Sunday, July 31, 2011

Ott DeFoe Wins the BASSMASTER ELITE ALL STAR!

Ott DeFoe beats Edwin Evers for the ALL STAR Championship. On a muggy, Alabama Sunday, Ott weighs in a 8.07 bag to win by 4 ounces!

FLW EverStart Nothern 1000 Islands/ Lake Ontario Day 3: Izumi Wins!

Canadian pro finally nabs U.S. win at EverStart Northern
30.Jul.2011 by David A. Brown
FLW Press Release

CLAYTON, N.Y. – Review practically any fishing tournament history throughout eastern Canada and you won’t have to look far to find Bob Izumi’s name. Well, the Milton, Ontario angler’s no stranger to U.S. events, but today he finally notched his first American victory in the EverStart Northern Division at the 1000 Islands.

“I told some friends and my wife that before I die, I have to win a tournament in the U.S.” Izumi said. “The Kingston (Ontario) area has been good to me. I’ve won (several) Ranger boats, a Chevy truck and numerous other tournament prizes on the Canadian side over the years, but I’ve never won one stateside. I love this stuff. All I do is eat, sleep and drink tournaments.”

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Bassmaster All-Stars: Final TWO!

By Deb Johnson
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Jul 30, 2011
Evers vs. Defoe
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Friday, on the eve of their faceoff Saturday on the Alabama River, Gerald Swindle jested that Ott DeFoe “ought” to go down river, instead of up river where DeFoe’s been smashing big bags of bass each day of the Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star Championship.
But DeFoe, the 25-year-old rookie phenom from Knoxville, Tenn., stuck to what brought him here. He worked upriver shallow water near current and deep water to trounce the Warrior, Ala., pro by 6 pounds, 11 ounces, and advance to the final round. Swindle, on a day that seemed to go wrong no matter if he fished up or down the river, managed 5-5 to DeFoe’s 12-0.

FLW EverStart Nothern 1000 Islands/ Lake Ontario Day 3: Bob Izumi Wins!

In true Bob Izumi style, his last day charge overtakes fellow Canadian to Win!
Bob Wins!
(Photo: Real Fishing )

1  BOB IZUMI  MILTON, ON   
Day 1 17-09; Day 2 19-07; Day 3 21-01 Total 58-01 


2  JOHN MCGOEY  OMEMEE, ON
Day 1 18-03; Day 2 19-06; Day 3 19-08  Total 57-01 


3  CORY JOHNSTON  PETERBOROUGH, ON
Day 1 17-07; Day 2 19-03; Day 3 19-14; Total 56-08 


4  GREGG SEAL  ELDRED, PA
Day 1 20-12; Day 2 18-10; Day 3 16-15  Total 56-05 


5  ERIC FOLTIN  LEBANON, PA
Day 1 18-10; Day 2 16-09; Day 3 20-09  Total 55-12 


6  JEFF HIPPERT  HAMBURG, NY
Day 1 24-08; Day 2 15-06; Day 3 15-12  Total 55-10 


7  CHRIS JOHNSTON  PETERBOROUGH, ON
Day 1 22-11; Day 2 17-08; Day 3 14-11  Total 54-14 
 
8  THOMAS LAVICTOIRE JR  WEST RUTLAND, VT
Day 1 20-05; Day 2 17-04; Day 3  15-12  Total 53-05 
 
9  KEVIN SHORT  MAYFLOWER, AR
Day 1 21-03; Day 2 17-00; Day 3  14-12  Total 52-15 


10  JASON PUTMAN  CICERO, NY
Day 1 18-08; Day 2 17-15 ; Day 3 15-03  Total 51-10


FLW Press Release plus IBASSIN.com summary to follow.

Bassmaster All-Stars: The Format

Friday, July 29, 2011

Bassmaster All-Stars: Final Four!

Ashley, Evers, DeFoe and Swindle survive first round finalsBy Deb Johnson

By Deb Johnson
BASS Press Release
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Eight came, four remain and in one case, the decision went down to 1 ounce.
By besting their Friday opponents, Casey Ashley, Edwin Evers, Ott DeFoe and Gerald Swindle earned their way into the second round of the Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star Championship on the Alabama River.
The Final 4!
(Photo: Adam Harbottle BASS)
Saturday’s matches, predetermined by a bracketed playoff structure, will be Ashley vs. Evers and DeFoe vs. Swindle. The two winners will compete for a winner-take-all prize of $100,000 on Sunday.
The tournament’s match play — unique in the sport of pro bass fishing — set up heated head-to-head contests Friday, not the least of which was Swindle vs. Terry Scroggins. They’re travel buddies when they’re on the Bassmaster Elite Series trail, and good friends who are used to sharing information. Even though they went head-to-head Friday, both said they still traded information on techniques and patterns.
Swindle won — by 1 ounce. He had 12 pounds, 5 ounces, to Scroggins’ 12-4.

