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TackleTour Tournament Interview : Bryan Thrift
In our continuing series of interviews, we're sitting down with different pros and going through their tackle selections for each day of our tourney, one at a time. Today, we sit down with Bryan Thrift, FLW
Pro. |
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The L-O-U-S SKT Magnum from Lucky Craft
Well, now the "lure-of-unusual-size" (L-O-U-S) syndrome has crept into other types of baits as well. Most notably over the past year has been the emergence of L-O-U-S crankbaits. Leading that charge is non-other than Lucky Craft. Here now is our look at the SKT Magnum MR & DR series of crankbaits. |
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Megabass's Destroyer X7 Aaron Martens 71!
By all accounts, Megabass's
strategy of introducing in an entirely new audience to the experience of their
product with the debut of their "budget" series, the Orochi Double X over two
years ago was a success. However, established fans were less than enthused. Last
year, the company addressed these fans and upped the ante with a revamp of their
base destroyer line... |
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Job Done - Accurate's Redesigned
Piranha Extra Lite Pliers
One of the most useful tools an angler can own is a trusty pair of
pliers. While some anglers are perfectly content to pull out a pair of long nose
pliers from their toolboxes at home there are manufacturers that design pliers
specifically for fishing applications. One such offering is the Piranha Extra
Lite Pliers from Accurate... |
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Energy to Burn:
Quantum Energy E100 SPTA
Before I was given the chance to test the Energy E100 SPTA, how many Quantum
baitcasters have I owned? Try none! While I owned and fished a few of their
saltwater spinning reels several years ago, their baitcasting reels just never
found their way into my arsenal. Although not immediately new to the market, the
latest Energy PT reels are totally new to me and I was really curious to finally
get one out on the water. |
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Go Light or Go Home: The
Okuma Helios HS-CM-701M
When Okuma came out with their Helios lineup of mini-guide rods,
they were touted as being the lightest Okuma has ever offered. I jokingly
thought “Okay, maybe their lightest bass rod weighs 4.5 ounces and now they will
offer one at 4.4 ounces.” This idea quickly evacuated my mind when I first held
a few of these sticks and saw their published weights... |
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2014 Holiday Gift Guide Part 3 : Wrap
it Up and Put a Bow on It
It is time to wrap up our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide
and in our third and final installment Ms. Casey returns to highlight our picks in the
line, terminal tackle, electronics, and apparel categories. |
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2014 Holiday Gift Guide Part 2 :
Swimbait Gear, Enthusiast Tackle and Value Picks
We pick right up where we left off with this
season's picks in the swimbait, enthusiast and value categories. Whether you
are looking for that piece of tackle for that enthusiast angler on your list
or a reel and a rod that delivers plenty of bang for the buck we have you
covered. |
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2014 Holiday Gift Guide :
Freshwater and Saltwater Reels, Rods and Baits.
Whether you are looking for that perfect gift for that special angler in
your life, or getting ready to splurge on a well deserved piece of tackle
for yourself, tis the season to refresh that tackle box, and this year we
lured Ms. Casey out of retirement to help highlight our picks in our 2014
Holiday Gift Guide. Bring on the tackle!
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Wintertime Bass Fishing with the Live Target Crappie
Lipless Cranks
Got the wintertime bass blues? Finding those quality bites harder and
harder to come by? Maybe it is time to put away some of those wide wobble
crankbaits and reach for a good old fashioned lipless crank. Only in the case of
the Live Target Crappie calling this bait "old fashioned" might not be accurate. |
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Finesse
at the Entry Level: Abu Garcia's Revo S20 Spinning Reel
Abu Garcia's
moderately-priced Revo SX20 is a pleasing reel to look at. The first obvious
resemblance that came to mind is that it looks similar to my Shimano Stradic
Ci4+. The body is comprised of an X-Craftic alloy frame and C6 carbon body for
reduced weight and added corrosion protection. |
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A Proven Concept, the 13 Fishing "C" Series Low Profile Baitcaster
Now 13 Fishing is challenging naysayers once again
with the introduction of high-end low profile baitcasters with their Concept
Series. We have already taken a close look at the entry level Concept A and
today we put the higher end Concept C through the paces. |
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Shooting For The
World’s Most Efficient 4-stroke Combo In Professional Bass Fishing :
Pro Grant
Goldbeck and Yamaha’s Prostaff Manager, David Ittner
Earlier this year
BASSMASTER broke the story when Yamaha and ultra-performance boat company
Allison teamed up. Bassmaster Elite Pro Grant Goldbeck was assigned to
captain the ship while Yamaha’s SHO 225 became the power plant... |
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2014 Lake Eufaula, GA Outdoor Writer's Conference
Sitting right on the border
of Alabama and Georgia is a 46,000 acre gem of a lake called Walter F. George,
or in some circles, Lake Eufaula (not to be confused with the lake in Oklahoma
of the same name). |
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A Look Behind the Steel Door of D&J Plastics, Inc.
If you're a bass fisherman, you're no stranger to soft plastic baits. It is arguably, the number one selling bait category in the industry.
We were recently afforded the opportunity to tour the factory of one of the largest OEM soft plastic bait factories in the US. Located in what has become the soft plastic bait capital of the country... |
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Sneak Up On Your Quarry With The Denali Kovert
K863WJ Rod
Here at TackleTour we
have published full reviews of their Jadewood and Noirwood models, but now it's
time for us to pick apart the K863WJ Kovert rod to see if it's worthy of a spot
on the front deck of your bass boat. |
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Move
More Water with the PR-Labs Venom
We take a look at PR-Lab’s newest series of lures, the Genetic
Metamorphosis Series, which makes use of a flow through design to create
increased water turbulence. Does this relatively unknown company have what it
takes with these new baits to make a big splash? Let’s find out. |
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TackleTour Autopsy: Picking
Apart the Baitball
The Live Target Baitball Series delivers a new class of
hardbaits for anglers based on the idea that predatory fish will target
baitballs. These lures are more than just a few baitfish painted on a profile of
a hardbait and we break out the tools to pick this bait apart to the core. |
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Imperfectly
Perfect, the Little Creeper All American Sunfish
With an emphasis on unique design and custom quality the company’s soft
bodied All American Sunfish has also become somewhat of a sleeper bait employed
by both swimbait fans and pro-anglers looking to capitalize on a bluegill
imitator.
