Gitzit is a fishing brand headquartered in St. George, Utah.
Chris Hendershot grew up fishing the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, and in 1992 he bought a bankrupt lure company and then paid himself no salary for three years. The company was BASS-N-Man, famous for the Fat Gitzit tube lure. Hendershot reorganized it as Gitzit and spent the next months traveling the country to call on old accounts, telling them the new owner would meet their orders.
The word Gitzit spread well past the company. A fishing writer at Northwest Fishing Reports noted that tube baits, and to some degree creature baits, were once called gitzits, as if the brand were the category. The company's own site says its lures have won more tournaments and set more records than any other product, and Hendershot did not invent the lure behind that claim. He bought a famous name and the work of keeping it in stock.
Gitzit makes its lures in St. George. The company says each one is handmade. The Original Fat Gitzit comes in 2.5 and 3.5 inch sizes starting at $3.32, in numbered colors such as 047 Pearl White and 195 Brown Craw. The company says the originals are infused with salt and colored with dyes and sparkle flakes, while the Tournament Series uses salt and fish attractants.
The line has widened to include swim baits and grubs. The Paddle Fry and the Little Tough Guy are, by the company's account, among its most sought after. Kits come in boxes the company calls pocket packs, which exist because, as the site puts it, the same color does not work as well every day or at different times of the day.
Small orders can be placed online, and large ones by phone. The FAQ says larger quantities of most lures are available by calling the St. George shop Monday through Thursday, and that anyone who wants a custom color can call to ask about a special run. Customers in Eastern Europe can save on postage through an international distributor.
California rules shape the catalog. The site carries a state warning on products that contain lead and a separate lead-free category, and California customers buy reusable kit boxes and refills as separate products.
The Susquehanna River Pack, $19.82, shares a name with the river Hendershot grew up on. It holds 10 Tournament tubes, 10 pieces of Gitzit lead, two Hellgrammites, a Paddle Fry and three rigged Baby Blue Eyes catfish lures, and it ships from a shop on Red Rock Road in southern Utah.
By the company's own count, the best-selling tube colors are numbered: 195 Brown Craw, 136 Olive Smoke, 071 Leach, 200 Green Craw, 047 Pearl White and 076 Copper Craw.
