January 2014

Winter is here in full force. It doesn’t matter if you have snow on the ground or not; it’s cold. Colder weather means that it’s time to go ice fishing! Many lakes have already frozen over and it’s finally safe enough to walk on to the ice. The thought of ice fishing and its rewards of a stockpile of fish in the freezer; warms me up. It takes finesse, observation, presentation and patience to effectively catch fish; so let’s talk about the how to.

A good lure to use is the Mack’s Lure Sonic BaitFish™ (SBF) with a Glo® Hook added to it. The SBF lure was developed by Pete Rosko who also created the crippled herring in the early 1980’s. The versatility of this jigging spoon should be one of the “go to” items in everybody’s tackle box. Not only can it be jigged, this lure can also be trolled, cast or swam. Enticing and attracting fish is the name of the game, especially when the water

gets colder and the fish become more lethargic.

During the winter months, fish tend to be neutral or inactive, but they still have to eat. You must determine where to put the lure to get a reaction strike from the fish. Generally, start with fishing three inches off the bottom or right above the fish. You can best determine where to fish with the use of a fish finder.

I recommend that you also try rigging the SBF with a 2 ½’ to 8” leader (see picture) attaching a snap swivel to the nose of the Sonic BaitFish™ and a Glo® hook to the tail using a meal worm or maggot as bait. The Glo® hook is an added attraction when fishing in cloudy water conditions, low light or at night. Shining a flashlight on both the SBF and hook will allow a glow for approximately a half hour. Before dropping the lure into the water, make sure that you check your presentation closely as though looking at it through the eyes of a fish. Pay close attention by observing if bites happen while your lure is dropping or when being pulled up slowly. Don’t be afraid to try different jigging speeds and rigging techniques. It’s your imagination along with the versatility of the SBF and the added attraction of the Glo® hook that will help you fill that freezer.

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Ice Fishing with the Sonic BaitFish™by Bob Hickey

Happy New YearEveryone!

The Mack’s Lure Sonic BaitFish™

As many readers now know, we successfully launched a new E-Store in December featuring clothing with the Mack’s Lure logo. The reason for this new store was due to requests from many of our customers. As usual, the customer is always right and we are very pleased with the product purchased thus far.

Please visit our clothing E-Store. Click Here.

If you would like to see clothing, or a gift item, currently not offered please let us know at MacksLure@MacksLure.com and we will strive to make it available.

Mack’s Lure Apparel Available Now

You’ve probably read recently about our support of the national Fathers in the Field child support program. We think Stan Fagerstrom, our award winning columnist, has captured what it means to help kids realize their dreams in his poem “Sammy’s Wish.” It pleases us to share the poem with you here.

The Mack’s Lure Management Team

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Stan’s Space

“Stan’s Corner”By Hall-of-Fame Angler

Stan Fagerstrom

The boy’s mother really surprised me.

At the time we were both working at the same newspaper. She walked up to my desk one afternoon and laid a folder on my desk. “Stan, she said, “I thought you should see this.”

I’ve never forgotten what that little folder contained. I still have it. Its contents were eventually to bring a whole lot of happiness into my life. I’m sure the youngster who prepared what that folder contained, would tell you he feels the same way.

The folder I’m talking about was given to me a long time ago. It was, in fact, way back in the middle of the last century. I was just getting a good start at fishing and writing about it at the time.

That folder was devoted to just two things, fishing and yours truly.The kid was obviously as hooked on a desire to fish as I had been at his age. The folder’s pages clearly revealed something else, I was one

of his heroes.After I’d had opportunity to see

the contents of the folder she’d given me the boy’s mother told me how it came about. It was done as a result of a class assignment. The kids in the boy’s grade school class had been told to prepare papers on something that was of special interest to them.

I made a promise to myself just as soon as I saw what that kid had put together. One way or another I was going to help that youngster realize his dreams about fishing. As I’ve said before, promises are made to be kept.

As I’ve already mentioned, that kid’s interest in fishing and me provided a solid foundation for what to follow. Today, more than a half century later, that same boy is now a middle aged married man with a family of his own. He is also one of the few who have shared my boat for countless hours of fishing ranging from my home waters in the Pacific Northwest all the way from Alaska to Mexico.

I helped this kid, his name is Mike, really get into fishing. In turn, and as he grew, he helped me in more ways that I can count. I treasure the time I’ve shared with him. He remains one of the very best friends I’ve ever had. He always will.

You’ll never regret the time you spend helping kids get into fishing. While conducting casting demonstration around the world for more than 30 years, I’ve had the wondrous opportunity to help hundreds of kids learn about the closed face spinning reel.

I really hadn’t planned to write about this experience until I heard the recent announcement the management of Mack’s Lure made regarding their decision to provide financial support for the national Fathers in the Field program. I know, you see, from personal experience the kinds of wondrous love and warmth that this kind of program can generate.

I’ve been around for awhile. I grew up during the Great Depression and Drought of the 1920s and then not many years later spent some three years, most of it out in the jungles of the South Pacific in an infantry rifle company during World War II.

