Something Old...

As portrayed in this vintage ad, the aluminum bass-boat manufacturer known as Polar Kraft, like other manufacturers of the era, enlisted professional anglers to pimp their products. Polar Kraft's angler was Bassmaster pro and four-time Classic contender Roger Moore. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with Moore, he was a big deal in the '70s. He qualified for four straight Classics, and out of the 35 Bassmaster events he fished, he finished in the money 15 times, which was a top-20 finish back in those days.

Something New...

After years of development and testing, the Yo-Zuri 3DB Knuckle Bait (spinnerbait) was introduced at the 2017 ICAST show. This unique half-ounce wire bait has an erratic action that resembles a knuckleball being thrown from a pitcher's mound. The aerodynamic design allows for long casts, while its versatility allows it to be used with techniques such as slow roll, flutter fall, bumped along the bottom, and ripped through underwater vegetation. Available in two different finishes (3D prism and painted), the bait comes in a total of seven attractive bass-catching colors. Whether you choose the 3D colors (golden shiner, gizzard shad, shad, Tennessee shad), or the painted colors (chartreuse, red crawfish, pearl shad), the bait is a guaranteed home run in the water. Here's the link to a video that will show you what you're in for if you buy this bait: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmLUdD4cvxI.

Something Borrowed...

I found this four-year-old "true fish story" by veteran pro Charlie Hartley during an online search:

"I was fishing this past weekend on Lake St. Clair, getting ready for our last Elite Series event of the season, when something happened that I'll never forget. It started with my catching an average smallmouth bass on a drop shot. It ended with a massive predator showing me what life is really like in the water.

"After I caught that fish, I thought I'd be able to catch several others. St. Clair has a huge population of smallies, and they tend to school at this time of the year. With that in mind, I immediately tossed my plastic back into the same spot.

"Nothing happened. My bite went dead. That told me something was going on, something like a big musky had moved into the area. The lake is full of those things, too. When they move in, the smallmouth move out. Nevertheless, I continued to cast and fish.

"Sure enough, a few casts later, a fish grabbed my plastic. It broke me off. I never saw it. On my next cast, I had another bite. This one shook loose. Once again, I dibn't see it. I guessed it was a musky.

"I called a guy over--he looked like a musky specialist, and was in the area--to see if he could catch it. Despite his best efforts with a bait that looked like a Helicopter Lure, only 10 times bigger, he couldn't get a rise (Side note: These guys are serious. They paint the props on their big motors with fluorescent paint. They think that attracts the big ones.)

"After a while, he gave up, and I went back to smallmouth fishing. After a half-dozen casts, I caught one that weighed about 3 pounds. But before I could get it to the boat, the musky we had been hunting grabbed it and headed for deep water. I pulled..she pulled...we pulled.

"Finally, that darn fish jumped up, almost perfectly vertical, right in front of the boat. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She was at least 50 inches long, and she had my smallmouth most of the way down her throat. That, though, didn't stop her from spitting it back at me and then swimming away.

"When I got my smallie into the boat, I realized she was in bad shape--no scales, cuts all over the place, and barely moving her gills. Nevertheless, I'm a release kind of guy, so I put her back in the water. Little did I know what was about to happen.

"I'm guessing she made two flips of her tail before that musky came out of nowhere and grabbed her. With no hesitation, and in a matter of a second or two, they both disappeared from view. I'm sure I stood on the deck of my boat for at least five minutes with my mouth hanging open.

"In all my years of fishing, I've never had an experience like that. I'd call it a perfect example of the predator-prey relationship."

And Something Blue

This Johnny Morris Elite reel, with a cobalt blue titanium deposition finish, was introduced by Bass Pro Shops in 2007. This reel was the flagship of their line that year. Under the armored exterior was an 11-bearing system, with doubled shielded stainless bearings and hardened duralumin gears. The reel had a new "MaxDrag" system, which relied on three stainless steel and three carbon washers to deliver 14 lbs. of stopping power. In response to complaints that the previous generation JM reels were too heavy, this one weighed "a very respectable 8.6 ozs." It retailed for $219.