At times, even more enjoyable than learning about something new and innovative in the tackle industry is the opportunity to meet and get to know the people behind the scenes. In this age of the Internet, a lot of times, face to face meetings come only after several years of corresponding via email or over the phone, and even more common are the occurrences where a chance to shake hands and say hello never materialize. Geographic obstacles are, afterall, still very difficult to overcome.

Nevertheless, whether the handshake greeting eventually occurs or not, bonds are made, friendships are formed, and relationships are sometimes built that extend beyond just doing business. TackleTour has afforded me the opportunity to build many such bonds over the years presenting an interesting dilemma when my job is to call it as I see it or fish it. The solid relationships withstand this test and a few even relish in the honesty no matter the outcome positive or negative.

It saddened me greatly today, to learn of the passing of one such friend, a man who looked forward to critical reviews and valued our honesty, but most of all, a man who I considered a good friend. Our early phone conversations would carry on for hours only briefly touching upon the subject at hand – the tackle – spending more time philosophizing about life and human behavior yet always finding a hook to bring us right back full circle to discussions about the product. As time went on our conversations grew less frequent, but always picked up right where we left off when re-engaged. We were like minded, understanding of each other’s position just like friends who had known each other for years and years.

News of his passing was unexpected and hit me like a ton of bricks and I still cannot believe he will not be there when I call to inquire about what’s new and exciting. In fact, while I’m sure there will be plenty of new stuff from the manufacturer he represented this year, somehow, it will be quite some time before I’m able to find any of it very exciting.

Out of respect for his friends and family, I am not at liberty to reveal the identity of my friend, but this entry is my way of giving him thanks and saying goodbye. Rest well my friend and I hope where ever you are that the sky is sunny and the air brisk. You will be missed.

Product is flying in faster than we can keep track here at TT HQ. 2010 is going to be a very busy year. Some exciting product we recently received hails from overseas and the prestigious manufacturer, Evergreen International. Here’s a pictorial sneak peak at what we have in our queue for the coming year.

Back in September, upon the announcement that Humminbird will be upgrading all their sidescan units with downscan ability – all units save my two 797c2 SI units that is, I posted a blog admonishing the manufacturer for this oversight.

Today, I received a private message from a forum member that Humminbird has “amazingly” overcome the memory restrictions that prevented them from upgrading the 797c2 SI unit in the first place and that this firmware upgrade is also now available for this unit. I’ve downloaded the upgrade and loaded it to an SD card. It’s going to be another month or two before my boat sees the water again, but I’m happy to have the prospect of some additional functionality from my two 797c2 SI units.

Hopefully the upgrade goes well. Finally.

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

Most any athlete or seasoned professional will tell you, the key to good health and fitness is to start your day with a good meal. It is often stated that breakfast is the meal of champions. It’s little wonder then that recent US Open Bass Tournament Champ, Gary Dobyns, has his own secret to success. Now after winning the most coveted tournament of his career, the US Open at Lake Mead, Las Vegas, this bass fishing professional and CEO of his own rod company is letting this secret out of the bag in true entrepreneurial fashion. In this TackleTour producTTpreview exclusive, we are proud to announce the soon to be available Wack’em Xtremes by the newly formed company Dobyns Dough-Nut$$.

That’s right, now you can start off your tournament or recreational fishing day like the West’s most celebrated Bass Pro, Gary Dobyns. It’s true that both the Yamamoto Super and Hula Grubs were the keys to his fish catching success at the recent US Open championship on Lake Mead, but to ensure he had enough energy and focus to feel those subtle takes and in turn, swing for the fences, he started each day with is own secret recipe snack treats. The Wack’em Xtremes are what gives Gary Dobyns his edge on the competition both on the water and now on grocery store and bait shop shelves.

Official release dates have not yet been decided. In typical fashion, Dobyns is still quality testing the factory’s ability to deliver consistent results. But we understand these will in fact be US domestic made products. That’s good news to fans because keeping production local is the only way to ensure each batch of Wake’ems are delivered with the same freshness and sweetness that has earned Dobyns his reputation in the bass fishing world.

TackleTour would like to congratulate Gary Dobyns on his recent win at the 2009 US Open Bass Tournament. This parody was our way of raising a toast to your achievements and wishing you continued success in life and the bass fishing world.

