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Today’s Top 3

1. I hadn’t even heard of or saw one that big this week so when I first caught it, I thought it was a (bowfin).

– Hahahahaha! Sabine Elite day 1 leader Dean “Froggie-man” Rojas, talking about a 5-15. Bear in mind that tis derby is right around the spawn….

Cliff Crochet’s quote: “It’s not a whack-fest.”

2. New OK record first on an A-Rig?

Dale Miller, Mar. 13, 14-13, Cedar Lake, the same 80-acre lake the record was set at less than a year ago (14-11). The kickers:

> He caught it on a Mann’s Alabama rig – believe that’s the first state record bass to be caught that way (someone please check me on that).

> He’d never thrown an A-rig before, and in facto borrowed the gear from his buddy.

> Just his sixth cast of the day, around 11:10 a.m.

> “I talked to my neighbor, Josh Walls, he has a bait shop called Bass Fanatix in Poteau, and asked him what would be good to use,” Miller said. Walls just let him borrow his personal rod, reel and baits.

> “I really didn’t know what I was doing, I was just doing it how (Walls) explained to use it,” he said. He would cast toward the steep-banked shore, let the rig sink for two or three seconds, then just reel it in.

> He caught sight of the bass under the water and a little panic set in. “My arms started shaking and my knees were shaking,” he said. “I told Vonnie, ‘I’m going to need help with this one!'”

3. Deets on CA giant spotted bass catch.

This is the 10-01 spot caught in New Melones, CA we reported on earlier. Guy didn’t want to give up how he caught it at the time because he was practicing for a derby. Now the deets:

> Conditions: clear, warm, no wind. Flat calm.

> Location: A point in about 15′.

> Bait: River2Sea Light Trout S-Waver. 15-lb Seaguar fluorocarbon

Here’s the best part:

> “When I was reeling this one in, there were two followers. One of them was equal in size and the other at least two pounds bigger. I’m 95% sure they were all spots.”

> “To me, there is no question that the next world record will come from here and possibly in the next few months.”

The New Melones spot record was 8-03 set in February, then that 10-01 in March. The world record spotted bass was caught in Cali and weighed 10.27 lbs.

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News

1. Proposed: keep spots of any size at AR’s Beaver Lake.

Right now it’s a 12″ minimum.

2. Saltwater DOA baits dude started out as bass fisherman.

Those are the shrimp-like baits.

3. IL A-rig regs confusion-ing?

> Some large Illinois lakes allow the Alabama rig, but many lakes limit anglers to only two poles and two hooks (or lures) per line.

> On lakes with the two poles, two hook or lure limit, the Alabama rig can be used if the angler clips the hooks off three of the lures or replaces those lures with spinning blades.

4. Les Claypool is a fisherman.

Primus sucks!

> “Generally when I’m fishing, I’m not really paying much attention to anything but fishing. That’s sort of the nature of it, to let go of all the other stuff.”

5. FL man ‘catches’ ‘record’ snakehead.

Margate Canal, a 14-03. Woulda been a record if it was not…electrofished. Dude who scooped it up is a biologist.

6. 300 manatees have died this year in FL.

Sounds like a lot. Yeah boats, but also red tide.

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Tip of the Day

CA trophy hunter Mike Long: Preserving confidence.

> One spot too long will make you bored and your brain starts to wander off thinking about other things…. Covering water or running a milk run of key spots will keep your brain fresh and…thus keeps my confidence high by mixing it up once in awhile and not burning out an area or pattern.

> I have learned to get the best rod and reel I can and try to match my line properly – and most important upgrade my lure to make sure it as real life as possible so I will feel confident in it and not second guess it. If I’m swimbait fishing…it’s adding real glass eyes, gills, maybe even fins. If 20 boats are fishing the same area with the same bait I will have more confidence if…I changed it to look a little different.

> If the bite is slow and I’m second guessing everything, that ‘swhen it’s time to put some scent on my lure and stop the second-guessing if my lure is good enough.

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Quote of the Day

I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. I’m as happy as I can be.

– Elite rookie Hank Cherry talking about fishing his first Elite event, saying what many of us recognize as a profound bassin’ truth.

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Shot of the Day

Look at this friggin’ redear! An almost 6-pounder caught from AZ’s Havasu by Mike Phua…who btw is 6′ 1″ 290, so that sunfish is a beast!

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