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Check these reeds at the drawn-down Dead Sea. The top of that discoloration in the middle is the typical water line. What got me was how much reed is below the water – even though I "knew" the depth there, I didn't visualize what that meant. Kinda like saying 20' isn't deep, it's just a boat length.
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Gonna make ultra sure my jig/plastic is on the bottom now!
Other than that, for all the folks who turned me onto it, watched the new Missing 411 movie – it's good, and some reeeeal weird, head-scratching stuff in there. Word is the ex-cop who does all this investigating, Dave Paulides, never goes to any National Park alone anymore...and is armed, and has someone with him who is armed. Makes ya think, or at least makes me think!
Let's git bassin'!
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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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Hawg hunter Josh Jones caught 5 for 61.37 lbs?? 👀
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Saw this at the time, forgot about it – here you go. Outstandin' 'n mind-blowin'! From the Beaumont, TX paper:
> ...big bass hunter Josh Jones claims he caught 31 bass over 8 lbs at O.H. Ivie in a single day in mid-Dec, including 2 13-lbers, 4 other double-digits, 11 over 9 lbs and 14 over 8 lbs. The heaviest 5 added up to 61.37 lbs. Jones calls it the heaviest 5-fish catch from a public lake ever recorded cast-to-catch on video.
> All of them bit a 3/8-oz white 6th Sense Divine Braid Swim Jig rigged on 22-lb fluorocarbon line. Jones said he lost another fish he estimates weighed upwards of 14 lbs.
> Rather than casting to individual fish [using FFS], Jones said he made repeated casts to a sweet spot about the size of a pickup, watched his jig sink and hoped for the best as he retrieved the bait slowly back to the boat. He described the spot as a featureless flat in 25' of water near a river channel dropoff.
> "Probably 99 times out of 100 I'm going to see a fish and throw at it. But that's not what happened in this deal. I was blind-casting and watching my lure. They were coming out of nowhere."
> Interestingly Jones said he went back to the spot the next day and only caught 2 fish. The next day, he never caught a bass. "It's the first time I've ever fished that lake and not caught a fish."
Man I'd take 5 for just 30! 😆
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5 Qs with Capt Skylar Hamilton
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Do you know that in the Navy captain is one rank below admiral? Well, that has nothing to do with why Skylar is a captain...😁 He's a guide now, lives in TN near Cherokee and Douglas, but because he got his captain license can guide anywhere in the US. I was like, "Can you guide me for splake in Maine??" 😝
Okay just messin', no desire to fish for splake or for that matter anything that's not a bass. Here's 5 with El Capitan:
1. Why are you guiding?
> "I'd like to say I have a lot of time, but I really just enjoy taking people out that want to learn. It helps me learn...especially crappie fishing – that's been a big eye-opening experience for me.
> "I just enjoy learning these things with people and showing them what I know – and in return I always learn something from someone that might not be as experienced. Sometimes you realize it's a lot more simple....
> "I feel it helps me in my overall career to take people out and just go fish."
2. Has fishing for crappie taught you anything about fishing for bass?
> "Man I haven't bass fished since the Mississippi River [Elite]! I learn so much about what fish look like on my [Lowrance] Active Target, which species are which...how bass interact with other species of fish. I can always tell when a bass swims through a brushpile and what it does to the crappie.
> "It's just super neat being out there and watching how everything kind of interacts. In the long run I'm sure it will help me...I just learn so much every time I go out."
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3. How would you say you've been fishing the last couple years? [Check his finishes here.]
> "Mediocre. Well below what I would like to do. I'm growing up and fishing my career in a weird time – I'm young but I started fishing before all the forward-facing sonar [FFS] and all that. Even though I'm only 28, I'm having to learn it just like everybody else.
> "...this new generation growing up, they're so far ahead of us. I'm not saying that's why my fishing has been mediocre, it's just part of what I have to figure out to become better.
