BassBlaster

Evers and Hartman winning baits, Coincidence or not? Any crank line works??

What a dang weekend!!!!! Edwin Evers won his 100th deal this season and Jamie Hartman won his 2nd blue trophy — could a bassin’ tourney fan ask for anything else? I mean, other than a new boat, a gift certificate to Tackle Warehouse, some of KVD’s old crankbaits, etc…. Hahaha!

Anyhow, congrats to the guys who won, the guys who battled, and the guys who talked our ears off about it on the Live deals, plus everyone else involved. Great stuff.

Gotta ask: How do you explain Edwin’s roll this year and Jamie’s 4.29 deal (below). Coincidence? Don’t think so mang!

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

Today’s Top 5

How Edwin Evers caught ’em.

Let’s face it — Edwin Evers has had a pretty good year. A solid 7 outta 10.

Bahahahaha what?? Edwin had a year I guess no one else has had in the history of pro bassin’. Yep because of the BPT, but also the rest — 1 win, 1 points win, 1 championship win, all in the same season! Asked him what up with that — his answers and more in the full interview on the BB site, but here’s his bait info:

> “I didn’t have a bite til 10:30 the first day of practice. When I started throwing that Berkley Frittside ${“[“}#5 size, honey shad] it was crazy — I was catching them 2 at a time. That was the main bait for the first 1.5 days of that tournament…all on the first day, half the second day.
> “Then I turned to a shakey head and a topwater…. A Berkley Bottom Hopper worm (gp and other colors) on a 1/8-oz jighead Berkley makes with recessed line tie), and a Berkley J-Walker 100 (bone, stock hooks).

> “…first day always the Frittside, then I’d go to the shakey head as a cleanup bait. The 2nd half of the second day and the knockout round, the topwater got ’em going first and then used the shakey head….

> “Shell beds, every one of them on subtle points [main river] 2-5′.”

> Crank gear: 7′ MH Bass Pro Cranking Stick, 8.3:1 Johnny Morris Platinum Reel, 12-lb BPS XPS fluoro. Why that fast a reel: “I was getting them to react — and I was moving pretty fast, plus the current — I thought I needed to take up some slack. I just wanted efficiency.”

> Shakey gear: 7′ 1″ M BPS Platinum Spinning Rod, Platinum Spinning Reel (6:1), 20-lb XPS braid (yellow) to 8-lb XPS fluoro leader.

> Topwater gear: 6′ 9″ Platinum Rod, 8.3:1 reel, 50-lb BPS XPS braid.

Championship round:

> “I caught 60% of my fish on a Berkley Pit Boss (Cali 420) and the rest on a Jack Hammer (1/2-oz, chart/white) with a Berkley The Deal (white, smaller size). …laydowns with a little bit of grass, 1-2.5′.”

> Flip gear: 7′ 6″ H Johnny Morris Platinum Rod, 8.3:1 Platinum Reel, 20-lb XPS fluoro, 3/8-oz BPS tungsten weight, 3/0 Berkley Fusion hook.

> Jack Hammer gear: 7′ 1″ MH Platinum Rod, same reel and line.

More:

> “I’m the only guy in the field who had the new [Lowrance] Ghost trolling motor. I was really impressed with how quiet and efficient it was. In practice, all day long I was keeping it wide open and it had as much power at the end of the day as at the beginning, even in current….”

5 Qs with the BPT/Pecan champ.

Edwin floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, which explains a lot, But maybe not everything:

1. How do you explain this season? Or for that matter, how do you explain even the final day of this season?

> “You don’t. You just say thank you. Just smile and and go on.”

2. Do you feel bad taking all those guys’ money?

> “I did feel a little guilty…but with no entry fees I didn’t take anybody’s money!”

[Hahaha that was a setup and he kicked it through the uprights!]

3. What benefit does spending so much time around pecans have on your fishing?

> “I feel like I’m healthy eating them, and it keeps me busy and in shape.”

[Of course you gotta say it makes him nuttier than he would be otherwise….]

