Summer 2013 by Real Fishing

Canada Post Mail Product Agreement No. 40015689

VOLUME 19 • ISSUE 3 Just $3.95

SUMMER 2013

DISPLAY UNTIL OCTOBER 15, 2013

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Contents Features 30 TANTALIZING TUBES The versatile tube bait lends itself to rigging and presentation options far beyond the “drop and drag”. By David A. Brown

43 SELF-PROPELLED VESSELS Fishing kayaks, inflatables, pontoons and canoes offer access to waters where motors fear to go. By Geoff Coleman

50 BASS FISHING – “FROGGY” STYLE Pro anglers Fred Roumbanis and Bobby Barrack share their insights into topwater frog fishing. By Jonathan LePera

SUMMER 2013 Volume 19, Issue 3

Editor Jerry Hughes Art Production Rossi Piedimonte Design Publisher Fred Delsey National Advertising Izumi Outdoors Tel: (905) 632-8679 President Wayne Izumi Contributors David A. Brown, Geoff Coleman, Patrick Daradick, Bob Izumi, Wayne Izumi, Dale MacKenzie, Jonathan LePera, Steve May, Jason Mohring, Dave Taylor. Real Fishing is published by Izumi Outdoors Inc. 940 Sheldon Court Burlington, ON L7L 5K6 Tel: (905) 632-8679 Fax: (905) 632-2833 Privacy Policy: Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies whose products and services might be of interest to our subscribers. If you prefer to have your name removed from this list and not receive these mailings, please write to us at the above address.

We welcome manuscripts, but will not be held responsible for loss of manuscripts, photos or other materials. Published four times each year: January (Winter) April (Spring) July (Summer) October (Fall) One year subscription is $9.95. For USA add $10 all others add $30. Subscriptions: Real Fishing 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington ON L7L 5K6

Columns 6 OPENING LINES

22 THE VINTAGE TACKLE BOX

By Jerry Hughes

By Patrick Daradick

10 SPORTSMEN’S ALMANAC

24 REAL FISHING FISH FACTS

News, trivia, event listings and more from the world of fishing

Largemouth Bass

26 BEST FISHING TIMES 14 WHAT’S NEW

Doug Hannon’s moon phase calendar

The latest in fishing tackle, gear and accessories

16 FISHING By Bob Izumi

18 FLY FISHING By Steve May

20 THE WATER’S EDGE By Dave Taylor

Subscription inquiries Please call: 1-877-474-4141 or visit www.realfishing.com Canada Post Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40015689 Customer Account No. 2723816 GST Registration No. R102546504

28 THE HOT BITE 60 TALES FROM THE ROAD

Postmaster: Please return front cover/label only of undeliverables to: Real Fishing 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington ON L7L 5K6

The trials and tribulations of life as a professional angler By Bob Izumi

On the cover: BRAGGIN’ BASS! Photo by Izumi Outdoors

64 WHAT’S COOKING 66 ART OF ANGLING

opening lines By Jerry Hughes

Hoarding This past spring, while preparing my bass tackle for the upcoming season, I thought I’d treat myself to some new soft plastics. After doing a little internet surfing I came across a good deal on my favourite type of baits so I ordered a bunch – several packages of each style and several colors of each. After a few days I received a big box filled with over 100 bags of bass catching goodness. Eager to get my new tackle into rotation I started the tedious chore of sorting through my boxes and bags of baits to make room for the new ones. It seemed like a relatively simple, although time-consuming task – toss out the old stuff and replace it with the new. However, as I started on my first box it quickly became apparent that this was not going to be an easy job. How hard can it be to get rid of a few dozen bags of plastic lizards? After all, I haven’t thrown a lizard bait in years so it should have been easy, especially considering that most of the bags were starting to deteriorate from age. There were baits from now-defunct manufacturers, baits that were “revolutionary” when they were introduced 20-odd years ago, and colours

6 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

that obviously held some appeal at one time but now just seemed silly looking. Garbage bag in hand, I was just about to make the first dump when something stopped me. I remembered catching my first fivepound bass on one of these lizards. It was the highlight of my season and the reason I bought all the bags that I was now about to throw away. Lizard baits can still catch bass, although you don’t hear a lot about them anymore. Maybe there are a few fivepounders out there who weren’t even born when these baits were enjoying their heyday. Maybe they could be enticed to hit one of these, especially since not many folks use them anymore. I’d sure feel foolish if I ever heard about somebody winning a tournament on the very baits I was about to exile. Recalling the old, “better safe than sorry” adage, I gathered up every lizard bait I could find, packed them into a box and stored them away – just in case. Next up were the 30 master boxes of grape-coloured Berkley Power Worms that have been collecting dust since 1994. At one time these were my go-to, confidence bait and were responsible for a 17-pound limit that earned me my first tournament cheque. I got all of these baits when I started working in the fishing business and every time I put one on I was reminded of how I had finally achieved one of my lifelong dreams of making my living doing something I truly love. Once again, the

memories these baits provided made it impossible for me to discard them. I continued my cleanup, but every bait I touched had a story to tell. Some conjured up memories of past glories, some marked critical moments in my personal and professional life while others offered the dream that maybe, someday, they could be great again. Throwing them away would be, in some ways, like turning my back on a part of myself and how I became the person that I am today. Although I’ll probably never use any of these old baits again it’s nice to be able to look at them once in a while and remember the special moments they provided. I suppose in some people’s eyes that makes me a hoarder, but I don’t think so. Hoarders fill their homes with junk whereas mine is filled with memories… ?

Bait Tackle Tims

ÂŠ Tim Hortons, 2012

2013 FISHING FORE Fishing Forever hosted its annual Kids, Cops & Canadian Tire fundraising golf day at the Turtle Creek Golf Club in Milton, Ontario on May 23. The event is supported by manufacturers, retailers, advertisers and individuals who support the positive aspects of recreational fishing in Canada. This year’s event featured a hole-in-one prize of $25,000 towards the purchase of a brand new, special edition Real Fishing Chevy Silverado from Bolton Motors and a closest-to-the-pin challenge worth $25,000 towards a new Lund boat. There was a chipping contest, a putting challenge and fishing competitions. Wayne Izumi provided fresh perch for lunch and Between the Lines Winery offered up samples of some of their new wines. After the golfing there was a silent auction and a great meal that included barbequed chicken and pork. Awards were handed out to the prize winners and there was a spirited live auction of some incredible trips and outdoor gear. Thanks to all of the wonderful supporters of Fishing Forever this year’s golf day was a huge success, raising nearly $20,000 for the Kids, Cops & Canadian Tire Fishing Days programme. Bruce Disher won the fishing competition with this 29-inch pike.

John and Helen Delicata received the Ambassador Award for their outstanding work hosting a Kids, Cops and Canadian Tire Fishing Day in Innisfil last year. The chipping challenge – win the kayak by chipping a ball into it!

Jason Gauthier flew in from Winnipeg to emcee the Fishing Forever golf day.

8 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

A good looking roll at the putting challenge.

VER GOLF TOURNAMENT

Ready to hit the links. Jerry Collins (on right) with teammates Kenny Mann, Kim Burnett and Clint Eckhardt, finished the golf tournament in second place.

Team Wayne Izumi were the winners of the 2013 Fishing Forever golf tournament. In the photo with Wayne are (R to L) Dave Early, Justin Izumi and Vincent Chan.

Summer 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Real Fishing 9

NORMANDALE FISH HATCHERY RE-OPENED Ontario's Chinook and Atlantic salmon-rearing programs now have a new home in the rebuilt Normandale Fish Culture Station. First built in 1924, Normandale is Ontario's longest continuously operating fish culture station. The sub-station was rebuilt in 1959-60 and the main station was rebuilt in 1964-65. Both facilities deteriorated over time and reached the end of their useful lives by about 2005. The newly reconstructed hatchery, near Turkey Point on Lake Erie, features a new main station building that is 2,520 square metres in size and a new 1,150 square metre sub-station. The state-of-the-art facilities will produce all of the Atlantic and Chinook salmon for the Lake Ontario stocking programs, approximately 1.3 million salmon and trout annually. A production-scale quarantine facility has also been built for rearing Chinook salmon. As well, rearing space has been provided for other fish in the salmon family, such as rainbow trout, to support future stocking programs in the Golden Horseshoe area of southern Ontario. The Normandale facility will produce 450,000 Atlantic salmon fry (less than five months old), 150,000 fall fingerlings (10 months old) and 75,000 yearlings (16-18 months old). In addition, nearly 600,000 Chinook salmon and 125,000 rainbow trout are to be raised at the facility.

RECREATIONAL FISHERIES CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM The Government is delivering on its commitment, as outlined in Economic Action Plan 2013, to support the protection, restoration and rebuilding of recreational fisheries habitat. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will make $10 million available over two years to support conservation activities through the newly announced Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program. The program will see the Government enter into partnerships with local conservation and

10 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2013

angler groups who will undertake a variety of projects to restore and protect recreational fisheries habitat. Eligible projects include the removal of small dams and culverts that block fish passage, shoreline restoration, stream enhancement and other similar initiatives. Applications and full program information is available on the Fisheries and Oceans website at www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

READ ALL ABOUT IT THE SMART GUIDE TO FRESHWATER FISHING by Mike Seymour The Smart Guide to Freshwater Fishing is a user-friendly reference book on all topics related to freshwater fishing and is ideally suited to new anglers. Written by Mike Seymour, who for twenty-five years has operated Captain Mike's Fishing Charters on the St. Lawrence River, the book presents a wealth of angling information in an easyto-read yet comprehensive style that makes freshwater fishing easy to understand. The book is divided into three sections for easy reference. Part one covers the basics of freshwater fishing, from rods and other tackle to where to fish, fishing techniques and how to properly prepare fish for the table. Part two covers fly fishing rods, flies and fly casting, reading the water, safety and comfort on the ice, ice fishing gear and strategies, and common ice fishing species. Part three describes specific species of freshwater fish, their habitat and habits and what baits and lures to use to catch them. Softcover, $19.95 US 7 ½” x 9”, 274 pages Full colour with hundreds of images ISBN: 978-0-9785341-4-1 Smart Guide Publications Inc., 2517 Deer Chase Drive, Norman, OK 73071 www.smartguidepublications.com

EVENTS Calendar NEW BRUNSWICK SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION Bass Tournaments May - September Various locations in New Brunswick www.nbsportfishing.net RENEGADE BASS TOUR June - August Various locations in Eastern Ontario 613-983-2277 www.renegadebass.com CSFL BASS TOURNAMENTS June - September Various locations in Ontario Tel: 905-640-2277 www.csfl.ca KIDS, COPS & CANADIAN TIRE FISHING DAYS July - September Various dates and locations Tel: 905-632-8679 www.kidsandcops.ca

