First of all, why haven't they made another "Battleship" movie. I don't get it.
Olympics: Thank you again to the tournament organizations, competitors, fishing biz folks and us regular ol' fishermen for how we all do what we do in our corner of the world. Mostly clean, mostly positive, pro-America (and Canada), thankful for our vets, etc. So great. Love 'n hugs from me.
Kumars are back in FL and we are all missing LA so...? Gonna see what happens, what doors the Lord opens and closes. Let's go!
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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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How Keith Carson won a dang FFS tourney!
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Keith winning a smallmouth FFS tourney is kinda like a vegan winning a hot dog eating contest in a milking barn. The only crazier thing would be John Cox and Gerald Swindle finishing in the top 2 in an FFS tourney! 😁 Anyhow, here's how he won the MLF Invitational on the DEEtroit River.
Practice
> "Lake Erie I found them out there pretty deep, around 27'. I caught a lot of drum like you do on Erie, but a lot of big bass too.
> "Then I went to St Clair on day 2 of practice. I caught 25 lbs and my next best 5 weighed 24 lbs. So I had 10 fish over 4.5-4.75. I was like, This is even better than Erie.
> "Erie had real big ones – you could catch 26-27. But I felt better about St Clair because I was catching many big ones. So I ended up fishing St Clair all 3 days.
> "I definitely didn't think I was gonna win. I did feel like I was going to have a really good tournament.
> "...my St Clair fish [were in an area with] a strip of grass with a sandbar next to it in 12' of water with another strip of grass. And when I found it [in practice], the first 3 fish I caught were 5.5 lbs each. Then I lost one like 6 lbs after that too. I caught those 3 in like 15 minutes and I was like, Man this is really good.
> "It was an area – it wasn't a spot. An area about a few hundred yards. The plan was I would go to that area and just troll around til I found them on sonar. When found 'em I could catch them."
Tournament
> "Each day of the tournament I had to relocate them.... Sometimes they would be far away...500 yards away, sometimes like a 1/4 mile away. When I found them I'd catch them pretty quick.
> "They're roaming but they're roaming on the bottom. My livewell was full of crawdads they were spitting up [he said they were orange/red!]. I was throwing a jighead minnow – it wasn't a match the hatch deal.... Some of them were glued to the bottom and looked like a rock on the bottom, and some were 1-2' off the bottom.
> "A lot of them were moving but I had a hard time leading them – because smallmouth constantly change direction. When I'd lead them they would turn or they'd turn when it was in midair – so I had to hit them on the head. I would just cast to them.
> "As soon as the bait hit the water, many of the fish would start to swim up immediately – it was only 10-12 ' deep. They would eat it only 2' under the water. If they didn't show interest, I'd let it get 2' above their head and start swimming it, and they'd chase it.
> "The area was about a quarter-mile long, and every day I had to find them in a new part of this quarter-mile area. I'd start where I caught 'em the day before. ...I'd go and they weren't there. So I'd put [the troller] on 70-80% and start searching, Finally I'd run into them. Day 2 took me the longest [to find 'em].
> "I wasn't really bypassing fish – I cast at every single fish I saw. I was fishing for lone fish, singles. It wasn't a school of fish. A lot of the fish were singles. Some of them were in groups of 2-3, but most of the time they were singles.
> "I just found some good ones, and I think most guys were fishing schools of fish. Every time I got into a school I would catch 3.5-4 lbers, but every time I got away from a school and found a single one, it was over 4.5 almost every single time."
He said that some of his fish were on the edge of the of the grass, but some were 100' out in the middle of a sand flat. No real consistency to the roaming fish.
Winning bait
> Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad (blue pearl black hologram) on a 1/8-oz jighead, 8-lb Berkely FireLine to 10-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, Abu Garcia Zenon LTX Spin Reel (3000), 7' 2" ML Fenwick World Class Spin Rod [since that is a walleye rod it is not on TW but you can get it on the Fenwick site.]
> "They seemed to just eat whatever color. Every now and then I would have a fish follow or short-strike. I'd switch colors, catch them on [the different] color, then go back and catch them on the color I was [originally] using. I don't think it mattered...."
