Been crazy-nice Chamber of Commerce weather here in NJ – 70s and not too humid when it should be like 90s and humid enough to make your eyes sweat! Not sure why and not hearing reports that it's improved the bassin' any, but man we'll take it! Hope it's good by you and you're gettin' out!
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Reminder: If your email program cuts off the bottom of this 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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LA's Nick LeBrun won back to back MLF Pro Circuit derbEs! 🤯
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Dang! Only been done 3 times before: Brett Hite ('08), Mark Rose ('17) and Fat Cat Newton, whatever year he won back to back Classics...😂
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Pretty dang stout! He does have a couple bombs before all those finishes, but lately he IS the bomb! 💣 He's hotter than Johnny Storm the Human Torch standin' on an outboard cowling in July on Lake Okeechobee! 😁 What up with this dude! Here's 5 with him:
1. Is there a way to bribe bass to bite and if so how do you do it??
> "I would say deflecting a crankbait off a cypress tree gets a reaction and it triggers 'em. Seen that a little bit this last week."
2. Okay seriously – what on earth is going on?
> "Man it's all God. I'm not that good of a fisherman, man all glory to Him. I'm in a real good season and not just on the water. Life is good, marriage is good, family is good. I'm just making good decisions on the water and He's blessing me. I don't know what's going on, it's crazy."
3. How have you seen God's hand in your tournament life?
> "You know being in this career, you have a lot of ups and downs. There's a lot of time away from your wife and kids and it's not all awesomeness on a pedestal. But when you get a win or get 2 wins, it's really just confirmation from the Lord that I am in His will...doing what you're supposed to be doing and it's part of His plan, not your own [plan].
> "That's real important as far as obedience and faith, and knowing that you're favored by Him and blessed by Him."
[If you're not believer in Jesus that might not make sense to you, but it does make sense if you are. Fyi there's a lot of what seems like "upside down" stuff in God's Kingdom, like obedience = freedom.]
4. Did that check pay for all that gas or did you end up in the red on this one? 😁
> "[Laughed] ...Skeeter FXR21 with a 250 SHO, when you run that to the Chick and back, it's only $200 a day so I think that check's gonna cover it."
[He said he ran 450+ miles in that tourney! 🤯]
5. Are you using electronics in these wins?
> "At the James...Countour+ and their tide chart were key to navigating the river and also in learning what the tide was doing when you were getting bites.
> "I was fishing so shallow I really don't feel like I could have been as effective at covering water if I was glued to the screen – so I really didn't pay a lot of attention to it like I normally would."
Bonus Q: What's your next tourney and how do you feel about Champlain?
> "My next one is Champlain and I feel great about it. I went there as a rookie and I think I finished 18th which was pretty awesome. I caught smallmouth then – largemouth may be more of a player when we go back. But it's gonna be good, I'm excited."
Here's his James River baits:
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> Crankbaits: Sounds like he fished several shallow to ultra-shallow, deflecting them off wood. He changed out the stock hooks to #2 Hayabusa TBL930 NRB Trebles: "They're super sharp and they're strong, but the biggest thing is the NRB coating. In my mind that helps me. Those fish are just swiping at it in reaction, and [with those hooks] you're gonna hook a lot of those fish and get them in....
[NRB = NRB: Non-Reflective Black Fluorine coating "for dramatically enhanced hook-setting performance."]
> "If fish are just chomping a bait...probably can have 10-year-old hooks on there and you can catch them. But in a high-stress situation with money on the line, it's important to do everything you can.... I just love them. I wish I could fish them on everything."
> "I was fishing it around a current seam that went around a dock and a tree...just real slow, let the current drift it through the fish. Less was more – the less I worked it, the more I liked it."
One more deal – here's how his day 3 started:
> "Today started off great. I made the 45-minute run down to the Chickahominy, and there wasn't anyone near my spot. I got in there, got set up, Power-Poled down, made one cast with a crankbait and caught a 2.5- and a 3.5-lber at the same time....
> "I've never caught 2 fish on one cast in a tournament before. Normally when that happens they're little peanuts, but those were two good fish so that was very cool."
🤯 His time to win – again!
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"The straight-shank hook has the best hooking percentage out of all the hooks on the market."
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> "It's the style of hook that many of us started out using, but we got away from it because we got lazy. When we got lazy, we also lost our hooking percentage.
> "The extra-wide-gap hook made it easier to rig the bait straight on the hook and you didn't have to sit there and fix the bait and pull the weeds off of the bait as much.... However, even though it's a little easier to use, I've found that the hooking percentage is far better with a straight-shank hook....
