August Freshwater Lure of the Month: Bandit 300 Series Crankbait

August 2013 Freshwater Lure of the Month: Bandit 300 Series Crankbait

Whether you're a pro or just a weekend fisherman, Bandit Lures prides themselves on being able to help take your fishing to the next level.  That's because a Bandit is everything you'll need in a quality crankbait - state of the art molding, premium grade plastics, multi-coat gloss paint.  And, with a complete selection of 51 stock colors, 12 body styles, and twelve different depth ranges, there's a lure to match any fishing condition.  Plus, a Bandit always runs true right out of the box.

There's nothing sneaky about the way these cranks catch fish! Bandit lures always run true right out of the box, and have the ability to steal you a tournament win anytime. Bandit's 300 Series Crankbaits scream for attention and are great for casting parallel to steep rocky shorelines. Producing an extra-wide wobble and offering a loud, fish-attracting rattle, these Bandit 300 Series crankbaits really bring the strikes home!

 Bandit Crankbaits are some of the most popular crankbaits with experienced anglers for a reason - and it's not just because they are one of the most affordable crankbaits on the market. Featuring a compact shad-shape, with a wide wobble and loud internal rattles, the Bandit Crankbaits have all of the fish attracting features available in a crankbait. Combined with infinite color schemes to match to your local forage, there is a Bandit Crankbait for your situation. Super durable as well, you can bounce it off of every rock, stump or branch you see and it will still look good and swim like it's supposed to. Match up a Bandit Crankbait Series with the depth you want, a color scheme for where you're fishing - and go catch some fish.

About the Bandit Series 300 Crankbaits
The 300 series crankbaits are 2 inches long and run 8 to 12 feet deep. This crankbait is primarily designed for deep water fish holding on drops or below bait schools. Great for casting parallel to steep rocky shorelines. The 300 series crankbaits can reach deep fish, yet present a small baitfish profile that can trigger strikes from fish not actively feeding. This lure is also very popular to troll for crappie. 

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  Depth: 8 - 12 ft
  Weight: 3/8 oz
  Length: 2"

July Saltwater Lure of the Month: Storm Rattlin Chug Bug

May Saltwater Lure of the Month: Storm Rattlin Chug Bug 

Storm Lures rightly touts their sensational Rattlin Chug Bug as a lure for all species of fish when they're feeding on the surface. “From panfish to snook” as they put it.  Founded in Oklahoma, Storm’s been manufacturing innovative lures since the 1960’s. Their first lure was the ThinFin, which began shipping in the 1960’s. About twenty years later, Storm introduced the enclosed topwater sensation. The Chug Bug comes from a long line of successful lures including Storm’s Thunderstick, Wiggle Wart, and Hot ‘N Tot, to name just a few. Normark, makers of the legendary Rapala lures, recently acquired Storm. We believe that Storm is now stronger and more innovative than ever.

The versatile Chug Bug is a favorite of professional and amateur anglers because it can be fished as a popper or as a surface chugger. Bass and walleye anglers find the Chug Bug to be very effective when fished in smaller sizes at night. Oklahoma pro Tom Morton has had success fishing the Chug Bug with a high-speed technique. Morton ties the line at the bottom of the line-tie (without a snap or split ring) and fishes the lure “real, real fast”. This technique makes the Chug Bug spit and skip wildly because the nose is kept unusually high in the water due to the position of the knot. The technique provokes explosive strikes according to Morton, who won the 1992 Oklahoma Invitational with many copies of this lure in his tackle box. Anglers can currently choose from three sizes of Chug Bugs dressed in dozens of colors.

Featured Lure: Chug Bug

Created: C. 1980’s

Manufacturer: Storm Manufacturing

Type: Topwater Plug

Technique:

Experiment with your retrieve. Anything goes with top water lures, i.e. Tom Morton’s high-speed technique. That having been said, the most often mentioned retrieve associated with the Chug Bug is a splash-and-stop technique. Cast the Chug Bug out. Let it settle quietly on the water. Wait some more. With your rod tip down so the wind doesn’t catch your line, give your Chug Bug a solid pull to create its fish attracting splash. Then wait. Let the lure rest a good long time in a motionless position before repeating. The most vicious strikes often occur just after the Chug Bug begins to move again.

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July Freshwater Lure of the Month: The Rebel Firetiger Minnow

July Freshwater Lure of the Month: The Rebel Firetiger Minnow

The difference between a day of fishing and a day of catching!

Storm has produced some fantastic walleye lures, and this month’s selection is no different! The June Freshwater Lure of the Month comes from Rebel's infamous minnow collection, and is a firetiger color.  Firetiger colors are best used around docks and bays, especially when the water is a little dingy. The color represents a bream, which fish love to eat, and the bright colors add a little extra enticing color that attracts fish from further distances.

When the Rebel Minnow was born in the early 1960's, a standard of excellence was created. The same commitment to quality and craftsmanship that was established then is alive today. Rebel minnows are available in a variety of fish catching sizes ranging from panfish fooling ultra-lights to heavy weights designed to handle brutes like muskie, pike, and many saltwater species. Most sizes are also available in a lazy summer jointed model that scores of anglers have relied on to bring most hard to catch trophies to the landing net. Great for walleye, pike, striped bass, trout, muskie and bass fishing.

The birth of the Rebel minnow was prompted to meet the demand of the marketplace for a light, easy-to-cast, durable plastic-bodied lure with an action that simulated a struggling bait fish. Its unique molded-in cross-hatched surface was designed to reflect light with the lure's slightest movement further enhancing its lifelike appearance. It was this 3 inch lure that was the genesis of the proud 40-year-old fishing tradition that is Rebel.

A slow sinking tracdown minnow that will work in most any water conditions. Excellent for bass, trout, walleye and other game species. 

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

 July 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.

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