Luring in a big one

Less than five years ago, Creston Police Officer Cory Dorsey found himself in troubled waters. Having just been named the head coach of the inaugural Southwestern Community College bass fishing team, he was eager to make an impression but was almost immediately faced with a major issue. The newly formed team’s jig sponsor and supplier out of Tennessee announced he had taken a job promotion and would no longer be in the jig business.

Jigs are a popular lure used in bass fishing as a bait capable of catching larger bass on average as opposed to other fishing lures. Bass jigs have a weighted head, usually made from lead, attached to a hook with an attached skirt covering the hook. Different kinds of jigs are used to imitate bass prey like crawfish and baitfish, two of their favorite sources of food.

Jig styles, like football jigs, flipping jigs and swim jigs, each have their own special purpose dependent on the environment being fished in, including water clarity, depth and thickness of cover. They resist getting snagged in areas most other lures would be.

Dorsey has been in law enforcement for 11 years as a deputy, patrol officer, K-9 handler and investigator. While a deputy in Adams County, he became a K-9 handler, partnered with a German shepard named Baxo. The duo continued working together when Dorsey became an officer with the Creston Police Department until Baxo’s retirement in 2025.

While an officer with Creston, he was deputized by Union County Sheriff Brian Bolton so he could lead investigations outside of Creston. Creston Police Chief Cameron Hale presented the Exceptional Duty Award to Dorsey during the Jan. 21 Creston City Council meeting, recognizing him for his extensive work investigating multiple burglaries in Union County, work that resulted in five active cases being solved, two suspects being charged and more than $37,000 in stolen property being returned to its owners.

Dorsey is also Iowa Army National Guard veteran, having served from 2012-2020.

Although he calls fishing a hobby or something to do on his time off, it’s a lifelong hobby fueled by absolute passion and knowledge of the sport. Originally from Greenfield, Dorsey was a member of the Cedar Rapids Junior Bassmasters while in high school, and as a senior, moved up to Iowa Premier Bass, a National Bass Anglers Association-affiliated organization. During his first competitive year with IPB, he was a qualifier for the NBAA National Championships held on Kentucky Lake.

In his early teens, he was fortunate enough to be mentored by Thad Takes, an angler from Center Point, who is one of very few Iowa anglers to ever fish professionally. “He took me under his wing and taught me a ton about fishing and fishing on the Mississippi River,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey’s knowledge and fishing experience made him stand out when SWCC looked to begin its first bass fishing team.

“Cory is known far and wide, not only for his fishing talent and expertise, but also as an individual with strong character, a great work ethic and respect for the sport and competition,” SWCC Dean of Students and previous Athletic Director, Kim Bishop, said of Dorsey’s hiring.

It was these attributes that not only got him the position as head coach but that also pushed him into the solution for the team’s jig problem.

Problem Solving

Dorsey started researching jig suppliers in hopes of finding a new sponsor for the team. Unfortunately, most of what he found were companies willing to give a discount on purchases and jig prices between $5-$7 each.

His thoughts went back to a handmade jig given to him as a teenager. He fondly remembers the jigs’ quality and durability in comparison to many commercially sold, mass-produced jigs which Dorsey said just “fell apart.”

“Why can’t I make something like that?” Dorsey recalls thinking out loud. Little did he know that a jig given to him at least 15 years earlier would be responsible for the birth of Slack Line Jigs, his own jig business and a new sponsorship from an Iowa-based company for the SWCC bass fishing team.

It started with premade jig heads and hand-tied skirts, but the paint chipped quickly and his team was using more than he was selling. Dorsey knew he could do better and implemented some big changes that paid off.

Do-It-Molds, a Denver, Iowa, company that Dorsey calls a “pioneer of lure molds” was the solution to many of the dislikes Dorsey had on his initial jigs. The 76-year-old privately owned company provided molds not just to Dorsey, but also to the SWCC bass fishing team and became an important sponsor of the team in the process, a connection that has proven invaluable for Dorsey and that allowed SWCC anglers to learn how to use the molds to make their own lures.

