Month: July 2008

July 31, 2008

The High Cost of Boating – NPR Article

“For boater Hank Banalewicz, fuel costs about twice as much as last summer. On a recent morning, he says it cost him $250 to take out a boat. Last year, when gas was cheaper, it cost about $100 or $120.

“Oh, it’s totally ridiculous,” he says.

And as for boat traffic on the water?

“Hardly any boats . . . at all,” he says.

Banalewicz says he takes his boat out less frequently now, and when he does, he uses it differently. He cruises less and anchors more.

That’s the story in Florida — and also in Michigan, California and other places where boating is big.”

What is happening in Florida is also happening here. Although most of this article is talking about saltwater excursions in Florida, the realities of fuel prices are affecting everyone who boats (ok, everyone who boats without paddles or sails).

It is interesting to see some trends emerge – not only are people taking boats out less often, they are changing their habits when they do take them out to conserve fuel. This is probably not the worst side effect, since if everyone had been doing that all along they would of course had a head start on saving money.

Other people seem to have given up, and are trying to sell their boats. But selling your boat right now may be challenging – It’s like trying to sell that H2 – no one’s buying.

Reports from Florida say that boat sales are down as much as 40%. Even considering the economic downturn in general, that’s a pretty steep decline.

Charter tour guides in trouble as well. So who’s winning in the game right now (because someone is always winning)? Boat repo men. Anyhow – it’s an interesting read.

Here’s the story on Florida – Link

Here’s another story on the impact of fuel cost on fishermen from earlier this month – Link

Note: So the big question is: when are we going to start seeing fuel efficient bass boats? It seems incredible that no one is jumping on this bandwagon. Although, I would have to guess that the execs at the big boat companies are giving it some serious thought.
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Posted by A. Black

July 28, 2008

New on the Horizon, The Snack Size Bluegill

I have been slowly working on a two joint hard bluegill body bait for the last couple months and figured I would give everyone a sneak peek.

It will be a 6″ bait with double Owner treble hooks and will feature the same tail as my other line of baits.
I will be getting my sinking model Snack Size Trout baits out pretty quick here; I am still playing around with different fall rates.

July 22, 2008

Crankin’ Clear Lake

Not a lot has been said about this fishing technique since the swimbait came along, but it is still one of the most reliable ways to catch a solid bag of bass on Clear Lake.

There are several key times of year I like to fish crank baits (if by several, I mean all year)
Since it is summer I'll start now:

Summer

Once the spawn is over, the fish start to go about their normal routine, returning to deeper water. The water starts to green up as a result of the hot summer days. This has been happening lately first on the south end. Now is great time to start throwing the big deep divers like the DD-22; this bait is one of my favorites on this lake.

Target rocky areas with access to deep water. Obviously morning and evenings are going to be best but if you can stay deep enough with your bait or target shaded areas this bite will sometimes be good all day long.

Some of my favorite areas to throw the DD-22 are Horseshoe Bend, Rocky Point, Jago Bay, and the flats between Shag Rock and Buckingham Point and around Rattle Snake island.

I like keep my colors in this bait pretty simple. I only carry a couple crawdad colors and a couple shad imitators.

Crank baits are one of those lures that if you come across a school of the right size baitfish you can go from zero-to-hero in a heartbeat. I have sat in spots in less than 2 hours and caught over 70 fish. Seriously. I say “over 70” because I honestly lost count. Have you ever had a bruised stomach from setting the hook? One day last summer I did.

A nice 7 pound Clear Lake fish Last August.

Fall

My next favorite time to throw crank baits is fall. The bass will school up just as much if not more this time of year

In the fall you can find fish by watching for birds. The bass will start keying in on coves and pinning baitfish on rock and gravel ledges. It can become an all-out feeding frenzy at times.

This is when the Lucky Craft LV 500 really shines as well as the Speed Trap. I have also experimented with some custom painted Strike King Shad baits and really liked the results.

This can be a really visual time of year as well because of the fact that the water will have started to clear up in a lot of places and you will see a lot of your strikes.

