Monthly Archives: July 2014

What Is A Hydro Glow Fishing Light and Why Do I Need One?

Hydro Glow Light

Hydro Glow Light

If you ever fish at night under a light you should have a Hydro Glow Light. They are fantastic for hanging over the side of your boat or mounting on your dock to attract baitfish that attract the fish you want to catch.

I first saw the lights in action a few years ago during a night tournament at Lake Sinclair. I had fish until almost dark without catching a bass then just as it got dark went into a cove to fish a brush pile I knew was there.
As it got darker I noticed a weird green glow in the water on a dock across the cove from me. I eased over to it and saw it was an underwater light so I started fishing around it. The cabin door opened and a guy came toward the dock. I just knew he was going to tell me not to fish around his dock and start casting so I would have to leave.

Instead, he started asking me about the fishing and told me the light was the Hydro Glow Light system he produced. He said the bass would move in a little later to eat the shad that were already swimming under the light and I could catch them.

As we talked Darrell Keith explained he owned the company and this cabin, and tested his lights here. The green one was new and it was working better than other colors they had tested. Then he said there was a bass at the dock. I could not see it from the boat but he told me to cast a crankbait to the light. I did, and caught my first keeper of the night.

I got a card from him and he told me to stay there, that more bass would move in, and he went back to his cabin.

I did not leave until the tournament ended and caught a limit of bass, winning the tournament. Every time I have gone back to Sinclair at night I have not been able to fish the dock. Too many other fishermen have found it and there is always a boat there.

Hydro Glow makes several lights and have just come out with a high intensity light that is compact. You can choose 12 volt lights for use from a boat or 120 volt for permanent mounting on a dock. Green works best in freshwater but there are different colors for use in salt water that work better there.

Check out their website and watch some of the videos. The lights are fairly expensive but you never have to buy fuel for a lantern like we used to, and they will last you a long time.

Do I Need To Use Fluorcarbon Line?

Clear Answers on Fluorocarbon

Avoiding the issues with an otherwise great fishing line.

By Frank Sargeant
from The Fishing Wire

Most experienced anglers now make regular use of all three common varieties of fishing line, monofilament, fluorocarbon and braid. Of the three, fluorocarbon probably causes more issues and gets more cussing than the other two put together, with good reason.

While fluoro has some very obvious benefits which keep it on the playing field–extreme clarity, durability, low stretch and a high density that causes it to sink, taking diving lures deeper–it can be very difficult to cast.

Because fluoro is a “harder” line than monofilament, it tends to be stiffer, and this stiffness can cause big problems both on baitcasters and on spinning reels.

Most of us who have loaded up a baitcaster with 15 to 20 pound test fluoro of any stripe have had the unfortunate experience of a “professional over-run”, AKA a backlash or bird’s nest, when trying to make long casts.

Fish Caught On Fluorocarbon Line

Fish Caught On Fluorocarbon Line

Dave Burkhardt is an avid angler who makes use of his line products regularly to stay in touch with the market, both in saltwater and fresh.

Dave Burkhardt, company president of Trik Fish lines (formerly Triple Fish), was one of the first to start selling fluorocarbon as a fishing line in the U.S., though it had been used as leader material for some time previously. Burkhardt, besides being a businessman, is also a hard-core angler who regularly fishes both fresh and salt water, and he understands the needs of his customers well.

“There’s no question that a lot of fluoro is just too darn stiff for good fishing,” says Burkhardt, whom I interviewed at the recent ICAST show in Orlando, Florida. “The stiffness never mattered when it was only used as leader material–in fact, a stiff leader can be helpful for keeping the hooks from tangling in the running line when you’re working a topwater, for example, and the hardness of the stiffer lines is a plus because it helps prevent cutoffs.”

But, says Burkhardt, when some standard fluoro is used as fishing line, trouble begins.

“Standard mono has a specific density of about 1.0, which means among other things that it floats on water. Most fluoro has a density of 1.8, almost twice as dense as mono, and that means it sinks. It also means it’s a harder material, and that it tends to be stiffer–and those two characteristics are not good in fishing lines.”

Burkhardt said that the work-around solution, for anglers who need sinking, nearly invisible line, has been in the past to use a lighter test line than they would normally–the thinner the fluoro, the less likely it is to create snarls on casting, so lighter tests are one solution.

