Big Indiana Bass

Half Million Milestone

A new site milestone reached yesterday at 10:21 am...

New Study Finds Take Me Fishing™ Campaign Motivates Decision to Boat & Fish

Campaign continues to achieve high levels of brand awareness and advertising effectiveness

ALEXANDRIA, VA (January 25, 2012) – A new study released by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) reveals that RBFF's Take Me Fishing™ brand and Take Me Fishing advertising continues to achieve high levels of awareness, and that the campaign is positively affecting decisions to participate in boating and fishing. The study, based on an online survey, found that consumers who recall a Take Me Fishing print ad are more than three times more likely to intend to go fishing, take someone fishing, or go boating for the purpose of fishing as consumers who do not recall the ad. In another analysis, the study scored Take Me Fishing print advertising 74.4 out of 100 on its ability to influence readers' decisions to go fishing in response to the ad's call to action.

"These are exciting results for RBFF and our stakeholders," said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. "They prove the Take Me Fishing campaign is positively affecting behavior and boosting participation. This coming year, we're expanding the campaign. And we're working right now on future ads to keep the campaign fresh, effective and motivating."

The survey reached 2,000 people among three target groups: those interested in the outdoors, those interested in both fishing and boating and those known to have been exposed to the Take Me Fishing advertising campaign.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Awareness of the Take Me Fishing logo increased in 2011 across all audiences, and is up to 61 percent among those interested in fishing or boating, an increase of 16 percent over 2010.
• Brand awareness (measured by recall of the phrase "Take Me Fishing") increased from 30 percent in 2010 to 48 percent in 2011, a more than 50 percent jump over 2010.

Take Me Fishing ads have a powerful effect on intentions to participate:

• Those who recall a Take Me Fishing ad, compared with those who do not recall the ad, are 3.6 times more likely to go fishing, 3.6 times more likely to take someone else fishing and 3.5 times more likely to go boating for the purpose of fishing.
• Consumers who recall a Take Me Fishing ad are 3.6 times more likely to go to the TakeMeFishing.org website than those who do not.
• Awareness of direct mail advertising (via RBFF's Fishing License Marketing Program) is up six percent in 2011 (15 percent) compared to 2010 (9 percent).

The study was based on a survey conducted by EurekaFacts in September 2011. An executive summary of the report is available online at www.rbff.org/research. To request a copy of the full report, please e-mail rbff@rbff.org.

Miscellany

A few brief snippets of things going on this week...

• The Outdoorsman Sport Shop Show in Greenwood, IN will run from 8-6 on January 28th. Speakers include Billy McDonald, Todd Hollowell, Keith Monson, and Billy Blakely. Raffles, give a ways, specials (most items will be, at the least, 10% off), and free hot dogs will all be part of the experience.
• The Indiana Fishing Expo runs this Saturday and Sunday down at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. Guest speakers for this multi-species show include Gilbert Huxley (Carp); Nick Teeters (Smallmouth); Charlie Hildreth (Crappie); Todd Hollowell (Bass); William Bennett (Muskie); Rick Millette (Walleye); Clint Kowalik (IDNR) - I'm hoping to hit both shows on Saturday as it stands now, so keep an eye out for me if you're there and say 'hi'.
• One line I've really been wanting to try, as well as compare to NanoFil, is Sufix 832. I now have 2 spools headed my way, so I'll be able to throw out some opinions on it after I get a chance to use it this spring. I've seen it in use and have been impressed with it "from afar". It's a braid comprised of "8 fibers (7 HMPE Dyneema® plus 1 Patent Pending GORE® Performance Fiber) and 32 weaves (pics) per inch. GORE® Performance Fibers improve abrasion resistance, increase casting distance & accuracy and reduce line vibration. HMPE Dyneema® fibers provide high strength & sensitivity, hydrophobic water-repellent protection and small diameter." I'm actually most excited about the color options, as the 2 spools I have coming are 'neon lime'.
• I usually take the time to clean and lube all my own baitcasters. It makes a difference, as some of the reels I'm fishing with are 15 years old or more. This year I decided to send all the Shimano's out for a thorough cleaning, inspection and repair. Several of them were squealing pretty bad, and I figured I needed some bearing replacements, since oiling didin't solve the problem. Turns out it was a case of the centrifugal spool pins working their way loose after all these years, a supposed known issue with Shimanos. Never had that problem or worry with my Daiwas. Anyway, 3 of my baitcasters were suffering from this malady. Simple fix is to take a pair of pliers and remove the affected pins. Those reels are now super free spoolin', but it beats replacing spools at $30 a pop. Might keep this in mind if you're experiencing the same thing.
• Also in the category of being frugal (read cheap), I've been scouring the halls of EBay looking for spare spools to purchase for my assorted spinning reels. Being multi-species, I always seem to run into this problem of never having enough outfits set up for exactly what I want to do. Instead of buying more spinning outfits (I already own 7 or 8), I decided this year to purchase spare spools for those reels so that I can have multiple line setups ready to roll for any given trip with a simple change out. I've bought about half a dozen already for the various reels I use, and the cost, even with shipping charges, is running about $7-$8 per spool. So for any given reel, I can have a braid setup, a fluorocarbon setup, and a mono setup, or two different line weights of the same material. I just need to come up with a good labeling system now :)

