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A day later than usual, but here you go! Hope you get out this weekend and try something new – or old. Whatever you enjoy doing, I hope they bite it! Bless you – and if you haven't been to church in a while, I encourage you to check one out. And please don't judge God by His people – everyone down here is broken. Wish it was different but....
Also a new Top 5 of the Week in Bassin' vid will be up on YT later today!
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Gitcha Blaster video fix here:
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the 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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WTHeck do you throw a Coike on??
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Fuji's The Juice – on what's coming from Japan – is by former college fisherman Jack "of rod trades" Baron. Jack works for Japanese fishing and rod experts Anglers Resource in AL, and helps several pro anglers refine their rods for specific techniques.
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When we first started seeing dice get popular, things like the OSP Dice Rubber at 12mm were all the rage. Not even 2 years later, the 23mm Coike FullCast floods what seems like every top 10 photo gallery. As you know, it's a drastically larger bait.
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Throwing these larger urchin-style baits is like trying to cast a parachute. So having the right rod is extremely important, especially when targeting pressured fish where longer casts are necessary.
After speaking with the guy that first showed me the Coike 2 years ago, Easton Fothergill, I got clued in on rods he likes when throwing these baits:
> "For spinning, I throw it on a 6' 9 MH XF. Baitcasters, I rock a 7' 2 H Mod F.
> "I just recently started throwing it on baitcaster, and I don't know which I like better yet."
As a rod nerd, a couple things stick out to me when looking at why he chooses these actions.
First, some definitions. "Action" refers to where in the blank a rod bends.
The Fast action that Easton mentioned means that the blank will bend only in the tip to about 1/3 of the way down before getting into the backbone of the rod.
A Mod-Fast action bends a little deeper and will be slightly more parabolic than a Fast.
"Power" describes the blank's resistance to flex.
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Both the rods he describes will act similarly on the cast. The lighter power on the spinning rod allows the blank to load a bit more, which will help a lot with overcoming the drag these urchin baits have.
The slower, more moderate action on the casting setup has the same effect on the cast, just with a bit of added power for turning fish away from any cover they might be around.
It is important to note that rod action should be on the faster side for this technique. Because it seems like the harder you jerk these baits, the more fired up the fish get. So a faster action will move the bait more than a slower one, be less fatiguing, and feel less sloppy when working the bait.
If you're using a blank that's lighter-powered, opt for a faster action. If you want to step it up to a heavier-power rod, you can afford to slow the action down to a Mod F. Either way, you're trying to find that sweet spot where the rod loads enough to cast a bait that acts like a parachute, but still snaps back fast enough to work it effectively.
At the end of the day, this isn't an overly technical deal. Get close to that and you're in business.
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Top 10 baits breakdown from the Douglas Pro Circuit
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Carter Nutt, twin brother of Classic winner Dylan, won it, and Dylan got 2nd. Hey – maybe there's a third identical brother who's the best of 'em all and just says he's Carter or Dylan? 🤔😁
Anyhow here's how Carter fished – he cranked:
> During the event, it wasn't uncommon for Carter to go 15 or 20 minutes between casts, as he ran and idled, looking for the best places to stand up and fish.
> "I scanned a lot of the same stuff every day, but I fished different places every day. ...depending on if they were set up really good or not, I would fish them. You really want to be fishing for the fish that haven't really been messed with, and are grouped up pretty good. Especially fishing for them without 'Scope, that's the best.
> "I recognized in practice, it seemed like there was better quality up [the lake]. Down the lake, there were so many small ones in those schools. There were also a lot of big ones, but those big ones were super smart.
> A handful of deep crankbaits did most of the damage for Nutt, with a Berkley Dredger 25.5 among them.
> Using 12-lb Berkley GinClear [Fluoro] was key for his cranking, and he also used pretty fast reels. For his deepest, biggest baits, he used a 7' 11 H Fenwick World Class stick, paired with a 6.8 Abu Garcia Zenon X. For his slightly lighter-duty cranking, he used a 7' 11 MH Abu Garcia Veritas Winch with an 8.3 Zenon.
> He also caught fish on a jig with a Berkley MaxScent Crud Craw, as well as a Berkley Lab Series Minnow.
Top 10 Douglas baits broken down
From the MLF gallery:
Deep crankbait = 50% – Berkley Dredger 25.5 (2), Strike King 8XD (2), 6th Sense Crush 500DD
Jig = 40%
Big soft swimbait = 30% – Scottsboro Tackle Top Hook (2), Berkley CullShad
Minnow = 30% – Berkley Lab Series Minnow (2), Rapala CrushCity Freeloader
Shakey head = 30% – Berkley MaxScent General, 6th Sense Bounce Worm
Shallow crankbait = 20% – Berkley Frittside 5
Topwater = 20% – Heddon Super Spook, Berkley Cane Walker
10% each = Flutter spoon, Urchin (Hag's Prickly Pear), Carolina rig, Big hard swimbait (Bull Shad Live Gizzard – diving bait), Football jig, Swim-jig, Bladed jig (Z-Man JackHammer)
Shoutouts
Bobby Lane finished 9th, and yep he was the one using the Frittside.
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A little real-world experience with the new Abu VOLTIQ Reel
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Reminder that the Abu Garcia VOLTIQ reels are the new DC-style "chip in 'em" reels Abu just came out with. I haven't been able to really fish 'em yet, but BassBlaster's Brett Jolley is a 23-yr-old recent college angler who's still a fishing machine. He went out and gave these reels an honest workout.
Here's his 2c on 'em – from the text he sent me out on the water a couple weeks back, I could tell he was surprised he liked them so much.
> I hadn't spent hardly any time with DC-style reels because I was skeptical whether they would actually add that much to my fishing. So when I got the VOLTIQ reels, I wanted to use them enough to get a feel for them and find out whether they could help me do anything better.
> I spooled them up last week and now have a few days with them under my belt doing a bunch of different things. The 2 biggest things I noticed are that I don't have to think about the reel as much – the VOLTIQ braking helps clean up little casting mistakes that normally cost time.
> I also feel like the "perfect" amount of line coming out of the spool helped make me more accurate – something about that braking system just puts my bait where I need it.
> I put them on the 2 rods I use the most: the VOLTIQ X with my ChatterBait rod, and the SX with my jig rod. I also used the X some with a 6XD.
> The ChatterBait is where I saw the biggest difference. I was on a lake with a lot of docks, and the way those fish wanted the bait presented, you had to get that thing way behind them and make a bunch of fancy casts. With the VOLTIQ, I didn't do a whole lot of backlashing while slinging and skipping that ChatterBait up under docks.
> Once I got my settings right, I really think it improved my accuracy. There's a lot that goes into "accuracy" when you're trying to get a bait a mile up under a dock, but that perfect amount of line coming out each time helped me put that bait in a lot of tight places – if the other variables were right.
> With the jig, I was Scoping fish on timber and had some roaming through. Whenever I was panning around and saw one, I could just flip or cast right to it without worrying about what was going on in my hands. I really think that helped me get more fish in the boat.
> Meaning it wasn't like I was seeing one real quick with a bad angle, trying to get a cast on it before I could reposition, then picking a backlash out while the fish followed my jig to the bottom.
> With the 6XD, the first thing I noticed was that you can absolutely sling that thing. If I can muscle a cast out without having to worry much, if any, about backlashes, that's what I'm going to do to get that crankbait out 120-150' and in the strike zone.
> Overall they definitely earned a place on the deck.
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Could data centers become the biggest threat to fishing?
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[I did not make that meme – just 1 of several on the webz.]
For years my 2c is that the biggest threat to fishing in the US is Asian carp. They eat too much of everything (not just grass and muck), apparently can live anywhere and they multiply worse than rabbits. And rats.
