May Walleye Lure of the Month: Lindy Shadling

May 2013 Walleye Lure of the Month: 

The Lindy Shadling

The Lindy Tackle Company dates all the way back to 1968, when it was founded by the members of the Nisswa Guides' League located in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota.  Their goal was simple: to create a revolutionary new walleye fishing product that the world had never seen before called the Lindy Rig.   The lure they created was an instant hit.  The Nisswa crew went to demonstrations, fisheries, and seminars in the upper Midwest, soon the Lady Rig by the thousands!  The Lindy Rig has since been joined by the Dingo Jig and the Spin Rig as the top lures produced by the Lindy boys.

Soon Lindy outgrew the ability of it's founders to continue to finance the growth, so it was sold to Ray-O-Vac in 1973.  Ray-O-Vac had just purchased Mille Lacs Mfg., so they merged Lindy and MLM to create their Fishing Tackle Division.  After a few years of experimentation, the tackle division decided to stream line their efforts and focus solely marketing to the fastly growing niche of walleye fishing.  The company is credited with identifying walleye fishing as a market and also with developing many of the walleye fishing methods and products which dominate the arena to this day.

The Lindy Shadling is a lure designed with incredible attention to detail.  The Shadling successfully emulates both the basic patterns and subtle undertones of a variety of common baitifish species.  The secondary hues flash as the shadling swims and triggers savage strikes from all species of gamefish.  Add to that the ultra-realisitc holographic eyes and predators don't mistake the Shadling for anything other than real prey.  Lindy's cutting edge pull-point technology ensures the Shadling will track true out of the package every single time. It's tight wiggling action does not need to be tuned and will reliably perform at the highest trolling speeds needed for gamefish.

May Freshwater Lure of the Month: Z-Man Chatterbait

May Freshwater Lure of the Month: Z-Man Chatterbait

No lure in recent memory has had such a profound impact on freshwater fishing as The Original ChatterBait. With its patent-pending design and unique hex-shaped ChatterBlade, the sound, vibration, flash, and action of The Original ChatterBait is unmatched. The Original ChatterBait is designed to -Inchswim-Inch in an erratic motion that mimics wounde

According to Mike Shelton, the vice president of sales for Z-Man Lures, The ChatterBait was invented by Ron Davis, of Greenwood, South Carolina.  Ron’s father had also worked on the original prototype. Ron made the first of these lures in late 2003. Eventually a fellow named Bryan Thrift got hold of these early baits. Bryan fished as a co-angler in FLW bass tournaments and nailed some good fish on his brand new ChatterBaits.”

Like lots of us, Bryan wasn’t all that eager to let everybody and his brother know what he was using to catch fish. Mike says Bryan just kept things to himself.

That worked for a while but then the old fat hit the fan. “In 2006,” Shelton says, “Bryan fished as a professional in a Stren/FLW tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. He didn’t just fish in the event---he won it. He caught most of his fish with a ChatterBait. Other anglers got a look at what he was using and that’s when things really took off. We’ve sold a ton of them since.”

There’s little wonder that word about what this new lure that combines the fish-catching qualities of a spinnerbait as well as a crankbait and a jig started spreading big time. Consider, for example, what happened later at a Stren/FLW bass tournament at Lake Falcon in Texas. There an angler named Jeremy Guidry boated a winning total of more than 110-pounds. Most of his fish, including the biggest of the bunch, were caught on a ChatterBait.

When you work an Original ChatterBait, you’ll feel every pulse – especially on braided line. That vibration helps to monitor the position and speed of your lure and it prompts fish to strike.

The Original ChatterBait is a great choice to fish heavy cover. The hex-blade serves double-duty as a weed-guard to keep the hook from snagging on weeds or brush. And unlike a number of lures, The Original ChatterBait won’t hydroplane on a fast retrieve. In fact, you can regulate depth by working it slowly, at a moderate rate, or crank the reel handle as fast as you can. The Original ChatterBait responds with the appropriate action to track straight and stir fish into striking.

The result is likely to be record stringers and monster paydays!

Features :

• The Original ChatterBait is a great choice to fish heavy cover
• The hex-blade serves double-duty as a weed-guard to keep the hook from snagging on weeds or brush
• Won't hydroplane on a fast retrieve Regulate depth by working it slowly, at a moderate rate, or crank the reel handle as fast as you can The Original ChatterBait responds with the appropriate action to track straight and stir fish into striking
• Select from a range of EZ Skirt and ElaZtech split-tail trailer colors

May Saltwater Lure of the Month: Be the Crab

May Saltwater Lure of the Month: Be The Crab from CW Crab Company

From: http://cwcrab.com/about.php

Serious fishermen know it's all about matching the hatch. 
This basically means matching your bait to what the fish are naturally feeding on at the time. Being able to duplicate the bait and present it in a natural way, can mean the difference between fishing and catching or fishing and wishing!