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> "I like the FireLine. It's kind of coarse – it's not really slick. It's not too slick and...when I have a really slick braid my FG knot doesn't seem to hold. It slips. ...the FG knot holds really good [with FireLine]. I tied one FG knot [with] 8' of leader and practiced with that for 3 days straight. I caught 100s of fish and never once broke it....
> "I like to test stuff out like that in practice. I do what I'm not supposed to do...push stuff to the limit to see where it stands."
Electronics
His FFS is Lowrance ActiveTarget 2:
> "I set the transducer 2 clicks up from factory and then set the screen negative-6 degrees...that levels the screen out. Because if you click the transducer up and don't level the screen, it'll look really bad.
> "I do that because it looks up and forward instead of just forward. So you can see the water surface 100' away. You can see waves rolling on the surface. So you immediately see your bait hit the water – you don't have to wait. If you use factory settings, you have to wait 2-3 seconds to see your bait, if you hit the mark. And [his way] I can see instantly if I made the right cast or not."
Shoutouts
> "Vexus Boats for my 96 miles round trip there and back every day, all my people/FL family, John [Cox], Berkley, Fenwick Rods...my amazing wife Shaylee."
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5 Qs with the guy who just blew everyone's minds
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Word is in practice Jacob Wheeler ran into Keith's other roomie, AL's Alex Davis, and asked who he thought would win it. Alex said, "I think Keith is gonna win." Jacob was like, "Keith Carson??? Nah."
Hahaha too funny (Keith laughed too) and I bet everyone would've had the same reaction. Cool that Jacob shouted out Keith in his tourney wrap-up vid (IG) and said Alex called it. I mean – I was shocked too Jacob!
Okay here's 5 with your new king of FFS: Keith Carson! 🤯
1. What business does a FL boy have winning a smallmouth tournament with a walleye rod??
> "[Laughs] None. No business doing that but man that rod is awesome." [I believe that rod is a fave of wally-eye pro Korey Sprengel.]
2. What was harder, learning FFS or not fishing a baby bass MaxScent General? 😁
> "[Laughs] It's pretty hard not fishing the 'baby bass' MaxScent General. That's my favorite bait."
3. How did you go from not knowing much about FFS at the start of the season to winning a tournament with it against some serious FFS sticks?
> "You know honestly the 1st day of the first [Bass Pro Tour] tournament of the year at Toledo Bend, Jacob Wheeler and found similar fish real close to each other. He put a clinic on me...I watched him in person. Let me tell you – seeing him in person and watching him on TV are 2 completely different things. I immediately learned how I needed to step my game up.
> "I just started doing [FFS] after that, using sonar sunrise to sunset. You just can't compete with technology. You gotta do this if you want to win...it seems like."
[Gotta underline that about in-person vs TV/Live. Said it for years: Until you get in the boat with these guys, you really have no idea how amazing they all are.]
4. What's some advice you would give to bank-beaters who are struggling mentally with this whole FFS deal?
> "Cox is one of those guys. He won't do it...he doesn't like it, he doesn't want to look at the screen....
> "Honestly you gotta play your game. You gotta do what's best for you and what it is that makes you love fishing. You've got to keep doing that. We actually talked about this the other day – what got us into fishing was the bite. Frogging, walking baits...giant topwater bites.
> "That's something we love and you just don't get that anymore when you start using sonar. I get it. At the same time, if you ever want to win again it seems like you gotta do it."
5. Does John still talk to you or does he feel like you're cheating on him? 😆
> "He feels like I'm cheating on him. He's disappointed in me. They've been calling me all kinds of names all week, him and Alex Davis. They're like, 'Who is this guy?'
> "Early in the week John said, 'Look at this blister on my finger' – from a baitcaster. 'Do you get that?' I'm like, 'I haven't used a baitcaster in months.' He's like, 'Oh my gosh, we don't know who he is anymore!'"
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Bonus Q: A little Vexus love – How much of your success this year is because of that sexy Vexus AVX [2080] you're running?
