So what do you get when you cross the beauty of a rainbow trout with the size and ocean going capabilities of a salmon and the voracity and ability to migrate back and forth from the ocean of a striped bass? Throw in some awesome river scenery and it can only mean one species of fish…

Steelhead.

Stay tuned for our full report on a recent trip up to the Smith River to fish with our friend, Gary Hix in pursuit of these beautiful and unbelievably strong fish.

Well guys, it’s about time to start wrapping up another year, and you know what that means… time to get to work on our Holiday Gift Guide. This was the occasion last year, where we took the opportunity to introduce everyone to our spokesmodel, Ms. Casey. Can you believe it’s only been a year?

To follow our 2009 theme, we decided to crank it up another notch this year and conduct our shoot out on the water right on the California Delta. We loaded up both of our TackleTour bass boats and headed out for several hours worth of shooting. Here are some behind the scenes look at what we have brewing for our upcoming article.

Back to writing and formatting so we can at least get part one of our gift guide out by this weekend. Hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look and start saving up because I can promise you one thing, Casey delivered some rather compelling arguments for just about everything on our list

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!

With just a couple trips left needed to wrap up our Year of the Crank coverage, soon, it will be time to turn our attention to next year’s theme. 2010 marks the 10th year anniversary for TackleTour. In traditional anniversary terms, the 10th year is a celebration of tin or aluminum. Whomever dreamed up these anniversary gifted themes must have been a fisherman!

So what does TackleTour have in store to celebrate 10 years of bringing you the latest in tackle news and reviews? I can’t quite reveal that yet, but rest assured, those plans are already underway as evidenced by our 2010 Calendar featuring Ms. Casey and her friends. Incidentally, have you bought yours yet?

Speaking of Ms. Casey, what I can do at this point in time is give you a sneak peak at some of the artwork we’ve completed to kick off our 10th year anniversary celebration. Only one thing is missing from this poster, and that’s the declaration of our official theme (replaced by “xxxxx…”).

So what do you think? Are you ready to turn the page on 2009 and find out what TackleTour has in store for 2010? If you’re a follower of TackleTour, new or old, help us kick things off by responding to this blog and sharing how you found your way to our site and maybe a little bit about what keeps you around. The more excitement we feel, the sooner we’re likely to reveal what’s in store for 2010!

Strolling the aisles of ICAST 2009 with my fellow TT Editors, it quickly dawned upon me the odd parallels that exist between hunting for stories on the show room floor and the work that is involved with standing on the front of a bass boat in search of fish. Imagine if you will, a large waterway filled with canals and sloughs that wrap around and define islands of manufacturers, all of which hold fish, but some spots that appear better than others for an actual story. We, as the TT Editors are an amalgus lure or small school of baitfish swimming through the aisles in search of a quality bite. The strikes we receive are many and varied:

The Bump: How many times have you been retrieving your moving bait through a likely ambush point and felt a bump on your bait but no take? On our constant trek through the aisles, we’re often tapped on the shoulder, handed a business card, and told to come check out the best (fill in the blank) at the show this year.

The Short Strike: We rarely stop at each and every manufacturer as we make our way around the showroom floor. It’s just impossible to cover everything. But sometimes the most fun discoveries happen as we pass by a spot and a fish comes out to swipe at us hoping to stop us in our tracks and pull us back to their booth. If we’re traveling in a long, spread out line, these strikes are usually successful, but sometimes if we’re moving too fast, the fish even miss our trailer hooks.

The Soft Pitch: Sometimes companies have something they want to share, sometimes not. We never assume and for those unfamiliar with TackleTour, we approach them quietly and cautiously sharing with them what we are about and our goals for being at the show. More often than not, these presentations are met with success and we’re able to get the information we seek in order to write a story.

The Scatter Effect: On other occasions we’ve noticed the fish in a booth can often be a little spooky. We’ll hang outside a spot on the aisle and try to get a gauge of where to enter and who to target. As soon as we set foot in the booth, the fish seem to scatter like when you make a bad cast and scare the fish away.

The One that got away: You wouldn’t think so, but it happens. We descend upon a booth and the manufacturer representatives come out to greet us, start showing us new product, and then inexplicably become distracted and forget we are in the booth to cover their story. Like a bad hookset on a spot that’s now spoiled, we rarely return.