This very concept has led to the invention of the CW CRAB.
It's a well known fact that ALL inshore gamefish love to eat baby crabs. CW CRAB is a patented crankbait lure, that has been in development for over fifteen years. The idea was to create a lure that looked and tracked like a real baby crab. The final design consists of the lure's shell and swim fins being molded from a real blue crab. No matter how the lure lands in the water it immediately inverts to the retrieval position. Once in the water the clear keel and bill disappear, giving the embossed legs a suspended appearance. When retrieved in water all of these realistic features come together to perfectly imitate a live baby crab. You can apply some of your favorite crab scent for the ultimate deception.

CW CRAB has been extensively tested on striped bass with phenomenal results.
Sea trout, flounder and channel catfish have also been caught. CW CRAB looks so realistic that while testing the lures and applying peeler crab scent, real crabs would sometimes attach themselves to the top of the lure. Crabs naturally do this to protect each other when they are peeling/ molting/ shedding. Blue crab go through several shedding phases each year. So when fishing inshore waters, bays and tidal rivers in pursuit of striped bass, redfish, tarpon, permit, bonefish, snook, sea trout ( gray and specks ), cobia, black drum and any others you can think of! Even largemouth bass in tidal areas! Try tying on a CW CRAB and “Be the Crab®”!

CW CRAB is available in three different models. 
Floater, suspender and sinker to match any fishing scenario you may encounter. CW CRAB makes a great shallow water bait, working a floater slowly on or just under the surface. All three models can be retrieved s

• When fishing in current or tidal flow always cast up current, cranking and pausing the lure, allowing it to swim naturally with the current.
• The CW Crab® is absolutely life-like. It looks, swims and even rattles. Add crab scent for the ultimate deception. Apply scent to swim fins or inside swim fin holes.
• The CW Crab® packaging is designed to act as a scent tray. Open the package around the outer ridge carefully to preserve the integrity and detail of the package. Add your scent to the swim fin dimples in the top portion of the package shell and place the lure into the packaging allowing the lure to absorb the scent.

lowly in shallow water and walked across the bottom. When fishing in current or strong tidal flow, always retrieve the lure with the current. A great tactic is to cast up current of any type of structure. Swim the CW CRAB naturally through, over or even bump it against the structure. Retrieve slowly, pausing from time to time letting the lure go with the current like a real crab. Just “Be the Crab®” with CW CRAB.

April Freshwater Lure of the Month: Kinchou Minnow

April Freshwater Lure of the Month: Kinchou Minnow

We are very excited at this month's selection for Lure of the Month.  The Matzuo Kinchou Minnow is a newly launched lure from the Matzuo Tournament collection, and boy is it a winner! This new launch has struck a fear in the rest of the hard bait market - especially with the fish!

The New Kinchou Minnow launched it's signature flared bloody red gills, high pitched rattle, and seductive curves and lip to create a frenzied panic in the water that has never been witnessed before.  It is an aggressive diver with maximum wobble action covering the widest range of water depths from four to 20 feet – crank it or deep water troll. 

The Kinchou features the nervousness of an eccentric baitfish with its curved body and incredible wide wobble! Its aggressive wobble action will receive much attention as it swims thru the water. With its wide wobble, it creates a different resonate sound - different from any other baits. Retrieve or Troll - Fast or Slow! The Kinchou creates a high resonating rattle created by the stainless steel bearings chambered inside the body. The pitch of these bearings is highly attractive to both active and neutral fish

The Matzuo company adds: “This distressed beauty is perfectly balanced to float at rest or take off and dive when retrieved. Fish don’t stand a chance!"

 Marianne Huskey, Professional Walleye Angler and the recipient of the prestigious Anglers Insight Marketing Angler of the Year Award for 2012:

“I am very excited to be working with Matzuo America® and their line of innovative fishing products,” Marianne Huskey commented. “I am most excited to start promoting and fishing with the new Matzuo Kinchou Minnow. It is a perfect hardbait for beginners to professional anglers to experience all the excitement that hooking a trophy fish brings.”

April Saltwater Lure of the Month: Pencil Popper

April Saltwater Lure of the Month: Pencil Popper

Pencil Poppers date all the way back to the 1940's, when an old time plug maker by the name of Stan Gibbs from Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts was trying to create something that would cast further out than any of the other lures that he had at the time.  The business that Stan created out of his own curiosity and necessity is still running today, though it has changed hands several times since he sold it in 1972.

Stan was known for several different specialties.  He focused on pencil poppers (3 1/8 oz) that he designed to give him an edge in the Cape Cod Canal, his plug testing grounds.  He was also responsible for innovations such as "Cast-A-Lure", Mackerel paint finishes, differently designed bottle poppers, and the California special pencil popper - which at 5+ oz was one of the heaviest pencil poppers created at the time.

While he originally was just creating these plugs for friends and family, the demand quickly grew for these poppers that could "cast for miles".  He gained popularity and respect, and before he knew it his little company was producing hundreds of poppers every month.

