THE LATEST NEWS

Doral, Florida February 16, 2015 – When Edwin Evers hits the water in the Bassmaster Elite Series this year he will be fishing as a member of Team Mustad.

Heading into his 16^th professional season, “E2” is one of the most successful and popular anglers in Bassmaster Elite Series®. Evers’ ability to quickly adapt to different fishing conditions and master different species of bass has brought him 8 Elite Series Tournament titles (finishing in the top ten 57 times). His skill, consistency, and competitiveness has made him a 14 time Bassmaster Classic qualifier; finishing inside the Top 10 in the Angler of the Year race 4 of the past 5 years. Aside from his Elite Series accomplishments, Edwin was the 2013 Challenge Cup Winner in the Major League Fishing Series, and is also a Co-Host on the very popular “The Bass Pros” television show and video series.

“We are extremely excited to have Edwin join our team, “says Mustad Sales Manager Steve Tagami. “He has built a great career and following with a record of accomplishment that speaks for itself. His personal reputation is top notch, and there is a tremendous amount of mutual respect and appreciation between Edwin and his fan base. He loves to educate and it really shows in the quality of his seminars, articles, and videos. Edwin just gets it done!”

Evers says, “Fishing against a high level of competition like I do, it is absolutely critical that I am confident in everything I use. I have always fished Mustad because I totally believe in the product. The hook is one of, if not the, most important part of anyone’s fishing equipment, and you can depend on Mustad UltraPoint Hooks to be super strong, and stay sharp. It makes a big difference in your day and your season when you don’t have to constantly sharpen or change your hooks.”

To match his versatility, Evers’ is fishing a wide variety of Mustad UltraPoint™ Series Hooks featuring 4.3 Stay Sharp Technology, including the following models:

Mustad UltraPoint Elite Series™ Treble Hooks:
TG76NP-BN 2X Short / 1X Strong KVD Elite Triple Grip Trebles
TG58NP-BN Standard KVD Elite Triple Grip Trebles
TG78NP-BN 1X Strong KVD Elite Triple Grip Trebles
Mustad UltraPoint Grip-Pin™ Series Soft Plastics Hooks – featuring the Super Strong Grip-Pin Keeper System:
Grip-Pin MAX™ (Ref# G34131NP-BN) Flippin’, Pitchin’ and Punchin’ Hooks
KVD Grip-Pin™ (38101NP-BN) Offset Wide Gap Soft Plastics
Grip-Pin Edge™ (G34042NP-BN) Straight Shank Finesse Soft Plastics

About Mustad
Every year since 1877, more anglers worldwide put their trust in Mustad than any other brand to catch their fish of a lifetime.  Sold in over 160 countries, Mustad Hooks are the world’s best-selling brand and heralded by top anglers for strength, sharpness, and quality.  At the heart of every Mustad Fish Hook is wire drawn and processed specifically for fish hook production at the Mustad Factory, in operation for over 180 years, in the town of Gjovik, Norway.  This exclusive process means that Mustad is the only company in the world that controls all phases of fish hook production from wire to finish.  Mustad brands include Mustad UltraPoint Hooks, Mustad Classic Hooks, Mustad Signature Fly Hooks as well as Terminal Tackle and Fishing Tools.  Included in Mustad’s portfolio of legendary styles are Demon Perfect Circle Hooks, KVD Elite Series Treble Hooks, Slow Death Hooks and the new ground breaking Grip-Pin Series.

For more information on Mustad’s newly expanded lineup of product, call (305) 597-0553; write O. Mustad & Son Americas., 2315NW 107^th Ave. Box 88 Doral, FL 33172, visit www.mustad-americas.com or the Mustad Hooks Facebook page.

DUO will patrol the skies with not one but two Hawks in 2015. DUO, the innovative premium Japanese lure maker acquires Western Pro Roy Hawk.  Those in the West know the skill set of Roy Hawk. His continuous tournament success ranges from local team wins to professional success in Won Bass, BASS and professional circuits.

“We are extremely excited to team with Roy Hawk.  He is a great individual, has excellent sense of integrity and is well respected by many. Last year, he fished Duo Realis lures and finished 2^nd in the AOY Rayovac standings. Roy is an intuitive-expert and gifted technician when it comes to competitive angling.  He has been winning tournaments and amassing top 10 finishes for over 20-years. His accumulation of tournament winnings exceeds 700,000.00. Hawks FLW career is very impressive with 3 professional wins, and 12- top ten finishes and career earnings that will exceed 400,000.00 this year. He has done most of this out west, which is extremely difficult”, said David Swendseid DUO’s USA entity.

