Lurenet Fishing Resource Articles

March

A Bass Pro Leaks The "Big Secret"

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By Lawrence Taylor Do bass pros have a secret they keep to themselves? Is it a lure? It’s got to be a hidden honey hole. Maybe a hush-hush mix of chemicals they spray on their baits or some high-tech electronic doohickey that makes bass go nuts? Do they bury a dead cat in the graveyard under a full moon? Oklahoman Jason Christie fishes the FLW and PAA tours among others and has cashed some pretty big checks since he quit coaching high school basketball. He quickly rose through the ranks and continues to be a top contender at any tournament, and now offers guide trips to budding or current bass tournament anglers (and just regular guys who want to improve their fishing). His School of Bass isn’t just a normal “go out and catch bass” deal, though. It’s an educational experience that lets the client in on the “secrets of the pros.”

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Gaston's Media Days with Frank Saksa and the Xs4 Stick Bait

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“You know, that’s three years in a row that a twitch bait caught the picture fish,” said outdoor writer Jeff Samsel. It’s true, another big brown trout became a photo model for several outdoor photographers as a result of the deft retrieve of one type of lure. “I kid you not,” said photographer Glenn Wheeler, “I said ‘Frank, we need a picture fish,’ and he picked up his rod and zip, bang and in two casts it was done.’” (so, obviously, credit Glenn on the photo, and that's his friend Greg Harris in the background. Frank Saksa holds the big brown trout.) For three years in a row the XCalibur Xt3 or big brother Xs4 caught the baddest brown trout during Gaston’s annual Media Days. And all three times big fish of the week was caught by the same man, as well as lure type. The man is Frank Saksa, a lifelong fisherman who has guided at Gaston’s for 18 years.

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Destination: Gaston's Resort -- Bass Fishing For Trout!

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By Lawrence TaylorOne of my favorite fishing trips of the year is coming up next week – the Gaston’s Resort Media Days event on Arkansas’ White River. The White is one of the top trout waters in the country and we’ll be coming in at the tail-end of the brown trout spawning run. Big brown females will be working their way back from the dam and this year, I’m hoping my son gets to tangle with one. Brown trout see some spawning success at the White, and stocker rainbow trout are stocked periodically to ensure there are plenty of fish to be caught. Last year at the event my son, Hunter, then just 5-years-old, caught his first and second trout of his life. Both were stocker rainbows and great fish, but we had to wake him up to catch them.

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Guntersville Good Even When It's Bad

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By Lawrence Taylor It was a good idea two months prior. Add a few days to the front end of the Bassmaster Classic to fish one of my favorite lakes, Alabama’s Lake Guntersville. There are other lakes in the country as productive, such as Kentucky Lake, but not many. Early spring plus Guntersville equals bass, normally positioned where they ought to be, and ready to eat what you’re throwing. What I didn’t consider was that Global Warming would produce a winter the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. (Note to the Climate Changers – it’s gonna get hot this summer. You probably want to make a movie or something.) So, there I stood looking off my balcony at Lake Guntersville State Park at what should have been a beautiful view of the lake. Unfortunately the snow obscured the view, and I could barely make out the water a couple hundred yards away. Whenever a fishing story starts going over things like the accommodations, the fishing lacked the excitement to carry the article to its end. If I was to ever get trapped inside a state park, however, Lake Guntersville State Park is the one I’d choose. Beautiful rooms, a great restaurant and fantastic views are all available right there.(Pictured: Top -- Early morning view from Guntersville State Park. Bottom -- A couple hours later with snow obscurring the lake.)

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FLW Pro Kyle Mabrey Talks Fishing With Jerks

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By Brad Wiegmann This is going to be our little secret. Professional angler and FLW Tour Pro Kyle Mabrey from McCalla, Ala., told me that this time of year, most of the time he ends up fishing with jerks. Yep, that is what he told me. Straight out jerks. You would think that he would leave the jerks next door, in the driveway, at the gas station, at the ramp, anywhere but in his boat, but no way. “I don’t know what it is about this time of year,” Mabrey said, “They just seem to come out of the woodwork. I will leave some jerks at home, then stop at a bait shop and ‘bang!’ I will have three or four jerks in my boat before I get to the ramp. I even tried fishing out of someone else’s boat and the jerks still show up.” Early springtime seems to be the worst, reported Mabrey; they just seem to hang around, suspended, waiting. “Hey, you do know I am talking about jerkbaits don’t you?” Mabrey asked.

