CONTENTS FEATURED ANGLER:
PG.3
RAGE AGAINST THE BASS!
Meet the guy behind the top-selling Strike King Rage Series of plastics and one of the most interesting men in the fishing industry.
FISHHOUND BREAKDOWN:
PG.5
THE LUNKERHUNT LINK
The accolades have been flowing in for this uniquely designed topwater that delivers an enticing profile and a new kind of presentation.
NEW PRODUCT:
PG.9
PUTTING THE HOOK WHERE IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE The new Flatwild creature bait from V&M was designed to get you better hooksets and we give you three ways to make them even better.
TEAM LUCKY PROFILE:
PG.11
LAURA ANN FOSHEE This Team Lucky angler is only 19, but she’s already making a big impact on college fishing and beyond.
PG.12
LUNAR CHARTS Find out the best dates and times to get out on the water this month!
FH | 3
STEVE PARKS:
RAGE AGAINST THE BASS! by Fishhound Staff
Many people don’t know Steve Parks, the man behind all the Rage at Strike King. Years ago, while the Burleson, Texas native was guiding on Lake Fork, the grass and hydrilla had grown to a point where he needed a soft plastic, weedless bait that he could give to clients that wouldn’t get hung up while night fishing. This bait eventually became the Strike King Rage Shad. It wasn’t long before he had also developed the Rage Toad, the Rage Craw and a few worms that started turning heads among anglers in the area. On the advice of a friend, he approached Strike King and a new partnership was formed that would become the Strike King’s Rage Tail series of soft plastics. With a product testing and design team that includes some of the best pro fisherman on the planet, guys like Kevin Van Dam and Greg Hackney, Parks has developed some of the most unique soft plastics on the market, all with the patented Rage Tail “flange” that gives them a unique movement in the water and an uncanny fish-catching ability.
FUN FACTS: •
Is a 10th Degree Black Belt in Karate and has been teaching martial arts for 40 years.
•
Has been inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the Grand Masters Hall of Fame and the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
•
Has written 16 children’s books and developed an early literacy program called “Poetry Pals.”
•
Travels the country presenting a program called “Fathers for Literacy” that encourages father’s to participate in the literacy development of their kids.
Travis Moran Says…. “Steve Parks is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met! I got the chance to fish with him down in Mexico and it was an insane trip. I learned so much! The guy is just a big fish magnet and he targets them with the Rage Tail baits that he’s developed himself.”
FH | 5
FISHHOUND BREAKDOWN:
INTRODUCING:
LUNKERHUNT LINK by Andrew Schadegg
Introducing new products to the market is one of the ways that Lucky Tackle Box is blowing away the competition and turning heads in the industry. It gives LTB subscribers an opportunity to try out new baits right when (or even before) they can be purchased in stores or online. The Lunkerhunt Link is a great example of one of these brand new products. Back in August, the product was previewed at ICAST and its release has been highly anticipated. This bait can have the action of a traditional walking bait, but that’s where the comparisons stop. It’s truly in a category all its own.
A New Kind of Profile Profile is everything when it comes to topwater fishing. When a fish decides to blow up the surface chasing after a meal, it does so because it senses the movement with its lateral line, but also because it sees the profile as something familiar and vulnerable. The Lunkerhunt Link has a unique jointed section, which looks like you tied two small “spooks” or walking baits together. This creates a profile that can imitate everything from two baitfish chasing each other on the surface to something more slithery, like a snake.
To take advantage of these two profiles, Lunkerhunt has even designed it with two distinct color patterns. A baitfish version, with traditional threadfin and gizzard shad type schemes, and a snake pattern that features a scaly print with names like Black Mamba and Grass Snake. It is also available in two sizes. A 1/4 oz. that’s 4.5 inches long and a 5/8 oz. that’s 6.75 inches long. This gives some versatility depending on the size of the baitfish on the lake or even switching to the bigger version to mimic the snakes that come around in the heat of the summer.
A New Kind of Presentation With the inclusion of a hinged joint in the middle, held together with a reinforced internal stringer for added durability, the Link is the only bait on the market that delivers this type of unique back-and-forth action. You can “walk-the-dog” with a slower approach that is similar to other topwater walking techniques, however it offers multiple other options as well. You can burn it back to you, giving the Link a serpentine action (hence the snake paint jobs) and attract some VICIOUS strikes from active bass. It is an awesome way to cover a lot of water quickly. Since it was created to float high with a hydrodynamic design, the Link makes any presentation easy to replicate. Since it has the appearance of two baitfish chasing each other, try mimicking an erratic, intermittent retrieve with your rod tip to make it dance side-to-side. Particularly, if you see schooling baitfish in the area, as bass will sit underneath these schools and wait for prey to leave the rest of the pack. Spring is the PERFECT time to get on the water with the Lunkerhunt Link and start catching fish. If the product testing, preview videos and hype is any indicator…you won’t be disappointed!
