anglers - Bass Fishing Florida

Rapala Flat Rap

Rapala introduces hard-rolling Flat Rap

MINNETONKA, Minn.- It all started with the Classic Original Floater from Rapala®, and at first glance anglers can see the family resemblance with the new hard-flashing Flat Rap®, but this new family member has a few new tricks to offer.

“The Flat Rap is really unique. It captures a little bit of a Shad Rap® and a little bit of a Minnow Rap® but produces an action all its own because of its flat sides,” explains Mark Fisher, Rapala director of field promotions. “The Flat Rap has a hard-rolling action that is paired with a quicker, tighter, wounded-minnow display.”

Its flat sides and scooping triangular lip combine to generate a hard flashing side-to-side action that screams “eat me” as it slices through the water between two and five feet. Balsa construction allows anglers to pause the Flat Rap on the retrieve, which sends the lure into a slow-rise, mimicking an exhausted, wounded baitfish – they can twitch it again to bring it back to life but will need to hold on; the strike’s about to hit.

“The Flat Rap is a great lure that will become a go-to staple in an angler’s arsenal,” says Fisher. “It’s a versatile lure that can be cast or trolled, for multiple species.”

With the Flat Rap’s long, flat body and VMC® Black Nickel Treble Hooks, anglers can cast farther and needn’t worry about having to tell the story about the one that got away.

The Flat Rap is available in 12 color patterns and comes in two sizes. Size 08 is 3 1/8 inches long and weighs 1/4 ounce, while size 10 is 4 inches long and weighs 3/8 ounce.

Each Flat Rap is hand-tuned and tank-tested to ensure it embodies the fish-catching action Rapala is known for.

Suggested retail price: $8.99

Solar Bat

Solar Bat extends support of Professional Anglers Association

Benton, KY, February 3, 2010 – Solar Bat sunglasses, makers of the ultimate outdoor optics, is continuing its support of the PAA through the 2010 PAA Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series.

Solar Bat has been supporting professional anglers since 1994 and has a very impressive prostaff including several PAA members. Team Solar Bat has a string of accomplishments including six Bassmasters Classic titles, six Angler of the Year honors and countless wins. Several of these talented team members will be fishing the PAA tournaments in 2010 and promoting the benefits of Solar Bat Sunglasses.

As a pioneer in fishing-specific glasses, Solar Bat continues to give competitive anglers everywhere an edge. Their new patent-pending Gradient Tint process elevates fishing optics even further, with lenses created specifically for changing conditions. PAA members will see the benefits of this unique feature throughout the 2010 Tournament Series. Gradient Tint is just one of many enhancements to the product line, consisting of 17 different frame styles, multiple lens options, fishing-specific goggles, the Bat Mask, as well as optics for shooting and hunting.

Solar Bat also offers 10 different styles suitable for prescriptions, including both distance and bifocal. In addition to its evolving lineup, the company has continued to enhance quality over the years. Starting in 2010, all polarized lenses will be created with enhanced molding processes based in the USA, for even crisper vision.

Enhancements and expansions are part of the growth process for Solar Bat, which also recently gave the brand some updates. Those familiar with the company will recognize an updated logo and a fresh website.

According to Dr. Gary Nesty, founder of Solar Bat, “We are excited to support the PAA as we continue to grow together. Exposing our products to members and fans of the PAA in conjunction with the Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series is an excellent opportunity. Our company and prostaff will be able to showcase our products in conjunction with exciting events, at one of the nation’s leading retailers.”

Solar Bat, and members of the prostaff, will have a presence on-site at 2010 PAA competitions, and take advantage of PAA advertising opportunities. PAA members will also have opportunities to take advantage of this renewed partnership through special “PAA-Only” programs throughout 2010.

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The Professional Anglers Association is a non-profit organization that gives professional anglers a unified voice in order to aid in the growth of the sport of professional bass fishing. The PAA also aims to administer educational programs to the average angler, to increase enjoyment of the sport, and to embrace sound conservation practices to further the future of the sport. For more information, visit www.FishPAA.com.

Solar Bat Sunglasses, founded in 1994 by optometrist and angler Dr. Gary Nesty is focused on bringing performance eyewear to outdoor enthusiasts, at affordable prices. As pioneer of the gradient tint process, Solar Bat is an innovator in eyewear for the serious angler. For more information on Solar Bat, and their products, visit www.solarbat.com.

Fishing license sales

Fishing license sales show modest increase

February 3, 2010 – Alexandria, VA – In 2009 more anglers got out of the house and out on the water as fishing license sales rose by 4.7 percent in states that participate in the fishing license sales index released by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and the American Sportfishing Association (ASA). Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas, four of the 12 participating states, are among the top ten states in terms of the impact anglers have on the nation’s economy.

The 12-state index represents recreational fishing in the United States. Eight of those states recorded higher license sales increases from January through December of 2009 over the previous year, according to Southwick Associates, a research firm that monitored the license sales information.

“Although the RBFF/ASA Fishing License Sales Index is a strong indicator of fishing license sales, it isn’t an exact measure of all fishing license sales nationally. However, should the 4.7 percent rise hold true nationwide, it would represent one of the largest percentage increases in fishing license sales in over 30 years,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman.

