It was hot as a mother today. Nice weather to be out catching some, and actually, I'm kind of anxious to see the fish counts for the SoCal landings today... Unfortunately for me, I was too tired and beat up from the shitty work week to be able to commit to making it out early this morning. I slept in until 1p.m. and after getting my breakfast in, I decided to drive out to Charkbait in Huntington Beach to grab a product I'd been hearing a lot about, but hadn't seen much on the boats I've been on - the Cork Puppy, by JR Jones Company.

The Cork Puppy is a very well thought out invention. Basically, in the past when the long-cast guys and jig fisherman who use corktaped deckhand-style rods without reel seats wanted to attach their reels to the rod, they had to do so with a crappy nut/bolt setup and old school clamp. While this setup still works for many, eventually the tightened-down bolts and stress from the reel digs deep into the cork handle - shedding it like a molting rattler, and later causing damage to the rod blank.

Enter the Cork Puppy, which I believe will revolutionize the way iron-tossing anglers will attach their conventional reels to deckhand-style rods. The Cork Puppy comes in three sizes: 25mm, 28mm, and 31mm, and in three different colors - gold, anodized silver, and black. The Cork Puppy allows for that pressure to be evenly distributed throughout a larger area, minimizing damage to your expensive custom rods, and also making for a more secure mount and solid placement. It's made of 6061-T6 aluminum with type II anodyizing, so you can feel confident that it's not going to crack, split, or bend under pressure.

Taka Tanaka set up a beautiful Calstar 6485 LTCR 8'6" custom jigstick for me, and I didn't wanna chance anything "ruining" it... The only color options that they had in the 28mm size (which seems to be the most popular) were the silver and gold ones, so I took the lesser of two evils. I thought to myself, do I want to be Mr. T (gold) or Puff Daddy (platinum) when I'm out there catching my whopper with the cameras snapping away and the bonito fanboys drooling... so platinum it was. Here's another shot of what the Cork Puppy looks like from below - as you can see, not only does it look nicer than the traditional clamp, but it also helps spread that pressure that would otherwise clamp down on just one particular part of your rod.

Tomorrow, I'm headed out on the Pursuit, out of 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro for a full day's worth of fishing... I plan on putting this puppy to the test!

Mark Smith over at Charkbait hooked us up AGAIN - meet the newest addition to the addiction!!! It's the SKB-7100 Tackle Box, created by world-renown SKB Corporation hailing from my (second*) hometown of Orange, California. I guess that the owner/president, Dave Sanderson, who founded the company in 1977 is an avid fisherman (what would you do with your time if you were that rich?), and created these virtually indestructable hardcase tackle boxes due to his own need for something that fit his "hard" style...

Let's face it, SKB has been the authority for years - making the illest hardshell cases for everything from amplifier heads and guitar/bass cases to your not-so-little nephew's band trombone. They are phenomenal, and I've stood by their product for as long as I've been a touring musician and local producer. What I didn't know (and I may not be alone here), was that SKB has an entire line dedicated to the sportsman - from fishing rod cases (as seen directly below) to something heavy-duty enough to store your on-the-hush Russian-made Kalishinkov automatic.

The specs on the SKB (flagship) Tackle Box read as follows, straight from the horse's mouth:

The 2SKB-7200 Large Tackle Box is made of indestructible rotationally molded construction with stainless steel hardware and fasteners. The lid opens 90-degrees or 180-degres to access time through a clear acrylic door. Four storage boxes with dividers keeps everything organized. A hanging jig area accommodates over 40 jigs and includes a padded cover to keep them in place. Two large pleated soft exterior pockets for various accessories and a removable shoulder strap makes for easy, convenient transport. Meant for the dedicated fisherman, the 2SKB-7200 is backed by SKB's Unconditional Lifetime Warranty.

You can't downplay that fresh Tady coffin!

For me, the healthy mix between the old school long-range heavy (and heavy-duty) wooden tackle box with tons of storage that could stand up to whatever you throw its way, and the new-school tackle bag with removable trays and eye-popping features like built-in rod rocket launchers and a 40+ jig hanger made this purchase a no-brainer! That, coupled with a history of using quality SKB products, their close-to-home location, and their lifetime warranty, definitely made me feel good about my purchase.