PRO BASS CANADA June - August Various locations in Quebec www.probasscanada.com QUINTE FISHING SERIES Bass Tournaments June - August Bay of Quinte, ON 613 968-7428 www.quintefishing.com TOP BASS FISHING SERIES June - August Various locations in Ontario 905-727-8496 www.top-bass.ca NATIONAL FISHING WEEK July 6 - 14 Events scheduled across Canada Tel: 705-745-8433 www.catchfishing.com GREAT ONTARIO SALMON DERBY July 6 - August 24 Lake Ontario Tel: 905-361-5246 www.greatontariosalmonderby.ca

TEMISKAMING SMALLMOUTH BASS SERIES June - September Various locations in North-Central Ontario Tel: 705-563-8307 www.temiskamingsmallmouthbass.com FORT FRANCES CANADIAN BASS CHAMPIONSHIP July 25 - 27 Canadian waters of Rainy Lake Fort Frances, ON Tel: 807-274-2028 www.canadianbass.com

KENORA BASS INTERNATIONAL August 8 - 10 Lake of the Woods Kenora, ON www.kbifishing.com

THE CANADIAN OPEN OF FISHING Bass Tournament July 25 - 27 Lake Ontario Kingston, ON Tel: 905-640-2277 www.csfl.ca

BERKLEY B1 CANADIAN BASS OPEN September 21 - 22 Lake St. Francis Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC 514-909-7185 www.berkleyb1.com

OWEN SOUND SALMON SPECTACULAR August 23 - September 1 Georgian Bay Owen Sound, ON www.sydenhamsportsmen.com

CHANTRY CHINOOK CLASSIC July 27 - August 11 Lake Huron Kincardine, ON Tel: 519-832-4121 http://64.177.125.54/Chantry/index. htm

Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 11

READER’S PHOTOS James Downes (R) and Jason Rakowski Welland ON Muskellunge

Send us a photo of your best catch and you could see your picture in a future issue of Real Fishing Magazine! Send photos to: Real Fishing, 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington, ON L7L 5K6

Ron Roy (on left) and Ken Belleau Elliot Lake ON Lake Trout

Elaine Hatcher Moffat ON Carp

Haley Sanders Lockport NY Largemouth Bass

Steve Ferguson Baie-Ste-Paul QC Largemouth Bass

12 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

Catch BOB on the Tube! BOB IZUMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S REAL FISHING SHOW SCHEDULE Okeechobee Shiner Fishing The Brothers' Amazon Adventure Big City Pike Florence Alabama Bassin' Lord of the Kings Beauchene Fishing with Tim Brent Early Season Cranking on Champlain Quinte Fishing Variety Big Water Walleye Trolling Fall Fishing for Bass St. Clair Musky One Stop Fishing Spot Ice Fishing SnoBear Style

July 6 July 13 July 20 July 27 August 3 August 10 August 17 August 24 August 31 September 7 September 14 September 21 September 28

STATION LISTING & AIRING TIMES* MARKET

PROV./STATE

STATION

DATE & AIR TIMES

Atlantic Canada

Global (CIHF)

Saturday 10:00 am

Calgary

Global (CICT)

Saturday 10:30 am

Edmonton

Global (CITV)

Saturday 10:30 pm

Manitoba

Global (CKND)

Saturday 9:30 am

Ontario

Global (CIII)

Saturday 9:30 am

Quebec

Global (CKMI)

Saturday 10:00 am

Regina

Global (CFRE)

Saturday 9:30 am

Saskatoon

Global (CFSK)

Saturday 9:30 am

Vancouver

Global (CHAN)

Saturday 10:30 am

Canada/USA

WFN

Check www.wfn.tv for dates and times

*Station listings, airtimes and show descriptions are subject to change. Please refer to your local television listings for the latest show schedules.

What’s

NEW

2013

FISHING FURY Anglers looking for an affordable boat that’s packed with fishing features are going to love Lund’s new 1625 Fury XL. At 16-feet, 3 inches in length, with an 80-inch beam, it’s small enough to fit in most garages and is easily towed by most cars and SUVs. The 1625 Fury features a center rod storage compartment with tubes and rod butt holders for six, eight-foot rods; huge bow storage compartments, and a 36-inch long, 15 1/2-gallon aerated bow livewell with timer and built-in bait management system. It comes standard with two deluxe pedestal seats and is available in tiller, side console, and walk-thru windshield layouts.

www.lundboats.ca

LOWRANCE INTRODUCES INSIGHT GENESISTM Lowrance’s Insight GenesisTM is a Cloud-based service that allows boaters to create custom contour maps and sonar logs by using sonar recordings from Broadband SounderTM and StructureScan® sonar imaging transducers. Simply activate the sonar logging feature on any HDS unit, record the data to an SD card, and upload the file to the Insight Genesis server, where it is converted into a map. Once complete, an email notification is sent and the chart, along with its related sonar log, can be viewed for free. Downloads of the Insight Genesis maps can also be purchased on an individual-map basis or through an annual subscription service. Full information on Insight Genesis is available at https://insightstore.lowrance.com/insightgenesis.

www.lowrance.com

GET THE POINT Lazer TroKar has introduced two new hook styles to their extensive lineup. The TK400 Octopus hook features unparalleled durability, strength and sharpness. A 22-degree offset and surgically precise, scalpel-sharp point offer substantial increases in hook-ups compared to other brands. TK400 Octopus hooks come in a sleek, black-chrome finish and are available in 6, 4, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0 and 9/0 sizes. Developed as a wicked walleye weapon, the TK220 Re-Volve rotational shank hook was designed to produce an alluring rotational action when fished in combination with leeches or either artificial or natural worms. Built from TroKar’s unique Q741 wire, and featuring Surgically Sharpened Technology, the TK220 offers unprecedented strength and sharpness for more hook-ups and a higher landing percentage. TK220 Re-Volve hooks come in a black-chrome finish, are packaged 8 per pack and are available in sizes from 4 to 1/0.

www.lazertrokar.com

14 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

We welcome submissions from manufacturers and distibutors for our New Products section. Products that appear in this section have not necessarily been tested or endorsed by the staff at Real Fishing. Submissions can be sent to: Editor, Real Fishing Magazine, 940 Sheldon Court, Burlington, ON L7L 5K6

OFF! CLIP-ON® New for this year, the OFF!® Clip-on® mosquito repellent comes with a Canadian flag faceplate design. The Clip-on® is a personal odourless, sprayless, device that you can clip onto your belt, purse, shorts or pants. It provides head-to-toe protection from mosquitoes without spraying anything on your skin. A quiet, battery-powered fan circulates odorless repellent and, within minutes, creates head-to-toe protection for up to 12-hours. Batteries and one refill disk are included. Additional refills are sold separately and contain two repellent disks per package.

www.bugsmart.ca

STEP ON IT OceanGrip’s new line of easy-to-install, fully customizable marine-grade flooring pads provide traction and protection for any vessel surface. Durable and shock absorbent, the pads feature an innovative, textured surface for exceptional traction, even when wet. The pads are easily installed with a simple peel and stick application and can be personalized to include logos, designs or vessel name. OceanGrip flooring pads are manufactured from UV protected, non-absorbent EVA marine-grade foam and are available in a variety of sizes, thicknesses and colors. Customized pads that are pre-cut to specifications from user-provided templates or CAD drawings are also available.

www.oceangrip.com

KEEP YOUR COOL Freeze Degree Short Sleeve Shirt Columbia’s new Freeze Degree short sleeve shirts are the best looking way to keep your cool this summer. Featuring sweat-activated, cooling Omni-Freeze® ZERO, accelerated wicking Omni-Wick® EVAP, and built-in UPF 50 sun protection, these performance outdoor shirts deliver supreme comfort and protection in extremely hot, humid climates. When exposed to sweat or moisture, distinctive little blue rings embedded in the fabric actually swell, similar to goose bumps, to wick moisture away and create an instant and prolonged cooling sensation. The Freeze Degree shirt is available in tee, zip-up polo and button up styles to suit any summer activity.

Women’s Coolhead Ballcap III Built for supreme temperature regulation and sun protection in the outdoors, this performance ball cap is outfitted with UPF 50 fabrication, a wicking, cooling sweatband, and Columbia’s advanced Omni-Freeze ZERO® technology, which accelerates the wicking process and delivers amazing next-to-skin coolness.

www.columbiasportswear.ca

Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 15

fishing

Bob Izumi is the host of The Real Fishing Show.

By Bob Izumi

Swim this Summer One of the hottest lure categories to come along in the last four or five years has been swimbaits. I’m talking about hard, segmented swimbaits like the Sebile Magic Swimmer or the soft swimbaits like the Berkley Hollow Belly. These swimbaits catch a lot of fish and I’m talking about a variety of species. Why? I guess it’s because they look as real as you can get in an artificial lure. What I like about swimbaits is they are the ultimate lure for covering water. They’re kind of the best of both worlds. They’re similar to a crankbait in that you can be efficient and cover a lot of water, and they mimic the bait that the fish could be feeding on. For largemouth bass a couple of my favourite soft swimbaits are the Havoc Grass Pig and the Sick Fish. These two baits can be rigged in a variety of ways but my favourite is to use a weighted belly hook, generally in the 1/8-ounce size. I like to use a mediumheavy, 7-foot Abu Villain baitcast rod with an Abu Garcia MGX reel spooled with 40pound test Spiderwire and a 17-pound test Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader.

techniques is to use a Berkley Powerbait 4inch Split Belly swimbait or the Havoc Sick Fish on a jig head. You can go with a ½ounce or 5/8-ounce football head or you can try the new GULP! jig heads. With this particular technique we’re talking about fishing and covering deeper water. Traditionally for deep water smallmouth you’d use a tube or a dropshot but with this heavier presentation you can cast it a long way and cover a lot of deep water quickly.

Deep water smallmouth bass can’t resist swimbaits like the Split Belly or Sick Fish.

For pike and muskies the larger swimbaits, like the segmented, hard-bodied Sebile Magic Swimmer or the larger Hollow Belly soft swimbaits, work well. What we’ll do for these fish is troll or cast to cover water along main lake shoals, saddles, deeper weeds, flats – anywhere these big fish are going to be hanging out. We try to mimic the baitfish that the predators are feeding on.

The Berkley Havoc Grass Pig excels for covering water on weed flats.

With these baits I’ll make as long a cast as I can over weed flats. It doesn’t matter if it’s in one-foot or 10-feet of water, these baits can cover it quickly. One of the keys with this rig is, when you feel a hit, keep reeling until your line tightens up and then sweep the hook into the fish. For smallmouth bass, one of my favourite 16 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

Hard, segmented swimbaits, like the Sebile Magic Swimmer, are ideal for pike, muskies and lake trout.

