Hooked on Mustad!

ULTRAPOINT 4.3 delivers a 10.0 for Norwegian legend.

There’s nothing overly radical in the package.  Same plastic envelope, same green color we’ve grown accustomed too; and yet when you touch the point you’ll immediately notice the difference.  Sharpened via an all new Micro Sharp 4.3 technology that will have you thoroughly impressed at first touch, they’re purpose is solely to dominate the industry without bankrupting you.  What’s most impressive is the longevity of the point.  What’s the 4.3?  It’s a measurement that refers to the point length, which is designed to be 4.3 times the wire diameter of the hook.  The people at Mustad have determined this number to be the optimum ratio to achieve the highest level of strength and sharpness.  After a full day of dragging them across the rocks, ripping lips, and busting timber, the hooks will still provide the same degree of penetration and toughness you started with.

The KVD Grip Pin, a style designed for soft plastics, features a keeper near the eye to help the bait stay on and near the top.  This keeper is coated in black and forces the bait to stay where it should, eliminating the constant balling up that can impede hook sets and ruin your presentation.  By having bait that will run true cast after cast you reduce time spent by having to reposition your lure time and time again, which translates to having your bait in the water and in front of fish more often.  Not only that, but you’ll have the confidence that each fish that sees your bait is seeing it in the best presentation possible.  Thereby putting an end to that haunting question “Would the fish have bit had your worm or tube been properly places on the hook?”

Another product you finesse guys are gonna love is the No-Twist Shot drop shot hook.  It comes with a built-in swivel system that will eliminate line and hook twisting for good.  The swivel allows your bait to turn with the current, and so you won’t find knots in your line anymore after a couple hours of fishing in deeper water.  You also won’t find that your hook is starting to turn within your knot, or that you tied it upside down in a rush.  You’ll tie it to the line on the top, and tie a separate line for your weight on the bottom.  This is particularly helpful when trying to locate the range which the fish are responding to your bait in relation to the bottom by allowing you to have a longer tag-end to move your weight up or down until you find the perfect location, without having to constantly retie.

The price point for these hooks is great, they’re made from high quality materials, and they’ve been around for years.  If you haven’t used them before, or it’s just been a while, give them a try this year and you’ll be impressed with what you find.  

The Roots of a Fishing Journal

There's a guy I know who told me long ago "Rooty, you're a good hunter, but if you wanna be a great hunter, you need to start keeping a journal". He was right. But I had no idea just how right he was until I began using that for tracking data that has been a crucial part of my fishing toolkit that I have managed to fine tune so that it only takes me about 10 minutes to complete after each fishing trip.

The main things I track are temperature, moon phase, wind speed, water temperature, water clarity, barometric pressure, time of year, time of day, amount of fish, what I caught them on, and where I caught them. This requires me to use a variety of different programs and save them all in one place. I use the Navionics App and Notes program on my iPhone 5, Microsoft Excel to store it, Microsoft Paint to edit images, and I get all my weather information from Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com). The reason why I like WU is because it shows me a lot of the information that I want in these graphs below (this is from 9/11/13 in Syracuse NY). You can see that it not only shows real time data, but also what the normal high and low is as well.



I take this photo, which you can see in the history of any weather station here, save it to my computer, open it in Paint, and then I begin marking along the barometric pressure line with my system of colors and numbers and symbols to identify what I caught, how I caught it, and how big or how many. I post in green for largemouth, brown for smallmouth, blue for spotted bass. I don't waste time plotting 15 individual 2 lb largemouth. I'll post a green 15 with a circle around it to represent it was a group. I use different symbols ($, #, !, >, +) to identify if I was cranking, finessing, flipping, etc. And if I caught a lot of fish in a period of time I’ll use brackets to show that time period. See below:

I look back at my iPhone apps to let me track the depth and location for what I caught. I give a quick rundown of what I was using (color, size, line, leader, retrieve, weight), what the water temp was, and what the water clarity was like (was it stained, clear, was it nautical out there or was the lake laying flat under bluebird skies) and I make sure to note anything that was really significant (fish were in patches of grass containing hydrilla and milfoil, fish were concentrated on ledges, needed Ronnie Grass, docks with 7 feet of water), anything like that so that I can remember for years to come.