> "The difference between a good angler and an average angler is that a good angler won't get lazy and will take that extra split second to rig the bait correctly on a straight shank so it appears more natural."
I feel like Ish is talking to me...from the past, which is a little weird but all good! Ish we were both skinnier back then hahaha! 🤣
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5Qs with Catch Co CEO and "crazy" idea dude Ross Gordon.
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What on earth are Ross Gordon and Catch Co doing? Why do they do so many things so differently and so well – and then do more stuff well? What does any of this have to do with the shelf life of Twinkies and Little Debbie snack cakes??
Not sure 😁 but it's fo sho worth taking a peek into Ross's brain, so here we go:
1. Why move into retail when everyone in brick/mortar is emphasizing ecommerce?
> "That is a really good question. We've obviously been focused on digital the last 10 years and I think we've done a good job there. Our M-O is to find new ways to engage with customers, and we thought we could do a new type of in-person experience with customers that hasn't existed yet...we had to try it.
> "And we'd heard from our investors [and others] that they've seen quite a lot of success with their retail stores."
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2. Should we expect you guys to get into boat building, kayaks and electronics soon? Not sure there's much left??
> "Well we don't have any immediate plans – we've tested selling on Karl's inflatable kayaks and some of that...I still think we have a lot of innovation to do on ecommerce. So we haven't really taken a close look at moving into those spaces, at least in the near term."
3. Who wrote this plan for you guys to take over the fishing world – was it someone from Spectre or Dr Evil or...? 😁
> "[Laughed] Honestly we never had a plan to take over the fishing world. When we started Mystery Tackle Box, it was just about creating something fun and different as a way to help anglers to discover new tackle.
> "I've always been a person that does one thing and then looks around the corner to see what else is there, so we stumbled into where we are today – it was not a master plan.
> "So we've just always been about curiosity and asking questions and seeing what's next."
4. Do you ever run stuff by friends or a board or whatever and actually get a no?
> "Yeah, we have a lot of ideas. The first person I ever told the idea of Mystery Tackle Box to was a co-worker and tournament angler, and he said it was a terrible idea. I almost listened to him.
> "When we first thought about the idea of going into retail 3-4 years ago, our board said they thought it was too early. We had too many other things going on. Thankfully we have a good board and a good group of investors that keep us focused and balanced with our desire to innovate...allows us to walk that fine line."
5. What one thing or project that Catch Co has done so far is your personal favorite?
> "Oh man that's a hard one. The easy answer is Mystery Tackle Box because it was the first thing and was how we got our start. But honestly I think what we did with Mike Bucca and the Baby Bull Shad, and just the collaborations we've done in general with smaller creators, has been super interesting.
> "We found a way to do things smaller [bait] designers are doing at a smaller scale [and expand them] and tell their stories. Every time I watch the Bucca documentary I always get the chills from it. So I put that ahead of MTB."
Bonus Q: What's your favorite bait you guys have come up with so far?
> "My personal favorite is the Trashmaster Jig, a collaboration we did with Steve Parks of Rage Tail [who designed the Strike King Rage baits]. I always have one on at all times.
> "I wasn't much of a jig fisherman until I started using that bait. I started throwing it around a lot of wood and heavy cover...just an outstanding jig and it really gave me confidence in that technique."
Here's that jig in watermelon red:
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If you can't tell from the Q&A and the pics, Ross is a good dude, a smart dude, a fun dude who doesn't take himself too seriously, and he can fish. Good combo mang!
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Michael Jordan fishes to CALM his competitiveness??
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> "Now, the challenge is to calm those nerves. That's why I do a lot more fishing now. I would have never thought I would get on a boat and go fishing, but the combination of patience and trying to catch a fish, trying to be patient. It's not gonna happen. You can't make it happen. You just got to be ready when it does happen.
> "Those are all things that I think calms me down a lot more than if I'm playing any sport, if I'm playing golf or if I'm doing anything competitive because I think that's what I need. That's the therapy that I need to help soothe some of these competitive juices that I have."
Sounds like all MJ has to do is win a wildcat and then...🧨! Gonna make a prediction: If Mike ever fishes against KVD, even in the same boat, it's game over – MJ will be in a bass boat trying to whup up on folks. What I mean is: Kevin will bring that out in him, no doubt!
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Glad he's doing okay, little bit of a scary deal.
> Berkley Powerbait General – "...the 5-inch General. This bait is the reason I get to fish professionally, instead of paving and patching highways like I used to. It's so versatile that I've literally built my pro career on it. I can wacky-rig it, Texas-rig it or Neko-rig it – and always have super-high confidence that I can catch keepers with it."
