Welcome to the BassBlaster, your daily email about all things bassin’. Hey – forward this Blaster to a bassin’ bud, willya?

*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*

Today’s Top 3

1. Lake Erie becoming more largie-friendly?

> Jeff Tyson, the head of Lake Erie fisheries management for the Division of Wildlife, explained that as a mesotrophic lake, Lake Erie contained moderate levels of phosphorus, prompting good production of native game fish [including smallies]. Increased levels of phosphorus, however, are changing Lake Erie into a eutrophic lake that is more favorable to those species of fish we usually catch and throw back.

> In other words, Lake Erie is becoming more friendly to catfish, common carp, sheepshead, white perch, largemouth bass and even crappie and bluegill.

> With very high concentrations of phosphorus, a eutrophic lake can evolve into a hypereutrophic lake, causing algal blooms in summer and fall and oxygen-starved waters that can result in fish kills. It’s an easy explanation for  fish dying this summer in both Ohio and Ontario near-shore areas of the Central Basin of Lake Erie.

> “In the late 1990s, our Lake Erie water quality surveys showed phosphorus in the range of 10 to 20 micrograms per liter of water,” said Tyson. “During 2011, the phosphorus average shot up to an average of 113 micrograms per liter.” That’s more than 10 times the phosphorus load of just 15 years ago….

> “We’ve been seeing some real dynamic changes in the makeup of the fish population in the near-shore areas of Lake Erie,” said Tyson. “There’s no question it’s an expression of water quality and the phosphorus overload.”

2. Champlain BFL won by…C-rigging!

Catching smallies on Champlain to win a non-tour-level derby – not unusual. And maybe using a Carolina rig there isn’t unusual either, but I’ve never heard of it before. Anyone?

Anyhow, Jamie Hartman of Newport, NY won last weekend’s super tournament there with a healthy 10 fish for 37-04, and here’s what he said about it:

“I fished the north end of the lake, targeting the big smallmouth. I fished the outside contour drops and stayed in the 12-15′ range. I fished soft plastics very slowly. The main technique for me was Carolina-rigging a Power Team Lures Craw D’oeuvre.”

He didn’t give a color, but here’s what one of those baits looks like:

3. What Rombama/Obamney says about fishing.

Yep, I see ’em as side of the same coin, get mad at me later if you need to. Anyhow, props to the folks who chased them down for this Q&A. Obama talks about resource protection a lot, Romney talks about the economy a lot, neither one of them fish.

Iif it’s not obvious, they fo sho didn’t fill out that survey themselves, so the value of it is…?

*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*

News

1. 2013 BFL schedule is out.

And the All-American is at: Nickajack, TN.

2. Collegiate Anglers partner with BassGold.

You fish college, you get the “gold” for free. Watch out for these college boys fellas, they’ll be takin’ your money!

*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*

Tip of the Day

Stephen Browning: Shallow fall tips.

> He’ll start at the very back end of a creek, then work his way out.

> “I like topwater baits, and I’ve always been a big double-prop guy. Something in a shad pattern is best. I like buzzbaits, too. Anything that imitates that gurgling sound of a shad getting busted by another fish, that’s what I start off with.”

> “I’d start with it in the very, very back end of creeks. What I look for is where you can almost see the bottom, then that little break. It’s a foot-and-a-half to two-foot break most of the time.”

> If he can’t find the action he wants on a topwater, he’ll switch to a spinnerbait or a shallow crankbait.

> When he switches to a crankbait, “….what I use it for is to dig around in the mud flats and chunk rock banks. I also roll it through timber and isolated logs in the back end of creeks.”

> “I think it’s more of a reaction bite. If you get a high sky — one of those bluebird days — and fish are extremely tight to cover, you can bang that crankbait in the cover and get them to react to it.”

> No matter the time of year, Browning will have a jig tied on. “I promise you that when a crawfish sticks its nose out of the dirt, no matter what time of year, he’s going to get eaten.”

*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*

 

Quote of the Day

Say you want to use some baits you don’t have a lot of – you might not want to throw those lures.

– Brent Chapman talking about fishing favorite baits on IL’s Lake Shelbyville during the All-Star this week.

 

Shot of the Day

Cool shot of a hookset or fight. Makes me wanna be out there!

*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*

Comment on any of these items here.