NEWS FLASH – November 15, 2009

 I started thinking back to my younger days. Actually, far back younger days. I recall time spent guiding on Lake of the Woods out of Nestor Falls, Ontario in the early 1960’s and marvel at how much we have “progressed”. I think it’s called progress.

 Back then we were at the dock whenever a customer wanted to leave in the morning. 5 AM, 6 AM, whatever, as long as there was some daylight. We finished fishing when the customer called it quits. Typically that was by 6 PM, but I’ve been out where the return trip was a dark one and seeing the lights on the camp dock was the day’s most welcome sight. The camp charged the guest $15 per day, of which a guide got $10, lunch, and whatever tip the guest felt appropriate at the end of his or her vacation. A $20 tip after a week of guiding a party would buy a big smile from any guide for several days!

 We were responsible for servicing the boat in the morning with fuel, bait, or anything else the customer requested from the camp. We packed the shore lunch box making sure the essentials for the lunchtime fish fry were all there. Butter, bread, lard, eggs, condensed milk, bread crumbs, 2 vegetables, potatoes, canned fruit, and the necessary plates, cutlery, pans, etc. Bad news if we didn’t put our fishermen on fish before lunch. Eating a northern pike instead of walleye was grounds for ridicule and embarrassment from the entire camp. This never happened to me, but I sure came close on more than one occasion.

 Shore lunch was typically about an hour and a half. Once we pulled up to a nice spot on shore the fishermen would fish as I gathered wood, made a campfire, cleaned the fish, and cooked the meal. The canned goods were opened making sure to leave the lid on slightly so they could be taken off the edge of the fire and served from their can. Potatoes were peeled and fried in one pan with onions and lard. The other pan was for the fish. Once everything was ready it was serve yourself. After lunch guides cleaned up while fishermen either napped or fished from the campsite. Then it was load the shore lunch box back in the boat along with the guests and get back to fishing.

 You know, those were some great times. No one was ever on a special diet, we feasted until it was gone, ate real butter on bread, laughed at clean jokes, kidded each other about his or her fishing skills, and just had fun. Coffee was always hot and fishing was simple, even if not always effective. Yes, it was a lot of work for a guide, but someone much smarter than me once said that it’s only work if you don’t enjoy it. Man, this was heaven. No way it was work.

 I tried “guiding” my grown family that included my wife and 3 daughters a few years ago when we went back to Lake of the Woods. Now that was work. Maybe it was the added 45+ years or just the fact that I was out of practice. But we have progressed. No more lard, no more 5 AM departures, no more rides back to the dock in the dark. Shore lunch was about the same except for the non-hydrogenated cooking oil, the low sodium vegetables, the whole wheat bread, the charcoal lighter that replaced birch bark and kindling, the diet deserts, the potty calls to shore, the electric fillet knife (by no means my idea), and the chair back boat seats. Gee, it was almost like 45 years ago. Almost.

 Well, enough of my ramblings. We have a great offer for you this newsletter. Be sure to take a look at the Tescata TSS70XL Spinning rod below. This has got to be one of the best deals we have ever offered. Also in this issue we have some technical info on Loomis rods, news about our Megabass 40% off sale, Adam’s Angler’s Tips, etc. This issue’s photos are some not to miss as well.

 Tight lines,

 A SIMPLY AMAZING SHIMANO SPINNING ROD at 60% OFF!!!……

 In 2008 Shimano’s Tescata Series Rods won ICAST’s Best Saltwater Rod Award. And we can see why. With a high modulus TC4 blank, 8 Fuji Alconite Double Footed guides, Fuji Premium Soft Touch Reel seat, Custom Hook Keeper, and a Lifetime Over-the-Counter Warranty what’s not to like? And the price? How does $199.99 sound? Hey, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better value anywhere…….and now you can buy this marvelous rod at 60% off! Follow me….

 We ended up with an overstock of the TSS70XL Tescata Spinning rod. Fortunately, this is an unbelievably universal rod for saltwater and freshwater fishing. It’s perfect for throwing very light weight plastics or vertically jigging either spoons or jigs. Hook up some live shrimp or frozen cut bait and this rod will toss it a country mile while not throwing the bait off. Even those itty bitty 1/16 oz crankbaits such as the X-55 or X-70 Megabass (at 40% Off) will cast great using this rod. I’ve used it in Florida for reds, specs, and even fished the cut for sharks. What’s amazing along with the rod’s utility is this rod’s backbone which starts about 1/3 of the way down from the tip top. This rod has some guts! Pair this with a spinning reel from 1500 to 4000 size (depending on the size of fish), some Sunline, and you have an awesome outfit.

 So, here’s what we’re going to do. We need to sell some of these fast to clear some rack space for new inventory that’s due in. WHILE the SUPPLIES LAST we have this rod on our web site at $60% OFF! That’s $79.99 for a $200 rod folks! This is WAY BELOW normal dealer COST! No Limit on Quantities. Offer Only Good While the Supply Lasts. We are not advertising this anywhere, so you newsletter subscribers have this deal all to yourselves. Don’t wait or these guys will be gone, gone, gone!

 The TSS70XL is ICAST’s Saltwater Rod of the Year. Super Premium Components. Great sensitivity. Applicable to multiple techniques in freshwater and saltwater. Shimano’s Over-the-Counter Lifetime Warranty. 60% off. Honestly, you would be foolish NOT to buy at least one of these. Ready? Click Here! 

Megabass 40% SALE EXTENDED for ONE WEEK……

 Geez, I thought all of our Megabass inventory had arrived when we put everything on sale 2 weeks ago. But, I was mistaken. Just this week MORE Megabass lures arrived. No rods, but lots more lures. About 300+. So to give everyone a chance we are extending this ONE TIME SALE by a week. We have a few Evergreen and Megabass rods (4 split bamboo Pagani – a real LEGACY rod – to name a few) left, but very few. Sale ends at Midnight (-6 GMT), Sunday, November 22, 2009. That’s it.

 If you ever wanted to try the ultimate in fishing lures then you won’t find Megabass at a lower price anywhere in the world during this sale. Just enter DISCOUNT CODE 332155 in the discount code box when you check out on our web site and the 40% off will be applied to your order. Remember, this only applies to orders placed on our web site, in store, or via phone. We accept PayPal as well as all credit cards on our web site. No Ebay purchases qualify for the discount.

 Why not order some of these great lures to throw with your new Tescata TSS70XL??