7/21/2011
Lucky Craft Blog - Tak Omori


For most B.A.S.S. guys this begins their offseason, but for me I'm just in the middle of mine. I'm all done with Elite Series and finished 32nd overall qualifying me for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. Anytime you make the Classic you've had a pretty good season and I am just excited to get a shot at another title. I'm never one to be idle, so I try to fish every major tournament I can. Right now I have at least three more and I hope a fourth. The three I know for sure are the upcoming PAA event on Lake Neely Henry in Alabama and the last two FLW Open events on Lake Champlain and Lake Guntersville, respectively. The fourth I'm hoping to qualify for is the Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Lake Conroe. To qualify for that I need to finish in the top 15 in the PAA points, with one event left I'm in 12th place and I need a good finish to secure my spot.

Looking ahead to the last two FLW Opens I am already excited for Lake Champlain. Everyone knows I like to target largemouth because I believe they are much easier to pattern than spots or smallmouth and because usually they will weigh more, but Champlain is a whole different ballgame and the rules are much different. Champlain is one place where you can weigh in 20 pounds of either largemouth or smallmouth on any given day; I can't think of another place where that rings true. That time of year the big smallmouth also start moving up onto the flats with the largemouth so each cast could produce a five pounder of either species. I'm already excited. I plan to target fish using the larger Lucky Craft slender pointer in the 112 and 127 size in any color that resembles the yellow perch. Similar to the trout in California and the gizzard shad in the south, the yellow perch is the preferred meal of Champlain bass trying to get big in a hurry. The only thing I'm not excited for is the three days of driving each way from my home near Lake Fork.

Speaking of Lake Fork, I've been fishing it quite a bit right now. Usually we don't have this time of year off from the Elites, but the way the events were scheduled allows me some valuable time on the water working on one of my weaknesses: Deep water. The last couple of trips out to Lake Fork have been spectacular due in large part to the Lucky Craft D20 and LC 3.5XD. The fish are really predictable in the 20 foot range. They are stacked up on deep humps and can be caught one after another with either the D20 or 3.5XD. It's exciting to get more comfortable with the deeper water. Just wait, you will love the new 3.5XD its awesome and the colors are just what you would expect from Lucky Craft, brilliant.

I hope that you follow my upcoming tournaments and I'll report back soon.

Until next time,
Tak

6/30/2011
Team Lucky Craft: Casey Ashley


Casey Ashley Blog

Well, the regular season is over. Next up is the inaugural All-Star postseason event which is comprised of two stand alone tournaments featuring the top eight anglers from the regular season points standings and four anglers voted in by the fans. Lucky for me, I’m one of the eight. Ever since my win at Lake Murray it seems like every decision I make is right. I know I’m fishing with a lot less pressure due to my automatic classic birth awarded to each event winner this year on the Elite Series. It was definitely the turning point of my season.

The Carolina Clash event on Lake Murray was right at the tail-end of the blue-back herring spawn so there were not nearly as many active fish as we had seen at some of our previous blue-back dominated events. Everyone knew the morning bite was crucial and I was no different. Unlike a lot of guys I didn’t want to waste much time chasing down schools of fish so instead I found two key points within eye-sight of each other and camped their each morning. If I saw the fish breaking the surface on the other spot it was a quick ride over to them. This approach allowed me to maximize my fishing time. When choosing a bait to imitate a blue back I always start with the Lucky Craft Gunfish 110 in the Ghost Shad Color. During that tournament I caught a big one each day on it in the first hour and then switched to my double fluke rig for the remaining low light time. I had a ton of giants blow up on that bait and it was really crucial I land at least one fish every time the bass started crashing the surface. After the sun came out I switched to a green pumpkin Zoom trick worm on a little shakey head with 8 pound test fluorocarbon line. I found myself fishing much shallower than most other anglers. All of my fish were in about three feet of water. That was a great feeling winning that tournament not far from where I grew up.

After that event things just came together for me. For example my next event was the last southern open at Douglas Lake in Tennessee. That tournament I found an old roadbed in the back of a creek that had the fish stacked up on the edge of it in 10-12 feet of water. I caught all my fish off that road bed on a Lucky Craft CB-D12 in the Chartreuse Shad color. I ended up finishing 22nd and landing in 9th spot in the southern open points.

