Gibbs-Delta Aquires O'Ki

All I can say is buy your favorite Oki flashers and Titan spoons before they outsource the production to china like other tackle companies have. I also liked the fact you could order custom taped flasher versions from Oki. I like Gibbs tackle, but I don't think this will be good for variety in the market place. One less major competitor is probably not great for prices either. I'm guessing a lot of the Oki lineup will be merged or discontinued. Oki came out with many of the innovative flasher tapings long before Hot Spot or Gibbs. Without the pressure from Oki's innovative designs, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have the variety we have in the marketplace today. I think this is a sad day for our local tackle industry.
 
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No more custom flashers or heads. I sure won't be hopping on the Gibbs china bandwagon. They sure like to post on social media and flaunt all the new boats and trips they are sending friends and staff on. Sure glad I have a lifetime supply of flashers and heads already. This is not a good thing imo!!!! Rant over
 
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Yea ****. There goes my only quality flashers I buy. Might start ordering spin doctor flashers
 
Yes I agree about the Chinese thing.

I'll be stocking up for sure
 
I don't think much will change at first but there will be changes coming for sure.

The O'ki Titan in the 5 to 6" size spoons flat blow the painted spoons Gibbs out of the water have been offerings which Gibbs has recently created out of the water. The polished nickel finish on the back is definitely one of my favourites too. The prices are still lower than the Silver Horde stuff too.

They already own Rhys Davis as thy bought them in the last couple of years..so the PNW-Island BC Coast Teaser head market is now effectively a Cartel by Gibbs.

As for the O'ki Flashers....there is a reason they cost more. Hopefully Hot Spot does not pack it in and sell to Gibbs too.

Over half the fishing shows and many lodges on this coast are now in vendor agreements with Gibbs too.

Personally, I'm getting a little sick of Gibbs this and Gibbs that every time I read a fishing report on social media or anywhere else...but as some would say...if you don't like it don't buy it and some on here will tell to to STFU so I'm going to do just that and go away. End of rant.

#fishwithwhatyouwant
 
yeah , got a little comical with there aggressive marketing , few of the big boys jumpin on board
mentioning there product on every report , or even better yet , pics with gear still hangin outta there mouths ,
not sure about you guys , i share , but not all lol ,
SELL SELL SELL
think most here picked all that out.....

personally , not much of there gear in my arsenal for "salmon" , i stick with what works for me , or what ive
stumbled across while playin with gear over the years ,
tried several of there spoons in tougher conditions out west , yanked out in short order ,
just didnt work for me , put my old faithfuls back in the water and game on

definitely some good variety in colors on all there spoons and flashers , some decent jigs i always use for white meat ,

i also would have preferred to have seen these smaller independent companies stick around , keep an even keel on pricing ,
times of change , quality drop is inevitable , time.....
not sure how this will work out for them , hopefully they dont over extend themselves to quickly , get them selves in over there heads , go
tits up , we lose all the good stuff there buyin up !!
at the end of the day , i dont have a problem spending an extra buck or 2 on gear , its all about quality ,
and not second guessing my gear in the water ,

gd lk to them , seem like gd guys,,,,
i do buy there product time to time still , actually just bought a new xl catch/release net !! the red handled one though ,
think someone here said to buy the black handled or aluminum colored C&R net instead ? thoughts?? could still be returned , never used yet

( Oki heads are awesome !! thx Rob )

m2b

fd
 
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I have purchased plenty of Gibbs gear over the years and i don't think this merger will change much in my tackle box... I dont understand the hate on for a successful tackle company that has been around since day one.. , bigger companies buy smaller companies.. happens all the time .. Gibbs will continue to produce quality fishing tackle im sure , the Oki titan spoons are a quality product hope they keep that line onboard.
 
jeffywestcoast said:
I have purchased plenty of Gibbs gear over the years and i don't think this merger will change much in my tackle box... I dont understand the hate on for a successful tackle company that has been around since day one.. , bigger companies buy smaller companies.. happens all the time .. Gibbs will continue to produce quality fishing tackle im sure , the Oki titan spoons are a quality product hope they keep that line onboard.
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Depends on what you mean by successful. Are you speaking in terms of profit? market share? Populist media?

Ever wonder why you don't hear about a Gibbs Gypsy spoon anymore? But you sure hear about a Made in USA Coyote despite the fact they are gone. Ever wonder why you don't see a trashed Gibbs Flasher? But you have beat up O'kis and Hot Spots on board probably.

Let's not confuse the early Gibbs commercial product with the present day sport product.

