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New Items From Eagle Claw #2 - I’m Thankful for HOOKS
Posted on: Dec 02, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris, Product Info
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As part of the New items for 2009 series lets talk about Hooks
Available now in stores is the Lazer Sharp Swimbait hook number L111. These hooks are one of the hottest things on the market right now. Our hook features a great bait keeper to hold the bait straight and secure for the perfect swimming action. The wide gap makes it work on even the biggest baits and the sticky sharp point makes them Hook and Hold. Available now in sizes 3/0 thru 7/0 and weighted in 1/8,3/16 and 1/4 oz.
Look for even bigger sizes - up to 10/0 available early spring
Wacky Worm wide gap number L097. This hooks has a “mean” design and shape for a wide range of application. Try them for wacky rigging your favorite soft plastic. The wide bite and up eye makes getting a solid hookset easy. Some of our guides in the Northwest and Great Lakes like rigging them under a float with a pink worm for winter Steelhead. They tell me the hook up ratio is almost 100% with the huge gap these hooks offer.
Carp Hook Kit number 624. Gone are the days of carp fishing being like ridding a Moped, fun until your friends see you doing it. Carp fishing in the US is a growing sport for many people. And why not. The fish are plentiful and inhabit lakes all over the country. Plus these guys may be ugly but they put up one heck of a fight and can tip the scales to way over 30 pounds. To many anglers, Carp represent some of the biggest fish available in their local areas. If you are new to carp fishing this kit is perfect for you. It contains an assortment of the best single hooks just for carp fishing. Just pick up a prepared bait like Eagle Claw Carp Biscuits bait nuggets and thread them on one of the hooks and your ready for action. One surprise to many is the flavors of Carp bait. Flavors like Pineapple or Strawberry seem odd but Carp love ‘em.
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving last week with close family, good friends, tasty food and big fish.
Chris
Holiday Shopping at the Eagle Claw Store
Posted on: Nov 25, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris
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We are selling wagon loads of stuff on the Eagle Claw store site right now for the holidays. You have to check it out.
How about a tricked out convertible Dry-fly jacket/vest for the young angler or lady in your life - These things are fully loaded, tons of features and pockets like crazy, regular price over $150.00. We them marked down because we only have size medium left to $80.00 - NOW $30.00!
You want the coolest logo tees and hats - We got ‘em
How about Christmas gift ideas for your family - Check out the fish picture frames or plush Wright & McGill bear.
Plus lots of other great gift items for the fisherperson in your family - Maybe even a little something extra for you, Santa - I’ll never tell.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Chris
Eagle Claw Pro Staff Meeting
Posted on: Nov 21, 2008
Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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We had some of the top Bass Fishing Pros in the Denver recently for a hook Summit we called “Red Sabre”. The meeting was designed to focus our efforts on new product introductions for 2009 and beyond, all based on new hook designs, improvements, and advancements.
Attending were Shaw Grigsby, Gerald “GMAN” Swindle, Brent Chapman, Chris Elliott, and Dave Mercer. Along with these top pros and TV celebrities we had Greg Waldron, head of sports and fishing for Disney World resorts in Orlando.
We spent a couple days locked up in a room talking nothing but fish hooks. As you can imagine we got some great feedback and fantastic ideas on how to make Lazer Sharp hooks better then ever. What I learned is this is a great group of guys. Both fun to be around and very knowledgeable on bass fishing and how hooks play a huge part of their success.
I thought it would be fun to share a few photos from the event. As you can see we found time for some fun as well. Enjoy the photos and take a look at the video Dave Mercer shot while he was here
www.factsoffishing.com/videoblog.php?id=36
24th Annual North Coast Rendezvous
Posted on: Nov 13, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris, Wright & McGill
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This week I had the chance to travel to one of my favorite places, the Oregon Coast. I had been working with Tim and Shana Juarez since May, setting up an Eagle Claw and W&M sponsorship for the North Coast Rendezvous, which is a Chinook Salmon derby (503-842-6313) that is in its 24th year. This event is more than just your typical derby or tournament. All proceeds go to salmon and fishery habitat and recovery in the area. When they say all proceeds, they mean it. Everyone involved is 100% volunteer, from the people who run it to all the great guides involved, even the people who cook the dinners to the cleanup crew, everyone gives their time at no cost to ensure all money raised goes back to hatcheries, habitat and stream habilitation.
