Wounded Warriors: Gone Fishin’

A program in our area gives back to wounded warriors with a different type of therapy — out on the early morning water.  Check out the video below from the Potomac River.

Wanna play with cool terminal tackle?

AquatekO.com created the Invisa-swivel. This creation is the first of it’s kind, a see-thru-swivel for bassers?

The patent pending invention is transparent, flexible, tough, rotates without resistance and is neutrally buoyant. This is great little device for various line connection combinations. Imagine, braid and fluoro now mated with no compromise. The swivel is a dream to fish on carolina rigs

Remember dropshotting and its close relationship to line twist? By utilizing the invisa-swivel you gain less line twists with no compromise to visual advantages.

There are several swivel sizes. Use the very tiny size rated for 12 pounds of pressure for finesse applications graduating gradually for heavier applications when necessary.

When we tested the swivel we were amazed with it durability and stealth-like appearance. Tournament anglers are going to love this deal, trust us.

BASSEAST rates this idea as BRILLANT!

This is one of those creations you just have to admit is smart, really smart!

To find out more about this product go to www.AquatekO.com

Brian Huskins on Brian’s Bees Crankbaits

In a recent visit to Mt. Holly, NC, lady angler Michelle Armstrong was kind enough to introduce us to Brian Huskins, the man behind the infamous Brian’s Bees Crankbaits.  He walked us through what it takes to put together his hand made crankbaits, and we captured a bit of it to share.

To check out Brian’s Bees, visit www.brianscrankbaits.com

Mark Jones

Jeff Salmon

Name    Jeff Salmon
Birthday:    March 11, 1970
Height:    5’9″
Hometown:    Chester, VA
Family:    Wife Anne, 2 daughters Savanneh & Sydney
If you could only fish with one lure what would it be:    JIG
Favorite band:    RUSH
Boat/Motor:    Cobra Coosa 201D / Mercury 225 Optimax
Tow Vehicle:    2005 Chevy Avalanche
If you were not fishing what would you be doing:    Thinking about fishing or Playing Golf
Hero (explain):    Fishing Hero’s would be my dad and my uncle Bill. They aways took me fishing as a kid.
Career Highlights    Qualified for the Virginia State Team 4 times. Won the Lake Gaston BFL in 2009

Klein Still Not the Angler He Wants to Be

The grind was over.  A brutally tough week at Clarks Hill Reservoir in the pine hills of north Georgia was complete.  And there was “The 28-time Classic Qualifier” offering a sincere handshake to the man who had served as his ride-along observer, telling him how much he enjoyed spending the day with him.

Klein smiled as the man stepped off on the dock, and then began staring across a front deck littered with Quantum rods and reels reflecting a week of “well, that’s not working, let’s throw this at them.”

“Everyday was different,” said Klein, sweat on his forehead, sun torching his neck.  “I’ve got a history of top finishes on Clarks Hill, but angling pressure changes things, and this week was tough.  Still, no matter how tough it is, I know it’s my job to figure them out,” said Klein.

And figure them out he did.  Klein scrapped his way to 43 pounds in four stingy days – more than many of us will catch all summer.  Good enough for 5^th place in this mind-testing derby.  He walked a Gunfish across the surface at times, finessed them with lightweight, performance-tuned spinning reels at times, and then dredged the bottom with a Carolina rig using the signature series Quantum 8’0” model TGKC808F rod he designed.

“Sure, I was able to draw on history and experience.  I even drew on thoughts of things I’ve experienced at Lake Mead, Nevada while here at Clarks Hill. But what I really pulled from was all the hard work, long practice days, and map study I did here,” said Klein who at age 52, sits ranked 4^th in the Bassmaster Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year standings.  It’s another great year.  Last year was strong too. He made the Toyota Trucks Top 12 Championship.

But still it’s not great enough.  “I’m still not the angler that I want to be.  I want to win again.  I haven’t won out here since 2003, and that bothers me. “  At that point, I stop writing. It’s not like I could disagree with his self-motivation.  And at the same time, I wasn’t going to simply agree and tell him “yea, you need to get better.”

So I shut up and watched Klein stow the rods, bag his fish and walk across the weigh-in stage.  Each angler chooses the tune he wants to play as he walks on to the weigh-in stage. Tim McGraw’s “How Bad Do You Want It” begins to blare through the pine needles and the thousands of people there in the 90-degree heat to cheer for him.

And suddenly it all makes sense.  Yes, he’s still catching them.  Yes, he’s still one of the absolute best in the world.  But if that’s the song he chose to come across the stage to … and he did … then indeed, with his 29^th Classic clearly in sight, he’s still not satisfied.

