Just a reminder that this is ICAST (fishing biz trade show) week, meaning the whole bassin’ world is at that show, including me…so this is the only BassBlaster for the week except for the ICAST sneak peek yesterday morning. Enjoy this one, stay tuned to the BB social media of yer choice for ICAST stuff, back at ya official-like next week bass-heads!
If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
Don’t necessarily mean at ICAST this year, but this dude has some interestin’ thoughts:
> I’ve tested this multiple times now because I didn’t want to report a fluke. I’ll work an area of a couple hundred feet of weed line with my favorite heavy frog gear, then do it again with the finesse setup. A few times I even reversed it and went finesse first. EVERY SINGLE TIME the number of hits was WAY up on the finesse side. It wasn’t even close.
Hits? Okay. How ’bout in the boat tho:
> Every fish in the pond hit those little hollow bodies, but it was lacking in terms of hookset percentages.
> I basically took them all apart and put them back together with bigger salvaged hooks….
Says these are his three top producers:
Too cool. I bet the dude is onto something. And ko-inky-dentally, Lunkerhunt is coming out with this bait this week at ICAST: the Froglet in 3″ and 4″ sizes. Click the pic for the vid.
Another super-interesting noodle, this time from Kistler Rods. Check it:
> Have you ever wondered how that big one got away even when you did everything right? The right gear, the right bait, perfect technique….
> Kistler is tackling this increasingly common issue for anglers. Innovations such as ultra rigid graphite rods, zero-stretch lines, high-speed reels and surgically-sharpened hooks provide great advantages. The problem arises when these technologies are combined, often leading to torquing the hook out of the fish’s mouth, premature hooksets and lost fish. Sometimes you only get one shot at a true trophy….
Interesting, ‘specially since many Elites insist on that softer parabolic rod action for flippin’. This is all about Kistler’s new KLX Feel N Reel Series:
– The one and only (broke the mold, may have never made a mold, etc.) Z-train talkin‘ bassin’ at the tippity top level, where being a great local stick don’t count for diddley:
Z say here’s what diddley be:
> It’s in being able to tie a knot while holding in 3-footers with 3 minutes left to fish just to cull one more time. It’s in being able to manage fish across 3 days of competition. It’s in being able to play the weather to your advantage.
What’s with all the 3s man? He’s probly been doing the binge on Rambo III again.
This whole #3 is a visual flashback!
Yep it happened — IL’s Adam Ohms won it with 24-05:
> “There was high water due to rain, so I decided to fish this tournament shallow. I spent the day fishing ditches in the backs of creeks north of Paris Landing. There was a strong current coming in that was littered with baitfish and bass that were moving up shallow. I had 22 pounds in the boat by 7:30 am.”
> Ohms said he used one bait to catch his limit: a black/blue 3/8-oz Z-Man ChatterBait.
> “Every fish I caught came from less than 2’…. They attacked the bait in open water and tried to bring it into the bushes.
> “I didn’t go longer than 10 minutes without catching a fish all day long. I could go back and forth over the same cover and they just kept reloading. It was a lot of fun.”
News
Sounds like a one-boat accident, maybe involving a stump. Not sure if bass-heads, but either way super tough. RIP water-brother.
2. DC: New wildlife conservation bill intro’d.
This is a BIG DEAL because: 1) A huge chunk — more and more — of OUR money (literally) that DNRs get is used to fund non-game species because that work is mandated by the feds and there’s no dedicated $$ for it; and 2) As a result of that, DNRs are strapped.
This bill is supposed to fix that by funding the non-game work to the tune of about 10% of the $12.3 billion in annual royalties the feds get from oil/gas development.
If it all goes as planned, it should be huge. But…I’m sure some politician who couldn’t tell a largemouth from a goldfish will try to mess it up….
3. Elitist David Mullins on BassEdge Radio.
4. Onedia winner co-owns Greenfish Tackle.
Did not know that. Check Greenfish’s stuff on TW.
