Got a bunch to get through so let's get after it!
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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 weather can do whatever it wants to, but the biological clock of the bass is the biggest key."
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> When we went to Lake Fork in late Feb we fished in an ice storm, but every fish I caught was extremely shallow. That’s because the bass knew that it was time to get shallow, and even on those nasty days I was still catching them in a few feet of water. It was the same thing a month later on Grand Lake for Redcrest, and it’ll be the same thing later in the spring as you move further north in the U.S.
> Fish know that it’s time to get shallow and prepare to spawn, and that’s exactly what they do regardless of weather conditions. The only exception is some big rains that trash the water, but those fish won’t be very far away. They may slide out a little bit deeper, but they’re not going to leave the area altogether.
> You may have to switch from a crankbait or spinnerbait up shallow and slow down and fish a jig a little deeper, but those fish are still there. When you find them, you find them and they’ll still be around.
> The fish feel the longer days and know it’s time, which means more than what the water temperature reading says.
Gotta say that deal gives me confidence to be up shallow, thanks Casey! Last time I asked Casey for bassin' advice it was about fishing a herring lake, and he said, "Right is left and up is down." I acted like I knew what he was talkin' 'bout but had no clue...😆
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"Other than my handy little thermometer, I fished this tournament without a single piece of technology on my boat."
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> "The stealth of this kayak gave me maneuverability though the skinniest, gnarliest water – and allowed me to tap my instincts and concentrate on the bass.
> "One of my best scouting tools is Google Earth Pro, which lets me click back and look at historic images of lakes at different water levels. A creek, for example, is only as good as its water level during the driest portions of summer. Is the water deep enough to sustain a resident population of fish? Can bigger bass travel freely in and out of the creek? Does it have deep holes? And finally, are there any access points nearby?"
> ...the fish zone featured a small backwater bank with southern exposure and wind protection. "It was one of those juicy areas that can be super appealing to bass in that pre-spawn to spawning mode.
> "I focused on a high, northern bank blocked from the cold winds of the fronts we experienced on tournament day. The water here measured 5 degrees warmer than the surrounding territory. And although it lacked big laydowns, the sloping bank had nice root structures and undercuts that provided cover for bass.
> "I had tons of bait and fish-eating birds around me, too. So, when the water rose just prior to tournament day, it flooded these roots and provided a sanctuary."
> "In the skinny, cool water, the Pro CrawZ's buoyancy pushed rate-of-fall in my favor, making the 3/8-oz jig drop slower than a 1/4-oz with a standard non-buoyant trailer. Meanwhile, the heavier 3/8-oz jig still allowed me to effortlessly (and quietly) flip and maintain perfect contact with it. I benefited from more of a subtle glide on the drop, which really triggered these neutral bass."
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What I find fascinatin' about some of the kayak folks:
1. They have to fish a smaller area than bass-boaters. So it seems like they really drill down into the finer points of these areas, in a way a lot of bass-boaters don't.
2. Because of that – and I guess because no rod lockers lol – they keep it simple, which is also interesting, and it's not like the Ned Rig dominates either. They use "regular" baits.
But now that many of 'em have trolling motors and multiple 'lectronics, wonder if they can keep that focus and simplicity. We'll be a-watchin'!
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Did you know: Cold weather stunts crawfish growth.
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> Then in 2021, Winter Storm Uri delivered another blow.... The extended cold snap did not kill crawfish, but it did stunt their growth, which made them smaller at the season's peak. Numbers were typical, but the weights were below average.
Thinkin' if they can measure the weight difference, even if a bunch are weighed at a time, it must be a pretty significant difference? Not sure if that means a Ned-size bait would be better or fish a bigger bait to stand out....
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One more little tiddybit from that post:
> Lent, the 40-day period from Ash Wednesday and ending on the Holy Saturday before Easter, is typically when crawfish [sales] season peaks.... But after Easter, prices begin falling.
Any of you folks there traditionally have craws for Easter?
