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Event Article:
2008 ISE San Mateo |
Kicking off the Season with the 2008 International Sportsmen's Expo San Mateo
(continued)
AC
Plugs: The original is back! AC Plugs are the brainchild of Allan Cole, who
many consider to be the father of swimbaits when he made a discovery in the 80's
that striped bass at Pyramid lake were gorging themselves on stocked rainbows
and set out to design a fishing lure that
would not only match the coloring of the hatchery trout, but would also
duplicate the swimming motion of the fish. After 4 years of perfecting his idea
and secretly catching monster Stripers in California and Nevada, he was finally
ready to release his new lure to the world. In 1991 he went fishing with an LA
times reporter and let the world know about the aptly named "A.C. PlugŪ".
Mark shows us the newest creation
from swimbait and plug master Allan Cole
At the show Eric Cole (Allan's son) and Mark
showed us the exciting new Casitas soft bodied swimbait. The lure is available
now in three sizes ranging from 6 to 10 inches in size. Cal was drooling over
the massive 10" bait. The lure features a number of interesting design elements,
and is incredibly realistic. In fact Mark is an actual fish Biologist by trade,
and pointed out numerous details including the
body which is molded from actual hatchery trout
down to the operculum, flippy pectoral and pelvic fins that were created ultra
thin for subtle movement, and
ultra realistic eyes created specifically for
this lure.
Cal likes the massive 10" version
The bait also features a loud rattle in the tail,
a super heavy duty internal wire, and comes with Owner frog and treble stinger,
all hyperwire split rings and sevenstrand coated wire. A
hook keeper that holds frog hook close to belly of
fish but will release the hook when a fish is on and you can also use the keeper
with a treble.
The Casitas is
available in three different sizes
Also unlike many swimbaits is the reasonable
price. The six inch model retails for $29.95, add 5 dollars for the 8" model,
and 10 dollars for the mammoth 10" version. Stay tuned for a complete review of
this lure, as the bait is already in our Editor's hands.
We expect to
see a whole lot more from A.C. Plugs with quality introductions like the
realistic Casitas lure
Black Dog Baits: We
will just come out and say it... the Punker rocks. Since the debut no other
topwater swimbait has landed us more big bass and striper than the Black Dog
Lunker Punker. This strange looking bait has a unique wide cadence that can get
big fish to not only follow but strike the bait, even when they are within feet
of the boat.
Don Osborne
shows us the limited edition Punkers
At the show Black Dog was selling out of their new
limited edition models. These hand painted collectibles are designed for both
display and action, and are true functional works of art. Retailing for 80
dollars each they were almost sold out by the time we reached the booth.
The midnight
trout is truly a functional work of art
Next Section: A big bad boat from Ranger
