Category Archives: Multimedia

Bass Fishing Podcasts, Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner, Fun Fishing, Multimedia

Weekend of open water bass fishing

After a very busy winter, I was able to sneak away from the house to chase some open water bass with some good bassin’ buds.  A place that I have fished a few times before in the winter, but a first for several of the others.  The fishing started decent but was not as hot as I had seen it before.

We all caught fish on several lures from flukes, to jigs, swim jigs and chatterbaits, but as the day went on the swimbait bite started to dominate.  It was clear the swimbait would elicit strikes form better quality bass that would pass on most normal offerings.  For the most part we fished a range of 6-8″ swimbaits in slow to moderate sink rates and had to fish them quite slow.
   

 The patience and persistence paid off in the from of several 3-5lb fish for all those that stuck with the swimbaits.  I have done a fair amount of dabbling with swimbaits and caught fish here and there, but this is probably the first time I felt the swimbait was the predominant bite.  It was very addictive, as these fish keyed on the vibrations of these swimbaits until well after sunset.  My Dobyns 795 Mike Long swimbait rod finally got a well deserved work out!

I inserted a couple pictures into this post, but you can see the full gallery of fish catches here.

Also, Fantasy Bass Fishing season is almost upon us, so catch the first Podcast of the season here.  We break down the Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Central Open on Lake Lewisville & much more.




Podcast Powered By Podbean

Rich
 

Fun Fishing, Multimedia

Finally a few smallmouth

Been a slow winter bass fishing for me this winter, the weather has been great, but time commitments have made it near impossible as of late.  I had not caught a Minnesota bass since November!  On the bright side, I did make a November trip to Lake of the Ozarks, a December trip to Lake Falcon & caught a Sailfish in Playa del Carmen, so I am guessing I will not get many sympathy comments from the faithful blog readers.

Even with all that, I was feeling some urgency to get my first 2012 bass under my belt and the Minnesota bass season closes at end of February for awhile, so my window was shrinking.  So against my better judgement I set out for some fishing this past Sunday in weather temps that I would normally pass on, 14 degrees with wind chill of 1.

It ended up being not too bad other then not being able to feel my hands and fingers after touching wet fish a few times.  I ended up with 16 smallmouth, mostly 2-3lb chunky fish, all came on a Shakey Beaver combo except for one on an Ima Square Bill. (See video for Shakey Beaver rigging).  My fishing buddy for the day got 6 nice smallmouth on soft plastics as well, he wore better gloves and did not get frost bit fingers like this guy.  Also of note, unbelievable how my DX 782 Dobyns spinning rod launches lights baits & gives great leverage when fishing from waders, super sweet setup with a 4000 size spinning reel.
 
But on a positive note, I can report near normal feeling in my right fingertips as I type this blog.  Which is good, because I plan to brave the cold to chase some winter largemouth this weekend!

FISH ON!

Announcements, Multimedia, Product Reviews

Sneak Peak into New Zayta Rods from Dobyns

Dobyns Rods have risen quickly to become a very popular rod among casual bass anglers to the most serious tournament anglers alike.  Their roots are definitely on the west coast, but they have quickly expanded their market and popularity across the United States and beyond.

At last year’s ICAST they launched the Coalition Series and the Savvy Micro series and now this year they will debut the new high end Zayta Series rods.  These rods will incorporate 3M Nano Matrix resins to build a rod lighter and more sensitive then their popular Champion Extreme Series.  This 3M resin is used in other high end rods like G-Loomis NRX and St. Croix Elites. 


Photo Courtesy of Tackle Tour – Follow Link for more pics!

Prototypes of these rods were on display at the recent ISE show in California.  You can read initial reviews from Tackle Tour and also check out this video of Gary Dobyns himself taking about the new Zayta series and the growing Coalition Weapons Series.  As Gary claims, “This will be the best rod money can buy”!

As a Dobyns fan and enthusiast, I will be anxious to add a Zayta or two to my lineup in the near future!  Just to be clear, its Zayta, not Zeta!



