My Bait Shop Blog

Kansas Bassmasters Stop 1

by Keith Bell March 27, 2019

My Bait Shop Pro Staff Larry Patterson and John Holtz fished Stop One on Sunday March 25th. With cold (45 degree) but stable water conditions we had a great practice day! It seemed that any and all jerkbaits we threw would catch a fish. Sunday came and everything changed. Stocton Reservoir began to release large amounts of water as the water temps cooled. With falling water (now 42-43 degrees) the fish were much harder to catch.

Proving you have to always pay attention, a mistake turned us onto the key to success.

Posted in Pro Anglers

LJ Fishing Update - Larry Patterson

by Keith Bell February 16, 2019

Now that Christmas has come and gone, all my New Years resolutions have been broken, the ground hog didn't see it's shadow and the Bass Master Classic being only a month away can only mean one thing, The lakes are thawing and the big bass will be moving into their pre-spawn areas.

My Bait Shop lures have arrived, Rods and Reels are clean, new line on and I'm ready to hit the water and those Bass won't stand a chance this year (only if that were true). Being a die hard worm and jig fisherman, it's been hard for me to break away from my comfort zone from these types of lures. The worm and jig have been my go to bread and butter lures for years. I've always had confidence in their fish catching abilities.

Posted in Pro Anglers

New Year Resolution

by Keith Bell January 15, 2019

Here we are 2019! Christmas has been packed away, toasts have been made to Auld Lang Syne, etc., etc.. If your anything like me New Years was brought in by some yahoo shooting off a big firework, me saying a not so nice New Year’s greeting to him, rolling over and going back to sleep! I know I am a party pooper when it comes to this time a year. This melancholy mood probably has a lot to do with where I live, and the lack of fishing I get to do! The ice is too thin to walk on, yet too thick to get a bait through. This is also a time of year I tend to “go into my head” a lot… As my wife can attest, that is a scary place to dive into. I find myself doing a lot of tackle prep, rigging and re-rigging, and working on the boat. I do all this to be ready first chance I get. While doing the odds and ends I find myself thinking about fishing trips past and anticipation of the next cast.year begin.

Posted in Pro Anglers

So You Want to Go Tournament Bass Fishing...

by Keith Bell December 10, 2018

So you think you want to go tournament bass fishing… Well brother (and hopefully a few sisters out there too), let me tell you, It is a journey. There isn’t going to be any black truck with a ghostly figure, with a resemblance to Guido Hibdon, offering you a ride to Okeechobee! This is a long, hard, self made road that you will travel. You will lose friends, and gain friends for the same reasons. One thing is for certain, you will never look at a lake the same way again.

Posted in Pro Anglers

Welcome LJ Fishing to the My Bait Shop Team!

by Keith Bell December 07, 2018

We are excited to welcome LJ Fishing to the My Bait Shop Team! LJ Fishing will be part of our Pro Fisherman Partners as we support them on the 2019 tournament trail.

LJ Fishing, Larry Patterson and John Holtz, is a bass fishing team on the Kansas tournament trail. They finished in the top 15 of the East Kansas Bassmasters in 2018 and were 10th place in 2017 for Rookie Team of the year on the Kansas Team Trail. As we mentioned we are very excited to be partnering with them throughout the entire 2019 campaign.

Posted in News, Pro Anglers

Oster's Jointed Tuffe Minnow

by Keith Bell December 04, 2018

Oster's Lures or Oster's Tackle Manufacturing of Cleveland, Ohio began in the late 1940's. Oster's trade name was "Fish-Getter Lures" and can be seen on their packaging. The original lures were made of Tenite. The Jointed Tuffe lure was one of five original lures made by the company. They were:

#200 Lone Streamer
#300 Jointed Tuffe Minnow
#400 Tuffe (or Straight Tuffe)
#500 Popper
#600 Super White Bass Fly

Posted in History

Yo-Zuri Knuckle Bait Product Review

by Keith Bell August 19, 2018

One of the best parts about having our store is getting to try out new baits, or baits new to us. Some of these are brand new and some are vintage lures we are fishing for the first time. Recently we have had the opportunity to partner with Yo-Zuri baits and really give some of their lures a try. We had fished Yo-Zuri lures before but with so many to choose from there were many new to us. Over the last month or two we have been fishing hard one of these new baits, the Yo-Zuri Knuckle Bait.

Posted in Product Reviews

PICO Lures - A Short History of the Company

by Keith Bell May 05, 2018

PICO is one of the oldest lure manufacturers not just in Texas, but also in the nation. The year was 1933 and the Great Depression had a stranglehold on the United States. Corpus Christi resident, Fred Nichols, carved a cedar wood lure resembling the salt-water piggy perch. It proved successful when used for speckled trout and other salt-water game fish. Nichols carved a few more lures for family and friends to use. Soon word spread and people started inquiring about the lure. With encouragement from family and friends, Nichols soon found himself in the fishing lure business. Times were still tough in the mid-30s, but people eked out a fishing trip every once in a while.

Posted in History

All-Time Great Fishing Lures for Catching Bass! My Top 10 Best Lures Ever for Bass!

by Keith Bell April 13, 2018

If you are like me you grew up reading all the articles you could find in outdoor magazines like Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream and so many others. I would go to the school library during study hour just to make sure I read all of them. I devoured everything I could find and dreamed of exotic trips to far away places and catching stringers full of fish on all the new lures listed in the advertisements. I couldn't afford most of these lures but it didn't stop me from dreaming. One thing always stood out though and caught my eye above and beyond all the other articles. I always relished those Top 10 Lists. You know the ones.... "Top 10 Bass Lures!", "Top 10 Greatest Fishing Lures Ever Made", "Top 10 Lures Your Grandpa Used" and so many others. While I was paging through a vintage magazine recently it got me thinking maybe I should post my own Top Ten List. Click on the photo above to continue reading...

Posted in Top Ten List