With all the LiveScope, Flogger and whatever stuff getting kicked around on social, just wanna encourage us all not to get cynical about anything in bassin'. I mean, why get cynical about something you love? Why judge peeps who fish maybe in ways you don't like – or maybe just think you don't like? The beauty about this deal is we can do it however we want. Don't like electronics? Don't use 'em. Don't like Floggers? Don't use 'em. Don't like spinning rods? I hear you. 😂
In my 2c one of the greatest things about bass fishing is it's always the same AND it's always changing. A TX-rigged worm will still ketch 'em, no 'lectronics needed. But if you love seeing the whole underwater world and wanna video-game fish, have at it.
The pros do what they have to do to compete and win. If there's a better map, bait, electronics, technique, whatever – they'll be all over it, just like you'd expect them to. Would you rather have a land line, paper and pencil, and only a film camera to record your fish catches? Or a walk-behind push mower?? You get what I mean.
Sometimes cynicism can be tough to fight, and social media for sure brings out the worst in some folks...probly the same folks who pull up and fish 10' away! 🙄 Just hopin' we all won't let that stuff trickle over into bassin', which is THE BEST thing in the world mang!
Thanks for readin', let's go!
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How the victorious nature of Jacob Wheeler once again expressed itself.
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😂 Felt like I couldn't just say "how he won" again. It's his 4th BPT win, pretty dang impressive because of how stacked the field is, the format (weights are zeroed), and there's no real spot/technique secrets at the St Lawrence...that I'm aware of anyhow. Here's his bait and a little more info – as usual the full rundown's on the BB site:
> "...I was looking a little deeper. It was the opening of bass fishing season up there in NY...tons of boats fishing...up there from PA, NY, traveled up there for vacation and rightfully so, it's an unbelievable fishery.
> "...not just understanding competitors, you had to understand [lots of] areas getting more pressure. In areas that got the most pressure, it wasn't easy to catch those fish [even though] smallmouth tend to be really aggressive on the bed.
> "Really quick I realized that wasn't the way to go. I wanted the ones that weren't messed with, so I started looking a little deeper. ...big giant flats – you had to troll for miles to find the areas where they were congregated. A ton of dead water....
> "[When he found them that meant] I could manage my own fish. That was key."
Electronics didn't factor much beyond mapping:
> "A lot of times you could just see a couple cleared-off [areas]. Some beds were obvious but a lot of the best ones I found you could just see a couple [white] shells...cleared off. They were a little darker, harder to see but you had to visually see it first [not with electronics]. You can't troll around with the Flogger in the water, that's pointless."
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He fished on the bottom with Ned rigs, dropshots and VMC Tokyo Rigs. Said he had 2 of each on deck:
> 12-lb leader: "I was getting fish in a lot quicker than most – getting their head up – [by] beefing up my leader.
> "...dropshot had a way-better hookup ratio. But sometimes they would go down and bite my weight, and that's when I knew [to change to the Ned].
> Ned rig: Same baits as dropshot, 1/4-oz Ned head, same rod/reel/line as the dropshot.
> Tokyo Rigs: VMC Tokyo Rig with a 3/4-oz VMC Cylinder Weight to get it down fast. "I started off using the Finesse Neko Tokyo Rig setup, then ended up swapping to the 3/0 wide gap [regular Tokyo Rig]. The fish would go down on the bait, nip it, and get it under their chin – I would foul-hook them. But with the TX rig I would never get them til they got the bait."
He shouted out the Mrs for holding down the fort so he can show the fishes who's boss. 👊
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5 Qs with the 4-time BPT champ.
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1. When did you meet the Flogger and was it love at first sight?
> [Laughs] "I am not a Flogger master by any means. I've seen guys do it for years and have had one for over 5 yeas, but this was the 2nd time ever in a tournament that I've used it."
[He did say he once met Sir Thornington Flogger III, distantly related to the Earl of Sandwich, and it was an "unforgettable experience."
Okay I made that up...but I was thinking of a TX brisket sandwich 'n beans....]
