Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

I’ve fished all five of the Great Lakes for smallmouth bass, but it’s always been away trips on a friend’s boat or with a guide who furnished me with the rods and reels to use on those excursions.  I was sorting and arranging my “overstock” of fishing rod and reel combos several months ago and it dawned on me my personal selection of bassin’ sticks were “vintage” to put it mildly.

I needed an upgrade. What better place to shake some sticks and wind some handles than at the ICAST show where the top companies come each year to display their wares. It was overwhelming so I headed to the Daiwa booth and contacted a couple of the D-wa guys working there to enlist their help in choosing an outfit that would fit my needs and budget.

They pointed me to the Tatula SV70 reel and paired it with a medium action, Tatula rod. I don’t pretend to be a bass gear historian, but I quickly realized this reel is drastically smaller than even some of my later model “vintage” reels. I mentioned this and the Daiwa rep explained that’s because it’s designed from the bottom up to be spooled with braid. It will hold 90 yards of 10-pound braid or over 50 yards of thirty – plenty for any bass that swims the Great Lakes.

Even though the reel is small, it’s built with the bearings, gearing and other features that makes it easy to cast, smooth as butter to reel and plenty strong to manhandle Great Lakes smallies and more. I selected the reel with the 6.3:1 gear ratio, but faster ratios are available. The one feature that set the reel apart from others I considered is what Daiwa called T-Wing System (TWS) because the level wind line guide is T-shaped instead of round or oval. That adds to the castability for smoothness and distance.

I like relatively long rods so I paired it with a seven footer, the TTU701MRB  Tatula model. It’s light weight but medium in action. Recommended for 8 to 17 pound line, I spooled my reel with 20# braid and have tamed smallies up to 5 pounds with ease.

If you are a bass angler at any level, this Tatula combo will look good in your arsenal and feel good in your hands. Widely available, for more info go to www.daiwa.us

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

I’ve been looking for the “perfect” rod holder to use when trolling with Dipsey Divers. Most any will do the chore in the spring or for walleye trolling when I want the diver and lure to only go 20 or 30 feet deep, but in mid-summer, when trying to put a magnum Dipsey or Size 5 Deeper Diver down to the thermocline, what’s needed is a rod holder that will hold up to the strain and almost as important is a rod holder that will allow the rod to easily be pulled out of the holder when a crazed king or lunker laker has latched onto the lure down in the depths.

It’s easy to build a rod holder strong enough to stand up to the strain, but I’ve yet to come across a “pipe-style” holder that passes the ease-of-use test. Few young anglers or inexperienced trollers have the strength or the know-how to pull the rod forward sufficiently to relieve the pressure and then remove the rod so they can actually start fighting the fish. 

A couple of brands I’ve used were easy for youths and newbies, but they didn’t hold the rod securely. I feared an errant bump from a person on the boat or unexpected wave could result in the rod going overboard. That’s why I took a second look and then a third at the Scotty R-5 Rod Holder when I saw it at ICAST.

Unlike most rod holders, the R-5 has a moving part – called a “lock bar” that keeps the rod locked down while it’s being trolled. The lock bar securing the rod in place can’t release until the part of the rod at the front of the holder is manually lifted. That’s the normal/logical way to grab a rod being tortured by a fish at the end of the line. Basically, just lift it free. As the front is lifted the lock bar “unlocks” and the rod is free. 

Early on in my fishing career I used and either broke or discarded various brands of plastic rod holders. They just weren’t tough enough for the Great Lakes and Great Lakes fish. The Scotty R-5 is plastic, but it’s thick, tough plastic and Scotty has reputation for making quality products using quality materials. I’m sure the R-5s on my boat will be there for decades.

I don’t have a track system on my boat so I chose the “290” version of the R-5 which includes a side or deck mount. I was able to just bolt that mount to my rod holder/’rigger support. Scotty does make mounting options for use with most track systems. Check it all out at www.scotty.com.

Available retail at authorized Scotty downrigger outlets. Most Scotty products, including the R-5 can be purchased online at Amazon.com. 

