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Hook-Up Floaters - product review


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I fished with a soft foam floating jig the first time while anchored on an outside turn & sand bar. It was twenty some years ago on the Rainy River.

My education on using "floaters" only took about 30 seconds. It was just about the amount of time it took to lower the 3/4 oz. "Lindy" style lead sinker to the bottom in 15 foot of swift moving water. I listened to my buddie Hank (Hank was an expert using floaters) explain how to find the bottom... and to lift-touch & lift-touch till the sinker is resting snug on the bottom.

According to Hank, I was "ready" when the rig no longer is "slipping back" with the current. Letting the sinker stay-put in one spot is key! Hank's technique worked without fail!

Yep, in less thatn a 1/2 minute I had my first floater Walleye! With a tight line, as soon as a fish hit the floater, the sinker would dislodge from the bottom and begin to move... which was easy to "feel".

One, two, three and set the hook!

Hank and I took lots of big walleye that trip. As I did year after year after year up on the "Rainy" using the same method I learned from Hank that day.

I have taken tons of fish on floaters from that day, till today... all mostly the same way... while anchored. The heavy sinker goes straight to the bottom and seldom hangs-up. It is much different from usng jigs in fast water.

One difference is "lite as you can use them" jigs tend to hop all over the bottom in moving water thus requiring a rod with a lot of "feel".

I am on to a new style floater now. It is very much the same construction as I have used forever, with the exception that it is made with the hook pointed up instead of pointed down. This design allows the hook set into the roof of the mouth. Not, as with previous floaters, hook-sets into the lower jaw (I have lost many fish due to poor hook-sets pulling out from the lower jaw). There is not enough "meat" there for the hook to hold on to!

The "Hook-Up" floater is bent in an arch to aid in it's remaining hook "up-right". The bend looks to be a hindrance to allow a deep hook-set, as the angle is off a bit. On first glance it would lead you to think it would NOT work well.

However, the bend makes the floater "rock and wobble" unlike the straight hook-down conventional style. For years now, I have "opened" up my hook gaps about 10% to gain a better "gap"... and whith this new Hook-Up style there is NO gap! The hook is totally free to bury into meat up to the shank. The angle of penertraition is huge!

No way to escape the hook as it is really way "out there" to grab meat. I like this new design so much, that I stopped using conventional floaters.

I think you'll like them too. They will work well on the river or trolling lindy style in lakes. Hook-Up may spin a bit in real fast water or moving too fast (like right below the spill-way at Redwing below the dam - Pool 4) but, do remain up-right in slower waters. Much of the water on the river is not that "fast" where the big fish lay... behing wing dams, deep holes, and timber falls.

As a "try 'em out" sample promotion,

I am sending six Hook-Up Floaters out FREE with every Catch-N Tackle order.

till Sept. 1/03 (or while supplies last).

I expect to get some good feed-back on the samples... as well as to have guys that have never tried floaters be turned on to a great style of fishing. This will also introduce floaters not just for Walleye.

Another method of floater fishing is to drift using a split-shot ahead of the floater for main basin suspended summer Crappies and panfish.

I'll see if I can have Rick post a photo of the new style floaters here.

Catch'n
Dave Hoggard
Catch-N Tackle Co.

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the picture of the different sizes of "Hook-up" Floaters. Here it is:

hook-upallsize.jpg
------------------
Catch'n Tackle - Click Here for the FREE Offer
Tackle For The New Millennium
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Endorsed by FishingMN Family

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 07-21-2003).]

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In the fall and spring, Dave's floating jigs are "king" and my goto presentation for walleyes. Whether I am pulling them behind a bottom bouncer, 3-way or lindy rig they produce fish under all conditions and depths. Nav

------------------
Jon Navratil
Navigator Guide Service
www.naviguides.com
Serving Central MN rivers & lakes

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Wow Rick... you are fast! It'll be Monday before I have the Catch-N Tackle site up-dated to relate the FREE "try 'em out" sample with order.
Thanks for letting the guys see them here on FM first.
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard
Catch-N Tackle Co.

------------------
Catch'n Tackle
Tackle For The New Millennium
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Endorsed by FishingMN Family

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I got an email from a fellow asking about more ways to rig these new floaters.

