Painting Perfection

Have you ever walked into your favorite tackle store, you know, the place you call your second home,  the aisles have become second nature, you know exactly right where your preferred hard bait  is hanging.  We all do it, those of us who are constantly on the hunt for that new crank bait that doesn’t track, that will run the true depth as stated and has very quality components. Thing is, you’ve found what you came for, but, one problem, their out of your color. Or as you remembered from your last trip on the water, those chunky spotted bass are chasing blue backs. You are standing there, wondering, “what if” you could key in on your home waters forage. I am saying, those key blues, greens, silvers. Why not consider taking that square bill, suspending jerk bait, lipless shad imitator and have it essentially “match the hatch”? Well now is your chance, the option is out there, and there are several artists to choose from. I have recently had the pleasure of talking some with two great artists, Rob Jordan, owner and artist of Xtreme Lure Creations in Suwanee, Georgia. Checking out some of Rob’s work, from his large variety of shad patterns, to a bluegill/sunfish  scheme and his largemouth and spotted bass patterns that are unmatched, Rob can definitely bring your tackle box to life and put more in your livewell on any given day. Check out his work and see what he has up his sleeve next at XtremeLureCreations.com, you wont be disappointed.

I also had the pleasure to chat some with Dwain Batey, owner and artist of Bait Werks from Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Dwain, like Rob and many of the other artists in the industry, does some very detailed work, redefining the shad patterns, craw patterns and even some realistic bass patterns.  You will even find some one off, color specific requests from some of these guys, that keep you guessing what is next, and what can I think of that will work for me on my home waters or that next tournament that will give me that advantage over my competition. You can check out Dwain’s work at BaitWerks.com, he has even released some new colors and patterns taking the custom lure painting scene strong into 2011 and beyond. These were just two options, two guys doing what they do best, simply…..painting perfection! 

By: Cale Milam

It's Time for My 2010 Christmas List

Last year I posted a Christmas Wish List of my Top 5 items for 2009.  I was a good boy and ended up getting four of them throughout the year (didn't end up getting the Citica).  I have been making a list for a few months now and had to expand this year's list to my Top 10 items (in no particular order).

1. Shimano Caenan Reel. Shimano has long been know for making great reels.  The new entry to the lineup is the Caenan.  It's priced right and ready to fish.  I have played around with this reel at the store and I was really impressed. At $89.99 you can't go wrong with this reel.

2. iRod Punch Rod For heavy cover and big bass you need a strong rod.  The Punch Rod delivers everything you need to punch a heavy weight all day.  I had the chance to use my buddy's iRod a few weeks ago and didn't want to give it back after using it.  It's light, strong, and ready to work.  I need to get one of these in time for the upcoming tournament season.

3. Paycheck Baits Head Case.  The perfect addition to your soft plastic swimbaits and Senkos.  The proven design is a must have on lakes with grass. 

4. ZMan Chatterbait TrailerZ series.  The Chatterbait is a proven fish catcher, and now with the addition of the extended skirt as a trailer, you can show them something they can't resist.  I have some in Sexy Shad and Black/Blue on order and I know they are going to be great for pre-spawn fish.

5. Norman Lures Flat Broke Crankbait.  I know, I already have some and love them, but can't I ask for some more?  This crankbait works wonders around wood and rocks.

6. Bass Brigade Gear.  I have become a big fan of the Bass Brigade movement and I have been looking for a way to show it.  The new Bass Brigade lineup of shirts and hats will make it happen.  I am impressed with their first release of goods and waiting to see what they have in store for us next.  

7. Power Team Lures Craw D'oeuvre.  After watching that video of JP DeRose and those monster smallies, I have to get some of these.  I know they won't be good for just smallies and I have plans on flipping and pitching these this year. I'm loving the Black Blue swirl color.

8. Sufix 832 Braid.  Some would argue that braided line is braided line and it doesn't make a difference when you are fishing heavy cover.  I would disagree.  After having line snap on hook-sets and braid that gets old and unusable after a few trips, I have been looking for something more reliable.  The 2010 ICAST Best New Line winner is up to the challenge.  They say it is the most durable braided line ever because of technology like the added Gore Performance Fibers (think Gore-Tex) fibers and precision braiding.  I am anxious to get some of this line and put it to the test on Lake O. 

9. Sebile Soft Weight System Sebile has been dominating the awards at trade shows across the globe with their new products.  The Sebile Soft Weight System is a combination of super sharp hooks and Tungsten gum rubber weights.  The system comes in different sizes of hooks and weights.  I am looking to use this system on my Flukes and Senkos.  

10. Stanley Back Weighted Double Take Hooks.  I am already a believer in the two hook design of the Double Take hook.  I have used them and honestly believe my hook-ups have increased using soft plastic frogs.  The weighted back design will allow for longer casts and will make sure the frog stays upright no matter what you do to it on the retrieve.