Every darn one of the boys I knew well back there in the North Dakota farm country then had both a mom and dad. So did the great majority of the comrades I served with in the United States Army.

That’s not how it is today. Hang around as long as I have and you begin to realize just how much our country has changed during your lifetime. Those changes haven’t always been good.

Today those who’ve studied the situation will tell you there are now more than 25 million fatherless boys here in the United States. These same authorities will verify that the great majority of the young men now in the country’s jails and prisons for a variety of crimes have never had a dad to provide the guidance that can mean so much.

Bob Schmidt, the general manager of Mack’s Lure, discussed

This is my friend Branden, the grandson of some really good friends who have a home in Pinetop, AZ. Here I show Branden a few things about a closed face spinning reel. There’s no better tool for a youngster just getting started than learning how to use these reels.

Branden is a quick learner. I think I was as pleased as he was when he started firing his practice weight out there like a pro.

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Continued from Page 3

Cookin’ Your Catch

Veracruz-Style Red Snapper

Original recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon capers

• 1 tablespoon caper juice

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1/3 cup pitted, sliced green olives (such as Castelvetrano)

• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 (7 ounce) red snapper fillets, cut in half

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste

• 2 limes, juiced

Let’s Eat!!!

the Fathers in the Field program with me prior to announcing his company’s support of this wonderful program. He also told me that it was to be a portion of his company’s profits from the sales of the Mack’s Lure Promise Keeper® lure that henceforth would go to support the Fathers in the Field program.

I told Bob then and I’ll say it again, it would have been impossible to pick a lure with a more meaningful name to support the program. I see the Lord’s hand at work here just as it has been ever since Mack’s Lure became a reality.

As I said in the beginning, promises are meant to be kept. And I’m so proud to be associated with the management of a growing part of the tackle industry that will be helping make that happen.

Again, what you’ve read here is based on personal experience. I know what it can mean to a kid when you share your love for the outdoor experience with him. It can apply to little girls as well. And every bit as important, I also know just what it might mean to you.

I know something else. That little glittering hunk of fish attracting hardware Mack’s Lure calls its Promise Keeper® can put more than its share of fish in your boat. That’s what I’ll be talking about in my next Stan’s Corner column.

www.MacksLure.com

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, 6 to 7 min-utes.

3. Cook and stir in garlic until fra-grant, about 30 seconds. Add capers and caper juice; stir to combine.

4. Stir in tomatoes, olives, jalape-no pepper. Cook and stir until jalapeno pepper softens and to-matoes begin to collapse, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in oregano.

5. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil into a small baking dish. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the tomato-olive mixture. Top with 1 snap-per fillet, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Top with more filling and juice from 1 lime. Repeat with remaining snapper fillet, seasoning, and lime juice in a second baking dish.

6. Bake in the preheated oven un-til fish is flaky and no longer translucent, 15 to 20 minutes.

All it takes to help a boy or girl get into fishing is a little of your time. I’m convinced it’s something you’ll never regret. Neither will they.

Question of the Month

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A nice rainbow triploid caught at Rufus Woods in Washington State with a Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring®

Photo of the Month

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Q: What is the reason for using snap swivels, and or a duo loc snap, on the end of the mainline versus tying straight on to the Flash Lite® or Double D Dodger®?

A: First of all, I want to note that we also highly recommend using a snap swivel (swivel with snap attached) at the other end (before your leader) as well to help avoid line twists in your leader. The swivel we recommend most is the bead chain style. It is particularly effective for use in water which has lots of particulars such as grass, or in swift current that creates more spinning, as it is basically several swivels in one. Therefore, if one part becomes fouled from debris it

still continues to work. Our favorite snap is the duo lock snap due to strength and versatility.

The biggest reason for using a swivel in front of an attractor is to avoid line twists in your mainline. This is especially important when attaching to items that are designed to spin. We use a large swivel at this location because it is better to have more then too little when it comes to swivels; in addition, if the swivel in front of your leader happens to fail, this swivel will prevent your mainline from being twisted along with the leader.

The specific reason we use the large Duo Loc snap on our mainline, while attaching to the Double D Dodger®, is first of all, to allow better movement of the dodger and secondly, for greater strength at the point of attachment. The swivel is not a necessity due to dodgers not being designed to spin. However a swivel does not hurt, and if your

trolling speed gets too high, dodgers will begin to rotate.

The general purpose of using a snap is it allows you to quickly change gear. If you want to change from using a Double D Dodger® to a Flash Lite®, all you have to do is un-snap and take the one off and snap on the other, it is literally that quick. It is much quicker than having to tie, especially in cold weather, low light, or with old eyes. It works the same for quickly changing your lures as well. I recommend pre-tying while at home; place a swivel on the end of the leader end of all the lures that you plan to troll with that day. The extra swivel is well worth having when you factor in the time it saves and the reduced risk of losing a fish due to a twisted line. Just snap that swivel onto your duo lock snap at the end of the attractor and you are fishing a different color of lure, much quicker then if tying. After all, your time on the water is best spent working the fish not tying and fixing gear.

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