If you feel called to do it, would you please lift up our bassin' brother Chris Wells, the Bass Pastor, in prayer. His wife Pam recently passed. He didn't ask me to mention this and I didn't tell him I'd be doing it. I am just asking because he's a warrior for the Lord, a great guy, eaten up with bass fishin' and is hurting big time. Thank you!
|
|
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.
|
|
Salt tourney announces different classes based on electronics.
|
|
> ...one of Furuno’s whiz-bang systems, could find and track marlin, bluefins, swordfish and other large fish a half-mile from the boat! It can even lock on an individual fish so that the boat can present it with baits multiple times.
There you go, eggzackly what bass-heads suggested. Frank goes on to talk about bassin', but I don't agree with some of what he says:
> ...the recognition that high-dollar electronics gives a huge advantage to those who have them may, and probably should, trickle down to tournaments that are more affordable and much more widely fished, including bass and walleye circuits across the nation. [Yes!]
> While several major bass tournaments this spring have been won by anglers who went against the grain by using no electronics, those wins were the result of the fish spawning in the shallows where the sonar is of minimal use. [Not necessarily true and they weren't using no electronics. Case in point: Bobby Lane winning Redcrest vs guys using Live sonar.]
> As soon as the fish move offshore...the anglers who have forward-scan and side scan sonar will win nearly every event, and their winnings will be subsidized by the anglers who pay their entry fees but can’t afford the 5-figure technology to win. [It's 4 figures and I'd say forward-facing and 360 have pretty much eclipsed Side Scan.]
> The tournament at Manteo might provide a reasonable model for future inland competitions. They basically run 2 separate tournaments side-by-side, with combined weigh-ins but separate entry fees and prize structures.
> Full-circle scanning sonar [what th above is talkin' 'bout] – "The system fires ultrasonic waves in all directions around the ship in a single burst, and can instantly detect and display everything around the ship."
> Omni uses hundreds of individual transducers aligned in 10 or so circular layers. Each one has its own transmit and receive circuitry, and each one fires a ping simultaneously. A single pulse tells you everything around the vessel. It gives skippers the ability to track a fish in real time. The tilt can be adjusted as needed to track a fish in a particular direction.
> The definition of the targets isn’t as clear as one expects from simple downward-facing chirp, but with experience, captains quickly learn to distinguish what the targets are.
|
|
👀 But this right here is amazing – 3D view mode!
|
|
That would be so cool.
I expect Jacob Wheeler to have this stuff on his boat soon if he doesn't already...😁 But Adrian Avena had to have known about this stuff for a while now so what up...🤔
Some ideas for "class" names in bass tourneys:
- Master class (duh!)
- English class (hahaha!)
- Dance class (sketchy Billy Dance tin rigs only lol)
- Year class (HS age and below?)
- Senior class (you know who you are lol!)
Last but not least, this'd be most of us:
- Cut class
Bahahahahaaaa! 🤣
|
|
Ever fish a lake just BEFORE a trout stocking?
|
|
Ever even THOUGHT about it?? Me neither, but a couple bass-head geniuses did – let's call 'em Eric and Travis because, you know, that's their names. Some sauce from Eric:
> My tournament partner and I set out to test a working theory for our YouTube channel, relating the ability to target larger-than-average sized largemouth to the WA [DNR] stocking thousands of 8-12" hatchery trout in bass lakes.
> This was the first time that we tried to actively target lakes that were just about to be stocked. We had noticed over the years that the lakes that we love to fish and usually could do well on in the spring became significantly harder to catch bass on right after the stocking of trout. Our guess was just that their food source became so high that artificial lures didn’t seem to be very appealing anymore. But this time we tried to intentionally hit the lakes right before the stocking of trout, and on this one – we nailed the timing and the fish were waiting.
> Not all of the information that we get on the state website is pinpoint accurate. So we picked that lake in particular because we knew it would be stocked very, very soon – within 1-3 days of us being out there.
> The results were mind-blowing! The particular day that we caught this enormous bag of largemouth was fascinating as it occurred less than 24 hours before the state released thousands of trout into that lake...all of these massive bass [were caught] within 200 yards of the boat launch that these trout were going to be released from.
> It was almost as if the stocking of trout from that launch was built into the natural migration of the bass, as the water temps were still in the mid-low 40s, and we had no business catching this large number of MASSIVE bass at this time of year – or even in this state!
