Today is a sad day, Dec 15ht marks the official end of the 2011 Bass Season (in Ontario) , An although Im in mourning I though what better way to celebrate the season that was by spend some time reminiscing on some of the highlights of this season.
The focus here is mostly on new products and baits, not necessarily products new in 2011 (although some will be) but more products new to me, lucky finds that made my season better and improved my skills on the water
Lets start off with some of my favorites from the 2011 Season.
Yum Money Craw:
yes this bait has been on the market for a few seasons now, but it was something I continually overlooked. Early this year I decided to give one a test drive and I have never looked back. The money craw is a stellar flipping bait that easily slides into thick cover, and once out of the cover can be swam or hopped back to the boat. Some of the most violent strikes I received on this bait came as I was swimming it.
Colour recommendation: give the red shad color a try, this was my go to flipping bait in 2011
Live Target Hollow Bodied & Hard Body Frogs:
So if you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know it is mistitled as "BassJunky" and really should read "FrogJunky" and if 2011 was not the year of the frog then I just don't know what to tell you. It seemed like every major manufacture came out with new and improved Frogs. None better then the Live Target Hollow bodied and hard body (walking) frogs. These two baits not only carry with them the high quality and standards laid out by Live target in their family of baits, but they also improved upon some of current flaws as i see them on many other brands of Frog
The hollow body frog is a fairly light weight and soft shelled frog. It can still cast a mile and has one of the better hook-up ratios of any frog i use. The soft body is the best feature of this frog, far more collapsible then the Spro frog (the industry leader). With size and color options constantly growing the Live Target frog will be a force to rekon with for years to come
recommendation: Give the 55t in Green/Yellow a shot, this is the middle sized frog and mine got hammered so hard this season I had to put it into retirement.
As for the walker frog, this is a great top-water bait for beginners and pros alike. It walks with ease and is great to throw over and around timber. I wish I got to use mine more, but my tournament partner had his on so often i never really got the chance to break mine in. I don't think it ever left his rod all reason long.
Dobyns Rods:
Last but not least Dobyns rods are the biggest new addition to my arsenal, and I think that have made me a better angler over the course of the season. With so many rods to choose from it is hard for me to narrow down a couple to focus on. But as a frog fisherman, I would be crazy not to touch on two rods that really improved my game in 2011
Champion 735c, this rod is a great all around rod and excels in many techniques, one of which is buzzing frogs. Whether I had a mans hard nose, a gene larew triple leg or a Stanley Ribbet the 735c was always up to the challenge. The rod tip is perfect for placing this soft plastic baits into holes and the backbone has the strength to horse the nastiest of largies out of the cover.
The Champ Extreme 795 was my rod of choice for Hollow bodies. This feather lite rod is built like a tree trunk, no rod in my arsenal has the strength of the 795. I originally bought this rod as a flipping stick, but quickly saw the potential as frog rod.
I had a blast in the 2011 bass fishing season. I got to attend some seminars by some of Canadas best bass anglers, I got to test and try out some top quality new products, and I joined the Dobyns Pro Staff team. If I accomplish half of this in 2012 then it will be another stellar year.. until that time, bring on the ice!
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