FLW EverStart Nothern 1000 Islands/ Lake Ontario Day 2: Top 10 List

Banner Day for Canadians and IBASSIN.COM's Picks All Advance
By Luigi De Rose

1  CHRIS JOHNSTON  PETERBOROUGH, ON  40-03     
2  JEFF HIPPERT  HAMBURG, NY  39-14  
3  GREGG SEAL  ELDRED, PA  39-06  
4  KEVIN SHORT  MAYFLOWER, AR 38-03  
5  THOMAS LAVICTOIRE JR  WEST RUTLAND, VT  37-09  
6  JOHN MCGOEY  OMEMEE, ON 37-09  
7  BOB IZUMI  MILTON, ON 37-00  
8  CORY JOHNSTON  PETERBOROUGH, ON 36-10  
9  JASON PUTMAN  CICERO, NY 36-07  
10  ERIC FOLTIN  LEBANON, PA 35-03

FLW EverStart Nothern 1000 Islands/ Lake Ontario: Canadian Connection



The Canadian Connection
By Luigi De Rose

The Canadian connection will play a vital role in the outcome of this tournament. Lake Ontario means smallmouth and rocks. Find the areas that are productive and fish will be there. That sounds a bit dumb not with big water and rock not much changes over the years. Fish largemouth waters means dealing with change. Weed growth varies, docks get removed, fallen trees get washed away and lily pads die off. Rocks,  reefs, points, flats and drops are timeless and the more time on the water the better your game will be. This is why the Canadian connection is so deadly on this water system.

The Big Players

Bob Izumi
He has been fishing tournaments here since the 1970s and has won everything in Canada that needs to be won. He and won it and won it again. He is a legend with unlimited resources. This is an angler who loves to make mammoth runs in rough seas. He can win with green or brown bass and is a master of it. He had a good bag on Day 1 and his son won the Canadian Open out of Kingston, across Wolfe Island from Clayton New York, last week. Bob finished well in that big tournament as well.

Cory and Chris Johnson
No fair to lump them together but they are brothers. Exceptional anglers on the team tournament circuits in Ontario. Both are deadly at smallmouth but are known as largemouth aces.
 Chirs is in second place and looking to lead the whole thing. Chris already has a FLW top 10 on the Potomac River this year. The two also won 2 out of the 3 Bassmania tournaments held out of Trenton, Ontario a few weeks back. Their first win was with 27 plus pounds for 5 bass. That is a staggering amount of bass. Remember this bag didn't have a 10 pounder like tournaments in Texas or Florida. Cory is doing well in 19th place, one behind Bob Izumi, but don't count him out. He just won the Canadian Open and is on a super hot streak. My pick is that one of these two will win this weekend. 




Mike Desforges
Mike is superman! Anytime there is a big money tournament with smallmouth this guy does very well. He won $100K on Lake Simcoe. He has dominated any Bassmaster tournament out of  western Lake Erie. He has won EverStarts on Lake Ontario back to back. He in now sitting in 74th place due to a very light bag. He could have had engine or boat problems. He could have had a bad day or maybe the fish split. Regardless, he is a machine and will move up. I don't bet but siding with Mike is not betting, it is winning.  

Thursday, July 28, 2011

FLW EverStart Nothern 1000 Islands/ Lake Ontario Day 1: Big Smallies Shine

Big Smallmouth Dominate Lake Ontario
by David A. Brown
FLW Press Release
Big Smallie help Hippert take Day 1 lead.
(Photos from David Brown FLW)

CLAYTON, N.Y. – The door of opportunity stood wide open for much of day one, but with cloudy skies overtaking sunny conditions by early afternoon – a precursor for tomorrow’s rainy forecast – EverStart Northern Division anglers saw the situation shifting at the 1000 Islands.

In sunny conditions, bass hold tight to cover and that makes them easier to target. Fish roam more in low light, so finding them requires more time searching. Of course, the dimmer conditions had little effect on those fishing deep, however, an afternoon wind made traversing Lake Ontario’s vastness a little sporty, to say the least.

FLW EverStart Nothern 1000 Islands/ Lake Ontario: Day 1 Up-date

Good weather greets EverStart Northern field at 1000 Islands  
28.Jul.2011
by David A. Brown
FLW Press Release

CLAYTON, N.Y. – In an area known as the 1000 Islands, EverStart Series Northern Division anglers will have at least that many options for finding a good sack of fish.

