AJ’s final blog

Adam Johnson is off to Missouri. His gain is our loss here at Prairie State Outdoors, as he will no longer be filing AJ’s Bass Blog.

We appreciated his efforts. Here’s part of an e-mail he wrote about ending his blog.

“Once again I really appreciate the opportunity you provided for me to get my feet wet as an outdoor writer. It has really opened my eyes to something I would like to continue with in the future. Thanks again.”

Lure Review:  H2O Express crankbaits

If you’re like me no matter how much I try to avoid it when I am browsing around at one of the major tackle retailers, ultimately I find myself salivating over all the shiny Lucky Craft crankbaits.  All shapes and sizes abound in the “Mercedes” of fishing lures, however one thing holds common for the lures, the $14-$18 price tag. 

I know there are many of you out there who scoff at the idea of spending that much for a bass lure. But I must admit long ago I decided to take the plunge and purchased my first Lucky Craft. I’ll also admit that I have on more than one occasion nearly shed tears after breaking off or breaking the lip of one of these pricy plugs. Even though I have tried a good bit of the lucky craft line up I have found that the only lure I consistently purchase and use are the Lucky Craft RC 1.5 and 2.5’s.  With their square bill and fat body they are perfect for one of my favorite techniques: crashing a crankbait. 

Anyone who is familiar with this technique knows it can do some serious damage to a crankbait. So for the last two years I have been searching for the perfect alternative to my $16 crankbait woes, and my friends I believe I have finally found just the diver.

During my time as the WIU bass club’s President I tried to bring in as many guest speakers as I could round up in hopes of improving our overall skill as anglers. One of the presenters I managed to get to share some knowledge with us was David Prosser. Aside from being a Western alumni, David is also on the Pro Staff of Academy Outdoors as well as being an accomplished tournament angler. For any of you who don’t know, Academy Outdoors is a major outdoor retailer predominantly in the Southern portion of the U.S.

While at our meeting David not only shared some valuable bass fishing insight but also brought along several of the Academy Outdoors crankbaits also known as H2O Express Crankbaits. Since then I have received a variety of the H2O Express cranks and have had a chance to use several of the models. So I don’t go on to long I am going to limit the review to the CRS Model cranks. That being said there are quite a few different options of H2O Express lures ranging from top waters to deep divers.  Here is the basic info on the H2O Express CRS Crankbaits.

H2O Express: H2O Express Hardbaits Home Site
Model: CRS
Weight: half-ounce
Length: 2 inch
Dive Depth: 2-5 feet
Price: $3.29-$3.99

Just as in my previous reviews I will break it into three sections:  Appearance, Performance, and Concluding Thoughts.

Appearance.
 
Upon first opening up one of the H2O Express CRS’s I found myself getting a the feeling I was holding a lure far more pricy than its 3.99 tag.  It also did have a very similar look to a Lucky Craft RC or BDS(CRS-BDS coincidence?)  The cranks have a very thin lip which is a trade mark of many more pricy divers and many believe allow the cranks to reach there desired depth sooner than with a traditional bill.  Another selling point to the cranks is the pair of VMC trebles dangling from there bellies which is rarely found on 4 dollar and under lures.  The CRS even sports an oval split ring to tie on to which is found most commonly on high priced Japanese lures.  I also noted that no tell tale signs of cheaper made products such as excess plastic on the mold, or excess paint was to be found on the CRS’s.  The CRS cranks also come with internal rattles.  Whether they aid in the casting distance or not, I’m not sure.  But they do have a solid low pitch clacking sound not too dissimilar to the Xcaliber 1 knockers. 
The color schemes offered in the H2O Express baits rival that of just about any manufacturer with quite a few colors closely matching Lucky Craft colors.  The differences in the “Table Rock Shad/Lavender Shad” and “sexy chartreuse shad” colors I compared were small if at all. 
A couple comparisons to a Lucky Craft RC 1.5

As you can see the CRS and the RC’s have striking similarities, however the one major difference is price.

H2O CRS $3.29(left) Lucky Craft RC $14.00+(right)

H2O CRS(left) Lucky Craft RC(right)

The color schemes are also similar.  Though the American Shad I still have to tip my hat to Lucky Craft on.

Lucky Craft RC(Left) H2O CRS(Right)
Table Rock Shad/Lavender Shad Comparison

Lucky Craft RC(Left) H2O CRS(Right)

But they do offer an assortment of great colors.  A few more.

Performance.

