Posted by Jason Sealock on Thu, Aug 30, 2012 @ 10:18 AM
The days are shorter, the water is cooler, the baitfish are more abundant and the fishing got worse? Fall can be a feast or famine if you don't follow the migration of fish with the forage and the changing conditions. A lot of that has to do with the types of areas they like to frequent this time of year, namely large expansive flats. So they are not just everywhere but they can be predictable and with a good search bait like a crankbait, an angler can find them and catch a good pile of bass by covering water effectively.
We talked to Terry Bolton recently about fall cranking around flats and he was very forthcoming with how he approaches this time of year on a variety of fisheries. He covered everything from tackle selection, location, conditions, cover and other variables as well. This should give anglers that like to crank as much as we do a bunch of good ideas for fishing the next month or two.
"I usually pull crankbaits out again in late summer early fall," Bolton said. "There is a time during the summer where I put them away because there isn't much flow, much oxygen, much bait and the weather is usually sunny and slick. Just not real conducive to fishing a crankbait. But as the days start to get shorter, the water temperatures start to change and the shad start showing up in great numbers in the mouths of the bays and main lake flats, I start bringing four and five rods with crankbaits."
In the Midwest and other parts of the country there is a lot happening now and this can be a frustrating time to fish because the bass start moving more. The days getting shorter, the photo period changing, is what Bolton believes makes the fish move first, even before the water temperatures drop. They may move from deep spots to main lake flats, but they are moving nonetheless. The shad is grouping up and starting to meander into the mouths of the bays and backs of pockets, especially late in the evenings. The water quality is changing as a lot of depths of water may not have viable oxygen levels for the bass. And there can be other factors like fall draw down occurring.
"I always start with the flats in the fall," Bolton said. "Flats are VERY important this time of year. But anglers should realize flats don't mean the backs of the bays or pockets necessarily. I catch a lot of fall bass on main lake flats, flats in the mouths of bays, even flat points. It depends a lot on the fishery. If you're on a Tennessee River impoundment, there can be good flats in the middle of the lake. But on a highland reservoir, there may only be flats in the backs of creek arms."
Bolton notes that cover can be important on the flats, but it doesn't have to be the driving force to where you fish on the flat. Grass can hold a lot of fish on a flat, as can stumps, manmade brush piles, stake beds, laydowns and more. But he's also had some huge catches on flats that had nothing on them but a small depression that the fish were relating to on an otherwise void flat.
He starts out on the edge of the flat first and then works up on top of the flat as he goes, focusing on making extremely long casts to cover as much of the flat as possible from every angle. To do this he will focus his efforts in water less than 12 feet. He employs a whole line of Rapala crankbaits to cover all his bases. He starts out deep with the DT 14, DT 10 and then works in with the DT 6 before getting "dirt shallow" as he calls it with the DT Fat 3 and the Rapala Clackin Crank 53 as well as a lipless Rapala Rippin' Rap. But it's not enough to just have the variety of baits as he starts to dial in on the areas holding fish, he really experiments with the actions of the baits and how they ride in the water on different line sizes.
"I might find that the fish are really hitting the DT 14 or DT 10 on the edges of the flats but they are not right on the bottom as well," Bolton said. "That's when I'm going to have three or four of the deeper crankbaits tied on with different line sizes from 10 to 15 pound monofilament. I've had times when a DT on 15 pound line riding just over some of the cover on the edges of the flats caught me big fish in the fall. But other times a DT 14 plowing on 10-pound Sufix monofilament stirring up sediment causing a commotion triggered a lot more strikes."
Bolton stresses that when he targets fall bass on flats, he's just trying to find a fish or two that will bite and then he starts varying his retrieve, his line size, the action of his baits to see if he can trigger. He said he often finds a bass or two with just a steady moderate retrieve but then when they don't bite after that he goes to burning the crankbait or digging real hard or ticking the top of the cover to really catch the fish in the area.
That allows him to fish the flats fast and cover water. He's making long casts, from the outside working in. As he sees targets like stumps and laydowns, he might pick up a little shorter rod and make more targeted casts. If he doesn't get any bites and doesn't see any action like fish blowing up on shad, he'll move on to the next flat. If he hasn't gotten a bite but he's seeing a lot of fish chasing and feeding, he'll keep switching up baits and line sizes until he's presenting something fish will react to more readily.
Sometimes switching from a rattling lipless bait to a silent square bill can do the trick. Sometimes getting his bait to ride up in the water column over the top of the fish can get them to bite better. Sometimes changing his retrieve speed helps. He's found often using an overlooked bait like that Clackin Crank 53 with the loud clacker and tighter wobble can trigger bass just because a little more unique action and sound.
He keeps his tackle simple. He starts out deep with Denali 7-foot, 6-inch cranking rods and as he moves shallower will go to a 7-foot Denali Jadewood Medium-Heavy rod that allows him long casts but gives him a little more control to be able to roll cast a square bill along a laydown, etc. He sticks with a Lew's Tournament Pro series reel in 5.4:1 gear ratio most of the time. That lower gear ratio causes less torque and he can throw the DT 14 or DT 10 all day without fatigue. As he moves shallower he might move up to a 6.4:1 reel for his lipless Rippin Rap or square bill to give them more erratic retrieves. He might go as high as 20-pound line on those two baits when he's up in the mud.
As far as the conditions, he likes a little wind or cloud cover and some stain to the water. It seems like the sunnier, flatter and clearer the water is, the harder the bass are to catch on a crankbait and he'll go to something a little more subtle. He's seen days where the bass were in inches of water in numbers on bright sunny flat days but they were hard to make bite with a crankbait.
He is a big proponent of the Sureset hooks on the DT series of crankbaits. He's had countless fish barely hooked, sometimes on the outside of the mouth with that one big hook in the back. He feels he would have missed those fish that took a half hearted swipe at the bait without that big back hook. But he at times will downsize his hooks to VMC Short Shank Round Bend hooks when he's fishing a lot of brush piles or around grass to pull the hook points in closer to the body of the bait and make the lure more snagless.
