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SFT Pro Staffer Captain Karl Bunch has been known for his creativity when it comes to lure development and color combinations. Last year he showed us how to super charge the Roumba wake bait with the tail from a Double Diamond swimbait. This modification created a strong vibe and showed the fish something very few are doing. It was more than enough to bring quality fish into the boat. This year Ima announced the all new Rattlin' Roumba, a noisy version of the standard Roumba. Only Captain Karl had talked to the designers about incorporating a new color in the line-up called Double Cheeseburger.

Obviously I was wondering where the color name Double Cheeseburger came from and this is what Karl had to say: "My Anglers Choice Team Tournament partner (Stan Zach) from my tournament days & myself developed the Double Cheeseburger Color for the Tidal waters of the East Coast. How the name came about is a funny & interesting story. We would take the hooks & split rings off

Pure Fishing again rolled out a stellar line up. What follows are a few products we were impressed with.

Abu Garcia Vendetta Rods - Here is a series of rods even the most discriminating bassmaster will find interesting. In what is becoming the latest trend in rods, outstanding value, Abu delivers huge. When I tell you Mike and I were impressed, what I mean is you will have a hard time NOT buying one of these. The actions and power ratings are right. The rods are very light, and they sport an awesome handle design. Now for the kicker, they are $79.95 to $89.95. Availability is Mid-August.

Abu Garcia's Re-Designed Revos - The Revo Premier, Revo STX, Revo SX, and Revo S have received a few upgrades.

• The Premier will now feature the Infini Brake system (used on the Pflueger Patriarch), a swept handle, new EVA knobs, and 9 HPCR bearings. The Infini Brake system

Without getting too deep into the technology behind this series of rods, here is an overview of their construction. S-Curve technology combines T-Glass and high density graphite (core of the blank) which is wrapped in a carbon tape and high density graphite. This creates an increadibly strong, lightweight and sensitive rod. Of course they have a split grip with no foregrip to cut down on weight. The handles are a new molded rubber. Very un-conventional yet very comfortable. Lastly they are finished with Zirconium guides. Then they got the Skeet treatment. That’s right, they are yellow.

The cranking rod is a Tri-Gressive S-Glass. Very light in weight and as Skeet told us, "very sensitive". Here’s the kicker… they are $89.99 to $99.99. Available mid September to mid October.

Eagle Claw has developed the Lazer Trokar line of hooks that are high performance hooks with several features that make them competitive with anyone.

These Hooks are sharp!  Eagle Claw attributes this to their new Surgically Sharpened Technology (SST).  We just say the sharpness is “freakish”!   The points of these hooks are three sided cutting and will penetrate much faster than other point shapes. The designs of these hooks cover it all.

BMF fans will want to check out the Flippin model, it even comes factory rigged with a heat shrink keeper. The swimbait hook will also make a great toad hook. Of course there is an EWG Worm and a heavy wire EWG worm (called the Magworm) for use with braid. Filling out the line-up is a round bend offset shank and a dropshot hook. One thing we found interesting on the dropshot hook was that it had an offset point, you shouldn’t be able to miss one with this hook. Available mid August or sooner.

Today we bring you Part 2 of our Icast 2009 series as we take a look at Ima and Deps baits we have come to love, and now we are lovin' em even more. Whether new or newly updated, you'll want to see everything they have to offer. Let's start with the Rattlin' Roumba being held by Fred Roumbanis in the picture above.

Ima Rattlin' Roumba:
One of the best wake/super shallow baits on the market will soon be available in a noisy version. This bait appears to have been done right with a tiny hollow rattle as opposed to a deep knock type. Available in six new colors including Gold Black back w/ Orange belly, Fire Tiger and Double Cheeseburger. Double Cheeseburger is one of those custom colors you hear talked about in the specialty shops. Well we are hear to tell you this is one you will want in your box. Availability of the Rattlin' Roumba is approximately August 1.

The Ima Big Stick:

The SFT staff had been looking forward to ICAST 2009, the world's largest sportfishing  trade show, which was held this year in Orlando Florida, July 15-17. This year did not disappoint.  In fact we were razzled, we were dazzled, and it was obvious that the industry is serious when it comes to developing the most innovative gear and accessories, which will make the coming year one of the best ever for fishermen.

This is Part 1 of a series of blogs that we will release during the week, so that we can let you know of the great products we had a chance to get our hands on at the show. Many of the products are just around the corner and we will keep you posted as to when they are available to you!

Shimano Cumara Reaction Series:
We have always loved the Shimano Cumara rods for all the reasons that got them voted as "2008 Best Value Rod" by Tackle Tour.com. Now Shimano takes it one step further by introducing

If you're like most of us, you spend your fishing days looking for the right spot at the right time with the right bait so you can load 'em up. Cutting and re-tying, changing lures, tossing spent mounds of plastics to the floor...there isn't time for tidiness. But what happens over time when a bunch of those little bits of plastics and line end up down the drain in the floor of your boat? It could be a disaster waiting to happen. In this unique video blog Pete Gluszek re-counts a situation on Lake Erie that all big water fisherman should hear.

Soon after hearing Pete's story, the news broke of Elite Series pro Clark Reehm, who had a dipping dye pen that was rolling around on the floor of his boat lodge in his throttle while traveling 55 MPH. Heading towards the dock he couldn't slow down and he spun the boat out ejecting himself and his Marshall. Sure, it was a freak accident, but serves as another reminder of why keeping the bottom of your boat clean means water safety.

Jeff Connella was in good company on day four of the Blue Ridge Brawl held on Smith Mountain Lake, Moneta, VA.  The Bassmaster Elite angler and member of the SFTtackle.com Pro-Staff, made the cut of the top 12 anglers and was laying it down with the likes of some of the world's top pros. Jeff's key baits were the Chatterbait and the V&M Sling Blade. Positioned to go for the win, Jeff commented, "I found fish in practice and then the water muddied up. I didn't go back to them until Friday and that was a mistake. I should have gone sooner because they settled in and started biting well."

Jeff is in the zone as he has consecutively scored higher in each tournament he has fished this year. Being a full-time professional engineer, husband and father keeps you busy enough, but Jeff manages to do all that and fish the Bassmaster Elite Series Professional Tour. Looking ahead to the Southern Challenge, starting May 7th on Lake Guntersville, Alabama, Connella will be ready, and

The only direct link between fisherman and fish is the line. This fact makes line choice one of the most important decisions a fisherman can make. After trying many fluorocarbon lines over the years, I have determined HI-SEAS makes the strongest, most abrasive resistant fluorocarbon line on the market. On top of this, HI-SEAS fluorocarbon line has less memory than any other fluorocarbon line, which is an inherent problem with fluorocarbon. Another interesting fact is that HI-SEAS fluorocarbon is leader grade material. Most companies sell leader grade fluorocarbon in small spools of 25 yards which is typically very expensive. Not HI-SEAS, they have been able to manufacture a 100% Fluorocarbon fishing line with leader like strength and abrasion resistance, but still be the softest and most manageable fluorocarbon line on the market today.

I started using HI-SEAS after having some problems with fish breaking my line using another major company's brand. I switched exclusively to

SFT Pro-Staffers Captain Karl Bunch and Dave Kilby brought in Lunker at the Angler's Choice Potomac Pro Teams Tournament held on March 28, 2009.  Congratulations guys!

Here is how it happened as described by Captain Karl:
During the early morning hours of the tournament Dave & myself decided to run south to the Aquia Creek area, the first cove we wanted to fish was like one of the many traffic jams we encounter on "I 95" so we decided to fish another smaller cove that we knew had some good fish. We were primarily targeting the 4 to 5 foot drop off of the shoreline, and after about one hour another team fishing the tournament pulled into the same creek and they choose to target tight to the same shoreline as we continued to fish and defend our 4 to 5 foot drop off. After a few hours they had left the creek and the bite had slowed for us, so we decided to try another spot but we quickly decided that was a mistake (the Don't Leave Fish to