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Save face with the Sungaiter from Simms
With
such a huge
selection of
sun-protective
clothing available
these days, it's
easier than ever to
block out the sun's
harmful UV rays. The
Sungaiter from Simms
is one such product,
designed to protect
your face and neck
under the most
extreme conditions. |
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Getting Salty on a Budget: RIO
Mainstream Saltwater WF8F Fly Line
Nowadays, a
top-notch line can run you up around eighty bucks, and there are some
specialized offerings that cost even more! With a price like that for such a
relatively basic fishing necessity, it's no mystery why many people shy away
from taking up fly fishing. Thankfully, there are some excellent products
currently available that won't break the bank. |
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Finesse
at the Entry Level: Abu Garcia's Revo S20 Spinning Reel
Now spanning several levels of pricing and performance, the Revo family
continues to enjoy epic popularity. In this review we dissect the entry- level
Revo spinning reel—the S20 model—to see if it has mean performance that exceeds
its friendly price tag. |
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The Search for One : Shimano/Jackall's Biwako Versatile X
Introducing our first look at
the new joint venture Poison Glorious like from Shimano and Jackall. Here's our
look at the 173MH Biwako (Lake Biwa) Versatile X. |
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The Return of Kistler's Carbon Steel Line
Building rods domestically comes with higher costs making it difficult to produce a competitive stick in the very hotly contested $80 - $120 price point. Enter the new Carbon Steel rods from Kistler. Sourced from overseas to keep costs down, these rods share the same bare Z-Bone aesthetic as their existing lineups.
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Power
Up With Gary Yamamoto Chikara Crankbaits
There's a lot to
consider when purchasing a new crankbait. Its size, coloration, wobble, and
depth range are just a few aspects one must weigh. It can be challenging for a
company to design baits that tick all the boxes, but the gang over at Gary
Yamamoto baits believes they have done just that with their new Chikara line of
crankbaits.
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Quantum's First Magnesium Framed Reel, the Tour Mg!
There was a point in time, several years ago, when someone showed me a reel from Quantum, my first thought before even handling the reel was "heavy". Well, at ICAST 2013, Quantum impressed me with what I found hard to believe was their very first foray into a reel made of this material. Here now is our look at Quantum's Tour Mg!
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Get a “Trigger Happy” Grip on your Casting and Spinning Rigs
Have you ever been fishing all day and started to feel
your fingers and hands get worn down by gripping the trigger on your rod too
tightly? To address
this issue a company called THCG (Trigger Happy Comfort Grips) has introduced a
patent pending product that is designed to be an easy to deploy solution. |
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Flipping Week : Zombie or Immortal? Dee Thomas's Signature Series Flipping Rod
From the popular, to the
obscure, to the new, we now bring you to the somewhat rare entry in TT's
Flipping Week. Zombie's Dee Thomas edition of their Immortal 76 is a limited
edition, limited production stick made to the exacting specifications of the
father of flipping himself, Dee Thomas. |
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Flipping Week : Orochi Double X Aaron Martens Special!
Just because this series is the
lowest price offerings from Megabass, we’ve quickly found out that sacrifices were not made in terms of performance. Here now is our take on yet another rod in this series, the F8-79XX Aaron Martens Flipping Special.
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Flipping Week : Gary Loomis Shows his Edge for Flipping
Edge Rod's Flip 787-1 has the rare pedigree of
being a
fishing rod made in the USA. With the ease of heading overseas to procure OEM
product, each year witnesses an increasing number of rod companies emerging in
the bass fishing market. There are a few companies bucking this trend and Edge
Rods, out of Woodland, Washington is one of them. |
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Flipping Week : Phenix Rods Mocks the Demon
Phenix's rise into the
mainstream of bass angler's fishing rod consciousness has been quite
astonishing. Their combination of value plus performance in several lines has
really changed expectations. In particular, the Recon 2 series has been a
favorite amongst TT Editors for the fusion of JDM styling together with
attractive price points. No where is this more evident than in the company's
entry to flipping week. |
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Flipping Week : iRod's Bub Tosh Punch Rod!
We've gathered a handful of rods from the popular, to the obscure, to the new, to the rare, all to be featured in our first ever Flipping Week! First up, we take a look at one of the most affordable, yet hard to get flipping sticks on the market to day. Introducing our look at iRod's
IRG7114P-H, aka, Bub's Punch Rod.
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Pro Angler Bryan Thrift
Catches Air with Damiki’s New Frog
We head to Clear Lake to go fishing with FLW Pro Angler Bryan Thrift and the
Damiki team to check out the latest and greatest lures that the team has to
offer, which includes the exciting new Air Frog. Bryan helped design the Air
Frog, which is a plastic toad style bait that floats... |
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Goin' for a Walk with the Jackall Iobee
Frog
Despite the popularity of hollow-body frogs, a lot of anglers get frustrated
with them at times because they can be difficult to walk. It takes different
tackle and a much different cadence to master one of these baits compared to,
say, a Zara Spook. Jackall's Iobee frog is made to ease this burden a bit, as
it's designed for effortless walking action. So, will the Iobee indeed walk, or
flop? |
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