4. How much of this year was a personal deal with KVD for hogging the spotlight all those years?

> “Not at all. I’m just happy to finally have some success — I’ve been close before. I was just able to close the door on a few of these.”

[I did hear Johnny Morris took down KVD’s pic in his office and put up one of him fishing with Edwin…heehee!]

5. At this point is it even worth continuing to fish? I mean, there’s nothing left to win….

> “Heck yes it’s worth continuing to fish. I’d like to win that points champion again in a heartbeat. That’s a good goal. I love that. It’s the hardest thing to ever do.”

Edwin is a great and serious dude, so was stoked he was good with the funnin’ questions. Here’s how you get his pecans, which are good — I buy ’em for my extended fam at Christmas, then try to eat a bunch on that day…lol. Edwin likes to make these pecan bears for his kids, but to me look they pretty terrified?

How Jamie Hartman caught ’em.

2 blue trophies for Jamie Hartman this year. Not bad man, congrats! Full pattern deets on the BB site here, but here’s his bait info.

He mostly cranked the first spot:

> “…2 different cranks for 2 different depths [ticking the tops of the grass]: a Strike King Series 5 (sexy shad) and an old-school Bomber Fat Free Shad (not sure what color, don’t think it’s made anymore).”
> “I swapped the hooks with Owner Short Shank Stinger Treble Hooks. Can’t even tell you how crucial that was…never lost a single fish the entire week, and you can’t say that cranking very much. 6.5-lbers just had the back hook and I landed them no problem.”
> Crank gear: 7′ 6″ MH Cashion DD [deep diver] Rod, 6.2:1 reel, 15-lb Hi-Seas 100% fluoro.

Days 2-4 he spent in a different spot:

> “…cranked [same baits], then when they stopped biting, dropshotted. Conditions-wise, when it was super-calm you couldn’t catch ’em on a crankbait, so then I picked up a dropshot and picked [the area] apart.

> “That’s how I got several big fish. You couldn’t see ’em — the grass wasn’t high enough so you couldn’t see where you needed to fish. So I was just covering water…aggressively fishing the dropshot. Pitch out, work it a little bit, reel in….”

> Dropshot bait: 4.75″ Riot Baits The Synth hand-poured worm (gp neon). He was catching all largemouths so why that color: “…that water color in Cayuga…has this weird cloudy blue color to it. Something about that worm [color] made it glow — it just popped. …3 weeks fishing it in lakes around Cayuga they were just chewing the heck out of it.”
> Dropshot gear: 7′ 4″ MH Cashion John Crews Drop Shot Rod, Shimano Stradic 2500 Reel, 10-lb Hi-Seas braid to 10-lb Hi-Seas 100% fluoro, i1 Baits dropshot weights (3/8 when calm and 1/2 when breezy), 2/0 Owner All Purpose Worm Hook (he said the hook isn’t too big for dropshotting).

4.29!!??

Here’s what Jamie said after he won the Guntersville Elite this year:

> “I had this crazy intuition before I started practice that I’d win this event. Don’t ask me where it came from, I don’t have a clue. I’d never fished Guntersville before…. I told my girlfriend [about the feeling] and I never ever say that. It was unexplainable.”

It was strange, kinda like God was reaching out to him — no other explanation seemed to make sense, at least at the time I talked to him. So I had to ask him whether he had the same feeling at any point in this one. Sorta:

> “I had a crazy gut feeling as I got 3/4 through [day 4]. I kept slowly upgrading through the day. At one point it felt like I fell behind. I had a 2.97 in the livewell and couldn’t get rid of it. I made the decision to run down and try some docks…did not pan out. I needed a big fish…a 4- or 4.5-lber, maybe even a 5-lber to pull this off.”

So he ran back to his spot, “dropped the trolling motor and I think on my 4th cast caught that 4-lber.” Actually it was a little over 4:

> “At Guntersville the last fish I caught, the one that put me over the top, weighed out at 4.29. The fish I caught in the last 15 minutes [at Cayuga] weighed 4.29.”