Let's Start!
(Photo Dave Brown FLW)


With the St. Lawrence River dumping into Lake Ontario’s vastness just a short run from the take-off point, competitors have the option of fishing protected, but confined waters, or challenging the big pond. Both will produce quality smallmouth, but when calm weather permits limitless lake running, Ontario’s productivity offers far greater potential.

New Hampshire pro Joe Lucarelli summed it up like this: “Survive in the river; win in the lake.”

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Z-Man Settles ChatterBait® Patent

Z-Man Settles ChatterBait® Patent
and Trade Dress Lawsuit

Z-Man Fishing Products, Inc. (Z-Man) and Phenix Rod & Bait (Phenix) announce that Phenix has agreed to discontinue all manufacture, marketing and sale of its “Vibrator Jig.”  After the unprecedented success and growth of the ChatterBait®, the “Vibrator Jig” was one of many knock-offs to hit the market.  A lawsuit was filed by Z-Man on March 28, 2011, alleging that Phenix’s “Vibrator Jig” infringed the patent and trade dress rights in the ChatterBait lure. 


“After reviewing the facts of the case and conferring with counsel, Phenix now has a much greater respect and understanding of the intellectual property rights surrounding The Original ChatterBait,” stated Charles Benge, co-owner of Phenix.  The settlement amount was undisclosed, but in addition to a monetary settlement, Phenix has agreed to cease all sales of the “Vibrator Jig” and any other infringing design within sixty (60) days. 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Aaron Marten Wins Third U.S. Open In Dramatic Style

 
Aaron Martens joins the elite ranks of three-time WON BASS U.S. Open winners

WON Press Release
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Until this U.S. Open officially ended on Wednesday evening, there had only been one legendary angler who had ever managed to win not one, not two, but three Open tournaments over the course of his fishing career, and that man was none other than Mike Folkestad. After this week's tournament, however, Folkestad isn't the only member of the three-peat club, as Aaron Martens emerged victorious in this year's Open; besting a large field of 224 anglers.

FLW Tour Pickwick Lake: David Dudley wins 2011 FLW Angler of the Year

After competing in six difficult tournament venues ranging from Tennessee to South Carolina, Louisiana to Kentucky and Alabama to Arkansas, David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., proved to be the best of the best on the FLW Tour in 2011. As a result, Dudley took home his second career FLW Tour Angler of the Year title, defeating second-place Brent Ehrler by 14 points total.

Dudley, who received $100,000 for the title, joins fellow FLW Tour anglers Clark Wendlandt (2009, 2000,1997) and Jay Yelas (2007, 2002) as the only anglers to win multiple Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year titles. Dudley’s first title came in 2008.
.

FLW Tour Pickwick Lake Day 4: Mark Rose Rules Pickwick Lake

Mark Rose wins FLW Tour Pickwick Lake event by going wire to wire, Dudley snares AOY crown
24.Jul.2011 by Gary Mortenson
FLW PRESS RELEASE
FLORENCE, Ala. – It’s official – Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., owns Pickwick Lake. After netting an FLW Series tournament title here in 2007 and scoring an EverStart Series victory on the same body of water in 2009, Rose added another chapter to his Pickwick Lake legacy by winning today’s FLW Tour title.

Mark Rose rules Pickwick Lake.
(Photo: Gary Mortenson FLW)

“I gave it all I had this week so it’s pretty exciting to win,” said Rose, who took home his first-ever FLW Tour title after holding down first place all four days of the event. “You can’t help but feel emotional inside.”

Out of Rose’s four FLW Outdoors’ titles, three have now come on Pickwick Lake. So what is his secret?

"Sometimes it kind of feels unexplainable,” he said. “About four years ago, I decided I wanted to learn a lot more about offshore structure fishing, and I had some buddies who really helped me out. I worked really hard at it over those years to get better. Now I really understand the current, the lake and what’s really going on out there. But it was a long, hard road getting here.”

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Bassmaster Elite Final 8 All- Stars

BASS Press Release
 
WETUMPKA, Ala. — They say Lake Jordan bass go deep in summer, but Casey Ashley proved on Sunday just how wrong “they” can be by winning the Ramada All-Star Semi-Final his way — in shallow water.

