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Quick big THANK YOU to the folks who are working to keep us all safe, and not just armed forces, LE and fire. If you plow, climb utility poles, are a plumber, carpenter, etc. – a WORKING MAN – big thanks, you are loved and appreciated. Stay safe. Hope all the southern cold snap folks are back or climbing back!
Denny Brauer said 12″ of snow at Amistad, and Wade Middleton said 106 hours below freezing in Del Rio. Crazy! C’mon spring! |
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Today’s Top 4
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O.H. Ivie is the best big bass lake in the country right now.
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WTHeck!!! How’ bout this in the last 5 days:
➡️ THREE teens-weight bass!
➡️ A new lake smallmouth record, then 2 days later it was beat!
Okay goin’ from the most insanely giant on down:
1. 16.40 – SIXTEEEN POINT FOUR OH – insanely bulbous ditch melon wrangled by Joe McKay from Bussey…IA?? That’s some vacation feesh trip my man! Pending lake record: |
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2. Donald Burks I think caught this 13.40 today?? |
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3. Right before that was this 13.2 winched in by Josh Jones plus he had “several” over 8: |
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4. I think the day after the 16.4 was caught, dude name of Joey Winn caught this 6.25-lb smallmouth which would’ve been a lake record smallie – though to me it looks more like a meanmouth? Shot is at at the texasfishingforum.com, can’t link it: |
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But 2 days later Ben Milliken caught this 6.6 smallmouth! |
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That crazy or what! Hitch it on up and git down there if’n ya can!
Gotta mention a few of the comments under the largie posts on the ShareLunker FB:
> I think he used a Garmin to find this fish though.
> That there would be a new KS state record.
> All the pros are going to that lake now.
> I knew that was the zarc when I saw the pic. Good job wizard. |
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‘Twas a red lipless fest at the cold Guntersville ‘Yota.
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TN’s Jimmy Washam took this’n home with 15 for 58-05. Congrats to him, my fave quote:
> “Losing that sponsor put me in a bad spot – I’m wondering how I’m going to afford to fish this year,” he told the crowd. Then…barely choking back tears Washam said, “I don’t mean to get emotional…. It really is an answer from God. I prayed that I wouldn’t doubt Him and I would keep my faith, and this right here is the answer.”
That’s a beautiful prayer my man and congrats! He mostly fished an Azuma Shaker Z lipless (aztec color) but also caught some on a bladed jig that looks like a JackHammer:
> “…this really cold weather has taken the fish from these vast grass flats and put them in small depressions on those flats. You’ve got a 20-acre area that had bass on it, but this super cold weather has put them in a 1-acre depression on that 20-acre flat.”
Here’s what the top 10 feeshed:
Lipless crank = 80% – BOOYAH One Knocker 50% (3 Rayburn red – 1 an XR50 – royalty, gold shiner), Rat-L-Trap 30% (goldfire craw, Cali craw, BER Trap), Jackall TN 60: |
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Bladed jig = 30% – JackHammer = 20% and all had some red/orange on ’em. Why anyone would fish a “fire craw” Hammer mystifies me man…
Crankbait = 20% – Berkley Frittside 5 (candy apple red craw), KVD 1.5 (chili craw)
A-rig = 10%
Some good tidbits in the writeup, good job Richard Simms and Justin Onslow (do more of these!):
> Sloan Pennington (2nd) on the One Knocker: “…it’s easier to work through the grass and I can feather it over it. I can fish it a little bit slower.”
> Ethan Green (4th) on the Frittside 5: “I could throw it in the same places he threw and I could get bit and he couldn’t. I know it makes a difference but I don’t know what about it makes a difference.”
> Brennan McCord (5th) on his non-red color choice: “I couldn’t get bit on red this week. Everything I could catch was on purple and white.”
> Blake Hall (6th) on the ‘Trap: “…doesn’t vibrate as hard as some of the newer ones and I think that helps in the cold water. They just bite it here. I’ve got a lot of confidence in it.”
