Bays de Noc Smallmouth Bass Fishery Shines on National Stage
from The Fishing Wire

Big smallmouth

But in the wake of September’s high-profile Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship – which brought 50 of America’s top anglers to Escanaba to ply the waters of Big and Little Bays de Noc – what was once seemingly relegated to “also-ran” status is now national news: The Bays are loaded with trophy bass, too.

“The fishery has always been kind of walleye-centric,” said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Darren Kramer. “Bass is kind of an up-and-coming, emerging fishery. Every year we see more and more bass boats, and more out of state anglers, taking advantage of the fishery. There’s a lot of traffic out on Big Bay de Noc after the bass opener. That fishery’s really taken off in the last five or six years.

“Our creel data indicates there’s increasing angler effort and we think that’s attributable to bass,” Kramer continued. “Bass harvest has stayed the same, but use of the resource is going up along with angler success, which implies we’re recruiting more catch-and-release bass anglers to the area.”

The Bassmaster Angler-of-the-Year Championship started with a bang: On the first day, 12 competitors brought in five-fish limits with a total weight in excess of 20 pounds.

Catching bass that weigh more than four pounds each isn’t often accomplished in tournaments, even on some of America’s best big-bass lakes.

Although the tournament hit a minor snag, with high winds causing delays that shortened the event to two days rather than three, the weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the competing pro anglers who described the fishery as “awesome,” “incredible,” “unbelievable” and “amazing.”

Paul Elias, a Laurel, Mississippi, resident who won the BASS Classic in 1982, was effusive in his praise.

“It’s as good as, or better than, any smallmouth fishery we fish,” he said. And Elias’ comments were echoed by virtually all the competitors.

Fayetteville, Tennessee, bass pro Brandon Lester, who brought in the biggest bass of the first day’s competition – a six-pound, four-ounce smallmouth, said, “I’ve never seen so many big smallmouths in my life. They’re not everywhere, but when you find one, you’ll find a group of them. When you get around them, you can light them up real quick.”

Said Skeet Reese, a top angler from Auburn, California, at the weigh-in: “That’s the best day of smallmouth fishing I’ve ever had in my life. This is an incredible fishery.”

While many of the anglers were surprised by the quality of the fishery, Kevin Short of Mayflower, Arkansas, said the results were just what he expected.

Short first fished the waters off Escanaba in 2008 when he recognized that the area would undoubtedly host a future tournament, and has come back every year since just to fish for fun.

“If there’s any place in the whole country we would move to for nine months of the year, this would be it,” Short said. “The first couple of trips we really didn’t catch that many, but once we figured it out, holy smokes. It’s a really special place. I’d drive 18 hours just to come up here and fish a few days.”

Bass anglers familiar with the fishery had predicted an outstanding tournament.

Scott Cormier, a 42-year-old recreational vehicle salesman and lifelong bass angler from Gladstone, said the tournament was “going to open up a lot of eyes” across the country.

“There’s a big deep-water fishery out there that nobody’s really fishing,” Cormier said. “There are fish out there in 40 feet of water that have never seen a lure before.”

Indeed, most of the anglers were fishing shallow water during the tournament, concentrating on the rocky shoals that were only a few feet deep on the top or on the weedy flats adjoining drop-offs.

Dan Anderson, a 48-year-old maintenance supervisor from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, who fishes Bays de Noc regularly and was on hand to take photographers out on the lake during the tournament, said the fishery is capable of yielding 100-bass days at any time.

“They’re biting good by opening day,” he said. “You can catch them by May 1st and fish right up to deer season.”

That such an outstanding bass fishery flew under the radar for so long is just a matter of the Upper Peninsula fishing culture, Kramer said.

“Many anglers in the U.P. are typically looking for panfish or walleye,” Kramer said. “A lot of the bass fishermen we see are from downstate or out of state. But I predict that might begin to change.”

Added Jessica Mistak, the DNR’s fisheries management supervisor for northern Lake Michigan: “We think this is a world-class fishery that’s really been overshadowed by the walleye fishery. Now that anglers see that there are fish to catch other than walleyes in the Bays, they’ll be eager to come here and try it.”

Although invasive species are typically talked about in a negative light, Mistak said water clarity changes – brought on by zebra and quagga mussels – and new prey species, such as gobies, may have helped the smallmouth population.