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

When it comes to cars, you’ve probably heard of “crossover” vehicles. These are roadsters which do quite well for a multitude of purposes. They aren’t built for hardcore off-roading, but they’ll do fine on snowy roads before the snowplows clear the highways. They aren’t quite mini-vans for hauling families around town or on longer road trips but they aren’t family sedans either.

I needed a pair of “crossover” boots. A pair I can put on in the morning and will keep my feet warm, comfortable and protected on those days when my activities take me from home, to office, to running errands, to my boat. I chose a pair of Baffin’s Eastern model of men’s boots..          

Since 1979, the Baffin “footwear” company has been keeping feet warm and comfortable across Canada and the rest of the world. If you are looking for some hardcore footwear for a variety of outdoor activities and over a wide range of temperatures, you’d do well to check them out at www.baffin.com. Many of their boots are built for extreme conditions and activities, but Baffin puts just as much quality in their less demanding footwear.

The Easterns are rated “northern” on the Baffin insulation index, which means they are lightly insulated, not something you’d want to wear all day outdoors on the coldest days. For those, choose something Tundra, Arctic or Polar Rated. “Northern” is perfect for fall and early spring outdoor activities, though I wear mine all winter when I’m only going to be outdoors for short periods. They have an aggressive tread pattern to give traction on sloppy sidewalks. At 7.5 inches tall, they aren’t for deep snow, but are great for sloppy conditions. They are crossovers!  Easterns are both waterproof and breathable to keep my feet dry as I hike across wet marina parking lots or when checking out the action at the fish cleaning station.

Available in brown leather or black, they are perfect for wearing to meetings, trips to the dentist or just on those days when you know your feet might face a variety of unscheduled activities. They are easy on and off, thanks to the stretchy panels over the ankle area and convenient pull loop at the back. The stretchy ankle material also keeps these slip-ons from feeling as though they are also slip offs.

If you are looking for an all-purpose – light duty, but rugged pair of crossover boots/shoes give the Easterns a look. They are widely available at online sources as well select retail outlets. 

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

I love it when a spoon gets scratched and scuffed from fish after toothy fish biting down on it. I hate it when I pull a spoon out of my tacklebox and discover scratches and scuffs caused by banging around inside the storage container where rough handling or a rough boat ride caused the other spoons in the box to do the work supposedly reserved for fish teeth.

  I’ve had a few “good” enough spoon storage boxes over the years – none that were perfect. Most worked by having some sort of hanging system which would hold them in place and let them dangle. That’s a good system until the spoon box tips or one of the spoons drops to the bottom of the box. 

The Flambeau Outdoors Spoon Trunk solves the dangling, jingling and tipping wreck problems.  Start with a not-so-basic open box sized to hold up to 63 spoons – from small, walleye sizes to magnum, trout and salmon models. I call the box not so basic because the plastic is made with Flambeau’s proprietary Zerust Technology that eliminates or lessens corrosion on the hooks, hardware and spoons contained inside. An O-Ring gasket makes the lid completely waterproof and that lid locks down tight with a cam-lock closure system.

Inside there’s a thick, closed cell foam layer on the bottom which has the 63 pre-cut slots to insert the front end of the spoons. Next is a thin plastic overlay that outlines each spoon slot to guide pushing them in place when being stored.

It’s simple and effective. The spoons are individually held apart to keep them from scratching or scuffing and it’s easy to see the pattern you need and pull it out.

Spoon Trunks are widely available in retail shops and at numerous online sources. Check out all of Flambeau’s tackle and gear storage options at www.flambeauoutdoors.com

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Step into my kitchen and look on the top of the refrigerator. What is that contraption?  I had three fishing friends over recently and covering the Warthog Knife Sharpener sticker, I gave them the test. Two of them failed completely. One of them guessed, “Some sort of knife sharpener.”  For one, it was in the kitchen and also, he recognized surface of the sharpening rods as diamond encrusted hones. I knew what it was since I ordered it but it does look to be something of a rather Rube Goldberg mechanism with all the springs, levers and knobs on the tool.