I have mentioned "Lindy-rigging" them but want to also say that they work very well on a three-way river rig.

My three-way rigging for the Mississippi River is to use a 6" dropper line with a 3/4 ounce weight (or up to three ounces depending on depth and water speed)with a three to four foot "snell-line" going to the floater. I like fireline on the reel and use 10lb mono on the snell.

Key presentation is to move as slow as you can... at a near "hover" in an up-stream SlOW SLOW SLOW advance. It helps to have the right trolling motor! Most of the top guides like the Yamaha T8, but you need to basically"crawl" forward.

Once in that motion, a slight cross or diagonal cut across to the left or right (instead of going straight) produces many times mnore fish. "Cross-cutting" allows the fish ample time to see your floater, which would be dressed with a 1/4 crawler (hooked thru the "nose" or a small leech (hooked thru the sucker). This is a "dead-stick" let 'em mouth the floater and set themselves deal...

Just watch the rod tip and when they take the rod down... lift up the rod with a sweeping steady pull (no "Rolland Martin - Oh Son!" wild & hard hook set is required).

Three way rigs work well in lakes also for slow "trolling" or drifting floaters. Again I use longer snell lingth and short droppers lingths.

The advantage of the three-way over Lindy-rigging is that the fish seldom feels the weight of the sinker and the hit is transmitted directly to the rod tip, and is not involving moving the sinker.

A split-shot drift rig with a floater works extra well with a bullet sinker ahead of the split-shot. This is a more or less "weedless" approach. The bullet head weight comes thru sandgrass, deep weeds, and cabbage well leaving the floater to ride more above the weeds.

Floaters add a new dimension to drifting drop-shot rigs by allowing you to use leeches! A leech on a hook and drop-shot rig means a wrapped up mess! Add the floater and the leech rides up, out, and away from the line... no tangled up "leech ball" of line.

Catch'n
Dave Hoggard
Catch-N Tackle Co.


------------------
Catch'n Tackle
Tackle For The New Millennium
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Endorsed by FishingMN Family

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 07-21-2003).]

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Good to see you on here Hoggie. I remember you from the FTR days. I like the look of the new floaters... as well as the plastics. I will be ordering some real soon!

------------------
-FNC

"If I had a job... I'd quit it."

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Hi Fish-N Friends !!
Just thought I would tell you all about my experience with the Hook-Up floater from Catch-N tackle. On a fishing trip Up-nort at a Buddies place, a friend and I were going to fish Willey Walleye for a few days. Well we tried, and pitched just about every thing our tackle boxes at them and had very few takers for Three days. As we found out that the lake is very deep and the water tempeture is about two to three weeks behind. With that news and the fact we had to cut our trip short by a day we elected to head home early. On the way home we stopped for lunch in Garrison at McD's. Well that was a good mistake, Because the wind was out of the south and I just happen to have the GPS numbers to a HONEY HOLE that always holds fish when the wind is out of the south !!! Well I looked at Rob and he knew what was on my mind and said WHY NOT, WERE HERE !! We agreeded we would give the HONEY Hole one hour, because we had a time problem. Lucky enough the GPS put us right on the HONEY HOLE and sure enough there were fish there. Rob was already rigged with a red hook and red bead long line combo, no more than dropped it over the side while I was dropping the drift sock over and BANG he set the hook on a nice fat 27 1/2" Willey Walleye !!! I grabbed the first rod I had Rigged changed the sinker and just so happens it was rigged with a blue HOOK-UP floater from Catch-N tackle, dropped the rig over the side and as soon as the sinker started to tick the bottom BANG a 24" Walley just inhaled the Blue HOOK-UP floater !! The next three drifts Rob and I had on one double
and I had on a fish each drift. All fish were in the 24/27" range. What can I say ? We were both using leech, IT MUST BE THE WOBBLE or the Color or WHO KNOWS ? The HOOK-UP floater just seemed to out perform the standard Mille Lacs rig. Well our hour was up and we had to go. Sometimes things just have to be the way they are. I'LL BE BACK !!!!!!

Richard Smith (Smitty)

Keep a tight line !!!