2004 CX 1754 Crestliner For Sale

If anyone is in the market for a nice aluminum boat, I received this e-mail note yesterday from Chris:

I have a fully rigged aluminum boat for sale if you know of anybody interested.  I live near Newton Lake, so it's set up with a 25HP Suzuki. I have attached the sales flyer (below). 

Thanks,

Chris James

Download BoatForSale flyer

2012 Indiana Fishing Shows (Updated)

Here's what I have gathered so far. I'll add to the list as I come across more.

• Jan 9-11; All Canada Show - Carmel
• Jan 14-15; NWI Steelheaders Spring Fever Show - Michigan City
• Jan 19; Hoosier Muskie Hunters Mtg. - 7:30pm for State of the Muskie address w/Bill James - Fishers
• Jan 21 - 22; Honey Creek Tackle Open House - Bargersville
• Jan 21; Central Indiana Bass Club Swap Meet (12 - 4pm) - Shelbyville (Conover Tire)
• Jan 28 - 29; Indiana Fishing Expo - Franklin
• Jan 28 - 29; Outdoorsman Sport Shop Open House - Greenwood
• Feb 4 - 5;  Teds' Aqua Marine Open House - Indy w/FLW Tour Pro Scott Martin
• Feb 4; Buckeye United Fly Fishers Fishing Show - Cincinnati
• Feb 11-12; Kokomo Outdoor Expo - Kokomo
• Feb 11; Kentuckiana Fly Fishing Show - Louisville
• Feb 17&18; Sherm's Marine Open House - Wabash w/Elite Pro Kevin Short (18th)
• Feb 17-26; Quiet Sports Expo - Indy (State Fairgrounds)
• Feb 17 - 29; Indianapolis Boat, Sport, & Travel Show - Indy
• Feb 25; IN Smallmouth Alliance 'Stravaganza' - Zionsville

2011 Year in Review - Indiana Weather Summary

Once we got past all the snow and frigid temperatures in the earliest parts of the year, 2011 turned out to be a pretty good year for fishing. Here's a quick look at the highlights;

• We didn't set any kind of monthly records due to cold temperatures
• July was the 5th warmest July on record, and the warmest July we've had in at least 15 years.
• November was the 9th warmest on record, and you have to go back 10 years to to find the last time it averaged the same temperature.
• December, as you might have guessed, was also warmer than normal, and the two months combined allowed for open water fishing all the way through the New Year, the first time that has occurred in 10 years (since 2001). I kept trying to impress this fact upon my wife every time I'd take a vacation day or miss a family event to go fishing :) It was a once a decade phenomena...
• As you also might have guessed, the average temperature for the year as a whole was above normal, especially when compared to the past 3 years (colder than normal years).
• April turned out to be the wettest on record, though not by much over April 2009. When you combine that with June 2011, the 13th wettest on record, you suddenly have the reason why I caught no smallmouth bass this past year, as the rivers were almost always blown out when I like to go. The flip side of that though was that it made for a good white bass spawning run up the headwaters of most reservoirs, and so that bite was above average this year, at least in my area.
• July and August were very dry months in my part of the state, but on a staewide average, they ranked 24th and 27th driest on record respectively out of 116 years worth of record keeping.
• After the dry summer, September and October turned out to be wetter than normal months, though again it depended upon which part of the state you were in. Statewide averages resulted in them being the 11th and 9th wettest months on record in their respective categories.

