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New Melones, CA 15.19-lber! Ketched by guide John Liechty:
Dropshotting for spotted bass with 4-lb line…only the 2nd-biggest fish he ever caught:
Think I’m gonna rename my home lake “Ultra New Melones” and see what happens to the fish…. Next:
@haydensfishing posted: “TEXAS TITANS! Took me 27 years to accomplish my biggest fishing goal and I got the opportunity to do it twice this morning. 10.75 and 10.53.”
Ddddddddang! Word is was at a Dallas-area lake, both on Strike King 6XDs, dredging bottom in 19′, popping the baits off a long point in front of a channel.
Next up:
How ’bout that in a derby! Binh Phi won the 2017 Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club Tourney of Champeens at Clear Lake, CA with a 32.27 limit (8 fish) anchored by these tub o’ lards, a 10.13 and a 8.21. Said the key was a bait color that mimicked a Wendy’s Dave’s Triple — wouldn’t say what it was but I’m a-goin’ with Roboworm’s morning dawn chartreuse:
Okay he didn’t say that Wendy’s thing….
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YUGE bassin’ announcement…
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…tomorrow. Can’t be lettin’ the cat out, but here’s a hint:
Hmmmmm. Will be announced tomorrow, check my social tomorrow afternoon….
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Update on our bassin’ bogan.
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Believe “bogan” means “redneck in Australian, so: What up with former Elitist and current FLWer Carl “that’s Aussie for bass” Jocumsen?
Dude got the boot from the Elites thanks to the “sink or swim in 2 years” rule (should be at least 3 imo), which was kinda a bummer cuz he’s cool to have around and appeared to have the bassin’ chops to make it. Well, he’s been sluggin’ bass around the US of A, and I finally caught up with him for a convo:
> “I did the FLW Tour and it was an awesome move for me. I kind of wish I’d done it a little earlier. I probably should have done it before trying to make the Elites, but that’s just how it goes. I just made the Elites way too quickly.
> “It’s helped me become a better angler. I’m competing on a different level and honing my skills a lot better. I do want to eventually maybe go back to the Elites, but this has been the best year of my career so far…everything — business-wise, my fishing, and being able to enjoy what I’m doing and not be so stressed financially.
> “I had a pretty good year on the FLW Tour. My whole career I’ve pretty much been at one end or the other. I had chances at winning Elite events — 4-5 top 12s — so I know I can do it, but my bad ones were always really bad. I think FLW has really helped me…rather than having a big bomb, I’m getting a check or just missing a check.
> “What a lot of guys don’t realize is that going from the Opens to the Elites is like going from playing backyard football to the NFL. There’s nothing inbetween [I’d say the FLW Tour is between….].
> “The first year I missed the Elites by 1 point [in the Opens] and thought it was the worst thing in the world. Now I know it was the best thing. I wasn’t ready for that big jump. You will get exposed if you’re not ready — that’s what the Elites do. I know that when I go back to the Elites, I’ll be a lot stronger angler in so many different ways.”
Right now he’s spending stupid money on lawyers to stay here and fish as a non-citizen, ain’t goin’ back home to the land of great white “shocks” at all so he’s missing his “cobbers” (buds), and he’s gittin’ serious datin’-wise with Brandon Palaniuk’s cousin. More:
> “With time differences and everything, trying to organize sponsorships and a boat, I was really getting put behind…. This is the first year out of 7 I’m going to stay [in the U.S.] and be ready for next year.
> “I plan next year to fish the FLW Tour again, do the Eastern Opens, and probably fish Costas and stuff in between.
> “I honestly believe I can make the FLW Cup, win an event, make the Bassmaster Classic and have a chance at choosing the Elites, all in one year. I think all of those things are very doable for next year.
> “All the guys have had a career event or career year at some point, and I just haven’t got that break. Time is racking up…7 years of dedicated learning so my time is coming.”
Guess if yer gonna succeed at the Elite level you need have that confidence. And not be too nice:
> “I’m always way too nice. Going against those guys you can’t be nice…you have to be competitive. It’s every man for himself.”
My 2c: Dude is super-grounded. If he can stay that way and moves up the bassin’ ladder again, look out. Good onya, mate!
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How Aussies are different than ‘Mericans.
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First of all, we have Mexican (Tex-Mex) food:
> “We don’t have any Mexican food in Australia. I could probably eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the rest of my life and never get sick of it. Fajitas and enchiladas — I order the same thing every time we go.”
Thank goodness it isn’t Mexican pizza — should be illegal man:
> “Everyone’s kind of the same in Australia — 23 million people…there’s more people in Los Angeles than there is Australia. America….every state is like a different country…I’ve found American people to be super-nice and very welcoming. They’re also very driven…. Americans are very wound up, getting after everything all the time. Australians are a lot more relaxed.”
Sure looks like it. Check some Aussies voting:
> “For me to do what I’ve done and move here is, like, crazy. It’s the craziest thing you could ever imagine. At school when I said I want to fish and stuff, it’s unheard of. And to move out of your town — to even move to another job or move 30 minutes away from the town where you grew up — is a huge deal. So for me to pack everything up and move to another country is unheard of.”
When he told his best mate what he was doing, the dude was like:
> “I did so well in Australia [fishing], people thought I’d come here and start winning and kill it. They don’t quite realize the culture and how different it is [fishing-wise]. It’s like being the best you could be in tennis [and changing] to playing golf. I had to really start from scratch.”
Not to mention getting used to everything being rightside up here — that must’ve been brutal man. Lookit this Aussie after he first moved here:
Hahaha! Props to Carl and also our anglers from Japan for taking such a big risk and coming here just to pursue the bassin’ fishes.
