BassBlaster

Flavors of braid?? Crazy Rojas frog stuff, Mangled ditch melons

Most important: Keep going TX, and keep your head down FL. Big weather is some scary stuff man.

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

Today’s Top 4

Mangled melons of the week!

Guess the BassBlaster is the official unofficial home of abby-normal bass so here you go! These aren’t merps or derps, they’re…

…underbite…

…half-tail (nice catch tho buddy!)…

…bent-head…

…and zombie:

Highlights from a-feeshn with some pro bass-heads.

Wasn’t fishing much cuz I was there to pick their brains and record some of it, but here’s a few highlights:

> How ’bout Jeff Kriet multitasking like no one else I’ve seen. Dude was working a frog, telling me a story and relieving himself all at the same time. Do NOT try this at home (your home lake)! Or anywhere else for that matter…. #skillz He’s also a neat freak — check his truck — think I see a trolling motor in there?!

> Did you know Sy Robertson got the whole ice tea thing from Mike McLelland? (As a media professional, I will say I meant to put my finger in that shot hahaha!)

> Amazing to get a 90-minute froggin’ tutorial from Dean Rojas. Some of that tutorial and the lessons I learned (maybe you will too) is in today’s tip. Dean, you should do frog-fishing clinics in the off-season. Seriously man. Btw, Dean is a big Star Wars fan, always has the Millennium Falcon in his boat:

> Russ Lane showed me what to do when fish are boiling and rolling but won’t eat any baits. He tried a few things, found the one dang thing that worked, then caught the four biggest fish of the week. Dang son! Will out the whole deal soon.

> First time in Shin Fukae’s boat, found out he used to be a guide on Lake Biwa before coming here to the States to live the dream. Showed me a secret-ish technique I’ll out here soon too.

> Watched Jared Lintner try to scare fish into the boat (lol). Here’s the new frog he was fishing, more on that in a future Blaster.

> Found out why Aaron Martens wears those weird toe sock things. It’s so he can operate switches with his toes — what he said, anyway. I think it’s cuz it helps him feel the fish movements with his feet…. Click the pic to watch the vid — part 2 of me and Aaron busting on each other in the boat (here’s part 1). Only the first 30 seconds are about the socks….

^^ There I’m wearin’ my new fave feeshn shorts, by salty folks AFTCO who are now getin’ into the bassin’ biz. They’re long enough, light as board shorts and look cool. Check, check and check!

Definitely forgetting a few things, but thanks to all involved, especially the guys who tolerated me in their boats. Gotta shout out one o’ the staffers, Vance Gordon, for letting me take his pic — the stache and fitover shades are an awesome combo:

A is for Power-Pole.

Not really — A is for Anchor, but since a bass-head wrote this book, it shows a Power-Pole. Dang straight!

B is for Buzzbait, etc. If there’s a better way to teach your young’uns the A B Cs…well, there is no better way. Git one on the amazon:

What flavor of braid do the fish want??

 

Bass-head hipped me to this — check the flavors of Berkley Trilene braid on the Academy website:

L to R that’s: Mild, Hot, Pork, Jalapeno. No joke. Assuming this is a mistake…cuz everyone knows crawfish is the #1-selling braid scent hahahaha!

Makes me wonder: Could flavored line become a thing??

News

1. BP vs Christie for the AOY title.

Who you got? Either way expect some stupid weights and possibly one Seth Feider to once again put on a clinic at Mille Lacs next week.

Want to see some stupid weights, check the MN B.A.S.S. Nation derby results from a month ago. Make sure you check the “B/F” column too.

2. What was Christie’s jighead?

Anyone recognize the jighead he used to win St. Clair with that YUM Tube? Peeps were asking, help ’em out:

3. IN: Ohio River BFL won with 7-04.

Even that ultra-cheerful Geico lizard-thing was like:

4. IA: Gizzard shad found in East Okoboji Lake.

Pretty sure you pronounce that “okee-dokee.”

5. AR high schools have a bassin’ rivalry.

Love it.

6. TX/LA: New Kistler big bass derby on Rayburn.

In Oct, but it’s a true Invitational meaning you gotta be invited to it — by a Kistler team member.

7. Aussie ‘bass’ grows 4″ in 25 years??

Not really a bass but they call them bass. Might want to get those fish some of that whatcha call it…food.

8. Distributor Big Rock expanding into Canada.

9. Is Von Miller trying to cop some of our cool?

Fo sho the Super Bowl ain’t as cool as bassin’! Check the lid:

10. James Bond villain’s new yacht launched.

Lookit that thing! Launched in Sturgeon Bay. Expect many car-chases and whatnot along the St. Lawrence, as well as the villain to tell Bond exactly how he’s planning to do dirty deeds just before Bond escapes and sinks that puppy.

