Listened to 'n watched the Bass Pro Tour Championship Round on Cayuga Lake. One thing that popped out to me is how much Jacob Wheeler talks about "firin' 'em up" – meaning not looking for bass that will bite, but looking for a group that he can MAKE bite.
Yep lotsa pros do that but he said it so much I wonder how much of his strategy at every lake (most lakes?) is doing that? Made me think: That's a level I'm probably not gonna get to unless I get to anytime soon man...fascinatin'.
Btw Jacob is 6 for 6 on top 10s this year. 🤯 Think he might win AOY??
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Reminder: If your email program cuts off the bottom of this 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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You ever figure 8-ed a bass??
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Started as a muskie thing, but apparently is a legit deal in Japan and is called "8 Trap" or "Eight Trap." Kurt Dove of Hayabusa/Reins put me onto it with this Kazuki Kitajima YT vid – here's a clip:
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Kazuki told me at ICAST that he'd never done that before. He just was skipping a Geecrack Bellows Gill – on a 4/0 Hayabusa WRM959 EWG Hook HD with NRB coating – under docks, and fishing it with a real interesting pumping, which you can see in the video. He reeled his bait up, then saw a fish at the boat that had followed it so he just decided to try it. Crazy but it worked!
Here's an Optimum Baits vid with the guy who either invented it or popularized the 8 Trap with big swimbaits, Satan [I guess it means "pale" or "sand" in Japanese?] Shimada, lure designer at Madness Japan. Check it:
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That one almost looks like closer-contact old-skool jigger-poling. Here's the key Q: Will you remember to try it if you get a follow?
Other than our Japanese bros fishing the tours, gonna say that my list of dudes who will do it or are already doing it would include: Brandon Palaniuk, Chris Zaldaingerous, Ryan Salzman and maybe Jared Lintner.
Bet once he learns about it Jacob Wheeler will figure out figure 1-9 techniques for boating bass in certain seasons, water temps, sun/moon phases and depending what transducer he's using...😆
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How do we stop this head bite/not hooked deal?
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> We see this all the time with jerkbaits and glide baits. Bass casually swim up and bite just the head of the lure. If you've ever been working your jerkbait and thought for a moment you felt a little weight but then there was nothing there – that's a head shot. The only way around this is upgrading hooks so they're "sticky sharp" when the bass bites the head.
Man after seeing the vid I'm not even sure that'll do it in all cases – here's a clip:
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Heck yeah it's happened to me! You? Any ideas other than changing the trebles?
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How far out can you hook and land a fish with a spin rod?
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Alpha be sayin':
> This diagram is about how far you can HOOK and LAND a fish, not about casting distance. Anybody can tie [on] a spark plug...and launch it 300'. The question is, can you land the fish or even drive the hook at that distance? Alpha Angler designs will always focus bite detection and fish landing first.
Innerestin' way to maybe re-evaluate ALL rods, not just spin rods – what's the right rod, line, hook combo to get that hook in and get that fish in.
Anyhow, if anyone else finds all this spinning rod talk disturbing, I blame it on vegan meat substitutes, hurt feelin's and Wesley Strader's shorts...HAHAHA!
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Do you try to cast to a fish the hard way first?
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Cool IG post by SIMMS of bass-head Rob Matsuura fishing for a bank bass in clear water. Here's the skip and the overhead shot:
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He skips the bait under that walkway to get to the fish. I gotta say I probably would've gone around the end of the dock and cast to the fish that way. You? Gotta give Rob props for doing it the hard – and probably better – way....
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Great to hear!
2. Dakota Ebare caught an almost-record smallmouth at Cayuga.
7-10!! Believe that's less than 1 lb off the state record:
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When they walked through town, residents locked their doors...😂
Elephant Butte Chamber of Commerce, ends Sept 30. Get on it fast all you Scopers!
DNR sampling, not catching:
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From the article:
> Sabine Parish detectives and Calcasieu Parish deputies...seizing over 70 rods, reels and rod and reel combos, Mitchell said. Detectives also seized numerous boxes and bags of fishing tackle and baits, nets, lifejackets, game cameras, binoculars and other items, Mitchell said. His vehicle was also seized and searched, resulting in more rods and reels being found, Mitchell said.
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I'm not a swimbait guy much, but this is at least a good-lookin' bait – in "bluegill":
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Court order, whole rotenone deal is due to paranoia about salmon:
> "Why are we poisoning a 600-acre lake to kill everything in it when there is clearly not that large of a (bass) population – a population that can be easily managed by other methods."
Wonder what that means for Wired's longtime deal with Tackle Warehouse?
> Omnia shared that it will open a new 30,000 square-foot facility later this year.
14. NV/AZ: That you Lake Mead?
NASA released this – L to R is 2000, 2021 and 2022:
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Looks like it got past the bubble/Motley Crue barrier...inevitable. Weighed 22 lbs.
East Okoboji Lake, Upper Gar Lake, Lake Minnewashta and Lower Gar Lake.
Man to me it sounds like a hassle to launch in those places.
Little bit bigger $$$ than bassin'!
Headlines of the Day
🤢
It's just the signal crayfish from the US of A:
> Helen Carter-Emsell, a crayfish expert, told North Wales Live: "We realize not everyone will have a knife with them. The alternative is to squash them under a rock, though we recognize some people might find this unpleasant."
Sounds like the Brits are soft man! 🤣
Line of the Day
Pretty sure they mean BARBEL, aka a whisker...lol
Updatin's
1. Wondered about that yellow perch color a while back, Jacob Wheeler hit us with an update from Cayuga:
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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> Aug is the one month in summer where I focus on shallow water instead of deep water. Shad move shallow in late summer and bass are right behind them.
> Shallow crankbaits are the deal in Aug because they imitate shad, and trigger bass to react.
> This new 3DR-X Flat Crank from Yo-Zuri is perfect for shallow summer cranking. It's a hard-thumping, flatsided crankbait with a coffin bill. It has a very unique wobble and deflects off of cover extremely well.
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"I need to catch me some fish."
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> You can drink it right out of the bottle, eat it with a spoon, or top it with fruit and enjoy it as a refreshing treat.
> ...makes it seem like it's just water in jelly form, this is actually a flavored product...apparently has a caloric content of 55 calories per 100 ml, which is surprisingly high considering 100 ml of Coca-Cola contains only 37.5 calories.
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', 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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