RBFFcolor”We feel confident that our national Take Me Fishing™ direct mail marketing program and other efforts designed to reach lapsed anglers contributed to the 2009 rise in fishing license sales,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson.

According to Southwick Associates, fishing license sales increased at a faster rate in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the second quarter. Increases of 20 percent or more were common in the first quarter. However, a larger volume of sales occurred in the second quarter – the peak period for license sales nationally – and had the greatest effect on 2009 sales. In general, more fishing licenses are sold during the second quarter (April, May, June) than any other time of the year. Although the growth rate for license sales eased slightly in the latter half of the year, sales were still up for a majority of states in the index.

State natural resource agencies reporting license sales numbers in 2009 include Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Utah. They were selected on their ability to provide consistent license sales data to illustrate both a national and regional perspective. As more states expand their data reporting capacity, the number of reporting states will increase. For participating coastal states, adjustments were made to account for new federal saltwater license requirements that went into effect in 2009.

“The typical angler spends $176 a year on just fishing tackle alone and contributes over $40 annually to conservation via license dollars and excise taxes. When the license sales index moves by just a tenth of a point, 40,000 anglers have entered or quit sportfishing. Even a small uptick in the index represents big changes in recreational fishing participation,” said Nussman.

“While more people fishing is good news, what’s key to growing the sport is keeping them coming back every year and introducing newcomers at the same time. RBFF’s Take Me Fishing Web site, our education outreach and other integrated marketing efforts will continue to work to accomplish this goal,” said Peterson.

Ultimately, anglers, and other sportsmen and women, are the most significant funding source for conservation in the United States. Through the purchase of fishing licenses and special excise taxes on gear and motorboat fuel, hundreds of millions of anglers’ dollars each year are collected or funneled to states for conservation and recreation. In 2008, $720 million of these excise taxes were distributed for fisheries management and recreational boating enhancement. In addition, fishing license sales generated $600 million in revenue for state fish and wildlife agencies.

About the American Sportfishing Association

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice speaking out when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also represents the interests of America’s 60 million anglers who generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for over one million people.

About the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation

The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating, thereby protecting and restoring the nation’s aquatic natural resources. RBFF helps people discover, share and protect the legacy of boating and fishing through national outreach programs including the Take Me Fishing™ campaign and Anglers’ Legacy™.

About Southwick Associates

Southwick Associates, located in Fernandina Beach, Fla., specializes in fish and wildlife economics and related business statistics.

Lazer TroKar

Lazer TroKar joins collegiate bass fishing sponsors

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Forget everything you know about hooks…the rules have changed! The awe-inspiring Lazer TroKar fishhooks are for those who aren’t just out to catch fish, but are out to win.

In order to produce the wickedest fishhooks ever made, the product development team at Lazer TroKar worked with a high-tech producer of surgical needles as well as top professional anglers Skeet Reese, Shaw Grigsby Jr., Brent Chapman and Gerald Swindle to create the highest quality, technique specific line of fishhooks on the planet.

The patented geometric triangular hook point is honed on all three edges to surgical sharpness, resulting in a hook that penetrates twice as fast as any other with only half the pressure. Hook sharpness is critically important to anglers but so is hook strength. Therefore, TroKar utilizes a proprietary Q741 wire and a bolstered shank design to create a hook strong enough even to withstand the rigors of fishing with braided line.

“Partnering with the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series has been an exciting project. There is phenomenal fishing talent within the ranks of the participating collegiate anglers, and we are thrilled to have them fishing the sharpest hook on the planet…Lazer TroKar, “stated Matt Gray, TroKar Hook Manager.

Collegiate anglers will appreciate the unsurpassed quality of Lazer TroKar hooks every time they set the hook during the 2010 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series. As the official fishhook of the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series, Lazer TroKar will reward top finishing collegiate anglers at each event with an assortment of hooks ranging in value from $100 – $500.

“We’re excited to add Lazer TroKar to the growing number of companies that support collegiate bass fishing through this dynamic tournament series. The Lazer Trokar award and incentive program further benefits collegiate bass anglers and will help them land more fish,” stated Wade Middleton, Tournament Director.

For more information about Lazer TroKar hooks, visit www.lazertrokar.com .

Fish Art Contest for Young Anglers

State Fish Art contest offers opportunities for young anglers

BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA – Students across the United States have the opportunity to win prizes and national recognition while learning about state-fish species, aquatic habitats, and conservation. The State-Fish Art Contest uses art to children’s imagination while teaching them about the outdoors.

The 12th Annual Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest is open to all students in grades 4 through 12.

Winning artist will be invited to attend the Expo and will receive prizes and trophies.

Entries must be postmarked by March 31, 2010. Winners will be announced May 1, 2010.

To enter, young artists nationwide must create an illustration of their chosen state-fish. A short written composition on its behavior, habitat, and conservation needs is also required.

Educators, Homeschoolers and Parents: Visit the State-Fish Art website at www.statefishart.com for complete details and to download the free lesson plan.

