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Andrew Drake is a serious businessman. He’s also 12.
A middle-school student at McCall, Andrew has launched Wildwaters Spinner Baits fish lure business at Fells Hardware.
Fells owner Kevin Ryan says the lures are a great new product addition to his store because he has many customers who regularly fish.
The display board of Wildwaters Spinner Baits catches your eye as soon as you walk in the door at Fells. Andrew has a real passion for fishing. His grandfather and mother are avid fishermen and it came to him naturally.
This McCall Middle School student has won almost 20 awards for his work.
You might think that fishing is a low-cost sport, but it can be expensive. In Andrew’s words, the price of good quality lures these days is “outrageous!”
Andrew Drake shares how to make spinner baits in five minutes in this video on YouTube.
But Andrew isn’t the only one involved with Wildwaters. He’s partnered with his 14-year-old sister Ellie, who is also a McCall student.
Andrew designs and manufactures the spinner lures for catching bass, trout, sunfish and pickerel. He made it clear that he is serious about “catch and release” for environmental reasons. Ellie is the marketing “guru” and chief financial officer.
Andrew says his objective is to offer customers a high-quality product at an affordable price.
And he offers some advice for anyone looking for something new to do.
“Try fishing!” he advises. “It’s a lot of fun and you’ll love it!”
Wildwaters Spinner Bait sales are going very well and some have even been sold to a customer in Canada.
So what does Andrew do with his profits? At this point, it’s pretty much breakeven due to the cost of supplies. He won’t even consider raising the $2 price of his spinners. But his very modest profit does help pay for his $40 membership in Plum Island Surfcasters.
