RAPALA 50 LB. ANGLER MODEL SCALE

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Elsewhere in this magazine is an article about fishing scales, how they work, available models and how accurate they weigh fish. I gathered several scales to use, evaluate and test for this article and while none of them are perfect for every angler, for every fish or fishing condition, one thing did come out of my tests. I replaced the spring type, mechanical scale which had been on my boat for the past several years with the Rapala Angler Model acquired specifically for the feature story.

I’d owned digital scales in the past and they worked well when the batteries were good. Too often, I’d pull the scale out to weigh a notable catch and found the Energizer Bunny had died. That’s why I switched to a good, mechanical model, but my tests for the feature showed my spring scale was “off” for the better part of a pound and the graduations that showed the weight were so close together that weighing to anything less than to the nearest pound was pure guesswork.

The Rapala digital was spot-on for accuracy and was easy to read. I could have chosen one of the other digitals I tested, but several features guided my selection – most notably the scale operates on AA batteries – available anywhere. Try to find one of those square, 9Vs when you need it.

Rapala says the two AAs will run the scale for 400 hours so expect a season’s use out of each pair. The circuitry automatically turns off the scale after a few minutes eliminating the possibility of accidentally leaving the scale in the on position from one trip to the next. Should the batteries run down, there is a back-up memory to store any weights you’ve entered and want to save.

It will store up to eight different previously weighed fish – one for each person perhaps, or save the weights for different species as the season progresses. It will also total all the stored weights for an instant cumulative weight for tournament or other purposes.

I don’t much use those features, but maybe I will. The kicker for me, however was instead of a simple hook to hold the fish being weighed, the scale comes with a rugged “vise-grip” style lip gripper which holds the fish securely and is less injurious to the fish being weighed.

Rapala Touch Screen Angler Model scales are widely available at retail or online merchandizers or order them straight from Rapala at: www.rapala.com.

SRD20 SOAP, WAX AND PROTECTANT

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

When I’m getting my boat out of winter storage and lake ready in late winter or early spring, the last thing I want to do is take a look at it and tell myself it needs a wash and wax. If it was dull and dirty when winterized, it will be that way when the spring melt opens up the lakes and harbors. If it was clean and shiny when laid up in the fall, even if it was just fitted with a cover, it won’t look disturbingly bad when pulled out of storage. Spend the time getting the interior stocked up with rods, lures and all the rest to make that first of the season outing a success.

It will be easier than ever to button down my boat all clean and shiny this year since I’ve started using SRD20 products during the summer and fall fishing season. SRD20 makes three products that make it easy called: Pink Soap, Waterless Wash and Wax and Graphene Spray Protectant. I call them simply wash, wax and wipe.

The marina where I often launch in the fall opens into a river that is often almost stagnant and filled with algae and stained water by the time the salmon are spawning upstream. Two or three late season trips puts a scum ring around the bottom of the hull that looks like the boat has been soaking in the marina all summer. I’ve used some highly acidic products that does a good job of knocking it off, but it won’t work on aluminum boats and it takes longer to rinse the boat and trailer than to do the actual cleaning. I doubt that stuff is good for the driveway or wherever rinsewater it runs off.

The SRD20 pink soap is pH balanced and environmentally safe. Use it in the marina if you wish. A couple of ounces in a five gallon bucket is enough to clean most boats. Spray in the water and stir it well to produce a high-suds and then swab the boat. It’s easy on existing wax, but you can see the white suds turn gray as it drips down the boat’s side and picks up dirt. A bit of scrubbing and a quick rinse and the hull is clean.

Next step is Waterless Wash and Wax. Spray on about six to ten square feet, rub it in with a microfiber cloth or an old towel, then buff it dry. The result is a ceramic-like shiny coating of wax that protects the paint, chrome or gelcoat. No power-buffers needed.

I use it inside and out, as needed. It doesn’t need much, thanks to the Graphene protectant. I use it as a touch up and regularly apply it to areas like the dashboard and where people climb in and out of the boat. Graphene is diamond-shiny and diamond hard, microscopically thin coating. Just spray it on and wipe it off to make the surface gleam brighter than new and to protect it better than wax.

The motto on each bottle of SRD20 products is, “It shouldn’t be hard work.” That nails it. The soap does much of the work to clean your boat. I could see the suds go from white to gray as it ran down the hull. The Waterless Wash and Wax gets any residual dirt and tar-spots from trailering on the highway. Wipe on the Graphene Spray Protectant whenever a place, inside or outside needs a touch up. Wash, wax and wipe as needed through the season and your boat will be ready for lay-up in the off season and ready to go all season, next year.

Check out the products more thoroughly at ww.SRD20.com. These American made products are available at Amazon.com.