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February

The Red Warrior Versus The Black Warrior

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By Lawrence Taylor Kyle Mabrey’s shock of red hair makes him stand out in a crowd. His fishing abilities set him apart from other anglers. I’ve fished with him on several occasions and was very excited to get to fish with him on one of his home waters, the Black Warrior River in central Alabama. This river is known for its giant spotted bass. It’s one of those areas where you can realistically expect to catch a 5-pound-plus spot. And that’s exactly what Mabrey did…on his second cast. (Pictured: Kyle Mabrey with two of the biggest spotted bass caught during a mid-winter day on Alabama's Black Warrior River.)

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Congratulations to Kevin VanDam on Another Classic Win

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Jeff Kriet jumped from the hot seat to see Kevin VanDam weigh the biggest sack of the tournament and take home another Classic trophy Sunday evening. Three days of the highest-level fishing and industry expo ended in a shower of confetti. (Pictured: YUM winners from the final day of the 2010 Bassmaster Classic.)Practice was below freezing but the pros take it as is. You could tell the people who had been around a while. They were the ones who didn’t look shocked when VanDam brought in 19-pounds, 8-ounces the first day.

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Last Day of Classic Features Pros and Plenty of Free YUM!

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Birmingham, Ala. -- Today’s events at the Lurenet booth at the Bassmaster Classic featured plenty of pros, lots of excitement and a bunch of free YUM soft plastics for attendees. Lurenet’s booth (actually the PRADCO Fishing booth, number 2642) is the official booth of Booyah Bait Company, YUM, XCalibur, Heddon, Smithwick, Cotton Cordell and more. Today kicked off with fishing legend Bill Dance signing autographs and talking fishing with the crowd. Dance remains one of the most popular anglers in the industry and always draws a crowd. (Pictured: Pro staff manager Robin London hugs Bill Dance at the Lurenet booth at the Bassmaster Classic)

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5,000 Flipstahs Given Away in Day-And-A-Half!

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Birmingham, Ala. – It only took a day-and-a-half for Booyah Bait Company to make history with the largest product donation in Bassmaster Classic history. Booyah donated 5,000 Flipstah Flippin’ and Pitchin’ games valued at $49.99 each, for a total of $250,000 to attendees at the Classic Expo. “We gave away about 4,000 the first day,” said Andy Carroll, director of marketing for Booyah. “The rest went by noon on Saturday. It is a great feeling to help make one of the biggest events in bass fishing even better.”

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Anglers Getting Free Flipstahs Now!

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Birmingham, Ala. -- Like bass to a school of shad, attendees at the 2010 Bassmasters Classic made a bee-line to the Booyah/XCalibur/YUM booth to pick up their free Flipstah Flippin' and Pitchin' game valued at $49.99. Booyah Bait Company is donating 5,000 of the games to attendees of the festival, the largest donation in the history of the Classic, estimated at $250,000!

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Booyah to Give Away 5,000 Flipstahs at Bassmasters Classic

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Booyah Bait Company announced today that the company will give away 5,000 Flipstah Flippin’ and Pitchin’ Games to attendees at the Bassmasters Classic. The Bassmasters Classic is the Super Bowl of bass fishing and the biggest spectacle in the sport, and Booyah is doing its part by giving away the Flipstah, valued at $49.99, one per family. This constitutes the largest donation of product in Classic history, $250,000 in product. All attendee’s need to do is provide his or her valid email address to booth and factory staff at the festival. That’s it. The email address will be added to the www.lurenet.com data base, and those consumers get early notice of special sales or events at the website, which is home for all of PRADCO Fishing’s family of fishing companies that include Booyah, YUM, Bomber, Rebel, Heddon, XCalibur and more.