Quick YT vid – it's really a piece of TRD and he does it so the pork won't roll and foul the hook point. Cool trick.
Aka reeds. Josh is out in his homeland, cactus country, and flips up this 8+ dangalicious melon along the way of him teachin', and he's a good teacher:
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> "I was using 12-lb line so it was just a real good fight. He come up, jumped a couple of times, and you get all nervous when you see the size of him, and see him jumping. It was spectacular. Gave me the fight of a lifetime for sure."
Tourney chief Rob Aftuck said Cayuga Lake is "exploding" with baitfish:
> "There's so many sawbellies and gobies and alewives, it's just crazy. Everything you catch out of that lake is fat."
No joke man – check out what it did to Kermit:
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So don't eat any til they switch over to Yamaha...lol.
Jason Maxedon who had been serving as the interim executive director since the end of Apr.
11. Fenwick has new bass rods.
For saltwater but I'm sure the basses will like 'em. (Bull Mull? Bullet Mullet? Switching brain onto a different track now...)
Don't think I've heard of that reel but it's fully Spool Speeded and is $114.95 (7.2:1).
Those new, super-efficient but super-expensive props:
> The terms of the agreement allow Sharrow Marine to manufacture its award-winning propellers in [Yamaha's] state-of-the-art facility and foundry in Greenfield, IN. Yamaha will also be offering Sharrow Propellers through its boat builder and dealer distribution channels.
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Line of the Day
Line from a CA DNR post about hatchery trout. I'm assumin' "humanely euthanized" has to do with a hot pan, some butter, salt 'n pepper....
PSA
Here's last week's Sea Foam Top 5 of the Week in Bassin' fun stuff yo!
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Taku Ito: What's the Free Rig and how to fish it.
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> As the rig is cast out, the weight falls first and the soft plastic falls slowly behind it in a free-flowing and unpredictable way. Ito says this falling action is what makes it so deadly.
> "The free rig is similar to the Texas rig, but not the same. The Texas rig is much better for heavy cover, but the free rig is the best for suspended fish. It started to get popular in Japan around 5 years ago on Lake Biwa, which has a lot of grass like Lake Guntersville in AL. The bass suspended over the grass and were hard to catch until they started to use the free rig."
> Ito says it's best during the post-spawn period, all summer long, and into the fall. "It works around grass, brushpiles and when bass suspend under docks. Most of the time it's done between 5 and 25 feet of water. Any shallower and the bass don't suspend as much and the bait falls too fast.
> "15 feet is the average depth I use it in and it's better in warm water because when the water is cold, the bass mostly rest right on the bottom and don't suspend.
> "Having slack in your line is very important to get the right fall because as the weight falls first, you want the plastic to free fall behind it. The fish will bite it as the bait falls and you will see your line swimming away – or with forward-facing sonar you can see the fish eat the bait.
> "I let the bait fall to the bottom, shake it a few times, and make another cast. You make a lot of casts with it because the fall is when you get the bites."
> ...7' to 7' 3" H baitcast rod paired with a Shimano Metanium XG reel. For line, he goes on the heavy side with 17- to 25-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon. Tatsu is the world's only double-structure fluorocarbon mainline...fuses 2 custom 100% fluorocarbon resins, creating the best combination of strength and castability.
> "Tatsu is so good and a very strong line. Usually I like 20-lb but will go heavier on a lake with big fish and many trees, like on Lake Fork in TX. Lighter line makes the bait fall too quickly. You want it to stay in the water column and sink slower so you can suspend the bait for longer."
> While many Japanese imports are finesse techniques with downsized baits, Ito prefers large soft plastic baits with curly trails or plenty of appendages. This helps add time for the bait to fall....
> "I like baits like the Zoom Ol' Monster 10-inch worm with a big curly tail, or a big creature bait with a lot of appendages to slow it down. You want the bait to grab water and fall slowly. Baits like a Senko or Fluke fall too fast since they have straight tails. I also don't like anything less than 4 inches long because they also fall too fast."
> He prefers the Fuji Rig Suberu [weight] that's made of tungsten with a line guide that allows for smooth line movement. "Normally, I like 1/4-oz but will use 3/16 for shallower water and 3/8-oz for deeper brush."
> Ito will also use a bobber stop, adding two of the Ryugi Rubber Stoppers just above his hook. "Without those, the weight can get stuck to the knot sometimes."
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"I am a firm believer of fairness, especially when fishing a tournament for money. I would suggest that either everyone in a tournament uses one of these or that everyone fishing that tournament goes without them."
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"...we have nowhere to put a 300-lb pig...safely."
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', 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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