FISHING LAKE MICHIGAN

Lake Michigan near the Chicago area offers World Class Fishing for various species such as Smallmouth Bass, King Salmon, Coho Salmon, Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Steelhead, and monster Lake Perch. If your visiting the area or would like to hire a charter for some of this fabulous fishing, I highly recommend contacting Capt. Ralph Steiger, www.captsteiger.com, Ralph specializes in Lake Michigan fishing. Also he guides some ice fishermen to monster fish. However, Capt. Steiger specializes in Lake Michigan Fishing. He is U.S.C.G. licensed and insured. He runs a new Crestliner Tournament 202, 21ft Pro Walleye boat powered by new Mercury 225hp and 9.9hp outboards. Ralph provides all Shimano rods and reels plus top of the line lures to catch the trophy fish of your dreams. His boat is equipped with the top of the line sonar, radar, downriggers, plus all safety equipment to make you trip worry free. Ralph books fast, so give him a call now to get into the great Lake Michigan Fishing action. Contact Ralph at ralphish00@aol.com or cell phone (219) 688-3593

CAPTAIN JEAN-FRANCOIS HELIAS

According to the IGFA, Capt. Jean-Francois Helias once again showed his outstanding guiding as he led more anglers to record catches in 2011 than any other captain or guide on this earth! As most know I have fished with Francois a few times while visiting Thailand which I call the "Home of the Monster Fish". Previously Francois set over 220 International Game Fish Association World Records of which will need to be updated. He is a member of the prestigious IGFA Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on educating fishermen in Thailand on IGFA regulations and proper means for catch and release. As mentioned on my predictions for 2012, Thailand will next become the must to go place for trophy USA fishermen! Make sure to consider Thailand for you next trip. Francois can set up numerous packages with a variety of Monster Fish. Possibly you too can set a World Record!
Francois can be contacted at (668)1 846 98 94 e-mail: fishasia@ksc.th.com
www.anglingthailand.com
CONGRATULATIONS FRANCOIS FOR BEING THE TOP GUIDE IN 2011!

DOUBLE SPLIT RINGS VERSUS SWIVELS

In most cases, snap swivels are the choice of all to make lure changing fast. However in certain cases when targeting monster fish, the swivels are not strong enough or are so massive that they hinder the lures action. Another choice of a few are to use a double split ring system. OWNER makes a solid, seamless spilt ring. The idea is to tie your line to this solid ring then join this ring to a spilt ring to the lure. Wolverine tackle makes the stongest spilt rings in the world. They use a triple coiled procedure where there are 3 strands of wire instead of the normal 2 on most rings. For monster fish, I suggest using a size 6 Wolverine triple coiled ring attached to a size 6.5 OWNER solid ring which is rated for 300lbs. So consider this option on your next fishing trip for monsters!!
** photos provide from friend Art Weston who tests most terminal fishing tackle

OWNER ST-76 TREBLE HOOKS

If you thought the Owner ST-66 was super strong, wait till you check out the ST-76 5x treble hook! These are without a doubt the strongest treble hooks on the market. Owner has a triple edge cutting point process which also makes their hooks some of the sharpest on the market. When battling tough species such as Papua New Guinea Black Bass, Tanzania Tigerfish, La Zona Golden Dorado and numerous saltwater species, make sure rig up with the ST-76 and your hookups will greatly increase. When fishing for trophy spieces make sure to rig up withe the strongest, sharpest hooks available, so check out the Owner ST-76!

FISHING LURE SNAPS

They are numerous type of fishing lure snaps on the market. The snaps attach to your line then the fishing lure to provide a quick means of changing lures plus sometimes added movement on the lure. Often, I am asked as to which is the best. In my opinion it all depends on the type of fish your are after. The Interlock Snaps are good for small fish as there is a wire lock on the side to prevent it from opening. Often this is the weak link and opens freeing your lure. The Duo-Lock Snaps are similar in my opinion. Coastlock Snaps are good for species such as pike, walleye, bass but not for the heavyweights! The wire hooks around to prevent the lure from becoming free. The Double-Lok Snaps are normally my choice. They are very strong and popular with anglers after trophy fish. The wire is hooked twice around the main wire section to make it extra strong. When going after the really big heavyweights consider the Stay-Lok Sanps as it has a unique design which ensures it comes not come open. They are the strongest on the market in my opinion. So when fishing with lures, consider using snaps!