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.

In my August, 2008 review of the Humminbird Side Imaging 797c2, I chose to highlight a few areas where I found this $1,200 unit deficient. The unit still received a good score levied mostly because I gave it the benefit of the doubt in a couple of areas, but I fielded some harsh criticism for my findings from individuals that inferred it was somehow my fault that I encountered the issues I did.

Afterall, don’t you know you’re supposed to check for firmware upgrades when you purchase a sonar unit? Apparently there is an upgrade that would have addressed my GPS tracking issues and no, I was not aware of this as I expect items like a sonar/gps unit to function out of the box. Apparently, my expectations are too high, and no, I still have not upgraded the unit’s firmware.

There’s more, but that’s not the point of this blog. Humminbird recently announced an upgrade to all their side imaging units. Of course, it’s a firmware upgrade, but once you download and install it, it will enable your unit to provide the same incredible detail you get in the side imaging scans in a straight down view. Available in January 2010 this sounds like a really worthwhile upgrade and something to really get excited about.

Oh but wait.. here’s an excerpt from their press release:

“A free software upgrade to add Down Imaging will be available in January to current owners of Humminbird models with Side Imaging (except 797c2 SI)…”

Unbelievable.

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!

It’s official… one of these “fish” I’m holding up is now available for purchase at a special introductory price. Can you guess which one?

They are available in 4 different colors with three different sink rates. Normally a bait this detailed and this carefully built would retail for at least $80 if not over $100. But not this bait.

Any guesses as to the insane price of this lure? How about half a c-note?!?

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!

The fables of surf fishing on the beaches of San Francisco during a by gone era are legendary. Having grown up in the City by the Bay, it was impossible to escape the near mythical tales of thirty and forty pound striper being common sized catches off the surf, and not only striper, but salmon as well. Back then, any fish under twenty pounds was considered a schoolie.

But according to those in the know, the last good run during the hunt for giant linesides in the frothy white foam of the surf was only ten years ago. How could I have missed that?

Sitting amongst these hunters, hearing them share the details of some of their most famous days inspires nostalgic reminiscence to “the good ole days” of giant striper running the surf, appearing out of crashing waves to annihilate surface lures, turning vast expanses of ocean black with their massive numbers, and turning the water into a frothy mess of scales, fish slime, and tails as they balled up baitfish and pummeled them with their voracious appetites.

But the last good run was only ten years ago.

Toss your lure into this mess and hold on. As anyone who has experienced it knows, when a striper hits your lure, there is no doubt. But when a big striper hits on the surface, you could very well be spoiled for any other type of fishing. Is it any wonder fisherman with their obscenely long fishing rods would line up in droves, shoulder to shoulder, all the way up and down the beach waiting for their opportunity.

That’s right, surf fishing on the San Francisco coast for giant linesides was predominately a waiting game. Watching the water for signs of activity from the massive schools of striper. One sure fire indicator? The birds. The birds tell can tell you where the baitfish are when they crash into the ocean feeding on what lies below, but the birds can also tell you when the striper are below the baitfish by hovering and hesitating in the air, afraid to dive, for fear of becoming striper fodder.

And the last good run was ten years ago… or was it?

Last week, while we were at ICAST, the clock turned back and fishermen lined the shore along San Francisco’s Ocean Beach once again. The cell phone served as modern day CB radios helping dedicated anglers spread the word as fisherman after fisherman could be seen stopped on the side of the Great Highway, leaving their cars where ever there was the slightest bit of daylight, jumping out of their cars, and running down to the surf putting their waders and boots on as they ran, afterall, it’s been ten long years since the last good run.

The fish were fresh out of the bay and gorging themselves on anything they could find which, during this time were the lures of crusty ole veterans who hadn’t seen action like this in ten years. But it was like yesterday, I’ve been told, the good ole days. Over two hundred fishermen were there during this two to three day stretch. Day crews and night crews, keeping vigilance on the bite and spreading the word when indicators showed the bite was about to explode. And we were in Florida.

The bite is still there. Not as hot as it was last week… not as hot as it was 10 years ago, because the striper have eaten. They’ve gorged, and they’re about to head back into the bay. I missed it again… it’s been ten days since the last good run… ten days!

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!

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.

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!

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.

