Vaquero Craw - The Original Outlaw Strikes Again

The Vaquero Craw has been producing some really big fish and solid limits for our Prostaffers lately!  Below is Outlaw Angler, Ben Cayer, with a monster largie he caught on a Vaquero Craw and Chatterbait combo!  How heavy do you think this fish is? 

Outlaw Angler, Ben Cayer

Below (left) is our Rising Outlaw Ambassador, Robert Brooks.  He and his partner caught a 14.67 pound limit  for a fifth place finish during the Fredericksburg Fishing Club tournament on the Potomac.  They also caught their fish using the Vaquero Craw and a Chatterbait combo!

Seems like Vaquero Craw is gonna do some damage this season!  Have you caught some good fish on Vaquero Craw?  Share your pictures on our Facebook page!  Don't forget to "LIKE" us.  For more info and pictures of Vaquero Craw, visit whiskeyriverbaits.com

TBF's Student Angler Federation - The Future of our Sport

Outlaw Angler, Ben Cayer, tells us a little about the TBF's Student Angler Federation..

The future of bass fishing depends on the youths and there are many organizations that are doing their best to make sure that our sport lives on. 

The TBF recently developed the Student Angler Federation a program that links high school fishing clubs together and provides knowledge and fishing experience to students all over. This is a great opportunity to give younger anglers, who may not have had the chance otherwise, a chance to fish competitive bass tournaments.

I got my start fishing tournaments in a small junior club here in Vermont. I now run that club and I feel that I am doing my part to keep the sport growing. The group of kids that fish in the club now are getting a big start on their fishing careers and most of the time they are bringing in bags that are as nice as ones that some pros would catch. 

I am really looking forward to the upcoming season; it is going to be great!

Ben

Vermont TBF State Team Qualifier Recap.

Help congratulate Outlaw Angler, Ben Cayer, on qualifying for for the TBF Eastern Divisional Tournament!  Way to go, Ben!

Post from Outlaw Angler, Ben Cayer:

This past season I fished my first Vermont state team qualifier as a non-boater. Since I am too old now to fish in the junior championship, I decided that I would fish it and try to fish with the big dogs. The tournament launched out of Malletts Bay on Lake Champlain on August 21^st. and 22^nd.

When the first day of the tournament rolled around it was shaping up to be a nice day for fishing. My boater for the day was Larry Blow, a truly great guy. We had a blast finesse fishing for smallmouth and largemouth all day. At the end of the day we both weighed in about 12 pounds. This put us both in 9^th and 10^th place at the end of day one. To make the state team as a non-boater you must place in the top 12 and the top 6 qualify as boaters. I was feeling pretty good that I was at least in contention to make the team.

Day two was rainy, but I was still optimistic because I was fishing with Tom Collouitti. We made a run north that morning to a place that we were both sure we could catch some fish early. I landed a 4+ and a 1.5lb. smallmouth at this spot.  It felt good to get that big kicker fish in the boat early in the day because I knew that all I needed to do was finish my limit and I would most likely make the team.  We continued fishing, and he pulled a 1.5 pound largemouth. We made a move to one of his favorite docks on the entire lake. I let him fish it for a while and then he told me that I should fish it. So I made a cast to the corner of the dock. As my shakey head settled to the bottom I felt a bite. I set the hook and it barely even moved. I could see the fish flashing around under the dock; my line was caught in the chain.  I finally managed to land the fish after it took me in and around a motor prop and back into the chain that I was originally stuck in. That fish weighed 5-2 and was the lunker of the tournament. I scraped out a limit throughout the rest of the day, including a 3+ largemouth on a HOSS and a few fish on a craw. I weighed in 16-6 for the day, and came in fourth place overall.

I had such a great time fishing this tournament. I learned a lot and realized that I could compete with the big guys. I am looking forward to fishing the TBF Eastern Divisional tournament on Sebago Lake in Maine. I can see Whiskey River Whiptail being one of my primary baits for dropshotting there!

Ben

FLW National Guard College Fishing - Vermont Technical College Team2010 Regional Recap.

Whiskey River Bait Company's Outlaw Angler, Justin Brouillard, Checks in with a recap of the 2010 FLW National Guard College Fishing Regional.  Great job last season, guys!

The 2010 FLW National Guard College Fishing Northern Regional did not end the way Ben and I would have liked .for Ben and I at Vermont Technical College.  We traveled down to North Carolina’s Jordan Lake to practice for this tournament and  found some good, productive areas to fish.  When we returned in November  for the  event,  went to some our areas and it was certain that we would be able to catch a few bass over the next 3 days. We decided to leave our fish alone and just hit some areas that looked similar and we had a great day. We landed 5 fish that would have gone over 15 pounds, but this was just practice.

On day one we were absolutely pumped and ready to catch fish on buzzbaits and a big spinnerbait. We arrived at our main spot only to find that there were absolutely no fish to be found.  So we moved on to another spot that we had practiced and once again we could not find a bass. We finally decided to try and fish some of the things that we had done before and catch some of those bass.  After running all over and fishing the points where we had found fish the day before, the day ended and we did not even have a fish to weigh. Not the way we expected to start the event.

Day 2 came bright and early and we were planning on repeating the 15 pounds we had just barley caught a day ago. If we could pull 18 pounds out we thought we might have a chance at making the top 5.  We decided to try a stretch of rip-rap that was really close to our main spot. We made a quick rundown throwing spinner baits and crankbaits. We came up to a log that was half in the water and I made a cast with the ¾ oz spinner bait and nothing.  As normal, I threw back in and placed it gently right up next to the top of where the log enters the water. I made 3 cranks and I thought I got stuck on the log, turns out, it was a bass. No way, I could not believe it! We netted the 2.5 lb bass and we thought we were well on our way. We moved into the nearby creek where we wanted to try a few different things. No luck.

As the morning dragged on, we moved back and decided to hit our main areas again before we went into panic mode. We could not get a single bite. We talked to a few other teams who were slowing down and they were getting bit. We moved south on the lake into the rivers. The water was moving some and we thought we might get into a stable school of fish that might eat. We changed tactics all together and Ben picked up a spinning rod, and I was pitching a jig to the rocks and wood down through the winding banks. We were beginning to catch some fish which was good, but we were not catching those 3-4 lb fish we were looking for.

We ended up weighing in only one fish for the 2 days we fished and had a long ride back to Vermont to think about it. Before we had come down the second time to fish, we were planning on a Plan B, in case our big fish baits were not working, or we could not find fish. We were thinking about throwing smaller baits and fishing slower. But, in our defense we did go out and whack the fish that we were looking for the previous day, so it was mighty difficult to change that pattern, especially when 20 pounds was not out of reach. We made a decision to stick with the big bites and it killed us. We learned a lot about that lake and feel we could do it all over again with different results. It certainly was an experience we will never  forget and qualifying for the Regional Event 2 years in a row is nothing to be ashamed of either. We have done very well in these events and still have a few more season to get where we want to be in the National Championship.