If you want to buy high-end or rare swimbaits and glidebaits, but don’t have a quality retailer anywhere near home — here’s an ever-growing list of online vendors who can make your big bait dreams come true.

I am definitely not a swimbait expert, but nevertheless I’ve accumulated more than my share of big baits. My first sweep of the boat, office and tackle cave produced a pretty heavy supply of lures. Then I found a bunch more and documented them as well. For better or for worse, the inventory didn’t stop there. Here is a set of soft lures that that deserve a bit more on-the-water testing.

At Lake of the Woods, we were fortunate to have the counsel of Elite Series champion Jeff Gustafson as well as our tremendous guide Reuben Giddins. I also had Hanna and Jennifer Combs in the boat. After catching a bunch of smaller smallmouths the first day on crankbaits, we took boats out in the evening after dinner and Jennifer discovered how much those fish wanted to kill any vibrating jig that got in their way.

In addition to being a Bassmaster Elite Series winner and now a four-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, Jeff Gustafson is also one of Canada’s most decorated anglers. He lives and guides on Lake of the Woods. With our trip there approaching, I called “Gussy,” who was kind enough to fill me in on some of the best baits to pack.

I lied last week when I said that I was done shopping for our trip to Lake of the Woods. Since then Pete and I celebrated our anniversary, and since we have everything that we need, we didn’t exchange gifts. Instead, we spent a day together, which included a few hours at a local outlet mall. We didn’t buy much, but I found a couple of really nice things that are perfect for the trip.

For a swimbait neophyte, I have many big baits in my stash. I recently collected all of the different such lures that I found and filmed a video explaining their backstories. I thought that would be the end of it until I added more at the Swimbait Universe Gathering. It turns out, however, that the video only told part of the story. It turns out that I have quite a few more.

Hanna is stocked up with new gear for our forthcoming trip to Ballard’s Black Island on Lake of the Woods. I couldn’t let her be all fancy and new while I dragged my raggedy old gear up north, so I got some of my own. I’m excited to test them out as we (hopefully) wear out the smallies, enjoy a shore lunch or sit around an evening campfire.

Despite the fact that we continue to identify more and more travel rods available in the US and abroad, there continues to be a massive search for the perfect three-, four- or five-piece swimbait stick. Fortunately there are still some companies making rods that you can throw into your luggage and be ready to sling the big baits. Here are three recent entrants.

I have been to Canada a few times: Toronto, Ontario, Lake St. Clair, and Montreal. Next up we are going to Ontario to fish at Ballard’s Black Island Lodge for walleye, musky, northern pike, smallmouth and more. I’ve been packing for weeks and I have three new items I am bringing. Let me know what you think.

Whether you’re heading across town or across the globe, packable quality gear is an asset for any angler. In the past, sometimes objects labeled “packable” or “travel” meant a diminution of performance, but increasingly you can get these items with no drop off in quality. Here are some ICAST 2022 introductions that are universal in nature.

Many boaters spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on accessories like high-tech graphs and shallow water anchors. Those definitely help you catch more fish, but they can't do your job if you don't get to the lake or river safely. Here are some simple and inexpensive products that'll make your boat safe on the roads, legal on the water, and looking much better for years to come.

As I started to prepare for Swimbait Universe’s Gathering IV, I decided to put together at least a very general shopping list. With many individual baits expected to cost somewhere in the low triple digits, I wanted to make sure that whatever I acquired was needed and likely to be used. With that in mind I took an inventory of the big baits I’ve acquired.

Many anglers know about southern Africa’s great bass fishing. What they don’t know are the top five ‘must have’ baits of Africa’s top anglers. They surprise us with a mix — some known, some-lesser known, and one homemade.

In March of this year, I wrote that when I returned to Anglers Inn El Salto in June I was going to back to the basics. I’m proud to say that I followed through on that plan. Perhaps that is just the way we fished or what the fish were eating. Or maybe I finally listened to my conscience and did what I said I was going to do to prove a point.

I’ve previously written about some of the lures that every old-timer on the Potomac River had placed on their deck, as well as a very special river buzzbait that’s no longer made. I may have also been the one to introduce the concept of “spongeworthiness” to fishing, but now I’m going to take it one step further. I’m going to meld those past columns and describe three Potomac River killers that are in short supply – at least in my boat and my garage.

Mexico is the perfect testing ground for new stuff that I might take all around the globe: There are great shallow water, deep water and mid-depth bites; the fish grow big and mean; and there are times when you happen onto massive schools and get put the hardware to the test. That’s why I look to ICAST “reveals” for new stuff I could test out South of the Border.

As we’ve written before, we keep a hefty stash of tackle at Anglers Inn for our return visits to the lake, but after each trip we undergo a semi-methodical restocking. Our June 2022 trip amplified the need to order some more hard baits and swimbaits, and fortunately Tackle Warehouse started a sale just a few days after our June 25 return. Check out what I bought and why.

The brief window of opportunity to throw my SPRO size 50 rat paid off with three brutal strikes and three above-average bass. If you’re headed to El Salto or any Mexican lake, bring some rodents.

I might never get the chance to walk the red carpet but I am going to do everything I can to look darn good riding down the lake. Academy Sports has a lot of quality products at reasonable prices and I wish we had one near home. During a trip to Lake El Salto I tried out some of their gear to see if it met my standards for being both fashionable and functional.

A tow vehicle is a very personal decision and highly dependent on what you’ll be pulling and where you’re headed. I’ve stuck with SUVs my whole fishing life, but I’m planning to make a change down the road.