"Those DT crankbaits from Rapala are the best mass produced wooden crankbaits on the market," Bolton said. "I usually stick with shad colors like Helsinki Shad and the new colors in the Ike Custom Ink Series have really been working for me this year. Colors like Blue Back Herring, Penguin and Ike's Smash are really good colors. But I will also throw the Hot Mustard, Parrot and other brighter colors in more stained water or on real cloudy windy days. For my lipless Rippin Raps, I stick with Chrome Blue, Chrome Black and Pearl Grey."
Bolton loves fishing in the fall. He loves throwing crankbaits and when he covers a bunch of water and finds that one sweet spot on a flat, there is nothing better to him. Cooler temperatures, shorter days, more baitfish present all means it's time to load the deck with crankbait rods and get to work.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Aug 29, 2012 @ 01:10 PM
We featured a video with Aaron Martens earlier this year where he laid out how he stored a lot of his fishing tackle. Since then, we've had a lot of questions about how to store crankbaits, worms, and the various assundries an angler needs on hand that don't all fit in the same size boxes.
That's sort of the beauty of Martens' system, in which he has now converted me to as well. He actually prefers small boxes as to large boxes for a lot of his tackle.
"I don't need to carry 100 Megabass crankbaits in my boat," Martens said. "I can carry a handful of my favorite proven colors for various water conditions in practice. Then as I dial in on a specific pattern or color, I can go to my truck and reload the box with just the color I want. Most of the time I won't lose a crankbait or sometimes as many as two in competition any way."
When I asked Martens why boxes and not bags for plastics, I got a similar story about just being more efficient with his time on the water.
"Six years ago, I would have these huge bags and inside those bags would be hundreds of smaller bags of plastics in tons of different colors and shapes. What I finally realized was I'd get down in the boat digging through bags and bags for 5 or 10 minutes at a time and get totally off track from what I was doing. Now I store my plastics by type and shape and then I just grab that one box, open it, get what I want and I'm back fishing in seconds instead of minutes. That doesn't seem like a lot, but you do that 10-20 times a day and now you're talking about hours lost of fishing time."
It's really a solution to several problems on the water -- lack of organization and lack of time. By being more modular, you can put the right stuff in the boat for each trip depending on season and body of water you're fishing. If you're like us, you fish in several states, on several different types of fisheries, several times a season. So being modular has really helped us with always being prepared.
And since everything is organized and labeled we spend more time fishing and less time digging to see what else we have to trick the fish. We're big proponents of keeping lures wet, and you're not doing that when you're sitting down in the boat hunting tackle or retying new lures.
We've found that we generally throw just a handful of plastics in a handful of shapes. You can store those easily and neatly in larger 3600 and 3700 size boxes. That way you're assured to have plenty of whatever plastic is working at the time but still have a few options.
With hardbaits we also store some in the bigger boxes but we're becoming more fond of the shallower 1-inch boxes and the smaller length and width boxes as well. I don't need 100 chatterbaits. I need like 5 or 6. I don't need 100 swim jigs. I need 10 or 20. I don't need 20 Storm Wiggle Warts. I only need a handful because that is a very regional, situational type crankbait.
For terminal tackle, storing small pieces in small boxes and then keeping those small boxes in bigger boxes seems to really do the trick. We can store all our bullet weights in a box 1 1/2 inches by 3 inches. Then put those boxes inside a water proof tub. Martens showed us how he used a small box that he remove the handles, hot glued the holes and made it water proof and he can carry all the small items he needs like hooks, drop shot weights, bullet weights, rattles, clips, swivels, split rings, treble hooks, pegs and more.
In a lot of cases, smaller is better for tackle boxes. I've found that I'm often hopping in the boat with friends, pros, guides and other folks on various bodies of water. Storing a lot of tackle in smaller boxes makes it easy to grab a handful of baits I know or have been told will work on a certain fishery and go. I don't have to try to cram 8 big boxes in a bag. I can bring 20 little boxes and they still take less room.
I've found several boxes particularly useful thanks to Martens advice.
Plano 3449 - This box handles small crankbaits, poppers, chatterbaits, jigs, lipless baits, etc.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Aug 29, 2012 @ 08:55 AM
5 things of which pro staff and pro staff managers should agree before a contract is signed
By Ronell Smith, The Tackle Insider
First, since this an article about professional angling, I’d like to congratulate one of the sport’s true good guys in Brent Chapman, who just earned the 2012 Toyota Tundra B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year prize. I met Chapman in 2003, at a Yamaha/Skeeter event on Georgia’s Lake Lanier. I thought he was a great guy then; I still feel the exact same way.
As you might assume, my days are spent primarily on the phone, talking to folks at various levels within the sportfishing industry. I’m usually fishing for nuggets of information, and more folks than not are willing to share. One group, however, that I don’t normally seek out for comment are pro staff managers. But, oddly enough, no group is—when I do converse with them—more vociferous in voicing their “concerns” about the industry.
What usually begins with us talking about a new lure or how well a pro on his team has done becomes a 10-minute data dump. Chief among their concerns are how to deal with the flood of incoming requests from pros who want to join their staff; dwindling budgets coupled with added responsibility; bosses who devalue their role; pros who see them as babysitters; and the unease they feel in having to pare their staff for budgetary reasons.
Admittedly, I do more listening than talking. One thing I always offer up is this sentence: “The best pros understand their role as an ‘employee’ and as an ambassador for your brand(s).”
I say that because I sense a genuine unease on their part in dealing with pros. Maybe it’s that the title of pro staff manager was thrust upon them, adding to their already-full plate. Or, just as likely, maybe they are initimidated by the prospect of dealing with pros who might be household names but who are a chore to deal with on a day-to day-basis. (“I feel like I’m running a daycare,” said one pro staff manager.)