Honey Holes: You know those favorite spots you have on your favorite waterways? We have those favorites too at ICAST – those booths where we can go and just know that the probability of finding a good story is high.

The Topwater Bite: Often the most exciting in fishing, the topwater bite at ICAST is experienced as you walk through the aisles and are spotted by a predatory fish waiting behind an ambush point. They spot you and make a b-line on an intercepting course to your future position out on the aisle. Their wake through the displays is unmistakable and often deadly accurate as we are stopped in our tracks and pulled into their booth to see what exciting product they have to share.

Transient Fish: Quite often, while fishing, you notice a rogue fish wandering the aisles. These are often opportunities to catch up with old friends and partners and see what stuff they have to share on or off the record.

Spitting up product/baitfish: Once we have a fish hooked, and the story is told, on occasion we are presented with product to test either officially or unofficially. Sometimes this is in the form of a premeditated media kit, and at other times, it’s pulled out of a private stash or even off the display wall. Whichever scenario it may be, it’s always interesting to see what the fish have been eating.

Zander and I are finally headed home from the show. We look to touch down back at TT HQ at roughly high noon. JIP is already back. You can be sure the first thing we do when we return is open up our computers and get back to pounding out our continuing coverage of ICAST 2009.

Team TackleTour has just landed at our stopover destination in Dallas Fortworth Texas enroute to Orlando Florida… Our seats aboard the American Airlines S80 plane were exceedingly uncomfortable. In another hour or so we board our conntecting flight to Orlando… ICAST here we come!

Update… 07.14.09 @ 10:00pm PDT: Well, after 3 unannounced gate changes at the Dallas Fortworth airport, we finally found our way to the proper gate only to be delayed over half an hour as the flight attendants scrambled to make their way to the plane – they obviously got lost in all the gate shuffling as well.

An additional delay was caused by the fact someone on the flight before us got sick and spoiled their seat so we had to wait while the maintenance crew changed out the seat cushions.

It was a “short” two hour hop from Dallas Fortworth to Orlando, but we did our best to get some shuteye. As we flew low over the clouds Zander could be seen alternating between catching some Z’s and checking the view out the window. JIP was crashed out against his headrest getting some much needed rest away from Daddy duties back home, and I was rocking out on my iPhone listening to some oldies but goodies.

Baggage claim went off without a hitch but the rental car agency assigned us an empty car slot that took a second trip back to the counter to resolve. Finally, after nearly 12 hours of transit time, we are in our hotel rooms trying to find a way to get to sleep so we can get up early enough to get to the show when it opens. It’s after 1:00am local time, but it’s still just 10 something to us and we need to get up in a few hours to make it to the show on opening.

That’s our start to ICAST 2009. Get ready for our barrage of articles set to be posted within the next 24 hours. First stop tomorrow? Shimano and Daiwa.

Update 07.15.09 @ 4:30am PDT: Well, it’s 4:30am back home but 7:30am here in Orlando and we’re up and ready to go. Last check on our camera and computer equipment then it’s off to the car and a short drive to the Orlando Convention Center, then SHOW TIME!!!

We know there have already been some leaks over on Shimano’s website, but we’re headed there nonetheless to bring you a closer look at what they have to offer TT style!

Just a few short weeks ago I vacationed with my wife and kids in Disneyworld. This was our second time there and anyone who’s ever been there, or really, to any of the Disney theme parks knows about the Disney experience. They waste no expense to ensure you feel the magic during your stay and they do a darn good job of it too.

It’s not just about the attractions, the park, the characters, shows, etc.. But everything from the cleanliness of the parks, to the landscaping, to the attention to detail in each of the themed buildings and sections of the park, to the availability of snacks and drinks, to keeping you interested and entertained while you’re waiting in line for a ride.

If you can put aside the cost of getting into the park, and the relative expense of the snacks, food, and drink once you are inside, it’s difficult not to have a good time at a Disney park and it can all be encapsulated by one of their theme songs, “When You Wish Upon A Star”.

Just yesterday, we spent the day at a local theme park to celebrate the 4th of July and having just come back from our immersive experience at Disneyworld a couple of weeks ago, it was difficult not to draw comparisons with what we were experiencing… drab looking buildings, rides that rose out of the landscape with little to no decor built around them, un-motivated employees, very slow moving lines from inefficient workflows loading and unloading patrons, barely audible music from poor quality speakers, half the food vendors were closed… What’s more, there were a couple of attractions at the park that you had to pay EXTRA for in order to ride. What’s up with that? My $50 entry fee was supposed to cover all rides and attractions wasn’t enough? (Yes, I remember the days when even at Disneyland, you had to buy a book of tickets after paying to get into the park that granted you access to the rides. That’s where the whole term “an E-ticket” ride spawned from, but we are well past those days) I mean, don’t get me wrong, the kids still had a good time, but it just wasn’t Disney, you know?

