September Walleye Lure of the Month: Cordell Grappler Shad

September Walleye Lure of the Month: Cordell Grappler Shad

Carl Cordell, Jr., who some say may be responsible for more innovations that any other man on the planet, was born in Benton, Arkansas in 1928.  He got his fishing beginnings in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where his father had a boat landing.  It was on this boat landing that Carl Sr. would encourage Jr. to go help all of the local fishermen catch more fish.  He learned quickly what made fishermen tick, and this would help him to eventually grow his business.

He got his start in the lure making business after purchasing a surplus of B-52 bomber survival kits.  The kit came with a knife, razor, twine, and a bucktail jig, and cost him $2 to buy.  All he wanted was the bucktail jig, so he would save up all of his money to buy the box.  This was an extremely expensive practice in the 1930's though, if you lost one.  So he started making his own, simply because he couldn't afford to buy anymore!

Over the years, he has experimented with thousands of different variations, coming up with favorites like the Gay Blade, Weedless Banana Head Jig, Crazy Shad, and many others.  This month's selection, the Cordell Grappler Shad, is one of the most popular walleye lures on the market.  With it's realistic appearance, it features a natural eye and a body shape designed for the tight wiggling action that simulates the forage that is natural to predator fish.  The tie point is another speciality - specially engineered to add strength and performance on a strong bill designed for high speed trolling or casting. This lure is great for heavy-duty split rings, and extra-sharp bronze hooks.

• Tight wiggling action simulates smaller baitfish in distress — prime walleye forage

•Designed in conjunction with anglers who know lures inside and out to include key strike enhancements

• Unique patterns include brighter, flashier colors

• Also available in more subdued patterns

• The crankbait choice for cold water conditions

• Realistic 3D eyes and gill plates for the natural look that separates Cotton Cordell lures

• True-running right out of the box

• Heavy-duty split rings and bronze hooks

• Cranks to 8'

• Trolls to 12'

Check out www.FishingEnthusiast.com for the real thing!

References:

http://www.cottoncordelllures.com/

http://fishinghistory.blogspot.com/2008/08/history-of-cotton-cordell-by-todd-long.html

September Saltwater Lure of the Month: McKala Cap'n Andy Poppa

September Saltwater Lure of the Month: McKala Cap'n Andy Poppa

The McKala Fishing and tackle company was founded in 1994 in Beacon Falls, Connecticut.  With plenty of experience on the Eastern seaboard, the McKala fishing team has perfected a full line of wooden plugs of all shapes and sizes, built specifically for avid saltwater fishermen.  These lures include fun names like the Poppa, Lil Momma, Killa Gorilla, and this month's selction, the McKala Cap'n Andy Poppa, named for it's creator.  All of the McKala products have been thoroughly and extensively tested by some of the top fishermen on the East Coast, as well as charter Captains throughout the country.   

The Cap'n Andy Poppa is one McKala's finest creations.  The wooden plug comes in white, blue, yellow, and flueorescent orange, and range in size from 1 1/4 oz to 2 3/4 oz.  I recommend trying out all of the different shapes and sizes to find the best fit that provides the most fishing success for you! 

Some tips on how to fish:

1. Cast is out, then let it sit for a litte bit.
2. Jerk your rod tip to pop it up, and then let it set again... then pop again.
3. Cast it and retrieve it slowly, giving it a pop every few feet.  
4. Cast it out and retrieve it rapidly, jerking the rod tip during the retrieve.
5. Experiment to find out how it works best for you each time you fishing.

Popular Lures: Poppa, Lil Momma, Big Momma, Killa Gorilla

Company location: Beacon falls, CT

Company Founded: 1994

References:

http://www.mckalafishing.com/WoodenPlugsLinksRmvd.pdf

September Freshwater Lure of the Month: Terminator Super Stainless Spinnerbait

September Freshwater Lure of the Month: Terminator Super Stainless Spinnerbait

Terminator Bait Company was founded in 1996 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  They were founded on the notion that titanium was a largely under utilized tool in bait creation.  Soon, they pioneered a titanium revolution and they began producing some of the best spinnerbaits and jigs on the market.  Some of their baits include the T-1 and T-2 Series Spinnerbaits, Watts Brothers Spinnerbaits, Pro's Top Secret Jig, and this month's Super Stainless Spinnerbait.

