ARMED AND READY TO GET FISHING

Lots and lots of preparation takes place when travelling to exotic destinations.  For my upcoming trip to Suriname I probably have repacked at least 10 times.  The first item was to find an adequate means of transporting about 8 rods.  Many airlines have limitations on weights and total size of checked baggage.  Suriname Air allows 1 piece weighing 50 lbs max with a total length x width x height at a max of 62 inches.  Normal rod tubes could not meet these restrictions so I was able to use a Plano rifle case.  I was able to stow all rods and most of the groups sinkers in the case.  2 piece rods are now necessary on these trips along with travel rods which are normally 3 to 5 pieces and can get packed in your carry on bag.  Trips to the jungle do not require much packing in means of clothes.  Remember you will normally be without modern appliances such as washing machines, etc so clothes and yourself are washed in the river.  For this particular trip only a few lures were necessary to catch bait for the cats.  Normally I carry on all lures after I remove the hooks.  Sometimes reels with line are not allowed so always check before your taking line off in front of the customs representative.  Sunscreen is a must along with a good pair of sunglasses.  Always make sure to charge a few camera batteries as electricity is not a given in some of the remotest camps.  Last of all, make sure your passport is current and make sure you know whether a entry Visa is required months in advance.  I have seen numerous times throughout the years, guys not being allowed entry due to not having a Visa or their passport had less than a year left on it (normally most countries require at least a year left on passports.  Cannot wait to get into the jungle and hopefully catch the largest catfish of my life!  Cheers!
Bob Daly

SHIMANO ALDEBARAN 2015

New for 2015, Shimano has come out with the ALDEBARAN casting reel. This reel weighs a mere 4.7 ounces which makes it the lightest in its class. The small palming body makes it perfect for bass guys to pitch and flip. It comes with a gear ratio of 6:5:1 and has 9 + 1 bearings. The max drag comes in at 10lbs. It has a light weight magnesium frame which makes it perfect for both saltwater and freshwater anglers. The retrieve is 25.5-29.1 in. It hold 100 yards of 10lbs mono. Tom Ashby of www.americanlegacyfishing.com has a few of these reels in stock. Give him a call toll free at 1-877-402-6350 for more info.

STURGEON SPEARING ON LAKE WINNEBAGO

The 2015 sturgeon spearing season ended this past Saturday, Feb 21. On the Lake Winnebago system, a total of 2,158 sturgeon were harvested making it the 6th highest harvest on record. The largest sturgeon of the season was a monster weighing 137.5lbs. Lake Winnebago is located in Wisconsin near Fond Du Lac. Thousands of ice houses are present during the annual spearing event and all members of families participate. Roads are constructed through the snow and "cities" of ice houses pop up everywhere. The DNR places harvest caps each season and all sturgeon are tagged and registered with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Great ice action at the Giant Goose Ranch

Had the opportunity to fish a few ponds at the Giant Goose Ranch which is located near Canton, Illinois on Saturday, Feb 22. The Giant Goose Ranch is owned and managed by the Herman Brothers. The Goose Ranch lays on 8.8 acres of land with access to 52 lakes and ponds which are loaded with monster fish species such as bluegills, perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and many more. During our trip we I fished along with a good friend plus guide Todd Kent and his 4 clients. Bluegill action was insane at the first pond we fished. I figure everyone in the group landed at least 200 bluegills each which is well over 1,000 gills!!! Sounds crazy but true as your jig was not down for over a minute without a big gill being on the end of the line. Later in the day, we moved to a perch pond and all landed some monster perch and more gills. Guide Todd Kent does a fabulous job of putting clients on non stop fishing action. I highly recommend taking a guided trip with him for some of the best fishing you can imigine! Todd has a great facebook site so look him up and contact him with questions on the Goose Camp and other fishing opportunites in the Canton area.

WOLVERINE TACKLE INC. SUPER RINGS IN SIZES #9 AND #10

Wolverine Tackle Inc. has recently come out with super strong size #9 and #10 triple coiled split rings. These are without a doubt the strongest rings on the market. They also come in sizes #4-#8 along with the 2 new sizes. They are constructed out of either zinc/ nickel with trivalent chromate which have a pull strenth of 335lbs on the larger sizes and stainless steel which has a pull strenth of 270lbs. I have used these rings for the top of top freshwater battlers including Papua New Guinea black bass and golden dorado. Never have these rings failed me to catch these monster. Why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on tackle with inferior rings which can lose the fish of your dreams. Obviously the new size rings will be for monster sized lures. For more information contact Terry at sales@wolverinetackleinc.com

HERMAN BROTHERS LAKE AND LAND MANAGEMENT

Recently had the opportunity to fish along with a few avid fishermen fiends a few ponds owned and managed by the Herman Brothers. The Herman Brothers are the leaders in Lake and Land Management. They stock lakes to your species needs and can manage the land for your dream house/cabin. Trophy fish are a norm by these lakes managed by the Herman's. We had the opportunity to fish through the ice for monster bluegills at one of the Herman's ponds. Many of these monster gills exceed 12 inches and are very plentiful. Also the ponds is teaming with bass, catfish, walleye, muskie and others. The next visit was split between Nate Herman's pond and his brother, Justin's for monster perch. The perch in Justin's pond are quite abundant and grow to monster sizes many of which exceed 14 inches. The Herman's are based in Canton, IL and have built their dream fishery at the Giant Goose Ranch. There are campsites, cabins, and guided fishing available. Check out their site at www.hbpondmanagement.com. The entire Herman family is involved in the management and are a very friendly, very tight family. I highly recommend you contact them to manage your dream pond or just to rent a cabin or campsite and get some of the best fishing you will ever experience!

LEADERS

When preparing for a trip, one of the most important items to consider is which type of leader should I take with. Normally when fishing toothy critters such as golden dorado or tigerfish, heavy nylon coated wire is used. The wire is practically impossible to cut. However it normally has to be crimped which is definitely a weak link in the setup. Mono leaders are also used. The advantage is mono has some stretch so you will not rip the jaws off the fish during a hard strike. Large diameter mono is extremely thick and knots are difficult to tie so crimps are also often used. Mono floats so it is good with topwater lures. However mono can cut easily. Another disadvantage is mono absorbs water so it weakens throughout the day. Fluorocarbon is another choice. It sinks so baits run deeper. It is more abrasion resistant than mono. Mono however is suppler than fluorocarbon so knots are easier to tie. Flu0rocarbon has a refractive index very close to freshwater which means it is practically invisible in water. However, fluorocarbon is expensive when compared to mono. However fluorocarbon is resistant to UV rays making it last much longer than mono. The new kid on the block is leaders make out of Kevlar. Kevlar is 5x stronger than steel. It is very fast sinking and abrasion resistant. It has superior knot strength than either mono or fluorocarbon and you do not have to use crimps. Kevlar has practically zero stretch. However, Kevlar is not UV resistant and can easily be seen in the water.

I have used all of types of leaders mentioned above. For my upcoming trip to Suriname, I am making numerous leaders out of 300lbs Kevlar. However, I have used 300lbs mono leaders for golden dorado and have yet to have one fail me. So the choice is yours. I recommend becoming familiar with all 4 types of leaders and put them to use in different locations depending on size and type of fish you are seeking.