Fun Fishing, General, Multimedia

Making Lemonade

About 11 months ago, I had a whole pile of lemons and now I about to have glass of super sweet lemonade this weekend.  Early in January, you may have read this blog post about I how I justified to myself that it wasn’t so bad that a dream trip to fish in Mexico fell apart in the 11th hour.

It was a tough pill to swallow at the time, but my airline ticket was purchased in my name by the would be sponsor of the trip, so I had a nice credit with US Airways in my name, well this weekend I am using that credit for a flight to San Antonio and driving down to Lake Falcon to fish with my father.

Bummer that I don’t have some extra time off at work to fish more then Saturday & Sunday, but I’ll take my chances for two days on Falcon.  My dad has been dialing in on a deep bite lately.

I am going to pack the video cameras, so I hope to get some good footage of some Falcon monster to share with you in the near future!  Goals for this trip:
Exceed personal best of 8.3lbs
Double Digit Bass
Whack some Bass & Have FUN!

Here is a video of Tom Redington & Justin Rackley whacking some Falcon Bass from last week!

Leave a comment if you got any tips on the bite down there right now



Announcements, Bass Boat Corner, Fun Fishing, Multimedia

Got new boat out one last time

Last Sunday I got out for about 4 hours and we caught a few good smallmouth, it was more about getting the new boat out once in Minnesota before it was too late.  Now I get to stare at it every day for the rest of the winter, sigh
 

On the positive, with the help of a fishing buddy, I installed new lighting in my garage, I put 6 recessed can lights right above my boat.  So now I have great lighting for working on tackle and other boat projects, plus it makes it look like a show room in the third stall.  The lighting is good enough, I may do some video spots from there this winter to keep my YouTube Channel fresh.

Here is my latest video production.

Black Friday deals have already started at Bass Tackle Depot, time to score some sweat deals 20% off and more.

I listed some boat props on eBay tonight and I plan to list stuff on ebay on Black Friday while my wife spends at the stores, so I for sure have a G-Loomis GLX and a Shimano Chronarch B SF picked out for listing this week, plus baits and other stuff.  So keep a watch out for them! You can  find thermo lite board at Merritt Supply and other supplies from here.

Have a safe Holiday Week!



Advanced Bass Tactics, Multimedia, Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques

What’s up with the Jika Rig?

Not too much before being knocked off my pedestal seat by the Alabama Rig this week, I started seeing rumblings on Twitter and forums about the Jika Rig.  It seems every couple years, there are new rigs, techniques, gear and technologies to keep up with in bass fishing.


As pictured above (Fork Craw, 3/0 EWG Hook, Voss 1/4oz Weight) – can be done w/ single or double split rings

The Jika Rig (also called The Jig Rig) is very interesting, it is actually very simple.  While Owner company is marketing this, it began is Japan, much like the drop shot and the Neko Rig.  You can buy this rig pre-rigged, but I really don’t see the point.  You almost certainly have the stuff in your tackle box already to make them and if not, just about any local retailer would have what you need.  If they don’t, order them online.

All you need is a good selection of offset wide gap worm hooks, some split rings and a weight with wire loop or attachment on top and put the three together.  I have also seen, where people have used short pieces of braid to make a loop and tie the weight to the split rig, making it almost like an ultra low profile drop shot.  I think you can use different shape weights to tailor your presentation and to the cover.  You can also use one or two split rings to adjust the action as well.

To me, the Jika Rig is a cross between a Texas Rig, Football jig and a drop shot, also kind of like the Biffle Hard Head.  I also think this rig will prove to be very versatile, can be flipped pitched, dragged like a football head and probably serves as a decent bed fishing rig among other things.

Here is a video of a JikaRig (JigRig) that I made and demonstrating underwater at a boat ramp.

I think its most attractive quality as it offers freedom to the plastic and offers it in a very horizontal and natural way.  I think Byron Velvick does a great job explaining the features and benefits of the rig in this video.

So leave a comment if you have used the Jika Rig or think you have a good application where you think it would excel!



Fun Fishing, Multimedia

Long hiatus from my boat

Because of a family vacation and being super busy, I had not been in my boat since my last tournament on Minnetonka (July 17).  So when I had a few hours free on Sunday morning, August 14th, I had to take the opportunity to get the boat out.