 Does it have to be that complex? After all, experts can sharpen a knife with only a flat whetstone. It can’t get any simpler than that.

 I’m no expert, however, and I’ve tried any number of simple (and not so simple), stone, ceramic, carbide and diamond grit sharpeners. Most of them were manually operated tools but I’ve tried a couple of electric models. My results using these gizmos has been all over the place. A couple basically ruined the blade being sharpened. Most did a fair job, but none, even the most complex gadgets returned the blade to “as good as new” condition.

 Sharpening should be a simple process. Anything that will uniformly remove tiny chips or flakes of steel from the cutting edge of a knife will sharpen it. Various abrasives will do that, diamonds do it best – better than hardened steel files, stone, tungsten carbide or ceramic. Rub the abrasive material and the knife blade against each other at an angle to produce a sharp edge.

There are variables to this simple job. One is the grit-size of the abrasive. Another is amount of force applied during the sharpening process and the last is the angle the blade tapers to the edge and how precise that angle is maintained for each abrasive stroke. 

 The Warthog Elite A4 comes with a 325 grit, diamond impregnated abrasive rods. (In grit parlance, that’s medium-fine.) Rods with finer or more coarse grit are available as options.

 The rods can be adjusted to hone an edge at 15, 20, 25 and 30 degree angles. Fifteen or twenty is good for fillet knives, 25 degrees is good for hunting knives and a 30 degree sharpening angles is about right for a machete.

 The unusual look for the Warthog comes from the knife blade guide and the springs and slides that control the amount of pressure that’s applied as the knife is stroked along the sharpening rods. Place the knife blade flat against the guide, then keeping it flat to the guide, slice downward with a forward and back strokes the length of the blade. The diamond rods will spread outward on the slides as the downward cutting motion is made so the entire length of the sharpening rod is used. The mechanism is spring loaded with the springs chosen to apply the perfect amount of pressure between the blade and sharpening rods.

 A knife doesn’t need frequent sharpenings if a sharpening steel is used frequently. The steel on the reverse side of the A4’s abrasive rods are not encrusted with diamond grit. So just turn the rods around in the mechanism and the A4 becomes a sharpening steel. After every few fish give the knife three or four strokes through the Warthog and the razor edge will be steeled-straight to keep that perfect edge.

 I chose the Elite A4 because I liked the finished wooden base. The mechanics of the V-Sharp A4 Knife Sharpener is identical but without the wooden base. Check them out at www.warthogusa.com.

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Bandits weren’t the original deep-diving stick bait designed to catch walleyes in Lake Erie or other places, but over time, they’ve risen to be the top pick for many anglers. Plenty of other brands are available and no doubt, they work, but time and again, Bandits seem to sniff out and hook into more fish on a consistent basis.

One thing deep-diving stick bait users found however is they often lose their allure when fishing tight areas when trolling requires making more than just moderate turns. Anglers noted when turning the fish would hit on the planer board lines pulling Bandits even though these lures were speeding up. The ones on the inside died.

Precision Trolling Data research shows lures don’t dive deeper as speed increases, but a buoyant lure, slowing to almost zero on a can float higher in the water column. Walleyes will often nab every Bandit or other lure it spots at, say, 22 feet deep regardless of how fast it’s going. The same lure at 14 or 15 feet will be ignored.

So the Bandit “boys” engineered their “new for ‘22″ Suspending Bandit to have neutral buoyancy, without losing any of the Bandit, fish catching action. The decrease in buoyancy makes them run about 10 percent deeper than the original Bandits. Adjust your leads accordingly to hit that perfect depth. But don’t worry about spinning around to head back through an active school. These Suspending Bandits won’t float towards the surface as they slow to near zero on the inside of a tight turn. Instead, they hover in the strike zone and those using these last summer report strikes coming just a few seconds after their speed increases and the lure’s action starts to speed back to normal. 

