Photo Journal - Chemong Lake - June 2013

This past weekend I headed back home to spend some time with my parents as well as my in-laws, and to do that successfully I brought along my boat, and headed out on Chemong lake for 8+ hour of fishing (and rain) with my buddy "Jesse"

We had been trying to arrange a trip last season and after cancelling on him twice I almost had to pull the plug a third time as Dustin ran into some serious boat issues.. but instead of cancelling I loaded up my little boat and we put it to the test on a windy rainy days

We started the day out by pounding some slop looking for a morning frog bite.. When the fish refused to co-operate I broke out my trusty spinner-bait and handed one to Jesse. Although he had never fished one, he caught on quick, the below fish is not only his first bass of 2013, but it is also his first ever spinnerbait fish..

The spinnerbait bite proved to be the ticket for the majority of the morning, it was not hard to find a pattern, It was all about covering water and burning your bait over submerged weed lines or pockets.. the below is a collection of our spinnerbait action

As the cover got heavier I would  move to flipping a tube, these El Grande Lures tubes have been the ticket for me so far this year.

Even with a nice spinnerbait bite going on, I had to keep at the frogs, we worked back bay after back bay and were only awarded with a few blow-ups and even fewer fish.

Finally after paying some dues I managed a few good frog bites and landed two of the days bigger fish. here is a collection of our frog adventures...

One of the reasons I spent so much time on frog water was that I was that I needed to do some on water testing for an upcoming "Top Toad Review" (below). Jesse on the other hand spend some time with one of his fav's the Worlds best bass frog (above).. he has put that thing through some wars, and it looks pretty beat up (and blind)

All in all we had a pretty awesome day, we managed 20+ fish, and to stay dry.. with the heavy winds we nearly drained the trolling motor battery and I though me may have to paddle back.. but we made it

Below are a few more pics from the weekend that was.. The first two are from Sunday morning, I got up nice and early (6am) to do some fishing in the marina prior to people and boats stirring things up.. the fog made all that more relaxing

 This last pic is just a fun pic of a "dead bait" pile that is building up in the boat. How many can you name?

Weapons of Choice

War Eagle Screaming Eagle spinnerbait was thrown on a Dobyns DX744 paired with a Daiwa Zillion reel. Diawa Samurai braid line.


Stanley Ribbit Top Toad was throw using a Dobyns 736c paired with a Daiwa Lexa 300 reel. The line of choice was SunLine FX2 frog line


El Grande Lures Tubes were flipped using a Dobyns 734c paired with a Daiwa Lexa 100 reel. 1/4oz to 5/16oz Elite Tungsten weights and Trokar 2oz EWG hooks

Please Welcome: BlackWater Fishing Line (Toray)

With 2013 Bass season now in full swing, Im happy to announce that I will be joining the Blackwater International Fishing Line team. Blackwater strives to bring the highest quality fishing line from around into the word to the North American market, starting off with 'Toray" an extremely high quality line that has been all the rage in Japan for years, but only used by a small number of  American anglers smart enough to give it a test drive.. who then tried to keep it a secret... not anymore

Toray like other Japanese imports (SunLine) focuses on using the highest quality fluorocarbon lines that are designed to be super strong, highly abrasion resistant. yet still make long smooth casts.  Thanks Blackwater, Im excited to get my rods fully spooled up, and start casting

Check out Tackle Tours review on the entire family of "Toray" lines found HERE

Quinte Bass Champs 2013 Results

The 2nd Annual Quinte Bass Champs event took place this past weekend on the great Bay of Quinte, and as in 2012 the event the organizers out did themselves by once again bringing a well organized, highly competitive, and fun event to the anglers of Ontario. Over 170 teams took to the water looking to cash in on one of the hourly $1000 big fish prizes.

This tournament has quickly become my favourite event of the tournament season, and although highly disappointed that I had to pull out due to work obligations, I would be remiss by not sharing the final results with the masses. Here is a recap of the prize break down and the hourly winners:

The Payout:

This event is simple, hourly cash prizes are given for the big fish. The biggest fish each hour is worth $1,000 with second place being worth $500 and 3rd place worth $250. The turn out was so good in 2013 that 4th and 5th place prizes were also added.. Not to mention a "Lunker Boat" prize for the  biggest fish of the day. This years winners were the father and son team of Jim and Zack Van Ryn with an hour 2 lunker that weighed in at 5.47lbs.  Congrats to both of them, and all the winners

 Hour 1 (7am-8am)

1st: 3.62lbs Chris Bridgen & Andy Brison
3rd: 3.39lbs Brandon Bellis & Brad Boldrick
4th: 3.33lbs  Paul McTaggart
5th: 3.17lbs  Mark & Wes Donaldson

