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Big congrats to all the new Hall of Famers being inducted tonight! Very bummed I can't be there. Special congrats to the Martens family – love you all.
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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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As you know I was at Ray Scott's "Celebration of Life" service yesterday, which B.A.S.S. streamed and you can still watch/listen to it (very cool except for the ads??). It was great – how could it not be? Here's some of my impressions and highlights from it.
Thank you Ray and much love from me
I know most of you know this but I gotta underline it: Everything – I mean that literally – we know in bass fishing goes back to Ray Scott...except catching a bass with a hook and competing against your buds in a tourney. Credit Ray for everything else. I knew that too, but hearing just a small part of the stories people told about Ray, man it really hit home. The whole thing – THE WHOLE THING – came from Ray. Amazing.
Here's another way to say it: He convinced everyone – fishermen (the most hard-headed folks in the universe lol), state/federal legislators and regulators (catch and release, suing polluters 👉 the Clean Water Act, etc), the boat and tackle industries, you name it – that tournament bass fishing was legit and going to grow. He was literally a one-man band – doing all that while building a business, managing employees, being the PR guy, emceeing tournaments and more. Think about that!
Because of that I gotta say I was surprised I didn't see more folks there – pros, peeps from the biz and even just "regular" ol' bass-heads. The Scott family did keep it under wraps a little, but man if you fish tournaments, make money from fishing tournaments or sponsorships, or sell anything to bass fishermen, you can thank Ray. No judgment, I get it – I can't make it to the Bassin' Hall of Fame ceremony tonight so....
Anyhow, after that whole thing I'm even more awed by Ray, and I bet I still don't even know maybe 5% about him. After the service I sat in the parking lot and wrote out a prayer (I do that sometimes) and was just grateful man. Grateful for God giving Ray that vision AND the drive and talents to make it happen, grateful for the whole bassin' world (including you), grateful I can be a part of it and to have spent some time with Ray. Wish it was more.
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[I was at that Classic and will never forget that entrance!]
One quick deal – just going to disagree slightly with something Ray's son "Little" Wilson said which was: "Bass fishing would not be the sport that it is without Ray." Actually it should be: "Bass fishing as we know it would not exist without Ray." I bet Wilson was being a little modest, which I get, but facts are just facts.
Fave quote from Wilson:
> "I honestly believe there wasn't a day Ray Scott woke up where he didn't have an adventure or dream in mind."
That challenged me. Thank you man!
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Thank you Ray's family and friends
Wilson did a great job "emceeing" the service – I know Ray would be proud, but probably would rib him a little just because! Thank you to the Scotts because even though Ray was the head of that family, families influence and support the head man. I'm sure there's a lot of character and patience 😁 among the Scotts.
How many friends did Ray have? I'm sure more than just about anyone, but how many GOOD friends did he have? Bet it was still more than most of us but it always comes down to a faithful few. I'm grateful to them for loving and taking care of Ray. Calling out Jim in particular.
Thank you Bob, Johnny, Roland and Bill
Bob Cobb, Johnny Morris, Roland Martin and Bill Dance spoke. They were all incredibly grateful for and sorta in awe of Ray. Does that say a ton or what, wow man. Few impressions of 'em:
Bob – He deeply loved Ray. That came across loud and clear. And he still has that big personality that we saw on camera. Still has that big voice too. I'm a bassin' media guy so Bob is one of my heroes and I always love seeing him. Only met him once, many years ago. Gonna finally get his book after Roland plugged it hard!
Loved it when Bob pointed out how insane it seemed at the time to start "a magazine devoted to a single fish, the black bass." Crazy to think about!
Johnny – I was surprised at how shy he seemed. I don't think I've ever met him, but it was interesting to me to see shyness in a guy that high up in the $$$ world. He definitely was still upset about Ray passing. He said:
> "What would we have done if he had not pioneered a whole industry?"
Roland – After that I'm a Roland fan. Wow what an incredible story of how he ended up learning from Ray and Ray empowering him with confidence – I always thought that was all Roland. He was transparent, vulnerable and spoke off the top of his head. Amazing.