Several months back, there was some discussion on the TT Forum regarding big baits with a shad profile. By big, I recall guys asking for seven or eight inch baits. At the time, the only one of which I was aware was the Nate’s Baits product.

I totally forgot about the bait Triton Mike alluded to during our interview back in April of 2008. He chimed in on the discussion thread to bring us up to date on this bait and apparently, it has gone through a couple of different iterations.

Well, a few days after that thread took off, I received in the mail a sample bait from Triton Mike with a note asking me to check it out and provide some private feedback. This was shortly before our trip to El Novillo Lake in Mexico, so I took the bait down there with me to check out.

I was pretty excited about this bait mostly because it had a true, made in the garage feel to it with rough edges, cuts, etc. – like a bait that was already beat up. Honestly, how many of you have noticed that just about any hardbait seems to catch MORE fish after its received some battle scars? Well, this bait had some right out of the package and while Triton Mike was a bit embarrassed by this fact, I really appreciated it!

His Bull Shad was the first big bait I tied on at El Novillo, and it ended up being one of the last. On the retrieve, the bait has a pretty tight swimming motion – not wide like a Triple Trout which is what I expected since it’s a three piece design. About 5 casts later though, my Bull Shad fell victim to the Dragon Bushes of El Novillo. JIP and I tried to free the bait for a good ten minutes – I could see the bait under the water, but not reach it and we did not have anything on board with which to knock the bait free.

One final push with my rod tip and *snap* – not my rod, but the line finally broke from all the abrasion. The bait was lost

Well, recently one of our site advertisers had a sale and while I was browsing through the Hooked Up Tackle e-tail site to see what I could buy for 15% off, I noticed he had some of Triton Mike’s Bull Shads! I immediately ordered one and had it in time for a recent tackle testing trip with Zander out on Lake Pardee. Check out the result!

After I told Triton Mike what happened to his original bait he sent me, he mentioned he was already at work on a new version – typical. After I purchased the bait from Hooked Up Tackle, two days later, they announced they received in stock, the new version of Triton Mike’s Bull Shad – even more typical.

Regardless of which version you end up with, this bait is worth a look. I know I’m going to be throwing it this Fall for some of those Delta Striper if we manage to get out for them this year.

As a tackle reviewer, the amount of gear that shows up and accumulates on my boat over the course of several months can be overwhelming. While I try my best to go through each and every product and give it time on the water, in many cases, stuff gets discarded, sent back, or given away without ever getting wet.

Sometimes, I receive a product I’d like to test and write up but I find it’s either out of production, too difficult to source, or the details of its availability are just too fuzzy. One such product is this paddletail minnow that I found laying in a forgotten compartment within my boat. Its name? The “One’Up Shad”. That’s right, it bears a similar name to the hardbait from 3:16 Lure Company – a tidbit I found somewhat amusing.

This product showed up on my boat, and stayed there, after sharing time on the water with a very good friend of mine. This friend knows my affinity for JDM tackle AND big baits, so he brought these baits along as a “I betcha never seen these before” kind of challenge. Well, he was right, I hadn’t seen them before and my intial thought was, “oh, not another paddletail bait”, but after seeing its name, I knew I had to at least try them.

Well, before my friend departed, he left me several packages of the product, but of course, they got lost into obscurity amongst the pile of “stuff to check out” on my boat. Just recently, on a tackle testing trip to Lake Pardee with Zander, I remembered to pull them out to have a look.

Pardee is a favorite place for us to go to check out new baits for while the fishing can be very difficult due to the ultra clear water, this clarity affords us the unreal opportunity to really see what a bait is doing in the water on a full length cast. In fact, the only thing stopping us from going there more often is a complimentary VIP pass at the gate!

But back to the One’Up Shad. At first inspection, the bait is somewhat unremarkable. The colors are farily opaque and the shape of the bait is reminscent of an oversized Slug-O – remember those? The difference here, of course, is this bait has a paddletail AND a somewhat distinct joint in the middle of its body.

While distinct, this joint is no where near as thin and fragile as that of the Imakatsu Javallon. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, this probably affords the bait a very unique swimming action.

Onto the end of the line it went aboard a Dobyns Rods 804CB paired with an Abu Revo Elite Aurora series reel. I spooled the Revo with 12lb test Toray HiClass fluorocarbon. Not necessarily an ideal combination, but amidst the Crankbait Rod wars, you have to make due with the rods you’re dealt.