Final 8 All-Stars!
(Phot: James Overstreet BASS)
And while any pro likes to win — and win his way — Ashley was more impressed with the fact that he’d earned a spot in the $100,000 Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star Championship, which will begin Friday on the Alabama River out of Montgomery, Ala.
“Winning’s nice, but that I won today doesn’t really matter,” said the 27-year-old from Donalds, S.C., who had never before competed on Lake Jordan. He bested 11 other competitors with a two-day total of 25 pounds, 8 ounces.
Ashley was one of eight Bassmaster Elite Series pros who qualified Sunday to compete July 29-31 in the second half of Toyota Trucks All-Star Week. The Alabama River event will be three days of sudden-death match fishing. The format pits one angler against another; each day, half the field will be eliminated until only two remain on Sunday and go head-to-head for $100,000, winner take all.
Ashley, 27 years old and a two-time Bassmaster winner, was elated that his first Alabama River opponent would be Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., a fellow Elite pro with six wins, including the 2009 Bassmaster Classic.

Dave Mercer Continues to be BASSMASTER Elite MC till 2013!

BASS PRESS RELEASE
CELEBRATION, Fla. — B.A.S.S. announced that Dave Mercer will stay on board as Bassmaster Elite Series emcee through 2013.
Dave talks to Terry Scroggins during the
Ramada All-Star
Semi-Finals. 
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)


“There really are no words to express how excited I am about this opportunity. This past season was one of the most rewarding and exhilarating experiences of my career. Not only did I have the opportunity to work with many of my heroes, I quickly learned that the Bassmaster Elite Series pros are not just elite because of what they do on the water. The entire group of anglers, tournament staff, television crew and event sponsors could not have been more welcoming, accommodating, supportive and most importantly, fun to work with,” said Mercer.

CANADIAN OPEN FINAL STANDINGS

CANADIAN OPEN
Kingston Ontario, Canada


FLW Tour Pickwick Lake Day 3: Rose Ready to Win

Davis wins co-angler title, $20,000
23.Jul.2011
FLW PRESS RELEASE
Mak Rose ready to win last stop on FLW Tour.
(photo: Gary Mortenson FLW)

FLORENCE, Ala. – National Guard pro Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to widen his lead at the Walmart FLW Tour on Pickwick Lake presented by AMP Energy and advanced to the top 10 as the crucial No. 1 seed. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 61-0, he now holds a 7-pound, 2-ounce lead in the tournament going into the final day of competition.

During the first two days of competition, Rose said he targeted ledges and relied on a Strike King shaky-head rig to catch his early limit and then culled fish using a large soft-plastic worm as well as a chartreuse Strike King 6XD crankbait. Rose said his larger fish, including a 5 1/2-pounder he caught Friday, have come on the crankbait.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

WON US Open on Lake Mead: Aaron Martens wins his 3rd Championship

Aaron Martens is red hot and its not because of the desert heat. This is Aaron Martens third US Open championship on the desert reservoir Lake Mead. For many, this is the toughest, most demanding event in the world. It is also one of the most prestigious, especially in the West.

Top 5
(place/name/home town/limit/weight)
1 Aaron Martens Leeds AL 15/15 33.11
2 David Peltier Canyon Country CA 15/15 31.26
3 Shawn Lee Arroyo Grande CA 15/12 31.11
4 Boris Antolos Torrance CA 15/14 30.29
5 Gary Klein Weatherford TX 15/15 29.85


Strangely, Aaron has a 30 hour drive to Alabama to make it to the BASSMASTER Post- Season and only 36 hours to make it. Many of the anglers at ICAST last week in Vegas were shocked at this future trek. A flat tire, truck trouble or a slow take out could cause him to be late for the Post Season.
Good Luck Aaron.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

ICAST 2011 Fenwick's New EliteTech Smallmouth Rods with Mitch from Fenwick.m4v


ICAST 2011 Check out the New Elitetech Smallmouth rods from Fenwick. Learn about all the actions and rod lengths along with the super comfortable handle.

ICAST 2011 Spro's John Crew explains his new crankbait the Little John Baby DD with ibassin.m4v


ICAST 2011 Visit with John Crews in the Spro booth as he explains his new signature crankbait. His current bait is a great one and this one should be just as good. Enjoy!

ICAST 2011 Quantum's New Smoke Spinning Reel.m4v


ICAST 2011 with Quantum's new Smoke Spinning reels. These super sleek reels are a winner. Join Chris as he explains all about the new Smoke.

ICAST 2011 Berkley's TRILENE XL Amour Coat fishing line and Chris Hockley 1.m4v


ICAST 2010  has a new line from Berkley. It is a blend of Trilene XL & XT. A great monofilament for everyone. Chris Hockley explains more about it in the Pure Fishing booth.

ICAST 2011 Berkley's new NanoFil and Chris Hockley.m4v


ICAST 2011 Berkley's new NanoFil. This fishing line won Best New Line and Best Overall Awards. Learn more about this interesting line with Chris Hockley.