“Of course, the problem with that is, if you’re fishing rough cover, you lose a lot of lures, and you’re likely to lose your big fish when it finally bites,” says Burkhardt.

Trik Fish Line

Trik Fish Line

Trik Fish Fluoro Carbon is a softer fluorocarbon than most, says Burkhardt, which makes it easier to cast and better at holding knots.

The solution, he says, may be in a new version of Trik-Fish fluorocarbon just released by the German labs where his line is made.

“By changing the chemistry, they’ve been able to extrude a line that is still very dense and strong and tough, but that’s also very soft and flexible. That means the angler can still spool up with 15- to 20-pound test and get casting qualities that are close to what he’d expect from monofilament in that strength range.”

Another benefit of softer fluoro is that it holds knots better. Particularly in the heavier tests used in saltwater, harder, stiffer fluorocarbons are known for slipping in many common knots–the new Trik Fish doesn’t, says Burkhardt.

The line is not cheap–a 200-yard spool of 20-pound-test goes for around $18. But Burkhardt points out that like braid, fluoro has a very long lifespan. It does not break down in sunlight like mono, and it stretches only a fraction, making hook sets much more positive than with monofilament.

Bottom line, says Burkhardt, is that the new generation of fluoro solves a lot of problems for anglers, and should make believers of many who have had problems with past versions of these products.

For details, visit www.trikfish.com.

You Tube Video On Using the Book Keys To Catching Lake Lanier Bass

My eBooks “Keys to Catching Lake Lanier Bass” and “Keys To Catching Clarks Hill Bass” help me catch bass so I made a video showing how to use them.

Lake Lanier is a tough lake to fish for many, including me. The fish live deep in the clear water and a drop shot rig is one of the best ways to catch them. I seldom fish a drop shot.

I went to Lake Lanier in July, took one of the chapters of the book for hot weather fishing and put the GPS Coordinates from that chapter in my Lowrance HDS 10. When I got to the waypoint there was a brush pile right on the coordinates.

After rigging a drop shot just like described in the book, with eight pound line, quarter ounce round sinker, eight inch leader and Wackem worm in the color suggested I caught three spotted bass. They were not big, two were throwbacks and one was a 14.5 inch keeper, but I did catch fish. A thunderstorm ran me off the lake early or I could have tried more of the spots in the article.

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

ICast Best Of Show Awards

Sportfishing Industry Presents the ICAST 2014 “Best of Show” Awards
from The Fishing Wire

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL – – The world’s largest sportfishing trade show, the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) wraps up it’s fifty seventh year this afternoon at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. More than 11,000 members of the sportfishing industry, including nearly 1,000 media outlets have been here to see the latest innovations in tackle, gear, accessories and apparel.

The single most important feature for ICAST exhibitors and attendees alike is the New Product Showcase. The New Product Showcase, sponsored by Fishing Tackle Retailer,embodies the sportfishing industry’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit and rewards that ingenuity through the “Best of Show” new product awards competition.

This year, more than 700 tackle products and accessories were entered by 253 companies into 24 “Best of Show” categories in the New Product Showcase, all vying for the overall ICAST 2014 “Best of Show” award.

The Predator XL Kayak features a center console that can hold everything from a dry box to electronics and a MinnKota motor.
Making up a special section of ICAST’s 500,000-gross-square-foot show floor, the New Product Showcase provides special visibility for the industry’s latest innovations in gear, apparel and accessories.

Best of Show Awards
This year the Predator XL kayak by Johnson Outdoors Watercraft, was voted by buyers and media as the best product in both the boat category and the overall “Best of Show.”

This year’s New Product Showcase winner’s also included first-time ICAST exhibitor Helter Skeletons, Ltd.

“I congratulate all of the winners and everyone who participated in the New Product Showcase. Every year it’s amazing to see all the creativity and ingenuity our member companies use to add curiosity, excitement and discovery to the adventure of fishing,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman. “I also thank Fishing Tackle Retailer for their sponsorship of this important event.”

The ICAST 2014 “Best of Show” awards, sponsored by Rapala, were presented on Wednesday, July 16, during the Chairman’s Industry Awards Reception at the Orange County Convention Center.

