BassBlaster

Knock fest at Harris Chain, Cool Japan bassin stuff, VanDam diy hacks

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on March 14, 2017

Today’s Top 5

Harris Chain FLW was a Knocker-fest.

Shout out to BOOYAH at the Harris Chain FLW: 5 of the top 10 fished BOOYAH Knockers: 1st, 4th, 7th and 9th fished a One Knocker, 2nd fished a Hard Knocker — and don’t think any are BOOYAH-sponsored:

Ruminate on that a sec: Of all the lipless cranks out there, they all used that shape/action/sound of bait?

Believe 5 of the top 10 is a first for this brand — it hasn’t been around all that long — which is why I’m a-callin’ it out. Fact that they support the Blaster means…they’re smart! lol Here’s the top 10 baits from that derby broken down:

Senko-type = 80% (wide variety, some with tails or tapered ends)

Lipless crank = 70% (50% Knockers, also a Red Eye Shad, Damiki Tremor and 6th Sense Snatch)

Callin’ out two who Knocked. First, Brad “the human” Dortch [Marvel Comics peeps!] who won it with that One Knocker plus 2 NetBaits: a Big Bopper and Salt Lick:

Also callin’ out Shane “s Baits” LeHew for his first FLW Tour top 10 — good job dude!

Worm = 30% (either a Zoom Trick Worm or Zoom Magnum Ultravibe Speed Worm)

20% each = Fluke/swimbait, bladed jig

10% each = flipped plastic, Carolina rig

Bryan Thrift DIDN’T finish 2nd??

2nd @ Gville FLW, Feb
2nd @ Travis FLW, Feb
2nd @ Seminole Costa, March
6th @ Harris Chain FLW, last weekend — but he was in 2nd for a day! (I think)

That crazy or what? Bryan’s a good fisherman. Some might look at that and say he’s not good enough…but that would be jackwagonish. That’s a pretty stout run no matter how you look at it. Asked him how he felt about it and he was like:

But then he was like:

Okay actually said:

> 2nd is awesome. The only one I was disappointed in was Gville — I felt like I had it. Winning is great, but my main goal is to pay the bills and 2nd place will do that.

That’s a good attitude cuz if you chase the ring too hard, you can end up like this:

Yep, hangin’ out with hobbitses and such….

Burnses crack ’em BETTER at Shearon Harris!?!

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang! Shane and Bonnie Burns cracked a 42.9-lb limit at Shearon Harris, NC two weekends ago. That was super stout, but last weekend they weighed 46.89 lbs at the same lake in a Carolina Anglers Team Trail derby!!

Gotta feel for the guys who weighed 36.36 and got 2nd:

Peekin’ at some stuff from Japan bass-heads.

Coupla super-cool reels:

Bait randomness (I dig the chartreuse on top deal):

Just in case you want to give yourself a hernia and herniated disc, this:

No hooks on it, but it has spots for ’em. Insane.

That’s when they first hit their stupid head on the stupid side rail and then slide across the stupid carpet until I stop them with my stupid boot. It’s stupid cool!

– LOL! Not a boat-flip but a “boat-skipped” bass. Not serious… From a post on the TFF that kinda makes fun of some forum posts and YouTubed feeshn vids.

Here’s a pretty good sarcastic vid about YT feeshn vids — little long tho:

Chucklin’ at these comments from that thread:

> …been catching some goodins with a buzzbait dragged along the bottom. I’ll post a video with with some synthesized techno music tomorrow.

> I have been looking for a rod just for that, my price range $1000 to $1500, what would you recommend? By the way, I also would like to crappie fish with it and throw Whopper Ploppers too. Please say Dobyns.

> I’ve caught some gooduns dead sticking a 6XD too!

> I was dropshotting a buzzbait, got a limit of 5 in 10 mins, best went 57 lbs.

> Did I ever tell you about the 12 bass caught on 12 consecutive cast on 12 different spinnerbaits? Water temp was 45 degrees. I had build a hot box to hang the blades inside to heat them up. You get one cast with each bait while the blades are hot. The bass loved them. Had no trouble winning two tournaments in a row.

Hot blades — love it! Bet it works too…. Then this apparently true story:

> In 1978 I was a sales rep for a large wholesale company traveling OK and NE TX. Buzzbaits were new then. I called on Gibsons in Daingerfield and an older gentleman approached me and asked what was working. I showed him a buzzbait and [told him how to fish it].

> Two weeks later, when I called again, the same gentleman was there and said, “I caught 2 bass over 6 lbs on those baits. I wish you would have told me to put a worm weight on them. They kept coming to the top. Took a 3/8th sinker to keep them down before I caught anything.

Guess that ‘splains why I don’t catch ’em on buzzbaits….

News

1. Jordan Lee gets Tackle Addict retailer.

2. Horton opens up AL HS derby to all states.

3. Brandon Coulter gets Beef Jerky Outlet.

4. FLWer Watson gets flashlights.

Probly to help with Squatchin’….

5. Record spot bait deets released.

You remember this fish:

Nick Dulleck — ketcher of that 11-04 spot from “Dullard’s Scar,” CA on Feb 12 — released his giant spot killah bait combo: Dirty Jigs Finesse Football Jig with a Yamamoto Double Tail Grub trailer. Still WILL NOT release the exact colors — cuz he’s a fisherman! — but here’s a pic he sent in:

6. WI starting new C&R records.

7. CA: Sundance documentary on Cali water heist.

That’s a trailer, but believe it’s running on the Nat Geo channel tonight.

Wait — people with a lot of money get stuff we don’t get??

8. 10 new Shadow Rap colors.

Crush, Elite Blue, Haymaker, Olive Drab, Purple Haze, Gone, Halloween, Imposter, Molten Copper, Tropic Ice.

Can check all the sweet colors on TW, both regular Shadow Rap and Shadow Rap Deep. Here are a few — just a few — of my faves, clockwise from top left: Gone, Elite Blue, Bud (not a new color but I love it), Imposter (a smallie killah):

9. Gander Mntn files for Chapter 11.

Looks like the rumors were right, they’re selling the biz:

> …said it is in active discussions with several potential buyers and expects to hold an auction in late April, with an anticipated closing by May 15.

Johnny Morris will rule the world…soon.

10. Global warming not all man-made?

Well lookee here:

> Natural swings in the Arctic climate have caused up to half the precipitous losses of sea ice around the North Pole in recent decades, with the rest driven by man-made global warming, scientists said on Monday.

> “If this natural mode would stop or reverse in the near future, we would see a slow-down of the recent fast melting trend, or even a recovery of sea ice….”

11. Last chance on bassin’ pet peeves!

Got a bunch o’ peeves about launch ramps, fishin’ “buds” and lack of on-the-water manners, but…that’s it? Nothing ticks you off about the Elitists? MLFers? Bassin’ TV? Sponsorship talk?? Bassin’ websites? YouTube vids?? C’MON bass-heads!

Leave comments on Facebook or the BB website. Will pick one person to get a bag o’ tackle tiddybits.

12. Giveaway winnah!

Bruce C. from VA won all this Lunkerhunt stuff, includin’ the new Froglet:

Gonna announce a big new Classic-related giveaway on Thursday!!

Tip of the Day

KVD DYI wacky-rig tips.

> If fishing in deeper water or with a bait that doesn’t have much salt, I will weight the hook with lead wire that I get from Bass Pro Shops’ fly tying department. It is fine wire that I wrap on the shank next to the eyelet and can add whatever I need to get the fall rate I want.

> …times when fishing around brush that you have to protect the point. To do that, I create my own weed guard with 30-lb fluorocarbon. I make a loop and fold the line, then wrap it against the hook with fly thread and a touch of glue. It’s not foolproof, but it does a pretty good job, and…less visible than a wire guard.

KVD does have minions to do these things for him but told me sometimes managing them is a challenge:

One more good tip:

> I prefer to use wacky rigs on spinning tackle with a 15-lb braid and 10- or 12-lb fluorocarbon leader combination. The key is to make sure you have a long enough leader that you get a good sink rate.

Says his fave wacky baits are a Strike King Ocho, Fat Baby Finesse Worm (tri-color versions are cool) and Rage Cut R Worm.

Quote of the Day

The guy who combines a couple of those 8- to 10-lbers with some solid fish is the guy who wins.

– Jason Christie talkin‘ ’bout the Classic. When’s the last time you heard any talk like that about a Classic?? Hope B.A.S.S. migrates el Clasico back to the summer…where it was before ESPN moved it.

Shot of the Day

@b.estes.fishing hit me with this sweet shot on the Insta. Falls Lake, NC, didn’t weigh it but caught it on a 3/8-oz Revenge Swim Jig (white) with a 3.3″ Keitech Fat (white dipped in ‘treuse):

Random

Harvard theorists: How sailing aliens could have caused fast radio bursts

Apparently this theory is “legit.” So…just how do you sign up to be a Harvard theorist? Askin’ cuz I have a bunch of theories I wanna test, like: If we put giant treble hooks on a comet, would a space fish smash it?? Heck yeah space fish are real!

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….

SIGN ‘EM UP!

Use the best!

Git on these yo!

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Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass.

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