“There’s always a price you pay no matter what you do.  If you’re gonna climb that mountain to the top, it always comes down to how bad do you want it?” – Tim McGraw

Murphy’s Five

Depending on where in the country you live, in May the bass can be in any one of a number of transitional phases. In the deep south, they’re probably already moving out to the ledges and their full fledged summertime patterns. In the north, where ice-out is in recent memory, they may not even be bedding yet. In the in-between ranges that most of us call home, they could be getting ready to bed, spawning, or finishing up the job — or all three. But no matter what they’re doing in your neck of the woods, IMA has a hard bait that’ll get the job done.

In addition to being one of the top young sticks on the FLW Tour, IMA pro Michael Murphy also has a Bachelors of Science in Fisheries and Aquatic Science from Purdue University. Not only can he figure out what the fish are doing on any given day, but he can also explain why things are happening. He’s developed a pretty neat system that explains how to link water temperature directly to your choice of IMA hard baits.

He calls it “The Rule of Five.”

In short, any water temperature that ends in the number 5 dictates the need for a particular lure category, while temperatures that end in zero indicate that the fish are likely in transition between two categories.

“At 45 degrees, they’re suspended off the ends of bluffs and sides of points,” he explained. “And they’ll be eating a jerkbait, like the IMA Flit. At 50, they begin their move to secondary points and into pockets. That’s when I’ll start to transition to the Rock N Vibe and the IMA Shaker. At 55, you’re looking at 12 hour days, and the crawfish are usually starting to move. That’s when the shallow crankbait bite really starts to pick up. At 60, they’re getting ready to spawn and at 65 they’re in the full-blown spawn. That’s when they start to transition to the post-spawn topwater bite with the Skimmer and the Roumba. At 75, they’re in their summer patterns, transitioning back out toward the ends of the points. There’s also usually a shad spawn in there somewhere.”

The trend “mirrors itself” in the Fall, he added.

“They’re doing the same thing at the same temperatures, but for slightly different reasons. At 65 they’re back up shallow and they’ll eat the topwater. At 55, the Rock N Vibe and the Shaker come back into play. And at 45, they suspend again and I fish the Flit.”

One corollary to this rule is that mini-fronts and heat waves also determine bait choice, so if Murphy experiences a cold front in the summer, he’ll bring the Shaker and the Flit back out. If it’s just shy of 60 and there’s a warming trend, the Roumba can be deadly. “Sometimes you need to kick back a gear or kick forward a gear,” he said.

U.S. Reel Joins PAA as Associate Sponsor

U.S. Reel Joins PAA as Associate Sponsor

BENTON, Ky. (May 24, 2010) – U.S. Reel has joined the Professional Anglers
Association as an Associate Sponsor of the 2010 PAA Bass Pro Shops
Tournament Series presented by Carrot Stix, as well as the organization and
its Affinity Partner Program.

Based in St. Louis, U.S. Reel produces three SuperCaster spinning reel
models featuring a wide spool design and four SuperCaster baitcasting reels
with the patent-pending Angled Bar Levelwind and Reverse Rotation Spool.
Designs on both reels assist anglers with casting distance while reducing
line twist and backlash.

U.S. Reel will be featured at PAA events, in television coverage and at the
PAA Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series presented by Carrot Stix throughout the
season. The first of four Tournament Series events is July 8-10 on Cherokee
Lake in Morristown, Tenn.

“We believe the PAA is an up-and-coming organization and the opportunity is
great for us,” said Jack Pieschl with U.S. Reel. “We’re eager to get out and
see what we can do together. We’re a small, young company and believe there
is a huge opportunity to grow with the organization.”

The lineup of U.S. Reel spinning reels includes the SX, SL and X series,
prominently featuring the wide spool design, which aids in casting distance
while reducing line twist. Internal carbon fiber components reduce the
weight of the reels, as well. The SDS drag provides steady reliability and
provides confidence.

In the baitcasting lineup, the SuperCaster 1000, 1000 Pro, Hibdon 800SX and
700X reels all feature the Angled Bar Levelwind, or ABLe, and reverse
rotation spool. The ABLe system eliminates the levelwind eye so line flies
off the spool straight and without friction. With the reverse rotation
spool, the pinion gear is moved to the inside of the main gear. This allows
the gears to maintain contact longer, resulting in a reversal of the spool’s
rotation and longer life with the gear system.

“The PAA is proud to be associated with U.S. Reel, a company with roots in
the heart of some of the nation’s best fishing,” said Danny Blandford, PAA
Program Director. “U.S. Reel has grown from Day 1 and continues to do so,
and the PAA looks forward to working with the company this season and
beyond. “

In addition to the sponsorship of the Tournament Series, U.S. Reel is also
offering a great retail program for PAA members through the enhanced PAA
Affinity Partner Program. Members can simply log in to the Members Site and
get special Members-Only pricing on the innovative SuperCaster reels.

“In many cases they can save more than the price of their PAA membership
with only one reel purchase,” Blandford said. “That’s a great buy for them
and adds tremendous value to being a PAA member.”

