Bobby Loomis Named Director of
Sales & Marketing at Mack’s Lure

A man who is well known throughout the fishing industry has been named director of sales and marketing at Mack’s Lure.

He is Bobby Loomis, of Wenatchee, WA.  Loomis has been deeply involved in the tackle industry for the past quarter century.  He was one of the first employees of G.Loomis Rods.

Loomis, a nephew of Gary Loomis, the founder of G.Loomis Rods, worked closely in his uncle’s rod business for 18 years.  He was involved in all aspects of the company’s business.  His responsibilities involved everything from rod design and manufacturing to promotion and sales and marketing.

In recent years Loomis has himself been designing and manufacturing blanks and rods for customers from all over the world.  “I owe my expertise where fishing tackle is concerned,” Loomis says, “to having had opportunity to work so closely with G.Loomis Rods.  I have been very fortunate to have had a chance to travel, learn, work and fish all over the world.”

“We are both pleased and excited to have Bobby Loomis take over leadership our marketing team,” says Bob Schmidt, general manager of Mack’s Lure.  “He has a tremendous knowledge of all aspects of the tackle industry.  We’re convinced few are more prepared or qualified to let people know about our innovative product line than he is.”

Schmidt says Loomis is also very well qualified to assist tackle dealers in carrying the best product mix for the areas they serve.  “At the same time,” Schmidt says, “Bobby brings years of personal fishing experience that enables him to tell prospective customers how they can use Mack’s Lure products to put more fish in the boat.”

Mack’s Lure has been serving anglers now for 40 years.  The company was launched by Vern McPherson at Riggins, Idaho in 1969.  For many years the company was based in Leavenworth, WA.  Several years ago Schmidt moved the operation to newly constructed headquarters in Wenatchee.

One of the first products Mack’s Lure brought to market was the now world famous Wedding Ring Spinner.  In recent years the company has become equally well known for its Smile Blades.  One or another style of these proven fish attracting products is now used by knowledgeable anglers to catch everything from salmon and trout to walleyes and bass.

Bobby Loomis and his wife, Kimberly, have three sons.

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MACK'S LURE HUMMBAIT - NOW THAT'S A STOCKING STUFFER!
By John Kruse

The angler in your family will be sure to appreciate a couple of HummBaits in his or her stocking this Christmas!  This lure - which is probably best defined as a unique bladeless spinner - comes in several different sizes and can be cast or trolled.  If you cast it, try experimenting with steady retrieves but use different speeds, as well as trying stop and pause retrieve, and even a jigging retrieve.  To avoid possible line twist when using small diameter monofilament a swivel can come in handy.

This new lure holds tons of promise for catching a lot of different speices.  I've personally used  it with success for trout and I can say using the larger ones  for salmon, steelhead, bass and even pike would work like a charm.!

Mack's Lure: Rock Dancer Jigs

Made for Twitchin!

By Terry Wiest

Float and jig fishing has been a staple in my fishing arsenal now for that past eight seasons. So when Macks Lure's approached me to give there RockDancer™ jigs a go, how could I not want the opportunity.

Although most jigs look similar, this being true with the RockDancer™ as well, there is a big difference... Buck Tail! That's right. These are Buck Tail jigs made for the river. Now I've used Buck Tail jigs in the salt before, the two main reasons being they hold up well and you can apply scent. For many of you that have heard me speak or seen anything I have written on fishing jigs you'll know I do not use scent when float and jig fishing simply because anything that comes in contact with the jig material will throw off it's natural presentation. Buck Tail however is not affected by the oils, gels and pieces of bait we may want to use.

Now Salmon are chemical junkies, we've all heard this and I believe it to be true. Steelhead on the other hand are not, which I again believe to be true. So, to truly test these jigs out I thought I'd target Salmon, Coho and Chum to be exact.

When targeting salmon with a jig I like to use the Twitchin technique. We set out on the Skagit River to do just that.