2014 ICAST New Product Showcase Award Winners

ICAST 2014 Overall Best of Show Category Winners

Best of Show – Freshwater Rod – Duckett Fishing
Product – Micro Magic Pro

Best of Show – Saltwater Rod – Shimano American Corporation
Product – Terez Stand Up

Best of Show – Fly Fishing Rod – G. Loomis, Inc.
Product PRO4x Short Stix

Best of Show – Freshwater Reel – Pure Fishing, Inc.
Product- Abu-Revo Beast

LLC’s TF-70 Sealed Fly Reel
Best of Show – Saltwater Reel – Pure Fishing, Inc.
Product – PENN Battle II Spinning

Best of Show – Fly Fishing Reel – 3TAND, LLC
Product – TF-70 Sealed Fly Reel

Best of Show – Hard Lure – SPRO Corporation
Product – BBZ-1 Rat

Savage Gear's 3D PVC Crab

Savage Gear’s 3D PVC Crab

Savage Gear’s 3D PVC Crab
Best of Show – Soft Lure – Okuma Fishing Tackle Corporation
Product – Savage Gear 3D PVC Crab

Best of Show – Lifestyle Apparel – Pelagic, Inc.
Product – 4TEK Fish Finder Boardshort

Best of Show – Technical Apparel – STORMR
Product – Fusion Bib

Best of Show – Boating Accessory – Johnson Outdoors
Product – Minn Kota Ulterra Trolling Motor

Best of Show – Boats – Johnson Outdoors Watercraft
Product – Predator XL

Best of Show – Combo – Lew’s Fishing Tackle
Product – American Hero Baitcast Combo

Best of Show – Electronics – Johnson Outdoors
Product – Humminbird ONIX 8SI

Best of Show – Eyewear – Costa
Product – Hamlin – 580P Mirror Lenses

Best of Show – Fishing Accessory – Lit-Industries, LLC
Product – Lit Coolers

Best of Show – FishSmart Tackle – Cuda Fishing Tools
Product – Cuda Grip & Scale

Best of Show – Fly Fishing Accessory – Plastica Panaro SRL
Product – M2300 – Fly Caddy

Best of Show – Footwear – Columbia Sportswear
Product – Megavent PFG

Best of Show – Giftware – Helter Skeletons, Ltd.
Product – Authentic Skeletal Articulation

Best of Show – Kids’ Tackle – ZEBCO Brands

Product – ZEBCO Splash Combos

Best of Show – Line – Pure Fishing, Inc
Product – Berkley IronSilk

Best of Show – Tackle Management – ENGEL U.S.A.

Product – UC30-RH

Best of Show Terminal Tackle – Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle
Product – TroKar TK619

ICAST 2015 will be held at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, July 14 – 17, 2015.

For complete ICAST information, visit www.ICASTfishing.org

Flashback To A Jackson December Tournament When the Lake Turned Over

Jackson proved to be as tough as Lanier, if not worse. The lake had turned over, never a good sign when it first happens. In the fall, as the surface of the lake cools due to cooler days and nights, the water at the top gets heavier. Cold water is heavier than warm water down to the point where it freezes.

All summer long the water in lakes is stable, with colder water at the bottom and warmer water at the top. This creates its own problems since the lower levels don’t get fresh, oxygenated water from upper levels. There is a section of water, called the thermocline, where the water drops in temperature and oxygen starts getting low. Below the thermocline the water is much colder and has little oxygen.

Fish tend to hold in the thermocline during the summer and move more shallow to feed. This limits them some. But as the surface water cools it starts falling and the lower levels will mix with the upper levels. This lowers oxygen content through-out the water column and makes fish sluggish most of the time. And they can move to any depth, so they become more scattered.

The water usually gets murky when turnover happens. It does not look muddy but is cloudy. Jackson had been very clear lately so when people said the lake had gotten stained, and we had no rain, I knew the lake had turned over. The water temperatures confirmed it.

The Potato Creek Bassmasters had a buddy tournament at Jackson last Saturday, the day before our two day tournament, and most of them had a tough day. A couple of fishermen had pretty good days but most did not. In fact, some members of the Flint River club that fished the buddy tournament on Saturday had such a bad day they did not come back to fish on Sunday.

