ICAST is the vehicle for participating manufacturers to release news and information regarding planned products for the upcoming year. Many of the representatives of these manufacturers are also affiliated with other companies who have something in the works but weren’t quite ready in time to participate in the big event.

Many of these individuals have befriended us and can’t wait to see us at this or any other show so that they can give us a peak at what’s in the works. 90% of these peaks are off the record so we can’t share them with all of you until it is safe for the manufacturer in question to release said information.

This past year, we got a peak at a couple of items that we are free to share…

Coming soon from Bass Patrol - a swiveling hook jighead

This head will be released in multiple colors

Progress is quick with this new Bass Patrol offering. Just days before ICAST, we received a spy-cam image of the prototype for this jighead – unfinished and with a generic brand hook. At ICAST we were shown these intricate, finished colors and the heads featured what looked to be hooks by Gamakatsu. The last detail is still under negotiations, but that’s how quickly things are progressing. There’s no official release date but at this rate, we expect to see this product very soon on tackle store shelves and pegboards…. stay tuned.

For this next item, all we are allowed to share is the photo… no explanation of what to expect, and no explanation of when. Just look and develop your own conclusions:

what makes this product exciting? we know, but we can't tell you.

Stay tuned as we sift through more photos in an effort to bring you the unofficial word from this year’s ICAST.

TackleTour is in full ICAST mode as we are set to depart in just four short days to Las Vegas where we’ll be be pounding the showroom floor and our keyboards enroute to bringing you the best coverage we possibly can. Even with North America’s biggest tackle show of the year less than a week away, product continues to appear at TT headquarters as manufacturers compete for our time and attention.

Less than a month ago, we brought you our review of Paycheck Bait’s versatile Punch Skirt and just this morning, we received a box of new product from this aggressive young company, but are any of these items as exciting as their debut product?

Repo Man: It’s no secret that PayCheck Baits has garnered the rights to most all of the former Reaction Innovations non-soft bait products. First it was the flipping hook, now it’s the topwater bait. That’s right, the Vixen is back, but it’s undergone a gender change and is now known as the Repo Man. Packed with VMC hooks and available in six different colors, the Repo Man is shipping to retailers now with an MSRP of $16.99.

Baby Blue

Dead Man Walking

Blow Up

Sweaty Betty

Bone Crusher

Drag Stripper

Punch Stop: Finally, the punch stops are ready. These stops are larger than those Bub Tosh showed us during our on the water introduction to his product last July, and they appear significant enough to where you will not need to double stop your tungsten weight. If it ever warms up enough here in Northern California, we’ll be sure to verify, but it looks like the production version of the Punch Stop can handle stopping duties solo. The Punch Stop is shipping to stores immediately and retails for $3.99 per pack of 10 individual stops.

The Punch Stops Are Ready

And will retail for 3.99 per pack

Rubber Skirts: The answer to our first question of whether or not there was anything in the box as exciting as their debut product can be answered with a “yes!”. Although technically this last item is merely an enhancement of the original Punch Skirt, the fact that the Punch Skirt is now available in living rubber is pretty exciting. There are two colors, Nasty Nate (black), and Dirty Money (brown) and right out of the package, these skirts flare much more actively than their silicone counterparts -- a prelude to the same added bulk and pulsing action jigs made out of this same material have over the same silicone skirt counterparts. The new Round Rubber Punch Skirts are also shipping to stores now and will sell for $3.99 per two pack.

Rubber Punch Skirts!

These are a lot livelier than the silicone version

And just a tad larger too

But hang on, there is “One” more bait coming… Bub promises to show us this bait at ICAST. In fact, when we announced our “Search For One” theme this year, Bub must have been paying attention because this new bait is appropriately named “The One”. Any guesses as to what it might be? Well, if you paid attention to last year’s preview, you’ll remember there was one prototype bait Zander was throwing and got mugged with. Do you remember? Well, here’s a reminder:

Naturally we have a review already in the works on the new Velvick 3D by Rago Baits, but with the buzz surrounding Velvick’s Golden State Shootout Win on Clear Lake yesterday, I thought I’d put up some sneak peak looks at this bait designed especially for Clear Lake by both Jerry Rago and Byron Velvick. They’ve been at this for several years and finally all their hard work paid off. This bait features a line through design with an exposed treble, but when rigged correctly is virtually weedless. Here’s a closer look at the bait together with a closer look of the very bait Velvick was throwing during the tournament.

Looks like the swimbait revolution just received some serious reinforcements as it does every year when a big organization like BASSMASTERS comes out west. Who said swimbaits have to be a trout? Match the hatch with large baitfish in your area and you could very well experience some of the same success as Byron Velvick.

Better yet, want to get your hands on some? Try here:

MonsterFishing Tackle

and here:

TackleWarehouse

At about 4:15pm Pacific Daylight Time, a little over six hours ago, what most people anywhere near Clear Lake already knew became official: Byron Velvick had won the 2010 Golden State Shootout on Clear Lake. The California Native brought the trophy home in exciting wire-to-wire fashion. Of course, what our readers care about most may not necessarily be the fact that Velvick took home the prize, but rather, what new and yet to be released tackle was he using?

Already reported last night on TackleTour.com was the bait Velvick was using to build on his lead, the brand new Rago BV (Byron Velvick) 3D hitch bait designed specifically for Clear Lake by Velvick and Jerry Rago. In fact, we previewed this bait back in October of 2009: http://www.tackletour.com/previewragobassjam.html

Today, we caught up with Velvick after he signed his last autograph and the crowds had cleared for an up close look at his new rods, the Duckett Fishing Micro Magic sticks. Here now is an exclusive first peak at what’s brewing over at Duckett Fishing!

