Trapper Tackle Hooks are scheduled to arrive shortly to MonsterFishingTackle.com
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
What are Trapper Hooks
T. Caldwell runs Columbus Marina on the Ten-Tom waterway in Columbus, MS. His son, Allen Caldwell was kayak fishing one day and saw a uniquely shaped hook, rigged with a soft plastic, stuck in submerged brush. He reached in the water and pulled up the brush so he could get a better look at the hook, which he removed and brought back to show his dad. The two anglers speculated about the purpose of the unique shape of the hook. T and his son have been trying to find out where to buy the hook ever since. The father and son even went as far as trying to bend their own hooks in the same shape, but had no luck.
Caldwell has had the mystery hook hanging on his bulletin board in the marina for over 2 years and said, “Everybody who sees it, takes it down and looks at it to try to figure it out”. Caldwell opined, “Fish can throw a round hook, but probably not a square one.”
After years of searching, Caldwell solved the mystery thanks to a special “Hooks” feature article in the May 2016 issue of Fishing Tackle Retailer, an industry trade magazine. Caldwell saw a feature on a new hook design, the Trapper Tackle Hooks. “As soon as I saw that, I grabbed the hook off of the bulletin board and laid it over the picture. It looked like the one in the picture, but the box was a little longer”, said Caldwell. Caldwell was right, but what he failed to realize is that the patented Trapper Box design not only increases landing ratios, it also improves lure retention and angler efficiency. The hook his son had found was an early prototype, which has been modified to improve the overall performance of the hook. Caldwell wasted no time picking up the phone and calling Trapper Tackle to find out where he can buy the hooks.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Bird Swimbaits?
Aaron Martens won the 2015 Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Lake Havasu by imitating baby blackbirds using a jig. The win has helped make bird swimbaits popular in the fishing world, even leading Savage Gear to make a 3D Duck swimbait with an ultra-realistic appearance. Here's a brief glimpse into how Martens approached the bird bite:
“I do that all the time,” said Martens, who earned the victory on
Mother’s Day with his own mother, Carol, in the crowd. “I don’t know why
people don’t believe me when I say it. The birds fall out of the nest,
and the bass eat them. Birds are definitely part of their diet.”
Martens used a 1/2- or 3/4-ounce weight and a 4/0 Heavy-Cover Gamakatsu hook rigged with a green pumpkin punch skirt and one of two plastic trailers. His choice of trailer was determined by which weight he was using – it was a large Rage Craw for the 1/2-ounce rig and a Speed Craw for the 3/4-ounce setup.
He paid special attention to areas where lots of blackbirds were nesting.
“I probably shouldn’t even be talking about it, because I’ve known
about it for 25 years,” said Martens, who said several fish spit up
black feathers in his livewell during the tournament. “I’ve caught them
in California and had them spit up full-grown blackbirds.
“Maybe it’s such a good pattern because so many people don’t believe it.”
The thickness of the tules that line the riverbanks, combined with the high winds that blew during much of the tournament, caused him lots of problems with tangles and forced him to change baits frequently. Once he hooked a fish deep in the tules, landing it was an adventure.
Friday, July 8, 2016
Ball Bearing Swivels vs Barrel Swivels
Types of Fishing Swivels
There are many types of swivels designed to match specific fishing needs or those with numerous components extending from the basic swivel itself. However, for the sake of simplicity, the two most common basic level swivels are ball-bearing swivels and barrel swivels. So let's take a look at the differences between the two most popular fishing swivels.Ball-Bearing Swivels Vs. Barrel Swivels
The general designed of a barrel swivel is comprised of a central hollow brass, stainless steel or nickel barrel (hence the name) that has been swaged around pins that are bent into eyes for attachment to other terminal tackle pieces like snaps, locks or rings. Barrel swivels are probably the most popular form due to their low cost and wide range of sizes that cover seemingly all of the fishing needs. However, their biggest disadvantage is their inconsistency and inability to turn when put under tremendous pressure. The idea of metal grinding on metal doesn't sound like a good choice for any application and will prove to wear down the components providing opportunities for failure. Furthermore, as anglers we seek to minimize the unnatural sounds, noises and vibrations that are sent through the water. So having metal grinding against itself and sending vibrations through the line doesn't seem like the optimal solution.Under minimal load, a barrel swivel should perform to spec. However, when sized inappropriately or subjected to heavy load (e.g., trolling deep-diving plugs, lengthy or repeated battles with big fish, soaking baits in a strong current), the friction within the swivel will slow or halt its rotation. When this happens, the swivel will fail to perform its job and allow twists to travel up the fishing line. This cutaway view of a ball-bearing swivel shows how the bearings are positioned to reduce friction.
