The Zoom Bait Company is a true American success story, rising from one man’s vision and elbow grease to become the worldwide leader in soft plastic lures. Ed Chambers proved that necessity truly is the mother of invention in the fishing industry – when he couldn’t find the worm styles that he needed, the Georgia gaming machine salesman used a trolling motor in a 55 gallon drum to mix up the plastic to mold lures that would do a better job.
That was 1977. In the nearly four decades since that relatively inauspicious beginning, Zoom’s attention to detail and innovative nature has allowed the company to grow. Now, instead of a 55 gallon drum, there’s a 40,000 square foot facility with state of the art equipment manned by over 100 full-time employees, producing countless styles of lures in over 400 distinct color patterns in the distinctive red packaging.
That growth has been fueled by a commitment to quality and listening to what anglers want. In some cases, that has meant taking an existing concept and making it better. For example, the Zoom Lizard had become the standard-bearer for the industry, the best of its kind and used anywhere that bass swim. On the other extreme, Zoom has worked to develop new shapes and techniques, such as the Super Fluke and Brush Hog, category-defining styles that are often imitated but never replaced. Zoom has been a leader in developing new colors, too, with now-standards like Pumpkin coming from the fertile mind of Ed Chambers, who truly “thinks like a fish.”
If that weren’t enough, Zoom has found ways to bring expensive technology to the masses at a reasonable price. For example, the company’s new triple laminate worms accomplish what could previously only been done in an expensive hand pour at a fraction of the price – and with far greater consistency.
One other element of Zoom’s success has been the Super Salt Plus Formula that permeates the company’s lures, giving them an extra dose of bass-attracting flavor.
While Zoom has become an international force in the fishing industry, we remain true to the values of our small town birth. We remain headquartered in Watkinsville, Georgia, a lovely town of about a thousand folks in northeastern Georgia, in the heart of some of the best bass fishing in the world – a true “laboratory” for the development of the next generation of bass fishing excellence.