GILL FITZROY JACKET

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

I love the fall and early winter weather in the Great Lakes. That includes the brisk, frosty mornings that often gives way to tee-shirt warmth in the afternoon. Obviously, seasoned anglers know the key to this is layering but it doesn’t have to be a complicated system as is needed in “real” winter on the ice, in deer stands or other cold weather outings. The Fitzroy Jacket from Gill can be your go-to top layer on those Indian summer mornings (and just as useful on middle-spring days.)

My go-to outer layer for the past couple of seasons has been my Gill Winter Jacket and Bibs, which are both heavily insulated and fully waterproof, but the winter-wear is overkill on those days when the frosty morning fades quickly to comfortable temps as soon as the sun brightens the morning sky.

The Fitzroy jacket is very lightweight and packable for when it needs to be stowed, but easily fluffs to a warm, well insulated, good looking coat and hood. For me (so far) the hood is more for style since I’ve never needed it.

Fishing can be a wet sport even on a sunny day, either from errant spray when the boat is under power or when dealing with wet tackle or flopping fish. The Fitzroy will handle spray and wet fish, but it’s a poor choice for a rainy day. It has the same Durable Water Repellant finish on the outer layer that’s the first line of water resistance on all of the best totally waterproof rainwear, but that makes it water resistant, not waterproof. A bit of spray will just bead up and run off or evaporate, a soaking rain will, eventually soak in.

I love the three zip-close pockets – two on the sides for hands, for stowing car keys or other items and one on the upper chest where I often insert my cell phone or camera. The sturdy zips open and close easily and keeps things secure and available.

One observation I’ve noted on this and other Gill products is their sizing. Gill products are designed and engineered in the United Kingdom and sold worldwide where many people are smaller than many of us in the Great Lakes. I choose garments one size larger than I’d normally buy from American producers.

If environmental responsibility is important to you, both the Fitzroy’s shell and insulation is made from recycled materials.

Want to try Gill yourself? The Fitzroy Jacket (and other Gill products) are widely available or order them online straight from the Gill website with a discount:

At checkout, use the discount code- CAPTMIKE10 – for 10% off your order at gillfishing.com

H20X CRANKBAITS

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

No doubt you’ve seen the price of crankbaits (and other lures) skyrocketing faster than the price of eggs and bacon during the pandemic. Crankbaits used to seem expensive when priced at five or six bucks. Now, they are often two or three times more, these days. Maybe that’s okay with your budget, but it’s not with mine and that’s what attracted me to the H20X cranks at the Academy Sports store that opened near me in Lafayette, IN last spring – the price.

Often shopping by price alone is a poor choice when it comes to fishing equipment. Cheapskates are setting themselves up for failure. I also have observed that “store-brand” knock-offs of big brand lures isn’t the same as buying a generic equivalent for other products. Far from it.

Often, just looking at the store-brand crankbaits tells the story. The molded bodies are rough, the paint or finish is notably inferior and the hooks and hardware on the lures are noticeably cheap. You know they won’t hold up, you know they won’t have the proper action and you know after a few trips you’ll be wishing you’d never bought them at any price.

I didn’t notice any of the above with the H20X (Academy Sports’ store brand) hanging on the racks. I did notice the retro price tags marked on the boxes.

Academy Sports is a chain of big-box sporting goods stores (think Bass Pro or Dick’s Sporting Goods), born in Texas and now found in states across the southeastern U.S.A. The Lafayette store was the first one opened in a Great Lakes state. Now, they are in Indiana and Illinois. (Academy does offer online shopping, however, so even if you fish Lake Superior, H20X products are just a few clicks and a truck ride from your door.)

Naturally, the H20X cranks were designed with bass fishing in mind and the colors available reflect that. However, many crankbaits used by salmon, steelhead and walleye anglers weren’t designed specifically for those species. They were probably designed for bass guys and us Great Lakes guys learned they were equally effective on salmon or trout.

For the first two or three months of the open water season in southern Lake Michigan, crankbaits are the top producers and some Great Lakes walleye guys use cranks all season long. So I selected an assortment of H20X cranks and tied them on last spring. Plenty of cohos and browns considered them edible and Lake Erie walleyes gave them a “fins-up” as well.

SCENTED FLICKER SHADS

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

If you are a walleye angler, a coho angler, if you fish for brown trout in the spring, if you cast crankbaits for bass; goodness, if you have any crankbaits in your tackle box, chances are you have one or more Berkley Flicker Shads. Why not? They are among the most affordable of “brand name” cranks, they come in a million colors, they perfectly mimic two of the most important baitfish in the Great Lakes – alewives and shad. What more could one want?

“Easy answer,” said the lure designers at Berkley, “Scent.”

Many anglers are skeptical of scent products. I know I am. Then when I switch from trolling the lakes to casting for bass or other fish using plastics, I’ll grab a bag of Berkley Gulp twister tails, worms, minnow or other Gulp-scented soft body.

