The Soner Euro Cup

The Soner Euro Cup

After some street fishing in Paris late this summer, we moved on to Spain. We — Becky, myself and the youngest kids — spent a couple of days in Madrid before I fished the Soner Euro Cup on Lake Cigara near Madrid. My partner and I won it! How cool is that? The Euro Cup was a really exciting experience for me. There were something like 125-130 boats with two man teams in them. As best I can remember there were something like 25 or 30 countries represented, some of them from thousands of miles away. And, as you might […]

A Super Short Delay Is a Good Thing – Part 2

A Super Short Delay Is a Good Thing – Part 2

Last time we talked about the two rods in my Abu Garcia Ike Delay Series that are designed for twitching techniques. This time I want to cover the other five models. I’ll detail what they’re designed to do and why I recommend you take a close look at them when it’s time for you to upgrade. I may have mentioned this before but it’s important enough to repeat: The name Delay was no accident. The idea behind these rods is to make them hesitate just a little bit before you feel the bite and set the hook. But, I don’t […]

A Super Short Delay Is a Good Thing, Part 1

A Super Short Delay Is a Good Thing, Part 1

Recently I received a really good report from a friend who’s a serious recreational angler about one of my rods — the 6 foot, 4 inch, medium power, moderate action Ike Delay Series made by Abu Garcia. I thought I’d share some of his experiences with you and give you my perspective on why they should be in your rod box. He fished jerkbaits for smallmouth with it. Here’s a mix of what he had to say and what I have to say. First, let’s talk about the length and the handle. At 6 foot, 4 inches it’s short enough […]

It’s Buzzbait Time

It’s Buzzbait Time

From now until winter, buzzbaits will prove to be some of the most effective lures you can throw. They are good in a wide variety of cover situations, or when there’s no cover at all, and they’re easy to fish. This is the way I see it… My preference in buzzbaits is the Molix Lover Buzz and the Lover Buzz SS. They’re a little different from any of the others that are around. Instead of having a sharp bend down with a wire back to the shaft it has a short bend down and the wire drops right into the […]

Crankbait Rods

Crankbait Rods

We hear all the time about specialty rods, how they’re an important part of the sport because they help us fish more efficiently. That’s true, and some of the most important and useful are what are commonly called crankbait rods. The thing is, though, they really should be named treble hook rods or reaction bait rods because the design features they have will help you fish more efficiently with any bait that has a treble hook on it. I’m thinking about hard jerkbaits and topwater plugs as well as crankbaits. The basic, and most important, thing about one of these […]