Introducing Duckett Fishing's Micro Magic Sticks

Each stick will feature an exposed blank reel seat, no foregrip, and split rear grip

Speculation was for a split reel seat similar to Duckett's former rod sponsor, e21, but instead, Duckett's new sticks will feature a standard, exposed blank seat

Cork is the material of choice for the split rear grip

Custom accent rings adorn the rod as well

But of course the big news comes in a very small package ...

Micro Guides

Congratulations Byron Velvick on an incredible job swinging for the fences and delivering!

The talk of the weigh-in by all the pros was the swimbait bite, but what will interest our readers the most is what we just showed you, Velvick’s new magic wand built by Boyd Duckett and Ken Whiting, founders of Duckett Fishing. He may not have been using these sticks exclusively, afterall, the new Micro Magic swimbait sticks are still in prototype stages, but Velvick tells us the rods are very close to completion.

On this Wednesday, the 2010 Bassmaster Classic contenders are on the water for their last day of practice. Will what they find today have them scratching for a limit on Friday’s first day of competition, or scratching their heads as what to try next to figure out an unusually cold Alabama Lay Lake. We tried to help them break the ice a little by asking them a few more questions about their thoughts and strategies around their fishing and this week’s event.

1. Knowing what you know now at this point in your career about what it takes to sustain a livelihood at professional fishing and be competitive, what advice would you have for someone else wanting to chase the same dream?

Kevin VanDam (Plano pro staff) – Biggest thing is to believe in yourself. Do it your way and to your style. You have to have confidence, and it has to be about your own strengths and abilities; not about trying to emulate someone else. I have anglers telling me their accomplishments, and then want to know if I think they’re ready. My answer is always the same, “Only you can know that.”

Jeff Kriet (Sebile and Jewel Bait Co. pro staff) – I have a lot of people tell me they want to do what I do, fish for a living. But it’s really not true. They say they’re not because they don’t have the time or money. Well, I didn’t have the time or money either when I got started. But I made up my mind and went after it just like I was making a decision to start my own business. If you’ve got the guts and determination to do that, go for it. Be prepared for a ride, and do know that there are going to be sacrifices.

Todd Faircloth (Sebile pro staff)- Be patient, and be prepared for a slow start, in the beginning, especially when it comes to getting sponsors. I felt once I graduated to this level that things would happen in a hurry, but they didn’t. You have to understand that and have the staying power to hang in there until you get things going the way you want.

Kevin Short (Jewel Bait Co. pro staff) – If it’s for a college-aged person or younger, it is to get a college degree in marketing before you do anything else. Having the education and that kind of information on your side is ever bit as important as being able to catch fish. For someone older, learn whatever you can about marketing, however you can. I think it’s the single most important thing toward molding an angler for a long and successful career.

Tommy Biffle (Gene Larew Lures pro staff) – Take up golf at an early age. No, if someone is really serious about this as a career, it’s to spend as much time as possible fishing in all kinds of places and in every type of condition. I’m hearing some guys here this week saying they’ve never fished in water less than 50 degrees before. Then another guy who is in the know was excited to practice while it was snowing because he knew it’s an active time for fish. Fishing for a living, you don’t get to pick the days, times and places to go, so you better be ready to deal with what you’ve got.

Mike McClelland (Jewel Bait Co. pro staff) – Biggest piece of advice is to get an education first, focusing on marketing and business because what we do is a business first and foremost. And don’t get hung up on fishing as many different tournaments as you can. Instead, you’ll be better served by simply spending more time fishing and going to different places and situations.

2. Does cold water and weather make you change your choice of line type or weight?

Kevin VanDam – Not really. I’m pretty much using XPS fluorocarbon for everything; some braid for flipping around the grass. I do use a lot more line conditioner when it’s cold like this because it sheds water and helps keep my rod guides from freezing. I use a Palomar knot for fluorocarbon.

Jeff Kriet – No, not really. If I make any changes it will be going to heavier line because the water is stained and I can get away with it. I’ve got my Jewel jigs on 15 pound fluorocarbon; my Sebile crankbaits are on 15-20 pound test fluoro. I use a San Diego Jam knot on my fluorocarbon, it’s kind of like a Double Uni.

Todd Faircloth – Not really on my line choice, but I do consciously back off on my hooksets just a little. I’m using  mostly fluorocarbon  and because they are low stretch, the extreme cold can brittle them a little so I sure don’t want to break a fish off on an over-powered set.

Kevin Short - Not much of a change. I’ve downsized a little, but mostly using the same type – fluorocarbon. As for my knot, I use an Improved Clinch or a Double Uni on the smaller diameter stuff.

Tommy Biffle – If I do make any changes it will be to bigger instead of smaller. I am using fluorocarbon, Sunline. When fishing is tough you don’t want to take any chances with bites few and far between. I think I can get away with a little bigger line.

Mike McClelland - I’m liking my green Sunline I’ve got spooled for this stained water. I’m using fluorocarbon for my bottom baits, giving me the best line properties for them. For my stickbaits, I go with their monofilament because it doesn’t sink or weight them down.

3. When you have bait that is working well in a tournament, will you have an identically rigged rod and reel with an exact duplicate of that bait on your boat?

Kevin VanDam – Absolutely. I have a backup for everything. I have to be efficient. I don’t want to waste time having to rig or change a bait when I don’t have to.

Jeff Kriet – Lots of times I’ll do exactly that, especially if I’m catching fish on a Carolina rig or drop shot that takes some time to re-rig. More commonly though, I’ve got the same kind of bait tied on but in different colors or sizes. That’s really true with my shaky heads.

