Merry Christmas Everyone!
December 2016
What To Expect For Next Year By Lance Merz Show season has already begun, and I will be at quite a few (see below for show schedule). Stop by the booth to say hello, or sit in on a seminar or two which will be conducted by myself, Professional Angler Johnnie Candle, and Gary Miralles. We hope to see you there! Don’t forget to like us on FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter if you haven’t already done so.
Show Dates: • Big Rock East (Dealer Show): Jan. 6-8 • Big Rock West (Dealer Show): Jan. 10-12 • Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Exposition (Consumer Show): Jan. 19-22 • Washington Sportsmen’s Show (Consumer Show): Jan. 25-29, Seminars by Lance Merz • Eugene Boat & Sportsmen’s Show (Consumer Show): Feb. 3-5 • Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show (Consumer Show): Feb. 8-12, Seminars by Lance Merz, Johnnie Candle, and Gary Miralles • Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show (Consumer Show): Mar. 2-5, Seminars by Lance Merz • Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show (Consumer Show): Mar. 16-19 Times are exciting here at Mack’s Lure. We have been pleased to integrate the former “Shasta Tackle” into the Mack’s Lure line, which is a perfect fit to an already explosive line of fishing lures that catch fish! So how are things changing? The names of the lures will remain the same, but the packaging will be completely different from what angler’s are used to seeing regarding Shasta Tackle. The new packaging will mirror the current Mack’s Lure packaging (typically yellow with the Mack’s Lure logo). We are steadily depleting the older packaging, but good inventory and when complete, all packaging will be new. Stop by our booth and let us know what you think. Which lures would you like us to come out with (whether it be different colors, sizes, etc)? What TV shows sponsored by Mack’s Lure do you enjoy the most? Our dedication to listening to our customer’s (you) is most appreciated and we want to continue to provide you with quality products of innovative lures and be your “go to” lure, regardless of fishery. Page 1
Gary’s Fishing Corner
Here are a few of my favorite Christmas wish list items.
It’s The Time For Giving
KOKANEE BOOKS:
By Gary Miralles
During this time of year, I’m puzzled by what to buy everyone for Christmas. My lovely wife is very fashion minded and loves new clothes; however the only thing I feel secure buying her is sleepwear. A set of silky Pajamas with cute puppies on them is fine, as long as they don’t have fish on them. Gift certificates are always a safe bet, but also says “I don’t have a clue on what to buy you and I’m too lazy to figure it out.” Life would be so easy if everyone fished; that is a subject I know well and could buy for anyone and make them happy. So that is where I’m taking you. What to buy the fisherman in your life for Christmas? I personally am always excited to receive gifts of any type, related to my favorite sport and passion. But there are so many fishing rods, reels, tackle boxes, dodgers, spinners, lures-you name it, it’s out there. How do you pick what’s right? If this is your dilemma, I suggest a selection of my favorite items perfect for that angler with everything. First, start with a small cheap tackle box you can purchase just about anywhere. This is the container used to house all your goodies. I personally like books or videos to read or watch on those cold rainy days when it’s impossible to go fishing. If I can’t fish, I can at least study it or enjoy watching someone else doing it.
• Kokanee: A Complete Fishing Guide by David Biser • Kokanee Obsession: Catch More and Larger Fish by Kent Cannon
Stan’s Space It’s Often The Color That Counts
By Hall-of-Fame Angler Stan Fagerstrom Part 1 Think the leading lady in your life is a tad hard to please when it comes to you selecting a color for KOKANEE VIDEOS something or another that will really • Kokanee Trolling with yours light up her eyes? If you find that gal hard to please, truly my friend, chances are you’ve ran Now for my favorite Attractors head on into the same problem if and Lures broke down by Species: you’ve done much fishing. You don’t have to take my word for it. Why? Because you’re going to hear TROUT the same darn thing from some of the • Medium Sling Blade™ most respected guides, professional anglers and winning lure makers all • Double D™ Dodger over the country. • Flash Lites™ I’ve been in on some of the debates • Trol-lites™ and decisions about the importance of color many times in the years • Cripplures™ I’ve had to the good fortune to write • Hum Dingers® these columns for Mack’s Lure. • Wiggle Hoochies™ It’s been of keen interest to listen to the thoughts on color selection • Wedding Rings®. expressed by some of the best at this business of putting fish in the boat. KOKANEE My good friend Bobby Loomis, • Small Sling Blade™ one of the top execs here at Mack’s Lure, has forgotten more about • Double D™ Dodger fishing than most anglers will ever • Pee Wee Wiggle Hoochie™ know. He’s one of the first I turn to • Spinner Hoochie™ if I want to find some of the answers I need for my own piscatorial • Wedding Rings® pursuits. • Koke-A-Nuts™. SALMON • Large 8” Sling Blade™ • 4.5” Wiggle Hoochies™ • Scorpion Salmon Spinners™. Merry Christmas to all and to all Good Fishing!! P.S. I almost forgot. A ball cap from Mack’s Lure is always a safe bet.