Visit Mark and his team at Charkbait today and grab yourself something that will last a lifetime... Oh, and maybe even double as a step ladder so you can reach those Hustler mags you stashed behind the top bunk in the stateroom of the Royal Polaris for when everyone's asleep aboard your next trip!

*My first hometown being the sweet stench that is Hollywood, CA

Hi all! Went to the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach and hooked up some fat new gear for the summer and the great trips I'm headed on in the near future!

• New Release Accurate BX2-600 TwinDrag 2spd loaded with 100lb Jerry Brown Hollow Braid & a short topshot Izorline First String. The reel was designed for those who like to fish heavier lines on smaller reels, such as putting 65-80lb test on the older 665 Magnum models. Oh yeah, the reel is in candy apple red special order from Mark at Charkbait. I've gotta give thanks to my fiancee for this one - she bought me this reel for my birthday this month (Kitty, you're the best!), as well as treated me to the Fred Hall Show (she was super-patient the whole time we were there to boot).
  

• New Accurate B2-50, loaded with 130lb Jerry Brown Hollow Braid & again a short topshot of Izorline First String. Got this guy in candy apple red as well on a great deal from Mark at their booth at the show... He's gotta be one of the most sincere and "real" guys I've met in a long time - always tells you like it is. They've currently got a special on these reels, which will give you your choice of a quality braid (JB Hollow, Izorline, Cortland, or PowerPro) and a topshot free of charge - that's hard to beat with free shipping and free tax if you're out of state! It's easy to see why folks keep coming back to Mark for all their angling needs.
  

Both reels are paired up with red/black/yellow (sounds ugly, right?) Taka Tanaka custom-wrapped Calstar rods; a (somewhat rare) 865xh for the BX2-600 extreme, and a 760h 6' troller with all-Aftco rollers for the B2-50. For those unaware, Taka is an amazing angler with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to "everything-fishing," and has one of the coolest tackle shops in North Orange County... he's really well known for his amazing custom-wrapped rods, his annual Royal Polaris Charter, as well as his off-the-charts knot-tying skills.

I'll have pics of the combos soon, as Taka (who is pictured above with his 293lb longfin on his Royal Polaris 17.5 day trip last Fall) says they are undergoing their 1st coat, so it should be just one more week (at least) before we see 'em!

I also picked up a ton of the new soft baits from Stefan Worth, owner of Kustom Kraft lures out of Nipomo, CA. They were operating out of the Charkbait booth as well, and their soft sand dabs and crazy painted/eyed leadheads are amazing and like nothing I've seen before... I picked up the natural sand dab and a set in indigo blue to kill the lings with in Colnett this Spring. For more info simply call them at (805) 489-5034 or email Stefan at kustomkraftplastics@yahoo.com for a quick response.

We also stopped by the Bloodydecks.com booth and got to meet up with Ali there... Their booth was fresh as all hell with tons of photos from the year's catch - all from us (the users). Gotta love Bloodydecks... Kitty grabbed me one of their "American Tradition" hoodies and one of their Skeleton Dorado T's as well - both were high-quality and looked great!!!

Last, but definitely not least... I got to meet Brandon Hayward of the Western Outdoor News, who I've been talking to via email for some time in regards to getting a copy of his long-awaited book, "The Southern California Angler," which focuses on California fishing... from the dayboats and landings in Long Beach to overnighters in San Diego to Baja, and even covering long range 10-17 day trips out of our native So Cal. Although Brandon himself is a wealth of knowledge and a great angler that we could all stand to learn something from, it's the TONS of great insight from Cali's top captains, scientists, anglers, and innovators in the industry that makes this book stand out from anything that's been done/written before...

You get other people's perspective - as opposed to just the guy writing the book, which more often than not is some angler in another state/coast with a completely different style, environment, thought process, and tool-set. I highly recommend grabbing a copy today - you'll thank him for it later when you're holding that jackpot forkie or yellowfin!

Notice that there's no guys with big fros, headbands or wristbands, rollerskating tube socks, or short ass gym shorts on the cover - it's a modern guide in every sense of the word, and I'm about 1/2 way through it... each night thinking to myself, how amazing it is that he got these guys to share so much with the readers (anglers and captains are usually pretty selfish with their secrets, right?). More on this to come, including a full-review of the book, but in the meantime - you can get your own copy by emailing Brandon himself, just click here!