Gary Dobyns Blog

I’m out here in the great state of Texas doing some filming for Bass Pro Shops and some TV Shows. I’m giving Mark Pack, Justin Rackley and Cody Roberson some rip bait lessons on their home water! In a all seriousness, these are some great guys that are doing some good things for our sport. Cody is the head of the Army Bass Anglers team and what he is doing is effecting a lot of soldiers and anglers in a positive way.

In my last blog I talked about my hunt in Nevada and it turned out to be a great one. I spent 11 days out tracking bulls across the Nevada landscape and I had to see over 120 big bulls. On the third day I passed up a big bull and that’s the one I later ended up taking, 11 days later. It was a big-big bulls, and it was even bigger than I had thought. You know how sometimes fish get smaller in the livewell, well big bulls sometimes do the same thing after you shoot them. This one didn’t!

On the business end of things I couldn’t be happier with the sales of Dobyns Rods lately. I’m also very excited about the new promotion we are running through the end of 2011. We are giving away a fully rigged Ranger Z521 with a 250HO Evinrude motor with Humminbird electronics and a Minnkota trolling motor. Along with that grand prize, we will be giving away additional Minnkota and Humminbird equipment through 5th place. The Dobyns Rod of choice will be given away from 6th to 20th place as well. Anyone can get an entry into this promotion by buying a Dobyns Rod or demo’ing a Dobyns Rod at an authorized dealer.

Tomorrow we will be on Lake Fork and I plan to put my Lucky Craft Pointer 128 to work agains these Texas boys. After Lake Fork we’ll be lake hopping through to Mississippi catching big fish and shooting the TV shows. It’s a blast out here with these guys but, I still can’t wait to get home and get ready for some tournament fishing!

This is the Daily Flash Minnow report from Tone River (Tonegawa), Japan!

We moved from Kanagawa prefecture to Ibaragi while filming and had gone lure testing with the Tonegawa expert and Lucky Craft pro angler, Mr. Suzuki Mitsuo! The testing was for the limited lures which were scheduled to be delivered next year only to the network members! Also, the final testing on our new product: the “Mitsuo Crank”!

Speaking of Mr. Mitsuo, you say “Tone Splash”! The top specialist! No, I shall say he is the master!! And I got the opportunity to spend a dream-like time fishing with him. The lure testing of the new product was important also, but I was so overwhelmed by his cast accuracy and his excellent hand rhythm, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it all day. Gladly Mr. Mitsuo had given us an approval on the limited lures for the network members, so just for whom comes and visit this Daily FM site; I will like to share a sneak-peek at this product with you!!! Unfortunately, I won’t be able to show the “Mitsuo Crank” not quite yet!! Sorry!

However, we will be introducing it on the December Enjoy Network DVD, so please check it out!!!

Well then, see you soon! Next report will be on “TBC Classic”.

Sandy

In Portugal, Bass fishing is very popular. A team supported by Lucky Craft had won in a tournament again. The national team jersey in the colors of the Portugal flag has left a strong impression. It would be nice if next time we could publicize ourselves as one of the tournament sponsors.

Joe Thomas Blog
Date: 11-19-2010

I just got off the water filming for the Ultimate Match Fishing show that airs on the Outdoor Channel.  Currently we are 9 days into the filming and its turning out to be a great season for us, you won’t want to miss it.  This is the seventh season of Ultimate Match fishing and it turning out to be one of the best. This years lineup we have named the “All-Star Edition” because its a mixture of past champions, fan favorites and people we have had a lot of requests for on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/UltimateMatchFishing).  Off the top of my head, the “All-Star Edition” lineup includes Lucky Craft’s Kelly Jordan, Boyd Duckett, Gary Klein, Greg Hackney, Mike McClelland, Jeff Kreit, Edwin evers and 5 more super anglers.

We are happy to have just resigned our contract with American Modern Insurance Group. They provide watercraft insurance and they are also a sponsor of Stihl’s Reel in the Outdoors which is my other TV Show. I am really excited about that they are very aggressive in the market.  We are also working on several other new companies.  Business is good we are happy to continue our relationships with Stihl Power Tools and obviously Lucky Craft and Evinrude and Ranger for this year.

On the family front I am happy to say the wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary and I am looking forward to spending some family time with the kids coming up. I am actually going to be home for the longest continuous period of time in almost 10 years starting Thanksgiving.

Next I am off to do a Kansas archery hunt and then its time to start getting ready for the boat shows and promotions.  The first one show is in early December and then lots of them in January.

To wrap up the blog I want to throw you out a fall fishing tip: In the fall the shad are really starting to die off and move up the tributaries.  I really love to throw the Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 this time of year. The Slender Pointer can be tremendous this time of year. Most years I spend a lot of time in the fall down in Central Tennessee through Alabama fishing for spotted bass and it’s a great lure for spotted bass as well. For a great color, the MS American shad is hard to beat.

Brent Ehrler Blog
Date: 11-18-2010

There is nothing like a nice relaxing getaway. Kelley and I have just returned from Hawaii. We spent a week in Kauai just relaxing. We did find time for a couple of hikes, but the rest of the time was spent just relaxing on the beautiful beaches and doing a little swimming. The weather was perfect and that island is amazing. I’ve never been to that island before, its really cool, its different than Maui, it’s smaller and less commercialized and really a lot of fun.

I have to say the seared Ahi in Hawaii is second to none. Just about every place we went that had it, I ordered it. It definitely seems to taste even better in Hawaii. I don’t know, it could be my imagination but, I am assuming since we are right near good Tuna fishing that it was really fresh.