Did you know: Roland was B.A.S.S.'s 2nd life member? And that he thought so highly of Ray that he named his son Scott after him? Quotes:
> "50 years ago [Ray] was talking about this world [now] – that's how far advanced he was.
> "His inspiration...I didn't know I could do this. I didn't have this self-confidence in my abilities, but Ray did.
> "[Ray provided a] springboard of opportunity."
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Bill – I knew he was funny but didn't know he was that funny. Sounds like he gave up the competitive thing for the TV thing, like Al Lindner did. Didn't know he was such a practical joker either. My fave quote from him about Ray:
> "He gave us the keys to keep those doors [of opportunity] open."
It was amazing to learn just how much these guys not just respected Ray and credit him for everything. But even more amazing was learning how much Ray poured into all these guys and others. For some reason that reminds me of Jesus speaking in John 7:38 in the Bible:
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
Thank you Pastor Burton
How was a pastor gonna follow those guys?? Here's how: Talking about Jesus right off the bat. "Follow me" >> "fishers of men" >> Ray Scott. Rev. Gary Burton of Pintlala Baptist Church was amazing. Hope you get to listen to it.
Thank you Alabama
It was great to be around friendly, genuine people. Not hating on my hopefully not too much longer home state of NJ, just saying there's a big difference (always has been) between even western/friendlier NJ (where I am) and most of the rest of the country. The more "country" a place is, the nicer, friendlier and more "normal" it is. Those places and you folks are saving our country, keeping doing what you do and thank you.
Also, Montgomery has a big B.A.S.S. heritage. I hope that never gets forgotten. There's just something about it that says B.A.S.S.
Keep Ray front and center!
Heard through the grapevine that some younger pros don't even know who Ray Scott is?? Man if that's true I sure hope B.A.S.S. makes it a point to show Ray video/audio every single Classic at least.
I think some of that loss of history is the way the world is now, but some for sure has to do with the ESPN days, when they tried to yank bass fishing out of its redneck roots. But now that B.A.S.S. is on solid AL ground again, I'd love to see things go the other way if you know what I mean.
Reminds me: Gonna roll out an idea Brian "The Carpenter" of Ike Live texted me which is – instead of the Bassmaster Opens divisions being named 1, 2 and 3, how 'bout naming them Ray Scott, Bryan Kerchal and Aaron Martens. That a great idea or what! How 'bout it B.A.S.S.?
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Jason Christie starts talkin' 'bout the YUM FF Sonar Minnow TECHNIQUE. 👀
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Aka half of what he won the Classic doing, and dang is it interesting. Highlights from the YUM video which is the first in a series:
> "You'd pull up to a ledge and there'd be a fish over here that'd be 8' deep. And I'd pick up a jerkbait, and then I'd pan over here and this [other] fish is in 14'. Well he's deeper than where I can get the jerkbait. So I'd literally have to lay the rod down, and by the time I picked up anotehr rod – a swimbait or something to get to this one – either he had moved, I'd lost him, or I was too close to him. So I started playing with some different things....
> "Your line is always at an arch. But with that arch, and the balance of the right head to the right [swimbait] body, I can work the bait the length of this table for 10 seconds. And when I'd do that, it switched – it went from being 1 outta 10 that would bite the swimbait to 9 outta 10."
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Seems like there's so much juice gonna be dropped by Jason I'm tempted to remind him that he's a professional bass fisherman! 😆 But as a very amateur bass fisherman myself, I'm glad he's doing it!
Check the FF Sonar Minnow on TW – don't see the jighead there yet....
Heard a rumor that YUM and this-here BassBlaster might be giving away a FFS system. 🤯 Stay tuned....
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Interesting deets from a wally-eye guy who's using FFS.
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Not exactly sure what a wally-eye is, but I'm pretty sure it's a cross between a chub and a sucker fish?? 😁 With weights in it??? HAHAHA okay just messin'. Here's a few innerestin' deets from a Z-Man post – from walleye pro Dylan Nussbaum who uses Lowrance Active Target:
How to use it
> "A walleye or a bass tends to paint a pretty solid image. But a carp or a muskie, for example, can look a little grainy on the screen.
