It’s not to often that I am able to just enjoy a day on the water without trying to focus on figuring out a pattern for a tournament but that’s exactly what I did this past weekend. I loaded up the Stratos and my wife and I headed out to the Potomac River to enjoy a day on the water. Prior to loading up the boat, I was sorting some tackle to put together for our outing and decided to make things simple. I knew what kind of pattern the bass where in on the river and knew exactly what would make our day a smack fest. I rigged up only one rod for myself and tied on a Jig X that I had received from Vetical Lures to field test.

     When I first opened the lure, the first thing I noticed was the unique patented line tie system that the Jig X has become known for. Before tying the jig on, I visited the Vertical Lures website to research the proper way to attach the jig to my line. Once I figured it out, it was a breeze. The other thing I noticed was the Teflon insert inside the jig head to help protect the line from fray. I was planning on putting this lure in some extremely heavy grass. The grass alone can be brutal on your line, so having the Teflon insert helps take car of my line at it’s weakest point being the knot.

     The other two reasons I wanted to try out the Jig X in the heavy Potomac River grass was because of it’s hook and double rattle feature. Anytime you are setting the hook in heavy or matted grass, you need to have a big strong hook. The Jig X comes standard with a heavy gauge Mustad Ultra Point hook which is bent specifically for the Jig X to accompany their unique head design and improve hook-up ratio. The double rattle holder feature which I had mentioned was also going to help in the thick vegetation by allowing the bass to key in and find the bait.

     One last thing I want to mention is the trailer that I outfitted on the Jig X for my outing. I used the Vertical Lures Chunk X with the Chunk X Sling system. The reason I chose to use this was because of the way that it holds the trailer in palce and keeps it from turning or sliding down the shank of the hook. Something else to note is that the Chunk X with it’s Sling system can be used with just about any jig.

     My color of choice was Cayuga Craw tipped with a Bayou Craw trailer. I also chose to use only a single rattle on the jig. The water was pretty flat so I wanted something a little more subtle while maintaining the ability to draw in any nearby bass.

     My wife and I hit the water at around 6 am. We were to our first spot by 6:30. To help eliminate alot of details and make a long story short, between the two of us we boated an upward of 15 bass within the first hour of the morning. My biggest 5  alone were around 14 lbs which was anchored by a 5 lb plus kicker. Again, I exclusively threw the Vertical Lures Jig X on a 7′6 heavy/fast action American Eagle XE Rod with 20 lb. Vicious Fluorocarbon line.

     We spent a few more hours on the water until around 10 o’clock and the action never slowed. The bass I was hooking were absolutley eating the bait. The Chunk X trailer’s salty soft flavor gave the bass an extra incentive to grab ahold and not let go. The weedless design of the jig head also made it easy to pitch in and out of the cover without snagging a jig full of grass. It definitely helped ease my day of fishing by eliminating any frustrations and made our day that much better. The Jig X has definitely earned a spot in my tackle box. To check out the Vertical Lures Jig X along with their complete line-up baits and accessories, visit www.verticallures.com .

Here are just a few pics from the day on the water:

Post from: EveryJoe

GettingReel Product Review: Vertical Lures Jig X

     I guess you can only make so much money on a lure before it’s presence is known. I am sure that is the case with Sebile’s Magic Swimmer. After Kenyon Hill won on Clark’s Hill with it earlier this year, the buzz is out and much sooner than it took the general public to get the inside on the last years prized Basstrix Paddle Tail Tube Swimbaits which accounted for huge successes with Steve Kennedy and an Angler of the Year title as credited by Jay Yelas. Regardless, there is one single common denominator here and that is swimbaits. Unfortunately I have many, but one I don’t have yet is the Magic Swimmer and I fear that if I don’t get it soon, the demand is going to be obscene if it isn’t already.

     For the rest of you who are already in the know and aware what is going on with this bait, I am sure it became evident once we saw it for ourselves gracing the likes of over half of the final day top 12 Elite Series anglers the past two tournaments. What is also impressive is that these are tournaments in which the blueback herring was the focus of attention and the anglers where catching them on colors that didn’t even resemble the blueback. I can only guess that the action and size of the bait is so appealing and lifelike that color became a minor priority to throwing one period.

     There’s a trend that’s slowly working back out of the soft plastic swimbait craze as their hard bodied cousins are proving to be just as effective in all of the same places and last much longer. It’s much cheaper to replace the hooks and split rings on a hard bait each outing than to replace the soft bait itself after each fish. This alone is the single biggest factor that has my attention.

      While I don’t have an exact dollar amount of how much money this bait has accounted for in the last two Elite series tournaments, I can guarantee you it is over $200,000. I don’t know what the FLW has going on with this thing but I assure you they are throwing it too. Believe me when I say that I will be doing my best to try and get ahold of one of these.