I flew in on Wednesday and was greeted by a typical NW afternoon on the coast, windy and rainy. After all, those trees don’t grow like that without a little rain. I met up with my first day partner, Al King. Al is a longtime friend and had never had the chance to catch a big King Salmon. We both hoped this was his chance. After getting settled in at our hotel in Tillamook, Oregon, we went over to see Tim and Shana for the kickoff dinner and guide meeting. One of the best parts of this event was how you get teamed up. By random draw, you and your partner get teamed up with two other anglers to make a team of four. It gives you the chance to meet new people and really evens out the teams. We met out team, Bobby Joe and Gary. It was Bobby Joes sixth event and the first time for Gary, just like Al and me. Bobby Joe works in sales for a local lumber company and Gary was one of her customers. The second half of the draw process is for your guide. Just like the team draw it is totally random and each team of four gets two guides. This way, based on your guide and what they like to do, you get the chance to fish a wide range of ways. Also the other half of your team may be doing something totally different. We all traded phone numbers so we could keep in touch the next day and trade fish stories as the day unfolded.
I was able to meet with all the guides and the captains to go over some of the W&M items designed for fishing in the Northwest. These guides make a living putting people on fish. With the right stuff, it makes it easier to be successful. The W&M Essentials salmon rods are built and designed for this purpose. With over 25 models to choose from and the exclusive KevlarTM built into the butt sections, these rods are perfect for this event. The other item I showed everyone was our guide bib and jacket. This heavy-duty rainwear is designed with guys like this in mind. With the weather predicted as rainy and windy for the next two days, this was the hottest item I talked about. Everyone knew they would be putting rainwear to the test over the next couple days. We kept the meeting short, answered a few questions, gave everyone a catalog and raffled off a set of rainwear and two rods and then called it a night. We all knew 4:30 am. would be coming early.
Al and I got up early the next morning ready to get out on the water. The Rendezvous Team had a great breakfast ready for everyone. We ate quickly and headed out.
DAY 1
We met up with our guide, Dave Steele, for Chinook Charter www.chinookguide.com at 6:15 am. sharp at the Garibaldi boat ramp. The rain was coming down but with the W&M rain gear on, we were dry, warm and hopeful about what the day would bring. Dave’s plan was to fish the “Jaws” the area just inside Tillamook Bay. He knew the weather would make the area rough but the tides were right and Dave felt it was our best chance at getting a good fish in the boat. He warned us on the way out that, based on the conditions, he would call his clients and cancel a normal guide trip on a day like this. Regardless, we were going to give it a shot.
Well, the wind and rain were pretty tough and the ocean waves made the Jaws area very rough with 4-6 foot swells. Fishing was tough. We fished plug cut herring with a 20 oz. weight just to keep our bait on the bottom while we battled wind and waves all day. About 10:00 am. we had a good solid hit on my rod. The rod bent over hard a couple times and just as I was about to give it a good hookset, it stopped. I reeled up to check the bait - nothing. A miss. Since Dave uses another brand of hook, not Lazer Sharp®, we had a good-humored discussion on the reason we missed that one! The day wore on and nothing more. We heard from other guides that fishing was tough all over so we stuck it out. Dave had a few crab pots out so we ran them and picked up a few nice crab but no fish. We decided to call it a day about mid afternoon, disappointed but still happy for a fun day on the water. Dave gave it his all and never gave up or slowed down trying to put us on fish. He is great guide and a good fisherman. I know days like this are not the norm for Dave. If I ever get the chance, I would love to fish with Dave again.
The dinner and auction that night was one event you did not want to miss. The crew served up a seafood dinner that was second to none. Fresh Oregon halibut, oysters and clams and all the dungeness crab you could eat. Fantastic.