The Skagit being a larger river, we decided to use 3/8oz jigs. What we looked for is jumping Coho, or if fish weren't obviously around we would look for a nice seem where there is a distinct difference between the current and slower deeper water near the bank. Casting into the faster water and twitchin our jigs just 6 - 10 inches at a time proved to be lethal for Chum. RockDancer™ jigs in pink, or purple/pink were irresistible to them as we had pretty much non-stop action throughout the day.

Even after several fish the hook maintained it's sharpness and shape. What was really impressive was the Buck Tail, which maintained it's fullness and shape after each fish.

Wanting to get a few fish for the BBQ, we did add some shrimp scent and luckily were able to manage a few Coho even though for most of the day they were lock jawed. The Coho seemed to prefer the darker jigs,

Being we were twitchin in some cover to try and entice a Coho strike, we did loose several jigs, but this is normal as I tend to hit the water others have passed up to try and find fish that may have eluded others.

All and all these are great jigs which should be at the top of your list when twitchin, especially if you want to use bait or scent with your jigs.

Mack's Lure Introduces the HummBait

by Terry Wiest

Recently Bob Schmidt of Mack's Lure and I were having a conversation about up coming fisheries and we were discussing going after salmon in the rivers. Bob had asked me if I'd had a chance to use the new Hummbait yet? Humm What?

Bob shipped me out some new lures, I opened up the package and said "what the heck"? Or something along those words. Very interesting to say the least, original for sure. Here we have a fish shaped piece of metal on each side rotating around a bead and tube style spinner body. As I played with it the outside rotates freely and creates a 3D affect. Now I could see what they're aiming for... a real fish like appearance that also creates noise and disturbance to attract unsuspecting target fish. Cool! Let's give it a try.

You can see in the picture above how the outside rotates around the body. The speed of the rotation is directly related to the speed of the retrieve. With the rotation I can see how the profile or silhouette created would be very lifelike and appealing.

The HummBait comes in three sizes: 1/4oz (Minnow), 3/8oz (Smelt), and 1/2oz (Fat Shad). Don't let the name associated with the size throw you off. I don't use smelt for bait while fishing for salmon but this will be my "go to" size (shown above).

The HummBait also comes in multiple colors, I like the chartreuse, pinks and golds.

All come with a treble hook so check regulations closely before tossing one out. I've already changed up some of mine to a siwash to be prepared when the salmon start entering the rivers.

To test the Hummbait we were targeting Lake Sammamish Chinook. Not really the best situation for this particular lure but I wanted to fish it and see how it reacts in the water. We tied up a 3/8oz HummBait in gold and green 30" behind an 8" pro-troll flasher. Down 30 feet off the downrigger it wasn't down 5 minutes and "fish on"! Wow, how's that for a quick positive test.

A Chinook it was not, but rather a nice healthy Cutthroat. We dropped it back down and another half an hour goes by and we hook up again, same results. Looks like I've found a new Cutt lure for sure.

Since we were targeting Chinook we then changed over to bare red hooks to try and entice the Chinook and save the Cutthroat fishing for another day.

I also handed a few of the 1/4oz Minnow size to a friend of mine who hiked with his son up to 8 Mile Lake. They cast the lures out and with a slow retrieve were very successful on both Rainbow plants and a few Triploids.

One thing, when attempting to cast these lures their appearance is somewhat misleading. They look much heavier than they are. I would recommend a spinning reel with light line to cast for any distance. You'll also want to hesitate shortly before the retrieve to allow the lure to drop down into the water column a little. They also would work as a top water bait for bass, if you choose to fish for them.

Although this test was very rewarding and the Hummbait successfully caught both Cutthroat and trout, where I'm really excited about using these lures is in the rivers. I'll use these where I would normally use spinners. I think the rotation along with the noise should draw some vicious strikes. I for one am looking forward to it and will add a second review after targeting salmon.

