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20,000 BillFish Record
Posted on: Feb 25, 2010
Posted in: Lazer Sharp, News From Chris, Pro Staff News
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Capt. Brad Philipps of the “Decisive” from Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures has been a long time supporter of circle hooks. Brad has always used Eagle Claw and Lazer Sharp hooks and obviously they are working.
Brad has been one of the top captains in the world for a number of years and only the second person in history to reach the mark of 20,000 Billfish. Captain Brad has been fishing the waters off Guatemala since 2000. Brad has been named the Billfish Foundation release captain of the year for eight straight years. His exclusive use of the Lazer Sharp L2004EL non offset is one of his secrets to success. “This hook was designed specifically for Billfish and is the best in the world. All other hooks are designed after the L2004 and it was the first tournament approve circle hook. Eagle Claw has been the leader in circle hooks as long as I have been fishing” states Phillipps.
“Leading up to the record day the fishing had been red-hot since our Christmas report, and for a variety of reasons January 2010 will be a month to remember for years to come. ‘Decisive’ had many 30 plus sailfish release days, won both the tournaments it fished and Capt. Brad Philipps released his 20,000th career billfish as a captain. So with 551 releases in the past 25 days on the water it’s easy to see why anglers have been kept so happy sharing in the exceptional fishing Guatemala has to offer.” reported Brad
New Mississippi State Record Catfish
Posted on: Dec 09, 2009
Posted in: Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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Christmas comes early for Joey Pounders, but not easy – as he found out while wrestling the new Mississippi state record Flathead Catfish to the boat single handed reports the local paper
There is nothing yellow about flatheads, except for the tint of their skin. They are fierce fighters that don’t give an inch of line easily. So imagine the predicament Joey Pounders was in Nov. 2 when he had an irate 77-pounder on his line, alone on a 21-foot pontoon boat on the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
Without a net.
Holding the line to keep the fish close, he reached down and took his only option. “When he opened his mouth, I reached in and grabbed him by his lower jaw,” Pounders said. “And, of course he bit down. Flatheads love to bite and he did and he went to shaking and I thought he was going to rip my shoulder out of its socket. “It would have had it kept flopping and turning, but he stopped and I just pulled him up as best I could, got both hands on him and just rolled him in on top of me. It was my only choice. I was laying on the deck of the boat and the catfish was on top of me. Then I just held on, caught my breath and finally slid him in far enough to let him go.”
There was a lot of fish to slide. It was 46.5 inches long with a 33-inch girth. Its official weight of 77 pounds easily beat the previous record of 66 pounds set by Brad Hillhouse in 2005.
He put the fish in a 100-gallon livewell and headed for his brother’s home on the river’s bank.
“When Joey pulled up, to the dock, he said he had a big one,” said Jerry Pounders. “When he lifted the lid of the livewell, I saw that fish and said, ‘Oh my Lord.’” The brothers moved the fish to a 500-gallon tank in Jerry’s yard. The fish lived there for two days. But the Pounders took care of the fish, never taking it out of a livewell for more than a few seconds.
“We wanted to release the fish back into the river, which we did,” Joey Pounders said. “I took him back down and slid him in and held on until I was sure he was OK. He was because after a couple of seconds he took off for deep water. He’s back in the river.
“I wasn’t fishing where I thought a fish like that would live,” Joey Pounders said. “I got on the water at 2:30 and was waiting on a friend. He was late so I went just across the river to this hole to wait for him.
“It’s an 18-foot hole on a bank where a tree fell into a couple of years ago. It’s not one of our hot spots, just a spot that’s close by.”
Pounders uses 7-foot heavy-action rod, with 50-pound Power Pro braided terminal line. With a three-way swivel, he attaches a two-foot piece of 50-pound Fluorocarbon leader to an Eagle Claw hook and a lighter piece of line to the weight. He nets his own live shad for bait.
Pounders said he had three lines rigged and tossed one upstream of the tree, one downstream and one right in the middle of the tree.
“It’s how we fish all the time, and most of the bites come on the line in the middle of the cover, at least that’s where the big fish always bite,” he said. “This one did, and when I set the hook he ran downriver about 15 yards. It took about 12 or 15 minutes to get him to the boat.”
Congratulations Joey on a great catch. Even better that big fish is back out there to help someone break the record again!
Most of all – I love that Hat!
Texas Fish and Game’s Blog
Posted on: Sep 15, 2009
Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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Just got back from a fishing and hunting excursion to New York. Yeah, I know…New York?
You’re thinking bright lights and big cities but I experienced the Finger Lakes region and lots of forests and agriculture.
I had the great pleasure of fishing Owasco Lake near the town of Auburn and caught some nice lake trout. On the second day of our fishing we had some motor problems and ended up drifting into some shallows why we waited for help. The water there is super clear and there were hundreds of perch feeding in the shallow grass beds. The problem with this some fish can be super finicky in clear water and in fact they kept stealing our worms and small pieces of cut bait.
To correct the problem I broke out some Eagle Claw Circle Bait Hooks and started catching the small perch and rock bass immediately. Nearly every fish that hit ended up getting hook. With the standard j-style hooks we were using we maybe got one fish per 10 strikes. The circle hooks made a big difference. You hear very little about using circle hooks for panfish but that is about to change. They are not only great for conserving catches of big fish by hooking them in the corner of the mouth but also increase the number of fish landed.
The author and a beautiful yellow perch caught on an Eagle Claw
Circle Bait Hook.
With Eagle Claw Circle hooks, the large number means larger hooks.
