An interesting and useful article from the Louisiana Sportsman:

 

The fishing trip was going fantastic. My buddy Austin Abadie and I were catching bass after bass on small Academy H20 Xpress square-billed crankbaits during one of my vacation days.

I’ve been told my vacations and my work look a lot alike.

Anyway, a particularly vicious strike prompted me to set the hook again, and I pulled a 1 1/2-pounder out of a submerged tangle of wood.

By the time I got my hand on the bass to unhook it, blood was streaming from under its gill plate. Sure enough, the rear treble of my lure had snagged the fish’s gills.

That fish was as good as dead. Or so I thought.

Abadie took the bass after I unhooked it and gave me an order I thought was awful strange.

“Hand me that Mountain Dew out of the ice chest,” he said.

I just stared out him, wondering why he needed a little sugary pick-me-up at that particular moment.

“It’s right inside the lid,” Abadie prompted, bleeding bass still in hand. “It’s the only one in there.”

Still puzzled, I handed him the 20-ounce bottle of Dew, which Abadie tucked under his arm before twisting the cap off with his free hand.

The fish was still bleeding all over the place.

For the life of me, I still couldn’t figure out why Abadie was 1) still holding that fish and 2) had a sudden hankering for that cold drink.

But instead of putting the bottle to his mouth and guzzling a big sip, Abadie poured some of the drink into the bass’ maw.

The yellowish liquid poured out of the gills, washing the blood away — and no fresh flow of blood replaced it.

The bleeding stopped instantly.

“I’ve been carrying that Mountain Dew around just so I could try this,” Abadie said. “I saw a video or something with (Bassmaster Elite Series pro) Gerald Swindle talking about how Mountain Dew will stop the bleeding.

“I’ve been dying to try it.”

It was amazing, but I still figured the bass would turn belly up. So we put the fish in the livewell as a test (and I also was taking home a few fish for dinner). We kept it separated from other bass so we could easily identify it at the end of the trip.

Several hours later, we finished out the day of fishing, trailered the boat and drove an hour back to Abadie’s home.

There, we transferred the bass I had kept to an ice chest.

And when Abadie pulled out the once-bleeding fish, it was flopping around mightily trying to break the angler’s grip.

I couldn’t believe it, but the fish was alive and well. And there wasn’t a drop of blood coming from the injury.

So what’s the key? Dunno.

Abadie postulated it could be the citric acid in the drink.

A quick Google search reveals conflicting opinions (though none based on scientific research). Some contend the citric acid causes the capillaries within the gills to shrink, while others say phosphoric acid in drinks like Coca-Cola will do the same thing.

No matter the reason, though, it’s obviously a way to save gill-hooked fish from certain death — whether you’re releasing them or trying to keep one alive for weigh-in.

In looking back through my fishing logs I saw a trip a few years ago to Monticello in October where I caught a good many fish including one that weighed over 8 pounds. If I remember correctly the weather was a good bit cooler that it is now. Friday morning I was there bright and early. There was a Ribbit, a swimbait and a Strike King KVD 2.5 tied on my rods. I didn’t even crank the motor. Just trolling motored out into the stumps and stickups. I alternated those baits but did not like the 2.5 because the action was a little aggressive I thought for the 6 foot visibility water so the 2.5 got changed to another small squarebill crankbait that was a gift and had no name on the bait. The only clue to its identity is it has a shiny red and black eye. It quickly caught a fish, albeit a small one.

  I saw no interest on the Ribbit so it stayed on the deck of the boat. The swimbait got a good try in the same places I caught them the other October but no bites. I remember it would be cast out and let sink to the bottom, then slowly retrieved stopping 2 or 3 times to let it sink back to the bottom. For a long time I tried that but no bites. The only bite on the swimbait was on the fall in relatively shallow water. A little one hit it, ran and spit it out. The small crankbait on the other hand was getting action. If you caught one, you needed to comb the area because usually there was another one. Most of the fish were very small but a few were in the 2 3/4 pound range. The fish were really biting around noon and I was fishing close to the bank. Evidently all wildlife gets hungry at the same time because a doe walked out of the woods, watched me cast a few times and then began to feed. She could have cared less and was only 40 yards away. I ended up with 19.