A quality ball bearing swivel on the other hand utilizes a polished stainless-steel ball bearing which positions itself inside the housing of the swivel and allows the two connection points on each side to rotate freely on their own. This allows for independent movement and absolutely no friction between the components which in turn can handle heavy loads or hard pulling lures. When you're targeting truly big game saltwater species with trolling applications, a stainless steel ball bearing swivel is the only way to go.
Construction and Finish
It is most common to find swivels made of a nickel-plated brass with snaps and rings made from stainless steel. Many anglers will refuse to use a shiny looking terminal tackle component, but in truth, by turning to a dull or coated alternative, they are likely sacrificing strength and durability. For example, in order to create that black color on a nickel plated swivel, the manufacturer must use finishing processes that eat away at the surface of the metal. Any time you involve a process that takes away from the material you are going to set yourself up for some strength and inconsistency issues - that's just the nature of chemical processes. So, in our opinion, it's always best to opt for the strongest material and therefore the standard color of the metal as it is in production. If it's a bit of stealth you desire or the price of stainless steel is too high, check out the brass alternatives that use the same components, but just a brass housing.Selecting the Right Swivel
Choosing the right swivel means examining the type of fishing you'll be participating in. Offshore trolling is perhaps the most strenuous and requires the absolute best components. For our serious trolling endeavors we turn to stainless steel ball bearing swivels with two welded rings - sometimes with a snap on one side. This type of swivel is ideal for trolling because the double rings give the connection more distance to rotate and yet still stay in balance which ultimately reduces resistance and eliminates line twist.When it comes to size of a swivel for trolling, most anglers want something that has a slightly heavier maximum strength than their leader line, but for bigger game fish you'll even see some of the charter boats going up another size larger. Sure, using a swivel that's right at the strength you need does reduce the size of the component with implications being reduced drag in the water and a more stealthy approach, however, it's really taking a chance when you hook into monsters.
For example, in Baja we've utilized 50lb class trolling gear with 120lb wind on leaders and selected a size 3 Pitbull Tackle Stainless Steel Ball Bearing Swivel w/ Two Welded Rings which has a strength of 220lbs. This upgrade in size of the ball bearing swivel is to counteract additional pressure from fishing once the leader has been retrieved into the spool of the reel or when a fish is at the boat and being handled by hand before gaffing. Additionally, the larger size swivel can be a bit better at stopping the line twist, however, all of the Pitbull Ball Bearing Swivels are really good at this because of their special dual rotation design.
Best Swivels?
| Size | Strength |
|---|---|
| 1 | 110lb |
| 2 | 160lb |
| 3 | 220lb |
| 4 | 280lb |
| 5 | 335lb |
| 6 | 445lb |
| 7 | 555lb |
Because they aren't a prominent or "sexy" piece of tackle, swivels are easily neglected. But, they are one of the most important components you'll ever use and therefore finding the right model is of the utmost importance. Fortunately, with the advances made in engineering, the Pitbull Ball Bearing Swivels have filled almost the entire category of high strength swivels - save for the 900lb range models.
