What does Fritts really do?

keithdog · 12-28-07, 10:56 PM

I was reading an article in the new Indiana Game & Fish magazine. The article is written by Dan Kibler, and it is about crankbait fishing. In it, the article contains 9 tips from David Fritts to become a better crankbait fisherman. There is one thing I would like to bring up. First off, Fritts talks about the nessesity of downsizing your treble hooks. This he says will improve the lures action, and secondly, the smaller hooks will hold a fish more securly than larger trebles. He claims using smaller hooks will cut your numers of lost fish by 80%. Then in the next breath, he says he uses VMC Sure Set hooks on all his crankbaits BECAUSE those treble hooks have one oversized hook. He then tells you where you want the BIG hooks possitioned on the bait. Does this sound like a contradiction to anyone else or am I misreading what he is trying to say?

I found it funny also that the picture of Fritts holding a large bass clearly shows a crankbait hanging from the lip of the bass, and there are no VMC Sure Set hooks on that bait.

zooker · 12-28-07, 11:09 PM

just because fritts designed it don't mean he uses them..the new rage is to down size your hooks -i think this is bull sh!t my self- the sure set hooks are unique in design but i am not fond of them.. fritts gets PAID to mention the sure set hooks so every time a hook is mentioned. he'll will throw in the sure set hooks..

hard to belive but he used to fish from a lil 12 foot jon boat. no depthfinder, no moter, just oars. there is NO question the man is good..i have met him several times..

zooker

pig n jig · 12-29-07, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zooker

there is NO question the man is good..

zooker

He was either good enough, or lucky enough to win a few big tournaments. I beleive he is just another ordinary average guy, who's image was blown completely out of proportion, purely for profit.
I was a damned fool for falling for the marketing scheme, drumming him up to the grandest illusions in their advertisements and then putting the Fritts name on their products and reaping the rewards for their effort. In saying that, his name was marketed with some very good products, but they wouldn't have sold nearly as well as if his name weren't associated with the product.
He is my hero, a guy who continues to make a decent living, all stemming from going out there and fishing as well as he could have possibly done. By winning at something he loves to do. It don't get any better than that.

Perhaps, he might have just been another Paul Elias, if the companies didn't siege the moment, to employ his accomplishments in a new marketing scheme . Embellishing the name to an almost god like status, for a successful product profit exchange.
I just wish they would portray him as he really was. A guy out there on the water, every chance he got. Enjoying the time he spent fishing crankbaits....

while tobacco juice ran down his chin.

P N J

bassinbob · 12-29-07, 10:40 AM

I was thinking of getting one of his reels. The low ratio reel. Anyone use this reel. Are they good for cranking as most of my reels are a higher ratio?

zooker · 12-29-07, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassinbob

I was thinking of getting one of his reels. The low ratio reel. Anyone use this reel. Are they good for cranking as most of my reels are a higher ratio?

yes bob they are as close to an lews bb1n as you can get. they do take some gettin used to -the open design-i have one as a back up for my abu winch..

probly one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet in person...

zooker

3dkicker · 12-30-07, 12:34 PM

Met him in '99 just before Rapala was coming out with the Hot Mustard Risto Raps. He weighed in 14+ of smallies from Wash DC on the crankbait. Nice guy.

What hooks are on Lucky Craft crankbaits? VMC? I've used Gammies and Mustad Triple Grips but I like the LC hooks better.

JB · 12-30-07, 12:37 PM

I met him at the convention center in the winter of 94, along with my hero Paul Elias. Bassmaster had one article after another on boths crankbaiting techniques. It took me awhile to finally figure out how the magazines that are sponcered by lure comanies feature guys that "use" thier product and win..
Fritts could figure where to crank offshore when everyone else was beating the banks.

keithdog · 12-30-07, 06:37 PM

I remember exactly that happened to us one time JB. My father and I were fishing Lake Tarpin in Florida, and had been working the usual shoreline features in shallower water for a few hours. My parents lived right near the lake at the time. Around 11 AM, we heard one of those blow horns boaters keep for signaling and spotted a boat owned by a friend of my dads about a 1/4 mile off shore. Dad, thinking his buddy had boat trouble, fired up the outboard and headed out to him. When we got to Eds boat, Ed said he wanted to tell us that he was killing them way off shore, along and over the top of a submerged weedbed in 20 feet of water. For three days before I had to fly back home, we were catching a bass on about every third cast. This weedbed was about 50 yards wide and several hundred yards long. As long as we were fishing that bed, we had the time of our life. And it had to be a jointed minnow type bait in silver with black back. We were using a Reble jointed minnow. They called them broken backs down there. We had a couple in gold, but they wouldn't touch it. Had other cranks in silver also. They wouldn't touch them either. But the broken back, they would attack with vengence. It was one of those times when the bass knew exactly what they wanted and nothing other than that one lure in that one color would catch a darn thing.

1FASTLASER · 12-31-07, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

What hooks are on Lucky Craft crankbaits? VMC? I've used Gammies and Mustad Triple Grips but I like the LC hooks better.