> "...not to my standards at all – I'm not happy with it. I feel like I'm fishing good, just the results aren't [good]...so it's kind of frustrating.... The only thing I can kinda point to is the FFS because in years past I could catch like 20 lbs a day on the St Lawrence and make a top 20. But [with FFS that's not good enough anymore and] it's a whole new process – like starting over, really."
4. What advice would you give to someone who is aiming for the Elites?
> "I always tell people to get out and fish with as many people as they can. I would tell them to focus on electronics now more than anything just because of the way things are going. But you also have to have the fundamentals down. Just because you have the newest graphs doesn't mean you can go out and compete – you still have to know how to fish.
> "So really focus on the basic fundamentals – at the end of the day that's what separates professionals from really good fishermen. Casting ability and just overall knowledge of everything is more important than electronics, but you definitely have to understand electronics these days, more than in years past.
> "There's only one John Cox, you know what I mean? Not everyone can be like him."
[Come to find out recently there's actually TWO John Coxes – one that fishes 0-2' and one that fishes 2-4'...😆 The 3rd John Cox, who fished deeper than 6' once, is still in therapy – it's all real hush-hush...🤣]
5. What one bait would you fish this time of year all over the country?
> "A 3.3-inch Googan Baits Saucy Swimmer (pro blue red) on a 1/4-oz head, but that [weight] can be changed easily – a ball head with a screw-lock style. I make my own with Do-It Molds.
> "Anywhere the water's not frozen you can catch a fish on it right now. It's super-versatile, it's the right-size bait – smallmouth bass, largemouths, spotted bass, it doesn't matter. It's just a great bait and super-easy to throw. All you have to do is change the size heads for whatever depth you want to fish."
He fishes it on a 7' 1" Favorite Sick Stick Spinning Rod, a Favorite Rush Spinning Reel (2500), and 10-lb Vicious No Fade Braid (Hi-Vis Yellow) to 8-lb Vicious Crystal Clear Fluoro.
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Top 10 TOURNAMENT baits of all time: #4 – Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver
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Why
Pretty sure only trees want to imagine life without beavers – HAHAHA der! Is this the most-flipped soft-plastic shape of all time? Maybe. Anyhow, the unique shape and profile of this bait redefined "creature bait," and it caught on real quick with Tour anglers – who pitched, flipped and punched it "nekkid," and used it as a jig trailer...and still do.
History
Former tour-level fisherman Andre Moore launched Reaction Innovations in 2002 and the Sweet Beaver was part of that launch. The new shapes and colors the company came out with were new and good, but retailers took a little time to embrace the baits because of Andre's somewhat "inappropriate" marketing approach. That's all down the river now, and the Beaver is one of the most sold and emulated soft-plastics of all time – because it works.
On Tour
Waaaay too many high finishes on the tours to call out but here's a few:
- Andre won the 2002 Beaver Lake, AR FLW on a Sweet Beaver and the 2005 Beaver FLW on a Smallie Beaver.
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- Matt Herren used the bait to win the 2007 FLW Series event on Dardanelle, AR.
- In 2008 Ish Monroe relied heavily on the Sweet Beaver to win the Cali Delta FLW Series tournament.
- More wins: Jimmy McMillan in 2009 (Okeechobee, FL FLW Series), Todd Castledine in 2011 (Toledo Bend, TX EverStart), and Fred Roumbanis in 2012 (Neely Henry, AL PAA Tournament).
Of course Reaction Innovations Beavers and similar shapes often with similar names continue to be used at all tournament levels and just fun-fishing.
Runner up: Zoom Brush Hog
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The OG creature bait that started it all apparently is still the top-selling bait in the category. How it happened, from a 2005 post:
> The Brush Hog really took off around 1998 when Zoom pros and others started scoring big in national tournaments on the unique soft-plastic....
> "We had the Brush Hog forever before it ever started to sell," Zoom president Ed Chambers Jr. remarks. "We had it 11 or 12 years.
