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IronClads: Inventor Ben Hobbins and Lake Resources-IronClads™ Soft Bait brands win Popular Science top 10 invention award for 2009
5/21/2009

IronClads™ CEO and inventor Ben Hobbins is featured in Popular Science’s June Inventions issue for his invention of revolutionary soft plastic fishing baits – lures that remain soft, supple, retain life-like action, but have incredible strength of up to 93lbs! These lures are designed to “LockOn™’’ permanently to hooks and lure sets; increase fish caught; time spent fishing; improve the outdoor ‘’experience’’; cancel lure re-rigging; save anglers money & storage space. Perhaps most importantly, they can save the environment & fish stocks.

Each year, Popular Science Magazine, with a circulation of over seven million readers worldwide, selects 10 inventions they judge "best represent the spirit of homegrown ingenuity and solve real-world problems in a practical and innovative way." The PopSci issue includes Hobbins’ IronClads™ fishing baits alongside nine other ground-breaking inventions, including projects developed with leading US business and engineering schools -such as MIT and others.

Hobbins attributes the University of Wisconsin-Madison Business School, it’s Polymer Engineering Center and the UW network of extension schools with providing the IronClads™ project key resources and expertise. ‘’Without them, I would have struggled to get this project moving. I owe the Wisconsin system, which strongly supports entrepreneurship and technology invention, much credit for the success of our project.’’

Hobbins is no stranger to the plastics world, having been a consultant to the plastics industry in Europe and a senior strategist in global biotech in the US. “I was familiar with skin graft technologies’’, said Hobbins. “So when I wanted to solve the problem of anglers’ repeatedly losing soft fishing lures, I recalled the techniques used to strengthen soft human flesh using biometric grafting materials. I was inspired to develop radically new grafting methods and technologies to reinforce an array of soft baits architectures.”

As highlighted by Popular Science, in addition to making life easier for fisherman, the invention also solves a big environmental waste issue. Recent industry studies and a study by the April 2009 North American Fisheries Management Journal indicate 25 million pounds of conventional soft lures get left behind in waterways each year. The NAFMJ article also indicates the serious environmental concerns caused by annual and decades of conventional soft lure waste and the stunting of fish populations that voluntarily ingest conventional soft lures.

And it is noteworthy that this green solution comes from within the outdoor community itself. Hobbins is a life-long outdoorsman & conservationist, founding the Lake Delton Fisheries Restoration Project (http://www.restorelakedeltonfisheries.com) and sits on the American Sports Fishing Association’s FishAmerica Foundation Conservation Committee (http://fishamerica.org).

“I am so honored and could not be more thrilled. The PopSci award significantly enhances industry acclaim for our patent pending technologies, the reputation of our products and adds value for company shareholders,’’ adds Hobbins, “that’s what it is all about!’’

Media Contact: Ben Hobbins 608-513-3535 // jbhobbins@yahoo.com // http://www.buyironclads.com


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