Ultimate Fishing Directory - Blog » Tackle Reviews

30TH Annual Ice Fishing Derby

Joshua Nathaniel Melville — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:26:36 +0000

30TH Annual

Lake Champlain

Islands

ICE FISHING DERBY

SATURDAY – SUNDAY:

FEBRUARY 13 – 14, 2010

MARK YOUR CALANDERS AND BUY YOUR

TICKETS TODAY!

YOU COULD WIN:

Now in it’s 30th consecutive year, the derby is proud to award over $4,000 in cash and prizes. There are seven categories of which to compete for cash prizes up to $300.00, plus a trophy for the first 3 places in each category. However you don’t have to catch the biggest fish in the lake to be a winner. Your derby ticket qualifies you to win a jiffy power auger at the awards ceremony on Sunday night, You must be present to win.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

you may call one of the following committee members : Mindy and Gilbert Granger ( Martin’s General Store) 802-868-4459; Steve Martell (Bayside Bait and Tackle) 802-524-2222; or George Fowler (The Islander Newspaper) 802-372-5600.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL !

2010 First Fishing Trip Of The New Year

Joshua Nathaniel Melville — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:27:19 +0000

Today was a Beautiful day to go ice fishing, The weather was perfect,

The Ice was thick and the perch were slamming our lines and tip-ups

We caught 50 Perch in an hour and a half, our best lure was the Jigging

Rap.

Ok Video Is Finished But Too Long To Post Anywhere But FaceBook so You’ll Have to Find Me Under Joshua Melville To See Both Videos Hope You Enjoy.

Just For Fun

Joshua Nathaniel Melville — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:07:08 +0000

If I Made A Fishing Magizine This is What It Would Look Like. If You Had One What Would It Look Like? What Kind Of Articals Would Be In Your Magizine? If You Would Like To Submit A Magazine Cover And Brief Description Of Your Magazine I’ll Choose 3 Of The Best And Post Them Here. Send Entries To armoredtransport@hotmail.com And Most Of All Have Fun.

A Look Inside My Tackle Box

Joshua Nathaniel Melville — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:28:12 +0000

Now that winter is here time to reorganize my gear for storage. Here is a look inside my tackle box and some of the lures and tools I use for spring, summer, and fall fishing.

Here is a collection of crank baits, my Favorite ones being the two cranks that look like small perch. I’ve had alot of success with all the cranks shown, the strike king itsy bitsy minnow works great for crappie, the fire tiger color works best in any lighting condition, the blue fox minnows work well on the crappie, blue gill, and perch. The perch cranks that i mentioned before work on everything from bass, crappie, pike, pickerel, and big perch. I love feeling the strike of fish when reeling in a crank bait.

Here Is the Luck “E” Strike ring worm kit. I purchased this kit from Bass Pro Shop and as I’ve said before this is the best plastic worm set and at a sweet price $5.99. We were very success full with this kit especially the blue colored worms in both sizes in fact a 3lb bass hammered the smaller ring worm and it seemed like the 2lb bass were hitting the larger ones, could there be a pattern here? Either way the verity this kit comes with I believe will catch fish anywhere. This is also a great kit for someone who hasn’t used plastic worms before. It’s easy to use and comes with every thing you need to rig many different ways. (Highly Recommended)

This top water frog set was something new I’ve never tried before and I’m still learning how to use them. We’ve had many hits with these frogs but have yet to land one. This Was a Great buy All frogs shown came in one kit can’t remember which store I ordered this kit from but I can tell you it was either Bass Pro Shop or Cabela’s.

Here are other lures which we’ve used over and over, such as the banjo minnow. The banjo minnow catches fish and has great action but I find those weed guard rubber bands a pain in the butt. The plastic lizards are great lures we use them without weights and run them over the top of lillypads and the fish just hammer them, also if you let them sink just bellow the surface and slow retrieve you’ll catch those lazy fish that are not in feeding mode. in this box there is a chatter bait and other odds and ends.