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Dave and Rich also have a new line of plastics which are real nice. I had the opportunity to ust some of the tubes...Ring-n Tubes...on Lake Superior fishing from the breakwater in Two Harbors on Sunday afternoon and had hits like someone dropped concrete blocks on the line. One was a bite-off and the other tore the tube completely in half, leaving only the hook and nose end of the tube. The hits came about twenty feet off the bottom in 85 feet of water and were most likely lake trout. I was fortunate enough to have some ripple on the lake and the fish were on the move from the deeper water. They also have a plastic called a ring-n grub which is going on a mission with myself and Mike from Hookedonfishing in Rochester...we are headed for the river on Thursday where some multi-species challenges can be had. Mike might haul some bait along, but I'm taking only these new plastics and hope the weather agrees with us. I'll have to try some of these new floaters as well with bait when we get to a couple of the areas where the sauger lurk... this time of year they really like food that has a heartbeat, so when in Rome...For those of you that have not seen any of these new tools, check the links at the bottom of the posts made by Rich or Dave and find out where they can be seen.The catch-n grubs fill a couple of voids that the world of plastice designers have not touched on until now and they are sure to be an "item" when the cold weather/water fishing rolls around. I fish just about nothing but plastic, using bait only where needed to catch fish. When I first was introduced to these "new" plastics, especially the Ring-n Grub, I was soundly impressed with them.

------------------
Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

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Crappie Tom,
You said a mouth-full smile.gif ! Thanks for the faith in our C-NT plastics and in plastics in general.

You may be "wow-ed" then by the latest addition to the Catch-N Tackle line of plastics. I consider it to be our "top of the line" and I have not sold a one yet!

My twenty years in the tackle biz tells me that this new Kick-N Craw is going right to the top. My prediction is that it will grace the cover of an In-Fisherman issue.
What kind of drugs am I on? Well... nope, its not that. I am just looking at this lure in comparison to all other plastics.

This lure KICKS.... It is the missing link from live to plastic. A lure that looks so real... that it will be under no "suspision" by any game fish, while "tasting" like true forage. And a plastic bait that exibits the actual & natural movements of a fleeing prey.

I am having custom colors built that will "top off" the effects of the movement... and also am having the lures all shipped pre-sented with Kick'n Bass Walleye & Garlic... BOTH!

I think we are to the next era in plastics with this one. Check it out.
Catch'n
Dave Hoggad

------------------
Catch'n Tackle
Tackle For The New Millennium
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Endorsed by FishingMN Family

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Dave...How large are these craws going to be? They sound very interesting and I wish we had a few to drag along on Thursday. Maybe it is better to not have them...we already have a pretty big bill of fare. We'll see how things transpire.If time gets short, we'll put something on hold until the next trip. Hopefully we will get into each bait by at least three or four colors and presentations on Thursday. If you get a chance, drop me a mail to confirm the 5th....fishing will be ok.

------------------
Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

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Crappie Tom,
They are 4" and 3" (and I am thinking of doing a 1 1/2" also). I posted them on my site and sent photos of them to Rick. Perhaps he'll post them here.

I will shoot you a email tonight or tomorow AM with directions and particulars for tape day. Want to come spend the night before? I'll treat you like an in-law... you get the couch that makes a bed!! We could stay up late and talk big smile.gif

I am excited about fishing these new plastic baits myself. Some fish are going down... not to mention what'll happen when my pro staff gets hold to them. I love fishing Creyfish.... something that is forign to most of us here in MN. I remember in my youth, spending days gathering Creyfish for my Dad to use for live bait. Every single Creyfish meant a fish... and there were no limits in Texas! Needless to say I ate lots of fish growing up. Dad would smack the creyfish up against the boat and crush the shells... making them "bleed" flavor into the water. Catfish, Black Bass, White Bass, and big Crappies... none could pass that injured bait up. I remember the only thing even close to a s good of a bait was big fat white juicy June Bug Grubs... which were more seasional than Creyfish were.
Catching creyfish was a snap with a milk bottle tied to a rope, a rock tied to a strip of bacon inside. Left on the bottom over night, Creyfish would crawl inside to eat... bingo... the next morning you had a bottle'o Creyfish.
We usually ate as many as we used for bait.
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Catch'n Tackle
Tackle For The New Millennium
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Endorsed by FishingMN Family

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Hi Tom,
here are some pics I just received. I'd like to see how these babies work as well.

kickn-curled.jpg

kickn-2sizes.jpg

kickn.jpg

I have a question Dave,
I've seen plenty of crawfish plastics. What makes these better???