With the molds, Dorsey began pouring his own lead heads and powder coating them before hand-tying the skirts on, a detail that makes the skirts nearly impossible to lose. He had a goal of making a jig for around $4, and providing them basically at-cost to high school and college anglers. He admits he will never get rich with this business model, but that doesn’t bother him. His goal with younger anglers is simply to make sure they have the tools they need for success and a good jig is one of those tools.

Finding Success

Two of those high school anglers, Evan Powell of Norwalk and Grant Nore of Grimes, fished themselves to first place in the 2025 Bass Federation/Major Fishing League Iowa High School Championship in Okoboji, using Dorsey’s jigs. The contest is the qualifying event to advance to the national championship and world finals for high school anglers. Powell and Nore, both juniors at the time, brought in a 26.31-pound bag including a 6.55-pound big fish and beat second place by 6 pounds.

Personally, Dorsey still has flashbacks of what he calls a once-in-a-lifetime day of fishing on Green Valley Lake using his own jigs about two years ago. Green Valley is one of his favorite local lakes to fish because he has spent a lot of time on it and feels “dialed in,” which was evident on that day. Dorsey found a school of bass, 150-200 he estimated, and brought in one after another, 3 to 6 pounds in size, for more than two hours. Fisherman are known for their fishing stories, but Dorsey swears this day was real.

His jig company name, Slack Line Jigs, is derived from a fishing technique of the same name. Slack Line fishing involves a deliberate, loose, untensioned line between an angler’s rod tip and the lure to allow for a a vertical fall that appears more natural and aids in preventing fish from being spooked. This technique is one of Dorsey’s preferred fishing methods.

Slack Line Jigs, solely based on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and word of mouth, has shipped orders to multiple states including Texas and North Carolina, and specializes in custom orders. Dorsey says what sets Slack Line apart from other jig companies is craftsmanship and attention to detail. Dorsey wants to provide anglers with a jig that lasts years.

“We may look like many other jig companies, but we’re far from basic,” he said of Slack Line Jigs.

A Fishing Family

Statistically, according to Dorsey, children who haven’t fished by the age of 12, generally will never get into the sport or find its joy as a hobby. Fishing for kids goes far beyond simply catching a fish. Much quality bonding is done between a child and their adult fishing partner and it provides time for meaningful interactions.

Fishing teaches patience, persistence and resilience, both in catching and not catching fish. The lesson that not all things are possible during the less than stellar fishing times becomes a teaching moment, and when taught correctly, children who are patient outperform those don’t understand the skill. In today’s fast-paced world, fishing provides kids moments to slow down and appreciate nature and offers delayed gratification as its reward. There are also practical life skills to be learned by kids who fish like problem solving, decision-making skills, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Dorsey, a father of three, has included his children and his wife Kaitlin in his love of fishing.

“Our ‘honeymoon’ was to help out with a fishing tournament, so I knew we’d be involved in the fishing circle for a while,” Kaitlin said.

Kaitlin started dating Cory during late fall and to his credit, Cory was upfront about his fishing habit, but Kaitlin brushed it off as a typical ‘guy’ hobby, that is, until the warmer months rolled around.

“I quickly learned that I had better learn to like fishing or it would be a lonely spring and summer,” Kaitlyn said jokingly. “He taught me how to fish with more than a bobber and worm, and I enjoyed outfishing him!”

Kaitlin isn’t involved in the jig-making process but said the couple’s two oldest children, Kaisley and Carson, help and have even designed some of their own jigs to sell. Her favorite part of all of it? That Cory is passing down his passion for fishing to their kids and pours his heart into it. During the warmer days when Cory is out tying jigs, you’ll find Kaisley and Carson outside practicing their casting. “Im sure by the end of the summer, he’ll have Cade (1-year old) out there casting with them.”

A Therapeutic Business

For Cory, the business and coaching is all part of the passion and that passion has produced an outlet for him personally. Jig-making has provided a therapeutic, relaxing activity for him, and he appreciates the tedious nature of the art. Kaitlin agrees.

“Cory has always said that fishing is his therapy and how he copes with what he deals with in his law enforcement career, and I think tying jigs is an extension of that. He’ll spend a couple hours out tying jigs after the rest of us go to bed.”

As an angler, Cory also appreciates what could become of each jig he makes. “This bare hook could be the hook that catches the biggest fish.”