FH | 7
FISHHOUND BREAKDOWN:
FH | 9
PUTTING THE HOOK WHERE IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE
V&M’S FLATWILD CREATURE BAIT Written by Andrew Schadegg
Whether you’re fishing the Bassmaster Elite Series or going down to the local pond for a couple hours after work, the goal is exactly the same. Get the hook into the fish’s mouth! Simple right? Not always. The new Flatwild from V&M Baits was designed to make hook penetration a whole lot easier. When coming up with the concept for the Flatwild, 2013 Bassmaster Classic Champion Cliff Pace wanted a better hook-up ratio for his smaller creature baits. To accomplish this, he designed the Flatwild to have a half-ribbed, halfstair stepped body to help push water on the fall. This causes air to be trapped allowing the bait to be more flexible to get better penetration on the hookset. Released in February, the 4-inch Flatwild also comes with pinchers on the side created to have a subtle movement while also having a darting action on the drop. With better hook penetration being the main goal of the V&M Flatwild, let’s talk about a few ways to make your hooksets better and more effective:
Make Sure You’re Using the Right Hook One of the most common mistakes made when it comes to hook selection is using a hook that is either too heavy or too light for the line you’re using. Heavier gauge hooks, like the beefy, heavy flipping hooks on the market are designed for very heavy line like 17-25 pound mono/fluorocarbon or the “no-stretch” 50-80 pound braid. If you’re using anything under 12 pound test, make sure you’re using a lighter wire hook for the best chance to put that hook where it’s supposed to go.
Make Sure You’re Using the Right Rod With all the technique specific rods on the market, it’s confusing to know what rod to use and when. If you’re fishing heavy cover with an 8’0 flipping stick, a giant, swinging, fall-outof-the-boat, Bill Dance-style hookset is NOT NEEDED. The rod will do most of the work because it is thicker and stiffer. A quick 9’o’clock to 12’o’clock rip should do the job. With lighter, more flexible rods you might need to create more torque to drive that hook home, depending on the cover, line size and hook you’re using.
Make Sure You’re Swinging the Right Way Not every bait or technique requires the same kind of hookset. A lot of finesse techniques, like a drop-shot or other light line presentations may only require what’s called a “reel-set.” This is where you feel the bite, start reeling and slowly lift your rod or lean into the hookset. Many times, baits get pulled out of the mouth of the fish when you have the harder, quick hookset. Moving baits like spinnerbaits and crankbaits, might require that kind of hookset, but always make sure they’re paired with the appropriate rod that absorbs the shock appropriately.
FH | 11
PROFILE:
Laura Ann Foshee Age: 19 From: Gardendale, Alabama How did you get into fishing? I grew up fishing for fun with my family. At age 14 I caught an 8 pounder while pre-fishing with my uncle Scott and after that I was hooked! My mom and I started the fishing team at my high school so I could compete in high school tournaments. I was chosen as one of the first 12 Bassmaster High School All Americans my junior year in high school and now I’m excited to compete on the collegiate level. What college do you fish for? I fish for Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) on the first ever Women’s Varsity Fishing Team. The school has a men’s team as well that we compete against. There are 7 girls on the team and we will be competing in FLW, BASS and Cabela’s Collegiate tournaments this year. What do you like best about Lucky Tackle Box? I love Lucky Tackle Box because I like trying new things and new techniques. Every month I get a box full of new baits to try and watch great videos that show you just how to rig and fish the baits. Fun Facts: My family owns Big Bite Baits. I love Cacti. My nickname is “LA.” I’m a former cheerleader (NCA National Champion and UCA All American). I was 5th in the nation in gymnastics at age 12. Follow Laura Ann on Social Media! @foshizal_fo_sho_fishing Laura Ann Foshee (Over 30,000 followers!)
@foshizal_fo_sho
BETTER FISHING TIMES USING THE SUN/MOON TO CATCH MORE FISH What are Astro tables and how does it work? Astro Tables are far more effective than moon tables because they take into account critical solar energies as well as lunar. PrimeTime data is based on solar/lunar research at a leading college of astrophysics and our own research pond/wildlife area. Annual data is supplied by the U.S. Naval Observatory. All lunar times are adjusted to the center of your time zone and for Daylight Saving Time.