After a few test pulls alongside the boat and remarking of the bait’s sinuous action, I made a cast to shore alongside some semi-submerged brush (Pardee is currently at full pool). I watched the bait and noticed the same swimming action we saw at the side of the boat, was happening on my medium paced retrieve. This bait has some moxy! Then, about two feet behind the bait, a large, dark shadow emerged and just as soon as I noticed it, it slowly sank back down into the depths.

Whoa! Whatever it was, it was BIG! This experience is typical of Lake Pardee, only this fish was darker than anything had seen previously and so dark, I could not make out any markings. Just it’s overall shape – literally as if it were a shadow.

A few casts later, it was on and I was able to pull up this healty, but significantly smaller largemouth bass.

I’m told these baits were made several years ago. I’m not certain if they are still made, or where in Japan you can or cannot find them, but if you are over there, and come across these baits, AND are into the paddletail style products, I suggest you buy as may packs as you can afford. I know I will now be guarding mine very closely

Sharing the same fishing waters with local manufacturers can lead to some unexpected surprises. The California Delta is a huge waterway, yet we often run into people we know while out on a field test.

Recently, one such chance meeting turned into an impromptu product preview when we ran into Grant Olguin of Black Dog Baits out fishing the Delta to field test some new baits. We recognized him from afar as he’s sporting a new logo’d wrap around his faithfull BassCat boat.

Grant Olguin from Black Dog Bait Company out fishing the Injection Punker on a late afternoon out on the California Delta

Grant was happy to see us and immediately looked side to side to see if anyone was looking. When he was satisfied the coast was clear, he suggested we tie our boats up together because he had some new stuff to show us!

We’re already aware of the new, injection Punkers, but this was our first chance to really get a good look at the bait side by side against the original Punker and with the Jr version at least, there is a size difference.

The new injection Punker Jr. (bottom) up against an original wood Punker Jr. (top). Note the injection version is much more streamlined. We've found it much easier to walk than the original.

Grant had on hand, an entire collection of new colors for the injection molded Punker Jr. but we failed to get a photo of the new color selection because of the next bait Grant pulled out. It was a prototype 4″ billed Shellcracker.

But what really excited us was this new 4" billed Shellcracker

Grant introduced it by acknowledging our “Year of the Crank” theme and asked us what we thought about it. Well, it didn’t take me long to grab it from Grant, tie it on and toss it out.

The bait is a floater and will be available in both a silent and rattled, injection molded body. They’re toying with the idea of some limited run wood versions as well, but the idea around the bait is to provide something smaller for those anglers who like the idea of big baits, but still cannot get their heads around the massive size of the majority of products.

The new 4" billed Shellcracker (front) up against an original sized version.

The new 4″ Shellcracker is essentially a jointed crankbait and on about my 4th cast with the bait (mounted on a Dobyns Rods 684CB) I got a hookup while slowly cranking the bait back to the boat along a weedline, but as I knelt down to lip the fish, it took one final lunge and got off the hook!

I know, I know, I should have swung him, but I was afraid of snapping the rod as it was a good three or four pound fish, and the 684CB is a pretty light rod. It was bad enough I was fishing a bait that probably weighed about one ounce on the poor thing.

So anyway, the picture opportunity was lost and I had to give the bait back to Grant as it was an early prototype. He tells us they’re still working out some final things with regards to colors, price point, and production runs but they hope to have the baits ready in time for ICAST 2009.

The 4" Cracker fishes just like a crankbait only if you retrieve it REALLY slow, it will wake across the surface in tantalizing fashion. This is one 4" option we may actually fish - especially during our Year of the Crank!

Lastly, there’s another bait he showed us but that we cannot talk about yet, but it’s safe to say this bait is a departure from what Black Dog Baits currently offers and it is quite the little number. Stay tuned for some official release news on this new bait as soon as we’re given the green light!

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.

By the end of this year, custom rod builders and customers throughout the world will lose one of the most highly regarded blanks in the industry. In a news release dated April 23, 2009, G.Loomis, long considered the industry benchmark for rods in North America, announced their decision to exit the custom rod blank business so they can focus on expanding their finished rods business globally.

