Heck of a day so far! Partial basement flood, tie-down strap malfunctions, wife is away so it's a fire drill anyhow, technical issues – but it's day the Lord has made so gotta laugh through it! (Didn't do such a good job of that early this morning...lol.) Have a great weekend peeps!
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"There's no longer any reason to dread cold fronts."
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> A lot of the solution comes down to your mindset. The first thing you need to do is get it out of your head that these weather patterns shut the fish down. In fact, once you know what you're doing, sometimes they bite better after the front than they did before it. You just need to change what you're doing.
> It's also about being ready for the changes. If I'm on a consistent bite for a week or so before the front arrives and I know it's coming, I'll load some more types of baits in the boat and rig up some extra rods.
> Post-frontal conditions are when I get the most use out of my Humminbird electronics. That's why I've become so much more confident in the past 5 or 6 years – the addition of 360, MegaLIve and high-quality side-imaging tools mean that you can no longer claim "they're just not biting." Now we have the ability to locate bass quickly and stay with them throughout the day.
> Because my electronics have cut down the learning curve so much...my attitude is exactly the opposite of what it was growing up. Now my favorite days to fish in the winter are what we previously thought were the worst conditions.
> When it's cold and post-frontal, with bluebird skies, it's possible to look at your map and find likely holding places. I'll identify a few key channel bends and run a few of them to see where the bass are holding. That's a lot easier than when the bass are strung out all over the lakes.
> Remember, as long as the bass are still relating to bait, they're still biting. There's always a way to catch them – you just need to figure it out.
Says he uses a swimbait, sorta a shakey and a jerkbait...which I believe because don't think he owns a spinning rod? 😁 Maybe he does for crappie...😆 Believe he borrowed this one:
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Hank Cherry is fishing a "jig" now around docks.
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> ...his experience on lakes like Norman, Wylie, Grand and Guntersville tells him that even in the depth of winter, some of the fishery's largest bass will venture up to the shallow end of a dock for early-morning feeds. It's not every day....
> "...figure out if you'll have sunshine or not – that's a serious part of dock fishing. On a sunny day I'll take the biggest jig I can find and slide it under as many docks as I can. ...the fish are chasing sunlight because springtime is just around the corner. Sometimes, the biggest fish will be up there in a foot of water looking for a bluegill to eat.
> "Those big fish are the first ones to spawn, so they're the first ones to actually get up there early.
> "I'll typically start shallow and work my way deep. But if the water's colder, as those fish get away from their active morning feeding time – say, noonish – they tend to suspend halfway under the dock. They're in the shade but near the sunlight."
> "90% of your bites are going to come on that slow fall – there's not a lot of working it. I'll get it under there and hop it a few times really slowly."
> In severe winter conditions, Cherry wants a dock with brush, riprap or a sand bank. Each plays a key role in boosting the habitat's appeal.
Hank's fishing for a THIRD IN A ROW Classic win soon. 🤯 That doesn't happen every day or even every decade so will be cool to watch!
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"Many anglers spend their offseason building social media, but that that's not who I am."
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- Ricky the Kid Clunn talkin', and in my 2c everything Rick says – no matter what it's about – is worth takin' in and thinkin' about. More:
> "Frankly, I consider some of that as 'fake fame,' and it really turns me off. Obviously there are anglers who are much better showmen and self-promoters, but I'm not comfortable trying to be something I'm not."
Now that might rub some folks the wrong way, folks who have invested a lot of time and effort and even $$ getting good at social media, but don't get offended man. Personally I totally understand what Rick is saying there, but more importantly he's just being his transparent, honest self. Love it.
Here's an incredible fact: Rick is 75 and will be 76 this year. He travels all over the country, dawn to dusk practice, all day out on the water no matter what the conditions are, competing at the highest level, at SEVENTY FIVE YEARS OLD. Dude is amazing. Win another one this year Rick! 👊
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13-yr-old angler influences ID lake's bass regs.
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> ...data indicated that the new regulations were not effective in creating a "quality" largemouth bass fishery. Angler surveys suggested that the regulations were ineffective because people continued to harvest bass less than 16" in length.
> We have seen examples in the past where it can takes years before enough people understand and follow new regulations before they become effective. ...our strategy at that time was to continue educating anglers about the new regulations and be patient for them to take effect.
> Unbeknownst to us, a young man named Nicholas H...was assessing this bass fishery himself. Nicholas noticed that the bass were often hiding around cover, but there was a serious lack of structure for fish to hide in.... He believed that if we could increase the amount of cover...it could improve the bass populations. With this idea in mind, Nicholas approached us asking what he could do to increase the cover....
> After some back and forth discussions between Nicholas and us, we came up with a plan. Because much of the reservoir is surrounded by trees, we decided that instead of trying to find structure to bring to the lake, we could just directly fall trees along the shore into the lake.
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> So far we have only dropped nine trees into the lake. However, we plan to add more trees this spring when we can get a larger boat in the water and tow trees together to make large tree complexes. Our hopes are these tree clusters will create sanctuary areas that will allow more bass to live a long time and grow big.
