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As part of the Kumar house "purge," I'm selling almost all my guitar stuff. Makes me a little sad man. Played a LOT of guitar over the year and truly love the smell of hot tubes and playing in a too-loud band. But I ain't gonna be doing that anymore in life, and big amps aren't really used anymore so.... Plus, when we lost Ed Van Halen, I lost some fire for the ol' 'lectric fiddle.
Got bigger fish to fry – with Mega 360! 😁
For any guitar-slingers, here's a real good recent interview with one of my faves, Steve Morse. Seen him live many times, mind-blowing every time.
Everyone who filled out the "bait testing" deal last year sometime, we're ramping it up! Stay tuned and thank you!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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5 fish, infinity fish, doesn't seem to matter to Ott judging by how well he's fished every year on the MLF Bass Pro Tour. But am I wrong? Is he turning over a new leaf and fishing deep more now? Let's find out!
1. Does going back to a weigh 'em all format favor your 100% shallow-crankin' style? 😁
> "Absolutely. I think it does. And to be honest, I feel like with every fish counts it favors anybody's strengths more. If you're a shallow-water guy, a deep-water guy, if you're a scoper or if you're a hoper. To not have to target the largest fish in a system allows you to find a pattern that can have a lot of fish on it but it's statistically a tournament-winning pattern for that body of water. So it will let an angler fish their strengths more than a 5-fish limit does.
> "The very best case study for that in my opinion is Lake St Clair. We fished it this past season and the season before. When it was every fish counts, 2-3 guys made the top 10 with largemouth. That does not happen when you have a 5-fish limit on Lake St Clair.
> "That's the best case study. There's others, but that's the best one."
2. Since you're mostly a shallow-water fisherman, why are you running two FFS transducers with one on a manual pole?
> "At this point I still only have one wired up. The one on the trolling motor will stay in place all the time. It's kind of a plug and play deal if I want to use the one on the pole.
> "...my personal experience with [FFS], I still want to be able to use [Minn Kota] Spot-Lock, and if it's on the shaft of the trolling motor of course you're limited with that. If I need to use Spot-Lock more, I'll use that pole independently.
> "I guess I'm still more of a target fisherman with Mega Live than I am, say, going after roaming fish in the middle of the lake and chasing 'em down. [Fishing targets] is my comfort zone with it."
[Ott runs down his '24 boat in this YT vid and you can see how all of that is set up. Click the pic below to watch it.]
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3. Have you adjusted your fishing style at all because of this new FFS world?
> "No, not yet. I've spent a little bit of time in the offseason fishing with it more...but no, I've not adjusted my style overall. Partially that's because of the answer to the first question – going back to every fish counts, I don't think you have to do it as much.
> "I'm very thankful for the success I've had. Last year I was right where I needed to be and never weighed a fish with FFS. The year before that was a little off, but the year before that I was right in the running and same deal [no FFS].
> "For some people it's their strong suit, but it's still not for me and it's hard for me to have one foot in and one foot out."
Bonus Q: We gonna see any new Rapala Ott's Garage crankbaits this year?
> "Absolutely, yep. We've got an addition to the line that's a little bigger than what we've had. Maybe it'll work at Toledo Bend here at this first tournament...could be a player down there with the conditions we've got lined up. So hopefully you'll see it a lot early on.
> "The Deep Tiny is in stores right now – man that's a fish-catching bait. That Tiny's an excellent profile and an excellent size, but it runs a little bit deeper. It's been a great addition."
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Foller-up: I gotta ask – I assume that new bait runs 6' or less? 😁
> "[Laughs] Yes, it sure does. Depending on what size line, 5' for sure. You might get 6' out of it."
[6' is DEEP for Ott! Gotta love it!]
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Top 10 baits breakdown from the Toho MLF College Championship
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They fished shallow on Kissimmee with a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Worm (junebug), a Lucky Craft LV RTO 200 lipless, and a Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer (golden shiner) with a Gambler Little EZ swimbait (gp).
