BassBlaster

Derps of the week, ICAST peekaboo, Elite and FLW winning baits

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on July 10, 2018

It’s ICAST feeshn tradin’ show week, and that’s where I’ll be — a-gettin’ the down-low on all the new stuff! So this-here’s the only Blaster this week, back to the regular schedule next week.

> If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up! <

Today’s Top 5

Melonius merpy derps of the week!

Former Elitist Charlie Hartley got him one:

Jacob Frawley’s singing Music City derp made his day:

How ’bout this NICE spotted merpy derp caught by David Phoenix with a wacky Senko on a CA lake that can’t be named but rhymes with “Buzzer’s Gar”:

Not a bass but an incredo-derp:

Chad Grigsby mined brown melons on St. Clair.

While Mark Daniels Jr was bashin’ heads somewhere near Canada, trying to join the Fantastic Four — he was like, “They could call it the Fantastic Five, man — it still rhymes!” and I was like, “Rhymes??” — kiddin’…. Anyhow, while that was goin’ on, FLWer Chad Grigsby laid down this piece of wisdom at the St. Clair FLW, which he done won:

> “…you had to catch ’em every day this event.”

[Chin-scratch emoji] Huh. That’s either super-deep bassin’ wisdom or somethin’ else I can’t put my finger on right now…. LOL! You know what me meant, and he did catch ’em every dang day: Almost 100 lbs of smallmouths — 97-08 to be exact, with the next 2 guys also in the 90s. Roland was watchin’ it go down and was like:

Chad said:

> “I’ve had to overcome a lot of my own demons. I’ve had such a bad last 2 years I didn’t even feel comfortable fishing anymore. I had no confidence.”

Love the transparency man. Hoping that confidence is back now. Caught fish like these…

…on a spot 16-19′ in southern Canadeea, sand and patchy grass, and most importantly had a ton of bait. Fish-foolin’ devices were a Duo Realis Spinbait 80 spy bait, a 1/4-oz black marabou jig (he’s from MN where that’s a “secret” bait), and a Venom tube (lloks like gp/gold flake).

Not sure but he mighta also got a karmic boost from towin’ in a couple locals in practice. Free kegs of Mountain Dew probly didn’t hurt either….

Top 10 baits from the St. Clair FLW.

An all-smallie derby so not real excitin’ bait variety-wise, but still innerestin’. Pic is Chad with his baits, whole Top 10 broke down like this:

Tube = 50% — old-choolin’ with a Venom tube, Strike King Coffee Tube and Poor Boy’s Tube

Dropshot = 50% — Strike King Z Too jerkbait, Jackall i-Shad, Big Bite Jerk Minnow (2x), Zoom Super Fluke and Fluke Stick. Here’s B-Rad “silent” Knight (3rd) with his Z Too and Coffee Tube:

Spybait/Spinbait = 30% — All were Duo Realis

Swimbait = 30% — Keitech FAT, Damiki Armor Shad, Strike King Rage Swimmer

Flanders = 20% — Z-Man Finesse TRD, Damiki Stinger (just the tail of it)

10% each = Marabou jig, Jerkbait (Duo Realis Jerkbait 100DR and a Megabass Ito Vision 110+1)

Shout-outs:

> Japan — All hard baits in the top 10, and a few of the soft-plastics, are by Japanese companies. Interesting that the baits weren’t specifically designed for smallmouths….

> The Flanders Rig — Apparently now a legit tourney bait. Gonna talk to my pastor about what that means, will let you know….

Seems like it’s just a matter of time before we’re fishing jellybean-sized baits under bobbers. On the down-low: Since fries are taken, I’m working on a soft-plastic in the shape of an onion ring (heehee!).

More Elite baits from Wahooee.

Had Cliff Pirch (3rd) in the last one, so here’s the rest minus Boyd Duckett (4th) who was like:

I said, “Dang Boyd, hope you calm down for ICAST man or no one’s gonna be wigglin’ those white rods….” lol kidding, here’s Casey Ashley (2nd) and Dean Rojas.

2nd: Casey Ashley

> “I caught my fish on a Carolina-rigged Zoom Speed Craw and a dropshot with a 4″ Zoom Meathead worm, both in green pumpkin.

> “For the Carolina rig I used a 7′ 4” H Quantum Vapor Rod, Quantum Smoke S3 Reel (7.3), 17-lb Hi-Seas fluorocarbon, a 3/4-oz tungsten weight and a 3/0 offset worm hook.

> “For the dropshot I used the size 30 Quantum Smoke S3 Spinning Reel and a 6′ 10″ MH Quantum Tour PT special issue rod. 10-lb Hi-Seas braid to an 8-lb Hi-Seas fluoro leader, 3/8-oz weight and a 1/0 Owner Cover Shot Hook.

> “I was targeting scattered rock and isolated bushes in 15-25′. Most of my big fish came on the Carolina rig, but when i would mark a fish or a big boulder or a bush on my Lowrance electronics, I’d drop on it with the dropshot.”

5th: Dean Rojas

> “Ridges and points with a hard bottom worked the best for me all week…anything from 10′ to 30′.”

> Dropshotted a Big Bite Cane Stick with a 6′ 9″ Duckett Terex Rojas signature spinning rod, Daiwa 2500 Exist Spinning Reel and 8-lb Sunline FC Sniper fluoro. Leader was 10-24″.

> 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook for the Texas-rigged Cane Stick, 2/0 Gamakatsu G Finesse Drop Shot Hook, 1/4- to 5/8-oz Epic Tungsten weights.