My advice, were someone to ask me, would be summed up in five simple sentences that, by themselves, pretty well forms the backbone of what should be a straightforward, doable agreement.
Before signing any pro staffer, have him repeat after you ...
1. I will return calls in a timely fashion. It’s no coincidence that this one is listed first. I am frequently appalled at how many “pros” are absolutely horrible at returning the calls of media members. I get that you have lots of irons in the fire. But if a pro cannot be bothered to return calls in a timely fashion, maybe he’s too busy to promote your brand. Be reasonable but firm.
2. I will be honest. All anglers lie. It’s what we do to keep our friends from learning what lures to use to beat us during tournaments. But lying to hide the fact that you weren’t using a sponsor’s product is a no-no. A number of pros have reputations in the dumpster because they got on stage and lied about which product they were using. Now, if he does do well using your products, why should anyone believe him? They won’t.
3. I will be a great teammate. Any time you get two or more people together, there’s bound to be conflict. But on your staff, guys play nice—or they aren’t on the team anymore. This establishes an importnat precendent, for it effectively says “You don’t have to like one another, but you will get along.”
4. I will accept responsibility for my actions. It’s bad enough when a guy has an obvious lapse in judgement, but it happens. We’ve seen the rants directed at tournament officials and at other pros. We’ve seen foul language used within earshot of fans. Make it entirely unacceptable for him to make excuses and hem-haw his way out of the fire. From the outset, it should be understood that if mistakes are made, they will be rectified.
5. I will do nothing to injure the brand or the company it represents. See Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Ronell Smith, the Tackle Insider, has an extensive history in the fishing tackle industry and has relationships on all sides of the industry to be able to speak to all facets of manufacturing, buying, selling, promoting and growing fishing brands and products. If you need consultation on improving your brand's presence, visit ronellsmith.com or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Mon, Aug 20, 2012 @ 08:00 AM
By Ronell Smith, The Tackle Insider
Seems my last blog post ignited quite a firestorm, with some folks misconstruing the overall meaning of the piece. Instead of rehashing it, I’ll refer to my main point: “I’m not saying giveaways overall are bad. I’m saying they are largely useless as currently used by our industry...” I found it most ironic that anglers spoke up resoundingly in support of freebies while manufacturers were noticeably silent on the issue. Hmm...
The reason for that is simple: They know freebies, by and large, don’t work, but many don’t know what else to do. Well, when you know something isn’t working, the choices are really simple: change, or keep beating your head against the wall.
For those manufacturers who are willing to change, there are any number of effective strategies for properly conducting giveaways. I’ll outline two of the simplest and easiest to use below.
1. Give them what they want. Most products that are part of a giveaway are, for obvious reasons, not a company’s best-selling items. All too often, the logic seems to be “Let’s just get something in their hands, so they can fish our products.” But what happens if they don’t fish the product? What if it sits on a peg in a garage or ends up a yard sale? Not very effective, right? A better idea is to allow the consumer to pick the product. Instead of giving away 5 crankbaits or 10 bags of worms, offer a certificate that allows them to pick products up to a certain dollar amount. This way, at the very least anglers are picking products they are interested in, which increases the likelihood that they’ll use them.
2. Reward loyalty. I’m going to come right out and say this: If a guy is in love with a certain brand, he ain’t changing just because he tried one of your products and liked it. (This, by the way, is my principal problem with giveaways, and why I don’t typically advise clients to conduct them.) Why not use a giveaway to reward customers who are already loyal to the brand? You know these guys are fishing your products, so there is no concern with non-use. Also, passionate followers are far “noisier” than a one-time winner of a contest.
To reward their loyalty, set up a tiered giveaway, where guys must post videos to your Facebook Page of themselves using your products while on the water. The contest could be open for 30 days, and award the winners based on Facebook “Likes.” (You can set whatever parameters you’d like for the judging.)
The prizes could be awarded in this fashion: 3rd Place, $250 worth of products; 2nd Place, $500 worth of products; and the grand prize, $500 in prizes, plus an all-expense-paid trip to fish one of the country’s top bass lakes for two days. The grand prize will get folks excited to take part, but the fact that more than one person can win ensures more folks than unusual sign up. Also, while many will roll their eyes at the expense, when you consider the real value of the products, the only significant pay out is in the trip, which could easily come in under $1,000, if done the right way.
I’m not saying these giveaway ideas are the best there are; I am, however, saying they are a better than what I frequently see passed off as giveaways. Instead of thinking about giving things away, I urge you to think of using giveaways as a means to benefit your bottom line.
Ronell Smith, the Tackle Insider, has an extensive history in the fishing tackle industry and has relationships on all sides of the industry to be able to speak to all facets of manufacturing, buying, selling, promoting and growing fishing brands and products. If you need consultation on improving your brand's presence, visit ronellsmith.com or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Posted by Terry Brown on Fri, Aug 17, 2012 @ 09:08 AM
Catching aggressively feeding bass is easy; finding them is hard.
By Terry Brown
Today we have tools that make finding fish easier. Not all anglers rely on top-of-the-line technology, but those that do have a distinct competitive advantage. Side Imaging/Side Scan, Down Imaging/Down Scan, and higher pixel counts on larger screen sizes all aid the angler in finding the fish.
An overlooked tool in finding fish combines intuition and bait selection. Spending time on the water allows the angler to “know” when to make a move or switch baits. It is an art that takes “seat of the pants” thinking and many times running concurrent with the best bait selection can pay big dividends.
Adding to the formula is the list of changing variables that make finding fish more difficult. Cold fronts, wind, rising water, falling water, time of year, and type of lake or river must all be assimilated and accounted. All of the variables have to be compiled, placed in our supercomputer heads and put into practice. Technique is a crucial part of the puzzle as well, and it should not be taking lightly either. Those that can take all of the data and all the tools and combine them into practice have more success.
