This is what Indiana Needs!!!
Check out this video from Wired to fish:http://www.wired2fish.com/Media851/Biffle-talks-Bottom-Bugging.aspx
A BASS BAIT painstakingly made one at a time at a local angler's home won the biggest bass tournament to hit Oklahoma in three years.
Gene Larew Lures' Biffle Bug has long been in production, but Tommy Biffle took it to a new level and carried the day at the Bassmaster Elite Series Sooner Run tournament. He said every one of the 20 bass he bagged in the event was caught on the lure.
The new combo may in fact be named the "Hard-head Biffle Bug," as tournament winner Biffle said in introducing the bait Sunday on the Bassmaster stage.
The bait is very much a Biffle-developed item.
"We have started the legal process of seeing if that can be the name," said Gene Larew Lures spokesman Gary Dollahon. "We like to talk about him about being so hard-headed in his approach on things and the way he fishes that it would be the perfect name for it."
The Tulsa-based lure company is expediting everything about the yet-to-be-produced lure after Biffle's win this weekend, he said.
Bass fishermen might talk about it as a combination of technique and shape that combines the properties of a football-head jig, shaky jig, Texas rig and a crankbait. Regular folks may come to know it as a weighted, weedless, soft-plastic bait that is simply fished by holding the rod tip
up and cranking to bounce it off rocks and structure. As Biffle said, "It's thump-thump-thump, thump, and set the hook if it's not hitting the rocks because a bass picked it up."
Gene Larew's Biffle Bug, a ribbed beaver-tail type creature bait with Larew's signature salt impregnation and lizard legs, has been on the market for some time. But the weighted heads and hooks have been made one at a time at the home of one of his friends. The folks at Larew are keeping the friend's name close to the vest as they pursue arrangements for commercial production.
The plastic bait used in the Sooner Run was poured specially for Biffle by Gene Larew. It is dark green on top and has red metallic flakes in the lower parts and tail.
"The specific color is dark-backed watermelon pepper neon," Dollahon said. "It is planned as a 2011 color, but we are expediting it. It will be introduced next month at the ICast Show in Las Vegas."
At a tournament two weeks ago, Biffle ran out of the samples and altered others he had on hand. "He was taking a black magic marker and coloring the backs," Dollahon said.
Prior to that tournament, he sat at his friend's house helping him make the jig-headed hooks used with the bait.
A 4-ought wide-gap worm hook is attached to the head by a stainless-steel wire loop set in the football-shaped painted lead head. The jointed design is the key to allowing the creature bait to flip and flop around as the lure is bounced over the rocks, Dollahon said.
"He's made them, bending the wire and poring them in a single-cavity mold one at a time," Dollahon said. "It's a labor-intensive process."
Gene Larew has been talking with a manufacturer about producing the jig heads with the worm hook that swings freely. "We're certainly accelerating our schedule for getting into it," Dollahon said.
The jig and Biffle Bug combo actually is one of two baits the company is working on that use a similar technique, both born of the Grand River system lakes. The company also is working with longtime Grand Lake guide Ivan Martin on a soft-plastic bait for a shaky-head jig technique he has been using that involves a steady retrieve and bouncing lead off rocky substrates.
"Two guys, unbeknownst to each other were using similar baits and a similar type of fishing," Dollahon said. "It's been a somewhat protected technique that started, I believe, in the Table Rock Lake area, only in deeper, clear water. As Oklahoma fishermen always do, they take it from there and make it work for them."
By KELLY BOSTIAN Outdoors
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20100622_29_B2_Thebai832187
The excitement of bass fishing never dies even at 40 yrs old I feel like the same ol kid many years ago when I catch a nice big bass, I remember when I was a youngen I'd catch bass at my Uncles lake and with my heart pounding 100 miles an hour it just never got old for me. Back in them days we would catch 100 bass a day without having to work at it like you do nowadays with all the pressure on the lakes! You couldn't pull me and my cousin off the lake without practically threatening us with a woopen!!
Today at 40 yrs. old I still go Bass fishing every chance I can get away from the daily grind of life, but the difference is I get to take my own son Erik or my daughter Valarie and teach them the skills I've learned over the years from my Dad and Uncles and my own developed skills over the many years of Bass fishing.
Through all the tangled webs of fishing string, lost lures, crossed lines, hooks in the head, lips, fingers, broken poles, rod and reels dropped in the water and lost, and other headaches of teaching a kid at an early age the sport of fishing. Let me tell ya it's all worth it in the end. If you think it takes patients to fish, take a kid that's never been and you will see what patients is all about Rotflmao.
