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

Fishing the Ultravibe Speedworm

Everyone seems to have one bait that they can always count on, one they know will catch fish. Some would call it your confidence bait. Without a doubt, my confidence bait is the Zoom Ultravibe Speedworm. If you are not familiar with the bait, it’s basically a paddle tail worm with a slit cut in the tail. The tail is key to everything about this bait and the action is second to none. It comes in two sizes, the 5 ¾ inch version and the Magnum 7 inch version. Since it’s made by Zoom, the color selection is diverse and proven. My favorite is the regular sized version in Junebug.

This year, the Ultravibe did very well for me and caught both numbers of fish as well as big fish for me. I had the great fortune of being Angler of The Year in the BFL Gator Division on the Co-Angler side and it was almost all because of the Ultravibe Speedworm. Each tournament, it played a big role and caught fish for me.

When it comes to fishing with this worm, the techniques and applications are endless. My favorite way to go Ultravibin’ is to fish a 5 ¾ inch size worm with a 3/0 Owner Offset worm hook and a 3/16 oz Eco Pro Tungsten weight on 15 pound Seaguar IvizX. In Florida, we are blessed with lakes that are full of a variety of grass species; Kissimee Grass, Reeds, Hydrilla, Lily Pads, Pepper Grass and more. All of these places are good places to start, but anytime you have a mix of grass you increase your odds. I like to focus on sporadic patches of grass and reel it slowly over the grass and let it fall in between the holes in the grass. Let it sink and then start reeling again. For Lily Pads and Reeds, I like to yo-yo the bait between the deeper stalks. If you have ever fished a swim jig, it is the same concept. The fish will tell you what retrieve they want that day, so adjust to what they want.


Besides the standard Texas-rig and sinker, the Ultravibe can be fished in many other ways. For the Magnum sized bait, I like to fish it weightless and reel it on top of the water like a soft plastic frog. The tail creates a great buzzing action and the fish will really attack the bait. Because the bait is so thick, casting this bait without a weight is effortless. Another way to fish this bait is on the Carolina-rig and I have done very well with the smaller size attached to a C-Rig and ½ oz weight. The bait design allows the bait to be fished in numerous ways and I still haven’t found a way that didn’t work.

If you are looking for a new confidence bait, or maybe just a new way to catch fish; try the Ultravibe Speedworm and hold on.

By Tyler Brinks

A Lookback At 2010, The Year of Sasquatch!!

Although the Season is not quite "Over" Many of us are heading to the deer stand instead of the boat ramps... All except Those of us hardcore folks.

As many of you may know, or at least i hope you know, i started Sasquatch Soft Plastics in December of 2009, so this season really was the "inagural" season for the company...

I had a Good Tournament Season in 09 fishing BFL's And Stren Series Events as a Co-Angler, Made My First Top-10 in only my 4th ever tournament and cashed a respectable check. but took this year off... Bought my first bass boat, a 2001 Triton TR-20 and Did what anyone SHOULD do when buying there first bass boat and spent some time Learning how to drive it...

I myself caught my first Sasquatch Bass in early april ( Green pmpkn 3/4 oz football jig with matching SSP 4" Edah Craw) but the year really started off with a bang in March when i asked a former boating partner and friend, Steve Ives, to try some of my 4" E-Dah craws in a FLW AFS touney he had coming up on Lake Of the Ozarks. Steve Ended up Placing 4th overall in the Event...

Now in 2010, my plan was to not only spend time learning to get used to my new boat, but also learning some new techniques i had learned from some respectable anglers in my 09 season. Being a Hardcore spinnerbait & flipper i knew this would be quite the task. While these techniques do win tournaments, lets be honest... Being versatile wins more! So i spent some time offshore, which is not easy when not having top of the line electronics mind you.. I took some time carolina rigging, deep cranking, finesse fishing and even, with the introduction of the Sasquatch Soft Plastics 5.25" Spooky Fluke, fishing docks with a fluke instead of a spinnerbait... Belive me, it was hard!!

Now saying that i am a die-hard spinnerbait angler obviously rules out most plastic baits for me, as i do NOT like any trailers or trailer hooks for that matter in the way.... So it wasnt until the Triton Owners Tournament in June on Kentucky lake that i really got to see my Product line really shine..... As most of you may know already, June + Kentucky Lake = Offshore. So time to ditch the Sniper Spinnerbait rod and do what i had been working on all spring ( when not in less that 1 ft of water sight fishing ) and bust out the cranks and football jigs. With the first cast it might as well have been my first day using a baitcaster... Im feeling things with my rodtip ive NEVER felt before... shellbeds, dropoffs from 6 ft straight to 30 ft.. I didnt know what to think, but i knew it had to be a haven for large fish.. I used a watermelon red, green pumpkin and black and blue 4" Edah Craw and 3.5" Skunk Ape on all of my jigs and the bass inhaled them! Also got into a school of fish on the second day that wouldnt let my double fluke rig hit the water without gobbling it up. That trip made me more confident in my own product than i can even write about. And while not doing so well in the tournament i still learned valuble lessons that i will never forget.

Upon returning home from Kentucky Lake i began to have a new respect for those offshore guys and spent a good deal of the rest of the season studying Navionics Maps on my iphone and really learning how things work offshore. But i always had my spinnerbaiting and flipping background to fall back on if the offshore game did not pan out the way i planned. And i will admit that most of my fish this year were caught while fishing in my comfort zone which brings me to this...

Growing up we learn to recognize & idolize anglers by there strengths, for me KVD was the guy who could sling a spinnerbait faster than anyone in the game, Dion Hibdon is the Jig Fishing king and Larry Nixon was a Worm fishing wizard.... So at what point do i ditch my comfort zone techniques and move offahore to play with the rest of the guys whose strengths are just that, offshore fishing. This trip i took to kentucky lake in early october proved to myself that even with a kentucky lake stick in the boat, i can still catch quality fish the way I fish... My heart tells me to go with what i know, and be proud of the outcome. And im comfortable with that, its just....... Idk...... 2011 will show me if i need to rethink things. This is a Game of learning and even Bill Dance said himself that he still learns new things while on the water.

As far as Sasquatch Soft Plastics goes, i couldnt be more happy! I have amazing prostaffers. I thank you all for your continued support of some guys dream to bring something new to the plastics market. I recieve prostaff offers weekly and to all of those who apply, i thank you! I am astounded by the interest you all have in my products. I have a record of all that have applied and hope to add everyone someday.

Be sure to Look for me and my prostaffer, Allen Hackert as we fish the 2011 Bassmaster Weekend Series on Kentucky Lake!!!!

By Derek Kaalberg

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Cold Water Jig Fishing

When the water temp gets to 52 degrees what is the first lure you have in mind to throw?  For me it’s a jig and not just any jig, I think, football head jig.  My favorite spot to fish it is a river near my house.  There is a long stretch of river that has a very steep sloping bank, near shore it is a foot deep but by the time you get out 12 feet from shore your boat is in 13 to 14 feet of water.  I want to share with you my trick for getting bass in the boat, in those cold water situations.

            When I am looking for a place to fish with water temps in the low 50’s, I look for big fallen trees and deeper water (deep being 10-15 feet).  I want downed trees with a lot of branches and big trunks. In Michigan, during this time of year, the leaves are falling off the trees along the river, so I also look for places where the leaves have piled up on top of the water.  The fish will hole up in this type of coverage looking for baitfish.

            Knowing the area to fish is important and now we will discuss jig choice.  My jig of choice is an Atomic Tackle Company ½ ounce football head jig in PB&J, especially when I fish the fallen trees.  However, when I am fishing the matted leaves on the surface I change to a 1 ounce Atomic Tackle Company flipping jig in PB&J.  I like to add a Strike King Rage Tail Craw in green pumpkin or watermelon red as a trailer.  I cut off the last little bit of the Rage Tail Craw before putting it on the jig.  Here’s a tip: just a dab of super glue on the end of the plastic near the skirt will help keep your trailer from sliding.  To finish my jig presentation and help get rid of any smell given off by the super glue, I dip the jig in JJ’s Magic Sauce in the clear version unless I want a little chartreuse on the end of my trailer. 

            Then I rig the football head jig on a 7 foot medium heavy Quantum rod and 7:01 Quantum Code reel.  I use 12 pound Vicious® fluorocarbon.  I know what you’re thinking, “Why fluorocarbon?”,you can use braid if you want but I believe I have better sensitivity with the fluorocarbon which allows me to feel more bites.  As for the flipping Jig I use a 7 foot medium heavy Quantum rod and 7:01 Quantum Code reel, spooled with 50 pound Vicious® braid. 

            So, we have the place, the jig, and the rod and line choice, now let’s discuss position of the boat. When using the football jig I position my boat just outside the tree and cast into it as close to shore as I can get.  Once the jig hits the water I let out a bit of extra line and let it sink to the bottom on a slacked line.  Despite what most people may tell you, I do it this way in case a bass hits it on the way down?  I feel the slack line allows the bass to grab the jig but not feel the pressure from my reel.  If a fish has not inhaled the jig by the time it hits bottom, I slowly drag the jig back to the boat.  Bring it back slowly, because with water in the low 50’s nothing is moving fast and you want to mimic the live bait in the area.  A slow moving jig when you are fishing around fallen trees will also reduce the risk of snagging a limb.  As you work the bait  back to the boat you should feel the bait as it climbs over limbs, and it will slow down even more, and then most of the time as the jig falls back down to the bottom from the limb it will get hit by a bass. 

            When I move to fishing the leaves piled on the top of the water, I fish the flipping jig just as I would if I was punching grass mats.  I look for what is keeping the leaves from flowing down river and flip my jig on top of the leaves next to it.  Most of the time the jig will sit on top of the leaves for a moment and then sink beneath the surface, until it reaches the bottom.  Once it hits bottom without a hit, I quickly bring it back to the boat to flip again. While fishing the flipping jig I still have a semi slack line but not much, I want to be able to set the hook as soon as I feel the pressure of the fish. Most often the bass will hit the bait as it sinks downward and I want to hook it quick. 

            I hope this helps you catch those bass in cold water, when everyone else is having problems putting bass in the boat. You can develop this technique and be the envy of your buddies who have had no luck and are considering putting their boats away for winter.

By Chris McDonald

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bb-lures.com, Fish Bait Radio.com, Bass Fury, Great Lakes Christian College, Atomic Tackle Company and JJ’s Magic Sauce, centermark Coaching.