Gary Engberg Outdoors

Simms Outdoors News Year in Review

gengberg March 16th, 2010

SIMMS OUTDOORS NEWSSO News & Promotions Coordinator - Allissa Williams

Contact: allissa@simmsoutdoors.com or info@simmsoutdoors.com

Sponsors;
Walt’s Baits, Bucher Outdoors, Little Big Lure Co., X-Tools, 7-Strand

Berkley, Stren, Spiderwire, Shakespeare, Mitchell, Johnson, Penn

2008-2009 SEASON REVIEW

Since we missed the year end review newsletter last January, we thought that we’d include it in this year’s newsletter. The last two years have produced by far the very best fishing and hunting that the Simms Outdoors Team and its clients have ever enjoyed-truly world class experiences. In particular, several of the already excellent bodies of water where we offer guided trips & vacations have been getting even better with great management, offering some of the very best sport fishing on the planet. Reports from our two premier Midwestern lakes are listed below, but Simms Outdoors offers incredible guided fishing and hunting trips & vacations at dozens of the world’s best locations throughout the United States, Mexico & Canada. The action has been red hot at many of those locations as well, so be sure to watch for newsletters about them as the season progresses.

KINKAID LAKE

As many of you already know, Kinkaid Lake has been the hottest fishing destination of ours for the better part of a decade and it just keeps getting hotter.

*Muskie Fishing

This famous Southern Illinois water is unquestionably one of the very best muskie lakes in the world, recently rated in the top 10 by Musky Hunter Magazine, but in the last few years, this fishery has gone on fire. 2009 was truly incredible. The 09 season produced 3 double-digit muskie days on Kinkaid for Simms Outdoors Guides & Guests. Incredibly, they experienced days when they boated 10 muskies, 11 muskies and 13 muskies per day of fishing from a single boat, with many fish in the low to upper 40″ range! All fish were caught casting. Internationally Renowned Fishing Pro & Media Personality, Simms Outdoors Founder Colby Simms caught the new Kinkaid Lake Record Muskie in March of 09 on a Simms Tackle School N Shad Spinnerbait fished with an All Star Rod. The giant 37 pound fish was 51″ long and the incredible replica mount seen at sport shows this winter was made by Fittante Taxidermy (more on that catch and the March trophy time frame in an upcoming newsletter). Jamie Malcom landed his largest muskie in March 09, a fat pre-spawn 47″ female on a guided trip with former PMTT & IMTT Champion Colby Simms. Simms Outdoors Guide & Champion Tournament Pro Ray Simms of Simms Tackle caught a huge 50.5″ trophy muskie in September 09 as well. The huge fish clobbered a new Simms Tackle Hatchet Shad Spinnerbait in the new Bloody Shad color pattern. Simms Outdoors Guide & Simms Tackle Pro Staffer, FLW Bass Tour Pro Andrew Veach was guiding IMTT Angler Tom Humrickhouse & Partner when they landed a heavy 45″er on a Firetiger Simms Tackle School N Shad in October. Tim Cannon landed his largest muskie on a Simms Tackle Hatchet Shad, a 46″er on a guided trip with Colby Simms, and many customers had their personal bests for size and numbers while fishing with Simms Outdoors. SO Guides & Guests raised incredible numbers of fish, many days producing 20 to 40 follows, and as many as over 50 muskies were raised in a single day! Half-Dozen+ landed muskie days were common in 09 and few days during the peak periods produced less than a hat trick of 3 muskies landed per guide boat.

The 2008 season was also red hot and produced our best day for numbers of muskies ever caught, with 29 muskies hooked in one day of fishing, and 18 of those fish landed! Amazingly, 13 of the 18 muskies caught were over 40″ long, with the two largest, identical 46″ers! Simms Outdoors Guide & Simms Tackle Pro Staffer Walt Krause boated one of the thickest fish we’ve seen, a massive 48.5″er with a tremendous girth, that was featured along with articles written by Colby Simms that were published in nearly a dozen magazines, a fish so heavy it appeared as if it would split down the middle. Former Muskies Inc Vice President Jim Beaty got to watch traveling anglers Mike & Drew Toohill catch their largest muskie on a guided trip with Colby Simms in October of 08. As Jim was working into a wooded cover, Mike Toohill had his 5th muskie strike of the morning and Colby eventually netted a fat 30 pound class 47″er that Mike caught on a Simms Tackle School N Shad Spinnerbait. Todd Fairbanks caught his first muskie with a Simms Tackle Thump N Shad Spinnerbait on a guided trip with former IMTT Champion Ray Simms. After catching the biggest fish of his life on a guided trip with Colby Simms the previous fall, Shawnee Muskie Hunters Club Member Milan Recman caught his second largest muskie in the fall of 2008, while fishing with Colby, a beautiful 46.5″er. Numerous fish in the mid to upper 40″ range were caught by Simms Outdoors Guides & Guests that year, with lots of days producing more than a half dozen muskie catches per day and many days in which 20 to 40 muskies were raised! Continue Reading »