Post from: EveryJoe

Sebile Magic Swimmer, Secret Weapon of ‘08?

The above picture is of my 6′6 Medium Heavy, Xtreme Elite (XE) rod. Talk about awesome. I exclusively used this rod over this past weekend to help with my 6th place Bassmaster Series finish. With a strong backbone and good solid hook-sets, I never lost a fish all weekend. By the way, out of 64 boats, there were only 3 limits caught in addition to mine, so you can see how important it was to land every fish. This rod was perfect for throwing spinnerbaits all weekend. The fact that it is lightweight and fits comfortably in my hand helps.

My 7′3 medium heavy Xtreme Performance rod has not gotten any love yet, but was rigged up all weekend. As soon as flipping mats becomes the pattern, this rod will not leave my hand. This is a fast action rod with a tuFF backbone that is going to horse many big bass up out of the grass. With super strong TiCH coating and TinN/Zirconia Midas Gold Nanolite rings, supporting 65lb. braid will be a walk in the park.

Deep water jigs and Carolina rigs? I’m covered. I will be using this 7′0 medium heavy High Performance rod to cast into deep brush and rock. I like the balance of backbone and tip that this rod offers. It is sensitive enough to feel even the slightest bites to make sure you don’t miss a fish.

      There are far too many details for me list about these rods. To get all of the details, go to www.americaneaglerods.com. For now I will be using these rods to help catch my limits and qualify for the Bassmaster Series Regional, getting me one step closer to every anglers dream, the Bassmasters Classic!

Post from: EveryJoe

My New American Eagle Rods

     I spoke briefly today with the head shed over at American Eagle Rods and was given some pretty interesting news today regarding some recent alignments and some new products in the works.

     For those of you who are familiar with American Eagle Rods, you should already relate the name to premium quality, amazing craftsmanship, and Elite Series / Pro-Staff team member Terry Butcher. Someone who has pretty much been commercial face for AER. For those of you who aren’t very familiar with American Eagle Rods, shame on you. I recommend you check them out. They are a company that is already well known within the hard core angling community and a company that is becoming more well-known with the general public.

      Part of the reason for this has been AER’s commitment to stretching themselves as far outside of their immediate region as possible. Something that is hard to do and impossible if you do not have a worthy product. A problem they don’t have. Recently, AER signed an agreement with another BASS Elite Series pro, Fred Roumbanis.

     Roumbanis, who has won $532,406 in BASS career earnings which includes a Major title victory on High Rock Lake and a Classic appearance, knows a thing or two about great products. You don’t win 1/2 million dollars in 4 years without the right equipment and being able to understand it.

     As part of the agreement, AER will be producing a Roumbanis Signature Series rod. While the official production date is not yet finalized, the back orders over at AER are stacking up. “AER Owner/President, Drew Patterson said of the new rods, ” What a neat deal we had to be fortunate enough to align ourselves with such a great angler in Fred Roumbanis”. Drew also went on to say about the rods, “Most of the word has gotten out on the West Coast. Much of this is due to the fact that while Fred has national attention, his roots are still here out west”.

     Along with various other alignments composed of tournament circuits and so forth, AER’s next goal will be to get the word out along the east coast. Because of such a great product, I imagine that you will be seeing American Eagle Rods gracing the front deck of many more bass boats here shortly.

     American Eagle Rods offers a selection of rods for anglers of all types. Whether beginner or expert, bass fishing or crappie fishing, you will find a rod to suit your needs. The Xtreme Elite Series is at the forefront of their line right now with 100% high modulus graphite blanks, Ring Lock frames with TiN/Zirconia Nanolite Rings, no cork fore-piece, exposed blank comfort finished reel seats, and split rear grips. However, as mentioned earlier, you can expect to see a new line of rods in the near future.

     For more information or to check out their complete line, visit: www.americaneaglerods.com

Post from: EveryJoe

American Eagle Rods & Fred Roumbanis

     If any of you saw the picture I posted a few days ago of the 6.75 lb bass I caught over the weekend, than you may have read where I made mention of the Potomac Punisher. The fish was caught about 20 minutes into my 1st field test session with the bait and I have to say, I was nothing short or very pleased.

     For those of you already familiar with the Shaker Bait Pro made by Kaotik Lures, than you may already know about their new creation, the Potomac Punisher. It is a creation spawned off of the Shaker Bait Pro with a few subtle differences that where requested by a few of the Pro Staffers.

     The biggest enhancement is the additional drilled hole in the blade. This allows the bait to do two things. The first is it allows the bait to be burned below the surface at a higher speed with out actually surfacing. The second is that it also allows the bait to be ”slow rolled” much like a spinnerbait across the bottom. All of this is allowed due to less water resistance on the blade which causes most chatter style baits to rise when retrieve at high speeds or down deep.