Suspending Bandits were originally introduced in a dozen of the most popular Bandit colors. New for this season are some all new colors in the Suspending Minnow and I was able to pick up some of these in time for an early November trip to Huron, Ohio. On this trip, one of my new colors – Blue Back Black Stripe – was the stud muffin for the trip.  Another Suspending Minnow in the venerable “2052” pattern was also a solid producer.

When restocking your tackle box for the ’23 season, pick-up some Suspending Minnows and check out the new colors at: https://www.lurenet.com/brands/bandit.

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Combo case! A case is something you can slide a single rod into. I have a case I keep my sunglasses in when I’m not wearing them. This should be called a trunk! It will hold 14 ice fishing rod and reel combos. More if you don’t mind doubling up some of the slots, packing them in around the edges or storing the rods and reels separately. Along with the rods, there’s plenty of room for other needed ice paraphernalia, either in the half-dozen 3600 StowAway boxes that come with the Ice Hunter or in separate containers. I’m sure my friend Doug who “sampled” the Combo Case for me will just keep stuffing in stuff until it takes two guys to lift it.

 Full disclosure, most of the products I review in this column are ones I’ve personally used, abused and evaluated from a fisherman’s point of view. When I saw the Ice Hunter Combo Case at the ICAST show last summer I realized this would be a tough one, for me. For one, though I do own several ice fishing rod and reel combos, I don’t own 14 of them. I live on the extreme southern edge of the “ice belt” and when I feel the need to angle on a frozen lake, I head north and fish with someone like my friend Doug who probably owns 50 ice-rod combos. So I made arrangements for one of the Ice Hunter “trunks” to show up at Doug’s house.

 Here’s his impression. “It’s great! I don’t have any other storage container that will hold this many rods, period  – and it still has enough room for lots of other gear. It fits nicely on the quad I often use on day trips. I can safely cart enough gear for the whole day inside the box on the luggage carrier and tow my auger, portable shelter, tip-ups and other gear in a sled pulled behind. I can tell by the thickness of the material, it’s made of tough plastic. It doesn’t feel flimsy at all and the hinges, the four lock-shut tabs and handle are heavy and large enough to use, even while wearing gloves.”   

 Plano adds, the lid closes shut to create a watertight seal, all of the plastic used in the construction is cold-proof and won’t shatter in sub-zero conditions. The closed cell foam that secures the rods won’t absorb water and freeze solid. It also has external features molded in, like slots for tie down straps and padlock eyelets.  

 I won’t say this is a product every ice angler needs, but it’s certainly something many hardcore ice guys will put to good use.  Available where ever Plano products are sold as well as Amazon.com and other online sources.  

Reviewed by : CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

I was dumbfounded when read the news release about Mustad’s new treble hooks. Sure, Mustad makes some of the highest quality hooks available. I’ve probably caught hundreds or thousands of fish on Mustad hooks, including their trebles and with a failure rate so low, it ranks with being struck by lightning. The new trebles, according to the  release, were better because they are the first treble hooks ever to be machine welded.

 If you’ve never given much thought to how a treble hook is constructed, realize it starts with two pieces of hook-wire. The longer piece is bent to form a double hook with a line-tie eyelet at the top. The shorter length of wire is bent into a single hook with no eye. Then the single hook is welded, brazed or soldered to the double hook to make a treble hook.

 I’m sure there are numerous other steps, making the point and barb, tempering the wire and sharpening. Let’s dwell on the machine weld.

 Think of all the millions of treble hooks ever made or even just made each year. Who knew each one of them was welded together by hand? There’s a job I’d never like. I don’t know if the hook welders are paid by the hour, if it’s piece-work, no matter – it would be a tedious job that I imagined had long ago been handed over to a robot.

 In most industries, from building bicycles to tanks, most of the welding is not done by a human, other than a human turns on the machine and monitors the work. It’s quicker, cheaper and most of all ensures the products are stronger since there’s no chance for human error with the weld.

