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Event Article:
Clear Lake with Gary Dobyns |
Evaluating new rods at Clear Lake with Gary Dobyns
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Date: |
7/29/07 |
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Location: |
Clear Lake,
California |
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Event Date: |
July 28th |
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Reviewer: |
Zander |
Introduction:
We head over to Clear Lake
with professional angler Gary Dobyns to test Gary’s new signature line of
fishing rods, and get an inside scoop on a lake that Gary has won on so many
times. What ensues is a rock and roll of a good time filled with talk of fishing
rods, big fish, and plenty of laughs.
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Gary's got a
lot of rods spread across his two lineups |
About Gary Dobyns:
Gary is a well
known professional angler across the US, but is most well known here in the
West. In fact, Gary
Dobyns is the West's all-time leading money winner with over 25 Angler of the
Year Titles and 39 fully rigged prize boats to date. Gary has competed on the
biggest stages in the West resulting in wins with B.A.S.S. and FLW Outdoors. In
addition, Gary has won more tournaments and championships on the WON Bass
Tournament Trail than any other angler to date.
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The rods are
distributed by rod giant... Lamiglas |
Gary has been involved in the fishing industry for years, and has partnered up
with many boat and tackle manufacturers including Ranger, Evinrude, Daiwa, Power
Pro, Hummingbird, and P-Line, just to name a few. In addition Gary can often be
found at events like the ISE and Fred Hall Show teaching anglers some of the
secrets that have made him so successful in tournaments throughout the years.
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Gary shows
Zander his new jigging rod |
It was just a matter of
time before Gary put his experience in tournament fishing into a series of rods
with his own name on them, and the new Dobyns Rods makes use of the production
and custom rod actions that Gary has relied on over many years, signature
actions that have contributed to over $2 million in combined tournament
winnings.
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Gary and Cal
as we change locations to one of Gary's "money" spots |
Putting the pressure
on: Gary
invited TackleTour up for a day on Clear Lake to see what his new rods were all
about, as well as show us how he approaches the lake on any given day. Cal
and I didn’t have to think too long before we decided on a day (a
weekend of course, to see how Gary would contend with the added fishing pressure
and heavy boat traffic). In fact there were two tournaments
scheduled on the same day, and we were eager to get our hands on both the new Dobyns Rod lineup, and some of Gary’s tournament fishing knowledge.
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A look at
the Dobyns logo on the carbon fiber blank |
Background on Clear
Lake:
Clear Lake is a massive lake, and is 19 miles long and 8 miles wide. It is the
largest natural lake entirely in California, and boasts the largest surface area
of any lake entirely in the state as well. Located in Lake County Clear lake is
fed by many streams and its sole outlet is Cache Creek. Not only is Clear Lake
the largest natural lake in California but it is believed to be the oldest as well. The
entire lake sits on a large stone base, and the area used to be volcanic, with
the largest volcano being Mount Konocti.
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Pick your
weapon... |
The fishery at Clear Lake
offers some of the best bass fishing in the State, and the lake plays host to
numerous major tournaments, some of which Gary has actually won here, even the
first boat he ever won was on this very water. Many weekend and pro anglers are
drawn to the lake with hopes of landing a lunker, as Clear Lake has certainly
yielded its share of quality fish.
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We brought
reels for the day, and the Alphas Ito looked perfect with the red trimmed
Dobyns Champion Xtreme rods |
Though the lake is very
large in size it really isn't very deep, and has an average depth of only 8
meters, making it a great body of water to fish multiple types of lures. There
are excellent facilities on Clear Lake ranging from public camping grounds to
bed and breakfasts and the well established Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa. There
are launches throughout the lake and boats can be rented.
The Daiwa Steez rests on another
Champion Xtreme
While most anglers
come for the bass quality catfish can often be caught, mostly in the south end.
Because of elevated mercury levels the authorities do recommend taking
precautions before eating any of the fish on the lake. Anglers don't seem to
mind as the fish that are released just keep getting bigger, and the current
largemouth bass record at clear lake is 17.52lbs.
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Zander and
Gary fish structure over open water |
Saturday, July 28th
time to fish with Gary: 2:00 AM, Cal and I head out from the Bay Area to
meet up with Gary. Fueled by nothing but bad coffee and donuts, which happen to
be Gary’s favorite food, we mentally prepared ourselves for the day. We knew we
wouldn’t be able to outfish Gary, but we sure could give him a hard time while
he was spanking us.
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A look at
the Fuji guides and threading |
Next
Section: New rods, and plenty of action
