Here are a few big muskie baits painted by Mike Mcpherson.  Mike bought our painting DVD a few years ago and has become a Picasso lure painter.  The man can paint!  These belong in a glass case.  Check out the wonderbread pattern.  It's a classic!

Speaking of hungry fish.  Check out this 4 pound smallmouth I caught this summer with a channel catfish tail hanging out if its' throat.  You can see the tail.  This fish aggressively hit a shakey head after gulping down a large catfish with protuding pectoral spines.  That must have hurt and it was still on the hunt. 

If you haven't heard about the new version of the old umbrella rig (The Alabama Rig) you should check it out.  The internet has been buzzing with stories (including three major confirmed tournament wins) on this new  rig the last 3-4 weeks, and people have been paying outrageous prices for them on a certain internet auction site.  It appears to be the real deal although we have yet to make a cast with it. 

Suspended bass have always been difficult to catch.  This rig appears to fool them into biting when nothing else will. Check out this article on Wired2Fish with a less sophisticated (but apparently equally effective) version of the castable umbrella rig.  A massive amout of hardware and they still bite.  Not exactly a finesse presentation, but I guess the multiple baits creates an illusion of a bait ball the fish just can't resist.  Give them an easy meal that they have to eat or let go by and they often bite.  Look for an Amistad version of the castable umbrella rig in the near future.

Congratulations to friend Keith Combs for winning the Toyota Texas Bass Clasic held on Lake Conroe last week.  Keith and competitor Mike Iaconelli brought in three consecutive limits that exceeded 20 pounds and then, unbelievably, they had identical weights after three days.  Both were sent out for a sudden death fish off and Keith caught a 15 incher to win the event.  It was quite a performance by both anglers.  Keith also won big bass of the tourney with a 10.9 pounder on day one.  It's good to see a young local angler do well on a national stage.  Keith has worked extremely hard and has made his own success.  Photo credits to Larry Hodge, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Here are several colors of "ghost" DT16 knockoffs and a Buzzjet knockoff.  These are super effective in clear water.  We can paint these for you, or buy our crankbaiting DVD and learn to paint.  Email us and we'll custom paint them for you at $11.99 a bait (includes bait and hooks).  The DT knockoffs are also available in DT 6 and DT 10 blanks.  All the ghost baits are killer!

Check out this big popper I foiled and painted in a baby bass pattern.  I also shaved the lip on the big bait so it would spit better.  I added a feathered treble to the back for a litlle more appeal.  In the lower photo I am holding a standard size Pop-R for size comparison.  I am modifying that bait also.  When I want a big bite or am on a big fish lake like Falcon I'll give the big popper a try. 

Our popular 1 oz. and 3/4 oz. flutter spoons are back in stock.  These are great for summer ledge fishing.  Check out the North American Fisherman article by Mark Hicks  on this technique in our blog (bottom of page).  We have a new gold plate spoon available in the 1 ounce size.  A photo will be up soon.

Hot weather means the bigger fish will be out deep.  A big crankbait and spoon are a great way to catch them this time of year.  Add in a big Texas rig worm and a Carolina rig and you have the bases covered.  The photo is an example of some of our recent custom painting work on the deep one-two punch.  We will be offering a new gold finish spoon soon.  Check out our spoon page for links to information on how to fish the big spoon.

Check out part of the 19.15 pound tournament bag caught by Will Chiao and Rick Jamerson on the Sandy River.  One of their best fish was caught on our 1/16 oz. Dock Skipper fluke bait.  Nice work guys!  If you haven't fished a fluke on a weighted hook you're missing out on one of the best fish catching combinations ever. 

Check out Steve Magnelia's (co-owner Amistad Tackle) article on the Spro Little John DD on BassParade.  It was posted on May 11, 2011.  This is his new favorite deep diver.  Editorial comments from Bassparade founder Jay Kumar.  Amistad can paint this in your favorite color if you don't like the standard colors from SPRO.

Check out this beautiful smallmouth bass caught by Aaron Walters on Kentucky Lake.  It's a toad!

Check out the work from a few our crankbait painting DVD customers Richard Morrison (top) and Kevin Hartman.  Beautiful work guys!

Check out the bassmaster coverage of baits used at the Lake Murray event.  Check out the Buckeye brand wakebait Davy Hite used to catch some of his fish.  Looks familiar.

Check out the double digit hawgs caught by Kevin Pyle and Jay Zapp on the Amistad Tackle Head Banger II jighead and Jackall Flick Shake worm in March 2011.  These were all caught on a public lake in Mississippi.    The weights of these fish were 11 pounds 8 ounces (top photo), 10 pounds 8 ounces and 10 pounds 4 ounces (Jays fish).

Kevin says,  "I have tried this technique for three years.  I have tried every jighead that I could find for this.  The Head Banger II is now without a doubt my favorite jighead for this, you guys got it right, excellent job.  As people can see the small hook will hook and land large fish without a problem."  Kevin reported while he catches a lot of fish with this technique on the initial fall all these fish were caught shaking the jighead and worm on the bottom during the retrieve.

All we can says is a big thanks for the photos and great job to you and Jay on the hawgs!

Mark Luedke shows off a 7 pounder caught on Fayette County Lake, Texas on a 1/8 oz. Head Banger II and a Senko.  Hair courtesy of Yamaha.