I am sure ifn I am wrong someone will chime in and correct me but I am fairly confident that LC uses the Daiichi death trap hooks n all there baits.

1FASTLASER · 12-31-07, 09:59 AM

I agree with alot that has been said but I must admit that Fritts being what he is is the ONLY person that I personally beleive could have pulled off the 3 yes thats 3 back to back wins in the FLW that netted him over $330,000.00 a few years back and doing it the way he does it.CRANKING Yes once you find those offshore bass they are relatively easy to catch but the trick is FINDING them and staying with em. It takes a special breed of person to stay out in the middle of nowhere throwing at absolutley nothing for several hours a day and coming in with the respectable numbers he did to accomplish that.

ROBZILLA · 12-31-07, 10:38 AM

The hooks actually give you a elongated strike zone. And the hook actually sits higher up on the back end of the bait. instead of being under the bait it slightly sits on the upper tail end of the bait. And if you ever had the hit "which many have" and those who said they haven't are liars! where the bass hits the tail end of the bait and you miss the hook set. This bumps up your chances of making the hook set. I think it's a fair to good hook. but better than the standard treble.

bassnman30 · 12-31-07, 11:23 AM

Lucky Craft does use the Diaichi hooks, but I think that it's the size three or five.
If you've ever been to the David Fritts outdoor's you'll see that he has won alot more than what you see on TV. He's won some of the "Redman" (now it's BFL) as well as some big tournaments on the local seen. Oh, and he works in his garden.

3dkicker · 12-31-07, 06:32 PM

If you get a chance, talk to Jerry Lohr about fishing with Fritts. He was his team partner for years in NC. Jerry says that Fritts won him many boats and trucks. By the way, Jerry makes his own crankbaits and has some very interesting ideas on what makes a good crankbait.

Here's a little of what Fritts has to say about Jerry
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/...nfluences.html

pig n jig · 12-31-07, 09:07 PM

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-HBCUSTOMIZE.html

Here in the link are Lucky craft hooks and split rings.I am not sure who they are made by. P N J

3dkicker · 01-01-08, 01:55 PM

PnJ - Thanks for the link.

At first I couldn't find who makes them but I've found it. It is VMC....

"Lucky Craft hooks are made by VMC, chemically sharpned by Daiichi Hook of Japan. HOOK#4BLK (SAMMY85/100/115, LV500Belly) HOOK#5SLV (POITER100) HOOK#6BLK (POINTER78, STAYSEE90, FLASHMINNOW95/110, BEVYSHAD75, SAMMY65, CB200, CB350, LV100, LV500tail) HOOK#8BLK = FLASHMINNOW80, BEVYCRANK45, BEVYSHAD60 HOOK#6FEN = G-Splash, Gunfish95"

bassthumb32 · 01-02-08, 09:39 AM

pnj i disagree about him being good. he was the first one to throw crankbaits into brush and fish crankbaits deep now everyone does it and it is no big secret. but at the time it was the first time a fish had seen that presentation.

12-28-07, 10:56 PM	#1
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	What does Fritts really do? I was reading an article in the new Indiana Game & Fish magazine. The article is written by Dan Kibler, and it is about crankbait fishing. In it, the article contains 9 tips from David Fritts to become a better crankbait fisherman. There is one thing I would like to bring up. First off, Fritts talks about the nessesity of downsizing your treble hooks. This he says will improve the lures action, and secondly, the smaller hooks will hold a fish more securly than larger trebles. He claims using smaller hooks will cut your numers of lost fish by 80%. Then in the next breath, he says he uses VMC Sure Set hooks on all his crankbaits BECAUSE those treble hooks have one oversized hook. He then tells you where you want the BIG hooks possitioned on the bait. Does this sound like a contradiction to anyone else or am I misreading what he is trying to say? I found it funny also that the picture of Fritts holding a large bass clearly shows a crankbait hanging from the lip of the bass, and there are no VMC Sure Set hooks on that bait.

12-28-07, 11:09 PM	#2
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	just because fritts designed it don't mean he uses them..the new rage is to down size your hooks -i think this is bull sh!t my self- the sure set hooks are unique in design but i am not fond of them.. fritts gets PAID to mention the sure set hooks so every time a hook is mentioned. he'll will throw in the sure set hooks.. hard to belive but he used to fish from a lil 12 foot jon boat. no depthfinder, no moter, just oars. there is NO question the man is good..i have met him several times.. zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

12-31-07, 09:59 AM	#10
1FASTLASER BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: crossett,arkansas Posts: 2,777	I agree with alot that has been said but I must admit that Fritts being what he is is the ONLY person that I personally beleive could have pulled off the 3 yes thats 3 back to back wins in the FLW that netted him over $330,000.00 a few years back and doing it the way he does it.CRANKING Yes once you find those offshore bass they are relatively easy to catch but the trick is FINDING them and staying with em. It takes a special breed of person to stay out in the middle of nowhere throwing at absolutley nothing for several hours a day and coming in with the respectable numbers he did to accomplish that. __________________ Laser's rule with Merc's doing the pushing..........KEEP THE WETSIDE DOWN AND THE DRY SIDE UP!!!!!!