Todd Faircloth - Absolutely. It’s going to be right there on my deck where I can get to it in a hurry. Well, if it’s a really hot combo, I actually will keep it in my rod locker until it’s time to fish.

Kevin Short – I’ll definitely have multiple baits at the ready, but not so much identical things tied on. Usually there will be some similar things to what I’m effectively using, but in colors and sizes that give me some more options if I’m needing to change things up in an area to get another bite or two.

Tommy Biffle - Yep, I always have identical rigs of my go-to bait, sometimes as many as three others. If you’re in a key spot, the last thing you want to have to do is lose time by having to re-rig. I like all of my rods and reels to be identical so that every time I pick one up regardless of what I have on it, it’s going to weigh and feel exactly the same.

Mike McClelland - I’ll usually have similar rigs to give me more variations instead of exact duplications. I’ll have variations of bait sizes, colors and styles.

4. Do you weigh and record each keeper fish before it goes into the livewell or what is your fish culling process?

Kevin VanDam – I wish I thought culling was going to be a problem in this Classic. But no, I don’t do that. When it becomes time to assess my catch, I typically go to a balance beam.

Jeff Kriet – I do buoy all of my fish when I catch them. That not only gives me an easy way to keep count of my fish in the livewell, but also an easy way to work with them when it’s time to cull. I use a culling beam for that. As for estimating, I like to go on the light side, then when my weight is more than that I can be as excited as the crowd.

Todd Faircloth – No, I’m not that savvy. My process is always to get a limit first, then I’ll assess my catch and identify what needs to be replaced first.

Kevin Short – I don’t weigh my fish. I do tag them. On my fifth fish I will stop to weigh and record each one so I’ll know the culling order.

Tommy Biffle – I won’t mess with my catch until I have a limit. Then I’ll use a balance beam and tag the littlest one to cull first. Yes, I have messed up on my count. Wasn’t fun and it won’t happen again.

Mike McClelland - I don’t weigh my fish at the time of the catch. Many times you’re in a situation where you catch one fish, you’ll be able to catch another immediately behind it if you’ll get your fish into the livewell quickly and your bait right back in the water. When you have a limit, it’s time to assess your catch.

5.  Imagine this: It’s the final day weigh-in and you’re in line with a limit you believe has you in contention to win. Would you rather be visiting with the other pros in line and listening to predictions, or be totally tuned out and listening to your iPod?

Kevin VanDam – That’s an exciting time, and something to be shared. So many of us fishing in this Classic are good friends, and I enjoy sharing in the thrill win a friend wins. Of course, I’ve been fortunate enough to win a couple myself. It’s a special time.

Jeff Kriet - Oh, I’d be totally tuned out. I’d have some kind of hip-hop going on. I mean old school hip-hop. Just hip-hopping out, waiting to take care of business.

Todd Faircloth – No, I won’t be tuning anything out. I want to know what’s going on. I’ll be intermingling trying to figure who’s got what and what might happen.

Kevin Short - I’ll be listening to my iPod, plugged into a little bit of everything. Might be some Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, u2, and who knows what else.

Tommy Biffle – I don’t mind listening and visiting about what’s going on. It’s over by then, so you’ve either got ‘em or you don’t.

Mike McClelland – On that final day, it’s cool to have an idea of what’s going on. I got into some of that action on the last day at last year’s Classic. I had a good bag of fish that was getting lots of attention, so the adrenalin starts pumping and you do begin to wonder “what if” should the leader have a tough day. I say live the moment to the fullest.

6. When you win the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, what’s the most “fun” thing you would spend part of your prize money on?

Kevin VanDam – It would definitely be something with Sherry and the boys, probably a fun trip somewhere.

Jeff Kriet – I’d be telling my wife, “you want to quit that job, you go right ahead.”

Todd Faircloth – My longtime desire is to have my own land for deer hunting, but that might not be the best option at this point.

Kevin Short - I’ll be taking my wife on a houseboat on Lake Powell for a week, and then who knows what else.

Tommy Biffle – A Kodiak bear hunt in Alaska with my bow.

Mike McClelland – Take the family to Atlantis in the Bahamas. That looks like a fun place to escape for a few days

Source: Dollahon Public Relations

Back in January of 2008, I shared both my excitement and extreme disappointment regarding an at that time, new bait from Lucky Craft. It was a full sized big bait, the Real California Supreme 200. I was excited about this bait because finally we had a realistic big bait from a major manufacturer, available in good numbers, at a price that at that time, was way more affordable than anything else of similar quality on the market. Extreme disappointment came when after one cast, only two thirds of the bait made it back to the boat.

Enter ICAST 2009 where we met, for the first time, Lucky Craft USA president Minoru Segaua. Minoru saw me inspecting the Real California Supreme’s hinges and raced across the booth to tell me he had fixed the joints. He was so emphatic about this point, he literally took the display sample used to show buyers and handed it to me insisting I take it home to test. When I tried to put it back down on the table, he picked it up and put it back in my hand. This bait was all clear, with no finish, and it was easy to see the pins that served as half of the joints had been modified so the tail ends were now much longer making it virtually impossible for them to pinch and pull out.

I tried it out on Lake Toho several days later and again at Clear Lake and the California Delta and sure enough, the bait held up. But since there was no finish on the bait, I had little confidence I was going to hook up with something to really test the bait out. I sent an email note to Minoru and to Roy Gray, Western Region Sales Representative for Lucky Craft USA, telling them I agree the bait has been fixed and that I’ll get to work on a follow up review to announce this issue has been addressed. Surprisingly, A few days later, I received baits with actual finishes to them in the mail. Here’s the result.