I will focus a lot on banks facing east in fall. It seems the fish know it is going to start getting cold and they are savoring that last bit of sunshine in the rapidly shortening days.

Winter

Winter is hit or miss – one day will be on fire and the next day nothing. I always have a DD-22 tied on in the winter. This is a time where I will focus on sunny banks during the day, and around docks and rocks. If you can find both together near deep water it is ideal.

I will fish a little slower than normal this time of year as the fish are usually not as aggressive, but for a time when most everyone is dragging a jig or drop shot you can really go out and show them something they are not seeing a lot of.

I stick really tight to boulders as well this time of year; it seems the fish will just sit right on them keeping their bellies warm.

Spring

Pre-spawn is a time when I will break out the shallow divers such as the Zenith Big Bite or another one of my favorites the Diawa Bass Hunter. I'll stick with crappie colors and blue gill colors as well as Fire Tiger. The water is usually kind of murky still and they really seem to go after the brighter colors.
I like to use these baits on the north end on flats as well as migrating points from the main body in to coves.

A word about hooks
One thing I want to emphasize is replacing hooks out when needed. A lot of baits are coming with better hooks these days, however most are not. I am guilty of not doing this myself but I lost a couple key fish in tourneys the last couple years and I am currently going through all my bait boxes and replacing all my crank bait hooks with Gamakatsu EWG Hooks. If this has not happened to you (yet) – let me tell you: learn from the mistakes of others on this one. A 3 pound smally in the middle of the winter on Berreyessa would have made a difference damn it!

Rod selection
I want to touch on equipment as well. As most techniques these days require special equipment, the crank bait is no different. It is crucial that you use either a glass rod or a nice moderate action graphite. The moderate action rod will increase your hook up to landing ratio as well, it will absorb those runs the fish take on you to prevent lost fish.

I prefer glass as it absorbs a lot of vibration and when you throw a big deep diver all day, believe me, it makes a huge difference. Throw your baits on as long as a rod you feel comfortable with. You will get more distance which equally more depth on you baits.

This is a great time to get out there and start fishing these baits numbers can be high and the confidence boost even higher.

July 16, 2008

Some Great New Products from Blade-Runner Bass Tackle

I got my hands on a couple new things from Blade Runner Tackle Today.

One is the new hollow body swimbait hooks designed for the Basstrix. The other thing is a new swim jig that Rick Tiets Designed. Both are great new products that will help in a lot of different applications.

First off the new “Small Swimbait” hooks are going to be a life saver for a lot of people who have been struggling with trying to find the perfect rig for their Basstrix.

They come in a few hook sizes ranging from a small 3/0 up to a 6/0 . They also vary in weight from 3/8 up to 1 oz. These set ups will allow you to put a split ring and a stinger on if needed which a lot of people are going to be very happy about.

I personally am pretty excited about trying the New Swim Jig Called the Paddle Head.

It is a baitfish profile jig with large eyes and an extra little tab to keep your trailer on nice and tight.

This is going to be a dynamite bait I can not wait to give it a shot

Link to the Paddle Heads on Blade Runner

You can’t buy online from Blade Runner, but the hooks are available from Hi’s Tackle Box in San Francisco

Previously on The Wired Angler:

10 Ways to Rig a Basstrix Style Swimbait

July 15, 2008

Snack Size Hitch Takes 2nd Place at the HBC Clear Lake

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday as I got an e-mail from Bob Cepek. Bob had just fished the HBC at Clear Lake and came in 2nd place. Well he went on to tell me the good news. Bob had picked up a new Snack Size Hitch in Lakeport and decided to use it during the tournament.

As he described it He brought the bait up on stage and Bryron Velvick took it from him, I guess a discussion went on as to who was going to keep the bait. Bob just barely got it back.

Byron asked Bob how many casts it took to catch the fish. He explained to him about twenty but did not tell Byron that he was just getting used to it for the first 10 to 15.