All my fellow Bass fisherman out there know what I'm talking about when I say once you get the bass fever it never goes away. Here is a list of things about bass fishing I love:
- The first launch of the boat in the morning at 4am when the fog is still hovering above the water as we sip our coffee and troll over to the first marked hotspot of any of our many favorite lakes.
- The anticipation, excitement and smile on both my son or daughters face.
- The mastering of precision casts from years of experience of fishing with the baitcaster.
- The sound of an exploding bass hitting a surface topwater lure.
- The huge swirls, splashes and V's in the water of big moving fish.
- The abundance of other wildlife around you.
- The stories, fishtales, and jokes of past trips and just other good conversation.
- Just being in the water floating in the boat surrounded by natural habitat and lake structure.
- Creating memories that will last a lifetime.
These are just a few things that come to mind when I think about Bass fishing. Below is a pic of my son with his first 5 pound Bass at age 12. I am so proud of him and it inspired me to write this post. If you have caught largemouth bass in the bigger range 5 pounds or better you know how hard they can pull, getting it in the boat is always a task in its own. I have lost as MANY big fish in my days as the ones I've landed, some I really regret, but that's the lure that keeps ya coming back what might happen the next time. But always remember its about having fun! Enjoying the peace serenity of nature, the water, and family and friends to share it with.
I ran across this Excellent post from BassDozer website and had to post this exerpt..I apoligize for not posting any news lately on The Basskicker. I have been really busy and havn't had the time to update the blog much.
When Not to Use It. I find that there are moments, days, weeks, months, and even whole bodies of water when/where the buzzbait just doesn't do it for me. If fish are going to hit the buzz, they'll let you know about it muy pronto. If I give the buzz a chance (and I always do) and the fish don't want it, then I don't use it. It seems pretty clear to me when they don't want it, you can't raise them (at the moment, this day, this week, on this pond, etc.). There's also an in between thing, when they hit, but you can tell their hearts are just not in it. Don't waste your time. The right thing to do here is to go to other lures.
Better Bites on Spinnerbaits? There have been times when I think I am doing good with a buzzbait, and somehow I wonder if I might be able to do better with a spinnerbait or other lure. Sometimes this is true.
Here's how you can find out: Identify a starting place - let's call it "point A" - for a long area that you want to cover, and start buzzing away. Such an exciting lure for the angler to use! There is speculation that it excites the fish too, and can heighten the awareness of less-than-active fish. However, after five casts or so over the same spot, I am always afraid I run the risk of turning the fish negative. Actually, your first cast really matters most. After that, you are fishing used water. So, buzz along a stretch of 100 yards or so. Hopefully, you'll get some bass. Whether you do or not, don't wear out your welcome. Don't cast again if fish violently blow up and miss the bait, or if they make half-hearted attempts at it, or follow it but don't hit. You REALLY risk turning them off, especially the big ones. Just wait until you get to the end of the run, then tie on a spinnerbait and circle back to point A where you started from and refish the same areas with a spinnerbait. Hopefully, you'll pick more fish - maybe even more than hit the buzz. After that, if you are in heavy grass, wood, rocks, return to point A and make a third pass with a fiberguard jig and twintail spider grub or jig n'pig. Pay no mind to the open areas you already covered. Get into the nastiest stuff that you couldn't hit with the pinbaits. Go right for the densest weed clumps and shake those weeds up. Cast right at the biggest tree limbs and let the jig BANG full speed, then drop into the water. Knock it around down there. Screw down your drag and throw it 4-5 feet deep into the points and cuts along reed stands. Rustle those canes. Winch a few out of there and you'll get to feeling like you're king again!
Take a Smoke Break. I am always interested to hear if anyone has any good ways to get bass to hit again after they miss a buzzbait. What I like to do is wait 2-3 minutes before casting again to the exact same spot. Especially with big bass, I have found that I risk turning them off completely if I recast to the same spot immediately. I will always remember one dark night when my friend Tony had the biggest commotion completely miss his buzzbait. He was all ready to fire it back out when I advised him, "No, you've got to wait." Well, he lit a cigarette and when he finished smoking it, he put it right back there and caught a nine pound New York bass!
Scent. I do not believe that scent is a major factor to the initial attraction of a buzzbait. However, scent may add some value when a fish near misses the bait on the first cast - the taste of scent may encourage the bass to take another swipe when you cast back to the same spot.
Around riprap, always make the lure make contact with the rocks. Sometimes with the buzzbait, I will bring it towards a nice collection of rocks, kill the retrieve and let it helicopter down into thick chunk rock. Then I will just jig it like a jig and let it clank all around down there while I stumble it forward. This is also a good tactic to use in any area, not just riprap, AT NIGHT when bass blow up and miss the buzz. Kill it, let it sink and bumble it around on the bottom…and feel for that mushy kind of jig pick-up.
