BassBlaster

Best color you don’t fish, Lane’s MLF winning baits, Slack line key for jigs

Today’s Top 3

Bobby Lane’s MLF champeenship baits. 

The MLF Champeenship is completely different than the Classic. First, it’s a week-long deal on 3 lakes. And it’s all about catching as close to a million fish as you can, not the biggest 5 a day. So it’s got its own thing going on, and Bobby Lane was better at that thing than everyone else this year.

The MLFers fished Lake Naconiche, TX for 2 days, then moved to Lake Jacksonville, TX for the “sudden death” round. (Gotta say I’m “yugely” surprised MLF didn’t call it the “sudden victory” round since they treat their fish like Ming Dynasty pottery and since  anyone with kids in sports knows that’s what it’s called now [eyeroll emjoi].) Last round was on Lake Kurth, TX, a public lake you need a permit for.

Full deets on what Bobby did at each lake on bassblaster.rocks, but here’s the baits:

> 1/4- and 3/8-oz 4×4 Swim Jig (Bobby’s battle bream) with Berkley Craw Fatty (gp), 50-lb Spiderwire Ultracast braid, Abu Garcia Revo ALX Reel (8.0), 7′ 3″ MH Abu Ike rod.
> 6.25″ Bottom Hoppers (junebug and gp) with a #1 Trokar Wacky Worm Hook, 10-lb Spidewire Ultracast braid, Abu Garcia STX Spinning Reel and 7′ MH Abu Fantasista Premier Spinning Rod. “…12-lb 100% Fluoro leader so I could boat flip ’em….”

> “The jerkbait was DUEL Hardcore Minnow Flat 110SP (shad).

> “…had the trolling motor on 20%, my eyes were open with those new Costas — that new morning lens [sunrise silver mirror] was the deal in the morning….”

Gotta include this cuz #family:

> “My brother is the 2012 Classic world champ, I’m the 2017 MLF world champ…how happy my dad is knowing his two sons are world champions.”

Must be pretty cool for Mr. Lane, who at the time Bobby and I were talking was out a-feeshn. Fo’ real.

“Extending the Life of the Sport.” 

Gotta call out that MLFer slogan cuz it’s so innerestin’. Implies:

> Bass fishing has a lifespan — If so, what is it? Are we near the end of it? Should we be making, you know…arrangements? Should bassin’ be in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber??

> The MLFers are doctors — What kind of doctors? [SO MANY ways to go here, but gotta keep it PG so….] Goin’ with one o’ these: soft-plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists (puttin’ people to sleep…lol kiddin’ fellers!) or…addiction specialists! #Bassin’addict

> Maybe the MLFers can see the future somehow? They already believe in bigfoots, and was told on the down-low this is one reason their locations are kept secret:

Crazy right? I mean, they have 5 fingers too, which means they can use our bassin’ gear….

The best bait color you don’t fish?

That was a hint. Yep: pink. Not talkin’ ’bout floatin’ worms. Do you fish ANYTHING ELSE that’s pink. For bass. Regularly.

What I thought. I mean, even “the fisherman formerly known as K-Pink” didn’t even fish pink. (Right Kevin?)

Have mentioned pink baits in the BB before, but after a-learnin’ that Alton Jones’ secret YUM Warning Shot color for dropshottin’ the smalls is pink/silver flake…

…he told me this:

> “Pink is so visible and easy for smallmouth to track in clear northern water. It always amazes me how far they’ll come to get it. It’s also a color they just don’t see every day, which I think makes a big difference.

> “I first got started using bubble gum colors on Lake St. Clair with soft jerkbaits 2 decades ago, and this color is just a more subtle version of that.”

Well dang. For a sec I wondered if I was getting pinked. I mean punked….

So I had to go to the authorities on pink baits for bass, the Lindners. And kids, if you don’t know who the Lindners are you need to be studyin’ up on feeshn history. Words and concepts like “cover” and “structure” — they actually created them, among many others.

Made fun of the Lindners for years (in a good way) for being the only guys on the planet to regularly fish pink baits for bass, even though Al probly laughed at me cuz he’s forgotten more than I’ll ever know about bassin’.

Anyhoo, first I asked Troy “T-Roy” Lindner since he’s a bass-head and tourney angler:

> “Chartreuse gets thrown more and fish get use to it. Pink, a lot less.

> “My favorite is a pink Fluke. Smallmouth like to attack them. Keel-weighted and fished fast like a jerkbait.

> “I haven’t thrown pink too much for largemouth besides morning dawn-colored worms.”

Okay, there’s another smallie endorsement. But check what Al said:

> “All I know is all fish like pink. Why, I don’t know, but fish it — you’ll see. I think it’s WAY overlooked.

> “For largemouth and smallmouth, I use a pink blade and white skirt on a spinnerbait in stained to clear water. Whenever I throw a soft-plastic jerkbait, my first choice for both species pink. Try it — you’ll be surprised. I fish a pink popper for smallmouths — they love it.

