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….

Father's Day Bass Fishing Combo Deal

Get a Sweet Rod & a Super Reel for a super nice deal! If you have not tried Dobyns yet, you are missing out! Check out the rod pages to see the deals!



Offer ends when reels are gone!

Black Friday Bass Fishing Deals!

BLACK FRIDAY STARTS NOW!!!!!!!!!
21% OFF SITE WIDE & Much More!!
Click Here http://www.basstackledepot.com


BTD CUSTOMERS ALWAYS SAVE MORE!!!

Still 2 days left to Save!

Hey Bass Fishing Rubes,

Still 2 days left on another great sale at a great time, no need to get up at all on Black Friday to get some deals. Bass Tackle Depot has 10 full days of 20% mark down across the board on their already great prices, also they are running daily specials. Yesterday BOGO on KVD Line Conditioners, today BOGO on Bio Edge fish attractants. Plus unless you live in CA, no tax and free shipping on orders over $50, can't be beat!


Last week, I ordered some Paycheck Punch skirts and a Skeet Reese Swimbait Rod, I also bought some chatterbaits, they were only $1.60 each after discount! I am guessing I may still sneak in abother order again, depending on the daily deals!!!

2009 Red River Bassmaster Classic Winning Lures & Gear

So here is a brief summary of the baits and gear used by Skeet Reese to win 2009 Bassmasters Classic!
Skeet used two main baits, the new Crazy Legs Chigger craw and the Lucky Craft Redemption Spinnerbait. These baits seem very fitting, since a chigger craw was Skeet's demise when Boyd Duckett used it to knock him to second on Lay Lake and Skeet designed the Redemption Spinnerbait for Lucky Craft and that is exactly what he got, REDEMPTION!!!

Winning Gear Notes
> Spinnberbait gear: 7' extra-fast Lamiglas XR 704 rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch (5.4:1), 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast braided line, 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft Redemption Spinnerbait (MS American shad head, nickel combination blades, customized translucent skirt).

> He said he fished spinnerbait on the Revo Winch because it's a strong, slower-geared reel. And he fished it on the braid because it cut through the pad stems better than mono or fluorocarbon.

> Flipping gear: Lamiglas XFT 806 flipping stick, Abu Garcia Skeet Series Revo casting reel, 25-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 3/16- and 1/4- ounce unnamed sinkers (1/4-ounce in wind), 3/0 unnamed hook, Berkley PowerBait Crazy Leg Chigger craw (black/blue-fleck)

Photo Courtesty of BassZone.com

A Carrot Stix a day....

Hopefully will keep the doctor away but not keep you from loading the boat with plump bass!
Check out these innovative new rods that Classic Champ Boyd Duckett helped develop. They are supposed to be super light and actually have some carott or cellulose fibers in its construction.....
Plus they are pretty sweet looking!!!

e21 Boyd Duckett Classic Gold Casting Carrot Stix
Designed by Boyd Duckett, 37th Bassmaster Classic World Champion and Ken Whiting the “Wizard of Rods”, our new Classic Gold series is a striking combination of versatility and performance From its high tech “Stress Free” blank design in high modulus graphite and Nano Cellulose Bio-Fibers to its anodized scandium weight port butt cap the Classic Gold series is on fine piece of fishing equipment. Meticulous attention to detail is paid to the construction of each and every Classic Gold rod as noted by many inherent features, which would typically only be found on custom rods. For example, locking wraps on each single foot guide, guides with no ceramics to crack or fall out, our easy access weight port for personal balancing and our own in house “Maximum Exposure II” split reel seat for the ultimate in blank/hand contact and sensitivity. In terms of performance the Classic God Carrot Stix series exhibits an extremely well balanced combination of lure presentation, castability and overall rod control. As Boyd said, “If this wasn’t the sweetest rod I’ve ever fished with, it wouldn’t have my name on it”.

Lite weight high modulus graphite and nano bio-filter blank

Lite weight double swaged pac bay guides with TiCH frames and inserts

Lock wraps on all single foot guides, both casting and spinning

Ultra lite graphite filled “maximum exposure II” split reel seats on both casting and spinning model

State of the art “velvet touch” split grip

All new non-obtrusive TiCH hook keeper

Screw on anodized scandium butt for easy access to blank weight port

Check out these new sticks!

Man have I been neglecting this Blog, just not enough time to fish and write about fishing sometimes. Lets look back a post or two and look at that new sweet Shimano Core Reel, then imagine pairing it with one of these bad boys.....


Shimano Cumara Casting Rods
Premium Bottom Contact Rods. The new Cumara ultra-performance bass rod series is specifically designed for bottom bouncing techniques. Featuring IM-10 graphite blanks, Fuji® Sic guides and custom performance reel seats, Cumara is simply the lightest, most sensitive, innovatively designed rod series you will ever fish.

High Modulus IM-10 Graphite Blank Construction

Custom Etched Butt Cap

Convenient Hook Keeper

Casting Handle

Fuji SIC Black Frame Guides

Custom Reel Seat with Carbon Insert

Shaped Eva Foam Grips

I am pretty sure I can see this combo in my future for next spring. Closed Circuit to Mrs. Clause, never too early to start thinking about Christmas and my B-day is just before Thanksgiving. Hint... Hint....

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