"It was eerie," said John. "Just before the fish went down he poked his head outta' the water and gazed at me. I knew then that it was a battle of mano el fisho and he was determined to win. He smiled at me. Ken," says John, "I tell you that damn fish smiled at me".

Knowing that he needed to act quickly Mark regained his senses and tried to direct the line away from the motor and hull of the boat but it was too late. With one final thrust of his powerful tail the fish managed to rake the line against the hull and was gone. "I just sat there dumbfounded," says John. "I watched as a huge wake slowly disappeared downriver. Then, just before he was out of sight he stopped, turned and gazed at me once more. He won this battle but I will be back!," vowed John.

Okay, hey, we're fishermen right. John did hook a big one; probably well over 40 pounds and it did get away. Saturday morning he did manage to land a nice 27 pounder. By the way, all of the fish were released to fight another day.

Also caught by Las Vegan Rod Howard was a fat 18 pounder. He also managed to land a few smaller fish. All of these fish were also released to fight again. "I'm not like some anglers" he said, "I won't keep a fish just to prove to my friends that I caught it; they believe me... unless I plan to eat it I let it go." Rod, John and Mark are among several anglers that release nearly all of the fish they catch. A rare occurrence when a fish is kept is if it has become mortally wounded and is likely to die if released. If they plan to eat a fish then yes they will keep some of the smaller ones.

Unlike some anglers, I won't mention names, they will not kill a trophy fish simply because they want a photo of them holding it at the docks so they can show it to friends or use it for promotional purposes. John and Mark are "Professional" anglers and their records speak for themselves. They don't need to kill a 42 pound fish just to take a photo for their website. Like most ethical anglers they are much better than that. So folks, keep a few fish to eat, let the rest go so your kids and their kids can enjoy them as well.

At Lake Mead the fishin' has picked up as well as a few more anglers head out after the storms retreat. The Stripers are feeding but the fish caught are still rather small averaging about three pounds. Most of the favorite holes are producing the fish including of course Vegas Wash, the 33 Hole, Hemenway and Boxcar Cove. Nearly all of the anglers are using cut anchovies for the fastest action as jigs and swimbaits, although effective, produce less fish, but catch a fish on a jig or bait such as the Assassin and it will be a bigger fish than one caught by an anchovy.

Action for Largemouth has picked up a notch. The anglers that are hunting them are having most of their luck in the early morning hours. Top water baits are accounting for much of them and as it warms up folks are switching to plastics. Let's hope this pattern stays with us a few more weeks.

The Gitzem by Fishing Barefoot

Most of you first became familiar with the name Fishing Barefoot when I first found them last year at ICAST. Tim Barefoot goes out of his way to create a superior product and the fact that his Reel Hunter jigs sell out within days of being stocked on the shelves are testimonial to that.

Well, Tim has developed a new jig head with the thought that other leadheads on the market don't create an action and rely on the plastic bait to do all the work. Besides the obvious when I first saw the jig I asked Tim what made the jig head different from others on the market.

"The 'Gitzem' jig can be used with or without a float. It is mechanically snag resistant, and has a crazy 'side to side action' that drives fish wild. It literally 'walks the dog' underwater. For as long as jig heads have been around, the plastic has been the only action. I reverse engineered this process and made the jig head itself have the action. You can put most plastics on this head, and it will 'give the plastic life'," explained Tim.

"The method for fishing under the float is wonderful for children, novice and pros (whether they will admit it or not). Great for bass fishermen (if they would not be ashamed of being seen fishing under a float). The float is just a splashing surface attractant (and a strike indicator) that draws the fish up to look, and then the jig/soft plastic is right there in their face. When rigged with a modified moldcraft (or other soft plastic squid), it acts and looks exactly like a real squid (jumping back and forth)."

Being a longtime saltwater angler myself I knew that the action of a squid drove most fish absolutely crazy. Tim showed a video at the convention with the jig in action and I was blown away. My immediate thought was I need to get this thing down to the boys at Fisherman's Landing in San Diego. Then my brain processed what I was seeing and thought, hey, this could be a killer on our local stripers. Case in point, at the convention the good ol' boys from "BrandX" Fishing Products were there with their wares and a nice big tank full of Bass. Well, about 4:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon they were getting ready to do another demonstration for the folks in attendance to show off some of their new stuff. One of the guys came over and asked Tim if he'd like to see his jig in the tank rigged with a "BrandX" bait. Of course Tim jumped at the chance. Well, the guy at the helm rigged a few rods with various baits and proceeded to tease the bass. The first thing he threw was a spinner blade combo that he ripped across the surface but the bass wouldn't bite. He then slowly ran it deep right in front of them and again they had no interest. After about a dozen attempts he decided to throw another bait, again, still no interest from the fish. Well, since "BrandX" was there hoping the fish would bite he explained that the fish just weren't interested simply because they had everything including the kitchen sink thrown at them all day long and were now wise to the offerings.

Next the guy decided to try out the "BrandX" bait tied to Tim's Gitzem Jig. He tossed it out and played it back and forth a couple of times the way you would a conventional jig and the bass still showed no interest. Tim told the guy to quit fishin' like an old lady and bounce that thing so it'll dance the way it was meant to. Well, the "BrandX" Basser kind of grunted but he did as Tim requested and immediately a bass pounced on it and sucked it in.

"Look at that." says the "BrandX" guy. "Our 'BrandX' baits work great don't they!"

Once again he tossed the Gitzem out there, bounced it around and again a bass slammed the lure almost immediately. Wow, everyone thought, that "BrandX" is some good stuff, and yes, it is but there's more. The guy next grabbed an outfit rigged with a new "BrandX" bait and threw it into the tank. He explained that the bait could be worked on top of the water, below the surface, over rocks and branches; the whole time bouncing that "BrandX" bait right under the noses, literally, of the fish. After three or four dozen attempts the bass still made no move to the bait. One of the reps next to us said that the bait was too big and that's why the bass weren't hitting it so he told the guy to switch to the next outfit rigged with a smaller grub. I think you know where I'm getting with this.

The guy threw that smaller "BrandX" bait out there probably five or six dozen times and did everything short of jumping in the tank and pinning a fish to the hook himself but the fish refused to budge. Somebody from the audience who shall remain nameless hollered out to the guy to toss that "other" jig back out there. "BrandX" politely, and quietly, declined stating that the bass were tired and the next show would be the following morning. What can I say?

Ah yes, after the demonstration with "BrandX", Tim did ask to have his jig returned. "BrandX" will have to figure this one out on their own. To find out more about Tim Barefoot and his company log onto www.fishingbarefoot.com.

Next week I will share with you the wonders of the Ultimate Smartlink. Folks, this is one product that will take our local Striper boys by storm and surprise. If you simply can't wait then feel free to email me and I'll be happy to fill you in on what it is, how it works and why you need it. I've showed this product to several people already including Dave at Laker Plaza. He'll probably be the first to have it on the shelf here in Southern Nevada. Everybody that has seen it thus far loves it and agrees that it's a product that they will definitely use.

"BrandX" has been used to replace the "other" bait. It is not an actual brand.

Ken Marlow, pappystackleshack@yahoo.com

Ken Marlow has lived in the Las Vegas Valley since 1973. He began fishing at Willow Beach for trophy trout soon after moving there and has been hooked ever since. Ken currently fishes twice a week and travels across the Dam to Willow Beach about four times a week to interview anglers and to see what the conditions are like.

Ken writes the weekly fishing column "Let's Go Fishin'", which appears in the Boulder City News, Henderson Home News and, from what he hears, two or three other HBC Publications.