BassBlaster

Hackney’s winning baits, Find the Squatch pattern, Dink award

It’s my dang birthday today so a big thank you to the Lord for another one and thank you to y’all for lovin’ to read this nuttiness! Grateful to you bass-heads!

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

Today’s Top 3

How the Hack Attack won at the Sabine.

Three incredible things here:

1) The River had enough legal (12″+) fish for some guys to weigh limits every day
2) Greg didn’t catch a meaningful fish flipping — which would be like Aaron Martens not using a spinning rod

3) NO ONE else was fishing the Sasquatch pattern!? (check today’s Feeshn Tip)

All the juice in the winning pattern story — it’s a good one yo! — but here’s a little juice:

> “[The other competitors he saw] were fishing totally different from the way I wanted to fish. Almost everybody I was around was flipping a piece of plastic. I really stayed with that buzzbait and frog — it’s kind of a typical summer deal get them going that way…better than average fish.

> [Most of his fish came on a] “1/4-oz Hack Attack Select Buzzbait (white and black Strike King Super Toads), which is an Academy-only bait. The first day it was all about the white one, but the weather was slightly different and I couldn’t get them to want the white one after day 1.

> “…no skirt. Those fish wanted a really slow retrieve — seemed like the more time the bait spent over the top of them, it aggravated them into biting. That’s why I went with the toad instead of the skirt.

> He fished it on a 6′ 10″ Quantum KVD Power Classic Rod, a Quantum HD 200 Reel (7.3), 50-lb Gamma Torque Braid, 1/0 Owner trailer hook.
> He also fished a Strike King Sexy Frog (stump jumper) on a 7′ 2″ Quantum Tour PT Rod, the same reel and 65-lb Gamma Torque. He likes the 65 braid because “it doesn’t impede the action, casts good and I can fish it all day and never retie unless a mudfish messes it up or something.

Why that color frog and a lot more key deets on BassBlaster.rocks.

Other top Sabine patterns and baits.

Couldn’t get with Gerald Swindle (2nd) but will try to have his stuff in the next Blaster.

3rd: Keith Poche

> 3/8-oz Humminbird Spinnerbait on 7′ 3″ MH iRod rod and 16-lb Sunline Sniper fluoro.
> Luck E Strike Series 4 squarebill, same rod and line.

> Spinnerbait and crankbait on cypress trees in backwaters up the Sabine River.

> Wacky rigged 7″ worm with nail weight, 1/0 dropshot hook, 7′ 1″ MH iRod spinning rod, 10-lb Sunline Sniper fluoro. Vertical structure around Orange.

4th: Bradley Roy

> Fluke-style soft jerk (white, weightless), 4/0 hook, 7′ 3″ MH MHX MB873 Rod, 7.3 gear ratio reel, 15-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro.

> “Fished backwater canals, ponds and little tributaries that would flow when the tide moved. Some places had cypress and some had scattered grass. The key was cleaner water. All of it less than 3′.”

5th: Jake Whitaker (Elitist rookie)

> “My main bait was a SPRO Poppin Frog (killer gill). I fished it around cypress knees up the Neches River, 2′ or less.” 7′ 3″ H ALX Ikos Hammer Rod, Lew’s BB1 Pro Reel, 65-lb Power Pro braid.
> 6th Sense Crush 50 squarebill (chartreuse black back). “Fished that close to the boat ramp around wood and caught a few keepers the first couple days on it.” 7′ M ALX Ikos Hustler Rod, Lew’s BB1 Pro Reel, 12-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro.
> TrueSouth Lures V-Twin buzzbait with a Strike King Menace Grub (white). “Found the fish in practice with this bait and caught a couple keepers in the tournament on it. Same place as frog.” 7′ MH ALX Ikos Buzz Rod, same reel, 7′ mh. 50-lb Power Pro.

Bassmaster.com shot:

Ish Monroe wins the Sabine ditch pickle award!

Thought Tharp would win it with 5 for 5-13…

…but nope, check this Ish weight:

A limit weighing 4-15!!!!!! Wish I had a shot of Ish on day 2 but lots of guys (and their dinks) didn’t make the gallery….

Alton Jr got close with that 4 for 3-14:

Few pics that should give you an idea of what was happening there:

Shoot man they were even laughin’ ’bout those fish in Mongolia!