> ...in WA, even for the most-accomplished anglers, it's quite rare to catch over a 18-lb bag of largemouth at any time of the year...fish just simply not growing to the sizes that you see elsewhere...the 32+ lbs that were caught was in the most bizarre of circumstances: It happened in a very short timespan (3 hours), on the day before/at the exact location of a massive annual trout stocking, and was by far the biggest limit we have seen in our 10-15 years bass fishing in WA.
> Almost as if the bass knew that the dinner bell was about to ring!
Wow! Asked Eric a couple foller-ups:
> We had been to this lake maybe once or twice before at different times of year and the fishing was TERRIBLE, but it was in our group of lakes to check....
> I think they have been stocking this lake for at least 10 years if not longer.
Here's what it feels like to bang a PB hahaha yuge congrats man, love it!
|
|
Here's you some hawgigantic melons!
|
|
Scott Flitcraft yakked it up with a worm:
|
|
He said:
> "...as luck would have it, a bass fisherman was passing by and I asked if he had a scale and if we could weigh this fish."
Sounds like Scott doesn't "identify" as a bass fisherman but he should now!
|
|
8-06!! 🤯 Bass-head Rich O got it at an unnamed lake in NY – on his birthday!
3. TX: 36.01-lb bag caught at Lake Lavon tourney!
|
|
Kelly L and Jeremy C fished the Lake Lavon Working Man's Bass Series, held Thurs nights, and had 2 that weighed 8.13!! 🤯 Kelly said all 5 pre-spawners were caught "deeper on crankbaits."
I'd say it's a once in a lifetime deal but it's TX so anything could happen. Congrats fellers!
|
|
Quick 'Yota tourney Top 10 baits breakdowns.
|
|
Flip plastics = 20%
Jig = 20%
10% each = Worm, Ned rig, Neko rig, Glide bait, Senko (TX rig)
|
|
Guess this is an actual bass boat "trailer"??
|
|
At first I was like, WTHeck??? Can you even launch that deal by yourself??
Then I thought about winter, leaves, bird poop and all the other nonsense I gotta deal with having my rig in the driveaway and was like: Huh – maybe that dude's onto something.
One commenter on the post said:
> These are "not uncommon with bass guys." Really? Maybe in certain parts? Literally have never seen one and never even talked about folks who saw one. Had way more convos about bigfoot than these deals! 😂
> "Keeps their gear from getting stolen out of the boat in hotel parking lots." Hmmm. Not sure thieves are that easily discouraged, but maybe relative to other normal trailers this one would get a pass?
Either way I bet that Allison doesn't have a single bit or road rash on it! It's like Chewie in a snow storm:
|
|
A flipping beast with a best of a setup tho that 8' stick ain't as stiff as you might think. If it was, Ish would be sending bass – or just their jaws – flyin' across the sky:
|
|
Stuff he mentions:
1/4-1 oz Angler King weight
> “I started off just covering a lot of water with an Evergreen Shower Blows.... I had been getting a couple of fish like that each morning.... I think a lot of them were bedding and I was getting a reaction bite.”
> ...if wind was present he could catch fish on a spinnerbait around rocks on points where shad or blueback herring were spawning. Later in the day, he shifted tactics to swimming a jig or a jig fished on the bottom around wood or docks...a 1/2-oz Queen Tackle Jig with a Zoom Z Craw Jr....
> “I lost my mom last week and actually came up the day after I lost her and started fishing. I dedicate this win to her. She was always my biggest fan.”
Dang, sorry to hear it man, bless you. 🙏✝️
Congrats to Will Davis Jr. One way he caught 'em:
> “My dad makes a bait called a Shaky Fish. It’s a [Scrounger-type] jighead with a bill on it. And he has a minnow bait that has a great quiver, an X Swim Slim Minnow (albino). I started getting into these ditches in Rock Creek and I could see them on my LiveScope suspended in 8 to 10 feet of water. I reeled it fast past the fish. 6 out of 10 times they hit it.”
4. Couple more BFL happenin's.
Check what Rough River Lake winner Eric Hardesty said:
> “It was a slow bite, and the fish were staging on hardwood trees. I was flipping a green pumpkin Zoom Super Speed Craw 3-4' deep, and I really had to soak it.” ...he would let the Speed Craw sit for “10-15 seconds” before he moved it.