> "It took off about a year before [Davy] Hite won the Classic. It took off in LA and then AR. I had a little distributor in MS who came to the plant, saw the molds and said, 'Man, what the heck is that?' We hadn't even named it and didn't really know what we were going to do with it.
> " He said, 'I want 300 bags of red shad, tequila sunrise and a few other colors.' For 4 or 5 years, each year he'd buy 300 or 400 bags of 4 or 5 different colors. And that was about all there was to it.
> "When we put it on as a standard (item)...for 3 or 4 years it just sat there and didn't do a thing. And then the pros started using it for flipping and pitching, and boom! And when it did, good Lord, it suddenly became a whole category that everybody called creature baits or freak baits."
> Chambers and his father, Zoom founder Ed Sr, were attempting to invent a variation of a tube bait, which was red hot at the time, when they developed the Brush Hog. "We just kind of pitched it together," Ed Sr adds. "We had fishermen on the pro staff that would come in and say that they wanted it this way and that way. So finally, we just decided to put it all together in one bait.
> "And it was ugly. We called it the Big Ugly for a long time. Now it's definitely one of our best sellers."
The Big Ugly! 😀 You can go back as far as 2004 to find the Brush Hog playing a critical role in wins, like Mark Davis at the Alabama River Bassmaster Elite 50. In 2009, Andy Morgan nearly won the Norman, NC FLW Tour using both a Brush Hog and a Sweet Beaver. Mike Pharr won in 2010 partly by using the Brush Hog as a jig trailer at the Texoma, TX Bassmaster Open, and James Elam TX-rigged the bait to win at the Fort Gibson, OK Central Open in 2015.
Many more flippin and rigging wins and high finishes with it at all levels.
Honorable mentions – flip baits:
1. Strike King Ragers – There's more than 2 dozen Rage baits, seems like the Rage Craw and Rage Bug are the most popular for flippin and jig trailers.
2. Missile Baits D-Bomb – The youngest bait on this list, it's here because it's gotten a lot of traction with bass-heads, partly because of Ish Monroe being such a force with it...which is why it should be renamed the Ish Bomb Crews! 😁 Notable was Ish bombing 108 lbs on it at the 2012 Okeechobee Elite.
3. Zoom Speed Craw – Does anyone actually use this bait? Nah! 🤣 A real versatile craw-style bait that is compact yet still moves a lot of water with its paddle claws. Can be used for flipping but is mostly punched and used as a trailer. Still real popular on Tour.
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Some cool baits 'n rigs I tripped over
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Ever seen that bait? Ever heard of FMTC? If so you got me beat! Why it's in here:
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From 10+ years ago – looks like it's actually the reason Keitech Fats have those holes/indents under 'em:
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Believe it'll make the Keitech run deeper without a nose weight, jighead or weighed hook, but maybe trim those weights so they don't stick out? Gif is from this YT vid:
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Maybe this rig'll get revived with the finesse BFS baitcasting setups? Shoutin' out the KastKing Kestrel Elite Bait Finesse Baitcaster. I think they might be coming out with a BFS rod? Wonder if more companies will have BFS-specific offerin's at ICAST this year....
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Sea Foam Top 5 of the Week, Episode 32!
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Sounds like we lost him to cancer. He was a saved man. Please pray for his family. 🙏✝️ Bless you bassin' brother.
2. Interesting stuff from Randall Tharp about this season.
> "I believe the five-fish weight will allow for opening up a bag of tricks that we are all good at using. The tournaments will be more dynamic. I think the 5-fish approach is the best way to emphasize the big fish we catch.
> "I'm just not a guy fishing 25' deep using a dropshot. Some of those guys who fish offshore are so far ahead with forward-facing sonar – Wheeler, Connell, Neal, they're just so good with it. I still like to fish shallower and can use the technology. Looking under docks is a prime example of using the tech to your advantage.
> "You have to change with the fast-evolving technology. It's so fascinating to see how things evolve. I prefer the instinctual events, but we don't see as many of those anymore."
