Category: Tackle
The Science of Rod Breakage
Just how much force does it take to break a fishing rod? Turns out the answer is, it depends. I found an interesting piece over the weekend in Field & Stream from John Merwin that dates back to 2006. Looks like a fun test. Buy a bunch of “off-the-shelf” fishing rods, lock them solidly into place, [...]
Science: Clarifying the Advantages of Long Rods
This one is a pet peeve of mine. And yes, it might just be a semantics argument, but I’ve got to rant anyway. Check out the catalogs, read an article or listen to an interview with a pro angler, and the first advantage they’ll mention when discussing their 7′ plus rods is how they get more [...]
Black Friday Purchases – Come Clean
It’s the most commercialized day of the year. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when the stores opened at midnight in some places. People line up hundreds deep waiting for the doors to open. I’m guessing there weren’t many bassers in line at that hour of the morning, but then again, I don’t live close to [...]
Tackleboxes of Yore
We’re going to change things up a bit today. Instead of covering a science bit like we usually do most Monday’s, Jay’s post about 1976 and Rick Clunn, along with the comment about weighing tackle boxes in the old Classic days got me thinking about how things have really changed in this area. Chances are [...]
Ever Do The Tacklebox Weigh-In?
Was surfing the new lurenet.com site (home for the Yum, Booyha, Bomber, Rebel, etc. brands) – you heard about it right? lol – and ran across this, from the one and only Bobby Murray: Competitors in the first Bassmaster Classic were limited to just 10 pounds of tackle. Nowadays a single Stowaway can weigh more [...]
Science: Is Red Dead?
It’s one of those things where you either believe or you don’t. Some things are just like that in the bass fishing world. I was checking out the In-Fisherman web site, just browsing around, when I came across an article from last month in which they revisit the “red revolution”. Seems like they hit this topic [...]
The Right Tool Rod for the Job
Anybody catch the latest episode of Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show with Kevin Short? Z-Train and K-Pink were throwing jerkbaits to lethargic, cold-water bass in Arkansas. Not sure if you caught it, but Z said he was using a G. Loomis saltwater popping rod (probably one of these), because the soft action helped him make a [...]
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… Your Baits?
It’s the end of a long day of bassin’ and you’re packing up your tackle for the trip home when you look into the bottom of the boat and observe a moment of silence for all the “dead soldiers” littering the floor of your rig—chewed-up flippin’ chunks, one-armed creature baits and tubes torn to shreds. [...]
The Eyes Have It! Or Do They?
Seriously, what purpose do eyes serve on fishing lures? You can argue that they add realism to a bait. But if we’re so obsessed with making something look real, why do we all have chartreuse-, gold- and firetiger-patterned baits in our boxes? When’s the last time you saw a chartreuse-colored anything swimming in your local lake?
Tackle Nerds Take Heed: Special Tops
Have you ever gone to a lake and thrown a lure that you know, without a doubt, the fish in that body of water have never seen before? It’s a pretty cool feeling, and I often go out of my way to find off-the-wall plugs from far-away places that I know most bassers won’t think [...]
Owner’s Flashy Swimmer – Fished It?
A while back I put up a review of Shimano’s Maki Rubber bladed swim jig. I freakin’ love that thing, but they’re about as hard to come by as a picture of KVD fishing a wacky worm. Ever since I was introduced to the Maki Rubber I’ve been on a quest to do three things: [...]
Pocket Fisherman Not for Fishermen!
Bass-o-Matic! Got stuck in an airport a couple weeks ago and picked up a book called “What the Dog Saw” by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s a compilation of some articles he’s written over the years, and one is about infomercial king Ron Popeil of Popeil Pocket Fisherman (among others) fame. If you’re like me, even as [...]
How Good Is This PAA Discount?
Got a news release yesterday, the PAA announcing a “new affinity membership level.” Sounded like a smart idea, but that’s not what got me. It was the first paragraph: “One great benefit of being a member of the Professional Anglers Association is the Affinity Program that provides discounts on a wide range of fishing, boating [...]
Bait Hatin’
Cranking. Flipping. Spinnerbaits. Dropshots. Wacky rigs. Texas rigs. Carolina rigs. Jigs. Swim jigs. Pitching. Bed fishing. Ledge fishing. Vertical jigging. Tubes. Swimbaits. There are about a million different ways to catch a bass, but that doesn’t mean I want to employ them all. Hand me a rod with a crankbait tied on the end and [...]
Skeet’s On Crack
Here’s a quick look at the new bait colors Skeet Reese unveiled in his booth here at the NOLA Classic. That’s blue crack [chartreuse belly /blue back] on the left, T rock [chartreuse belly/purple back in the middle and black crack [white belly/black back] on the right.
Has Anyone Messed With Your Tackle?
Could You Tell? We got a media release from Plano yesterday and this quote from KVD caught my eye: “I can always tell you where something is among my gear, always!” This I believe, even though Kevin has more fishing gear in his boat than most of us have in our boat, truck, house, shed, [...]
We’re Looking for Tackle Nuts
Are you obsessed with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, jerkbaits, rods, reels, line, etc. – meaning any ONE of these things? Do you just NEED TO KNOW about the latest and greatest, evaluate whatever it is, and issue an opinion? If so, we need you – maybe. We’re looking for folks who are rabid about