 

 

I have been noticing our dog the last week. In the morning she is curled up sleeping and is lethargic but in the beginning of the afternoon she comes to life and starts bouncing off of the walls. I thought the fish might be on the same schedule so I went to Lake Chicot after lunch today. At the ramp the North wind was blowing waves against the rocks and small bass could be seen chasing shad. Fishing started about 2:45. With a 1/4 ounce Red Eye Shad I caught 12 before I started the motor and could have probably caught 100. The fish were small but I kept on throwing hoping there would be some larger ones in the crowd. After a dozen and no big ones, I cranked up in search of some larger fish.  The bicycle dock was the first stop. In the past the fish have been schooled up there along a 300 yard stretch of bank. I caught one by a brushpile that was bulldozed up during the drawdown last summer. A dock that usually has fish around it was next but it is the one where the man saw me catch one as he drove by a few months ago and stopped. I left it then and came back to find him on the spot. I uncharacteristically gave him a small piece of my mind. I’m sure that didn’t deter him from fishing the spot again and again. That place was empty too. Sometimes the wind blown banks concentrate the fish so I headed for the one close to the welcome center. Nothing doing there either. I headed back to the bulldozer piles and dropped a worm in and around them. A few fish bit and were caught but with the wind blowing it was difficult fishing. After all the piles were fished I headed to the squirrel log and fished it with the swim jig used at Beaverdam with Richard. One cooperated. There was plenty of light but I called home and reserved a seat at the dinner table. Back at the landing the small bass were still wearing out the shad. I couldn’t resist catching a few more. The ending tally was 33 bass.

At 3 in the afternoon I started after seeing a fisherman coming in who said “They ain’t doing nothin’ “. Those were not particularly encouraging words. When I got to the 70 spot, immediately I saw some schooling bass chasing shad and I thought that guy was wrong. A small school, but a school.  A redeye shad is a great schooling bass bait so it went in first, then a DT-6, and then a worm, all with no results. Continuing down the bank and hoping for more schooling activity I alternated the aforementioned baits and added in a 5XD. Upon coming to some shallow water there was much fish activity but a Goo was the first fish on the line. There were stripes mixed in with small largemouths and they were wearing the numerous shad out. When the bait hit the water there would be a silver spray of shad. Why would a fish hit an artificial bait when there were so many of the real thing? Some did and maybe these two were going to share.

Real biggies. Leaving the little fish I tried a deep point where I immediately got bit. Upon setting the hook the worm was cut off and the line frayed thanks to a gar. After another bite of that sort I left for another couple of spots before retiring for the day. I caught 7 bass and an assorted amount of stripes, goos and gars.

Richard and I met at the landing at BD this morning about 6:30. We tried to start early because I had to leave to get back and see about some work being done at my house. After we launched, we headed North down the bank with 3/16 oz. spinnerbaits. The fish nipped at them a couple of times but none made it to the boat until Richard broke out the swim jig. I have not used a swim jig much and I was eager for a lesson. I got what I wanted. We caught most on a swim jig but some on the spinnerbait and some on a Yum version of a swim Senko which is a straight short worm with a club tail to make it swim. The swinning worm only had a 1/8 oz. weight. The swim jig we used was a 3/16 oz. custom made one with a creepy crawler tail.

In the background you can see what kind of territory we were fishing in. We probably caught most on the jig. Richard had a spate of bad luck that lasted about half the day. He would hook a fish and have it half way to the boat and it would come unpinned or it would get close to the boat and start frolicking and come loose. I watched and tried to figure out what was happening so I might be able to offer advice on how to make a correction but there was nothing I could see that would help. We tried to figure how many got away that way and came up with conservatively at least a dozen. As the time to leave approached, so did a thunderstorm and the fish were biting pretty good. Just as we got the boat out it started to sprinkle. We ended a fun day with 15 bass, a crappie, a gar, and almost a 7 to 8 pound catfish. The FOD was 4 – 1.