     Another enhancement made to the Potomac Punisher is a longer hook shank. The Potomac Punisher uses an oversized Mustad Ultra Point hook that’s larger than most typical spinnerbaits and chatter style baits. This allows for a better hook-up ratio when fishing the bait in heavy cover areas such as grass lines and standing timber.

     Last but not least is the unique trailer than comes standard with this bait. Traditional baits alike use standard fork tail trailers that give off very little action. The Potomac Punisher uses a 4 inch tripple ripple grub that gives off a lifelike appeal to the ”Kaotik” action of this bait.

     All of this included with a stainless steel blade and powder coated head, there is just too many details to this bait. If you are interested in checking them visit: www.shakerbait.com . They are sure to have a color or bait to suit you. Tell them that Don Zaegel at GettingReel.com sent you. 

Post from: EveryJoe

Monthly Product Review – Kaotik Lures New Potomac Punisher

Post from: EveryJoe

Bassmaster Classic – On The Water Updates

     When new companies hit the market in the fishing industry they are always quickly evaluated making them prone to bashing or glorifying. Fisherman of all types maintain a tight circle of trust, passing their insight, opinions, and results across the TV, radio, web sites, message boards, magazine articles, and word of mouth. Even with fishing being primarily an individual sport, we share our information with others in an attempt to not see anyone fall on their face. Especially because of a bad product. For that reason, companies in the fishing industry either go away quickly because of initial bad reviews or they begin to grow as confidence in the anglers grow with stories of their success. In reality, anglers control the rise or fall of a business in this industry.

     For Vicious Fishing, they haven’t had that problem. Vicious could possibly be the best fishing line that you have never heard of and if you haven’t heard of them, you have probably been taking the year off. But do not worry because if it is not me telling you about Vicious, it would be someone else telling you about the tournament winning lunker they landed or a proud dad bragging about his son’s first catch using Vicious fishing line.

     Located in Pell City, Alabama and distributed by JBS Fishing, Vicious Fishing is the maker of premium fishing lines that include Co-Polymer, Fluorocarbon, High-Visibility Pan Fish, and Off-Shore, all of which are made right here in the USA. When I say made in the USA, I don’t mean that the line is made overseas and then shipped here to be spooled in the USA. I mean that when you use Vicious fishing line, you are getting a true product of the USA.

     The first factor that drew me into trying their line was the price. I use fluorocarbon lines for just about every application besides topwater. Because of this I am always in the store buying more and more line. If anybody else reading this uses fluorocarbon line than you know that you aren’t getting out of the store with a filler spool of about 200 yds for less the around $14.00-$25.00 with most manufactures. Eventually you will get tired of paying that much. Desperate for relief from the inflated prices of the Fluorocarbon Market, I came across Vicious Fluorocarbon and was set back and somewhat skeptical when I saw it retailing at $9.99 for a filler spool of 250 yds. Without hesitation, I purchased a couple of spools fearing that it may have been a sale or clearance item. Upon further investigation I found out that it was nothing more than a great product at an affordable price. Now the only thing left to do was put it to the test.

     On the first day I used the Vicious Fluorocarbon, one of the first things that I noticed was its limpness and low memory. Something that is hard to find in a good fluorocarbon line. Usually you will sacrifice abrasion resistance and line strength for limpness and low memory or vice versa. Not the case with Vicious. They have defiantly figured out the ingredient for including the best of both qualities. Upon further use and many fish later, I really wanted to get a good idea of its knot strength. If catching around 4 limits of fish in the heavy vegetation on the Potomac River without re-tying isn’t enough than try this. Going into my fifth limit without a re-tie, I hooked what would be my big fish of the day at around 5 1/2 lbs on 8lb. test and brought it into the boat no problem. After that fish I went ahead an re-tied believing that I had enough proof and to avoid leaving any fish injured in the process.

      Throughout the remainder of the year I used Vicious Fluorocarbon line in every tournament I fished. I pulled 5lber’s out of 25 feet deep brush piles on a drop shot rig with 6lb test Vicious Fluorocarbon and horsed in 6 and 7 lber’s out of matted vegetation while punching the thickest stuff I could find using 20lb Vicious Fluorocarbon. My point. Great abrasion resistance, knot strength, low memory, and limpness all tied into one. This stuff works. It proves that high prices don’t always mean you will be getting the best.

     Along with their fishing line, Vicious Fishing also offers a line of unique soft-plastics that I guarantee your bass have never seen before and an awesome line of apparel.

