Andrew Ragas
Cortland Pro Staff
Fishing Headquarters and Ragas Fishing
Phone: 708-256-2201
E-mail:
andrew@fishing-headquarters.com
Andrew, tell me a
little about what you're fishing for most of the time? What's you favorite
species to target?
I
fish for most freshwater species I have access to. But most of the time I am
fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass, and muskies - these are undoubtedly
my favorites and my specialties. I tend to dedicate the bulk of my spring and
summer months to bass while early summer through late fall go to muskies.
I
fish for other species as well which includes walleyes, northern pike, panfish,
river redhorse and other cool looking assorted sucker species. To best describe
my angling mentality, I am a multi-species angler and couldn't imagine it any
other way. Occasionally I will dabble with coldwater fishes such as trout and
salmon throughout the Great Lakes region
whether it's on the lakes or their feeder tributaries.
With three websites, you must have to spend a lot of time out on the water to get enough content - does fishing ever feel like a job to you?
With three websites, you must have to spend a lot of time out on the water to get enough content - does fishing ever feel like a job to you?
When
there isn't any ice on the lakes, I spend a lot of time on the water, probably
more than I normally should. May through October I put in close to 70-80 days
on the water primarily in Northern Wisconsin
where I fish most often. If not up north, another 20 to 40 days are added
throughout the Great Lakes and rivers of the Northern
Illinois region.
The
two websites I have are Fishing-Headquarters.com and Ragasfishing.com. Fishing-Headquarters
started out as my personal homepage in 2005 that quickly drew a large following
with fan base. We've since grown into an online fishing publication
(bi-monthly/seasonal magazine) that caters to multi-species fishing. I do web
and graphic design to make a living therefore I am allowed to combine my
talents and skills which then translates into my passion for fishing. We
typically run 5 to 6 issues per calendar year. Besides the magazine, we have a
web format site with videos, articles, product reviews, blogs, angling
promotions and other informational content. Luckily this site isn't a one-man
show as I have a great group of friends who help and contribute content to the
cause.
Meanwhile,
my personal site Ragasfishing.com is used to showcase myself, my
accomplishments, and what I do within the industry. I use it as an influential
platform to highlight and promote my sponsors and supporters, write about
products I use, and archive my published articles, photos, and other fishing
related media.
Nowadays,
fishing and everything I do within it feels like a secondary day job. Some
nights I'm up late writing articles, trying to meet publisher and personal deadlines.
Then I have to fit in time on the water to field test products and hopefully
catch fish for my own personal enjoyment. Even though fishing doesn't fully pay
the bills yet, I'd say fishing is more of a personal responsibility rather than
a job. Luckily my real day job of being a designer helps support my fishing
addiction, and gives me the luxury of being able to travel to wherever and fish
almost whenever I want.
I'm sure you've experienced some crazy things out on the water...what is the craziest thing that has happened to you while fishing?
The
craziest things I encounter is while slinging musky baits. Throughout Wisconsin I frequently have
Loons follow my baits back to boatside, and literally follow me around the lake.
Those birds are annoying opportunistic feeders for sure, and unafraid. Their
aggression has, on occasion, driven me off the lake and forced me to fish
elsewhere.
When did you start usingCortland
Products? What is the Cortland
product that you use the most?
When did you start using
I
began using Cortland
products in 2009. As I grew more into musky fishing, Spectron was the primary
line I started to use. I loved it. Since then I've expanded to Masterbraid. I
love it even more.
Now a days
I primarily use Masterbraid for my muskies and pike. For my bass fishing, I use Camo most often and for walleyes and panfish, I
fish with Endurance.
Of
all my rods and reels (I have too many to count), about half are spooled with
Masterbraid while most of the others are with Camo.
How do you feel about
As
a website and graphic designer, I think it's fantastic the company is trying to
build a stronger presence on the web through social media and the pending new
website. These tools will increase sales, help promote product and bring
traffic into the company. I am excited for the new website and cannot wait to
see it. However, don't be surprised to hear some designer critiques from me!
When
the ownership group changed during summer 2012, I thought that was a great
positive step towards the future and success of the company. Being a part of
the Cortland
family and this transition towards the future, I hope to contribute
significantly through my media, communication, and fishing skills.
Thanks, Andrew.Cortland
loves having you on board as one of the Pro Staff members. Is there anything
else you'd like to add? Thanks!
Thanks, Andrew.
For
the future, I would like to see Cortland
expand its line of monofilaments and copolymers like certain other companies
are with their introduction of hybrid lines, sun lines, and specialty tech.
advanced lines.... P-Line is one such example, as is Seaguar and Berkley .
Another
thing would be the introduction of Cortland Fluorocarbon. Fluoro is extremely
important for all things fishing, and is a huge player nowadays for walleyes
and bass. Spools of quality fluorocarbon in varying test strengths would
benefit all freshwater fishermen and be useful tools for people using braid,
fishing fluoro as-is, or using it for leader materials and live bait snells.
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