Koppers LIVE TARGET™ Life-Like Lures - Grand innovation always inspires me

I am not a rich man. Not by any stretch of the imagination. So what happened to me two seasons back was almost catastrophic – in fishing terms that is.

I had been somewhat successfully guiding two family members in search of Largemouth Bass in a favorite bay. While operating the trolling motor at the front of the boat, I managed to hook a nice five pounder. Now, if you can picture it, my fishing craft is a bow-rider, so the trolling motor foot control sits between the two front seats (about two feet or so beneath the top of the vinyl cushions). The trolling motor unit itself is attached to a triangular-shaped carpet covered board that fits snuggly under the running bars on either side. In this case I decided - rather foolishly in retrospect - to climb up onto one of the bow-rider’s seats to get a better angle at the fish (it also looks kind of cool to inexperienced anglers – I’m a showman at heart). After getting the fish to boat side I stepped down to land it - hard – directly onto my foot control. I heard a sickening snap. After landing the fish and taking a few quick pictures, I tried to get the boat back onto course, but to no avail. Yes friends, I had snapped the drive cable housing (inside the head unit) clean off from its base, causing the cables to slip from the turning sprocket, leaving me with zero directional control. Well, as I have stated, this could have been a season ender – or even a temporary career ender, as I had/have no way of either a.) purchasing a new trolling motor, or b.) paying for an expensive repair job (I’ve got two kids under the age of 10, a mortgage and a wife). So I did what I always do in these situations; I identified the problem and decided to go about correcting it on my own. After ruminating on a solution for quite some time, I finally purchased a two-stage epoxy, mixed up a batch and then proceeded to re-affix the drive cable housing to its base. After a week’s worth of drying time the motor was good as new and I was back in business.

It’s in these simple victories that I am most proud - i.e., using innovation (even if it is forced by monetary circumstance) to solve the issues that life throws at me. I am inspired to attempt these endeavors to a great extent by survivors like my father, and in some ways by innovators like Grant Koppers – a lure designing visionary who has filled a gap by creating a line of incredibly lifelike lures.

Koppers LIVETARGET® Yellow Perch - Museum quality finish in a fishing lure.

Grant Koppers is a professional fishing guide hailing from the Niagara River Region (U.S.A./Canada), and is the founder of Koppers Fishing – a relatively new, but nevertheless exciting lure design company. Using his passion for the sport and countless hours on the water, Grant identified a conundrum/problem with respect to hard bait gamefishing in general; why do some fish commit to lures instantly, while others simply trail our plastic offerings with curiosity? Koppers states on his website:  

“When gamefish are not aggressively feeding, triggering strikes can be more challenging. Since the predator is approaching the target slowly, it has the opportunity to study the subject and can become wary of man-made characteristics. The solution is to create a lure with a life-like appearance and motion that matches the gamefish forage base (match the hatch). Using top secret cutting edge technology, Koppers’ product development team has succeeded in crafting the ultimate series of hard baits”.

On the menu - (Top to bottom) Koppers LIVETARGET® Bluegill, Koppers LIVETARGET® Crawdad Fat Crankbait)

I would say that Grant’s solution applies directly to trophy fishing as well, as the truly giant fish in any body of water have learned the hard way what is real and what is man made. This is a theory I have always subscribed to, and will continue to subscribe to in my quest for bigger and badder fish.

Koppers LIVE TARGET™ Life-Like Lures offers the angler a series of baits that look real enough to fool even the weariest of gamefish. Each lures action is true right out of the box, with premium hardware, paint and even packaging and instructions found throughout the line. All these things contribute towards making these lures not only highly effective and unique fishing baits, but collector’s items as well.

Art imitating life - (Top to bottom) Koppers LIVETARGET® Smallmouth Bass - NATURAL MATTE, Koppers LIVETARGET® Smallmouth Bass - METALLIC GLOSS, Koppers LIVETARGET® Shad

Topwater Bottom Line: I always get excited about lure companies that innovate, and Koppers LIVE TARGET™ Life-Like Lures is one of the best in that arena. Their baits are top of the line products made to exacting standards and detail. Each one can be thrown like a bullet and features premium hardware like Daiichi hooks and more. Adding to their allure is brilliant attention to anatomical/biological detail, which when combined with their stellar finishes makes for museum quality collector pieces at a relatively affordable price – you can expect to pay between 11 and 20 dollars per unit. I highly recommend the Natural Matte/Flat finish option (I have a number of them in my tackle collection). When they get wet - wow, the effect is dramatic and incredible. If you are looking for a unique advantage when hunting for trophy fish, I highly recommend Koppers as an innovative option. As always, please practice catch and release with these lures.

Topwater Rating:

5 out of 5 bobbers

Realistic enough to fool even the fisherman himself – watch those hooks!