Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 15/01) - While John Seagrave went fishing for a business idea, he hooked one that could help both himself and the disadvantaged.

"Yellowknife is booming but not everyone can share in the big boom," said Seagrave from a stool in his fishing lure-making factory.

"There is very little manufacturing in the Northwest Territories. I thought I could put people to work as well as doing something I love."

While working for social services in the communities, Seagrave noticed that he was seeing the same clients over and over again.

He had an idea to build fishing lures while offering jobs so he approached the Northwest Territories Development Corporation. The idea developed into the Willow Flats Fishing Tackle Company.

"The development corporation helped me with marketing expertise and gave me a grant for a feasibility study," said Seagrave.

The development corporation matched Seagrave's $10,000.

He wants to train people in retail skills as well as offer assembly-line jobs "for people who can't get that all-important first job."

Seagrave is building customized fishing lures as well as novelty items like a mosquito lure -- meant to catch mosquitos. There is also a fur-lure meant to catch the elusive fur-fish.

"We were looking at colour-changing lures but we're not having much luck with them," he said, explaining that the experimentation with colour-changing paint wasn't working well under the water.

Seagrave orders the components for the lures and then assembles and packages them.

"Most of what we've produced so far has gone out as samples," he said. "We didn't quite catch the season this year."

The Akaitcho Development Corporation paid for Seagrave's trip to a workshop and seminar as well as future training in Lloydminster.

Seagrave feels he can become competitive in the lure business. "We can't compete with a store like Wal-Mart but in the novelty stuff -- there's no competition."