To test out these new cranks I brought them to my favorite cranking lake of all time, Spring Lake in McDonough County.  Because of aquatic algaecide and herbicide placed into the water on a yearly basis by the city of Macomb almost no vegetation grows in the lake making it perfect for throwing shallow cranks without worry of fouling on submerged grass.  I was pleasantly surprised to note that the three separate CRS’s I tied on my 7ft medium action crankin stick all ran extremely true straight out of the box.  They also didn’t seem to have any problem rolling over or side to side when burning the bait back to the boat.  Of course the true test of any square billed crank I throw is its ability to come through any lay down I toss it into and I can confidently say that the CRS made it through just about any lay down or rip rap I tossed it around.  The only minor flaw I noticed in the H2O Express cranks was that their paint did seem to come off rather easily.  Now I know its for the most part unpreventable when running cranks through cover especially rip rap and other rocks, but I do believe the more expensive lures such as the Lucky Craft RC 1.5’s do hold their paint a little better with fewer chips.

Concluding thoughts.

There are definitely positives and negatives to the H2O Express CRS crankbaits. The majority of the negatives however have very little to do with the plugs themselves. The obvious physical flaw as I mentioned earlier seemed to be in the paint job being susceptible to chipping. Still at under $4 a lure you can chip your way through 4 CRS crank’s before you’ve equaled the cost of one Lucky Craft The true downfall of these baits and this line of lures is the difficulty in getting a hold of them.  Academy Outdoors as far as I know doesn’t even have a store in the state of Illinois and the closest as far as I know is Missouri, Kentucky, or Tennessee. 

To make matters worse, they also don’t have an online store to purchase the cranks which are sold exclusively at Academy Outdoors stores and subsequently won’t be found on major online tackle giants such as Basspro.com, Tacklewarehouse.com, or Basstackledepot.com.  As far as I know the only way to get a hold of these bargain secrets of the bass fishing world is to make the drive down yourself, have someone ship them to you, or purchase them on a trading post such as eBay or BassBoatCentral.com(heres a link to a guy who ships them all over for a small increase in price Thread for H2O Baits Shipped to your door).  Still I would say positives far outweigh the negatives of trying to get a hold of a batch.
 
So the next time your traveling down south and happen to drive past an Academy Outdoors store on the interstate I would encourage you to stop in and pick up a few.  At only 3.99 you can load up on quality cranks for a fraction of the cost.  Or if you’re like me and simply can’t wait that long you can call up a friend or relative who lives south of the Mason-Dixon line and see if they’ll ship you up a few.  I think you’ll find yourself holding a lure that is almost if not entirely as good as a Lucky Craft BDS or RC at a quarter of the cost.

O and of course, the ultimate question… Do they catch fish?  I sure think so.

“Thank you much Skeet!”

I’ve never been the kind of guy who gets real nervous trying to start a conversation. In fact from time to time I pride myself in maybe even being a half way decent conversationalist. But when I walked up to 2009 BassMaster Classic Champion Skeet Reese after the day 3 weigh-in to wish him luck on the Angler of the Year race and to see if he would autograph my Skeet Reese Signiture series Lucky Craft crankbait all I could manage to blurt out was, “Thank you much Skeet!”…

“Thank you much Skeet!”? “Really?” I asked myself as I walked away.  “You finally got to meet one of your bass fishing hero’s and all you could muster was Thank you much Skeet!”?  Way to be witty AJ… Even the 5 year old boy next to me managed an, “I think your great Skeet!”.

However as I made the long journey home Sunday night after watching Kevin Short hoist the River Rumble trophy, I got to thinking that maybe the pedestal so many weekend and casual anglers such as myself place these guys on is somewhat unwarranted. Or even if the celebrity status most of these anglers do receive is justified, perhaps it’s for reasons other than what many people expect.

As is predictable these 100 anglers receive their accolades from the bass fishing community for their ability to catch fish almost anywhere. The “Elite” of our sport. But when it really comes down to it, in my eyes the true testimonial to their stardom is their ability to make fishing an occupation. I’m also willing to go out on a limb and say being a professional angler is rarely as glamorous as we like to believe.

Bass fishing isn’t like most sports. There isn’t a Bassmaster rookie draft where all of the sponsors pick anglers and sign them to multimillion dollar deals. I don’t have any hard numbers behind this assumption but I would be willing to bet that the average NBA or NFL athlete still makes more in one season than the average Pro angler makes in ten. Sure there are a couple of guys like KVD or Ike who I am sure make some pretty good doe,  but for a lot the pro anglers, its either perform or go back to working the old 9-5.  Sure, every tournament someone wins $100,000 but what we forget is for every winner there are nearly 100 other anglers who don’t . Of course even the ones who lose still have to pay the entry fees which are almost always in the thousands. Add the financial pressure to the stress of being on the road 7 months out of the year and I am a believer that these guys earn every penny that they get.