Deadsticking. Occasionally when I have gotten a wind knot in my line, I have even seen bass pick up the buzzbait after it was resting idle on the bottom for 30 seconds or more. They streak off to the side with it in their mouths - just like they would pick up a rubber worm and streak off with it.
Windy or Calm? Buzzbaits will work in the windiest or calmest conditions and everywhere in between. Early morning and late evening calm waters are "classic" buzzbait conditions. The only thing I will add is that under strong windy conditions over 15 knots, when I think I am doing good in the wind with buzzbaits, I always try spinnerbaits fished a couple of feet under the surface and often find that I can do even better with them.
Tackle Tinkering. I have good fishing pals who are always experimenting with their equipment and their techniques. My friend Eto is a tireless tinkerer. He takes the aluminum blades and drill 2-3 holes in each wing. He also likes to bend the wire arm until the blade ticks and stutters against it on the retrieve. He sometimes uses erratic retrieves, moving the lure fast, then slow, then fast again. Sometimes dramatically, sometimes only a subtle kind of twitching that causes the buzz to spit. And then there's my friend Vinnie from San Diego who drives long distances to buy Yamamoto buzzbaits because they are made with oversized wire holes in the blades to create more squeak. And then there are clackers, different colored blades, etc. And people always say to bend the wire arm to make the buzz run underneath docks or into rock walls. And everyone knows the one about hanging your buzzer out the car window as you speed down to the lake. Years ago, I got sucked into this hoopla too. I was making my own in-line buzzbaits. The in-line is somewhat more weedless when fished through thick grass mats. Yes, any of these variations may make a difference at times, but... Read the full article at the Bassdozer.
My favorite tactic with a buzzbait is to throw it up on shore and let it bounce off the shoreline into the water. This tactic takes some practice. Once mastered it will reap BIG rewards in the right conditions.
Basskicker
Weather: Calm no wind
Lake Clarity: Clear
Lure: Buzz Bait (ChatterBuzz from R & S Baits!) Black head white/blue glitter skirt. With a trailorhook.
30 lbs. of Largemouth bass in two days. It was a great two days of fishing.
2 Bass at 5 lbs. rest were 3lbs or better.
Minn Kota introduces i-Pilot, a trolling motor control system which utilizes GPS technology to automatically navigate and position the boat for anglers. “This is a true breakthrough in trolling motor technology,” Minn Kota Product Manager Dave Maryanov said. “What better way to keep you on fish than to have the trolling motor automatically position the boat for you. This is the ultimate in hands-free operation.”
i-Pilot integrates GPS technology into Minn Kota Terrova, PowerDrive V2, Riptide ST, or Riptide SP bow-mount trolling motors. This creates a new level of versatility for the angler and offers several features that have never before been available on a trolling motor. The Record a Track feature allows an entire fishing track, up to a remarkable two miles in length, to be stored to memory for immediate retracing or a later return trip. As many as three different tracks can be recorded and stored at a time.
The revolutionary Spot-Lock feature works like an electronic anchor, holding the boat in place. If the boat drifts more than five feet from the Spot-Lock location, i-Pilot will activate the trolling motor to keep the angler on the designated spot. It automatically corrects for wind, waves, current and drift. The “recall” feature for Spot-Lock provides the ability to return to that specific location at a later time. Up to three Spot-Lock locations can be stored at a time.
The i-Pilot system offers another groundbreaking innovation being offered to anglers for the first time, Cruise Control. With Cruise Control, i-Pilot maintains real-time on-the-water boat speed in one-tenth mile-per-hour increments. This precise speed control allows the angler to dial in bait presentations in trolling applications.
Also included in the i-Pilot control system is the new GPS-based Advanced AutoPilot. Advanced AutoPilot utilizes a series of waypoints to maintain a true heading while adjusting for wind, waves, current and side-drift.
Integrated into the i-Pilot remote control is Minn Kota’s famous CoPilot wireless trolling motor control system. With the remote, i-Pilot users will be able to control speed and steering from anywhere in the boat. “The whole concept of our i-Pilot system is to allow anglers to adapt all of these great boat control and positioning features and utilize them to their specific fishing application,” said Maryanov.
i-Pilot is available as an add-on accessory for new or current Minn Kota Terrova, PowerDrive V2, Riptide ST and Riptide SP bow-mount trolling motors. The Suggested Retail Price for the i-Pilot system is $399.99Minnkota website
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