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Product Reviews
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Rods & Reels | Tackle | Line & Accessories
Books & Magazines |
| I am always looking out for new items that will both increase my pleasure and my success in fishing. Below is a number of personal reviews on various products that I've used in the past. Some reviews contain links to sites where you can find out more about the product. |
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Rods & Reels
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Tackle
Gambler Flappin' Shads
My first year fishing tournaments was an incredible learning experience. I had the opportunity to fish with several different anglers and learn several new techniques and lures. The one that stands out the most is Gambler's Flappin' Shad. It fact, it has become one of my confidence baits. The flappin' shad is a sluggo type bait with a thicker body, a thinner section leading up to the tail and finally a nice thick paddletail. This bait moves a lot of water and calls fish from a long distance. Weather it's worked fast across the surface, as a subsurface jerk bait, on the back of a carolina rig, or any other rigging you can image, it catches fish. The Flappin' Shad comes in 4 and 6 inch models as well as dozens of colors.
Rapala Husky Jerks
Anyone who fishes Pike and Walleye probably already knows the magic of the Husky Jerk. I've been using the Husky Jerk as my number one spring pike lure. From opening weekend through the early part of the summer, I'll tie it on first and usually keep it on all day. Find the Pike and the Husky Jerk will do the rest. Spring of 2000 found the pike still shallow, we were catching them in and around rock piles in 2-6 feet of water, and in the Spring of 1999 we found the fish holding in 13 feet of water around humps that topped out at 4 feet. In both of the situations the Husky jerk prevailed. I believe it's a combination of the lure's suspending and rattlin properties that make the lure so hot. I prefer it in size 14 and use Tennesse Shad, Clown, and Fire Tiger as my main color selections.
Triple Rattle Back Jigs
With the incredible selection of flippin' jigs available, it's sometimes hard to choose which ones to buy. A fellow angler introduced me to the Tripple Rattle Back Jig in 1999 and I've been using nothing but since. Some of the features include a horizontal line tie, three rattle chambers, and big razor edged hook. The line tie slides through the fish's mouth a little easier making for a quicker hook set, and the rattle chambers create more noise that resembles the click of a crawfish's claws. I believe the razored edge hook makes hook penetrate a little smoother than with a standard pointed hook.
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Line & Accessories
Berkley Fireline
My first experiences with Fireline were not good ones. While guiding in northwestern Ontario, I had several guest come up with Fireline. These guest's proceeded to use it as they would regular monofilament. This resulted in broken rods, knots slipping, and lost fish. Fireline does not stretch. This gives you greater sensitivity, but it also calls for looser drags, and slow action rods. The properties of Fireline also allow the standard clinch knot to slip, to prevent this, use the palomar knot and/or some super glue on the knot. I use fireline for flippin' docks and would, as well, in heavy weeds and pads. The sensitivity is vital in these situations and the increase strength allows the line to take a greater beating.
Berkley Triline XL
For all my finesse fishing I use Trilene XL. It's a limp line with great casting ability. I use six and eight pound test when tube jigging for Smallies, six pound while float fishing for Steelhead, and eight while float fishing Salmon.
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Books & Magazines
Diary of a Bass Pro:A Year on the Inside of Fishing's Fast Track
 A couple years ago when I started to get interested in tournament fishing, I decided to start reading some of the books written by the Pros. Diary of a Bass Pro is written by Joe Thomas with Tim Tucker. This Book follows Joe Thomas during a year of competing on the Bassmaster's Eastern Invitational circuit. Not only does the book provide valuable information on various fishing techniques, but it also provides an inside view of the highly competitive world of professional tournament fishing.This book is available at Amazon.ca.
Shaw Grigsby - Notes on Fishing and Life
 Shaw Grigsby is truly one of the good guys, and his book, Notes on Life and Fishing, clearly shows this. I found this book extremly easy to read and hard to put down. It's filled with stories, secrets and techniques from his 16 years as a professional angler, and maybe more importantly, the years leading up to his decision to go pro. Also included are quotes from various competitors on the pro tour who share their feelings about Shaw. This book is available at Amazon.ca.
Caught me a Big 'Un...
 Anyone who has caught Jimmy Houston's show knows he is incredibly funny and a very knowledgable man. His book is not only informative and educational but also lots of fun to read. Jimmy will have you laughing, but he will also have you planning how you can use the techniques he shares. The book is divided up into several short sections ranging from one line to 4-5 pages. This format keeps you reading, always wonder what antic might lie ahead in the next section.
This book is available at Amazon.ca.
Bassin' With The Best
 Gary White has gathered the top pros and milked each one for all the information they have on their area of expertise. From Brauer's knowledge on flippin' & pitchin' and Nixon's incredible money winner worm techniques to Rich Tauber's clear water finesse knowledge, the information available in this book is astounding. Featured anglers also include Van Dam, Fritts, Fears, Rowland, Houston, and Hamilton. The last chapter contains 50 quick tips from 25 other top pros.This is going to be a great reference book for future fishing trips. This book is available at Amazon.ca.
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