(Editor's note: This short feature comes from industry media and public relations representative Tom Leogrande.)
“I’m living my dream,” says Robert Castaneda, inventor of Livingston Lures.
Growing up on the banks of Livingston Bay in Guatemala, Castaneda learned how to fish at an early age with his father and uncles. One of the lessons his father taught him was how to catch baitfish, hook them and cast them out to catch big bass. He would tell Robert, “Fishing is like playing chess, only you have to outsmart the fish.”
They would sit in silence to hear the sounds the baitfish would make before casting them out. That sound would follow Robert for many years.
He was in first grade when he caught his first bass, and that was the moment that changed the rest of his life. Instead of collecting baseball cards like other kids, Castaneda would collect lures. Different shapes, textures, colors and brands filled up his collection. By the end of his grade-school years, he was the go-to guy for advice on what to use and where. That's when he knew he wanted to make his own lures and began creating – playing with colors, glitters and even feathers.
His love for fishing and creating lures was taken to a new level many years ago during Christmastime. He had received a card from his sister, and when he opened it, it started playing "Jingle Bells." It wasn’t the song that caught his attention, but the speaker the song was playing out of. He realized right then that if he could record an injured baitfish sound inside of a plastic lure he, could have “live” bait all year round.
I was an idea he knew would change the way anglers fished, and it was at that moment the he decided to take action and follow his dreams.
Castaneda implemented his idea and technology into his lures and started working. From tournament trails to meetings to countless visits with anglers, he was dedicated. He and his wife would attend 50 tradeshows within a year. Living on cheap coffee and fast food, the two hit the road with their truck overflowing with lures.
Finally, after putting the last dimes into his new venture, Livingston Lures got its first lucky break. The hard work had begun to pay off – the lures would be sold in 20 Walmart stores, and this was just the beginning.
Castaneda wanted more. He wanted to become a big player, achieving nothing less than a national brand and household name for Livingston Lures. His goal was to make the company a global success.
Eight months later he met Fred Battah, CEO of SPFM L.P., a global leader and distributor of consumer products who was positioned to take Livingston Lures to that next level. Castaneda speaks highly of Battah as a true leader who empowers those with a vision.
“I was on a road, and then Fred put me on the highway,” Castaneda explains. When the two partnered, Battah asked him how far he wanted to take Livingston Lures, to which he replied, “All the way.”
Castaneda recognizes that where the company is going is because of its means to build the brand, continue innovation and bring the latest technology to the fishing lure industry. The current technology that Livingston Lures has on the market is just scratching the surface to what the future plans hold. The Electronic Baitfish Sound (EBS) and Vibration Technology their lures offer is and will continue to change the future of fishing.
