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How bassin’ manners have changed.
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Thomas Jefferson Kriet tells how tourney manners have changed, and he did it WITH good manners himself. He could’ve complained or whatever, but didn’t.
Love the story about “Gentleman” George Cochran and the Denny Brauer comment. Believe me, if the old-time B.A.S.S. guys had had a camera in their boats, some of their reps would a little different hahaha! Just intense competitors….
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Will this be the next big bladed bait?
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Honestly have no idea, but an interesting story from the young dudes at Tamarack Fishing who are making it:
> The Moondancer is a bass version of a “double cowgirl” used in musky fishing. It was inspired by the number of bass musky fishermen were catching when throwing bucktails with twin #10 Colorado blades.
> The Moondancer makes this more useable for bass fishermen with a single jig hook, smaller blades and silicone skirt.
> “For me it has essentially replaced vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits, but most guys will use it as a compliment to those techniques, as it can be fished like both of them yet it has a unique action that seems to really fire up fish.”
I’m curious about it now…you? Check it here.
Btw, “tamarack” is an Algonquian word that probly meant “big mouth fish too easy to catch.”
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Do bass get this big in Beaver??
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Beaver Lake, AR is a well-known dink factory. It’s possible that if a Bassmaster Classic was held there, the winning weight might be even less than at Pittsburgh: KVD had 11 fish for 12-15 — over 3 days!!!
Easy guys. Anyhow, former FLWer Matt Pennington ALLEGEDLY (lol) caught this 6.77 in a team derby champeenship on Beaver:
That’s literally like catching a 20+ in Cali. #TeenageMutantNinjaBass
Caught it on a 5/8-oz Bass-X Jig (smallmouth killer) — made at Hook, Line & Sinker Tackle Shop in Rogers, AR — with a Yamamoto Double Tail Grub (gp/purple/copper):
Said he literally caught it on the bank — fish was starving and chasing a squirrel…. Okay not really but I bet it would have to eat mammals (or turtles) to get that big in Beaver.
That Everett Chevy/GMC Team Trail Championship apparently attracts 170+ boats…on Beaver?? Do they give away free Big Macs or what?
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Kevin M. got himself a merp at Deer Creek Lake, OH:
@ecfishing found himself one too:
Wnybassman’s shot of this livewell derpy merp wins it tho:
Merp the derp largie say:
Smallie merp say:
You know, cuz smallies are dumber….
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News
1. CA: BUFF and other bassin’ folks affected by fires.
Insane how fast those fires can move. Word is the flames were (are?) around Clear Lake and Berryessa, and folks who work at BUFF in Santa Rosa have been affected. From an email BUFF sent out:
> These events have directly impacted many of the employees of our BUFF family, who are safe — but have had their homes, neighborhoods and personal possessions taken from them. Heather McConnell, our marketing coordinator, lost everything late Sunday night. With just minutes to evacuate her family fled with only the essentials. She’s doing well but has a long road to recovery.
> Thankfully our office is standing and secure. Our main focus is the support of our BUFF employees and their families….
> To support Santa Rosa victims [no fees or taxes], please visit this website — 100% of donations go directly back to helping rebuild and provide relief to our Santa Rosa community….
If you have any spare fishing gear (not a ton) for Heather’s family, send it to:
BUFF Inc
Attn: Heather McConnell
133 Aviation Blvd, Suite 105
2. Alton Sr put Prez Bush on some dinks.
Good job Alton hahaha! Srsly, pretty cool. Assumin’ you know that Prez Bush is a big-time bass-head. They were fishing his ranch:
> President Bush stuck with his Texas-rigged 6″ [7.5″?] YUM Ribbontail Worm. What was interesting was his mastery of the worm swimming technique – it’s kind of a soft plastic alternative to cranking.
> …the bass in his lake are healthy, but I suggested that he could grow them even bigger by introducing more food. I told him that no buffet is too big and he looked at my belly and said, “I can see that!” [Hahaha! Good one sir!]
> …he believes when you’re around other people, it’s never by accident. It’s always by divine appointment, so you must do your best to convey a positive message.