> "A lot of it. Man this boat's awesome. This thing is built rock solid, it's so reliable – everything works great. The layout of it is really efficient for me. It's organized really well. The boat's just awesome. I love it, it's so nice to fish out of."
He said a big reason his boat is organized so well is his wife:
> "...Shaylee likes to organize my boat. She...color-coordinates every box light to dark. She will label them, color-coordinate them...then she'll do it by size. I tell her, 'You don't have to do all that.' She's like, 'If I make it as efficient as I can for you, you might be able to catch 1 more fish each day.'"
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"It's taken thousands and thousands of hours to graph all of Lake Champlain. But I learned so much valuable information about fish and why they get on places that they do."
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- All of Champlain?? That's MLF Invitationals AOY and ROY Alec "born in NY but born to fish TX" Morrison talkin'. Champlain is 271,000 acres! And apparently he literally did that. More:
> ...he thinks his willingness and ability to break down a lake using mapping, SideScan and down imaging are his greatest strengths....
> "I grew up essentially learning that the dude who put the most work in behind the console was typically the guy who did the best. It's taken thousands and thousands of hours to graph all of Lake Champlain. But I learned so much valuable information about fish and why they get on places that they do."
> [His bud Bud Cipoletti also from NY] called Morrison "brilliant," saying he has a natural feel for fish behavior and tournament strategy that few others possess. But just as important, he points to the work ethic....
> "He stayed out until 3 in the morning...just scanning. [Lake Placid, NY is] not even a tournament lake, it's just his obsession with being the best. It's like Michael Jordan-type stuff for me to witness, like somebody just shooting hoops until 3 in the morning, practicing more than anybody else."
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Only thing I'm a little disappointed in is that no one asked him with all that graphing at Champlain whether he saw Champy the lake monster – which at least one Elite Series competitor swears he's seen (not Hack!).
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For whatever reason I felt like I didn't get around as much at this one but I did talk to a bunch of peeps? Anyhow here you go, no particular order.
1. Few interesting bait deals
- The Speed Trap is now a Storm Bait (not Luhr Jensen). Both brands are owned by Rapala = no change in the baits.
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- The Terminator brand is gone. Now all Terminator spinnerbaits and jigs are VMC – bunch of jigs but looks like just 2 spinnerbaits right now? One of my fave jigs is now the VMC Utility Jig.
- Word is the OG Strike King Wake Shad is coming back.
2. 'Lectronics wars update from ICAST
Lowrance
- New low-priced FFS unit and new trolling motor.
- No MotorGuide in the Navico (Lowrance) booth, not sure what that means yet.
Humminbird
- Nothing new, for freshwater anyhow.
Garmin
- Nothing new for bass-heads.
Makes me think that something has to be coming pretty soon from 'Bird and Garmin...or maybe NASA. 😆
3. Minn Kota's 90th anniversary
First trollers were just Minn Kota, then it was Minn Kota and MotorGuide, now we have about half a dozen brands of trollers. Minn Kota was the OG and actually is salutin' its 90th anniversary this year. And get this – the guy who started it all was named OG...OG Schmidt! 🤯
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4. KastKing has a bunch of new cool deals...
...in addition to those cool new Bait Kapsules. How 'bout this for a product name: KastKing Brutus Foldable Extendable Fishing Net With Boat Hook. For sure not the sexiest name ever, but it won Best Fishing Accessory at ICAST and if you see it demo'd in person I think you'd want one too (I do).
Strong, folds up small, good fish-friendly net , $52.99. Yet another ingenious deal from these folks.
They're also coming out with a few different things that will be under $20. Like a small digital scale that will hold your fish securely and just show the weight, high-quality line nippers and real nice braid/line scissors.
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Also forgot in the last BB to mention the new/not out yet FFS Hammer Braid, which is a neutral density braid – not to get the bait to the strike zone faster but to get it to stay there longer.
5. Norsk Lithium batteries are the Sea Foam of lithiums?
Norsk Lithium is owned by Sea Foam, and Sea Foam owner Mark Hanson and CEO Mike Wagner were at ICAST to check out the scene and talk batteries (Bobby Lane is now using 'em). Some pretty amazing batteries and features, though I don't know enough about what all the other lithium companies are doing to make a comparison.