I debated where to go, but since I was fishing a river tournament on Pool 6 the next weekend, I thought my short window of time would be best spent on the  Mississippi River, so I headed to Pool 2 for a little fishing.  I figured I may see some tendencies or patterns that would give me some clues for the following weekend.

In less then 3 hours, I ended up with 10 smallmouth and 3 pretty nice white bass.  I got one fish on a tube, the others were an even split between a Yellow Magic Popper and a Chartreuse Shad Ima Square Bill crankbait.

Check out the video, explains it easier then writing a blog, besides I am behind on my blogging.  You may see a few rapid fire blogs to get caught up!

Enjoy the video, may be the last time you see that boat catch any fish…..

Fun Fishing, General, Multimedia

Got the itch…

A rigorous travel schedule has kept me off the water other then throwing a little crappie spinner from shore for a few minutes on Saturday.  I did catch one small fish pictured below.  But it’s not really doing an adequate job of scratching my itch.  Kinda want to get out on the boat, maybe towards end of this week, I can make some time.

 Anybody noticed all these silly looking multicolored bar code looking things in all the fishing magazine these days?  Well if not or you have and have no clue why, read on. They are “Electronic Tags”
and are a relative;y new and cool new way to connect print media or any
other visual media with Digital media.  These tag barcodes are embedded
with a URL or a link to a video, website, or pretty much anything you
can think of…
    

Curious, how it works, simply download the FREE application or “App” from the website http://gettag.mobi
or download from your appropriate App Store.  You can even test on the
Tags in this article.  First will bring you to a Strike King Ad other
will bring you to a YouTube video demo of how to use the tags with my
Blackberry.Interestingly enough, two large fishing and outdoor companies
are embracing this technology.  See my YouTube video demonstrating how these tags work.

From a consumer’s perspective, these technologies get me  excited. Just think, if this technology becomes
widely accepted and embraced, consumers could scan small tags off of the
package, download customer reviews, video ads, much more then you could
ever fit on a package. So you scan a code on a new lure, get straight
talk from the pro that invented it in video form or even get an instant
coupon.

I think they are cool, do you?  Or a huge waste of time?


Bass Fishing Podcasts, Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner, FLW Tour, General, Multimedia

Hartwell Fantasy Fishing Picks

If  you haven’t made your picks yet for FLW Tour on Hartwell, better get on it, they start fishing in the morning.  Gonna try pasting my picks from FLW site, see how it works below.  Prizes for Beaver & St. Johns will ship soon, still trying to get a hold of Harris Chain winner….

Lake Hartwell

SELECTED WINNER

Winning Weight
(4 Day Cumulative):
76lbs. 8oz.


Listen to the Fantasy Fishing podcast here, special guest this week is Brett Ehrler, he talks about his preference on drop shot setups, his practice & favorite RoboWorm colors…

Anybody of my fellow Minnesotans excited for next week’s Northwest Sportshow?  I think I am actually going there this year with a purpose, camera & video camera in hand, try to do some blog recaps on what is cool & new this year!

Hey – are all you readers subscribers?  If not, why not drop your email in the upper left corner of my blog & click subscribe button, they you can get my blog right in your inbox moments after each entry!

BASS Tour, Multimedia, Product Reviews, Sponsors

Waiting for ice to melt

We are close to losing all this damn ice and then it will be game on soon enough. In the mean time, been listing some bass fishing goodies on my Bass Fishing eBay Store.  I am even starting to thinking about rigging my rods for practice of my first tourney in May already….

Congrats to Edwin Evers, nice come from behind victory at Citrus Slam (St Johns River) by Power Pole today.  Gotta feel good to punch his ticket to 2012 Bassmaster Classic, now he can fish stress free.  Double E is quickly becoming one of the sport’s elite, it would be cool to have Evers challenge KVD & Skeet for the AOY this year!
Photo: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Also, check out this quick video about the IMA Square Bill crankbait featuring Matt Paino from the recent Fred Hall show in Long Beach, CA!

 
My fellow MN anglers, stay strong, we are almost there!