Stan's company really took off in 1945 when he visited New Jersey.  The fishermen there had only been used to slinging bucktails, tins, and some very light wooden plugs.  After a few had the chance to try Gibbs' pencil poppers, they raved for days about how the poppers could get out further and cast better in strong winds.  They began to see that the pencil poppers gave them an edge, and the rest, my friends, is plug building history.

Tips:

The pencil popper is perfect for Saltwater top water fishing for any gamefish! Works for BIG stripers, bluefish, Tailor, Queenfish, Giant Trevally, Tuna, and many more.  Fast-taper rods with long butts are advisable for working pencil poppers. Use your wrist more than your arms.  The trick is to brace the rod butt against your thigh and apply motion with a slight wrist action. The wrist action creates a side-to-side splashing motion in the popper that doesn't require as fast a retrieve and can be slowed even further as the plug nears the boat.

April Freshwater Fly of the Month: Adam's Parachute

April Freshwater Fly of the Month: Adam's Parachute

The Parachute Adams is perhaps the most important and versatile of all dry flies. It is a must have dry fly in a variety of sizes for fish on trout rivers all over the world. The white post gives the fly fisherman a focal reference point in all types of water. The pattern can be used as a mayfly or as a searching or attractor fly. Fly fishermen in all types of rivers, streams, and lakes should keep several sizes on the top row of the fly box.

Excerpt from:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/intermediate/part21.php

"A lot of people don't understand the significance of parachute flies. These hackled morsels are a lot more than just another dry fly. They land, float and look much different to the fisherman than the standard dry fly. To the fish, they also look much different than a standard dry fly.
First, the body of a parachute dry fly is suspended in the surface film. The only time natural insects have their bodies resting fully in the surface tension or film is during emergence or when they have been captured by that film and lay dying on the surface. For that reason alone, this is an excellent fly to use during the hatch when insects are emerging, and later during the mayfly spinner fall when adult insects have been captured by the surface film and lay dead or dying in that film. These are also the two best times for the fish to capture insects since the insects are most vulnerable at these times.
Second, the hackle on a parachute dry fly looks like the legs of an insect when viewed from the bottom. As an adult insect emerges from its nymphal body, it extends its legs outward to support its weight on the surface tension of the water. As it continues to crawl out of its shuck, it places more weight on its legs until it's free from the shuck. As the shuck floats away, the adult insect dries its wings and eventually flies away. Only during the wing drying phase of this emergence does a standard dry fly look more natural from below than a parachute dry fly.
Again, when the female returns to the water to lay eggs, its wings often get caught by the surface tension of the water and begin to absorb water. The female will spread her legs out to provide support for her body as she dumps her ballast of eggs and tries to rise above the water to fly away. They are rarely successful in flying away, but their legs and wings remain splayed out on the surface as they expire and float downstream. From the bottom, this also looks a lot like a parachute dry fly.
Finally, the post type wing of a parachute dry fly is easy for the fisherman to see. This is very important during heavy hatches and heavy spinner falls. If your fly looks exactly like all the other flies on the water, it's often lost in the crowd and missed strikes are the result. That's a good reason to use a visible post on your parachute flies.

April Freshwater Fly of the Month: Nymph Head Pheasant Tail Nymph

April Freshwater Fly of the Month: Nymph Head Pheasant Tail Nymph

Fishing Guide's Top Selection of 2013!!

There are over 600 mayfly nymph species, of which most are brown, and very similar in appearance to the pheasant tail nymph. Originally tied by Frank Sawyer, the Pheasant Tail Nymph is one of the oldest of modern nymphs. A few good wrinkles have been added over the years, such as the peacock thorax, optional beadhead, etc., but when you peel them away, it's still Sawyer's elegantly simple, generically suggestive, devastatingly effective nymph. this pattern has been tweaked over the years, with a bead to sink the fly and catch a trout's attention, and flash to appear like an emerger. 

The Pheasant Tail nymph is one of the most utilized nymph patterns in the history of the sport for the simple reason that it works almost anywhere. 

The heavy metal Nymph-Head Pheasant Tail Flashback-Olive that we are featuring as this month's FishingEnthusiast.com Freshwater Fly of the Month enhances traditional nymph flies. These fishing flies catch big fish. With the extra-heavy tungsten bead head and chemically sharpened hooks, you can't beat the quality or success this fly brings. 

The Nymph-Head fly portfolio is designed to be a more realistic and attractive option to a series of proven fly patterns. The most successful trout flies are fishing flies that can imitate a wide variety of insect life. With already successful patterns like the Copper John, Pheasant Tail and Hares Ear as the base for this category, and now you can Nymph-Head tungsten beads to that mix. Not only do these bead heads keep the fly in the strike zone longer, but also provide a realistic and color-consistent fly profile for catching trout. 

At the end of the day, fish rely on color, proportions, and profile to decide what to eat. These flies catch more fish. 


Check out FlyDealFlies.com for other Nymph Head selections!