ICAST 2011 Damiki's Jerkbait with Bryan Thrift 2010 FLW Angler of the Year .m4v


ICAST 2011 with Bryan Thrift, 2010 FLW Angler of the Year, reviewing Damiki's great jerkbait. This one is a winner.

ICAST 2011 The HAVOC Devil Spear in the tank with Mike Iaconelli part 2.m4v

ICAST 2011 Mike Iaconelli shows us how to use his HAVOC Devil's Spear as a swimbait in the tank in the Pure Fishing booth. Watch this bait on the fall. For rigging tips see his last video.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

ICAST 2011 Shimano's new Chronarch with Dave Mercer .m4v


ICAST 2011 with Dave Mercer, host of Facts of Fishing and Bassmaster MC, explains the new Shimano Chronarch. This baitcasting reel has always been a fan favourite.

ICAST 2011 HAVOC Baits rigging tips with Mike Iaconelli in the Pure Fishing booth.m4v


ICAST 2011 Mike Iaconelli himself gives rigging tips on how to use his HAVOC Devil's Spear. Check out what he does to make it work. His next video will show you what this bait looks like in the tank.

ICAST 2011 IMA reveals its Beast Hunter crankbait with Jun Shoji.m4v


ICAST 2011 with IMA checking out the new Beast Hunter crankbait with Japanese tournament star and famous Lake Biwa guide, Jun Shoji. Learn how this crank is special.

ICAST 2011 HAVOC Baits by Pure Fishing and Chris Hockley PART1.m4v



2011 ICAST Learn about the HAVOC Line of baits from Pure Fishing. Chris Hockley explains HAVOC and the Devil's Spear. Wait for rigging and in-tank demo from Mike Iaconelli in future videos.

ICAST 2011 Live Target's New Frog and Mouse Topwater bait with Stephen Browning.m4v


ICAST 2011 Visit with Live Target and Stephen Browning to see the award winning Field Mouse topwater and the smaller version of their 2010 award winning frog.

ICAST 2011 Damiki's Air Craw with Bryan Thrift 2010 FLW Angler of the Year.m4v


ICAST 2011 Join Bryan Thrift, 2010 FLW Angler of the Year, in the Damiki booth explaining the Air Craw. Rigging tips, and see in-tank demo of this bait in action.

ICAST 2011 Molix's Lover with Mike Iaconelli and ibassin.m4v

ICAST 2011 in the Molix Booth checking out the "LOVER" with Mike Iaconelli. Find out more about this new and versatile bait.

ICAST 2011 Quantum's New EXO Spinning Reels with Chris Strickland and ibassin 1.m4v


Quantum's New EXO Spinning reels looks amazing. Find out more from Chris Strickland product manager for Zebco. He'll explain how they get this new reel so light yet keep it strong.

ICAST 2011 Quantum's New EXO Reels with Chris Strickland and ibassin.m4v

Quantum's New EXO casting reels looks amazing. Find out more from Chris Strickland, product manager for Zebco. He'll explain how they get this new reel so light yet keep it strong.

ICAST 2011 VMC Spin Shot Drop Shot hook with Mike Iaconelli.m4v

Check out the new VMC Spin Shot. It is the answer to all your drop shotting problems with line twist. Mike Iaconelli explains how it works at ICAST 2011.

Monday, July 18, 2011

ICAST 2011 Coverage with Morizo Shimizu in the EverGreen International Booth.


ICAST 2011 with EverGreen International pro-staffer Morizo Shimizu, Bassmaster Elite angler, explaining his two favourite lures. Ibassin.com fans have a rare look at the most popular baits in Japan: the Showerblows and D-Zone spinnerbait.

ICAST 2011 Coverage with Dave Mercer talking about the new Sustain in the Shimano booth.

ICAST 2011 saw the release of the new Sustain spinning reel from Shimano. Dave Mercer, host of Fasts of Fishing and BASSMASTER Emcee, explains the key features to ibassin.com fans.

ICAST 2011 Coverage with Harold Allen in the Ouzo booth.

2011 ICAST show in the Ouzo booth with Harold Allen, "the Legend" from the Bassmaster tour. He'll explain what's new with Ouzo's new goby bait. Ibassin.com fan should love this bait

ICAST 2011 Coverage with David Walker in the Live Target booth.

2011 ICAST Show with David Walker in the LIVE TARGET Booth explaining what's new in crankbaits. Ibassin.com fans will love these baits.

ICAST 2011 Coverage with Brent Ehrler in the Lucky Craft booth.


ICAST 2011 join FLW Super Star Brent Ehrler in the Lucky Craft booth. He explains the new Smasher swimbait to IBASSIN.COM fans.

