Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Tackle Update: New "Must Have" Products

Well, with my tournament season getting ready to go into hibernation until April, I decided it was time to post about some of the new and hottest tackle that have been plastered in all the fishing magazines and television shows. First and foremost, the Basstrix Paddle Tail Tube. This lure has been responsible for some serious big limits of fish in the 2007 tournament season. Because of it's huge exposure this lure is almost impossible to get your hands on. These lures retail for anywhere between $9.99 and $11.99 , yet I've seen them sold for $60 on Ebay. Crazy! There is no doubt that these lures are a must have, although you don't have to pay ridiculous amounts of money threw ebay and other areas to get your hands on these baits. There are similar lures out there that will do close to the same things and possibly even suit you better.


(Pictured above from left to right: Basstrix Paddle Tail Tube, and Poor Boy's Baits The Bug, Silly Rabbit, and Drop Shot Goby)

I would start with looking into the Poor Boy's Baits Silly Bunny and Silly Rabbit. These new age swim baits have been out for a while and are quietly winning tournament pros some nice paychecks. The Silly Bunny is 4.5 inches long and the Silly Rabbit is 5.75 inches long and comes with it's own hooks. Poor Boy's is the innovator of the Drop Shot Goby, a staple for Great Lakes smallmouth bass fisherman. I personally am a giant fan of their Bertha Bug and Bug. I like to use them as a trailer on my jigs. The feet have incredible action and the bait really help add bulk to my presentation. Check out the full line of Poor Boy's Baits.

Another hard to get lure right now is the Sebile Flatt Shad, Possessed Series. This may look like just another lipless crankbait, but that is not the case. The principle behind the "Possessed Series" is the glitter filled fluid in the cavity of the bait. When being ripped threw cover the fluid gives off a look of loosing scales, like an injured baitfish.


(Pictured above left to right: Sebile Flatt Shad and the Shimano Core MGFV)

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a huge fan of Shimano reels. New this year is the Shimano Core. I am definitely getting a couple of these before my tournament season starts. They offer the Core in two styles, standard and Flippin' versions. I am definitely all about the flippin' version. It comes in a 7.0:1 gear ratio, has a magnesium frame to give it it's light weight, and comes with the flippin' handle. Couple this reel with a nice light weight graphite rod and you will be able "flip" all day long without getting fatigued.

Unfortunetly for me I have scheduled to have my boat winterized and stored. I will be getting it back out on April 1st for my trip to Oklahoma's Grand Lake. Until then I have a few smallmouth winter spots that don't freeze up. I'm not one for ice fishing, so thank God for those couple areas of open water! Happy Fishing!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

**SOLD** 2001 Ranger R71 Bass Boat

2001 Ranger R71 Bass Boat
125hp Mercury Outboard

I am selling my 2001 Ranger R71 bass boat. It comes with a 2001 125 hp Mercury outboard, a 65 lb. thrust Minkota trolling motor, a Lowrance 102c color sonar unit, a Lowrance 27c color sonar/GPS unit, built in oxygenator, brand new Trojan cranking battery. This boat both runs excellent and is in near mint condition. 100% tournament ready.



$10,000 OBO

For any questions or to set up a time to take a look, please contact me at Josh@JoshDouglasFishing.com

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

My New Boat!! 2006 Ranger Z20 Comanche

What a great day! Today I brought home my new boat, a 2006 Ranger Z20 Comanche. It came equipped with a 225hp Evinrude E-TEC outboard. Ranger makes some of the nicest boats built and I am very excited to keep up the trend. Hopefully this coming year I can earn myself some serious Ranger Cup money.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Fun Day Out Fishing with the Love of my Life

Lake Mille Lacs, Garrison, MN

My wife Bri and I headed up to her cabin in McGregor for a nice relaxing weekend. We decided to go try the smallmouth action on Lake Mille Lacs, one of the biggest lakes in Minnesota. For anyone who is not from around here Mille Lacs is a world renown walleye fishery. Not just trophies, but numbers as well. Leave it to me to be on that good of a body of water and not be fishing for walleye at all. No way, not me. I was after the giant smallmouth bass that roam that lake. I may have failed to mention but good ole' Mille Lacs is also a trophy smallmouth bass and muskie factory as well. Known for its awesome shallow rock reefs and abundance of life that makes up the lake, all these fish have trophy potential. My wife Bri, aka the "muskie hunter", which is self named after her 42" muskie she caught last year on Lake Minnetonka, decided to devote her time on the water to one of those 50" monster muskie that roam the reefs as well.

The day started out pretty nasty. It was about 45 degrees, windy and rainy. We launched out of one of the lakes many launch sites and I instantly headed for a couple well producing areas for both smallies and ski's. I threw tubes, dropshots, crankbaits, jerk baits, topwater, and jigs. I bounced around between 6 inches and 20 feet, and ran from spot to spot. The result was nothing, not one little bite. Bri was lobbing at giant 12 ounce handmade wooden plug that she was just dying to try. It sure was a trophy only kind of lure. She managed to throw the lure to every reef around us and she also didn't get a single strike.

As the afternoon moved on, the weather started getting real nice for us. I decided to try to work some of the boat docks that were in the sheltered marinas. What an excellent idea that was. The fish were in there and they were biting. The only thing was that they were all largemouth. We had a great time the next hour and a half. I caught between 15 and 20 and Bri caught close to 10. I think she even may have caught the biggest of all them and it was on her last cast of the day. I was using a 3/8 oz. 10,000 Lakes TeN-k Jig (green pumpkin), tipped with a Guide Series 2.75" Chunk (green pumpkin). Bri was going all finesse with her 6' 6" St. Croix Avid M spinning rod, Shimano Stradic reel, and she was skipping a 3" YUM tube (green pumpkin) with a 1/8 oz. Kalin's tube jig. What didn't smoke my power style jig would grab her finesse tube for sure.

All in all it was a great day. Neither one of us caught what we were looking for, but we still managed to put together a successful outing. Hopefully next time one of us will have a trophy story to tell.

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