News

The early part of the fishing season is a great time to be on the water! The weather is often pleasant, nature is coming back to life after a long winter, and the fish are usually cooperative.

As a professional angler my job involves filming TV shows, hosting fishing guide trips, and competing in an occasional fishing tournament. Regardless the task, being able to control my boat effectively and efficiently is very important. In the past, accomplishing that outcome has been a bit challenging.

Spinning rods and reels were at the heart of my rod and reel fishing inventory for decades. However, a good while back I started fishing baitcasting gear increasingly and eventually those style combos became mainstays for most of my fishing applications. Now, however, I am trending back to using more spinning gear.

In the world of fishing, it’s hard to believe that there is anything new when it comes to catching fish. But there is. It might be old news to some anglers, but it’s only old news if you’ve already heard it.

I remember many years ago when the drop-shot fishing technique took the fishing world by storm, particularly among bass anglers. While we don’t hear quite as much about this technique now, it remains a very popular and productive technique.

In another blog, I wrote about how adapting to changing conditions can help lead to better fish catches. In line with that, angling success can also be improved by staying in tune to and using some of what’s new or what’s hot in lures, rods/reels, etc. that can increase angling efficiency and success.

Fishing has always been a very important part of my life. Some of my first memories are of standing on the edge of a pond with a bamboo pole, no reel, and some braided line tied to the end of the pole. Attached was a round, red and white bobber, a hook, and a splitshot.

During the 2025 open-water fishing season, I spent more time with a slip-bobber rod in my hands than during any other previous season since I was probably a kid. Here is what happened.