ICAST 2011 Coverage: Lucky Craft's New Kelly-J Jr with Kelly Jordan

ICAST 2011 in Las Vegas with Kelly Jordan and IBASSIN.COM in the Lucky Craft booth. Learn about the new Kelly J topwater bait.

ICAST 2011 Coverage: The New Rico with Chris Ricci from Lobina.

ICAST 2011 in Las Vegas in the Lobina booth with Chris Ricci talking about the new Rico topwater baits. The Rico is one of the best poppers ever made. Rick Clunn himself designed the bait.

ICAST 2011 Coverage: Ouzo Baits with Harold Allen.

ICAST 2011 in Las Vegas at the Ouzo booth. The Legend, Harold Allen himself explains this cool new bait. Allen is a long time BASSMASTER angler since the 1970s. Truly, a cool dude.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

ICAST 2011 Coverage: Abu Revo MGX ICAST Winner for Best Reel


ICAST 2011 DAY 3: It's done but not over!

It's over but still not over. I'm speaking to Bernard Yong-Set, he's the one who designed the VMC Spin Shot and the Zero Twist Shot. The Spin Shot won the best new terminal tackle at ICAST and he is happy as punch. Its so funny, after three days of non-stop talking, we're still chatting about fishing. Bernard is on a role as I write.

Another strange thing about Vegas is the people you see. I'm sitting in the airport, 10 minutes ago and I just opened the lap top and this guy ask me to move over. As I look up, its Ish Monroe a Bassmaster Elite tournament angler. His phone was dying and he was looking for an outlet to charge up. Funny thing is that if I wanted to talk to him in a normal situation, I would have to attend a sports show or visit a Bassmaster tournament. When ICAST is on, there are celebrity anglers, company people and media everywhere.

It's 12:19pm eastern time, 9:13pm Vegas time, and I need some food. Only problem is that I am so tired I don't feel like eating and most of us have had so much meat. Steak three times in a row for me baby and it's finally taken its toll.

I have no energy to up-load anything.  So take care, good night if its time for you to go to bed and stay tuned. Videos, photos and strange stories from ICAST will be funnelling down.

Friday, July 15, 2011

ICAST 2011 DAY 3: Winding Down

Hey, in the media centre and trying not to fall asleep here. Its been a world wind tour and the heat, steaks, late nights and pure fishing talk has taken its toll on everyone. I have a super funny photo of JP De Rose (no relations) from WFN. Wait till you see it, it will explain the whole event.

Shot more video today. Dave Mercer doing Shimano, John Crews with Spro, Kelly Jordan in the Lucky Craft Booth, Mike Iaconelli in the Molix booth, all good stuff.

Shoot some more photos and it looks like a new minn kota trolling motor is coming my way. I need it to cut the weeds when I go back on Rice lake and Lake Scugog.

Flight doesn't leave till very late tonight. Once we hit the air it will be lights out. I might try to start some video editing, but I might be too messed up to make any progress.

Wait, I see Ish Monroe who I have to track down. Got to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

ICAST 2011 DAY 2: Wow Again!


Super busy. As a fishing and tournament fan this place is like crack. So many people are floating around but the super pros have a swarm around them. Last night having dinner with the Thunder Mist Lure company brothers, I sat beside Zell Rowland and Tommy Biffle. Really cool.

Pure fishing won so many awards last night. I shot a lot of video with them on line, lures, Abu reels, and some Sebile lures.

Ike was around again and displayed a new way to rig his Havoc Devil Spear. Wait till you see the in-water tank demo. So deadly!

Just shot video with Brent Ehrler at the Lucky Craft booth. Looks great and Lucky Craft has some super new sizes for swimbaits.

Shin Fukae displayed new Gami stuff and if you like senkos, drop shotting or wacky rigging you'll love their stuff.

Rapala has a lot of new colours and Terminator redesigned their jig and spinnerbait line with a lot of off the hook colours.

TV star and legend, Larry Dahlberg showed me some wacky rigging for big muskies and walleye trolling using your POWER POLE. They have a new 10 foot model and changed all their hardware so rigging is much easier.

Shot some good video with Quantum reels. They have a new EXO reel and Smoke spinning reel that is really sexy.

Shot a video with Western star Chris Ricci. Cool baits.

Got to go and get a drink. This place being so hot will suck the life out of you without you noticing.

LATER!!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

ICAST 2011 WOW!

HOLY COW! This place is so busy. Enjoying a cool drink at the Mustang booth right now. So many pros, so many products. Been shooting a lot of video and thousands of photos. Its still going on. Sorry no photos yet but yesterday I enjoyed a nice 22.5 hour day.