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Lurenet.com at the Bassmaster's Classic

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The Bassmaster’s Classic is the pinnacle of bass fishing pitting the best of the best against each other in an event worthy of being dubbed the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing. It’s special to all competitive bass fishermen, but it’s the biggest event of the year to those of us at Lurenet. Our sponsored anglers who qualified for the Classic this year are Terry Scroggins, first-time qualifier Terry Butcher, and the always consistent, always dangerous Alton Jones. Jones says the inclement weather expected during the Classic plays into his hands. He’s one of the toughest competitors when the weather turns sour, and he’s been suspiciously absent from the predicted top finishers by the pundits. Jones, a sincere Christian of the highest standards, is still a very competitive man. Don’t be surprised if this doesn’t serve as “bulletin board” material that motivates him into his usual fish-catching machine.

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Inshore Lures of Choice? Heddon Spooks!

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By Brad WiegmannIt’s been said that catching fish on topwater lures is the ultimate fishing thrill. If so, then fishing the flats is the ultimate extreme -- the X-Games of topwater fishing. Flats like the those located around Tampa Bay in Florida have an abundance of redfish, snook, tarpon, and sea trout all willing to smash a topwater lure with vengeance. In fact, it’s not that unusual for an angler to catch an inshore slam, which is a sea trout, redfish and snook all in one day. It becomes an addiction. Jason Stock, who lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., is a professional angler, fishing guide and expert at backwater fishing for any species of fish swimming in Tampa Bay or coastal waters. Stock owns and operates Jm Snooky Kayak Charters out of the Tampa Bay area. His two favorite topwater lures for fishing the flats for tarpon, redfish, sea trout or snook are the Rattlin’ and One Knocker Spooks by Heddon Lures. Color seems to matter depending on the weather. On cloudy days, a darker color pattern is better, and on sunny days a more transparent color produces more fish. Stock’s favorite overall color pattern is the Z-Shad followed by Bone, Chrome, and Silver Mullet.

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Soft Plastic Assortments On Sale Now!

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Remember those tackle shops with the long tables covered with Tupperware containers full of all types of soft plastics? There are probably a few still around. You get a plastic baggie and slowly circle the table taking a few green pumpkin tubes from over here and some black curltail worms from other there. Pay by the pound. And that smell of plastic in the air. We caught fish on those cheap plastics, but they normally weren’t too durable. And that multi-legged scorpion-looking critter looked cool in the store but just laid there in the water. And did I mention the smell? There certainly wasn’t any LPT in that plastic. Lurenet’s 45-Pack Soft Plastic Assortment gives you a variety of soft plastics in proven styles and shapes from the best names in the industry, YUM, Mad Man and Riverside. They’re also durable and infused with scent and salt. To top it off, you get them at $.89 a package.

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New Muskie Lure Available Now In The United States!

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Muskie lures are a lot like the anglers who throw them, tough, durable and dependable when there’s something big on the line. The strong lures survive and the weak are quickly exposed to the tight-knit muskie fishing fraternity. It’s time to add another lure to “strong” category. It’s already proven itself to pike anglers in other countries, and now it’s ready to take on North America. “The Bomber Herky Jerky was specifically designed to catch pike in Europe,” said Bomber General Manager Bruce Stanton. “This style of bait has become increasingly popular for European fishermen, particularly in Scandinavia. Pike is a highly sought-after gamefish in Sweden and Finland.” Bomber utilized several top guides in Sweden to fine-tune the finished product, which is constructed out of super-tough polycarbonate plastic.

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January

Heddon Vamp-Spook Returns For Limited Engagement

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By Lawrence TaylorI’m a sucker for 1940s and ‘50s era art depicting hunting and fishing, so when I was asked to announce the availability of some new “old” lures I took the opportunity to look at some old Heddon catalogs. Those old black-and-white photos of guys holding big stringers of big bass may not be politically correct today, but they sure take me to a different place in time. The accompanying photo of a page in the 1940 Heddon catalog is a good example. Pictured is Florida gentleman holding a 17-pound bass caught on a Heddon Vamp-Spook. How many steaks do you think that big mama made? You can bet that fish fed the masses well. The Vamp-Spook was a classic big-bass and muskie bait back in the day and are available for a limited time here at lurenet.com in the Internet Specials area. Molded after a pike minnow, the Vamp-Spook came in several versions including a topwater, a subsurface crankbait and even in jointed form.

