by JD on October 29, 2011
Coming to a bass lake near you!
If you haven’t heard about it by now, let me introduce you to the biggest breakthrough in bass fishing to come down the pike since the SENKO: The Alabama Rig.
Some pros have been using this thing for years: The Alabama Rig is basically an umbrella rig like they use for stripers in the ocean on the East Coast that has several lures attached to it. Swimbaits, grubs, jerk shad and even spinnerbaits work well with it and what you end up with is a “school of fish” effect.
Well, the cat’s outta the bag now thanks to Paul Elias’ dominant win at on at last week’s Walmart FLW Tour stop on Lake Guntersville. Elias blew the field completely outta the water and that set the bass world abuzz and anglers everywhere scrambling to find these rigs. Expect many production editions coming to a shop near you soon, including the “Rago Baitball,” designed by veteran pro Jerry Rago, who’s been secretly using the umbrella rig for years. Rago’s version will be available through
Tackle Warehouse soon.
The Rago Baitball
Experts predict that the Alabama Rig will completely change and perhaps ruin many lakes for a few years and then the bass will get used to it and everybody will be onto the next big thing. Before you run out and buy one, be sure to check your state’s regulations to see how many lures you can legally use on one line. Read more
HEREby JD on September 20, 2011
Berkley’s new NanoFiL line has really been creating a buzz in the fishing world over the past few months since the iCAST show in Vegas. Through the grapevine, I’d been hearing some really good stuff about the stuff but didn’t have a chance to try it out until recently.
But first, let me back up here and try to explain what the hype’s been all about. Berkley says that the line isn’t a mono or a braid, but rather “The Next Generation of fishing line.” It is made out of gel-spun polyethylene, much like a superline, that consist of hundreds of Dyneema (“The World’s Strongest Fiber”) nanofilaments . The filaments are molecularly linked and shaped by “unified filament technology” into a unified filament fishing line.
In layman’s terms, the fibers that make up the line aren’t braided but instead all run the same direction, so you end up with a smooth finish (made very strong by the Dyneema) rather than they typical rough feel of regular braid. So, basically, Berkley is saying that you can have your cake and eat it too. I was eager to find out… [click to continue…]
Veteran of the Salmon Wars: 43 kings in 2 days!
So, what’s the best lure color? Easy answer: the one that’s been all chewed off by fish! Check out this
Wordens/Yakima Bait MagLip plug that guide Bob Toman used to catch 43 kings in two days on Alaska’s Nushagak River.
Before being put into service two days prior, this thing was a pretty green/chartreuse/pink polka-dotted affair. Kinda makes you wonder about all the thought we put into lure color doesn’t it? I’ll take one that swims right any day over one with the perfect paint scheme!
Heavy Hitters!
Salmon anglers have long been fans of the classic T-55 FlatFish — the plug’s big-time thump has accounted for countless river Chinook (and big lakers, too!) over the years. But the knock on the original version has always been that it’s not a great lure for flat-line situations. In other words, you have to add weight to get the thing down for backtrolling…or standard trolling.
Well, with the introduction of Worden’s/Yakima Bait’s newly designed Hawg Nose T-55 FlatFish, you can have your cake…and eat it too!
[click to continue…]by JD on February 23, 2011
The original RoeMaster ad, placed in Salmon Trout Steelheader magazine in 1992
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…as the saying goes…I was an aspiring tackle designer. In 1990, I was still attending Humboldt State University and decided I was going to give Mepps, Panther Martin and Rooster Tail a run for their collective money, so I built a weapon of mass fish destruction, the “RoeMaster,” which would conquer the world with its deadly fishing catching attributes: A spinner combined with roe…I mean how could a fish resist that? There was no way the RoeMaster could fail! Well, they could and it did…
For photos of Roemaster and more, click hereby JD on February 8, 2011
Not since the invention of the Slinky has there been as big revolution in drift fishing sinker technology as the “Sploosh Ball.” Over the past 10 seasons, these big plastic bombs have slowly been replacing other forms of lead on Western steelie waters.
And it’s easy to see why…they cast great, glide like a dream and are super snag resistant. The only real drawback is they aren’t the greatest bank fishing tool…when side-drifted, however, they are tough to beat. The venerable Plunk-N-Dunk got the “sploosh” movement going and now Mad River Manufacturing has entered the arena with their Mad River Drifters. But can they improve upon an already good idea?
We aimed to find out… [click to continue…]
by JD on December 18, 2010
Well, the weather outside is abominable so I figured it was a good time to do some prepping for steelhead season — which includes tying up a whole bunch of Yarnies. That, of course, gave me the perfect opportunity to try out some of Steelhead Stalkers’ new UV yarn. I’ve actually been anxious to tie with this stuff for quite awhile and just hadn’t had the opportunity until the deluge outside started. Here’s what I found… [click to continue…]
by JD on September 20, 2010
Willy's Worm, Bagley's Crawfish & Pee Wee Wart (Top to bottom)
Though there are plenty of good steelhead plugs on the market today, three of the all-time best ones have long since been discontinued. It always seems to work out that way, doesn’t it? Well, that doesn’t mean, however, that they’re not still out there…somewhere. While most Willy’s Worms, old-style Bagley’s Crawfish and STORM Pee Wee Warts have mostly been hunted to extinction on eBay, a few still pop up now and then. But truly your best bet to score a few of these old Hall of Famers is to scour the aisles of out-of-the way tackle shops and liquor stores, where you may just find a few dusty and faded packages hanging on pegs or in the bargain bin.
Here’s a closer look at these three steelie slayers:
[click to continue…]