Mike Beedle with a Lake Sammamish Cutthroat

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SLOW DOWN WITH SMILE BLADES FOR FAST ACTION

It has taken some time, but the Smile Blade craze is finally beginning to catch on. Once a closely guarded secret outside the Pacific Northwest; the word has gotten out. Maybe it’s the half a million dollars in cold hard cash that has been won in walleye tournaments the past few years, or the notable tournament wins by high-profile pro anglers, or possibly the Washington state record that was recently caught on a Smile Blade Spinner. The prolific Smile Blade is taking a place of prominence in more and more tackle boxes.

National media has also been catching on. Note this statement in a national magazine dated July of 2008. It’s written by longtime In-Fisherman communications professional Dave Csanda: “Smile Blades… are the clear winner in a slow-down showdown. No other blade on the market can match them at crawling speeds.”

The effectiveness of a smile blade comes from the fact that it has a combination of flash and vibration that no other spinner blade can match, and from the amazing ability to keep spinning at the slowest of presentation speeds. While a metal blade is limply hanging or dragging on the snaggy bottom, the fish-attracting Smile Blade is always showing off its strike-triggering action, even turning when moving at speeds under ¼ mile per hour.

Smile Blades have become so popular because they catch fish! While they are making waves for walleyes, they are also very effective for salmon, trout, steelhead and other species. They come in more than 30 color/pattern combinations and four sizes from 0.8-inch to 1.9-inch. You can get them pre-made on several styles of spinners and harnesses designed to target a variety of species of fish. Or you can get the blades and tie your own favorites.

For more information the amazing Smile Blade and other innovative Mack’s Lure products, contact Mack’s Lure at 1-800-525-8737 or at www.mackslure.com.

NEW HUMMBAIT MAKING WAVES FOR SEVERAL SPECIES OF FISH

For Immediate Release

It’s not often that something unique comes along in the fishing industry these days. Most new introductions are simply new twists on an old theme. That’s what makes the new HummBait, introduced by Mack’s Lure Company in April 2008, so different. “It’s hard to put this bait in a category”, said Bob Schmidt, general manager of Mack’s Lure. “I suppose you could call it a spinner, since it spins, but that would really not be doing it justice. In fact, it is really in a category of its own.” When you think of a spinner, you think of something with a blade, but the HummBait doesn’t have a blade, the entire outside body of the blade spins, creating a truly unique combination of flash and vibration that is something fish have never seen, or sensed, before. It’s in a category of its own because it can be fished in so many ways and for virtually every fish that swims in fresh water, and even many salt-water species.

According to Bernie Barringer, director of marketing and promotions for Mack’s Lure, Pro-staff members have been testing the lure in many situations and they are really excited about it. “This bait has proven remarkably effective on more than a dozen species of fish before we even introduced it,” he said. “I think we have a real winner here. This is a truly unique bait with so many applications that we have really only scratched the surface. You have to see it in the water to really understand how good it looks, and the flash and vibration it causes is really going to trigger bites from even the most pressured fish because it is something they simply haven’t seen before.”

The HummBait has a baitfish-shaped body built onto a shaft so the entire body rotates around the shaft as it is retrieved. This creates the illusion of a lifelike 3D object moving through the water, making a commotion. It has proven effective on straight retrieves, with a lift-drop retrieve, fished fast as a topwater bait, and even fished vertically as you would a jigging spoon. “Its versatility is quite astounding,” Barringer said. “And people are fishing it successfully in new ways all the time. I have thought of several more applications that I can hardly wait to try.”

The HummBait comes in 40 different combinations of colors and sizes from the diminutive 1/16-ounce which is suitable for panfish and trout, up to the ½-ounce fat shad which has proven deadly on everything from bass, northern pike, walleyes and muskies. Schmidt feels that the new HummBait is going to create quite a buzz among anglers from coast to coast. “This is going to be big,” he said. “Really big.”
HummBaits began appearing in retailers on May 1st, and are also available online at www.mackslure.com. Orders can also be placed by calling 800-525-8737.