What makes you think these will be better than your other plastics? I'm a little skeptical, guess I'm a little attached to your Ring-N baits. Especially the tubes.

Anyone else know what would make crawfish plastics more effective than tubes or at least when they might be the right choice to make?

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The smallies are going to dislike the outcome of chewing on these. I've gotta "feel" one of these.

------------------
Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

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To me twisters are twisters, but crawfish for smallies......?

Now you have my interest Dave! Looks like a closed book on them Root River Smallmouth!!

Jim W

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Hey Jim,
I'm still curious, what would make crawfish plastics more effective than tubes or at least when they might be the right choice to make over other presentations?

Anyone else know what would make crawfish plastics more effective.

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I think that the crawfish is, regardless of shell stage, the primary forage of smallies. And one of the reasons for that is that craws are very high in fat and protein. They are relatively easy to catch and not much energy is expended in collecting a meal. Craws are plentiful and good reproducers in most smallie waters. A craw lookalike plastic will probably fare better in smaller waters where clarity is an issue as well as lakes with cleare waters. The tube may come into play when the water clarity is not so good...periods of high water in rivers and /or along mudlines in lakes where streams filled with dirt are dumping into clean water. Of all the basses, I think that smallies are the most prone to actually targeting prey visually, before they attack it. Just my thoughts, Rick.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

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Rick, I think Crappie Tom hit it right on the head... when he stated that for clear water a more realistic bait is the key.

Dark stained, dirty, or low light conditions, or fast water, would dictate a bigger profile bait in a brighter color with flash.. a tube. And a bait with more vibration would help (I some times slide on a grub tail... after I put on a tube... for extra vibration). The Ring-N Tube would likely out perform a craw-body in these instances. A bigger profile is the tube's big plus.
In clear water... hands down, I would use the Kick-N Craw. Which by the way, is not a standard craw-body! It is a head face to the fish, tail vibraiting machine! Claws and tail ends both wiggle, unlike the single end wiggle of a tube. Chances are the clear water Walleye are looking at the bait longer and from a greater distance... "motion vibration" is going to be the "kicker" here.
If fish are looking, and not smacking anything that moves... lure motion may be key to a hit or not.
All tubes have no leg motion when pulled straiugnt ahead on retreve, the legs follow behind the body basically motionless. These legs have zero "thump" vibration anyway when you do jig them. Mostly they provide "flash". The legs only "wiggle" when you hover the jig and wiggle it yourself or "jig the jig", or hold still and let the moving water move the legs.
This is nothing like the Kick-N Craw which sports a "pivoting" ring-worm type tail. And this is a solid tail... not an multi-legged illusion of a tail(as is in the case of the tube)... that when you pull the jig forward the tail actually then "works" up and down... creating a water displacement & vibration and then is returning to straight, each time you pause.
Really no comparison in the vibration department. And the Kick-N Craw has legs and big pinchers to "wiggle' in the moving water and these vibrations are increased by your jigging action too.
A clear water bait for sure... and a go-to bait when Walleyes are fixed on the bottom "not chasing nothing" in dirty water! Parking a realistic bait with """vibration""" on their nose would work best then, hardly moving forward but doing the "I be jigging... I be jigging" routine.

Hey... today, I learned how to spell crayfish...(Mom says not creyfish).
Learning is good... smile.gif
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on[/b
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[This message has been edited by Catch'n (edited 07-23-2003).]