U.S. Reel signed championship anglers Guido and Dion Hibdon of Missouri
along with Jimmy Houston of Oklahoma in 2009. No strangers to quality
equipment after decades of tournament and recreational fishing, the Hibdons
and Houston have added their input.

“It’s made all the difference in the world with their names, and their
brands are second to none,” Pieschl said. “The recognition is hard to come
by when you’re starting out, so the association with these guys is solid.
The credibility issue is big.

“The Hibdons have stayed with their sponsors for years because once they
find a brand they’re satisfied or happy with, they stay there,” he added.
“Jimmy has decades with his companies and brings an audience that is second
to none and huge for U.S. Reel. The brand recognition and name has gone
through the roof.”

For more information about U.S. Reel, visit www.usreel.com

About the PAA: The Professional Anglers Association is a non-profit
organization that gives professional anglers a unified voice in order to aid
in the growth of the sport of professional bass fishing. The PAA also aims
to administer educational programs to the average angler, to increase
enjoyment of the sport, and to embrace sound conservation practices to
further the future of the sport. Web: www.fishpaa.com
Lockerblogger: lockerblogger.com/sports
Facebook: facebook.com/fishpaa
Twitter: twitter.com/proanglersassoc

Contact:
Alan Clemons
PAA Communications Director
alan@fishpaa.com

Xcite Baits’ Raptor Tail Craw

If you are like me, walking into any tackle shop to pick up a few packs of baits is pretty much over. Once you walk through the door, you are greeted by the familiar aroma of garlic that would make any Italian restaurant pale in comparison. Bags of soft plastics in any shape, size and color that you could imagine fill every corner of the store. Minutes turn into hours as we open each bag, scrutinizing what lies inside in the way a master jeweler would examine the most precious of diamonds. Finally, after ignoring the multiple phone calls from the wife wondering if you plan on coming home before the kids graduate college, you find it. Once it touches your hand, you know that this is what you have been looking for. To the average person, it might look like any one of hundreds of plastics out there, but to you, it’s a work of art. This is how I felt the first time I held the new Raptor Tail Craw from Xcite Baits.
The Raptor Tail Craw is a much needed breath of fresh air back into the creature style baits market. The first thing that sparks you attention when you hold it in your hands for the first time is how soft this bait is. With a body profile that is a perfect 4.25” in length, the Raptor Tail Craw will hold any 5/0 extra wide gap hook with ease. The craw section of the bait produces an obscene amount of action when the bait is in motion. Unlike the majority of creature style baits that are on the market these days, the Raptor Tail Craw is injected without salt. This allows the claws to rise up when the bait is paused and also attributes to the softness of the body.
One of the problems that I have found with fishing a lot of the creature baits that are out there today is that you are limited in how you can fish them. For flipping and pitching, there isn’t a lot of difference in the baits, but beyond that is where most of them fall short. This is not the case with the Raptor Tail Craw. For flipping and pitching, it is the perfect bait. It goes through any kind of cover with ease, and with the soft body, there are no concerns about the hook penetrating the bait. But unlike other creature baits, the Raptor Tail is not a one-dimensional bait. As the business end of a Carolina Rig, it is lethal – paired with an Xcite Baits X-Lock jig head, you are now entering into the world of “power shaky head” fishing as Aaron Martin pointed out. Dress any jig with it, and you have one mean combination. This bait is truly limited only to the angler’s imagination.
Now, I can sit here and list all of the reasons why this bait is the greatest thing smoking and try to convince you with a bunch of big words to run out and buy every one that you can get your hands on, but if you are like me, it takes more than that. As they say in the great state of Missouri, “show me!” How about 2 Texas Share Lunkers over 13 lbs, numerous documented trophy bass and countless tournament wins in just less than four months that it’s been on the market.
The Raptor Tail Craw currently comes in 7 varieties of colors: Watermelon Red, Green Pumpkin Red, Junebug, Black Neon, White Lightning, Sprayed Grass and Molten Craw and is absolutely saturated in Xcite Baits trademark scent. Fortunately for us, the current version of the Craw is the first in a series of 3 that will be available. Soon to come will be a chunk-style version and a smaller flipping style variation of the Raptor Tail Craw.
As tournament anglers, once we find a bait or presentation that we have total confidence in; we will stick with it for all it’s worth. Being fortunate enough to find one particular bait that will provide the versatility that you need to be successful and still maintain that confidence is not only rare, but a puzzle that most don’t find the answer to. With the Raptor Tail Craw, you have that and more. This is where I am supposed to tell you that if you don’t have a box full of these in your boat you would be crazy and you will never catch another fish if you don’t, but we know that isn’t true. What I can tell you, though, is that if you want to increase the amount of fish that you catch, have a better chance to upgrade on the size of fish, and give yourself a weapon that you can count on day in and day out, then you do need a boatload of the Raptor Tail Craw; that is, unless you fish the same trails that I do…….!

VA Federation Nation Qualifier

From Lake Anna, VA 5.23.10

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