Fishing For Our Warriors

On the 11th day of November, every year in the United States, our men and women of the military past and present are honored. Even though this day comes and passes, we must remember to honor our service people everyday. Their service is not easy, both physically and mentally. Our Veterans have made great sacrifices for us, wouldn't it be nice to be able to give something back?

Enter my friend and fellow bass angler Joe Kowalski, and his program The Major Steven Roy Andrews Fishing Outreach Program Inc. (www.fishingoutreachprogram.com) Major Steven Roy Andrews, the programs namesake, had been a lifelong friend and fishing partner of Joe. As youths growing up in Connecticut they would fish our small local bodies of water. After being separated while serving (Joe in the Marines and Andrews in the Air Force) they managed to stay in contact. In the late 90's they got together for a week of trophy bass fishing in Mexico. Joe and Steve had a great time, caught some large fish, and had planned to do it again soon. Unfortunately Major Andrews passed away in January of 2000, before the friends were able to go on their second trip.
The program, established in 2008, focuses on giving back to Veterans and at risk youth. One of the many aspects of the program is take people out on the water for a day of fishing, relaxation and education. Secondly, and equally important, is the part where fishing gear is generously donated by program sponsors so that each individual can continue their fishing. Finally, they are also linked up with others in the area so they may enjoy getting back out on the water or possibly joining a bass club.
Here is one testimonial taken from Joe's site. “One young man I took out was Cpl. Carlos Lopes a young Marine from Rhode Island. He was in Iraq when his Humvee was hit by an IED. Carlos was hit in 2004 and spent the next 3 years and had 22 operations in Bethesda Naval Hospital. He had just recently got home when he found out about the Program. We spent the day together fishing and talking about things only veterans understand. After most of the day going by we managed to hook into a 4.5 largemouth. The expression on Carlos face was priceless. After we finally had to call it a day he told me he couldn’t believe that some one would do this for him, I said that’s just the way it is in the Marine Corps we take care of our own. We gave each other a big sloppy hug and I told him welcome home little brother and we both shed a tear. I wanted to share that story with you because for every vet I take out it’s more that just a fishing trip it’s a way of saying thanks and welcome home.”
The Fishing Outreach Program owes a great deal of thanks to their sponsors who continually support it and provide gear to people participating in the fishing trips. These companies include: Blackwater Rods, US Reels, Plano, Gary Yamamoto, Strike King, Mega Strike, Bay State Lures, Navionics, Humminbird and Naked Bait Co. Joe Kowalski can be reached at his website (www.fishingoutreachprogram.com) or his email usmctinker@aol.com

About the Author: Jon “Tumbleweed” Stanco is proudly sponsored by and represents: Power Tackle, Poor Boys Baits & Lurecraft, Bassaholics, Naked Bait Co & Honey Hole Hooks, Colours Wheelchairs.

2nd Place in College Fishing Central Regional Championship

Just got back from competing in the National Guard FLW College Fishing Central Regional Championship on Lake Monroe, Indiana. My partner Mike McCarthy Jr. and I took 2nd place winning 25,000 dollars and a trip to the College Fishing National Championship where we will compete on Kentucky Lake for a chance to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup and win 100,000 dollars.

Practice:

We had made a couple of trips to Lake Monroe prior to the off limits period. We had a pretty good idea of the areas and patterns that we were going to fish. On our practice day we spent a great deal of time trying to get a buzzbait pattern going which did result in me catching my largest spotted bass to date a 4lber on the OMEGA Alpha Shad but we didn't have much else to show for it. The buzzbait is one of my favorite baits to fish this time of the year and a lot of times the gizzard shad will start to relate to rocky points and throwing a buzzbait around these areas can be a great tournament pattern for big fish. It just wasn't working though on Lake Monroe. We covered a lot of water on the mainlake with spinnerbaits and crankbaits. We fished a bunch of creeks and pockets that we didn't get to see on our trip to the lake over the summer but we never fished the areas that we knew had fish in them. When you only have one practice day before a tournament it can be beneficial to fish everything you don't think holds fish and with lures that you wouldn't normally think would work. That way you won't second guess your game plan for tournament day and it's not like you have enough time to fish it all.

Day 1.