But I've been wondering if "data centers" – aka, giant server farms – will be a much bigger deal. Here's the short version of why:
- It's an international "arms race" to be #1 in "AI", and President Trump has said he wants us to be #1.
- That means the feds and every other gov't/official interested in money (all of 'em!) are backing it. That also includes the ultimate "influencers" – lobbyists and billionaire oligarchs.
- The US military apparently says it's a "national security" thing, which leads to eminent domain claims on private land (already happening in GA and I think maybe PA?).
- Each data center will use millions of gallons of water annually. From what I understand, all/most water will be recycled but...
- ...it sounds like ag/farming will be a lower priority than AI, and guess what's a lower priority than ag?
Where do you think fish and fishing will be on this list:
- AI supported by billions of $$$ and thus every politician
- Drinking water for people
- Farming/Ag
- Flood control
- Fisheries/fishing
And that's not even including the data center power needs, which are now somehow starting to get dibs over people.
So Asian carp are sort of a "our backyard" problem. They don't affect most people, politicians are marginally involved, there's no big $$$ in it, etc – that natural resource agencies and the Corps of Engineers could mostly handle. But AI is like 100 levels up from that.
Who knows, the AI bubble could burst and this all goes away. In fact, some folks – like "The Big Short" guy Michael Burry – think it will. Just something to keep your eye on...because I believe Ray Scott sure would. That's always my measuring stick.
Also will say again: You might see it differently. I'm always looking for patterns, not "facts" so much. As a bass fisherman, I can't help it – it's how I think!
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1. Skeet Reese is fishing Heavy Hitters this week
HH is the last pro tournament for him, like it was for KVD...allegedly. 😁 Post says Skeet's in "busy retirement." That used to be an oxymoron but not in bass fishing! Lookin' at you KVD, Zona, Terry Brown, etc! And for that matter Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, Billy Dance, etc!
2. OH Bassin' Hall of Fame class announced
"Dolla" Bill Lowen and former tour pro Charlie Hartley (both of whom have weighed more than 10 lbs on the OH River – lol I love that deal!), Bruce Cunagin (Ranger dealer and 1981 Classic qualifier), Dick Kotis of Arbogast (posthumus), and longtime OH Bass Tournament Circuit directors Dick and Barb Advey. Congrats to all!
3. LA: 15th annual Brayden Lynn Bass Classic May 16
Fundraiser tourney at Rhett's Tails and Shells on Lake D'Arbonne in Farmerville. $125 per team, proceeds go to the Catch A Dream Foundation: They provide once in a lifetime hunting and fishing trips to children with life-threatening illnesses between the ages of 6-18.
4. LA: 500,000 FL bass stocked in a bunch of lakes
5. Livingston's Freddy Frog emits the actual sounds of a frog
Mats anyone??
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KVD: Bluegill beds? Use a popper not a walker
From an older BM.com post:
> The topwater bite only continues to get better as the post-spawn period progresses. The fish won't move far to get a bait, so you need something with a lot of action and enticement yet stays in strike zones longer.
> Some anglers will use a walking bait that slashes side-to-side, but experience has taught me that a larger popper works even better. I caught half of the bass I weighed in at the Bend on the Strike King's larger (3/8-oz) KVD Splash in a bluegill pattern.
> I prefer the larger version because of how important sound is this time of year; it's all about the power of the "bloop" a topwater makes.
> ...instead of working it fast like I do later in the year when bass are keying on moving bait, I use a slower retrieve and pop it hard to make a loud "bloop." I still keep it moving with 4 or 5 short bloops, then pause for a second or 2 before I bloop it again. Most of my strikes come after a series of bloops.
Next time I see Kevin I'm gonna ask him to say "bloop" lol.
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"I hear a lot of the pros say they fish to win at every tournament. We all feel that way going into practice. But if you can't find the size bass it takes to win, reality forces you to roll with what you've found and hope for a check."
- Cooper Gallant doing a good job on Bassmaster.com of explaining of what "fishing for a check" or "fishing for points" comes down to.
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-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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