I don’t care if you’re fishing the nearest lake or in the Amazon jungle as I was here--- fish are often going to show a preference when it comes to the color of the lures they will hit. That’s a giant black piranha and a small peacock bass I’m holding in this picture.
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Just last month I asked Bobby how much importance he attached to color selection in using fishing lures. “Stan,” was Bobby’s response, “this is a subject that an MBA could write a thesis on very easily and most people overlook it or don’t even think about it. “Since joining Mack’s Lure, I have learned a lot over the years on colors. It is an extremely important part of successful fishing.” Bobby didn’t say so, but having followed his career ever since he began to help building G.Loomis rods many years ago, I’m aware he also had definite thoughts about lure colors back then when he was fishing most of the time for the migratory species like steelhead and salmon. Mack’s has lures for those fish too but for a long time now with Mack’s, Bobby has been giving more attention to the colors Mack’s Lure has made available for walleyes, trout, kokanee and other warm water species. I’ll share more of Bobby’s response as we go along here, but I want to recall some of the things I’d heard or experienced before I ever got to meet the Mack’s Lure crew. I’ve been writing fishing reports in newspapers, magazines and now in a variety of Internet outlets since 1946. The importance of color to anglers who knew what they were doing surfaced almost immediately. One of the first things I learned is that the importance of color isn’t restricted to any one field of angling endeavor. You’ll find professional bass anglers who won’t go near the water unless they have an assortment of plastic or hard baits in colors that they know produce consistent results. I know salmon and steelhead guides in the Pacific Northwest who share the same sentiments. I lived in Southwest Washington State for much of my life. I was personally acquainted with several
of the region’s top steelhead and salmon guides. I fished with all of them on occasion. Every darn one had favorite colors in the lures they used most often. Long time Oregon anglers are a cinch to have heard of or known the late Denny Hannah, one of that state’s most respected veteran guides. I fished with Denny from the Rogue to the Umpqua Rivers and some other spots in between. When Denny was after salmon or steelhead you’d find him rigging with specific colors, depending on the time of year and water conditions. I’ve watched him select a certain lure color on the Rogue, then switch to something else when we shared a boat on the Umpqua.
has made that discovery. I remember once visiting with one of the country’s leading plastic bait makers. I told him about my crappie fishing success with the yellow and white grubs his company produced. I was surprised at his reply. “Stan,” he said, “we’ve heard that same thing from lots of fishermen in other parts of the country. The yellow and white combination seems to be a consistently good producer in areas of the United States besides your own.”
If I’m trolling to locate crappie schools, I’ll often attach a Smile Blade ahead of the actual lure I have on. Don’t hesitate to change either the size or color of the Smile Blade as well as your lure until you start getting results. Use a Stop Knot to position your Smile Blade how ever far out in front of the lure you want it to be.
You won’t have to debate expert walleye or kokanee anglers about the importance of color. My friend Bobby Loomis wholeheartedly agrees. “One of the things I’ve really had pounded into my head by professional walleye fishermen,” he says, “is that all fish eat something at one time or another. They must to simply stay alive. The same thing is true of kokanee and other much sought after species of sports fish.” And having a lure out there that has the colors of what any of those fish might feed on naturally can often be a major key in determining how many you eventually bring to your boat. Loomis shared some other thoughts with me and I have some other experiences of my own where lure colors are concerned. I’ll share them both with you in my next Stan’s Corner column.
I love to fish for panfish like crappie and bluegill. I favor miniature plastic grubs for a lot of my crappie fishing. Little grubs used on tiny jig heads in the 1/16 oz. and 1/32 oz. categories are deadly pan fish baits. Often, it’s heck of a lot easier to locate the crappie schools if you slide a Mack’s Smile Blade® down your leader to flash and spin ahead of your actual lure. You can use a Stop Knot to position your Smile Blade® until you find the distance from the actual lure that works best. I’ve always found a combination of yellow and white colors to be among my most consistent crappie catchers. I’m not the only one who
You won’t find many anglers who’ve had more on the water experience than Mack’s Lure executive Bobby Loomis. He used the right color Mack’s lure Promise Keeper® lure to nail this beautiful trout.
