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.

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

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…