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Sorry this'n is a day late. I'm pretty sure someone is sucking hours out of my days! 🤔 Know you've been there. Have a great weekend, catch some and back at ya soon! Bless you
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Gitcha Blaster video fix here:
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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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How KJ Queen bested the best pro in the world this year
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KJ won the NPFL AOY and beat Zack Birge (who finished 2nd) to do it. How? What was his main bait all year? Why does he drink mustard in the boat?? Here we go.
1. Since Zack was arguably the best pro in the country this year and you beat him, are you the best pro in the country? 😁
> "[Laughs] I'd say that we're both dang good pros, how 'bout that. I think we both had phenomenal years this year, no doubt about it."
2. Does drinking mustard in the boat have anything to do with your season and what in the world is up with that??
> "Definitely 100% mustard was a huge deal with my season and...helped me whenever I was in a pinch this year.
> "I'd be fishing and my whole body – arms, legs, hands – would cramp where I couldn't use them. I couldn't rig my baits, couldn't do none of that...I'd be down and out.
> "I'd do a shot of mustard and be back in the ballgame in literally just a few seconds. It sounds crazy but it definitely works, there's no doubt."
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How did you get on it?
> "I feel like my mom actually told me about it. She used to play basketball back in the day and my sister played travel ball – they always used to drink pickle juice and mustard too.
> "In both of those they have vinegar, and I think it's something to do with the vinegar or something, but it stops me cramping up instantly."
[I want to try it now but I'm also am wondering if I should be getting health tips from KJ lol!]
3. Do you like the NPFLs because you prefer fishing shallow, because there's no FFS or...?
> "I love the league, I love NPFL – it's almost like a family atmosphere.... I love fishing with them, but I honestly love the fact that it's no Scope there too. It's full on – you don't have to go back and forth between it.
> "The thing is – I love LiveScope. I'm ate up with LiveScope. But also...my roots were formed by beating the bank and grinding it out with no Scope.... It's just how I was raised and I feel like my roots are there.
> "...I feel like [fishing basics] are not taught as much anymore because you don't have to [know 'em]...just turn your Scope on and go. You don't have to think about water conditions, weather conditions, all the different factors...."
4. What was your #1 technique and bait this year on the NPFLs?
> "100% no doubt about it was a Queen Tackle Porcupine Ball Dead Center 15. I caught at least 85-90% of my fish on it across the entire country, even places like Dardanelle. You're talking about a shallow-water grass, muddy fishery – you wouldn't think to throw that small of an urchin bait.
> "We call it the Dead Center 15 because at the time we came out with it, a lot of your main sizes most people throw...a 13, a 17 and the FullCast, 23s and stuff. The Dead Center is inbetween.
> "It's way smaller than a 17 and you get a lot more bites with it, but it's still big enough where it's not the size of a 13, where it's so small it's hard to throw.... It's got a small bug-looking profile to it."
Was there a main color you used?
> "This year I used mainly 2 colors: 'blue grape' and 'gp green'.
> "When I went up north on the St Lawrence I used 'wintergreen' – which is clear with little big of green flake – in that real clear water. But when I got to Dardanelle, I used that 'blue grape' for the dark contrast – they can see it in dirty water better. Same with Lay Lake."
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Can you run down your rig for it?
> "I use a 2/0 [straight shank] hook for heavier vegetation, and I've been playing with a...frog hook we're coming out with...a thinner-profile frog hook, not your typical super-thick frog hook, and it actually fits that 15.
> "1/16 or 3/32-oz weight depending on water depth – [Queen Tackle] Tungsten Line Through Nail Weights."
He skin-hooks the single hook, and uses a hot screwdriver to make another hole in the bait to run the frog hook through.
If the fish are being real finicky and short-striking the bait, he will run his line through the hole in the top of the weight, tie a treble on and skin-hook the treble to the bottom of the bait. Sometimes fish will swallow that hook so he only does it if he has to.
> 6' 8" MH spin rod with a 3000-size reel, 12-lb CAST X12 Braid usually to 12-lb Seaguar Tatsu.
> "...that stiff and short a rod helps with popping that slack...it pops the slack all the way out of the line, so the rod's not taking away a lot of the action of the bait [as would happen] with a longer rod.
> "Cast X12 Braid has made a huge difference for me this year. That X12 is super thin diameter, and I can throw like 1/3 further than with any other braid. It's made a huge difference for me...especially fishing shallow and in clear water."
5. Who comes up with all these new ideas for Queen Tackle – you or your dad?
> "We both do. It's family run and we both bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes we tell each other, 'Hey that ain't gonna work' and other times we both agree and go forward with it.
> "We've got some really cool stuff coming out in the future."
What's the biggest sleeper deal Queen Tackle makes?
> "The Dead Center 15. And the thing is, everybody throws an urchin and a lot of people throw smaller ones. But that 15 is just the magic size."
