One of the reasons you shouldn't miss the Bassmaster Classic is the outdoor show, aka the tackle show. There's always some new, cool stuff there if you poke around a little. Here's some of what I tripped over today.
What Will You Be Wearing?
Let's assume you're going to get your 15 minutes of fame. Let's further assume it will be on a weigh-in stage. What will you be wearing?
For the pros, that's an easy answer: one of those cool-looking motocross-style jerseys. That could be your answer too.
Gemini Sport Marketing of Grand Rapids, Minn. are the folks behind most of what the pros wear. Started in the heart of toothy critter (walleye) country by two toothy-critter fishermen – the Glorvigen brothers, current walleye pros – Gemini does pretty much everything that a modern-day angler needs, from wrapping trucks to creating some of the coolest shirts known to man.
They've also been a leader in what I guess we can call "bass fashion."
"When I came in it was vests and patches," remembers Gemini COO Todd Hammill. "Then it went to embroidered text, not actual logos. Then it went to embroidered logos on plain shirts, then embroidered logos on custom shirts. And now it's into sublimated shirts."
Subli-what?
"Technically it's a transfer process," he said. "You can get as vivid or detailed an image as you want. You're limited only to your imagination and your ability to use Photoshop to create a shirt. There are no boundaries."
From there, when the design's done, you wait 2-3 weeks and – voila – you have your ultra-cool shirt. Prices start at $120 per shirt, for quantities of one.
Sublimated shirts look like a printed shirt, but are lighter weight, more comfortable and – this is key – low-maintenance. "You don't have to iron it," he said. "You can take one of our shirts, wad it up in the corner, come back the next day and put it on, and it'll look like it did when you took it off."
And while these shirts look like motocross jerseys, they aren't exactly. "We're redesigning the motocross-style jersey to be specific for fishing," Hammill says.
He noted that Gemini also understands the rules – meaning sponsor rules and tournament rules, and we at BassFan and just about every pro in the business can testify to their ability to turn stuff around double-quick..
Dang – is this a commercial? I guess it is. I'm a believer, and I've wanted a shirt like that for a long time, but they were about $300 apiece at the time. These guys are changing the look of bass fishing, in a cool way.
Want one? Call Brad Raymond at Gemini at (888) 604-6644.
Line Mystery
After the thousand people who watched Parker and Dance square off on the Trilene vs. Stren thing thinned out a bit, I poked around the Berkley booth, trying to get to the bottom of something.
Word on the water was that several of the top anglers are using a new Berkley fluorocarbon, so I asked the Berkley folks. I got a few winks, but no one would confirm it. Berkley officials would only say that that they had something in the works. Stay tuned.
For Reel
Looks weird, but doesn't feel weird and seems to work.
Lots of you know Doug Hannon as the bass professor. He also as an inventive streak in him. You may not know that he was the guy who invented the weedless trolling motor prop. And now he has this reel, the WaveCast.
Well, just like you I'm skeptical: What's a serrated-looking spool really going to do? According to Hannon:
> Way more casting distance (up to 30%). He apparently has on film regular casts of over 300 feet, with 8-pound test and a 1-ounce weight.
> No bird-nests from line loops.
> Loops can still form, but you can cast them right out (I did this myself). You can't avoid line twist, but maybe you can make a reel that doesn't mind it so much.
Hannon let one well-known pro try it out (the pro can't be named here because he endorses a different brand of reel), and the guy was "blown away," Hannon said. This pro uses all manner of fidgets with his hands to stop the inevitable line issues with spinning reels, but now doesn't have to.
The reels cost approximately $139.95 and will be available come April. I'm getting one.
Look Out Lucky Craft
Here's one of ima's saltwater baits that we scored. Smallies anyone?
Today we got wind that Japanese company ima will be developing some high-end hard-baits with U.S. bass pros. A big deal? We'll see, but I wouldn't bet against the quality. ima is the number one saltwater hard-bait manufacturer in Japan for a reason: Their saltwater baits are killer (yes, we managed to leave the table with a few – score!).
There's also a possibility that BassFan readers will be treated to a rare inside look at these baits, the details of which I won't go into right now, but would be a first for the sport. Like I said, could be cool, we'll see.
