Barta Returns

   Before you get too excited, no Jim won’t be writing a blog for the paper. He’s still really busy with his new endeavor down in Alabama. He wrote for the Heritage papers for about 10 years but had to give it up when his Hunter Safety Harness business took off. He’s partner with some old high school buddies and they are doing great. Hunters use the safety harness when they hunt from an elevated tree stand. As mentioned in a previous article after hours in the stand without seeing any deer a hunters mind can begin to wander and this can lead to a state on restfulness. Sometimes this can cause one to close their eyes and drift off, or so I’ve heard. When you’re 15 to 20 feet up in a tree this is a dangerous situation. Jim’s company’s harness is what you need if this happens. If you fall asleep, or slip, or misstep and fall, the harness will save your life. Some hunters will just tie a rope around themselves and then to the tree. If you fall and can’t get back into the tree stand you may start to get constricted and this could lead to asphyxiation. They also have a life line which helps getting into and out of the stand. That’s something my cousin Jojo could have used a few years back, he fell but was lucky to be able to walk away with just some bumps and bruises. Jim’s company has received hundreds of letters from hunters and their spouses thanking them for keeping them in one piece and being able to be with their families again. It’s got to give him a great feeling of accomplishment knowing he’s helping people like that.

   I saw Jim out on the Detroit River fishing for some hog walleyes. Each spring he comes back downriver to scratch that itch he gets from the walleye fever. The fever that drove him to learn the ways of the fish, and chase them, up and down the river, and into Lake Erie. His passion for catching walleye probably would have caused Jim to become a professional walleye fisherman but the big tournaments and money didn’t exist then. Jim started guiding other fishermen when his schedule of being a Lincoln Park fireman would allow. One day he made a comment to a client about the deficiencies of a local store’s sporting goods department. The next day Jim got a call from the client’s mother, who just happened to be the store’s regional manager of sporting goods. Well they met at the store and Jim showed her how some items were sorted by brand and if he wanted to buy fishing line he needed to look in 4 different places. The manager agreed with the things Jim was pointing out and changed the displays around. The two became good friends.

   This led to Jim being asked to talk at the State Fair and demonstrate his fishing techniques. He did that for a few years and each time his popularity grew and he added more clients. Then he was asked to talk at Outdoorama, and then at the Silverdome, which led to Ford Field, which was the precursor to the Ultimate Fishing Show in the Rock Financial Showplace. At each one of these shows Jim would give out a lot of advice and his popularity grew leading to more charter customers. I saw him at Ford Field talking about trolling Lake Erie. Jim has a gift of gab and although he can’t out talk a radio he stays in close competition.

   I then noticed Jim writing for magazines like Michigan Sportsman and Woods and Water. When I saw his article in Fur, Fish and Game about trolling for walleye in Lake Erie, that cemented in my mind that Jim was an expert in the ways of the walleye. When he left to pursue his business venture Jim left his customers in the hands of the Libra Marine boys. They’re located on Perry Place between Biddle and the river. Ron Berry and Tom Dinnewith are two who will take care of you in the early spring if they’re not booked up.

   Jim says there’re some new products coming up on his horizon. Research and marketing are so important to his business and it takes up a lot of time. Not too much time that he can’t scratch a little itch. Maybe you’ll see him next year on the river doing just that.