BassBlaster

Donuts get you bass? 6 fish epidemic?? Tommy Biffle jig tips

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on June 25, 2020

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Today’s Top 5

Do a donut >> bass bite?

Check this quote from Elitist/BFL hammer Drew Benton:

> …I started doing donuts with my boat when I arrived at the place I wanted to fish. It worked. I caught a keeper every single time I did that.

Say wha? Full quote:

> I noticed that when I pulled up to a place I’d catch a good one on the first cast or 2. Then the bite just stopped. So I started doing donuts with my boat when I arrived at the place I wanted to fish. It worked. I caught a keeper every single time I did that.

Believe I’ve heard about that before…you? Was it what Brian Latimer was doing here:

Or was he maybe dreaming about one o’ these:

Okay it really was me dreamin’ of that tasty deep-fried pastry….

Serious for a sec — be careful doin’ that donut deal on the water, especially shallow.

Is the 6-fish deal an epidemic now??

Jacob Wheeler had 6 in the well today at the Chick FLW. So that makes 3 tourneys in a row, 3 weeks in a row, and 3 potential winners in a row:

1. Shane LeHew at the Eufaula Elite — The 2-lb hit kicked Shane outta the top 10 and gave eventual winner Buddy Gross the chance to fish on the final day.

2. John Garrett at the Arkansas River Open — He was unofficially leading at the time and ended up 2nd.

3. Jacob Wheeler at the Chick FLW — Who knows what’ll happen but as I’m typing this Wheeler is ahead of 2nd by a decent amount.

I contacted the world’s foremost authority on counting and he sent me this:

Notice the STACKED blocks. That’s the part that can really mess people up — it looks like 1 but it’s really 2! Either way I’ve recommended both tourney organizations contact him.

Another tip is to count using your fingers. I know this is frowned upon, but did you ever notice we have the same number of fingers on 1 hand as fish allowed in the wells?

HAHAHA! KIDDING man, those are for sure heartbreakers…but 3 weeks in a row is weird ain’t it?

Stuff I’m messin’ with.

Follerin’ up about the weekend’s fishing and rigging:

1. Abu REVO Ike Reel (8.0), 65-lb Berkley X5 Braid, 7′ H F Kistler KLX Worm/Jig Rod.

> Gonna use it for froggin’, haven’t used it yet. 🙁

2. Abu REVO Rocket Reel (10.0), 20-lb Seaguar Flippin’ Fluoro, 7′ 6″ MH Abu Veracity Rod.

> All good so far. Even tho this was a flip stick, I had to use it for topwater when my son wouldn’t give me the #3 combo back so…tied on a 105-size Berkley Choppo (MF bluegill) and found out it was easier for me to get to and maintain the right speed/plop on that Choppo with that retrieve ratio. Sounds crazy-fast but didn’t feel like it.

3. Abu Zata Reel (7.1), 14-lb Sufix Advance Mono, 7′ M XF Kistler Helium 3 Rod.

> This combo is money. Didn’t measure how far it cast but it was far as heck even with not-so-heavy baits. Reel is ultra-smooth, all Kistler rods are great and Sufix Advance Mono is one of my favorite lines — I LIKE mono!

> I want 5 of these reels. Seriously.

4. 20-size Abu REVO MGX Spinning Reel, 10-lb Yo-Zuri Superbraid (blue) to 8-lb Seaguar AbrazX fluoro, 7′ M Okuma Cerros spin stick.

> Haven’t used it yet cuz…it’s spinning gear (heehee!). Set up for dropshotting — because Jake at Alpha Angler has not yet gotten me the casting dropshot rod I had the idea for but he forgot that I did (Jake!). Reel’s a little small — I’d prefer the 30 size — but very light anyhow.

> I have lots of confidence in AbrazX. Here’s the FG knot vid I learned from, makes it easy.

5. Abu REVO Beast Reel (5.8), 10-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, 6′ 11″ MH Kistler KLX Feel N Reel hybrid glass/graphite rod.

> Haven’t used this yet either but impressions are that the reel IS a beast and honestly the 10-lb Tatsu seemed a little light for my comfort zone but Keith Combs says he uses it so I’m gonna get my Combs on and do it!

Few things:

> This is the latest experimental batch — not my main rod/reel/line rigs. Any Qs about any of it pls lmk.

> Little reminder that my thing this season is to try lighter-action rods than I normally would cuz:

a) I’m thinkin’ the heavier-action stuff is overrated…in general, not in all cases.
b) It might suit my super-fast/amped Kung Fu action hookset better.
c) It won’t put as much pressure on the line = hopefully no breakoffs.

