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Frabill Report
Frabill Collapsible Bait Bucket
Frabill bait management solutions raise the bar with the Collapsible Bait Bucket, designed to meet the needs of anglers who require compact and efficient bait storage solutions.
This innovative bucket collapses to the size of a standard Plano 3700 size StowAway, which is ideal for fitting into boat storage lockers, storage trays, or even in soft tackle boxes. When expanded, the 6-quart capacity provides ample space for bait. The Collapsible Bait Bucket is available with or without an aerator.
The bucket's handles feature a unique design that allows for handle rotation and easy packing down for storage when not in use. During use, the handles securely clip into the base of the bucket, preventing unwanted collapse while in use.
Key Features
- Collapsible bucket with 6-quart capacity
- Collapsed footprint of a Plano 3700 StowAway
- Clipped handles snap in to base to prevent unintended collapse
- Rotating handle attachments for compact storage
- Two models available
MSRP: $49.99 Bucket (w/ Aerator) | $29.99 Bucket (no Aerator)
For more information about Frabill Fishing, click.
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Blocker Outdoors Report
Blocker Outdoors’ New Lightweight Shield Reliant Pant
Recent releases in Blocker’s hunting pants category have been fully embraced, led by the Shield Verse Pant, Shield Verse Pro Pant, and Shield Field Brush Pant. With all those options, you’d think pants were covered in spades. Well, almost.
New for 2024, Blocker – wearer of the pants in the hunting family – adds an even lighter weight model, the Shield Reliant Pant.
“The poly spandex material is super stretchy,” immediately points out Blocker Outdoors Marketing Director and whitetail specialist, Steve Allie. “The double weave makes the fabric exceptionally durable as well.” Moreover, the material actively cools, which is essential to lightweight, early season hunting pants.
Cooling is supplemented by a pair of side seam zip vents. “It’s really a hallmark feature of the Shield Reliant Pant,” said Steve. “The fabric actively cools, but when temps start soaring or you’re huffing and puffing in the field, you’ll seriously appreciate the added ventilation.”
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Lowrance Report
Lowrance Elite FS
Lowrance has announced the expansion of its Elite FS line with new 10- and 12-inch display sizes, giving anglers access to the full line-up of Lowrance fishfinding tools, including live sonar on a larger screen, at an attractive price point.
“We expanded our Elite FS family of units to include two additional sizes that give anglers more choices to upgrade their toolkit with live sonar on a larger, more affordable screen,” said Jeremiah Clark, VP and General Manager, Fishing Systems at Navico Group. “Our mission is to empower anglers with gear that drive success on the water. Including our full suite of sonar technology and seamless integration with the boat’s entire system, Elite FS is a powerful fishfinder that delivers exceptional value that performance anglers will appreciate.”
The Elite FS combines the power of Lowrance’s newest fishfinding tools with a display that is easy to use and easy to upgrade with additional technologies. Featuring support for ActiveTarget® 2 live sonar, as well as built-in support for high-resolution Active Imaging™, Elite FS offers anglers all the tools needed to find and catch more fish. ActiveTarget 2 provides higher-resolution views of fish movement and structure, enabling anglers to quickly recognize if lures and techniques are working in real-time allowing them to make adjustments to get fish to strike. Meanwhile, Active Imaging 3-in-1 sonar, featuring CHIRP, SideScan and DownScan Imaging™ with FishReveal™, offers excellent detail, revealing structure and cover over an impressive range.
C-MAP Discover Onboard inland and coastal charts built into Elite FS displays feature high-resolution detail. From finding key fishing areas, like ledges, drop-offs and ditches, to navigating with precision to fish-holding areas, anglers will have more success on the water with high-resolution one-foot contours on over 15,000 lakes across the United States and more than 9,400 in Canada.
The Elite FS 10-inch with ActiveImaging 3-in-1 is $1,799 and the 12-inch display with Active Imaging 3-in-1 is $2,299. The full Elite FS lineup now includes 7, 9, 10, and 12-inch displays.
Key Features
- ActiveTarget and ActiveTarget 2 Live Sonar ready
- Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer ready
- Active Imaging HD 3-in-1 ready with a S3100 Sonar Module ready
- C-MAP Easy Routing, Navionics® Autorouting capability
- C-MAP Genesis Live onscreen mapping
- High-resolution IPS multi-touch touchscreen
- See with polarized sunglasses
- Integrated wireless, NMEA 2000 and Ethernet connectivity
- Full touchscreen control of Recon and Ghost Trolling Motor, as well as Power Pole Anchors
- Sirus XM weather compatibility with WM4
For more information on Lowrance and its tournament-winning fishfinding technology, please visit www.lowrance.com.
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Z-man Report
Z-man ChatterShad Ultra-Refined ElaZtechTrailer
Designed to embellish and activate your favorite ChatterBait, the new ChatterShad imparts tantalizing tail-kicking signals that equally befit an array of other applications, including jerkbaiting on a jighead or straight-up tail-kicking on a ZWG Swimbait Hook. Fans of the ChatterBait MiniMax will be equally stoked to discover the 3.5-inch finesse sized ChatterShad profile— perfectly matched to the popular pint-sized bladed jig.