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2. A "googan" means you're a noob – do you still consider yourself a noob at fishing?
> "I don't know about that one."
[Lol!]
3. The MLF site says one of your hobbies is tennis?? Is that playing, watching or making fun of it? 😁
> "It's funny watching it and making fun of myself trying to play it."
4. Is there 1 bait you always have tied on no matter where you go?
> "The Googan Baits Bandito Bug. I always have that sucker rigged up on something."
5. You always seem to have the latest, greatest things to catch 'em. How are you getting on this stuff? Who are you learning from?
> "Dude I spend countless numbers of hours studying, preparing – probably too much time, truthfully. But I pride myself on knowing trends or starting trends...trying to to everything I can to be on top of the latest trends."
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"The problem is I can't get zoned in just to catch fish. You have to leave 3-lbers...to go find 3.25-lbers."
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- Elitist Caleb Sumrall speakin' facts 'bout the upcoming smallmouth tourneys. It's not catching 5, it's not catching 5 good ones, it's catching 5 better ones...every day (duh!). But sometimes you don't need the balance beam or a scale because you just know:
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Okay not a bass but lookit this Jurassic frowg!
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Not a surprise since he just fished it, within the 28-day cutoff, but:
> Cox bypassed two MLF Pro Circuit events (Lake Okeechobee and Lake Murray) in order to compete in Elite Series tournaments on those same dates. The DQ leaves him with virtually no chance of qualifying for either this year's Pro Circuit TITLE championship or the 2022 Bassmaster Classic via the respective points lists.
Crazy! But that can happen when you fish 3 trails I guess, and John's all about the feeshn:
> ...won't deter him from competing on all 3 tours again next year. "I'm sure there's going to be some that overlap, but I'll just be wiser about the ones I skip. I just want to be sure up front without any 'maybes' [about DQs, which was the case for the St Lawrence dates]."
John's a bassin' animal!
But his character will only be allowed to fish 3 baits: jerkbait, crankbait and jig. 😁 Just messin'...the game's not that realistic...😂
Newer motor so good to hear it performed in consecutive days of St Lawrence current:
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For fishing Strike King XD cranks. I have to assume a dude whose name rhymes with "Xeith Dombs" was involved with those deals...?
You might have heard his dad's story about how it all started on the shore of the Cali Delta (love that story 😂), here's the rest of it....
Had been a Minn Kota Fortrex man...not sure what's prompting this but maybe have 4 weeks of food in your basement just in case...🤔
1. Ott DeFoe -- 352
2. Brent Ehrler -- 342
3. Jacob Wheeler -- 338
4. Bobby Lane -- 311
5. Justin Lucas -- 309
> "The one thing that's always eluded me is winning Angler of the Year on a national circuit and it's something that we all strive to get. It's killing me that I haven't been able to make it happen."
Says it's his fave lipless, and whenever there's grass or fish are deep (yo-yoing) he'll have it tied on (IG vid):
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> Okuma and FishLab are excited to announce the appointment of freshwater fishing Hall of Fame angler and award-winning lure and hook designer Bill Siemantel, also known as Mr. BBZ (Big Bass Zone founder), as product development consultant.
> ...brings more than 15 years as a pro and designer of all the BBZ-1 lures and Dolls Hair Phat Flies from his previous tenure. ...spearheaded the national online bass tournament called the Big Bass Zone Junior Championship....
> Okuma president Doug Lasko: "Bill brings a track record of success with him in many areas of the fishing industry. His firefighting background and working as a team player, fits right in with the Okuma and FishLab culture".
> ...Siemantel will work hand-in-hand with the team at FishLab and Okuma to develop and bring cutting edge designs to market. ...adds an important regional and multi-species perspective to the Southern California-based company and his success nationally in both fresh and saltwater environments....