Last year, on Reindeer Lake, the biggest pike of the season came on a soft plastic

swimbait. Most guests at the resort use traditional spinners, spoons and similar heavy tackle and their results were mostly mediocre, while big 6- and 7-inch swimbaits were resulting in up to 70 fish by noon! The funny thing is, the swimbait bite was the hottest when other anglers were talking about how tough the bite was! Traditionally when you’re using a swimbait you want a slow, steady retreive but Real Fishing Radio Show co-host, Gord Pyzer, has had great success by using an unorthodox method. He caught more walleyes over 10-pounds last season, including a 35-inch, 15-pounder, by using a ¾-ounce longshank bullet or darter head jig, with 5- or 6-inch soft swimbaits. He snaps the rod tip to get the lure’s tail kicking, pauses to let the bait fall and then snaps it up again in sort of a jigging/swimming style retrieve. One of the keys to Gord’s success is in keeping the bait within a foot or so of the bottom for as long as possible since this is where walleyes prefer to feed. Wherever fish are feeding on baitfish, swimbaits will catch them. Whether you’re trolling deep shoals for lake trout, casting weedlines for pike or muskie, fishing flats for largemouth or working deep points or rockpiles for smallmouth, be sure to have a swimbait tied onto at least one of your rods. They’ll catch fish when the bite is on and they just might save the day when it isn’t! ?

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Steve May works for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. When heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not working to improve our fisheries, Steve can be found guiding or fly-casting on his local rivers.

fly fishing By Stephen May

Something to Carp About Some fish get no respect, but I am not one to discriminate. My thoughts are; if it has fins and lips and is attached to a fly at the end of my tippet, then it is pretty good! If that fish requires a skilled presentation to fool and it fights like crazy when hooked, then even better. A fish that fits this bill is the often maligned common carp. They were imported from Europe early in the 1900s as a super-fish and were highly regarded across the Atlantic as a food and sport fish. Carp adjusted to our waters very well but did not catch on here as expected with anglers, until recently. This species is slowly gaining respect in fishing circles, and why not! They can live in almost any waterway, are big, strong fighters and challenging

to fool with any tackle. But, tackling carp with a fly is a very worthy challenge for anyone. Any fly angler who can fool carp regularly is a very skilled fly angler. Carp use all of their senses to find and scrutinize their food. Their senses of smell, feel and sight are all top-notch in the fish world. Carp are easy to find, but not so easy to get hooked up with. Yes, they do eat dough balls or canned corn and often live in warm, turbid waters other fish cannot tolerate. But fooling them with artificial flies does take considerable skill. These fish are very easy to spook and errant casts can send them scattering. 18 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2013

Quality presentations are required to consistently hook carp. Longer than average casts that land subtly, and the use of long leaders, are often required for success. Be cautious when wading and be careful where your shadow falls. Alerting a fish to your presence can be a deal breaker. Carp are very strong fish and their first instinct when hooked is to go on a good powerful run, often through weedbeds or over gravel shoals on freshwater flats. Heavy tippets and strong hooks are required to land them. I know my backing knot has clicked through the guides more with carp than any other species in freshwa-

ter, including salmon and steelhead. They also have loads of stamina. I have had fish tear off on three or four good, long runs before tiring. These fish have been compared to the fish of the saltwater flats. If you can catch carp, catching bonefish and redfish becomes easy. I have had the most success with these brutes by getting a fly to the bottom and animating it. Weighted flies with hourglass eyes that invert the hook are good for carp, as are weighted nymphs. Having flies with built in action and wiggly bits can help. Flowing furs, marabou, spikey dubbing and silicone rubber legs, especially in mottled, natural hues, can be awesome carp foolers. The Foxee Clouser and rubber leg red fox squirrel nymph are two of my favorites. Practice hunting this worthy game fish and you will refine your skills to better tackle the glamour species. Bonefish, trout and bass will seem easy after you become a carp master. Who knows, you may make them your top fly rod target. I know a few people who gave up on those silly trout to tackle a true fly rod challenge - the common carp. ?

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Dave Taylor is a well known photographer and naturalist from Mississauga, Ontario

water’s edge By Dave Taylor

Wood Duck If you go fishing in just about any freshwater lake, pond, river or creek you may see one these ducks flashing its bright colours as it flies off. Wood Ducks, in my experience, are among the more skittish of the wild ducks and they often flush before you can get close enough for a good look. That’s unfortunate because there is no other duck as colourful as the male “woody.” And that is just the first of many things about these birds that sets them apart from other North American ducks. They are in a family of their own in North America and have only one other close relative, the Mandarin Duck of Asia. Wood Ducks are well named as they prefer to nest in old woodpecker holes or other tree hollows. Often these nests are quite some distance from the water. They will readily nest in man-made nesting boxes as well, especially where the nesting population is high.

20 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

There are three breeding populations: the Atlantic, the Interior and the Pacific. The two eastern populations breed from southern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and about two thirds of the wintering population migrates. Wood Ducks that migrate to the north do so in late winter and early spring. The Pacific population does not migrate to the same extent. Wood Ducks are absent from the Rockies and the Great Plains. Hens return to their natal areas year after year. Yearling males also return to the area they were hatched but, as breeding adults, they follow the hens they pair up with. Pair bonds form in the winter and last through the breeding season. Mating pairs do not defend a specific territory but males will defend their hens wherever they go. The area around the female becomes a sort of mobile territory. Just before their eggs hatch the male leaves the female and joins other males. He may never see her again as a new pair bond forms the next winter. Females sit on the nest and only leave it twice a day to feed. Usually this happens in the morning and again late in the day. Unlike many species of ducks, about 40% of Wood Duck nests are “dump nests.” While the resident female is away feeding, another female deposits her eggs in the nest, mixing her eggs with the owners’. Any nest with more than 15 eggs is likely a “dump nest.” This practice is more common where

there is a high density of these ducks and limited nesting space. However, studies have found that some females will parasite another female’s nest while also having a nest of their own. After hatching the ducklings have to get to the ground, which male be several meters below them, so they jump. They are so light and fluffy that few injuries occur. At no other time in their lives are they as vulnerable as when they are on the ground. Foxes, weasels, raccoons and forest hawks are there to prey on the babies. Perhaps that is why no duck can run faster on the ground. Adults have been clocked at speeds up to seven -miles per hour. Wood Ducks have the largest eyes of any duck, a feature that enables them to see better in low light conditions than other ducks. They prefer swamps and marshes where light cannot penetrate as well. They are generally surface feeders but they can dive for food and they have a better sense of smell than most birds, which increases their ability to find food. They have broad wings and narrow tails, features which aid them in flights through forests. If you happen to see one of these ducks, take some time to watch as they are quite unique in the duck world. And oh yes, one final note - Wood Ducks do not quack! ?

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the vintage tackle box

Patrick Daradick has been collecting vintage fishing tackle for over 25-years and is a specialist in Ontario made tackle. He enjoys sharing his passion and knowledge and can be contacted online at www.ontariolures.com or by phone at 613-398-7245.

By Patrick Daradick

The Crazy Crawler Back in the 1940s, fisherman would eagerly await the bass and muskie seasons for the chance to cast one of the most prolific topwater lures ever made. A “wooden bodied lure with wings” is how the old-timers would describe this marvel. The lure they were so anxious to cast was the Heddon Crazy Crawler. This topwater bait would dance across the surface like a graceful ballerina, with a wobble and sound that was irresistible to any fish lurking along its path.

Invented in the 1920s by James Donaly, from Newark, New Jersey, the lure was originally named the WOW and was the forerunner of Heddon’s Crazy Crawler. The original patent was applied for in 1926 and granted to Donaly in 1928. Donaly’s WOW baits bore his name stamped into the aluminum wings. James Donaly died in the mid-1930s but his wife and daughter continued to assemble and paint lures. When they became unable to run the business, they sold off the rights to all of his baits. James Heddon and Sons acquired the rights to the Donaly WOW just prior to 1940 and turned the acquisition into one of the most wellknown topwater baits of all time. 22 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

Heddon manufactured the Crazy Crawler in three different sizes. The smallest was the 2120 series; there was a medium 2100 series and the largest was the muskiesized 2150 series. The action of these lures and their popularity was strong, even during the war years. From 1942 to 1943 Heddon added many more colours to the lure. Crazy Crawlers were painted in great detail and were offered in 12 various patterns. Some of the favourites were the Bullfrog, Chipmunk,

and Gray Mouse designs. By the mid-1950s the presence of new styles of topwater lures, made by other manufacturers, was responsible for the Crazy Crawler losing its reputation among anglers as the top water bait. By 1957, the 2100 and 2150 series Crazy Crawlers were no longer available in wood and were replaced by the plastic, Heddon “Spook” series of Crazy Crawler baits. If you have never tied a Crazy Crawler on your line, or come across one in an old family tackle box, I can say that you would enjoy this top water treat. They still work and they still drive fish, “Crazy Crawler.” They are one of the most collectible and sought after lures by tackle collectors. With a wide variety of sizes, colours and box styles available they can easily add up to an attractive, affordable collection. ?

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real fishing fish facts

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides

Black Bass, Bigmouth, Bucket – whatever you like to call them, there’s no denying that the largemouth bass is one of the most popular sportfish on the continent. The largemouth bass is aptly named because of its huge mouth, which extends to the rear edge of the eye and often further. That mouth allows the largemouth to feed on an enormous variety of prey and in a number of ways. Largemouth can vacuum food from the bottom, ambush baitfish in the mid-depths or slurp a meal from the surface. They are primarily fish eaters but they will also eat frogs, lizards, small snakes, crayfish, insects and even small rodents or birds. Adult largemouth bass are also cannibalistic and up to 10% of their diet may consist of bass fry. Largemouth can most easily be distinguished from their smallmouth cousins by the size of their huge mouths. Another giveaway is that the largemouth has two barely joined dorsal fins as opposed to the smallmouth’s single dorsal. The largemouth also has a dark band running horizontally, just below its lateral line, whereas the smallmouth sports a series of vertical bars along its flanks. The colour of a largemouth bass can vary considerably between lakes and even among separate populations in the same

24 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

waterbody. In general, the top of the back and head ranges in color from bright green to olive to nearly black. The sides can be as dark as the head and back; a lighter green; a golden-green shade or milky-green. The belly is milky-white to yellowish. Largemouth spawn during late spring and early summer in 62º F - 65ºF water. The male builds the nest, which is usually two to threefeet in diameter and one to eight-inches deep. Spawning generally takes place over shallow marl or soft mud bottoms in vegetated areas but largemouth bass will use gravelly or sandy areas if suitable soft-bottomed areas are not available. Female bass will spawn with several different males and they will deposit a total of between 2,000 and 100,000 eggs. After spawning, the females leave the males to guard the eggs and fry. The eggs hatch in 3 to 5-days and the young bass will remain together for as long as a month. Despite the large number of eggs laid, the survival rate for largemouth bass fry is low and only five to ten fish per nest site will survive their first two years. Young largemouth are preyed upon by perch, walleye, pike and other fish, as well as by birds like herons and kingfishers. Largemouth prefer water temperatures in the mid-70ºF to the mid 80ºF range and are usually found in water less than 20-feet deep. Their habitat consists of soft- bottomed areas with wood or weed cover and they are particularly fond of water lilies, cattails and various species of pondweed. Once a home range is established, largemouth will rarely move more than a few miles from it. The largemouth bass was once an important commercial fish species and was harvested by the ton up until the mid-1930s. Nowadays the largemouth is more valuable as a sport fish. They will readily strike a

DID YOU KNOW? The largemouth bass was once an important commercial fish species and was harvested by the ton up until the mid-1930s.