The private hole gave me a whipping this morning. Right off the bat before I left the landing area I saw some fish on the depthfinder. I dropped a worm down and one picked it up with a slight tap. When I set the hook I felt the fish but there was no hookup. A few minutes later the same thing, bit and spit, and no more after that. One of the highlights of the day was when I heard a bunch of turkeys come off the roost and start their morning conversation. Nothing from a topwater to a worm in 20 feet of water worked, not even a nip. At one place I heard what sounded like a small bass hitting by the bank. I heard it again, saw ripples, and trolled over to the spot where I made a couple of casts.  Then it happened again but it was no fish, it was a pecan that a squirrel high in the tree had dropped . It sounded just like a small bass hitting on top. Finally as I was feeling something with a worm and it pulled on the bait like they do when they spit it out. Thinking I had been busted I just let it sit and slowly the line started to move off. When I set the hook the drag started to squeal as the large fish headed for open water. I thought a good fish would make a slow day worthwhile.  As it came by the boat you could see a large bass looking shape but it was deep enough so it was only a shape. As the fight continued the fish came up and it was a tremendous “grinner”. The good thing was that just as I was trying to figure out how I was going to get it into the boat, the hook came out. Grinners don’t even start to fight until they get into the boat. Eight pound class grinner. I saw a lot of fish on the depthfinder but none must have been bass. Most were about 7 1/2 feet deep. I may just go up there with a cane pole and crickets next time.

One of my fishing rules is never go to Lake Ferguson or most other popular lakes on the weekend. I broke that one this afternoon much to my chagrin. First at the landing, I had pulled over to the side and prepared the boat for launching. Just about the time I was ready two guys in a hog lunker truck pulled up dead in the middle of the two lane ramp and began to prepare their boat to launch. After standing all I could, I politely asked them to move so I could put in. The admonition was not well received, although there were no angry words. They knew they were wrong I think, but people don’t like it when their hand is called. After launching, the number one bitin’ spot was the first destination.  A 5XD and a DT-6 were the first baits out of the box. The XD kept getting hung up but the DT-6 chased off the skunk with a little fish. As I was fishing there I kept eyeing the bank for the crankbait I lost there the last trip I made to Ferguson. It did not show so I got out my binoculars and scanned the bushes. There it was !

When I stepped on the bank to retrieve it, there was a 100 Bandit. A twofer on found baits. The hooks were still good on the lost/found bait so I put it on because it would not go quite as deep as the 5XD. The fish were not cooperating. I fished in some great spots where the water was at the right depth but only a few nips and bumps. At a known stripe spot they would follow it up or just bump the bait. When the stripes get to where they will not bite you are in trouble. I finally caught one but it was time to go. Only one small bass.

COPIED FROM TACKLETOUR.COM

ICAST 2015 Coverage

Livingston Lures Brings the Tech With Their Connected Lures

Date:	8/18/15
Location:	Orlando, FL
Admission:	Buyers & Press Only
Manufacturer:	Livingston
Reviewer:	Zander

Introduction: When it comes to infusing technology into lures one company stands apart, Livingston, which offers “smart baits” that are able to emit natural sounds to call fish in and trigger instinctual strikes. This ICAST the company took this technology to the next level with new lure designs and the world’s first app controlled smart bait.

They may look like normal lures but all Livingston Lures come alive once they hit the water

EBS MultiTouch Technology: The first Livingston lures started emitting a single sound once in the water and the company has since expanded their offerings with many more lures and now offers new MultiTouch Technology that enables anglers to select four different options including the original EBS sound that Randy Howell used at the Bassmaster Classic, “EBS Craw” which features the sound of a snapping crawfish, “EBS Shad” which mimics frenzied baitfish sounds, and now silent mode for times when a silent lure is the best option. The modes are selected by touching different contact points once the lure is wet. Instructions can be found here.

Pro Angler Byron Velvick shows us his new EBS enabled B Venom glide baits

Team Livingston Pro Byron “The Bachelor” Velvick showed us his new B-Venom swimbait which is a single jointed glidebait that features removable ballast weights that enable this swimbait to be fished at varying depths. This swimbait not only glides well it includes the new programmable EBS sound technology which is designed to convert those big bait follows into explosive strikes.

Nick Barr, Customer relations Manager, shows us the new Walking Boss part II

Walking Boss Part II: This season Livingston sought to create a killer topwater bait that would be the perfect vessel for their new EBS MultiTouch Technology. What they came up with is the dramatically flared double cupped Walking Boss II.

The Walking Boss is a cross between proven design elements and a hi-tech core

The Walking Boss Part II is a jointed walking bait that is dressed with No.2 Mustad treble hooks. The Walking Boss II weighs in at 1 oz. and is 4.7 inches in length.

Check out the massive protruding lip

“This bait is by far one of the best overall new baits out there,” says 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the year hank Cherry. “You can fish it several different ways: you can walk it if you want like the original Walking Boss, or you can just reel it like a wake bait and it has an action like the old Jitterbug on steroids. It’s a bait you can multi-task with. And it’s very simple and user-friendly. All you really have to do if you don’t know how to walk a bait is cast and reel slow, and the bait does the rest all on its own.” This new bait combines design with innovation and should be a popular option for topwater fans.

