BassBlaster

Giant bass parade, Secret dropshot bait, Elite Series strategy in pics

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on February 28, 2019

Today’s Top 5

Huge ditchies from the melon patches!

Blastin’ off with Brandon Bragg’s 14-04 (26″ long, 21″ girth) from Dunns Creek in Putnam County, FL. Healthy-lookin’ feesh:

Bill H spanked this 13-even from Chickamauga, TN on a Strike King 2-Tap Red Eye Shad (Rayburn red):

Chris B caught this key 9.1 at a Sun County Bassmasters tourney on Lower Otay, CA with a Jack Hammer/Zako combo (both gp). Believe the winning weight for him and pard was 10.04:

Forgot to shout-out this one last week — not sure who or where but that’s a soooooooooweeeeeeeeee haw-haw-haw-hawg:

@zealandhunter went a-bassin’ in the snow in Cali and caught this massive 8-lb spot among several other bigs:

@bigbaitbailey cleared out a spot on Clear Lake with this stout multi-melon harvest — with I think 2 A-rigs? Check the shot and lmk what you think:

[For everyone who sent in stuff about 30+ limits, they’re comin’….]

Secret dropshot bait is… spiders?

@imakatsu_info posted:

> As a secret down shot [we call it dropshot] worm, it seems that it is extremely difficult to obtain.

Calls it a Fujin Spider trailer. Looks nutty but hey — I’m sure a bass’ll bite it….

Few suggestions for MLF BPT terminology.

Having a little trouble — it’s probly just me — keeping track of what the Elimination Round, Shotgun Round and other The Terminator phrasing stuff on the BPTs means exactly, so got to thinkin’ ’bout a few options.

First of all, in the current era of not using the phrase “sudden death” in sports — it’s “sudden victory” cuz we’re all pansies now — the MLF terms probly seem scary to some peeps. So how ’bout:

> Elimination Round >> Acceptance Round or Inclusion Round

> Shotgun Round >> Popcorn Round (still a “bang”) or Super Fun Round

Then those terms got me thinkin’ ’bout a few more “Round” options:

> Merry Go Round = When the guys pull their boats around the stage.

> Camp gRound (the “g” is silent) = When the guys have an off from fishing day.

> RunaRound = What camera boats do…and guys who need to find fish fast….

> Beef Round = Timeouts in which food is consumed.

> Round mound of rebound = If Charles Barkley ever shows up:

Okay seriously reachin’ on that last one….

Just funnin’ BPT peeps! Good luck at the next one, and make the feeshs be like:

Elitist strategy in pictures.

At the St Johns, I asked Rick Clunn to give me his fishing strategy with no words. He was like, “No words?” And I was like, “Rick, don’t make me give you an F on this assignment, man….” HAHAHA! Seriously tho he was like:

Hmm. So I asked a bunch more guys and they were like:

Of course a few guys were different — and Steve Kennedy just IS different man:

Have to say that for anyone not good at math, it’s pretty easy to keep track of stuff when it’s not more than the # of fingers on 1 hand….

Fred Roumbanis had a strange and unusual experience.

Crazy! A ghost bass and some Predator-like entity in a tree. Feel sorry for that yakker cuz if anyone’s gonna be a Predator dinner it’s the dude with no motor….

Would say Fred’ll never be the same after that, but he was never the same BEFORE that so….

News

1. 2nd owner of Bagley Baits passes on.

Bill Stuart. Bless you bassin’ brother.

Dude went to the Wharton School of Biz — whoa, don’t get many o’ those folks in bassin’.

2. Chris Johnston’s St Johns Elite baits.

Took a couple sled-dog teams and a telegraph, but finally chased down Chris Johnston’s stuff — he finished 2nd in that derby:

> “I fished most of the event with a Zoom Speed Worm (junebug). I had that on 16-lb fluorocarbon pegged with a 1/8-oz tungsten weight on a 7′ 5″ MH G. Loomis 893C JWR Rod.

> “When I would come to some thicker reed patches, I would pitch a little heavier bait in. For that I used a 3/8-oz tungsten weight and a 5” Senko (b/b). I would use 20-lb fluoro with a 7′ 5″ H G. Loomis 894C JWR Rod.

> “With both setups I used a Shimano Metanium XG for a high-speed gear ratio.”

3. Alton Jones says do NOT overwork a YUM Dinger.

Dinger = stick worm. Just let it do it’s shimmy thing, he says (vid). Didja know you can get Dinger 30-packs?

4. Watch BPTer Mike Iaconelli weighting Shad Raps.

Watch and learn the tweaks that make all the diff. And if you don’t own/use Shad Raps — one of the must-have coldwater cranks, hit TW right now and git you some.

5. BPTer David Walker has new signature cranks.

LiveTarget David Walker TN Craw. Good-lookin’ bait — diggin’ the “pearl blue chartreuse:”

6. How a bunch o’ Seaguar guys are fishing the Classic.

They talk about their lines but a lot of feeshn info in there too.

7. Meet 5 FLWers in Bainbridge, GA on Sat.

5-7pm at Southwest Baptist Church.

8. 6th MLF BPT stop is Johnny Morris’ lake…

…aka Table Rock. ‘Bout time Johnny showed some support, dang. HAHAHA!

I do believe KVD has a secret fishing spot on T-Rock only he knows about, possibly in another dimension…that Johnny showed to him…but you didn’t hear that from me….