Hour 2 (8am-9am)

1st:  5.47lbs Jim & Zac Van Ryn
2nd: 3.94lbs Jeff Kerr & Unknown
3rd:  3.75lbs Brian Hadley & Terry Longstaff
4th:  3.71lbs Peter Tuz & Crystal Rielly
5th:  3.64lbs Murray Henderson

Hour 3 (9am-10am)

1st: 4.61lbs Rob Kennedy & Nick Monger
2nd: 4.49lbs Yu Zhang & Rob Patrico
3rd: 4.45lbs Peter Garnier & Robbie Lafleur
4th: 4.30lbs Ron Ellery & Troy Davis
5th: 4.22lbs  Steve Churman and Bob Young

Hour 4 (10am-11am)

1st: 4.87lbs Lionel Dwyer
2nd: 4.65lbs Tony Lauzon & Bill Landman
3rd: 4.06lbs Yu Zhang & Rob Patrico (this is their 2nd money fish of the day)
4th: 3.87lbs Randy Cronkwright
5th: 3.74lbs Joshua Gilford & TJ McIntosh

Hour 5 (11am-12pm)

1st: 4.93lbs Team 178 (Unknown)
2nd: 4.87lbs Kevin Weir & Mike Laterno
3rd: 4.29lbs Randy Cronkwright (this is Randy's second money fish of the day)
4th: 4.16lbs Mike Tebo & Mike Veryzer
5th: 3.81lbs Ian Patton & Chris Wilson

Hour 6 (12pm-1pm)

1st:  4.67lbs Mike Blair & Bill Shephard
2nd: 4.15lbs Jaimie Walker & Steve Knapp
3rd: 4.07lbs Ted Walker & Josh Rath
4th: 4.05lbs Wally Adams and Paul Shultis
5th: 3.95lbs Mark Stoushton & John Lamour

Hour 7 (1pm-2pm)

1st:  4.51lbs Team 178 (Unknown) - This is Team 178's second $1,000 fish of the day
2nd: 4.31lbs Dan Bisson & Dave Walsh
3rd: 4.20lbs Nick and Konstantinos Christou
4th: 3.94lbs Fab Marchese & Tony Chimirri
5th: 3.91lbs Team 166 - Unknown

Hour 8 (2pm-3pm)

1st:  4.56lbs Team 176 Unknown
2nd: 4.56lbs Jay Martin & Brad Arnot
3rd: 4.51lbs Jeff Toppings & Dave Chong
4th: 4.30lbs Matt Torlee & Terrance Conroy
5th: 4.19lbs Team 172 - Unknown



For those of you trying to do the math, let me break it down for ya.. this year all the winner weights combined for a total of 166.49lbs, and that does not include all the weights that got knocked out, and did not go to the scales at all. The Average hourly weight you needed to hit to place in the money was 4.16lbs, and if your a strategist you may notice that the early hours held the smaller fish, meaning if you have a 4lber early, there is a good chance it would be worth some cash.

Now the long wait till the 2014 Quinte bass champs event, be sure to put it in your calendar as this 170+ team event is getting bigger and better every year

LunkerHunt "Lunker Frog" Giveaway - 1 Week Left

One of the hottest frogs on the market for 2013 is the Lunker Frog from Lunker Hunt, a company that really made their mark last year after their Bento baits took the Best in Show award for Soft plastic baits at ICAST 2012. Proving they are not a 1-trick pony LunkerHunt announced the launch of the LunkerFrog in a nationwide (US) release with Walmart and then branching out to their loyal retailers in Canada and the US.. if you were not on top of your game there is a good chance your local shop sold out of these babies long before you even knew they were there, if thats the case, how would you like to get one for "free"?

It's super easy, all you have to do it head on over to the FrogPond Facebook page (HERE) and hit "like" or "share" on the contest post.. it's that easy, and while your there does hesitate to like both the FrogPond and LunkerHunt Facebook pages (it's not a requirement, but we appreciate it)

If your a non-Facebooker, you can simply comment on this post to be entered into the draw.

There is now only 7 Days left to enter, so "hop to it" - yes I know that was awful -  the winners name will be announced on Monday June 24th, and will coincide with the release of the FrogPond review of the Lunker Frog

This is the first in a line of frog giveaways set for this summer.. stay tuned

Opening Day 2013 - It's not a holiday, but it should be!