We had 18 members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club and the Flint River Bass Club fishing for eight hours on Sunday. There were only 27 keepers weighed in. Two members had limits but there were eight fishermen that did not weigh in a keeper. The 27 keepers weighed 34.88 pounds and almost all were spotted bass.

Kwong Yu had a good day, landing one of the limits and winning with 8.96 pounds. His 2.60 pound bass was big fish. Raymond English had the other limit and came in second with 7.99 pounds. My four keepers weighed 5.35 pounds for third and fourth was Brandon Stooksbury with three at 3.35 pounds.

By 11:30 I was very frustrated. I had not hooked a bass even though I had fished a lot of places in four hours and tried everything I could think of to try. Then, to make matters worse, I missed a bite, broke my line setting the hook a few minutes later and then missed a third bite. I was about ready to give up.

I talked to two other fishermen at about that time and they had not caught any fish either. I decided to run way up the Tussahaw and try to scratch out a keeper. The first place I stopped, on a rocky point, I got a good keeper spot on a jig and pig.

After fishing around the area for more than an hour with only one more bite, another keeper spot that hit by a dock, I ended up where I caught the first one and caught two more keepers, one on a jig and pig and one on a jig head worm. I stayed there until the end of the tournament but could not catch another fish.

The tournament year is over for all three Griffin clubs now since Potato Creek fished their December tournament yesterday. We will all start over in January so now is a good time to plan on joining a club and showing all of us how to catch bass. The Flint River Bass Club meets at Hong Kong 2 the first Tuesday each month at 7:00, Potato Creek Bassmasters meet the Monday after the first Tuesday and the Spalding County Sportsman Club meets at Panda Bear the third Tuesday each month at 7:30 PM.

Each club fishes the weekend after the meeting except when we have two and three club tournaments. Both the Sportsman Club and Flint River fish on Sunday and Potato Creek fishes their tournaments on Saturday. So you have some choices of which weekend day to fish.

We have a lot of fun in the clubs and you can learn from other members, sometimes. Most members share how they caught their fish – after the tournament is over. But that is good info for the next time. And you can get good information on boats, motors, rods, reels and fishing lures and lines from other members based on what they use.

None of the clubs have draw tournaments so you and a friend can join and fish together. If you don’t have a boat or a friend with one, you can join and we should be able to find someone in the club for you to fish with.

What Is ICast?

ICAST Previewing, Selling, and Acting

Fly fishing is no longer considered a separate activity. Today, fly fishing is viewed as just another way of catching fish- and that’s bringing in new angers. But the elegant simplicity of fly reels still catches the eye of consumers, buyers and media members. The massive reel on the left is a saltwater “teaser” reel. The 3-TAND next to it weighs only 3.5 ounces, but is capable of carrying 145 yards of 20 lb Dacron line-for under $200.

As the fishing industry is gathered in Orlando, Florida for their annual trade show, there’s plenty to look at at either end of the cost spectrum. If you’re getting started in fishing, there are plenty of products that will allow you to get your feet -and tackle- wet without soaking your bank account. If you’re one of those ultra-serious anglers, well, you can have anything from lures costing the same as a new entry-level fly rod to a $2,500 bamboo fly rod (the case costs extra).

If you’re looking to get into kayak or paddle board fishing, there are plenty of varietal choices there as well. It’s interesting to note that the kayak industry remains lively -in fact, during the New Products Preview on Tuesday evening, one fishing captain turned to me and remarked the kayak had become the equivalent of the “tuner car” for the fishing industry. “I think it’s awesome,” he told me, “we have these anglers that show up at our marina with kayaks that originally cost, what, two grand, and they’ll have double that – or more- in accessories. They have the equivalents of nearly everything I have on my deepwater charter boats.”

No kidding. At the new product showcase there were $5K dual-angler Hobies on display along with standup paddleboards for anglers featuring livewells, coolers and rod holders. But the surprise of the displays may have been from longtime canoe and kayak brand, Old Town. Their Predator XL model is now being offered with their Modular Console System- essentially a center pod that can be changed out to contain electronics, storage or -if you choose- a power unit by MinnKota. Yep, an adaptation of a MinnKota trolling motor that enables the Predator XL angler to fish with a console full of electronics -and a power unit that leaves hands free for angling.

