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My son and I went out for a couple hours Saturday evening. Had a blast being out there that time of day – which was real active boat-wise – but once again zero bites. We didn't see anyone else catch anything either, not even peeps in much faster boats...😁
This time we only fished shakeys and Senkos/Dingers, which was the plan. Kinda gave me the yips because I felt like we weren't covering enough water. Wonder if we need to only be fishing 40' deep this time of year....
Either way, next time I'll be cranking and JackHammering. And maybe pitching a minnow. At least I'll feel like I'm doing something lol. A dropshot too.
Did my 'Bird updates idling out of the marina, with a chip. Easy and no issues – appreciated! Also, I didn't know it was possible but MEGA 360 looks even more amazing at dusk. Lol loved it!
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Gitcha Blaster video fix here:
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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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"A lot of my local buddies think I'm joking when I mention a dropshot – they haven't touched a dropshot in 5-7 years up here."
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More:
> His key target areas were subtle current breaks in 25-35' of water near what he thought were spawning areas but in swift-moving current.
> "The fish are harder to see on 'Scope in that (part of the river), and the water moves very fast. I'd throw a different assortment of baits to get fish to show themselves, and then once I saw where they were sitting, I'd hit Spot-Lock and throw something more finessey at them."
> ...a 'brown back' 3.6" Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm on a dropshot with a #2 hook and 3/8- or 1/2-oz weight.
> "...my 10-year-old daughter can catch 16, 17 lbs in a junior cup, dragging a Flat Worm around on obvious-looking stuff. It made me think to myself, Hmm maybe they're eating a dropshot again. I pitched a dropshot around while I was practicing – it kind of clued me in that fish would bite it."
Few quick deals:
1. Is the dropshot now an "old" technique? I mean, it's definitely been around a couple decades or whatever, but has it really fallen out of favor that much vs other finesse/FFS?
2. Another tourney was won last weekend dropshotting a MaxScent Flat Worm – the BFL on the Detroit River:
> [MI's Scott] Dobson targeted current-related spots in 14-24'... dropshotting a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm, as well as a finesse jig and a Carolina rig tipped with a Berkley Chigger Craw.
Here's the Flat Worm in the classic smallie-catching color 'brown back,' and under that is the similar-looking 'smallmouth secret' – which is a TW bestseller while 'brown back' is not:
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3. Was Jesse sandbagging the field with that hat? 😁🤙
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Everything brown or dark brown is where they've found golden shiners – so it might be a color to stock up on or at least try?
Here's the other 3 examples, T to B:
- Banks Shaw's Z-Man Baby Jack JackHammer from his Eufaula, OK MLF Pro Circuit win
- One of Zack "Captain America" Birge's Yo-Zuri 3DB Deep Crankbait from his St Lawrence NPFL win
- One of the bestselling Bomber Long A colors is what they call 'chart flash/black back/orange belly' – and that bait is often waked!
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Should we be fishing more black HARD baits?
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Check this pic Great Lakes Finesse's Dan "sing with the stars" Miguel posted after he and his pard fished the Thousand Islands Open, which of course is named after the salad dressing: 🤣
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Ultra-clear water and he was fishing a BLACK spybait?? Specifically his new Stay Pinned Spybait and he said black is the deal.
For a long while now black soft-plastics have been a real effective color not a lotta peeps want to talk about – except in the Northeast because it's a staple there.
And we know that in smallmouth country, for a hair jig and anything else that looks like a bug, leech, whatever – black is often the deal.
Last but not least is this pic of a smallie guarding his fry, from a vid posted by @aquavu:
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If you didn't already know, "black bass" are named after their fry color.
Anyhow, this whole deal makes me think I need to start fishing black jerkbaits and Spooks.
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A few deets about the new LiveScope 2
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We got a little on-the-water tour of it at ICAST, and this is what former college fisherman Brett "reluctantly" Jolley saw. He's a good one to talk about it because he's used Scope a lot more than the rest of us.
_____
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Got to actually get on the water with the new Garmin LVS42 HD transducer at ICAST. More details on the 42HD in a sec but a couple things on the 44:
- It's pretty much the next step up from the 34 and is what Garmin is saying is their 'ducer for clear water and long-range casting.
- The new LVS 44 runs on a lower frequency – better range but less detailed than the 42HD. The 42 has a higher frequency and slightly different cone angle, so way more detail with shorter range.
Anyways, here's more info and observations of the 42HD.
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Unfortunately, I don't have any incredible shots because we were on the water at 11am and it was a bright, sunny sky, but initial impression – very cool. I also won't go into Perspective mode right now, but fwiw it was the best Perspective picture I've seen up to this point.
Some points from the Garmin folks at the demo:
> "If [you're an angler who] does not need to reach out to 120', the 42HD is probably the one."
> 50% more detail and "at that distance, it can separate targets that are less than 4 inches apart."