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Dude won a BFL with an antique Heddon topwater! 🤯
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When's the last time a BFL – or any tournament – was won with a Heddon Chugger Jr?? Do you even know what that baits looks like? I had to look it up:
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Not sure what color NC's Brian Morgan used to win at High Rock, but here's the story:
> "How this tournament unfolded was something else. I was very young when my grandpa started me fishing. All we ever did was throw a vintage Heddon Chugger Jr. topwater bait.
> "The first box I pulled out of my boat and opened up had 4 Heddon Chuggers staring me in the face. So I said, 'This one's for you Pop.' I pulled one out and tied it on. One of my buddies looked at it and said, 'What is that?' I told him, 'I'll tell you after the tournament.'"
> ...Morgan caught a bass weighing 4 lbs 7 oz on his 3rd cast of the day. The Chugger continued to produce keepers throughout the day....
> "I know for a fact Pop was looking down on me. When I left Flat Swamp, I had 19 lbs in the box and every fish except 2 had come on that Chugger. And 2 of those were the biggest fish I had. On my Facebook I posted, 'Pop, this one is for you. I love you up in heaven.' I teared up out on the water. It hit me pretty hard."
Aw man very cool. Here's Brian:
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Next thing we know someone's gonna win one on a Jitterbug or Westy Worm! 😁
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Goggle-eye salmon-mouth smallie caught for the 3rd time??
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Apparently this smallmouth was caught in 2020, 2021 and now this year – kinda hard to mistake it for another fish so:
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That's Popcorn "Ryan" Whitacre of TightRope Jigs who said:
> "I'm pretty sure you used this one a few years ago when Danny Mohan caught it [that's the salmon-lookin' pic ^]. I weighed it in last year around the same time and again yesterday in a tournament. Ugliest and maybe the dumbest bass that I know personally."
Lol! That jig is a 1/4-oz TightRope Jig (melon Christmas candy) with the new/just released BioSpawn ExoNed (smoke purple). He's been fishing that ExoNed a bunch and loves it so I asked him why:
> "It's TPE – stretchy floating stuff like the Sukoshi Bug. It's a little bigger [3"] than most Neds and weighs more so I can throw it further. It skips well without getting tangled up as much like some Neds. Super buoyant so it stands up on most heads.
> "For some reason it rigs easier than other Neds too. Segmented body makes it easy to shorten when needed. Also awesome colors. ...been in love with it since I got the 1st samples last spring."
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1. Here's you your AOY leaders.
Good and helpful YT video even if you never fish those 2 baits – because he goes over stuff like how water temp, wind and other conditions dictate his choices:
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Peek at the OG Slim and the OG Tiny on the TW. Some real good colors in those baits....
> During the recent Chickamauga tournament, guys were either fishing finesse lures and catching small ones with the occasional big fish, or throwing giant baits and fishing for just a few quality bites. I don't like either style, so I fish standard baits that I'm more comfortable using.
Had me a quick "where am I" deal looking at the results from the latest tourney, like – am I seeing what I'm seeing? Yep, appears so. Paddy finished 2nd at Hartwell last weekend and J-Will finished tied for 5th.
Did well in the last 2 and headed to Lake of the Ozarks – which he told BassFan.com he hasn't fished in 25 years?? Prediction: Tommy fishes a Hardhead with a Biffle Bug!
Answered what are the best places to fish He did well but the co-host said "cast your line" a couple times – so he's not a fisherman lol.
Sounds like several family health issues, very tough. Hope everything ends up good man.
Here's you a possibly emerging hero for all you bank-beaters:
> He has just 1 graph at the console and another at the bow – his trolling motor is cable-driven and doesn't have any GPS anchoring. And forward-facing sonar? He doesn't have that either.
> "My whole mission is to stay shallow and fish my strengths. I don't go deep anymore – I've done that my whole life and don't enjoy it anymore. Everyone is stuck on forward-facing sonar and in my opinion it's making the deep stuff too crowded. I'd rather fish based on my instincts and stay shallow."
