Toronto Sportsmen’s Show: Koppers Lures Detail Shots

I wanted to post a couple more shots of the Koppers Live Target lures on display at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show. This company definitely has an eye for details, kudos to the Koppers guys for setting and lighting this display very well. Tomorrow I hope to meet and chat with Grant Kopper the owner and designer of these lures.

These photos were all taken by Brandon Seibel, one of my friends and co-workers, on his Canon 50D.

Toronto Sportmen’s Show: Handmade Hotness From MacKinnon!

When I’m browsing the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show I always keep an eye out for things that are out of the ordinary, ideas and products that break the moulds of convention. One such company is MacKinnon Tackle, based right here in Ontario. Firstly, I totally respect anyone that makes their own lures, our own Clive Mathias created Rockstar Lures and these days is pumping out some serious gear. MacKinnon Tackle is no different in that respect, but their approach is all together something I wouldn’t have expected. But now there’s no turning back, colour me deeply impressed!

MacKinnon Tackle makes handmade lures, everything from bucktails and spinnnerbaits, to jigs and even crankbaits! These one-of-a-kind lures are like miniature works of art. The first thing I noticed that separates these lures from the others is the use of hand formed glass components instead of lead, tungston, or other heavy metals that can cause environmental damage. These components are made from a high grade thermo shock resistant Boro Silicate glass so they will take everything you, and your catch, can throw at them. On top of that, the glass provides several benefits, such as enhancing light refraction to attract game fish and creating attractive sounds and vibrations completely distinct and unique to each lure.

I spent quite a long time talking to the guys at this booth, in fact both days of the convention so far I’ve talked to them long enough that the convention room lights were turned off and we were asked to leave! Before they could kick me out though I picked up two lures from MacKinnon, two of each even, one set for me, one for Clive. Below and above you’ll find a salamander and frog pattern, made from glass, deer hair, and a few pieces of the plastic jig material. I personally can’t wait to catch something on these, but I dread the possibility of ever losing them.

These photos were all taken by Brandon Seibel, one of my friends and co-workers, on his Canon 50D.

Toronto Sportsmen’s Show: Insect Defend Patch

One of the coolest products at the Toronto Sportmen’s Show this weekend, that’s not a fishing lure, reel, or rod, is the Insect Defend Patch. This patch is 100% deet free, totally safe and natural. The patch contains thiamine (vitamin B1) which when applied to the skin is absorbed, and then later through your own body’s chemistry, is excreted through your sweat glands producing an invisible protective barrier against mosquitoes. Totally safe for kids as young as one year old!

I picked up three of these patches for 5 bucks, they normally sell for about 2 bucks each plus tax. I will be testing them throughly this spring and summer, and should they work I hope to have them in our opensky store as a possible order stuffer. They weigh almost nothing, so I figure we might be able to work something out where you can get them cheap on top of an existing order. We’ll see how it goes.

Another interesting fact about these is that apparently vitamin B1 is really good for you if you have a hang over. Yes, I’ll be testing that part too! I also just found out that Korsakoff syndrom, a disease caused by alchohol abuse, is caused by a lack of vitamin B1. These could have many medical uses in the future, not just bug repellant.

Some of these photos were all taken by Brandon Seibel, one of my friends and co-workers, on his Canon 50D.

Toronto Sportsmen’s Show: Up Close With Koppers

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show gave me a perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the new Koppers lures. I have some quality shots of almost all their lures, but I wanted to share the ones of my favorite lure. The new Blueback Herring swimbait. Gonna pick up a few of these for myself tomorrow! The last image is just a teaser for the next posts.

These photos were all taken by Brandon Seibel, one of my friends and co-workers, on his Canon 50D. He will be joining me again this afternoon when we check out one of the other buildings.

Toronto Sportmen’s Show: Abu Garcia Vendetta

Yesterday at the Toronto Sportmens Show I got my first hands-on look at the new Abu Garcia Vendetta rods, and I must say I’m impressed. These rods are extremely light and very nicely balanced. This is the first year for these rods so they do not come in as many variations as other established lines of rods. Still this is a solid release of a hot new product. I even got a few closeup shots of the laser etched butt cap too! I think I might pick one of these up this weekend, might even pair it with an Abu Garcia Revo!

These photos were all taken by Brandon Seibel, one of my friends and co-workers, on his Canon 50D. He will be joining me again this afternoon when we check out one of the other buildings.

Toronto Sportmen’s Show: Live Lampreys!

There is a great booth at the Toronto Sportmen’s Show right now all about invasive species here in Ontario with plenty of reading material and information about how to identify and deal with invasive species. I’ll get more photos of their booth this weekend, but I just had to post these photos of the live lamprey eels they had.

These photos were all taken by Brandon Seibel, one of my friends and co-workers, on his Canon 50D. He will be joining me again this afternoon when we check out one of the other buildings.