This box contains another kit by Luck “E” Strike, It’s there tube kit i bought this for two reasons. One I’ve never used them before and two there being used more and more in the ice fishing world. Again this kit comes with everything you need to start fishing with tubes, cost a little bit more than the ring worm kit but worth every penny to learn something new. Also pictured here are some bobbers that were on sale at Walmart for twenty five cents, and a Lindy worm blower.

Here are a few of my rods and reels all cleaned and ready for storage, (Not all rods shown) Now that My gear is organized and ready for the spring and summer months it’s time to prep all the ice fishing gear .

Good Luck And Happy Fishing

Laying The Hammer Down…

the fisherbabe — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:04:00 +0000

Ok…so I understand being skeptical of fishing lures and their capabilities. I have had many comments and emails on my post “Top 5 Canadian Pike Lures” from people who either cannot believe that I would fish for Pike with these wimpy lures or cannot believe that their favorite lures are not included I understand that we all have our favorites and ask my readers to keep in mind that these are just my favorites and I am not trying to discount your favorites.

As a matter of fact, I ask that you all comment and give me your favorite Pike lures. I would love to hear what works for you all or what you have caught your biggest Pike on. I would actually like to try them out. So please comment and let me know what your favorites are

I got a number of requests for the picture of the Cabelas Generic that is # 2 on my list. I have decided to post it here today as a special treat for my readers. Please remember that this lure is discontinued and therefore must be handpainted to be replicated.

This is the original Cabelas Generic Lure. As you can see, they have both been used and have quite a few bite marks…on many trips the Generic and the Hammer come back with no paint at all.

I stole this one from my husbands tackle box for this photo…I hope I am not fighting a divorce tomorrow…LOL!!! As many of you know, he refused to give me one of these lures even as a wedding present!!

This is the Generic that I handpainted using the red and white Cabelas Canadian Casting Spoon. It looks much like the original and moves

the same way. It can be a frustrating process however to paint one of these on your own. I enjoy lure painting though and always

paint a few lures before each trip!! You just never know what is gonna be the hot lure for those PIKE!!

This is the famed “Orange Hammer”. I am posting this picture to show those skeptics who cannot believe this lure is great just how great it is. I know it does not make sense why Pike love it but, as you can tell from the lack of paint on the lure, they LOVE IT!!!

So there it is…a family secret that I may get into BIG trouble for telling…but oh well!!!! See there…I am willing to risk divorce for my readers!!

Please keep checking back soon ~ I intend to run a contest soon and maybe you will be the one to win one of these famed “Generic” Pike Lures!!!

Happy Fishing and Happy Lure Making ~

LIZZY aka The Fisherbabe

Top 5 Lures for Canadian Pike…

the fisherbabe — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:35:00 +0000

My husband has been fishing for Canadian Pike for over 25 years. I just started. So when I finally decided to start fishing, and I mean seriously fishing, I asked him what he thought the top five lures for Canadian Pike really were. He gave me some examples and then, on my first fishing trip, I tested them out. I have to admit. Only one lure was really hot that first year…and many years after – The Orange Hammer!!! However, I caught Pike on each of the following lures and I find that they are, indeed, my top picks for Canadian Pike.

1. The Orange Hammer – (7/8 oz)

If I could only take one lure to Canada with me for some serious Pike fishing, I would definately rely on the Orange Hammer. Now…keep in mind that this name has come from my family. If you go to Cabelas and ask for an Orange Hammer…they are going to look at you like you are crazy. This lure is in fact only sold Cabelas as the “hammered nickel and orange canadian casting spoon” and can be found at http://www.cabelas.com/.

I, along with my family, swear by this lure, and I always have at least 7 in my tackle box at all times. Along with Pike, this lure caught me well over 400 Walleye in Canada last year. It was amazing. Take my word for it.