He's from GA and here's what his bow looks like – arrow is pointing to where you're supposed to have a multi-unit mount: 😁
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...for a couple Classics:
> "I can remember fishing it in tournaments and having trouble driving the hook in, even with 25 lb test [mono] and a heavy rod. Hooks have also improved of course, but I can recall 2 Bassmaster Classics that I would have won if I was able to hook the fish that bit.
> "There was too much stretch in mono, and you couldn't get them around the dock pilings because the line was like a rubber band.
> "I started using fluorocarbon because I was tired of getting my butt kicked and knew those guys were getting more bites because of how clear the line was. That was the only reason I started using it, but then I learned all of the other benefits.
> "It gave me better hooksets because it had less stretch than mono and it was also more durable and sensitive at the same time. It also casts so much better. Once I learned all of that, I knew there was no way I was ever going back.
> "Fluorocarbon line is more expensive than mono, but I'd argue that it's more a conservative purchase in the long run because it lasts longer. In the old days, I would put a new monofilament line on every night during a tournament because it didn't hold up. Now I can fish every day for a month and not re-spool my fluorocarbon."
You hear that Elite and MLF peeps? Don't re-spool for a month! 😁
That post also says that Kureha, the parent company of Seaguar (which Denny uses), created fluorocarbon and intro'd the first fluoro fishing line in 1971. 1971?? Where was it all those years? Shoot if Denny didn't know about it, who was keeping it a secret – Larry Nixon? George Cochran? Guy Eaker?? 😆
Never happened at Sealys events before:
> Ralph Dupuy...became the first angler to ever repeat as champion of a Sealy Outdoors event on the same lake. In 2018, Dupuy's 12.05 monster fish was good enough to win the overall title and prize package. Then...in 2022, his 11.1-lb bass once again put him in the top overall spot.
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> That's two boats, two trucks, and lots of money. His estimated winnings for those two years are valued at nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
Dang man congrats!
Congrats to 'em! Mentioning because:
a) Beau is Stephen Browning's son and says he's better than his dad ever thought about being...😆 okay maybe that was the other way around – just messin' Brownings!
Mentioning this cuz Bailey works on the "PR" side of the biz and is good people – and from all the love he got on his Insta post seems like I'm not the only one who feels thataway. OR we've all been played by a skilled technician/Deep Fishin' State spy...🤔
Big congrats to him for the win – and for successfully avoiding being a dude on kayak toast for a gator tho he came close! Said his main bait was a 1/2-oz Accent Spinnerbait (white, gold/silver willows) with a paddletail swimbait (white, tailed dipped in chartreuse JJ's Magic):
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Dardanelle, $100 per boat and:
> The fishing tournament pays out 100% of the money raised to the anglers. Allen said it's been a way to give back to a community that has stood beside them.
Sounds like the 10th year in a row and the family just can't run it anymore.
14. BioSpawn just released 2 new baits.
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> Dying baitfish were closely monitored in their final hours to calculate their precise movements. That data led to the creation of a bionic replica, freely capable of twitching and darting. Further experimentation led to other enhancements....
> An infusion of built-in-a-lab BioScent boosts strikes. Elongated tail for simulated action. And a hook channel for protection through weeds. Best deployed on a EWG hook, rigged weedless through the hook channel.
> Elite rookie Josh Douglas: "The new VileMinnow has a traditional look but its action breaks the traditional mold by a long shot largely due to its elongated split tail that gives the bait far more action when twitching through the water column."
Heagy-Burry Boat Ramp, no timeline yet.
5:30-7 pm, Izaty's Resort, 40005 85th Ave.
Still the best fishin' shorts in my 2c, lookin' good too:
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Marine revenue was 21% above Q1 2021 and it says gross and operating margins are 51% and 23% = stout.
Jason Christie was mentioned in the release – first time I can recall seeing a bass pro mentioned in a major earnings report:
> Also during the quarter, our LiveScope technology helped Garmin-sponsored fishing pro Jason Christie win the 2022 Bassmaster Classic....
Was pro staff manager, now director of ops. Says Russ has a PhD in education, which ain't gonna help him a bit! Just messin', who knows but he's gotta be overqualified! 😁
Looks like just saltwater for now....