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Told you Gayle Julian is a genius not-mad-but-joyful scientist type when it comes to baits! Check this deal out:
> ...a football head Carolina Rig weight. The Rock is designed with 2 different characteristics...a flat spot and a scoop side on the football. Rig The Rock with the flat spot forward and you can fish it through heavy cover, or rig it with the scoop side forward and it will shovel and stir up the bottom.
...his mom was the first in the world to undergo surgery to help his condition before he was born! That's faith man wow! Very cool, please bless 'em Lord!
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Unless permitted for a tourney? That's what I think the DNR is saying here?
> While making for impressive photos, retaining 2 or more big bass throughout a day of fishing can be problematic.... Unless competing in a tournament permitted for exemption from bass size limits, an angler should not retain more than one largemouth bass at a time that is 16" or longer in length.
Here 'tis, looks like only 2000 size so far:
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Andrew Jones and Carson Underwood of Hewitt-Trussville High School won it at Lake Hartwell, GA/SC on a zeroed-weight final day:
> "We were burning topwater over them. You had to burn it fast, and it had to be over that depth. Anything deeper and you couldn't call them up. Anything shallower and they seemed to get spooked."
Pretty sure you can't burn a bait slow?? Lol, congrats to 'em. Only problem is doesn't look like they can transport the trophies or stand 'em up in their houses??
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> ...last year's fall electrofishing showed a strong class of new young-of-year bass for the 1st time since 2016. A strong year class like this can help sustain a fishery for years to come. Anglers will likely start catching this cohort during the next year, and with Lake Okeechobee's fast growth rate, we can expect to start seeing these fish in TrophyCatch by just 6 years old.
🤯
Could negatively affect the Menominee River. Tough to tell what to make of these things from just 1 post I always have Qs like: is it needed? For what? Can the environment be safeguarded? Is it okay that foreign companies can mine our resources?
After being drained to get rid of pike. Sounds like don't expect big bass for a while.
PSA
BB contest! Send me your YETI shot -OR- your BUFF shot.
Whenever I check out their Instas, I never/ultra-rarely see a bassin' shot. Check out what they like – here's YETI IG and YETI FB, here's BUFF IG and BUFF FB. Then send me a bassin' shot version (does not have to be super great quality), winner gets a 10-oz BassBlaster YETI Rambler mug – stainless yo! – and a BUFF!
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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2 of the "best" NJ lakes near me are herring lakes. I hate herring lakes. As Brian El Carpentre said to me recently about 'em, "Up is down, right is left." In other words, most of how I know (and like) to fish does not apply. Well, Casey is one of THE BEST herring-lake fishermen there is (Classic win in winter on a herring lake!) and I stumbled across this MLF post with some good advice from him – which might help even in shad lakes. Excerpts:
> "Take a lake without blueback herring and one with them. The herring lake will fish 180 degrees differently than that lake without them.
> "The bluegill population might be high on some of these lakes, but the bass don't seem to eat 'em.
> "Herring are super-fast and bass pursue them fast. ...largemouth won't look at a bait if you work it slow...the water is super clear."
> "I'll work some lures so hard that they aren't doing what they're supposed to do. It's just a big bait skipping. That's how fast I work them.
> "When water temperature is above 75 degrees, bass on a herring bite only feed up."
I was like, "Casey is that all your herring secrets man?" And he was like:
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...and wanna try these 2 baits on those dang herring-focused bass: the 10,000 Fish Shimmer Swimmer (but in the "blue" or "violet" colors)...
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Also gonna be like KVD and get mad at 'em....
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"Our results reveal both non-tournament and tournament angling mortality are low compared to natural mortality in some lakes."
> Average total annual mortality was 0.66 with natural mortality representing the largest mortality source (0.57) followed by delayed tournament mortality (0.06), non-tournament angling mortality (0.02), and initial tournament mortality (0.006).
> Our results reveal both non-tournament and tournament angling mortality are low compared to natural mortality in some lakes. Therefore, cumulative angling mortality likely has minimal population level effects on some bass populations.
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I'd rather fish...🤣 for real!
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Redneck Fast & Furious = outstandin'!
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) 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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