Welcome to the BassBlaster, your daily email about all things bassin'. Take a sec to forward this Blaster to a bassin' bud, willya?

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Today's Top 3

Out hunting all next week but will endeavor to get a Blaster out or two. If you miss your daily dose o' bassin', well…no tears.


1. No more fluoro for spinning?

> If you’ve ever studied knots and how they’re formed, as well as how they break under pressure, you’ll find that one of the causes of knot failure is due to a weakening that starts with rotation of the line within the knot.

> The more twisted the fluorocarbon line segment tested, the easier it was to break – twisted fluorocarbon line was simply not as strong as untwisted fluoro line.

> The more twists per length of line, the less the overall breaking strength. Researchers started with 3 twists per foot, and that fluorocarbon broke at about 80% of full strength. By the time they got to 9 twists (full revolutions) per foot, the fluorocarbon had weakened to about 55%.

2. Don't put crankbaits in your pocket!

From Alton Jones' Facebook page:

My friend Pat Curry just sent his son Coleman over to my house. Coleman was taking his sweatshirt out of the dryer and found this XCalibur XCS-100 in his pocket the hard way. Note to self…don't put crankbaits in my pocket. I used the "line trick" and extracted the hook painlessly from his finger.

Great short vid of Alton removing the hook on his FB page here.

3. VA: Help the Rapp get the bass back.

Help get a once-great fishery back to where it should be:

> The initiative to replenish largemouth bass populations in the tidal Rappahannock River is gathering momentum.

> A major fundraiser planned for Oct. 20 is expected to generate enough revenue to purchase tens of thousands of fingerling bass.

> The Rappahannock River Largemouth Bass Restocking Benefit is scheduled for the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds. The event will run from 2 to 7 p.m. and costs $20 per person. Kids under age 12 get in free.

> “It’s going to be very family-oriented. We’ll have a moon bounce and small train to pull kids around the fairgrounds. We also have a casting contest. Children can bring their own rods and reels if desired, but we’ll have some there for any youngster to use.”

> Anglers have been fretting about Rappahannock bass populations, especially below Port Royal, for several years. Many anglers point the finger of blame at the devastating drought in 2002 when saltwater took over and decimated much of the traditional underwater habitat.

Several anglers and businesses have already donated. Call Bruce Lee at 540-226-2047 to make a donation. One more thing:

> The invasive northern snakehead fish, which is now being found in large numbers in the Potomac River tributaries, is now in the Rappahannock River system.

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Tip of the Day

Froggin' Southern cheese.

> After weeds begin to die in Northern lakes, bass move to the deep weedlines. Sometimes northern pike take over the slop as those caverns open up underneath. Sometimes nothing lives in there. Not so in Southern lakes, where the topwater bite just gets better and better right through November.

> “Any time I’m fishing weeds matted on the surface, a hollow frog is my first choice,” says guide and former Elite pro Jimmy Mason. “I use a Booyah Pad Crasher because it’s a good all-around frog. It walks really well over the mats, never snags in the grass and it has a very high hookup rate for a frog."

> As the weeds decay, they gradually change from a thick, impenetrable mat of bright green to a foamy, floating brown mess pocked with openings. The mats become very discolored. Brown and black areas will be hollow underneath and that’s what I look for….

>  “Any mat resting over a ledge or underwater hump becomes a key spot,” Mason said.

> "After finding something like that, I’m looking for drag marks where bass have been hauled across the mats by other fishermen. Nobody can catch them all, and whatever attracted those fish to the spot will attract more.”

> “I start fishing it pretty fast with a twitching retrieve or a fast steady reel, just racing it across the mats,” Mason said. “I do that until I get that first bite then I slow down — move it a foot and pause. If a bass explodes on it and misses, I reel in fast and put it right back on that same spot, so accuracy is important."

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Quote of the Day

My cameraman, Mark Copley of Strike King, stepped toward me when I was turning the boat and in the process of making a cast. My spinnerbait caught him on the cheek and ripped him pretty good.

– KVD. How'd you like to get smacked with a forward cast from "the man?!" Here's the pic Mark texted in:

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Shot of the Day

From the FL Fish and Wildlife Commission website: "A citizen from Pompano Beach found what appeared to be a giant eye." Ya think?!

Pretty durn cool, though. A better story would be if this was found on the shores of Guntersville or Erie.

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