> "If I'm out hunting fish on open flats, I'll set the unit to scan out to 100' from the boat. Crank the sensitivity or gain (Lowrance calls it contrast) up to +10, especially for places like Lake Erie– or anywhere fish spook easily.
> "If I'm around rock or stumps or vegetation, I'll dial back to 4 or 5, and if I'm working smaller structures, I reduce range to about 60'.
> "If I'm in giant boulders or trees or weeds, I might go with 40' to zoom in and get a more accurate picture, especially to separate fish from objects or bottom.
> "I find that a good high-contrast color palette, such as Lowrance's #6, a dark amber hue, really helps fish and your lure stick out on screen.
> "If I can find a school of 5 or 6 walleyes, that's ideal. I won't often cast at a single fish or 2 unless it's a big walleye. With a big fish, I might spend 5 minutes trying to trigger a reaction. A bigger fish moves differently than a smaller one. Larger walleyes often just tilt up to look at the bait, moving slowly and deliberately. But when they decide to bite, they swim fast and with lethal intent.
> "On my home lake, Kinzua Reservoir (PA), I've learned to differentiate between a 15-17 incher and a 22-incher. Just by seeing fish on screen and then catching them, you learn the subtle differences in fish movement, body size and shape.
> "Forward-facing sonar really saves a lot of time by keeping you from working a lure through fishless water."
Finding new groups of fish
> "Found scattered small pods of big walleyes suspended 15' down over 40' of water. I pitched a 3/8-oz jig and Jerk ShadZ and watched fish shoot up 10-15' and just crush the lure. What's interesting is that I've found this same pattern happening on every lake I've been to since. You might see smaller walleyes near bottom, but the suspended fish are always bigger – like 5, 6 and 7-lbers.
> "Fished a similar scenario...at Lake Erie this year. Cruising along at a 1/2 mph, I'd make wide sonar scans and eventually reveal these mega schools of 20-30 fish, all suspended 60' down over 80' of water. You'd get 1 or 2 casts on 'em – and usually catch a fish on both casts – before the whole school would spook and vanish."
[I'll be talking about that deal in bass fishing in a future Blaster.]
Whether fish shy away from FFS
> "Especially with fish within 50' of the boat, you often get just 1 – maybe 2 – casts at them before they vanish. Other times, catching a single fish from a school makes them scatter. At Green Bay in the spring, for instance, I've found that FFS is almost useless because you simply can't get within 60' of walleyes without disturbing them. Hard to say whether they're spooking from the boat's shadow, sonar pulses or other sounds."
Here's a 2-min YT vid where he gives an overview of what he's doing – not as much detail as the above:
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Johnny getting it down to 4'! 😆 Yep that's el General de Berkley.
👀 that Abu Pro Series Rod. Very curious about those....
2. What baits Jonny VanDam likes now.
Lipless crank and a swim-jig on northern lakes:
> "The fish are super aggressive this time of year, so it's a lot of moving baits for me. You have to cover water until you find the biggest groups of fish and those baits let you do that."
3. MN: MLF Team Series was at Lake Le Homme Dieu, Lake Ida.
Says it will air Dec 31.
4. OH: One of the accused walleye cheaters has another legal problem.
That article says:
> Jacob A. Runyan, 42, pleaded not guilty July 26 to one count of domestic violence and one count of unlawful restraint, according to Ashtabula Municipal Court records.
5. New Googan Squad spin reels are out.
Green Series retails for $99.99, Gold Series for $129.99. The Gold Series reel stood out to me at ICAST as potentially being very good – need to fish it to find out of course:
> Green Series: ...carbon frame, aluminum side plate and carbon-fiber drag ...Slow Oscillation System allows for superior line management and improved casting distance...TopoGrip Rubberized Grips for superior feel and slip-reduction....
> Gold Series: ...come standard with the ToughTooth Custom Forged Aluminum Gears to extend the life of your reel as well as a Slow Oscillation System...carbon-infused frame and aluminum side plate create maximum strength, weight reduction and improved durability. ...TopoGrip with VisiCore Rubberized Grips....
