June Walleye Lure of the Month: Storm Thunderstick

June Walleye Lure of the Month

Storm Thunderstick

The abundantly versatile ThunderStick was introduced to the angling community in the 1980’s by the Storm Manufacturing Company.  It’s just one lure in a comprehensive line of premium lures sold by the world famous luremaker.  Back in 1965, Storm’s charter product was the innovative, if not unusual, ThinFin.  By the late 1990’s, Storm had established seven popular product families: ThinFin, Hot’N Tot, Wart, Chug Bug, Mac, Pygmy, and, of course, ThunderStick.  Many, if not all, of Storm’s products have been “renovated” as a result of the company being acquired by Normark, makers of the legendary Rapala minnow.  Although much of the Storm product line has been updated, we’ve seen many of the new products and can report that we’re excited about fishing them all.

Storm offered the original ThunderStick dressed out in a dizzying 65 different color combinations, and, incredibly, the company continued to introduce new colors regularly.  In the highly automated world of lure making, it’s worth pointing out that each of Storm’s baits were hand painted and clear coated to ensure the highest quality finish.  Storm’s roots are in freshwater fishing, but the company did make a saltwater ThunderStick (enclosed) specifically designed to withstand the unique punishment saltwater deals out day after day.  Although replaced by a freshly updated ThunderStick, the original still lives up to its reputation as an all-around fish taker, and, according to rumor, it’s becoming rather collectible.

Created: Late 1980’s

Manufacturer: Storm Lures (now owned by Rapala)

Technique:

Storm suggests trolling or retrieving the ThunderStick at a steady speed.  A property that makes the ThunderStick so desirable is its ability to be retrieved at very high speeds without taking anything away from its wounded minnow action.  Experiment with different speeds as a practice.

If you notice that the lure does not track properly, tuning might be necessary.  To correct this, firmly grasp the ThunderStick and bend the connecting loop in the opposite direction the lure is swimming.  Needle-nose pliers work great in this situation.  Remember, a little force goes a long way here.

June Saltwater Lure of the Month: Acme Kastmaster

History and lure from AcmeTackle.com

^Check them out! Many great lures!

The Kastmaster is a popular and deadly spoon-type lure for both fresh and salt water. Many anglers use this lure or know about it. But very few anglers know the story of Art Lavallee, the man who discovered and perfected the Kastmaster and put it on the market.

Art Lavallee was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1918, and as a young boy liked freshwater fishing. After returning from W.W. II where he served on submarines in the Pacific, he resumed freshwater fishing and in 1947 he caught an 8 3/4 lb. largemouth bass that held the Rhode Island state record for many years. But when he caught his first striped bass in the ocean, striper fishing became his primary fishing interest.

In 1949, Art Lavallee and his brother Al formed the Spencer Plating Company, which polished and electroplated jewelry. Art took some of the jewelry and bent and changed their shapes to create metal fishing  lures. He and his friends enjoyed successful angling results with these inventions, so Art decided to enter the fishing tackle business and founded the Acme Tackle Company in 1952. Then Art learned about a lure called the EDA Splune developed by the Engineering Design Associates. This metal lure was the forerunner of the Kastmaster. The Acme Tackle Company entered into a royalty agreement with EDA and acquired the rights to market the lure. Art field tested the lure and then modified it, making it longer and giving it the jewelry like finish for which Acme lures are famous.

The Kastmaster was quickly accepted by both fresh and saltwater anglers and is now used to catch all kinds of fish. An amazingly versatile lure, the Kastmaster is equally deadly whether cast, trolled, or vertically jigged.  It casts like a bullet, and its unique side-to-side darting action is something which pursued baitfish do, but which ordinary spoons do not.

June Freshwater Lure of the Month: Rapala Floating Lure

June Freshwater Lure of the Month: Rapala Floating Silver Lure

In the 1930's, Lauri Rapala had a very simple revelation: wounded fish get eaten by big fish, so all he needed to do was to create a lure that resembled a wounded minnow.  Such a simple thought process, but it is one that has transcended generations and helped to catch millions of fish.  The Rapala Original Floater was originally made of timber, and has since been updated to what is included in this month's selection.  It's easy to use, durable, and most importantly - it catches fish!

Used as a trolling lure, it is easy to maintain a consistent speed.  Also because of the balsa wood construction, you will find that it has a nice, rolling action through the water, further enticing the fish.  If you are lure casting, simply cast it out and pull it back in.  

As a variation, if you see fish flashing at the lure but not striking, try this: cast it out, increase the tempo of the retrieve, and add in short, sharp stops that get the Rapala minnow darting and weaving, darting and weaving.  This may "wake up" the fish that were previously not interested, and get them to chase and try to catch the lure with a new life to it.