> Mickey Beck (8th): “The secret was that I had to use really light A-rigs and I actually had to cut the blades off. If you didn’t the current would take the A-rig on down the river.”
PSA: Every time I mention that an Xcalibur XR50 was used and that it’s the exact same bait as a BOOYAH Hard Knocker, people say it’s not the same. Here’s what I can tell you, from the folks who have made BOTH baits: The baits are identical – construction, plastic, hardware – except for the hooks.
If you wanna disagree, all good. If you wanna get all Garrett Paquette and weigh out every component across a big sample size to find out if that’s “true” or whatever, cool. Either way, here’s the deal: No matter what name’s on it, that bait catches fish. |
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Why are pro boats getting more complex?
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Been chewing on this a little because it doesn’t make sense to me. Talkin’ ‘lectronics. Thoughts, no particular order:
1. Pros want to be efficient. They NEED to be super efficient. That means keeping it simple. 5 units, 3 different brands, learning 3 operating systems…is that efficient? Nope. So they’re doing it because they need it to compete/win…in some cases.
2. They don’t put things on/in their boats that don’t help them (always my point about them all running HydroWaves), and will change out anything on their rigs (cables, props, baits, etc) if they can find something that does it better. So now – or for now – they need 5 screens.
3. More complex is not a good direction for pros or in fishing in general. So my 2c: That trend has to/will turn around. Does that mean fewer screens or fewer bigger screens? Or a heads-up display headset instead?? Who knows, but my bet is it’ll happen.
4. For us regular fishermen, except for folks who really like all the complexity, my 2c is it’s a direction that won’t work. Complexity and time needed vs fishing time, cost – gotta turn around. Seems like tech prices USUALLY drop after a while (TVs yes, phones no) so hope it’ll happen here.
Got any thoughts pls lmk, love to hear ’em. Here’s high-tech Buzz talkin’ up the 5 units deal to low-tech Woody: |
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What’s happening because of the 3-lake Redcrest deal.
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After MLF bagged the OK Redcrest to move it to TX and then bagged TX to move it to AL, some guys said they believe it’s all related to Boyd Duckett – coming out of his shop on Feb 2 and seeing his shadow. So they voted that Boyd can no longer be outside on that date, even to get the mail.
HAHAHA just messin’! Definitely a first for a championship tourney (or any tourney?) which is why I gotta mention it. I bet they weren’t stoked ’bout all the hop-scotchin’, but are stoked they got a place to do it on short notice where it’s at least semi-warm.
Saw on social that before it was moved from TX, several MLFers were buyin’ ice augers, chisels and lil bitty ice rods like this’n… |
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…just in case, but some guys – notably Jared Lintner, Takahiro Omori, Randall Tharp and Bobby Lane – said there was “no dang way” they were fishing “little Barbie poles on national TV.” Heard Tak walked out, Jared was yelling things outta his ‘stache, and Tharp stared so hard at a wall that Bobby had to kick a hole in it.
LOL fellas! Glad they’re fishing! Here’s the guys in it. |
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News
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No word on whether pecans are involved…but on the other hand, with E-squared, pecans are ALWAYS involved….
2. Mark Rose gets Mammoth Coolers.
In honor of that here is a frozen mammoth: |
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3. Caleb Sumrall is a test pilot.
Proof: |
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4. Is Chris Johnston demonstrating the samurai hookset?
Wasn’t even aware they taught style that in Canada: |
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5. MLFLW Pro Circuiter Josh Douglas gets X2 batteries.
This may or may not be Josh Douglas… |
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6. Pure Fishing owner is now the 2nd-biggest owner of Rapala VMC?
Wow interesting:
> …US-based Sycamore [Partners] purchased 7.5 mil shares, which represents 19.23% of total shares and voting rights. The aggregate ownership increased above the 15% threshold on Feb 11…makes Sycamore the 2nd-biggest shareholder in the Rapala VMC group behind Veillard Migeon & Cie., which has 15 mil shares (38.46%).
> Pure Fishing, which was bought by Sycamore from Newell Brands for a reported $1.3 bil in 2019, currently has 19 brands, including household names like Berkley, Abu Garcia, Shakespeare…and is the world’s biggest producer of fishing tackle by volume.
7. Southern cold snap might delay the spawn.
Good point. So there might be a huge push shallow when it gets right?
8. Which Vexus color do you dig?
Glad I’m not a wealthy man because if I was I’d own too many JackHammers, guitars, guns, Labs and now I can add Vexus boats to the list. I mean lookit these things! I don’t know which is more , silver or white – or any of the other colors for that matter (I love the blue too): |
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Big 40% off sale, here’s a few: |
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Clockwise from top L:
Coolnet uv+ insect shield mossy oak (also in blaze orange)
10. TX: Bassmaster Yak Championship at 1 of the best-named lakes ever.
Possum Kingdom. I mean, God bless whoever named that lake because it is AMAZING! Props to B.A.S.S.. I hope they’ll have a ton of possum stuff going on there, like possum funnel cakes, possum gyros, possum races and maybe this dude’ll share his life journey: |
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They’re not sure yet if sectionals will go to a final.
12. FTC wants more info before okaying Bass Pro buy…
…of Sportsman’s Warehouse.
13. SC: Clemson students deferred enrolling to fish all 50 states.
They get straight As from me and didn’t even have to go to class.
14. OK DNR wants to hire boating/shooting range coordinator.
15. TN: Country stah Hannah Dasher used to sell boats/motors…
…at Bass Pro Shops in Nashville. Does she have any lyrics about Nitros and Trackers?
PSA
2 quick YETI deals.
1. You’re prolly way ahead of me, but now I use the cover/lid on my 10-oz Rambler coffee mug indoors too. Coffee stays even hotter even longer. Love it.
2. Mentioned that my kids drink water all day outta their 36-oz YETI Rambler Bottles. I thought they did it cuz they think YETI stuff is cool, which they do, but since I got my 30-oz Rambler Tumbler I do the same thing – cuz call me crazy but water tastes better out of it. Don’t know how or why, but to me it does. So now I gotta get one customized for the cupholder in my Vexus mang! |
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now…
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Note: The TackleWarehouse links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase I might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in the BB.
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Tip of the Day
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Man I did! Him and buddy Biggs were out on Douglas fishing crankbaits in 40-41 degree water – and caught ’em. On the #1 cold-water crank, the Rapala Shad Rap (I think in “crawdad”?)…on spinning gear. What I got out of it:
– Shorter casts than I would’ve thought.
– Casual reeling and reel-pull-reel.
– Braid to fluoro. Dang I need to master that FG or some other knot before it’s feeshn weather.
– Water color was not what I would call clear in some spots.
– Ott doesn’t always fish in bare feet. |
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Quote of the Day
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“I could just tell Scott how the boat felt on the water, and that was enough.”
– Guy talkin’ ’bout recently-retired Merc prop guru Scott Reichow. I believe it – no computers needed. You might be surprised how many bass tubs were designed exactly thataway and, to some extent, still are…by highly knowledgeable, experienced folks, which in my 2c will beat a computer every dang time. |
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Shot of the Day
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Sick pre-landin’ shot posted by Alex “Zander” Mei at TackleTour. Zander has his own frogmen shooters I guess: EMOJ
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Random
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3 guesses what this is:
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Answer:
Gator snouts poking out of frozen OK water so they can breathe. Pretty cool.
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Ya got me!
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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’!
Check out BassGold.com! (It’s FREE!)
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Use the best stuff mang!
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Check these out!
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National Professional Anglers Assoc.
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Gitcha BassBlaster social at these links:
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