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Hi Fish-N Friends !!
I think I will throw in my two cents worth about the NEW Kick-N Craw from Catch-n Tackle. If a person thinks back a few years,guite a few and maybe even before your time, B/P(before plastics)What did we use? Get a grip now !! It was fish food. I mean it was what ever was in their enviroment that was fair game to the preditor, so back then we had to Dig,catch,seine,cook,cutbait,stink bait whatever, but 99% of it was something that was they would normally have in there food chain. Lord knows Dad and I tried just about everything we could to catch any type of fish because our families livelyhood depended on it. As you can probably guess in the 50's and 60's my Dad was a comercial type fisherman. We ran six 33 hook trotlines and we used live bait on 90% of our sets, if we were going for walleye or sauger and when Crayfish were in, nothing but Crayfish were used !! Walleye just inhale them because they are relatively easy prey and are a great source of protein. So what I'm trying to say, If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, WELL ???? So now we have a Crayfish that looks like a Crayfish, moves like a Crayfish, Clicks like a Crayfish "NOW GET A GRIP" "SMELLS"and"TASTES" like a Crayfish !!! Now this a no brainer, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while !! Check out the new product on the Catch-N tackle site ! I'm sure you will be just excited as I am !!! Now you will see why you should use as natural as bait as possible. Fish just can't tell the difference !!

Good Luck

Rich Smith (Smitty)
Pro Staff Director
Catch-N tackle

Keep a tight line !!!

[This message has been edited by Richard Smith (edited 07-23-2003).]

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Just give me some of those Hook-Up Floaters & leech and I'll drift it over some Eyes
If they want to be finicky I'll latch on a stinger.
Those pics are my favorite color too.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

PS. I like the biggest size shown. smile.gif

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RIck,


Crappie Tom hit a few key points on the head relative to smallies and crawfish. Why not have your bait look like what they feed on.

Instinctive and reactionary bites play a big role in why and how a smally will take a tube, power worm, ring worm, crank bait etc.

What we catch smallmouth on aren't always a direct resemblance of the forage base in a specific system, now are they? To me a tube looks like a squid more than anything else!lol Ringworms, pretty nightcrawlers???
Odd patterned and colored crank baits representing forage not found in the body of water your fishing, but you'll manage to catch smallmouth....right?

Why not increase your productivity/catch rate, providing hungry, aggressive and competetive smallmouth something they are looking for and are use to gulping up??

Granted, my time with smallmouth has involved moving habitat, rivers and streams. Lake Vermilion has an infestation of rusty crawfish. Hmmmm I wonder if a smallmouth that's grown acustomed to chowing on crawfish would choose a "squid plastic" over a "life-like" craw-dad?(maybe) However, I'd be slipping on a craw first and foremost. Heck, trout eat crawfish as well and have been know to take a plastic craw.

As far as the presentation/ technique,

I prefer a form of "Texas rigging" the plastic crawfish.

A Texas rigged craw plastic needs to be worked in a very slow and methodical fashion, not "always" the case with other plastics like tubes. To me the tube plastic is a mimic of a craw-dad plastic.

Craw-dads crawl, so should your technique.
Can a "tube" crawl?

WHen to use them? I have found the "dog-days" of summer the best time to crawl a plastic craw. On occasion, aggressive early Spring Smallies will take anything. We need to understand the system we are fishing. What is the forage base? Then match accordingly.

When a river or lake has it's annual boom of minnows, shad etc, smallmouth might have more options to choose from. SO when minnow depletion begins especially on smaller waters, the bass will need to find other things to munch on.....crawfish! This is in direct relationship to the smallmouths annual movement/migration.

When smallmouth are on the run, like a lot of predators, they'll take just about anything.

So keying in on major seasonal movements will help in choosing your bait!

RIGHT NOW! Soft plastic crawfish will bring many fish to your feet or boat.

Again, I need to get my hands on some of those pictured above in three inches please!!

Do they come in Pumkin/seed?

Keep the rods bendin'!!!