Mark said that the goal is always to have the best product, like Sea Foam Motor Treatment is. He doesn't mess around so I am expecting big things outta the Norsk folks.
Thought this was cool – 36v battery with an "extra" 28v for your black box power:
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6. Ever hear of Helios boats?
All-aluminum boat debuted at ICAST which is a little bit of a strange place to release a boat but all good. The guys there said that the TN company makes tin wake boats and pontoons, and incorporated some wake boat design into the bass boat. They said it uses thicker than normal aluminum and gets out of the hole super fast. But...models cost $80K (21') and $60K (19') rigged.
Can't find the website or a pic of the boat online...?
7. Grundens SeaKnits update
Those Grundens SeaKnit shoes I dug are changing and will be called the Crosscurrent. Word is they are lighter, more breathable and have more cushion:
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8. Are screen-"compatible" sunglass are becoming a thing?
Company called Purpose Built Optics is on the leading edge, but believe 1-2 more are coming. Supposed to be able to see your graphs clearly and also better. PBO has different lenses for different color palettes.
9. Wanderin's
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Clockwise from top L:
1. Pic with el Clasico campeon! Arrrrrrrriba!
2. Pic with 2 '24 Elite winners!
3. At the Rapala booth I was telling everyone how I fish a Damiki, and DC was leaning in reeeeeeal close so he wouldn't miss any of my tips. 🤣
4. Lee 'n Val hangin' at the BaitFuel booth!
5. Byron Velvick was in the house! I miss that guy in bassin'. Love his joy 'n energy for the whole deal – he still has it!
6. Real serious pow-wow of minds with Jacob Wheeler, Alton Jr and JT Thompkins. I think they were talking about donut flavors in various states but not sure...😁 If so, JT takes his donuts real seriously....
7. FishLab's Bill Siemantel and Hide Iwasaki with the very good new FishLab BBZ Hard Swimbait.
8. Is John Crews punking us with the Ike's Monster Jig? I think so, he says no. 🤔
9. Amazing Bull Shad bait painter Jen Kravassi with a couple colors of the new 6" Bucca Trick Shad.
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1. Cooper Gallant says bait size is most important for smallies
> When it comes to catching big smallmouth bass, a bait's size profile comes way before color or anything else. I catch more big ones on 2.5-3" baits.
Ol' Coop also won a recent ABA on the St Lawrence.
2. BPTer Martin Villa won the James River BFL
He from VA and knows that river but finished 61st in the recent BPT there:
> "I just did the same thing I did in the BPT. They were just big today and small a month ago."
3. Kyle Welcher is leading the NPFL AOY points
Has he ever won an AOY before? 😁 More Elites: Drew Cook is 2nd, Patrick Walters is 7th and Joseph Webster is 10th.
4. NY: BPT anglers will play live at the St Lawrence?
> ...an organization of the MLF anglers would put together a national church, which they call their fishing church. "On the night of the 2nd at the Massena beach they're going to hold a concert called Break Every Chain. The top anglers are going to be part of the band. They played in other parts of the country, but never up north, so that will be a big thing."
Dang straight it will! Vids or it didn't happen! 😁
5. The 2025 MLF Invitationals schedule is out
150-man field, 6 events and a new no-entry championship – winner gets $135,000 top and a slot in the Redcrest Championship. Some deets:
- Still 5 fish with weigh-ins
- Top 5 get a Bass Pro Tour invite
- Top 50 get in the champeenship
Schedule:
Feb 21- 23 -- Kissimmee Chain, FL
Mar 14-16 -- Hartwell, SC
Apr 15-17 -- Smith Lake, AL
May 9-11 -- Pickwick, TN
Jun 20-22 -- James River, VA
Jul 25-27 -- St Lawrence River, NY
Sept 5-7 -- Championship -- Upper Mississippi/La Crosse, WI
6. TX: 6.81 largemouth is new TX Sabine River record?
7. Berkley has a new lipless: the Jack
Comes in 6, 7 and 8 sizes. Deets:
- Tungsten weighting
- Sharp "knife blade"
- Super-fast fall and maximum side flash
- Crisp vibration
- Unique fin features enhance tracking and right the bait when deflecting off cover
- Fusion19 trebles
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Good vid by bass-head Rick Fishback, aka James Watson's bro from another mama. Believe that unit is a Humminbird Apex 13.