Cool. Kinda makes me miss having a bass-head as Prez.
3. Ott gets Mossy Oak.
4. Who the heck is this??
Looks kinda like Seth Feider but something’s different — maybe his brother or cousin?
5. Kevin Short actually catchin’ ’em better now!
Hahaha Short!
6. US Open winning info.
The big western derby on Mead, won wire to wire by AZ’s Justin Patti with 36.30 lbs. Beat Elitist Brett Hite by less than 1 lb. Both guys fished the Overton Arm:
> Patti spent the bulk of his event fishing a single stretch of grass in 8′ feet [estern bank]…. “I caught a few fish on a Chatterbait in the morning around the grass, and after the sun got high in the sky, I fished a Phenix jig with an Arizona Custom Lures Craw…in the grass by popping it free from the edges. Most of the fish I weighed came on the jig.”
7. Get to know some B.A.S.S. roadies.
Good but looooong post by donny barone.
8. KY/TN: What will Asian carp do to the TN River?
Got a note from Charline Ingram the other day, spooked me a little:
> My home lake, Kentucky Lake, is absolutely infested with Asian carp…. We are catching them on crankbaits in their mouth, so I believe they are eating all species of fish including bass fingerlings.
Dang I hope not. The KY and TN DNRs are well aware of the issue but wow.
Props to FLW for the increased regional coverage. BFLs #rawk man!
Wheeler, AL Regional
Winner Kip Carter caught ’em fishing drains and creeks mostly with a Paycheck Baits Repo Man walking bait (bone crusher), but also with a SPRO Bronzeye Frog (nasty shad) and a spinnerbait and buzz:
Doesn’t look like the fish liked that topwater?? lol
2nd place Tyler Morgan dropshotted (!!) the Gville dam tailrace: “I was fishing current seams and eddies. Most of my fish came in water 12-15′ deep.” Roboworm in morning dawn and MMIII.
3rd, Brandon McGinnis, fished War Eagle buzzbaits and a SPRO frog.
James River, VA Regional
Local Richard Owen won it practically feeshn crappie gear:
> “The fish were relating to anything that blocked the current. They were using rocks or docks as an ambush point. With the steep banks and high water, they couldn’t spread out too far. They were confined to the main channel, which really suited my style of fishing.”
James Wall (2nd) fished a Mann’s Classic Spinnerbait — the same dang bait Hank Parker used to win the James Classic in ’89. This time it was a 1/4-oz with gold IN/CO blades and a firetiger skirt, 15-lb fluoro. “He intentionally snagged the grass and then ripped and popped the bait loose.” Also fished a 1/4-oz black buzzbait.
Ralph Ray (3rd) caught ’em on a 1/2-oz Rat-L-Trap (some chartreuse color) with VMC Wide Gap trebles, 17-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro. Grass flat, ripped the ‘Trap out of the grass, let it fall: “better bite occurred on lower tides with fish moving to the edges of grass where he was able to target isolated grass clumps.”
10. AR: Millwood Lake on fire?
Sounds like numbers are good….
11. KY gives bank-bassin’ tips.
Very cool, maybe throw some ‘yak bassin’ tips in there next time. 12. IL River fisheries are best in a century.
13. NY: Species invading because of warming temps.
Including hyacinths.
14. OK: ‘Traps win college derby at Ft Gibson.
Who says lipless baits are just for spring? Props to winners Rhett Meyer and Jake Biram — sounds like some pretty sophisticated bassin’:
> The duo started their morning throwing squarebill crankbaits and topwater baits, but quickly switched to Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps (ghost shad)….
> “…the key for us was the Rat-L-Trap. We threw the squarebill a lot, but we were not getting any bites. The Rat-L-Trap was getting down deep enough to get us the bites.
> “Fishing slow was important. We had to be methodical, but also make sure we were staying on the move to be in the right place at the right time.
> “We caught a lot of sand bass and drums, but we just had to weed through those to get the bass. We only had five keeper bites all day.”
All of that takes a lot of discipline, congrats to ’em. Fished wind-blown shallow points mid-lake, from the Highway 51 Bridge up to Whitehorn Cove Marina.