Bet it hurt Seth Feider just to read that! 😁
|
|
That's the ol' Cotton Cordell prop bait, which TW does carry so you know peeps are usin' 'em:
|
|
You might be wonderin' – is Frank crazy? Only his therapist can answer that...😁
And one of 'em ain't Randy Hopper! Lol kiddin' Randy!
He says in the vid that Vexus is using about 60% glass and the rest resin "for a much stronger and very much lighter lamination." Anyone else doing that? Just wonderin'....
Sounds like a good idea, though tough to tell from the post what might come from it. Only thing worth mentioning is that "the advancement of fishing electronics" was listed as a "dark cloud" in fishing.
Still seems to be a pretty decent disconnect between the state and its angler constituents in that stat but I don't live there so just 1 guy's 2c.
> The current ramp will be replaced and extended into slightly deeper water, allowing boat and watercraft launching in lower water conditions.
> "GFP continues to see low-water challenges across the state. Access issues are a priority, and we will continue to address specific ramp issues as they are needed."
Congrats to Matthew Kavanaugh and Nate Kimberling. Mentioning for 2 reasons:
> “We just started this club four months ago and had never fished here before, so to put it together and beat these schools … it really meant something to us.”
> Dropshotted Roboworms in "Aaron’s morning dawn" played a part. Aaron is still helpin' peeps catch fish – love it!
Btw when I was organizing my tackle last weekend I spent some time literally admirin' Roboworm soft-plastics. So pretty...and I am still puttin' together my "Aaron box."
Maybe I'm late to knowing that? Either way, good!
Love that they do these every year:
|
|
Headline of the Day
The official name of that tourney is 18 words! 🤯 I'm thinkin' Randy Howell came up with it...after they told him to keep it as short as possible...🤣 Howell!!
|
|
On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
|
|
> "A tube requires a much heavier sinker than you'd normally use for a lure of this size – 3/8- to 5/16-oz, even in shallow water. The heavy weight gives the lure a better shooting action when you pop the rod tip. Then, when it hits bottom, it makes a little mud cloud reminiscent of a live crawdad.
> "The only time I peg the sinker is when I'm tubin' riprap. Even then I peg it at least 1.5" above the bait. I believe bass perceive the sinker as prey, and the tube as a small predator as it's dropping.
> "I like to pitch or flip a tube into dense cover. As the lure drops, I leave a little bow in my line so the tube spirals down, then I hop it with short, quick pops of the rod tip. Most strikes come when the lure shoots off cover or the bottom."
> Line twist is a common malady...and the tube's spiraling fall exacerbates the problem. "To get the right action out of a tube, it's got to spiral, so you'll have to live with some twist unless you peg the sinker, which I don't recommend.
> "Rigging the lure dead-straight will keep line twist manageable. Before rigging a hook in a tube, I lay the lure in my hand and separate the tentacles so they're evenly divided. This keeps one side of the bait from being heavier than the other.
> "The extra-wide-gap hook style I recommend for tubin' tends to bow the body, which in turn causes line twist. To eliminate bowing, use the hook point to cut a little slice in the plastic before running the hook through and skin-hooking it on the opposite side."
Here's an old-school deal – anyone still do it?
> "When sight-fishing, I'll sometimes pour some Pop Rocks candy crystals inside the lure. These fizz so intensely in the water that they actually cause the tube to quiver on the bottom."
|
|
"We’re going to go home, sharpen our hooks, then go to the store and see if we can find any more of these jigs. I’m going to buy every one they have in the tackle shop."
- Wes "Lee" Strader talkin' to Bassin'Fan after winnin' the Knock "Out" Round at the Lake of the Ozarks MLF BPT. Callin' it out because even tho these pros have more tackle than any 10 dudes you know, they are for the most part tackle junkies too. I mean, we all know that's at least half the fun of bein' a bass-head! 😎
|
|
Both of these are great "May the 4th be with you" posts, but man I gotta give it to Merc (SIMMS is the other one). Outstandin'!
|
|
Some feel this was a hoax but to me this is proof the moon landing was real:
|
|
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'!
|
Sign up another bass-head!
|
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 or sell the list or anything else crazy....
|
|
Gitcha hands on the best stuff!
|
|
Gitcha BassBlaster social at these links:
|
|
|
|
|