Johnson Outdoors Watercraft’s Old Town Predator XL featured a customizable center console that holds dry storage, electronics and/or a MinnKota trolling motor.
It was a big hit with the media and buyers, especially with a price that ranged from $1,999 for the nicely-equipped base Predator XL to $2,699 for the Modular Console System with MinnKota power unit.

There’s a lot of attention paid to the products submitted for the “Best of” categories at this show – and winning one of those awards gives manufacturers a promotional angle to use the rest of this buying season -and going forward. Having spent a lot of time looking at the hundreds of products submitted in categories ranging from best fly rod to the best fishing gift – I was torn between the $4.99 quick fish identifier and the $2,500 life-sized skeletal fish replica- it’s safe to say there’s a lot of new product coming into the pipeline for anglers in the coming months.

If you’re looking for something to give your fishing a little oomph, you might want to consider Eagle Claw’s Anise and Garlic-scented snelled hooks. Yes, scented with “a long-lasting and proprietary blend of 100% natural oils”. If you’re looking for the newest in fish-finding technologies, there’s Garmin’s new GT30-TH and GT30-THP thru-hull scanning CHIRP transducers.

But there are other issues on the burners here as well, from the state of the Gulf of Mexico four years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster to seminars on “Swimming in Regulations” looking at the federal government’s latest round of over-reaching regulations concerning the country’s public waters and access to offshore fishing areas on the verge of being declared “protected areas” by the administration.

FishSmart (www.FishSmart.org) may also be sales-smart for manufacturers and retailers.

Not everything is all peaches and cream on that front, but the industry is working-proactively- to protect the interests of all recreational anglers.

Those efforts include the new FishSmart (www.FishSmart.org) program to recognize innovation and programs in the industry that assure the survival of caught fish. Catch-and-release programs are good, but the FishSmart program seeks to take what ASA calls a “science-based approach to approving the survival of fish.”

With more than half saltwater fish caught and nearly 84 percent of freshwater fish caught released, the program is looking to recognize gear that helps fish survive the experience. It looks like a good idea that’s also a solid business decision. According to an Australian study of a similar program there, retail sales of tackle and equipment recognized as improving released fish survival rates have seen sales jumps from 20-50 percent.

And as always, we’re watching on those fronts and, we’ll keep you posted.

Catching Bass At West Point Was Tough In My Club July Tournament

Last Sunday 14 members and guests of the Flint River Bass Club fished our July tournament at West Point. After 8.5 hours of casting, nobody had a limit and three people didn’t land a keeper. We weighed in 17 bass that totaled about 32 pounds.

A teenage guest of Rick Burns, Patrick Thomas, beat us all with two bass weighing 5.51 pounds and his 4.72 pound largemouth was big fish. Chuck Croft has four at 5.47 pounds for second, third was Gary Morrow with one bass weighing 3.95 pounds and my two at 3.79 pounds was good for fourth.

Fishing was tough for us but the West Georgia Bass Club, a buddy tournament trail out of LaGrange, had a tournament the same day. They had about 180 boats in the tournament and there were many teams with good catches. It took five bass weighing 17 pounds to win and at least 11 teams had more than 12 pounds.

I started fishing between the railroad bridge and Highway 109 bridge. They took off at about 6:20 AM and I saw only about ten boats headed down the lake. I stayed in that area all day and I guess that was a mistake. Most everybody in the West Georgia club went up the river. Maybe that is where I should have headed.

I started in the dark fishing a spinner bait on rocks but never got a bite. At 6:30 I was fishing a buzz bait and hooked a keeper, and it fell off as I tried to lift it into the boat. That gave me hope I could catch some fish on topwater but I never got another bite on top.

After the sun got over the trees I switched to a jig head worm and fished some rocks in about eight feet of water. I missed one bite but a little later, at 7:30 I hooked and landed a keeper spotted bass. At least I had one in the live well and would not zero.

I fished that place hard and a couple of more without catching anything then I ran to a rock pile where I caught seven or eight spotted bass a month ago. I fished it for 30 minutes without a bite, then just as I was about to leave, hooked and landed a bass that was close to three pounds. That fired me up and I stayed there for two more hours – without getting another bite.

With less than two hours to fish I hit several more spots but never caught another fish. It was a long, tough day for me and everyone else in the club. I thought my three pounder might have a shot at big fish but there were two others bigger than mine. Just my luck.

