4 minute read
TACKLING A NEW HOBBY
TACKLING
A NEW HOBBY
Level up your fishing with a custom jig made by a Starved Rock Country native
Story by Stephanie Jaquins, Photos provided by Dan Bosi
Dan Bosi’s hobby of making jigs started when he was trying to make the best use of a lead pipe.
His dad had found 20 foot of lead pipe in one of his rental properties and offered it to Bosi, who was thinking of a way to put it to use.
He bought a pot to melt the lead and one plastic jig mold in summer 2017, with plans of making jigs for himself.
“I enjoyed it and I just kept buying more molds,” says the Starved Rock Country native, who taught himself using YouTube videos.
He stuck to making jig heads for two years until his wife, Emily, and children, Isabel and Drew, gave him a mold for Christmas, expanding his repertoire to soft plastic baits. He eventually started selling them to people he knew and posting pictures of his work to social media. “It kind of took off from there,” he says. “Everyone started asking for it. That’s when I started mailing them out.”
Now he could find out how well they caught fish.
“I held my breath for about a year selling plastics because I was good at selling them and giving them to people, but I didn’t know if they actually caught fish until I started getting reorders.”
The reorders help him to know how well a color performs. Bosi says his jigs are better than those you would find at a big box store because the color options are endless — a point proven by a wall of his garage, stacked with various colors and glitters.
“Colors are important. One to catch a fisherman’s eye, but also to catch the fish,” Bosi says. “I give people the option, if they want they can order a specific color, which a lot of the tournament guys really like.”
His customers range from local fishermen to those in town for a tournament or fishing trip. Starved Rock Country is a popular site for walleye and sauger.
“This river here and the sauger fishing is a big part of why I’m doing good with this business,” says Bosi, who tries to go fishing at least once a week in spite of a full-time job and making his jigs, which he estimates takes about 20-30 hours a week.
Finding supplies for making jigs has become more difficult in the past year — more people tried the hobby while home during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Everybody had free time. They tried it and realized it’s an expensive hobby,” he says.
When he first started, he thought he’d save money making his own jigs but quickly realized the investment it required. He’s now up to 30 plastic molds and 24 lead molds.
“When I first started this, I spent a lot of my own money,” he says. “Most is reinvested back, but also goes to fishing. The rule I have is the money from this is used for fun.”
He enjoys meeting fellow fisherman and the artistic side of making the colorful jigs. He doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“The day it feels like a real job, that’ll probably be the end of it,” he says.
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For more information, visit Bosi’s Instagram @yousmelllikefish or Facebook at Boz Jigs & Tackle.
INSIGHTS
FROM A FISHING EXPERT
Mike Hanson has been fishing the Illinois River system since he was 13 years old and has been a tournament angler for the past 12 years, most recently being chosen as one of 32 anglers across the nation to compete in the inaugural H2H Pro Walleye Series event on the Detroit River.
As owner of Starved Rock Guide Service, he uses his expertise to teach tips and techniques on how to catch fish on the Illinois River, which is 273 miles long. Hanson focuses on the section that runs through Morris to Lacon, following the migrating fish up and down the river system.
“I do have favorite places, depending on the time of year,” Hanson says. “The spring and through fall I like to concentrate in the Starved Rock area. Through the summer, I will be in Ottawa and I will be downriver by Hennepin.”
Hanson enjoys sharing his knowledge of the river system, teaching about different species of fish and helping to identify them along the way. He notes the temperature, time of year and water clarity all need to be factored into a fishing trip.
Tours are four or six hours. Supplies are included. Hanson asks people to dress for the weather and bring lunch and snacks. For more information, visit Starved Rock Guide Service on Facebook.
Welcome to The Taste of The Illinois Valley
August 5-8, 2021 Centennial Park in Peru
Craft Village • Food Vendors Bands and Live Music • Beer Gardens • Kids Zone Food competitions! Thursday: Wings, Friday: Pork Tenderloins, Saturday: Fried Chicken, Sunday: Pizza See You, and Your Tastebuds, there! www.peru.il.us