3. Ott DeFoe's Rapala Rocco setup (YT vid).
Same for the Rocco as for the Slim. Here's Ott's Rocco intro vid on Rapala YT.
4. OK: Luke Palmer and Bradley Hallman will be at...
...Lucky Lure Tackle in OKC on Jan 21, 9am-12pm.
5. All kinda pros will be at these fishing shows this month.
6. Bill Lowen's jersey on eBay for St Jude.
7. 2nd year Elitist Jonathan Kelley gets Revital Outdoors.
Gitcha bod CBD'd at RevitalOutdoors.com!
8. Elitist Jonathan Kelley gets Aqua-Vu.
9. Throwback to when rookie Casey Ashley won...
...the Smith Mountain Lake, VA Elite with a shakey head and a Jewel Eakins Jig. Casey has won some tough tourneys! Just stumbled across this deal....
10. TX: New Graham Lake record.
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> Dr. Aaron Purdy...caught a whopper of a largemouth bass on Jan 2 that appears to have broken a Graham Lake record that stood for a decade. ...bass that weighed 12.42 lbs on the...certified scale....
Prior record was caught Feb 2, 2013 and weighed 12.34. No bait info given.
11. New BOOYAH Hard and One Knocker custom colors. 👀
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They all look good but I really like "graffiti craw" and "bulletproof gill."
12. SC: City Council voted yes on $75K for Elite event on Santee.
13. AR: Hot Springs sponsoring USA Bass.
The 2023 Pan American Bass Fishing Championship and the 2026 Bass Fishing World Championship will be on Hamilton.
14. More Eakins finesse jiggin' tips from the man himself.
> He will pitch or flip the jig close to the cover as quietly as possible, let it fall on a slack line, then once on the bottom he will reel in the slack and begin crawling it slowly back to the boat.
> Fish will sometimes follow the jig without striking, so he crawls it until it is under the boat, then hops it before bringing it up to entice a wary follower.
> A slack line is crucial to making the jig appear as natural as possible.
> When he feels a fish, he will jerk straight back, careful not to break the light line. Eakins leaves the reel's drag fairly loose to prevent line breakage.
> Eakins says that the most difficult part of finesse flipping and pitching is feeling a strike. There is no "thump" to speak of most of the time. The strike is very subtle as fish pick it up and start swimming with it, so watch the line for any sign of movement. If something feels different during the retrieve, set the hook!
15. TX: Crayfish growth behind 3-4 weeks.
Farming, not sure if lakes too but I assume so?
16. WI DNR giving grants for projects to grow angler base.
17. New smaller Garmin EchoMap displays.
> ...new EchoMap UHD2 series chartplotters...with a 6", 7" or 9" bright, sunlight-readable touchscreen display with keyed assist....
18. Gordon Peters new Carolinas sales mgr for T-H Marine.
Line of the Day
"It tastes a little bit like roast beef. It's very tender."
Guy talkin' 'bout muskrats. Okay I'm interested...wait – "a little bit" doesn't sound like enough to eat a water rat??
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Rick Clunn talks a 50-yr-old technique to catch winter feesh.
Looong social post but interesting as Rick's stuff always is:
> In the early '70s I became aware of a late-winter technique on how to catch some of the largest bass you would catch all year. Tommy Martin shared stories of an older guide on Toledo Bend that used this technique to catch very large bass. He was using a Spoonbill Rebel but..he was using a sweeping technique.
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[Looks like Spoonbills are no longer made but somehow a few new ones are still available online?]
> For historical accuracy, jerkbaits did not even exist at that time. What eventually became known as a jerkbait was known as a minnow bait, like the early Rapala Minnow and Smithwick Rogues. They were twitched sub-surface a foot or 2 and allowed to float back up or twitched on the surface as a topwater.