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Adding Bait To The Sonic BaitFish™(SBF) By Captain Pete Rosko
why, so many times, a SBF will out fish a live bait fish, attached to a hook that often times will swim laterally instead of fluttering vertically. I consider vertical jigging on a slow drift to be without peer in consistently catching fish. This combination of a slow natural drift, and the downward flutter of a SBF, is an unbeatable presentation!
Question: Is bait ever added to the Sonic BaitFish (SBF)? Personally, I almost never attach bait to the SBF in fresh or salt water. REASONS FOR NOT ADDING BAIT TO THE SBF: 1. Some states, such as Fishing with the SBF without bait Washington State, prohibit the will still catch bait as shown by use of live bait. Mack’s Pro-Staffer Brad Hole. 2. Many times, natural bait attracts nuisance fish and REASONS FOR TIPPING smaller fish. (ADDING BAIT) TO THE SBF IS 3. Adding bait reduces the TO ADD SCENT: balance, and action, of the SBF. 1. When ice-jigging. 4. Eliminates handling a mess 2. For certain conditions that (odors and blood). cause fish to stop biting a bare 5. Eliminates needlessly killing SBF: of bait fish. • Muddy water. 6. Eliminates extra costs of • Increased tidal, or river, buying and handling live and dead bait. flow. 7. Eliminates need for using a • Abnormally cold, or warm, bait knife and cutting one’s water. self. • Drift is too fast. 8. The most effective strike• Rapid barometer, and wind, triggering feature in a fishing changes. lure is the DOWNWARD FLUTTER! No other lure type comes close in matching EXAMPLES OF TIPPING: this critical action. This is the concept, and principal action 1. Night crawler pieces for of the SBF which duplicates walleye (Lake Erie). the action of crippled and injured bait fish. This is
2. Shrimp, squid, octopus or cut bait, for Gulf of Mexico snapper, grouper and other bottom-related species. Note: These are very rare examples of when I had to tip the SBF. Advantages of fishing with a tipped SBF instead of tipped jig heads and weighted hooks (hooks attached to lines that are weighted with a variety of sinkers): 1. Even in very little water movement, the SBF is designed to move without any rod movement with the line/ snap attached to the top of its back. Because of their natural appearance, and swimming action, fish will still strike the SBF, after the bait has been removed. In comparison, the bare jig heads, and weighted hooks, will be “dead in the water”. 2. The flash, and flutter, of the SBF still triggers strikes long after the tipped bait is gone. CRITICAL TIP: ALWAYS JIG THE SMALLEST SBF THAT CAN EASILY REACH YOUR TARGET SPECIES WHEN DRIFTING OR AT ANCHOR. WHY? BECAUSE A LIGHT-WEIGHT SBF FLUTTERS, AND SUSPENDS, BETTER (on the fall) THAN A HEAVIER SBF. Thank you for subscribing to the Mack Attack and join us next month for the January issue. Sincerest wishes to all for a happy, and healthy, holiday season and beyond. Pete
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Question of the Month Have a question? We’d love to answer it! Contact us at MacksLure@MacksLure.com if you have a question you would like to see featured!
Q: I am going to go Ice Fishing this year, what lures does Mack’s Lure have to offer in regards to this type of fishing? A: Great question! There are several lures that can be used for ice fishing. The first lure is the jigging spoon called the Sonic BaitFish (SBF)™. This is an extremely effective lure as it can be used to vertically jigged, trolled, or cast. The great thing about the Sonic BaitFish is that on the fall, it emulates a dying bait fish, and on the rise, provides a vibration in the water that makes it irresistible for the fish. The second
Photo of the Month
lure is called the Cripplure™, which comes in a variety of colors. It emits a low frequency vibration that attracts fish, which creates strikes. It has a unique wobbling and rolling action closely imitates that action of a dying bait fish. Next is the Hum Dinger®, which has a hyper fluttering action that imitates the movement of a fleeing bait fish. Another way to ice fish is to use a 4” Sling Blade™ and a Glo® Hook on a 24” leader. Place a few leaded split shot weights between the Sling Blade and Glo Hook to ensure the presentation is vertical. Tip with a night crawler or maggot for best results.
Video of the Month
Are you fishing from the bank? No problem, we’ve got you covered. Click Here to watch how Mack’s Lures’ can help you catch fish! If you have video’s to share, we’d love to see them!! Send your video links to: MacksLure@MacksLure. com.
Wayne Jordan on the Snake River with a beautiful Snake River Steelhead. Great job Wayne! Send your photo’s to media@MacksLure.com for consideration to be included in a future Mack Attack edition or on Facebook.
See more pictures by clicking here: Mack’s Photo Gallery Page 5