The Beginning
Fishing and life are not always upward – success upon success. Sometimes, your favorite salmon river attempts a knockdown for the ten count. The question becomes, what do we do when we are on the mat? This blog is about those next steps.Scent Striker’s beginnings are humble. Our assembly plant is in half of our garage to make this adventure work. It is one way to help control costs and to remain competitive during the startup phase of creating new salmon and halibut fishing gear.Our favorite salmon river, the Mendenhall River, runs past the birthplace of Scent Strikers. Our products are assembled about 200 feet from its banks.The Mendenhall River is a source of inspiration. For example, when working on Scent Striker’s original design, prototypes were placed in the river’s main channel for three months to test-troll for durability. The original prototypes clocked over 1,800 hours of test-trolling time without noticeable failure. We were inspired and continued development. Vortaks were similarly designed using the Mendenhall River’s current for spin testing.
The effects of 13 billion gallons of water in the Mendenhall River. Scent Striker’s shop door is behind the waste can.
The Problem
But a favorite salmon river can be fickle. The life-giving river can turn in a moment. You wonder if you will survive the night during these times. August 5, 2023, was one of those moments.The Norwegians call these moments Jökulhlaups. A glacial lake bursts its seams, spilling billions of gallons of water into a narrow river valley. On August 5, 2023, the experts say 13 billion gallons of water were released into the Mendenhall River.This means that a part of these 13 billion gallons of water washed into the Scent Striker assembly plant, destroying machines and materials. The official depth of the water inside was measured at 53”. A salmon river knockdown!Some Next Steps
Getting up after a salmon river knockdown seems daunting. Unknowns vastly outweigh the knowns. The thought that it is easier to throw in the towel becomes powerful. These thoughts must be set aside to get up off the mat. Therefore, step one is to resist the easy road. One must willfully set aside unproductive thoughts and get back up.A TobyMac and Jon Reddick song, Show Up Choose Love, echoes the refrain, “Let’s do the next right thing,” Doing the next right thing is an excellent thing to remember when staying down seems attractive.So, step two is to do the next right thing. Start with simple things like striving to get orders out on time. Calling a customer and saying you can’t fill one of the items right now, offering a full refund. Or taking time to thoroughly clean and oil the guillotine-cutting machine to prevent further damage.