Stankx Bait Company

Here are the baits I used from Stankx Bait Company this year.

These tubes were irresistible to the smallies in the rivers up in the North Woods of Wisconsin. Hands down the best tubes you can get. Not one of the tubes in the package had an uncut skirt. Kudos for that! I will definitely be ordering more of these bad boys!

The "Mud Bugz" - I to use this as a trailer on my skirted jigs. I caught some tank largemouth bass utilizing this trailer. The color pattern is one of their custom colors - Gobi Wan. Being a star wars fan, I just had to go with it. (Sad to not see product not on their website anymore.)

POICHES

MIDNIGHT CHROME

RAD GILL

The NXT LVL Swimz - these were new to me this year, and they were a fish favorite. I would rig these up with either a weightless offset hook, or a weighted one to get deeper and farther. This became one of my go to search baits when I was out with my traditional gear. The bass loved these! I even caught a few pike on them, as well. The colors on these really pop, and grab your attention.

.40 Caliber Stix in Aurora

I didn't get to use these, because, of all of the success I had with all of the other baits, and my fly gear. However, I did give a few to my friends, and they were thoroughly impressed with how slow this bait fell when rigged wacky. I'm looking forward to giving these a shot next year. I was never really good with the wacky rig technique, but that's one of my goals next summer.

All in all, I must say, that Stankx Bait Company creates some high quality plastics. There is a definitive difference, and once you get your hands on one of their products, you will immediately feel it. While I do favor and prefer fishing with my fly rod, I do still use my baitcaster and spinning rod from time to time, but I don't have as much tackle as I used to 7 or 8 years ago. I gave all of my other plastics and some lures away, because, I didn't need them, and they were just taking up space. Once I run out of my current supply of plastics, I'll definitely be ordering from Stankx Bait Company.

**Note - I have no ties or have received anything free for writing this review. I am just simply letting you know my opinion. I'm all for supporting the smaller companies who make a high quality product.

***All photos were taken from the Stankx Bait Company website.***

Bears

Went to the Chicago Bears game this weekend. Being outside in a light drizzle for 3.5 hours reminded me that I need to go fishing. I haven't been fishing in quite some time, and I know a few places for an outing before winter kicks into high gear.

Any other football fans out there...who's your team?

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!

Not Amused

Had the day off on Friday, so, I took my girl Daisy to get her nails cut. From the looks on her face, I'd say she had a great time!

Daisy is not amused.

Vise Season

I finally, got most of my things organized at my GF's new place. One of the things I was looking forward to getting cleaned off was my fly tying desk, because, it's fly tying season!!! The desk may look clean now, but don't you worry. It'll be a complete mess in 2 weeks. There's going to be buck tail, feathers, and all kinds of other dead animal fur all over the place, and soon enough, my GF might have me looking for a new place, if I don't clean it up. Haha....we all know there is almost no way to keep a dedicated fly tying area clean, for long anyway.

With that said, I just couldn't wait to get the vise out, and making a mess. I had a few orders that were put on hold while I was in the process of moving, so, that was first on my agenda.

Finished up an order for a local guy who just started out fly fishing, and has been wanting to hook up with some pike with his 8 wt. Tied him up 3 goodies. 2 to his color specifications, and 1 chef's choice. The fire tiger pattern is my go to for my local river, the Des Plains River.

I can already hear my GF yelling for me to get the vacuum.

Let the fun begin! =)

Vedavoo Torchbearer Elites

I'm a huge fan of Vedavoo products and what they stand for! I probably wear a Vedavoo t-shirt 5 out of 7 days a week. I have quite a few Vedavoo products that I have yet to write a review for, but look for those in the coming weeks. (Hip pack, Leader Wallet, Bench Basin, and a recycled wallet.)

Recently, they came out with an online magazine, and I think you should definitely check it out - Vedavoo Torch. There's some pretty cool stuff in there. You will also, find my picture on page 25 under the Vedavoo Torchbearer Elites. Pretty awesome to have been recognized as an Elite. I'll try not to let it get to my head. =)

Strange Catch

Going through some old photos, I came across this "white" bass. Not a white bass, but a largemouth bass that was white. I remember catching this bass at a local lake with my fly rod. I remember thinking to myself, that is one weird fish. It wasn't albino, because, it would have had different colored eyes, but it didn't.

Anyone else catch anything strange?

Wolverine

The Outback received a new decal. 

I think it suits it very well.

Winter's here....

I WON A YETI!!!!

Recently, I took part in one of those "Follow - Like - Comment - Share" contests on Instagram. The contest was put up by Nautilus Reels. I don't always enter these contests, but something told me that I should participate in this one. Luckily I did, because, I WON!! HA!

I now own an awesome Yeti Coolers Tundra 35 with Nautilus Reels and their awesome logo/slogan on it - "Tested on Animals" HA! I love it!! Not only did I win the cooler, I received a t-shirt, hat, hoo rag/buff, and a ton of decals and stickers. 

Looking forward to fill it up with food and beer and take on one of my trips. I'm really interested to see how well this cooler keeps ice. I can already tell that it lives up to "wildly strong" claim. This thing is solid!

A huge "THANK YOU!!!" goes out to Nautilus Reels and their generosity for having such a contest.

Finished deck upgrades. ..almost.

Here is what the deck looks like almost finished. I just need to stain the last piece...can you guess which one it is? That last piece probably won't get stained until Spring. Unless, my GF forces me to do it now.

No More Daylight

The photo below is the exact emotion/feeling/look I get when returning home from work and want to do something outside, but it's already, too, dark out.

Measure Twice, Cut Once.

Doing work on my GF's new place. I built 2 gates for the deck in her backyard, so, our dogs don't go running off chasing geese, skunks, racoons, ducks, and cars....

*****PAUSE*****

CHECK OUT THAT LAKE!!!!!

*****UNPAUSE*****

When I first saw the place about a month and a half ago, I could see that there was a ton of carp activity. Now that we're moved in and Fall is in full force. I see absolutely no activity at all. I haven't had the time to even wet a line until this past weekend, and I only did so for 15 minutes. I didn't even see a fish. I'm sure it has the usual largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and carp. I'm looking forward to Spring and Summer!

Thinking I did a good job on the gates, we brought the dogs over. Sure enough, my GF's dog Bo was able to squeeze himself through the gate and out into the field. Oh joy! He was able to get out twice. I chased him in my socks the 2nd time, stepping in probably all of the geese poop in the neighborhood. 

That prompted me to make some changes to the gates, and the entire deck.

I don't think I'll get tired of that view.

Finished up all of the staining (except for 1 piece), and nailed the pieces in the proper places around the deck. Bo, is no longer able to gallivant through the neighborhood by himself. Mission accomplished!

I cannot wait for all of this work to be over with. I miss my fly tying vise.

Needs some grass seed.

Busy Busy Busy

I've been very busy as of late. My Girlfriend just closed on a townhouse, and I've been helping her move in. I've also, started to SLOWLY move my things over there, as well.

This is a photo of me, and the last fish that I caught, all while rockin' my new awesome Dead Weight Fly trucker hat. I went out for trout, but couldn't find any willing takers.