BassBlaster

No snag crank storage, Insights from ice fishing vids, Best winter baits

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on December 3, 2015

If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s because a bud signed you up! Thank him by catching a bigger fish than him the next time you head out….

Today’s Top 4

Snag-free crankbait storage?

In a dang peanut buttuh jar?? So crazy it might actually work:

What to learn from ice fishing vids.

Not an ice fisherman, but I pay attention to it because we have a BassBlaster-like product called Target Walleye/Ice. Underwater cams are pretty much standard in ice fishing, and I’ve been seeing some interesting stuff — like those old Bigmouth movies.

Here’s one video. I’m seeing:

Bass are pretty dang active in cold water.
A bass can get interested in a bait and disinterested pretty fast. Not much of an attention span…weirdly, like a lot of bass fishermen….
A bass can look at a bait a pretty long while before deciding what to do.
Are we writing off suspended bass too easily? That’s a lot of what ice guys catch.

‘Nother one. Here I’m learning that bass for sure do NOT mostly hit a bait up near its head:

This vid basically confirms how active cold bass are, how visual they are and how it’s like if one bass don’t wanna play, none do:

Btw the geetar music in that last vid — it’s like the guy is playing from this scale:

That’s like every dang note there is mang!

10.9-lber caught on Norman??

That’s Norman, NC. Dark vid but looks for real:

No word on the bait yet.

Odell Beckham Jr.’s hookset warmup.

Thinkin’ he fishes after watchin’ that:

If not, he needs to learn from Robison…see if Odell can flip with one hand…lol.

News

1. We lost a couple bassers.

CA young man, to the Big C. Don’t get why sometimes good folks go young, guess I’m not supposed to.

Also the president of the Lake Fork Anglers.

RIP bassin’ brother.

2. Young man convicted of Opens angler murder.

Jimmy Johnson. Heart-breaker.

3. Aaron Martens on BassEdge Radio.

Being interviewed by…Aaron Martin of Bass Edge. Srsly.

4. Overstreet, David Walker and Big Dave…

…ketchin’ some before they start waiting on deer up in KS:

I’d rather be hunting ducks in AR with Bowman but that’s just me. Wait:

5. Wild West Bass Trail update.

TDs and MCs including some guy named Randy McBride. Anyone ever hear of that guy? lol, congrats man!

Team schedule here. Really hope this thing takes off. The West needs a for-real trail.

6. Awesome culling rule column.

Bernie Schultz has been writing some of the most interesting stuff on Bassmaster.com, and this is another.

7. LA: Toledo Bend clarifies lunker rules.

For replica feeshes.

8. CA: Check out Oroville.

Some “ramp!”

9. Bassin’ boats: Who’s left?

Uncertainty at Ranger, Skeeter is there but Yamaha-only, Bass Cat recently acquired. So that leaves…Phoenix. Gary and co seem pretty smart now, eh? Legend maybe? Anyone else?

Btw, Randy Hopper wasn’t just the top dog at Ranger. He also designed their boats. For like 40 years. Smoke that for a bit, see where you come out.

10. Cabela’s exploring options.

Small update, no real change. Under pressure from an investor so you’d expect them to do this stuff.

11. Garmin loses suits.

Reversal of fortune to Navico (Lowrance), but is appealing. Also lost to Johnson Outdoors (Humminbird).

12. Carrot Stix resurrection?

Back on the market in Jan. Gotta call out these quotes:

> …a veteran of the banking and finance fields, but a newcomer to the fishing industry. #ruhrohraggy

> “…the winding machines they used in China were putting the threads on in a way that was cutting through blanks like cheese.” #ruhrohraggy

Good luck mang!

13. Fly rod maker gets into bass market.

Because we need more rod choices?
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Sponsor Love

1. TX: New store in Sugar Land…

…Fishing Tackle Unlimited’s new store in Sugar Land, grand opening today through Saturday. Check the new Shimano Casitas reels there. Sweet!

2. Loomis NRX + anything = awesome.

Try an NRX if you haven’t. Don’t try it if you’re trying to save $.

3. LA: K2 Scratch n Dent sale Dec 4-5.

Gotta be there in person:

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Hey BassBlaster forwarders!

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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Tip of the Day

5 best winter baits.

The guys from Tic-tac-toe-tickle Bassin:

1. Football jig: I lean toward a 1/2-oz or heavier Dirty Jigs Finesse Football (go to or super Matt Brown colors are deadly). Tim takes it a step further and will occasionally go as light as 3/8-oz with his Dirty Jigs HP Football Jig. Why go with a light weight in deep water? With the lighter weight comes a smaller hook, allowing you to drop to lighter line and even throw the jig on a spinning rod if conditions require.

2. Dropshot: Tim likes to downsize, often using a size 2 Owner Mosquito hook with a small tungsten weight. …the light hook allows his bait to have maximum action in deep water. As for baits, he uses…a 6″ Roboworm in margarita mutilator….

3. Ball head jig: The difference between a ball head and virtually every other head design is that it has almost no action of its own. …when the water is cold that “dead action” drives the fish crazy. …a 5″ Senko is your best option…it gets a significantly larger bite than smaller worms. …you should thread the worm on so the point of the hook is left exposed.

4. Jigging spoon: Using a very subtle flip-flop approach, keeping the jig on bottom at all times, is a phenomenal way to get a big bite in winter. Matt prefers the Blade Runner DUH spoon [awesome name!] for its ideal weight, size, and color schemes.

5. Small swimbait: I prefer the 6″ Basstrix or the 4.8 Keitech coupled with 1/2-oz Matt Allen Swimbait Head. For this method I maintain constant bottom contact and swim the bait as slowly as I can stand.

Quote of the Day

I’ve heard people talk about how you can get taken out of your game mentally, and I hope I’ve fished enough big events that I might be able to avoid that.

– Opens Classic qualifier Charles Sim who hails from somewhere north of the St. Lawrence River, from a land called Cana-dia that looks like this right about now:

Shot of the Day

A gal who ain’t a-feared to fish ‘n Carhartt suspenders is awesome:

Random

Cali teen fends off great white with spear gun. #stout

You fish these baits yet?

The best, yo!

Gitcha informed…

Get a K2 cooler cuz!

Be learnin’ about these products

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For smaller companies

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Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. His BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 or #3 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Also available as an app: