after buying almost every color that wayne had this year i spent most of this spring at my Dad's side before he passed away in july. so i didn't get to fish as much as i did the year before.
just wondered if i have to buy some more 3700's for some MORE new colors? thanks again..karol
canadian mist and st. clair craw for me.
A little (ok big) birdie told me there might be a new color for us west siders coming out for next year....... ;) ;)
St Clair Crayfish was good all year for me. Canadian Mist and Formula G3 don't slow down. Erie Goby was very good for me too this year - hadn't used it a lot before this year, but it was in the top 4 and at times, the hot bait for the day for me.
I flip flopped between Canadian Mist and Formula G3 all season, one was always better than the other depending on the conditions that particular day.
I also had a chance to throw alot of waynes other colors ..St.Clair Craw...Erie Goby ;)....etc..they were all effective. But when the bite is tough I always use(ride..lol) my staple colors....G3 and Canadian Mist.
I did decent with the Great Lakes Craw this year, especially with all the stained water situations I was faced with most of the year.
Who pours these and where can I get some??? I didn't really have a hot tube this year and would like to find one!!! :o
Xtreme makes the tubes. I thought there was a link on this site but I do not see it, you can go to Wayne's site at http://www.combat-bassfishing.com and click on the ebay online store link.
T
I caught my best fish this year on the Formula G3. It has been on of my go to colors for a while now.
You can see out products here: http://www.combat-bassfishing.com/
You can get Xtreme baits and products the following ways.
You can email me at cfruel@ameritech.net or PM me on this site.
You can shop online: http://stores.ebay.com/Xtreme-Bass-Tackle_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZQ2d999QQftidZ2QQtZkm
You can call Wayne at: (877) 485-2223
Or you can see our stuff at any of the 2009 Showspan Fishing Shows.
Thanks,
Cy
Links to both of Wayne's sites - his information site and ebay store are on the right edge of all forum pages.
See text links on the forum for:
Combat Fishing (informational site)
Xtreme Bass Tackle (ebay store)
Same as the links cfruel posted above. Many GreatLakesBass.com pages have his logo links on the right edges too.
does anyone like coffe tubes?
I like coffee... Have not tried coffee tubes. I have a whole bunch of Xtreme Bass Tackle tubes. Been using them for about as long as Wayne has been making the great colors.
I love Waynes tubes!!! Canadian Mist and Great Lakes Craw are great colors helped put many smallies in the boat! Im really sorry to hear about your dad thats gotta be the hardest thing in this world to face. On the coffee tubes deals i believe in NO gimicks. Things in fishing are getting kinda crazy if you ask me. I stick to the basics really. Find a few things that work for you and stick to them. (I dont feel a tube impregnated with coffee is going to catch you more fish!) I would save my money for more advanced electronics or bulk spools of line. (Flourocarbon)-skeeterman-
I used the 4.5" coffee tubes in greenpumpkin/chartreuse alot this year flipping. They have a solid head for texas rigging which I like.
What you guys are saying tracks exactly with my research and sales over the years. Canadian Mist and Formula G3 are the two best bait colors for consistency, day in and day out. Like DanM says, they perform when the bite is tough. Under the worst conditions, I'll go to both of those colors and know that I'm getting the best bite the area has to offer. Since I've been selling on Ebay, both of these colors have done the same thing across the country and beyond.
The third leg of this stool has to be dark melon tinsel. It too has proven itself over a long period of time and has earned the right to have its own name. Starting in 2009 it will be called: "Xtreme Bass Tackle - Slithertm." If you lay out the three colors side-by-side, it's clear that the competitive angler has three completely high percentage color choices for a consistent bite.
GREAT LAKES BASS EXCLUSIVE!
For the first time ever, "Slither" will be available in a skirted twin tail grub at the Ultimate Fishing Show at the Rock Financial Showplace starting on Jan. 8 - 11 (www.showspan.com).
This year though, St. Clair Crayfish completely dominated every bait, including Canadian Mist both in sales, and success on the water. I was sure this bait would be good, but the results were impossible to ignore. Because of the forage it imitates, expectations were that it would have a strong seasonal period of hyperactivity. As it turns out, the only time it slowed down was during the post-spawn. As the summer bite came on, it took off again and finished the season the same way that it started.
The highlight of the season for St. Clair Crayfish came in the summer with Mark Frickman's win (amateur) at the FLW in Detroit (see: http://twodabay.com/). Every day Mark relied on SCC to bring in a consistent catch and it put him over the top. The 4" tube worked well but he quickly moved into the drop-shot tube. In a subsequent BFL event on Lake Erie, Mark was able to cash again with the drop-shot tube and in the process, get his back-seater a check and his best tournament limit ever.
The biggest surprise of the season was the largemouth bite on St. Clair Crayfish. I noticed it early on but it was too soon to draw any conclusions. As the season wore on and re-orders were coming in, customers from around the state and the country were telling me they were hitting the largemouth hard.
The sleeper bait of the season was the drop-shot tube. I started this product line two years ago with Canadian Mist and Great Lakes Craw. The action was so fast that it left us just laughing on the water about how easy it was. The Canadian Mist DST always caught what was in the area but Great Lakes Craw DST kept the small fish away and ended up being a big fish bait. I expanded the line in 2008 and they all fished strong. Bob Mann Sr. from Canada (see: http://www.fishncanada.com/content/blogcategory/19/43/ for more on Bob on the tv show, "Last Cull") has made a career out of fishing the 4" Great Lakes Craw tube and is now tearing them up on the drop-shot version. Xtreme Bass Tackle sponsors Bob and his track record of local cash finishes is phenomenal on this bait.
GREAT LAKES BASS EXCLUSIVE!
Xtreme Bass Tackle will be rolling out a new line of drop-shot tubes at the Ultimate Fishing Show, Reaper Products "Sparkletail"tm drop-shot tubes. This line of baits is the brain child of tube designer guru, Bob Dunlap. Bob is the creator of Emerald Shiner, Mud Minnow, Formula G3 and many other unique designs. He is the person responsible for helping me to refine my designs and get them right the first time through. See the new "Sparkletail" drop-shot tubes starting Jan 8 at the Rock Financial Showplace.
Erie Goby has shown itself to be as aggressive as its namesake. In the 4" tube, it has forced out the 4" St. Clair Goby and become the dominant bait of that size in this watershed. There was nothing wrong with the 4" St. Clair Goby but it just doesn't fish as strong as Erie Goby. EG was designed as a direct result of research done on the gobies in Lake Erie. Thanks to some help from Paul Cowan, we were able to get our best, first hand look at one under ideal conditions and from that, the bait was born. For whatever reason, it has dominated on Lake St. Clair so I've been recommending it over St. Clair Goby and have suspended production on the 4" version. St. Clair Goby will always be available in the 5" tube. Inland, the Erie Goby tube has shown itself to be a top producer.
GREAT LAKES BASS EXCLUSIVE!
NEW FOR 2009 - Xtreme Bass Tackle - Great Lakes Perchtm
This bait has passed the design stage and is now in the hands of the factory. It took two years to work this one out and it will be the most complex tube design ever. We won't have a photo until a week before the Ultimate Fishing Show. Sure I designed it (with Bob Dunlap's expert technical support) but I won't get to see it either until I get the box of baits in Detroit. We have my tournament partner and good friend, Scott Hayes to thank for pushing for this design in the first place, and making his mark in the development.
Thanks everyone for putting my baits to work in the field and thank you for keeping the spirit of the research behind the baits alive on www.greatlakesbass.com.
I cast my vote for Canadian mist , as my "go to" bait , but have great results with the St Clair Craw and Furmula G3 . I can't wait to try out the new baits .
Canadian Mist single handedly cashed a check for me at three different tournaments this year and will certainly be a mainstay for me for years to come. I think one reason it works so well for me is because it is different then most tubes that people throw in Mid-Michigan. I caught my longest smallmouth to date (21 5/8") last year on Formula G3 up north. It doesn't seem to be a numbers color, but the size is definetly better on G3.
-Ryan
Wayne has some great colors. I caught fish on all the tubes that he made that I bought. The stand outs for me were St. Clair Craw and Canadian Mist on St. Clair. Erie Goby and Canadian Mist were stand outs on Erie. Great Lakes Craw was good on Erie too. Erie Goby put me in the money more times than not on Erie especially in September and October.
I did try the Coffee Tubes and only one or two colors I felt were consistantly good. The others caught fish but not like two particular colors. They had there place when needed. There are only three colors I would recommend in the Coffee Tube. One color closely resembled an actual Erie Goby better than Wayne's Erie Goby and in a club tournament on Erie, Wayne's Erie Goby and the Coffee Tube were stellar. I also used several different ISG tubes that consistantly put fish in the boat too. I have pretty much conformed to Wayne's Tubes, ISG Tubes, and only 2 or 3 different colors of coffee tubes and that's it.
But for consistency it was Canadian Mist from Port Huron to Cleveland. Thing is..........I am more of a crankbait fisherman than anything else and I don't go to tubes until I have located fish with search baits whether they were cranks, spinners, etc........but mostly crankbaits.
I didn't try that Formula G3, but will for sure next year.
BD ;D
Way to go CR, Ryan and Bill.