I remember an off the record comment made by a professional bass tournament angler when Gulp first came out. “It ought to be prohibited in tournaments. It’s like allowing live bait.”

So when the “Gulp-chef” at Berkley Fishing came up with a Gulp Gel, I took notice. And when I saw some of the prototype Flicker Shads at the Berkley booth at last summer’s ICAST, I took double notice.

The “Flicker Shad designers” made their most popular 2-inch and 2 ¾-inch Flicker Shads with a special strip of scent pockets on each side and another on the lure’s bottom to hold and disperse the Gulp Gel as the lure goes through the water. Put a dab of the gel on your finger, then smear it down the side or along the bottom enough to fill the tiny cavities in the scent-strips and then just fish the lure as you would any regular Flicker Shad. The scent strips and the gel doesn’t impede the action or alter the diving depth at all.

I’ve not heard any professionals claiming “it oughta be outlawed,” and it’s not the nearly miraculous difference Gulp made in soft plastics. That’s probably because the difference in how most soft plastics are fished compared to crankbaits. Especially on the troll, a lot of the strikes are “impulse-bites,” where the fish spots the lure and strikes immediately before it can get away.

That’s most days. Especially with walleyes in early spring or in post-frontal conditions that are in a neutral or negative mood, a bit of the scent can turn a snub into a nibble. When a nibble occurs, the Fusion 19 hooks latch on and it’s “fish on.” It can be the difference between no bites and some bites or even some bites to a fast bite.

At this writing, I’ve used the Scented Flickers more for salmon than for walleye and cohos are probably more impulsive than walleyes. The best test I ran was to put a Fire Tiger regular Flicker on one side of the boat and a Fire Tiger Scented Flicker on the other. Fire Tiger is an okay color, some days, for cohos. Other days, almost any hot red/orange colored crankbait will beat it. End of the test – regular Flicker Shad zero – Scented Flicker Shad three. This was on a day when hot red/orange cranks were cookin’!

I’m not saying the Scented Flicker Shads will be a game changer, but I’m confident on some days they’ll at least put you in the game. They don’t come in a million colors, but (barring hot red/orange) they come in 10 fish-catching patterns and are available in single packs, three and five packs. Each lure or packet comes with a tube of Gulp Gel. Check them all or order them at www.berkley-fishing.com. Look for them at your favorite tackle emporium.

BERKLEY GULP GEL

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Each Scented Flicker Shad or pack comes with a tube of Gulp Gel so is the gel only effective when used with the special Flicker Shads? Of course not. The scent strips helps hold the scent, but I slathered Gulp Gel some on slick-sided crankbaits and fished some of them as much as an hour. When I reeled them in, I could still feel the gel on the sides of the bait. I put Gulp Gel on a gauze pad and stuffed it inside a Yakima SpinFish and absolutely crushed Lake Superior lake trout with the lure.

I’ve used other scent products that were like smearing axle grease on the lures. After an hour of trolling, the Gulp Gel was still present, but far less than when I smeared it on. I can only assume it still smelled okay to the fish, perhaps a bit subdued. It’s not water soluble, but it’s not axle grease, either.

Did it work? As with most scent products, it’s hard to quantify the results, but it gave me more confidence and I’m convinced the scent helped a little or a lot each day I tried it. I put a small spritzer bottle of dish detergent and water on the boat to clean the lures before or after using. John Procnow, “the Gulp guy at Berkley Fishing” says the product won’t degrade over time, but I’m of the “fresh is best” philosophy.

In cold weather, keep the tube of Gulp Gel in an inside pocket. When the temps are in the 30s or low 40s, it gets hard to squeeze out of the tube. Again, available at www.berkley-fishing.com or at a variety of tackle retailers.

ANGLER AID FOR BODIES AND BOATS

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

First Aid kits aren’t required equipment on boats. Neither are tool kits. But common sense dictates having one of each. Some first aid kits are overkill. I’m not planning to do open heart surgery. I want to be able to do a quick patch job on minor dings and scratches.

Likewise, though I do about 97% of the mechanical work on my boat, about 97% of that work is done at home where I have more gear than Tim the Tool Man. That other three percent are minor problems that can be handled with just a few tools.

That must be the same mindset the people who came up with Angler Aid kits. These waterproof containers have tools and supplies to perform first aid on both yourself or your passengers as well as tools and supplies to make minor repairs to keep your mechanized gear going.

They have three sizes – a compact version, a medium size and their large has enough stuff to overhaul an engine or perform an appendectomy. For my use, the medium size, called the Angler Aid Safety Kit made the most sense – both from the size of the kit to fit the storage area on my boat as well as the 88 items contained inside the tough, waterproof box.

