Hooked!

When Thibodaux native Austin Doiron asked his wife Ashley for an airbrush for his 32nd birthday, she looked at him puzzled. “‘You’re not an artist. What do you want an airbrush for?’” Austin smiles, recalling the exchange with his wife.

Little did they know that Austin’s soon-to-be new hobby would ignite a business, one that sells products that are raved locally and nationally.

After Austin received that airbrush in October of 2013, he began painting his own fishing lures. The following month, he caught his first fish off a lure he painted; from there, Austin says, he was “hooked” (no pun intended).

“It became an addiction to me,” he shares. “I was like, ‘Wow, a fish bit something I created.’”

The volunteer firefighter’s new obsession with painting his own custom lures quickly became favored by his family and friends, which sparked the idea for it to be more than just a hobby for him. “I started small just doing custom orders here and there for people I knew,” Austin says.

His brother-in-law Wesley Landry, a member of the Nicholls State University’s bass team, gave Austin’s products a lot of exposure that helped progress the formation of Blackjack Lures.

“I think my brother-in-law played a huge part in that [in promoting the lures]. He qualified to fish in a state championship as well as the national championship. He used my baits there and caught fish,” Austin remembers. “And that’s kind of where we realized, ‘Hey, they work. We got something special going on here.’”

Word spread, and before long, people outside of his family and friends started calling the hobbyist-turned-entrepreneur. In March of 2017, he officially launched Blackjack Lures, named after Jack, Austin’s dog who kept him company while he painted.

Austin’s baits generated buzz on social media, leading him to launch his website and Facebook, the latter having over 2,200 followers. His lures are also a favorite at Thibodaux’s The Reel Outfitters.

“It’s a great feeling,” he says on Blackjack Lures being a local hit. “First of all, I enjoy fishing, but I also enjoy getting pictures back when other people catch a fish on my lure.”

“It’s something unique. It’s not something you can go into Academy and buy,” Austin adds. “I think that’s what kind of drives people to it.”

For the making of his unique baits, Austin orders clear blanks. He then chooses if the batch of 15 he is painting will be a crawfish pattern or a baitfish pattern. He then airbrushes the custom items, typically taking an hour a batch.

In addition to the colors and patterns, the lures’ names are unique, too, such as “Square Bill Sexy Shad,” “Square Bill Zombie Tiger” and “Blackjack Wart Ghost Chart.”

In addition to the natural buzz his creativity spawned, Austin makes sure to promote his custom baits too. He sponsors local professional angler Tyler Rivet, who uses Blackjack Lures while fishing in the Bassmaster Elite Series, giving the brand national exposure.

Austin himself also makes sure to travel and demonstrate his baits, attending the Southern Louisiana Boat, Sport & RV Show at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and Louisiana Sportsman Show in Gonzales earlier this year.

“That’s a great experience because I get to talk to a lot of people and actually sell a lot of products. I also get a lot of custom orders from that show,” Austin says about the Louisiana Sportsman Show. “People stop by and realize I basically hand-painted these things…Old guys will stop by, and they are like, ‘Man, I have a bait I used to use in the 70s. It was such and such color, and I can’t find it anymore.’ And I’m like, ‘I can make it happen for you.’”

Photos by Channing Candies