Jim W

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Jim W.
Yes Sir... they do come in that color!
And, I will be adding a 1 1/2" Kick-N Craw soon.
Colors: Crawdad, Green Pumpkin / Texas Red, Huckleberry, Black/Blue Blue Metal-flake, Pumpkinseed, Black Neon

Sometimes one fish in a school "stands out" due to injury or defect... that fish is the fish that is going to be lunch to a set of big teeth! Same with a crayfish... so I have added some un-natural colors to my natural color list. When crayfish lay eggs and hatch time comes... there is a glut of babys that have to compete for space under rocks. That is the time the smaller bait would reign.
You can dress these with a Knock-N Jig, for sound... or use a Weed-N Jig to make them totally weedless... without the need for Texas rigging. I "Trigger Set" my Weed-N Jigs... a coined phrase I made to name bending the dual wire guards in an "L" nearer to the hook. I'll soon post a photo of this on my site using a Kick-N Craw / Weed-N jig and dressing it with the new
Bio-Bait Crayfish.
Bio-Bait Crayfish in another invention of Richard Smith's (and mine), that will complement this new Kick-N Craw lure. It is a plant based (soy fish-food) made with real crayfish and Super "G" (garlic).
So, dressed with Bio-Bait, the Kick-N Craw looks JUST like a crayfish, moves JUST like a crayfish, tastes & smells JUST like a crayfish. Bingo!
Bio-Bait should close the gap in Minnesotans not being able to fish with live crayfish... we won't need a live one. A piece of Crayfish Bio-Bait slid over the Knock-N Jig hook and pushed way into the Kick-N Craw's tube slot... should be the ticket.

This combo will be like having a James Bond 007 license to kill... the fish! smile.gif

What fun!
Guys & gals, I did not know I could have this much fun... and be still be legal! I am loving breaking these new products on Catch-N Tackle! Thanks Rick for your support in letting this information be shared.
What a site! What a lot of great guys! Gotta love FishingMinnesota.com
Catch'n
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on[/b
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[This message has been edited by Catch'n (edited 07-24-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Catch'n (edited 07-24-2003).]

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What type of texture are the Kick-N-craws? They appear to have a soft and flexible body. Are they Durable? Can you give me an idea about thier buoyancy/weight? They look very nice. I'm unfamiliar with your products, and depending on the actual action the ring tail on the craw makes, I can really see how the Kick-N-Craw would catch some fish. Bass probably being #1. The illustrations shows the hook comeing out the baits midsection so that the craw would have a natural fleeing motion with the tail kicking and fliping like the real thing. Do they tend to stay in the upright postion when fished? Is there a way to achieve this with different hook setups? Vibration,sound,scent,and even wiggles, they look very nice. can it be luck?

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Can it be luck,
Kick-N Craws are more durable than the Ring-N Tubes I sell. The legs and pinchers are just a tad thicker than the "legs" on the tubes. They seem plenty "tough enough" to me.
They are not made of "super plastics" that stretch forever... the kind that last forever and stretch a mile. However they are not priced as high as are the new high-tech plastics.
Kick-N Craws are very soft and "wiggle" nicely.
They are custom made for the Knock-N Jig...and also work with conventional tube jig heads. However, a 5/8 round head will fit into the body of the 4" also.
I like the longer hooks that Catch-N Tackle has on the Knock-N Jig & Weed-N Jig for these.
I sent Rick a photo of a Kick-N Craw rigged weedless with a Weed-N Jig, also with Bio-Bait Crawfish... that shows this rig. He may share the photo.
I think they are going to please you as far as durability, application, and rigging... they stay "upright" with both the Knock-N Jig and the Weed-N Jig.
When dressed with "a big chunk" of Bio-Bait Crawfish, the added bouyancy of the Bio-Bait aids in lifting the hook... making the head end lighter, slower to fall, and gives it some lift. This adds to the action lifting the CLAWS. And of course, the Bio-Bait makes the offering actually taste like a REAL crayfish to the fish... cause Bio-Bait is made from real crawfish!
Catch-N
Dave Hoggard

------------------
Fishermen are catch-n on[/b
Catch'n Tackle
For Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lakers, Trout, Panfish
Used by FishingMN Family

[This message has been edited by Catch'n (edited 07-25-2003).]

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Catch,n, Checked out your site, very nice stuff. I didn't realize some things until I seen the illustration of the riggings of the Kick-N-Craw, weighted hooks and all. After seeing that, I like them better. I think the Craw combined with the scented bait(forget name right now) could be a winner. Sometimes I tip tubes with a tiny piece of crawler for added scent, crayfish scent would probably be better. I'll have to go back and "fish around" a little in your site. Thanks, can it be luck?

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      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
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