If I am good, I should have all of these items in stock in time for my busy Spring tournament season.  What's on your Christmas list? Did I miss anything?

How To Winterize your Boat

It’s getting close to time for winter in Michigan and the dreaded task of putting the boat up for winter is looming.  So what does someone need to do if they are going to winterize their boat for the winter?  I hope to give you an easy check list for those of us stuck in the north and with no choice, except to put the boat up for another year.

            Let’s begin with the engine.  The heart of your boat is one thing you don’t want to let the winter take its toll on.  In states where freezing weather occurs you don’t want water in your gear case or engine.  When the water freezes it can cause serious problems like a cracked engine block or a cracked gear case.  This can cost serious money to fix or replace. 

There are a few things you will need before you get started.  You will need a flat head screw driver, fogging fog, “ear muffs” or container to run motor in, STA-BIL and lower end gear oil.

            You will need to run your engine when putting it up for the winter.  You can place the lower end in a container of water so you don’t over heat your engine, but I have found that the “ear muff” attachment for a hose works best.  You want to start the motor and disconnect the fuel line.  You are doing this to clear all the gas out of your engine.  You will want to give the carburetors a shot of the fogger.  Before all the gas is used up your motor will begin to run ruff, when this happens give the carburetors a bigger shot of the fog this will help make sure the engine is coated in the fog. 

            Now you want to remove the engine from the container of water or take off the “ear muffs”.  Put the motor strait up and down, this may mean you need to crank your trailer way down or even put the tongue of your trailer on the ground.  Let the water drain from the pick up on your lower end.  Some engines have drain plugs you can open, check your owner’s manual to see if you have one.  You also need to drain the water from the motor itself.  You can hand crank your fly wheel a few times or crank the motor a few times.  Like I said if you live in the north where it freezes this step is critical, if all the water is not out of the motor you could end up with some serious repair bills come spring.

            Once you have removed all the water from your lower end and the motor, you need to remove the spark plugs.  Once you have removed the spark plugs spray the fogger in to each spark plug hole.  Since you have the spark plugs out it is a good time to inspect the spark plugs.  Make sure they are gapped correctly, if the spark plug looks bad take this chance to replace it.  Once you have fogged the spark plug holes and checked over your spark plugs put them back in.

             Now we come to the point in the task that has two theories when dealing with the gear oil in the lower end.  Some say you need to drain the lower end oil and fill it back up all the way.  I, however, was taught that you need to drain the lower end oil and leave it out until spring.  The idea in both theories is that you want no water in the lower end.  By draining the lower end you are removing the water.  Some say that filling up the lower end with gear oil will push any water still in there out.  Like I said I was taught to drain all the oil out and leave the plugs out so any water can run out.

            Now let’s turn our attention to the fuel in your boat.  The most damaging thing that can happen come spring if you take care of winterizing your motor is water in your fuel.  Once again there are two theories on dealing with your fuel when winterizing your boat.  Some will fill the fuel tank all the way up, the idea behind this is that if your gas tank is completely full there is no room for condensation to build up and ruin the gas.  If this is what you chose to do I recommend that you use a fuel additive such as STA-BIL (which can be bought at any auto parts store or boat dealer) to help combat this.  The other option is to drain the fuel tank.  You can take it in and have it done by a professional (safest option) or you can siphon the fuel tank yourself.  Please if you do this yourself be careful.

            From the motor we turn our attention to the boat itself.  First and for most make sure you remove the drain plug from the boat.  You don’t want any water in the haul of your boat.  If it freezes you can develop a crack in the fiber glass and have serious problems.  Make sure that you jack the front of your boat so all the water in the haul runs out the back end of the boat.

            If you live in extremely cold areas of the country you may want to consider bringing your batteries indoors.  You want to make sure your batteries are fully charged.  This is a good time to check the water levels in the batteries and make sure they are full, if not fill them.  If you move your batteries into your house leave them on a trickle charge or don’t charge them at all.  Every so often you can check the batteries and see if they are still charged and if they are not you can charge them.

            When you are putting up your boat for the winter, it’s also a great time to clean out your boat.  Over the summer we all tend to accumulate things in the boat that we don’t need.  So this is a great time to clean out all the unneeded items in your boat.  I also take out all my tackle and store it in the house.  I want to keep it from getting mice in it.  It’s also a good time to go through your tackle and reorganize it (more to come on that subject at a later time).

            The last thing to deal with then winterizing your boat is your trailer.  This is a great time to make sure that the wheels are greased and if the bearings need re packing this is a great time to take care of it.  It also a good time to check your lights and make sure they are working properly, or even need to be replaced.