Since the elite series began back in early march the longest break in between tournaments has been three weeks.  That isn’t even factoring in practice days which usually send the anglers to the boat ramps 2 or 3 days before the event.  Couple that with the fact that a handful of anglers including Skeet Reese, Dean Rojas, and Aaron Martens all come from the west coast and there is a good chance that some of the anglers go months with out sleeping in their own beds. While I’m no expert on raising a family(heck I can’t even hold down a girlfriend) even I can spot the obvious stress that would place on a marriage and the overall family unit.

So the next time you spot the graphic of a professional angler on the back of a lure package promoting a crankbait or spinnerbait just remember there is a whole lot more to being a professional angler that hoisting trophies and lunker bass. And was my school boy stage fright justified when I had my chance to meet Skeet? Maybe, maybe not. But regardless I know that even if it was, it has a lot more to do with the tough lifestyle choices it makes to be a career angler than simply the ability to set the hook.

Side Note:  From my web log I believe it should be quite clear the respect I hold for these guys who grind out a living on the road in a sport that they love.  That being said I also wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that as tough as I’m sure it can be for these pro anglers, its nothing compared to the job our men and women in our military perform on a day to day basis.  I firmly believe any one of the elite series pro’s would be quick to agree with me on this as well.  So a quick thank you to any men or women out there serving our country and who might have stumbled across my web column.  You are the true hero’s.

AJ

Top 5 things learned from the River Rumble

Attending an elite series event is something that I have wanted to do for several years.  Finally after a one year layoff I got my chance to attend the River Rumble on pool 19 this last weekend.  I could go on for hours about everything I enjoyed in the weekend, not only in the event but with spending some quality RnR with some of my friends at my buddy Larry’s cabin right on the banks of the mississippi. 

The event had an appeal far beyond simply watching the weigh in.  It was a great opportunity to be able to see the behind the scenes action you never get a chance to witness watching on tv or the internet.  And the atmosphere?  Let’s just say that even though this wasn’t the classic, and the weights were definitely down compared to the other stops of the year, I still got chills when they started the weigh in intro and when Short lifted the trophy above his head.  Just being part of the crowd was awesome as well.  Anyone who says bass fishing can’t be a spectators sport forgot to mention it to the hundreds of fans who turned out on multiple days of the tournament.  Possibly the highlight of the trip:  I along with my three buddies got a chance to watch Kevin VanDam from our aluminum river boat fish just 25 yards from us.  Apparently we weren’t very good luck because we didn’t see him catch a single fish. 
The things I’ll take from this weekend as an aspiring tournament angler are immeasurable.  But with that in mind and for the sake of your waning interest here is my list of the top 5 things I learned from the River Rumble.

1. Being a professional angler is not nearly as glamorous as many think.

To a lot of people I am sure that the thought of being a professional angler is somewhat of a fantasy.  You see them on t.v. doing nothing but fishing and hoisting trophies and $100,000 checks above their head and think, “Man wouldn’t that be awesome to just fish for a living?”.  However from what I witnessed first hand, being an elite series angler is far from the bright lights and triumphs we are force fed on the weekly fishing shows.  I won’t go to in depth into this as I am going to devote an entire post to my thoughts on life as a Bass Pro, but after talking with Elite Series (soon to be) Rookie of the Year Matt Herren, and checking out his rig which sported an older model diesel truck with a ‘sit atop’ camper attached to the bed pulling his skeeter bass boat, it quickly became apparent that the majority of these anglers don’t stay at the Ritz.

2. There are no “secret lures of the pros”. 

Or at least if they do, they weren’t using any this week.  Not only did I follow around Kevin Vandam for quite a while but we also watched Matt Herren, Takahiro Omori, Ken Cook, and Mark Menendez.  I also had the luxury of borrowing some binoculars for the weekend and I was just close enough that between a great view of what they were using, and my addiction to browsing online tackle sites I could pretty well identify the brand, model, and color of the lures they were using.  I didn’t see one pro using something that I had never seen before.  In fact the majority were just throwing small spinnerbaints, finesse cranks, and small soft plastic beaver type baits.  For example, I had such a good view of what Takahiro Omori was using in carthage lake on day 3 that I can with 95% confidence say he was using a black neon w/ charteuse tip” Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver texas rigged with what I believe was a 5/16 ounce black tungsten weight.  That’s some pretty standard stuff on just about any tournament trail I’ve fished.  Actually my boater at Rend Lake back a few months ago scored a 3rd place finish with almost that exact same rig except for he was using a black with red flake beaver.  So while I’m sure they do make their own personal modifications, as far as I’m concerned there are no “secret or magical” lures that make the pro’s that much better.  Ultimately it just comes down to their ability as an angler.

