20% DISCOUNT COUPON Back to School Discount on All Lures, Rigs, & Tackle Packs! B10820 (expires 8/31/2010) | Here's an economic stimulus plan that actually works. Keep more money in your wallet while putting more fish in your livewell. Children are not the only critters going to school these days. Get ready for fall schooling action! Now is the time to build your Secret Weapon arsenal. And to help you be ready when the fish are, we're knocking off 20% on all Secret Weapon spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Recoil Rigs and component kits when you use this code on check-out from the SWL Online Armory: B10820. Consider it your fall fishing stimulus package USA-made quality and service, greater selections, unparalleled value and performance... at a savings of 20% through August 31 only at Secret Weapon's Onine Armory. |
Big Bass Bait
With as many excellent blade baits as Secret Weapon offers today, it's hard to pick out favorites. It's like choosing your favorite child... they're all great!
But for big bass and pike, there is no question. To catch kicker fish, the hands-down pick among Secret Weapon Pros is the Pro Assassinator Clacker.
In-Fisherman editor Steve Quinn wrote concerning this bait, "...[The Clacker] places two willowleaf blades parallel above the head and the hook. The blades, turning on ball bearing swivels, hit each other regularly as they turn in small circles. This contact, audible even above the surface, creates an underwater flash that can be produced only be bumping an object or stopping the retrieve to “kill” the bait."
10 Bass/110 Pounds — A while back one well-known professional angler and promoter shot a TV commercial for another spinnerbait company on Mexico's El Salto. After boating numerous bass in the two and three pound range, his producer complained about the dinky bass they were getting. Without a word, the angler clipped off the company's spinnerbait, pulled a Clacker out of his tackle locker, tied it on, and a few casts later was rewarded with an eleven-pound bass. The producer protested the he was supposed to use the company's products, to which the angler replied, "Son, make up your mind. You can edit out the tape, but if you want big bass, you gotta throw a big bass lure."
He proceded to catch ten bass that totaled over 110 pounds using only the Clacker, and the company ended up with a great (although a bit misleading) TV commercial.
Nickajack Bass Whack — SWL Prostaff Jake Davis had his own big-bass Clacker day on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee. Several days of heavy rain preceeded the tournament, muddying the water and driving bait fish tight to cover. Nickajack has huge expanses of milfoil and hydrilla, and the bass were feeding on shad fry hiding in the leafy canopy.
Jake tied on a Current River Shad pattern 1/2-ounce Clacker and started whacking the bass. He retrieved the lure slowly right above submerged vegetation, dropped it in holes, and swam it alongside floating mats. The clicking, clanking blades sounded like a dinner bell to the bass, and Jake pulled one chunky largemouth after another from the weeds. Although he used 60-pound super line, twice he broke off on eight-pound-plus sows that burrowed down into the slop before he could turn them.
Five other tournament competitors edged nearer for a closer look. They could tell Jake was flinging spinnerbaits, but their own were getting shunned. Jake showed them his unique dual-bladed spinner, but none of them had any, so they stuck with their favorite brands. Every now and then one of the other boats connected with a one or two pounder, but they lacked the key to unlock those bucket-mouths.
Finally tally... Jake's five fish broke 24 pounds, even without those two 8-pounders, and he took big bass and first place. Second place was a 5-fish bag weighing twelve pounds. No other competitor weighed in more than two keepers that day.
Old Hickory bass guide JW "Coop" Moreno swears by his Chartreuse and White Clacker twelve months a year. He claims to have caught more bass on a single Clacker this year than all other spinnerbaits combined over the last three. He has worn off the paint, straightened the blades and frame, and replaced his skirt, but his Clacker keeps on ticking. Most times, Coop says, bass slam the bait at full speed. He's never seen anything like it!
Take advantage of our limited time discount now and add a few Clackers to your own Secret Weapon arsenal..
SLOG Countdown
4-IN-1 LURE READIED FOR LAUNCH
Sportfishing's newest Secret Weapon is nears deployment. Code-named "SLOG," this entirely new class of lures will give anglers a strategic advantage on their next fishin' mission.
The Slog is actually a tackle system consisting of a crankbait body that can be fished alone, or to which a variety of soft-plastic bodies can be attached. Whether fished as a crankbait or as a swimbait — snake, lizard or goby/pollywog — the inimitable action and realistic appearance make this a must-have tackle system for every angler's arsenal.