 Like I said, however, I’ve never had a treble hook become “unwelded” but according to Victor Cook, one of the Directors at Mustad, the machine welding isn’t as so much to make the JAW LOK stronger as much as to ensure consistency from hook to hook to hook. Each weighs exactly the same, each weld looks like the previous weld and the next one will also be perfect. Each line-tie eyelet is perfectly aligned; each hook is angled a perfect 120 degrees from the others. JAW LOKS come in either 3X or 4X strengths with no appreciable increase in weight.

 This is most important for crankbait users fishing for salmon and steelhead. The weight and size of the hooks on a crankbait are a part of the lure’s balance and when it comes to balance, a slight weight difference in the hooks can be a fish-catching difference. Ever wonder why anglers can end up with a few battle-scarred plugs that reliably out produce others which are the exact same model, size and color? It could be the balance and a simple hook switch might tip the scales. Add to this the JAW LOKs have a Titan Steel black coating to provide much more corrosion resistance than the black nickel coating typically used on other brands. For now, Mustad JAW LOKs have to be ranked with the absolute best treble hooks on the market, winning awards at the ICAST show last summer and the European EFTTEX Digital Showcase last November. If you demand the best, you need not look any further. JAW LOKS are widely available, check them out at www.mustad-fishing.com

Reviewed by CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

When I reviewed a set of Frogg Toggs Pilot II rainwear a couple years ago I wrote, “Frogg Toggs has to be the best name for rain wear ever,” and it still is. That set of rain gear has kept my butt dry ever since I got them and they are still my favorite for late spring through summer use. But they are relatively light weight and though they keep the rain out, they don’t add much to my comfort in chilly weather. 

So when Frogg Toggs came out with their FTX Armor line last year, I was all in. Unfortunately, this product was one of the victims of the “supply chain” issues that plagued almost every industry so I wasn’t able to actually slide into my FTX Armor bibs and jacket until late summer. 

This is not a “summer-weight” product.  It’s designed to be a cool weather/cold weather suit. A fishing trip to the Pacific Northwest in late August gave me the perfect chance to slide into them and give them a solid workout. While the August temps here in the Great Lakes area were solidly in the upper 80s, coastal Oregon temps were 50s in the morning and 60s during the day. The ocean temperature was mid-50s so cool breezes while we were out fishing was the norm.

The FTX set is made with three layers. The outer layer is a tough, durable, breathable, tight-weave fabric. The inside layer is slick, thin, tricot/taffeta material that facilitates sliding the gear on and off. In between is Frogg Toggs’ DriPore Gen 2 fabric with a 15K waterproof rating and 10K breathability index.  I wore the FTX, dock to dock each day I was in Oregon and stayed warm and dry all day and never felt hot and clammy.

I ordered The FTX gear large enough to couple both the jacket and bibs with a set of Frogg Toggs’ Grand Refuge Primaloft Jacket and Bibs. These can be worn as outer wear, but are designed to change both the Pilot II and the FTX jackets and bibs into three-season garb by adding an 80-gram layer of insulation. This makes them suitable for use on the ice; or for me, when I’m after those early March cohos and brown trout as soon as the ice leaves Lake Michigan. 

Features like zippered handwarmer pockets, zippers with a hook and loop storm flap and D-rings for attaching accessories make it user friendly. I especially liked the neoprene cuffs at the wrists of the jacket which comfortably seals the sleeves from rain or splashes on the boat. I can slide into the bibs without taking off my shoes or boots, thanks to the three-quarter length leg-zipper along with the slick finish inner layer.

They are available in three solid colors – gray, black or medium blue – or in three camo-like patterns of blue, gray/black or gray/white. I chose the blue-camo (called Kryptic Neptune) FTX Armor. While nothing lasts forever, I expect these to be my rain gear of choice for a long time, especially since they come with a lifetime warranty.  The warranty does exclude damage from chainsaws, fillet knives, alligator bites and other outdoor dangers, but send them in for a replacement if the material or workmanship if it fails anytime in the future. 

Frogg Toggs FTX Armor products are available online at www.froggtoggs.com, at retail sources as well as numerous online outlets.