Certainly, the smallmouths are thriving, a fact that is not so secret any more.

“This place is unbelievable,” said Jacob Powroznik of Port Haywood, Virginia, who brought in a limit weighing 24-pounds and one-ounce, good for third place after the first day of competition. “I hope we come back real soon.”

Boat Position Breakthrough system for raising and lowering trolling motors
from The Fishing Wire

Automatic Trolling Motor

New fully-automatic Minn Kota Ulterra raises the bar in boat control

Boat control is critical in the quest to catch more fish, and electric trolling motors have long been a key ally in positioning our fishing platforms, especially when wind, current and other complicating factors come into play.

Still, even the finest trolling motors at times leave us wanting more, particularly when we’re faced with the prospect of manually deploying, stowing and adjusting the height of the powerhead.

That is, until now. Minn Kota’s new Ulterra bowmount trolling motor gives anglers complete, automated control over these critical functions, revolutionizing the art of boat positioning in the process.

“Along with a full suite of high-performance features such as integrated i-Pilot Link, the fast-response, electric steer Ulterra packs the groundbreaking punch of auto deploy, stow and power trim features,” say s veteran guide, tournament champ and all-around fishing expert Scott Glorvigen.

Minnkota Automatic Trolling Motor

While the technology is cutting edge, the concept is simple. “With the push of a button, Ulterra makes us more effective, efficient and safer fishermen,” Glorvigen continues. Operated by handheld remote or foot pedal, the unit responds to Auto Stow, Auto Deploy, Power Trim and a host of other commands. Plus, thanks to the i-Pilot system and slick features such as Spot Lock, it offers complete, fully automated boat control.

“It’s a huge advantage in a variety of situations,” says Glorvigen. “For example, shallow water cover and structure can be fish magnets. With traditional trolling motors, you really have to pay attention to follow tight contours and manually respond to changes in water depth and the height of the cover. Ulterra automates and dominates these scenarios, so I can focus on fishing.”

Effortless operation also encourages anglers to drop the hammer in areas they previously passed up. “Manually deploying and stowing traditional trollers is enough of a hassle that there are times we elect not to use them because it’s easier to leave them in the cradle and move on,” says Glorvigen.

Examples of commonly lost opportunities include downsized slices of structure and cover that seem to small to justify the effort required to drop the trolling motor, along with current- and wave-washed areas where the boat would quickly slip out of position before we could fire up the bowmount. Sadly, such areas can be sweet spots, meaning the cost of not fishing them adds up to countless missed catches.

“Also, think about how many times you’ve burned daylight idling over dead water while moving from one high-percentage area to another, only because it’s such a pain to run up to the bow and stow the trolling motor,” Glorvigen adds. “Ulterra takes away all the excuses.”

Ulterra’s fully automated operation allows anglers to focus on fishing.
On the safety front, Ulterra eliminates the need to bend over the bow to stow the trolling motor. “Although I’ve never fallen overboard, there have been many times, especially in rough water, where I’ve had to be really careful,” Glorvigen says, noting that Ulterra’s auto stow and deploy also puts an end to out-of-control drifts while toggling between main engine and trolling motor. “No more scrambling between the bow and the helm while the boat’s at the mercy of wind, waves and current,” he explains. “You’re in control the whole time, with no chance of drifting into nearby boats, the dock or other water hazards.”

Other safety features include a low-battery alarm that warns when power levels approach the minimum needed to stow the unit. “You can still use the motor when an alarm sounds,” says Glorvigen. “And if the power does drop too low to raise the powerhead, you can always manually store it.” Both the foot control and handheld remote are also armed with failsafe measures to prevent accidental deployment.

To accommodate a variety of boats and uses, the new Ulterra is available in 24- and 36-volt systems yielding 80 and 112 pounds of thrust, respectively, with shaft lengths of 45 and 60 inches. “The longer version is critical in heavy seas when you need the powerhead as far in the water as possible,” says Glorvigen.

“In deployment mode, both sizes rise vertically, then drop the lower unit straight down,” he adds. “So you can deploy them amazingly close to a dock or other structure. It’s one more convenience and safety benefit of this great new boat-positioning system.”

Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI2_-BBheB8&feature=youtu.be

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

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

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.

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

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