Lure builder and fishing guide Stanley Smith of Eminence, Missouri, designer of Pro Assassinator™ high-performance spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, said this is not just the best lure he's ever developed, but quite possibly the best he's ever used. "Every angler who's seen this bait move in the water knows exactly where he wants to use it," Smith said. "There's absolutely nothing else like it in the world."
Secret Weapon Intel Briefing Subscribers will get first crack at the Slog plus a special pre-release discount offer. Look for a special Intel Briefing on or before August 31.
Captain Mike Gerry of Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service, offers hard-won advice for the fall frog bite.
With the best days of frog fishing still ahead, I thought I would spend a little time talking through some of the detail of frog fishing. Let’s start with the most important: equipment. Rigging is everything. It is the backbone of catching a fish on a frog.
Before heading to the lake, rig up a long, 7’6” fishing rod. The long rod allows you to make casts deep enough into the grass mat to catch a fish. It should be stout, too… with enough backbone to haul big bass draped with three pounds of salad out of the slop and into the boat.
Spool your reel with 50-pound-test braided line. Braid ensures that your hook set will be strong enough to drive frog hooks deep into the bass mouth, and also that you can turn the fish before it burrows back down into the grass.
One of the most important aspects of frog fishing is the hook set. I believe a long, side-sweeping hookset is best. It gives you control of the rod; it allows a deep-set hook in the fishes mouth, and it gives you control of the fish after she is hooked. I’ve seen folks set the hook with an upward motion, only to have the shock of the strike, size of the fish, and the weight of the grass jerk the rod right out of their hands.
The next key is the right grass. Not all grass beds are created equal. Look for the nastiest, dirtiest foamy grass that creates a trail with your frog. Also look for movement in the area of bait fish, carp, or bluegill.
Lastly look for the holes in the grass that serve as ambush area for bass. They sit back under the edge and will blast a frog that crosses over.
Work your frog several different ways. Pop it, stop it, crawl it, twitch it, move it fast, move it slow until you find a retrieve that causes a blow-up. Then it’s pretty simple… just repeat the fish-catching motion.
Give me a call, and I'll put on some exciting fall-fishing action on America's big bass factory, Lake Guntersville!
Capt. Mike Gerry
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Hot Water - Deep Bass Secrets — Fishing Hall of Famer Benny Hull offers advice to anglers who wonder "What happened to all my bass?!" He says they're still around and in hot weather they feed voraciously, but you have to know where to look for them. Benny writes:
When air temps reach the mid-80’s to 90’s and water is up in the 80’s, knowledgeable anglers know it’s time to start looking for bass in their deep hangouts. Knowing that is one thing… finding the haunts that hold big bass is something else.
Or major river impoundments all summer long you’ll see bass boats patrolling the first drop off into the channel, one eye on water skiers and the other on their Sonar, scanning the contours for telltale blips marking fish. Rarely, if ever, will I see fishing boats positioned out over the mother lode. I’m talking about deep mid-channel ridges and humps. Before the rivers were impounded, these were mid-stream islands. Now, far from shore and deep below the surface, they’re largely ignored.
When fishing this pattern, look for ridges parallel to the riverbed, 15 to 18 feet deep on the tops with sharp drop-offs going down another 30 to 40 feet. Idle slowly along the edges and check your Sonar for fish down about half-way. Those could be big cats, stripers, or bass… you never know.
Read more of this and other articles that reveal the tactics and tricks Benny Hull learned over a lifetime of fishing and guiding on the Tennessee River and lakes across the country.
And watch Hull's TV show online on MyOutdoorTV.com.
John Crews Cranks and Flips to Win Elite Series Duel in the Delta
Bassmaster Elite Series John Crews from Salem, VA rode two areas of the South Delta to victory over what could be called one of the most stacked Elite 12 in Elite Series competition. The victory in the Duel in the Delta; Crews’ first in Elite Series competition, earned him $101,000, pushing his career earnings to nearly $550,000 in 93 career BASS entries.
Following a lackluster practice, Crews decided to stay in the only areas he had found he could generate bites. One of those areas on the south end of the California Delta, proved to be the winning area. While the field struggled to produce giant stringers overall due to less than seasonable weather, Crews managed to bag 18 Delta bass that tipped the scales at 72 pounds, 6 ounces; good enough to best California’s Skeet Reese by one ounce.