This weekend I have the Bass-A-Thon at Angler’s Marine in Anaheim California. It should be a great show, Lucky Craft is bringing their full booth to the show this year and I will help out there with Roy Gray. Lucky Craft will have a few new baits at the show including the “Smasher”, a jointed swimbait and the Pearl Threadfin Shad and Light Hitch colored baits. I will also try to help out on the Ranger Boats side as well.

Speaking of Ranger Boats, I am really excited that next season I am going to be running the Ranger Z-521. This will be the first time I step up from a 20 foot boat to a 21 foot boat.

I do have one fishing trip planned early next week for a new online site. I am not sure where we will be filming but, I know we are filming early next week somewhere here in southern California. I know whichever lake we film on, I will have the New Pearl Threadfin Shad BDS-3 tied on and working for me. The BDS-3 is one of my favorite baits anytime of year but, especially in the fall/early winter time frame with the LV-500 coming in a very close second.

Casey Ashley
11-16-2010 Blog

I went fishing for the first time in quite a while with my dad just the other day near the Georgia/South Carolina border. I always enjoy fishing with my dad, he was the one who got me started fishing and getting a chance to get on the boat with him is something I look forward to. We started fishing team events when I was about 10 years old. We probably caught about 40 spotted bass, a lot of them on a jiggin’ spoon. I did catch some fish that were suspended over timber in one of the creek arms. I caught them on a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97 in Misty Shad color.

I’ve been doing a lot of Bow Hunting for deer here in South Carolina and I did get one just a few weeks ago. Here in South Carolina I hunt a lot with fellow Elite Series angler Davy Hite. Davy is pretty much a neighbors, he lives just thirty minutes down the road in Ninety-Six, South Carolina. I have a couple of hunting trips coming up here pretty soon including a bow hunt with Gerald Swindle in Illinois .

Other than that, I started building a house in the summer and I’ve been working on that. I work on the house a little bit, hunt a little bit and then work on the house a little more. This last fishing trip really started “fanning the fire” inside of me and I am itching to get back on the water soon.

I competed fish against Edwin Evers at Pickwick lake last week. This was my first time on this show and I enjoyed every minutes of it. Fishing was tough but, both caught limits and good fish. It was most intense fishing I had a all year. They told me not tell anyone who won until on air. It was unique format competition and involved many more strategy than any regular tournament. This TV show will be on Outdoor channel next year.
takahiroomori.com

It’s been awhile since my last Bass fishing! This time I went to Vail Lake which is located in Southern California.
People pay $1,500 annually for a lake membership to be able to fish freely all year long at this Vail Lake. So there are very few fishermen which means you have less pressure! Even if you are not good at fishing, here they say you can catch more than 3 fishes.
I came here with Mat from Optimum Baits!
Immediately after starting, our guide kept catching about 100mm size fishes with a Jerkbait! And finally… my long time wish has finally came true! Catching a Bass with a Lucky Craft lure!! As for the lure I used, when I had visited Mr. Omori (as mentioned in my previous reports), he had kindly instructed me the “lift & fall” action with the LVR (Vibration)! You slightly lift it and the fish will bite while you let it fall! What an ultimate pattern! Mr. Omori!! Thank you very much.
Afterwards, I kept throwing in lures such as Pointers and Spinnerbaits to the several existing boils. But the lure that caught it was the Optimum Baits collaboration product: the Wander Swim (official name yet undecided) which I also attached a Chatter Bait (Purple & Blue) to. A bit of a cheating product… But I did catch 3 today!
I wish I could catch like this all the time! Bass fishing is so much fun!

Mr. Hill was our guide for this time, and he also does fishing guides in “Diamond Valley Lake” so please try contacting him here:
http://www.vaillakeguideservice.com/index.html

Well then, see everybody again next time!
Sandy

Catch: Overall 20
SLS:

Today I went to go test out the Swim Wander. Sandy from “Daily FM”, Matt from Optimum Baits, and I went to the nearest lake for some field testing. The completion of this product was great. Matt caught about 30 all by himself. Even with the jighead in Texas was good. So next time I would like to try fishing with a non-sinker if only the condition is good. Sandy from Daily FM caught his very first Bass with a Lucky Craft lure. I would definitely like to come to this lake a couple more times next year.

Place: Texas

This is the final report of my trip to Texas. It is a continuation from last time; a special report on my visit to Mr. Omori’s place. This time I would like to talk a little bit about Mr. Omori’s personal life. At Mr. Omori’s house, I was extremely surprised to see a pool just for testing lures! It is not for people to swim in. This pool doesn’t have a ladder which usually exists in pools. And also, regular pools would have shallow to deep areas, but this one was over 3m in depth only! Mr. Omori has explained to us that this pool is designed only to cast and test diving models. What a champion! It is amazing how much he would do to test and experiment lures… I was speechless. On the last day of my trip for dinner, I had a wonderful opportunity to meet pro angler Mr. Miyazaki who lived about an hour away from Mr. Omori’s place. In 2 days, I met 4 amazing Bass pro anglers and had an unbelievable trip. Lastly, only for Lucky Craft fans I would like to inform you with some exciting news! On this 2 day Texas trip!! Pro angler, Takahiro Omori’s (a.k.a. T.O.) shirt actually used in tournaments, includes Yamaha logo, and a rod scrape mark that he has autographed is going to be given away to one person! You want to know the way to enter to win this one and only shirt?? Don’t worry, it will be announced in Japan. On February of next year at the Fishing Show held in Tokyo and Osaka, the prizewinner will be chosen by a fair draw! So please stop by at our Lucky Craft booth, we will be waiting!

See you soon!
Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow