In family photos, she is the proud little girl, standing by her father, the skillful fisherman. 

Diamond Hernandez beams in the photos, helping her Dad, Rick Martinez, hold up a big catch of fish bunched up at the end of a line. 

“I remember my dad winning contests and getting TVs,” Hernandez said of his dad’s prize-winning fishing. “I’d think, ‘I want to do that.'”

The family that fishes together stays together is an old fisherman’s tale. For Rick Martinez and his family that adage rings true. Rick and Diamond and her husband, Juan, have turned a lifelong love of fishing into a thriving business. Operating out of their Harlingen home, the family trio is producing and selling a wide variety of fishing lures. 

The lures come in a rainbow of colors. In the water, they wiggle and vibrate, mimicking shrimp, mullet and perch. Redfish, flounder, snook, bass and trout are among the fish the flash and movement of the RGV Lures attract. The multi-color package of Harlingen’s RGV Lures sell across the Rio Grande Valley and in several Texas coastal cities. 

It’s a business that has grown beyond what Martinez and his daughter and son-in-law could have imagined. At its core, beyond the finances and revenues, the reason for this endeavor goes back to the family bonds and love shown in the old photos of Diamond and her dad.

“Our goal is for them to make memories of their friends and families,” she said of their customers.

Learning Lures

Rick Martinez is sitting in his outdoor patio with a collection of RGV Lures spread before him.

He described himself as an “old school fisherman” growing up. Live bait was his preference in his younger years. Martinez discovered lures about 20 years ago and has been hooked on them ever since. He succinctly goes through the basics of using lures. Learn what color of lures works best depending on the season. The condition and texture of water in the Laguna Madre, for example, changes as temperatures fluctuate.

A light-colored lure works best in murky waters. The opposite is true when the waters are clear. The goal is to have your lure stand out, with predatory fish swimming about in the bay or Gulf noticing it. All of that knowledge goes into designing and making the products of RGV Lures. Some of Martinez’s lures are so specialized that he points to one made for nighttime fishing off piers. 

“There’s a lot of thought behind everything we do,” he said. “Everything we do is handmade from beginning to end.”

Family & Teamwork

The meaning behind the name of RGV Lures isn’t what one would assume. 

Martinez and his family are very much rooted in the Rio Grande Valley, but the RGV in the company’s name represents a combination of names of his two children and son-in-law.  

It makes sense since RGV Lures is entirely a family affair. Martinez is the patriarch and overseer with all of the seasoned knowledge of fishing learned from years of catching and practicing the sport. Son-in-law Juan Hernandez designs the lures and with the help of his wife, Diamond, goes through the multiple steps of making the lures. It involves molds, liquid plastics, melting pots and paints to get to the finished products.

Diamond handles all of the business affairs, paying bills and taxes, while being active on social media platforms promoting the company. Each family member has his or her role. How they work together and collaborate reflects in the selection of lures their company offers.

Online sales are brisk. Retail sales and locations are growing. Stores up and down the Texas coast from Houston/Galveston to Aransas Pass to Port Isabel stock the company’s lures.

Martinez talks of being out on the bay waters and having fellow fishermen see him and say, “Hey, there’s Mr. RGV.” The thought of it makes him smile as does the pride the family takes when they get feedback of how well their lures work. 

“It’s exciting to hear them say they caught their personal best using our lures,” Diamond Hernandez said after her father showed cell phone photos of happy fishermen with big catches. “What motivates us is the testimonials of fishermen.”

It adds to the motivation this family gives to each other in recognizing what each member brings to the business.

“I’m proud of them,” Martinez said of his daughter and son-in-law. “We stand behind each other.”