9. Is MotorGuide finally coming out with something new?

Everyone’s been wondering given the whole Spot-Lock deal, here’s what Bill Siemantel posted about it:

> …Top Secret!!!!!! …behind the scenes I have been helping out and testing something really cool that will be coming soon. I am not allowed to give much more info out, but I did hear that the Bassmaster Classic may have more info for those who are interested in taking your fishing game to the next level.

> …create a platform of excellence to become “Ahead Of Its Class.”

10. Simms supports the Smallie Alliance.

Full name: The Mille Lacs Smallmouth Alliance, whose entire mission is to provide Seth Feider, family and friends enough tubby smallmouths to catch at will anywhere on the lake. I’m serious.

Okay not really. It’s a conservation group that’s MUCH needed on that meat-hunter lake that the DNR says has few walleyes but it really has more walleyes than it does H2O molecules….

11. MO: Mizzou Team fundraising tourney Apr 6 at Ozarks,

12. TX: Memorial tourney for HS angler April 20, Lake Murvaul.

13. KY: Asian carp being used in concrete!?!?

I’m assumin’ that stuff won’t stank — if so, a heck of an idea.

14. FL: Corps might lower Okeechobee by 2′.

> …considering a plan to lower lake levels from 12′ to about 10′ above sea level to try and avoid algae problems and water releases in the summer.

15. Great Lakes ice cover still increasing.

Sux but once the ice is gone, the fishing is stupid til it’s back….

16. VT gets $11 mil fed funding for Champlain.

For cleanup-type stuff. Is that lake really that dirty??

17. Is there a shortage of marine techs?

Just like cars the systems are getting more complicated so…maybe?

18. MO: Big Cedar/Table Rock sweepstakes just for auto technicians.

19. New Duckett Black Ice rods.

Still waiting on the Vanilla Ice, Italian Ice and Strawberry Sorbet rods….

20. GM rolling out electric pontoon.

Ya-freakin’hoo. If it’s silent it better have a horn….

21. Power your camper with old Nissan Leaf batteries…

…eventually. The new ROAM unit isn’t available separately yet but it sounds pretty good:

> …integrates cells recovered from its first-generation electric vehicles [called Leafs] to provide off-grid power. Add in 1-2 recharges of the accompanying 400W solar panel accessory, and campers can listen to tunes and use their smartphones and other devices, including a microwave, for about 7 days…. The battery pack can be recharged by the solar panel in 2-4 hours.

Line of the Day

The diversity of invasive species ranges from viruses to plants to crayfish to hippos.

Yep…hippos. Wonder if largies suspend around hippos? I nominate someone else to find out….

On BassBlaster.rocks right now…

> World’s smartest bass caught, Combs outs spot seniority, Pressured fish tips

> Give your baits some anxiety, Topwater prop baits, Melons of the week

All past BassBlasters are archived at BassBlaster.rocks!

Tip of the Day

Rick Clunn’s thinkin’s on lipless cranks.

From Bassin’masters.com:

> The 1/2-oz body design is one of the most reliable for getting strikes, but the added weight offers more versatility depth-wise. To be honest, that’s what has prevented most lipless crankbaits from being a 12-month-a-year bait – you can’t fish them as effectively in water depths that fish use during the winter.

> …the key to any day on the water is to cover as much territory as you can and catch as many fish as you can in a limited amount of time.

Heck yeah! Anyhoo, he’s specifically talkin’ ’bout the new Luck E Strike Hail Mary lipless crank, which he fished at the St. Johns. Here’s the bait he used, the “midnight blue” color:

> …it’s designed to be just as effective during cold weather months as it is during the summer. You will notice this lipless bait has a pot belly which allows us to add more weight yet maintain the same profile as a 1/2-oz bait. The Hail Mary is offered in 3/4- and 1-oz sizes — I like the 1-oz for deep water and the 3/4-oz for fishing over grass.

> …the added weight offers more versatility depth-wise…that’s what has prevented most lipless crankbaits from being a 12-month-a-year bait — you can’t fish them as effectively in water depths that fish use during the winter.

> You can fish it like a jig, jigging spoon or a Silver Buddy-style blade bait by popping it off the bottom and letting it settle back. Or, you can slow-roll it in deep water and maintain good vibration.

> It’s important to remember to let it free fall periodically and be prepared for strikes. A lot of fish will strike as the lure starts to fall….

Quote of the Day

“A little difference makes a big difference.”

– Mind-bender from David Fritts that strangely makes sense…to bass-heads. Kinda makes me feel like:

In that post Fritts also outs a new flat-side Berkley crank called Fritts Sides. Always thought a Fritts side would be more like this:

Shot of the Day

Would you go purple? (@ballisticboats shot) If you did, would your buds have trouble lookin’ you in the eye?This happened to me once — when Aaron Martens put a bunch of purple on his boat. I was like:

I think he forgave me….

Random

NC updated its catfish management plan.

Catfish…management??

> …protect and enhance catfish resources in the state.

> Considering the social importance of catfish to citizens….

That’s like coming up with a plan to grow more weeds! They just GROW, man! And ain’t all game fish “socially important”? Dang straight! None more than the ol’ bucketmouth….

Ya got me

Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup

of the best, worst and funniest in bassin’, as curated 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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