That's one of Ray Scott's hats, which either as you read this or soon will be available to bid on in the online auction to support the Bassin' Fall of Infamity. They also have his leather vest, his personal watch and tons of other stuff, including guide trips from some bassin' pros. Amazing. Check it here.
Hope everyone down FL way is doing okay. Looks like a big one. Bless you and your fams. 🙏✝️
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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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"The next time you go fishing, when you get a bite, don't set the hook – just let the fish swim around with the bait. It will truly enlighten you to see how long they'll swim around with the bait."
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- Elitist Darold Gleason talkin'...crazy? I understand the words, but they make no sense to me – HAHAHA! For real tho, I'm pretty sure that's impossible for me. My bites go like this: tick-SLAM! How 'bout you??
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5 Qs with your friendly neighborhood emcee, Dave Mercer.
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We all know Dave is a good emcee. You might also be able to tell from his emceein' and his podcast/videocast that he's a good question-asker and is a bass geek/student. Yep he's all that and more – an interesting dude and deep thinker, which sometimes you wouldn't ever know about peeps who are in the spotlight. So here's 5 with him which I hope show a little of what I'm sayin':
1. Okay so you emcee the Elite Series, do your own TV show, you have an awkwardly honest podcast, you film underwater it seems like every day, you travel internationally all the time, you do stand up comedy, you have a family and you're constantly memorizing facts of fishing – so how many Dave Mercers are there really??
> "There's one Dave Mercer that believes in taking advantage of every opportunity and every situation I find in life, which makes me one exhausted dude at the end of the day – but I'm thankful to do every single one of those things."
2. Which one of your jobs is the most fun?
> "That's really hard to answer. They're all fun...I don't do anything that isn't fun, to be honest. That's a simple rule in my life. I tried to avoid work my whole life by doing stuff that I love. I love every one of my jobs.
> "Announcing the Bassmaster Classic champion is awesome on that day, but catching a giant fish on camera is awesome, and the last few years I've been obsessed with shooting underwater stuff. That's my biggest obsession right now, but every single one of my jobs is fun.
> "The podcast – I love it because it allows me to get to know the guys better, but it also allows me to emcee better. So they all play into each other.
> "That's what I love about my job – it's always something different. That's the coolest thing about what I do. It's hard to explain to people what my job is because it's different every day, but I love every single one of them."
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3. Over the years you've emceed the Elites, what's the biggest change you've seen?
> "Honesty. People are a lot more honest.... People thought they had to fit into a mold in the past...what they had seen before them. If you look at the collection of pros we have now and how real they are...Seth Feider stands out as a shining example, but Taku Ito, Austin Felix, Matt Robertson, Lee Livesay – all these people are...100% genuine and real. That's the biggest thing that has changed.
> "If you look at today vs 10 years ago, people are...a lot less trying to become something and are just being themselves, which is what people gravitate to. People always want you to be real.
> "Social media probably has a lot to do with that too. In the past it was only articles in magazines and only about fishing. Now people are forced to be more of themselves...."
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4. Why are the Canadian fishermen on the Elites so good and are there more where they came from?
> "Yes there's more and more are coming. I think it's because where they grew up in ON – it's a very versatile fishery.
> "Before I worked for BASS and traveled as much as I do, I didn't think of it like that. Now that I've traveled to places like OK, I realized they don't have grass lakes, and they don't have deep, rocky fisheries in other places. But if you grow up in ON, you have every single fishing situation you will confront [on the Elites] with the exception of tidal fisheries.
> "On top of that it's kind of the West Coast thing. Why do you see so many great anglers from the West Coast? Because only the best of the best really make that commitment to do it. It's not something you can tiptoe into. So I think the 3 [Canadians] we have on the Elite Series right now are some of the best anglers we've ever had in Canada...the cream rising to the top.
> "I'm excited to see what the effect is 10 years from now. Those guys were told it would be impossible [to succeed on the Elites]. Now [Canadian] kids are growing up watching those guys tear up the tour, so I can only imagine what it'll be 10 years from now."
5. What's your favorite way to fish for bass?
> "Everybody loves frog fishing because it's...sensory overload. You get to see it, hear it, feel it – so I'm going to say frog fishing. I really like fishing a dropshot on Lake Erie too, but I'm going to go with a frog because it stimulates every sense you have on your body – or most of them anyway."
Bonus Q: If you could change one thing about the sport, what would it be?
> "I don't know if this is answering the question right but – I wish it was taught in school.
> "I consider you, me, all the people reading this – we are the lucky ones. Somebody picked up a rod, put it in our hands and introduced us to fishing. A few of us found it on our own. ...people introduced to fishing, it continues throughout their life and it changes who they are.
> "If I was never introduced to fishing, I could not imagine the person I would be today. It's a centering aspect in your life. That's why at the Classic or Icast...when people in the industry get together, we instantly get along because I think we all understand that fishing is so much more than catching a fish and taking a picture of it. It gives us so much more.
> "So I wish everyone in the world was taught it in school so everyone was exposed to it the way we are.