Conditioned fish and pressured water
One of the key variables on lakes that are highly pressured can be bait selection. Many lakes and the fish in them can get conditioned. The type of fishing pressure, for the most part, is similar. Some lakes are known as flipping lakes, some are crankbait lakes and others may be deep water fisheries. Getting out of the box a bit in approach often leads to better catches.
For instance, a lake that has a lot of shoreline cover and shallow targets usually receives an inordinate amount of fishing pressure. Every blow down, every brush pile and every dock and seawall will get flipped and pitched to death. Every shallow piece of structure will be dissected and probed to the tenth degree. The fish get smarter as a result.
Anglers new to pressured water sometimes have an advantage. They may not readily see all of the shoreline cover but may insist on looking elsewhere. T hat small change in technique and approach may allow that angler to find untapped fish or those who have not been pressured as heavily.
Finding a new approach can mean changing bait selection and sometimes a new bait on the market can be the magic key that unlocks the puzzle. Other times it may be an old bait that hasn’t been used for a long time that taps into the mother lode.
Going against the grain, away from the tried and true, can make a difference and allow anglers to find fish that are less pressured and bite more readily.
Old baits with new looks
I regularly fish several older lakes in Central Illinois that are nearly void of original structure. Siltation from farm run-off and creeks feeding into them plus yearly open prairie wind damage wreak havoc on the banks, and most cover or structure is now either man-made or deeper main-lake rock. Docks, seawalls, points and humps, some water willow and blowdowns are the keys. Close in combat is the regular battle approach, but recently I found a middle ground that has worked well all year. More on that in a minute.
Standard equipment normally is a medium heavy to heavy flipping stick teamed with a 5/16-ounce weight, 5/0 flipping hook and either a Brush Hog or a tube. Other choices are 3/8-ounce jigs and chunks, a spinnerbait or a squarebill crankbait. Much like a hitchhiker standing next to the interstate, the bass watch these offerings over and over. They still catch the pea brained, peanut sized bass, but in order to be consistent and catch the larger fish and those not conditioned to the silent entry flipping technique, I started pre-fishing with larger and louder baits. Prop baits, big swimbaits and buzzbaits worked well, but settling in with a Rebel P70 Pop R has gotten me more bites, bigger fish and its versatility is unmatched.
The 3 1/4-inch P70 is a discontinued popper that is about twice the size as many other poppers, skips exceptionally well under docks and low hanging branches on undercut banks and has a “blub, blub” like no other bait in the industry. The bait is very durable, is weighted great for a roll cast and teamed with 17-20 pound Sufix mono on a high speed 7.1:1 reel on a 6-foot, 6-inch medium-heavy power St.Croix baitcasting rod, it is meat and potatoes all in one. I call it topwater flipping.
Using larger No. 4 Gamakatsu trebles on the front and a custom feather and tinsel large back treble makes the bait settle tail down. Many of the big fish I have caught on it hit it still and fishing it as slow as possible is the rule. Other chuggers need to be worked faster; it seems, for more bites.
I like to fish this bait in heavy cover, risky business since I have a total of four baits left. I re-tie often and check my line constantly when fishing the P70 in this manner.
A little trick to change the sound of the bait is moving the knot pulled up to skip or pushed down to get a deeper “bloosh” sound. I have two baits set up without oval split rings and two with them. That too makes a difference in how the bait walks.
One is enough
Dialing in big fish areas only takes a single bite. Determining the right dock , the right bank type or the best outside channel bank swing means catching a single fish of the right caliber in practice and then seining it during the tournament for a bigger limit. Consistent limits take more time when big fish are part of the equation.
Banks with deep slopes seem to be best and if there is cover on that type of bank even better. It doesn’t take long to dial in the position of the fish even on a flat bank, when they hit the P70 they hammer it.
Finding P70’s
Finding the P70 is a tough proposition and since they are discontinued the ones we do have get special treatment. They are only used in practice or a tournament and the hooks are changed out before they hit the water. I use a No. 4 Gamakatsu Round Bend on the front and a Jim Zoerb tinsel and feathered No. 2 on the rear. The larger hook on the back gives the bait a head-up, tail down profile when stopped and many bites occur when it is stopped.
I make it standard practice to look for the Rebel P70 in every tackle shop I enter. The P70 Pop R by Rebel is a special situational bait that can indeed help you trigger and put bigger fish in the boat. I have changed the way I pre-fish using this bait.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 @ 01:00 PM
Large boat features and flexibility incorporated in aluminum boat
By Terry Brown
Buying a boat is like buying a car, only it has probably more considerations. Finding the right one for the type of water you fish takes planning. Your budget and required options dictate most purchase decisions.
Another key element to the purchase is what I call the “momma factor”. That is the point where we get the "buy-in" of our significant other that finally thinks buying a boat is good for "us." All kidding aside, choosing the right boat takes research, shopping and most importantly a test drive. Never buy a boat you have not taken for a test drive.
Every die-hard angler wants the most features they can afford in a boat. Those that live on large lakes want a larger boat with maximum horsepower and those that fish smaller waters with horsepower restrictions have identical needs from the boat and components perspective but the type of lake sometimes dictates what boat will work best. A middle ground is sometimes the best option.
Fishing this spring and summer out of the Polar Kraft TX165 has proven to be a good option for both situations. Being able to fish horsepower restricted lakes, as well as, unlimited powered ones fits well for this model. It's small enough for small lakes and has the comfort and ride necessary for larger ones.
Polar Kraft TX165 Specifications
One priority for smaller boats, under 18 feet, in my opinion is width. The wider the boat the more stable the fishing platform and the TX165’s 84-inch beam works well for the 16-foot, 6-inch boat. Both front and back decks are spacious, offer plenty of storage, and a large livewell. With a 4-inch freeboard lip on the front deck rods ride well and flipping and pitching is not hindered. Deeper front decks are available on other models, but for bass fishing, this deck arrangement is perfect.