Be sure to checkout the entire line of Pitbull Terminal Tackle and see what else they offer in addition to their revolutionary Ball Bearing Swivels.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Lake Okeechobee Top Baits - FLW Tour 2016
FLW Tour - Lake Okeechobee Baits
The opening tournament of the 2016 FLW Tour took place from 2/4 - 2/7 on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. Poor conditions kept any real big weights from reaching the scales, but nonetheless, the event was won by Bradley Hallman of Oklahoma who finished with a total weight of 71lbs and 2oz during the course of the four day event. Below, we've relayed the top-10 anglers bait choices.1st Place - Bradley Hallman
2nd Place - Alex Davis
3rd Place - Chris Johnston
5th Place - Shin Fukae
6th Place - Brandon McMillan
7th Place - Joshua Weaver
8th Place - Clark Reehm
9th Place - Charlie Weyer
10th Place - Billy Shelton
Bradley Hallman FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee
Hallman Wins FLW Tour Okeechobee
 |
| Photo via FLW Outdoors |
One thing is for sure, Hallman’s commitment was certainly tested by wicked high north winds on Lake Okeechobee and wicked extreme frontal conditions that pestered the lake’s Florida-strain bass. Day two dealt out high north winds of some 25 mph. On day three the wind subsided, but the post-frontal conditions shut the bite down considerably. Day four, however, ravaged the top 10 pros with a brutal triple whammy: high northwest winds to 30 mph, dropping water temps and complete post-frontal lockdown of Okeechobee bass.To catch his weight during the tournament, Hallman pitched and flipped hard vegetation - reeds in the South Bay area of the lake. As he says, he knew this is how he needed to fish to give himself an opportunity for success:
“I was committed to that even before I got here,” Hallman says. “I knew one way or another I was going to be flipping, pitching and punching something.”Hallman caught his fish this week using a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver rigged on a 4/0 Strike King Hack Attack Flipping Hook and a 1.5oz Tungsten Flipping Weight.
Friday, January 22, 2016
How to Fish the Bull Shad Swimbait
About the Bull Shad
How to Fish the Bull Shad
From Triton Mike Bucca7" & 8" Bull Shad
The 7 and 8 inch Bull Shad swimbaits are favorites for trophy hunting with the 8 incher being the overall favorite. When using these size baits you are looking for quality fish and not quantity, these are trophy sized baits designed to catch big Trophy bass especially the bigger 8 inch Big Bull. Both of these baits work extremely well at slow crawl speeds as well as normal retrieves. The Bull Shad Swimbaits Slow Sinking have a rate of fall (ROF) of about a 5-7 feet per 10 seconds and you can wake them with the rod tip up high and a semi normal retrieve. These baits also stand-up nose down on the bottom in a feeding pose and can be effectively jigged on the bottom.I throw both of these baits on a Dobyns 795ML Swimbait Rod designed by Legendary Trophy Hunter Mike Long. The 795ML is a very balanced swimbait rod which is important for throwing swimbaits is because a balanced rod simply makes throwing these heavy swimbaits more comfortable to throw for long periods of time. There are quite a few reel choices out there with the top of the line choice being the Shimano Calcutta 300 or the Shimano Curado 300E. For the 7 and 8 inch Bull Shad I would recommend 25lb braided line.
5" & 6" Bull Shad
The 5 and 6 inch baits are by far my best sellers as not everybody has 7" & 8" shad in the waters they fish or having no experience with big swimbaits, they lack the confidence to throw the big stuff. I personally started off with 6 inch sized baits before I moved onto the bigger sized swimbaits. These baits are more so for quantity vs quality. That's not to say that you can't catch a trophy on these sized baits because many anglers including myself have caught quite a few big quality fish on these sized baits.The 5" Bull Shad really shines on schooling fish whether it be bass, or smaller hybrids or white bass. The slow sinking version of the 5" Bull Shad is specifically designed to be fished with a slower retrieve and typically right on top of the water to imitate a fleeing shad. The 6" slow sink you can work at semi slow to fast retrieves. For equipment I recommend a 4 power rod such as the Dobyns Champion 734C, any reel should be suitable, just adjust the speed at which you turn the handle for the reel's gear ratio. Personally, I always recommend fishing heavier line than necessary because you definitely don't want to break off the baits, nor do you ever wanna lose a trophy sized fish. Especially because striped and white bass love these things too.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
New Picasso Special FX Shock Blade
New Picasso SpecialFX Shock Blade
The new Picasso Special FX Shock Blade looks absolutely incredible! Check out what Monster Fishing Tackle had to say about it:
The Picasso Special FX Shock Blade is hand tied using 100% natural buck tail and a mix of premium feathers. Picasso utilized the extent of their resources when designing the new Special FX Shock Blade - including the finest materials available today - no synthetics were used on this lure. The result of their labors is a unique action never before found in a bladed jig; it is sure to attract bass that otherwise would be difficult to catch. Like the original version, the Picasso Special FX Shock Blade incorporates a patent-pending design that keeps the lure down in the water column without rising up toward the surface. Instead, the Shock Blade maintains it's plane even when retrieved at high rates of speed.
Sweet! You can get yours today at Monster Fishing Tackle.
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