On day one we had an early boat number so we decided to make a long run down to the dam. We had found fish in this creek in the summertime and the shad were already in there so we knew it was going to hold some fish. It wasn't too far along in the morning that I put the first keeper in the boat on a shallow running square bill crankbait that I had banged off a laydown. We had thrown a buzzbait around a little without much luck and when I caught the fish on the crank we both noted that it was about half way back in the creek. We decided to fish the creek on out to the main lake without any more fish and then we made a run to the next creek and started about half way back. Mike quickly caught keeper number two on a crankbait also off a laydown that he had bumped with the crankbait. We felt that we were on a pattern and this point so we started fishing any wood that we could find on the way back to the ramp running shallow running crankbaits into the wood to get reaction strikes. We made a trip back into creek filled with stumps and started on a stump filled secondary point that had a nice drop out in front and I was able to box up my second keeper on the crank. We had three nice keepers in the boat but time was starting to run out. We just kept on hitting any wood that we knew about and Mike was able to flip up a nice 4lb kicker to end the day. Our four keepers on day 1 put us in a tie for 4th place with 7lbs 13oz.

Day 2.

Boat numbers reversed on the second day and we decided to make a short run over to the stump filled creek where I had caught my second keeper on day 1. It was about an hour into the day that I caught a 4lber on a square bill crank that was up in about a foot of water. We fished the creek out without any more fish to show for it and then decided to make the trip to the spot where Mike had caught the best fish the day before. I was able to put keeper number two in the boat on the square bill crank. We both caught a couple of shorts and liked the amount of bites we were getting in the area so we continued to fish the rocks with isolated laydowns. Mike cranked up another keeper that was about 2lbs and then he caught his second keeper. Things were just coming together and we knew it was going to be a good day. We came to another laydown on the wind blown bank and I threw the square bill up into it and caught my third keeper that went about 3 pounds on the crank. I had my limit and now all we needed to do was get Mike his last keeper. It didn't take him long though and he caught another solid tournament fish to give us the only full limit of the tournament and the heaviest bag of the tournament that weighed 14lbs 2oz which propelled us from 4th place into 1st place on day two.

Day 3

It was great to have more than a lb lead on Indiana University going into the final day. After all it is there home lake. They had been catching their fish late in the day but nobody really knew how the 1 o'clock weigh in was going to change up the game. We started on the spot where we had limited out the day before and it was just a lot slower. I made an adjustment and switched cranks and put a nice keeper in the boat. Time was running out though and we didn't know if running around the lake would even be worth it so we decided to grind it out. We ended up weighing just the one fish to give us a three day total of 23lbs 14oz. Indiana University was able to catch 3 nice ones on the short day that gave them the win. They had been cranking deep trees all week and it finally paid off on the last day and they were able to win their second consecutive Regional Championship. Sometimes it just isn't meant to be I guess but one thing is for sure I can't wait to fish the National Championship on Kentucky Lake and we will be ready to rock! The whole week I used a 6'9'' AiRRUS Ultra XL rod to throw my crankbaits. I threw the Lucky Craft 1.5 on 15lb mono for added abrasion resistance and so that it would come through the wood cover a lot easier. A light rod like the Ultra XL makes throwing cranks all day long a breeze. This year I have won 32,000 dollars in College Fishing alone using AiRRUS Rods. They will improve your fishing!

It's Transition Time....

I have been getting out on Thousand Hills Lake for the past couple of weeks and the bite has been inconsistent to say the least. It has been hard to pattern the fish as the bite is changing from one day to the next. Right now there are fish from shallow to 18 feet of water and everywhere in between. The fish are transitioning around a lot and keep moving. Some days the deep bite is working others shallow seems to be the way to go.

Two weeks ago I started out fishing some banks and was catching short fish after short fish and when I started fishing out off the bank and was able to drum up around 12 to 13lbs throwing black and blue 1/2 oz OMEGA Pro Mega Jigs with a green pumpkin paca chunk trailer. I was targeting drop offs in about 6 to 10 feet of water. The fish were really bunched up and active and it didn’t take long at all to boat about 6 keepers with one about 4lbs. I was even able catch a couple of fish swimming jigs along the bottom like a crankbait.

Last Sunday night fishing wasn’t as fruitfull and we were only able to catch a couple of small bass throwing jigs and tubes to the same break lines. The difference being that a high pressure system had moved in and the wind switched directions.

