BassBlaster

Big bass of the week, Zona figured ’em out, Can you focus like A-Mart?

Today’s Top 5

Ditch melons o’ the week.

Brenden Pearson bagged this 12.72-lb sugar melon from Lake Alan Henry with a Sweet Beaver (watermelon red):

South end of KY Lake coughed up this 11-06 for Eric H, caught on a Strike King 8XD (blue back herring):

No weight on this fatso, but had to include because it looks like a 6+:

SPRO Aruku Shad (chrome shad), Sunline (Shooter?), Denali Lithium rod.

Z figgered ’em out.

Zona was up at Erie outta Dunkirk, NY and figured out how to catch those muddy-water smalls. Happy for him but also ticked cuz a) what he did didn’t occur to me and b) he took Willie with him but couldn’t remember my # (what up with that Z? I could drive there man!). Anyhow he texted me:

> I honestly think I’m the only dude that loves dirt for smallies. My best days are in dirt the last 3 years.

> 1/2, 3/4 and 1-oz Strike King Squadron and Trokar Swimbait heads — unpainted.

> 4.75″ Rage Swimmer in green pumpkin early and later — 15-lb Seaguar Tatsu.

> Ripping it off the bottom as hard as possible in 28-34′. Bigger line was fun bud! They’d slack-line it….

> No crawling — all cracking. That was the key in the dirt. Dragging got zero bites. Weight and bulk was the main deal…they needed a target in that dirty water.

And here’s what happened — one of several pics — my phone is like Z’s brag board dang it:

Btw, Z did a vid on what to do when smallies stop biting…which never happens for him so guess it’s a pretty short vid?

Goodbye Ryan.

We lost a bassin’ bro — didn’t know him, but he was a friend of the Master o’ Flukes. This is in the top 5 today cuz…guess I don’t know exactly. Just hit me hard.

Gotta say this: Don’t do drugs. Don’t “try” them. Seriously. Don’t even think about it. Act like they’re venomous snakes because they will kill you. All drugs want is to ruin your life and kill you. NO upside.

I know people who have beat the dragon and one guy who died from it. Without preaching, will say this: The guys I know who have beat it, did it with Jesus’ help. If you’re in a bad place, if you’re stuck, I hope you reach out to Him, man.

Here’s Ryan, here’s Fluke talkin’ ’bout Ryan, here’s the fund to help Ryan’s mom get the word out.

Anthony and I always make sure to be serious, but have fun while we’re doing it. It’s what we like to do and we just like to have fun.

College bass competitor sayin’ what I wish more bass-heads would remember. How do you spell bass? Here’s my way: F-U-N. Was always better at math….

Clunn mystery solved?

Somehow ran across this back-in-the-day pic of Rick Clunn…

…which got me thinking. Clunn’s always been known as having some — let’s say — “outta this world” bassin’ abilities. Some might call it “alien.” Maybe they’re right:

Ever think it’s weird that you never see Clunn and Sasquatch in the same place?

News

1. J-Wheels 2nd, Feider 4th in St. Jude derby.

Props to them and everyone else for fishing it. Wheeler’s partner was Danny Quinn of Rapala, whom I assume had all the good spots….2. Ike twitches the Original Floater.

> …all you really have to do is throw past your target and bring the bait back with twitches — use your wrist — while letting it pause every so often. While it’s in the pause, let it float up to the surface and lie perfectly still until the rings disappear. Vary your speed and cadence until you find what the fish want.

Huh. I usually just reel it and pause it every so often. Will try it…maybe. (Original Floaters on TW. Silver and gold gotcha covered.)

Also this good soft-jerkbait tip from Ike:

> Between the braid and the fluorocarbon you need to add a saltwater size barrel swivel. The swivel has nothing to do with avoiding line twist. It makes the rig look real by creating the image of a big baitfish chasing a tiny baitfish.

One more: Ike Foundation schedule here — gitcha kids out!

3. Keith Combs’ 6XD box.

Just about that time down South. This shot is reminding me of a Christmas present I forgot to ask for:

6XDs on TW.

4. Good list of bad-weather boat stuff from A-Mart.

5. Great peek into the rookie mind by Gerald Spohrer.

> I feel like I may be trying too hard. Yes, in this sport you can try too hard. There is a fine line between trying too hard and being fully prepared for an event. I have been working my tail off pre-practicing every lake. Which is something I have never done before. I fish from daylight to dark every day so I’m always tired. I overwhelm myself with info studying constantly and analyzing scenarios.

6. B.A.S.S. may tighten Elite info rule.

Instead of no info 28 days out, might be changed to none as soon as the schedule is announced. Apparently suggested by the Elitists.

Wrestling with whether this would help. I mean, guys who break/get around the no-info rules will do it anyway, and the guys who theoretically need the most info are rookies to 3-year pros so…would they be hurt by this rule change or helped?

