Category Archives: Announcements

Announcements, Product Reviews, Top Lists

Top Bass Fishing Picks from ICAST 2015

August 3, 2015 hellabass

Not sure which items, lures, lines, rods, etc will be the long term winners or generate the most buzz this week, but based on the online coverage, here are the items I will most likely be trying this summer and fall as they become available. In no particular order….

Terminator Walking Frog: First off, I am a sucker for a good frog, hopefully this one fits the bill. Especially since my go-to Frog from Evolve has been discontinued, I need a new lead frog in my box. Here is what Randall Tharp has to say about it.

Randall Tharp new Frog by Terminator

Posted by Bass Angler Magazine on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Rapala and Storm have had some really good track record of late on new baits, so I have a good feeling about this frog coming out under the Terminator label. So far the pictures look pretty sweet!

Sunline Assassin FC: This new Fluorocarbon from Sunline is touted as the Bee’s Knees! We all know that Sunline makes great line and Assassin is supposed to have new P-Ion technology that creates a smoother surface and increase resistance to abrasion. Based on Tackle Tour’s review, this will give you almost the performance of Sniper and Shooter but at a more competitive price point!

GoPro HERO4 Session: Smaller is always better right? Thinking this could finally be the lighter GoPro option to comfortable wear on my visor to add POV shots to my bass fishing videos.

Big Bite Baits Swimming Mama: This actually appears to be a reboot of the Wave Worm Tiki Swim Bug. The Tiki bug is not widely popular but a great bait, now with 1 more per pack and more colors, that is a good thing!

Nichols BPM Magnum Swimbait Head: I believe I have seen this on a flipping jig from somebody before, but this idea of pegging plastic horizontally with a tooth pick is pure genius, check out the video to see how it works.

Lock & Load your magnum swimbaits with this head!

Not a terribly long list, but I think these are some good ones. Also, new for this year but before ICAST, check out the Dobyns Fury Rods, awesome rods for $109!

Announcements, General

Minnesota Fishing Licenses Go Mobile

July 31, 2013 hellabass

This is a nice feature from MN DNR, some of our fishing regulations are way out of whack, but this seems like a nice perk! Technology is great when it can save you time and/or money!

Forgot to buy your license? Then connect to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) mobile licensing page to purchase select fishing and hunting licenses via your smartphone.

“This service is a convenience for people who need a license when they’re on the go,” said Steve Michaels, DNR license program director. “Not every type of license is offered but the mobile purchase site is ideal for people who have yet to purchase a fishing, small game or state stamp validation and suddenly discover that they need one.”

Customers who purchase off the mobile site won’t receive a conventional paper license. Instead, they’ll receive a text message or email that serves as proof of a valid fish or game license to state conservation officers. More than 1,100 sales of electronic licenses have been logged since the mobile site’s soft launch in late June.

“The site isn’t, as yet, full service,” Michaels said. “There are features and products in the works. Even so, mobile license purchasing is a convenience DNR has not offered before and the sales numbers show our customers are responding.”

License types available for purchase on the mobile site include short-term angling, individual angling, resident combination angling, resident individual sports, resident combination sports, small game and state stamp validations. Any license that requires a site tag such as deer or turkey is not available for mobile purchase. Once a customer purchases and receives mobile license information by text, email or both, he or she must be able to provide the email or text information to a DNR enforcement officer upon request as proof of a valid license.

Mobile device users will automatically be identified when visiting the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense and selecting the “Purchase” button at the bottom of the page.

See more at: www.thefishingwire.com/story/294617#sthash.Opxb4I18.dpuf type="text/javascript">RADEDITORSAVEDTAGBEGINNINGgoogle_ad_client = "pub-3217652347347486";google_ad_width = 468;google_ad_height = 60;google_ad_format = "468x60_as";google_ad_slot = "";//RADEDITORSAVEDTAGENDING

Announcements, Sponsors

New Partners for 2013

May 9, 2013 hellabass

Every year as a competitive angler and blog writer comes with new challenges, tournaments and opportunities. I am excited to bring forward KrugerFarms.com and Dobyns Rods from last year and excited to welcome both Evolve Baits and BassTEK to brands that I am excited to be working with.

Evolve has one of the softest & toughest floating hollow body frogs (Nervous Walker only $7) on the market and they continue to bring some great soft plastics to the market. The Kompak craw was clutch for me last year and I am excited to tap into the potential of both their Mad Mouse and Darkstar Swimmers as I fish many tournaments on the Mississippi River this year in the Great Lakes BFL division.