Here's you the Top 10 teams' baits broken down:
Speed/swim worm = 40% – Zoom Speed Worm 20%
Jerkbait = 40% – Megabass Vision 110+1 Jr, Rapala PXR Mavrik 110, Megabass Vision 110, Berkley Stunna 112, Megabass Kanata [I blame Brandon Palaniuk for that one lol]
Big swimbait = 30% – KGB Chad Shad 20%, Bull Shad Trick Shad, MM26 Herring Glide
Lipless crank = 20% – Lucky Craft LV RTO 200 [did you know these deals cost $19??], BOOYAH One Knocker (gold and copper shiner)
Stick worm = 20% – Senko, Bitter's Mega Sling, Bitter's Salty Sling
Soft swimbait = 20% – Scottsboro Top Hook
10% each = Bladed jig (JackHammer), Soft jerkbait (Zoom Fluke), Bubba shot, Crankbait = (Strike King 5XD in "TN shad 2.0" and Rapala DT14 in "citrus shad"), Damiki rig
Shout-outs
1. Robert Miller and John Micheal Ortman of Emmanuel U (4th) only fished big swimbaits. #stout
2. Garett Cadenhead and Jared Mizell of Tarleton State (8th):
> "The One Knocker was a noticeable difference over the traditional rattle. During practice, Jared was throwing a silver lipless and I was throwing the BOOYAH, and I was getting bit and he wasn't getting a sniff."
3. Gotta shout out the bassin' Nutts! Bros Dylan and Carter Nutt of the U of North AL who finished 10th. Love it! 😁
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"I upsized the hooks and the bigger hooks made it sink, so I took a little bit of a Chick-fil-A cup and superglued it to the top of it."
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What in tarnation?? That's Ryan Lachniet of Campbellsville U talkin' 'bout modding a Megabass Vision 110+1 Jr. WTHeck?? Who else has modded their jerkbait with a piece of Chick-fil-A cup! 🤯 Full quote:
> "I upsized the hooks and the bigger hooks made it sink, so I took a little bit of a Chick-fil-A cup and superglued it to the top of it. It worked awesome – it was the best suspending action of a jerkbait that I ever had.
> "Me and Drew Gill were rigging them up for 3 days. I made 2 or 3 — he made like 10."
They finished 2nd in that MLF College CHampeenship by 1 oz. They almost won the deal with a Chick-fil-A jerkbait! 😱
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Didja watch the last #SeaFoamWorks Top 5 of the Week yet?
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First one of the year! Goes something like this:
What are FFS baits? Other trend: YUGE! Pros goin' electronics crazy!
SeaFoamWorks.com Top 5 in Bass Fishing, Episode 76:
1. Berkley's all in with FFS baits
2. What exactly are FFS baits?
3. Pros are going electronics nutty? 🤔
4. The other trend: Huge!
5. 40- and 50-lb limits?? 🤯
Just in case you think you've read about it in the BB already, you have most of the time BUT there's actual footage of baits working and stuff in the vids (and some funny stuff):
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Thanks for watching mang!
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Don't see too many (any?) FFS baits man! On the left is the Rapala CrushCity BLT, a Ned bait but:
> "The BLT is made out of a material that floats. I started [dropshotting] it at St Clair with a longer leader to float my bait above the grass and gained a ton of confidence in it. From there I used it on Champlain and the St Lawrence River."
3. Brent Chapman is looking for Pro vs Joe peeps to fish with.
4. Lee Livesay talks new 6th Sense flatsides (IG vid).
5. Chris Zaldain says your wrap colors should match...
...your personality. His wrap is camo so – does that mean Chris' personality is tough to see or broken up or mottled or...? 😁 Oops gettin' into Zaldaingerous territory...😆 Just messin' Chris!
6. When Mark Menendez fishes straight fluoro.
His favorite line for it is Seaguar InvizX:
> "Spooling properly is always one of the most important steps, and I will spool my reel up to about an 8th of an inch from the top of the spool. This isn't too filled where the line will come off too quickly and is still filled up enough to get the best performance.
> "Then, as I'm idling out of a marina, I'll flip my bail and let the line go out about 70 yards behind the boat. This lets all of your line untwist and get spooled back onto your reel tightly and perfectly because of the resistance from the water."
Says straight fluoro for a Damiki rig gives him better vertical fall and control.
