Product Review #3 Lucky Craft Pointer

Have you ever been fishing and no matter what you throw it just doesn't seem to be working but your fishing partner for the day is filling the boat? It is not a  nice feeling and it can be also very frustrating. I had one of those days last summer while fishing with my friend and FLW Touring Pro Charles Sim. We were throwing jerkbaits for post spawn smallmouth and Charles was putting on a clinic. I was throwing a X-Rap in pearl color and Charles was throwing a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in Ghost Minnow. We were throwing the baits to the same areas, using the same retrieves, using the same set-up and Charles and his Lucky Craft were outfishing me 10-1. I was getting frustrated and asked if I could borrow one to see if it was the bait or something he was doing that was producing so well. On my third cast I caught a 3+ smallie and that sort of success lasted throughout the day. I couldn't believe how well that Pointer worked but after watching it in the water it was easy to see why. The slightest little twitch caused the bait to dart side to side with sharp turns and it never seemed to come to rest the same way twice. The finish is ultra realistic and the super sharp Daichi hooks never seem to lose there edge. The elongated split ring on the line tie prevents your line from slipping into the ring and the rattles provide a  loud distinct sound on every twitch.  Now these baits aren't cheap ranging from $18-$22 but their easy of use and their fish catching ability make them worth every cent. I now carry a wide assortment with me everywhere I go and they consistently catch fish (even Pike *^&^) whenever I throw them. If you are looking for a deadly bait on smallmouth bass as well as pike and walleye be sure to give the Lucky Craft pointer a try, you'll be amazed with the results.

A good way to spend a winter day

As I have mentioned before I'm not one for ice fishing so I tend to spend most of my time during the winter organizing my gear and dreaming of open water. One thing I spend a lot of time doing is organizing and prioritizing my tackle and gear for the upcoming season. I prefer to keep most of my tackle in flat Plano boxes that fit in my tackle storage areas of my boat. I just prefer this method because it is easy to label and find the things I need efficently. I tend to go a little overboard when organizing my gear but it helps me feel more comfortable on the water when I know exactly where things are and how many of them I have. I label all my boxes using a small label maker I purchased at a office supply store for less than $20. I try to keep my tackle sorted by techniques and styles (such as jerkbaits, and crankbaits together and soft plastics sorted by color and type) and I am always verifying that they are well stocked. I also keep a supply of my most popular baits in my tackle room neatly organized on peg board where it is easily found and I can keep an eye on what I am running low on. During the winter months I also go through all my hardbaits checking hooks for sharpness and replace any that looked damaged or rusted. One thing I also do is try to keep certain boxes set-up so they have everything I need to rig a bait properly. An example of this is I keep a creature bait box full of my favorite colors along with 3 or 4 different sized weights along with the hooks I use for that bait. I do this so if I break off I have everything I need to re-rig in one box which means I can get back to fishing quicker which could mean more bites in a day. There is nothing that can fluster you like not being able to find what you need when the time comes. I also spend some time over the winter making a list of things I need to stock up on so that I can look for stuff at the various sportsman shows and retail stores. Some baits or lures are only available at certain retailers so I like to know what exactly I need and this way I can make sure I didn't forget to pick something up once the season starts. Winter is also a good time to go over your rods and reels to check for broken guides or reels that feel rough and get these fixed or replaced before the season starts or worse you lose a fish because of it. You can check your guides using a Q-tip or cotton ball and if any of the cotton stays behind you know you have a cracked guide and you should get it replaced. You should also replace your line with new ,good quality line such as those offered by P-Line, Power Pro or Suffix to name a few. If you use some of these tips over the winter it will help you be better prepared once the season arrives and hopefully it will help you catch more fish.

It's been a while

As you can see it has been a while since I have had a chance to post anything on here. My fall fishing season was cut short due to a blown lower unit on my boat in October so I didn't have much to post about. I am not one who enjoys ice fishing so most of my winter is spent pouring baits and spending time with the family. I will be heading to the Ottawa Boat Cottage and Sportsman show next weekend and will be at the Hunter's Bay Marine booth for a day or 2 so stop by and say hello. I just about have my tournament schedule set for this year and I have decided to fish less events this year but to spend more time pre-fishing and preparing than previous years. I learned this past summer that you can never spend to much time preparing and practicing for a tournament. I realized this after my success at the FLW Lake Champlain event this past season. I spent more time pre-fishing for that event than any other event before and it gave me a ton of confidence. I spent a lot of time reading maps, organizing tackle and gear, reading articles about previous tournaments on the lake and it made a huge difference. I have yet to commit to an FLW event this year but I will be fishing the Berkley B1 on Lake St.Francis which is a new event for me. I have already began reading maps, using google earth to look at the lake, and we plan on pre-fishing for at least 5 day prior to the event. We will be taking 2 boats with us in order to cover as much water as possible and maximize our time on the water. In the next few days I will write about ways I have come up with to organize tackle and gear as well as tips to prepare your boat and tow vehicle to help you enjoy your days on the water for the coming season. 

