BassBlaster

TBend winning baits, Drag queens for bass, Do you focus enough

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on April 11, 2017

Today’s Top 5

John Murray’s winning baits and pattern.

Literally couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Stoked for him. Full juice on BassBlaster.rocks, but here’s the summary:

Strike King 5XD (sexy shad)

> “It has that big rounded lip. A lot of stumps were there, and I wanted a bait to deflect the best it could.

> 7′ 6″ Lew’s David Fritts Perfect Crank Rod, Lew’s Custom Pro Reel, 14-lb Lew’s APT fluoro line.

Smithwick Super Rogue (clown) — A 25-yr-old bait!

Lucky Craft Pointer 128 (chartreuse shad) he got from Skeet (more on why he used this bait on BB.rocks)

> Jerkbait gear: 7′ 11″ Lew’s Super Duty Rod in the lightest action (for the longest cast length), same reel and line as crank.

Gene Larew Tattletail worm (redbug light), Bubba-shotted

> 7′ 6″ Lew’s medium casting rod, Lew’s Custom Pro reel.

He was totally out of 5XDs so here’s what that bait be lookin’ like:

Now Murray has to buy a Death Star.

Said it was cuz he told his boy he’d get one of those ultra-spendy Lego Death Star kits if he won an Elite, but the real reason is cuz those freaks on Tatooine tick him off man!!

Okay it’s the first reason. Since his boy’s request has been running for a couple years, here’s what Murray’s done to hold him off:

This…

…led to this…which is, uh, money there John, good job man:

Then this mysteriously “appeared” in the garage, the same day the soccer ball vanished:

Then there was the BBQ death star:

Every kid loves his dog so Murray was like hmmmmm:

HAHAHA! Have fun putting that Death Star together mang! Might have to take a year off from bassin’ to do it….

Wait, wait, hole up…lemme get this straight: Your son wants a Death Star. You are his father. Means Emperor Palpatine must be:

Yep, Darth Skeeter. lol jk Skeet, love ya man!

Christie’s and Hartman’s baits.

Dudes came close and nearly closed it, but…. Here’s what they used. Christie’s full deets here (some real good stuff) and Hartman’s here on BB.rocks:

Jason

Caught the 9-10 beast and almost all the ones he weighed in on a 1/2-oz BOOYAH Blade spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with double Colorados and a YUM Swim’N Dinger trailer (pearl silver flake) on 22-lb Sunline Shooter:

Jamie

Fished a bunch o’ baits with 3 main deals: C-rigs, jigs and a dropshot. Few bait deets below but the rest here:

> 4 different C-rig baits: a Zoom Fluke (watermelon red), a Zoom Brush Hog (gp blue), a Riot Baits Relic (skirted grub in “slayer” = half gp and half junebug), and a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm (gp candy and watermelon candy). “I was just rotating through them.”

> Custom-made 1/2-oz football jig (watermelon candy) with a Strike King Rage Craw (watermelon red), on 20-lb Hi Seas fluoro.

> 1/2-oz Riot Baits Minima finesse jig (PB&J) with a Yamamoto Double Tail Grub (gp) on 15-lb Hi Seas fluoro.

> Dropshotted a 6″ Roboworm (morning dawn), TX-rigged, with an i1Baits prototype Loudmouth Rattle Weight, which is a glass rattle molded into the lead dropshot weight itself. “Every time you shake it you can hear it clicking.” Not available yet, but he thinks that got him dropshot bites where others didn’t.

Few thoughts after this Elite.

What these wins are proving — The Elites are loaded. Everyone’s good…or great. Anyone can win. I know it’s hard for the fishermen, but as a fan it’s kinda cool. Reminds me a little of college hoops. As a fan it’s pretty cool.

Christie didn’t win but — Jason Christie fished about as good of a tournament as you can fish (hitting ’em hard day 1, then improving from day 2 to day 4) without actually winning.

Jamie who? — Two top 5 finishes in his first 3 Elites? Have we ever had a dude that could hang nationally from NY? (If I’m forgetting someone — entirely possible — sorry.) You know, besides Trump….

Btw said it’s crazy being from NY and fishing down South where just one fish can weigh as much as a NY limit. Here’s a pic of his biggest limit before the Elites:

Maybe…hahaha!

AOY race shaping up — Gonna be a banger. Ott still leading, some rookies up there and guess who: Hack Attack is back. Or never left. Or #Squatch.

5XD killing it — Strike King 5XD crank has figgered in 2 wins in a row: TBend and the Classic. Pretty dang stout.

Drag queen fundraiser to offset NY Elite cost???

Not making this up and the story ain’t dated Apr 1 so guess it’s true??

> Local organizer Bob Giordano said Bassmaster events always take a lot of work — and a lot of resources. “You know, we had to find ways to offset the $180,000 to $200,000 cost of putting the event on. We’ve decided again to make everything free this year, and we’ll have to raise that money to make it all happen.”

> Besides sponsorships, Giordano has decided to try a different kind of fundraiser. Next month, he’ll hold a cabaret night called Camp Fishsticks at the St. Lawrence Valley Sportsman’s Club in Ogdensburg. For entertainment, he’s lined up drag queens from all across northern New York.

With my man Cube on that one. Sooooooo many things I wanna say here but will just go with this: Drag queens at a sportsman’s club to raise funds for bassin’. Apparently I haven’t heard it all.

News

1. NC: Man dies in Little River bass boat collision.

RIP bassin’ brother. Let’s be careful out there folks.

2. GA: Search on for man after bass boat-jet ski collision.

Looking for the jet skiier. Happened at night. I’m assuming the jet ski had no running lights. If so, tragic.

3. CA put a certified scale at “Crullers Car.”

> In light of the numerous record spotted bass being caught at [the lake that can’t be named] in Yuba County, CDFW has placed a certified scale at the Emerald Cove Marina as a courtesy to anglers pursuing state or world record fish.

Translation: We the CA DNR ain’t drivin’ there no mo bass-heads!

4. PA: Susquehanna bass hearings coming up.

5. BPS Cabela’s buyout back on track?

The Cabela’s credit card biz now has a buyer that should be approved by the feds. But apparently the deal won’t close in the the first half of 2017 like was originally thought.

Tip of the Day

Koby Kreiger on focus.

Lemme put this in perspective: The Elitists are better fishermen than 99.99% of us bass-heads…which you really can’t appreciate til you’ve been in a boat with ’em. So be very self-reflective about this short but sweet advice. Meaning, on his worst day Koby focuses better than almost all of us:

Quote of the Day

Until you get out here and fish, people don’t understand that you don’t have that many opportunities in a career to win. So when you get anything other than 1st place [meaning 2nd] it’s just a punch in the gut.

– Jason Christie when I asked him how it felt to finish 2nd. Also said:

> Considering what I found in practice, I’m content with 2nd. But happy’s not the word.

Never a happy feeling to get that close:

Shot of the Day

This makes me think of the fact that I like to touch the bass on the end of my line as quickly as possible. Not sure why, just that way. You?

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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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