The Wired Angler - Bass Fishing Blog, Tackle Tips and Bait Making Advice

Send Me Your Videos And Pictures!

Nothing gets me more excited to keep making swimbaits than seeing pictures and videos of big bass being caught on my baits. Sometimes I get so excited that mysterious packages may show up at your door.

These packages may include new things, like prototype baits that no one has even seen before! So unless you're really slow and don't get the idea - get on it folks! Here are a couple great examples,enjoy.

You can send any pictures,videos or links to me at wiredangler@gmail.com.

And the Lucky Lunker Punker winner is...

Congratulations to Kevin Stoughton, who got the most correct answers to Jeremy's killer bass fishing trivia questions.

We'll be sending him a 5" Lunker Punker for his troubles.

Here are the answers to those tough questions from Jeremy Anderson:

1. What was the bait that Rick Clunn called "the perfect bait" that he used to win the 1986 U.S Open?

ANSWER: A Stanley spinnerbait that sported the first transparent skirt with metal flake added.

2. How many VERSIONS of original Castaic wooden trout were made?

ANSWER: Trick question - A LOT

3. What is a "Weller's Classic Minnow" and "Simplex Wiggler"? What
years were they produced?

ANSWER: Circa 1925 These were being made as early as 1921. Patent granted in 1926. The Weller company produced wood lures from 1921 up until 1942. (Source: Old Fishing Lures And Tackle by Carl F. Luckey)

4. I design Ferrari parts for a living but build the finest quality of tackle for fun. Who am I?

ANSWER: Yuki Ito of Megabass and Ito Engineering. The most prolific popular tackle artist of our time. His advancements in tackle technology range from beautiful lures to unreal rods, reels, and samurai swords. Quality is Megabass's motto and their products range from astounding to beyond
mind blowing.

5. What lure designer spent countless hours underwater researching the sound frequencies of his lures in order to duplicate the sound of live bait?

ANSWER: Bill Lewis inventor of the world famous Rattletrap. One of my favorites.

6. What extremely popular lure company started their production by hiring whole families to handcraft its lures in their homes?

ANSWER: Rapala. Families in Finland were hired to handcraft the first Finnish minnows in their homes. Lauri Rapala and crew trained and provided materials.

7. What lures originally came to the USA from Japan in businessmen's briefcases and sold for up to 100 dollars each? Note: this is before eBay.

ANSWER: The Michael. This is better known now as the Rico Popper that Lobina Lures now distributes. They originally were named Michaels with the name painted in gold or silver on the back. These came over in the early 90s and were the rage for their fish catching prowess and tournament wins. I have two that a friend gave to me that are in great condition that I will always cherish. When I was 15 I was lucky enough to own 3 of them. They are all in trees somewhere in the back lakes of Shadow Cliffs. The performance or finish was no different than the Splash Its, Ricos, or Yellow Magic poppers. Right now the best is by far the Rico as far as fish catching and finish go. So if you have - or find - an original Michael hold on to it and keep it out of the trees!

8. How did "Bone" become such a popular color?

ANSWER: Anglers discovered that their "chewed up" lures produced better than their new ones. They promptly pulled out their pocket knives and began scraping the paint off of their new baits. The chrome finishes came off the easiest. The color of the molded plastic was an off white color similar in appearance to that of - well, a bone. The  lures most prone to the pocket knife were the Rebel Pop-R and the Bill Lewis Rattletrap.

9. Who arguably designed the first topwater fishing lure for black bass?

ANSWER: James Heddon (Source: Old Fishing Lures by Carl F. Luckey)

I love this one! It never ran and was supposedly a joke. Still funny none the less!

Congratulations to Kevin, and thanks to everyone who entered. We'll be having more bait giveaways soon!

(By the way - if you'd like to sponsor a Wired Angler contest, drop me a line: wiredangler@gmail.com)

Trivia Contest: Win a New Black Dog 5" Lunker Punker Prototype

Announcing the Black Dog Baits trivia contest:

Jeremy Anderson of Black Dog came up with the 9 questions below to test your bass bait knowledge. He will pick a winner from all of the correct answers this Friday at midnight Pacific Time, and we will announce the winner on Saturday. The prize is a highly-prized and otherwise unavailable 5" Lunker Punker prototype.

How to enter: EMAIL the answers to the 9 questions below to wiredangler (at) gmail (dot) com before Friday night. Make sure to include your name and contact info.

These questions are meant for thought and enjoyment. Good luck to all!

1. What was the bait that Rick Clunn called "the perfect bait" that he used to win the 1986 U.S Open?

2. How many VERSIONS of original Castaic wooden trout were made?

3. What is a "Weller's Classic Minnow" and "Simplex Wiggler"? What
years were they produced?

4. I design Ferrari parts for a living but build the finest quality of tackle for fun. Who am I?

5. What lure designer spent countless hours underwater researching the sound frequencies of his lures in order to duplicate the sound of live bait?

6. What extremely popular lure company started their production by hiring whole families to handcraft its lures in their homes?

7. What lures originally came to the USA from Japan in businessmen's briefcases and sold for up to 100 dollars each? Note: this is before eBay.

8. How did "Bone" become such a popular color?

9. Who arguably designed the first topwater fishing lure for black bass?

I hope you enjoyed the questions and hope to ask more in the future! Good fishing too!

Be sure to send in your answers by Friday March 26!

  

Black Dog 5" Punker Giveaway

Gear up folks, Jeremy Anderson is putting together a list of 10 Bass Bait questions right now. By the end of the week we will post up the questions and the person who gets the most right will win a new not yet released 5" inject punker. This bait was custom painted by Jeremy. Stay tuned,these questions are not going to be easy.