BassBlaster

Sickest A rig double, Buzzing the shad spawn, Gitcha spinbaits on

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on April 4, 2017

Today’s Top 5

Sickest A-rig double ever?

@kytriton21 may have gotten the best public-water A-rig double ever, on Kentucky Lake. Here ’tis, two tangled chunky monkeys on a Hog Farmer Harvester Rig, Keitech Fats and VMC heads. Look at him leanin’ on the seat — he looks wore out!

I spent most of my tournament fishing the way it was won, in the same types of areas where Jordan caught his big bag.

– Keith Combs talkin’ ’bout his Classic:

> I was just off. As I’ve said many times before, there’s a fine line between a great finish and a terrible one. Jordan won without catching a limit on 2 of the 3 days.

> If he’d missed one of those bites, or made his cast 10′ to the right of where he did, we might be looking at Steve Kennedy as the new champ.

> If your rotation gets off by 10 or 15 minutes, that’s the difference between a big bag and a goose egg. I feel like I just never dialed it completely in.

This might have something to do with it — Keith told me he was having trouble sleeping during the Classic because of some kid’s show:

Showed me that pic and I was like, “Dang man you need to get that off your phone!” He just stared at it and didn’t answer….

lol, get ’em next time Combs!

Top 10 baits from the Dardanelle Costa.

Breakin’ down the top 10 from this derby, won by Quincy Houchin by just 13 oz. Dude led it wire to wire = #stout:

Crankbait = 50% — Strike King 1.5 most often mentioned, also the 2.5 — gotta shout out Shannon Pierce (8th) for throwing a #5 Rapala Shad Rap in the old-school but still fish-gittin’ color silver/black back:

Spinnerbait = 40% — most often mentioned (20%) was, get this: the Mann’s Classic! Been a LONG time since I heard about that bait, named after Hank Parker’s 1979 Classic-winning bait.

Here’s Tom Silber (2nd), also holding a SPRO Little John MD crank (chart black back) and a 1/2-oz Lunker Lure Rattleback Jig with what looks like a Zoom Big Salty. Btw that spinnerbait is a 3/4-oz with #7 and #3 Indianas and a 6″ Mister Twister trailer:

Flip = 40%

Jig = 20%

Senko/Dinger = 20%

10% each = Shakey head, frog, swimjig

What up with this neon red spinnerbait blade thing?

Couple folks published a story scribbled by legendary bassin’ biz Okie Alan McGuckin ’bout usin’ a neon red front spinnerbait blade in the spring. Interesting.

Here’s a boiled down version plus a couple tidbits write from Guck:

> Mike McClelland: “It’s definitely most popular in OK, AR and MO, but I’ll promise you it works anytime you have stained to dirty water in the early part of spring.”

> “Ken [Cook] always said it was an all or nothing lure — either they’d hardly hit the red/orange kicker blade, or you’d wear ’em out on it. I agree with him, but when the water temps are in the low 50s, I lean on it hard. It’s always a go-to bait for me in stained to dirty water in early spring.”

Guck — who has advanced degrees in bass biology, bass fishing and basstrology — said he fishes it around shoreline veggies and wood in dingy to muddy water. Also:

> Truly this is comes down to personal preference and confidence, but a gold Indiana [on the back] is tough to beat. If the water is slightly cleaner but still cold, I’ll put a nickel Oklahoma blade once made by Terminator behind my red kicker.

> …I once got my b*tt kicked by a comrade on the back deck of my boat because he matched his spinnerbait to a much slower geared reel than me. I love a Quantum Smoke 6.1:1….

Few highlights from B-Rob’s K9s4Cops charity derby.

First off, I didn’t fish…at friggin’ Sam Rayburn! Wanted to cry, didn’t. Settled for a binky…. Hey — was an adult binky! Okay really, here’s a couple shots from it:

Me, Z and Koby Kreiger — Z’s telling you we got rained out Sunday:

Are these guys scary or what? Kinda look like they wanna fight:

Check Swindle teachin’ the Bears’ Willie Young some bassin’ gang signs…Ott’s trying not to be involved lol:

What do you think these guys are talkin’ ’bout (one guess):

The Lees reenacting Matt showing Jordan what turned out to be the Classic-winning spot on Google Earth (hahaha just joshin’!):

Local hammers Cory Rambo and Rusty Clark with their winning limit of 31.34, with a 9.95 kicker (big fish). Said they fished deep (12-18′) with a 6th Sense Cloud 9 C15 crank (candy citrus shad) and C-rigged a 6″ Big Bite Baits Lizard (tilapia, a great color). Bottom pic is the incognito version (get it?):

Fat Cat was the emcee! Last but not least, the whole reason fer it — officers Ted Dahlin and Chris Knowlton with Elliott the K9 and B-Rob:

K9s4Cops is the only charity in the U.S. that provides dawgs for the 5-0. Very cool. Support ’em if that speaks to you.

Fave moments from the shindig:

> Went out for a run Saturday morning, and these football dudes come up behind me. We’re getting to this big downhill and then a big uphill. I’m like, no friggin’ way are these guys gonna school me on these hills. I look at them, they look at me, and it’s on. Had a couple lead changes, but I beat ’em all yo! We’re sucking wind at the top of the hill and a guy who looks like a superhero just no spandex comes up and says, “Hey man, I’m AP. Nice run.” Come to find out that was Adrian Peterson!