No, this is not intended as the follow up review, but simply a prelude to that event and an announcement that more is to come. Suffice it to say, for now, Lucky Craft has totally restored my faith in this product and the scales of my love hate relationship with this company are beginning to tip over on the positive side. Now I have another new bait to put to through the paces and I can’t wait to toss this bait for some green backs in 2010.

You may already be aware that the annual Southern California event held by Angler’s Marine, the Bass-A-Thon, is not being held this year. Last year was TackleTour’s first trip to that event and we were all prepped and ready to go again when we were informed in late August that it had been cancelled. Needless to say, we were disappointed.

But where one event is cancelled, the opportunity for another to rise and perhaps take its place arises, and that is exactly what is happening. That’s right, the folks at MonsterFishingTackle.com and Marine Unlimited have gotten together to create the inaugural Northern California equivelant of the Bass-A-Thon and have dubbed it, Bass Jam ‘09!

Following in the tradition of the former Southern California event, Bass Jam ‘09 already has confirmed several big bait manufacturers including Black Dog Baits, JSJ Baits, Rago Baits, Mattlures, AC Plugs, Tylure, and many more yet to be announced. Confirmed seminars will be held by the likes of Brent Ehrler, Ish Monroe, Cody Meyer, Jerry Rago, Bub Tosh, and Aaron Coleman, and this list is also not yet complete.

The event will be held at the future home of Outdoor Pro Shop and Monster Fishing Tackle at 412 Houser Street, Cotati, CA 94931. The dates are November 14-15, 2009. For more information on this event, visit http://www.bassjam09.com/.

In the meantime, you can be sure the TT boys are packing their bags in preparation to cover the event. See you there!

Crappie anglers have long been known for their nighttime prowess, and crappie fishing is becoming more popular with the increased demand of underwater dock lights.

“We continue to see tremendous sales of our underwater dock lights from customers who fish for crappie, as these fish can be found in just about every freshwater lake in the lower 48 states,” says Brad Ball, President of Deep Glow Technologies, Inc., manufacturer of Deep Glow underwater dock lighting systems.

In fact, Deep Glow products were originally developed for saltwater and coastal homeowners, yet the company’s now sells approximately half of its lights to freshwater customers.

Crappie fishing usually equals family fun, and these fish are often considered one of the best tasting freshwater fish, targeted by anglers because of the diversity in how you can catch crappie.  They are also more plentiful than other freshwater species, with anglers capable of hauling in dozens of fish in a short time period

“Waterfront homeowners love crappie fishing from their docks using our underwater dock lights because these lights are easy to install by simply plugging the ballast into a 110 GFCI outlet, and dropping the light into the water,” says Ball.  “Our Deep Glow lights can be dropped under the dock’s pilings, or can easily be situated next to underwater structure, such as brush, rocks or timber – places where crappie with school,” says Ball.

With a Deep Glow light, you’ll build an instant marine ecosystem, as Deep Glow’s lights attract baitfish, which then attracts other larger species like crappie.

Crappie spread out to find brushy or weedy structure, seeking baitfish to feed off of, and are often attracted to light.  The fish will school around an underwater light, searching the glowing waters for wounded prey or the smell of food.

As Deep Glow lights may be dropped or placed in the water at a depth of 3-20 feet, they are great for fishing suspended fish.  Deep Glow lights are 60% brighter than its competitors, and depending on water clarity, can illuminate a diameter of up to 30 feet.

Deep Glow lights were designed to withstand harsh underwater environments, including rough water, salt water, prop wash, wave action, and impact from cast nets.  The low profile design allows the light to settle on the seabed to avoid damage from motor skegs and fishing lines.

A patent-pending design, featuring a metal halide bulb encased in a tri-level custom injection molded and waterproof housing, was years in development.  Each light produces heat to combat marine growth, and go through a self-cleaning process.  The lights can be easily pulled out of the water for additional cleaning, and the replaceable bulb is guaranteed for one year.

I got home this morning driving back from Icast that was held in Orlando, FL  with my friend Warren just before 1am. We had a great time and had a blast hanging out with my local tackle shop (Nature’s Tackle Box) owners family Christie Lester, David, Kohl and good friends  Gary Dobyns, Grant Olguin (Black dog baits), the Tackle Tour guys Cal, Zander and JIP and Ben and Travis from the BassEast.com site..

I thought I would put some overall thoughts and observations together on some of the trends that I saw in the industry while I was there.

Rods:
Lots of companies are offering lower price point rods in the $100 range. With this economy I think this is a smart thing to do to help the mfgs float through the year. Companies like Falcon, Lamiglas, Croix and a few others have all came out with a lower price point line of rods ($100 range).

I also saw quite a few NEW companies from overseas bringing their offerings to the states as well.. Most of them seem to be JDM style (Japanese domestic market) rods that have a high end look to them and most of them had a medium type price point say $200 range from what I saw.

Lures:
Biggest things I saw was and was no surprise was the popularity of smaller “cute” swimbaits. Quite a few companies have come out with a smaller version of one of their already popular swimbaits. BBZ has a 6 inch BBZ trout style bait, Tru Tungsten has a 5 inch swimbait not, Strike King came out with a smaller version of their King Shad, Black Dog with their billed Shell Cracker (nice bait by the way) just to name the few off the top of my head. Of course I brought out my 5 inch Bull shad version as well.

There is still alot of apprehension from alot of guys on throwing the bigger baits not only in the South but all over. I think this small swimbait trend will get bigger over the course of the next year. Besides they are great fish catchers and you can’t deny the fact that they sell well.