Money baits last weekend along with the Choppo were:

– 5″ YUM Dinger (camo) — Great clear-water color, wacky-rigged.

– 5.25″ Berkley Powerbait The General stickworm (black/blue flake and Ike’s gp blue flash) — New-ish Powerbait colors are good (way better) and I happen to love any Powerbait color with blue “fleck.” Also wacky-rigged.

– 5.8″ Geecrack Bellows Stick (bug bomb) — TX-rigged, weird pink/gp laminate color, baits have their own stink, bass hammered it.

This a bad sign for the US of A?

Black bear swimming for Mexico at Falcon…vid by Falcon Lake guide Jimmy Steed:

On the other hand, this rocket ship is a good sign of ‘Merica…IF you know how to handle it:

How to slide in at a crowded ramp?

I’m assumin’ this is Lake Murray, SC — don’t try it with your tandem-axle bass tub trailer mang!

News

1. PA: We lost 2 bass brothers.

Wilmore Reservoir:

> Coroner Jeffrey Lees said 78-yr-old Francis Frear had a cardiac event and apparently fell into the water. He said 68-yr-old Dennis Livingston jumped in to try to rescue his longtime friend but drowned.

> Lees…said there were 3 unused life vests in the boat and stressed the importance of wearing them even in warm weather, especially for children and the elderly.

Hate to hear it, Lord please help their families.

2. West Coasters: Benefit tourney for Jason Borofka’s son.

Team tourney July 18 at the Delta.

3. Aaron Martens finished his last radiation treatment today.

#stout! Pls keep praying for him.

4. Elitist Kyle Monti gave a kid a rod…

…made fans for life, and — get this — the young hammer ended up catching a fish on Eufaula that weighed 7-15…bigger than any Elitist caught. Too cool:

5. Jacob Wheeler gets 13 Fishing hard baits.

Has Rapala too. Makes sense because Rapala got 49% of 13 Fishing last July.

Also mentioned in there is Rapala’s Dan Quinn is now also managing the 13 Fishing pro staff. Wonder if more Rapala guys will get “dual citizenship.”

6. Brent Chapman’s son is fishing the HS natty championship…

…which is why Brent missed the Chick pileup.

7. KVD video-game fishes too.

> I was watching my 360 and I noticed a big white-hot dot suddenly appear on the screen. It was suspended up high near the clump. I fired a Strike King KVD 300 jerkbait out there and on the 3rd jerk, a 7-10 smoked it! Every day I use that 360 Mega Imaging, it amazes me more and more.

8. Watch Eddie Evers break down a FL grass lake (YT vid).

First time he fished it.

9. Tak Omori won an MLF event.

I think? Where/when I’m not sure but the Lucky Craft 1.5 squarebill in “TO chartreuse” was the deal so I’m not surprised! That bait is great and has a ton of great colors.

10. How John Crews evaluates his rods.

Well dang, guess this means I’ll be sniffin’ my rods now too:

At least he’s not a cork-sniffer…lol

11. Is Mike Iaconelli writing country songs now?Check it:

> Your line is what’s between a big bass and a broken heart.

He’s either talkin’ Morgan Wallen-type stuff, or crankin’ Rapala DTs with 10-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluoro…or maybe both….

12. Check Lee Livesay’s Eufaula baits.

Scrounger-type Hog Farmer HogWobbler was one of ’em.

13. FLW tourneys will be on the Outdoor Channel.

14. Good post by B.A.S.S.’s Bryan Brasher on tourney maskin’.

He didn’t mention it also means Trip can’t tell if you’re chewin’ gum so no detention….

15. VT allowing “similar” Covid non-rez peeps to fish.

> Gov. Scott’s [R] latest guidelines now allow residents of counties in New England and NY with a similar active Covid-19 case load (less than 400 active cases per 1 mil residents) to travel to VT for recreational purposes without having to quarantine.

Not sure how that could get enforced….

16. AR: PVC structures planted at Millwood.

17. Here’s the new BOOYAH squarebill.

Here’s the new/not out yet BOOYAH “XCS” squarebills. This one’s “perch:”

18. Buy Rapala stars n stripes stuff, help disabled American vets.#stout as heck, love it.

19. Scosche products now at T-H Marine.

Electronical doodads — here’s a vid about the ones Carl Jocumsen uses:

He pronounces it “Skosh” with a long “o” like “mow.” But I like “skooshee” so not sure what to do about that….

20. Great Lakes still rising except for Ontario.

21. Ducks can pass live fertilized fish eggs.

So there you go — “beaked biologists,” so not all “bucket biologists.” Maybe ducks just like bass too! (Study was with carp eggs.)

Thanks to the one and only Hall o’ Famer Steve Quinn for the heads up.

22. LA: Bistineau drawdown starting July 6.

To help get rid of salvinia.

23. TX: Salvinia found in Bringle lake.

24. FL planted eelgrass in Lake George.

Good cuz word is the eelgrass is still pretty bare in the St Johns.

25. UT wants peeps to catch and eat bullfrogs.

Says there’s too many of them. Alternative solution: stock largemouths?

26. MN closing most popular lake for most popular fish for 1 month.

All walleye and live bait fishing is closed July 1-31. Not bass just sounds — and is — crazy, but here’s a little more insight on the deal up there:

> An unplanned closure would be triggered prior to the end of the open water season if the state reaches its share of the safe harvest amount agreed upon by the state and 8 Chippewa bands that have treaty fishing rights on Mille Lacs.

Sounds like that safe harvest formula might need to be redone if you’re gonna totally close a huge fishery and economic engine like that?

27. TX looking for $ help for game wardens.

Just $10 means you will not get a fish and wildlife violation for a year.

Totally kidding man, TX don’t roll like that….

28. Personal watercraft sales up 75% year over year.

Let’s hope that’s mostly for the salt.

29. IN: How many vehicles would you trash…

…to save a sinking boat? Cedar Lake:

Headline of the Day

Swim a jig: Obscure technique dynamite for catching big largemouths

Obscure??

> …you fish a swimming jig like a topwater lure. You have to retrieve it fast enough that it rides the surface and cuts a big wake. If it runs subsurface, it won’t work nearly as well.

This really messed up Pete’s spidey sense:

Update

PSA from a West Coast bass-head about Lowrance’s C-Map shading:

> …purchased the C-Map card for my new HDS 12 live and set up the contour-line shading, couldn’t figure out what was happening when I got to the lake. I set it up for 0-1′ in red for safety reasons and 2-3′ in orange and so on.

> When I got to Lake Berryessa, the whole lake was red and only 20′ – 40′ – 60′ etc showed up. After a week of pulling my hair out, I finally got a hold of a gal at C-Map and she stated that they haven’t done the West Coast yet. And probably won’t for a least a year.

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On BassBlaster.rocks right now…

> Jones repeats again, Jason Christie swim-jig tips, How to get recruited for bassin’

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Tip of the Day

Tommy Biffle jig tips.

‘Nuff said. Tommy’s forgotten more than any of will ever know about jigs. Some that stood out to me from the MLF post:

> “At seminars I always ask the attendees if black/blue is their favorite color, and almost everyone says yes. I tell them ‘I don’t want to use it, especially on lakes you fish.’ I mean, it’s a good color, but not if everybody is using it.

> Then I ask how many have black/yellow. None raise their hands. I tie my jigs black/yellow, with 6-7 strands of light yellow. I always thought it looked like the underside of crawdad. You’ll always find (that color) in my boat.

> “If I could just have 1 jig, that’s it. It’s a muddy-water color, and a lot of the lakes here in OK where I learned to fish have muddy water.”

> “The flipping jig size I use the most is a 1/2-oz in bushes, willows or trees. In laydowns or around stumps, I stick with a 3/8-oz jig. It’s easier to crawl around roots and cover.

> “If…doesn’t have much big fish, I’ll use a little twin tail or a Super Chunk Jr. But if it’s a lake with big bass, I use an old Gene Larew Mega Craw.

> “Besides yellow and black, I’ll switch to green pumpkin with some green flake in clearer water, or a drab olive if the water is clear like drinking water.”

Quote of the Day

“I don’t like the idea of keeping every fish. That’s not my thing. I’m a big-fish angler. That’s where my head is at, and how I want to fish.”

– AR River Open winner Chris Jones talkin’, who’s tryin’ to fish his way to the Elites. Also said:

> “When I say that I don’t mean to say anything bad about other fishing organizations. It’s just that certain formats don’t suit my style of fishing.”

I believe that’s 100% true — any format will be better/worse for some anglers, and a lot of it is mental. But a few guys will somehow do well no matter what the format is. They’re either freaks, aliens or just:

Shot of the Day

Believe this was a Chris Zaldain shot I can’t find anymore — it’s a view that never gets old man!

Random

That’s a newly released shot supposedly of the Loch Ness monster — real or not? If it’s “real,” then here’s what I think:

1. If there’s no big rock there, then WTHeck is it? It’s not a log.

2. The wake doesn’t look like it’s just current running down the side of something.

3. Can’t tell 100%, but the current hitting the front side of it doesn’t look to me like it’s a stationary object.

But maybe you’d expect me to say that…. Supposed to have the same kinda critter in Champlain called “Champ,” couple other places too.

Ya got me

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