            I hope if you live in the cold climate these tips will help you so if you take them to heart next spring when you fire up the boat you don’t have an unwanted surprise in the form of a giant repair bill. 

Wintertime For the Weekend Tournament Angler

So I Start Noticing when Getting Home From 3rd Shift That on my Covered Triton Tr-20 Sitting in the driveway that had been acustomed to many morning trips this summer, ( kind of a drive home-unplug-hook up-and get gone kind of scenario repeated randomly throughout the week) is progressivly getting covered more and more with frost from cold illinois nights. "Not Yet!" i think to myself wondering where in the world the warm weather has slipped off to...

Time to face reality i suppose as living in the midwest isnt quite as fair on us as it is on my Southern friends. Following trucks in the morning pulling small trailers with camoflaged ATV's should have been my hint, but i still wait out those unseasonbly warm days to hook up the boat and get on the water. When Those Days seem to be a shot in the dark here is the break down.

First and foremost get the boat winterized!! 

I just call up the dealership where i bought it from, schedule an appointment, and drop it off. They can usually get it done within a days time and this year i was even able to pick it up a few hours after i dropped it off. 

My Parents own a Marina on the Mississippi River and i have seen my share of Large Yachts and Housebouats get winterized but i still choose to have my dealership winterize the boat for me for a couple reasons.

• Generate Buisness For The Dealership in an economy that has not been too kind to the Marine industry

• Peace Of Mind That the winterization is being done correctly; these guys do this for a living there has to be something good about that as opposed to me struggling with it on a Saturday afternoon

•Probably the MOST important reason for me taking my boat to the dealership for maintnance is so they know i am taking the time to take care of my boat by professionals and not taking shortcuts to save a few bucks. This helps in total resale of the boat when i want to trade it in on a newer model down the road. This way they have documented every single time i have taken the boat in to them and they know exactly what has been done to the boat.

After the Mind is at ease that my Outboard will more than likely start March when i start Fishing again, it is time to stare at the Moutainous pile of tackle that has accumulated in my Basement.

What to do? 

My Custom soft plastics buisness keeps me quite busy year round, but in between orders to keep my mind at ease an for a little change of pace these are some things i do while theres a foot of snow on the ground and 8" of ice on my favorite lakes..

I like to start one project at a time....first thing that comes to mind when looking at all of this tackle sitting in front of me is "I wonder just how much tackle of mine is sitting on the bottom of the lakes on a stump or in a brush pile" ( Hint: Some Lakes drop there water levels in late fall so i go back and have retrieved SOME tackle i had lost in the summer while flipping brush and laydowns ) so i think one technique at a time... Crankbaits, Texas Rig, Spinnerbaits, Jigs are all things that tend to get snapped off. Take the time to go through your inventory and replace all these things and even re organize each box. Small things Save Big amounts of time while on the water in Tournament Situations

Take a Look at all hooks, sharpen and replace them if necessary

A Small Thing that i also do is take all my rods one by one and take the reels off and wipe my rods down, usually with just warm water to get any algae & hard water spots off of the blank. Then ill take a cotton Q-tip and get each end wet with warm water and swab out the line guides. I like to use Braided Line on My Spinnerbait rod and Flippin stick which brings in alot of debris and leaves line guides straight up filthy.

As far as the reels go, i take warm water and wipe off any algae build-up on the line guide an on the outside face of the reels. I leave the strenuous cleaning to my local Bait shop. They Call it COAG service on the reels COAG being a synonym for Clean, Oil and Grease. They take the reel completly apart and use special cleaning solutions to clean every part of the gears and bearings in the inner workings of the reel. The best part about taking my reels to the Shop i take mine too is that they hire High School Kids on the Moline High School Bass Fishing Team to help out in the shop, This gets High School kids into Tournament Fishing and they really get to learn every little part of the industry.

March Really isnt THAT far away and ill be Back on the water, so now is the time to control the few aspects of this game that i can...

Hopefully This Helps Ease the Start of Cabin Fever With a Little something to keep you occupied as well!

CATCH A MONSTER!!!

By: Derek Kaalberg

Small waters Big fishing

With an ever changing up and down economy, many of us have felt the hurt of trying to follow our passion of bass fishing. Many major corporations have taken a downturn along with us as consumers  and the money we invest has become very slim. I’ve followed the old golden rule of if there is a will, there is a way. With that said, I did my homework, and purchased a new Alumacraft and began to build a full custom reservoir boat. This was a pretty cheap investment in construction, doing everything myself from paint, flooring and add ons such as trolling motors, batteries and a reputable Humminbird unit.  It has been a fun build, I completed the construction around mid March, and from there I was ready to hit the water. I did some research, found some very quality fisheries in my area, and also found a few traveling tournament series that operate much like their counterparts. For someone looking to pursue a professional career in tournament fishing and can also help the serious angler fine tune his skills, test some new lures or just simply get away from the pressure of everyday life for a much cheaper investment. Aluminum johnboat fishing is a key component all around for those wanting to spend a little and learn a lot on smaller waters where the fishing pressure isn’t bad, and the payoff for a trophy bass is quite great. Give it a try if haven’t already, a lot of fun and a little money, hit up the small waters for some big fishing.