Really cool how many top Tv, media, pros, etc. are just beside you when you turn around. Had a great time with Jim and Al Linder. Shot some cool stuff with IKE and other top pros.

A lot of neat drop shot baits out there for 2012. Jackall has some super realistic baits. Photos will be coming.

Owner is now launching the Jika Rig but they change the name to Jig rig. They offer it in lead and tungsten. Funny, to see how my article might have helped promote the launch of a new product. They said that its getting a lot of attention.

Anyways, got to go and get more free food.

Monday, July 11, 2011

ICAST 2011 HERE I COME!


Flying out tomorrow to Vegas and it looks busy! Tuesday night has the new products showcase for the media and buyers. This is a section that people can get the very first glace at the new products in fishing. Really, really cool stuff.

Meeting up with Chris from Pure Fishing and Ray one of the main editor of Ontario OUT OF DOORS, for dinner and then getting ready for the show on Wednesday. Last year, I was shocked to see the place boiling at 8am. Really, it was so busy and the mix of people is so interesting. I bumped into one of my favourite Western anglers, John Murray and beside him were another 20 pro anglers and media people. I didn't even get in the door and I was pumped with the vibe.

What to expect? Well, a bit of everything. I have to meet companies for future articles coming out in Ontario OUT OF DOORS and other magazines. Last year, I picked up BASSMASTER and hopefully a few other magazines this year. So, that will keep me busy. I have a lot of meeting with the biggest companies such as: Rapala, Shimano, Loomis, Abu, Pure Fishing, Minn Kota, Team Diawa, Quantum, etc.. I'm really looking forward to seeing what is new from them.

I'm also looking forward to seeing what is new from Japan.  A few of the biggest companies are at the show and it should be so amazing. I have a meeting with Toshifumi Kikumoto of EverGreen International. He is a super cool cat along with being one of the best lure and rod designers ever to walk the planet. My Japanese is limited and I think his English is poor but who cares.

Another cool gang I will be chatting with is Molix. An Italian company I met with last year and will be having a few glasses of wine with. Luckily my Italian is much stronger than my Japanese. They are starting to sell in North America so you should look out for them.

I'm not planning on flooding my youtube site with countless videos when I come back. Expect some interesting and non-typical videos. I will be doing the junket videos about products so you'll not miss anything but expect to see a variety. You'll  have to wait and see that will come in the future. 

Take care and keep tuned in.
BYE!


Thursday, July 7, 2011

Rice Lake Report July 7, 2011

Spent the morning on famous Rice Lake, located just south of Peterborough, Ontario Canada. The blog is not easy to write because the fishing was the pits! Really, it was so slow. I did find out a few thing. One, the milfoil weed beds are thicker that I ever seen. The water is a horrible colour too. Rice is known for off-beat water especially during a bloom, but this was different. The water was a colour of a long espresso. Light brown near the surface and a dark, oblique a few feet down. The weeds seemed healthy; either a tan brown or lush green. So the fishing should have been good.

Water temp was 73 F is the morning and by noon hit 76. Spoke to a few cottagers who where in ear shot and they said it got cool last night. The first fish I caught was cold as ice. Strangely, the first 5 bites were all lost. They would hit the bait and then spit it like a flash.

The morning went like this:
7:21am
Launched out of Bewdley 

7:30am
Hit my first stretch of bank. Missed a small bass on a Chatterbait and my dad missed it again with a flipping tube. Two hits and two outs. 

8:13am

Lots of this stuff and more in the main lake! Yikes
Moved to next spot. Full of milfoil and looking good. Again, nothing for the longest time. 
9:10 ish am
Hit the first bass. About 14" long and cold. Came from a weed mat that was blown in with last night's wind. Dad misses two in a row. A weakish hook set along with timid bites was giving my dad fits.

9:20 am
Whack a nice one. Came off a line of floating weed mat. Hit it with the flipping stick and a Reaction Sweet Beaver and it jumped and battled well. I was about to boat flip it and it came off. Again, another lost fish. Not going well.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Fisherman finds body in Lake Scugog

By ,Toronto Sun James Martin caught more than he bargained for when he went bass fishing Monday night.
First posted:
Police search for the body of a missing man who was ejected
from his boat after a collision.
(Photo: James Marten Toronto Sun)

The Whitby, Ont., man and his girlfriend were fishing for large mouth bass in Lake Scugog Monday at 7 p.m. when he came across a body in the shallow water on the shore in the west side of Lake Scogog near a cottage dock on Washburn Island.
The Durham Police Marine Unit had been searching since Canada Day for the bodies of two men who drowned after colliding their boat with another watercraft about 200 metres east of Scugog Island’s north shore.