We met up with the other half of our team and found out they had faired no better. Their guide tried the local rivers, and after switching rivers three times and still finding no good fishable water because it was so high, they ended up on day one with no fish. Not many fish were caught on day one so we were one of many teams tied for last place, but still in the hunt.
We drew for new guides for day two and we hooked up with Lee Darby LINK, a local guide with over 10 years experience on Tillamook Bay. Lee really wanted to drift fish the rivers but was worried about high water. We decided on the lower bay and trolled herring again. With day two ahead of us we were hopeful for better results.
My friend, Al, had to change his plans and head back for home so I called another friend, Doug Bellmore. He jumped at the chance and drove over late Thursday night. Doug and I had fished many times before in the Northwest but not for the last couple years and we were looking forward to getting the chance to team up again.
DAY 2
The day started early with more rain and wind. We met up with our guide at the boat ramp and after a short run, we were fishing just after first light. Our guide, Lee Darby, www.leedarby’sfishing.com knew it was going to be a tough day again today and we needed to take advantage of every opportunity.
Lee set us up with fresh plug cut herring and we meticulously checked our depth and baits every few minutes to make sure they were running true and free of weeds. We trolled to the top of the Ghost Hole, a famous stretch of Tillamook Bay, just above where the Miami River enters. We made the turn at the top of the hole and dropped our baits back down. Within 30 seconds, before I could even get the rod in the rod holder, I got a bite. The salmon hit hard with a series of strong tugs on the rod and made a strong run straight away from the boat. He was hooked solid and the fight was on. We played the fish well and after several surges next to the boat, Lee positioned the boat for an easy net job of a nice 23 lb. chrome Chinook.
We were feeling pretty good about things as we finally had a fish in the boat and it was only 7:30 in the morning. We reset the gear, rigged the rods with fresh bait and started making another pass. Today, we had our other team members fishing in a boat nearby. They cheered us on as we trolled past each other with spirits high. We made a few more passes through the hole and saw a few other fish being caught and settled in, hoping for more action.
About 9:00 am. we were again fishing fresh baits at the top of the hole, very near where we had hooked the first fish. My friend, Doug, had just poured a cup of coffee and was standing up looking toward my rod when it went off. The strike was so hard it pulled my rod tip all the way in to the water and the drag started singing as line was stripped from the reel. No subtle bite or nibble here, this fish slammed the bait and never looked back. I leap into action and pulled the rod from the rod holder with the fish still taking line. Since the limit was one wild and one fin clipped fish, with only a few fin clipped fish in the system at this time of the year, I told Doug this one was his. We made a quick hand off and he was on the fish with it still pulling hard as it ended its first long run. Doug started working the fish in as Lee positioned the boat to keep the fish in deeper water. We knew it was a good fish by the way it was taking the drag and staying deep. We took our time and when it finally swirled on top, we were greeted with its silver side and the broad sweeping tail of a 30+ pound Chinook.
Doug played him well through his final surging runs. With one perfect motion Lee netted the big Chinook. We were excited to see the size of him, long and thin. The scale stretched to 36.5 pounds and the high fives and photos ensued. What a day compared to the prior one. It was 9:30 am. and we had two great fish in the boat. We decided to troll through the hole a few more times and see if we could pick up a fish for Lee. As we made the next pass, we saw our other team members fighting a nice fish. After a short battle, we saw them bring it to the net. We trolled through the hole until about noon and decided to call it a day. We had our limit for the tournament and wanted to get the fish filleted and on ice.
We went into the official weight and measure station to get our fish registered. The guys from Tillamook Anglers volunteered to man the weight station. These guys do a great job and were a fun bunch to be around. Normally this group volunteers their time at a local hatchery that is 100% manned by volunteers. It is a great cause and much appreciated by the local fishermen.
At the dinner we hooked up with our other teammates and found they had caught just the one fish. We also found out Doug’s fish was the big fish of the tournament. As the final numbers were being totaled and put up on the leader board, we were shocked that we had squeaked in to first place by three inches!
After dinner and at the awards ceremony, our guide, Lee Darby, received the honor of biggest comeback and finished 3rd overall in the guide two-day totals.
It was a great event and I was able to fish with and meet some great people. Even better, The North Coast Rendezvous raised $64,000 for fish recovery and habitat in the Tillamook area. The people that put this event together, Tim and Shana Juarez and Jack and Tina Smith and all the guides who volunteered there time, are the real heroes. This is one of my favorite events and they can bet I’ll be back next year to defend my title!
New item from Eagle Claw #1
Posted on: Nov 12, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris, Product Info
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With the holiday season coming up and many of our newest items showing in stores, you can get a sneak peak here first.
Eagle Claw and its family of brands - Lazer Sharp, Wright & McGill and Nitro, all had new item introductions for 2009. Over the next few weeks I will touch on some from each brand highlighting the best in each category and covering the items available now in stores.
This week Ice Rods
Eagle Claw teamed up with local Colorado ice guide and Lake Trout expert, Bernie Keefe, to design a new Ice Eagle ice rod with the performance needed to tackle big fish through the ice. These rods come in both spinning and casting models and are made for handling large fish like Lake Trout and Pike. The action is perfect with a sensitive tip for a subtle presentation and detecting even light bites. The real difference is from the mid section of the rod back. The IM6 graphite blank has plenty of backbone to enable a solid hookset and the muscle to control a 15 pound brute, even in deep water. The first guide is moved forward to give you plenty of room for the reel to work even with the rod loaded up under a heavy strain. The over sized Dynaflow guides are spaced well and won’t ice up so the drop or retrieve is always smooth. These rods have been tested for two seasons and refined for 2009 to give you even better performance. Available in 36″ length with medium heavy action and screw down reel seats, these rods retail for about $24.99 and come, as always, with a 1 year warranty.
Bernie, at work in his office.
Eagle Claw and FLW HookSet Award Winner
Posted on: Oct 30, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris
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Thanks to a retooled Eagle Claw Hook Set contest, professional bass anglers aren’t the only ones standing to win from strong hook sets anymore. Just ask Kenny Billings of Philadelphia, Miss., who recently received his $250 prize package.
By casting ballots in the Eagle Claw Hook Set contest online at FLWOutdoors.com, Billings - a public relations officer for Mississippi State University - was automatically entered into a drawing for the Eagle Claw prize package. Now he is the proud owner of a new spinning reel, a rod, various pieces of tackle, a hat and about 30 to 40 packs of Lazer Sharp hooks.
“I was thrilled … I’ve never really won anything like this before,” he said. “I fish a lot of soft plastics, so that’s going to save me a lot of trips to the tackle store.”
Due to limited access, Billings had stopped fishing for about three years until a guided trip with Mississippi State alum Ronnie Parker on Texas’ Lake Fork. After fishing a few times with Parker and his business partner in Lake Fork Trophy Lures, FLW Tour pro Mark Pack, Billings not only became “fast friends” with the two, but also got the itch to start fishing again. A bass boat and an Eagle Claw prize package later, Billings is ready to wet a line any chance he gets.
“I’m a fishing junkie … even when I wasn’t fishing on a regular basis, I loved watching it,” Billings said of his interest in FLWOutdoors.com’s Eagle Claw Hook Set contest and other fishing clips. “You can learn a lot just by watching these guys.”
In the Eagle Claw Hook Set contest, a clip of hook sets from three leading pros is posted to the Web site after each Wal-Mart FLW Tour event of the season. After viewing the clips, visitors vote for their favorite hook set. The clips are entertaining but can also be educational.
“It all starts with setting the hook,” Billings said. “If you don’t have good, sharp hooks and the right line - you won’t land the fish. It’s absolutely essential.”
The winning pro after each online contest receives a gift card, and at the end of the season, a hook-set voter is randomly selected to win an Eagle Claw prize package.
“Eagle Claw has a reputation for quality,” Billings said. “I’m looking forward to going out to see how fast I can go through these 500 hooks.”
The Eagle Claw Hook Set contest has ended for 2008, but be sure to check back at FLWOutdoors.com when the 2009 FLW Tour season is under way to vote for your favorite hook sets and a chance at winning a prize package.