No one would probably believe it but at my tackle trailer back in 1999, I had to give Canadian Mist out as free samples because nobody would buy purple for smallmouth. They would laugh and say, "That's for largemouth," or so it was thought. Some free samples were taken out to the Belle River Hump by two Canadians, Jeff and Rusty who just cleaned up on the smallies the first trip out with the bait. They became pro-staff, the bait became Canadian Mist instead of smoke with small gold and small purple, and the rest is history.
Wow Guys, It's great to read of everyone's success. It's great to see how well Wayne's creations have caught on over the years. Like Mr. Kimmel, I've been using Wayne's tubes almost since their inception and with a little experimentation, have always been able to tune in the bite. If you had to pick one supplier, Wayne certainly has the most researched and thought out arsenal than anyone else. No gimmicks. Just performers developed from on the water research. I've been blessed to have been a part of this endeavor through the years, and to have met so many great people in the process. (Yes Mr. Kimmel, even you!)
After taking a year off to pursue other things, I'm hoping to be back strong next year. After not making a cast all year, the smallies had better look out for me next spring.
Happy Thankgiving to all.
From the Combat Fishing / Xtreme Bass Tackle Pro Staff,
Latin American Division.
Regards,
Dave Misaras
Cholula, Puebla, Mexico
I have always felt that Smallies will bite what Largies will bite. I have proven that to myself consistantly over and over again.........especially in crankbait fishing. That being said, why wouldn't a Smallie bite purple??? A Largie bites it. So why not try it for Smallies. I used Canadian Mist for Largies on the Lower Detroit. It consistantly works for both. I think that if one limits themselves to the belief "For Largemouth Only", then they are missing out on some fish that could have been caught.
I did log some data in my journal this year that showed that Largies that have been showing up on the main lake on St. Clair were eating the St. Clair Craw color every bit as much as the Smallies were. I do believe back in June went LaPorte posted some pictures of a day we spent fishing St. Clair together, there was a picture of a 3lb Largemouth I caught on a St. Clair Craw 4 inch tube. On that day all colors were good as long as they were Extreme Bass Tackle's St. Clair Craw. Thanks Wayne. :D
BD ;D
Happy Thanksgiving to both Denise and Dave, in sunny Cholula!
Hay wayne i cleaned up on 3 species this year on the st clair craw and canadian mist tubes....big smallies largies and bonus walleyes on the st clair craw a 4 and 5lber respectfully! thanks for great products once again!
A wolf catching smallies, largies and walleyes. Sounds about right!
Fishing those two colors together must have told you a lot about the bite. They are pretty far apart in color and brightness.
It's nice to hear dinner was included on some of those trips. I might not have even caught one walleye this year. That's odd, for all the deep water fishing I do.
Hopefully, you can visit the booth at the show and see the new, Great Lakes Perch. Color wise, it should fit right in-between what you are using now. Happy Holidays.
I haven't even seen Great Lakes Perch...?? I also haven't seen a dmisaras in many, many moons. No wonder... he was hiding in Mexico.
Maybe I'll run into him in January??
I think the arrival of the dmisaras will be at a later date. Besides, what would be the point of leaving all that sunshine now?
Yeah Dan, I haven't even seen Great Lakes Perch either and will be as nervous as an expectant father before opening the boxes when they come.
what is the best way to rig the tube bait? I fish alot with ratteling jig heads but that gets hard when the weeds start to grow. I havent really tried texas rigging them but im sure that would sole my problem. Also how does everyone use them. slow..jigging..etc.
Your question has nearly an infinite number of answers.
On Lake St. Clair, I'll use an open jig hook most of the time. A lead head tapered tube jig with a 4/0 black nickel hook will do the job. A rattle is an option I'll go to under certain conditions.
When I rig a tube Texas sytle, I learned the hard way that the worm style hook I use for my worms and twin tails won't do. The gap isn't big enough. Once I switched over to an 4/0 EWG (Extra Wide Gap) hook the problem was solved. There is extra room for the tube to get out of the way of the point when the bass mashes down on it. I'll go Texas rig with both 4" and 5" tubes.
With the same EWG hook but 5/0, I'll rig 5" tubes weedless/weightless and use them like a soft jerkbait. This is a great option when bass key in on the color but a switch in presentation is called for.
One little used rig is the 3-Way rig. It's a live bait rig converted for use with soft plastics. I'll drop the weight 8 to 10 inches and run the line out to the 4/0 EWG hook about 2 feet.
I'll let someone else tell you about the Carolina rig...not my forte.
I always use an open hook! Texas rigged tubes are not in my arsenal!!!! when i flip it ALWAYS w/ a JIG.. tubes are smallie baits in certain situations they might be the deal! but not too often...i love waynes tubes!!!!! best smallie bait out there!!! other then the 3" goby from NEMisis!!!