By Cale Milam

Trokar® Hooks: Does the Hook Live Up to the Hype?

All anglers have faced the challenge of setting the hook on a fish, and coming up empty handed.  At times we don’t set the hook hard enough, which allows the fish to come free from the hook.  Trokar has come out with the sharpest fishing hook on the market to help us catch more fish.  Trokar hooks are surgically sharpened and allow an angler to set the hook with less force.  The three sided cut makes the hook sharpening process different from all other hooks on the market and allows an angler to set the hook with less force and still have a better hook up with that fish you are fighting. 

            I have always been a Gamakatsu hook man, but when I got a call from Lazer Trokar® to test out the new Lazer Trokar hooks, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  When the hooks arrived, the first thing I did was get in touch with Shaw Grigsby, one of the pros who helped design the hook shape and someone who uses Trokar hooks exclusively.

Grigsby told me that no matter how many fish you catch with it will never dull.  To be honest I wouldn’t believe it if I had not put the Trokar hook to my own test.  I took the Trokar TK 130 flipping hook and drove the point into a block of wood repeatedly.  Then I took the same hook and used it to pitch and flip with.  The hook still set easily into the mouth of the bass.  According to tests, the Trokar hook needs less force to set the hook.  This has shown in my own fishing experience.  It seemed that every bass I caught on the Trokar hooks set themselves, even when pitching and flipping.

            The high carbon steel that is used to make the hooks show its strength and stands up to the toughest logs and still comes back in the same shape as when you started.  The Trokar B.A.R.B. works wonders as well.  It holds the plastic in place, securely like nothing I have ever seen.  With two barbs it keeps the plastic in place better then just one barb like on other hooks.  This allows you to spend less time pushing your soft plastic back into place between casts.  With 11 types of hooks there is a Trokar hook for every application.

            Trokar hooks are also being used by lure makers as well.  Wayne of Atomic Tackle Company (atomictacklecompany.com) even offers hand poured jigs with Trokar hooks you can order casting jigs in 3/8, ½, 3/4 and 1ounce with these awesome Trokar hooks.

            There are drawbacks with the Trokar hooks.  According to Grigsby “You can’t use the Trokar hooks for practice”.  The reason for this is because you will not be able to shake the fish loose before getting it back to the boat.  There is also the price of the hooks.  A package of four hooks runs around $10.  If you consider how sharp the hooks are and the fact that I have not lost a fish using the hooks, it is money well spent in my opinion.  I believe that the hook lives up to what Trokar says, and that ten dollars may be the difference of winning a tournament or losing it. In that case, does the ten dollars really make a difference?   

           

Now that I have tried the Trokar hooks and seen what they can do, I know that I cannot go back.  The point on the hook is too good and there is nothing like it out there.  So if you want a better hook up ratio and want to lose less fish do yourself a favor and go get some Trokar hooks today.  For more information about Lazer Trokar hooks visit www.lazertrokar.com

By Chris McDonald

Have You Heard of the Neko Rig?

Have you heard of the Neko Rig? It's the newest thing to hit the U.S. from Japan and it's basically a new way to wacky-rig a soft plastic worm. One of my favorite ways to catch them is with a wacky-rigged senko or a flick shake, but this is different. As always with new techniques, the tackle companies are putting out some great new products to use when fishing.

One of these items is a Damiki Neko Sinker, which is really cool and allows you to put a screw-in type weight into one side of the worm so it falls faster on one side. Lunker City also makes a version of the weight. You could also fish it with the weights in both sides to get to deeper water much quicker. I have been hearing about this technique for a few years now after tournaments on deep California waters like Lake Shasta. In fact, Brent Ehrler won the FLW Series event earlier this year with help from this technique.

Bassfan talked about another item the Neko Rig Master, which "makes it much easier to wacky rig finesse plastics, or any other type of plastic bait. The product is a copper screw – much like the screw-locks on hooks – but on top is a rubber section that securely holds a hook. Anglers can therefore screw in the product anywhere on a soft-plastic bait for all sorts of wacky-rig configurations. Plus, there's much less plastic in the hook gap.

Wacky-rig a tube so it falls backward and into cover. Wacky rig a soft-jerkbait so it swims perpendicular to the boat and under docks.Wacky rig a Senko and save serious money without having to mess with rubber O-rings." Bassfan.com

No matter how you fish it, I think technique is going to work!

bassfan.com