Win Thousands In Prizes In The Keep America Fishing King Of Fish Photo Contest!

Now is the time to round up your best photos of the year and enter the Keep America Fishing/ Okuma Fishing Tackle King of Fish Photo Contest.

THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRY IS OCT 20th!
One grand prize winner will receive a $500 Okuma Fishing Tackle credit, Predator MX fishing kayak, paddle and pfd by Old Town Canoes & Kayaks and a GoPro HERO3 Black Edition camera, LCD touch BacPac, handlebar/seatpost pole mount, and grab bag of mounts.
Prizes will also be awarded for 2nd and 3rd place. Interested? 

Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye (Uncut Angling Drum Music Video)

I met Aaron Wiebe this past summer at the KBI Bass Tournament in Kenora, Ontario. I knew of his Uncut Angling fishing show but had no idea what a joker he is as a person. Fellow outdoor writer Lonnie King alerted me to this video.

If you need a laugh then click away.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Check Out Epic Bass in this month's issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS Magazine

This month has a super article on fishing for trophy smallmouth.  Lonnie King's
article is really filled with useful tips for all skill levels. There is also
some great big bass photos and I hate him for it.

Available now in news stands!

Click here for a link to the site

The Bondy Stub Grub

By Luigi De Rose

Jon Bondy, La Salle Ontario, angler is well known as an expert guide, former Bassmaster Elite angler and lure designer. His lure designs and company, appropriately names Bondy Baits Company (www.bondybaitcompany.com) , are very well know in musky circles. He is now trying to equal his success with bass as he has with musky anglers.

The Bondy Stub Grub needs your attention. The Stub Grub comes in 10 colours and there are 10 baits per package. Several regional tackle stores are currently carrying then but it is much easier to purchase them on-line from www.bondybaitcompany.com

The Bondy Stub Grub is ideal for high current areas. It is thick, heavy, compact and rugged. Designed specifically for the Detroit River, it can be used anywhere bass live regardless of current. Being 3" long and 5/8" thick, it handles heavy gauge wire jigheads well. While discussing the Stub Grub during a fishing trip in July, Bondy explained that he wanted a grub that wasn't delicate. Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and Lake Erie have booming smallmouth populations. Catching fish is usually not a problem. What is a problem is weeding through the walleye, white bass, smaller bass and drum while hunting for trophy bass. Most soft plastic baits need constant attention and erode under such heavy use. Bondy assures that his Stub Grub can catch fish after fish and still work well.  





Being 3" long, it will match goby, perch, sculpin, shiner or any other minnow out there. Unlike traditional grubs, this one has no ribbon tail. The magic lies in the quivering straight tail. 

Keith Combs Wins Toyota Texas Bass Classic Again!

Keith Combs wins the 2013 TTBC on Lake Conroe by over 12 pounds.  

TTBC Press Release

Conroe, TX (October 6, 2013) – Entering the final day of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC) on Lake Conroe, tournament leader Keith Combs was comfortably on edge.  He led his closest pursuer by 7 pounds, 8 ounces, but on a lake where a 9 pound largemouth crossed the stage on Friday, he knew that it would be a mistake to relax on the final day and coast to his second TTBC victory in the past three years.

Combs wins for the second time. Texas is his ticket.
(Photo:TTBC)

After opening round limits weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces on Friday and 23 pounds, 4 ounces on Saturday, the Texas pro went to work on Sunday and put together a 15 pound limit on Lake Conroe.  Combs’ cumulative weight of 62 pounds, 12 ounces easily outdistanced the 2^nd place weight of John Murray by 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

 The wire-to-wire victory this week capped off a stellar 2013 season for Combs that included a Bassmaster Elite Series win on Falcon Lake this past March and a 5^th place finish in the Elite Series Toyota Angler Of the Year point standings.   Combs also became the first angler to earn a second TTBC championship ring after winning on Conroe in 2011.

 “It’s an incredible feeling,” said Combs after lifting the TTBC trophy.   “I know how good the other anglers in this tournament are, and it’s very humbling to come out on top.  Winning this title for the second time is definitely a major career accomplishment for me.”

Combs began the week as one of the tournament favorites, and he went on to execute his Lake Conroe game plan to perfection.  “My entire week was incredibly smooth,” he explained. “I never lost a single bass the entire week, and I was able to fish anywhere I wanted from the first cast of the tournament to the last cast.”

Smallmouth Strategies: Crawling a Swinghead Jig

By Luigi De Rose

A solid keeper that helped vaulted Biffle to a win
this year on the Elite tour.
(Photo: BASS)

One smallmouth presentation that get little acceptance is crawling a swinghead jig. These jigs are a unique twist to a traditional football head. The hook and football head is linked together via a ring. Gene Larew's Biffle Hard head is one of the first and definiately the most popular of these jigs styles.

Initially intended for fishing ledges for summertime largemouth, they are dynamite on smallmouth. Bassmaster Elite legend put a huge exclamation mark on this jig's success with a win on the Mississippi River smallmouth. How can a good ole boy from Oklahoma beat all the finesse smallmouth guys? Easy, by simply casting his Hard head jig along sand bars and current breaks. The crazy thing is that he did it solely with casting gear and heavy line.

One of the best is the Fastach Football head. Any hook can be
attached onto it. Swap out a damaged hook for a new one. 
I love the ability to mix smaller hooks with heavy heads.
You have to get some Fastach Football heads

Team up this jig with a craw or creature bait. Anything crayfish looking will do. One experimentation that needs to be done is trying bulkier shakey worms, leeches or minnow baits in tandem with a swing jig. The possibilities are endless.

So, the next time you're interested in fishing something new try or need to spark up your fishing, think like Tommy Biffle and grab a swing jig.

Fall Fishing: Top Water fun with Jackall Trigger Boil 100

By Luigi De Rose

Autumn is a great time to fish. The fish are active and the crowds have dissipated. One surprising presentation that doesn't get much hype is topwater during this time of year. If the conditions are correct, topwater action can be amazing. 

One new bait to his stores this year was the Jackall Trigger Boil 100. A truly unique bait, it is a popper that can be easily walked plus it has jointed action.  A little longer than most poppers, it is the perfect treat for bass.  Amazingly, it can be snapped quickly or slowly walked without much work. Jackall is a dominate Japanese tackle manufacture that prides itself in quality and innovation. This might be your new fall favourite. 

A nicely cupped mouth and two, super sharp treble hooks. Rear hook is feathered. 

Its jointed action works well at a range of speeds. 

Long and slender, this bait provides a strong profile without the bulk.

Fall Fishing: Ever try an Underspin?

By Luigi De Rose

Underspins: the best unknown bait for Autumn.

A great yet very under used bait is the underspin. Underspins are really a juiced up leadhead jig.
Crappie fisherman have been familiar with these jigs for decades. Recently, bass versions have been quietly beenhitting tackle stores. Even though Scott Martin used one to win the FLW CUP these baits are still underused. 

(Top: Sworming Hornet Fishhead; Buckeye Su-Spin; Blakemore Marten's Rolling Runner; Sworming Hornet 1oz.)

Ranging in sizes from 1/16oz up to a full ounce, each has a dangling blade to provide flash and vibration.  Teamed with a minnow or shad bait the whole presentation mimics a minnow excellently.

Where to fish these baits? Anglers can fish these things almost anywhere. An underspin can be a great alternative to spinnerbaits, crankbaits, tubes or regular jigs. The trick is to find bass feeding on bait. Smelt, shad, even perch school in the fall and bass are right behind them. Fire one through schools of bait and then see what happens. You'll be surprised about how well they work.