15. Favorite looking for junior pro-staffers.
And sounds like a bunch of new rods are rolling out: “Phantom, Jon B Rigged rod, Lunkerstv new Defender Rod, Flair’s new Balance frog stick, AP’s new Absolute” and more.
16. Kistler looking for all kinds o’ pro-staffers.
17. Did you know ’bout Seaguar’s double fluoros?
I didn’t know this:
> Double-structure fluorocarbons…unite two different fluorocarbon resins into the finest fishing line available. In Seaguar’s proprietary co-extrusion process, a strong, sensitive fluorocarbon core is encased within a soft, supple, fluorocarbon exterior. The bond between the two resins is unbreakable, and results in a line [with] the beneficial attributes of each of its two components. Forget about having to choose between strong and supple….
Seaguar Tatsu and Finesse fluoros are two examples of this line tech. Cali big bass dude Mike Long is like:
18. “Offbeat fishing challenge videos have generated some serious numbers on YouTube….”
Aaaaaaand there you have the secret formula for bassin’ vids…and nothin’ wrong with that. From a post on guys using Barbie poles to catch salty fishes.
19. TX: Git you 2 bass lakes with this $34 mil ranch.
Plus trophy deer, a red angus herd and whatever else you get with that many zeroes.
He uses buzz baits with either a skirt or a “Honey Toad” plastic bait attached to the buzzer.
Pretty sure that’s a horny toad, but “honey toad” sounds good!
Yep, last issue we profiled baits from the Costa at Lake of the Ozarks, NOT Table Rock. Got it right on the website, but not in the email — how does that happen?
Or really “TMBI” — guess you really can have Too Much Bassin’ Information….
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Tip of the Day
Don’t LOSE your instincts.
This may be the most important tip ever. Elitist Gerald Spohrer talks about listening to your instincts — and yep, many others have said stuff about it, but I like the way he talks about how you can LOSE your instincts on the water.He’s talkin’ derbies, but where it says “tournament” just put the word “fishing:”
> As a pro angler, I often approach an upcoming tournament by over-thinking things. It’s hard not to. It’s the anxiousness and excitement of an event that I greatly look forward to, and I start planning ahead — maybe a bit too much. It’s part of the fun, preparing for an event then executing the plan. But how often do fishing tournaments go as planned?
> I am a firm believer that what separates good anglers from great anglers — more than anything — is instinct. Mechanically we are all pretty close to the same level. But instinct is our most effective tool, and we have to protect it because it can easily be taken away from us.
> I can be my own worst enemy by ignoring or destroying my own instinct during a tournament. Things that often cause this are dock talk, trying to duplicate how a guy won on a lake last year, getting help, too much pre-practice, etc.
> I feel like when we turn to help or outside influence it’s because we lack the confidence to complete the puzzle on our own. Until you prove to yourself that you are capable, you’ll never have the necessary confidence to be good at this tournament-fishing thing.
> Once you complete one puzzle without help, you gain that confidence and become very dangerous to other anglers in the field. Soon no puzzle will intimidate you because you have completed enough of them on your own.
2c to add just based on where I’m at: Instincts seem to be heart (spiritual) stuff, not thinking stuff. Hear the Big Man mang!
Btw, the hardest puzzle in the world ain’t the Rubik’s Cube or even findin’ a 4-lb bass on the Ohio River, it’s this:
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Quote of the Day
In the fall transition, bass are scattered from 10′ to 125′ deep, and even when fishing for trout we always catch a few by accident.
– Shasta, CA trout-head talkin’ troutin. Raise your hand if you’re surprised the basses be hangin’ around the trouts.
Hole up: They’re catchin’ bass 125 FEET DEEP?? Dropshot you some o’ that, A-Mart! (Ehrler, Feider, Cody Meyer, etc)
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Random
Dude shoots 416-lb TX howg in the dark. Said it was chasin’ his dog that he named…Basstrix:
Okay I made up the dog part….
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Sign up another bass-head!
If you’re forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much — or you can email me the addys and we’ll take care of it! We’ll never send spam, sell the list or anything else crazy….
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