This past Tuesday I got out and the fishing out off the bank was unbelievable. The first spot I pulled up on I caught big one that was at least 6lbs on a 5/16oz OMEGA Black and Blue jig just off a drop off in about 8 feet of water. I was prefishing for a tournament that was yesterday and I decided to leave the spot as I had seen enough and hit up a channel swing point and after a couple of casts with the jig that didn’t produce I picked up a chart purple back dd22 and on the second cast caught another one about 4lbs that came in about 10 feet of water. I decided to make a run up to the dam area and I pulled up on an underwater tree off a point in about 18 feet of water and my first cast to it caught one about 3lbs on a watermellon purple flake brushog rigged on an 3/8oz OMEGA Shakey Foot. I then decided to leave the tree and hit up a point across from the dam and my first cast with the shakeyfoot I caught another 3lber in about 16 feet of water. My finder was lit up on this spot with fish and bait more than any other and I was curious to see just how many fish were down there so I tied on a Strike King 6xd sexy shad crankbait and caught another 2lb keeper and then went through about 13 shorts till I got another fish that was over 5lbs. Every time I came off the lip of the point in about 15 to 17 feet of water the crankbait just got crushed. It was one of the best trips I had ever had on Thousand Hills.

Yesterday I fished an open tournament on Thousand Hills and I had a lot of confidence going into the tournament in fishing out off the bank. I thought things might slow down a little bit with the front having come through but with the quality of the fish that I was getting into during practice I figured if I could get just 3 or 4 quality bites I would have enough weight to do good. I hit up the same drops that I had done so good on in practice and the first one I got to I managed to pull about 4 shorts off it but none of them were keepers. I decided to make a run up towards the dam and try and see if I could get in on a morning bite in the clearer water. The point that was loaded with fish just a couple of nights ago just wasn’t producing the same. I caught 4 or 5 shorts off it pretty quickly on the brush hog and then it was dead. There were a ton of fish suspended out off the point in about 16 feet over 24 feet of water and throwing to these inactive fish just wasn’t working. After spending way too much time messing with these fish that just didn’t want to bite I made a move to the tree out in 18 feet of water and the first cast to it produced one that was just shy of the 15 inch mark. I caught like 6 shorts off it on 8 casts on the brush hog before I finally set the hook on the first keeper that went about 3lbs. Mixed in with the shorts I don’t know how many fish around 14.75 inches I had that were just shy of keeping. The spot went dead and it was time to make a move back down lake to hit some shallower drop offs. I pulled up on the island and went to the right side and couldn’t get bit. I made the cut across it to an underwater point and for about 20 minutes I was boating short after short on the brush hog. I was getting so frusterated at this point just getting into all these short fish when during practice the fish were of such quality. I decided to pick up the jig and I had a fish drill it and I reeled down and set the hook to find nothing there. The day was wearing on and I was trying to decided if the spots would ever turn on and the fish would move up later in the afternoon or if the off shore bite had just fizzeled. Timing can be everything when you are fishing structure and I hadn’t been able to get out in the morning for pre fishing because of classes. I was getting on the water about 3 pm most of the time. I was wishing that these spots would turn on more towards the end of the day. It was back to the tree to see if it had replenished and on the first cast with a jig I caught another short just shy of the 15 inch mark. I was about ready to throw my rod in the lake. The next cast produced another fish just shy of keeping. These fish were just as fat as could be too and 5 of them could have gone a long ways as the tournament would play out. It was getting later in the day and things just weren’t looking like they were going to work out. While I was targeting off shore stuff the whole day everyone else was pounding the banks. I was trying to decided how I was going to spend my last hour and a half in the day. I decided to go do some flipping even though in the back of my mind I was telling myself that trying to flip up a bite was going to be even harder after who knows how many boats had fished the same banks during the course of the tournament. That is one of the problems you can run into on a smaller lake if you try and go shallow later in the day. You almost have to do it from the start because as the day goes on there are not too many spots that haven’t been beaten to death by everyone else. I went shallow with a jig and was able to get into some shorts but that was it. It was a pretty unproductive day to say the least and guess that is just the way it goes sometimes. Just gonna have to suck this one up and count my losses.

At the weigh in it was pretty clear that the shallow bite was more productive during the tournament day but even then it seemed like the bite was spotty. My buddy from Mizzou Scott Dooley and his dad ended up winning the tournament with a 4 fish sack for around 13lbs or so that was anchored by a 6 and a half pound hog. I’m happy for how well the day went for Scott and his dad. It was Scotts biggest tournament fish to date ever. Thousand Hills has some nice fish in it but if I were to pick a lake where someone would boat their biggest tournament fish ever Thousand Hills wouldn’t be at the top of my list. They caught all there fish in just inches of water throwing spinnerbaits, go figure. Scott had roomed with us the night before and he said he was able to get a couple of shorts on friday and just 1 keeper fishing shallow. I guess it just goes to show you that it’s not about what you do in practice that counts but during the tournament. In second place was Paul Emmerich who I think had 3 keepers or so but one that was over 5lbs that he got ripping smaller jigs on shallow laydowns. I couldn’t remember what the 3rd place team was doing but I imagine they were also fishing shallow. The bite was tough but almost everyone had a fish to weigh. There were a lot of fish caught but keepers were hard to come by and that can happen a lot out at Thousand Hills.