FAST FACTS Colour: Bright green to olive to nearly black along the back; lighter green, golden-green or milky-green on the sides and milky-white to yellowish on the belly. Size: The average size of a largemouth bass is between 1-1/2 and 2-pounds but fish up to 5 or 6-pounds are not uncommon. Life Span: Up to 15-years. Habitat: Vegetated areas of small, shallow lakes and ponds, shallow bays in large lakes and slow-moving sections of larger rivers. Spawning: Spawning takes place between late May and July over marl or soft mud bottoms in areas where vegetation is present.

RECORD The official IGFA world record largemouth bass is currently co-held by two anglers, George Perry and Manabu Kurita. Perry’s longstanding record 22-pound 4-ounce monster was caught in Montgomery Lake, Georgia, in 1932 while Kurita’s beast came from Lake Biwa, Japan, in July of 2009.

wide range of natural and artificial baits and they put up a hard, acrobatic fight when hooked. One of the most popular techniques is fishing with surface baits around weedy or stumpy areas, especially in the evening. The native range of the largemouth includes the area from the lower Great Lakes region in the north to the Mississippi River system in the west; east through Florida to the Atlantic coast and northward to Virginia. As a result of stocking, largemouth can now be found across the continental United States and most of Canada. Although it has a large overall range, the largemouth can only be considered abundant in the more southerly areas. In Canada it is most common in southern and central Ontario, especially in the Kawartha and Rideau Lakes systems. The average angler-caught largemouth bass will weigh under two-pounds, however, three to four-pound fish are fairly common. Every year largemouth bass between six and eight-pounds are reported. ?

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26 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

J U LY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

1 Excellent Time Good Time

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10:54 - 12:54 am NA 11:18 - 1:18 pm 12:06 - 2:06 5:21 - 6:51 am 6:09 - 7:39 5:45 - 7:15 pm 6:33 - 8:03

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7:42 - 9:42 8:06 - 10:06 2:09 - 3:39 2:33 - 4:03

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am 12:30 - 2:30 am pm 12:54 - 2:54 pm am 6:57 - 8:27 am pm 7:21 - 8:51 pm

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am 10:06 - 12:06 am 10:54 - 12:54 am 11:18 - 1:18 am NA pm 10:30 - 12:30 pm 11:18 - 1:18 pm 11:42 - 1:42 pm 12:06 - 2:06 am 4:33 - 6:03 am 5:21 - 6:51 am 5:45 - 7:15 am 6:09 - 7:39 pm 4:57 - 6:27 pm 5:45 - 7:15 pm 6:09 - 7:39 pm 6:33 - 8:03

15 7:42 - 9:42 8:06 - 10:06 2:09 - 3:39 2:33 - 4:03

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SATURDAY

am pm am pm

3:42 - 5:42 am 4:30 - 6:30 am 5:18 - 7:18 am 6:06 4:06 - 6:06 pm 4:54 - 6:54 pm 5:42 - 7:42 pm 6:30 am 12:33 10:09 - 11:39 am 10:57 - 12:27 am NA 10:33 - 12:03 pm 11:21 - 12:51 pm 12:09 - 1:39 pm 12:57 -

2:06 - 4:06 2:30 - 4:30 8:33 - 10:03 8:57 - 10:27

am 12:30 - 2:30 am pm 12:54 - 2:54 pm am 6:57 - 8:27 am pm 7:21 - 8:51 pm

am pm am pm

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FRIDAY

3:18 3:42 9:15 9:39

10:06 - 12:06 am 10:54 - 12:54 am NA 10:30 - 12:30 pm 11:18 - 1:18 pm 12:06 - 2:06 4:33 - 6:03 am 5:21 - 6:51 am 6:09 - 7:39 4:57 - 6:27 pm 5:45 - 7:15 pm 6:33 - 8:03

9:18 - 11:18 9:42 - 11:42 3:45 - 5:15 4:09 - 5:39

4 8:30 - 10:30 8:54 - 10:54 2:57 - 4:27 3:21 - 4:51

17 8:06 8:30 2:03 2:27

am 12:30 - 2:30 am pm 12:54 - 2:54 pm am 6:57 - 8:27 am pm 7:21 - 8:51 pm

4:30 - 6:30 am 5:18 - 7:18 am 6:06 4:54 - 6:54 pm 5:42 - 7:42 pm 6:30 am 12:33 10:57 - 12:27 am NA 11:21 - 12:51 pm 12:09 - 1:39 pm 12:57 -

1:18 1:42 7:45 8:09 -

THURSDAY

am pm am pm

7:42 - 9:42 8:06 - 10:06 2:09 - 3:39 2:33 - 4:03

10:06 - 12:06 am NA 10:30 - 12:30 pm 12:06 - 2:06 4:33 - 6:03 am 6:09 - 7:39 4:57 - 6:27 pm 6:33 - 8:03

am pm am pm

WEDNESDAY

3 8:54 9:18 2:51 3:15

am 12:30 - 2:30 am pm 12:54 - 2:54 pm am 6:57 - 8:27 am pm 7:21 - 8:51 pm

4:30 - 6:30 am 5:18 - 7:18 am 6:06 4:54 - 6:54 pm 5:42 - 7:42 pm 6:30 am 12:33 10:57 - 12:27 am NA 11:21 - 12:51 pm 12:09 - 1:39 pm 12:57 -

SEPTEMBER

Best Fishing Times 2013

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The terrors of the Amazon, piranhas are relatively small in stature but huge in attitude. Their razor-sharp teeth and reputation for frenzied feeding attacks have made them one of the most feared fish in all of freshwater. While some of the stories may be overblown, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no doubt piranhas are top level predators that can make short work of unsuspecting prey. Imagine this oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surprise when its tasty lunch turned out to have a set of razor sharp hooks to bite back with!

28 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2013

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TANTALIZING TUBES Master the Details for Maximum Results By David A. Brown

Tempting and tantalizing, the time-tested tube is one of the top choices for those seeking largemouth and smallmouth in bass-rich regions across North America. Bass everywhere will readily gobble tubes of various sizes, colors and rigging. A simple drop-and-hop approach will certainly earn you a few bites here and there, but mastering the elements of rigging, enhancement and presentation will greatly improve your productivity.

30 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2013

Many a largemouth and smallmouth bass has found itself heading topside after snacking on what appeared to be a crawfish, darter or sculpin scooting across the bottom, while many more have attacked tubes that did a fine job of imitating shad, bream and other baitfish moving through the water column. Certainly, the right technique helps sell a tube’s performance, but the best thing about this bait is its userfriendly nature. Tubes are typically comprised of a skirt of fringes or tentacles at the end of a smooth, stumpy body. When pulled upward and/or forward, the tentacles sweep back for a

streamlined profile. However, with even the most moderate of undulations, that skirt wiggles in a lifelike display. Drop the bait to the bottom and the uniform shape slowly blossoms into a cluster of activity as all of those legs express their individuality. With no shortage of tube options, you’ll have no trouble finding one to fit your particular plans and personal preference. Some sport a ribbed surface that offers bass a little more to hold on to - and that’s always a good thing. For the realistic approach, others are molded to resemble the head, carapace and segmented tail of a real crawfish. Still others, like Berkley’s Powerbait Hollow

Belly Tubes, deliver a lifelike baitfish appearance complete with 3D eyes and convincing scales.

Expanding on the general tube shape are craw tubes with dressed up skirt ends sporting a pair of pinchers or other appendages outside of their skirts. There are tubes featuring solid heads and hollow bodies that facilitate Texas rigging by providing a thick entry point for your hook. The solid head also displaces more water and that creates a greater sensory target for bass. Taking that notion a step farther, there are baits that combine a bulkier grub body with a skirted bottom in a heavy, tube hybrid.

EFFECTIVE ARRANGEMENTS Flip It Solid body tubes are most often Texasrigged for flipping and pitching presentations to docks, laydowns, grass and bedding fish. Elsewhere, tubes with hollow, or mostly hollow, forms can be used for those presentations, as well as bottom-oriented tactics. For basic Texas rigging, specialized hooks like the Mustad Ultra Point Big Mouth Tube Bait Hook are designed with wide gaps to accommodate a tube’s body while allowing ample room for clean hook sets. The Mustad hook’s point is angled to lay Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 31

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Popular tube rigging options include (top to bottom) Tex-posed, Texas-rigged and jig-head rigs.

flat against the side of the tube’s body and sticking the hook point just under the tube’s skin keeps it weedless. When the fish are really snapping, you’ll get more life out of your baits with a topfastening hook like the Owner TwistLOCK, which uses a centering pin spring that twists into the tube’s head to form a secure hold with less wear and tear than poking a hook through the tube. Kumho’s Reaper Keeper hook attaches to your tube with a sickle shaped wire hanging from the hook eye. Secure the tube onto the wire, essentially in a Texas-rigged style, and then insert the hook further down the body.

Lead or tungsten bullet weights typically carry tubes to their targets, but former Bassmaster Classic champ Mike Iaconelli has an innovative option. In heavy cover, Iaconelli employs an innovative rigging style that makes the tube weedless while still retaining its unique fall. He takes a standard bank sinker or bell style weight and pushes it into the tube’s hollow cavity. He then runs a 1/0 wide gap hook through the sinker’s brass tie and Texas rigs the bait. “This is a pretty trick way of rigging a tube,” Iaconelli said. 34 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

Drop It When bass school over rocks, along ledges or on any deep structure, you’ll do best with the compact form of a lead head Basic tube rigging is pretty straightforward simply shove the weighted end of a jig into the tube and push the eye through the body.

tube jig. A great tactic for imitating gobies, crayfish, perch, and other smallmouth forage, rigging is pretty straightforward – simply shove the weighted end of a jig into the tube and push the eye through the body so you can attach your fishing line. Iaconelli said he finds that pushing the eyelet out in different sections of the tube alters the bait’s spiral. Experimenting with eyelet positioning, he said, enables you to create a wider or tighter motion. This variation presents a range of looks that help you determine what the fish want on any given day. For covering water, Bassmaster Elite pro Charlie Hartley said he prefers a tube over a dropshot. His go-to bait is a 3 ½-inch tube but when he needs something more subtle, Hartley uses a 3-inch tube for lighter, finesse presentations. Colors match the local forage of gobies, perch and the like, but green pumpkin is the old reliable. With either size tube, Hartley wants just enough weight to maintain bottom contact, so a ¼- to 3/8ounce lead head usually gets the job done.