As far as BassTEK, I am heavily involved with them from the start. BassTEK is a new company in 2013 that is bringing a Premium Tungsten Flipping Jig to all of us bass anglers at a competitive price. Most of us have all found what a benefit Tungsten can be for worm and flipping weights, now its time to see what it can do for your jig fishing!

1/2oz Okeechobee Craw Tungsten Flipping Jig

So if you have a moment, check out the links to these products and if so inclined, support the brands that support me and this blog!

So stay tuned, you will be hearing much more from all these companies in the coming months as my tournament season ramps up!

Tight Lines,
Rich

Announcements, General, Sponsors

Minnesota Anglers Expo + Coupon

February 5, 2013 hellabass

Between the big St. Paul and Minneapolis sport shows is this weekend’s MN Anglers Expo in Blaine. Last year in April the same group put on a very good 1st year Bass Expo, to get better traction, they have changed it to the Anglers Expo and moved it up to February.

If you have the fishing bug like I do, I encourage you to take in this show this weekend. I plan to be there all day on Saturday, when I am not walking around taking in the expo you will likely find me hanging around the KrugerFarms.com booth.

Kruger Farms is sure to have a wide selection of fishing gear and if you have been thinking about checking out a Dobyns Rod, Kruger Farms is sure to have a wide selection to check out, plus many other show specials! Either way, make sure to stop & say hello.

Also, below is a $1 Off Admission coupon I came across to share with you.

Announcements, General

Strike King 10XD Now in Some Stores

January 10, 2013 hellabass

Just caught wind of this, thought I would share with all of you. While I am in no rush to get my 10XD’s, those of you that are not for the most part ice locked, probably would love to spool up your heavy cranking sticks with 17-20lb fluoro and chunk these bad boys around.

As of now, LBF has limited quantities and colors of the 10XD in stock and available right now, check it out here. If you don’t know what I am talking about or what the rage is about, read my other post here. Looks like

Bass Pro Shops

has them loaded into their store, not sure if they are ready or just able to be back ordered, but they will probably go live there soon.

Happy Hunting, feel free to leave a comment if you want to share some other stores that have the 10XD’s in stock.

Announcements, Federation News, Multimedia

Props to my Pops!

September 14, 2012 hellabass

Little behind on my blog after the whirl wind that was last week. While I was at the TBF Northern Divisional, the MNBFN Tournament of Champions (TOC) was taking place on Island Lake Reservoir just north of Duluth, MN. Sadly this was the first time I have missed the TOC since 1997.

On a positive note, my father, Wayne Lindgren brought home the title on a rather stingy fishery. We both have qualified for divisionals in the past and come close to a state title, but he got it first. He weighed 9 smallmouth over the two day event for 25.21lbs, nearly a 2lb margin of victory. The bite was so tough that out of 130 plus anglers, only two anglers managed a 5 fish limit each day of the event. You can find the final results here.

3 of his 4 Nice Smallmouth Bass from Day 2

Wayne fished a handful of spots, mainly he finessed soft plastics such as LFT Fork Craws & Craw Tubes in 3-5ft of water. Deadsticking was definitely part of the tactic to tempt the pressured smallmouth. He also reports losing a 4lb plus smallmouth on day 2 that would have really opened up his lead.

You can read a nice write up from Sam Cook and also check out some video coverage from local FOX21 of Duluth. Also a short blurb from Duluth Tribune.

Congrats again Dad!

Also, I got some fishing stuff on ebay right now, check it out. Lucky Craft, Okuma Reel, Fishing Line, Soft Plastics, etc….

Advanced Bass Tactics, Announcements, Contests, General, Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques

Kompak Craw Review & Evolve Contest Winner!

July 12, 2012 hellabass

Those that have been following along on the blog for the last few months, you are aware of some contests and product reviews in the works with Evolve Baits.

Of the samples sent, I was immediately attracted to the Kompak craw. While I consider myself a pretty versatile angler, when permitted I will always look to power fish with jigs and soft plastics. At first glance, the Kompak craw can seem pretty simple and unassuming as a craw bait. Upon further inspection, there definitely was plenty of thought that went into this craw design.

Kompak craw pictured in Pumpkin Oil color

My first inclination was to put it behind a hefty tungsten weight and flip it around heavy vegetation. The bait has a long body for it’s small stature, allowing you to put a large 4/0 flipping hook into the bait and it puts the point right in the back of the bait, where it should hook a large percentage of fish. Also, there is a slight bias to the bait front to back where the hook point goes, allowing a little extra meat for you to hide a big hook point. The subtle appendages also move enough water to get noticed in the thick cover.