Winning contestants from each state will be honored in three grade categories, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. All winning designs will receive national recognition on the official State-Fish Art website and during the Expo.

The 12th Annual State-Fish Art Expo will be held at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, TX. on the weekend of July 16th & 17th 2010.

Winners who attend the Expo will be treated to a wide variety of family events throughout the weekend including a special a ceremony to recognize all the winners with prizes and trophies.

Fishburne’s back

Fishburne’s back in action for the Bassmaster Classic

It had only been a few months after Claude “Fish” Fishburne and ESPN-BASS parted ways in 2004 when we bumped into each other at the 2005 Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh, a challenging tournament on the water bolstered by a well-attended outdoors show at the city’s stunning riverside convention center.

Fishburne was moving through the crowd at the show, glad-handing, smiling, signing autographs and greeting fans. We chatted for a few moments and he said he was doing well. But the disappointment and hurt was obvious. After six years as the emcee at BASS tournaments during the most recent gravy days before the industry’s current economic woes, the once-titled “Clown Prince of Fishing” (or something like that) found himself on the outside of the circuit he competed on for 12 years.

Fishburne said he’d bounce back. He had connections in the industry, sponsorships with a few companies and a positive vibe that touched fans young and old. Goofy and wise-cracking at times, and sometimes pushing the “Don’t go there” buttons of anglers on stage, he was a popular ambassador whose platform had been disrupted after contract discussions turned sour.

Almost six years later, Fishburne is back.

A month from now at the Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, Fishburne will take the stage again during the three weigh-ins at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex at bass fishing’s oldest and, some will argue, most prestigious event. Fishburne will be providing reporting, analysis and his unique wit to the festivities along with appearances at the outdoors show in the adjacent exhibition hall.

Bravo. It’s about time.

For all the arrows flung at BASS over the years for some of its questionable decisions – and it, like the FLW Tour, has had some head-scratchers – Fishburne’s return is a good move. He brings a vitality and fun nature to the ceremony, a dash of irreverence at times mixed with his knowledge of the sport.

“I want to make it happy and fun and exciting,” Fishburne said. “I want to help create a good time for everyone there – whether I’m, say, in the stands talking with fans, or backstage interviewing an angler waiting to weigh in, or on the outdoor show floor.”

Fishing for “Team Grandma” during his 12-year career, an homage to his loving and supportive grandmother, Kathryn Rounsaville of Canton, Ga., Fishburne competed in 108 tournaments. He won two of them, including a MegaBucks “hole course” event, and qualified for four Bassmaster Classics.

Fishburne’s free spirit didn’t stop once he was on the water. He clashed at times with former Bassmaster tournament director Dewey Kendrick, whose no-nonsense demeanor played like Sgt. Carter to Fishburne’s Gomer Pyle. If Kendrick could have put Fishburne on the shore peeling potatoes with a worn-out pocket knife, he’d probably have done it a time or two.

During one event, there was no question about who was lobbing water balloons at other competitors in the bay before takeoff. At the MegaBucks he won, Fishburne told BASS officials he didn’t have much weight in his catch as they checked anglers in the final day boat line. They would pull three or four of the guys with the most weight to the end of the line to create a little drama for the fans. But when Fishburne, in the middle of the pack, happily yanked out what proved to be the winning catch to show the crowd, the drama circled the drain like a slimy hairball.

Fishburne carried that fun-loving attitude to the weigh-in stage as emcee, joking and poking anglers waiting on the scale to settle. Sometimes they didn’t appreciate the jab. But they couldn’t overlook his knowledge and experience from his tournament days, which he deftly used to ask specific questions to elicit good information during their brief appearance on stage. If the bite was tough, Fishburne had an idea of what they were doing. If the bite was on fire, he rolled with them as they explained how the bass leaped in the livewell and slammed the lids.

Keith Alan will continue to handle the emcee duties for the weigh-ins at the Classic, joined by tournament director Trip Weldon and former two-time Classic champion Hank Parker. Three dudes with microphones (Weldon is busy watching weighs, you know) may seem like overkill. But it should mesh well at one of the most popular venues for the Classic in a state as crazy about bass fishing as it is about college football, relatively speaking.

Fishburne was on stage at the 2002 Classic in Birmingham and said this year “will feel like a homecoming.” The fans, many of whom for years on Internet message boards have expressed a desire for Fishburne’s return, will get their wish.

Perhaps whatever wounds existed years ago have healed. Time, it is said, does a good job of helping in that regard. The outdoors industry, like others, can be frustrating and painful at times. The roller-coaster ride from the peak to the valley isn’t always a scream of heart-throbbing exhilaration.

Whether he returns for future events is unknown at this point, but having Fishburne back for the Classic next month is a good start. We’re glad to see it, and will be on the lookout for incoming water balloons.

— Alan Clemons

Rapala Flat Rap

Solar Bat

Fishing license sales

Lazer TroKar

Fish Art Contest for Young Anglers

Fishburne’s back

Lake Toho

Butler Chain of Lakes

Current Orlando Fishing Reports