For more info, check out FishingEnthusiast.BlogSpot.com to watch a video put together by Patrick Brennan on best practices of fishing this beautiful lure!

Features:

*Swimming Depth: 0.6-1.8 m

*Available in classic and bleeding patterns

*Can be fished top to bottom

*Balsa Wood Construction

*Natural Minnow Profile

*Run Fast or Slow

*VMC Hooks

May Walleye Lure of the Month: Lindy Shadling

May 2013 Walleye Lure of the Month: 

The Lindy Shadling

The Lindy Tackle Company dates all the way back to 1968, when it was founded by the members of the Nisswa Guides' League located in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota.  Their goal was simple: to create a revolutionary new walleye fishing product that the world had never seen before called the Lindy Rig.   The lure they created was an instant hit.  The Nisswa crew went to demonstrations, fisheries, and seminars in the upper Midwest, soon the Lady Rig by the thousands!  The Lindy Rig has since been joined by the Dingo Jig and the Spin Rig as the top lures produced by the Lindy boys.

Soon Lindy outgrew the ability of it's founders to continue to finance the growth, so it was sold to Ray-O-Vac in 1973.  Ray-O-Vac had just purchased Mille Lacs Mfg., so they merged Lindy and MLM to create their Fishing Tackle Division.  After a few years of experimentation, the tackle division decided to stream line their efforts and focus solely marketing to the fastly growing niche of walleye fishing.  The company is credited with identifying walleye fishing as a market and also with developing many of the walleye fishing methods and products which dominate the arena to this day.

The Lindy Shadling is a lure designed with incredible attention to detail.  The Shadling successfully emulates both the basic patterns and subtle undertones of a variety of common baitifish species.  The secondary hues flash as the shadling swims and triggers savage strikes from all species of gamefish.  Add to that the ultra-realisitc holographic eyes and predators don't mistake the Shadling for anything other than real prey.  Lindy's cutting edge pull-point technology ensures the Shadling will track true out of the package every single time. It's tight wiggling action does not need to be tuned and will reliably perform at the highest trolling speeds needed for gamefish.

May Freshwater Lure of the Month: Z-Man Chatterbait

May Freshwater Lure of the Month: Z-Man Chatterbait

No lure in recent memory has had such a profound impact on freshwater fishing as The Original ChatterBait. With its patent-pending design and unique hex-shaped ChatterBlade, the sound, vibration, flash, and action of The Original ChatterBait is unmatched. The Original ChatterBait is designed to -Inchswim-Inch in an erratic motion that mimics wounde

According to Mike Shelton, the vice president of sales for Z-Man Lures, The ChatterBait was invented by Ron Davis, of Greenwood, South Carolina.  Ron’s father had also worked on the original prototype. Ron made the first of these lures in late 2003. Eventually a fellow named Bryan Thrift got hold of these early baits. Bryan fished as a co-angler in FLW bass tournaments and nailed some good fish on his brand new ChatterBaits.”

Like lots of us, Bryan wasn’t all that eager to let everybody and his brother know what he was using to catch fish. Mike says Bryan just kept things to himself.

That worked for a while but then the old fat hit the fan. “In 2006,” Shelton says, “Bryan fished as a professional in a Stren/FLW tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. He didn’t just fish in the event---he won it. He caught most of his fish with a ChatterBait. Other anglers got a look at what he was using and that’s when things really took off. We’ve sold a ton of them since.”

There’s little wonder that word about what this new lure that combines the fish-catching qualities of a spinnerbait as well as a crankbait and a jig started spreading big time. Consider, for example, what happened later at a Stren/FLW bass tournament at Lake Falcon in Texas. There an angler named Jeremy Guidry boated a winning total of more than 110-pounds. Most of his fish, including the biggest of the bunch, were caught on a ChatterBait.

When you work an Original ChatterBait, you’ll feel every pulse – especially on braided line. That vibration helps to monitor the position and speed of your lure and it prompts fish to strike.

The Original ChatterBait is a great choice to fish heavy cover. The hex-blade serves double-duty as a weed-guard to keep the hook from snagging on weeds or brush. And unlike a number of lures, The Original ChatterBait won’t hydroplane on a fast retrieve. In fact, you can regulate depth by working it slowly, at a moderate rate, or crank the reel handle as fast as you can. The Original ChatterBait responds with the appropriate action to track straight and stir fish into striking.

The result is likely to be record stringers and monster paydays!

