Gene Larew and Rat-L-Trap Press Camp

This past week, I was invited to take part in a Press Camp for Gene Larew Lures and Rat-L-Trap products by Bill Lewis Outdoors. As for me, it was a dream come true as I was able to meet some of the best as well as up and coming Professional Fishermen in both the Bass and Crappie world. These guys are living the dream we've all wondered about and it was a pleasure to meet them all. The purpose of this trip was to introduce the new line of baits from these companies that specialize in making all our fishing trips better by providing us with sound, quality baits so that us normal folks can be more productive on the water. The location of this Camp was on Fort Gibson Lake and Tenkiller Lake located in the hills of Eastern Oklahoma. I've so much to talk about I'll break this up into a 3 part series of posts.

Being there to represent Crappie.com I was paired with 3 different Professionals for the week. I chose to arrive early and was able to hop a ride with Dan Dannenmueller, a two time Crappie Masters Champion! I've never been much on spider rigging as I hadn't been with someone with so much knowledge and experience in the method of choice for a lot of Tournament Pros this day and age. Being Dans first time on Fort Gibson, he went right to work while looking at the biggest graph I'd ever seen, a Garmin GPSMAP7616xsv. We located several fish suspended in the mouth of a cove and dropped 8-16' rods over the side each baited with a hook(minnowed) and a Bobby Garland jig towards the bottom. It didn't take long to get bit on my side of the boat. T'was the Bobby Garland that got bit! I've fished a buddies 14' rod before, but trying to get that 1.6# beautiful Black Crappie into the boat was a chore for this novice wannabe handling a 16' for the first time. We got into a couple of other fish then we had to pack it up and meet with the rest of the tour. I'll go into more detail about Dan later.

Back at the dock, the Pros continued to arrive all decked out with boats that would make a common fisherman just start slobbering which is exactly what I did. After introductions of the Pros and the "Real" Press people, we all went onto the lodge at Sequoyah State Park on Fort Gibson Lake. After a nice dinner, we proceeded to the Bunkhouse where Rat-L-Trap products, Gene Larew Baits along with a table full of Bobby Garland baits as well. This was true heaven on earth for a fisherman to be able to browse through all the goodies they had laid out for our taking. My hands were full at one point so I grabbed a trash bag, walked over to Wes Higgins, President of Bill Lewis Outdoors Attachment 219714 https://rat-l-trap.com/ and said "Trick-or-Treat". He laughed as I loaded samples to be shared with others that love throwing crank baits. They were introducing a new line of cranks that include the Knock-N-Trap. Attachment 219703 This bait has a deep sounding knock vs a rattle. It allows a different presentation that is sure to get that Big Bass attention! Another new bait from Bill Lewis Outdoors is the Echo 175. Attachment 219704Attachment 219705 These new baits are designed a bit wider and built to cut through grass without hanging up and the wide body of the bait actually runs blocker for the hooks to not get into the grass itself, yet provides an excellent hook upon a strike! She'll act however you wish to retrieve her. The next is the Super Natural line. They've added some really great color combos that are sure to be winners! These baits use laser precision imaging and are just awesome! The original Rat-L-Trap continues to entice the Big ones to hit and has been a constant in the line of Bill Lewis Outdoor baits. Being a Crappie Fisherman to the bone, my favorite bait they offered up was the Tiny Trap. Oh man I can't wait to throw some of these during the spawn! The Pro Bass Fishermen for Rat-L-Trap were proving these baits during this trip however, since I didn't ride with any of them I was unable to get any pics. Don't forget to check out the link for Rat-L-Trap and you'll see some great pics of their Pro Staff in action!

Last from Bill Lewis Outdoors is their line of Bobbers. The Rocket Bobber is set to be cast just like a Rocket as it leaves your rod tip shooting it's way across the water with pinpoint accuracy to your target spot. They are weighted and made out of high impact ABS plastic and will not break when stepped on. The Rocket Bobber is deadly when paired with the right weight of lure as the design allows the Bobber to lay FLAT on the surface and stands up on the lightest of strikes sending that signal to the fisherman to SET THAT HOOK! It can also be used as a Slip Bobber if that's your preferred usage. It's an extremely bright, tough and versatile addition to your Bobber style of fishing and comes in 4 different sizes including a Glow in the Dark model.
All in all, the Bill Lewis Outdoor and Rat-L-Trap line of baits are certain to improve your chances to stick those fish into your live wells, not to mention give you a better chance of landing that trophy you'll want to mount.

I expect to have the second part of this article complete by Sunday evening, until then, same Bat time, Same Bat Channel!

Crappie Reaper