BassBlaster

Elite flip sticks, Melon howgs of the week, Lots of bait pics

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on June 1, 2018

Today’s Top 3

Bait-smashin’ mud-wallerin’ melon-howgs o’ the week!

Gitcha 14 lbs of new Tawakoni, TX lake record caught by Warren Sprague, whose nephew is making the best giant-melon face ever:

How ’bout this cattle-rustled MN water mule that actually went 7-15 on a certified scale, 1 oz under the state record. 23″ long, 21.25″ girth. John Janousek caught it in 12′, saw the boulder and bed on 360 Imaging. Used a Northland Impulse Fatty Tube (gp) on a 3/16-oz VMC Dominator Tube Jig, 8-lb Sufix 832 braid (hi vis yellow), 10-lb Sufix fluoro leader:

Not sure where @tuckkendall caught this 10+, but he landed it on 15-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro:

Not sure what this one weighed but @fishinmacman said it ate a YUM Dinger. Love how he’s all “ain’t no big thang” even tho it’s his PB:

Niiiiice Yo-Zuri Knuckle-melon ketched by @roasty194:

Here’s you some Elite flip sticks.

Remember that Elitists are nerds. Not geeks, nerds. They nerd out about the smallest details — which, to them, have big effects. Maybe they’re right…lol.

Unfortunately I’ll never fish as much as them so will never have the feel and expertise they do. (BUT if I was just rich and could fish the Elites, I’d beat em all…HAHAHA Elite peeps bet you never heard that before!)

Don’t know if you’re more like me or more like them when it comes to feeshn time, but either way we can learn from these guys — so here’s some Elite flip sticks because if all you did was flip, you’d be a hammer:

Greg “if I’m a flipper does that mean I’m on a seal” Hackney

> “This Quantum Tour PT Series Rod is what I call a relatively light-action flipping stick. It’s great for fluoro or braid, and also great for swimbaiting, deep worming or a structure jig. It’s all the flipping stick 99.9% of people will ever need in almost every flipping situation across the country.

> “What really stands out about it the most is being able to flip a 3/16 and cut it off and tie on a 3/4 with same rod.”

Couldn’t find the rod on the TW but here it is on the Quantum site.

Matt “I am the greatest blue” Herren

> “My favorite flipping stick is is a 7′ 6” Kistler KLX. The rod is lightweight with a lot of backbone, yet has a little tip on it to make pitching lighter-weight baits easy.

> “I prefer a 7′ 6″ rod for all pitching and flipping. It allows me to pick up more line on fish that are moving when I set the hook.”

Brandon “it’s pronounced I-DA-HO” Palaniuk

> “My favorite flipping stick is the Alpha Angler Hitter. It’s a 7′ 6″ H that I can fish all day long. That length allows me to still skip under docks and brush with ease, but also the length and power to get the fish out.

> “What really makes the Hitter special is the action of the blank, and I don’t mean the fact that it’s a heavy-action rod. That’s pretty standard industry lingo. What’s unique is the way that it bends at the tip and the way it transfers into the backbone that allows you to throw lighter baits with ease than most heavy-action rods — all while keeping the power curve in place.

> “Along with that comes incredible balance in the rod, which also aids in accuracy, sensitivity and the ability to fish all day with less fatigue. You could say the rods feel alive in your hands.”

Jordan “my dad really IS Bruce” Lee

> “I like a 7′ 4” heavy-action Quantum Vapor. It’s got a little tip but a lot of backbone, which I like on a lot of techniques especially flipping. It’s a light but durable rod.

> “I like a little-shorter rod when I’m flipping with fluoro around bushes and wood. I want to be as accurate as possible, and the 7′ 4″ allows me to do that.”

Mark “born on the Delta” Daniels Jr

> “Here lately I’ve been really liking the 7′ 3” H Favorite Summit. It’s a tad bit shorter than your traditional flipping stick, but extremely accurate, lightweight and sensitive.

> “The versatility of the rod is why I like it so much. This is the same rod that I throw a C-rig, football-head jig, frog and flutter spoon with, just to name a few. Knowing that I can grab the same rod for several techniques is a huge plus.

> “The rod features a light tip but shuts off relatively fast fast, allowing for great hooksets on all applications.”

WTHeck is this rig??

Check this rig from Elitist David Walker using the Reins Tungsten Sliding Football Head — weird and…cool?

News

1. Andy Montgomery skipped a bladed jig…

…to win an MLFer round. Said a Strike King Rage Bug on the back helped him skip it, and used his Daiwa jig-skippin’ rod:

2. Luke Clausen recovering.

Cool to see him back in a bass tub…but he MISSED something watching him on the shoreline:

3. Chris Zaldain went to the Amazon?!

Had no idea, but here’s part 2 of his journey to where you better only eat crackers and drink soda (believe me, I learned that the ultra-hard way lol). Really well-shot videos:

4. NJ: Fish Ike’s Celeb Pro-Am Bass Derby.

Sat, July 21, believe on the Delaware Reever…which does have more than 10 fish in it and can give the Ohio River a run for its money lol.

5. Here’s Cliff Crochet’s new Cajun Wake crank.

Says it moves a lot of water:

6. TN/KY: Mark Menendez gets real about Kentucky Lake (vid).

Feels that young bass and shad are disappearing because of the carp. That’s why bass-heads are catching bass now, but he feels won’t be catching much in the future. Props to him. Watch it here.

