Free Stuff

Well, people who know me know I've been stuck at home for 3 weeks due to having foot surgery. 3 weeks off of work might sound like somethng great, but when you are forced to stay at home due to being unable to drive, and can only hobble/hop from one room to the next, it gets old really fast.
Anyways, I'm one of the staff at the great fishing site/forum called Fishin Fanatics, and the site ownwer picked a great time to ask me to come up with a contest to help inspire some more activity on the board, and to generate some new members, and so, with my long layoff at hand, I did. I have to say I came up with an ingenious way to inspire more posting, and make it very fair in picking a winner. To qualify, all you have to do is start one fishing related thread a week, and make 5 posts. Too easy. The prizes are drawn each week, and I have to say the sponsors that I've approached have all come through in mega fashion with some amazingly cool prize packs. So, if you're just happening on to this blog for the first time, or have checked it out before, I suggest checking out Fishin Fanatics, and joining the contest, as not only can you win cool stuff, but the general membership of Fishin Fanatics is ultra cool as well, and a good group of people to learn, and share fishing related stuff. The link to Fishin Fanatics is on the right in the links section, and heres the direct link to the contest so you can see what I mean by ultra cool, ultra easy, and fun:
http://fishinfanatics.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3266&st=0

Bass Candy! (Bugs and Stuff)

Anyone who know me knows I have a predeliction for soft plastics. I have my favorites, like Filthy Fishermen Baits, Gary Yamamoto and others, but I'm always looking for cool new baits in different shapes, colors and sizes. And, since I've been off work due to foot surgery for 2 weeks now, I've had plenty of time to surf the net to find interesting new ones. Here's a couple I've found that are very interesting, and that you might not have seen before.

Imakatsu has some amazingly cool baits, not only soft plastics, but hard baits too. But, as we're focussing on soft plastics right now, here's a couple of their coolest. The first one is the Hairy Hawg. It is the most intricate soft plastic I've ever seen. I've looked to buy a few, but only found them on ebay for 12$ each. I think I'll try to find them a bit cheaper, as I haven't found a review for them yet stating how durable they are.

Another Imakatsu bait that is amazing is the Javallon. It's a jointed soft plastic jerkbait that has an amazing action. They're hard to find also. Amazingly, a few years back I ordered a clearance grab bag from Mr.Twister and got a few lures that look exactly like this. Now of course they're not listed as a product, and they must be discontinued. Supposedly Lake Fork Tackle here in the US makes them too. Heres a link to a video of the Javallon in action. http://www.imakatsu.co.jp/movie/050621_1152193839.asx Sexy slinky moves!!!!!
Stop motion shots of the Javallon in action below. Did I say Sexy?!! Another cool bait is the Bait Breath Dekamix. In the same vein as the Hairy Hawg, it screams both 'buy me!' to the fisherman (me) and 'bite me!' to the fish.
So far, all the baits have been Japanese luremaker creations, but heres a couple of stateside soft plastics that arent slouches either. Case Plastics has been around for a while, and makes some really sexy baits, like the Jack's Worm that I use for catching smallmouth bass with great success. But he has some really cool and really lifelike bugs too. The top one is a Hellgramite, which in nature is a highly sought after entree for the discerning smallie, and the second is a Magic Cricket, which is also very tasty to smallies.

And finally, one more American luremaker's ultra cool creation, Lunker City's Ozmo. How cool is this bait? Buggy, froggy, flappy, creepy and crawly wrapped up into one awesome package. I'm definitely picking up a few!

American Handcrafted Lure Art

Well, those Japanese lures were something to behold, but do not fear, patriotic American fisherman. You CAN get amazing handcrafted pieces of lure art right here in your back yard. The company is Carolina Chips Custom Lures, out of Auburn Hills, Michigan. These lures are of a wholy different style than the Japanese lures, but show no less quality. Comparing them is like comparing Szechuan rice with Jambalaya. Both are made with rice, and spicy as all hell, but are two wholy different entities. I first encountered Carolina Chip's Lures when I won one in that now legendary contest, the Crazyfish Rods/FishinFanatics Multispecies Contest. I was given the opportunity to have the lure of my choice made from Carolina Chip's wide selection. Trying to pick one was impossible, as they were all so enticingly beautiful. So instead of picking one, I left it up to the luremaker himself to give me a "Joel St. Germaine Special", one that is that bass fishing professional's goto smallmouth bass crankbait when the chips are down and the money is on the table. I had no idea what I was going to receive, but I knew it would be cool. And, it was. I received a 3/4 oz medium fat diver in this killer color he called Copperback Shad. Let me say that I have ALOT of crankbaits. at last count, the total was over 125. All shapes, sizes, brands. This lure was above and beyond all of them in terms of quality.
Anyways, let me stop talking, and start showing you what an artist this luremaker is.