“If you’re in shallow water where there’s not much current and not much wind, you don’t need much weight to stay in contact with the bottom,” he said. “If you’re in deeper water with a lot of current and a lot of wind, you need more weight. I’ve shoved 1-ounce heads into tubes, but you want the minimum amount and less weight is the most natural. But, bottom contact is crucial, so I’d rather be too heavy than too light.”

PRESENTATION PARTICULARS Presenting Texas-rigged tubes relies on fairly straightforward flipping or pitching tactics, while deeper tube use can be a little more involved. Preferring jigs with light wire hooks for sticking distant fish on spinning gear, Hartley describes his most common presentation as the “Erie Drag.” Named for his home waters, this tactic keeps his bait on a steady forward plow, so he uses jigs with a 60-degree line tie. Occasionally, Hartley

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switches to a hopping, or the more exaggerated “cracking” style, in which case the 90degree line tie fits best. “With the 60-degree, you’re pulling the tube forward more than you’re pulling it up,” he said. “There are times when I’ve caught several fish dragging and you can get one or two more with that erratic, cracking deal. It’s a reaction strike, compared to a feeding strike when you’re dragging.” Anglers might use the cracking presentation to mimic fleeing forage, as this typically triggers a predator’s aggression. For example, gobies have no swim bladder so their only way to avoid danger is to make a quick surge off the bottom. Likewise, crayfish flee predators by scooting up and away from danger, while smelt, perch and

The hollow cavity of most tubes makes an ideal scent chamber.

36 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

various minnows use similar evasive maneuvers. Sharp-eyed predators quickly nab these runners, so cracking tubes provoke equal malice. Notwithstanding such facades, Hartley said he expects many of his strikes on the tube’s initial descent. Falling baits look like runners heading back to the bottom and, when Mr. Brownfish spots one, it’s chomp time. “A lot of times, a tube will not get to the bottom,” Hartley said. “So, with that initial drop to do the hopping or dragging technique, always be aware that you can get a bite on the fall. I drag tubes 90-percent of the time, but I’ve been with very good fishermen who crack tubes 90-percent of the time. It’s a personal preference unless the

fish tell you the way they want it. If you’re getting bites on the way down, that might be a good indication that cracking it or hopping it is the way they want it.”

MAKE ‘EM WANT IT A high salt content makes a tube tastier to a bass and the idea here is that the longer a fish holds onto that bait, the greater your opportunity for a solid hook set. In addition to salt, various tube makers impregnate and/or lather their baits with proprietary liquids formulated to tempt a bass’ natural tendencies toward smell and taste. Examples include Berkley’s PowerBait and GULP! formulas, YUM’s Live Prey Technology (LPT), Big Bite Baits’ Bio Bait Scent, Trigger X’s Ultrabite, among others.

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Spray scents like Berkley GULP!, Jack’s Juice, YUM LPT and TriggerX Rejuvenator can instantly increase or maintain a bait’s attraction. Also helpful are scented gels and sauces like Berkley’s Powerbait Attractant, BioEdge and Carolina Lunker Sauce. The hollow cavity of most tubes makes an ideal scent chamber. Squeezing a glob of gel inside is one option. Another involves dousing a small piece of sponge with your favorite liquid scent and placing it inside a hollow tube for gradual dispersion. “A tube was made for scent – it’s a pock38 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

et that holds the substance,” Hartley said. “Put your scent in there before you insert the lead head and it holds the scent longer. I shoot scent into the tube every other cast or so. That’s really critical for a bait that you’re dragging and letting the fish see for a long time.” In addition to smell and taste, sound plays a big role in fish attraction. Some jig heads are made with attached rattles, while clip-on rattles convert any jig head by attaching to the hook shank. Specialized rattle inserts offer another

option. Use normal Texas-rigging steps, but run your hook through the hole in the rattle’s flat top end. This keeps the rattle securely tucked inside the tube without impeding hook placement. With the countless combinations of size, color, rigging and attractants, dialing in the right tube set up may seem overwhelming. Not to worry; just start with a single scenario – shallow or deep – and work with a couple of darker colors for low light conditions and a couple of lighter baits for sunny days. Focus on making good presentations

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TUBE TIPS AND TRICKS For maximum presentation, bass pro Charlie Hartley examines each tube and separates any tentacles left connected during the manufacturing process. Also, considering how the harsh environments of rocky and shell-covered bottom can threaten his line's solidity, Hartley frequently checks for scrapes, nick and cuts. Additionally, impacting rocks or shells can roll over a hook point, so he'll

Cutting a slit along the hook shank allows the hook to penetrate a bass’s jaw more easily.

check on every retrieve and repair as needed. “You need to take your line and pop it to see if it breaks," Hartley said. "It will break every time after those zebra mussels touch it so you have to retie. That's the one downside to fluorocarbon – there is no stretch so if it's fractured, it cracks. And, there's nothing more frustrating than getting a bite and either breaking off or not being able to drive a hook because your hook tip was rolled over.”

40 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

to your target area and take heart in knowing that those little tentacles will do most of the work for you. For those deep jobs with a lead head inserted into your tube, you’ll enhance the bait with a few well-placed snips. First, cut a ¼- to ½-inch slit in the tube’s body along the inside edge of the hook shank. This allows the hook to move clear of the tube’s body, thereby eliminating any possible hook set impediments. Also, when pitching to spooky fish on beds or any other skittish scenario, trim about ¼- to ½-inch off the bottom edge of your tube’s skirt. This decreases the profile and makes the bait less imposing.

Trimming a tube’s skirt is a great finesse tactic for skittish bass.

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SELF-PROPELLED

VESSELS By Geoff Coleman

The best fishing boat I ever had probably cost me more fish than it caught me. It was an 18½-foot bass boat with - for the time - a state of the art 150-horsepower outboard. This was a considerable step up from my previous boat and, for most of the first few months that I had it, I was seduced by the sheer fun of chine-walking to the next spot. I would roar up to a honey-hole at 64-miles per hour and fish it just about that fast before moving on to the next. The noisy, shotgun approach I took to working the structure added up to far fewer fish than I expected when I first saw the boat in the showroom.

Eventually, I made the necessary adjustments - basically approaching quietly and slowing down - and the bass boat did end up being a good fishing machine. However, the virtues of sneaking up on a spot and fishing methodically were not lost on me. This is where self-propelled watercraft ones that only move as a result of some type of human effort - come in. Encompassing rowboats, canoes, kayaks,

float tubes and pontoon boats (not that kind of pontoon boat!) this family of boats will never have a major tournament series devoted to them in Canada, but they are hard to beat in certain situations. Obviously, getting places that a regular boat can’t is the biggest benefit of these craft. With a canoe on your shoulders, or a float tube strapped to an ATV, you can find fish that won’t see another angler all season.

And getting there really will be half the fun. One of my favourite fishing trips is still one I did with some friends after finishing our last high school exam. We took the school's 89-pound aluminum canoes and our biology teacher, Dave Nuttall, and fished around some islands in Lake Superior out from Nipigon for five days. We got lakers, rainbows and specks, portaging into back lakes on the islands for some variety. We never Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 43

saw another party and, exercising common sense as well as our muscles, had a safe, problem-free trip. With that, I was sold on motor-less fishing. The first “boat” of any configuration that I could really call mine was a float tube. It is 23-years old now and still has almost all the features I want when I think about trading it in on a brand new model. It has numerous roomy pockets sewn into the rugged shell, smooth and easy-to-operate zippers, a casting apron to keep fly line out of the water and potential snags, a twobladder back rest, and a tough tube inside that still holds air without a patch in sight. It also has an outdated, circular shape. Many years ago, some belly boats evolved

into a semi-circular shape with an open front that was easier to get in and out of. The Creek Company called them U-boats (not that kind of U-boat!) and before long the round tube had competition. Today, some of the most striking designs in semis are made by Outcast. With great colours, and a sleek, tapering back, they look like they are from the future. The sweeping design makes it possible to really lean back when kicking to gain speed and reduce wind resistance. And, when fishing, you are out of the water more for a drier outing and better lines of sight. Regardless of the configuration, current models are lighter than ever, with the Creek Company offering a sixpound belly boat with its own case. Pontoon boats and kick boats were the next evolution, and the dividing line between them has become as blurred as a disputed border. In a nutshell, they both have dual pontoons and a seat that keeps you largely out of the water. Kick boats are propelled by fins while pontoons are moved with oars. You can still kick them, which is a blessing when a breeze takes you out of casting range in mid-double haul and you

don’t want to stop and pick up the paddles. Many can even take an electric motor and both are meant for flat water and rivers. Typically, the boat is tied together with an aluminum tubing frame, and has a rear deck for storage. Most pontoon boats will reach up to nine-feet in length, while kick boats have a smaller displacement. Classic Accessories has upped the ante with their 10-foot Oswego pontoon boat. A recent development in this sector is the frameless (as in, inflatable) boat. They are a far cry from the yellow inflatable rafts our parents bought for so many of us that The original U-boat was a step up from the round float tube.

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44 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

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shipped water when you tried to get in, and had plastic oars that always moved you in a circle. Classic Accessories' Chehalis is a good example of this style of pontoon boat. Weighing less than a bragging sized Chinook salmon, and packing into a hockey equipment bag, they are a great option for the travelling angler. Outkast has some interesting offerings too, with some surprisingly stable craft that one can stand in to cast, but still roll up into a suitcase for closet storage. With a partial floor, you can use them as a kick boat, or slip into the water to wade. Check out the Scout or, for something totally different, the Commander. The absolute cutting edge of personal fishing craft is the stand-up paddleboard adapted for fishing. You are not reading that wrong. At least three companies have frameless models and it is not too hard to find online videos of people using them for everything from carp to shark fishing, though they sometimes look like pilots for outdoors reality shows. The big draw is the speed and stability afforded, and the high vantage point for sight-fishing. If only they had a place to sit down and rest! The first kayak I bought was for our 13year old son. The plan was he would tool around in it while my wife and I paddled our canoe. We ended up getting a second kayak not long after that because we couldn’t come close to keeping up with junior, and

46 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

Whichever style of craft you prefer, that underscores the rule of thirds relating to kayaks. remember that shorter boats are more You either expend the same maneuverable while longer ones stay on effort as you would pad- track better. Narrow models are faster but dling a canoe and go three less stable so choosing the right boat starts times as far in a kayak, or with an inventory of where you will use it. travel at the same rate The shorter the distance between fishing while expending 1/3 of the spots, the smaller the boat can be. If you energy. Combine that with have to paddle a couple of miles before fishtheir ability to navigate ing, you will appreciate the safety, speed, water as shallow as any fish would ever use, and space in a 14-foot boat. Beaver ponds can be conquered in a 9½- footer. and you have an attractive fishing boat. All things being equal, sit-ins are easier to There are three main categories of kayak: sit on, sit in, and hybrids. I couldn’t see the portage, but regular canoes are easier still, appeal of a sit-on kayak until I used one in ferry more cargo and can weigh about the La Jolla, California a year ago. There the same as a plastic kayak. In fact, personally, surf guarantees that, no matter Kayaks are ideal if you plan on getting out of the boat to fish. Just what you do, you will take on try this in a gel-coated bass boat! water at some point, but you don’t even give it a thought as it drains quickly away. They are also easier to enter and exit, making launches far simpler, and you have the entire boat at your disposal for storage and accessorizing. Prior to that trip I was sold on the sitin, Canadian Inuit style kayak but in warm water conditions, sit-ons certainly have their place. This is especially true if you mainly use the boat to get from spot to spot and then get out to wade and cast. You will always be wet when using a sit-on kayak and that matters in this country – especially if you fish past the middle of September. On the other hand, the more traditional-looking sitins do a pretty good job at keeping water out when equipped with a spray skirt. They also keep you out better than sit-ons, so entry (and re -entry if some- the more I fish from a kayak, the more I like thing bad happens) is more challenging. my canoe. True, they take more effort to Also, you sit lower in the water, reducing propel and can leave you cursing the wind if wind resistance but making it harder to see paddling solo, but they are comfortable, fish or obstacles. Mounts for rod holders, safe, and have room for two people to fish. nets, GPS, depth finders and anchors are Or, if you married the right person, room for common on these styles too. Given that you one to paddle while you cast or troll. are guaranteed of getting wet in a sit-on, the As an all-around model, it is hard to sit-in style makes more sense for Canada, argue with the conventional wisdom that where the warm water season can be over states a 16-foot, “Chestnut”-style canoe is faster than a knife fight in a phone booth. the best thing to come out of the Canadian

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ACCESSORIES In terms of accessories, PFDs, a throw bag, and a repair kit are essential, regardless of the type of craft. Beyond those, the sky’s the limit. Rod holders can be found on all these different craft, ranging from Velcro tie downs on a float tube to a permanently mounted, drop-in holder on a kayak. They free your hands up for tying knots, unhooking fish, paddling, and are the nearest thing to required equipment on a personal fishing boat. Anchors are popular as well, and the first time the wind forces you to kick or paddle all day to maintain your distance from the hotspot, you'll know why. Beyond those two must-haves, accessorizing is limited only by how much you can bolt, strap, epoxy, or rivet on and still stay afloat. Mounts for GPS units, depth finders, safety flags, coolers, tackle boxes, cameras, and probably iPads and smartphones are on the market, and dozens of others have been crafted by DIYers. And that's just for float tubes! If there is one thing that every model of craft in this category needs for an accessory, it is a means of retaining your paddle or fins. Fin keepers strap around your leg to keep hold of flippers that sometimes work their way lose or get knocked off by an unseen rock or stump. A cord tied through a hole drilled into your paddle handle lets you let go to set the hook when a fish hits. Most paddles float, of course, but no one wants to be up the creek...

woods since maple syrup. Easy to carry, accepting of ample loads, white-waterready, flat water-friendly, and available in any number of materials, this canoe has probably brought more people to wilderness fishing than every Cessna 127 ever fired up. It is easier to correctly pick the year the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup than it is to nail down the perfect canoe. Like all the other craft mentioned here, having a good idea of how and where you will use it helps you decide on what to choose. Flat bottomed or v-bottomed, Kevlar or aluminum, symmetrical over asymmetrical hulls, a 14footer or a 17-footer. Assuming that anglers 48 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

FINDING FISHING SPOTS

want to quickly get somewhere to fish and not spend a lot of energy doing it, a few design features become more important. For speed and straight tracking, canoes with a straight keel are hard to beat. That means when you look at them from the side, most of the canoe is in the water – very little curls out of the water fore and aft. You probably also want the bow and stern to be low, so wind has less effect, and a centre depth greater than a foot so you can carry tents, coolers, and packs on overnight trips. The width will likely be over 34-inches amidships – again to increase carrying capacity. It should flare out at the gunwales in order to keep waves from splashing in, to provide excellent secondary stability, and to make it easy to drain. There is no doubt that when fewer fishermen descend onto a lake or river the fishing is better. If you are willing to put some work in, the rewards will be unspoiled scenery, and co-operative fish. A healthier heart is thrown in, too. Short of getting your pilot’s

Locating good fishing waters can be a daunting task, especially if you’re looking for smaller lakes or ponds that are suitable for inflatables, float tubes or other self-propelled vessels. Now you can find those great little fishing spots with the help of the iFish series of fishing apps. The iFish series offer fishermen across the country a user-friendly and intuitive guide to fishing. With a simple click you can easily find a lake near you and view detailed information on it, get real time lake reports from other anglers, read up on specific fishing tips, check the local weather conditions and more. iFish apps are available for Ontario, Sakatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia as well as several locations in the USA. For more information visit Apps for Anglers at www.appsforanglers.com.

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Bass Fishing –

“FROGGY” STYLE By Jonathan LePera

Topwater frog fishing is not a tactic or a technique, it is a discipline. It is a mind and body experience preparing you for the pivotal moment when you get a shot at setting the hook on a fish that has erupted on your frog. Your tackle has to be ready for battle and your mechanics have to be in tip-top shape. 50 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

Frog baits come in all shapes and sizes; from soft, lifelike versions, to those with collapsible bodies and integrated hooks, to hard baits that pop, spin or gurgle along the surface. In this article we’re going to look at the bait most of us associate with frog fishing – the many variations of soft, collapsible bodied frogs that can be fished over the thickest, nastiest cover in the lake. I recently had the chance to talk to Bassmaster Elite Pro, Fred Roumbanis, and frogging legend Bobby Barrack, of California, about frog fishing and they offered up some insights and tips to help translate those vicious topwater blowups into fish in the boat.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE For starters, spinning tackle has absolutely no place in topwater frog fishing. We are talking hand-to-hand combat here and, while the spinning rod has its place in the fishing world, this isn’t it. Bobby Barrack favours an eight-foot baitcaster with an extra-heavy action, a soft tip and, most importantly, a parabolic bend. The length of the rod comes in handy when the fish makes a surge at the side of the boat. A short rod can handcuff the angler by getting pinned against the side of the boat as the fish tries to charge underneath like a freight train. Fred Roumbanis also cautions that too many guys use the wrong rod for frog fishing. “It has to be a balance between the bait, the rod, and the reel. The rod needs to absorb the load because there is no give with braided line.” Both anglers agree that high-speed reels are optimum. A charging fish can quickly put the odds in their favour if you are unable to keep slack out of the line. For anglers who choose to walk their frogs around sparse cover, or skip their baits into the little weedy nooks and crannies that hold trophy fish, 50-pound test braided line

is the only way to go. It’s tough enough to work fish out of lighter vegetation but light and supple enough to allow you to make the tricky, accurate casts needed to put your bait where it needs to be. For fishing over matted vegetation, slop, or the nastiest cover you can find, 65-pound braid gets the nod. Not only does it float off the water a lot better, the sheer strength will help you drive the hooks home. Paired with the right rod, you can quickly get the fish turned around and moving away from the very cover it wants to escape back into. Fred Roumbanis prefers a six-strand braid as he believes it will not weigh down the nose of the frog, thereby preventing it from walking or skimming along the top properly. To have a crack at a true trophy fish you need the right bait and, for Barrack, colour is everything. Tweety, Fred, Sexy, Brown Bullfrog, Sparrow, Straight black and Delta Demon are all offered in his Snag Proof Signature Series frog. All have their place, depending on the time of year and what the fish are feeding on. One of Barrack’s favorite

tricks is working frogs that sport orange on the chin. “Orange is a triggering colour, especially in the transition months when water temperatures are either warming up or cooling down. If there is a 3 ½ and a 6-pounder sitting in an area, and your frog comes through, it is going to trigger that six. Without that orange, you are going to get that 3 ½. That orange gives me confidence. You look at bluegill and sunfish, they have that orange!” I’ve bought all the colours under the sun and my favorites are plain black, black with yellow, reddish brown, some form of sexy shad white and natural green or leopard frog prints. White steals the show if you have heavy concentrations of bait, especially in the fall! For Roumbanis, every frog is designed differently. Some are great for rough water, some excel over mats, some skip better and some create more noise than others. Optimum’s Furbit Frog has rabbit fur legs and a blade that spins and adds flash while

Braided line is the only way to go when frog fishing.

Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 51

their Poppin’ Frog makes a lot of noise. In reeds or water willows, the Picasso Shad Walker excels as it mimics baitfish and walks quite easily. Roumbanis prefers it at times as it is so easy to use and it makes a lot of commotion on the surface. He also enjoys throwing his custom coloured Fred’s Frog,

52 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

by Snag Proof, which boasts a green back, white sides, and the familiar orange throat. Experience has taught him that black will always catch more fish since its silhouette makes the bait look smaller, while white always catches bigger fish. During the postspawn he’ll use a frog with black legs to

mimic baby bass whereas if he is trying to mimic an insect hatch, he’ll lean towards a brown frog. For those fish that come up behind a topwater frog and nudge it, refuse to open their mouth or boil on the bait without hitting it, Roumbanis will throw an Ima Roumba frog-style wakebait that he designed to get the fish to commit. Last summer, I seined a stretch of shoreline with my Spro Bronzeye Frog to no avail. My wife started tossing the Roumba in the very waters I had just vacuumed and landed two livewell-worthy largemouth in short order! Always a student of the game, Bobby Barrack has expanded his frogging recently with the addition of the Snag Proof Buzz Frog.

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“You can throw a Buzz Frog where you wish you could throw a buzzbait! That is the beauty of it, it’s a buzzbait that floats. I’ll throw it over heavy vegetation yet pause it in the pockets on the edges of vegetation. I’ll chug it like a Woodchopper.” Do not forget that frogs can represent a variety of bait, not just frogs. Many a largemouth angler has witnessed bass lashing out at birds, snakes, baitfish, sunfish, and even rodents. Do not get so caught up on what you are trying to emulate, worry more about how to trigger the bite!