Another trend I saw was alot of different wacky heads coming out. To be honest there are only so many ways to design a wacky head but several companies came out with their own version of this trend forward technique. I suspect you’ll start seeing some more creativity in wacky style worms to rig onto your wacky head in the near future. I really think worms like the Rein style worms and beyond will be a trend in the future. Just a hunch that I really have, with no reason for saying it.

REELS:
I would make more detailed comments on reels but I think the tackle tour guys pretty much summed that one up already with alot of companies coming out of the works offering more JDM style looking reels to their lineup. On a sidenote I did see quite a few overseas companies that were new to Icast offering reels from overseas (non asian companies) at a pretty good bargain. One particular company was from Italy and I saw some reels that offered a Daiwa Zillion looking reel for way less than $100.00 (more like closer to the $50 range). Quality wasn’t that bad and had a 1 year warranty, but the quality is the unknown but they seemed to fish good on the showroom floor.  I suspect that these type of companies will increase over time and make the reel market even more competitive especially during these dire economic times.

So in a nutshell the fishing industry is reacting to the economic conditions. Overall I thought the show was OK. I don’t think it was the caliber of the shows in the past few years in terms of originality and really cool stuff. But the show itself was sold out and full. The crowds I thought were as busy if not busier than the Las Vegas show. Don’t take me wrong there were some interesting products it just seems like the last few years have been better. But to be honest it seems like every 2 years or so it is kinda lull in originality then comes on strong the following year. I hope this is not taken as a snap at mfg’s because there were some good products and originality out there that I saw.

I will say this for those mfg’s that I talked with and including the ones I am heavily involved with they stated that the show was outstanding as far as the interest and deal makings. That did catch me off gaurd with the current state of our economy. I am definitely blown away by that fact. It was a great opportunity for some of the smaller east coast companies to make their presence and quite a few took advantage of that opportunity.

Another observation that I made in comparing a Orlando Icast vs a Las Vegas Icast was there were a little more saltwater booths at the Orlando show. Which is really no surprise because Florida is a huge saltwater venue with alot of companies based out of Florida. But hey it’s ICAST and not just a freshwater show and is open to all fishing venues and YES Cal it was DISNEY.   I am looking forward to Icast next year in 2010 at Las Vegas July 14-17th.

Lamiglas enters the value rod wars with an all new, made in the USA value line of rods… that’s right. While other manufacturers are headed overseas to stay competitive, Lamiglas is upping the ante by producing rods at the $100 price point built entirely within the United States.

Want more info? We’ll check them out at ICAST, but for now, all I know is there will be 3 spinning rods and about 7 casting rods all priced between $99 – $109 AND I have is this photo to share:

Lamiglas has always been one of my favorite domestic rod companies so I’m pretty excited about this new line of rods. Stay tuned for more during our ICAST 2009 coverage.

Ardent will be introducing their new flipping and pitching technique specific reel, the Denny Brauer Signature F-700 Flip-N-Pitch.

It takes on the form of the F-500 with addiotional features we’ll cover at ICAST.

Wood.

I don’t know what it is about wood cranks, but they’ve always held a certain favor with me over their plastic counterparts. Sure you get more consistency from bait to bait and better casting performance with plastic baits – and a lot of times you can save some money with them too, but the idea of fishing something someone has hand carved and painted for you just holds a different appeal. It’s similar to my affinity for the finely detailed and crafted JDM fishing rods I suppose.

In the midst of our Year of the Crank coverage on TackleTour, we have quite a list of baits we hope to write up this year. Among those baits is a custom made wood crank out of North Carolina crafted by a fellow by the name of Kelly Barefoot. Custom Lures Unlimited is the name of his company and among his collection of products is a new crank, the Ikon, something that has been in development for over five years.

The detailing of this crank is extraordinary and those who appreciate this kind of craftsmanship will be drawn in quite easily. Barefoot follows up this intricately carved blank with equally intricate and intriguing finishes – finishes that the customer is afforded the opportunity to custom tweak and specify. Try that with Lucky Craft.

The baits aren’t cheap, but considering the labor involved, they’re not outrageous either. With a list price of $25 for a standard color and just $5 more for a custom finish, the Ikon is a bait worth some serious consideration.

I’ve been waiting to get back on a shallow crank bite out on the Delta or up at Clear Lake so I can put these baits through the wringer, but the weather has been crazily inconsistent this Spring in Northern California, so success has been somewhat difficult to come by not to mention time on the water. And guess what? Summer is just around the corner.

For now, it’s back in the test bait box for my collection of Ikons, but I thought I’d get the word out sooner for a bait that’s showing a lot of promise so far. Wood cranks will continue to hold a special place with me and the Ikon is going to get an extended opportunity to stay on my good side.

Every so often there is a post on the Tackle Tour forum about Daiwa Interline Rods. These are graphite rods in which the line is threaded inside the rod shaft, rather than through guides mounted on the outside of the rod blank. I only saw salt water versions of the Interline rods in the most recent Daiwa catalog, but they have also manufactured these rods in freshwater baitcasting versions. For years Cabela’s sold the Interline baitcasting versions with their own house brand name.

I have no interest in arguing the merits of this type of rod. Anglers have been testing these “guideless rods” for over a century and the overwhelming majority want guides on their rod shafts.

The first rod in which the line ran inside the shaft was patented by Everett Horton, a clockmaker in Bristol, Connecticut. Horton made a telescoping tubular steel rod which he could slip into his pants and hide from his neighbors in Puritanical Bristol. He was then able to enjoy fishing whenever he chose – even on Sundays. Luckily for Horton, some honest businessmen in Bristol felt his rod had some merit and acquired a patent for him, which was granted on March 8, 1887.

