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The One that Got Away … Is Back

To those of us who don’t do it, fishing looks easy, maybe even boring. But those who fish would strongly disagree.

Imagine fishing for halibut, a 300- to 400-pound bottom-feeder that can measure 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. It might take an hour of cranking the fishing pole to bring it up from the bottom, plus an hour of trying to hold the pole against the strong twists of a fish that’s bigger than you. After ten minutes, your hand is dead. Now what? Well, that’s where Stout’s BackSaver Grip comes in.

Ron Stout, an Alaskan diesel mechanic and avid deep-sea fisherman, once tore off a big chunk of his thumb while reeling in one of these babies because he couldn’t hold the rod when it twisted. He says he bled more than the fish! Pretty image, huh? But now Ron has more than a fish story to tell. He’s invented a solution and has three patents to prove it.

It all started when Ron and a charter captain were talking about how difficult it is to hold a fishing pole against the forces of an angry fish. They came up with a device to help hold the pole. Ron got scrap aluminum from a boat builder and made the first prototype. He attached this aluminum handle to an old halibut rod with Velcro, hooked it up to an engine, and nearly cracked the fiberglass rod with the incredible vertical lift. It worked.

In 1998, Ron hired Cadillac Plastic to build a wooden mold and form a plastic version: black with a clear T-handle; then he got a patent. Although the charter captain didn’t put one dime into the venture, he wanted half of the profits. It was clear that this partnership wasn’t going to sail into the sunset together. While the captain’s name was on the first patent, Ron changed the design twice since and repatented it—in his name only. He has two different trademarks in the U.S. and is waiting for the final patents to come from Australia, South Korea, and the European Union.

The BackSaver Grip attaches to the top of a fishing pole so you can keep your hand palm down. This position allows you to use your body weight and legs more than your wrists and forearms to reel in your catch. And on a charter boat, deckhands can reach over your shoulder and grab the handle to help you. Then, once fall and winter arrived, Ron discovered other uses for the BackSaver Grip. If you attach it to a rake or snow shovel, you can stand upright while using these tools, saving your back (that’s where the name came from). It is so easy to attach, Ron has put it on every tool he owns.

“It’s a cool invention if it will ever take. I have a ton of money in it—$250,000—and every dollar it has made has gone back into the venture. I received an inheritance when my dad passed away. That’s the only way I was able to do this. Instead of building a new house—I live in a shack—I put it into this. I refinanced my house last year to change the mold and packaging, and get the overseas patents. It just has to take off.”

In 2000, Ron got it in Alaska’s Home Depot stores through the Buy Alaska program. In the first 110 days, he sold 650 grips. He wrote a letter thanking them and Home Depot teased him with promises of going national, but it never materialized. But today, the BackSaver Grip is sold in Ace Hardware, Do it Best hardware stores, True Value stores, and selected stores in various states, as well as on his website.

Friends and family members have supported Ron 100 percent. During the early years, his inner circle helped him drill, decal, and package the grips in his garage. Now, commercially packaged and prepared, they’re poised to sell well. The grips have been getting a lot of attention thanks to two guys, David Wilk and Bob Franklin, who do all the traveling, marketing, and distributing now.

Dave and Bob got Stout’s BackSaver Grip on NBC’s Today Show on May 17, 2005, as part of a report on ergonomic tools to make gardening easier. They also got the BackSaver on QVC, although the experience ended up being disappointing. Dave and Bob worked with QVC to write the script and it was slated for an early summer show on a Saturday morning. At the last minute, QVC changed the segment from a garden show to one for people with degenerative diseases. The BackSaver was shown with a back massage chair, an eating bib, a neck support/ stretcher, a bed pad, and a rake. Talk about fishing with the wrong bait! Ron’s Grip sold only 1,000 units in four minutes, really bad numbers for QVC, and the shopping network sent back 7,000.

These days, Ron has backed away from the day-to-day operations. He returned to Anchorage and opened up a diesel repair shop before he got to the point of declaring bankruptcy. “I’ve put so much into it that I get frustrated with the disappointments. I’ve got too many years and too much money invested. I just want to hear when the good news comes in.” Ron Stout is one fisherman who’s waiting to catch the Big One.