Author: Brant Crenshaw

AFTCO means a little something different to just about everyone you ask. To me, they exemplify quality, reliability and functionality. These are great characteristics for terminal tackle, gaffs, harnesses, and the number of other hard goods they manufacture. But when it comes to performance apparel, these aren’t necessarily the first qualities you’re looking for. Sure….you want them to be functional and of good quality. We already know we get that with all AFTCO gear. But as importantly, what about technical? Cutting edge fabrics? And Stylish? I had my first pair of AFTCO shorts about the same time I had my…

Accurate Dauntless Reel Review When I met Ben Secrest at Dana Landing last week to pick up the new Accurate Dauntless 400, the first thing I noticed was the giant smile on Ben’s face. As he handed me the reel, he was nearly giddy when he started to talk about Accurate’s new baby. He started explaining all the technical, geeky stuff to me and I quickly interrupted, exclaiming, “let’s see how it fishes.” As I handled the reel in the parking lot, I started playing around with the levers and handle. Yep…it felt like an Accurate, strong, sturdy and sexy.…

Olukai Sandal Review Living in So Cal, shorts, t-shirts and flaps are pretty standard gear for me to wear just about every day. Whether going to work, dinner or a ballgame, that about sums up my wardrobe. Yeah…my wife makes fun of me and occasionally she’ll get me to go a bit less casual, but even in jeans, flip-flops are the norm. So what does that mean…..a closet full of sandals. I have them all: Reefs, Oakley, Sanuk and the list keeps going. What do they all have in common? They don’t have great foot support, and they all end…

AFTCO Tech Shirt Heading home in late afternoon from the banks off Puerto Vallarta was typically a great sign that we had spent another day on the water chasing tuna, marlin, dorado and sailfish. The only problem was that the return trip was due east. What does that mean? The setting sun would crush the back of our necks for the two hour ride to port, leaving them crisp as bacon upon arrival home. I was always the guy that fished in an old t-shirt and usually ended up throwing it away at end of the day, since it was…

Change The Way Your Bait Swims – Altering Hook Known throughout Mexico’s Baja peninsula as a caballito, this baitfish is actually a member of the carangidae or jack family. Depending on where you fish in the States, it’s also known as a goggle-eye or bigeye scad. No matter what you call it, the bait is like candy for tuna. This baitfish inherited many of its names for its large eyes, but with its elongated body and forked tail the cabby stands up well for offshore fishing. For that reason, cabillitos are one of the most prevalent live baits used in…

Making a Wind on Leader We painstakingly made a how-to pictorial, frame by frame of how to make a wind on leader and at the end of this we have included a complete how to VIDEO! Skip to the end or watch both. We hope you enjoy our efforts to bring you the best fishing “how to” experience on the web.. Seagaur Yellowfin Tuna Pre-Roll Yellowfin Tuna Fishing with Seagaur Fluoro Premier Fluorocarbon Leader with the BDoutdoors.com crew Seaguar Premier Fluorocarbon To begin tying our wind-on leader we will be using Seaguar Premier Fluorocarbon leader. You should try to match…

Giant Bluefin Tuna Action | Race To PEI 2012 Contest Capt. Tony MacDonald, who operates Tony’s Tuna Fishing, invited us up to Prince Edward Island (PEI) last year to check out the region’s legendary giant bluefin tuna program. The trip blew us away and all of the BD guys caught tuna weighing more than 800 pounds. For some reason, Tony invited us back, so we jumped at the opportunity and created the Race to PEI contest. It started out as a simple idea and spawned into the largest contest that BD has launched to date. The idea — take a…

When it comes to cold, rainy weather, I’m a complete wimp. To make things worse, I had two fishing trips scheduled to take me north of the 48th parallel. I was dreading the thought of heading to both Canada and Alaska. Not because of the fishing, I just plain hate being cold and wet. I prefer 95-degree temperatures and 95-percent humidity over the slightest inclement weather. Heading north, no matter what time of year, is usually not my bag. To compound the issue, the foul-weather gear I had was tired and beat, so it was time to upgrade. After seeing…

Race Prince Edward Island Bluefin Tuna When we brainstormed the idea of the Race to PEI contest, we really didn’t know what to expect. We knew that we’d have a great time returning to fish with the McDonald brothers back in South Lake, in the heart of the world’s best bluefin tuna fishing grounds, but beyond that, we didn’t have a clue as to how the contest would go down. We wanted to give a BD Outdoors member the fishing trip of a lifetime… Check! Get some great pictures and video of big bluefin tuna… Check! Come away with a…

There are several tools on the market these days that help anglers safely release rockfish, snapper and grouper back to the bottom without injuring the fish. But a lot of these tools are expensive and hard to use. The change in depth when reeling in a fish from the deep can cause a fish’s eyes to bulge and its swim bladder to expand and often stick out of the fish’s mouth. The idea is to get the fish back to the depths quickly to relieve the pressure for a safe release. Venting fish with a knife or needle has proven…

Every knot has a purpose. Fortunately for the angler, a bunch of knots have the same purpose. So how do you decide what knot to tie in what situation? Most likely, if you ask 10 fishermen, you’ll get 10 different answers. For the beginning angler, I would say you should learn how to tie two important knots, and learn to tie them well. I’d start with the Uni Knot and the Surgeon’s Loop because these knots serve several different purposes. Master these knots and you will be ready for nearly any situation. Generally, a knot’s purpose is to connect the…

Shrimper – Offshore Fishing Charters Louisiana Louisiana Offshore Fishing Louisiana offshore fishing is now open. The message that i want to convey is….Fish Louisiana….variety and that they are open for biz. Their slogan is ” Invest in the future geaux fish Louisiana!!” open boat heading out to the gulf warsaw grouper warsaw grouper