redfish , they are in a lot of spots that hold trout in fall ; the reds will cruise up and down the shoreline looking for food . They ’ ll also be back in the ponds in the shallow water looking for bait . We ’ ll be doing that after we finish catching these trout . The fall fishing is incredible .”
Steve and Erick were using the EBS Grand Slam cork with live shrimp , and I was fishing with the PoBoy 90 shrimp . We all had hits on our first casts , and started bringing in trout almost every cast . I switched over to the Walking Boss II topwater and immediately had a trout . The hits kept coming on the topwater . Half the hits would come when I would stop the lure , let it sit , and let the sound do the work . The trout couldn ’ t resist . Over on Capt . Matt ’ s boat , Wild Bill , Robert , and Steve were having the same luck for trout on the PoBoy 90 shrimp and live shrimp under the EBS Grand Slam cork . Wild Bill and Steve also picked up a couple of big , beautiful redfish on live shrimp under the EBS Grand Slam cork .
The topwater bite ended early , but we continued to catch trout under the EBS Grand Slam corks until about 9AM . Due to the bite slowing and approaching thunderstorms from the south , we headed back into the marsh to go after redfish in some of the shallow ponds .
We got into the Oak River area , and headed
34
Let me tell you , Chris Legrand and his whole staff took really great care of us . The food was insane : seared tuna , lightly fried fresh Louisiana oysters , oyster and artichoke soup , and fresh Louisiana soft shell crab . Yes , please , to all of the above .
We headed back to the lodge , as we had an early start the next day to make the nearly hour drive to Delacroix . The waters around Delacroix had not been affected by the flood runoffs , and Capt . Casey had been on the trout and big reds . We were anxious to try the lures on the trout .
We got up and drove down to meet Capt . Casey and his friend , Capt . Matt McCabe , who had come down with his boat to give us extra room to fish and enable us to fish multiple areas to ensure we found good fish . We left before daylight and ran to the northern edge of Black Bay . As light was just peeking up , Capt . Casey pulled up to a point , and directed Capt . Matt to a nearby point .
As we trolled into position , Capt . Casey filled us in on why we were fishing here . He said , “ In fall , we fish a lot of areas that we were fishing in April . The fish are transitioning back into the marsh , and are coming into spots where they were in April when they were transitioning out to spawn . They ’ re coming in hungry after a summer of spawning . We ’ ll fish topwater early , then live shrimp or plastics under a popping cork . And when I ’ m looking at my spots to fish , I ’ m going to pick the ones that have clean water , current , and bait ; and I look for an oyster shell bottom . The spot we ’ re fishing now has a shell bottom , there is current , and you can see the bait around . For the
September 2016 www . marshandbayou . com
Q & A with Livingston Lures ’
Erick Arnoldson
How did the idea come about to use baitfish sound in a lure ?
Basically Robert ( Castaneda ) kept having trouble finding live bait such as croakers or shrimp ; it seemed what little live bait that was available would sell out to charter captains . After a frustrating day of fishing , Robert came home to a birthday card , one of those that play music when you open it ; he opened the card , and heard the music playing . That ’ s when it hit him , “ How can I put sound in a lure ?” He set out to make lures with a baitfish sound , and that ’ s how Livingston Lures started .
How do you get your sound ? E . A : We have a patent on the technology , and we work with Texas State University ; TSU has been instrumental , just great research . They have a grant to do the research testing the sounds and recording them in the wild . They then synthesize the sound to eliminate any white noise .
What type of battery do you use in the lures ? The EBS technology is powered by a water activated battery inside each lure . Our batteries are a lithium coin cell which is the latest technology used in watch batteries .
How long is the battery life ? Shelf life ( keeping the lure in the package and never opening it ) is two years . Once you start fishing with the lure or activate it in water , the lure has a 200-hour life . This means if you leave it in the water , the lure will make sound for 200 continuous hours . The lure only makes sound when it ’ s in the water ; if you keep it dry and store it in a place with no condensation , it will last up to 2 years .
Are the batteries replaceable or rechargeable ? They are not , however , because they are only water activated , anglers experience extensive battery life . Livingston Lures is exploring all power source options for future productions which may include those features .
Some of your lures have an LED light . What is behind that ? We conducted tests with many different LED configurations . The only LED feature we found that caused a reactionary / predatory strike when in close distance with a fish is the LED feature we have inside our lures . The LED function is a subtle fade in and fade out every 12 seconds . The light is green ( as opposed to the UV blue lights in our freshwater lures ) and gives an added visual attraction that , in combination with our EBS Technology , is a killer combo for catching more fish .
What do you do to make the lures saltwater resistant ? Our saltwater lures use stainless steel anodized Mustad Onyx hooks and have a heavier gauge making them corrosion resistant .
Can we expect a wide variety of saltwater lures to come out ? Most definitely ! The Walking Boss I and II are out , in a variety of colors ; and very soon the EBS Grand Slam Popping Cork will be out , as well as our shrimp , frogs , and a variety of other lures with our EBS technology .