A comparable bait that I like to use for similar presentation would be the old Yum Big Show Craw. Although the soft yet durable plastic of the Kompak craw holds up much better then the Big Show craw. So the introduction of the Kompak craw is welcomed in my boat, as it appears to be a better bait and Yum appears to have stopped producing the Big Show for the time being. If you love to punch milfoil or other vegetation with a craw, this is a must try bait!

Kompak craw flipped w/ Dobyns 805 Flip/Punch Rod

The setup I used to fish the Kompak craw was Punch rigged with a 4/0 Trokar flipping hook, 20-25lbs fluorocarbon, 1/2-1oz Tungsten flipping weights, and predominantly rigged on my Dobyns Champion 805 Flip/Punch rod, when I would fish it on the 1/2oz weight, I would drop down to my Champion 734C.

In practice for the Madison Chain event, the Kompak craw produced several bites and fish worked in milfoil and docks. Our flipping bite fell apart during tournament, but I am excited to try them this weekend down on the Mississippi River! I also hope to give the DarkStar swimmer as a go as well this weekend, check back in the future to learn more about the Swimmer and VibraGrub.

As for our contest winner……

Merideth Gifford is our big winner, so here is the selection of Vibra Grubs, DarkStar Swimmers & Kompak craws she will get a chance to tempt Oklahoma Bass with!

Hopefully Merideth will be posting some pics to my Facebook wall with here results soon!

Thanks again to Evolve Baits for their support of this blog, you can find most of their baits online for purchase here.

Announcements, BASS Tour, Contests, Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner

Evolve Baits Contest & La Crosse Fantasy Picks

June 19, 2012 hellabass

Back from Ireland, finally getting caught up and done a little fishing with things ramping up this week. This weekend I will be fishing the NABC tourney on the Madison Chain and then checking out the Elite Series final day on Sunday in La Crosse.

But back to the contest. I will be reviewing a few baits in the near future, Kompak Craw, VibraGrub & DarkStarr swimbait. The winner of this contest will get some of each of these baits. First step is to check out Evolve Baits website, then leave a comment on this blog entry with the size and color VibraGrub you like best and how you would rig it to catch your favorite fish on your waters. Then leave a comment on my Facebook Page to tell me that you have entered the contest as well.

Also, be sure to check out Evolve’s Facebook & Twitter pages. And if you can’t wait to see if you have won baits, check here to buy them anytime. We will end this contest on July 4th.

I look for the La Crosse Elite Series event to be super competitive and tight weights up and down the standings. Look for froggers, river rats and flippers to excel at this event. So as of now, here are my picks:

To get the DL, check out the podcast!

Announcements, Contests, Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner

$50 Sportsman’s Warehouse Gift Card Winner Announced!

June 6, 2012 hellabass

And the winner is…..

MSPbass – I think the sun protection Buff kit is a great idea (http://goo.gl/JS4js), all the fancy lures and rods are no good if you have skin cancer! You probably will have a few bucks left over for that Koppers Mouse as well.

Don’t worry if you are not the big winner this time, in the next couple days, watch for a contest to win some cool baits from Evolve Baits.

In other news, my fantasy teams are all set for this week and I took the kids out for some pan fishing. I really need to do some bass fishing in the worst way!!!!

Kentucky Lake FLW Roster

Toledo Bend BASS Elite Roster

Announcements, Contests

May Contest brought to you by Sportsman’s Warehouse

May 7, 2012 hellabass

We are stepping up the prize level this month. Sportsman’s Warehouse is offering up a $50 gift card to one of our loyal Bassin’ Blog Readers. YES, you read correct, that is a Free $50 Gift Card, which is like straight cash if you are an outdoors person!!!

How do you win? Pretty simple, but there will be a couple steps. First, if you are not a Bassin’ Blog subscriber, enter your email in the upper left corner to become one. Then go to Sportsman’s Warehouse website and check out their goods, come back to this blog post and post a comment with a link to the product you would use the $50 gift card towards. (Take a look at some of the great products they carry from Optimum Baits)

Earn bonus entries by going to my Facebook page and adding comments with product links to an existing contest post and if you can tag Sportsmen’s Warehouse Page in the comment, extra entry as well. This is a great prize and we want lots of people to get a chance to enter, so you can enter comments until June 1st!

Good luck, should be a fun contest to see what hot products are on everyone’s short list! Remember this gift card is good online or in a store, so you do not need to live near a store to enter.