Some great new stuff

Big Rock show puts new tackle in shelves

I won’t stop going to the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show held each July to introduce new fishing products, especially when it’s Orlando and I can schedule fishing trips before and after. However, a growing number of tackle and accessory manufacturers are introducing new products at the Big Rock Sports Group tackle shows held each January at Las Vegas and Raleigh. Some of these items were still in development at the previous ICAST show, and the bulk of the fishing season will be completed before the next ICAST show.

The folks at Big Rock Sports Group don’t mind this a bit, as makes their shows even more important. Big Rock Sports opened in Morehead City in 1996 after acquiring Henry’s Tackle Company of Morehead City, All Sports of Portland, Ore., and Carlson Sports of Sauk Rapids, Minn. Many East Coast dealers still call it Henry’s Tackle Company, as the original investors came from there.

There have been several transformations since Big Rock Sports was founded, but it has quietly acquired several smaller distributors and made international connections, while establishing regional offices and warehouses in seven states and three Canadian provinces. Big Rock Sports Group has grown dramatically since its humble beginnings and has become the largest outdoor sporting goods distributor in North America

I haven’t been to the Las Vegas show, but the show in Raleigh does indeed look like a mini ICAST as you enter from balconies and descend on escalators to the show floor. The big differences are there aren’t as many tackle manufacturers, and there is a section for hunting and shooting sports too. Dealers for Big Rock Sports Group can place orders on the spot to be delivered from their regional warehouse in time for spring fishing.

Betts Tackle of Fuquay-Varina is one of the companies that always has something new at the Big Rock Sports Show. Betts has produced a line of freshwater bugs, flies, floats and more, plus a line of cast nets that offered something for everyone for many years. In the past decade, Don Betts has become interested in inshore saltwater fishing, and the company has developed its inshore line of Billy Bay Halo soft plastics, spinnerbaits floats and Flounder Fanatic Jigs.

Betts teased tackle shop owners and fishermen during ICAST 2014 with tales of a soft-plastic shrimp being developed that would sink while staying level. The Billy Bay Halo Perfect Sinker Shrimp was released to the dealers at the Big Rock Sports show and was ready for immediate shipping.

Not only does the Perfect Sinker Shrimp sink while staying level, its legs are molded with slightly larger ends that vibrate while the shrimp is sinking. It is incredibly lifelike. Several prominent fishermen, including Ricky Kellum of Jacksonville, have been testing the lure and report that it caught fish as well as it worked in the aquarium at the booth.

Kellum said the Perfect Sinker Shrimp works well fished by itself, tied directly to the line. I believe it will also work well rigged under a popping or rattling cork and suspended above the bottom. It looks so lifelike as it sinks that fishermen might want to put a pound of them and some Old Bay seasoning in water and boil.

Precision Tackle is best known for its Cajun Thunder popping and rattling corks, but they also make other corks, spoons, spinnerbaits and more. I have long thought the plating and hooks on their Flats Intruder Spoons were superior to most on the market. They offer gold, copper, silver, black and white in several weights and larger hooks on the smaller spoons to get a better grip on large redfish, flounder, trout, snook or other hard-fighting fish that attack the spoons.

I have been involved with them for a couple of years in the development of a spinner spoon; a weedless spoon that has an in-line spinner in front of it. The Cajun Sleigh was introduced to dealers at the Big Rock Sports Show, and I’m happy to say the dealers responded with orders. Cajun Sleighs are available in gold, copper and silver in 1/8,- 1/4- and 1/2-ounce sizes and should be available in most tackle shops shortly after you read this.

While these were designed with redfish in mind, we have been catching redfish, flounder, stripers, ladyfish, large trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Several bead and spinner-blade combinations were tested, and the final product uses three large and one small brass bead and a Colorado blade. This combination of click from the beads and thump from the blade allows fishing the Cajun Sleigh many different ways.

The simplest way to fish the Cajun Sleigh is with a steady retrieve. A slow retrieve brings it across the bottom with the spoon rolling back and forth and the blade barely turning. This works for most slow-moving fish, whether in cold or hot water. By speeding up the retrieve a little, the spoon bounces across the bottom, only striking it occasionally, but spinning the blade faster and emphasizing the thump of the blade spinning in the water.

Speeding up the retrieve a little more eases the spoon up above the bottom and makes the thump of the blade louder and more frequent. Retrieve speed can be increased and the rod tip raised until the spoon can be raced across the surface like a buzz bait.

The brass beads are free to slide on the spinner shaft, and when they bump into each other there is an audible click. The Cajun Sleigh can be jigged during the retrieve so the beads click in addition to the blade creating a thump. Several of the testers said they added soft-plastic trailers during the summer or winter to slow the wobble of the spoon but allow the thump of the blade so it would attract fish that were lethargic and not really feeding in the heat or cold.

The Cajun Sleigh has already proven itself to be a versatile lure. The original idea was to fish them inside, but Capt. Noah Lynk of Harkers Island said the thump of the blade and the click of the beads have helped red drum and flounder locate the lure and have therefore helped him catch them from the surf and on Cape Lookout Shoals.

The third thing that really caught my eye was the Bucket Grip (www.bucketgrip.com) from Aquateko Products. It is a simple solution to keep 5-gallon buckets from sliding and slipping. Their display had a bucket that was filled more than halfway with water and sitting motionless on an incline that had to be around 30 degrees. Certainly it will hold the bucket where your ballyhoo are thawing on the transom in place as you head offshore.

A bucket is necessary equipment when fishing for king mackerel or heading offshore. It can hold anything from chum to clean water to rinse your hands. I have tried many things to keep buckets from sliding and tipping and found traction grip and a wet towel would help with slipping, but if the bucket got off-center, like rolling in a swell, it would tip over. That’s not bad with water, but if it happens with a chum bucket, it’s a slippery mess.

The Bucket Grip is a hard, rubber ring that the bucket slips into. The ring is slightly wider than the bucket, and the combination of a little extra width and the grip of the rubber prevents slips and spills. There is even a drip ring cast into the Bucket Grip so those drooling spills from chum and such are caught and don’t get to the deck. Bucket Grips are UV resistant, float and come in colors for those who’d like to match their trim.

This is a really good solution to buckets slipping around on deck. Keith Kessler, president of Aquateko, said the Bucket Grip is not only being used by fishermen, but several of the home-improvement chains are stocking them for painters, roofers and the many around-home uses for a stable 5-gallon bucket. No offense to the folks at Aquateko, but I can’t believe it has taken this long for someone to come up with this. I wish they had been around for a bunch of years, and I’ve already ordered some.

These and other new and improved fishing goodies should be at your favorite tackle dealer this spring. Fishermen rarely rest with a bait, rig or idea and are constantly tinkering and improving things. These are some innovations I found at the Big Rock show in Raleigh, and I’m sure there were more that I missed. This show isn’t open to the public, but as long as they let me in, I’ll have a sneak preview for readers. If these goodies aren’t in stock at your favorite tackle shop they will be soon. Do yourself a favor and check them out.