Saturday night is the July Sportsman Club tournament at Sinclair. The tournament will run, or ran by the time you read this, from 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM. I hope the fish will bite better at night. At least the weather will be much more bearable.

2014 ICast

ICAST Underway On July 14
from The Fishing Wire

The doors of the show floor of ICAST/IFTD officially open this morning and the largest combined annual trade shows of the global fishing industry will be underway. Underway means a three day walking trek around the cavernous Orange County Convention Center and not the outdoor industry’s preferred location: Las Vegas.

Personally, I prefer Orlando, but I’ve been told that all the industry studies say I am clearly the minority opinion. Last night, my voice had a little more influence. The buyers and credentialed media vote for the best of hundreds of new products across a variety of categories, and our preview of the new products being showcased is the first official event of the show. The previews of products in their on-the-water testing mode aren’t really part of the event. And unlike SHOT, where manufacturers have been forced out of their more intimate previews for a single Media Day at the Range, it is still possible to get an invitation to see gear without having to stand in line with several hundred others.

There have been other earlier fishing trips and secret previews for some members of the media, but the vast majority of the local and regional media will really getting their first looks at the gear here in Orlando.

And that’s one reason the flight into Orlando was filled with pro tour anglers. As spokespersons for their sponsors they’ll be in the show booths, wearing their tournament jerseys and best smiles as they repeat a nearly endless chain of answers to questions about the latest products. Yesterday, they were enjoying the chance to sit in silence at the airport without being recognized. Until they leave ICAST that’s not an option.

For some, the crowds seem more challenging than the toughest tournament. Others have no problem shifting between their private/public personalities because they’re not really different at the show or on the water. That, FYI, isn’t always a good thing. Some are just difficult all the time, but you know what you’re getting, so you come prepared.

As far as new products, the fishing industry, like most of the rest of the world, is heavily invested in technology. That’s seen in everything from navigation systems evolved from military aviation to fish finding sonar and mapping technologies that might have changed the face of the world had it been available to naval forces a few decades ago.

And there are less obvious, but equally amazing descendants of military development, too. Fabrics are lighter, stronger and able to keep anglers warmer or cooler and protected from the dangers of UV radiation as needed along with lines with no memory, slick finishes and can be cast further with more sensitivity than you would thing possible.

Perhaps the biggest change is that the technological advances are coming in years -and sometimes months- instead of decades. That contributes to an almost ephemeral attitude concerning gear. For some, it’s tough to get excited about the “latest” of anything, because it may be gone as quickly as the mayfly hatch on a Montana trout stream.

For the manufacturers, it’s a realization that it’s essential to choose advances carefully. Otherwise, there’s the risk of either instantly obsolescing popular models with technology with little, if any, real longevity

Revo Beast

Revo Beast

Revo’s Beast (top) is designed to meet the challenge of throwing- and retrieving- today’s big rigs without burning out your reel. Others, like Lew’s newest reel, haven’t yet been seen, but have used clever pre-ICAST teases to build media interest. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photos.

Having seen some of the new gear, I have cast my votes for the various categories top picks. As an average angler, I’ve seen new things I believe will help me catch more fish- at prices that don’t require six figure incomes or tournament sponsors.

That’s good news for the growth of the sport. The industry isn’t just adding color combinations or cartoon figures to their gear and calling it children’s gear, they’re actually building gear that can make kids better anglers. Ditto the gear for ladies. And that’s recognition of the fact that everyone has to enjoy a sport to get families engaged.

Some of the new products have genuine promise. Other, like every other ICAST have subtle nuances that an average angler (like me) might not notice. Some, too, have only marketing changes or appear to be “solutions in search of problems”. Those one and go, but there’s plenty of new gear to get you excited about upping your came without breaking your budgets.

And there’s still the matter of guaranteeing access to public waters, reasonable fishing seasons and sustainable harvests and the problem of equitable allocations of resources to recreational fishing by the federal government. Those are industry-wide concerns and can’t be solved at a trade show, but must be addressed while we’re all together under a single very large roof.

But we’re going to try and capture the essence of the show as part of our promise to you: we’ll keep you posted.

–Jim Shepherd

Using Keys To Catching Lake Lanier Bass Book To Catch Bass

Keys To Catching Lake Lanier Bass works to help me catch bass.