Although rated to handle horsepower ranges up to 60 horsepower, we equipped our boat with a 25-hp Yamaha four-stroke electric long shaft outboard. This outboard also has trim built in for added performance. We chose the 25 horsepower motor based on available horsepower restricted water in our area. Most state lakes in Illinois allow for at a maximum of 25 horses.
Our tests with a full tournament load boat found GPS speeds with two anglers reaching 23 mph. We equipped the motor with a stainless steel Precision Propeller Turbo prop for more rpm’s to allow us to plane quickly and get to top speed.
The ride of the semi-V TX165 is soft and smooth, and even in windy conditions, it performs well. It cuts waves well and steering is easy and precise. Some small aluminum boats catch wind and are hard to position due to a flatter hull, but the TX165 doesn’t drift even in side chop. It is flat, stable and firm for both anglers.
We upgraded the trolling motor to a 24-volt Minn Kota 70 Maxxum, too. We wanted more reliability than the standard 12-volt motor for long days of tournament fishing, and this was a great choice as it pulls the boat well, has plenty of thrust and is super quiet and dependable even fished all day at 40-60 percent. We have not noticed much battery drain.
The three battery system, two trolling and one starting, allowed us to upgrade front electronics to the Lowrance Elite 5 graph without worry on battery drain. We kept the console graph as it was for running etc and also added a Talon 6’ shallow water anchor. Mounting it on the port side of the rear of the boat allowed for easy mounting in the splash well of the boat through the transom. One of the cool features of the Polar Kraft is vented battery compartments in the rear of the boat. Balancing weight is no issue as there is ample space for four batteries and an on-board battery charger under the rear deck.
As mentioned earlier, the front deck is spacious but it also has more than enough storage for rods and gear. We use the center storage area for rods and navigation lights and the port side storage for anchor, throwable cushion, tackle and life jackets. Directly in front of the molded fiberglass console is a large storage area for partner's tackle or a small cooler.
The console is set up well with all switches directly in front of the throttle. Gauges for battery, speed, trim, fuel, and rpm (tachometer) are standard. There is plenty of leg room under the console too.
Storage is also available under the seat section and we like the step to the back deck between the seats on this model.
Fishability
The Polar Kraft TX165 fishes like a much larger and more expensive boat. Twin butt seats and large decks allow for ease of movement to hook and net fish and it is super stable. Because it is nearly 17 feet long, casting a Carolina rig or fishing with a long rod is no issue.
This boat is super tight and there are no squeaks or creaks on the decks or floors even while running. The large aerated livewell holds a limit of fish easily with plenty of water and no performance issues due to rear weight as the livewell is directly behind the fold down seats.
The 12 gallon fuel tank is built in and the boat dry weight is under 1,000 pounds.
It's a small boat with big features. A boat you're not afraid to take on big water and at the same time beach on the bank when loading the truck. Aluminum boats are in great demand and this is going to be a popular option for a lot of anglers looking for a lot of big boat features in a smaller aluminum boat.
For more information and pricing, contact your Polar Kraft dealer or go to PolarKraftBoats.com.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 @ 07:00 AM
A look at the variables, decisions, notions and conditions that lead to winning fishing tournaments
Jacob Wheeler won a tournament in a way no one thought before hand would be the way to win on a dominant spotted bass fishery. He found an area all to himself and milked it for 20 bass that put him well over the top in this tournament. But as anglers we think it's important to recognize the factors that came into play in this tournament. Tournament bass fishing is a lot more than lures and areas.
Preconceived notions
The Forrest Wood Cup visited Lake Lanier two years ago but under very different conditions. High sun, flat waters that were then stirred and made rough by boat traffic. The lake was higher which put more grass in the lake in the shallow areas. It would seem the shallow largemouth patterns would have been better. But that wasn't the case. The deep spotted bass dominated and guys who ran up the rivers lived and died up there. Ronald Hobbs made the top-10 cut in 2010 fishing nothing but shallow largemouth, however he failed to catch a keeper bass on the final day.
Ott Defoe ran up the river the first day and caught 13 pounds and was in the hunt but after blanking on day two, he was out of the tournament. Defoe fished the area that basically won the tournament for Wheeler two years later but it was still a gamble after seeing what happened to Defoe.
What having the same tournament on the same venue did was convince a good portion of the field that what happened two years ago was what was going to happen this year. So guys that would normally go shallow no matter what, decided they had to be out deep to be competitive. That put a lot more pressure on the fish in those places but it wasn't the only thing that added pressure. More on that in a second.
Guys like Andy Morgan were disgusted with themselves. Morgan didn't pull a spinning rod out all year on the FLW Tour, but then focused almost exclusively on fishing deep with spinning gear in this tournament. A hard lesson for any pro but one that will make him a lot tougher in future championships. "This will be a good lesson for ole' Andy," he said about his preconceived decisions.
Dion Hibdon probably summed up his success best.
"I was one of a few guys who came here and just ignored all the spotted bass talk and what everyone said about there not being enough largemouth to win here," he said. "I just came here and found out what the fish were doing and caught them. I didn't listen to what everyone said had to be done or could be done."
The local effect
It's no secret anglers get insight from locals on various venues in pre-practice. This is more apparent when the conditions are tough on a given fishery and especially in championships. It seems pros have more time to ride around with locals and find out the hot community holes. And locals are usually all too willing to show anglers other locals favorite haunts.
Whether you agree or disagree with the practice, it's how fishing has become. Some pros don't get any help at all and still do well. In fact, where they shine are when the conditions change drastically during a tournament. Other pros, however, might get a point in a right direction and then find their own stuff in the real practice. Another good option that can help you adjust on the fly.
