Sunline's Duo of New Lines for ICAST

Developing a thinner, stronger fishing line is the fundamental concept that has driven Sunline to become one of the top manufacturers of nylon, fluorocarbon, and braided lines in the world.  At Sunline resting on your laurels is not an option, as the Japanese company is constantly developing new products, and setting the bar for ingenuity and quality in the ultra competitive fishing line market.  2019 is no exception, as Sunline is set to introduce and release two new fluorocarbon products to bolster their already impressive lineup of products. 

Night FC and Power2C FC are the newest members of the Sunline family tree, each filling a specific duty on the water.

Known as the ultimate power fishing angler, Jason Christie demands incredible strength and abrasion resistance in a fishing line to meet the challenges of heavy cover, short casts and explosive hook sets. Power2C was designed to Jason's specifications to meet the demands of shallow water, heavy cover angling. As a premium fluorocarbon, it features extreme abrasion resistance against wood, boat dock cables and rocks. It also features the perfect shock absorption to overcome wicked hooksets on big fish with heavy action rods at short distance to ensure no breakoffs, which plagues many fluorocarbon lines.

LIVETARGET Introduces New Flutter Shad for Finesse

LIVETARGET’s new Flutter Shad behaves like a traditional jigging spoon but has the narrow profile of a common Shad or Sardine. Featuring the Company’s new Injected Core TechnologyTM (ICT), it showcases a Shad profile while maintaining the jigging spoon action creating a combination unrivalled in the industry. The traditional metal stamping process used to manufacture a typical jigging spoon was necessary to create the action but markedly unnatural in appearance, making game fish wary. 

Injected Core TechnologyTM enables the Inner-Core to host a life-like baitfish profile, while the Exo-Skin gives the lure its signature flutter action. The metallic Inner-Core also produces a strobe-like shine that flashes incredibly bright, especially in dark deep water.

New Z-Man® SlingBladeZ™ Power Finesse Spinnerbait

Good bass-catching vibrations often come from small-scale sources: The beat of a yearling shad’s tail. The panicked contortions a baby bluegill in retreat. Flash enters the equation, too. Glints off the golden flanks of a wild shiner transmit the “food” signal to the eyes of all aquatic predators. Explosions of micro-bubbles and crystalline scales loudly announce an underwater attack.

Few artificial lures mimic these aquatic indicators better than a small-bladed spinnerbait. Perhaps no other spinnerbait has ever offered more attention-to-details than Z-Man’s category-transforming SlingBladeZ.

“When we realized what we had with the Z-Man SlingBladeZ Spinnerbait, I knew we needed a downsized, finesse version,” says spinnerbait specialist and MLF / Bass Pro Tour angler Luke Clausen. “The new SlingBladeZ Power Finesse bait has got to be one of the only super premium small-frame spinnerbaits built with high-end components— hooks, blades and skirts—plus a few tricks up its sleeve.”

Z-MAN: Taking a Giant TRD

Z-Man^® power-finesse system marries new Giant TRD™ with Mag ShroomZ™ jigheads

Who knew the Ned Rig could shape-shift from bite-sized to full meal deal? That a so-called “finesse bait” could be pitched with a baitcast reel and 20-pound line? That some of the biggest bass in the lake eat aforementioned bait like there’s no tomorrow? Okay, so referring to Z-Man’s new Giant TRD as a finesse bait slightly stretches the truth—a little like pulling both ends of the bait until it rips. Except for the fact the portly new stickbait doesn’t have a breaking point. Unlike most every other soft stickbait in existence, the TRD simply refuses to rip or fall apart. Chalk that up to the superiority of Z-Man’s proprietary soft bait material, ElaZtech®.

As Major League Fishing (MLF) Tour angler Luke Clausen notes, “The shape and profile of the Finesse TRD™ is one of the all-time greats. But if you’re fishing big bass water— places like Texas, Mexico or deep ledges on the Tennessee River— a big fat Giant TRD is right on the money. It’s an unassuming, non-threatening bait that’s simply suggestive of bass forage, both vertebrates and invertebrates; the thing sits right up off bottom and just looks like food.” Built with maximum meat and big-bass appeal, the new Giant TRD offers appetizing traits in abundance: oodles of tail-wagging action, ample flotation, extreme softness and incomparable ElaZtech durability. The monster soft-stick features a ribbed torso and a smooth posterior, bespeckled with biologically accurate bumps. A 15-percent salt composition heightens the bait’s flavor and palatability while preserving its buoyancy.

Frabill Brings Leverage To ICAST 2019

The beginning of summer is here and soon to follow are the four biggest days in recreational fishing. It's the time of year when the industry unveils its newest product offerings, technology, and innovation. 

The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) conference and exhibition is back in session, and Frabill's new batch of products are going to be the scoop.

"Upgrade" doesn't do the overhaul of Frabill's new line fishing nets any justice. The new Trophy Haul Net Series gives anglers all the leverage to tame just about anything with fins. Live bait storage has come a long way as well. The company that gave anglers the first insulated, stainless-steel minnow bucket, once again delivers unmatched innovation and functionality. See the features of the revolutionary new series of nets and the new 30-Quart Magnum Bait Station at ICAST.

