This weekend I just wanna catch ONE like this one – look how healthy it is:
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🤣 Dang sure beats a perch or walleye or whatever! Hope you get on 'em too, let's go!
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5 Qs with Bass Pro Tour AOY Jacob Wheeler.
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Gotta underline this: Jacob won 3 tournaments ( Travis, St Lawrence, Champlain = largemouth and smallmouth) this year AND won Angler of the Year. Think about that for a sec. It's one of the best years any bassin' competitor has had, ever. In a way maybe it's THE best, and it was in a season where Ott DeFoe won 2!
Crazy. So crazy I could only ask him crazy Qs. 😁 Here we go – and yep he laughed the whole way through:
1. At this point do you consider yourself a trophy hoarder?
> "No man, there's a lot more events to be won. I know there's a lot of great anglers out there...need to cherish every single one because they don't come easy. Sometimes it feels like it does, but it just takes 1 tournament or 1 year to realize how fortunate and blessed you are."
2. Is it true Boyd Duckett is conflicted about you because on the one hand you're helping sell a lot of Duckett stuff but on the other hand he's competitive so he's torn up about all the hardware you're getting?
> "Boyd, he's got a lot of competitive spirit no doubt, he likes to win. He's got a lot of things he's got to focus on, business things...still competitive.... It's always nice to hear from him, kudos and stuff...but he's still pretty dang competitive – he stays after 'em pretty hard."
3. Are there other good fishermen from IN or are you the only one...ever? (HAHAHA IN peeps! Just messin'.) 😁
> "Man there's a lot of great anglers from the state of IN. A lot of times they never get a chance to get out of the state. Terry McWilliams is one...a legend. Guys like Bill McDonald and Wes Thomas – those guys have had success.
> "It's tough to get out of the Midwest. It's one of the most challenging things to do, and I have a lot of respect for anyone who gets to the next level from any one of those states [IN, OH, IL]...one of the toughest fisheries by far."
4. If you win Redcrest are you going to retire and write books on sonar electronics and how Einstein was wrong about everything and you can prove it?
> "Yes that's definitely the plan as of right now. That's my plan. Just retire, call it good, done."
5. How much of your success is because of random stuffed critters zip-tied onto your boat?
> "Probably 10%. The luck factor."
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Bonus Qs
6. Okay seriously: What are you going to work on improving for next season?
> "You know I feel like each year there's a lot of variables that go into a great year...the schedule lining up with your strengths and weaknesses.... I think the biggest thing is [next year there's] a lot more largemouth events and a lot more pre-spawn events. So I think you need to do a lot more fishing throughout the winter and into the pre-spawn to be as ready as possible.
> "I was talking to Jordan Lee [and his other buds] and we were saying we don't fish as much as we used to. It's like basketball and golf...if you don't do it as much, if you don't practice, you lose some of it. The biggest thing is staying hungry, and if you don't put the time and effort in, it's very easy to walk away scratching your head, no check, toward the bottom of the list."
7. Do you have any fishing influences, like people you look up to?
> "I've always looked at the sport and how it's evolved over the last 20 years. Anglers I've always looked at – Aaron being one, Edwin – were major influences on me growing up. Being versatile, able to utilize any technique...and just roll with it. I think that's what the sport's come to more than anything, being comfortable with that.
> "...now not as much – I don't get a chance to watch as much fishing as I used to. I'm out there doing it. But what's crazy is after that college event the other day, I realized that no matter how far you are in the sport, you can never get to the point where you can't learn from someone. There's opportunity to learn for every angler that steps into your boat...learned a lot from those young anglers. I learned from being a boat official that day.
> "That's a big part of it...humbling yourself. No matter the success you have, realizing you can learn from anyone. That's also how you stay sharp too."
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Innerestin' Live sonar tips from "Code E" Huff.
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If I had to bet on someone to "make it" in bassin' – or if I actually put together that "stock market" for amateur anglers like I thought about doing for a bit 🤔 – one dude I'd bet on is Code E, aka Cody. Seems like a good dude, knows enough to get tips outta Rick Clunn (not easy! 😁), won college, made the Classic, won a couple 'Yotas – he's on the right track.
So there's enough to listen to what he has to say, for me anyhow, and glad I did on this real good MLF post. Innerestin' stuff:
> ...opting for a 16" graph on his 2021 tournament rig. “If you’ve used LiveScope before, you know when the fish are going straight away from you or straight at you, you can barely see them. When that stuff happens and I’m running the 16-inch, I can see that stuff, the stuff you could never see before.
> "The bigger, the better for me – if I could fit a TV screen up there I would. I had a buddy that bought a 10-inch, and he went fishing with me, and he sold his the next day and bought a 12-inch."
> “The way I have my transducer set up, I keep it like a click higher, maybe 2 clicks, so I can see my bait splash the water. If I see a fish at 80' and I cast past it to 90', I can see my bait splash. By seeing your bait splash, it’s a lot easier to track it going down.
> "Since I’ve got LiveScope, I can learn in areas that there are little spots...you can actually fish what looks like the middle of the lake, but because of a contour line that comes up a little higher than the rest, they’ll still hang around that."
Worth a full read fo sho. Code E also said that unit's so big that when it's real hot he can fire up some stars 'n bars on it for lunch:
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World's biggest flogger??
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If that's for real, wonder how the heck that deal gets strapped down runnin' 70??
Believe that's Keith Poche and Shaw Grigsby...?
Wouldn't it just be easier to stick an Aqua-Vu on there? Little more pricey/less redneck but...?
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New type of bassin' lid spotted!