> “We all know the pink floating worm can be a killer. I fish a 4-6” pink Big Bite Trick Stick [Senko-like] a lot, but my favorites are their pink Jerk Minnows and 3-5″ Grubs. If I could find pink tubes I would buy ’em all up.
> “My all-time favorite is a pink X-Rap. [Asked him why.] Fish like to eat it.”

If you don’t see a pink X-Rap in a Lindner boat, you’re not in a Lindner boat. Seriously.

Here’s what gnaws at me: Al has fished more baits for more fish than I ever will. And he’s telling me (us) this but I’m not doing it. Wonderin’ if I’m bein’ this:

If pink baits sorta assault your manliness, T-Roy said to use “macho salmon.” Either way, if pink works I’m sure as heck not tellin’ anyone…except, you know, all you bass-heads….

News

1. We lost Ted Capra.

Fixture in fishing, did lots of things, was 80. Cool story from his son:

> “Dad said, ‘Come on, get your stuff, they’re catching big walleyes up north and we’re going up there. The principal said, ‘You can’t take your son out of school to go fishing.’ And Dad said, ‘Yes, I can. He’ll learn more with me in a boat than he will in your classroom.'”

#stout — RIP fishin’ bro.

2. DeFoe is TN pro athlete of the year.

3. Ike fishing Flanders Rig, needs therapy.

Just one more reason…lol Ike and Becky!

4. Combs trying to catch all 9 black bass species.

Sounds hard, but harder would be UNcatching them….

5. FLWer Casey Scanlon has new jig company.

> Scanlon designed the jig to suit his needs on the pro circuit. “I was having trouble finding the perfect jig. I wanted one jig that I could skip, flip and drag. So I designed my own.”

> …features a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook, a stand-up head designed for skipping and dragging, and narrow shoulders to penetrate heavy cover. It comes in 1/2-, 5/8- and 3/4-oz.

6. VA: James River Open accident, what happened.

Sent in by the guy whose boat it was, Tom Graziano:

> …we made the run down to the Chick, and at the mouth of the Chick, my boat came to a screeching halt, bow hooked, did a 180 and sent my co-angler into the water. We were doing 78 mph at the time of the incident. My co angler and I were both wearing the full-sized (non-inflatable) PFDs, and only he went into the water.

> He was tossed somewhere between 30-40 feet (best guess), and I immediately trolled over to him once I realized what happened. Was pretty shaken up, but no injuries, thankfully. Co-angler is a tough dude!

> …after a 4-hour tow, made it back to the service yard. Service crew confirmed the boat didn’t hit anything, and it was lower unit failure. Threw a gear right through the side. Kudos to the service crew on getting the motor fixed up quickly!

Dude glad you’re both okay!

7. AR: Benefit tourney to help firefighter.

Aug 19 at Arlie Moore Boat Ramp on DeGray.

8. OR: Smallmouths now in Hyatt Lake.

Illegally stocked.

9. OR ending limits for lower Deschutes River smallies.

10. Johnson Outdoors has record Q3 profits.

Johnson = Humminbird, Minn Kota and many other brands.

11. Check this new type of fishing kayak.

Wild:

12. Kroenke raked over coals for outdoor properties.

Billionaire Stan Kroenke owns a lot of stuff, including an English soccer team, the Rams and tons more including Outdoor Sportsman Group (Outdoor Channel, BassFan, In-Fisherman, etc.). Well, because he owns a major sports team in the birthplace of animal rights (England), someone there found out about MyOutdoorTV and it blew up.

So what did he do? Sound like he ordered a bunch of big-game hunting content be taken down. Wait til they find out about us throwing back fish…sheesh.

13. MD: Folks freak out over Potomac “shark.”

Ended up being a piece of wood:

Tip of the Day

Denny Brauer: Let your jig fall on a slack line.

Do you do this? Really think about it. I realized after watching that when I flip and FINALLY get a money placement, I’m pulling the jig outta the strike zone right away…cuz I’m not letting it fall on a slack line…maybe cuz my thumb needs work?

Jig he mentioned is the Strike King Denny Brauer Structure Jig.

Quote of the Day

I’ve gone through stretches like this before.

KVD talkin’ ’bout losing a few fish and finishing 73rd at Champlain. Uh Kevin, not sure how you define a stretch, man, but — you know you finished 1st and 3rd in the two before that one, right?

Shot of the Day

Must’ve been the fastest snapper and the slowest smallie ever:

Random

Folks go magnet-fishing.

Cast magnets out there, see what they come up with. One thing they find: rod/reel combos, probly from bass-head temper tantrums….

Sign up another bass-head!
 

If you’re forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much — or you can email me the addys and we’ll take care of it! We’ll never send spam, sell the list or anything else crazy….

Use the best!

Git on these yo!

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Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass.

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