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Shoutin' out Norsk Lithium batteries. If you didn't know, they're part of the Sea Foam Motor Treatment family (same ownership).
They made me a deal on some batteries – the X2 lithiums I had (below top) were great, no issues at all. Just all those screens, and limited battery space, and needing a new starting battery, and needing a new charger, it just made more sense to start over. Like such:
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Bob "E" Lane runs Norsk Lithiums, and the company is interested in getting the word out to more bass-heads. I told them they should maybe start a "Southsk" brand but...😁
Some cool things about 'em that as I learn/experience I'll drop in the BBs. You can learn more about Norsk's offerin's on their website here.
Gitcha Blaster social 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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Why Easton Fothergill is so into Japanese stuff...
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...and I guess why so many other guys are too. I didn't ask Easton about sushi, but I bet he can spear some feesh with a chopstick no problemo mang! 😁
Alright the reason I called him, other than checking in with our Classic champ, is because of Robert Gee's Ryugi hook box that I called out in the last BB. Meaning that's another good younger cat who's all about Japanese stuff.
Ryugi is also one of Easton's sponsors, so here's 5 with him all about it.
1. What drives your interest in Japanese products?
> "Even beyond fishing, the Japanese culture – they don't do anything lightly. Everything they do they put 100% effort into. ...it's no different in their fishing stuff. Everything that they make is the highest quality, and that's what I'm looking for when I'm on the water day to day. I want to have the best there is.
> "That's one of the main thing that drives me to their products. That's why I partnered with Ryugi for terminal tackle – because I feel terminal tackle is very under-appreciated in how important it is in what we do."
[Btw he says "rye-yugi" – "rye" like the bread.]
2. How is Japanese stuff better or different?
> "If you really study Japanese angling, it's almost like the American side of things follows [after] them. The jig 'n minnow thing was happening over there like 10 years ago, and I would say it's been a big craze here for about 4 years now.
> "Now we're onto fuzzy stuff, which they've been doing for probably 5-6 years....
> "So it seems like we just keep following in suit with what they're doing. I don't know if our fishing pressure is just a little bit behind theirs – like the fish are adapting on our side kinda like theirs are. That's kind of my take on it.
> "When I'm laying in bed at night, I'm watching Japanese YouTube videos and really studying how they approach a day and what they're doing to trigger those fish to bite. It's just super-interesting to me."
3. The Japanese thing – is it an underground deal among younger pros, or is it out in the open?
> "A lot of it is out in the open now, but there's definitely an underground level that's far deeper than what the public person will see or even know about.
> "That's not necessarily just techniques. It's like little tricks and stuff – like how they rig their baits. Kyoya and Taku and them will never let you get to see that, so that's a lot harder to learn.
[Takahiro Omori has always been that way. I thought he was just super paranoid about stuff, but now I know the reason – he's Japanese! 😁💪]
> "There's just little tricks that they do with literally every bait they throw that makes them that much more efficient and that sorta thing. And that's really what I'm trying to study – really watching these guys...how they rig their stuff.
> "They do everything the best so that's the reason I dive into their stuff."
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4. You love Ryugi stuff – why?
> "The main reason...like I stated, their stuff is the highest quality. But beyond that, they have a hook, a weight, some sort of accessory for basically...every technique there is. And a guy like me who wants to be ultra dialed in....
> "Say I'm throwing a TX-rig worm and I go to a free rig...I may want to use a different hook because I'll be setting the hook at a different angle.... And with that I will have a different Ryugi worm hook that has has a different hook gap just for the little subtle, different techniques I'm doing with that worm.
> "It's been really fun for me to experiment with different hooks and it really allows me to let my imagination fly [about what might work best for certain things]...."
Can you give us a couple examples of other stuff they have?
> "The Inset Keeper – it's a basically a little clip designed for your jighead minnows. You thread your minnow on...goes through your minnow and it's designed to catch on your plastic keeper so it's another level of holding your minnow on your jighead.
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> "...I've been using [it] for a while now and it definitely works...no other company or brand has thought of [it].
> "...the TC Keeper – it's a plastic silicone keeper that you slide onto your hooks, and you take a lighter to it...allows you to put your plastic keeper wherever you want on a hook.
> "You can pick up whatever jighead that you want and you can put this under the [bait] keeper that comes stock on it, and it's like a double keeper....
> "So this is another product that you can let your imagination fly and get super-creative with...another cool, innovative product that they make."
[All the Ryugi offerin's on TW are here.]
5. Aside from the Classic, how do you feel you fished this year?
> "Terrible the first 2 events, and I feel like I fished an 8 out of 10 after the Classic."
Would you have changed anything fishing-wise after the Classic?
> "After the Classic I made great decisions basically everywhere we went. There were times I was doing the wrong thing and had to adjust, and I made the correct adjustment – just the wrong section of the lake sorta deal.
> "It was one of those deals were I couldn't be too upset. It just wasn't meant to be."