Features :

• The Original ChatterBait is a great choice to fish heavy cover
• The hex-blade serves double-duty as a weed-guard to keep the hook from snagging on weeds or brush
• Won't hydroplane on a fast retrieve Regulate depth by working it slowly, at a moderate rate, or crank the reel handle as fast as you can The Original ChatterBait responds with the appropriate action to track straight and stir fish into striking
• Select from a range of EZ Skirt and ElaZtech split-tail trailer colors

May Saltwater Lure of the Month: Be the Crab

May Saltwater Lure of the Month: Be The Crab from CW Crab Company

From: http://cwcrab.com/about.php

Serious fishermen know it's all about matching the hatch. 
This basically means matching your bait to what the fish are naturally feeding on at the time. Being able to duplicate the bait and present it in a natural way, can mean the difference between fishing and catching or fishing and wishing!

This very concept has led to the invention of the CW CRAB.
It's a well known fact that ALL inshore gamefish love to eat baby crabs. CW CRAB is a patented crankbait lure, that has been in development for over fifteen years. The idea was to create a lure that looked and tracked like a real baby crab. The final design consists of the lure's shell and swim fins being molded from a real blue crab. No matter how the lure lands in the water it immediately inverts to the retrieval position. Once in the water the clear keel and bill disappear, giving the embossed legs a suspended appearance. When retrieved in water all of these realistic features come together to perfectly imitate a live baby crab. You can apply some of your favorite crab scent for the ultimate deception.

CW CRAB has been extensively tested on striped bass with phenomenal results.
Sea trout, flounder and channel catfish have also been caught. CW CRAB looks so realistic that while testing the lures and applying peeler crab scent, real crabs would sometimes attach themselves to the top of the lure. Crabs naturally do this to protect each other when they are peeling/ molting/ shedding. Blue crab go through several shedding phases each year. So when fishing inshore waters, bays and tidal rivers in pursuit of striped bass, redfish, tarpon, permit, bonefish, snook, sea trout ( gray and specks ), cobia, black drum and any others you can think of! Even largemouth bass in tidal areas! Try tying on a CW CRAB and “Be the Crab®”!

CW CRAB is available in three different models. 
Floater, suspender and sinker to match any fishing scenario you may encounter. CW CRAB makes a great shallow water bait, working a floater slowly on or just under the surface. All three models can be retrieved s

• When fishing in current or tidal flow always cast up current, cranking and pausing the lure, allowing it to swim naturally with the current.
• The CW Crab® is absolutely life-like. It looks, swims and even rattles. Add crab scent for the ultimate deception. Apply scent to swim fins or inside swim fin holes.
• The CW Crab® packaging is designed to act as a scent tray. Open the package around the outer ridge carefully to preserve the integrity and detail of the package. Add your scent to the swim fin dimples in the top portion of the package shell and place the lure into the packaging allowing the lure to absorb the scent.

lowly in shallow water and walked across the bottom. When fishing in current or strong tidal flow, always retrieve the lure with the current. A great tactic is to cast up current of any type of structure. Swim the CW CRAB naturally through, over or even bump it against the structure. Retrieve slowly, pausing from time to time letting the lure go with the current like a real crab. Just “Be the Crab®” with CW CRAB.

April Freshwater Lure of the Month: Kinchou Minnow

April Freshwater Lure of the Month: Kinchou Minnow

We are very excited at this month's selection for Lure of the Month.  The Matzuo Kinchou Minnow is a newly launched lure from the Matzuo Tournament collection, and boy is it a winner! This new launch has struck a fear in the rest of the hard bait market - especially with the fish!

The New Kinchou Minnow launched it's signature flared bloody red gills, high pitched rattle, and seductive curves and lip to create a frenzied panic in the water that has never been witnessed before.  It is an aggressive diver with maximum wobble action covering the widest range of water depths from four to 20 feet – crank it or deep water troll. 

The Kinchou features the nervousness of an eccentric baitfish with its curved body and incredible wide wobble! Its aggressive wobble action will receive much attention as it swims thru the water. With its wide wobble, it creates a different resonate sound - different from any other baits. Retrieve or Troll - Fast or Slow! The Kinchou creates a high resonating rattle created by the stainless steel bearings chambered inside the body. The pitch of these bearings is highly attractive to both active and neutral fish

The Matzuo company adds: “This distressed beauty is perfectly balanced to float at rest or take off and dive when retrieved. Fish don’t stand a chance!"

 Marianne Huskey, Professional Walleye Angler and the recipient of the prestigious Anglers Insight Marketing Angler of the Year Award for 2012:

“I am very excited to be working with Matzuo America® and their line of innovative fishing products,” Marianne Huskey commented. “I am most excited to start promoting and fishing with the new Matzuo Kinchou Minnow. It is a perfect hardbait for beginners to professional anglers to experience all the excitement that hooking a trophy fish brings.”