     Vicious Fishing is relatively young and I am talking around 2 yrs. old, but since gaining the respect and backing from professionals like Jeff Reynolds, Jason Quinn, Stephen Browning, Brian Snowden, and Pete Ponds to name a few, Vicious has been on an uphill ride growing faster in a couple of years than most companies do in ten years. Don’t just take my word for it. Give them a try or check them out at www.vicious-fishing.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

Do Some “Vicious Fishing” This Year

     Every month GettingReel will select a photo submitted by you the viewers to be chosen as the “Catch of the Month”. The selected photo entrant will receive a spool of Vicious Fishing line along with any applicable “Monthly Product Review” products courtesy of GettingReel.com and Vicious Fishing.

     To enter all you simply have to do is send an email to zaegelgetsreel@hotmail.com with your photo entry. Tell me when, where, and how you caught your catch along with any other details you wish to provide. That’s it! Here at GettingReel, we don’t discriminate. Fresh water, Salt water fish, it doesn’t matter. Any fish catch is eligible. If you are selected, you will be notified by e-mail and your picture will be posted on the web-site that month.

For information or to view and purchase products by Vicious Fishing, check out: www.vicious-fishing.com

Good Luck and Continue to ‘Get Reel’!

Post from: EveryJoe

“Catch of the Month” Contest & VICIOUS Fishing

Swimbait- With the 2007 season giving way to a pre-spawn season in both Texas and California, swim baits proved to be a wise choice for anybody in need of a check or a good finish. While other baits worked well in some situations, none gave way to the sheer quality offered up by large swim baits. Steve Kennedy says, “In order for the swimbait to be most successful, you need deep clear water and big bass feeding on baitfish”. Something the fisheries in Texas and California have a lot of. With the success the swim bait proved to have in the beginning of the year, it found its way to deck of many boats as the trails made their way back out east and some showed luck again in the clear grassy waters of Oneida and Potomac. The 2007 year gave the swim bait national attention to the anglers who weren’t already in the know.

Sexy Shad- If you had to choose one angler to learn or heed advice from, hopefully Kevin VanDam is one of those people. More than once we heard KVD say those two magical words throughout the year, “Sexy Shad”, as he unhooked it from the mouth of his fish. This bait was attributed to 2 wins this year for KVD and many other final day cuts. Although the crank bait has been around for a while, Strike King’s Sexy Shad color has enough flash and backing by KVD to make us believe that this thing is a new creation never seen before.

Drop-Shot - You could probably add this to your 2005 and 2006 list as well, but as long as this method continues to be a pre-dominant factor in winning tournaments, it will stay on the list. As the season went on and the summer months rolled around, the schedules brought the anglers back east where the waters are a little more pressured and the spawning cycles were over. High pressure situations like this call for finesse offerings; however the drop-shot didn’t wait until it made its way back east before proving successful. First, Aaron Martens had to seal a win with it in California on the Delta. Once back out east, the drop-shot again proved useful as it found success with Fred Roumbanis, Edwin Evers, Boyd Duckett, Skeet Reese, and Terry Scrogins for most of the year on lakes like Smith Mountain, Dardanelle, Erie, and Townsend.

     There are already some new baits that look promising after seeing the 2007-08 icast show. It will usually take a helping dose of success before it gains national attention, but I can guarantee that whatever it ends up being, it won’t show it’s face until the guarded secret has put some cash into the pocket of its user.

Post from: EveryJoe

Fishing’s Hot Trends for 2007

      The first thing that attracted me to this bait was it’s natural apperance. With so many baits on the market resemblimg a craw fish, many bait and tackle companies have taken the idea of a craw fish and put radical designs on them in an attempt to show the fish something different. In some cases they have become so radical that the bait has lost it’s natural apperance completely. This is not the case with Berkley’s Chigger Craw.

     This bait has a slender profile, oversized pinchers, and short appendages, making it ideal bait for pitching and flipping all types of heavy cover. The profile allows it to easily slide through the matted grass or wood laydowns while the oversized pinchers give the bait plenty of profile for the fish to find and get ahold of. I have noticed throughout my years of fishing that regardless of the species of fish, they prefer to grab craw fish by the pinchers, so the fact that this bait has big pinchers was a big rating factor for me.

     Another thing that I like about this bait is it’s durability. I was able to catch numerous fish on one bait. Sometimes I was able to simply flip the bait over and bury the hook in the other side for another fish or two. Added with Berkley’s famous PowerBait Scent formula, durability is a good thing because this bait will get action.  I prefer to fish this bait pegged or on a carolina rig. After the baits would become torn, I could also cut the bait in half and use it as a jig trailer.

     My only dislike is that the pinchers don’t have alot of action in them compared to other baits alike. That wasn’t so much a factor when flipping in heavy cover as it was for swimming or carolina rigging were action in the claws are important as an attractant and to help move water. All in all, I reccomend that you pick some up because they are definately worth your time. 

     Have you tried this bait before? Post your opinion and any results you have had.  

Post from: EveryJoe

October Product Review: Berkley Chigger Craw