7. MD: Kid wins Potomac BFL in just 4 hours.

Aaron Dixon, 21-09 limit:

> After the bite slowed around 10:30 a.m., Dixon said he encountered problems with his engine mounts and was forced to return early to the takeoff ramp.

Fished 4-10′ with a Senko (black blue flake).

8. WA: 10-lb winning margin on Banks Lake derby.

Missed this from a couple weeks ago: Wes Wezenberg (Wes Wez = sick fishing name) won it with 37.44 lbs (2 days) of larges and smalls.

9. WI: Reminder, Sturgeon Bay smallie hawg fest May 19-20.

No one needs a dang partner??

10. TX: La Perla ranch fish going into Falcon.

Like Falcon needs more big fish? Bring ’em to Jersey!

11. OH: Some want license fee increase, state does not.

State says every time they do it, license sales drop.

12. FL: New reservoir coming south of Okeechobee?

I assume it will be full of bass!!

13. MO: Expert says levees causing Mississippi River flooding.

> “This is not climate change. This is a constricted river.”

Either way, pls pray for the flooded out folks in MO and elsewhere.

14. CAN: Sounds like Canada may be backing off nuttiness…

…in border-waters regulation. Right now you’re supposed to report in and all kinds of other stupidity if you cross over the water border, whereas Canadians only need to check in if they touch a U.S. shoreline.

15. Fishing increasing in popularity?

> Fishing is again the number two most popular adult outdoor activity, but is closing in on the #1 activity, jogging.

Hmmm. Jogging or fishing. Jogging or fishing. Reeeeeeeeal tough choice…not. Asked my cat and he was like:

16. Will Fish for Kids has raised $1+ mil since 2005.

#stout

17. HydroWave renews college bass sponsorship.

18. Rapala CEO says big box troubles hurting lure biz.

Btw, a bass-head got the Rapala sales rep of the year: Marty “the hammer” Salchak. Marty fishes derbies in OH…which means his best 5 of all time weigh…11.2 lbs. lol

19. Fiberglass making a comeback in fly rods.

Helps rods load better and easier on lines/knots. Makes me want a Kistler Feel N Reel rod now…. Kistler calls that graphite/fiberglass blend “soft power” like:

20. Wrangler.com has fishin’ articles?

No big deal except Wrangler used to be a big B.A.S.S. sponsor.

21. Anyone else diggin’ multi-color flake?

Usually I DON’T like anything real flashy, but for some reason multi-color plastics were getting me bit last season. Here’s a YUM Dinger in the “ghillie suit” color:

22. Didja know you can get “pro blue” ‘Traps?

Yep, one of the most famous jerkbait colors now in lipless:

23. DUO building biggest bait factory in Japan.

24. New Garmin GPS watch.

Can save waypoints with it…want!

25. Ever get paranoid about expensive reels in luggage?

What happens when they’re Okumas — love it:

26. Bait ID successful?

Several folks said that bait — used by Anthony Ford (10th) on the back of his vibe jig at the Chickmauga Costa — is a Castaic Jerky J or copycat bait. Pretty sure that bait is NOT named after me, but don’t ask my wife…lol.

Tip of the Day

Do you fish like Aaron Martens?

From a good Bassin’masters post by Ish Monroe, who’s fishing better because:

> Two things pushed me along. One was when I saw an…Elite Series guy winding his frog in from a grass bed while looking around for another hole to throw into. That was fine except that he didn’t see the bass that was chasing his frog all the way back to the boat.

> The second thing is my admiration for Aaron Martens. He makes less casts than almost anyone, but he catches more bass than almost anyone.

> What he does is make sure everything is perfect before he ever makes a cast. Watch him. He checks his line, his knot, his hook and his lure. Only when all is in order does he let it fly.

> And then, watch him work his bait. You can tell he isn’t thinking about anything but getting a bite. He focuses like a laser. The next cast will take care of itself.

> Maybe most important of all, he doesn’t hope he’ll catch one or think he’ll catch one. He doesn’t even believe he’ll catch one. He knows he’ll catch one. As a result, he doesn’t hurry. He fishes.

> If you’re not fishing the way you think you should be fishing, I suggest you finish the cast you have before you start thinking about the one you don’t have. It’s really helped me.

Texted Aaron asking what he thought. Texted me back:

Quote of the Day

You can’t fish tournaments and have enough money to have babies at the same time.

FLWer Bob Morin explainin’ why he waited 20 years before he hit the tour. The Elitists who don’t have kids yet might want to think about that. I get it cuz babies cost some $$ and they just keep a-gittin’ more ‘spensive:

Shot of the Day

Givin’ this one to Mark Copley, everyone’s bud at Strike King, who caught this big ol’ brown fish in the rain on a Coffee Tube and 8-lb Tatsu on the Niagara River…a day before the runoff and I got there:

Copley’s chin whiskers are for finding baitfish in muddy water…lol.

Random

Many children have grown up thinking that life is all about fishing, ignoring education.

Saw that line and my first thought was, Heck yeah! Then I realized it was about kids in Africa who have to fish to eat. #reality

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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