Sounds like not the first one because – once again – a fish farm started the whole deal:
> On Apr 14 a post on the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's Facebook page notified readers that an angler reported catching a Eurasian tench in the St. Lawrence River.
> Tench first came to wider local public attention along the river in Sept 2018. At that time...2 tench were caught south of Cornwall Island. Anglers have witnessed tench downstream from Montreal, particularly in the Richelieu River, a Quebec tributary of the St. Lawrence River.
> The invasive species was introduced to the Canadian portion of the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries in the 1980s when a Quebec fish farm illegally dumped it in the Richelieu River. The fish has also been found in the Columbia watershed in British Columbia and the Mississippi River watershed.
Of course they're a member of the carp family...maybe should be called the STENCH!
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Except for the warm parts:
> From cold 40-degree days with winds gusting as high 50 mph to sudden 90-degree heat waves, anglers have seen a wide gamut of weather that's making it difficult to figure out the fish patterns....
26. UT/AZ: List of Powell ramps that are open.
Can't link it, it's at: suindependent com
> ...the vast majority of the farm-raised largemouth bass is cultivated and consumed in China – an estimated 432,000 tons in 2018, according to the China Fishery Statistics Yearbook.
So...farmed FL largies will be exported there maybe? Still no idea why the state would okay that....
Should be a World Fishing Day or World Hamburger Day in line before that deal!
Line of the Day
- VA DNR fish biologist talkin' 'bout shad and herring. That word never would've occurred to me for any baitfish...😂
Updatin's
Man I run through these BBs so fast it's a miracle I don't forget more stuff!
Forgot to include Jamey Caldwell's Insta info:
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Little older deal, before he was a Berkley guy, so I'm assumin' now it's with a General and not a Senko – either way good info:
> An unweighted...Senko, rigged on a wide-gap hook.... Most often I use it where the fish have been hammered and have seen about every other lure there is.
> ...I'm using a 4/0 wide-gap hook. If the grass is really thick, I'll go with a heavier hook, but most of the time I stick with a light-wire model. One purpose of the wide-gap hook is to provide a better hookset when the bait is moving along at a pretty good clip. Also, it acts as a keel to keep the Senko running straight so it doesn't twist the line.
> A 3" or 4" Senko.... Typically I'll rig a shad-colored Senko or one that suggests a bream's colors – it depends on what the main forage seems to be.
> I fish this rig across the surface faster than a floating worm, but I'm not really burning it. I want it to be hopping and skipping across the surface, like a minnow or bream that's trying to get away.
> Cast it out, get a cadence going and work it back fairly quickly so it hops along. Sometimes you'll spot a wake or some sign that a bass is chasing it. In that case, just stop it and see what happens. It doesn't look so hot when it's falling, but fish will grab it anyway.
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"I didn't know what I was doing."
> It took me 10 years to win a major tournament in the United States, and this was my 10th cut in a Bassmaster event.
> I never thought my first win would come on a tidal fishery. I did not grow up on a river or tidal system. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't even know how many pounds I would need to win.
> I never even touched someone else's trophy, so I didn't know how heavy it was. Now I know how heavy a Bassmaster Opens trophy is. Now I want to feel how heavy a blue trophy is.
Love our Japanese bros man! If you read his full post on Bassmaster.com, you'll see just how quick (and thorough) he was to figure those fish out.
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Kickstarter thing. Amazingly it wasn't designed for summer bassin':
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> The Metaura Pro is powered by a twin-turbo PWM motor and cooling modules made up of 26 pieces of lightweight Fin that wrap around the wearer's neck and dissipate heat. The motor is linked to a high-speed fan at the back of the device, which also dissipates some of that warm air around the neck.
> The Metaura Pro also a VC plate, liquid-cooled, heat-equalizing mechanism that, "combined with 121 pairs of special semi-conductor particles, creates a Peltier effect." The whole process "efficiently transforms hot temperatures into cool ones."
Says it lasts 8 hours per charge. I'd be a little paranoid it could inject me with something...😬
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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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