OCTOBER FISHING AT POTHOLES RESERVOIR
By John Kruse

Mack’s Lure Glo Hooks Ice More Fish

For Immediate Release

For more information contact Bernie Barringer
Mack’s Lure Director of Marketing and Promotions 218-330-8304 bernie@mackslure.com

Mack’s Lure Glo Hooks Ice More Fish

With hard water just around the corner, savvy ice anglers are looking for a way to put more fish on the ice and subsequently in the frying pan. Glo Hooks from Mack’s Lure Company are proven performers when it comes to doing just that.

Glo hooks have many advantages that have proven to be attractive to a wide variety of fish species. The first and foremost of which is the bright coloration without the heavy, action-dampening problems associated with lead. The colorful substance on the hooks is light but durable and allows the bait to move naturally. Bright colors attract fish from longer distances in the darker waters associated with wintertime, when the ice limits sunlight penetration. And several of the colors offer even more… they are phosphorescent. While sunlight charges them each time they are brought up from the depths, you can “supercharge” them for even more intensity and duration of the colorful attraction by hitting them with the flash of a camera or an LED light each time they are brought the to the surface.

Anglers looking for that extra edge this ice fishing season would do well to consider adding a selection of Glo Hooks to their ice fishing tackle selection. They are available at most sporting good retailers and online at www.mackslure.com.

Mack’s Lure Glo Hooks come in seven different colors and dozens of combinations of hooks, styles and sizes associated with those colors. They also come in snelled and unsnelled versions. For a complete chart of the colors and sizes available, visit www.mackslure.com or request a catalog from Mack’s Lure at 800-525-8737.

Mack’s Lure Hooks New State Record Walleye
19.3-pound walleye to be Washington State’s new record

For Immediate Release

Contact: Bernie Barringer 218-587-2864 bernie@mackslure.com
Photos available soon.

Mack’s Lure Hooks New State Record Walleye
19.3-pound walleye to be Washington State’s new record

by Bernie Barringer

The Columbia River has produced the largest walleye ever recorded in Washington state, and in fact one of the largest of all time, anywhere. Mike Hepper of Richland, Washington pulled in the huge fish on February 5, 2007. “I was fishing an area known as the Finley Area, near buoy marker number 30,” Hepper said. “The fish hit a crawler harness with chartreuse beads and a Mack’s Lure Smile Blade in silver scale pattern.” He was fishing in 32-34 feet of water with the Smile Blade rig behind a 36-inch leader on a 1-ounce bottom bouncer. This rig is a go-to bait for Hepper, who is a serious big walleye angler who puts in a lot of time chasing the Columbia’s monster walleyes. “The Smile Blade allows me to move slowly, and it keeps turning even when I am only pulling the bait at 1.3 to 1.5 miles per hour.” Moving slowly around the contours of the river in the winter is important, he says, because the water temperature is in the mid-30’s and the walleyes are not likely to chase a fast-moving bait.

Hepper, a retired school teacher, fishes the Columbia around 200 days a year and is no stranger to big fish. His largest last year was 17.7 pounds and he nearly missed the state record in 2005 when he caught one that weighed in at 18.57 pounds, just under the record of 18.9 pounds. He has caught dozens of fish in the teens and walleyes over ten pounds, considered trophies by most walleye anglers, don’t even get a second look.

Hepper was right back on the water the following day. “Now through March is the best time for big fish,” he says. He doesn’t intend to quit fishing for these big fish any time soon. He believes that the record may well be broken again, possibly soon, and you can’t catch a big one if you’re not on the water.
Mack’s Lure Smile Blades have produced huge numbers of walleyes on the Columbia River for many years, and are now beginning to catch on in the Midwest and other parts of the walleye belt across northern North America. They are available at most sporting goods retailers or online at www.mackslure.com.

Mack’s Lure Introduces Newly
Designed Pip’s Leader Caddy

It has been said that the future belongs to those who simply take the time to prepare for it. 

There’s much truth to that bit of profundity.  It certainly applies to the sport of fishing.   Now a Washington State based tackle maker is marketing a product that makes it easier to do advance preparation in your approach to angling.  It’s a cinch to result in more fish.