7. Gerald Spohrer gets Brown & Root as title sponsor.
8. Yo-Zuri ghost sexy jerkbait spotted again, with Justin Hamner.
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For a year or 2 now been seeing that bait a bunch in pics. I have the regular and deep versions in that "ghost sexy shad" color. 😍
9. Opens angler Emil Wagner will video his Opens journey...
...for AFTCO's Bass Boot Camp deal. Emil won the BFL All-American and wears a smushed up hat better than anyone maybe ever. 😁
10. Hank Parker has a new bait called the PawPaw.
It swims real slow and takes naps in the boat. 🤣 Okay for real – looks like a lipless that he says will come in 3 versions: fast-sinking, slow-sinking and floating. IG vid on it here.
11. FL: A JackHammer won the Harris Chain BFL.
And 10 outta 10 bass-heads ain't surprised! Actually FL's Laramy Strickland won it but you get what I'm saying. 1/2-oz JackHammer got him 30 bass and the win by just 1 oz with 20-01.
Reminder if you've forgotten that the ChatterBait burst onto the bassin' scene with start-of-the-season tourney wins in FL so....
12. TX: Rayburn "Trap" tourney winning baits.
Not just Rat-L-Traps anymore since Bill Lewis makes lipped baits now, BUT the tourney – on Rayburn – was won with these 2 baits:
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Top one is the brand spankin' new Hammer Trap in "gold black splatter orange belly" and the other one is a regular 'Trap in "gold shad." Gold's the new red! Terry Helgeson and Jesse Nash won it with 5 for 19.5 lbs.
Heads up: An all GSM brands tourney is on Toledo Bend in Mar.
13. AL: Jerkbait 'n jig won the Logan Martin ABT.
Interesting because the jerkbait was used with FFS up front, and the jig was dragged in the back for "less active fish."
Jed Lamb and Andrew Loberg won it with 17.52. Fished clearer water with a Lucky Craft Staysee 90 and a 3/8-oz Buckeye G-Man Balling Out Jig (brown/orange) and a Zoom Chunk.
14. PA: More about the Corps' Raystown tourney discrimination.
Keep an eye on this because it's a federal agency – which is supposed to work FOR all the people:
> "We run our tournaments from first light until 2 pm. Participants usually put their boats in the water between 3:00 and 4:00 am. Our anglers are certainly not causing ramp congestion at 4:00 am."
> "We have asked the Corps for data that shows that tournament anglers are causing problems, and they have none. We have asked for specific examples of the problems, and they have none. I have never seen a park ranger at the start or end of any of our tournaments, so where is this coming from?"
Would love to get that last Q answered, under oath.
15. OH: 40.8 mil fish stocked last year, zero bass??
2022 was 52 mil, zero bass. Obviously this is because bass fishing in OH is off the chain amazing...just messin'. I feel your pain OH bassin' bros!
16. LA: Why Caney Lake is producing big fish.
The giant fish that Caney has been kicking out over the last 4-5 years make the lake look like it's new. But it was dammed back in 1986. Why are we seeing what we've been seeing? Opens fisherman Hunter Freeman from a while back in LA Sportsman:
> "It's the hydrilla. It puts the whole food chain on steroids. The shad have a place to spawn. The bream have a place to hide. All the food that a bass eats suddenly becomes more prolific and healthy. And so do the big bass."
FL-strain bass are key too. Other older lakes' fisheries can be renewed too with better habitat. But will the DNRs and other folks who manage the lakes do it....
17. Check the Lunkerhunt Lunker Blade.
Note that "bulge," apparently gives it a different vibe:
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👉 on TW.
18. TX: Christmas trees sunk at Granger.
19. Lightest Shimano Metanium DC reel yet.
> The Metanium DC 70 A represents the lightest and most durable Shimano DC reel to date, featuring a one-piece CoreSolid magnesium frame....
Looks like 6.2- and 6.3-oz depending on retrieve speed. Brand new, don't see it on TW yet....
20. MO: Bassin' Hall of Fame added 3 board members...
...at least 2 of whom are sketchy dudes 😁 (don't think I know Tom):
> Craig Lamb, B.A.S.S. senior editor and been in the biz for decades.