CONFIDENCE IS EVERYTHING If you are going to be successful with your topwater frog fishing there is no room for second-guessing. You have to develop your

intuition and your talent at being able to properly present the frog and still react with a split-second, whiplash-like hookset that will put your bite in the boat. Fred Rombanis’ faith in the topwater frog is unwavering. “Be one with that frog, never take your eye off the opponent (frog). I usually try to get my bait going fast first and then I’ll slow it down. Conditions play a huge role as cold nights will mean that those frog fish will not move shallow ‘till later in the afternoon, once the water warms up. The fish will let you know what they want. They might come up on it and touch it but they won’t open their mouth. Then it might be time to change colours or baits. Any time they boil on the bait or bump it with their mouth

closed, I’ll throw an IMA Roumba wake bait and then it’s all over!” Fred is confident that he can get those fish to go, under the right conditions. “Another guy could be going down a bank throwing a frog and not catch them but I have no problem fishing behind them because I know that I can make them eat that frog. It is a bait you have to physically work and become one with.” If anyone should know the tricks of the trade, it’s Bobby Barrack. He has been fishing topwater frogs for almost 30-years and he has the following advice to anglers looking to up their frog fishing game. “You have to fish for the moment, recognize, and capitalize on it,” Barrack cautioned. “It is recognizing where your fish

Bassmaster Elite Pro, Fred Roumbanis, is a big believer in the power of the frog.

54 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

are, their activity level, and then capitalizing: fishing for them with the tools you have in the tackle box.”

GOT THE TIME? Both Barrack and Roumbanis acknowledge the “magical window” that only stays open for a short time, when bigger than average bass wreak havoc on the underwater world. It’s usually between 1 and 3 p.m. in the afternoon, (but can fluctuate with the moon phases) when big fish will actively look for their best opportunity at a good meal. It’s no secret that big fish behave differently. They back into cover and wait for the opportunity to ambush their prey. They want to expend the least amount of energy to feed so they will key in on bigger meals. In the afternoon they will often tuck themselves into areas as shallow as three-feet or less, if they know that is the best place for them to feed. So many anglers begrudge the heat of summer, never fully realizing that they are actually begrudging the best time of the year for topwater frog fishing! For Barrack, his excitement comes from the fact that he is no 56 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

longer dealing with staging or spawning fish, but aggressively feeding fish instead. If you have brutally hot days and slightly cooler temperatures overnight, get on the water before the sun comes up because you’ll have a shot at 7-10 key bites before the sun even comes up. The rest of the morning will be better spent flipping and pitching, or working deep ledges or weed lines to trigger some fish. By the middle of the afternoon the topwater bite usually comes on again so you should get as shallow as possible. Bass don’t care how hot the water is, they’ll relocated to that two or three-foot zone where it is available.

PUT THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOUR Anglers sometimes neglect to consider why their key area didn’t produce when they know it is loaded with fish. More often than not, the angler dropped their trolling motor loudly or too close to the key spot. Perhaps they neglected to take into account the angle of the sun after casting their shadow across their area thereby alerting the fish! While many anglers are quick to blame the fish, Bobby Barrack suggests anglers

look at themselves and their approach first. Barrack is a huge fan of “reel-setting” the hook, much like you would with a dropshot rig. He advises to reel as fast as you can until the road loads up and then use a sweep set, regardless of the bait you are throwing. You need to maintain the load on the hookset because, the second you allow slack in your line, the fish gains the upper hand. For Fred Roumbanis, water temperature is the most important thing. If water gets real hot and stagnant he suggests anglers stick with the frog but really slow it down. If there is a bit of breeze you can speed it up. My biggest mental block in my approach to frog fishing was that I didn’t think I could get bit in dirty water. I would fish my favorite tributary off of the Niagara River one day and it would have that nice green tinge to it and the fish would just smash the frog. But because it has a mud bottom, if the wind blew overnight I’d be faced with chocolate milk and no fish the next day! For the longest time I would leave the boat on the trailer and go home miserable - until I talked myself through it one day.

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I took the smallest, thin glass rattles that I had and stuffed them into the cavity of the frog. Some anglers use cat bells, others like aluminum rattles, I like glass! I approached those very same frog waters I slam them in when the water’s clear, with my game face on. I fished the same trees, week clumps, pads, wood, cribs, and sure enough, I smashed them again in muddy water! A word to the wise: a boat in the water is better than a boat in the garage! Solunar tables, to some, represent the old wives tales of bass fishing. Barrack used to scoff at them until he started paying better attention to them. “They are telling you the prime opportunities to fish! The only thing that trumps solunar periods is weather fluctuations. If the barometer has been all over the place over the last 48-hours, be prepared - those frog fish are not going to happen. But if you’ve had stable barometer that forms a pattern, the fish will stay with that until things start to change.” Many anglers associate the full moon with peak feeding periods where bass will gorge gluttonously. Well, that’s only half of

58 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

the truth. Based on Barrack’s theory, frontal conditions can override moon phases, resulting in you only getting a few little fish in the morning. The bigger fish will be nowhere to be found. “Birds will be dormant, water will be calm. You gotta fish the conditions. If the winds blow in the morning it is on - find water you can fish productively. The more intense the water, the more aggressive they will be, it’s up to you to find a place you can fish productively.” Sometimes big bass want the frog crawled into the water off the shoreline and other times they want it long bombed 30feet in the air so it announces its arrival with a splash. Knowing when to use each tactic only comes with time! Don’t be so paranoid about your cadence or retrieve speed, the fish will let you know exactly what they want, and what they do not want! It is a given fact that you are not going to land every frog bite bass, but work on your timing, reel down to the fish and crack him with a sweep-set and you should hook most of them.

CONCLUSION Frogging is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be part of every bass angler’s repertoire. From learning how to skip-cast frogs under cover, to watching the ceremonious toilet flush that only comes from a big bass inhaling your frog, life is good when you’ve got a frog tied on. Mastering topwater frog fishing is no easy task but the basic information is available to anyone. Whether you order Bobby’s DVD (available soon at www.fishdelta.com), watch Fred on any of the three professional tours he is fishing, get tips from his Facebook page, or watch instructional videos on websites like fishdelta.com or westernbass.com, there’s a wealth of knowledge out there waiting. If you’ve got the passion for frog fishing, invest a little time in working on the basics and it won’t be long before you’re craning big, fat “frog-fish” into the boat! ?

Tales from the Road By Bob Izumi

I’ve never tried to get away for so long as I did trying to get down to Florida with my wife, Sandy. We had planned to leave on January 2 and finally, in the middle of March, we hopped into the Suburban with the Ranger in tow and headed out for a down and dirty, fun trip. The idea was to visit some family and friends and have a relaxing time. We certainly did the visiting, but it wasn’t really relaxing. It ended up that we stayed in 10 different beds over 12 nights.

On the way down we made a pit stop in Knoxville, Tennessee, to see Kevin Bennett, President of the Lithium Pros battery company. Kevin’s company manufactures lithium batteries for all kinds of uses including drag racers, electric vehicles and the marine industry. I was interested to see the technology of these batteries. When you think of lithium batteries, you have to think in the terms that they are going to last a long time. They are saying that these batteries will last for at least 10-years. Unlike wet-cell batteries, lithium batteries run at the same power level until they are drained and then they shut down. Wet cell batteries become weaker and weaker as the day wears on. Even though these batteries cost substantially more money than your average marine 60 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

battery, the fact is, they will last for a decade or more and they are about 20% of the weight of a standard wet cell battery. Depending on which model you choose, a single, 36-volt lithium battery weighs between 30 and 50-pounds and takes the place of three, 50 or 60-pound wet cell batteries. Charging only takes a few hours and there is an available charging system that connects your outboard to the battery so you can be charging while you’re running from spot to spot. This is definitely some cuttingedge technology and it will be interesting to see how well received these batteries will be. After our stop in Tennessee we got back on the road and made our way to Florida where our first visit was to see my nephew, Justin, who is playing in some of the minitour golf events in Florida. We stopped in at the Ocala Open and walked the last three holes with him on day one. It was really cool to watch him compete and it was inspirational to see how much talent he has with

a golf club. I will admit that both my wife and I were probably more nervous than he was! It’s gut-wrenching watching every shot, hoping that it’s going to be either in the middle of the fairway, close to the pin or in the hole. I’m not so sure if I enjoyed it or if I went away more stressed out. After shooting even par on day one, Justin slipped back a bit on day two and missed getting a cheque, but he certainly has the game to compete at this level. After seeing Justin we ended up spending the rest of the time visiting friends and family, doing some gator watching at Lake Okeechobee, bass fishing on Okeechobee, golfing and even a bit of fishing in some of the golf course ponds. The irony is that the biggest bass I caught on this trip was pushing 8-pounds and was caught from a pond on a golf course behind a friend’s house. Overall it was a hectic, yet fun trip. By the time we got home we both felt like we needed a vacation! We were home for one night and then it was off to Kingston for the Eastern Ontario Boat, Powersports and Recreation Show to do a seminar. Over the years I’ve made a lot of friends in that area. One particular friend who I’ve known since the early ‘80s, Dick Knapp, came out to see me. Dick’s been bass fishing for longer than I’ve been on this planet. He’s a great guy and it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.

I had a number of sponsor and production meetings and then we were off to Costa Rica for some filming at Zancudo Lodge. This is a luxurious lodge located in Golfito. It’s in one of the most southerly areas of Costa Rica and it offers all kinds of inshore and offshore fishing. Paul Michele, from Navionics, set this trip up through his friend, Greg Muffson, who owns the lodge.

The Sebile Bonga Jerk is a very unique topwater lure that the roosterfish couldn’t resist.