I don’t know how I missed all of this I must have been in la la land somewhere talking swimbaits with someone down on the dock.

The sad part is that Bob told me he missed a fish that he thinks would have won the thing.
Congratulations Bob on your 2nd place finish and thank you for your support.

I had better get back to making baits, sounds like I may have a swarm of new orders soon.

Keep an eye out this week. My next article will be about crankin Clear Lake.

July 12, 2008

Return from the HBC Clear Lake CA

I just got back from the HBC last night up in clear lake. I would like to start by saying Ron and his entire list of sponsors put on a really cool event.

I did not sign up in time to fish this event so I signed up as a camera boat. They ended up being short VTO’s so I did not get the opportunity to shuttle around the camera crew, but had a great day anyway.
We ended up going to different parts of the lake in case there were any surrendered fish that needed to be turned over. This is a rule that is specific to the HBC. Link

I was assigned to the rattlesnake arm of Clear Lake. Ron said it was ok for us to fish so I got a couple hours in. I ended up changing out hooks on my crank baits. I then messed around with my new Hummingbird 997 for a good portion of the morning.

I had not been down to that end of the lake in while so it was kind of nice. I got bored after a while and came to the conclusion that no fish were going to be surrendered. And if they needed me -Hell , my boat does 70mph. No big deal.

I headed north where I met up with Matt Allen, who I had just met that morning.
Matt is no stranger to fishing big baits and fished the HBC 1 down south.

He was fishing an area I told him about and had apparently killed them there that morning. I guess we should have both been fishing this tournament because each of us had a couple Bass in the 5 pound range just messing around with 3:16 JR and the Snack Size Chartreuse Shad.

As boats started heading back towards the north end, we did not want to get in the way of anyone participating in the event so we headed back to Konocti Vista where the event was being held.

Matt had volunteered to be the check in boat so we both grabbed all we needed and headed out in my boat.
We missed most of the weigh in but had fun talking to everyone as they came in.

Shaun Bailey took the HBC belt and a check for $10,000 with the big fish weighing 9.01. Robert Cepek came in third with 8.21. Jerry Ballesteros came in third with 7.52 and worm-chuckin’ Scott Green came in fourth with 7.20. If Scott had not just caught a 14 pounder on a worm a couple months back I would be making a lot more fun of him right now. They say size does not matter, Scott so don’t feel bad.

Here is a Link to the Full list of results.

I met a lot of great people at this event and would love to fish the next one if it wer at freakin’ Amistad. They are however raising the bar to a $1,000 entry fee and a $50,000 winner-take-all prize pot, so we will see what happens.

I will leave you with a picture of the swag bag all the competitors and camera boat guys got just to make you jealous.

I do have to say though it made it extra worthwhile.

July 7, 2008

Modifying an Osprey Swimbait to be Weedless

Here is a quick easy way to make one of the original large soft plastic swimbaits weed less.
Starting off by showing the Standard hook set up on a 6” Osprey Swimbait .

This modification requires a 10/0 Lake Fork Trophy Lures Swimbait hook, some Mend It soft bait glue and a small piece of a drop shot or similar worm.

Step 1

Gently work the lead through line through sinker out of the bait.

Step 2

Cut about a one inch section off the head of a RoboWorm or similar size worm to the old weight.

Step 3

Squeeze some Mend It and glue into the old weight cavity and insert the small piece of worm into the hole.

At this point you want to glue up the hole in the nose real well so the head of the new Lake Fork Swimbait hook will have good amount of plastic to bite into.

Step 4

The rest is pretty self explanatory, Just push in the head of the hook and pin it through the back of the bait. You can leave the hook a little exposed or bury it into the back of the bait slightly.

More Tips & How-To posts on The Wired Angler:

How to Make Your Own Big Topwater Plug Bass Lure

Painting a Wooden Plug or Crankbait

Basic Boat Repair – Part One: Fixing Minor Dings and Chips

Basic Boat Repair – Part two: Fixing Minor Dings and chips

10 Ways to Rig a Basstrix Style Swimbait

July 2, 2008

TackleTour Lure Preview of the Snack Size Swimbaits – Updated

Last night Cal from TackleTour posted a preview of the Snack Size Swimbaits.