MEGA 360 Imaging: It's Here | Humminbird

Get the unmatched clarity and detail of Humminbird's revolutionary MEGA Imaging® in a 360-degree view. Don't settle for anything less than the full picture. MEGA 360 Imaging™ provides clearer, sharper underwater views, making fish more identifiable, and fish holding to structure easy to find, so anglers can spend more time fishing the most productive water. A key benefit is its ability to provide full use of the trolling motor, so anglers can utilize Spot-Lock™ and other important trolling motor features without impacting their ability to use 360-degree sonar. To learn more about Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging, visit http://bit.ly/2FzFmCj

LIVETARGET’s New Freestyle Frog Creates A Commotion

LIVETARGET is proud to usher in a new era of frog bait design with its introduction of the Freestyle Frog, a surface commotion soft plastic bait that can also be fished beneath the waterline. Featuring the company’s Injected Core Technology™ (ICT), it offers an unmatched life-like frog profile, making it a standout in an otherwise crowded lure category. 

(519) Emerald/Red

Back in 2010 LIVETARGET introduced the Hollow Body Frog.  It elevated top water fishing to a whole new level. Now, with the development of Injected Core Technology, LIVETARGET is able to bring that same anatomy, detailed color and effortless action to a bait that not only performs well on top of the water but can also trigger bites under the surface. The Freestyle Frog’s curly, twin-tail legs are transparent and less noticeable than baits manufactured using traditional injection methods.  This leaves game fish much more tempted to strike the natural frog profile. 

Exceptionally life-like, the Freestyle Frog incorporates LIVETARGET’s Injected Core Technology, providing a natural-looking appearance so anglers can truly Match-the-Hatch^®​. A specialized

David Dudley Wins 2019 FLW Tour Angler of the Year!

Dudley only angler with 4th AOY!
by Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Dudley only FLW angler to claim 4 Angler of the Year titles.
(Photo: FLW)

You don’t have to look at David Dudley’s resume to know how good he is, though, it doesn’t hurt. A FLW Cup title, five FLW Tour titles and three FLW Tour Angler of the Year titles – oh, and over $3.6 million in career earnings. Mind-boggling stats, no doubt.

Today, Dudley made that resume a bit more impressive by making history when he clinched his fourth AOY title on one of his favorite lakes to fish. Making the moment even more sweet, he also sits in the top 10 of the final event of the Tour season, so brace yourself for another potential resume update Sunday.

Of course, they say you never forget your first and that certainly is the case for Dudley.

“When I won my first Angler of the Year title in 2008 nobody interviewed me, nobody talked to me, I didn’t have articles written about me, I was that far down in the standings – I think I was in 17th heading into the last tournament,” says the Lynchburg, Va., pro reflecting on the run up to his first AOY title. “Of all people, Andy Morgan had a monstrous lead going into it and he just don’t stumble, and he stumbled.”

It’d take just a few years for the Polaris pro to add two more titles and oddly enough, Dudley’s last AOY title was won here on Lake Champlain in 2012 – and he actually won the event to boot. And while it’s not like he’s had a bad year since, the “drought” he went through after winning back-to-back AOY titles in 2011 and 2012 with points finishes in the teens to low 20s did leave himself wondering if he still had it in him. This season he erased any doubt.

Pace Races to Bass Pro Tour Championship at Evinrude Stage Eight presented by Tracker Off Road

Pace keyed on a mix of rock and sand, with most of his fishing coming on a Jackall Rerange Jerkbait,
but he also caught some on a Jackall Crosstail Shad fished on a drop-shot rig.
(Photo: MLF)

MFL PRESS RELEASE

Out of all of the well-known bass factories that the Bass  Pro Tour visited this year, who would have guessed that Green Lake, Wisconsin, would be one of the top producers? It proved to be an excellent venue for the 2019 regular-season finale and Championship Round of the Evinrude Stage Eight Presented by Tracker Off Road.
  

Sunday's championship battle required a hefty total to win (more than 81 pounds) and easily outdistanced the winning weight for Lakes Toho, Conroe, Smith, and Chickamauga.

That's because the day was defined mostly by non-stop action on SCORETRACKER®, except for the midday weather delay due to a strong band of rain, thunder, and lightning that covered the entirety of the nearly 8,000-acre lake.

Once fishing resumed, Cliff Pace took over and ran away with the title. Bobby Lane made a late charge, but in the end, Pace was the pace-setter, winning by over 12 pounds.

Pace Races Away With It

Pace grabbed the lead in the second period and never looked back. The windy and cloudy conditions played a significant role in his victory, and how he was able to catch 47 bass for 81-9. 

The majority of Pace's fish fell for a Jackall Rerange Jerkbait, but he started the day plucking them off with a Jackall Crosstail Shad fished on a drop-shot rig.

"After the delay, the wind was still blowing, and when we went back out, I caught one on the jerkbait on the first cast," Pace said. "I never put it down after that. It was all about the conditions. I was looking for areas with rock since there was so much sand everywhere. The main thing on natural lakes is to find where there is a mix of rock and sand."

For his win, he takes home $100,000 and the title of Stage Eight Champion.

Lane's Rally Falls Short

Once Pace got on a roll, he proved to be too far out of reach for Lane and the rest of the field.

"I just couldn't keep pace with Cliff Pace today," Lane admitted. "Every time I would get on a little roll, he would start catching them again. He was just too far ahead."