Certainly there are those who could really care less for the Disney experience. “Just give me the rides without the lines and added expense,” they say. And for those people, parks like those we visited yesterday suit just fine. Certainly not I. I prefer the escape from the everyday routine and the immersive experience Disney works so hard at affording us and I really appreciate their efforts.

Is it any wonder then, my affinity for enthusiast tackle? Sure I can fish with a standard, no frills rod and reel combo devoid of the decorative highlights, fancy handles, and high end components, but why?

That’s just not how I dream, and it’s just not Disney.

With June almost over, we are past the halfway point for the Year of the Crank. That’s right, we’re on the downhill slope for 2009 and that means 2010 is just around the corner. But what we’re approaching is not just another year. 2010 is a significant milestone for TackleTour – it marks our 10th Year Anniversary!

Rest assured, we’re already in preparation for this event and have our theme for 2010 all planned out, but before we move forward, let’s take a look back:

TackleTour.com made its debut with its very first article on December 8, 2000. Any guesses as to what it might have been? With the popularity of our rod and reel reviews, my first guess was one of those, but nope. It was in fact, the Yamamoto Hula Grub (click on the photo to view the article):

So what the, was the very first reel review? Was it a baitcaster or spinning reel? Can you believe the Daiwa Spinmatic-X (Feb 20, 2001)?

It took almost half a year before a rod review made it to the site and in fact, it was a combo, Quantum’s XLSP1000 UL Rod + XL00S2 reel (May 19, 2001):

The first real mainstream rod to be reviewed? Why of course, the G.Loomis MBR783C IMX (September 7, 2001):

It’s both fun and funny to look back at these early reviews to see #1 how short the articles were and #2 how few pictures there were. TackleTour has come a long way since those early days and we continue to challenge ourselves each year with more content and quantifiable data against which to objectively evaluate every piece of tackle we write about.

In my mind, 2004 marks the real turn for the worst for TackleTour because that’s when yours truly joined the team. How they ever decided to let me in on the party and why, I will never know, but the Enthusiast section of the site was christened by this article on October 7, 2004:

And as I’ve mentioned, we’ve been cranking it up ever since until finally, we’ve declared 2009 the Year of the Crank. So what do we have in store for 2010? We’ll just have to wait and see as the countdown to 2010 has now officially begun!

But before we get there, let us know how you found your way to TackleTour and what you enjoy or don’t enjoy most about the site!

By far, the number one question that comes up at any event TackleTour attends these days is “Who is Ms. Casey?” Strike that. Actually, the FIRST question that’s asked of us is “WHERE is Ms. Casey?”

Original TT Girl, Ms. Jov

The TT Girl (actually TackleTour Teaser as first conceived) concept spawned from the arrival of the original Evergreen Opus-1 reel at TT HQ. You might remember that review. So unique was this reel to us, that we wanted to showcase our enthusiasm by having someone other than us “model” the product. Ms. Jov was our very first TT Girl.

Ms. Casey takes over the reigns as TT spokesmodel

A year later, along came the Opus-1 Nero. Almost the same reel, with a few refinements, and delivered in a stealthy black package. We needed to step up our game. I knew just the candidate, contacted her, and voila, Ms. Casey was welcomed into the TT fold. Though the Opus-1 Nero shoot was her first with TackleTour, her debut on the site actually came with the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide. The rest is pretty well chronicled on the main site and accompanying discussion forum.

Ms. Casey presents TackleTour’s 2008 Holiday Gift Guide

So who is Ms. Casey? Aside from being a friend of TackeTour and our primary spokesmodel, she is in fact, a professional model, a former Miss Chinatown San Francisco Pageant participant, and a regular at San Francisco Bay Area Hot Import Night events.

We intend to include Ms. Casey in more TT events

She’s a very busy girl but we’re delighted she’s a part of TackleTour and while this may not have answered all your questions, rest assured we intend to include her, and her friends, in more and more TackleTour events as time goes on.