11. Does Ed Bassmaster’s new character look like Velvick…sorta?

And is this really what Mike Iaconelli looks like without his makeup on?? Click the pic to see the vid:

Headline of the Day

Hack attack on energy companies raises sabotage fears

Took me a few seconds to realize this wasn’t about Greg Hackney…cuz I’ve got TMB (Too Much Bass yo!).

Misc Updates

From Blaster readers — tx peeps!

> The recent teens-lb fish caught from Wohlford, CA: “That bass was caught on a worm hand-poured in the mid-’70s, and he caught it on a dropshot rig. It looked like a Mann’s Jelly Worm (that tail) but it was shorter….”

> Rick Morris’ blue-colored worm he won the James Open with: “The worm with the powder-blue tail called ‘blue fly’ — been great on rivers in NC and VA for 25 years. …been a secret flipping bait for a long time.”

 


> Smallies ‘recently’ intro’d into Hyatt Lake, WA: “I have fished Hyatt Lake for 35 years and there have always been smallmouth bass. Even when they poisoned it to get rid of brown bullhead, smallmouth survived.”

> Bassin’ around carp: “We throw at carp on the Connecticut River. The theory is that when they root around on the bottom they spook crayfish that are hidden and the bass eat them. Once the crayfish is spooked and swimming away, it’s easy pickings for the bass.”

> Bass dissing other baitfish in favor of alewives: “Alewives are so widespread in Champlain now that it may be taking away from the grass bite in Ticonderoga because the alewives are such easy pickings in the morning. Even the largemouth are staying in open water more frequently and just feeding at dusk and dawn when the alewives are near the surface.”

And: “Raystown Lake, PA has literally tons of forage in it…gizzard shad, several types of shiners, perch, bluegill, smelt, suckers, chubs and alewives. The water is tap-water clear during a weekday…you can sit on top of a school of smallies and watch a bunch of gizzard shad or smelt or even yellow perch swim by and they don’t react, but when a school of alewives swim by it becomes a massive frenzy like piranhas….”

 

Tip of the Day

How to skip and CURVE a frog.

Dean Rojas is a 10th-degree frog-fishing blackbelt Jedi wizard.I’m sure some of you readin’ this are way better frog fishermen than me. But I’m equally sure that none of you reading this except maybe a few Elites can fish a frog remotely as well as Dean. Did you know it was possible to curve a frog around structure??

Lessons I learned from being in the boat with him:

> I waste stupid amounts of time frogging unproductive water. For one, Dean says pads are a last resort for froggin’!

> I walk a frog wrong and therefore miss WAY more fish than Dean does. He literally has like 12-16″ of slack in his line — so he doesn’t move the frog forward as much, and thus doesn’t move the frog away from the fish when it strikes. When the fish hits it’s actually taking the slack out of the line!

> He can make a frog walk in different directions. Like, the frog kisses the laydown then walks away from it, then walks back to the laydown, etc. Didn’t even know that was possible.

> Okay I stink at skipping a frog. So fo sho there’s NO WAY I can curve a frog around cover! Crazy! (But I want to practice it!)

After watching Dean and Aaron Martens fish frogs — A-Mart fishes his way different than Dean — I know that:

> I’m using the wrong rod for frog-fishing.

> I know maybe 5% of what there is to know about fishing frogs, and have mastered none of it. Sorta can’t believe it but….

Quote of the Day

I don’t think the bass industry should be able to kill all our fish.

– A ME (Maine) Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council member soundin’ irate tho the article’s a little confusion-ing. Bottom line seems to be if it ain’t a loon or brook trout up there, it’s bad?

Shot of the Day

Someone say bananas in the boat are bad luck?

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, sell the list or anything else crazy….

Use the best!

Git on these yo!

If you’re getting this by email and want to comment on anything in this BB issue (you know you do!), just click here to go to BassBlaster.rocks where all past issues are archived.

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.

Click here to see all the ways to get the BassBlaster!

See the shweet new BassBlaster apparel right here!

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Maynard Logan

    September 8, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    Jay Kumar,

    The jig head insert Jason Christie used in his tube on St. Clair, looks like the one designed by Mark Zona and poured here in Kendalville, IN

    Secondly, the worm used by Mr. Morris on the James River is not what is claimed ! It was made by the Riverside Co ( an offshoot of Pradco). I know cause I have a bunch of them.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Gitcha Bassin' Fix

To Top