Fishing Heavy .......Naked with Jon Stanco

Year and year out there are different trends in the fishing industry, specifically bass fishing. There was the tungsten craze, the dropshot frenzy, and the west coast infiltration of swimbaits. Each one of these new techniques generated a boom and anglers everywhere flocked to purchase the right gear and set out to master the hot new technique in hopes of catching a bunch of fish or, even win a tournament.

I always have my ears open to new ideas, and when a good one comes along I usually to try learn about it just like everyone else. Sometimes, however, there is just a refinement on an old method that can be just as successful.

I like to fish jigs. They catch alot of fish, and big fish at that. They are also an amazingly versatile lure that can be flipped, pitched, punched, swam, dragged, and hopped. There is one problem with jigs however, in the very thick vegetation, fishing them can be a nightmare. While the invention of weed guards and wedge shaped heads has helped, they still tend to get mired down in heavy vegetation.

Fast forward to the fall of 2009. I was fishing coontail and vegetation so thick that a jig was not getting to the fish, just staying mired in the middle of the vegetation. As the old cliché goes, then a light bulb went off. I decided to make a weedless jig that could be used to punch through vegetation. Using a Naked Bait Co. Skirt weight I made up skirts in colors that I knew would produce. I went on to catch several nice bass between 3 and 4 pounds testing my idea and a new type of specialty "jig" was born.

Now onto the good part, what was I actually doing? The idea is remarkably quite simple in design. Here is the design:

Step 1) Make a skirt using the Skirt Expander and material from the Naked Bait Co.
Step 2) Fasten the Skirt on the Naked Bait skirt weight by sliding the o ring into the groves of the weight. Cut the tag ends. (You will now have a skirted weight.)
Step 3) Run the line through the fishing weight and tie on a fishing hook appropriately sized for your soft plastic trailer. I like to use a Poor Boy's Baits Bertha Bug.
Step 4) Rig your plastic weedless with the hook buried in the plastic.
Step 5) Catch fish!

Why does this work? Simple, I can put a jig "profile" in a place where a jig would be a ineffective to fish. It is the most weedless way to catch a bass in this situation. It will take you about a minute to make this set-up. But, if you fish a lot of heavy cover as I do, it will save you hours of pulling vegetation from your lure and trying to muscle a stuck jig back to the boat.

OMEGA ALPHA SHAD

When it comes to catching better than average fish I would say my two favorite baits to throw are jigs and buzzbaits. Jigs do such a great job of getting deep into the cover where the big girls live, while buzzbaits can produce the most explosive strikes.

I have been throwing OMEGA Custom Tackle's jigs for a while now with great success and just recently I started throwing the New OMEGA ALPHA Shad buzzbait. The ALPHA Shad has just been tearing them up. While there are a lot of other buzzbaits out on the market you can really see and appreciate all the time and effort that went into creating the ALPHA Shad.

When you retrieve the bait it comes to the surface really fast and the gold blades shimmer in the sun as they hit each other on every turn of the reel which produces a ton of spit and noise unlike any buzzbait I've ever thrown. The buzzbait produces a great bubble trail and the skirt pulsates in the water giving off a tremendous amount of action. The blades allow you to crawl it along the bank really slow and keep it in the strike zone.This buzzbait produces the sound and action of a double buzzer but is real easy to cast due to a 7/16oz head.

The ALPHA Shad has a Z wire which works with a long shank Gamakatsu to hook bass fast and keep them hooked all the way to the net. I haven't found the need to add a trailer hook yet. The skirts are really lively and it's available in the Chartruese Shad "Big Money" color and Black.

The OMEGA Custom Tackle ALPHA Shad is now available at www.omegacustomtackle.com

Tackle Warehouse and AiRRUS Rods

One of my favorite places to purchase fishing tackle online is Tackle Warehouse. Tackle Warehouse carries just about everything that you can imagine and they have three different models of AiRRUS Rods in stock.