Little Peekaboo of ICAST Stuff.

Not gonna firehose ya so here’s just a few things some BassBlaster sponsors have opened the lid on. Way more coming the next couple weeks….

> BOOYAH Melee bladed jig — Kills around wood…but not just wood….

> BOOYAH Squelcher buzzbait — Watch Stetson Blaylock explain it in 3 seconds.

> YUM Tip Toad — New buzz frog (vid).

> Sufix Advanced Mono — Elite guys I’ve talked to say this is the shizzle.

> Bigger Rapala RipStop jerkbait — Need for sure.

> Strike King Mega Dawg — Topwater walking bait got huge!

> Strike King Magnum Game Hawg — Upsized for the bigs.

> Yo-Zuri Freshwater Crystal Minnow — Can’t wait to see this one in person. #sopretty

> Seaguar Gold Standard fluoro — For salt but fer sher bassers will find a use for “the thinnest, strongest leader material ever made.”

> Bill Lewis MR-6 lipped crank — 2.25″ and 1/2-oz sounds innerestin’….

> Lunkerhunt Yappa Series topwaters — Jitterbug-ish and I’m sure fun to fish!

> New Kistler Z-bone rods even better? — TackleTour thinks so.

All this stuff and more (I think!) will be on Tackle Warehouse WED (TOMORROW) at 3 pm EST. AFTER that time, click here to get the first look/orders.

News

1. IN man drowns while unhooking bass.

Sounds like he fell in while trying to get the fish off. Bless you bassin’ brother.

2. AL: 2 folks pass on after ski boat hit a bass boat.

Black Warrior River July 4:

> …a senior trooper with the Marine Patrol, says it happened just before 6 pm several miles south of the Moundville boat ramp. He says a ski boat “t-boned” a bass boat ejecting 6 people. A man in his 40s died, along with a woman in her 20s.

Bless their families.

3. Great MDJ post about his win.

> …even after you make it to the Elites there’s still that nagging doubt in the back of your mind. Am I really good enough to compete against these guys? Sure, I made it, but do I really belong? This tournament answered that nagging doubt. I know I can compete with anyone.

4. Latest Brent Chapman pro vs Joe is up.

Crackin’ the basses in cooler AL weather.

5. Keith Poche lands same sponsor as Ricky Bobby.

Check it:

How cool is that! Lol, not really — he doesn’t have a title sponsor right now so:

> “It started as a joke with my brother in law. He said I should do that. I told him if he made the decals I’d put them on.”

Anyone see Keith rollin’ like this at the ramp, start to get worried:

6. Here’s the 2019 Elitist schedule.

From a quick look they have 9 events, 2 out west, 3 on rivers, 3 tidal waters, 2 smallie waters, and nowhere they haven’t been before. Could not confirm rumors of a bake sale to help pay for gas $$$, but I hear the Lane bros make a mean rhubarb pie….

7. TN: TVA starting to pull water for winter drawdown.

Gitcha current bite on!

8. PA: Sho nuff Susquehanna issue isn’t just about LMBV.

Largemouth Bass Virus killed the smallies but:

> Those infections, she argues, may have been triggered by a brew of chemicals polluting the Susquehanna that weakened fish immune systems.

> “The bottom line was, from site to site, there was no one pathogen that we were finding. Most of the places that had mortality had multiple pathogens. That led us to think that something was going on to be immunosuppressing those fish and making them more susceptible to disease.”

9. LA: Claiborne stocked with “tiger bass.”

80K this year and for the next 4 more years. What’s a tiger bass?

> FL-strain largemouths and regular northern largemouths are bred in ponds at the nursery and those that grow quicker are put in a separate vat. The most aggressive ones of this group are added to yet another tank to create tiger bass….

10. AZ DNR releases GPS locations of fish habitats…

…on Roosevelt.

11. IN HSer gets scholarship to Bethel U.

Too cool, congrats!

12. Couple BassForecast things.

First of all, know that BassForecast was/is developed by a diehard basser…who wanted to know this stuff for his own fishing. WAY different from most fishing “apps,” which were developed by developers (not bass-heads) somewhere in develop-land.

Here’s the couple things:

> We are thrilled to announce that 2 weeks ago BassForecast cracked the “Top 100 Sports Apps” in iTunes for the 1st time ever…#89!! While these rankings change weekly, this is a significant accomplishment considering there are over 50,000 sports apps on the market.

> Short vids on how it works and the new Tips feature.

13. New 300hp diesel outboard.

> …it offers at least a 25% better range compared to a gasoline outboard and is designed to last up to 3 times longer. It has a 100% higher peak torque at the crankshaft than the leading gasoline 300hp outboards and is 60% higher compared to a leading 350hp.

Headline of the Day

Chick-fil-A Ranks as America’s Top Fast Food Restaurant for Customer Satisfaction

I believe it — would win just for the lemonade alone….

Quote of the Day

“All I do is fish. I don’t care about soccer, football, hockey. I don’t watch sports. I don’t go to bars. I don’t do the typical, normal things that guys do.”

– Haaaaaaaaaaaaaail yeah mang! Diehard feesher talkin’. Wait — fishing’s not normal? So most of my friends I guess got the brain on the right…myself included:

Shot of the Day

Here’s a different type of LDL — long-distance release. Great Strike King shot but don’t do this unless you have a bud with you:

Random

Fastest-growing HS sport in IA is: trap shooting.

Whooda thunk…cool.

Ya got me

Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup

of the best, worst and funniest in bassin’, as curated 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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