12-31-07, 10:38 AM	#11
ROBZILLA BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Markham, Ontario, CANADA Posts: 1,901	The hooks actually give you a elongated strike zone. And the hook actually sits higher up on the back end of the bait. instead of being under the bait it slightly sits on the upper tail end of the bait. And if you ever had the hit "which many have" and those who said they haven't are liars! where the bass hits the tail end of the bait and you miss the hook set. This bumps up your chances of making the hook set. I think it's a fair to good hook. but better than the standard treble. __________________ Hang E'm High Till The Gills Go DRY! BARRIE,ONTARIO,CANADA

12-31-07, 11:23 AM	#12
bassnman30 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lexington,NC-Worlds best BBQ. Posts: 1,945	Lucky Craft does use the Diaichi hooks, but I think that it's the size three or five. If you've ever been to the David Fritts outdoor's you'll see that he has won alot more than what you see on TV. He's won some of the "Redman" (now it's BFL) as well as some big tournaments on the local seen. Oh, and he works in his garden. __________________ Lexington,NC.

12-29-07, 10:40 AM	#4
bassinbob BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pitts. Pa. Posts: 3,801	I was thinking of getting one of his reels. The low ratio reel. Anyone use this reel. Are they good for cranking as most of my reels are a higher ratio? __________________ you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands

12-30-07, 12:34 PM	#6
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	Met him in '99 just before Rapala was coming out with the Hot Mustard Risto Raps. He weighed in 14+ of smallies from Wash DC on the crankbait. Nice guy. What hooks are on Lucky Craft crankbaits? VMC? I've used Gammies and Mustad Triple Grips but I like the LC hooks better. __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com

12-30-07, 12:37 PM	#7
JB BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 8,655	I met him at the convention center in the winter of 94, along with my hero Paul Elias. Bassmaster had one article after another on boths crankbaiting techniques. It took me awhile to finally figure out how the magazines that are sponcered by lure comanies feature guys that "use" thier product and win.. Fritts could figure where to crank offshore when everyone else was beating the banks.

12-30-07, 06:37 PM	#8
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	I remember exactly that happened to us one time JB. My father and I were fishing Lake Tarpin in Florida, and had been working the usual shoreline features in shallower water for a few hours. My parents lived right near the lake at the time. Around 11 AM, we heard one of those blow horns boaters keep for signaling and spotted a boat owned by a friend of my dads about a 1/4 mile off shore. Dad, thinking his buddy had boat trouble, fired up the outboard and headed out to him. When we got to Eds boat, Ed said he wanted to tell us that he was killing them way off shore, along and over the top of a submerged weedbed in 20 feet of water. For three days before I had to fly back home, we were catching a bass on about every third cast. This weedbed was about 50 yards wide and several hundred yards long. As long as we were fishing that bed, we had the time of our life. And it had to be a jointed minnow type bait in silver with black back. We were using a Reble jointed minnow. They called them broken backs down there. We had a couple in gold, but they wouldn't touch it. Had other cranks in silver also. They wouldn't touch them either. But the broken back, they would attack with vengence. It was one of those times when the bass knew exactly what they wanted and nothing other than that one lure in that one color would catch a darn thing.

12-31-07, 06:32 PM	#13
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	If you get a chance, talk to Jerry Lohr about fishing with Fritts. He was his team partner for years in NC. Jerry says that Fritts won him many boats and trucks. By the way, Jerry makes his own crankbaits and has some very interesting ideas on what makes a good crankbait. Here's a little of what Fritts has to say about Jerry http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/...nfluences.html __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com

12-31-07, 09:07 PM	#14
pig n jig BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Avoca, NY Posts: 3,508	http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-HBCUSTOMIZE.html Here in the link are Lucky craft hooks and split rings.I am not sure who they are made by. P N J

01-01-08, 01:55 PM	#15
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	PnJ - Thanks for the link. At first I couldn't find who makes them but I've found it. It is VMC.... "Lucky Craft hooks are made by VMC, chemically sharpned by Daiichi Hook of Japan. HOOK#4BLK (SAMMY85/100/115, LV500Belly) HOOK#5SLV (POITER100) HOOK#6BLK (POINTER78, STAYSEE90, FLASHMINNOW95/110, BEVYSHAD75, SAMMY65, CB200, CB350, LV100, LV500tail) HOOK#8BLK = FLASHMINNOW80, BEVYCRANK45, BEVYSHAD60 HOOK#6FEN = G-Splash, Gunfish95" __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com Last edited by 3dkicker; 01-01-08 at 02:04 PM.

01-02-08, 09:39 AM	#16
bassthumb32 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Fort Loudon, PA Posts: 682	pnj i disagree about him being good. he was the first one to throw crankbaits into brush and fish crankbaits deep now everyone does it and it is no big secret. but at the time it was the first time a fish had seen that presentation. __________________ MY LIFETIME GOAL IS TO KEEP AT LEAST A SMALL CASE OF BASSTHUMB FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

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