3. There are no secret spots.

This kind of goes along the same lines as the no secret lures.  But the whole talk amongst a lot of bass fans prior to the tournament was that it would be interesting to see what areas of the river they uncover that a lot of locals don’t fish much.  As far as I know Carthage Lake definitely isn’t anything but a local honey hole and man were the pro’s stacked up in there.  On day 3 when we motored in to watch there was at least 8-10 boats in the 150 acre area.

4. Bass Fishing is still and always will be a dangerous sport.

Don’t believe me, ask Derek Remitz and his co angler who were both ejected from their boat after hitting submerged cover as they were racing into Carthage lake.  Here is the link to the full story which actually sheds light on the quality of character on the men who fish in this series.  It’s easy to forget in all the talk of lures, spots, and techniques that at the end of the day it’s a blessing to return safely to the weigh in.
The link to the full story about the crash

5. Even the best Pro’s blank every now and then. 

Whether I am fishing for fun or in a tournament I always get down and frustrated when I don’t manage to catch a fish.  But this weekend made me feel a little better about my periodic droughts as I watched Kevin VanDam(that’s right the future hall of famer, the #1 man on the Angler of the year standings) fail to weigh in a single keeper fish on day 3.  So with that in mind to any of you who drive away from a horrible day on the lake thinking, “today was a day that makes me want to sell all my bass fishing gear on eBay and never step foot on a boat again.” Just remember that if the “best in the world” can go a whole eight hour tournament in Illinois and not catch a single keeper fish than you can at least say, “It happens to the best of us”.

Just as a side note.  Jeff mentioned in a recent blog that I will be leaving the web log team in a few weeks.  Sadly this is true as I accepted a position as a trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol(I guess the thought of maybe getting to live within a few minutes of Table Rock was too much for me to resist!).  Still I will be posting for the next few weeks and I really appreciate all of the kind comments, and hope you have enjoyed my blog.

With that in mind let the pictures commence!

A couple of my buddies walking into the River Rumble

Who says bass fishing isn’t a spectators sport?

The announcers preparing for the intro to the T.V. Show (yes thats Mark Zona on the left)

A couple shots while watching KVD fish

And his boat…

A couple shots with me and the Pros

2004 Bassmaster Classic Champion Takahiro Omori

2003 Bassmaster Classic Champion and my bass fishing hero Mike Iaconelli

And soon to be Rookie of the year and one of the nicest guys I’ve met in this sport, Matt Herren(middle)

Elite Series Pool 19 Preview

Just a reminder, the Bass Masters Elite Series field will be in For Madison, Iowa this weekend fishing in the River Rumble on Pool 19 of the Mississippi River starting this Thursday.  For any of you who wish the Bass Master Pro’s would fish a tourney in Illinois this is about as good as it gets.  All of the information about the event and different activities going on throughout the weekend can be found at http://www.bassmaster.com

Attending a tournament is a great way to meet some of the best anglers in the world and get to know all about bass fishing at its highest level.  It’s also a great way to get a child or a friend excited about the sport itself.  Pool 19 is one of the premier bass waters in Illinois and if you’ve never visited now would be the perfect opportunity. 

Talking to several of my “river rat” friends, the weekend could be a little tough fishing wise with the recent rains the state has received.  This of course could make for a close tournament and an even more enjoyable one to watch.

Just for the record, for those Fantasy Fisherman and Fisherwoman out there, here are my picks:  Skeet Reese,  Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli, Jami Fralik, and Matt Herron.  My nod goes to Skeet to win it.  Between his close contention for the angler of the year lead and his classic victory on a similar fishery in the Red River it’s hard to not give him the benefit of the doubt.  Keep an eye on Jami Fralik.  He’s a known river angler who is fishing as close to his home state of South Dakota as he’ll get this week.  He could easily be the dark horse who runs away with the $100,000 first prize.

Hope to see you all there this weekend.  I’ll be heading that way Friday and staying until the final weigh in on Sunday.

AJ