Trout Magnet Crank

I picked up some trout magnet Crank-baits off of Amazon a few week or two back. Im just now getting around to sticking them in my tackle packs. I wanted to throw up a few first impressions.

From what i can tell they are re-branded Matzuo lures. I love Matzou cranks for the true running and hard flashing colors I've been using them for a few years now. While the trout magnets don't have the flashing colors they do have some muted trout specific colors and the Matzuo the flashing ones.

 Here you can see the two in the packages. 3.5 inch brown trout magnet crank and a 3.5 inch gold/black Matzuo.

A side view shows the same body shape, hook placement and dive lip.

Another view of the front lip.

Here you can see the molded scales on the body. Looks the same.

Here you can see a 2.5 inch trout magnet crank and a 2 inch Rainbow Matzuo. As you can see the Matzuo has a lot of scares from the trout.

I haven't had a chance to get these in the water yet but my initial impressions are good. If they preform as good as the Matzuo lures these will work great. Now I look forward to hooking in to some monster trout with these 3.5 inchers.

Evening at the Caney

Had a couple of great hours fishing the Caney this evening. I went by myself which is nice at times. Im probably going to start going in the evenings because the rental canoe traffic is not as heavy. I caught several nice fish in the 10 to 14 inch range. I was about to pack it in and I had a 18 inch rainbow strike. I knew I had something when the drag on my reel went off. Then It jumped about 5 times all I could do was hold my breath. But I finally got it in and had a guy on a float tube take my picture.

Here are a few more I caught.

14" Brook

16" Rainbow

I also found out my camera will take panoramic shots. So I messed around with it for a little bit. Let me know what you think.

Frogg Toggs Neoprene wading socks review

Wet wading is one of the things I love about warm weather. And like most fishermen I hate rocks and pebbles in my boots. I finally got tired of this and decided to get a pair of wet wading socks with gravel guards. After much price shopping I settled on ordering a pair of Frogg Toggs.

I couldn't find a direct size chart on their website but using the size chart for the stocking foot waders I felt confident that a large would fit my size 10 feet.

The first thing I noticed is the Neoprene is very soft on these. Which is great because after a few hours of wading my feet get to hurting. During my first outing I could tell my feet were not hurting as soon as they used to.

The next thing I noticed was the traction "dots" on the bottom. After my wading boots get wet inside they can have a slick feeling. While the dots didn't fully eliminate the slickness they defiantly cut down on it.

The only thing that concerns me about this product is the lace hook. It a thin metal and I just don't know how it will hold up. I would prefer something more heavy duty in this area.

All things considered I would buy this product again. It does its intended job in keeping rocks a debris out of my boots. I look forward to trying other Frogg Togg products.

I would like to say that I was in no way compensated for this review. All though I did Tweet out that I would be doing a review on these and Frogg Toggs responded

"Where value and quality leave the same footprint" 

So from what it looks like their Twitter and Facebook pages they are involved with customers in social media which is something that is important not only for marketing but listening to customer feedback. 

Whats been working for me.

Its been a hectic week but I wanted to throw up a post about what has been working for me on the Caney Fork river this year.

A lot of what I use depends on the weather and time of day. The hotter and more middle of the day it is, the more the fish retreat to the deeper sections of the river. So too catch them you have to adjust what your fishing with.

This is a 1/8oz rainbow rooster tail. The treble hook has been replaced with a size 12. It is best to use early to mid morning and evening. Throw across the current and slow crank it, as the current makes the blade spin.

This is a 1/8oz Black glitter rooster tail also with a replacement size 12 treble hook. I've found this best to use during mid morning and late afternoon. 

Joe's flies are a great option to use also. They are very light and I typicality use a split shot weight about 10 to 12 inches above. i have caught some nice size browns on these. They can be use pretty much anytime as long as its not real hot.

The Rapala Countdown sinking 1/8oz is my go to lure during the hottest part of the day when the trout are hiding in the deep stretches of the river. This is the rainbow pattern that I use but they also make a brown and brook trout pattern that should be effective also. Just throw out and let it sink close to the bottom and slow crank in. I believe it drops about a foot a second so as the name implies just count it down.

With any hook or lure you use you will want to use a fluorocarbon leader. I prefer the Berkley Trilene professional grade. In my opinion it is more abrasion resistant than other brands, but whatever you chose get 100% fluorocarbon and not fluorocarbon coated. This is a 110 yard pony spool that fits right in a small pocket on my fishing vest.

 I any questions or comment please leave below.