> The Spoonbill had a much larger bill. He would make a long cast, reel it down, pause it and then start a series of long sweeping movements with intermittent pauses back to the boat. This became a very effective technique for larger bass. He achieved much deeper depths than the short-billed minnow lures, and the pause became very seductive to the larger coldwater bass.
> I developed this technique and started catching my first 30-lb tournament weights. I would cast the Spoonbill past visible targets, submerge weedbed edges and creek channels. The longer the cast the better. ...I would reel the spoonbill down about 1-2' and then force it deeper with these rod-created sweeping motions. Most of the strikes would occur on the pause, and the pause interval became the key.
> The first tournament I ever won on Falcon Lake I won using this technique on a cold Feb weekend...found the bass suspended about 5' deep beside salt cedar trees. They would only hit the spoonbill when paused at least 3 seconds....
> ...the wind went from calm the first day to 20 mph and gusting the second. My cast missed the target by 10 yards.... I knew where the winning fish were. How do I get my lure to them? I opened my tacklebox and started brainstorming....
> After several other poor choices, I tied on an old flat-sided medium-size crankbait. It cast like a bullet...I swept in down beside the dead bush, paused it and the tournament was over. From that time forward I would fish the spoonbill when accuracy was not critical and the flat-side crankbait when it was.
> Eventually, some MO and AR Ozark anglers started weighting their Rogues and Long A's to get them to suspend at deeper depths.... Due to the weighted lures castability, the Spoonbills disappeared from most tackleboxes. The sweeping part of the technique changed to more of jerking motion. The pause still remains a very important part.
> I too now depend on the modern suspending jerkbaits...I will jerk it like most anglers but I still use the sweeping motion as well.
> Still overlooked by most anglers during these cold-weather months is the flat-sided crankbait method.... I found the fish for my biggest 1-day catch last year using this technique....at Lake Chickamauga. After a poor first day of practice I switched to the smaller flat-sided crankbaits and used the sweep and pause technique.
> ...I went to the Ichikawa smaller 45 MD. I chose the 45 over the deeper 65 MD or DD that I use when trying to sweep the lure to depths of 3-8'. It was early spring and the submerged grass was within 1-2' of the surface. I was working the shallower inside grasslines sweep...14-lb mono.
> Psychologically when you know that it is going to take giant bags to win it is hard to practice with smaller lures. I continually remind myself that even though it may take other lures, the most important quality of smaller lures is that they will show you if active fish live there. Under tough conditions you will miss them with larger lures.
Is that gold or what! Here's Rick with the Ichikawa 45MD, 65MD and 65DD:
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"Just didn't seem like they wanted to guard the bottom of the nest, and you could tell that by looking at the fish."
- Reaction Innovations founder Andre Moore talkin' 'bout how he won the 2005 Beaver Lake FLW, and the fish he's referring to he had to catch with a dropshot. Innerestin'!
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Gonna assume that's not a kid's arm so that's a fo-sho ultra mega super hawg-squatch ditch melon! Dang son! Posted by @romanmade swimbaits:
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All you music peeps – ever hear of Neal Morse? I hadn't til he showed up in my YT feed. Found out he founded the prog rock band Spock's Beard, then after his daughter was miraculously healed he gave his life to Jesus, quit the Beard and launched a new band. Amazing but – is the music any good?
Disclaimer: I'm not a big prog rock dude – 8, 12, 30-minute "overwritten" songs (my 2c!) – but I'm for sure a big fan of great musicianship and Neal has it and so does his band. His drummer is one of the founders of Dream Theater: Mike Portnoy.
Just starting to explore his tunes, but here's a couple I dig:
"Bird on a Wire" (studio) – 7:22 – I've listened to this at least 20 times this week.
"Seemingly Sincere" (live) – 11:08
I'm hearing some Yes, Kansas, Styx (rock not pop Styx) and other stuff in his tunes. Since I'm a music first/lyrics last guy, not real sure what the songs are about yet but I dig the music and playing.
Believe Neal might live in TN? Someone get him in a bass tub! 😁
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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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