Opening day is like Christmas, your birthday and your wedding day all rolled up into one.. it means new beginnings and a fresh start, no matter how your 2012 season ended, opening day gives you yet another shot at greatness, not matter if that means tournament glory or simply bragging rights between  buddies

Unfortunately for the first time in years, I will not be spending opening day on the water but instead on the convention floor at NIX (Northern Ink Xposure) putting in work as part of my day job with Eikon Device.. but don't feel bad for me because if you have never been to a  Tattoo convention or more importantly a  Tattoo Convention After-Party then you are the one truly missing out

My partner on the water (Dustin) will be hitting the water to compete in one of our favourite events "Quinte Bass Champs" I will be with him in spirit and to be honest he did a pretty good job (and upgraded even) when it comes to replacing me with Karl Kalonka as his partner in crime for the day.. Good luck guys

As usual pics of this event and all of out adventures will be posted all season long, both here and on the New Roads Facebook page, so hold on tight, this is about to get good

welcome to Bass Season 2013

BJ

Test Drive: Rapala Scatter Rap

The Rapala Scatter Rap has to be one of if not thee most anticipated bait to hit the market in recent years. With the help of a well placed email and viral social media campaign the hype has been undeniable.. but like with all new products advertising can only go so far, and now it is time to see if the Scatter Rap can live up to the hype? 

PRO's:

There are a lot of pros to the Scatter Rap, and I would be remiss if I didn't start out with quality.. say what you will about Rapala (lover or hater) you cant say that they don't produce quality baits, from the hooks to the paint job this bait is well designed and well built (and if you ask my wife.."it looks pretty")

Originality and drive to create or invent new baits is very important for the sport of fishing and to anglers looking for an edge, and with the release of the Scatter Rap Rapala accomplishes this goal. There is not another crank bait on the market today that looks or moves like the Scatter Rap in the water. A Scatter Raps will quickly turn everyday anglers into knuckleball pitchers, you throw it out there not knowing exactly how and where it will go, only hoping that it will confuse and entice the fish into biting and like a knuckleballer you will have some good days and some bays, but as the saying goes.. "thats why they call it fishing and not....."

I found the Scatter rap to be a great small boat bait, if you have a tin-can or a canoe or even a kayak and like to troll baits, there is no better choice then the scatter rap, it moves and darts all around really calling those fish in. I know my Scatter raps will be with me in the canoe all season long

Cons:

First off one of the biggest cons on this bait is how hard it is to actually get your hands on one. Rapala did an absolutely amazing job marketing this product, and then completely fell down when it came to  getting it onto retailers shelves.. to this day many medium to large retailers still have not received their shipment or they received a partial shipment.. this sucks, and is frustrating to the consumer

Im not sure if it is the baits actual weight or the shape of the bill, but I found my Scatter Rap crank series bait very hard to cast for any distance. Both I and a buddy spent some serious time playing with various reels trying to get the right set-up for this bait.. and my findings are: the right set-up for a scatter rap is a spinning reel.

Like can be said with almost any bait the Scatter Rap will take some getting use to.  I personally had to continuously alter and slow down my retrieve for the first few casts, because I found that the speed I'm use to using with crank-baits was to fast and would cause the bait to spin.. It would start out well, but as your mind wanders a bit I found my speed picked up and the bait was off and spinning.. but once I nailed the proper speed I was happy with how the bait performed. Again frustration is at a high when learning this bait and it;s first time on the water I stopped using it after a few casts

Although this has not happened to me, I have heard rumours and seen on various boards some complaints about the bill cracking.. again, mine has had no issues, but I felt it worth mentioning.

The Wrap-Up

The Scatter Rap may not be for everyone or every situation, but all in all it is a nice addition to the Rapala family and I think it is worth giving one a test drive. It is unfortunate that the hype behind this bait was  larger then life, and I think that alone gave me almost unreasonable expectations of the Scatter Rap line of baits, so although I not quite ready crown it as a "best in show" I'm also not ready to throw in the towel.. give me a few more months then lets talk again

Texas Fishing Forum: The Bidding Begins - The Ultimate Guided Fishing Trip Auction - Lake Fork

I may not be a Texan (or even an american) but for those of you who are, I wanted to share with you a pretty awesome auction that is currently taking place on the "Texas Fishing Forum".

The auction is for 1 of 18 different professionally guided trips by some of the best anglers and guides Lake Fork and the US have to offer. This list includes the West Coasts all time money winner Gary Dobyns, Bass Master Elite Pros Kelly Jordan and Clark Reehm, and of course Mark Pack of Lake Fork Lures fame

yes, this list is so impressive it's hard to say who to choose? because no matter which of these (or the other 15 anglers) you choose to bid on, it will be an amazing learning experience on one of the best lakes that Texas and the US has to offer

If you want to see the full list of anglers throwing their hat in the ring, or place a big.. click HERE


Bidding ends on June 17th.. good luck and happy bidding