This is the lure I won in my contest. notice the signature on the lure, the artist signing off on this unique piece of art.

This next lure is his Deep Bass Raptor in his Tilapia pattern. Notice the diving lip, it's made out of micarta circuit board. It's extremely hard to come by, and to work with from what I've heard, but a perfect material to make the diving lips out of due to its light weight, and stiffness.
This is his Kuba crankbait, painted an amazing bluegill pattern, again using micarta for the lip. Most of his baits are made from ultra high grade balsa wood.
He also does custom lure refinishing. Here, he has refinished a 25 year old Bagley B lure for bass professional Ish Monroe. Looks better than new! Being a small company not only allows for excellent customer service, of which I am a happy recipient, but also to think outside the box without any corporate interference and explore creative avenues or exercise personal design ideas. I've never seen a lure in this specific shape, and I'm positive the fish haven't either. Killer looking.

And finally to my favorite lure creation by Carolina Chip, simply named Unlucky Larry.
As you can see, Carolina Chip does some amazing work, and just goes to show that luremaking creativity and artistry isnt restricted to Japanese design houses, or large faceless corporate comglomerates. And it definitely shows that that if you look off the well trodden path of Walmarts and BassProShops, you can definitely find lures of pure art and genuine handcrafted genious. You can find a link to his site in my links section.

Japanese Lure Art

Theres alot of amazing fishing lures and items out there that you dont see in the stores. One lure company that has impressed me is Vagabond Lures from Japan. Unbelievable craftmanship and attention to detail are what set these lures apart. These lures are sold mainly in Japan, so finding them here is quite difficult. There are some online shops from Japan like PLAT (http://www.plat.co.jp/english/english_top.htm) that sell them, but unfortunately, most of the time theyre sold out, as these are justifiably lures that a collector would want. And, I'd have to say, would catch fish! Heres a few pictures of their lures that i've gathered for your viewing pleasure. Dont forget to cover your keyboard, as you'll drool all over it.

The first lures here are Jointed Arrowanas. They are a topwater slider style lure.
Just amazing detail in the paintwork and finish!

This next lure is a Diamond Tail. This is another topwater style lure mixed with a swimbait, but it also dives a bit due to the protruding lip. I can't tell you for sure, as I don't have one, but it sure looks like it would catch fish. I love this color scheme, Vagabond calls it Chimidoro. look at that blood trail!

This next lure is called a Dovelman. it again is a topwater lure, I would consider this a wakebait as it has a lip, and a propeller on the tail, so it would cause quite a commotion just underneath the surface.

Again, the Chimidoro color pattern with the blood!

This is next one is called a Baby Namazu Crawler. Never used it, so i can only guess that it makes quite a different sound and action than your typical topwater lure. Looks at those antennae!
This one is called a Donco. It looks like a typical popper, except that it has a bowed back, so I'd think it would have a bit of walk the dog action too.

These are killer looking baits called Simson J's. no clue as to how they come up with these names, but these are some beautiful lures.
This looks exactly like a redbreast sunfish that we have around here. I mean exactly. Again, these lures are amazingly beautiful. Next post will be of some amazing lures made closer to home.

The Karma Kitten!

Well, it's been pretty much a year since I picked up my new boat, up til now known as the 'Fishing Unit of Considerable Karma', or 'the F.U.C.K.' for short. She's been really good to me, and after proving herself a boat filled with major fish catching karma and charm, I've decided that she's earned a name more in line with her sexy profile and lucky nature. In this first year, I've had some really great times on her, like when I caught that big esox niger on her maiden voyage, when I caught all those monster micropterus dolomieui, when I caught that big cyprinus carpio on the fat ika, when I caught my personal best micropterus salmoides, and when I had good friend out on her and was able to share good times with them. There's nothing like being the first one out on the lake when the sun is just ready to come up over the horizon, the water is as still and calm as glass, and the day is so full of promise, and fulfilling that promise with a successful day of fishing. I shared many days like that with her, and so she has earned her wings/fins, and a more fitting name.

I now introduce you to the Karma Kitten!

Bass Assassins!

I've just recieved two more lures as the spoils of my CrazyFish/FishinFanatics Multispecies Challenge Contest. These were handmade by Joe of Bodega Bay Lures out of California. I wanted a topwater lure and a shallow running jerkbait in color patterns that mimic natural forage.

The first lure pictured is of the shallow running jerkbait in a smallmouth bass pattern.

The second lure is a topwater skater in a black crappie pattern. As it would have a crippled or disoriented fish motion, I asked that Joe rotate the color pattern and eye placement of the lure 45 degrees, so that it would float almost on it's side. If you look close, you can see the hooks coming almost of the side of the lure pattern, it was done to perfection.

I cannot wait for spring to try them out and start catching fish! Bass beware!