> Tom Lang, director of the TX Freshwater Fisheries Center.
> Guck "Alan" McGuckin, marketing man for brands including Toyota and Vexus Boats, and was the OG marketing guy for Terminator spinnerbaits.
Expect Lamb to yell at folks like he's known to do (lol!) and Guck to only want to talk about original Wiggle Warts. You've been warned board members hahaha!
21. Okuma president Doug Lasko retired.
> Doug has been with Okuma since before Okuma came to the US over 27 years ago.
22. Mike Baumgartner new Rapala western sales manager.
From MN, was with Pure Fishing.
23. Yamaha is buying Torqueedo because of carbon dioxide.
> "Yamaha's acquisition of Torqeedo...helps to accelerate the company's efforts toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. ...Yamaha will have the ability to fast-track the establishment of a small electric propulsion lineup, complimenting the company's efforts with hydrogen and sustainable fuels as additional means of reducing the carbon footprint on the water."
Good luck with that!
24. WI: Green Bay has bad plastic garbage pollution?
PSA
Tackle Warehouse is having a mailing list sale!
If you're not on the mailing list, here's the link anyway! 😎
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Good pre-spawn tips from Davy Hite
Wait – did Davy used to fish? 🤔 Maybe some local fruit jars? 😁 Last I heard he did something with bacon...rind? 😂 Maybe he Gambled with it one time? 🤣 Okay I'm done, some tippage from CarolinaSportsman.com:
> I don't get caught up in whether the water temperature is 40, 42 or 44 degrees. The surface temperature can vary so much from one day to the next, but most of the fish I'm catching are in 6-10' of water, and the temperature at those depths isn't going to change as much as it is on the surface.
> If the water is cold, I'm going to be fishing on the main lake, close to the main river channel. If it's on the warm side, I'm going to be looking around the mouths of major creeks.
> You don't have to be fishing bluff banks, but if you can find banks with a 45-degree slope, those are great. I want to fish places where I'm a cast away from the bank, with my boat sitting in 8-20' of water.
> Lots of fishermen say they are looking for the clearest water they can find. But years ago, I gave up really paying attention to water clarity. I look for baitfish, knowing that I can change the colors of my bait to match water clarity.
> ...I'll have 4 basic baits tied on.... First is...a Rapala Mavrik [jerkbait] in a shad color. Next I'm going to have 2 crankbaits tied on: a #7 Shad Rap and a Rapala DT6, both of them in golds or crawfish colors.
> If it's a really cold day, with water temperature in the low 40s, I'm going to fish that Shad Rap, because I can fish it with a very, very, very slow retrieve.
> The 4th bait I'll have tied on is a Buckeye Mop Jig with a Yamamoto Flappin Hawg.... Most of the time I'll be fishing a 1/2-oz jig, but if they're shallower and I want a slower fall, or if they're in heavy cover, I'll drop down to a 3/8-oz....
> I'm going to fish a brown or watermelon jig when the water is clear, and if the water is stained I'll go with a black/blue jig.
Brown! More good info in that deal...if you wanna believe a SC fruit jar fisherman...who rumor has it once had to mop up at a place called Clarks...hill...😆
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"...in real time I don't know if I'd have been able to make those decisions and execute the way he did."
- Alton Jones Sr talkin' 'bout Alton Jr on BassFan. Full deal:
> "He's such a good strategist and he's probably better at game-planning than I ever was. I feel pretty fortunate that I get to sit around and have brain-storming sessions with him. I'm probably garnering a lot more from him at this point than he does from me.
> "I look at the decisions he made (in Heavy Hitters) and they all make sense to me, but in real time I don't know if I'd have been able to make those decisions and execute the way he did. It sort of made me stand back in awe."
I think Alton Sr is saying that Alton Jr takes after his mom...lol Joneses! 😁
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To all of us in the middle of winter – I know you 😍 this too! @kastkingusa pic on Insta. I'm like, Ohhhh maaaaaan...
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Kentucky city beckons space alien visitors by beaming laser invitation toward nearby star
Sounds like they're the peeps in the sci-fi movie who want to get blown up by the aliens first! Seriously tho – sounds like the CVB needs some results. Any bass lakes around Lexington??
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'!
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