> "That and I wish they never invented forward-facing sonar because it's ruining the sport...[laughs]."
HAHAHA he was just messin' on that last part! Real dang good answer on the school thing, thank you Dave!
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"When B.A.S.S. released the 2023 schedule, I took a look at all the dates and realized one factor will be significant in several events...forward-facing sonar."
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- Matty Herren talkin' on the Bassin'masters 'bout his 2022 and how to have a better 2023:
> I've had my questions as to how long it's going to be such a big advantage. Fish get conditioned to all sorts of things like lure types and presentations, and they certainly are aware of sonar pinging. I'm sure that they will adjust to the waves coming off the transducers...but I can't afford to wait for that to happen.
> ...I'm going to spend as much time as I can on the water learning how the Mega Live with Target Lock works. I'm going to do a bunch of slab fishing and learn to read my Mega Live under all sorts of conditions.
Something to look forward to, from John Murray's Insta:
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Are we about to see a way different type of bass fisherman?
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Or are we already seeing it?
Got to thinking about this after what happened on the Bass Pro Tour this year (Wheeler, Connell, Salzman, Ebare), and then seeing the Dolphins' head coach Mike McDaniel on TV.
Haven't watched NFL football in a couple years because they were doing stuff I thought was wrong, but my son is home so I was watching it with him and I literally couldn't believe that McDaniel was a head football coach. I mean, he didn't look like an athlete, he didn't look intense – he looked like...well, a nerd! Which I guess he is, turns out....
Anyhow, of course I thought about bass fishing. In other words, if NFL coaching is changing based on I guess technology and/or new ways of thinking about the game, are we seeing the bassin' equivalent right now?
If you want to say "it's forward-facing sonar!" – yes but no. Many other "disruptive" things have hit bass fishing over the decades. Here's a small list:
- Gary Klein brought flipping from the West and had an advantage – til Denny Brauer stole it from him in the parking lot of a Burger King one day...😆
- Aaron Martens brought the dropshot from the West,
- David Fritts brought a whole new way of thinking about cranking.
- At some point there was a transition from being really good at one technique to having to be good at lotsa stuff...sorta. More on that in a sec.
At all those points, the guys who were on the leading edge of those things (and other guys with other things) had an advantage. But not forever.
Now the leading edge obviously is forward-facing sonar. We have guys getting good with it (like Wheeler, Connell, Alton Jr, Neal, Walters, Christie, etc), but also a whole new generation of bass fishermen who are growing up with it – so they're not just good at it, it informs their entire fishing approach.
In other words, as a result of incorporating FFS from the get-go, they THINK differently about bass fishing.
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Does that mean they'll be "better" than everyone else? Or better than guys who don't use it? In my 2c not necessarily. Depends. Because the fish will adapt (and are already in some lakes), and I still think guys who are really good at one thing will win (or get close) when a fishery lines up for them. Examples:
- Hank Cherry when the jerkbait bite is on (Hank says it's never NOT on! 😁)
- Ott DeFoe when the shallow crankbite bait is on.
- Andy Montgomery when skipping docks is on.
Many more examples, you get it. So what am I trying to say here?
- Yep bassin' is changing...like it always does, which is one thing in my 2c that makes it great.
- Sonar tools AND the techniques being developed because of them are creating not just new ways of fishing, but also new ways of THINKING about bass fishing – which might mean a new "type" of fisherman.
- Add FFS stuff to the versatility basket BUT I still think big-time tourney fishermen will at times have a big advantage if they have 1-2 techniques they're really strong at. I think that will be true even with FFS.
Just some stuff ricocheting around in my brain....
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1. Carl Jocumsen is the first Aussie pro to make the Classic.
He said it's "fair dinkum" and he's "gobsmacked." He was smiling so I guess that's good?? 😁 Congrats man!
2. Check Greg Hackney's 5 fave flip baits.
Weirdly none are Strike King or Hack Attack...hahaha! One is a...tube!
> "...late in the year you fish have seen everything because of the fishing pressure, but you can rig the tube up on a light weight and go behind people to get bites."
3. Luke Clausen says he flies with his crankbaits in a cookie tin.
Looking forward to finding out what he does with his muffin pans...🤣
4. Randy Howell's fave fall baits.
Buzzbaits, walkers, Ploppers and squarebills including his Howeller squarebill.
5. Kelly Jordon's fave fall spinnerbait is...
...a War Eagle Screaming Eagle "that is actually a 1/2-oz lure on a 1/4-oz frame":
> "I like the translucents that mimic shad...chartreuse/white or chartreuse/blue or glitter."
He also likes a Lucky Craft lipless.
6. Dakota Ebare says you can't fish conservatively...
...and expect to do well.
7. Cole Floyd likes a heavier jig in the fall...
...for a quicker fall:
> Cole indicated that the larger jig would enable them to fish faster, and because the heavier jig fell faster there would be more reaction strikes from the bass.