Roy’s ability to adapt to new technologies, fishing applications and new techniques is precise and quick. He isn’t limited “set-in-my-way” thinking or pre-exposed to traditional I am fishing “what the other guys are fishing”.  This is very important for DUO as our innovation is designed to give professional anglers a different angle.

A clear example of this was Roy’s assertion, was to use a unique prototype lure called the G87.  The diving lure is slightly over an ounce (rated for 20 feet) yet graces 25-foot contours.   Hawk had only one prototype heading into the Rayovac Championship. Day 1 was a lack luster day but Day 2, Hawk picked up the prototype and tethered a few more fish one weighing in at 4-pounds, another exceeding 6-pounds.  Unfortunately, the cast to follow determined G87’s fate as it took flight departing from his main line. With minutes to spare Hawk raced to weigh in bringing 19 plus pounds to the scales.

Hawk’s years of experience and understanding of Duo’s new prototype put into play a great come back advancing him to the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup (FLW’s world championship).

“I have had time to wrap my mind around Duo’s innovation and direction. Their lures are refreshing, well thought out and specific to competitive fishing.  My first introduction to one of the thinnest, most compact lipless cranks was eye-opeing. Their M-line cranks actions and acoustics are innovative. The finesse technique called Spybaiting is deadly! And the cave diver crankbait G87, is one the best deep cranks I have touched in my 25 years of competitive angling.  I am honored and excited to be part of the Duo Realis crew and look forward to the future”, replied, Roy Hawk.

Roy has helped carve western bass angling and leads by example. Duo believes Roy Hawk’s 2015 season will be successful.

AllState Pro Rich Howes showed us the new offering from Rat-L-Trap, the Echo 1.75 Squarebill, during practice for the Bassmaster Open #1 In January. After watching him catch several keeper fish off a shell bed in a matter of minutes, we knew this product is going make some waves for anglers this year. Rich sums up the features of the new Echo 1.75 in this article, exclusively for BassEast.com.

“So we are creeping up on the 2015 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell. Besides the great tournament that goes on there is also a great expo for the fans, where all the top companies in the fishing industry unveil their products for display and purchase for all the fishing fanatics. I want to tell you about a product that will be available – a product that we introduced at ICAST 2014 and should be ready for this year’s Bassmaster Classic. I am talking about the Rat L Trap Echo 1.75 square bill.

This introduction won’t necessarily be about how to fish a square bill crank bait but more along the lines as to why this one is unique and deserves a spot in your tackle collection. The first and I think most important thing that Rat L Trap has done is to incorporate the time tested and proven sound technology of their lipless crank baits and put in the Echo 1.75. The proven sound has both high and low pitch tones that attract fish from even the thickest of cover and often times moves fish a long distance to strike. In some of the field-testing I have completed with this bait, I have encountered some of the most ferocious strikes on a square bill that I can recall, as fish hit the Echo 1.75 like it stole something from them. I used it when the fish were active and inactive, and the one common trait of each fish catch was the anger at which this bait was attacked. Rarely was it just slapped at like you sometimes get when covering water with lipless baits and other hard baits. I believe the reason behind this is the combination of the sound and vibration this bait produces, offering a unique and “new” presentation to the bass that make it scream “I’m alive and I’m a threat”. The thick body with the flat sides creates immense vibration, similar to a bladed jig or chatter bait style bait. Bladed jigs often produce those angry fish strikes that we all love – now you have a square bill that can be fished in similar situations as the chatter bait but with Rat L Trap sound to trigger those “angry” strikes. Imagine throwing this in lay downs and stumps with the great tracking ability of a square bill through cover and the vibration of a bladed jig, now that’s exciting!

Another advantage of the Echo 1.75 is the ability to cast it longer distance when compared to competitor designs. Although square bills are often thought of as short cast lures to tight cover there are often times when making a longer cast can come in handy.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the Echo 1.75 design is its ability to work itself through grass. Using these over grass flats bring a tremendous advantage: the hard vibrations and lip design rip weeds free more effectively than most square bills. When you see them notice the line-tie hanger on the lip is flush to the lip not allowing extra space for the weeds to catch. Let me tell you, these things can really hunt at high speeds as well.

These new baits will be offered in all the fish catching color schemes one would expect from Rat-L-Trap. You will have the ability to get them in the Classic Rat-L-Trap patterns as well as the new “SuperNatural” patterns. You can see all these great patterns on their website: http://www.rat-l-trap.com/.

This year I will be back at the Classic (but not in the manner I had wished) working full time in the expo for several of my sponsors. You can find me at the Rat L Trap, Allstate Insurance, Fitzgerald Rods, and Typhoon Optics booths. I hope to see you at the Expo if you can make it; if not, head on over to Rat L Traps website during or after the Classic and check out the new Echo 1.75.”