Category: WTF?

The “IT” Factor

After years of fishing  we all have our favorite lures that we gravitate towards. These are lures that we may enjoy because they just happen to fit our fishing style. These may be baits that are known to catch quality  fish day in and day out. Generally these baits have years under their belts. Every once in a while a new bait will hit the market and prove itself. Above and beyond that sometimes one out of ten lures of the same type just have "IT".

I first heard this phrase a few days after a met a good friend of mine Matt Allen. I was up at Clear Lake for one of the HBC (heavyweight Bass Classic) Tournaments. I had sold Matt one of my Snack Size Trout Floaters in chartreuse shad. Matt went out and threw the bait and thought it was a piece of shit. I saw Matt later that day on the water. We were fishing right next to each other, I caught a few fish right in front of his boat using that same piece of shit bait. Matt did not say anything at the time but apparently had put the Snack Size away about 10 minutes into fishing it. I talked to Matt a day later.He told me the next morning he went out and absolutely destroyed the bass on it. After watching me fish the bait he said had been going about it all wrong. This is when I first heard the phrase, that bait has "IT". Since then the phrase has been a regular part of my regular vocabulary. Better yet the Snack Size has become a regular part of Matt's arsenal.

As a bait designer and builder I realized even if they had no word for it before."IT" is what every bait builder is looking for. It does not matter if your a guy in the garage with a box full of jig parts or a multi million dollar company. Ultimately the goal is to build a lure that has "IT"

There are many lures in history that have proved to have "IT". Take the spinner bait for example. Ive been throwing these since I was a kid and ill probably will die with a box of them in my boat. The jig is one of these baits.You would be hard pressed not to find a box or two full of them in just about every bass boat. Every once in a while a new bait will come out and just have "IT". Some examples of this, the Senko, the Sweet Beaver, 6" Basstrix, just to name a few. Why is it that every once in a while we get a bait that out performs the other ten we own just like it? What gives that one bait "IT"? Could it be the thickness of the paint, the density of the plastic? Could it be the way we worked it back to the boat that particular day? Or could that ten pounder just not resist the factor of "IT"?

There are no magic bullets in bass fishing. I do believe there is a scientific approach to the factor of "IT. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this factor. I have worked it into my bait design and prototyping and really feel there is something to "IT"

How can we use the Factor of "IT" to make ourselves better anglers? I will do some follow ups on the Factor of "IT" and hopefully help you do just that. Till then tight lines and don't forget to think about "IT".

Jsj snack size bitten shad
Does the bait you have tied on have "IT"?

 

 

Who knew there was a B-29 Bomber at the bottom of Lake Mead?

I didn't.

B29
On July 21, 1948 a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber ditched into Lake Mead. Apparently the pilots, on a test flight, misjudged their height over the water and hit the surface at 250 mph. The crew were able to escape into life rafts before the plane sank and were rescued, but the plane was never recovered. This was one of WWII's largest planes, and it's down there nearly intact.

B-29_in_flight


 

Lots more about it here:

Lake Mead's B-29 Superfortress

Here's an album of photos from the NPS

And here's a link to all of the National Park's Lake Mead videos

“There’s no such thing as a reckless octopus hunter. You’re either careful or dead.”

1963_World_Octopus_Wrestling_Championships

On the list of other watery hobbies we could be enjoying:

Apparently in the 60s it seemed like a good idea to dive into the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest and wrestle octopi from the watery depths.

In April 1963 the "World Octopus Wresting Championships" were held in Puget Sound, Washington. 111 divers brought up 25 giant octopus weighing in at up to 57 pounds, and had as  many as 5000 spectators.

I'd like to see the trophies.

In 1965 an article about the sport in "True: The Man's Magazine" they talked about a guy called the "Father of Octopus Wrestling."

". . He knew how to outmaneuver them, to outflank them, and to outthink
them. He knew full well, many years ago, what today's octopus wrestlers
are just beginning to learn–that it is impossible for a man with two
arms to apply a full nelson on an octopus; he knew full well the
futility of trying for a crotch hold on an opponent with eight crotches."

From Time Magazine circa 1965:

"Merely to minnow about underwater is no longer enough, and such sports
as octopus wrestling are coming increasingly into vogue, particularly
in the Pacific Northwest, where the critters grow up to 90 Ibs. and can
be exceedingly tough customers. Although there are several accepted
techniques for octopus wrestling, the really sporty way requires that
the human diver go without artificial breathing apparatus"

And this awesome illustration comes from a 1949 Mechanix Illustrated, from an article called "Octopus Wrestling is my Hobby"

Octopus_wrestling

According to them, this is some serious business.

"Like to wrestle an octopus? I realize it all sounds like a loathsome
sport but it’s really more fun than hunting some poor harmless
creature. When you wrestle and kill an octopus, you’re ridding the
marine world of a treacherous enemy.

And you’d better watch your step, too. For there’s no such thing as a reckless octopus hunter. You’re either careful or dead."

Found via this site, which has lots of other good stuff, most of which has nothing to do with Octopus: Futility Closet

Tim Horton Trademark Doughnut Scandal

I thought this was pretty funny link, a little ridiculous on both of the parties involved. The dough nut shop gets lots of press and Tim Horton’s head explodes simultaneously. I don’t think there products are confusingly similar. Would you like some powdered sugar or some cream filling for that crankbait? He is still one of my favorite guys on tour. . . we could always use the South Park approach to this. Link

Biting Off More Than He Could Chew

One afternoon last year on Lake Sonoma, I was quietly casting when I heard some splashing behind me, so I went over to see what it was all about. As you can see in the pictures below, what I found was this fish floating and twitching on the surface – a bass literally dying on the surface with a bluegill completely wedged in its mouth. I pulled the joined pair out of the water. Both were very pale from lack of oxygen, so I separated them quickly and let them both swim off. It’s one of those things I could hardly believe even though I was seeing it. Now, I have caught a lot of fish with small fish half digested in their throat before – even to the point of still hanging out of their mouth. But never quite like this.

Now it really makes me wonder every time I catch a 2 to 3 pounder on a Hudd or any other big bait – how often does a little fish like this bite off more than he can chew, and we never know?

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