Kucera begins Northern Lights Tackle

  Written by Kari Sundberg, Eagle Editor

Shorty, Herring Head, Jigsaw, Hammered Gold Spinner....these were just a few of the terms Ben Kucera was throwing out there when he sat down to discuss his new tackle business!

Northern Lights Tackle is officially up and running out of the Kucera home in rural Grygla.

Ben is employed full time with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department. He and his wife, Christina, have a little one on the way, who will be joining big sister Maria, next month. But Ben isn’t stressing about the new business endeavor on top of everything else, because for him, it’s just a hobby he loves. “I love the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing, so this is just a fun thing for me to start up. That and I get bored around the house,” he laughed.

Ben first started making spinners when he was 11 years old. He’d make them in bulk quantity and just give a bunch away when the count got too high. He started playing around with jigs and molds, saying it was intriguing to him.

With time and more experimenting, so far Northern Lights Tackle has “tackled” eight different molds.

“Some of them include a bottom bouncer mold that ranges in 5 different weights, a plain jane round jig (currently available in 7 different colors), a herring head mold, which he explained, “You attach a spinner blade in any size and color that you want and it creates a flash and vibration down in the water.”

Also available are shorty jigs, which just so happen to be Ben’s favorite. “It’s a short shank jig more so used if you are jigging with a live minnow. I use them in the winter and summer, but especially the spring season,” he said.

Right now, Northern Lights offers both summer and winter tackle, but hopes to get more into the ice fishing varieties when time allows.

To make these molds, lead, zinc and tin can be used. Lead liquefies at a temperature of around 610 degrees Fahrenheit. To run smooth without any bubble issues, it has to be over 700 degrees in a smelter, which Ben has and uses. Once it’s reached the liquid stage, it gets poured into the mold, where it hardens within seconds. Next up, is the painting process, which goes smoothly. After the colors are dipped and cured in the oven,  some get clear UV coats or firecracker glitter on them to help make them pop in the dark water.

Ben says he can make anything and everything in regards to what kind of fish you are wanting to catch. The things he has right now are more for walleye and Lake of the Woods, but says he can go all the way down to accommodate crappies, sunfish, perch, etc.

“Right now I’m making everything to order,” Ben says. He does have some tackle on hand at home, which he plans to showcase and sell on his new Facebook page that will be up and running in the near future. He also has some of his Northern Lights Tackle for sale in the Grygla Coop. 

“Eventually, maybe I’ll try to sell to other tackle companies where they can buy everything in bulk, unpainted,” he acknowledged. 

But the goal now is to keep doing this as a hobby that he enjoys. In addition to selling tackle on his Facebook page, Ben will also be selling Northern Lights Tackle on eBay. 

For those interested, you can also email nltackle@gmail.com and watch for posters around town.