Check this color of Strike King spinnerbait and trailer Mark Menendez fished at the Kentucky Lake Elite — 3/8-oz, silver CO and a gold IN in a bluegill color. He added a ribbontail worm (chart) with a Rapid Fishing Solutions replacement disc to hold the trailer hook. Told me he went with that color because of “the lack of shad in Kentucky Lake. I wanted to mimic the most plentiful baitfish.” #dang

…which looks somewhat like this Lunkerhunt Kraken Spinnerbait, sporting an interesting blade combo:

7. AZ: Reminder to sign up for the Havasu SPRO Frog derby.

Believe you gotta do so by Jun 4 if I remember right.

8. What’s BOOYAH coming out with?

I know what it is so won’t guess — you wanna?

9. Would you ever rig a buzzbait like this?

Have you? If so, pls hit me back and edumacate me about it:

10. DUEL Hardcore Noi-Z coming in UV colors?

Believe Rapala’s been making UV-paint hard baits here and there for years, not sure if this is a first for DUEL but here’s the Hardcore Noi-Z 105F in (L to R): UV Smelt (Uvws), UV Citrus (UVC), Gold (Sweetfish), Ghost Pearl Shad (Gsps), Ghost Pearl Pink Back (Gspp):

11. How BassForecast works.

Got a few questions about it, here’s what they said:

It’s an app for your phone — you know, that warm rectangular thing in your pocket. App page is here.

12. Spotted bass eats rats too??

Whooda thunk…to even fish it for spots:

Of course that’s the acid trip colored SPRO BBZ-1 Rat. Okay THEY call it “morning dawn” but I call it “acid trip.”

SPRO gave away some rats on its FB page today. They give away a lotta stuff there….

13. Not sure if this ‘Trap looks like a shad….

Lol wow:

Think that color is called “sexy prism” — don’t see it on the TW, but I do on the ‘Trap website. Looks like that single hooks might be a VMC Inline Single.

14. Megalodon BUFF on sale!

Lookit this thing, how cool is that:

Texted Ott DeFoe, “You see this? You need one!” He was like, “Gonna wear this one at the Sabine” and texted me this pic:

Waited a little bit for a followup text, but never got one so I sent him, “Dude, I know you’re an Elite and all, but that may not be the greatest choice.” Never hit me back after that so guess we’ll wait and see what happens….

Health PSA: If you’re gonna fish a lot and/or have pale skin, make sure you have the new BUFF Aqua Gloves too. Believe they were the ones designed with input from folks like Ott.

15. Kistler 40% off sale of…everything?

I think that’s what the post says?? On the Kistler website. Btw here’s Trey Kistler in the suit he wears to work:

Some feeshn biz peeps need to dress a little less formal at work….. #perk

16. New model of Tickle Sprinkler coming.

17. Last day to apply for Shimano scholarships.

18. T-H Marine re-ups with FLW.

19. Learn ya more about Vexus boats.

Vids on what exactly a “glass-infused aluminum hybrid” is, and George Liddle showin’ some of the construction:

VERY disappointed not to see any bubblegum or rubber bands used in the construction process….HAHAHA Vexus peeps! But seriously, that Dense Base design is totally me…you know, the “dense” part….

20. Polaris buys pontoon boat company.

First move into the boat market. Big move:

> …an all-cash transaction valued at a net present value of approximately $805 million.

Not bassin’ but innerestin’….

Line of the Day

Fishing here conjures images of waders and featherweight flies landing softly on lazy rivers, an irresistible lure for the 1- or 2-lb trout swimming beneath.

– Dude talkin’ ’bout feeshn in MT. Told my buddy Hoot about it and he was all:

Tip of the Day

Ish Monroe’s flip stick and flip hookset.

Ish is beyond a nerd when it comes to flippin’ and flip rods. If he was a pro coder, he’d be this guy:

Yep, that into it. He blames (okay, wrong word) Dee Thomas, the father of flipping whom Ish learned from, and Denny Brauer, who might have been the best pro flipper ever. Both highly influenced Ish, whose understanding of flipping is WAY up there.

He gave me a lot more info than this, which you’ll read in the near future, but here’s a good taste:

> “Most flip sticks out there don’t really have a tip — they’re just a broomstick. So I built a softer tip into my rod, but with a lot of backbone with a parabolic action so you can land more fish. [His rods are the 8′ (punching and braid) and 7′ 6” (fluoro) Daiwa Tatula Elites.]

> “…the tip is soft and then all of a sudden the rod starts to stop. And it pulls back. When it stops, the rod has nowhere else to go so it starts pulling itself back. Almost like a bungee cord where it stops, keeps the tension and starts pulling back.

> “The guides on the rod are called AGS Guides — it’s a guide designed for Daiwa. I wanted it on my flip stick because of sensitivity. It’s one of hardest guides on the market. so you feel everything. When you flip it in there and he picks it up, thumps it with a slack line, you have to be able to tell….

> “When I’m flipping and a fish bites, basically I’m reeling and doing a pull set. It’s not the drop the rod tip snapping hookset. When you do that snapping hookset — when you’re dropping the rod and snapping the line — you’re creating an opportunity for that line to break. With this pull set you never break the line, and you won’t rip a huge hole in fish’s mouth [and you] will pull the fish out of the cover….”

Quote of the Day

“We can’t stress enough this is not just some good-old-boys fishing tournament.”

– Dude in SD talkin’ ’bout the Elite at Oahe. Obviously he’s mistaken:

If you live within 100 miles of Oahe, don’t miss this at the Expo:

> The South Dakota National Guard is setting up its “inflatable jousting” games.

Jousting’s big in SD. Here’s the jousting they were doing there up til a couple weeks ago:

Shot of the Day

One of the sickest shots I’ve ever seen, by FLW shooter Charles Waldorf — from Cross Lake, LA at the BFL All-American. WOW:

Ya got me

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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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