News

1. Win a feeshn trip with Randy Howell.

Sounds like the weener gets a boat too, but no mention of getting one of Randy’s flat-top cuts/waxes and one of his old lady/Clunn/beekeeper hats:

2. Boom Boom and Suggy Bear on StrayCasts.

Tomorrow night gitcha Freddy “Boom Boom Washington” Roumbanis on location at the Red River Open and Scotty Suggs from his Lake Ouachita bomb shelter. Kicks off live at 7pm Central on Facebook Stray Casts and StrayCasts.net.

3. B.A.S.S. changed cell phone use rule.

> “Until you are eliminated from competition of an event, you must not be looking at any photo gallery, video, web site, Facebook, Instagram, etc., that might show what other anglers are doing in that event….”

Makes sense to me — and smells like it’s due to a specific incident or complaint rather than sudden fear about all Elites chasing the bent-rod pattern. Just one guy’s 2c.

4. NY: B.A.S.S. wants 4-yr deal with Waddington.

Guessing for Elites going there for 4 consecutive years but it’s not clear.

5. Ike Foundation sponsored by Sawyer products.

Company was founded by Tom Sawyer, best known for skipping school to float down the Mississippi River….

6. TX: Twin Buttes stocked with 8K FL-strain largies.

In part cuz this 13.4 FL-strain largie was caught outta there in March:

7. MI, other states considering killing cormorants again.

8. New Garmin Panoptix LiveScope sonar.

> …live scanning sonar that gives anglers higher resolution and easier-to-interpret images of structure, bait and fish swimming below and around the boat than ever before. Now, thanks to the active scanning capabilities of Panoptix LiveScope, anglers can see images and movement so clear and precise that it’s even possible to distinguish between species of fish….

Click the pic for the vid…which is pretty dang amazing: #aliens

9. NetBait gets new sales mgr from Duckett Fishing.

Walt Roberts.

10. Merc leadership team changes.

11. Bass Pro/Cabela’s challenge families/kids…

…to give up digital devices (for a bit) to fish, by donating rods/reels. #stout

Tip of the Day

How to fish the Sasquatch pattern.

Betcha thought I was funnin’ with ya last week about Hack bein’ on this at the Sabine, but nope! Asked him about it after the derby, here’s how he did it.

First he told me he’d look for these signs…

…because he knows when gov’ts designate wildlife areas, “watershed” areas, state/national parks, etc., they’re actually setting aside huge areas of land for Squatches so people are less likely to run into ’em.

When he saw this…

…he knew he was in the right spot (duh), but the Squatches didn’t always take kindly to his flips:

Said he didn’t always see ’em, just sometimes there was a real bad smell and sometimes the Squatches would actually throw fish at him to I guess try to keep him out of their territory:

Asked him how gets onto the Squatch pattern, he said (for real):

> “The whole deal on the Squatch pattern is early and late. B.A.S.S. allows us to get out there basically 30 minutes before sunrise. You want to make sure you’re out there. Because first light and last light is when they’re most active.

> “Morning is the tail end of Squatch action, and evening you’re catching the beginning. Unless you get a bad weather day then it’s Squatch all day long.”

If you’re wondering why B.A.S.S. shooter Thomas Allen didn’t take any pics of the Squatches, Hack said he thought he did but they weren’t published. #suspicious But I used a couple photo-enhancement techniques and noticed this in one of the shots:

Wonder if any Squatch stuff will make the Bassin’masters TV show…probly not…. #conspiracy

Called Trip and asked him if the TX DNR or the feds told him to squash all ‘Squatch mentions, and he said: “Are you serious Kumar?” Told him I was and he hung up on me. Can’t say it’s the first time that’s happened (lol) but #suspicious

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Quote of the Day

“I like big tackle and I like big fish.”

– Greg Hackney answerin’ my question: “Why do you hate small bass so much that you refuse to fish for them?” Here’s his full answer, which almost came out like a rap:

> “I don’t hate small bass, I’m just not their biggest fan. I like to fish for big ones. I just like big fish. I like big tackle and I like big fish. I’m the most confident when I’ve got the biggest tackle I own in my hands.”

Not surprising I guess that Hack also loves him a huge bean n cheese burrito.

Shot of the Day

Tough to have good fish holdup shots at a dink derby like the Sabine, but here’s a good one — Freddy Boom Boom and I guess his boys:

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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