Bonus Q: If you go bomb the first 2 Elites next year, everyone's wise to that sandbag now. So...anything else up your sleeve for next year? 😁
> "[Laughs] There is no telling what could be up my sleeve next year [laughs]. I can tell you I've been praying my hardest not to have the start I had last year. I would like to do things differently next year, that's for sure.
> "But if I do have 2 bombs, I will not be as nervous as I was last year."
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'Rule fatigue' ➡️ no no info?
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😁 Not "no no" information – which in pro bass fishing pretty much is all info – but NO "no info." Asking if that's what the tours "should" have now? Or back to a 30 days off-limits? Not advocating one way or the other, just floating the Q.
Why I'm floating it:
- The Elite DQs this year – how they went down.
- A lack (real or perceived) of complete transparency around the DQs – unlike, say, NASCAR or golf.
- The inability of pros on both tours to basically talk to anyone stress-free about fishing – and they're the sport's biggest ambassadors!
- A real good Luke Clausen "thought stream" IG post.
More on Luke's post in a sec. First a couple more pros talkin'.
Steve Kennedy from a recent Bassmaster post:
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> We all love to talk fishing, but if someone accidentally says something about fishing on Lake Martin [where he has a camp] before the tournament, that could put me in jeopardy of unintentionally violating the no-information rule.
> I know we have to have rules, especially the off-limits rules, otherwise we’d have a lot of people finding ways to gain an advantage on the lakes that we’re scheduled to fish. I just wish we had a shorter no-information period.
> All my life I’ve enjoyed fishing and sharing the sport with other people. A big part of doing that is taking people fishing. I know I can do that on other places in addition to Lake Martin, but we have a lot of history on that lake, and it’s just a special place for me to spend time with family and friends.
Beau Browning talkin' 'bout the Champlain EQ:
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> The first EQ at Champlain was weird. Even though I roomed with dad, he couldn’t tell me what he had found in practice. Champlain is on the Elite schedule next year. Once the schedule is announced, the rules prohibit Elite pros from getting information from non-Elite anglers.
> I could tell my dad what I had found, but he couldn’t reciprocate. We were walking on eggshells. It made for some unusually quiet nights at the motel.
[Gotta say – any time you can get a quiet night at a motel, it's a win! 🤣]
Some highlights from the Luke post:
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> "...I guess we have more more rules all the time...everything is getting more regulated. I think the anglers have driven it...they always think somebody's getting one over on them....
> "...it seems to me the leagues have over-ruled themselves. They've got so many rules now [and] if they enforce them, they're the bad guy. If they don't, same thing.
> "To me it seems like it was a lot simpler time...when we used to fish 30 days off-limits.
> "I honestly honestly don't think information makes a difference at all. ...there's such an information stream out right now, it probably levels the playing field to let everybody get information.
> "I think the most level playing field is to actually open it up rather than sit here and try to regulate something we can't regulate.
> "...most rules we've ever had. I gotta be honest, I have some rule fatigue. ...I'm sick of not being able to talk to buddies across the country, worried about where we're going, what we're doing 8-10 months from now."
Good thoughts fo sho. Needed to be floated, in my 2c.
A few more thinkin's:
1. I know I'm not alone in feeling that the no-info rule and specifically how it's tested for hasn't exactly been successful. Remember that all polygraphs have a high "inconclusive" rate, and might not be a solid test for some stuff, like the granular points of alleged no-info rule violations.
2. If 2+ guys who are randomly poly'd insist they haven't violated a rule (and have no track record of it) and yet get fined or DQ'd because of the poly, isn't that more than just a coincidence?
If so, at that point either everyone in the field (or a much bigger group) needs to be poly'd to see if the poly is the issue. Or the rule(s) needs to maybe change.
3. Again, the no-info rule initially was to help rookies who didn't have the decades-long local info networks that established pros had – way before the internet. So it was to level the playing field. But now with technology, it's a much different deal.
I don't just mean FFS, which so far has been a huge advantage for rookies. I'm talkin' tech like the ability to easily and privately transfer waypoints and "tips" in many different ways: bluetooth, email, text, social platforms, thumb drives, private messages in chat rooms, etc.
So not sure if no no info is the way to go or 30 days off-limits or something else. Or maybe no changes is what the pros and league want. Like I said, just floating it...because at times it's looked like this:
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Lol! 😁 Just messin' peeps but you know what I mean!
Who knows, maybe the fires are unavoidable, like almost everything in life. Lmk your thoughts, love to hear 'em. And pro peeps – if I missed anything, which is likely, pls lmk!
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John Cox General🧃!
Bait deets from 2 big wins!
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1. Luke Clausen is fishing the NPFLs next year
Possibly other stuff too but not the Bass Pro Tour.
2. Freddy Boom Boom will be fishing the NPFLs and...
..the MLF Pro Circuit.