But the local effect comes into play when you start seeing anglers playing round robin on the same 10 spots in one section of the lake. So those bass are then spread out among several guys. The guys fishing deep brush and trees with a drop shot might only get a shot at one bass per pile or tree. If you come in behind Cody Meyer or Brent Ehrler in the rotation on the same spots, what do you think your odds of catching fish will be. So actually being shown the same things as others on a lake hurts the most in these situations.
Changing conditions
Sun, wind, rain, current, water clarity, temperature and more all impact fishing on any giving fishery. The more the conditions change from one extreme to another, the more anglers have to adapt on the fly. That can be hard to do when you have a strong practice doing one thing in one set of conditions and don't get those same conditions throughout the week of an event.
Sunday of practice for the tournament, we contacted several pros and the stories ranged from a good day to being on the winning pattern and group of fish. The old adage of winning practice came to mind as we heard how good the fishing was for many pros. It was sunny and the water was flat except where boat traffic was making big waves. As the practice period progressed, the clouds came in and out and anglers were starting to get a taste of how tough the deep bite could be.
By the time the tournament started, rain and fronts were moving in and out of the area and the sun, although it did come out some, was an afterthought. The sun might seem like a hindrance in a hot summer tournament but it was actually beneficial in this event on Lake Lanier for a number of reasons.
The sun not only drove deeper bass down closer to the deep brush piles and trees, but it also put the shallow fish around more hard targets. It also gave these fish a better bead on the artificial lures anglers were throwing.
"These fish on this lake are visual feeders," said Wesley Strader who found the bass crushing topwaters on sunny days and completely missing it on overcast days. "They see your bait from a long way and swallow it on those bright days. But when it gets overcast, it's like they see the commotion but can't find the lure and just sort of roll on it."
The first three days of fishing saw mostly clouds with a little sun. Some guys were able to capitalize on the small windows of sun while others struggled. It became clear early that there were fish shallow on both ends of the lake, but Wheeler's nearly 22-pound limit took the wind out of a lot of sails. He actually caught three of his biggest bass on reaction moving baits like vibrating jigs and topwaters, playing the clouds that were making the fish roam.
Meanwhile some good limits were caught around some brush deep on drop shots and other baits. As the week played out those fish were picked off, and the ones that remained got way high in the water column away from the brush and made them much harder to target effectively.
As the sun came out more the fish got around their targets shallow as well as deep. There were good fish being caught deep and good fish being caught around docks and the notorious bream beds.
The forage factor
Lanier isn't like other fisheries on say the Tennessee River. Some lakes have an overabundance of forage. Lanier has a lot of bait but it doesn't have a lot of shad compared to other fisheries. You have blue back herring that can cause bass to roam and meander over 100 feet of water not relating to anything. There are things like glass minnows that stay shallow, but a major forage base for the bass on a lake like Lanier can be bream or bluegills.
Several of the top finishers, including eventual winner Wheeler, found the bream bed pattern and actually found several big bass just "hanging out" around them. This pattern won't be found on all lakes, and it also makes a plan like running way up a river feast or famine depending on the fishery. If you run way up a river and the forage isn't up there, you're not going to find many bass.
However, Wheeler found many bass in a small area, and they were easy to target. He was able to cast to isolated targets and catch bass feeding on bait in not only current but also around old bedding areas. And because of preconceived notions by his peers, he was able to keep the small area mostly to himself.
Adapting daily
Adjustments make or break anglers on the water in multi-day tournaments. Bass fishing pros get to the highest level based on their decision making skills as well as their prowess for making leery bass bite. It wasn't enough for Wheeler to have a hot area up the river. He also had to catch those fish, and if they didn't cooperate, he had to be smart enough to go to his backup stuff down lake and not just die up there.
The first day he was able to catch the tournament's biggest limit with reaction baits. The second day there was a bit more sun, and the fish had to be caught flipping Trigger X plastics to specific targets. He also picked up a few larger fish down lake on some bream beds with his topwater prop bait. On day three, the fish were already accustomed to the prop bait, so he changed the profile with the more slender Rapala X-Rap Prop. By the final day he knew what he had to do, and he stuck with his flipping baits and his topwaters to get the job done.
Those small adjustments every day are what lead champions to victory. The fact is we'll never know everything about bass. We'll scratch our heads as much one day when we can't make them bite as we pump our chests the next day when we sack them up. But it's always interesting to hear the psychology and conditional factors that come into play on figuring out the fish on a body of water. For us that sometimes is more interesting than the lure they used.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Aug 08, 2012 @ 08:00 AM
Photos courtesy of FishPAA.com
Combatting and exploiting the mayfly life cycle can yield better catches
By Walker Smith
If you’ve spent much time on or around the water during the summertime, it is likely that you have had some encounters with Ephemeroptera, more commonly known as the mayfly. These harmless little guys will infiltrate every compartment on your boat, fly up your nose and wreak havoc on boat docks. Sounds pleasant, right?
Before you curse the mayfly’s obnoxious tendencies, it is important to understand that these creatures are bona-fide bream magnets not to mention a hearty meal en masse for larger predators. And, as many know, where there are bream, there are bass—big bass.
Bassmaster Elite Series and PAA pro Fred Roumbanis is a mayfly master. While his home state of California doesn’t offer many mayflies, Roumbanis’ current home in Bixby and his numerous trips to Oklahoma’s Grand Lake have allowed him to sharpen specific skills to capitalize on big mayfly hatches. He recently shared some of his secrets to locating and catching big bass that relate to mayflies.
Mayfly life cycle
To fully understand the concept behind fishing mayfly hatches, it is necessary to understand the mayfly’s life cycle. According to the Entomology Department of Texas A&M, Mayflies have two main functions in life—to mate and to die. During their two-night adult lifespan, mayflies mate in big, airborne swarms near any available light sources in highly oxygenated, flowing water. In an attempt to lay their eggs, they will swoop down to the water’s surface and submerge their abdomens into the water. Upon distributing their eggs, the adult females die and float along the surface, creating an easy meal for bream.