The Outdoor Blast is next weekend, Friday through Sunday, at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. I will be helping out at the Georgia Outdoor News booth where you can enter a drawing for a gun given away each hour of the show and pick up a free copy of the current magazine, so that booth should be very busy.

I will also have my two Map of the Month books for sale at the booth. I have put together books for Lake Lanier and Clarks Hill that have a Map of the Month article for each month of the year. Each article has a map showing ten good spots to fish for bass that month, tips on how to fish them, what baits to use and other information from a good fisherman on the lake.

Last week I went to Lanier to try to catch some fish and make a promo video for the book. The video will be running on a laptop on the counter at the Blast. The books are available as downloadable eBooks and I also sell them on CD in either Microsoft Word or PFD format. From the CD you can print out your own copy of the whole book, or print one chapter at a time to take to the lake with you.

I was happy to be able to put in a GPS waypoint from one of the articles for Lanier, go to it and find the brush pile there. I rigged a drop shot worm like suggested, with the color worm and weight sinker the article says works best. And I caught some fish off that hole and others in the book.

Lanier is a tough lake to fish if you don’t go regularly and keep up with what the fish are doing. The information in my book really helped me.

The 2014 ICAST Show Was July Was July 14 – 18 in Orlando

ICAST Gets Rolling in Orlando

By Frank Sargeant, Editor
from The Fishing Wire

It’s the Greatest Show on Earth if you happen to be in the fishing industry

The annual ICAST/IFTD show is underway in Orlando, Florida, this week, drawing literally thousands of companies from across the globe to the marketplace in hopes of selling their products to the buyers and retailers who will then offer it to anglers.

Some of the products are a bit doubtful, to be sure-there are some that solve problems that for most anglers do not exist, others that cost so much relative to their function that they’re simply not marketable on a large scale.

But every year there are some big winners, and lots of small companies hoping to become big ones with one or two great products that will start to grow them towards being the next Berkley or Rapala or Shimano.

The event gets underway with the annual State of the Industry meeting, and this year the news was generally pretty good. According to American Sportfishing Association chief Mike Nussman, the show is now bigger than ever despite the competition from electronic media for the youth market. Nussman credits both the location of the show in Orlando, closer to the east coast tackle industry, and the combination of the ICAST show with the Fly Fishing Trade Show the last two years with the increase.

Gregg Wollner, Executive Vice President of Rapala and ASA board chairman, said in his presentation that 4.1 million new anglers fished for the first time last year, and 42 percent of them were women. He also said Hispanic anglers were on the increase, indicating two underserved markets that promise future growth to the industry.

Nussman said that some 40 million anglers have a $125 billion annual impact on the U.S. economy, spending not only on tackle and gear but also on boats, motors, tow vehicles, fuel, and motels and restaurant meals. But he said, to maintain industry success, everyone in the business will have to become conservation-minded in the future, as well as being open to seeking new markets through partnerships with those outside the industry-he pointed to an on-going ASA partnership with Disney World as an example.

Florida Governor Rick Scott, a business-friendly governor, also spoke briefly at the breakfast, pointing out that of the 100-million or so tourists that visit the Sunshine State, a great many of them fish Florida’s waters. Scott has been one of the Gulf Coast governors pushing for state management of red snapper in recent months due to the very controversial management decisions being made by NOAA.

We’ll take a closer look at many of the products introduced here in the days and weeks ahead, and some of them are truly mind-blowing, including an auto-deploy trolling motor from Minn Kota and a system from Lowrance that will let anglers control both the outboard and the trolling motor from the electronics, giving an electronic “third hand”.

General observations from my first day walkthrough are that kayaks, inflatables and paddle boards are becoming ever more popular, both because they’re inexpensive and because they’re versatile-as well as leaving no environmental footprint. There seems to be more ice-fishing gear than ever, electronics are getting bigger and more capable and more expensive-as well as smaller and cheaper in some cases–and there seem to be more companies taking advantage of pro anglers expertise, both in bass and walleye fishing-or maybe more pro anglers are getting sponsor-savvy. There are loads of new top-end reels, and also loads of very affordable entry level combos in all the genre’s, including fly casting.

In short, ICAST this year, like every year, is loaded with candy and ice cream for the angler-I can’t wait for tomorrow to sample some more.