I made the trip straight to my next Elite Series event on the Arkansas River. I’ll tell ya, the weights really didn’t show how good the fishing was. There were a lot of bass caught but the 15 inch fish were very scarce. I must have caught a limit of 14 inchers that weighed over 12lbs, all of those fish had to be thrown back and it really hurt. In practice I had found some good backwater areas where I caught fish on the G-splash popper bait. The first day of the tournament produced a lot of bass but it was just small fish after small fish and I knew I’d have to make a change. On the way back into weighin I did manage to catch two keepers fishing rock jetties that provided a current break for the bass. That kind of fishing is where the RC 2.0 shines. My primary color was the black/chartreuse in really shallow water. After such a lackluster day I decided not to mess with the locks and instead stayed local and fished new water. In retrospect that might have been my best decision all year. Not only did I catch a good bag of fish cranking the RC 2.0, but I also managed to avoid late penalties incurred by the majority of anglers who I fished near on day 1. That was a really tough break for those guys, but really fortunate for me that I didn’t get stuck down there. The last day I only managed three, but it was tough for everyone and I finished 38th.

My last tournament was just a few days ago and it was primarily dominated by the deep water fisherman. I went into the event with my mind set on making the All-star event and sitting in eighth place I was certain I’d need a good tournament to make that happen. Like everyone else I did catch some good fish offshore in practice, but I found it too crowded out there and watched as everyone else found the same spots I had. That made up my mind for me that I’d stay shallow and try to break the 12lb hump that would plague most anglers who didn’t head for deep water. The first day of the tournament I had all my weight in the first hour and never upgraded all day. I did go check my deep water spots, but arrived to see skeet and eventual winner David Walker all over it. Day 2 I had a good boat draw and knew I could be the first one to that spot, but that’s not really my style so instead I went back shallow. Day two was really windy and overcast which helped my bite tremendously. I swam a jig and threw a G-splash around bank grass finding my bite to be phenomenal later in the day when I boated two four pounders and a two and half pound fish. That was enough weight to get me into the final day and ultimately finish 24th.

This all leads me to where I’m at now. After the entirety of the season I placed 7th overall and couldn’t be happier. I’ll be attending the postseason and I’m truly excited to have an opportunity to fish to win. There should be some really neat extracurricular activities at the events and of course Alabama always brings in huge crowds for our events.

I’ll be sure to fill you in right after we conclude our tournament, wish me luck!

3/23/2011
Team Lucky Craft: Casey Ashley


We just wrapped up the Florida swing of events and I very excited about my results. I ended up in 18th at the Harris Chain and 10th on the St. John’s River. Anytime you can get two top twenty finishes against these anglers you are doing well.

At the St. John’s River I knew it was going to be a sight fishing tournament. So I turned the trolling motor to high and went looking for bed fish. I was 100% committed to sight fishing from the moment I got there. I did cast around a speed worm or Lucky Craft G-Splash or Splash tail just to try to get a bite while I was looking. That didn’t go very well, I just couldn’t get a bite fishing.

On day 1 of the event I fished lake George. In practice I located a couple big fish and knew if I could get on them I could catch them. I just lucked out and got on both of them. I had one about 8 and another one about 7, from then I just kept looking and I found a couple more big ones but couldn’t get them to bite. I was sitting nicely near the top of the standings.

On the second day, I decided not to go to Lake George. I had another area that was closer called Dunns creek. I had some big ones picked out there as well. I went in and some of them were gone and some new ones had moved in. I just couldn’t do anything with them I ended up scratched out 12 pounds.

I returned to Dunns Creek on the third day to try and get some of the fish I didn’t get on day 2, but again I couldn’t get them to go. They wouldn’t lock in or act right.

On the final day, I decided to go somewhere else since Dunns Creek didn’t work out very well. So I went back to Lake George. The fish were everywhere. I had a limit in about 40 minutes. I had a 6-pounder that I tried to catch for about two hours. I never could get her to do anything. I found another 7 or 8–pounder and I spent about an hour on her. I did get her to bite, and I stuck her only to have her get off. I blew that one, but that’s part of the game. That’s kind of the way my day went, I never could get a big one.

Overall I finished in 10th and on the heels of a solid finish at the Harris Chain I feel pretty good.

In non-fishing related stuff, I am excited that I finished recording my album. The studio is working on it now and it should be done this week. After that, I’ll be able to check it out and make sure I like how it turned out. After that we’ll be deciding how and where we are going to sell them.

Back to fishing, I start fishing Lake Norman tomorrow in the BASS Opens I really like Lake Norman and I expect to do well there. I sure like to win it and qualify for the Classic. We’ll see!