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Attention!!! Quarter-Ounce One Knocker (Xrk25) Available Now!

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Anglers have clamored for it for three years, and it’s finally here. The quarter-ounce version of the superstar of the lipless crankbait category, the One Knocker, is available now in all of the best color patterns. The XRK25 One Knocker takes the loud, unique “thunk” produced by a single tungsten-lead rattle into a size not available before now. The addition of the XRK25 completes an elite lineup that includes the XRK100 (1-ounce), 75 (3/4-ounce) and 50 (half-ounce) One Knockers.

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More Than 5,000 Smallies Caught on Teeny Wee Crawfish

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By Bill Schultz In 1992 I bought my first Rebel Teeny Wee Crawfish to fish for bluegills in a local pond. To this day I remember my first cast with this little fish-catching magnet. I caught two bluegills on that single cast, and knew I had a winner. In 1994 I first gave it a try for stream smallies and it’s been my “go to” ever since. I’ve fished this lure for smallmouths as much as anyone in the country, and since then I’ve caught and released more than 12,000 smallies, with more than 8,000 coming from less than 300 river trips. Conservatively, I’ve caught more than 5,000 smallmouth bass on the Rebel Teeny Wee-Crawfish!

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Ladies and Gentlemen, The King Of Pop!

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By Brad Wiegmann Everyone knows who the king of pop is, right? If you answered Michael Jackson you can just moon walk your sorry tail away from the computer. The real king of pop is Bassmaster Elite Series Professional Angler and sixteen time Bassmaster Classic Championship qualifier Zell Rowland. Rowland started fishing with the original Pop-R years ago when he was only 20 years old. The Pop-R was small and made a different sound than any bait back then. Of course, bass fishing was different back in those days. It was not unusual for many of the professional anglers to sleep in their vehicles to save money for entry fees. “I remember one cold night before a tournament, I was sleeping in my sleeping bag in my station wagon and I woke up because I heard this banging noise from the vehicle beside me; so, I went over and found Rick Clunn was inside banging on the window because the doors were frozen shut and he couldn’t get out!” Rowland continued, “I had to go get some hot water to get him out of the vehicle.”

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Booyah Gold Club Enrollment Ends Jan. 22

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Like all good things, your opportunity to become a member in the Booyah Gold Club is about to come to an end. Memberships will be accepted for only 7 more days. The enrollment period ends at midnight Friday, Jan. 22. The Booyah Gold Club is not a credit card – it’s a program that allows members to purchase any lure at www.lurenet.com at half price, up to $2,500 or the duration of one year. Only the Internet Specials (which already are available at substantial savings) are exempt from Gold Club pricing. Lurenet.com is the homepage for Booyah Bait Company, YUM, Bomber, Rebel and many more quality fishing companies, and all of those lures are available to Gold Club members for half-price.

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Cold-Water Bass Fishing Tips From The Pros

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Even though much of the country is in the grips of the coldest winter in decades (Thanks Global Warming!), not everyone is faced with frozen lakes. And even if you are, we’ll eventually thaw and bass will still be there waiting for you. Here are a few tips from professional anglers on catching cold-water bass. Alton Jones, 2008 Bassmaster Classic Champion“One of my favorite cold-water techniques is using an XCalibur XR75 Rattle Bait and running it over the top of submerged vegetation. The key is to ‘tick’ the tops of the grass with your bait. Basically, if I’m feeling grass I’ll speed up the lure. If I’m not feeling grass I slow down. If it bogs down in the grass I tear it free with a quick snap of the rod tip. Use 20-pound test line because this technique catches BIG bass!”

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MORE Bass Fishing For Trout Tips

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By Lawrence Taylor Ron Wong is a bass fisherman and outdoor writer from Memphis who keeps his bass gear wet all year long. It may not be a bass at the end of his line, though, especially during winter. He ascribes to the “bass fishing for trout” philosophy and continues to pound the water no matter the temperature. I met Wong at Lindsey’s Resort on the Little Red River here in Arkansas on a blustery day last February while he was bass fishing for trout. He had boated several big brown trout that morning, so I asked him the usual fisherman questions.

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