The tackle maker is Mack’s Lure, of Wenatchee.  The new product is a revised version of the company’s long popular Pip’s Leader Caddy.  If you’re one of the many who liked the older version of these handy leader holders, then you’re a cinch to love the new one.

“We’ve increased the capacity of our Pip’s Leader Caddy,” says Bob Schmidt, president of Mack’s Lure.  “You’ll find it’s still small enough to slip into your coat pocket or bottom of a tackle box, but now it can handle leaders with double hooks or leaders with small lures already attached.”

And that’s just for starters.  The new Mack’s Lure product also has an anti-reverse gear.   You’ll not be able to accidentally tangle the pre-tied rigs you have in it because the anti reverse gear won’t let you.

While the Pip’s Leader Caddy has application in almost all angling fields, it has been especially popular among Pacific Northwest steelheaders and the nation’s walleye anglers.  Both types of angling often require gear changes to enable fishermen to adjust to the varied feeding patterns of the fish they are after.

The new Pip’s boxes are constructed of damage-resistant polycarbonate.  They are available with six different colored lids.  Many experienced anglers load their pre-tied walleye rigs in a box with a lid of one color and their steelhead hooks and leaders in a second box with a different colored top.  Having the different colored lids makes it possible to tell at a glance what each box contains.

“We’re a relatively small company,” Schmidt says, “and we find that’s often an advantage.  We’re not so large that we can’t stay in touch with the needs of fishermen who are using our products.  That’s why we’ve made changes in our Pip’s Leader Caddy.  Anglers told us what they wanted.  We listened.  As a result we’re convinced our new Leader Caddy is something you’re going to want to make a part of your own approach to the sport.”

Anglers who have tried the new Mack’s Lure product have been quick to agree.

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Mack’s Lure Introduces Unique
New Angling Accessory

A Washington State based tackle company has just introduced a new product that’s a cinch to make things easier for anglers everywhere.

The company is Mack’s Lure, of Wenatchee.  The new product is a problem solving storage unit called a Line Tamer. 

“Having quick and easy access to extra line is something we all deal with every time we’re on the water,” says Bob Schmidt, president of the Evergreen State tackle marketing firm.  “The relatively few anglers who have seen this new product tell us it’s just what they’ve been looking for.”

Eyeball a Line Tamer box and you’ll find that it’s designed to hold a single spool of line.  The end of the line comes out through a hole in the holder.  All you have to do when you need extra line or leader for whatever need is simply pull out the desired amount.

You’ll find there’s no fumbling around for a knife or scissors needed to snip off the desired length.  The side of the Line Tamer has its own cutter.  Just run the line through the cutter, give it a tug and you’re ready to go.

Anglers are a cinch to find this new product as handy for their tackle work bench as in a boat.  “You’ll find,” Schmidt says, “that our new Line Tamer is stackable.  The bottom of each box is grooved so it fits snuggly to another.  You can stack half a dozen containers with different line sizes if you choose to do so.”

The Line Tamer also eases the headache anglers sometimes encounter when it’s time to put new line on a reel.  Just place the line you want to use in the container, attach the end to the reel’s spool and start cranking. 

There’s another feature anglers who often rig leaders in their boats are going to like.  Each of the two-box Line Tamers units sold contains a Velcro patch that lets you stick the holders just about anywhere you choose.  Position it where it’s easy to see and use.   You won’t have to search through tackle boxes, storage bins or coat pockets when new line or leader is needed.

“Saving time,” Schmidt says, “means you’ll have your line in the water longer and that eventually means more fish in the boat.”

The Line Tamers are constructed of long wearing, durable plastic.  They’ll stand up to the rough treatment to which angling accessories are often subjected.

The new Mack’s Lure Line Tamers are just now reaching the market.  If your dealer doesn’t have them in stock, they can be ordered from the Wenatchee tackle maker.  The two-box pack sells for $19.95.

Additional details on Mack’s Lure can be found on the Internet at www.mackslure.com.  The company’s toll-free phone number is
1 800 525-8737.

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