12. Nichols collabs (?) 2 new Duh spoons
Regular and Humpback.
13. NE: First longear sunfish ever caught in the state
14. LA will draw down False River in Sept
They do it every 3 years, say it helps the largemouth population.
15. MN: Another Bass Pro Shops opening in MN
> ...Bass Pro Shops announced plans for a new Outpost retail location in Hermantown. ...this will be the fifth store in MN. The business is expected to open early in 2025. It will be at the former location of Camping World on Haines Road in Hermantown.
16. WTHeck is Firecrown?
Saw they were an ICAST sponsor, never heard of 'em. TN-based and looks like they own a bunch of magazines, including a couple big salty/boating magazine titles and are bringing at least one of 'em back as a print mag.
They say on their site they have a "content-to-commerce model" – so it's not really about selling ads. Interesting.
Line of the Day
...smallmouth bass – unlike largemouth bass – are a huge problem in many ecosystems "They're just prolific and they're everywhere, they're eating all the lampreys and they're disrupting the entire ecosystem compared to what it naturally was."
- The demonization of smallmouths in the West continues, this time in OR. They're making them sound like evil rabid rats – crazy stuff man....
Doh!
I learned something. Since I don't fish big swimbaits hardly at all and don't make a million casts with hard baits that don't catch 'em (i.e., hard swimbaits a lotta the time), I did not realize that the hooks alone can wear huge grooves into baits like those Bull Shads in the last BB – apparently just from the side to side motion of the bait. Just assumed it was hooks + fish strike/teeth + fish weight swinging/fighting on the hooks making those marks/grooves like with my well-loved crankbaits and jerkbaits.
The swimbait experts have spoken and I appreciate the heads up. I guess now I am even more amazed at those pics, and at diehard swimbait fishermen for making all those casts with mostly no bites. Gotta say – that does not make me want to throw 'em! 😁
Any folks who expect me to know everything about everything in bassin', I 100% don't. If I did, I probably wouldn't do the BB anymore. On that note, if you fish swimbaits a lot, know that scene and might want to contribute to the BB, lmk! Also still looking for experts/nerds in these areas:
- Electronics
- Yak bassin'
- Beefus (BFS)
- Nacho recipes (okay that's just for me 😁)
What exactly do I need? If you know the BB, then tell me what's needed!
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C-rig for smalls!
From the Vexus Boats website by good ol' Al Guck about PA Toyota Series fisherman Darryl "pretzels" Esterly:
> "There's no doubt a dropshot has been the most dominant presentation on the St Lawrence the past 10 years, but I lean far more on a Carolina rig because it's a different presentation than most are throwing. And thanks to current, it's super-efficient at covering long stretches of the river bottom without making repeated casts. And obviously it catches big ones consistently or I wouldn't use it so much.
> "Think of it like painting. You're not just slapping it on mindlessly with a roller. Instead, you need to be finessing your Carolina rig across the bottom like you're painting with a 3-inch brush."
> Ideally you want a west wind on the St. Lawrence, which is blowing the same direction as the current.
> While Esterly has zero affiliation with Texas-based tackle brand 6th Sense, he swears their pre-rigged Carolina rigs simply hang up less than standard ones he rigs in the boat. His favorite size is the 3/4-oz but will drop to a lighter 1/2-oz ounce if the current is less....
> ...Esterly advises paying close attention to your drift speed via the digital mph on your sonar screen. ...for example, if you're floating along at 1.4 mph and catching fish, a sudden decrease down to 1.0 mph can hinder the bite.
> He uses either a black/gold fleck 3.5" tube from Dry Creek Lures or Zoom's Speed Craw.
Why Vexus:
> "It's the smoothest boat on the planet in rough water. Other boats sound like the gunnel is being hit by a sledgehammer every time you bust a wave. You just don't hear that with a Vexus."
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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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