LUNAR PERIODS
VALUE
BEST DAYS POOR FAIR GOOD EXCL
APR 2017
TIMES OCCURRING AT NIGHT ARE SHADED MOON RISE
PRIMARY
MOON OVERHEAD
10:34 am
4:05 pm - 7:172pm
11:28 am
5:01 pm - 8:17 pm 5:58 pm - 9:14 pm 6:56 pm - 10:08 pm 7:54 pm - 10:56 pm 8:49 pm - 11:41 pm 9:44 pm - 12:24 am 10:37 pm - 1:03 am
12:50 am
11:31 pm - Midnight Midnight - 1:39 am 12:21 am - 2:17 am 1:12 am - 2:54 am 2:02 am - 3:34 am 2:52 am - 4:14 am 3:41 am - 4:57 am
6:08 am
Sat 1
52
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
56 65 54 46 43 41 48
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
56 64 66 53 41 30 26
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
26 27 33 45 37 34 37
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
51 65 78 87 80 71 60
6:50 am
9:18 am
9:50 am - 11:48 am 10:33 am - 12:49 pm 11:18 am - 1:50 pm 12:05 pm - 2:55 pm 12:57 pm - 3:59 pm 1:52 pm - 5:04 pm 2:51 pm - 6:07 pm
55
10:28 am pm 10:16
3:49 pm - 7:09 pm
Sun 30
25 50 75
AVERAGE
For more, visit primetimes2.com
MOON SET
12:25 pm 1:25 pm 2:26 pm 3:27 pm 4:27 pm 5:26 pm 6:23 pm
7:20 pm 8:16 pm 9:11 pm
10:05 pm 10:58 pm 11:50 pm
12:40 am 1:28 am 2:13 am 2:55 am 3:35 am 4:14 am 4:51 am 5:29 am 6:08 am
7:34 am 8:24 am
4:32 am - 5:40 am 5:20 am - 6:28 am 6:08 am - 7:16 am 6:53 am - 8:09 am 7:39 am - 9:01 am 8:23 am - 9:55 am 9:05 am - 10:51 am
1:51 am 2:45 am 3:34 am 4:18 am 4:58 am 5:34 am
6:40 am
7:13 am 7:46 am 8:21 am 8:58 am 9:38 am 10:21 am 11:07 am 11:58 am
12:51 pm 1:48 pm 2:47 pm 3:49 pm 4:53 pm 5:59 pm 7:08 pm
8:18 pm 9:28 pm
10:37 pm 11:41 pm
PRIMARY
MOON UNDERFOOT
3:34 am - 6:40 am
4:30 am - 7:42 am 5:26 am - 8:42 am 6:23 am - 9:39 am 7:21 am - 10:33 am 8:19 am - 11:21 am 9:14 am - 12:06 pm 10:09 am - 12:49 pm 11:02 am - 1:28 pm 11:56 am - 2:04 pm 12:46 pm - 2:42 pm 1:37 pm - 3:19 pm 2:27 pm - 3:59 pm 3:17 pm - 4:39 pm 4:06 pm - 5:22 pm 4:57 pm - 6:05 pm 5:45 pm - 6:53 pm 6:33 pm - 7:41 pm 7:18 pm - 8:34 pm 8:04 pm - 9:26 pm 8:48 pm - 10:20 pm 9:30 pm - 11:16 pm 10:15 pm - 12:13 am 10:58 pm - 1:14 am 11:43 pm - Midnight Midnight - 2:15 am 12:30 am - 3:20 am 1:22 am - 4:24 am 2:17 am - 5:29 am 3:16 am - 6:32 am
ANY LUNAR PERIOD IS ENHANCED WHEN IT OVERLAPS A KEY SOLAR PERIOD. THE BEST OF THESE OVERLAPS ARE DESIGNATED BY THE SUN SYMBOLS: = HIGH NOON = DAWN = DUSK
WHILE THE LESSER MOONRISE AND -SET OVERLAPS (ABOUT 30 MIN. BEFORE AND AFTER THE LISTED TIME) ARE DESIGNATED BY BOLD BLACK TYPE.
For more information and samples of PrimeTimes products, visit www.primetimes2.com
HIGH HALF
FULL
Apogee
LOW HALF
NEW Perigee
HIGH
FH | 13
SHOP&SAVE
Promo Code: LTBSAVESQ1 www.fishhound.com/tw $10 minimum purchase required.
NEW