These businessmen then formed the Horton Manufacturing Company, paid Horton royalties and built the company into one of the largest tackle manufacturers in the world, and Everett Horton went back to making clocks.

Bristol tubular steel rods were of the highest quality and were produced for all types of game fishing, from trout to tuna. Most of these, however, did not have the line running inside the rod shaft. Their three piece steel casting rods with agate guides were probably the most popular bass rods in the country in the early 1900s. An example with an early 1900 Shakespeare level wind reel is shown above.

The Bristol steel rod with the line running inside was produced by Horton Mfg. Co. until the 1940s when World War II interrupted fishing tackle manufacturing. Horton continued to produce the shafts for the duration of the war, which were used as antennas on trucks and Jeeps. Production of this rod was not resumed after the war.

The Bristol steel rod was promoted in Horton’s 1910 catalog as “at their best when used along streams that are lined with brush, and are especially popular in the Rocky Mountains where this condition prevails.” The first inner line rod that I ever saw was a Bristol steel rod used in this exact manner by a very good teenage fisherman in a small town in eastern Oregon. He fished a small Colorado spinner with a worm on “step across” creeks that were surrounded by brush. No one else in town was able to fish his spots and he caught some dandy trout.

My first fishing rod was a telescoping steel rod with a reversible handle that allowed it to be used as a fly rod or casting rod. It was an inexpensive “Rainbow” model manufactured by Horton. It has the line running through snake type guides on the outside of the three sections.

The next time someone argues the merits of a Daiwa Interline rod, just remind them that this type of rod has been around since 1887 and still hasn’t grabbed a major share of the rod market. Nothin’s New.

A few examples of Bristol Telescoping Steel Rods from my collection are shown below:

How exactly can you improve on a drop shot weight? Really it’s a piece of lead or tungsten that you hang on your line below the hook. Half the time the pull off from rocks or weeds and the other half of the time they fly off when you are fighting a fish to the boat. Leave it to a couple of Southern California anglers to take one of the simplest tools we use on the water and take it to the next level.

A Clear Lake Drop Shot fish with Team Davies weights

The first improvement on the standard drop shot weight was simple. One of those, why didn’t I think of that kind of things that just makes sense. Team Davies added the markings of the actual weight to the side of the weight. This makes it so that some of us who have a tough time remembering exactly what a quarter ounce and/or a three-eights ounce weight looks like can decide on the appropriate weight.

The second improvement that they have made is the actual shape and design of the weights. The slim shot slides in and out of grass, tules and even big rocks really easily without getting snagged or pulling off. To me that is important because now when I feel that extra weight its not a guess whether its grass, tules or a fish. With the tear shot design it fishes around smaller rocks and in brush piles super well. This is also the weight to use on hard bottoms like beneath docks or just deep drop offs with no real structure.

The last improvement they made isn’t really an improvement as much as it is just using the best components. The line holders on these Team Davies weights are the best I have tried so far. No more will I pull my line into the holder only to have it cut right through my line. At the same time, I won’t have the worry of making that first cast only to watch the weight sale onto the bank or into the boat next to me.

Left to Right: Tear Shot and Slim Shot Weights

When you are ready to get your next drop shot weights seriously consider Team Davies weights these guys did their homework and every little detail helps when your after that big fish or big bag!

About a month ago, I reported my on the water experience with the hollow braid to fluoro topshot technique shown to us by Dean Yoshizumi. Since that time, I’ve received a few inquiries as to other product options for this technique since the hollow braid from Toray is cost prohibitive for many.

With a bit of research, I was able to find that Izorline and Western Filament (makers of Tuf Line) also produce a hollow braid product and when I contacted them, they were more than happy to send in some spools for me to try out. Here’s my experience with these products:

Western Filament makes “Tuf Line Guide’s Choice” hollow braid and it’s available in 40lb test and up. The sizes that will interest freshwater fishermen are the 40lb (0.28mm) and 60lb (0.33mm). Unfortunately, these two sizes are very tough to find online and are probably best sourced through your local tackle shop. 80lb was all I could find online and it sells for roughly $220 a 1200 yard spool.

I was most excited about the 40lb product because of its small diameter and the potential to use it for 5 – 12 pound test as Terry Battisti asked me about after my initial blog. Well, unfortunately, the product is so thin, it’s tough to get the threading needle into it. I went so far as to try something smaller, a sewing needle, and even with that, I was unable to get through more than one inch of line before having difficulties with the needle poking through or the line fraying. I’m just not skilled enough in this technique to make it work.

Fortunately, the 60lb was much easier to work with and after a little practice, I was able to thread this stuff rather easily. For the sake of it, I tried some 0.25mm line in the 60lb hollow and threaded through about 3 feet into the hollow braid, but it pulled out with about 6 pounds of pressure on the line. I then tried 0.30mm line through about the same length into the hollow braid and this pulled out with about 10 pounds of pressure on the line. Next up was a 0.32mm line and this held good and strong, so this seems to be the lower diameter threshold for leader material in the 60lb. For those paying attention, this diameter equates to 14lb Sunline Shooter. The other two lines were 8lb and 10lb Yozuri Hybrid respectively.

For the above tests, I threaded the leader line through the hollow and did not tie a nail knot. I wanted to see how well the line held without the nail not in place. Once it held without the knot, then I knew it we had a good mechanical connection between the leader material and hollow braid.