It was just a few short years ago, where I was quite excited over the fact G.Loomis made the decision to re-release a small selection of their GLX blanks and was hoping they’d expand the selection someday to include the BCR blanks as well as the MBR842 (one of my absolute favorite rods in their lineup). But instead, today we find out quite the opposite is true

In the press release, Bruce Holt, executive director at G.Loomis made the following statement:

“This is a very difficult decision for all of us here at G.Loomis, especially since making custom rod blanks for steelhead anglers was how we got our start as a fishing tackle company back in the ‘80’s. While we realize there’s an avid following among custom rod makers for our blanks, the growth we’ve experienced on a worldwide basis for our finished rods – and especially our fly rods with both fly tackle dealers in the U.S. and abroad – makes this the right decision and direction for our business success in the future.”

The company has invested in upgrades to their Woodland, WA facility and in training for current staff in an effort to make improvements in all areas of the company. Holt continued in his statement by adding, “Our production plans include manufacturing custom rod blanks through the end of 2009, and then our complete focus will be on finished rods. Our efforts at the plant over the past few months and this decision to exit the custom blank business prepares us well for when the global economy rebounds.”

So where does that leave the custom rod builder and customer? St. Croix, Phenix Rods, Lamiglas, among a select few others will hopefully continue to offer their blanks to those who prefer to roll their own, but the loss of G.Loomis in this market segment will be significant. Personally, I’m more than just a little disappointed. Considering how conservative G.Loomis has remained with their finished rod designs, the custom wrapping route was the next best alternative to having a very stylish rod built on one of their blanks. Now that they are abandoning this segment, and removing this option, it may be time I abandon their product all together until they update some of their designs – at the very least, remove the foregrips on their bass rods.

Well, if in the past G.Loomis can re-release their GLX blanks, maybe at some point in the future, they’ll find the resources to back up on this decision as well and reopen the doors to the custom market. For now, it’s on to other resources.

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.

D&M Custom Baits has released their Piranha Swim Jigs, the secret bait of Larry Hemphill, Northern California Bass Fishing Guide. Larry has been slaying fish for the last two years on this bait.

Bama Bug

Black and Blue

Product Spec’s:
3 standard sizes, 3/8 oz, 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz.
A dozen standard colors : custom colors on request.
5/0 Gamakatsu Hook
Big 3-D eyes
Head design has barb and collar.
Comes complete with skirts and matching plastic trailer.

Chartreuse Shad

Available Now at: http://www.outdoorproshop.com/D-M-Custom-Baits-s/615.htm?Click=592

Purple Passion

Rainbow Trout

D&M Custom Baits out of Northern California has released their new, custom buzzbait fresh off of a successful fall season of testing. Their new Delta Hammerhead Buzzbait comes in two configurations:

Chartreuse White

A 3/8 oz. version made of “TIN” that gives the bait a really slow speed with the great bubble trail, soft squeal and a loud Ringing head banger. This bait is available with a “Black Head only”

Black Red Flash

A 1/2 oz. “LEAD” Model featuring a loud head banger as the name implies available in 4 Head Colors. This allows D&M to customize any color combo the fishermen would like. Gold, White, Chartreuse, Black.

Chartruese Shad

With each bait, you can adjust the amount noise you want by bending the blades arm into the head for more noise, or lifting the blade arm to allow for the high pitch squeal and nice bubble trail.

Cotton Candy

D&M’s Delta Hammerhead Buzzbait features quality components with a small profile frame allowing for greater casting distance in the high winds.
The custom head designs on these buzzers facilitates their rise to the surface. This buzzbait will also fall very slow and can be used at any depth even on the bottom or in heavy cover like trees. D and M assurs us this buzzbait will not rollover at any speed.

Golden Shiner

Other components include:
5/0 Gamakatsu Hook
Custom Blades, made heavier for louder bang.
Custom Plating, giving off higher flash.
Chrome, Citrus, Burnt Orange, Gold, Black Nickel, Hot Pink for Smallies and Spotted Bass.

Night Stalker

And as always, these baits are available in custom colors by simply contacting D&M Custom Baits Directly.

Orange Crush

Available soon at: http://www.outdoorproshop.com/D-M-Custom-Baits-s/615.htm?Click=592

Sexy Shad

White Shad