Expo lure builds, Ice Fishing, New Lures, 2018 MLF Location.....

JESSE JAMES WITH A SOLID 8.75" BLUEGILL CAUGHT USING JBs FISH SAUCE & GULLICKSON'S BEAVERTAIL ON EARLY ICE

WISCONSIN FISHING EXPO PREP STARTS NOW!!

PACKAGING OUR DUNKIN FROGS FOR THE 2018 EXPO IN MADISON, WI

We are at our early stages in preparation for the 2018 Wisconsin Fishing Expo. We have not officially begun our lure builds, or our parts orders, but we have packaged some leftover inventory, and took advantage of some Holiday Season sales from our suppliers to stock up on a few parts early. The first week of January will be the big week in which we order all of our needed parts and get them shipped quickly so we can begin building. Our goal is to present 500 lures to the show customers, 300 Lovertail 2s, 100 Bee Whacker LM Buzzbaits, and 100+ assorted lures, including Dunkin' Frogs, musky lures, Baby Squid Baits, Bass Jerkers, etc. As a Kalin's/Acme/Beaver Dam/Uncle Josh dealer, we were able to get a hold of the very hard-to-find Acme Pro Tungsten Ice jigs, and are currently selling them on eBay at retail (plus ebay fee) prices. If you are interested, message us or check them out on ebay under 1978jessejames eBay seller.

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With our busy 6 weeks of lure builds coming, our time on the ice will be very limited once again. I managed to get out only one day, and ended up changing lakes to find safe ice. The small lake we checked out first had spots of 2" that I was on, possibly less in other areas. I will not fish a lake with less than 4-5", so we left and found a lake with 6" of rock solid ice. When checking the questionable lake, I was wearing a life jacket, had brand new ice picks, and had a towing rope. I went light with a hand auger and a tiny sled. On the "safe" lake, the fish were present in high numbers. It was a challenge to get biters, but Kevin Martinek managed a decent amount of fish landed, while I struggled. I did catch one really nice bluegill on the golden nugget 3mm Acme tungsten jig, and a few small perch. We combined for about 16 fish, but almost all of that was my partner. I didn't feel bad because I can't recall a time I have ever kept up with him jigging for panfish! He is one mean perch jerker with an ice fishing rod! Kevin even managed to get cocky and show me two largemouth bass he jigged up!. All of our fish were caught using Gullickson's Beavertails. Kevin was hot on his white Flirty Girty, while I stuck with the Acme. I would have been my mobile self, but dealing with some illnesses I kind of stayed in one spot with the heat cranked and didn't have the energy to hole-hop and catch them the way I like to. It was our first use of the Beavertails, and I was very impressed. They did seem more durable than your store-bought waxies, I caught them on both white and pink. The fish seemed to not know the difference. I did not have to stop for bait, and I know they will not rot by my next trip being in a sealed package. They are the same price as a package of live waxies, so I think all around I will be using this product quite a bit. Check out their Facebook page by clicking on the link below:

CLICK HERE FOR GULLICKSON'S BEAVERTAIL

And before I forget, here's some pictures of Kevin Martinek whuppin' my booty on the ice AGAIN.....

Hopefully in the next week or two while we are waiting for parts, we will find some time to relax and catch us some tasty panfish to bring home. I dislike the high barometer and will be looking for a better window of opportunity to come. With the severe cold we have had lately, there should be plenty of safe ice available all over northern Wisconsin.

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NEW LURES FOR 2018!

 Due to the success of Pro-Staffer Andrew Draper on our Bee Whacker Buzzbaits with muskies, we decided to make, test, and make available a few prototypes that we came up with over the fall. Pretty much we took our standard bass/pike buzzbait and buzz frog, toughened them up, added some size and flash, and make them musky-ready. We upgraded our 240# AFW Toothproof stainless steel wire to 500#. We added bigger and more beads to lengthen the body and do a very good job of separating the blades from the skirt. We upgraded our split ring from a small bass size to a larger HD stainless steel style. Our 5/0 VMC HD Flippin Hook was upgraded to a nasty 7/0 weedless VMC weighted EWG hook. And our plastic trailer is a big, meaty, Kalin's 6" Mogambo grub on the Bee Whacker, and a full sized Stanley Ribbit on a 5/0 Stanley Double Take Ultra Mustad frog hook, with weight to prevent rolling and increase casting distance. Both look fantastic on top of the water and will be selling around $16 each. After the Expo is complete, we will take custom orders based on custom color choices, as well as build a few for ebay sales.

With our Kalin's dealership, we were able to order and see the new Scrub 3" trailers. We will be putting them on our Bee Whackers for even MORE noise, but will still have the grub option as well since Andrew's success has all been proven with the grub setup. We love the look of this Bee Whacker, and improved it for 2018 with more beads, and a little more weight with the Scrub's trailer. We expect these to sell very well, especially the improved Firetiger version, which is available to order now!! We will be selling the Bee Whacker for $8 each, available in black, white, chartruese, or firetiger.

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James Gang BEE WHACKER LM, in "Firetiger"

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2018 MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING EVENT

As of now, our plans for our second annual James Gang Bass Invitational will be held Sunday June 10th, 2018 at Rice Lake, WI. We are taking RSVPs already for interested anglers. This will be a 2-person team event, much like the MLF event we held in fall. This is an INVITATIONAL, so we will look through our list of interested anglers, then notify them if they have been chosen to compete with us. If chosen, the entry fee will be $25 PER ANGLER. We will have 100% payout to the winning team and the angler who lands the biggest bass. $5 per angler entry fees will go directly to Major League Fishing, as they charge a fee per angler of $5 to run these events. James Gang WILL NOT keep any of the entry fee money, and will find some prizes as well for the runner-up anglers and 3rd place teams as well, such as autographed posters by Mike Iaconelli, some hats, lures, and products from JB's Fish Sauce, as well as other possiblities. We thank Pro-Tekt Storage Solutions, JB's Fish Sauce, Hang Outdoors, and Small Craft Outfitters, for donating some very large prize packages to our 2017 events. This event will run from 6:30 am to 2:30 PM. For more information, or to register on our RSVP list, click on the link below:

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CLICK HERE FOR 2018 RICE LAKE MLF EVENT INFO

BEST OF LUCK ICE FISHING, AND HAPPY NEW YEARS FROM ALEX & JAMES GANG FISHING COMPANY!!!