Sept.19 Fun day with a new friend!!

On this great Sunday I had the chance to meet a fellow Fish-Hawk.net member and a member of our Canadian Military Marc Label aka Hotel Tango.It was a cool fall morning but we had high hopes we would find some fat fall Largies. It was barely above zero which made for a awful cold run approximately 3 miles from the launch. The morning bite was pretty slow with only a few small fish to show for our efforts. We decided to make the run to Campbell's Bay which was about another 12 miles down river. We were disappointed with that area as it seemed like the weeds had all died off and it made the water very murky. We then decided to fish our way back up river stopping at various spots consisting of lumber and weed edges which this stretch of river is known for. As the day warmed up we began to get a few more decent fish using Senkos, Texas rigged Sweet Beavers and flipping jigs. Marc suggested we stop at a spot he knew of near the launch on the way back and boy what a spot it was. We caught 5 good largemouth with the biggest being a solid 4 lber. which I caught on the old faithful Black/Blue Senko. All in all it was a good day with a few fish caught and I had a great opportunity to meet a new friend with whom I hope to spend more time on the water with in the future.

Hawg'N'Bass Sept.11

My next tournament of the season happened on Muskrat Lake in Cobden. I once again fished with my Brother In-Law Marc in this annual event put on by Valley Bass. This event is a big bass event with every hour having a $500 prize for the biggest bass weighed in. We have never done well in this event but for some reason we keep fishing it thinking that one of these years we are going to catch a decent one. It was a perfect day with sunny skies, warm temperatures and 80 boats fishing which is one of the biggest turn-outs they have ever had. Once again we couldn't seem to put any pattern together during the morning so for the afternoon we decided to just go looking around for new areas we hadn't fished before. We did manage a few small keepers but unfortunately we couldn't manage a kicker and came away from the event disappointed once again. The team of Mike and Wanda Augot did very well winning 2 hours with one of their fish being well over 5lbs. and also winning 2 second place hours of $100 a piece. I had a chance to speak with Mike while waiting to load and he told me the bite was very slow and that they hadn't caught many fish but the ones they did catch were all good quality fish. Their fish came on a Netbait Paca-Craw rigged weightless on a 5/0 hook and barely dragged along a weed edge. The few fish we did catch came on a Black/Blue Flake Senko on a 3/0 hook just leaving it sit deadsticked on the first break of a weededge. This technique can be painstakingly slow but it can be very productive when the bite is slow. 

Long weekend fun day!!! Sept. 6th

This year for a change I stayed around home for the September long weekend and I managed a fun day with my Dad on the Ottawa River in Lepasse. This stretch of river is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots to fish. It is full of bays, creek channels and tons of laydowns along the main river channel. My dad is fairly new to Bass fishing but I am slowly getting him a little more comfortable with some of the techniques and tackle that are needed to tempt the big ones. On this day I used a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in Black Red Neon with a 3/4 oz. weight and a 1/2 oz. Title Shot jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer. I fished both of these on 7' Shimano Compre MH fast action rods with Shimano Cruxis reels and 40lb P-Line Spectrex. My day is still old school and only uses spinning gear so I rigged him up with some 15lb P-Line floro clear on 6'6" spinning gear. He used a 7 inch Berkley power worm and a 5 inch Black Blue flake Senko. The weather was miserable with cold winds, rain and cloud cover but the largies were on fire. We caught at least 30 fish total with my Dad catching a 3 and a half pounder from under a tree that just about ripped the rod out of his hand and fought like no largie I have ever seen. My biggest was just over 4 lbs but I lost one at the boat that was one of the biggest largemouth I have ever had hooked. All the fish came out of 6-8 feet of water mostly off of wood but some were on the weed edges. The Sweet Beaver and the Senko were the 2 best producers and they were usually hitting them on the fall. This was one of the more fun days I have had on the water this year and I hope to fish this area more in the future. This area gets very little fishing pressure and there is very little boat traffic which makes it a very enjoyable place to fish.

Product Review #2

This year I purchased some baits from a good friend and lure maker Mike Nabulsi owner of Bassmagnet Lures. The bait I used was their new Drop Shot minnow in Perch and Smelt color. The first thing I noticed was the amount of detail that has gone into these baits to make them as realistic as possible. They are hand dipped, hand painted, hand detailed and then hand packaged. I think you can get the idea of the type of craftsmanship that has gone into these (and every other lure Mike and Mary produce). These baits measure 3.75 inches long and are hollow inside. They stand out perfectly on a drop shot rig and also work well on a small jig head. The baits are very durable and I was able to cast smallmouth as well as a few walleye on the baits under various different conditions. I even went so far as to inject some Gulp Alive scent into the hollow cavity to give the bait just a little extra something for when the bite was really tough. I am hoping to use these baits a little more this fall for walleye by fishing them on a lead jig just like live bait. I am pretty confident they will produce due to there extremly lifelike appearance. If you get a chance check out Bassmagnet's website and check out the drop shot minnow as well as all there other great products.

Drop Shot Minnow in Smelt color.