Ken Leverich Benefit Tournament

This week we didn't have time for a new video because we're feverishly preparing for the Ken Leverich Benefit Tournament. The good news is, you're invited! If you live anywhere near the West Coast we invite you to come out to Russo's Marina on the California Delta, April 26th. Join the Tactical Bassin family for a day of fishing and fun while raising money for a great cause!

• Entry Fee: $120 per team (Half of entry fee will go directly to Ken's medical bills)
• Big Fish Option: $30 per angler ($60 per team)
• Raffle to follow weigh-in!

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The raffle is growing every day with overwhelming support from Eye Surrender Eyewear, JSJ Baits, Butch Brown, C&C Marine, Phenix Rods, River2Sea, Gone Fishin' Marine, Polymer80, Fishawn Plug Knockers, and more!

To be a part simply donate $10 or more to Ken’s medical bill fund at: http://www.gofundme.com/kenandbethleverich and bring a copy of your donation confirmation email to the tournament and receive three raffle tickets for every $10 you donated! We will also be selling raffle tickets at the event for $5 each. All proceeds from raffle tickets sales will go towards funding Ken’s medical bills.

Ken Leverich was a great man and father to Matt Leverich, an avid Northern California Tournament Angler who has supported Tactical Bassin from the very beginning. Ken recently lost his fight with ALS (Lou Gherig's disease). We're hosting this tournament to help the family raise funds to deal with the remaining medical bills and appreciate your involvement! If you can't make the event but feel the urge to help support the Leverich family, you can donate directly at http://www.gofundme.com/kenandbethleverich

If you have any questions feel free to contact us by email at tacticalbassin@gmail.com

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Understanding Reels and Gear Ratios

Fishing equipment is getting more expensive every year so understanding what you need before making a purchase is very important. Purchasing the right rod comes down to choosing a model you like but reels require more details. Most quality reels are offered in several different gear ratios so choosing the speed that meets your needs is critical.

After getting multiple requests for a video about what gear ratios we use for different techniques, Matt finally sat down in front of the camera to give a brief explanation of his preferences.

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Matt keeps it pretty simple. As you'll see in the video, he only uses three ratios, and really, could get by with two. His specific reel preferences  for each speed are:

5:1 ratio: Shimano Curado or Calcutta

6:1 ratio: Shimano Curado or Caenan

7:1 Ratio: Shimano Curado or Lews BB-1 Pro

How to: Make Swimbaits Last Longer

As swimbaits get more and more expensive the need for them to last is ever increasing. There are some simple modifications you can do to any softbait that will make it last much longer. This week Matt shows how to cut open a soft swimbait and properly secure the harness to make it last. He also covers how to repair the baits once they're damaged.

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The two baits shown in the video are the Mattlures Ultimate Bluegill and Huddleston Deluxe 8" trout. All you need to increase the life of your baits is a razor blade, superglue and Mend-it.

Step 1: Cut Open your brand new bait with a razor Blade. (I know its scary)

Step 2: Once the harness is fully exposed, carefully cover the harness in superglue and carefully lay the body back in place.

Step 3: Use Mend-It to seal the razor cut in the bait.

Rate of Stall

Most anglers are familiar with the concept of "Rate of Fall". In case you're not, its a measurement of how quickly a bait sinks through the water column on its way to the bottom. But what is "Rate of Stall"? The first time I heard the term it came from Matt Peters in a discussion about how quickly baits move, in the words of Peters, "From East to West".

The idea is that most anglers pay a lot attention to how quickly baits sink and how that effects the fishing but very few pay attention to how quickly their baits are coming back to the boat. If a slow falling jig catches fish better than a fast falling jig on a given day it stands to reason that swim jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc... might also have different catch rates based on how quickly they move through the water.

Its easiest to visualize this concept with topwater baits. As an example:

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 Let's say you're walking a super spook and catching fish non-stop. You return the next day but find the bite has completely disappeared. Its possible that the topwater bite has shut down completely but the odds are much higher that the "rate of stall" the fish are responding to has changed. Instead of giving up on the topwater bite you pull out a 1/2 oz buzzbait (faster) and a small popper (slower). By experimenting with baits that have different rates of stall you discover that the topwater bite with the buzzbait is actually better than the day before, you just had to choose a bait that was going faster.

The next time you're on the water be cognizant of the speed your baits are moving and make adjustments in retrieve speed, lure weight, etc... until you've fine-tuned the pattern to get every bite that you can. Good luck out there!