When the mayfly eggs hatch at the water’s surface, the adolescents form wings within seconds that will carry them to nearby plants and bushes, where they will undergo their final molting stage into an adult, completing the life cycle -- a fairly simple, but very important process, as it relates to bass fishing.
Conditions and location
Finding mayflies relies heavily on water conditions and location. When the water temperature is between 78 and 85 degrees, Roumbanis knows to be on the lookout.
“Late May, June and July often present the optimum water conditions for heavy mayfly activity,” Roumbanis said. “While I use my graphs to help me gauge water temperature, the bass and bream are instinctive to it. They know when the mayflies are going to hatch and they take full advantage of it.”
When mayflies hatch, they do so in huge numbers. These hatches are easily identifiable by huge black masses on overhanging trees and bushes. It is hard to miss a big swarm of freshly hatched mayflies.
“I like to ride the lake at a pretty quick pace when I’m locating mayfly hatches,” Roumbanis said. “I stick close to the bank and just look for the black trees. It sounds pretty simple, but that’s because it is! You’ll know it when you find them. Trust me.”
While most hatches will hold an abundance of fish, it is not always simple to pattern big fish. Similar to fishing shallow structure, mayfly hatches near deep water are prime areas for big bass. Bluff walls littered with overhanging trees and bushes can create the perfect storm.
“I love hatches near deep water, because I feel like I can bust a 5-pounder at any time,” Roumbanis said. “The flatter the bottom, the harder it is to catch quality fish. There’s always going to be a few shallow hatches that hold big fish, but deep banks will consistently attract your big, tournament-worthy fish.”
Locating black trees sounds easy enough, right? While it may seem simple, the angler must always know what areas of the fishery to begin targeting in order to increase efficiency. You can run around the lake all day and maybe find a few hatches, but if you zero in on specific, prime mayfly habitat, you can greatly increase your chances of success.
“No lake is the same, but mayflies usually aren’t too crazy about getting into the backs of creeks,” Roumbanis said. “I find the majority of my hatches on main river stretches because of the high oxygen levels in the water. If I feel the need to find some less-pressured areas, I might target both docks and natural banks in the first-third of major creeks. Dock hatches usually don’t last as long, but some will really surprise you.”
If the mayflies aren’t actively swarming around and being stalked by bream, Roumbanis won’t waste much time with it.
“I don’t want to mess around with inactive flies,” Roumbanis said. “I want to see them flying around, falling into the water and getting gulped down by bream. If I don’t see any such evidence, I won’t waste much time before I move on to the next one.”
When practicing for an event, Roumbanis is adamant about leaving the hatches alone. Although the fish can replenish within minutes, it is not necessary to fish every hatch you come across.
“Don’t touch a mayfly hatch until the day of your tournament,” Roumbanis said. “I’ve learned the hard way. There’s going to be fish around, so there’s no need whatsoever to mess with them. Instead of fishing these hatches in practice, I spend my time looking for backup plans. Mayfly hatches are very ‘hit-or-miss.’ I’ve never seen a guy win a multi-day event on mayflies alone. It’s too risky to count solely on mayflies.”
Catching fish in a mayfly hatch
When it’s time to put fish in the boat on game day, Roumbanis turns to three very specific baits—a topwater frog, the Picasso Shad Walker and the El Grande Lures Hatch Match Stick—each having a very specific order and purpose.
“When I pull up on a mayfly hatch, I immediately fire a frog right into the tree that the mayflies are in,” Roumbanis said. “When the frog is in the tree, I shake the tree like crazy, stirring up the flies and causing some to fall into the water. It spurs the natural cycle. When the mayflies fall into the water, the bream start feeding, causing the bass to move in for the kill.”
Only after a few casts into the tree will Roumbanis make his first few “real” casts with a topwater frog. With the frog walking side-to-side and spitting water, big bass are often fooled by its perfect emulation of a feeding bream. If no strikes occur with his first few casts, Roumbanis turns to one of his favorite baits—the Picasso Shad Walker.
“The Shad Walker has some crazy movement to it,” Roumbanis said. “It walks like no other topwater bait while offering the fish a totally different profile than a conventional frog. Around mayflies, I’ll exclusively throw Picasso’s bluegill color. You better hold on, though, because the bass will go nuts on this thing! Several pros can attest to that.”
Roumbanis throws his frogs and Shad Walkers on identical setups—a 7-foot, 5-inch heavy-action iROD Air Series paired with an Ardent Edge Elite 7.2:1 reel spooled with 50-pound P-Line Spectrex IV braided line.
“These iROD Air Series rods have a wicked-soft tip that lets me walk baits very easily and cast with incredible accuracy,” Roumbanis said. “The tip loads up really well and absorbs the strike while not ripping the bait away from the fish. I don’t use very heavy braid, either. The 50-pound P-Line Spectrex IV is strong, casts very accurately and makes it a lot easier to walk topwaters. I have yet to break it.”
After casting his topwater baits around a hatch, Roumbanis won’t leave until he throws a Texas rigged 5.25-inch El Grande Lures Hatch Match Stick. While many anglers prefer pegged, stationary bullet weights, he opts for a very different approach.
“I never peg my bullet weight when I’m fishing a mayfly hatch,” Roumbanis said. “I want the bait to fall slower than the weight. When the Hatch Match Stick hits the water, it will stop for just a second while the weight slides down my line, allowing the bait to catch up to it. Bass get very keyed in on small subtleties. They are used to seeing the mayflies land on the water and sink erratically.”
In order to ensure a proper presentation for such an intricate technique, Roumbanis has a very specific setup for this application—a 7-foot, 5-inch iROD Genesis II Fred’s Magic Stick partnered with an Ardent Edge Elite 7.2:1 reel spooled with 20-pound P-Line fluorocarbon. For the business end, he prefers a 3/16-ounce Picasso tungsten weight with a 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flippin’ Hook.