> "Fish do not disappear into the bottom as much because of the improved target separation and resolution. Resolution affects how objects look as they move across the sonar beam, so a fish should continue to look like the same-sized fish."
Range spec on the 42 is up to 125'.
My biggest takeaway was how crisp the bottom looked. There was little to no false bottom, even though the pond was lined with hydrilla.
I was pretty dang impressed by how clearly you could pick out individual fish, schools of bluegill, and baitfish sitting along those grass edges.
No wood in the pond, but based on what I saw, I think fish hugging timber or other cover are going to show up really well.
____
Btw I (Jay) asked Anthony Gagliardi – since we were in his boat – which tranny he'd get and he said he'd probably use both.
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1. Michael "top 10" Neal called out Coike resellers
Folks who snap up baits at retail then post them on eBay or other places for way more $$. Good video, and in case you have any doubt – he's about the last guy to talk about anything "controversial" without a dang good reason.
2. Jacob Wheeler: Jerkbaits most-underused summer bait
Says so in that IG vid and who are we to doubt him?
He says you have to fish it differently than you do in the winter and spring – much faster with a quicker, harder-popping cadence to get fish to chase it down. He also thinks fish in the summer are "smarter," meaning they can tell faster if a bait is real or not.
He of course likes the Rapala Mavrik 110, which he helped design:
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3. Casey Ashley gets Black Buffalo pouches
Tobacco alternative with nicotine, site is here.
4. Is Carl Jocumsen smuggling in Aussies? 🤔😁
First Dave Mercer did it with the Canada crowd, and I heard rumors that Carl was doing the same-ish thing. Case in point being one Byron Hill, who led the St Lawrence Toyota after day 1:
> Hill, a cargo pilot and retired Australian Air Force fighter pilot, came to the US a few years ago [and had never used a baitcaster before that].
> Before doing so, he fished a tournament trail focusing on bream.... "Australian bream is similar to sheepshead, but it's all silver. ...they do everything the same as a smallmouth bass.
> "The current kayak world champion...is an Australian who came to the Great Lakes and won there as well. Smallmouth is what we know. We just fish it differently to everyone else."
> "I'm never going to beat Kevin VanDam jerkbaiting, but I want to think I would have a chance beating him with the jighead – Scope or no Scope. I've been using the jighead well before Scope."
I guess you'd expect a fighter pilot to say he had a chance against KVD, but man you have about the same chance of beating that guy as getting hit by a meteor in your bedroom. 🤣
Anyhow, what up with the Aussies competing here Carl? Is it an invasion?? 😁
5. Brad Whatley likes the Sonic Boom frowg because...
...he says the Frog Factory Sonic Boom frog will walk side to side without moving toward you. Also likes that the hook is "shrink-wrapped" so it won't open up when fighting a big fish. He says he gets more frog fish in the boat with that hook.
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Dang son! Believe that's the crew that inspired the name for the BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jigs, which at least some of that Mob crew fishes and wins with.
Btw heard that the bone color Mobsters are catching the heck outta fish. Also heard that if you criticize the Mob, you can disappear:
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Boyd Duckett shakey head rod tips
From an older Bassmaster post:
> My shakey head rod is a 6.5' MH spinning rod. I fish a MH rod because I normally fish a shakey head in deep water and can end up with big bow in my line. The MH rod gives more feel for what's going on with the bait.
> When you do get a strike, your line will feel as though it has tightened up, like the jighead is caught against a rock or something. It's easier to feel that very subtle strike on a MH rod than it is a M.
Interesting. More:
> When I fish a shakey head, I shake the line not the bait because shaking the light line will give the bait just enough movement to wiggle, but not so much that it moves the jighead.
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"He just clips off the crankbait and ties on a topwater frog."
- Pastor on Sunday at our local church talking about our universal enemy: satan, which means "the adversary" or "the accuser." I don't think it was meant to be a personal name, but he's stuck with it now!
Pastor Josh was talking about satan being "a good fisherman" – meaning he doesn't care what he uses as long as he catches you.
As I've mentioned, our pastor is a bass fisherman. He's also blown up across the country. He just sat with Shawn Ryan – hey B.A.S.S. and MLF, invite him to some stuff!
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Check out what the owner of Grady White salty boats did
He chose not to sell and get the fat check, and instead take care of the folks who work for his company. Outstanding:
> [Eddie] Smith, who bought Grady-White in 1968 at age 26 and grew it from near bankruptcy into an award-winning boatbuilder, turned down offers exceeding $400 mil 2 years ago.... He said he could not be sure a buyer would preserve his approach to the business, including profit-sharing with employees, a commitment to high quality and support for the community.
> Under the new structure, the Grady-White Boats Perpetual Purpose Trust and a 501(c)(4) nonprofit are expected to donate tens of millions of dollars annually to education, healthcare, conservation and community causes.
> Smith also arranged bonuses for all current employees, which number more than 350, tiered by years of service and craftsmanship level.
#stout! 💪💪
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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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