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Youch! Click it to see the vid:
Happened in the Amazon so it was fix it or try to get that Spook through Customs I guess….
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News
1. Ricky Morris back to the Elites.
Cool story:
> B.A.S.S. granted Morris a medical exemption for the 2015 season due to a back injury that required rehabilitation. When it came time to pay the deposits for the 2016 Elite Series season…”I had custody of my daughter who was in high school at the time, and it was important to me that I stayed home and took care of her.”
Qualified thru the Opens (won at the James, 2nd at Smith) and has a company called Leebcor Services as a big sponsor now. Aren’t many stories of the planets lining up for another run at the Elites so this is doubly cool.
Rick (left) is also a member of Wade Middleton’s (right) visor mafia:
Noticed Scott Martin and Mark Pack are too, and how ’bout MPack rocki’ the half-lid with his half-hair!
2. Mosely family good after fire.
Barn fire wrecked a boat, some fishing gear and antlers, but peeps okay thankfully.
3. Hackney’s fishing the pre-spawn…now.
Partly cuz no one’s on the lakes:
> I did some filming just before Thanksgiving not too awful far from my house. The weather was perfect. As I was driving, I passed one of the best bass lakes in Louisiana. There wasn’t a boat on it.
Asked Hack what “not too awful far” means, and he said: “It’s a long ways if you’re speaking to someone that’s as country as a butter bean.”
Hack, I know you thought that would clear things up for me, but….
4. Ike and others pre-fishing Havre de Grace, MD.
Lower Suskie River.
5. How Paul Mueller does situps.
Looks like he needs to do a bunch more lol:
6. FLWer Gagliardi gits his Eye-talian on.
> FLW Angler of the Year, Anthony Gagliardi, and the Black Flagg brand, based in Italy, announced their ‘Italian connection’ last week on the eve of the brand’s launch into the US.
Reminds me of the King’s X tune “Black Flag.” Sick band.
7. FL stocking 1 MIL largies in Apopka this year.
Gotta be a record for 1 lake in 1 year? Props to the FWC for the hatchery program:
8. OR: Bass die-off at Selmac Lake.
Don’t know why yet. Best line in the article:
> …people immediately began to theorize the death came from chemicals from local pot farms….
Who knows but the bullfrogs there are pretty chill:
9. Bassin’master College changes (vid).
New Team of the Year plus it sounds like they’re making it easier for folks to compete. Props to Hank doing the announcement as a vid. #smart
Do I see Hank startin’ to lose his hair? All good, man, just do what your dad does:
Lol wonder if Trip now thinks that wasn’t such a good idea….
10. MS: Blue Mntn College gets new bass team.
First of all, are there mountains in MS?? Did I miss (ippi, lol) something there? Coach is Shane Cox of Hammer Fishing Rods. 11. KY, TN taking steps against Asian carp…
…at Kentucky Lake:
> Bob Keast, owner of Birdsong Resort and Marina: “I’ve been in tune with this problem for at least 10 years, and it’s progressively getting worse.”
Sure hope they don’t let Kentucky Lake’s bassin’ quality decrease in any way.
12. DC: Great Lakes senators want Asian carp plan done.
> The Army Corps’ proposed plan calls for $275 million worth of construction at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam along the Des Plaines River in Joliet, a step it says would reduce the risk of Asian carp getting into the Great Lakes from 36% to about 15%.
So there’s no carp-proof option….
13. AL: Yammy donates to outboards to fire depts.
> Both fire departments will use the donated outboards to assist in search and rescue on the Tennessee River and surrounding lakes.
#stout
14. Roboworm has a dang Flanders nub!
New, check it, here’s A-A-Ron’s magical dragon color:
15. Reaction Innovations has 2 new baits.
Dropshot bait called the Shiver Shot…
…and critter bait called the Bear Man Pig:
16. Do Berkley Dredger cranks have bullfrog eyes?
Happened to notice a Dredger ad — L to R that’s a Dredger, bullfrog eye and shad eye:
Don’t think it matters to the fish, just innerestin’. Plus Dave Fritts designed these baits so I’m bettin’ they catch ’em.
17. Does your river jig look like this.
Combo of a fly and a jig, looks like:
Called “river bugs.” Check ’em here. Anyone ever fish one?
18. New Shimano Curado bass rods.
19. AR: PRADCO looking for bait-makers.
If you need a gig and wanna be around feeshn, give ’em a shout and good luck!
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Tip of the Day
Fish crayfish baits this winter.
Yep they can be fished slow but check this too:
> Juvenile crayfish frequently molt (10-12 times) and grow throughout the winter, and reach sexual maturity by the spring season. Once mature, crayfish growth stops.
> The winter/early spring lipless crankbait bite, particularly using the crawfish colors (red, brown and orange), coincides with the increase in crayfish numbers. Juvenile crayfish emerge from the burrows in the fall and are relatively easy prey for largemouth bass throughout the winter and spring.
> …juveniles tend to be lighter in color for several days after they molt (shed their skin)….
> Juvenile crayfish are active throughout the winter foraging, as their growth rates are high. Average juvenile crayfish size is similar to 1/4- and 1/2-oz lipless crankbaits.
That was talkin’ ’bout TX, but gotta assume it’s pretty much the same everywhere.
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Quote of the Day
…somebody sent me a fishing lure, it was under $7, I use it all the time and every time I catch a fish I think about them and I smile. They know me and they cared about me.
– Shark Tank’s Daymond John talkin’, who I guess likes to fish. So if someone buys you $500 worth of baits on Tackle Warehouse, they love, love, LOVE you mang hahaha!
Btw check TW’s stuff on clearance right here….
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Shot of the Day
Fish looks shockingly big…dude!
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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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