Not only does it have the usual bandaids, gauze, antiseptic, cotton swabs and both adhesive and sports tape, it has electrical tape, a multi-tool, assorted fuses, hose clamps, a bright LED flashlight and much, much more. Most “body or boat” problems that can be treated or fixed while underway can be handled with an Angler Aid Safety Kit. If you (or your boat) needs to upgrade so the emergency supplies common sense dictates having in your boat or car, check out all three sizes at http://www.angleraid.com or in retail outlets.

EYE FISH SPINNER HARNESSES

Reviewed by: Capt. Mike Schoonveld

I was fishing on Eastern Lake Erie with Capt. T.J. Yetzer out of Irving, New York (Reel Time Charters) last August and in general conversation he mentioned he buys 10,000 Gamakatsu hooks each year. “Whoa, back-up!” I said. I buy a lot of hooks each year, but I may not have bought 10,000 of them in my whole life. (Though I might be close.)

“I work for Eye-Fish Premium Fishing Tackle as a side line to my charter fishing business. I tie up the Eye-Fish Spinner Harnesses and we use only high-quality Gamakatsu hooks on each harness. Eye-Fish Harnesses are all I use on my boat – and not just because I work for them. They are the best!”

Personally, I don’ t often use worm harnesses when I’m walleye fishing on my own boat, but I do know there’s a quality difference with different brands. That quality pays off whether it’s in the hooks, the line, the beads or the blades. T.J. opened a compartment and handed me an assortment of still-in-the-package Eye-Fish harnesses.

The one thing that popped out at first glance is the realistic fish eye located on each spinner blade. Obviously, these spinners weren’t just bought in bulk from one of the few wholesalers most spinner and spinner harness lure companies use on their products. I asked about them.

“Eye-Fish makes all their own blades, each with their ‘signature’ eye. Of course we paint and coat each of the blades as well. You may think the eye on each blade is just there to make them look more appealing to the fish or to the fishermen shopping for new harnesses.” “I’m convinced,” said Capt. Yetzer “The eyes on the blades do attract more fish than if the blades didn’t have them, but they aren’t just there for show. Actually, when we developed these eyes, we attached them at various places on the blades. Placement on the willow leaf blades we made for higher speed trolling wasn’t so critical, but we noticed on the Colorado blades, the location on the eye, made big difference. At normal, slow speeds 1.2 to 1.7 mph, the Colorado blade harnesses work great, but hit the throttle and they’ll keep spinning attractively and keep catching fish up to a mile per hour faster! I don’t know of any other Colorado blade harness that will perform well at those speeds.” We needed that on the day I fished with him since steep waves on our downwind troll jumped our trolling speed from 1.2 to nearly 3 mph as we rocked, rolled and caught fish on them.

Eye-Fish Spinner Harnesses are available in many Eastern Basin tackle shops, perhaps not in all colors and styles. Check out all the options and purchase them online at www.eye-fish.com

They come in dozens of colors, with seven different bottom or back colors – blue, copper, gold, gold crush, raspberry, shattered glass or silver on various models. All are available as either single or double rigs with either Colorado or willow leaf blades.

BAFFIN ENDURO MEN’S BOOT

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

There was a tip from a reader several years ago for the Basics and Beyond column in Great Lakes Angler magazine about hopping into a pair of muck boots when he loaded his boat at the ramp after each fishing trip. The alternative, he said was either wet feet or tip-toeing on the bumper of his truck and onto the tongue of his trailer.

Great idea and like the tipster, I took it to heart since I walked the bumper and hitch tightrope each time I loaded my boat. I bought an inexpensive pair at a farm store and they worked well for their intended use – for a couple of years. One day last fall I was loading my boat and I got a wet foot. The cheapo boots had a weather check from very limited exposure to the sun. I only wore them about 10 minutes each time I loaded my boat. More likely the rubber broke down just from baking in a hot vehicle while I was out on the lake.

Did I mention I only used them for a few minutes each day I went fishing? That’s because the fit and feel of the boots didn’t suggest I wanted to use them for more “normal” uses, like hunting, gardening, shoveling snow or just mucking around in muddy places and conditions.

I replaced them with a Canadian made pair from Baffin Boots, a company that prides itself for putting quality first. When I slid my feet into the Enduros it was like slipping into a familiar pair of comfortable work boots. It has an interior that almost feels sculpted and Baffin’s unique GelFlex anti-fatigue material on the insole for foot comfort. I could see wearing these boots all day when necessary.

They are 16 inches tall – plenty of depth on every ramp where I’ve used them with several inches to spare. The bottom of the outsole has a rugged pattern giving a firm footing whether it was slick winter conditions or algae-slick boat ramps in the summer.

If you are looking for a muck boot, for work, boat launching or just all around use in “mucky” conditions, consider the Enduros from Baffin. Check them out at www.baffin.com. They are available at some retailers and many online sellers including Amazon.com (Women’s versions are available, as well.)