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7. Is it me or does this Rapala DT color look 🔥.
Dang! I think that's "green gizzard shad"...which I need in the DT8:
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Find your color – chrome is tough to beat around now – on TW.
10. Lowrance is having a big Active Target sale.
Note that those packages do NOT come with a transducer.
11. PA is reintroducing blue cats in Ohio River.
> ...the project's goal is to restore the species to its historical Pennsylvania range spanning most of the Ohio River system.
12. AL studying fish passage around 2 Alabama River dams.
The Millers Ferry Lock and Dam and the Claiborne Lock and Dam – to get mullet and other species farther upstream, to help mussels, maybe other reasons.
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False Headlines/Lines of the Day
Invasive fish could eradicate Tennessee bass species
They're talkin' 'bout spotted/Alabama bass. So...no. And how do they know this:
> Hammonds said due to anglers relocating them, the species has appeared in new lakes, rivers and reservoirs where it is considered invasive.
What bass fisherman in his right mind would spread spotted bass and why??
Ohio walleye scandal deals big blow to tournament fishing
No.
Chattanooga anglers say viral Ohio fishing tournament cheating scandal is 'unheard of'
Der no.
Competitive fishing has a cheating problem, and these Canadian anglers say they've seen it happen
> "It paints the rest of us as being dishonest."
No it doesn't and heck no it doesn't!
Line of the Day
"We'd like to eradicate them as soon as possible."
- Corps biologist talkin' 'bout Asian carp...but the Corps isn't doing anything to eradicate 'em, just "deter" them.
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Updatin'
Info on "voice stress analysis" and polys from a retired judge (thanks man!):
> I had to comment on the "voice stress analysis." I'm a retired circuit judge. The "voice stress analyzer" is a machine used by law enforcement basically as a trick to try to get alleged perps to confess. It's accuracy rate is about 50%, which is just as good as a guess.
> Law enforcement administers the test to arrestees and then tells them that they failed. That often prompts a confession.
> Another trick my late son-in-law who was an FBI agent told me about was for a detective to have a foot-controlled light mounted on the table or desk. The detective would tell the suspect that if he lied, the light would come on. The detective would ask a question, and when the suspect answered, the detective would activate the light with his foot.
> With regard to a lie detector, it is more accurate but still subject to error. Most people don't know that the test detects deception on the question, not the answer. Sometimes the question prompts the suspect to be nervous about something completely unrelated to the crime being investigated. Those tests are only admissible in court if the attorneys on both sides agree to admit them, which seldom happens.
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...which is pretty juicy, and got to thinking – I need to rig one up. Checked YT and found this vid – which I think is timely cuz Carolina-rigging is back mang! 👊 Anyhow here's a couple tidbits from it:
> Reins Tungsten Sliding Football Sinker, "very wide, it doesn't get hung you hung up on stuff as easily, and you can literally tell what the bottom is...."
> That 2-tone Craw Tube could be a craw, could be a bluegill, other colors could be a baitfish but...all the top pros would probably just fish it in gp.
Not a ton of info in the vid – just an idea for ya:
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PSA: If you want a lead football-shaped Carolina weight, check Jewel Baits' "The Rock."
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"You can make a career out of it over there and live comfortably. But you can't do that here."
- Australian bass fisherman talkin' 'bout USA pro bassin' vs there. Guess that depends on your definition of "live comfortably." Also said:
> "Out-of-industry sponsorship over there is huge. Whereas here the only sponsorship is from within the fishing industry and they only having limited funds in comparison."
Don't think I agree with that but the potential here is huge, no doubt.
How did that post not even mention Carl Jocumsen?? I mean, he's gotta be a national hero to bass-heads over there?
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Here's what happens when you let 2 Gussys loose on a lake...😁 I'm jealous man! Top dress like Gussys, aka Wild Men of the North 😁 – check out all things SIMMS:
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Check out this insane video of a possible bigfoot "elk boneyard." Says it's the remains of at least 15 animals.
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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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