In between hatches while covering water on the trolling motor, Roumbanis loves to throw an Ima Bill Lowen Square Bill Crankbait.
“You might as well be making casts when you’re moving between hatches, and the Ima Square Bill is one of the most trusted baits in my boat,” Roumbanis said.
Environmental cues
The evening before a big event or practice, most professionals flock to the gas station to fill up their rigs for the day ahead in order to avoid polluting the water with fresh gasoline. While he’s filling up before bedtime, Roumbanis’ head is already on a swivel.
“I always look up at the gas station lights,” Roumbanis said. “Sometimes you will see huge herds of mayflies congregated on the lights. If you see that, let it be a clear sign that you need to go look for flies in the morning.”
Bream and bass aren’t the only wildlife affected by a solid mayfly hatch. Throughout your fishing day, it is imperative to take notice of the surrounding animals. Mayfly hatches routinely attract crows and turtles, and sometimes a flock of big black crows or a big wad of turtles is a lot easier to spot than a small, isolated mayfly hatch.
“You have to be looking at all times,” Roumbanis said. “The environment is always trying to give you tips to catch a big limit of fish. It’s up to the angler to listen and react.”
Many anglers dread fishing during a mayfly hatch, when in fact, Mayflies can be an angler’s best friend in the dog days of summer. With some basic knowledge of the mayfly life cycle, where to find them, what baits to use and attention to small environmental cues, targeting mayfly hatches can lead to some of the most exciting fishing of the summer.
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Posted by Jason Sealock on Thu, Aug 02, 2012 @ 08:00 AM
By Ronell Smith, The Tackle Insider
In this industry, as with any other, copycats are a part of the business. Company A creates a product that works, and soon thereafter, 11 other companies introduce facsimile products. Despite the rancorous voices who oftentimes disagree with me on this, if it works, why not copy it?
But...what if it doesn’t work? What if what you see other companies doing, and then blindly follow, actually sets your brand back? Maybe it looks good on paper, or maybe conventional wisdom says it should work, but when you look closer it could be a facade that ultimately serves to devalue your brand. Would you still say it’s a good idea?
I think product giveaways are one such facade. I know... I know... They “work.” You gain “customers.” It calls “attention” to your brand from “people who might not otherwise have heard of (your) products and might never have tried them otherwise.”
That’s precisely my point. By and large, product giveaways—at least as managed by the majority of our industry—mainly serve to gain the attention of anglers who are unlikely to ultimately become a customer. In fact, many experts agree with me that giveaways can actually work to drive customers away from your brand.
By their very nature, giveaways “say” lower value, something the company can afford to lose without much hassle, which is why millions of businesses have pens, notepads, coffee mugs and sundry "tchotchkes" made up to give away. The cost is minimal so whatever benefit they garner by way of brand exposure is a net gain. But when was the last time you sought out a product simply because you took advantage of an offer for a free pen or mug with the name of that company on it?
But your reel or lure is different, right? Not really. In today’s retail climate, customers have innumerable choices when it comes to making purchases, and some of the largest influencers of buying behavior are “friends” and other members of the online community. Trust me, “free” is way down on any list showing influencers of buying behavior.
I have two big problems with giveaways.
First, they attract people who are interested in “free” products, not necessarily your free product. Think about it: When you announce a giveaway, it’s likely that only a small percentage of the folks who jump aboard would ever be interested in your product, and if they were, would giving them a free product (a) push them to buy your product in the future? or (b) push enough folks to try the product to offset the expense of the giveaway itself? I say no. Giveaways are a feel-good, me-too idea that’s largely being used because companies are choosing the easy way out in the quest to market their products.
My second problem with giveaways is how they are handled in this industry: “Visit our Facebook Fan Page and register to win a free...” OK, then what? You gain a “Like” and the dozens or hundreds of folks who continue visiting your page each day are largely ignored. They post images, and no one from the company comments. They ask questions, and no one responds. You think they’ll return once the winner of the prize is announced? You’ve just thrown away a great opportunity to interact with a potential client/customer, but what you’ve really done is alienated him or her by making it clear that what you really wanted was for them to become a fan of your page.
What was intended as a benefit has all of a sudden become a cost to your company.
Let me be clear, however: I’m not saying giveaways overall are bad. I’m saying they are largely useless as currently used by our industry, and unless companies come to understand how to better use them, the potential for injury to their brands is real.
If you find it hard to get giveaways out of your blood, I suggest doing so with very low-cost, unimportant items and being realistic about what real benefits you derive.
Here’s a better option used frequently by other industries:
• Use a low-barrier opt-in instead of a true giveaway. As I’ve said, giveaways are no good to your business if they don’t enhance the likelihood that the consumer will purchase your product in the future. One way to get past that hurdle is to offer a very significant discount—say 90 percent off—for several of your popular but lesser expensive items and only for a small window of time, such as three days, 96 hours. The discount ensures price is not an impediment to the consumer purchasing/trying the product, but, maybe most important, it increases the likelihood that he or she is interested in your product anyway. (The partnered giveaways through sites like Wired2Fish serve as another low-barrier opt-in as well: The company knows that anyone who takes advantage of the giveaway is almost certainly a bass angler.) This is akin to the buy-one-get-one-half-off sales used by department stores.
Giveaways may not be the best way to grow a brand, but not all are bad if you offer an opportunity to opt-in on your brand and build a passionate following that you will continue to nurture and convert to leads. Don't view them as numbers but as opportunities to interact with your new and potential loyal customers.
Ronell Smith, the Tackle Insider, has an extensive history in the fishing tackle industry and has relationships on all sides of the industry to be able to speak to all facets of manufacturing, buying, selling, promoting and growing fishing brands and products. If you need consultation on improving your brand's presence, visit ronellsmith.com or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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