Check the blister packed spoons...Made in China. Check the hooks. Fish twice and sharpen the hook and you need to replace it after 2 days.

Get an O'ki Flasher and put it under a UV black light and then take a Gibbs and do the same. Apples and Mardarin Oranges. Check out the back of a commercial troller dockside....you won't see Gibbs Flashers in the pit or gear locker.

check out a G-Force spoon vs an O'ki Titan.

Now you'll know exactly why we're all concerned.

Makes me wonder why you see a Silver Horde Spoon in so many fishing reports...because Gibbs now has the distributorship if I'm not mistaken in BC. Who turned out the lights on the G-Force? 3 styles work.

Have you purchased a teaser head pack recently? See the price of those? Gibbs now owns everything except for Krippled.

since when did a Flasher cost $15-$18?
 
IMG_0408.PNG
fishin_magician said:
Depends on what you mean by successful. Are you speaking in terms of profit? market share? Populist media?

Ever wonder why you don't hear about a Gibbs Gypsy spoon anymore? But you sure hear about a Made in USA Coyote despite the fact they are gone. Ever wonder why you don't see a trashed Gibbs Flasher? But you have beat up O'kis and Hot Spots on board probably.

Let's not confuse the early Gibbs commercial product with the present day sport product.

Check the blister packed spoons...Made in China. Check the hooks. Fish twice and sharpen the hook and you need to replace it after 2 days.

Get an O'ki Flasher and put it under a UV black light and then take a Gibbs and do the same. Apples and Mardarin Oranges. Check out the back of a commercial troller dockside....you won't see Gibbs Flashers in the pit or gear locker.

check out a G-Force spoon vs an O'ki Titan.

Now you'll know exactly why we're all concerned.

Makes me wonder why you see a Silver Horde Spoon in so many fishing reports...because Gibbs now has the distributorship if I'm not mistaken in BC. Who turned out the lights on the G-Force? 3 styles work.

Have you purchased a teaser head pack recently? See the price of those? Gibbs now owns everything except for Krippled.

since when did a Flasher cost $15-$18?
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Haha saw this on social media
 
OMG $20 for a Gibbs flasher. That would be laughable, except with their control of the industry that will soon be the norm. To think they practically couldn't give the Gibbs flashers away 10 years ago. I used to buy their cheap flashers for under $5 on sale at Army & Navy not that many years ago. I mostly bought their cheap white and black flashers to strip the tape off and use naked. I used them for that because they were so cheap. Look at them now. Wow, speaks volumes for the power of marketing.
 
I certainly hope that package contained 2 Flashers or a flasher and 2 lures... WTF?!?
 
I like some of the Gibbs product line. I just can't stand monopolies, and that pretty much looks like the direction the west coast CDN tackle industry is headed. Don't get me wrong, I do like some of the Gibbs flasher models and use them regularly. My favorite is their Blue Stripe flashers in full size and mini. That flasher works great here in the winter, and off the west coast I've had many phenomenal days using that flasher. Gibbs used to sell great bottom gear as well, but their product line has changed dramatically in the last few years. I don't like the direction they've gone with a lot of their product line (read China).
 
:eek:

Like I said... WTF !!!!!
 
The prices are getting a bit ridiculous. People attribute it to the dollar and exchange rate, but I thought we were buying a locally owned and made product with Gibbs?
 
IMG_3295.PNG Get ready for more of stuff like this...Soon it'll be nothing but Gibbs Delta Flashers and spoons....Silver Horde has recent come out with a couple of different styles too...because if they don't....they die too. In recent years I can count only about 2 or 3 new colour patterns worth having....and now you don't even hear about 2 of them....
 
dmurph said:
The prices are getting a bit ridiculous. People attribute it to the dollar and exchange rate, but I thought we were buying a locally owned and made product with Gibbs?
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Some of the items are painted and assembled locally but the rest are not.

The Flashers are China....the skinny G's are China... most of the ZAC Tackle is China.... and I think the G-Force is done in China too....I was eyeballing the packaging at Cambodian Tire last weekend.

Hopefully Tomic and Hot Spot don't sell out to Gibbs when they decide it's time to move on. Tomic Plugs are in the mature phase as are Hot Spot as commercial troll fleets are further on the decline as their days on the water are declining as well.

Saltwater Chinook fishing is more expensive than ever relatively speaking as there is a long trend towards more demand for bigger offshore capable boats to head further out to go where the remaining fish are...and these boats are more amenable to year round fishing....because that is what it takes to catch a Chinook. Gone are the days of fishing inshore close to the beach in smaller boats...

Now it's down to someone finds the fish and everyone is going to fish it....
 
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