3. The 2026 51-man MLF Bass Pro Tour roster is out
Cut to 51 for next year. Looks like missing vs '25 are: Josh Bertrand, Luke Clausen, Brandon Coulter, Shin Fukae, Gary Klein, Jeremy Lawyer, Dave Lefebre, Jared Lintner, Andy Morgan, Britt Myers, Keith Poche, Skeet Reese, Marshall and Marty Robinson, Fred Roumbanis, Terry Scroggins, Gerald Spohrer, Martin Villa, David Walker.
If I got any of that wrong, apologies.
Rookies: Banks Shaw, Mitchell Robinson, Jacob Walker, Dustin Smith.
4. FFS will be limited in '26 Toyota Series
To 3 hours, like the BFLs, and that's to mimic the 1/3 of a day (1 period) Bass Pro Tour FFS regs. Includes 360 btw.
> Compliance will be verified by co-anglers just like long-standing tournament rules such as no fishing in an off-limits area and verifying sight-fish are hooked inside the mouth.
> The boater/co-angler format, with its built-in checks and balances, has been the sport’s most secure format, outside of the Bass Pro Tour where tournament officials ride with anglers, since its inception over 30 years ago.
If you're totally against the Scope, remember it gives you:
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🤣
5. GA: Brothers finish 1-2 at Seminole BFL Regional
By 2 oz – pretty wild..er:
1st: Christopher Wilder -- 37-13
2nd: Michael Wilder -- 37-11
Top 3 go to the BFL All-American. Chris also won the 2023 Regional on Norman, NC.
6. Vexus tank-tests all their boats??
Is that normal? Either way wow. Dude's name who does it is Bobby "Rusty" Wallace, and he's a dragger:
> ...Wallace still loves to drag a gp lizard behind a 1-oz Carolina rig on Bull Shoals in May and June....
After that it's probably all a Plopper? 😁
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7. NY: New Bass Pro Shops coming to Victor
20 miles south of Rochester, doesn't say when.
8. FL: Is spraying out of control?
Scott Martin was calling out spraying an area with no non-native vegetation. I also saw a reel about spraying in a river but couldn't find it again.
9. SC: Giant salvinia found in Wateree
10. MD/VA: Chesapeake eelgrass is way better?
11. FL is still #1 in boat registrations
I guess the HOAs are not winning then! 💪
> ...1.2 mil boat registrations, 10% of total US registrations and a 26.9% year-over-year increase...the Great Lakes states collectively represented nearly 1/4 of the fleet.
> The South Atlantic region grew 12.4% to 2.2 mil boats, strengthening its position as the 2nd-largest region.
12. MI 24-yr-old did the Great Loop in a dang canoe!
The Great Loop = the Illinois River south to the Gulf, around FL, then up the East Coast and through the Great Lakes. He did it backwards. Took him 480 days! 🤯 #stout
Updatin's
The other 2 $1 mil in 2 tourneys guys – thanks for the reminders.
David Dudley and then Luke Clausen each did it in 18 months back in the 2000s, the big-$$$ days.
David won the Ranger M1 and got $700,000, then won the FLW Tour Championship and got $500,000.
Luke got $500,000 for winning the FLW Tour Championship and the same amount for winning the '06 Classic. At the time B.A.S.S. wasn't too thrilled because Luke had moved to the FLW Tour lol.
And yep, Scotty Suggs won $1 mil for fishing 2 days to win the 2007 FLW Cup. Not too dang bad!
Thank you to everyone who reminded me about this insane in the membrane $$$! Anyone else I'm missing pls let me know.
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"We're on the ice almost every day."
- Chris "AOY" Johnston NOT talkin' 'bout ice fishing – ice hockey with his sons.
Makes me think...I would love to see the Johnstons vs the Lanes in some kinda hockey that FL boys can play...😁 The checking would be amazing. I would PPV it fellas!
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Check this pretty Billy Siemantel-designed FishLab BBZ Gizzard Shad Swimbait. Seen/cast 'em in person – paint is very good to great, movement is great (not that I am an expert – but Bill is!). 6", 2.25-oz and $25 on TW:
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Well we lost Ace. He was the reason I took up the geetar – and it's why I have that '70s 'tobacco sunburst' Les Paul below (middle). Never got to meet him, but I did meet Paul Stanley. Story for another time but wow was he a great guy.
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Gotta add: About the old and just plain wrong deal that Peter Criss was not a good drummer...as I have 2c'd many a time – the drummer makes the band. Drummers give it that "thing" (or don't!).
And like John Bonham and Alex Van Halen (the 2 best rock drummers ever in my 2c), Pete started as a jazz drummer. Those guys play different and have a different feel/groove. It's like they don't just play, they drive. So: No Pete, no KISS!
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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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Sign up another bass-head!
If you're forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much – or you can email me the addys and we'll take care of it! We'll never send spam or whatever....
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GITCHA HANDS ON THE BEST STUFF!
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Gitcha BB social at these links
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