GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Two Goochland Middle School students are making money and making local anglers more successful with an innovative lure design.
Isaac Kowalski and Miller Nixon, who have been fishing for most of their lives, started out by experimenting with their own lure designs and got their company, South of the Coast, off the ground after taking a specialized business course at their school.
Make it Your Business (MIYB), is a nine-week course at Goochland Middle School taught by Randy Burts. The course teaches the logistics of building a business.
“Middle school really is a time where you have these kids who are discovering who they are,” said Burts. “And this is a good opportunity for them, while they’re in discovery mode, to start thinking about their future, their passions, and things that they’re starting to spend more time on.”
Nixon and Kowalski’s lure is made using a 3D printed mold and comes in six different colors that serve to increase effectiveness in different bodies of water, such as ponds and rivers.
“All of our lures are mainly going for small- and large-mouth bass, but every now and then we make some that you could use in the ocean for speckled trout or bluefish,” said Kowalski. “It’s really slim at the tail and makes the tail move like crazy, just like an injured fish.”
Nixon and Kowalski have had pop-up shops at Bow and Sparrow and are looking for more opportunities to sell their product. They’ve also started selling shirts, sweatshirts and stickers — and are planning to release hats as well.
South of the Coast can be found on instagram @south_of_the_coast and their clothing can be purchased here.