Striped Bass Conservation Efforts
Posted on: Apr 06, 2009
Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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We recently teamed up with our friends at the North Carolina Wildlife Commission to educate anglers on catch and release of Striped bass in the Roanoke river – Read on for more detailsUse of Barbless Hooks Reduces Striped Bass Mortality
RALEIGH, N.C. April 2 – For those who are gearing up for another striped bass outing on the Roanoke River, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding anglers to use a single barbless circle hooks or lure with a single barbless hook when fishing in the upper river from April 1 through June 30.
While anglers can make their existing hooks barbless by crimping down the barb with pliers, the Wildlife Resources Commission, in partnership with Eagle Claw, are handing out barbless circle hooks to anglers fishing on the river this spring. Informational cards with a single barbless hook attached are available from Wildlife Enforcement officers, fisheries biologists and creel clerks working in the vicinity of the river from now until the end of June.
Small, non-offset circle hooks, preferably ones with the least amount of distance between the hook point and shank, are the best for reducing striped bass mortality. Studies show that striped bass caught on small, barbless circle hooks are usually hooked in the jaw, which means they have a much greater chance of survival after being released than fish hooked in the throat or gut. This is particularly true as the weather and water warm.
According to Chris Russell, Eagle Claw marketing and product director, the company has been conducting circle hook research and working with a wide range of conservation groups for the last 20 years. Their findings show about a 95 percent lip hook rate and an 80 percent reduction in gut hooking. Their research also shows that non-offset circle hooks are helpful in reducing gut-hooking even further.
To promote the use of barbless circle hooks while fishing for striped bass on the Roanoke River, Eagle Claw provided 5,000 Lazer Sharp barbless circle hooks, which have an approximate retail value of $2,500, for striped bass anglers to try out this spring.
“This is a high profile fishery and many of the fish are crucial to the spawning efforts of future generations of striped bass Russell said. “Since anglers come from a wide area to fish the Roanoke River, they can see the success of using a circle hook and apply its use to their home waters.”
Until the end of May, the Commission is posting on its Web site, , weekly fishing reports from the Roanoke River every Thursday afternoon. Click on the Roanoke River Fishing Report link on the home page.
Also available on the Web site is a pocket-sized information card on releasing stripers safely; a series of questions and answers on striped bass fishing; locations of free Commission-managed boat ramps on the Roanoke River; and striped bass fishing tips.
For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, call the agency’s Division of Inland Fisheries, (919) 707-0220 or go the website at www.ncwildlife.org
New Sponsorship
Posted on: Mar 31, 2009
Posted in: Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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Lazer Sharp hooks are proud to be the new sponsor of National Bass Anglers Association’s Red, White and Blue Championships – Now called the Lazer Sharp Challenge Divisions – Red, White and Blue
We are excited to be a part of this strong weekend tournament group. These guys take bass fishing very seriously and it may be the place where some of today’s top Pros got their start. check it out at www.nbaa-bass.com
Think you got the stuff to be a top tournament angler? Sign up with NBAA and fish a few of these events in 2009.
See you on the winner’s stage!
C
Eagle Claw Pro Staff Meeting
Posted on: Nov 21, 2008
Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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We had some of the top Bass Fishing Pros in the Denver recently for a hook Summit we called “Red Sabre”. The meeting was designed to focus our efforts on new product introductions for 2009 and beyond, all based on new hook designs, improvements, and advancements.
Attending were Shaw Grigsby, Gerald “GMAN” Swindle, Brent Chapman, Chris Elliott, and Dave Mercer. Along with these top pros and TV celebrities we had Greg Waldron, head of sports and fishing for Disney World resorts in Orlando.
We spent a couple days locked up in a room talking nothing but fish hooks. As you can imagine we got some great feedback and fantastic ideas on how to make Lazer Sharp hooks better then ever. What I learned is this is a great group of guys. Both fun to be around and very knowledgeable on bass fishing and how hooks play a huge part of their success.
I thought it would be fun to share a few photos from the event. As you can see we found time for some fun as well. Enjoy the photos and take a look at the video Dave Mercer shot while he was here
www.factsoffishing.com/videoblog.php?id=36
Eagle Claw Pro Staff Wins Again
Posted on: Jun 20, 2008
Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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Bill and Julie Kunzeman Eagle Claw’s Top Catfish Pro Team Won at this years Bass Pro Big Cat Quest in Paris Tennessee. As a husband and wife team from Illinois they travel all over the country chasing the big cats.
Bill and Julie won this event using the Eagle Claw SF400 Starfire rods and Lazer Sharp 8/0 circle hooks.
Great Job on the first place win!
Hot New Swimbait Hooks
Posted on: May 09, 2008
Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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If you have not heard all the talk of swimbait hooks and the great new baits to go with them, you need to get out more. A few companies have hooks like these on the market but none better than the one from Lazer Sharp.
These cool new hooks have a weight positioned on the shank making them swim perfect with the new, thick body baits. We also added a one of a kind barbed keeper to the front for easy, straight running, rigging that no other hook maker offers. Add to that a huge gap for the biggest of baits plus a side turned eye and a Lazer Sharp point and you have the best swimbait hook – period!
These bad boys are available in 3/0 thru 7/0 and you can get ‘em in a 3 pack or assortment kit with extra goodies included like a free sample of Nitro Grease.
This new technique is being used by top pros in the Bass, Walleye, and Saltwater markets across the country. The best thing about them – they catch all kinds of fish and are easy to rig and use. Our team has been testing them in the field with great results and I can tell you first hand this system works.
Give them a try – now available at Big 5, Dicks, Cabelas, and Bass Pro plus local retailers across the country.
Chris