When I am fishing an Xtreme tube I am fishing it on a Texas rig 99% of the time. I use tubes for flippin' and pitchin' regularly. I like them with a bullet weight, sometimes pegged. I like them with the internal style weight and I like them weightless. It is one of the most versatile baits out there. Mark Zona once said if he had to choice any one bait it would be a tube. You make a tube look like anything. I agree with that.
thanks fellas, I would only use tubes in the spring....lots of options now.
I like to carolina rig tubes, especially 5" in the spring when I am fishing blind in a known spawning area. Great search tool to home in on the sweet spot, find the isolated rocks, wood, or weeds that might be there. Depending on depth, I'll go as heavy as an ounce and a half, but generally 1/2 to 3/4 is sufficient, just make sure to maintain solid bottom contact. I put the weight and bead about 12" in front of my tube in shallow water, less than 10' of water and maybe as far as 2' ahead of the bait in deeper water up to 20+'. I prefer to keep the bait a little closer to the weight because the weight makes so much comotion and is what actually attracts the fish, so I want my bait there when they start investigating. Rig the tube weightless texas style with the 4/0 EWG hook, I'll sometimes put a foam earplug in it if I need it to float above the weight a little higher.
I did pretty well drop shotting the small 3" tube. On some lakes the St. Claire crayfish did very well... while on others it was darker colors. I will definitely be buying some more when I get to the Novi show this year.
We also did very well using them for smallies on the Grand River above the 6th street dam this year (a VERY underfished and unutilized fishery I might add... but stay away... it's MINE!!!). Used Wayne's tubes and the new Coffee tubes from Strike King. I believe Wayne's tubes outfished the Coffee's around 2-1 most days. Even got a nice pike on one!!
I'm just looking forward to seeing Waynes new perch color. I'll be grabbing up some of those in the 5" size.
That was the Carolina rig I started with first. InFisherman had it on a show about 15 years ago and that's the type of weight they were talking about. Since then, I kept trotting it out and try to build some confidence in it. I could get bit and couldn't hook up, in spite of many tackle changes. Last year was the first time I came close to building confidence and it was with a 1/4 oz. weight with an X-worm behind it, wacky rigged. It worked great on the sand at Walpole. This was quite the relief for me. It's great to hear about your confidence in the 5" tube. Folks have been getting away from that size over the last couple of years but the smallies still run to it.
Thanks for checking in with the St. Clair Crayfish drop-shot tube. Of course Mark Frickman smoked 'em this year but across the board, the drop-shot tubes made for some easy and exciting fishing. Feel free to contact me directly if a 2-4-1 pass would help you for the show. The new color, Great Lakes Perch will also be available in a drop-shot tube as well as a 4" and 5" bait. It will be worth the trip to the show just to see this one.
Quote from: WayneC on December 05, 2008, 04:53:05 PM
I could get bit and couldn't hook up, in spite of many tackle changes.
It could be how you're setting the hook. Setting the hook with a carolina rig is different than how you would do it with a texas rig or tube jig. Set the hook with your rod parallel to the water as opposed to setting the hook "up" and you will see a big change in the amount of hook-ups you will get. If you set the hook like you would with a texas rig or tube, you pull the weight off the bottom, which will create slack between it and the hook.
You're exactly right on the hookset. I use a 7'6" medium heavy action rod for the carolina rig. 20lb mono mainline and 12 to 17lb. florocarbon leader. A big sweeping hookset is the only way to do it, and with a 7'6" rod, I can take up a lot of line which means , for me, near 100% hook-ups.
Yeah and I've heard using a Carolina Rig is so easy a caveman can do it...
In my heart of hearts I truly believe that for 99% of the population the rig is easy. Sure I wince when someone says, "I just rigged a Carolina Rig up for my kid so they could catch some easy fish." It can't be rocket science but for whatever reason it's not my thing. A split-shot rig sure, a mojo rig absolutely but no confidence yet with the C rig. Wait, I just remembered something. I was dragging a Berkley power leach with it at Mullett Lake and caught a sucker. How did I forget that?
That's the one thing awesome about GLBass.com is how anglers pull together and share info. to help each other. The technical stuff you guys mentioned was spot on and the sweep set with the 7'6" rod was tried at one time. The leader material is not something I've tried so perhaps that is next.
Never give up, never surrender!
I prefer to use mono as my leader when using a carolina rig because it floats. I want the bait to be as far off the bottom as possible. I think flouro drags the bait down a little too much.
So basically there is a tube for every situation. What is the best way to fish thick weed cover?
ST Clair craw is there any other color?
For heavy cover I will rig a 5" tube weightless/weedless with a 5/0 EWG hook and drag it across the slop. This comes in real handy when a Rat or scum frog isn't available. It also gives us more color choices to fish this structure with.
Good tip Wayne, but don't forget to have your flippin' stick handy when you miss that blow-up.