Okay made that one up hahaha! But pretty sure I could’ve beat at least one of the D-line guys…and Powroznik…. Here’s a couple serious ones:

> We were all checking out some Costa shades indoors so it was kinda dark. I put on the Howlers asked Jacob Wheeler how they looked. He says, “You have a small head.” I was like, yeah thanks, I was talkin’ about the glasses. lol #nofilter

> Dean Rojas can eat more crawfish than an NFL lineman. For real. Impressive.

> AP’s brother Derrick was so stoked to go fishing with KVD — “the Michael Jordan of fishing,” he called him. We’re standing on the dock waiting for 96 to dump his boat in, and Kevin’s killing time fishing a jerkbait. Bang! He smacks one, and Derrick was blown away. He was like, KVD’s been fishing for 2 minutes off the dang dock and already caught one! Videoed the whole thing. Loved seeing that. Made me remember what a mystery is fishing is to some peeps.

Here’s a weird one for you: You had a hard time telling the NFL guys from the bass pros…physique-wise, I mean.

HAHAHA! Seriously, after seeing how giant those guys are and thinking about what it must feel like to get hit by that kind of force, they deserve every penny they make, man. Would you like to get a Coke machine dropped on you repeatedly for a period of years? How much is that worth to you??

News

1. TX: Locals didn’t want to give J-Lee his spot on day 3.

> …Lee eased up toward the spot that two local fishermen had already staked out. “He asked them if they minded leaving and their response wasn’t too friendly. It was more or less, ‘We got here first.'”

> …Lee explained to them the tournament scenario he was in before the locals eventually ceded the spot to Lee. “They were disgruntled, but they moved,” McElroy said.

Seriously people??

2. J-Lee’s Classic lines.

All Seaguar AbrazX: “When I was digging that crankbait down into the bottom cast after cast, it never once broke off. Seaguar AbrazX definitely boosts my confidence when I’m dragging baits on hard offshore cover because I get far fewer frays in my line.”

Quick story: First fished that line last year on the Niagara River, zebra mussel territory. Never once broke off. Was blown away.

3. Pursuit airing more Going Ike.

4. Davy Hite likes the #7 size Scatter Rap (vid).

Check ’em on TW on sale right now! That color looks like Ike’s blueback herring, also check live river shad:

5. FLWer Casey Scanlon on BassEdge Radio.

6. CA: Plan for Miramar might ruin bass fishery?

Some of the biggest bass ever have been caught there:

> But that all might be in jeopardy as the city of San Diego pursues the “Pure Water San Diego” project in which they’ll be converting Miramar’s water from imported, nutrient rich water water to purified recycled water that has in the past been traced to the sterilization of male fish.

Other lakes might be affected too. You know who’s behind this:

7. IN: First gal competing on Nation state team.

#girlpower

8. WA: Riffe Lake will be 30′ low from now on.

> …concerns over the integrity of the dam spillway piers in the event of a large-scale seismic happening….

Uh…time to move?

9. TN: CATCH derbies fish for bass and men.

10. NY: Pro soccer goalie likes largie feeshn.

11. BassU TV Classic promo extended.

Extended their Classic promo through Apr 9. Get 30 free days at bassu.tv/redeem and use promo code: classic30

12. Berkley Gulp! works for worked-over spawners?

Check the stuff on TW here. If you try it, make sure you get the liquid. Looks like this-here’s made for Gulping up any ol’ plastics.

13. Suzuki iso central US sales manager.

Tip of the Day

How Brandon Card fishes the shad spawn.

If you find them or really any baitfish spawn, you’re fishing on top and usually with your preferred topwater. Here’s what B-Card uses:

> …I’ll tie on a white 3/8-oz Lunker Lure-type buzzbait. I’ll leave the skirt on and dress the hook with a blue pearl silver flake Yamamoto Swim Senko. I’ll trim this 5″ boot-tail bait down to fit the buzzbait.

> I like a buzzbait for the shad spawn because the whole key with this pattern is to cover lots of water until you find shad that the bass are feeding on. Just because you’ve found spawning shad doesn’t mean that the bass are there.

> I keep moving with a buzzbait until I find shad that are being hammered by active bass. I don’t slow down and concentrate on an area until I find this.

> Shad like to spawn on hard cover, so I target marinas, individual boat docks and riprap banks. And I purposely deflect my buzzbait against metal docks and rocks. I believe the noise sounds like a feeding bass and that this triggers them into action.

His buzzbait line is 20-lb Yo-Zuri Top Knot 100% Fluorocarbon: “Fluorocarbon holds up better than braid around docks where the line often contacts cables and sharp metal edges.”

If it’s the bluegill spawn, he fishes a Yo-Zuri 3DB Prop (bluegill) on 40-lb DUEL Hardcore Super 8 Braid.

Quote of the Day

I tried to go bass fishing here, and this [cuss-word] gator is over here, trying to eat me.

– Dude who tried to fish in a FL canal:

> The gator grabbed Alvarez’s foot and started to drag him into the water. However, the fisherman has prior experience with reptiles and knew exactly what to do. He pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed the gator. “I feel bad for the gator, but it was either me or it.”

News vid is here. Funniest part, the guy says:

> “And they’re like, ‘Oh snap you have a gator on your foot.’ And I’m like, Yeah, hold on, let me see if I can get it off real quick.'”

Shot of the Day

Takahiro Omori on Conroe during the Classic. Not sure if I think that much of a circus atmosphere is nuts or cool, but leaning toward nuts:

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!

If you’re getting this by email and want to comment on anything in this BB issue (you know you do!), just click here to go to BassBlaster.rocks where all past issues are archived.

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.

Click here to see all the ways to get the BassBlaster, including by text!

See the shweet new BassBlaster apparel right here!