1/27/2011
Team Lucky Craft: G Man
Monkey Gone, Classic Here

Swindle: Monkey Gone, Classic Here
G-Man takes Toho

It’s kind of weird that winning the event is more of a feeling of relief than the excitement about winning. You always think you have the potential to win, but Florida has been tough for me.

It’s taken a while for it to soak in but, I’ve gotten that monkey off of my back and now I am qualified for next year’s Classic. That means I won’t be worrying about points and I can go out and practice to win. Practicing to win is different than practicing to get a check or forpoints to qualify for the classic. Typically fishing and practicing to win can be extremely nerve racking because you don’t catch a lot of fish. When the fishing gets tough I won’t need to run to the bank and catch a limit just so I can get points to make the classic.

The winning combos were a LVR D7 and an LVR D10 in Aurora Gold both fished on the new Quantum Smoke 6.3 to 1 reels and a 7-foot Medium Quantum PT Cranking rod (same as KVD’s red one’s only this one is black). My line was Vicious Pro Elite 12-pound test which is equivalent to the diameter of most 10-pound Fluorocarbon line. I fished this rig very slow. It was more of a dragging action than it was a ripping action.

For the Carolina Rig I was using a Trokar EWG 3/0 hook with a Zoom trick worm in Junebug color on a Quantum Smoke 6.3 to 1 reel and a Quantum PT Superlight 7-foot Medium rod. For the weight I had the new Eagle Claw tungsten weight with the sleeve. The sleeve keeps the weight from damaging the line and I like it. I fished this combo on 14-pound Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon. Like the LVR’s I fished the Carolina Rig very slow as well.

Going into the final day I had a 3.5-pound lead. In Florida a 3.5-pound lead isn’t much, especially when you have one of the Lane boys right on your tail. You know they have the ability to catch a huge sack anytime and I knew I was going to have to get it done. I told myself if I just do my job they are going to have to really catch them to take the win away from me.

Then we launched arrived at one of the spots. My Co-Angler for the day proceeded to catch a 9-pound bass on his second cast. Then on his fifth cast he caught another 9-pound bass. That’s a tough thing to overcome mentally, but I told myself if I can win despite my co-angler catching two 9’s then I can win anytime. I just told myself the big fish are here and I am going to catch ‘em and then we can laugh about the two 9-pounders after the tournament. I never got a 9-pounder on the final day, my biggest was a 6-pounder, but I had enough for the win.

On a totally different subject, I am super excited about my new Toyota Tundra Crew Cab that was delivered to me here in Warrior, Alabama yesterday. My roommate on tour Britt Meyers and his shop CS Motorsports in Gastonia, North Carolina lifted in 6-inches and put some new ATX (by Wheel Pro) wheels on it, all flat black. I finally get to drive a Tundra all jacked up. I’ve got to show those California boys like Skeet and Ish how a truck is supposed to be built. One thing is for sure, this year “red-neck” is coming to town!

1/4/2011
Team Lucky Craft - Takahiro Omori
The Doctor says…

In my last blog I was on my way to the doctor to find out about my hand. I met with a hand specialist doctor and he told me my left little finger, my left wrist and my left arm have a bad case of tendonitis. It's very bad.

It’s easy to understand why, simply overworked. All the years of casting and holding my rod while cranking, flipping and all the rest of the techniques has put my arm through a lot of work. The average weekend bass angler doesn't have to make 2000 plus casts a day every day 7 days a week. I have competed in 16 to 20 tour level tournaments a year for more than 10 years and have never had an injury up until a few years ago. I was proud to be able to stay healthy on the tour. I make it a point to eat healthy and stay physically fit which I believe is very important to be able stay on the road and live the pro bass angler lifestyle.

This type of tendonitis takes a while to heal and with 17 tournaments this up coming season I know I am going to need to make some changes. I brought a rod and reel with me to the doctor and we agreed I need to switch to left hand retrieve reels. I'm a right handed person and that way I could hold my rod in my right hand all time while my left hand holds the reel handle only and will put much less pressure on my finger, wrist and arm while I am fishing. Technically for right handed anglers this is the way it should be done and I have been doing this with my spinning reels over the years. Besides easing the pain in my wrist, casting right handed and then switching to my left hand to hold rod waists a lot time and could result in poor timing to set the hook quickly, especially pitching a jig to shallow cover. I tried a left handed baitcaster reel about 10 years ago and I felt weird and gave up on it soon after starting. This time I don't have a choice so I will need a lot of practice before I feel comfortable with it. I'm not sure this going to work for me or not but, it may be my only option for 2011. The weekend angler could always fish the way they like and if they felt pain they can just quit fishing for a while and let their wrist or arm heal. I don’t have that option, as a tour pro I have to keep fishing and it makes it very tough and painful.

Fact is I will most likely be in pain all year but, I don't want to think all negative about this injury instead I am looking at it as an opportunity to train myself to the way I am supposed to cast and reel. I'll be picking up some left handed reels at Tackle Warehouse http://www.tacklewarehouse.com and from Daiwa Japan. I will also be changing to a softer action rod next week. Besides the switch in technique I will also be doing an exercise treatment program from Travis Perret http://www.felixfishing.com.

Believe me I'll show up at my first tournament of the year at Lake Okeechobee in Florida and I will find way to deal with this injury. I plan to focus even harder this year and not let the injury or pain get me down even before the new season starts, that's for sure! I thank all of my friends and fans for their support and well wishes to get well.
Thanks – T.O.

12/20/2010
Team Lucky Craft - Joe Thomas
Family Getaway

We wrapped the final episode for the next season of Ultimate Match Fishing a couple weeks ago and I am finally home for a bit. This year I spent 260 days on the road between the filming of Ultimate Match Fishing and Stihl’s Reel in the Outdoors and fishing the FLW Tour so some family time was much needed.

My wife, three kids and I headed up into the Smokey Mountains for a family get away. It was great to have some time quality time together. We stayed at a great little cabin pretty far away from everything and just made trips into town to catch some shows. We did find time to hit the slopes for some tubing and skiing with the kids.

I am happy to announce we just signed a 2 year extension for Stihl’s Reel in the Outdoors with the Outdoor Channel. I am excited about that and I am already making plans for the first big filming for next season in January. I am headed to Okeechobee to do some fishing with Tom Mann Jr. on his home water. January fishing in Okeechobee can be fantastic, a few years ago I had a top 10 finish using a Lucky Craft Pointer 112 in the canals. I know they also eat the Lucky Craft Gunfish in January there too, there is nothing like topwater fishing in January. I know Tom likes to throw the buzz-frog this time of year as well so it should make for a great show with some explosive topwater bites. From there I will be making plans for 12 additional new shows on some of the best bass fishing lakes in the U.S. and Mexico, the new shows will begin to air in July of 2011.

I am also very happy that I was able to partner with Ranger Boats and Evinrude for the next year and I am look forward to riding in the best boat & motor package available on the market today. I’ll be in that boat more than I am at my home so having a great ride and a reliable motor is a key component of my shows and my tournament fishing.

One thing I am really excited about is the video my company just put together for Lucky Craft. We headed out and met up with Rick Clunn and Rick educated us (and you via the video) on the RC series of Crankbaits that he has designed with Lucky Craft for Bass Pro Shops. Rick takes us from the concept, through the design and doesn’t leave out any details, the insight and thought that went into the design of these baits is remarkable. If you watch this video you better make sure you either have some RC baits in the box or a BPS store nearby because you are going to be pumped about fishing it. Rick is a true legend in our sport and his attention to detail and knowledge of fishing is in each bait and the video will definitely teach everyone something about baits, fishing and everything in between. As of now, we are not sure where it will be released but, in my next blog I’ll let you know where you can view it.

12/18/2010
Team Lucky Craft - Tak Omori
Season in Jeopardy

A few years ago I had a problem with my little finger on my left hand. Back then I went to New York to see a doctor and they gave me a cortisone shot that has helped for a few years. Lately, the pain has increased and moved up my hand and into my wrist and has made it nearly impossible for me to fish. I don’t have any other fishing related injuries and have never had anything like this before. With a little more than six weeks until my first scheduled tournament I am headed to the Orthopedic doctor today to see what the problem is and what can be done.

It is tough for me to even think about fishing right now but, I’m still preparing for the season as though I am going to fish. Last week I went to Toledo Bend and just drove around the lake looking at the hydrilla, ditches, points and other stuff because the water is down. Other than checking out a few lakes by just driving around and looking at them I haven’t been able to do too much. I haven’t been able to actually fish but, I am hoping I will be ready for the season but, at this point I just don’t know.

Usually this time of year I head back to Japan to visit my family, but this year I decided not to. I am focused on getting my left hand healed enough so that I can fish this season.

I wish I had better news right now but, it is really up to the doctors and my wrist healing quite a bit before I will be able to continue to fish. I am not sure if changing the way I fish is an option but, it may come to that. Making thousands of casts a day is simply too much for my hand and wrist to handle right now and unless the doctors figure out the injury and a solution for it my season is in jeopardy. Six weeks isn’t very long I just hope by the time the season gets here I will be ready to go. I will report back with my blog with any progress in the near future.