This is also a lure that is not commonly acknowledged or used among Pike Fisherman…as a matter of fact, we often get smug smiles when we suggest this lure…but then guess who really brings in the Master Anglers and TROPHY PIKE….there has been more times than one that a Guide has asked my family what lure they were using when they caught their big pike!!! Also, this lure has worked on every lake that it has been tried on. There has been no variation for success due to the location of the lake.

2. The Cabela’s Generic -(7/8 oz)

This lure is no longer available for purchase at Cabelas. Therefore, I am giving you an incredible secret right here on fisherbabe.com. This lure is so amazing that my family will not part with their limited stock of the original lure. My husband even refused to give me one of these sacred lures for a wedding present. This is how amazing and how limited in supply this lure is.

Therefore, I had to learn to paint my own. This spoon can be made by taking a regular red and white Cabelas Canadian Casting Spoon and painting it the colors that make up the Generic Colored Spoon. These colors are Orange and Chartreuse. I made about 5 of these last year and they were very easy to make.

I started by painting the lure a white base coat. After this paint dried completely, I then taped the curved pattern of the original (red and white spoon) onto the lure and proceeded to paint the green and orange where the red and white was. I know this sounds confusing. If you would like specific instructions on making this lure please email me or comment and I will be more specific. Also take a look at the picture and you can see how the paint was placed on the lure and the curve of the pattern.

It is important to get this paint right as it is the movement of the spoon along with the pattern that really makes this lure a success. I have other lures that are painted differently with the same colors that did not catch any fish. Therefore, the pattern and coloring is very important.

I can tell you many stories of how this lure has been the only hot lure on a fishing trip. My husband and his father swear by this lure and have said many times that it is their go-to lure for Pike. It is also a lure that is not commonly known among other Pike fisherman and Guides in Canada.

3. The Silver Minnow (weedless) -

The Silver Minnow is a go to lure for spots that really weedy. As you all may know, Pike like to lay in those shallow weedbeds to warm up in the spring. Therefore, when you fish during these times a weedless is often needed. This Silver Minnow is great for attraction because its silvery body is very noticeable in the sun and is very attractive. Also, it moves great through the weeds without getting caught.

This lure is based on a nearly 80 year old design and has been successful for that long in catching all kinds of fish. The lures 35 degree angle rocks the lure back and forth in a specific pattern that is unmatched for weedless lures. Its bright plating is very attractive to fish and its weedless design allows you to crank it through all kinds of cabbage!!!

4. Red Eyes – (1 oz)

This lure comes in weedless as well as the regular treble hook model. It gives a variation to the Silver Minnow lure if you find that it may not be working as well as you would like. The distictive red beaded eyes are something different than other lures and offer a variation to the normal casting spoon.

The bigger spoons are good for deeper sitting pike in the late summer months. The colors that are good in this lure are the firetiger, the red and white, and the brass, however keep in mind that the lure colors that work well for this lure on one lake may not work as well on another.

5. The Lindy GatorBack Spoon -

This lure is different because dozens of diamond shaped, multi faceted ridges cover much of the 4 1/2 inches of this lure. The front of the lure is a smooth surface and has a big eye that gives the appearance of a baitfish. This lure is very good for either casting or trolling and has been successful in many of the lakes that it has been tried. The colors that are good for Pike are Crimson Shad and Citrus Chub.

This lure can be found at http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/

Please keep in mind that all of these lures have been used in Canada for Pike Fishing. It depends on the lake that you are fishing as to which will work better for you. I suggest having all of these lures in your tackle box at any time if you are heading to Canada to fish. These lures have over 25 years of use behind them and will catch you a lot of Pike. Although the orange hammer is by far my favorite (and a Lay family secret…SHHHH), I would bet my catch on any of the above lures.

Check back soon for a BIG picture of the Cabelas Generic. I promise to post it SOON!!!

Happy Fishing and Happy Lure Shopping ~

LIZZY aka The Fisherbabe