My ICAST 2011 Bass Fishing Top Picks

Here are the 5 products I am most excited about from ICAST 2011 and that I will mostly likely purchase. These picks are largely based on my obsession with bass fishing and tournament based fishing. There are a ton of great products & I can’t cover them all in this short post, so here is my Top 5:

Optimum Baits Top of the Line Swimbait – The Line Thru category swimbaits has been very popular for two main reasons, fish catching action & better then average hook-up ratio. The main draw back, has been the position of the hook does not come through weeds & cover very well, plus many were not meant to fish deep. Optimum baits introduced the Top of the Line swimbait this year, which will be awesome for fishing through grass and slow rolling around off-shore structure. I have fished the prototypes, you can fish them much deeper and faster then the original Optimum BLT.

VMC Spin Shot Hooks – The new drop shot hook design immediately caught my attention. No special knot to make your hook stand out and line twist should be nearly eliminated. Likely to be a game changer for drop shotting.

Shimano Stradic FJ – I’ve always been a fan of Shimano fishing reels, when they came out with their AeroWrap a few years back that reduced line twist, I changed all my spinning reels out. I am intrigued by the X-Ship double bearing supported pinion gear with two S A-RB shielded bearings that eliminates pinion gear twist and rotor flex when fighting big bass. Should be another instant winner from Shimano.

Dobyns Savvy Micro Guide Series – The Dobyns Savvy series is what I already consider the best value in the bass fishing rod market today. Now they are launching additional models with micro guides at the same price point, sounds too good to be true. They are also launch their Coalition Weapon Series originally targeted at the Army Bass Anglers; main feature on these is an Army-like camo motif.
Response has been so positive; Dobyns now plans on bringing the rods in as permanent fixture to a wider audience.

IMA Beast Hunter – Is a new deep diving crankbait with a great name and same attention to detail you have come to expect from Ima Lures. Designed by legendary Japanese pro Jun Shoji, who guides on Lake Biwa & has a great test ground there to get baits exactly right. The sidewall plastic is 2mm thick which is extremely thick for a crankbait. The reasoning is they wanted the weight in the bait to have a narrower channel so the crankbait wouldn’t roll & helicopter on long. Also angle of the lip was studied for a long time to make it dive at the right angle that would allow it to get down but not get bogged up in grass. If you make the dive angle to steep on a crankbait, it will get down and under the grass and the bait will hang a lot more. The bait comes in at a more gradual angle and if you just slightly raise the rod up quickly, the bait will free itself easily from grass which triggers a lot of strikes. Look for this bait around September 2011.

Sometimes I wonder if I love bass fishing for the sport or because I am such a tackle junkie….

Youvella Pro Flip & Little Flip Hooks Available

Many of the top Fisher Harder Pros have been using these Youvella hooks for quite some time. They were available at the Bassmasters Classic & quickly sold out. Shortly after the classic the OWG (Offset Wide Gap) hooks were available in many online shops like Basspro.com and others. I have been using the Youvella OWG's quite a bit, sticking and landing a very high percantage of bites, I have nothing but good things to say so far.

I was surfing around today and finally found the Pro Flip & Little Flip hooks in stock, which just in time for summer fishing around here when flipping really starts to play a factor.

So get them while you can, I expect them to sell out quickly!

A clear difference?

Is the Secret out on Sercret Lures?
This company is brand new, but they have some good things they are working, probably most notably their new Secret Lures Chubby Frog Series
The colors are designed to produce fish in a wide range of conditions, and the body design of all models aid in hooking those big ones!

On days when the frog bite is "on" they recommend the full color frogs, since they offer the largest profile for the fish to attack. These full color versions also excel in heavy vegetation and stained water, since the fish have more to key in on. On those tougher days when the fish are just nipping at the frog, they recommend any of the CLEAR LEG colors. With these Secret Lures originals, those subtle bites are now directed right at your hook, so you can still put those fish in the boat.


The full body color Chubby Frogs can be fished a variety of ways; not just a topwater lure. They work great Carolina rigged, Texas rigged, and are deadly as a jig trailer.

Clear Leg Option: With this original design, fish focus their attack ON the hook, not behind it. Notice how the tapered body and clear legs give the Chubby a unique baitfish profile, unlike any other frog. It's very productive as an open water lure and triggers explosive strikes around cover. 5" long, 5 per pack.

They also have some great hooks for both Buzz Frogs and Swimbaits!!!

Beef up your Buzz Toad with the new Hack Attack Hook!

Most of you have noticed the growing popularity of buzz frogs and toads like the Zoom Horny Toad, Gambler Cane Toad, Sizmic Toad or many others. The reason is, they flat out catch fishm and big'uns! There are a couple drawbacks:
Frog rolling over
Sometimes poor hook ups
Enough weight for long casts

It looks like Tru-Tungsten & Greg "Hack Attack" Hackney have come up with a hook that solves all those issues - Tru-Tungsten Hack Attack Frog Hook
The Tru-Tungsten “Hack Attack” Frog Hook design helps provide extra casting distance while landing on its belly to prevent weeds from fouling the bait. It also keeps the bait keeled to prevent rolling or rocking of the frog. The unique double hook rigging prevents plastics from pulling down, resulting in fewer missed fish. Enjoy the benefits of more hook-ups and multiple fish without tearing each plastic frog!



You simply squeeze the hooks together, feed thru the nose of your bait. Once thru the nose, let the hooks open an insert those two giant gaffs into the back of the bait. Cast into your favorite grass bed and hold on ;)

New Innovative Gamakatsu Hook Design

Gamakatsu Skip Gap Hook
The new Skip Gap Hook from Gamakatsu is the hook every dock skippin’ Bass angler has been waiting for. Many soft plastics will slide off of the offset or simply come off when thrown hard against the water in an attempt to skip it under a dock. This is especially true on really hot days when the plastic can get extra soft. This unique patent pending hook is designed to hold soft plastics firmly in place so that no matter how hard you throw it, the plastic bait stays put. Unlike other hooks that have attempted to do the same thing, there is no special rigging required for this hook. Simply Texas rig it like any other wide gap style hook and it’s ready to go. The wide gap is built to handle thicker baits like tubes, but is also ideal for stick type baits and regular soft plastic worms. Sizes: 1/0 – 5/0.

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