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!