Who knows what 2012 will bring, but we're starting January off on the right foot in my book, with air temps today already 48 degrees as I type this, and even warmer air temps expected tomorrow. Above average temps are supposed to run well into most of next week before cooling down to more seasonal highs. Here's to hoping I get the boat out on open water again in a few more days, as well as to an early start (ice-off) to our bass fishing season in just another month and a half or two.

"Last Man Standing's" Ike Impersonator???

From Tim Allen's new sitcom, "Last Man Standing". I might actually have to start watching this if he becomes a regular... 

It's Boat/Fishing Show Season

It's that time of year again, the annual crush of boat shows, open houses and fishing/outdoor related get-togethers. I'll be posting a more extensive list of all that I'm aware of sometime over the weekend, but the first couple shows are hitting this Saturday, so I wanted to get them mentioned immediately.

If you are to the south or southwest part of the state, you might drive down to Jet-a-Marina's (KY Lake) open house on Jan the 7th from 8:00 till 2:00 featuring Brent Ehrler. Bring your boat and your fishing poles and hit KY Lake before or after, as the word is the bite has been really good lately.

For those in the central and northern part of the state, the big fly fishing show is back at the State Fairgrounds on Saturday. Not you're normal hardcore tourney bassin kind of thing, but lots of river rats and smallmouth afficianados to talk with, including Tim Holschlag who will be down from Michigan. I actually enjoy this one a lot as it's not your typical crowd or vendor list that you'll find at every other show this winter. The press release for that show follows.

 

Indy’s fifth annual fly fishing-wing shooting show Jan. 7 2012 at Indiana State Fairgrounds

Hoosier sportsmen and women now have a reason to get out of the house this weekend. The Circle City's fifth annual fly fishing and wing shooting show will be held Saturday, Jan. 7 at the State Fairgrounds Ag/Hort Building. Indiana on the Fly will feature over 60 well-known vendors from across the Midwest with enough variety to satisfy the most discriminating outdoor sports enthusiast.

Fly fishing expert and author Beau Beasley of Eastern Fly Fishing Magazine will be speaking about the Best Waters of the Mid-Atlantic. In addition, local experts will cover a variety of species available right here in Indiana.Tim Holschlag, our Smallmouth bass expert, will also present a brand new seminar on smallmouth fishing.

The day's activities also include Professional chef and author of Food Heros and Girl Hunter; Georgia Pellegrini will be sharing her favorite pheasant dish with a cooking demonstration. Certified caster Dave Barron will be giving tips on better casting. Fly tying demonstrations will be conducted all day long with featured tyers demonstrating their favorite fly patterns.

Dog lovers will be delighted with one on one contact with sporting dog owners and their dogs as well as a professional dog training seminar scheduled in the afternoon.

Allen Rumble of Total Financial Group is the show sponsor.

Admission is $10 at the door, kids under 10 are free. This one day show will run from 9:00-5:00 . Come out and spend the day with us and share the passion.

Visit www.reelwomen-reelmen.com  for seminar schedule and more information!

2011 Year in Review - Site Stats Summary

It was another great year here at "Big Indiana Bass" (BIB) as relates to the site and it's associated statistics. Growth continues to be rapid and continuous, as more and more anglers find their way over by whatever means. I pulled a bunch of data from Google Analytics to share comparing 2011 stats with 2010 data. Here are the highlights;

• Yearly site visits grew from 85,000+ in 2010 to 123,000+ in 2011
• Unique visitors climbed from 36,000+ to nearly 51,000
• Total Page Views went from 135,000 to nearly 230,000 this year
• Pages per visit climbed from 1.58 to 1.86
• Average time spent per visit went from 1:45 to 2:04
• New visitors stayed consistent, 42.45% vs. 40.92%. That means that roughly 60% of all people who hit the site return at some point in the future at least once during the year.
• 94.15% of all traffic came from U.S. visitors, representing all 50 states. International presence grew to include visits from 114 other countries.
• The largest non-BIB or search engine-related referring site in 2011 was Fishin.com
• Direct landings on the main site occupied the #1 and #2 most landed initial pages. Three of the next 4 most highly landed pages continued to be related to my jon boat customization. Just like last year, this continues to be a highly trafficked topic, and a niche market that obviously has some big potential. Also positioned in the Top-5 most highly landed pages was this years new feature, "On Tour with Todd", a combination bio/tour journal/diary documenting Todd Hollowell's year on the FLW EverStart circuit.
• Over 43% of all visitors, comprising 50,000+ visits, stopped in at least once a month. The big kudo's go to all you hardcore fans, and amazing 11.8% of all visits, some 14,500+ in total that dropped in more or less daily, tabulating over 200+ visits per year! You guys really need to get out and fish more (LOL)!
• Finally, the site is rapidly closing in on half a million total Page Views in it's brief history, probably attaining that lofty mark sometime in February.

