Tag Archives: Smithwick

News

PRADCO Acquires War Eagle Lures – News

Some big news in the fishing industry and in the local lure manufacturing front was announced today. PRADCO Outdoor Brands announced they have acquired War Eagle Custom Lures, formerly based in Rogers, Arkansas. War Eagle is a very popular brand with many loyal anglers who love their spinnerbaits and buzzbaits.

PRADCO announces acquisition of War Eagle Custom Lures of Rogers, Arkansas.
PRADCO announces acquisition of War Eagle Custom Lures of Rogers, Arkansas.

When discussing the announcement with a friend, they immediately wondered aloud if the War Eagle name would survive the
acquisition. According to the actual press release distributed by PRADCO for the announcement, War Eagle appears to be remaining as an individual brand as it joins a PRADCO lineup that includes names like Booyah, YUM, Bandit, Bomber, Norman, Smithwick, Rebel and others.

“As part of PRADCO Outdoor Brands, War Eagle Custom Lures will be shipped to customers along with POB’s entire portfolio of brands from PRADCO’s distribution center in Calera, Alabama.”

As a heavy user of both Booyah and War Eagle spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, I’m looking forward to following how this plays out. War Eagle Custom Lures also produces a line of jigs, spoons and jig heads in addition to the famous spinnerbait and buzzbait offerings.  This should make it easier in the future when ordering War Eagle lures, which should at some point be available on Lurenet.com along with some of my favorite YUM, Booyah and Norman items.

Although War Eagle Custom Lures has been based in Rogers, Arkansas, the management of the brand is staying local. According to the release:

“All product development, marketing, accounting, manufacturing and purchasing functions will be managed in Fort Smith. Brand Manager Chad Warner will have responsibility for War Eagle.”

Read the full release about the announcement on the Lurenet.com blog site.

 

Uncategorized

Spotlight: Yak4It Tournament of Champions, Heddon Video, Fishing with Kids, Lurenet.com

This recent spotlight features one of the most exclusive kayak bass fishing tournaments in the country, a product feature, tips for fishing with kids and one of my favorite tackle sources:

The Yak4It Tournament of Champions at Lake Fork, Texas, is coming up in November and I’m excited to have qualified again this year to compete. This tournament is by invitation only and qualifiers are selected from tournament circuits or events around the country yak4it-toc-300x257based on how the anglers have performed in those events. This is the second year in a row I will be competing representing Arkansas along with other qualifiers from the state. The tournament is held at famous Lake Fork and Lake Fork Marina and Motel serves as the epicenter of the event. Last year was my first time on the lake, am hoping for a better finish this year.

As the tournament season begins to close, I want to thank brands who have shown the support for me this year on the tournament trail: Bending Branches, Dobyns Rods, YUM, Booyah, Rebel, Norman, Smithwick, Arbogast, Cotton Cordell, Bandit, Bomber, Heddon, Fish Allure and Stormr.

Heddon is an old school fishing brand that I love to throw because I simply catch fish with these lures. Here is a nice video from Heddon showing off some pond fishin’ with a Pop’n Image.

Kayak Fishing Blog is my favorite website for reading about kayak fishing topics and once again they have a great article, this one on 15 Tips for Kayaking with Kids. Taking kids out on the water is a great way to create a legacy and grow the sport. Make it a great trip by using the tips in their handy infographic.

If your local big box store doesn’t carry some of the plastics or lure variations you need, check out Lurenet.com for baits. This site carries only certain product lines (including some big ones like YUM and Booyah) but has the deepest selection from within their offerings. For example, I like to use the YUM 10″ Ribbontail worm in Black/Blue flake, but this is a hard one to find. Lurenet.com has it and a lot more.

Fishing Recap

AKA Members Kayak Fish Shadow Lake

Temperatures were unseasonably high for a weekend in December so a group of kayak fishermen from Arkansas Kayak Anglers hit the water in search of some pre-holiday fish. The destination was where the Elk River turns into Shadow Lake in Noel, Missouri. This is a great little year-round fishery providing good fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass in particular

We had a really enjoyable time on the water due to the weather (overcast and temps at 70 degrees in mid-December!) and pulled in some good fish. Although we couldn’t zero in on a hard pattern, fish were caught numerous ways. I personally hooked good size largemouth bass on a Booyah spinnerbait, Smithwick suspending Rogue, and a Heddon Super Spook, Jr. Some of our other crew had success as well, including a few smallies. Appreciate the great group of kayak fishing friends in the area and thank Charlie, Jason, Mark and Jason for a good day on the Elk.

Hwy 59 bridge where the Elk meets Shadow Lake is a hot spot for bass.
Hwy 59 bridge where the Elk meets Shadow Lake is a hot spot for bass.
Jason and Mark work the river for bass.
Jason and Mark work the river for bass.
Jason shows off a nice largemouth bass caught on a shakey head.
Jason shows off a nice largemouth bass caught on a shaky head.
3.4 lb large mouth bass caught on a crankbait.
17.5″ largemouth bass caught on a crankbait.

 

News

Norman Lures Acquired

Thinn
Norman’s Thin N

One bit of news in the tackle business world caught my attention as Norman Lures was recently acquired. Norman Lures is a local company (based in Greenwood, Ark.) and has been producing
baits for more than 50 years. This news is interesting to me because of the fact Norman Lures is a local company, one of the oldest and well-respected bass fishing brands and is a producer of some of my favorite crankbaits.

Depending on the time of year, my kayak has several Norman lures on board including the Deep Little N, Thin N and Fat Boy in particular. It’s been announced that the specific Norman lures like the DD22, Deep Little N, Mad N, Flat Broke, and Fat Boy will be continued. No definitive word yet on some of their other lures. I’m personally a big fan of the Thin N, so I hope they keep it around.  The Thin N has a unique “coffin-bill” shaped lip that combines with the thin profile to give it a different wiggle than many other squarebills. This could mean I need to stash some more Thin N lures just in case they become unavailable.

Overall, this seems like positive news and will allow a great brand and some great baits to continue to be available to fishermen. Norman Lures was purchased by PRADCO Outdoor Brands, and you can read more about the acquisition in the Southwest Times Record. PRADCO produces many brands that I love to use including Booyah, Yum, Smithwick, Bomber, Bandit, Heddon, Rebel and Arbogast.

Fishing Tips

Jerkbait Time Is Upon Us

Catching bass with jerkbaits begins to heat up as the water temps cool down. This season I have a goal to improve my fishing with jerkbaits in particular. In the past I’ve caught some fish with them but haven’t committed myself to using them as often as I should. Sitting in a kayak makes fishing one very difficult, but I’ll work to get it down. Learning a new bait takes time and research, which led me to a very good article on Smithwick’s website about bass fishing with suspending jerkbaits in the winter.Smithwick-Suspending-Rogue-Black-Orange-Belly The article includes techniques for clear reservoirs and mentions some lakes close to me such as Beaver Lake, Table Rock and Bull Shoals. For some good info on fishing a suspended jerkbait, READ MORE on Smithwicklures.com.