Leading with its broad, ribbon-thin fantail and lean baitfish profile, the ElaZtech-enabled ChatterShad merges the softness and subtle movements of a small-batch hand-poured bait with the impossible toughness of its superplastic structure. The result, says Z-Man Director of Product Development Jose Chavez, is a high-action bladed jig trailer made for relentless bass bites.
“We built the ChatterShad to swim with a crisp, fluid, extra-responsive action,” explains Chavez. “The key to the bait’s rhythmic tail-driven motions is its diamond-shaped cross section. By sculpting the entire segmented tail zone with this specific angular arrangement—rather than more commonly used rounded or flattened sections—the ChatterShad kicks and ripples more like a natural fish, while exerting less effort, meaning its tail driven motions activate at any retrieve speed.”
Essentially, notes Chavez, this next-level engineering allows the tail to effortlessly slice through water and transfer energy from all across the body, straight to the tail. “To increase water displacement and quivering action though the tail section, we cut in a series of V-shaped ridges, top and bottom,” explains Chavez. “The design actually increases energy transmission from ChatterBait vibration right into the bait’s tail, for unmatched action and strong lateral line pings.”
Z-man Chatter Shad
Z-Man pro Seth Feider concurs: “The bait’s segmented, diamond-shaped tail section makes the ChatterShad swim with a crisp, fast whipping action, side-to-side. It’s a tight but up-tempo range of realistic movements that give a ChatterBait extra hunting action when you pop the rodtip.”
For rigging with standard sized bladed jigs, such as the ChatterBait Elite EVO, Z-Man offers a matching 4.5-inch ChatterShad profile. And as a downsized jig trailer, the 3.5-inch ChatterShad fits the compact ChatterBait MiniMax to perfection.
“For the first time, we have the perfect little MiniMax and WillowVibe trailer—two of the coolest under-the-radar bladed jigs today,” adds Feider. “The fast-kicking action of the 3.5-inch ChatterShad makes it the ideal trailer for burner MiniMax retrieves in summer—or anytime conditions call for a more active presentation.”
Equipped with dorsal and ventral hook slots, the ChatterShad is easy to rig arrow-straight, fitting all bladed jigs. Slots also allow for effortless weedless rigging on EWG style hooks. Beyond deployment as a ChatterBait trailer, the ChatterShad fits other applications, such as a spinnerbait / buzzbait trailer and a soft jerkbait/swimbait.
The new Z-Man ChatterShad lands at outdoor retailers in September. Offered in 10 colors to match prevalent ChatterBait patterns and two sizes (3.5” & 4.5”). MSRP $4.99 (3.5” - 5-pack / 4.5” – 4-pack)—crafted and packaged in the USA.
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Mercury Report
Setting drag on spinning reel
If you’ve been fishing for at least a few years, you might think that the easiest way to test your drag settings is to simply pull the line out of your spinning reel with your hand and gauge it by feel.
However, there are flaws in this “pull test” method. For instance, are you really going to be able to feel the difference between 4 1/2 and 5 pounds of drag? Sometimes it’s the slightest amount of extra pressure that can mean the difference between a trophy fish in the net or watching that trophy swim off with your hook or lure.
How the Rod and Line Factor In
The other issue with the pull test method is that it doesn’t account for the rod action and line type you’re using. A heavier rod will apply added pressure when fighting a fish, so your drag may need to be set differently than if you were using a lighter, more flexible rod. Similarly, monofilament line will always give you some additional stretch, but braided line will not. This means that the drag can be set a little tighter when using monofilament, but it should be set looser when fishing with braided lines that do not stretch.
Where Should Your Drag Be Set?
The general rule is to set your spinning reel’s drag at 20% to 30% of the breaking strength of your line. However, you need to keep in mind the rod action and line type, and always err on the side of your drag being a little looser rather than tighter. If a fish takes your lure or bait and then makes a sudden hard surge toward structure, you’re likely to break the fish off if the drag is set too tight. If it’s set too loose, at least you’ll have a shot at landing the fish – plus, you can always tighten the drag knob during the fight.
How to Set the Drag Using a Scale
Get a spring scale and tie your line to the scale coming straight out of the reel. Set your drag and pull on the spring scale to measure the force required to engage the drag. If the scale is showing a weight in the 20% to 30% range of the line’s breaking strength, you’re close to done. To make it simple, if you have your reel spooled with 20-pound-test braid, you’ll want to have 4 pounds of drag pressure. If that feels too low, you can always tighten your drag down a bit. If it’s high, loosen your drag and test it again.
Once you set the drag correctly with the scale, you’ll start to get a feel for how much pressure it takes to engage the drag when you pull on the line with your hand. This’ll help you fine tune the settings and give you the confidence to adjust the drag properly even if you don’t have your scale.