As always, a big thanks to everybody who visited the site in 2011, whether once or more than 200 times ;-) If you ever have ideas, topics or content you think others would like to hear about, you can always send us an e-mail at our contact address, found near the top of the left hand sidebar. We're always happy to post pictures of your "Big Indiana Bass" caught throughout the year, either on the main site or on our companion Facebook page, another new site venture in 2011 that has rapidly expanded beyond what I ever imagined.

Here's hoping I run into a bunch of you at the fishing shows this winter, or on the lake in 2012!

A Day On the Lake With....

Enough about me and my fishing trips for a moment. What you probably want to know is how a real professional breaks down a lake and tries to find and catch bass at this time of year. If so, you're in luck. The guys over at the R & B Bass Circuit website recently posted the first in a new series of articles taken from the pages of the Bassmaster "Day on a Lake" format. In this case, they got Greg Mangus out on an unknown natural lake on Dec. 3 under pretty frigid conditions to see how he tries to find and catch bass under this early winter scenario. The information and results are pretty revealing. Check it out at the following link:

• A Day on the Lake with Greg Mangus

700+ Pages of Marketing Goodness

Went to the mailbox this afternoon and found my 2012 Bass Pro Shops  Master Catalog in it. Wife already said I can't order anything (LOL) - told her I was just browsing so I cold make a post. You can search and find some past detailed analysis on the site I've done from previous Master Catalogs. In the mean time, here's some of my observations for those that haven't seen or received this years catalog yet.

 

• I didn't find a single A-Rig/Umbrella Rig or knock-off in the book, which really surprised me, especially with BPS being the king of knock-offs.
• Did you know that "every NITRO® is built to help you win"? Starting Z-6 with a 115 Merc Opti is just over $20,000 this year, with their top end Z-9 w/250 Opti hitting $5 shy of $40,000.
• Daiwa Steez reels are pretty hefty at $500-$590 each, but they take a back seat to the $700-$750 Shimano Stella's. For that price, I hope they don't bind in rainy weather like some of their models have in the past. Daiwa Steez did take top honors in the rod category though, with a $720 8' Heavy baitcast model. Loomis' actually look affordable now days.
• You can still buy most any model of Ugly Stick for $30. Is there any wonder why they are the best selling rod in the world?
• PowerPro is coming out with a multi-colored braid in 2012.
• Bass Pro now has their RC/KVD square bill knock-off on the market for just $3.99.
• Speaking of crankbaits, looks like circuit board lips are making a big presence in 2012.
• Takahiro Omori is now the new "name" behind the Lucky Craft Square Bills. Fortunately it looks like they kept all the good colors in the line-up; unfortunately, they also kept the $17 price tag.
• Jackall tops the high $$ frog market with a $13 a pop amphibian.
• Hart is the latest company to take a go at spinner jig designs. If past success is any indication, they won't be around by this time next year.
• Several new jigs on the market pushing the $5 mark, which seems like a bit unrealistic price point - at least I'm not going to buy one for that.
• I thought Jackall's new Super Cross Tail Shad took the cake at $10 for just 8 baits, until I saw BPS new giant worm, the 16" Snake Worm, selling for a measly $3.15 each...but it is impregnated with "8up Scent", so that exlains it  ;)
• Swimbaits and giant flutter spoons seem to have taken a back seat this year.
• Pretty amazing what you can get in a depthfinder these days for a little over $200, especially when compared to just 8-10 years ago. Why don't rods and reels follow the same increased technology/decreased price point model?
• BPS now offers free "ship to store" shipping, which is great unless like me, you don't live within 125 miles of one of their stores. When is Indy or an Indy suburb going to get one of these megastores?
• On a related note, just saw today where SpotSticker lures is back. They were one of the original shaky head pioneering companies, and it seems that Ryan Coleman, Lake Lanier guide, has bought the company and is making marketing headwaves again. 

Best Wishes to All