Crews used three baits throughout the Duel in the Delta, a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, a Gambler BB Cricket as flip baits, and a SPRO Little John crankbait in Blood Craw. He used the Sweet Beaver early in the competition, but switched to the BB Cricket as the event wore on due to fishing pressure in the narrow, confined area. The Little John was used to cover water between matted grass mats, and was responsible for several key bites as well.
He paired his flip baits with Gamakatsu built Punch Hooks and tungsten punch sinkers with 65-pound test braided line by Vicious Fishing, while his Little John was thrown on 15-pound-test Vicious Fishing Ultimate co-polymer.
Bass Tackle Depot is a licensed dealer for all of these products, and wishes to congratulate Crews on a great victory in our backyard. All of the products mentioned here are available at www.BassTackleDepot.com: where the pros shop.
 Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver |  Gambler BB Cricket |  Spro Little John |
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Thinking Outside The Box Each and every year a new lure is brought to the forefront as a touring pro uses it on his way to victory in a major event. Whether it was the Sebile Magic Swimmer, BassTrix Paddle Tail Tube or even the Yamamoto Senko that went ignored for years. These lures all have one thing in common; they were relatively obscure prior to making headlines. Most stick baits have a quiver on the fall but the 10 inch P-Stix "Wiggles and Wobbles" like no other. Although we haven't used this bait on big bedding females yet we can't wait to try. We are excited about this bait and believe it will be winning events as soon as it hits tackle boxes. This bait is loaded with salt and anise and as we said fish hang on and do not let go. Rig this bait with 7/0 hook or larger if you are Texas rigging. For wacky rig applications use and O-ring with a 2/0 or larger hook. Pencil weights can be used to increase the fall rate and we recommend using them. You can make this bait do crazy things with pencil weights and with a body diameter of 1/2 of an inch they insert and work great. This isn't a small fish bait it weighs 1.4 ounces and is 10 inches in length. Be sure to watch the video This premium hair jig sports a 4/0 Mustad black nickel hook in the 3/8oz and a 5/0 in the 5/8oz that has a good bite for both freshwater and saltwater fish. The head has been custom painted to match the colors in the jig which include deer hair, mylar, and feathers. After tying is complete, the tying threads are sealed and cleared for extreme durability. The rate of fall for this jig is about 1 foot per second for the 3/8oz and 2 feet per second for the 5/8oz. Be sure to watch the video. |
V&M Mud Bug 
"Conclusion: Sometimes you just stumble onto a bait that surprises you
with its effectiveness. Such was the case with the V&M Mud Bug. I bought a
couple of packs simply to fill out an order and make the shipping worthwhile.
When I put it through our typical TackleTour testing procedures, my eyes opened
wide at those floating appendages. What a treat! If you're disappointed with the
recent flap over a certain plastic craw-like bait that teased us with its
availability but was suddenly not available again and are looking for a trailer
to help make your jig fishing experience more effective, you'd do well to check
out the V&M Mud Bug, but be careful, before you know it, you may be ordering
a few of those very convenient pack of 100 baits!"I will be purchasing some of these soon and will let you
know how I like them ;)Rich
Aaron Martens Lures The Scrounger
Picasso Luke Clausen Shakedown JigsThe Luke Clausen Shakedown heads are coated with the super tough Duraseal™ process, increasing the sensitivity and allowing them to hold up like no other on the market. This Duraseal coating is the same coating that is used on Tru-Tungsten Sinkers and Jigs, its an excellent finish. I just ordered several of each size in Black & Brown/Purple Fleck. I plan to give a full report when I get them in ;)
HellaBass
RichLindgren.com
Bassin' Blog
Rich's Bass Fishing Forum
Mega Strike Evolution Jigs
The SPRO Phat Flies were designed to take Float and Fly bass fishing to a new level. Not only designed to catch fish in the harshest conditions, these jigs are designed to catch big California trophy bass. Colors painstakingly matched to the most prevalent baitfish in North American waters. Perfectly balanced to sit horizontal under the bobber. Built with the worlds sharpest Gamakatsu hooks. 
The SPRO Phat Flies are the best on the market, period! These look awesome and I think they will be deadly in the winter through early spring. So if you live in middle to northern part of the country, buy them now and put them to use. Here is a link to a radio show explaining how to use them and their effectiveness.HellaBass
RichLindgren.com
Bassin' Blog
Rich's Bass Fishing Forum
Zappu Inchi Wacky Jig Heads
The 10 inch P-Stix
CBT Big Hair Jig
The V&M Hula Shad