The reason why this is helpful is because I can look back at September 2011 and see what worked, or I can search for keywords like “ledges”, or “tubes” and it will show me a list or journal entries that include those words. This, more than anything else, will help you learn how to pattern fish, and give you an enormous advantage when you’re fishing a new body of water and trying to dissect it based on the history of other places and the weather data that you’ve stored. And the more you do it, the more useful it will become.

The Rat's Out Of The Bag!

Rat-L-Trap SUPER- NATURAL and KNOCK-N-TRAP series have the looks that kill!

Maybe it’s the way they sound that sets them apart from all the rest.  Face it; Rat-L-Trap isn’t exactly a new company, and the lipless crankbait isn’t nominated for a best new actor award, but it has certainly demonstrated an ability to flat out catch fish from all corners of the US for well over 20 years.  Whether you’re burning it just under the surface at busting smallmouth, ripping it through grass for largemouth, or targeting suspended and deeper fish by counting it down; this bait just does it all.  And now the company that started it all has raised the lipless bar a couple notches.

One look at the SUPER-NATURAL series and you’ll see for yourself just how super delicious these baits look.  Newly designed colors and patterns like Candy Craw, Blueberry Perch (below), Blue Shiner, Pinch’n Peach, and Fathead Minnow, are applied using cutting-edge technologies and are incredibly lifelike.  Packed with the same sound you know and love, and finished off by razor sharp Mustad hooks.  When comparing them to others on the market the best way to describe the difference is to imagine looking at two televisions.  One is the big, wooden console from 1985, and the other is a 1080 flat screen wall-mounted next to the 10lb bass you caught at Lake Guntersville with your Dad on your first Rat-L-Trap that he gave you. 

If you’re looking for a bait that’s a bit louder than a soft tap, and will provide you with the “Hey, I said get over here” size rattle, the KNOCK-N-TRAP will give you just that.  Shake it a couple times and you’ll see right away that it’s a much deeper, bigger sound, in the same size bait.  What you’ll also appreciate is that they’ve added a K to the tail of each bait so you can identify it from other Traps quickly and easily.  Gold Black Back, Sexy West, Chartreuse Flash (below), are just a few of the colors available that will immediately jump out at you as must haves for any body of water. 

Here are a few other things to remember.  Each Trap comes with a case that you can close again and again.  Each weighs ½ oz, and are 3 inches long.  Most importantly, Rat-L-Trap lures are made in the U.S.A.  Bottom line is that they’re made here, with the highest quality, and are built to last.  The fish know the real deal when they see it, and now you do too!

Holy Mackerel! Seal Beach is the place to be!

I just got back from a trip to the sunny shores of Southern California and I already want to go back, especially after having been to Seal Beach. Not only was the sun warm and the sand soft, but the pier offers some excellent fishing!

I was fortunate enough to meet not only experienced local anglers who frequent this particular location often, but I also spent some time talking to a woman from Ontario, Canada, who was there visiting family and came to spend a little time pitching squid into the surf. This fellow Northeastern Native was, like myself, just happy to be out of the frigid temperatures we've had back home and makes the trip to this part of California annually.

Click Here to read the rest at Reel Weather, my feature blog at Weather Underground!

Review: The Last Knife You'll Ever Buy

Knives Of Alaska delivers the quality of old for today's outdoor enthusiasts.

About 8 years ago I was in need of a new hunting knife when a friend of mine introduced me to Knives Of Alaska (KOA) with the warning that "this can get costly and addictive"!  My friend was right on both accounts.  My first KOA purchase was the Jaeger and it quickly lead to many more for myself, as well as a few as gifts to close friends.  The knives themselves were designed to withstand the harshest weather in Alaska, across glacier fields, swamps, mountains, and tundra.  Charles Allen, President and Owner, delivers quality and dependability to each and every knife.

Years later that first knife is still my favorite.  The Jaeger is sleek, and powerful.  It's the perfect representation of what happens when sophistication and elegance are matched with raw power and strength.  The D2 carbon steel is dangerously sharp, and the scar on my left hand is living proof of that (while it was absolutely my fault that I cut myself at all field dressing my buck in single digit temperatures is of no consequence).  Take a look at these features:

Category:	Jaeger Boning Knife
Item Number:	00113FG
Metal:	D2
Rockwell Hardness:	58-60
Bevel:	18 - 20°
Knife Length:	8-1/4"
Blade Length:	3-1/2"
Weight:	3.6 oz

The knife itself is a "Full Tang", which means the metal runs the full length of the knife; from the tip of the blade, to the butt of the handle.  This is important because it won't sacrifice strength by having a transition in the middle where the blade meets the handle.  Offered in two styles, Suregrip and Stag (both pictured below), the differences are purely aesthetical. 