Lure designer Robert Castaneda shows us his latest creation, new Bluetooth connected lures that are controlled with an easy to use new app!

The World’s First Connected Fishing Lure: Livingston showed us a prototype last year and it looks like their connected lure is now ready for primetime. The new technology will be incorporated into future lures and will enable anglers to draw from an expansive new library of electronic sounds. Imagine the ability to change lure sounds with a swipe of a finger on your smartphone, or even update your bait with 30 new sounds to address different species and applications. With these new bluetooth connected lures and the company’s easy to use app you will soon be able to do exactly that!

Livingston’s newest offering is a complete hardware and software solution

The new lures are designed to be charged wirelessly and the company promises that they will be adding new sounds and even surprise easter eggs in the future. Fishing should be fun after all!

You can see the digital core hidden in the head of the bait

The hardware is cool but so is the software. Livingston has put a lot of work into creating an easy to use and feature rich app. The upcoming mobile app is designed to do so much more than change sounds on your connected lure and will be a one stop shop for conditions, catch data, catch tracking, and even logging trip information. The new bluetooth enabled lures will include upcoming Howeller baits, Byron’s B Venom, and B Viper Swimbaits. These cutting edge tech enabled new lures will be available next year but the app will be available for download in late 2015. We can hardly wait!

One day in the early 1960’s my Daddy and I were trolling in Lake Ferguson with 500 Bombers. I had a fiberglass rod with 4 inches broken off and the tip replaced and a 304 Mitchell spinning reel spooled with 8 pound Stren. As we trolled along some bass started to hit some shad within a cast of the boat. We stopped and started to cast and the bass cooperated to the extent that they would bite, almost snatching the rod out of our hands but then they would jump and otherwise get off. I think I caught maybe 3 out of 14 or so bites. It was absolutely maddening but if the bass were not hooked I was. Too bad the hooks were not as good then as they are now. We returned to that spot many times and it became one of our main places that my Daddy named “Bitin’ spot number 1”. I went there this afternoon after I had stopped in the first spot and caught 16 bass, a stripe and a goo mostly on a DT-6.  Some small ironwood bushes have grown up on the spot but were underwater. I knew this so I put on one of my “found” deep crank baits. On the first cast one bit, and wouldn’t you know, it jumped and threw the hook. The fish must have been an offspring of one of those 60’s fish. Then I caught three more before I gave the found bait back to one of the ironwood bushes. I tried to save it with my “gitter” but the line was hooked on one bush and the bait was on another. After I left, I rode to the upper lake where I investigated a spot that I knew was going to be good just as the water started to fall. I got a good look at it because it was high and dry. On the way back I hit both spots that produced and had no luck. Most of the fish I caught were between 3 3/4 and 2 1/2 pounds. I weighed all that I thought were over 3 pounds and the largest 5 weighed 17 pounds. Not too shabby for someone who has not fished in a good while.

I couldn’t stand it. I called Hal and invited myself for another go at Cottonmouth Lake because the first trip was so good. It didn’t hurt that the last trip he made there he caught 3 over 6 pounds. At 5:30 we drove in the gate. That meant me getting up at 3 a.m. We started out in the mosquitoes when it was almost dark, but when the first dragonflys appeared the mosquitoes vanished. The game was to be in front of the bream feeder when it went off. We were there on time but the bass were not. The bream were and what big bream they were. If I go again, I’m going to take my fly rod . The bass were not interested in anything that moved too fast. Hal quickly caught a few on a worm but nothing too big. We caught small bass until the major period started about 10 a.m. Hal caught 3 that were about 3 3/4 apiece. They came from some trees in 15 to 20 feet of water. Notice the orange tag just behind the dorsal fin. One of the fish he caught was one that he had already tagged. He has caught several more than once.

The bass in Cottonmouth have a cottonmouth in that they just barely bite. You feel no big thump when they pick your worm up. The last time we went the small bass were schooled up out in the middle but they were not there Tuesday. They were schooled up, sort of, around the outside of the deep water trees. The visibility is at least 10 feet. Hal lowered a white swim jig until we couldn’t see it anymore. He then pulled it up with his rod and had at least three feet hanging under a seven foot rod. After I made a scalding afternoon comeback we finished with 27 bass. I looks like my specialty  was the little ones on Tuesday.