Bonus Q: Do you feel like you've finally overcome the stigma of having a sketchy plain white "free candy" van as your tow vehicle? 🤣
> "No, not at all. We stayed at an Airbnb [at Dardanell] and the [owner's] wife said, 'What is that guy doing driving a molester van?' [Laughs]"
Here's what his 2021 Elite rookie year van looked like. It's been wrapped ever since but he still rolls in it:
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Deets on the new Berkley bluegill-shaped walking bait
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That's a walking topwater! Berkley worked with Edwin "just a humble pecan farmer" Evers 😁 on this bait, called the SlapGill, who said:
> "It's a different profile than any other topwater on the market. To my knowledge there’s not a lot of other bluegill-profile topwaters.
> "When you twitch it, it lays over on its side and then comes back upright. When it is sitting at rest, half to a third of the body is out of the water. It’s a really unique bait."
I agree – I fished it a little a couple weeks back and my initial 2c is that it doesn't look or sound like your typical walking bait. Edwin also said he likes to fish it when:
> "...bass are spawning and post-spawn, and whenever you’re fishing around bream beds throughout the summer. Also, anytime you think bass are keying on bluegill, and when you’re trying to get a bigger bite."
Talked to Dan Spengler, Berkley's hard bait designer, about it too.
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Why did you guys come up with the SlapGill – for the action or the bluegill profile?
> "When you look at the topwater baits in today's world, there's popping baits, there's walking baits, there's prop baits, and there's not a lot of...unique shapes on the market. We wanted to create a unique approach to topwater fishing...a super natural-looking bluegill-profile topwater walking bait...something totally unique....
> "We partnered with Edwin Evers on this project, and spent about 3 years developing the bait. ...lots of testing. [Edwin told me he smashed giants on it in practice in 2024 down at Kissimmee/Toho.]
> "...because it's so tall and flat, as you work the bait it will roll on its side and slap the water. If you walk it hard enough, it'll actually slap the water, rolling on its side – walking on its side.
> "The way I really like to fish it personally is I give it a little bit harder snap with a slack line and a little delay. That allows the bait to glide...[and] go underwater for a second then it shoots up, and as it shoots up it will cause the bait to shimmy. I hit it again [to give it] a long glide and shimmy again.
> "The colorways, we partnered with a taxidermist...next to [Berkley's] Spirit Lake Lab facility, and had him build with us from the ground up totally new colors...female bluegill, male bluegill, crappie.... There's one shad color."
[He also mentioned that the SlapGill has different weights in it vs a typical walker so the sound is a bit different.]
Other than the bluegill spawn, have you seen a time when this bait excels vs a regular Spook-type walker – or is it too early yet to know?
> "I've been fishing it outside of the spawn...pretty much anytime in the normal topwater periods. So like early morning and transition to dusk, or cloudy day stuff...it's been really good.
> "I've really been enjoying catching big smallmouth on the 80 size....and some big largemouth on it.
> "...bluegills as a primary baitfish species in lakes across the country...so it's an all-season long bait."
Dan's SlapGill rig
> "I like a shorter rod, like [an Abu Garcia] 6' 10 M F up to a [up to 7'] MH F ("the shorter rod just gives me the fullest control of walking the bait"), Abu Garcia Zenon X Reel, 30-lb Berkley X9 Braid to 17-lb Berkley Trilene Sensation ("it's a mono-type line with low stretch").
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Check these mind-blowing 3-day tourney weights out of South Africa!
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Day 1: 13.78 kg = 30.38 lbs
Day 2: 15.99 kg = 35.25 lbs
Day 3: 19.40 kg = 42.77 lbs
Total: 49.17kg = 108.40 lbs
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🤯🤯 Cat named Nathan Wickham caught 'em and said on IG:
> This past week I had the privilege of representing and captaining South Africa at the SABAA U25 International against Zimbabwe, hosted at Renosterkop Dam – and honestly, this was the most insane week of fishing I’ve ever experienced!
Doesn't say what he caught 'em with (and you can't tell by zooming in on his deck) or if it was/wasn't FFS – but before that he posted a pic of a giant he caught fishing a 7" Sakamata Shad.
Whatever he did, huge congrats to him – insane!
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Alien hybrid urchins!
Dumbest rig ever?
New smallie minnow!
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1. Brandon Palaniuk's current urchin setup is...
BKK Hyperlatch Quad with the built-in swivel and wire "keeper" – He says with that hook, which locks the urchin on there, he's had that same urchin on his rod for a month! Of course, that's because he never caught one on it...KIDDING! 🤣
25-lb Seaguar Tatsu Fluoro – Says you don't have to worry about line size with that technique.
7' 3" MH Alpha Angler ZillavAAder – Super lightweight and high-end graphite to feel light bites.
Daiwa Steez A (8.5) – To pick up slack quick.
2. Jay Przekurat's favorite minnow rod is...
A 6' 10" M XF Lew's LFS Spin Rod. Says he uses it 99% of the time for minnows.
3. Carter Nutt has his own signature camo
Man I love that idea! Because now we can tell the Nutts apart...😁 Kidding!
4. B.A.S.S. confirms FFS coin flip for Elites AND CLASSIC
They didn't say it'd be 50/50 again with the Elite schedule announcement but did mention it in the Elite schedule video. And now they are saying it separately. Wondering whether this time there'll be more without FFS than with, ie the flip side of this year.
