Teen’s Chattahoochee Worm Company Takes Off

Many outdoorsmen dream of one day starting their own business that harnesses their unique vision and provides new and exciting products to their fellow hunters or anglers. Jack Lane didn’t wait to get started on that dream.

Jack, 13, is the owner of Chattahoochee Worm Company, based in his hometown of Columbus. He started the company as a way to feed his passion for fishing and spend more time in the sport that he and his father, Rik, enjoy together.

Jack launched the company earlier this year with the idea of a logo and some live worms he grew. It has since grown into a thriving business that offers a full line of custom baits, hats, apparel, koozies, decals, gift boxes and gift cards.

“Our products are currently available online and at a few bait shops in Georgia. We have repeat customers in many states across the country and as far away as New York and Oregon,” said Jack. “We also have a team of pro staffers from Florida to Texas to Oklahoma to Massachusetts.”

He began selling live worms, and now Jack has an assortment of soft plastics that were based on designs he had and a few unique color patterns. The plastics began flying off the shelves shortly after he offered them to the public.

Jack Lane, 13, of Columbus, started his company selling live worms. It’s now expanded to plastics that bass—and tournament anglers—are gobbling up.

“We started out with baits like stick baits, finesse worms and crawfish, but we’ve branched out into selling new lures like crankbaits and frogs,” said Jack. “I’m hoping we keep growing, and I can have a lot of new types of lures for my customers. We’re talking to a couple national distributors now that would put our baits in bait shops across the country. That would be really cool!”

Jack said there was no shortage of challenges and difficulties to get started in his journey as a new business owner. His father and grandfather helped him navigate through some parts of the process, but they said Jack has been diligently working to see his company grow from day one.

“He’s got more drive to succeed than most adults I know,” said Rik. “Since he started this process, he’s not given up and continues to work harder to improve his company and offer a more robust product line to his customers. It’s truly been amazing to see this take shape. The support from friends and family was somewhat expected, but the support and growth from anglers throughout the country has been humbling to say the least.”

Jack hopes to join the Brookstone High School bass fishing team once he reaches ninth grade.

This fall he also launched his second virtual bass fishing tournament that ran through Nov. 15. The vitural tournaments are held through the FishDonkey smartphone app. Participants pay a $45 entry fee to sign up and compete with other anglers from around the country in a 30-day online tournament that pays out prize money for the top-five finishers, as well as a chance to score some free Chattahoochee Worm Company baits. The tournaments are listed as CWC Fall Frenzy on the FishDonkey app. They plan to host another virtual tournament this spring, so stay tuned.

Jack added, “Covid has made it hard for a small new company like ours to really take off because most fishermen want to see and touch a new bait before buying it. We have showcased our stuff at a couple local bass tournaments, but we’re really excited to get to show our baits and apparel at the Fisharama in Perry at the end of January. I’m so tired of wearing a mask everywhere!”

Unfortunately, just as this article was going to press, the Fisharama was canceled due to virus concerns.

For more information on Chattahoochee Worm Company, visit www.hoocheeworms.com, or email Jack directly at [email protected].