I repeated the tests with the Izorline product which is called Brutally Strong. Their website states the smallest pound test this product is available in hollow is 80lbs, but I was able to get it in 60lb. Perhaps their website is not up to date. Note that “Brutally Strong” is available down to 12lb test, but this is a solid braid (also available in 20, 30, 50, 65, and 80) – so be sure, if you see this product on the store shelves or are ordering it, to specify you want the hollow. Again, all I could find online was the 80lb product and this was available in 1200 yard spools for $160 on a quick search.

Tests yielded the same results as with the Western Filament Tuf Line Guide’s Choice though it seemed this line was easier to work with initially. However, I’ve heard that Western Filament makes the Izorline hollow braid product – I offer that as an unconfirmed bit of information.

Now a quick note about the nail knot. Someone had recommended to me that you don’t really need the nail knot and you can achieve the same results with a drop of soft bait glue. The key here is to thread the leader into at least two feet of the hollow. After getting the allowable diameters figured out above, I tried this technique and while it seemed hold, what I found was you have to be VERY careful with the soft bait glue as I had a couple of occasions where a drop or two landed on the leader material and the line broke right there on my tests. While it can be a pain to tie, I think the nail knot is the safer method.

Do you really need it? Yes, you do. What happens to the sometimes, when the line is wound back up into your reel is the hollow braid will relax and when this happens, the connection to your leader material is lost. When that’s gone, your leader will pull out with very little effort. The nail knot tied right at the end of the hollow braid prevents the braid from relaxing and sliding down the leader.

At least this is the case when trying to use as low diameter as possible with the hollow braid. Things are probably different with a much thicker leader material hence the popularity of using a 20lb fluorocarbon leader instead.

So, bottom line is there are some alternatives out there though they may be a little difficult to source. According to their website, the Izorline product is available in 50, 100, 300, 500, 750 yard spools and up. Likewise, the Tuf Line Guide’s Choice comes in 150, 300, 1200 and 2500 yard spools, so if you can find a store from which to order either product, there could be some cost savings to be had.

For now, I have each product spooled up on two different Daiwa Steez 103HL reels with that 14lb Sunline Shooter leader and hope to get some on the water time with each before long.

At TackleTour, we do our best to stay on top of the latest tackle trends, acquire product, fish it, and report back our findings in the form of a review.

The Spro BBZ-1 Shad was introduced to us in May of 2008

Almost a year ago in May, we got our first look at Bill Siementel’s latest bait, the Spro, 4″ BBZ-1 Shad. We were pretty excited about this compact little bait that featured a big bait swagger.

The Spro BBZ-1 Shad is available in three ROF’s – Floating, Slow Sinking, Fast Sinking

Then a couple of months later in July, just before ICAST, we found out about a similarly sized product from TruTungsten that featured their innovative adjustable weight system, the 4″ Tru-Life swimbait.

The Tru-Tungsten Tru-Life 4″ bait features the same adjustable weight system and two hooks per bait.

Can you say shootout?

I was more than prepared for a full blown shootout

In the Fall of 2008, Reaction Strike got in touch with us with their interpretation of this same concept and once again, it was game on in the “swimbait” market.

We were made aware of the Reaction Strike product during the fall of 2008

I’ve gone back and forth in my mind about doing individual reviews versus a full blown shootout between these three manufacturers’ product and had pretty much decided to go full blown shootout.

The profile of these baits has garnered a lot of attention as well.

Then of course, we declared 2008 as “The Year of the Crank” on TackleTour. Normally that would not affect anything but the interesting thing I found is the more I fished cranks, the less I saw the purpose behind these little 4″ big baits.

The joints have good movement.

They all seem to share a similar issue in that unless you are retrieving them painstakingly slow, no matter their rate of fall, they will all rise in the water column. The fast sinks are better about staying down than the slow sinks, but they will all still rise if you’re not careful.

Their gill bait is even more intriguing.

Reaction Strike has a solution for this dilemma with their little big baits by offering a billed version. So then, is it still a “swimbait” or is it a crank?

And now they make one with a bill.. is it a crankbait or swimbait… a hybrid?

The term “hybrid” comes to mind… something that is a mix of two or more things but neither one or the other. You’re usually making compromises when choosing to go with something that is a hybrid.

Of the three baits, these two are most similar.

Long story short? I’m having a hard time wanting to fish these products. I’ve thrown them a few times and each time, I find myself either tying on a billed or lipless crank when wanting to stay small or tying on a traditional big bait when wanting something that “swims”.

But all three are rated at 4″

So, I’m sorry to say while I’m sure these are all worthwhile products that have their time and place, I’m just not in a proper frame of fishing mind to give them a fair shake

.

And while they catch fish, personally, I can’t bring myself to fish them enough to give them each a fair shake.

Vertical jigging is a very effective method on catching both freshwater and saltwater fish. There are many manufactures producing metal jigs and spoons for this technique but some are better than others. This brings me to  P-Line’s Laser Minnow which I first saw at the Long Beach Fred Hall show at the beginning of 2008.

The body of the lure looks great but I did find that the wire loop they used are very thin, thinner than my favorite MegaBait Live Jigs.  This is a problem not only for saltwater anglers but also vertical fishing for freshwater species. If the wire breaks on a big bass that would be heartbreaking. I’ve broken the wire before while vertical jigging for rockcod.

I’ve contacted P-Line about this but never got a response. Hope they are listening.

So…  my number 1 goto lure for rockcod and lingcod fishing is still  the Megabait Live Jig. (http://www.tackletour.com/reviewmegablivejig.html) This lure gives good action on the drop and is deadly when jigged for rockfish. I’m able to bounce the rocky bottom and completely bend the wire without it breaking.

MegaBait Live Jig

My introduction to Blackwater International’s hollow braid topshotting technique came from fishing with Alan Fong almost a year ago when he debuted his Al-E-Baby swimbait. Alan had been shown this rigging method by Dean Yoshizumi from Blackwater International and was totally enamored with it.

