Chasing Trophy Fish lures would be “what’s for dinner” if I was a predator. They actually look real and better in many cases than the real thing with fins and smell!
APtravelnews- August 2nd, Goose Holler’ Farm– Product Reviews–When I met Vaughn Holderman (owner of CTF Lures) at ICAST, in Orlando, FL., I knew from his passion about his excellent products and his obvious love and knowledge at such an early age, that this lure company was special! He mirrored many generations of would be anglers who grew up marveling and loving their tender-years experience down at pond, lake, ocean, bay, river and stream. Well, Vaughn has really outdone the hard-lure genre and soft as well, with his jointed and straight stick and swim lures. The lures are available in the following patterns: Brook Trout, Perch, Shiner, Shad, Tiger Trout, Pickerel, Northen Pike and Palomino. There are divers, square bill crankers and wobblers in big and littler bait sizes. His soft jointed and wire jointed are in large and small sizes as well. These lures as stated on their brochure are “As real as it gets.” www.chasingtrophyfish.com
Aptravelnews-Throw-back and forward- Goose Holler’ Farm-Several decades ago, I proudly owned a Mitchell 300 Spinning Reel with “fat” (compared to today’s diameters) 6-pound test monofilament, attached to a clear fiberglass spinning rod from the long gone, Davega, Brooklyn sporting goods store, and a small metal tackle box, (I still have today) whose little compartments contained the few lures I could buy, after begging my Grandfather David and Uncle Sid for a buck or two! In that steel, brown painted box was a shiny, golden metal lure called Al’s Goldfish. It shared compartment spaces with a Jitterbug, Hula Popper, a Mepp’s spinner or two, and 3-sizes of red and white, and black and white Daredevils spoons.
Playing with 5 of Al’s Lures and after using them to catch several fish, I popped the treble hook covers on and no finger hookups!
I lived in Brooklyn, New York in a tenement building with my mom, Mary, Dad, Nat and Brother Mike. My dad was an amputee (his toes) from being in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, during the Nazi War. He was an excellent musician, and never had the patience or interest to take me fishing. The only fishing I could reach at my early age, was when I cut school to head over to the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard docks, and I let none of these lures ever touch the diesel coated waters, I used grizzle and fat I collected from my grandmothers garbage pail, impaled on a size 8-hook, under several pinch-on lead split shot, the kind a kid used his teeth to clamp them on the line with, and hoped for the tug of an eel, so I could yell triumphantly when I felt the bend and throb of the rod.
Only during the summer, when my grandfather rented a bungalow in the Catskill Mountains, did I choose to use my prized lures. Before I was 10-years old, I caught trout, bass and sunfish always referred to as “Bluegills” in the lake regions of upstate New York. My favorite lure then was Al’s Goldfish! All my lures worked, but the action this little shiny, gold-plated, brass spoon always offered, seemed to guide my hand at decision time, to tie one on, as I opened my treasure chest, tackle-box; like a Ouija -board pointer, my fingers selected the “gold.” Many years, and trillions of gallons of rushing waters later, I heard that Al’s Goldfish had been languishing in the hands of folks that finally sold the business and patents to someone new, a young entrepreneur named Mike Lee from Maine. From all indications he is dedicated to resurrecting Al’s Goldfish to the “top-of-the-mind” of freshwater anglers once again and genuinely wishes to offer jobs to Americans as well.
I’m here to tell you, even though I’ve drifted over to the fly fishing genre of fishing, I still love and use spin, conventional and if I have to, in far-away places like the Congo, for one of the many places I’ve fished; hand-lines too! Look for more on Al’s Goldfish story and heritage in upcoming posts. www.alsgoldfish.com
As you will see, from Al’s new Living Lures, to Field and Stream naming Al’s as one of the “Top Ten Lures” and still being made only in the USA, together with Al’s treble hook covers, as Arnold said: “Al’s be back!!!!
Always like great fishing tools and Frabill makes excellent fishing pliers and forceps to help preserve the fingers and the fish when unhooking them!Al’s new Living Lures have just been introduced and I tried a fingerling bass. Bass are more than big mouthed predators, they are also cannibalistic! 1st cast, hit hard!
Where we all would like to be in the summertime, eh? The Catskill Mountains!Almost like a fairy tale!Minnesota in July! Great walleye and small mouth at Bear Big Lake!The way it used to be! Joe Brooks image! From my book: History of Fishing The Florida Keys!Yes, this was a wild bear! Peanuts kept it calm, lots of peanuts!
An Alabama Guide shows a nice bass, not a monster, but any bass is a gudin!!!!
APtravelnews-Port St. Lucie, FL.–February 20th,— According to Kevin Van Dam, a big winner at the Bass Masters Tournaments, the following Power techniques and baits will work all four seasons ..if you’re using the right baits—Jerkbait “This is my favorite choice for lakes that have clear water, says Van Dam! “Bass are focused on shad during the winter, and I prefer a suspending jerkbait for fishing around vertical structure, like main lake bluffs and bridges, this time of year. When the water is colder, the shad suspend in the water column and if I see shad dying and gulls diving on them, that tells me the suspending jerkbait is the best choice. I will snap it a few times and always experiment with the action until I know how they want it.
Red Eye Shad The lipless crankbait can be dynamite on cold, lowland reservoirs or natural lakes, especially if there is vegetation. It’s very efficient for covering a lot of water. However, I do slow the retrieve down and keep the bait in contact with the bottom.
Flat-sided crankbait There’s something about a flat-sided crankbait that neutral bass react to better in cold water than they do to rounded-body lures. My favorite is the Strike King KVD 1.5 Flat that has a long bill and no rattles. I love to fish this bait parallel on channel swings close to the bank in major creeks and even along bluffs, riprap and laydowns. I throw it on 10-pound line and it runs about 10 feet deep. It has a subtle action they can’t stand when the water is cold, so use a steady, slow-to-medium retrieve.
SwimbaitI really like the Strike King Shadalicious in either the 4 1/2- or 5-inch sizes, opting for the larger one in lakes with big bass and big shad. These baits are very efficient for covering deeper zones of lakes where bass hold off main lake structure.Also, hollow-body baits have a paddle tail that kicks and moves a lot of water, which is very important in stained water. And, like flat baits, they wobble seductively from side to side.
Blade baits and jigging spoons Blade baits are good for fishing edges of deeper flats. I cast and work it similar to the way I fish the Red Eye Shad, except the blade bait is more efficient in deeper water. Use a lift-and-drop retrieve, feeling the good vibration from the lure each time you lift. And remember: both blade baits and the Red Eye work best this time of year on heavier line because it slows the fall and reduces problems with it burying in the grass. The jigging spoon is a bait I primarily fish vertically. Our electronics are so good that, while graphing creek channels, you’ll see pods of bait and mark fish around them. With the spoon, you can fish through the bait. It’s even good along timber and doesn’t snag as much as you think. If it does, jiggle it and it shakes free.”
Note**Bottom line is; Bassmaster anglers fish for a living and have far more experience going after largemouth bass than the average angler. So, we believe following some of these techniques will help you catch the “bigun!” Also, remember bass are fun to catch, but release them, crappie and perch are much better eating!!!
