Artificially Acquired

This page documents Tray Collins' journey through the salt marshes of Louisiana and the rivers and lakes of Texas as he fishes from a plastic craft with artificial lures, while targeting fresh and saltwater game fish.

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River Bassin' Tournament: San Marcos, TX On May 16, 2015 the River Bassin' Tournament Trail is headed to San Marcos, TX for the first of three tournaments this year.  

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#throwbackthursday - nope, here's a #MotivationMorning post for the guys/gals who catch fish that are #ArtificiallyAcquired. #customlures by @kayak_angler_tray_collins #lure #fishing #bassfishing #bass #bass_nation #handpour #motivation #lunker #largemouth #jacksonkayak #riverfishing #nobob

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Kayak Bass Fishing - Shallow In December?

Kayak Bass Fishing – Shallow In December?

Shallow Kayak Bass Fishing In December By Tray Collins

I rarely target shallow water after the beginning of December. The cold fronts usually began to roll through and the water temps drop fast, especially in the shallowest parts of the river. This temperature change cause prey to move to deeper water, and the bass follow. I usually stay off this river because of this this, but the weather has…

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Jackson's Cuda LT - Lighter, Faster, and More Stable

Jackson’s Cuda LT – Lighter, Faster, and More Stable

The Cuda LT – Lighter, Faster, and More Stable

A light kayak is really important for small water fishing. Logs, trees, rocks, other objects and structures cause us kayak anglers to pull over, go under, and portage around them. All of this can be done in a heavy kayak, but it’s a task that can leave you worn out if you’ve brought along all the gear you own, as we often do.

To help us out with this…

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Christmas Gifts for Fishermen - 5 Fail Proof Gifts

Every year we struggle with buying the perfect gift for someone whose passion is something we know very little, if anything, about. Many people rely on store employees or other shoppers for shopping advice, but the items they suggest usually end with the same result as a gift card – you get a smile and a thank you, but no real excitement. Then you’re left with reciting the old adage “it’s the…

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A Duck Hunter's Dream

A Duck Hunter’s Dream

Have you seen the Jackson’s Reeltree Edition Kilroy? The camouflage deck is unreal, I can really see the benefits for kayak anglers that transition from fishing to hunting once the cooler months roll in. (more…)

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Bass On The Fly

Bass On The Fly

I’ve been silently pushing into the world of fly fishing for the last 8 or so months,  I must admit it’s really addicting.  Even if it’s (more…)

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River Runnin' 5/17/14

River Runnin’ 5/17/14 http://wp.me/p4ee1n-ls

My kayaks have been high and dry for the past month, as I’ve been working on a custom piece for my kayak.  My last trip was to a nearby creek for a first run in my Jackson Kilroy.  I was really impressed by how stealth it is, it allowed me to sneak up on my personal best from the creek.

This past weekend I headed to the river to test out the piece I’ve been working on.  I brought along a couple…

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Did You Know #3

Did You Know #3

DidYouKnow #3 By Tray Collins

Do you know the importance of matching your paddle with you paddling style?

Early on I only paddled short distances in protected areas, I didn’t learn the importance of a good paddle, or paddle stroke, until I began fishing locations miles away from where I launched.  The elements taught me (more…)

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Power Pole Micro-ing Jackson Kayak's Top 3

Power Pole Micro-ing Jackson Kayak’s Top 3

From the owner of the company down to the factory workers, there’s a lot of fishing that goes on over at Jackson Kayak.  I personally think it’s really important for those within a paddle sports company to partake in the activities for which they design for.  Damon Bungard, Product Manager at Jackson Kayak, runs rivers in some of Jackson’s whitewater kayaks and fishes from some of the kayaks that…

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Left the scale at home in another kayak, but she was 23" long and had a nice egg filled belly. After a year of stalking her I finally got her to commit. Sometimes the big girls are picky. #jacksonkayak #tacklewarehouse #artificiallyacquired #CatchAndRelease #thewaterismystadium #thefishermansjournal #prespawn #lunker #bassfishing #pushingwater #abugarcia #ratltrap

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The ideas are endless but this sit inside keeps crushing them one by one. Rigging my anchor system hasn't been easy, done for tonight. #jacksonkayak #kilroy #RiggingHerRight

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Visited @betweenthebridgescustomfishing This weekend and poured up some black magic flukes. Check them out here on Instagram, they pour some nice plastics! #customplastics #doitmolds #tacklewarehouse #bassfishing #flukes #bucketmouth #lunker

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Added some color to the fleet. #jacksonkayak #kilroy #custom

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DidYouKnow #2

DidYouKnow #2

By Tray Collins

Do you know about The River Bassin’ Tournament Trail?

The River Bassin’ Tournament Trail is a bass series presented by Jackson Kayak.  The Trail has 35 stops spanning from Texas to Massachusetts consisting of 26 local tournaments, 8 regional tournaments, and a National championship hosted from Southern Trails in Wetumpka, Alabama. (more…)

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Turning The Page, On To Something New

Turning The Page, On To Something New

I’m Waiting on two new Jackson Kayaks for this year.  I’m thinking the truck will be here by the end of the week. I had to interrupt production with a custom color, I’m itching to see how it came out.

I’m keeping my ’12 Cuda 14 for open water like lakes, bays, and large marsh areas.  No BigRig for me, last year I pulled my Cuda up hills, through woods, over trees in the river, and through shallow…

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Nice sized package by the door...looks like I have to report for duty! Going to go get some bass photos for my April article in The Fisherman's Journal. #BerkleyFishing #BassFishing #FreshwaterSniper #ArtificiallyAcquired