Eagle Claw Factory Store and Repair Center
Posted on: Oct 23, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris
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When you call in to Eagle Claw on a product need or rod warranty, who do you talk to? One of the guys in our Factory Store and Repair Center. The good news is that these are real people, in our factory, right here in the US. Not someone in another country. These people have lunch with our product managers, machine operators, managers and sales people everyday. They can help you with questions on products, warranty or recommend items to fit your needs. Even better, they get out and fish themselves.
A few weeks ago the team from the store went up to a local mountain lake for a family fishing day and BBQ. We all had a great time, caught some fish and got to know each others family a little better. I was elected head chef and photographer for the day. The fishing was good, so by the time we ate, everyone was hungry and we all had a few fish stories to tell.
Enjoy the photos and next time you call in, you can have an idea of who you are talking with.
Mike’s big fish
Jerry with a nice Rainbow
Let me show you my favorite fly
The store team Jerry, Matt, Mike, Chris and Dave
Redfish Team $50,000 Richer
Posted on: Oct 02, 2008
Posted in: Hooks, News From Chris, Pro Staff News
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Eagle Claw Pro Staff and FLW Redfish tournament anglers, Tadd Vandermark and Kevin Shaw, topped the leader board in Venice, LA to win the FLW Redfish Series final event of the year.
The boys finished the event strong with day 2 and day 3 weights of 17 pounds 11 ounces - the heaviest in FLW history - to leap to first place with a total weight of 51 pounds.
Second place went to the Eagle Claw Team of Wiggins/Tanner - just behind the first place team at 50 pounds 1 ounce.
Both teams fished DOA shrimp rigged on Lazer Sharp hooks under poppin’ corks in the marshes west of Venice.
Fly Show New Items
Posted on: Oct 01, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris, Wright & McGill
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The annual Fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver just wrapped up. Wright & McGill had some great new items that will be in stores soon - many in time for Christmas. Here is an inside scoop on some of the best.
Qwik Drop Shot Dispenser - This item makes handling small split shot a breeze. It item comes in two sizes and drops a single non-lead shot into your hand every time without the need for opening or closing a small bag or container.
Yellowstone Wader Bag - Perfect for the angler on the go. This bag features a wide opening top, a vented wet storage area for waders and boots, plus a roll out pad for changing into and out of your waders. Big enough for a long weekend or just everyday use on the river. 
Teton Rolling Travel Bag - This bag is ready to take anywhere. Oversize rolling wheels, a separate storage area big enough to fit 4 rods, HD zippers, lots of handles to make it easy to carry, dry/wet storage area and more pockets than you have gear for, this bag is loaded and meets all airline size requirements. Load it up and still hit the 50 lb. weight limit.
Fly Show Writer Event
Posted on: Sep 24, 2008
Posted in: News From Chris, Wright & McGill
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Well the 2008 Fly Fishing Retailer show is already over. Boy, it went by fast! We had a great show with our Wright & McGill line of products. More to come on that later.
My favorite event of this year’s show was our first ever Writer Event tied into the fly show. We had 8 writers take us up on our invitation for a day of fishing on a “secret” lake high up in the Rockies. The weather was perfect and the trout willing, but not too easy, giving people like our friend Ronell with Fishing Tackle Retailer a challenge. The day started with a quick trip up into the South Park area, an even quicker breakfast and straight into the waders for a shot at some trophy Rainbows and feisty Brook trout. Everyone caught at least a few fish and realized that even a short hike at 10,000 feet can be a bit of a challenge if you are not ready for it.
We had a great lunch and some fun times getting to know each other along with a short product demo by Al Noraker and a lot more fishing all crammed into one day.
Thanks to everyone for coming and checking out the newest hot items from W&M. Lucie Petrickova from Angling International wins the prize for distance traveled to hang out with us- all the way from the UK.
Everyone is all smiles after a day in the sun - L to R Chris, Ronell, Gary, Lucie, Al, Linda, Chris, Crispin, Matt, Dudley
