Top 5

Fishing Products from 2022

BY WES DAVID

The 2022 fishing season has come and gone and anglers across the country are now doing battle with a variety of fish species on the hard water.

Each year like so many other anglers I purchase a variety of new fishing and boating products and put them to the test throughout my yearly fishing adventures. However, as we all know, some of these new product work and many do not work. At one time or another, we have all thrown good money at bad fishing products. However, there are some fishing products that have exceeded our expectations. Here are my top 5, 2022 fishing products that exceeded my expectations on the water.

#1. CDN Dock Shox

At the Edmonton Boat & Sportsmen’s show on March 17-20, 2022, a booth called CDN Dock Shoxs caught my eye. As an angler that launches at a wide variety of boat launches throughout the year, I often must tie my boat to the dock. As any boat owner knows, tying your boat to the side of a dock can be very damaging. Your boat can often rub against the dock, creating nicks and scratches in the paint on the side.

If you look at the sides of any boat that has been on the water for a year or more and you are sure to find a couple of nicks and scratches from a dock. Yes, you can have buoys tied to your boat cleats to create a protective bearer, however, boat buoys take up a great deal of storage room when not in use. As an angler who loves his storage space, I’m always looking for more storage. CDN Dock Shoxs achieve both goals of eliminating nicks and scratches on my boat while taking up very little to no space in my storage compartments.

Dock Shoxs come in sets of two and are made from a rigid high-quality material with a parachute-quality cord material that runs through the rigid tube with quick

Dock Shoxs keep your boat a safe distance away from any boat dock eliminating nicks and scratches on your boat.

#2. Thundermist Lure Company

Thundermist has a variety of lures and terminal tackle. As many anglers know, attention to detail is key and sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference in catching and releasing fish. I do a lot of three-way rigging for lake trout and the T-Turn 3-way swivel from Thundermist Lure Company is truly a game changer.

What makes the T-Turn 3-way swivel so unique from other three-way swivels, is the center of the swivel is free to spin 360 degrees allowing your lure or bait to move freely as attended and eliminating all line twists and tangles at any speed while fishing any depth or structure. The T-Turn 3-way swivel comes in a variety of sizes for a variety of applications and allows an angler to spend more time fishing and less time untangling his/her three-way rig.

#3. Liquid Mayhem

attach carabiners on one end. They are designed for daytime use and easily adapt and safely connect your boat to any dock situation you may encounter at a boat launch. They take up very little space when not in use and can even be stored in your boat’s rod locker without interfering with your fishing rods. But best of all, when in use,

I have been using Liquid Mayhem for years but each year it continues to amaze me. Over the years I have gained a great deal of confidence in Liquid Mayhem. It works under all kinds of fishing conditions, including under the pressures of walleye tournaments where ounces could mean the difference in thousands of dollars.

Liquid Mayhem scent attractant is a paste and comes in a tube which makes it quick and easy to apply to any bait. You can add the scent within seconds to soft and hard plastics, jigs and bottom-bouncing harnesses, and even live and frozen baits.

I’ve used Liquid Mayhem on both freshwater and saltwater fish species including halibut in 300 feet of saltwater and lake sturgeon in the heavily stained and fast-flowing waters of the North Saskatchewan River. I rarely make a cast without it. I truly believe what makes Liquid Mayhem stand above the rest, is not only its powerful scent but also its staying power. Regardless of the fishing conditions, water depth, current conditions, saltwater, or water temperature, including extreme cold-water conditions, such as ice fishing, Liquid Mayhem has an irresistible scent with the staying power to entice and attract fish, regardless of the species under all fishing conditions. No fish can resist the Liquid Mayhem scent attractant!

#4. Len Thompson Lures

These iconic lures have been made in western Canada for over 90 years. Len Thompson Lures is well known for its handmade and hand-painted lures including the legendary Five of Diamonds which is also on display at the local Len Thompson’s Trout Pond in Lacombe, Alberta. By the way this is recognized as the new World Record largest fishing lure.

Len Thompson Lures are also well known for painting custom lures. Anything from logos, and literature, to colour patterns, can be customized onto a Len Thompson Lure. Len Thompson Lures also make the very popular and very effective Dimpled Series of lures and in 2016, the Northern King Lures were added to the Len Thompson Lure family.

The Northern King Lure originated on the east coast and is very effective when fishing salmon and trout species. In the last three years, I have had amazing success with the Northern King on the west coast for salmon and three-way rigging for lake trout across Canada. However, in the same three years, I have also had incredible success casting and retrieving the Northern King Lures for shallow water northern pike.

It is easy to see why the streamlined profile of the Northern King Lures would be so effective on the Salmonidae species.

However, during the last three fishing seasons, I have been enjoying great success casting and retrieving the lightweight narrow profiled lure overtop of weed beds in the shallow bays across the prairie provinces. As I swim the lure overtop of the weed beds northern pike of all sizes come out of hiding within the weeds and hit the Northern King Lures with all the aggression of a great white shark. The Northern King Lures has become my go-to lures in the spring of the year for shallow water pike.

#5. Canalta Hotels

Now I completely understand that Canalta Hotels are not a fishing product. However, they have made a huge difference in my fishing experiences. Canalta Hotels are in rural communities across the prairie provinces and during the 2022 fishing season,

I stayed at Canalta Hotels from Lac La Biche, Alberta, to Selkirk, Manitoba, and everywhere in between across the prairie provinces, and I can assure you, Canalta Hotels are very angler friendly.

I booked a room at the Canalta Hotel in Selkirk, Manitoba, and as soon as the manager saw I was pulling a boat, she told me exactly where to park to ensure I wouldn’t be blocked in the next morning so I could get on the water early. She also informed me that she would turn on the outdoor plug-ins normally used in the winter for plugging your vehicle in so I could charge my trolling motor batteries. These simple gestures towards an out-of-town angler and an amazing complimentary breakfast made my next three days on the water very rewarding and trouble-free. I had a very similar experience when I was fishing walleye in Lac La Biche, Alberta, and when I stayed at a Canalta Hotel in Tisdale, Saskatchewan.

Whether you’re hunting, fishing, or just passing through, stay at a Canalta Hotel. They support outdoorsmen and women and I now believe Canalta Hotels are as important to my fishing trips as my tackle box.

These are five great products and companies that will truly make a difference for anglers and best of all, all five are Canadian-owned and made right here in Canada. n