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Not new to the world but it is to bassin' (I think??):
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> This hat is awesome for keeping the sun off you. Not awesome for driving the boat. Warning: it will strangle you. Ask me how I know.
Hahaha take your word for it man – bet it's great keepin' the rain off too!
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> "I just stay on the trolling motor and the forward-facing sonar until I figure something out, and then you start to understand. All those lakes like Champlain and wherever, you never think about them having current but fish still relate to it."
...for travelin' the country, fishin' tourneys, filmin' his bad self doin' it, editin' all that stuff, towin' a boat 'n RV 'n 18-wheeler, livin' waaaay back in ID, runnin' around after giant deer and whatnot:
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...which helped with this year's schedule....
Like this-here:
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Believe that's Chris Johnston as captured by the one 'n only James Overstreet. Like I said, Canadians are MEAN competitors but man they don't talk like it on shore...so guessin' they're great poker players too....
Heck yeah it is! Post says half the ramps are no-go right now....
Aaron was supposed to fish it, hope so. 🙏 Wonder if Ricky "the kid" Clunn will be there again too – actually I wonder whether a lotta guys will be there!
You might remember the new-ish Cyclebait Spinnerbait, well this is the underspin version. Here's what it looks like vs a regular one:
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9. BFL happenin's.
Beau Browning, son of Stephen, and his pard Hunter Baird won the Abu YETI college tourney there. Said they did it "targeting deep offshore structure with a deep-diving crankbait and a shaky-head rig."
Dang straight they did – might be the best bassin' HS name in the country! 😁 Is there a Skeeter or Bubba HS??
Lights, signs and whatnot. I like the idea. Says the company makes all products in the US. I'd buy a Bigmouth Billy Bass sayin' angry Trip Weldon stuff...😂
Still on as I type this....
YETI has a limited # of coolers (get the Roadie!) in this "harvest red" color for the fall fyi:
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13 shell fragments and 1 live adult mussel. Amazing they spotted it...or was it a lead weight?? 🤔
Okay but wonderin': Now the 1-8' depth is just further in – couldn't a few clams get rained in there or whatever and survive?
Check it:
> Shallow lakes naturally exist in 1 of 2 alternative stable states: either healthy – with clear water with an abundance of vegetation, or degraded – with cloudy water dominated by algae.
Uh...not here they don't! Dare them to tell Jason Christie that...could get ugly in a hurry...😆
...yep, it's green pumpkin.
Salty study but this was innerestin':
> By building artificial reefs as ‘skyscrapers’ rather than ‘single-story buildings’ we can provide more usable space for the fish, which can travel up and down in the water column....
Reminder that the UK's where animal rights was started, and then exported to the US:
> If the bill is made into law, the government would be obligated to take animals’ feelings of pleasure, pain, happiness and misery into account, as well as their physical well-being.
> The bill goes further than strict European Union protection and far beyond laws in the United States, which are considered to be lax by animal rights campaigners. Its aim is to protect wildlife as well as domesticated and companion animals.
That place has more nuts than a family-size bag of peanut M&Ms man, sheesh....
Headline of the Day
Bahahaha what?? Okay it's probly true but sounds funny as heck, this too:
> Duckweed has been consumed for hundreds of years in southeast Asia where it is known as "vegetable meatball" due to its high protein content....
Who likes to find you some "vegetable meatball" to fish around?? 🤣
Lines of the Day
- Creel survey on Mille Lacs lake. Uh that means none were KEPT...but it does say that 2,714 smallmouths "averaging an impressive 3 lbs each" were. 🤨
- From an OK fishing report. "Bill baits"? Never heard that before. Guessin' that means cranks?
Doh!
In the last BB: Some FL peeps want to get rid of RODMAN, not Toho. You probly figured I meant that...der sorry.
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Ott DeFoe's fave headin' into fall baits.
- Buzzbait: White or black toad on it
In this YT vid here's what he says will work for him pretty much everywhere in October:
- Also the buzzbait – "I never use a skirt anymore."
- Topwater walker: More target-oriented because not covering water as fast as with the buzzbait.
- Crankbait: Rapala DT4 ( penguin) – Fish it anywhere, "comes through cover really well."
- Shakey head
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"...if they ain’t ate it by the time it hits the bottom, I’m gone."
- Hahaha love it! That's MLFLWer Cole Floyd, which fo sho is a great bassin' name. Here's his full flavorin's:
> "Most times, I’ll flip it in there, hop it twice and I’m out. I’m usually a 2-time hopper kinda guy and I’m out. Maybe even 1 because if they ain’t ate it by the time it hits the bottom I’m gone.
> "...sometimes if you hop it and leave it they’ll bite, but usually, if they ain’t touched it by the time it’s halfway down, usually they ain’t there, or they ain’t gonna want to eat it."
I love the ADD impatience! I'm there mang, we all are! (Or most of us?) Kinda sounds like he learned from John Cox and "fish fast slow/fish slow fast" Kevin VanDam....
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Another nice'n from the one 'n only Casey Yoern, Daiwa's shooter. This one reminds me of high-level animation – gotta mood to it:
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> A man was causing problems at a hotel by wearing a sheet and no other clothing. Officers warned the man and he left without incident.
> Bears were eating a dead deer on a roadway.
> Contractors on a construction site went inside a building to use the bathroom and set off a burglar alarm.
> A couch was in the middle of a road.
> A woman wanted to make a report about vaccines passports.
Any of you peace officers retirin' might want to retire to MT and get paid for doin't it! 🤣
Stay safe out there blue peeps!
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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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