5. CA: Bassers affected by Erskine fire.
Help ’em out if you can by donating at the Lake Isabella Bassin’ Club website.
6. WI: Hmong bass derby expanding.
Glad to see it! Unless I’m misremembering, those folks helped us out big-time in the ‘Nam [thumbs up emoji], and from what I hear can sho ’nuff fish.
7. NE: Bass-heads helping bud hurt in accident.
Bass anglers help all the time (you guys are great), just including this one because I ran across’t it.
8. Basser helps kid whose tackle was stolen.
#stout
9. TN/KY: How they fish Bull Shads deep on KY Lake.
Check the nose of that bait:
Get ’em at Tackle Warehouse.
10. FL: Jag’s Rashad Greene likes bassin’.
So does Notre Dame walk-on and now scholarship dude Josh Anderson.
11. WV: High water wipes out river smallie spawns.
New and Greenbrier.
12. Picasso gets bladed jig patent.
For the head-to-jig clip.
New Stuff
Lots of new stuff coming out at ICAST, not going to cover some of it until I see whether it’s the real deal (or not).
1. New Shimano Metanium MGL.
> “The heart of the new Metanium MGL baitcasters in our Magnumlite spool. With the use of this new spool design, we’re able to decrease the moment of inertia — the point in your cast when the spools starts to spin — allowing anglers to experience not only greater casting distance — as much as a 15% improvement — but also better accuracy over a wide variety of lures.”
> Shimano’s SilentTune feature reduces vibration from spool rotation, while the next generation SVS Infinity braking system reduces casting sound and maintenance.
> The series includes six 150 size reels in three different gears ratios, each offered in right- and left-hand retrieve.
2. 17 new products from Z-Man.
I am Z man! (Classic Anthrax tune — that vid is rated PG-13.)
3. Mann’s Deep Ledge cranks will dive 40+.
Wonder if the lip is longer than the bait…?
5. Minn Kota improves Spot-Lock.
Now comes with a free cinder block on a rope…kidding….
7. Troy Lindner’s solar battery chargers.
Pretty cool if it works…and Troy told me it does.
Read more about it on Bassin’Fan.
Tip of the Day
For years the C-rig’s been treated like those pickled carrots in the back of grammy’s pantry (whatever that means). But lately it’s been creeping back in. Here’s Ike on bm.com:
> …the conditions on Cayuga and Oneida (Northern Open) were perfect for it.
> The dropshot was popular during both tournaments. There’s no doubt that it was effective in getting bites, but it had a couple of drawbacks that the C-rig didn’t. To begin with, it’s light. That means it takes time to get a fish to the boat.
> My best guess is that my dropshot fish took an average of 5 minutes to tame…in a professional tournament [that’s] huge. During the time I was fighting the bass my boat was drifting. That meant additional fishing time wasted to get back to my spot….
> My Carolina rig was much heavier. I could get a bass to the boat in about a minute…in a professional tournament, time is money.
> Another thing that the Carolina rig did for me was that it gave me a super good feel of the bottom. I used a 1/2-oz VMC sinker with Berkley Trilene 100 Percent Fluorocarbon line. I knew instantly whether I was in grass, sand, gravel or rock.
> The dragging part was the key. You can feel the bottom with a drop shot but you can’t do it as quickly and efficiently as you can with a C-rig.
Plus you can use more different kinds of bait with a rig, as he says.
Quote of the Day
I’m still learning a lot about the whole deal of smallmouth fishing, but I’m definitely excited about the opportunity.
– HAHAHAHA! That’s Elitist Drew Benton talkin‘ ’bout fishin’ against KVD at the Classic bracket thingy this week (during ICAST??). Anything could happen but from that comment sounds like it’s gonna be kinda like:
Uh Kevin, you are the fat guy in that pic…but it’s just a visual metaphor, so we cool right? Right Kev? lol
Shot of the Day
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, sell the list or anything else crazy….
Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Get the Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster app:
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