I’m a natural skeptic to such things so while I was intrigued, I had to see how it was done myself before coming to any conclusions.

As fate would have it, shortly after that trip with Alan, my good friend, Jonah Li of Hi’s Tackle Box gave me a call and said there was someone he wanted me to meet. It was none other than Dean Yoshizumi.

Well, to make a long story short, Dean showed me the connection one day in Jonah’s store explaining to me it is a method he borrowed from his days of fishing long range tuna. I mean, if he can land two hundred plus tuna on such a setup, surely this rigging will hold up fishing for bass. I walked out with an armload full of product including the clamp stand so I could try this rigging method myself back home.

Unfortunately, my early attempts were not met with much success as I didn’t quite have all the pieces to the puzzle or the necessary patience to complete the rigging.

Fast forward to just last week out on El Novillo Lake in Mexico where Dean was on hand to provide top shots for everyone and I lept at the opportunity to try this once more. I had him fix up my Quantum Tour PT reel, a member of our 2009 high speed reel shootout, and off I went the next day to fish this setup on my Phenix Ultra MBX 707H rod.

Why even bother you ask? Well, if you’re one that prefers to use smaller than normal reels like me, yet, are fishing techniques that require higher strength line, AND don’t like the potential visibility issues braid presents, this is an almost perfect solution. You get the high capacity advantages of braid with the low visibility and abrasion resistance properties of fluoro.

Throw in the added benefit of no knots ticking through your guides on the cast and it is almost a no brainer!
But until you actually fish it and put this stuff through everyday applications, the trust in the connection and the benefits of going through all this trouble in the first place are rather obscure.

I’m here to share my epiphany of fishing this wicked setup:

1) Not only do you get the benefits from all of the above, but the white hollow braid makes an excellent strike indicator when floating on top of the water. You can literally see your line straighten out when fishing any slack line presentation. All that’s left for you to do is wind up the slack and set hook!

2) The abrasion resistance of the Toray Fluoro at 20lb test (we used the Bawo SuperHard Premium Plus at Novillo) is astounding. I cannot tell you how many times I cast my injection molded Lunker Punker Jr. through some of those dragon bushes and rather than move the boat in to retrieve the bait, I wound the bait up close to the bush and catapulted it back to the boat. Each time I expected my fluoro leader to be all messed up, but each time it came back as clean and unabraided as can be. I still can’t believe it.

3) Reconnecting a new leader is a snap. Dean pre-tied several fluoro to hollow braid leaders and once you have that hollow braid mainline on your reel, just use the simple, no knot hollow braid to hollow braid connection method to attach your new leader and voila, you are done. It is impossibly quick and easy.

http://tackletog.com/news/2009/03/19/hollow-braid-splice-connection/

4) You truly receive 100% line strength with this method because there are no knots to fail you. On several occasions, I snagged up on the bottom or in one of those submerged dragon bushes and could not get my bait out. No matter how hard I pulled with my thumb on the spool of the reel, I couldn’t break off. So, instead, I tied my hollow braid off at the boat cleat, well above where any of the fluorocarbon leader material was in the line and each time, I either straightened out the hooks or pulled up a section of brush.

While at Novillo, I ended up fishing this on all four of the high speed reel contestants and I used them all on techniques ranging from cranks to top water to jigs to soft plastics to big baits and I haven’t looked back since. It is now time to re-explore learning how to rig this myself because it has quickly become my favorite method of putting line on my reel.

Youvella Hooks – Little Flip Hook, OWG (Offset Wide Gap) Hook, OWG Super Strong Hook, Pro Swimbait Hooks, and Pro Flip Hook.

In 2008 the Fish Harder company acquired the rights to be the sole distributor of Youvella-USA, LLC products in the United States and Canada.

Tim Norman, head of Sales and Marketing for Fish Harder Companies, has been named president of the new company, Youvella-USA, LLC.

“We’re excited about this opportunity. Youvella is by far the most modern and progressive sportfishing hook company in the world. They make a wide variety of hooks for the freshwater, saltwater and commercial markets,” Norman said. “We intend to use their expertise – along with that of our pro staff – to develop a line of professional grade fish hooks for the American and Canadian markets.”

Norman also announced Mike Iaconelli, Ish Monroe, Greg Hackney and Peter Thliveros to be the first members of Youvella’s professional pro staff.

Cal and I are back from fishing Lake Novillo, Mexico. We flew to Hermosillo with Jonah from Hi’s Tackle Box, Dean from Blackwater International, and Justin from Anglers West TV. At the Hermosillo airport, owners Bob and Bill of BMB picked us up and drove the group to their bed and breakfast that’s just 2 hours away. The house is located in San Pedro de la Cueva that’s only a slow 10 minute tow to Lake Novillo. A complete article will be posted on TackleTour.com shortly. http://www.tackletour.com

We were there for a few reasons but our main focus was on the Crankbait Rod Wars, and did we have a good crankbait bite on Lake Novillo that allowed us to truly test the gear for the Year of the Crank. Aside from crankbaits, lures such as Zoom lizards, Senkos, Powerbait 10 inch worms, paddletail swimbaits, poppers, jigs… sheez, almost everything worked out there.

The lake has a lot of bass, Northern and Florida strains, and catching 4 to 7 pounders are very common with double digit bass lurking nearby. The bass in Lake Novillo are aggressive! They hit hard and don’t stop fighting until they are released back into the water. I lost a big one after it jumped clearly out of the water 4 times and finally spitting the hook right by the boat.

Anyways, enjoy these photos…