For those of you who do not know of TackleTour, it is one of the most in-depth tackle and fishing review websites on the web.

They concentrate largely on the bass fishing industry, but also cover a lot of bay and delta related items as well.

I have had an overwhelming response due to the write up, so I figured I would go ahead and give more details on the bait:

The bait is currently available at the following locations

Jig-Monster.com

Monster Fishing Tackle at OutdoorProShop.com

Tackle It in Lakeport, California

Oroville Outdoors, Oroville Ca

Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco (and online)

Coming soon to
USACProShop.com and BassTackleDepot.com

I am currently putting in 12 hour days so I do not fall behind on production. I will be putting together a website which will hopefully be up by the end of this week or for sure by next week.
This site will be updated over the next month to give the full rundown on the bait.

Where to get it
How to fish it best including video
Contact and company info
How the bait came to be, etc
Full line up of colors in production

The web address will be JSJBaits.com

Although the full company name is JSJ Bait And Tackle, I wanted to have an easy to remember address.

For now, read the preview on TackleTour

As always – please let me know your feedback in the comments thread or email me

July 1, 2008

Fluke Fishing For Bass

When the fishing gets tough from post-spawn through the summer, one of my go-to baits is the Fluke or Fluke-style baits.

Something about the subtle action of this bait can really trigger lethargic fish into striking. One scenario that comes to mind for me happened just last weekend at Clear Lake.

It was the middle of the day, and we were fishing shallow in the weeds. The outside temp was pushing one hundred degrees and the water temp was in the seventies. I could not buy a bite on a frog.

I know the area is loaded with fish, so I started to throw a big swimbait to draw the fish out. This worked, but the fish did not want to eat it. At this point I downsized to a Bass Trix swimbait on a Falcon 1/4 oz hook. The fish were a little more interested, so I knew I was close.

They would follow the Bass Trix and swipe at it, but did not want to commit to it either. This is where the Fluke comes in.

What the Fluke does is something that not too many baits can do. It can be set up to turn at the twitch of your rod tip. On this particular day, that was all it took to trigger followers into strikers. By turning the bait and facing the following fish it was enough to trigger strikes from an otherwise non-committal fish.
I prefer using the big Fluke style baits from Bass Assassin.
Here is the set up:

The hook must be set back about an inch on the bigger baits and about a half inch on the smaller baits from the nose of the bait. In order to do this you must push the eye of the hook through the bait, tie your knot and then pull your hook back in.

The 7″ Bass Assassinand witha 6/0 1/4 Falcon hook and the 5″ Zoom fluke with a 2/0 Falcon 1/32 oz hook.

Another thing this hook set-back allows you to do is walk the fluke under the water – just like walking a fluke on the surface, using short twitch and pause motions. The bait will also sink in a circular motion.

These baits can also be fished weightless on the surface as a subtle clear water lure. This is perfect for shallow water site fishing when the fish are mindlessly cruising.

The great thing about the Fluke is that it can be set up weedless. I prefer using the bottom weight Falcon hooks in as big a size you can get away with without hindering the action of the bait.

I fish the big Bass Assassin Fluke style baits on a 7′ casting medium-heavy rod with a fast tip, paired with 15 pound CXX P-line or 50 pound braid. A Senko or topwater spook rod will work perfect.

The smaller Zoom Flukes I like to fish on spinning tackle. I use a 7′ medium-heavy rod with a fast tip as well, this time with 30 pound braid. This is so I can horse fish out of the weeds if needed.

The thing I like about Fluke fishing this time of year is that is that a lot of times it involves sight fishing in clear water and you get to see a lot of the fish react and hit your bait.

Give the Fluke a try – it may turn a slow day into a great day on the water. Let me know if you have any Fluke tips in the comments or email me, and I’ll share them.