Whoa. Even Jamie’s dog was having trouble understandin’ it:

Since I don’t believe in coincidence anymore, did a quick check of John 4:29 and it says:

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”

(There’s no James 4:29.) Who knows if the # means something or not….

5 questions with the NY/AR champ.

1. Do you plan to win every other Elite now?

> “[Laughed] Absolutely not. I never say I’m gonna win, I’m never that guy.”

2. What if you catch another 4.29?

> “I’ll still be guessing whether I’ll win. It needs to be my last fish.”

3. Do you feel bad winning 2 blue trophies this season when some guys didn’t even win 1?

> “I can’t say I feel bad about it. I did shake Gussy’s hand and told him, ‘Sorry dude.’ He had that blank look on his face and I know that feeling. So I felt great and bad at the same time.”

4. Is there a pact among the Elite Series pros to never let the Canadians win?

> [Laughed] “I hope so.” [Cuz those dudes are hammers!]

5. What’s your tourney OCD?

> “I will try to repeat the same thing every morning and every afternoon if I’m doing well. It becomes a joke wherever I’m at. Like I’ll do the same thing every morning. I’ll get up and have 1 cup of coffee instead of 2.

> “At this one I’d leave the house and stop at the same Dunkin Donuts up the road and get the same cup coffee and same sandwich at the same time. And if we eat at a place in the evening, we’ll keep going back there.

> “At Guntersville [where he won too] it was lucky watermelon. Watermelon in the boat every day.”

Here’s what a lucky watermelon looks like. Notice the vast differences from a regular watermelon:

News

Less news today — so much pro bassin’ to cover:

1. MS: New boat manufacturer will make tin bassin’ tubs.

Avid Boats?

2. Great Lakes: Groups want ship ballast water treated…

…I guess to kill invasives. Naturally the shipping industry folks don’t want it. Little sparring about to go down…. Surprised it’s not being done already.

3. NB: 1 smallmouth found in the Miramichi River.

Famous fly-feeshn salmon river, peeps are freaked.

4. HUGE 40% off BUFF stuff sale.

Gitcha ready for hot weather again and wave some $$!! AND get ready for cooler weather cuz some warm stuff is on that sale page too. Here’s a few faves:

5. AFTCO: Newest Bass Boot Camp vid is out.

6. MN: Weevils eating away hydrilla.

No mechanical harvesting or pesticides needed.

7. MT: Artificial islands can clean nutrients outta lakes.

Cool idea:

> “The floating islands, made from recycled materials, act as filter and improve water quality. The roots from plants inserted onto them reach into the water and take up nutrients while creating a healthy food source for fish.”

Boo of the Week

Dos Equis has been running this fishing TV spot:

Yep, cooler of beer in the boat. Can tell you that as I skim the news, the vast majority of boating accidents — including people getting killed — have to do with alcohol. Not cool Dos Equis.

Tip of the Day

David Fritts quick tip on cranking line.

Lots o’ line to choose from, and when it comes to cranking we have fluoro and cranking-specific lines — but here’s what crank-master Fritts says about that:

> …line type isn’t as important as you might think. Crankbait bass are zeroing in on the crankbait, not the line. It might be that they don’t see it or that they don’t care about it. Either way, line type has absolutely no effect on the bite.

> Braid, fluorocarbon or monofilament are all the same to a bass as long as they’re thin and allow the bait to vibrate and work the way it should.

Innerestin’. So do you want more depth (fluoro) or more stretch (mono)? Or…Okuma makes stretchy fluoro — I think it’s new…?

Quote of the Day

“When you actually sit down and do the math, it’s not a great business plan.”

– Opens-level angler Mike DelVisco talkin’ ’bout pro angling and the sketchy finances thereof…but possibly not as sketchy at the top levels going forward….

Shot of the Day

When the ladies represent their bassin’ness — @gancraft_taka shot:

Random

Tourists alerted to mysterious rolling balls of poop in Great Smoky Mountains

Sounds like a good reason for tourists to go there in the first place….

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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