Suregrip handle and leather sheath

Stag handle and leather sheath

For anglers looking for fillet knives, the Steelheader and Coho are excellent pieces of fine craftsmanship.  Both are only available in suregrip, but offer your choice of either a black or orange handle.  These knives hold their edge extremely well, allowing the user to easily process a full days catch without needing resharpening or touching up.  This is crucial to anyone who prefers to clean their fish at designated areas prior to returning home for the day.

Category:	Steelheader
Item Number:	00315FG
Metal:	440C
Rockwell Hardness:	58-60
Bevel:	12-18°
Knife Length:	10.875"
Blade Length:	5.75"
Weight:	2.8 oz

Category:	Coho Fillet Knife
Item Number:	00086FG
Metal:	440C
Rockwell Hardness:	57-59
Bevel:	18-20°
Knife Length:	13"
Blade Length:	8-1/2"
Weight:	5.3 oz

All KOA knives come with a lifetime warranty to the original owner on the handle and blade for "...defects from workmanship and materials and from breakage under normal use."  While the sheathes, leather included, are not covered by any warranty, you can be confident in the craftsmanship.  I've put my own cases and knives through rigorous weather and carrying, and can honestly say that they still look as they did the day I purchased them with very simple maintenance.  I have no doubt my grandchildren will someday carry these very knives of mine.  That's saying a lot.  They are the finest knives made today and I know you won't be disappointed.

Humminbird new leader with Onix System?

Last February at The Bassmaster Classic on Lake Guntersville in Birmingham Alabama I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Humminbird booth and the team there was kind enough to demonstrate some of the features of their new Onix system.  This is an entirely new platform that’s been redesigned and packed with the most amazing features of any graph on the market.  Bar none.  And believe me that I only barely scratched the surface of what this new unit will be able to do.  It’s got all the 360 and side imaging components of the old platform, plus trip log, fuel, internet, tides, and a few others.

To begin with the unit is a touch screen.  But unlike the new models of other manufacturers, the Onix has an optional joystick-type toggle switch that will allow you to navigate the screen easy and efficiently in heavy rain or while wearing gloves.  Anyone who didn’t like having to take their gloves off in the cold to use the touch screen will be delighted with this feature!  The joystick is smooth and very easy to use, but so is the touch screen, so you’re really ok with either that you use. 

What is the most impressive is that when you’re looking at the 2D sonar screen, if you are landing a fish or just not paying attention to the screen and you want to see what you missed you can do that by simply moving your finger on the screen from left to right, and either slide the image backwards (like you’re rewinding the tape), and then forward again if you choose.  If you see a brush pile that you already passed and you think you want to put a way-point on it and fish it you can and then you’ll have it marked.  That feature in and of itself is priceless!

You also aren't limited to having a small number of preset screens anymore.  With Onix you can have virtually an infinite number of screen combinations preset and stored that you can quickly toggle between within seconds.  This will allow you to have combinations for rivers, lakes, tidal waters, specific depths you’re fishing.  It’s very similar to some of the new smartphone software that people use to combine pictures.  It really is an incredible feature and very simple to use.  Just highlight an area and you’ll be taken to screen to choose what presentation you want:  2D, downscan, sidescan, nav, etc.  After making your selection you’re automatically returned to the previous screen to select another.

Onix also has a pinch and zoom feature that I that will allow you to expand an area on your map that you want to look at more closely.  When you’re done and want to go back you can just place two fingers on the screen and you’ll be taken back to the main screen.  Another great mapping feature is located in the settings.  If you want to highlight a particular range, say 20 feet deep, and set it with a variation of 2 feet; your map will then highlight in the color you choose all the places on that particular body of water that are 18-22 feet deep.  So you can see them right away without having to scour the map.  And if it’s a lake with water levels that rise and fall you can adjust that too, and the map will even show you where the new shoreline is and where the old shoreline would be.

The only things this system can’t do are drive the boat, and catch the fish.  That being said, I don’t know another system that can put you on fish better than this one can.