> Thanks Nicholas for pushing us to try something new.
Git 'er done Nicholas! 👊
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On Dec 29 it rained shad in TX.
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> One resident, Tim Brigham, told the Texarkana Gazette that it started "hailing and looked like there was about to be a tornado." Next thing he knew, "there were fish falling." He estimated he saw 25 to 30 falling fish. "They were bouncing off the concrete."
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> A new type of weather condition has been observed...compact, slow-moving, moisture-rich pools. Researchers are calling these "atmospheric lakes."
> These atmospheric lakes are similar to atmospheric rivers, narrow bands of dense moisture. However, the new type of meteorological phenomenon is smaller, slower-moving and detaches itself from the weather system that creates it.
> "By contrast to rain-bearing 'atmospheric rivers' of vapor, which are contiguous from source to coastline at an instant, we call these disconnected and drifting water bodies 'atmospheric lakes'."
So they're "water bodies" and might support shad?? 🧐 Wonder if we'll get some "sky bass" soon???
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Starts at 10:30 am at Jake's Bait & Tackle in Winchester, VA:
Waiting for the official announcement on the new kids.... Props to Megabass, they've been grateful for having the guys when they move on (Aaron and Chris).
Got a text in to Ott to find out which one of his buds is named Tiny...😂 4' diver, flat side – says in the vid (click the pic to see it) he wanted a Shad Rap-type action just in a different package = innerestin':
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Not just bass – Shaw's got his priorities in order, which are: get outside and stay outside! Love his passion for it all man....
> ...Neal sets aside his crawfish imitators for the time being and will only switch to them in the dead of winter.
> A small swimbait like a 2.8" and 3.8" Big Bite Baits Pro Swimmer is his top pick for early winter. Neal generally fishes it on a 1/4-oz ball head and opts for casting gear instead of spinning....
> "I'm just more comfortable winding something on baitcast gear and like a 7' M cranking rod...has some give and you don't bend out the hook. I'll just fish it with a slow retrieve and try to cover water."
8. Jeff Sprague and Chris Groh jerseys being auctioned...
Opens in March, 60 acres,, lots of bass, believe it's never been fished before. Lmk how you do!
Devil's Horses been known to catch a Big O fish or 2:
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Might wanna check the custom Bandits there too...😍
44 days after getting $150 mil from General Motors. Makes me wonder: What up with Evinrude and its 'lectric projects after so far missing the biggest boat-sales boom in maybe forever?
16. Asian carp updatin's.
Sounds, lights and bubbles, so not really a barrier. For whatever reason the 7 aren't listed, but the first 2 will be the Kentucky and Wilson dams.
Post also says biologists don't think any Asian carp are in Chickamauga, and here's my fave line from it:
> "And we have found that installing the barriers would not impact the dam structure or swordfish or other fish in the system."
🤔
> The Whooshh system is designed to be deployed at pinch points in the river system and rapidly image fish...passing through, enabling the company's Gatekeeper to perform real-time sorting...real-time Asian carp removal while returning native species to the river, without the bycatch commercial fishing operations would cause.
> The company is currently partnering with the IL DNR, The Nature Conservancy in IL and the U of IL.
Listed as "threatened."
Who knew. And get this: It's "named after the Tequila Volcano." Makes me wonder if tequila really is made from plants??
Line of the Day
Wonder if they caught any boats? 🤣
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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He's talkin' 'bout reelin' flatsides but could work for anything:
> I tend to stay with a slower gear ratio reel – in the 5.6:1 to 6.3:1 range – and I try not to over-reel them. I fill the reels with 8- to 12-lb- Gamma Edge fluorcarbon line for that great feel and toughness around the cover.
> Because we fish them slow this time of the year...if you find yourself reeling too quickly, strip a quarter of the line off your reel. This change will make the bait move slower without adjusting the cadence of your reel handle.
[I love that! I had no idea I reeled slower after backlashes...🤣]
> To help land more fish, I also change out the hooks on my baits to Hayabusa NRB trebles. They have a coating on them that helps points penetrate easier....
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"I don't want to waste any time dillydallying on the road...."
- Scott Martin talkin' 'bout bein' organized. Been a while since I heard that word "dillydally" – wonder if he learned it from one Roland "son!" Martin. Gotta love ol' Roland....
Check this old Bassmaster shot ot Roland, Ray and I believe that's Billy Dance??
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Would love to see B.A.S.S. do 1 tourney or 1 day "retro" – coveralls or a vest, chalkboard weigh-in, cowboy hat on the emcee and a tall man too.
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Matt Baker took the new YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr + YUM/Scottsboro swimbaits combo out in AR and spanked 32+ with a 10-05! 👀 FMJr's been killing it and seems like it's been a good winter for A-rigs in general:
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I read it, don't think "charged" is the right word but dang – it really happened! Tip: Never approach a wild boar, no matter where it is....
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) 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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