The Terminator Bait Co. could hardly keep the bait on the shelves.  They quickly grew their business, expanding the product line, and this expansion did not go unnoticed.  In 2007, Rapala, one of the largest distributors in North America, purchased Terminator to add them to their impressive family of brands - including Storm, Blue Fox, Luhr-Jensen, and Williamson.  

This month's choice is a great choice for muddy or stained water. The Terminator Super Stainless Oklahoma Spinnerbaits feature a single, large Oklahoma blade that provides an excellent blend of vibration and flash.  Also a great choice when bass are feeding on sunfish and crappie fry, the Oklahoma blade shape can help you match the hatch. Due to their high quality materials and construction, they also offer 47% more vibration than other spinnerbaits and 30% better bend resistance than traditional stainless steel frames.

Also equipped with durable, lifelike heads that are designed to rip through vegetation and roll through wood without getting snagged, QuickSkirt changeable premium silicone skirts complete the winning presentation. Available in a range of colors and sizes, the Terminator Super Stainless Oklahoma Spinnerbaits offer tournament caliber performance that you can count on.

With its stainless steel construction this spinnerbait is 30% more bend resistant than traditional stainless frames. Designed to rip through vegetation and roll through wood without getting snagged. Painted, gold or nickel plated blades, exclusive beveled edge blade design enhances flash and vibration and QuickSkirt changeable premium silicone skirt provide for fast change to match fishing conditions. Premium VMC® hook.

FEATURES:

• • Head designed to rip through vegetation and roll through wood without getting snagged
  • 30% better bend resistance than traditional stainless frames
  • Painted, gold or nickel plated blades
  • Premium ball bearing swivel
  • QuickSkirt changeable premium silicone skirt
  • Exclusive beveled edge blade design creates more flash and baitfish look in the water
  • Premium VMC® hook

Join the fun and sign up at www.FishingEnthusiast.com!

References:

http://www.rapala.com/Rapala-To-Acquire-Terminator-Fishing-Lures/press-release-0006,default,pg.html?fdid=rapala-press-releases

http://www.cabelas.com/terminator-8482-s-1-super-stainless-spinnerbait.shtml

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Terminator_Super_Stainless_Oklahoma_Spinnerbait/descpage-TSSC.html

http://www.landbigfish.com/Terminator-Lures/Terminator-Lures-Super-Stainless-Spinnerbait.cfm

August Walleye Lure of the Month: Rapala 07 Floating Silver

August Walleye Lure of the Month: Rapala 07 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

www.FishingEnthusiast.com

August Freshwater Lure of the Month: Hula Popper

August Freshwater Lure of the Month: The Hula Popper

Fred Arbogast was born in Akron, Ohio in 1893.  As a competitive caster, Arbogast had earned has name by winning several world casting titles.  However, it was by inventing fish-catching lures like the Jitterbug that Arbogast secured his legacy.  The Hula Popper and the Hawaiian Wiggler were two other highly successful (and quite recognizable) lures Arbogast designed over his career as a luremaker.  Today, Arbogast, Inc is one of the oldest lure manufacturers in the industry, and, in our opinion, one of the best at giving lures attention-grabbing names.

In the late 1930’s, Fred Arbogast initially intended upon creating a diving plug when he began work on this month’s Freshwater Lure of the Month selection.  Anyone that has fished the classic Jitterbug knows that it’s the farthest one can get from a diving plug.  The Jitterbug’s unusually wide lip, the lures most prominent characteristic, was actually what kept Arbogast’s prototype from diving.  The lip created such a distinct surface action that Arbogast realized that he had something with potential on his hands after all.  Be it irony, fate or otherwise, the Jitterbug’s failure as a diver was quickly transformed into blinding success for the lure named after the dance craze.

Featured lure: Jitterbug

Designer: Fred Arbogast

Created: c. 1930s

Manufacturer: Arbogast, Inc

Technique: 

Cast the Jitterbug into thick lily pads, stumps, or similar cover, retrieving with short jerks and pauses.  A slow, consistent retrieve will also produce spectacular results.