New deal:
> One coin flip will determine the live sonar rules for the next two Classics: If the 2027 Classic is designated a non live-sonar event, the 2028 Classic will allow live sonar, and vice versa. This ensures consecutive Classics will showcase both styles of competition.
I get the coin flip anticipation, but maybe make the '27 Classic no FFS since FFS hasn't been restricted at a Classic before.
5. WBE owner surprised the fishing biz is waiting and seeing
WBE = the Elites vs BPT tourney:
> "I can't put my fingers on it. Something's going on internally in the fishing world that, for one reason or another, they're taking a stance of, We'll wait to see how it plays out."
Not sure why he would be surprised? Also:
> [Owner Brian] Bird is...planning to make his money to finance the event from spectators willing to pay their way to either watch online or be on-hand participating in the event. He said, "I can assure you that we plan on it to be very sustainable."
6. KY Lake college tourney had 320 boats
Sounds like a lot even for that lake(s)? What do you think KY/TN peeps?
7. Peter T was a stud!
His B.A.S.S. stats ^. That C-rig catches 'em man!
8. How a guy got busted in a WON Bass tourney
Good story on Byron Velvick's pod (IG clip). Check this comment on the post:
> There have been weights in our release tank that weren’t there when we started several times.
Anyone else ever seen that??
9. Check the 2026 Bassin' Hall of Famers' speeches
I haven't gotten a chance to listen yet but will!
10. You seen the Bandit 50 Series cranks yet?
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16. AL: Oct 3 West Point tourney benefits Cambodian school
Team tourney, winner gets $1,500.
17. NY: Boat clocked going 157 mph on St Lawrence
Someone was about to get locked out...lol, no it was a speed boat apparently doing it illegally.
18. GA DNR found invasive craw in a Lanier tributary
It's green pumpkin-colored of course.
19. AL: Riverview Ramp now open after reno
On the Black Warrior River.
20. Bain Capital bought an aquatic weed mgmnt co??
> ...acquire SOLitude Lake Management, a company that keeps lakes, ponds and stormwater basins clean and free of algae and weeds, from Rentokil Initial for an enterprise value of $230 mil on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
21. MB: Zebras found in 2 more lakes
22. DC: Trump admin announced "modernized" federal fish management
For the salt, potentially good and needed. No mention of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which appears to be at least somewhat outdated.
23. Keep an eye on...
MD banned Glocks too but is getting sued over it
If you travel with one. Didn't realize the MD gov't is CA-level down the road too.
Headline of the Day
Mallards Ferry Fish Eggs Between Waterbodies Through Their Poop
AHA! Take that all you DNRs that accuse us fishermen of being the only "vector" for fish and mussels moving between water bodies. Maybe stop spending our management money on that kinda "enforcement"? 🤔
Post is from 2020, but I just found out about it.
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Real good Peter T colder-water C-rigging centipede tippage
From an older MLFLW post:
> Thliveros believes that the muted action of a Carolina-rigged centipede is the very thing that makes fish bite it. “There is something about its deadness that appeals to the fish, especially in cold water, say 50 to 60 degrees.”
> ...current also warrants use of the Carolina-rigged centipede. The slim, straight profile makes the bait hydrodynamic and it does not catch as much water.
> "Most people thread the centipede on a hook so that the hook sits on the flat underside of the bait. I actually rig the hook in the bait sideways, so that the hook sits in the side of the bait. I have found the bait actually glides better this way."
> ...uses shorter leaders on his...centipede in cold water. He does not want bass to move far off the bottom to get the bait, so he stays with 16-18" leaders.
> ...a spinning rod with 12- or 14-lb mainline, a 1/2-oz weight, and 10-lb [fluoro] leader. “It’s really just a scaled-down Carolina rig that works well with a centipede. The lighter line and fluorocarbon leader are great for clear water and reducing line drag in deep water or current."
> ...prefers natural hues...watermelon, smoke blue, junebug and grasshopper....
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"There's the minnow craze...and the fish have seen a lot of that, so they're super pressured to it."
- Murray State U's Mark Bixler talkin', who with team pard Drew Morgan won the recent Abu college tourney on KY Lake. THEY WON IT ON A SPINNERBAIT! From the MLF site:
> Their winning strategy was..."calculated junk fishing"...targeting isolated stumps, brush and rockpiles.
> With fall bass scattered throughout the lake and fishing pressure accumulated over the summer, Bixler said the key was maximizing the number of new fish they could reach throughout the day.
> Their primary weapon was an old-school spinnerbait.... "There’s the minnow craze and everything right now, and the fish have seen a lot of that, so they’re super pressured to it. When they’re in that fall funk, it can be hard to get them to eat some of those baits."
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Posted by this bass-head on IG:
> Another way I rig the urchin. 3/4-oz jighead with 5/0 hook. Makes getting down to deeper fish [go a] lil faster. Also works great for FFS.
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Looks like I could rig that! 😁
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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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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 or whatever....
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Gitcha BB social at these links
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