11/16/2010
Team Lucky Craft - Casey Ashley


Casey Ashley
11-16-2010 Blog

I went fishing for the first time in quite a while with my dad just the other day near the Georgia/South Carolina border. I always enjoy fishing with my dad, he was the one who got me started fishing and getting a chance to get on the boat with him is something I look forward to. We started fishing team events when I was about 10 years old. We probably caught about 40 spotted bass, a lot of them on a jiggin’ spoon. I did catch some fish that were suspended over timber in one of the creek arms. I caught them on a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97 in Misty Shad color.

I’ve been doing a lot of Bow Hunting for deer here in South Carolina and I did get one just a few weeks ago. Here in South Carolina I hunt a lot with fellow Elite Series angler Davy Hite. Davy is pretty much a neighbors, he lives just thirty minutes down the road in Ninety-Six, South Carolina. I have a couple of hunting trips coming up here pretty soon including a bow hunt with Gerald Swindle in Illinois .

Other than that, I started building a house in the summer and I’ve been working on that. I work on the house a little bit, hunt a little bit and then work on the house a little more. This last fishing trip really started “fanning the fire” inside of me and I am itching to get back on the water soon.

11/2/2010
Team Lucky Craft - Kelly Jordan


You know its cold when your livewell lids are “iced” shut. That’s how my partner Jared Miller and I kicked off the “fish” portion of the Fish ‘n Chips tournament on Grand Lake. We solved the problem by pouring some lake water on the lids which melted the ice enough to get our first fish into the well. It was actually a pretty nice day, it was just cold about 32 degrees.

The Fish ‘n Chips event was fun, Mark Jefferies of BassZone.com does a great job putting it together and it was fun seeing all of the guys in a little less competitive environment.

As for the tournament Jared and I finished in 17th place after a pretty rough start in the poker end of the event. The fishing was good with most of the fish we caught coming on a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 or 2.5 square bill crankbait in shad patterns. We did catch a few on a Buzzbait & Spinnerbait in the event as well. We caught some nice fish with a couple of solid 16 pound days but, we just couldn’t get that kicker fish to move up in the standings.

Coming up I will be headed out to fish the Ultimate Match fishing show which is hosted by Joe Thomas, refereed by Mark Randolph and Fish Fishburne is the analyst. If you haven’t seen this show you should check it out as 12 anglers are bracketed head to head in elimination matches. Both anglers fish from the same boat with four 90 minute quarters. Each quarter the anglers switch ends of the boat. There aren’t many rules other than not crossing to the other half of the boat so almost anything goes out there. I think the filming we are about to do will air early next year on the Outdoor Channel.

Other than that, I’m just itching to get out in the woods for some good South Texas hunting very soon!

11/2/2010
Team Lucky Craft - Gary Dobyns


I am pumped up about a hunting trip to Nevada later this week. I pulled a once in a lifetime Elk tag. I’ve been applying for it for over twenty years and I finally got one. I don’t think I can even apply again for another ten years. I could be gone for a couple weeks but, I could find a quality animal in a couple days you never know. We’ll be headed out near Pioche Nevada where the record has been set the last few times, with the last being in 2004. This is a super quality hunt and to say I am pumped up about it is an understatement.

I am headed to Texas to film a TV show, The Big Bass Challenge, on Choke Canyon, Lake Fork, Falcon Lake and possibly Amistad. We were there a few weeks ago and I was catching them really well on a Staysee 90 and a Pointer 100 in Phantom Chartreuse shad, a color I came up with a few years ago. I will also have Chartreuse Shad and Ghost minnow with me because I don’t walk out the door without those colors.

The Big Bass Challenge television show will feature Mark Pack a great Texas angler, Cody Roberson of the Army Bass Anglers, Justin Rackley former Texas A&M angler and national collegeiate bass champion and myself. We will each fish solo with a camera on board and we come back and go over what happened. It’s really a neat idea for a show in that you get four different perspectives of breaking down the same water. The show begins airing in 2011 and will be on Versus Network and the World Fishing Network.

On the Dobyns Rods end of things we just finished up a trade show in Northern California where I was a guest speaker and I was able to show off our line of rods to many anglers. Sales were good there but, just spreading the word about the rods and supporting our dealer is just a valuable.

We’ve also been hard at work at putting together a demo program that will allow anglers a chance to try out one of our rods without any cost. These rods will be available though many of our dealers. I truly feel that is the best way to get anglers to understand how well these rods are made.