The AiRRUS Feather Touch T6 is available and has features that could only be found on a custom made rod. The rod features a one of a kind Feather Touch Reel Seat which is built with air craft grade aluminum that reduces weight and increases strength and sensitivity. The handle puts an angler in direct contact with the rod blank which reduces weight and allows for the ultimate feel. This rod also has an aluminum screw lock cap that reduces weight from a foregrip and allows faster transmission of vibration to the reel seat increasing sensitivity. The rod has Fugi Alconite Guides which are extremely durable and allow line to flow through without drag which increases casting distance and accuracy. These rods also feature the popular split grip handle design which adds style as well as performance. The rod is also assembled in Texas by American craftsmen.

AiRRUS Feather Touch T6



Tackle Warehouse also has the AiRRUS Ultra XL in stock. This rod has thermalon grips which trap heat and keep your hands warmer on cold days while wicking away moisture and adding comfort which all add up to less hand fatigue after a days worth of fishing. The rod comes with two interchangeable butt sections which can be easily swapped out allowing the angler to customize the rod for different presentations. The sections are 4 1/2" and 7 1/2". I have found this feature to come in handy when throwing jerkbaits in the winter and then cranking in the summer. I like to stick the 4 1/2" in for jerkbaits in the winter time because a shorter handle doesn't get caught up my clothing as much as a longer handle would making it easier to work a jerkbait. The 7 1/2 inch comes in handy for increasing your leverage when you need to make two handed casts with a deep diving crankbait. The interchangeable grip is a great feature that you just can't find on any other rod on the market. Ultra XL rods are extremely light and easy to handle and make putting in those long hours on the water a whole lot easier. If your looking for a rod with great performance and style this is one rod you need to try.

Top to Bottom: AiRRUS Ultra XL, Co-Matrix 457, Copperhead Series, Ultra XL, Co-Matrix 457.

The AiRRUS Co-Matrix 457 is also available at Tackle Warehouse. The Co-Matrix has a great feel and is priced right for the angler who is looking for a lot of performance without breaking the bank. The rod has a thermalon grip which makes it really comfortable in your hand which is a big plus. The grip also wicks away mositure and keeps your hands warm on those chilly days. These rods are really durable and can take a ton of abuse. I have used the Co-Matrix 457 in the 7 foot medium heavy action for pitching jigs and plastics for the past couple of years without having any break. The durability has saved me a lot of money that I have been able to put towards other expenses like gas and entry fees. Even though everyone tells you not to swing fish over 5lbs in the boat, I do that all the time with these rods and it doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

Success with the Naked Bait Co. Skirted Weight System

Although a lot of anglers might be more familiar with the Pay Check Baits Punch Skirt, which was just recently created out on the West Coast for fishing the California Delta and other grass filled lakes, The Naked Bait Co. Skirted Weight System has been a secret set-up with anglers on the East Coast and throughout the Midwest for some time.

Naked Bait Co. Pro Jon Stanco who hails from Plainville, CT has been reaping the benefits of the Skirted Weight System for the past couple of years since he joined forces with Naked Bait Company. Stanco has been using the Skirted Weight System to probe the immense grassbeds on his home waters, the Great Lakes.

Stanco said the Skirted Weight System really shines when fishing grass that doesn't top out and canopy on the waters surface to where it is open underneath. Often Stanco finds himself fishing coontail grass on some of his favorite lakes and it can be a real challenge to get a jig to come through the grass easily. Stanco said that whenever he would try to bring a jig through the coontail, he would have to often fight to get his jig to come through a lot of times and it would a lot of times come back with grass all over the weedguard which made for an unatural presentation. When he started using the Skirted Weight System, fishing the grass became a whole lot easier. He was also able to keep the same profile and action of a jig but have a bait that wouldn't get caught up in the grass.

Recently Stanco used the Skirted Weight System to flip up big smallmouths on braided line on grass beds that were in six and half to twelve feet of water. His setup consisted of 3/4 oz to 1oz Skirted Weights that he pitched on a flipping stick with 65lb test braid which enabled him to yank the hard fighting smallmouth out of the grass and into the boat. Stanco has shared his Skirted Weight technique with a couple of close friends who have become big believers in the Skirted Weight System. He admits that a lot of his friends thought the rig was a bit goofy until they gave it a try and then they witnessed its performance first hand.

Stanco does make a small modification to his Skirted Weights by taking a sharpie and coloring the Naked Bait Co. Skirted Weights whatever color he desires. After he is done coloring the weights he will add a clear coat to give the weights a slick finish. He says it's more of a confidence thing and that the unpainted weights will work just as good.

One thing is for sure the Skirted Weight System from Naked Bait Company is catching on with anglers all across the country and the whole system is a lot more economical than other variations on the market. Naked Bait Companies Skirted Weight System can be purchased by visiting www.nakedbaitco.com.