Sometimes You See Strange Things

You see strange things on the water sometimes. Practicing for a recent tournament, I was buzzing the bank and came across a super clean dock. This is nothing weird but on Lake Scugog, a weed choked lake, it is a bit unusually. Scugog is home to thousands of geese and ducks who like to loaf on docks and poop like crazy. I've seen cottagers storm out of their house thinking they were going to blast me for fishing under their docks only to thank me for spooking the geese.

Monday, July 4, 2011

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Top Bass: Lake Scugog Tournament Sunday July 3, 2011 Standings

Tournament Totals
SCUGOG SCUGOG Jul 03,2011
Weight Team Fish Bass Captain Last First Last First
1 19.56 1 5 4.96 MACNEIL MICHAEL ANDERSON PAUL
2 18.42 88 5 5.01 WILLIAMS MIKE JACOBS DUANE
3 17.70 51 5 4.91 COLE CHRIS WALKER JUSTIN
4 17.29 24 5 4.59 RUSSELL AL PERRAULT DAVE
5 16.62 18 5 4.56 STAKOS LEO MILLS GRANT
6 15.50 8 5 5.2 SCOTT GREG BARTON JEFF
7 14.73 57 5 4.93 LANZINGER RON DAY ANDREW
8 14.71 76 5 0 MCINTYRE MATT IRONS KARL
9 14.33 44 5 0 EARLE GREG STRICKLAND BROSE
10 13.93 90 5 0 AUGUST JEROME AUGUST TYLER

Top Bass: Lake Scugog Tournament Sunday July 3, 2011

By Luigi De Rose

Lake Scugog is a strange place. A horse-shoe shaped natural lake located about 1 hour north east of Toronto, Ontario Canada, it can get a lot of fishing pressure. Choked with weeds, this lake is rich with cover. Docks, pads, cane, weed flats and two rivers provide anglers with a lot of choices. Unfortunately, it offers no breaklines, drops or defined bottom structure. If you're a deepwater, hunt with your depth finder type of guy, keep driving right past this place. It is not for you.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Go Fish ... It's Canada's National Fishing Week!

Fishing is an integral part Canada’s heritage. Across the country we have the National Fishing Week program and in this province we have Ontario’s Family Fishing Week.  Both are a full nine days in 2011 – and it all starts tomorrow July 2nd and runs until July 10th.  During this time, Canadian residents do not require a licence to fish in Ontario.   Many choose to try the sport and introduce their kids to it, during organized fishing events close to home. There will be numerous kids fishing events across the province and seven Urban Fishing Festivals in the GTA during the July 9, 10 weekend.

Friday, July 1, 2011

SUMMER @ IBASSIN.COM: TOURNAMENTS, ICAST AND MORE!

Sorry for not blogging much this week. Finishing up work, practicing for an up-coming tournament on Sunday at Lake Scugog and planning for ICAST has been taking up a lot of time.

What to expect this summer?
Ibassin.com will be changing gears this summer. The Bassmaster Elite tour is now complete and FLW has taken a summer break, but we have not. The focus will be on the northern tournaments. Several friends of ibassin will be competing and we want to provide really focused, in-depth tournament details. Unlike the top tour level tournaments where information is shared very liberally, these semi-pro angler are a bit more tight lipped. Usually, the fishing patterns are quite similar year after year and with respect to the winning anglers who have taken years to hone their skills, it would be tournament suicide to reveal everything to us. So, I will try to provide good tournament cover from several tournament trails within Ontario, Canada and a few larger American tournaments along the entire summer.

ICAST
This is the world's biggest fishing show. ICAST is where all the companies reveal what will be hot and new in 2012. Yeah, hard to believe we are thinking of next season. For many Canadians, bass fishing just started. I haven't even got to really try the cool lures I got from last year's ICAST. I will be taking a lot of photos, some video and trying to get it to you. Some blogs will be pure promotion of product while other posts will be more how-to. ICAST is about selling and we have to play that game a bit. It starts in 10 days and will be a blast. Judging from the volume of emails from vendors, there will be cool stuff there.

Expect to find a bit more oddball stuff here. I love the unique, especially if it Japanese. Last year there was so many cool things but it can get overwhelming. Keep tuning in because you'll see stuff here the more mainstream websites will miss.

FISHING
I will also focus many posts just on fishing. A day on the water with me and friends. These should be more photo essays. The point is that fishing is why we love the outdoors and I'll be trying to escape the office and hit the water a lot. I got off the water yesterday at 8:10pm and this tournament might be a strange one. I am not fishing a whole circuit, so points mean nothing to me. It will be a hunt for big fish. Wish me luck!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!