SYDNEY RIGGING/ SLIDING SPOONS

When tossing jigging style spoons for fish which often jump in an attempt to toss your lure, the Sydney rig can increase your catch rate. The Sydney rig is more or less a sliding spoon which has wire eyes on each end. To rig up, you run your leader wire or line through the front split ring of the spoon and through the back ring of the spoon. Then, connect to a stopper such as a bead chain swivel. Next hook up the swivel to a treble hook. The spoon should now slide up and down your line or leader material. This will prevent the fish from using the weight of the lure to help it toss the hook. Try this rig on your next trip for golden dorado, tigerfish, and even saltwater tarpon and you will be surprised!

LA ZONA REPORT FOR JANUARY 6TH TO 9TH

Longtime friend, George Hollenbeck and his wife, Ruth fished in La Zona during January 6th to 9th. La Zona is a section of the Uruguay River near the Salto Grande dam which is divided by Argentina and Uruguay. George and Ruth both have fished in La Zona before and stayed at La Zona Lodge. The water levels were extremely low with numerous exposed rocks. Fishing was good using 1.5 oz Cabelas Canadian spoons. Ruth, who is a very petite woman, once again topped George with a monster 44 pound golden dorado and a huge 41 pound. George topped at a respectable 39 pounder. Numerous dorado in the mid 30s were landed. As most know this is an extremely sought after fishing adventure where the largest golden dorado on earth swim. Book now for what should be an exciting year in La Zona. Contact Steve Yatomi at
www.adventuretravelalliance.com for more information on La Zona and other International fishing adventures!

KNOTTABLE LEADER WIRE

When fishing for toothy critters such as golden dorado, Tigerfish, Papua New Guinea Black Bass, wire leaders are essential to prevent line cuts. The normal method is making leaders out of stranded wire using crimps to secure swivels, spilt rings, etc.. Aquateko has come out with a line of knottable leader material, Knot-2-Kinky leader wire, which elimates the heavy swivels, etc. The leader material is made out of very strong nickel-titanium wire that stretches and has no memory so that it recovers to original shape. This practically eliminates the chance of break offs due to wire kinks. The wire is knottable too! It comes in either 15ft or 30ft coils up to a very strong 100lbs test. Check out www.aquateko.com for more information

GLOBAL RESCUE

When travelling into remote places such as Africa, Papua New Guinea, the Amazon Jungle, there is always the chance that you can get serverely injured without medical aid. Global Rescue is the only evacuation provider that will perform a Field Rescue no matter where you are at! Global Medical will transport you to your home hopsital of choice. They have operators staffed 24/7 with extensive emergency medical experience. Global Medical transports by contracted helicopter, private medically equipped jet, plus many other transportation means. Services are available 365 days 24 hours per year. They offer individual, student, and family plans. Plus, they also offer Short-Term plans for a week or two. So for peace of mind, consider Global Travel on your next fishing trip outside the USA. Check out http://www.globalrescue.com/

REEL REPAIR

Looking to get your reel repaired or upgraded during the winter season? Jerry Foran of http://www.hookless.com/ can do this for you. Jerry works on baitcasting reels only, specializing in Abu Garcia Ambassadeur reels. However, he also can repair all other major brands. Each reel is totally disassembled and inspected for worn out parts. Each reel is hand cleaned down to the threads on the screws, oiled with top lubricants, reassembled, and tested to make sure all is well! I recently sent in a few Abu Garcia baitcasting reels to replace the drag washers. Jerry has a huge collection of rare Abu Garcia Baitcasters. He can custom build classic/vintage 70's style Ambassadeur Batcasting reels to your specifications! He has worked on these type of reels since his youth.

The Smooth Drag Company, http://www.smoothdrag.com/, out of Southern California makes top of the line drag washers. The drag is what tires out the fish. It more or less lets the line unwind when a fish pulls hard. There are numerous types of drag systems and brands. They are all adjustable so you can control the pounds of "drag" it takes to pull line off of your reel. Often problems occur when the drag starts to slip or stick. If the drag is set properly your line should never break. Most drag washers are either metal or teflon. When your line does not pull off smoothly it is time to inspect or replace the drag washers. I contacted the folks at the Smooth Drag. By replacing the washers with their top of the line models, I should see an increase of roughly 3 pounds of drag pull which will definately help in landing Monster Fish! So I highly recommend you check the drag before your next fishing adventure. If problems persist contact Jerry Foran at 904-259-6039 or contact the Smooth Drag Company at 18882064656 and do the repairs yourself!