topic in fishing circles after designing the Jack Hook, a knotless way of attaching a hook to fishing line.
D'Arcy Egan, The Plain DealerKarl Beitzel has lots of plastic boxes filled with Jack Hooks in his basement, but hopefully not for long. Beitzel hopes to build a Canton factory soon to handle production of the unique fishing hooks.
Karl Beitzel of Canton didn't know much about fishing just a few months ago, but in recent weeks he's become the hot topic in fishing circles after designing the Jack Hook, a knotless hook that can quickly be attached to fishing line.
It helped to have a catch phrase for his hook concept. His company's motto: "If you are still tying knots, you don't know Jack!"
Beitzel's concept turned into reality after he won the first $50,000 grant offered by Canton Entrepreneur Launch, a city program to boost local business.
Starting from scratch, Beitzel had flat-sided stainless steel hooks made in California, then finished and packaged the hooks in Canton. It was a heady experience, especially considering five stainless steel sheets of hooks weighs 800 pounds, producing 22,000 hooks that weigh only about 50 pounds.
"That's about 95 percent waste, but it's recyclable," he said.
A trip last month to the Bassmasters Classic on the Red River in Shreveport, La., convincing Beitzel he was on the right track.
"I got a 10-foot by 10-foot booth for the Classic Show, and we drew surprising crowds all three days," he said, with a laugh. "I thought we brought enough hooks, but I spent every night sharpening hooks to re-stock the booth. We sold every hook we had."
Beitzel's marketing plans are in their infancy, but sales continue to climb.
"I picked up a couple of more retailers on Wednesday, and internet sales have been pretty good," said Beitzel. "I've been very busy just trying to keep up with the demand."
The next order of business will be to create a factory, assembly line and shipping and marketing departments, Beitzel said. To check out the hooks, or order a few, visit jackhooks.com. A pack of six hooks is $15.95.
"Turning the Jack Hook into a local business has always been my goal," he said. "I grew up in Canton, and love it here. Big companies that once employed a lot of people here, like Hoover, are gone. I want to hire people from Canton, make products in Canton and sell them all around the world."
Beitzel designed the line attachment after the cleats used to keep a boat from drifting away from the dock. It's deceptively simple. An angler makes couple of wraps of fishing line around one slot on the shank of the Jack Hook, slides the fishing line through another slot, and fishing line and hook are connected.
Photo courtesy of jackhooks.comHow the Jack Hook connection is created: 1. Hold a Jack Hook and fishing line, then wrap the end of the line twice through the larger slot on the shank of the hook. 2. Pull the main fishing line deep into the slot, make sure it's tight, then run the line through the secondary slot at the end of the hook shank. 3. Run the tag end of the fishing line through the secondary slot, trim the end, and you're ready to cast.
"I had a five-year-old girl doing it just right at the Classic Show after spending only a minute or two to show her the technique," he said.
Don't expect Beitzel to wet a line, though, even if it's a chance to show off one of his Jack Hooks.
"I'm horribly allergic to fish," said Beitzel, while sharpening points on hooks in his basement work shop. "I fished a little bit as a kid, but the allergies have really kicked in over the last few years. I can't be near fish or I break out."
Beitzel is already designing new and different styles of Jack Hooks. He has a knotless hook for a Drop Shot Rig, designed weighted hooks and is working with a lead-head jig maker to utilize his specialty hooks. On the drawing board is a knotless swivel and hooks designed for various fishing lures.
"I'm out to prove I'm not just a one trick pony with the Jack Hook," said Beitzel. "I'm a designer, and I want to completely re-invent the fishing hook."
D'Arcy Egan, The Plain DealerA batch of stainless steel Jack Hooks that Karl Beitzel had sandblasted in his Canton garage are ready to be sharpened.
Rejected design becomes unique hook
Karl Beitzel doesn't fish, so it took his lively imagination to launch a new fishing tackle company.
"I am a designer and inventor," said Beitzel. "I came up with the concept of a knotless connector while working for a Hudson company to design an instrument for eye surgery," said Beitzel, 45, a married father of three.
He brought out a small unit that looked like the handle of an electric tooth brush. A cutting blade on the tip was powered by a motor connected with braided fishing line. To create a connector that would keep the fishing line taut, Beitzel spent a couple of nights designing a tiny knotless metal link.
"The company I was working for didn't like the idea of a precision surgical instrument being built with common fishing line. They rejected my design," said Beitzel. "They did not want fishing line to be part of the design, or my knotless connectors."
Brainstorming, the designer figured he could re-configure the connector and make a knotless fishing hook. Just 14 months later, the Jack Hook hit the market. Beitzel now has 10 basic styles of flat-sided hooks in different sizes that are creating a buzz around the country.
Beitzel has always been sort of a jack of all trades with a bit of wanderlust. He spent a decade in Las Vegas, helping design sets for the famous magical act, Siegfried & Roy. When the show shut down in 2003 after Roy Horn was injured by a tiger, Beitzel returned to Canton.
"We made rocks, trees, all sorts of things to hide the incredible equipment they used to perform their magic," said Beitzel. "The white lions and white tigers were amazing. We had to create the props so they would quickly fold and become as tiny as possible when Siegfried & Roy made very large things disappear."