8. MLF announced the Invitationals schedule.
Remember this is the renamed Pro Circuit. Looks like you don't need to know much about brown fish to do well:
- Feb 8-10 – Okeechobee, FL
- Feb 28-Mar 2 – Clarks Hill, GA
- Apr 14-16 – Eufaula, OK
- May 4-6 – Lake of the Ozarks, MO
- Jun 17-19 – Potomac River, MD
- Jul 25-27 – Upper Mississippi River at La Crosse, WI
9. 2-day BFLs happenin's.
Lake of the Ozarks, MO: Matt Ells won it by swimming a Jewel Football Jig under docks – when's the last time you did that!
> "I caught everything pitching a jig under and inside docks. The deepest fish I caught was probably 6' deep. The key was swimming the jig instead of hopping it."
> He used a 1/2-oz jig for most of his fish but switched to a 3/4-oz size when he targeted larger docks with longer casts where fish were holding in 3' of water.
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Jewel also said he fished the 7/16-oz Jewel Finesse Jig a bit, that docks in 2-8' were best and he used the 6' 10" H Virtus/Jewel Red Diamond Series Stunner Rod.
Note: 3 Hibdons were in the top 10 with Dion 2nd.
Rayburn, TX: TATER Reynolds won fishing brushpiles in 15-35' 6th Sense 106X Jerkbait (Table Rock pro). Love that name!
Grand Lake, OK: Toby Hartsell won offshore fishing a Berkley Japan Power Flutter. Here's one:
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Rend Lake, IL: Garrett McDowell fished wind-blown riprap with a Z-Man JackHammer to win.
KY Lake: LiveScope key in win, congrats to Richard Meuth.
10. How 'bout Jimmy Houston's OG mullet!
Dang, Mr Jimmy making a statement! Take that On Em! 😁
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11. Whiskey Myers singer has a bait company?
Launched at this year's Classic? Toad Thumper Lures, which apparently has 2 baits: a frog and popping frog. Check 'em here.
12. New Plano Edge jig/bladed jig box.
> ...smaller 3600-size box comes equipped with vertical dividers to maximize storage space while protecting the baits....
> Rustrictor technology delivers 360 degree rust-preventative protection.
> MSRP: $32.99
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15. TN: Some folks worried about Asian carp spreading...
...to Watts Bar, Tellico, Fort Loudon and Melton Hill. Hope that doesn't happen....
16. DC: The Corps wants your input on Asian carp.
> ...soliciting comments from the public as to their thoughts on the several plans to introduce measures within KY and TN waterways to deter invasive carp from traveling upstream. They are requesting all comments to be sent to corpslrnplanningpubliccom@usace.army.mil by no later than Oct 26.
17. Lowrance parent Navico launched lithium battery system.
Not a lotta deets, sounds like batteries and software, don't think it's for bass-type boats yet but maybe at some point....
Headline of the Day
KY couple finds blue crayfish crawling in their garage
Check the bright red/orange highlights on it:
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Lawson Hibdon: Why use a jig for skipping docks.
From a real good dock-skipping post on the MLF site. Very few people in the world know more about skipping docks than the Hibdons:
> "There's 100 different baits you can catch fish off a boat dock from, but we lean more towards a jig. A jig is the most efficient way of fishing a floating dock in my opinion."
> ...a 3/8- or 1/2-oz Arkie-style head simply because the flatter head helps it to skip better. For a trailer, he likes beaver-style plastics..."A beaver trailer imitates bluegill the best. When they feed on more bluegill than crawdads, I'll take a 3/8-oz Arkie-style head...and I'll put a full-sized beaver bait up on it like a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver or Strike King Rodent."
> Though that setup works most of the year for Lawson, he does change his jig and trailer when he feels fish are feeding more heavily on crawdads, especially in cooler water. "In the spring [and winter], I use a 5/16-oz to 3/8, 1/2 on the heavy side, but it's just a little ball-head jig. With a short collar, with a crawdad imitator on it like a Guido Bug-style trailer or a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver. I'd say 90% of the time it's going to be brown. It seems to catch them everywhere you go. Or green pumpkin."
> "Very seldom do we use less than 20-lb [fluorocarbon].... I don't feel like when they're standing in the shade that they're fickle. Even on lakes like Table Rock and Bull Shoals where you can see 15' deep...."
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"Resistance to toxic materials in fishing tackle has been building for years and it is only a matter of time before more bans come into place around the world."
- Self-serving statement from a guy at a European company that makes "non-toxic" weights.
Way I'd translate that is: Even though fishing tackle does practically nothing to harm, let alone affect, the environment, a few groups and the mass media are creating enough talk and controversy about it that more unneeded, nonsensical, unscientific stuff might be happen...like the recent unscientific lead weight and bullet bans at some National Wildlife Refuges 👈 not just my 2c!
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How you know you packed your boat just right – lookit that balance! 😁 Not sure whose it is but saw it on Buddy Gross' Insta:
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Company Develops Bread With White Crust to Decrease Food Waste
> Did you know that the vast majority of milk bread sandwiches made daily in Japan have their crusts removed?
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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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