Selected Reading: (Read more about this month’s selection online: http://www.fishingenthusiast.com)

My Secret Fishing Life : by Nick Lyons

From the Back Cover:

Beyond his life as an English professor, book publisher, and writer, Nick Lyons has always had a "secret fishing life," a deep and abiding passion for fishing, especially with a fly. In this, his eighteenth book, he fishes in "riskier waters" than he has ever fished in before-and has caught his greatest prize.

Book Description:

Nick Lyons has long been acclaimed as one of our preeminent fishing writers, praised for his great stories, philosophical and literary insights, self-deprecating humor, and ability to capture the passion that drives people to stand for hours at a time in a river, often in vain.  My Secret Fishing Life is his most personal collection, an intimate look back at his own life and career as an angler, publisher, husband, father, and English professor.

August Saltwater Lure of the Month: Snapper Slapper

August Saltwater Lure of the Month: Snapper Slapper

www.HooksPlus.com

Hooks Plus and Snapper Slapper have combined forces to present a dynamic new line of fishing lures to satisfy any saltwater fisherman's offshore needs.  The Snapper Slapper that is featured as this month's Saltwater Lure of the Month was designed to simulate a squid on the prod.  It includes a phosphorescent head and planing wings, and a stinger hook that is absolutely deadly to fish that are quick strikers.  

There are many different ways to fish the Snapper Slapper - jigging, casting, and trolling are the three most popular ways.  If you are casting, try tip jigging and long casting it off of the back of your boat.  As the Slapper hits the water, try to immediately engage the reel and watch as the jig swims back toward the boat with a relatively tight line.  The hit will come as it is coming back to the boat.  If you are trying to use the lure as a jig, tip it and fish it from the top of the water column to the bottom, stopping every 10-20 ft while lightly raising and lowering the rod tip.  Then, let the bait fall another 20 ft. until you feel the bite.  For those of you who want to Troll, try pulling it along the weed lines for dolphin.  This can be done with or without bait.  If you are slow trolling at 3-5 knots, try trolling with a whole sardine on the short hook.  It's a great trick!

The newest Snapper Slapper features a cool new "Snap-It-On" system that features a line of interchangeable hooks and pre-assembled rigs.  Go to their site and check it out!!

www.HooksPlus.com

Check out the Snapper Slapper in Action!!

August Freshwater Fly of the Month: Hair-wing Royal Coachman

August Freshwater Fly of the Month: Hair-Wing Royal Coachman

For an amazing reference on flies and their tyers, please check out FlyAngelrsOnline.com !!

The August Freshwater Fly of the Month selection takes us back to an old time - where modern fly tying capabilities didn't exist.   The Hair-wing Royal Coachman was a fly tied in the spirit of early times, with just the materials that existed.  Flies back in the early 20th century often took months or even years to be improved upon - a much slower pace than the improvement seen using todays modern counterparts.  But these flies were tied with tied by passionated fishermen, who endlessly tested and improved upon their own creations, trying to find that perfect look and feel that would make the fish jump out of the water.  The Wulff Royal Coachman (or Royal Wulff as it is popularly called today) was just one of those flies, tied by Q.L. Quackenbush.

Q.L. "Quack" Quackenbush was a member of the Beaverkill Trout Club, located in the Catskills.  In 1930, the group was trying to improve upon the Royal Coachman, because they felt that the fly's wings were very fragile.  So, Quack asked one of his partners in crime in the club to try and find a substitute for the fragile white mandarin (duck) fan wings.  They asked their supplier for any part of an animal that may contain a stiff, white, kinky hair that they could use.  They struck out with that request, but he did provide some impala tails: "Perfect!" They thought.

As a name, the Beaverkill Trout Club settled on "The Quack Coachman", after it's creator. The name as since evolved, with the name changing to Hair-wing Wolff Coachman, to Hairwing Royal Coachman, to it's commonly referred to present day name, the Royall Wolff.

This is a must have for any dry fly box and can be an extremely effective fly on the water.  

Hook: TMC 100, sizes 8, 10,12.Thread: Black, Pearsall's Gossamer Silk.
Wing: White Calf-tail, split and posted.
Tail: Coachman Brown Barbs, or Golden Pheasant Tippet (shown).
Body: Peacock Herl, with center portion using Red Pearsall's Gossamer Silk.
Hackle: Coachman Brown, Rooster Cape.