We had an incredible four-days of fishing, starting with some inshore fishing for roosterfish. We ended up catching a number of jacks on topwater lures but we lost five roosterfish on the first day. It was one of those days that was a lot of fun but disappointing that we didn’t land any roosterfish on video. On the second day we worked hard and landed six roosters – two on bait and four on artificial lures. The hot bait was the Sebile Bonga Jerk. This is a very unique topwater lure that you can “walk the dog” with and the roosters were absolutely smashing it. Along with the roosterfish, we caught a bunch jacks and a few snappers that day. On day three we went offshore to fish for sailfish and ended up hooking into a 120pounder! It was pretty cool because we saw some floating debris and we stopped, set the lines and trolled around it. We didn’t get anything so we kept trolling and about a mile away my wife, Sandy, happened to look about 100-yards off to the left of the

boat and saw a sailfish fin sticking out of the water. We were about 40 or 50-miles offshore at this point. We trolled right by the fish and Paul Michele threw out a live bait rig on a medium action rod with one of the new Penn Spinfisher V spinning reels loaded with 50-pound test Spiderwire braid. You could see the sail dart about 40yards, right to where the bait landed. Paul hooked up and the fight was on. That sail put up an incredible fight and we probably got 12 to 15 good jumps out of it! On day four we got some amazing video of a school of dolphins while looking for schools of yellowfin tuna. We got into a group of them and landed 18 in the 12 to 15-pound range in less than an hour on a variety of Sebile topwater baits. When you’ve got a school of feeding tuna around the boat it’s the fastest and most furious action you’ll ever have. If this doesn’t get your adrenaline going, nothing will! This trip reinforced why Costa Rica is one of my favourite places to go. As soon as I got back I was off to the Home Hardware dealer show in St. Jacobs, Ontario, on behalf of SC Johnson and their OFF! products. This was a gigantic supplier show and I wish I would have had more time to walk around. I felt like a kid in a candy store among all of the different vendors. This show gave me a better appreciation of just how big the Home Hardware network of stores is. Then it was my niece, Mariko’s, 30th birthday party. My daughter, Kristin, thinks that birthdays are supposed to last a full week but I’m not sure if that’s Mariko’s idea of a birthday. The party was at the Paradise Banquet Hall in Woodbridge and it was an incredible event. We’re talking about food that was fit for a king – giant shrimp cock-

tails in martini glasses; beef tenderloin; scallops; Italian cheeses – whatever type of food you like was there. When Mariko throws a party it something you don’t want to miss and you definitely want to go hungry! The next day it was off to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the Canadian Tire product parade for their dealers. This year they decided to open it up to the public on the Saturday. I wasn’t sure how this would work but as it turned out the show was jampacked. I spent a few hours at the OFF! display meeting folks and signing autographs. I also spent some time at the PhaseGuard 4 booth with the folks from CRC Industries. Overall it was a very busy show. Then we were off to Freeport in the Bahamas. I’ve never been to the Bahamas in all of the years I’ve done the TV show and I was excited about this trip. It’s funny

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Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 61

when you’re going to a place for the first time and plan on staying with people you don’t know that well. Last year at a Renegade Bass tournament, a fellow competitor, Pierre Voisine, approached me and asked if I would be interested in filming in the Bahamas. I told him that I had never been there but I had heard about the fishing. Pierre told me that he had some friends who were down there, including Chef Tim Tibbitts, who recently shared one of his recipes in Real Fishing Magazine. Pierre’s statement to me was, “Bob, you will not be disappointed with the food.” Of course that got my attention. Then he said he had another friend there, Rob Wharton, who is originally from Ontario, and who would put us up. It didn’t take a lot of convincing to get me to agree to the trip! When we arrived in the Bahamas, Pierre and Rob met us at the airport. They took us over to Rob’s place, a beautiful house on a canal. His mother-in-law was visiting and staying in the guest wing of the house so Rob decided to put us up in his 70-foot Hatteras boat that was docked about 20feet from the house. I’m telling you, we were really roughing it on this trip!

We were there from a Monday until Friday and the trip went off without a hitch. These people were so much fun and it was like we had known them forever. The food was outstanding and Tim prepared everything from steak to sushi rolls to a rack of lamb that was cooked for 14-hours. He has become one of my all-time favourite chefs! The fishing was just as good as Tim’s cooking. During our time on Grand Bahama Island we got into surface feeding schools of tuna, ravenous mahi-mahi and even snappers

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62 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

in 900-feet of water. The fishing was incredible and both Tim and Robbie really know their stuff. It doesn’t get much better than having great food, great fishing and making new friends all in one trip. I’m so glad Pierre Voisine put this trip together for us. When we got back home it was Mike Northcott’s 50th birthday. Mike has been our Real Fishing Radio producer for almost 25-years now. We were scheduled to go to his birthday party but unfortunately we had company over at the house. By the time they left it was after 11 p.m. and we were both so tired from our Bahamas trip that we never made it to Mike’s party. From what I heard afterwards, it was quite the bash. Mike has always played in bands and there were all kinds of musicians there including one of his friends, Ian Thomas, who performed at the

party. Some of you folks who are in my age bracket might remember one of Ian’s most popular songs, Painted Ladies. I’m going to have to make sure I’m around for Mike’s 60th birthday party! On May 1, I had the pleasure of fishing with James Vandivier, who I’ve known since he was a little kid. His late father, John, was a tournament partner and friend of mine for many years. I always used to say that John was one of the best steelhead anglers in the province but I would say that James has probably taken that title now. He is an incredible steelheader who was weaned catching these fish. Just like when I fished with his father John, I continue to learn

more about steelheading whenever I get together with James. James and I decided to fish Bronte Creek and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Boy, did we cover water that day! We crossed the river five times going upstream and five more times going downstream and put on several miles during the day. We caught a lot of steelhead and got some great video shot including a nice double-header. Overall it was a lot of fun to spend some time on the water with James.

Gord Pyzer flew down to tape our Real Fishing Radio show. Gord lives about 20hour’s drive from me, in the extreme northwestern corner of Ontario, so it’s always a pleasure getting together with him. The funny thing is, every waking hour with Gord is spent talking about fishing – whether there’s a microphone around or not. After wrapping up the radio shows, Derek Strub and I made our annual pilgrimage to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for the Sturgeon Bay Open bass tournament. This is the fifth year Derek and I have fished this event and we were extremely pumped. Our best finish was third place and we have placed in the prizes three out of the four previous years. We rented a house with friends, Terry McClymont and Darrin Bohonis, who were also fishing the tournament. The water temperature was still extremely cold north of Surgeon Bay, just 41-degrees, and the fish were just not active on our first day of practice. For the next few days we decided to stay south and managed to get onto a fairly good shallow water pattern. Our best oneday, six fish limit would have weighed around 29-pounds so we were feeling pretty confident going into the tournament.

The funny thing about fishing is that there are no guarantees. On day one of the tournament we didn’t even get our six fish limit. We ended up with just five fish, including a twopound largemouth, for 13.44-pounds. I don’t think you could go out and try to catch five bass at this time of year, with two anglers fishing, and weigh just 13-pounds and change in this fishery. This is one of the most amazing smallmouth fisheries that we visit and the day-one leaders had 36-pounds for their sixbass limit. From what I heard, the guys were using Alabama rigs and they had a flurry of fish that were all in the six-pound class. On day two we ended up catching 24pounds and change for our six-fish limit, which is still not a very respectable limit in this year’s event. There were record weights and the top seven teams had between 60 and 67-pounds over the first two days. If you do the math, that’s an incredible average per fish. What did we learn from this tournament? Well, we learned that we were obviously not doing the right thing. On day two we probably caught 30 fish by adjusting rather than repeating what we did on day one. The fact is, in tournament fishing or just fishing in general, if you want to be successful you constantly have to keep an open mind and be willing to change. For whatever reason, we did not get the bites on day one but on day two we adjusted and got a lot of fish. We still did not get a single, bona-fide fivepounder in two days of tournament fishing. In that fishery you needed a five-pound plus

average just to get a decent cheque. To make a long story short, we drove home with our tails between our legs but we are already talking about next year’s event. After I got back from Wisconsin it was time for our annual Fishing Forever Golf Tournament at Turtle Creek Golf Club. The event was a scramble, or best ball format but there were also two fishing holes where each team member got to make three casts. Every fish caught would take one stroke off of your score. My foursome caught more fish than anybody else but our golfing left a little to be desired. We didn’t have any low handicappers in our group, unlike my brother, who stacked his team. It’s always nice to have someone like my nephew, Justin, on your team. I’m not talking sour grapes, I realize that it’s a competitive event and somebody has to win. I just wonder if Rory or Tiger are available next year so I can give Wayne a run for his money. As you read this it’s probably getting into the heat of the summer. I hope you have a great season and that your fishing is as hot as the weather. ?

Summer 2013 – Real Fishing 63

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s COOKING

Fancy up those plain old pork chops with a sweet, tangy glaze; add fresh, seasonal sides and enjoy the compliments from your guests!

Grilled Pork Chops with White Balsamic and Orange Glaze, Apple Coleslaw and Potato Wedges INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

For the best tasting pork chops, brine them first. Mix the salt and water together, pour over the pork chops so they are completely covered, and soak for four-hours.

1-inch thick center cut pork chops

Brine 4 cups 4 tbsp

water salt

Glaze 2 cups 1 1/2 cups 1 cup

orange juice white balsamic vinegar sugar

Place all the ingredients for the glaze into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Reduce the glaze until it becomes a syruplike consistency. Remove from the stove and reserve for later.

Coleslaw 1/2 head green cabbage 1 Granny Smith apple 1/2 red onion 1/8 cup white vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup mayonnaise Salt and pepper to taste

Shred the cabbage and place into a bowl. Julienne the red onion and add it to the cabbage. Grate the apple into the cabbage and onion. In a separate bowl, mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the cabbage and toss. Refrigerate until later.

Potatoes 6 large potatoes 2 tbsp vegetable oil Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 400-degrees F. Cut potatoes into wedges and toss with vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet (for

64 Real Fishing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Summer 2013

best results heat baking sheet in oven while preheating), place in oven and cook for 30 to 40minutes, turning halfway through. Remove pork chops from brine, rinse off any excess salt and pat dry. Pre-heat barbeque on high for about 15 to 20minutes. Sear the pork chops on high, with the lid down, for about 2-minutes. Open the lid and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for another 3 to 4-minutes for medium or until pork has reached an internal temperature of 145 to 150-degrees F. Glaze the pork chops near the end of the cooking process. Plate with the coleslaw and potato wedges and enjoy!

Bringing him in took six hours. Why rush dinner? COME AND GET IT. Our wines are only available direct — either in person or by delivery from our vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It’s taken 14 years to get it right, to perfect the craft of making wine that is drinkable, accessible, and aﬀordable. It all happens here in our Big Red Barn. Our modern-rustic space houses our cellar and is part tasting room, part clubhouse. There’s no pretension or mystery here. All that we know, we’re ready to share with you, to delight the novice wine lover and the veteran oenophile alike. Visit us or order ahead for your next big trip and for each purchase of an Izumi wine, Between the Lines will donate $1 to the Fishing Forever Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the preservation of Canada’s fishing resources.

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THE THREE AMIGOS “The three characters featured in this painting are brothers-inlaw out for a day of trout fishing on the Aguasabon River, east of Thunder Bay, Ontario, in the early 1960s. This treasured family image was given to me by the grandson of one of the anglers. I could not resist painting these cigarette puffing, fish slaying, “anti-freeze” slugging characters (note the bottle beside the angler).” – Dale MacKenzie

Artist: Dale MacKenzie

Dimensions: 36” x 36”

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Contact: Dale MacKenzie Fishbone Studios Box 325, Eagle River, ON P0V 1S0 dalemack@telus.net www.dalemackenzie.com

66 Real Fishing – Summer 2013

l attractant that Gulp! Alive! has a powerfu water fish just leaves a scent trail in the alistic action re can’t resist. And with its Gulp! outfishes e ris rp su and shapes, it’s no , even live bait. an ything and ever ything alive. Gulp! Looks, feels and tastes ®

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