FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

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Check out the new Madre Sling

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We are about to be out of “range’ for a while.  So I will be taking a break for a few weeks.  Hopefully there will be some trout, and some serious wildlife, and some restorative time in the high mountains.  And a little break from the “interweb” and the blog will be a good thing, a time to reflect and recharge before the serious fall fishing begins.

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FOUR HORSEMEN TACKLE

Every once in a while a product comes along that impresses me from the git go, and this is one. I have seen this popping cork in several tackle stores and I got a chance to fish the new to me cork, and it seems to be all that it is cracked up to be.  Right off the bat it comes with a serious fishing pedigree.  Designed and marketed by Four Houseman Tackle, it is the brain child of Aaron Pierce and Roger Dowdy, a couple of life long Louisiana residents and full time guides.  Ok, so what does that have to do with popping corks?

They are from the Golden Meadow area of Louisiana, which is just a few short miles from Grand Isle, one of my favorite destinations.  When I fish that area I might trout fish a day or so, but it is always back to the reds.  So if you think about it, who else would know how to make a better popping cork?  When you are a full time guide in that area you catch reds, then more reds, then even more reds.   Much less that crazy 25 daily trout limit.  And with that came the necessity of designing a serious popping cork that can take the day to day abuse only South Louisiana can bring.  And they clearly got it done.

Once I got my hands on one it was immediately apparent that it resolved one of my main complaints with popping corks, they wear out, and it does not take that long.  In fact, I have 5 or 6 old ones hanging in my tackle room  (Why I do not know!) that are trashed because they were clearly not sturdy enough.  There is no doubt that the Four Horsemen have made a major improvements on the classic popping cork.

So what I did was take a “regular” popping cork and a Four Horsemen cork and laid them side by side and here is what I learned.  First the Four Horsemen feels and looks sturdier, and it is.  The wire itself is a lot heavier, which I believe alone helps significantly, and it is also shorter.  Which basically ends the problem of the wire bending or kinking making it not work properly.  It also allows for shorter pops, allowing it to be worked longer in an area.  The noise making beads are of a material that makes a different sound from the normal.  Not sure what they are made of, but it looks like the liner in the cork that the wire runs through is of the same material, it sure makes a different “click”.   Plus it also ends the problem of the cork beginning to hollow out on both ends as the beads tear into the styrofoam.  And the last readily apparent improvement, the swivel where you tie your bait is a real upgrade from standard poppers.  Basicially the whole dam thing is just plain tougher and better designed.

They sell 4 styles which covers all the bases.  An oval, and  3″, 4″, and 5″ poppers, along with a skinny popper, and their newest product, the 3″ Armor Popper.  And here is what make the Amor Popper such a good product and is one of my favorite things about their popping cork.

And Rex, who gave it all up to head out on his own path, had this to say about the Four Horse Men corks.

Popping the four horsemen cork, with its beads is like playing an musical instrument. A few little tap on the rod makes a little rattle noise. A strong pull on the rod gives it a good pop and splash. I like to vary the sounds and you can do that with the four horsemen. I even use it when trolling a live bait or artificial, it still makes noise as the beads as go over waves and ripples. Additionally, trolling a cork makes a noise wake that can attract fish as well. When trolling live bait on a cork, I like to lip hook a Pinfish or croaker – it swims more naturally keeps the bait alive longer. The popper shape gives a good splash with ever pop. An oval, would be ideal more ideal trolling purposes, it will glide smoothly as you troll. But a classic popper is a good versatile shape that you can work in any way with a little extra splash to gain more attention from the Reds.

Rex is living the dream as the owner of https://actionhat.com/ and founding member of www.yakfish.tv, along with several other entrepreneurial endeavors.  He is a serious kayaker who spends tons of time in Louisiana fishing and filming.  Take a look at his site, he has lots of cool stuff and my couple of tee shirts are my favorite.

It is interesting he has found out it works trolling as he paddles his kayak.  One trip to the Chandeleurs ended up being windy and we would toss it way out behind the boat and drift with the wind. No casting, just the occasional pop and we caught them right along.  A great way to save a day.

So next time you need a cork check out their website or you local tackle store and give them a try.  Can’t wait for winter fishing on rivers and creeks, it will be a real killer!  It not only catches fish but will outlast any other the market.

********************Put your favorite Knockin Tail under the Four Horsemen popping cork and hold on!  A deadly combination.

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Support Your Local Fishing Club

The St Joe Bass Club after their first meeting.

You can always contact them and help out.  Good luck guys and gals!

The high school has set up an email for the club as listed below, great for asking how to provide specific help.

stjbassclub@stjflyers.com

Mrs. Ann Brogger is the high school counselor and one of the advisors . I’m the second  (Chago) by default.

The high school will provide a tax donation form.

As for the bass team, other potential options for helping the anglers are some basics on breaking down a new lake, articles about technique, discussions on fishing patterns, or similar.

I may sound like a broken record with these pleas for help but it is a worthy cause for some great kids.

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And from TPWD the holiday weekend numbers.

AUSTIN— Texas Game Wardens closed the summer boating season with water safety checks and boating safety patrols on the lakes, rivers and bays in Texas over the extended Labor Day weekend. Between Friday and Monday, water safety checks were conducted on more than 3,800 vessels statewide. Additionally, 267 citations and 412 warnings were issued for various boating safety law violations.

Four individuals were also arrested for Boating While Intoxicated, three others were arrested for Driving While Intoxicated and 21 others were arrested on other charges.

Over the holiday weekend, game wardens also responded to 26 boating accidents across the state.

One of those weekends where it could have been worse.  So be careful and organized out there no matter when or where you fish.  There may be a TPWD officer coming to a boat near you – Yours!

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So time to put down the computer and phone and enjoy the outdoors.  It is easy to forget what a joy it is to simply be outdoors, taking it all in for what it is – the Great Outdoors.  After a recharge it will be back at it, and I am really looking forward to our fall bay fishing.  And I just started looking at Grand Isle for late October and a redfish extravaganza. I appreciate all of you how have stuck with me all these years, fishcatchingtravel will be back at it before you know it.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines