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Didja catch the MLF Bass Pro Tour deal on Nickajack? Mano a mano between Jacob Wheeler – who stealthed his way into the Knockout Round on his home lake – and Jake "buzz buzz" Lawrence, right til the end. Literally.
Jake need 2+ lbs to pass Jacob and hooked one bigger than that with I think about 40 seconds to go. Got 'er in – WHILE JACOB HAD ONE ON TOO that he didn't get in before time ran out. Legit nuts and fun.
Love the fact that the 2 top tour formats are different (not including FFS).
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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How Jake Lawrence got the Chick-Nick win
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Jake is a rookie on the Bass Pro Tour, but he's a wily vet on TN River lakes. So much so that he beat Jacob Wheeler by a couple lbs and a couple seconds, including Round 1 on Chickamauga, Jacob's home lake. How did Jake do it? Here we go.
Going in and practice
> "Chickamauga is not the easiest fishery to generate a lot of bites oftentimes. We really hit it at a perfect window...some late spawners, a hint of a shad spawn and a pretty strong offshore bite. Nickajack sets up totally different from any of the other TVA lakes....
> "With this being a 2-lake tournament, they did give us a 3rd practice day. I spent the last half of the 3rd day on Nickajack. I [found] 1 area where I Scoped a couple fry-guarders and some fish roaming around and sitting on pole timber. I saw 4 bass up shallow, just cruising around...some bluegill in the area...ultra, ultra shallow.
> "Nickjack is fairly clear, it's got a lot of eelgrass...they do this with bluegill but it's not a super common thing on the TN River. I was really intrigued by that. It was kinda the hint that I was looking for."
Tournament
Chickamauga
> "I didn't use FFS much at all. I used it more or less to locate schools. The schools were just starting their way out. They were not all the way to the river...late spawners. They were further behind the lower you went on the lake.
> "They were in that mid-range, 7-12'.... Everyone is so good with [FFS] now, a lot of the schools on the river get found, but a lot of that secondary stuff doesn't get looked at as much.
> "...I couldn't generate very many bites on a minnow or anything slow. It was very much a power-fishing plan. Whether it was a plug or a swimbait, you really had to move something fairly quickly to trigger a reaction.
> "I caught them using a bunch different crankbaits. One was a Bill Lewis MR-12 [also a] boot-tail swimbait on 3/4-oz head. ...wind it through there as quickly as you could and trigger that reaction.
> "The 1st qualifier day went nothing like what I expected. We had absolutely no current generation that day. The wind blew really hard from downlake upstream – the current actually flowed upstream. That really moved and shifted a lot of those schools around. It was hard to trigger the school to fire....
> "I caught probably 7 bass that day, and they were not hard at all hard to catch in practice.
> "The 2nd day they did generate a little bit, enough to keep the fish locked down and settle into a particular area. I was able to get those schools to fire at least once during the day.
> "I caught 20 on the crankbait.... The majority was on that 5-inch paddletail swimbait [green gizzard shad]."
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Nickajack
It was all about imitating bluegill in ultra-shallow water in a particular creek:
> "What I didn't realize was that Mullins Creek area where I fished had a really big spring in the back of it. That was a major factor with all the rain we got in the Knockout Round. It muddied most of the [lake] - fortunately my little area never changed.
> "I fished a Yamamoto D Shad and 5-inch Senko, both in gp – bluegill imitators. I caught a few under docks in the rain and clouds, oddly enough...on that Senko. I figured out pretty quickly that if I skipped the Senko in there and it didn't get tapped by bluegill, you weren't gonna catch a bass.
> "When the sun came out, I really think the bluegill repositioned somewhere else. ...I could see holes in the eelgrass really shallow, maybe 10-16 inches. That's where the majority of my scoreables came out of, and the shallower the hole the better.
> "...Buckeye Buzzerk Buzzbait with a Ribbit toad. I could cover a lot of water, keep the trolling motor on high and really not have to concentrate on my bait. I was looking for bluegill beds or little open holes in the grass. Even if they were not beds, bluegill were still using the hole. Eelgrass often is like a carpet on the bottom, so I was really looking for something to key on.
> "The buzzbait...when it got ultra-shallow that was really the best way to target them. Once I'd locate a hole, I'd catch 1-2 on that buzzbait and then they'd wise up. Then I'd generally go to a D Shad then...deadstick a Senko in the hole and one would eventually pick it up.
> "It was super fun not – a cool new spin. As much history and wherewithal I have on the TVA chain, it was like a totally new deal. Obviously I've caught them around bluegill and holes in eelgrass before, but that shallow and that clean water was very unique to this chain.
> "With my Scope period I'd catch some fry-guarders but really just a lot of fish hanging around pole timber. I caught a couple on a jerkbait, the majority on a minnow [a 3-inch Yamamoto Scope Shad – moving it fast] and a few on a Neko rig. ...how that particular bass set up demanded a particular technique or bait."
Baits
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> 3/8-oz Buckeye Buzzerk Buzzbait (black with gold blade – "that's my standard...in cloudy conditions or when I'm looking at bluegill eaters") with a 4" Frog Factory Baby Ribbit (American bullfrog – " by the end of the event I was throwing black because that's all I had left").
> 30-lb Seaguar Smackdown Stealth Grey Braid ("I can cast it an extremely long way and it's plenty strong enough – I could actually go lighter, but the diameter gets so small it cuts into the spool a little bit"), Bates Salty Hundo Reel, 7' 1" MH Dobyns Kaden Series 713 Rod ("it's more on the H M side so it's a lighter rod and I really think it makes a big difference in allowing fish to get the bait a little better").
> "I was bombing the buzzbait as far as I could get it from me. They would bite it in the first 10-20' of the cast."
> Weightless Yamamoto D Shad (gp), 5/0 Owner Haymaker Hook, 18-lb Seaguar JDM PEX8 Braid to 15-lb Seaguar Red Label fluoro, Dobyns Champion Extreme HP 703 Rod.
> Wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko (gp), 2/0 Owner Jungle Weedless Wacky Hook, same line and rod as the D-Shad.
> Bill Lewis MR12, 10-lb Seaguar Red Label fluoro, Bates Goat Reel, Dobyns 805 Champion XP Cranking Rod.
> "Color did not seem to matter a tremendous amount. Generally I like to start with something bright, like 'citrus shad,' which I caught the majority on, then I go to a more natural color ('green gizzard shad' or 'lavender shad')."
When they cooled on the crank, he went to the swimbait, and then after that a Carolina rig.
Electronics
> Chick – "I very heavily used my side imaging to locate those schools. It was very important to cover a tremendous amount of water. I want to say I put 27 hours on my Mercury, and a lot of it was idling in practice.
> "I used Humminbird for SI and Garmin for LiveScope – and Humminbird Lakemaster mapping as well.
> Chick FFS: "...I was not using it to see a single or group and cast to it. All I was doing was more or less the old-school traditional way: Make a cast, get a bite, pick out a line on the bank, hit Spot-Lock on the QUEST and make that same cast."
> Nick FFS: "...there was a creek channel out from where I had some bluegill beds and holes in the grass. [He Scoped] a couple fry-guarders in the eelgrass, but the majority were sitting or roaming around in that pole timber."
Shoutouts
> "Bates Reels. That Salty Hundo is new favorite of mine. It has brass gears and bearings...super hardy, 1-piece aluminum.... I don't have great big hands...that reel is extremely comfortable. The frame is more of an 80-size reel with the line capacity of a 100-size reel."
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A few more good deets from Jake
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I only put 2 quarters in but Jake kept giving out juice like I put in $20! 😆 Okay seriously – didn't want to make the above longer and didn't want to leave out good fishing intel so here you go:
1. Owner Haymaker Hook
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> "It's a newer hook, a wide-gap hook, that is really unique hook. I've been really impressed with it.
> "The hook point is opened up a bit from the traditional wide gap, and it has the best hookup ratio on a Fluke or on a TX-rigged weightless Senko.
> "You don't have to Texpose it – you can bury that hook point...in the meat of the bait, and because of the angle of it, it comes out of there well and sticks 'em. You don't skin-hook them near as much. I've been real impressed with it."
He also used a 4/0 Haymaker for his C-rig.
2. 2/0 Owner Jungle Weedless Wacky Hook
> "It is a small-profile hook but is still a meaty hook. You can put a lot of pressure on them under those docks.
> "It adds just enough weight to get the rate of fall I'm looking for. I'm impatient so if I can get it to the bottom 1 second faster, I'm happy."
Lol love it!
3. Bottoms and current
> "The less generation, usually the more loose the fish get to the bottom. They really don't want to go down and eat a bait if they're suspended a couple feet of the bottom.
> "The more current they pull, the more those fish like to hug the bottom, almost like a suction [into the mud].
> "The bottom contour is not as defined or distinct...a lot larger areas where fish can get...."
About shell beds:
> "What we envision is it's all mud and then there's a pile of shells sitting there – [but it's] just harder bottoms in certain areas. Everybody's like, 'We caught 'em on a shell bed' or 'We caught 'em on a shell bar.' Man, the lower half of the of the TVA is nothing but shell.
> "If you were to dive down there, it's little bitty old dead shells littered everywhere. Now what they're probably talking abut is a larger, living [area]. But a lot of these hard, crunchy places people call shell beds, they are but it's not what we envision in our mind...."
4. The auto-qualifier
I'm sure MLF is keeping stats on who auto-qualifies into the Championship Round from the 2 initial rounds and how they do in the Championship Round. To me, just as an observer, it seems like a liability to be off the water for a day and it seems like the guys who get that pass don't do great o that last day.
What Jake said about it:
> "...the guy who gets the auto-berth, it's so hard to compete...when [the rest of the guys] get an extra day with all the latest information.
> "In hindsight, that's the very reason I won the event. [He was trying to get the auto-berth but Justin Lucas beat him out.] Had I not fallen a little bit short, I wouldn't have been able to cover the ground and find what I did."
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5 Qs with Jake "Nick Attack" Lawrence
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1. Did you tell Jacob Wheeler that if he beat you you would steal his girlfriend? 😁
> "[Laughs] No I didn't. Jacob and I are previous friends but I don't know that we're that close yet."
2. Is it legal to win a tournament on a buzzbait in the FFS era?
> "It is, however it's very unique these days."
3. Why was your 'win or lose the whole deal' bait a buzzbait?
> "I felt like those fish were so shallow...I could get a few to bite the D-Shad and the Senko, but that topwater was something I could keep above the bass. And with FFS we have learned how important that is.
> "It's something that's not intimidating to them. They can be stealthy and stay under it, and it's simply what I was generating a majority of my bites on. So I went with the one that brought me, and I'm super fortunate it worked out the way it did."
4. You've won a few times throwing a minnow. Are you a minnow guy by choice or by necessity?
> "I've embraced it. I really enjoy it.
> "I don't mean this to come off wrong or arrogant – I mean this in the most humble way – I feel like guys who don't like the minnow haven't invested the time in it to understand the intricacies of it. It's a very fickle bait.
> "Obviously it's one of the strongest techniques or baits we've seen in a long time, but it is extremely detail-oriented. 1-2 little things can really change the success rate or bite ratio. I really feel like if you love it, you've invested the time with it to learn those....
> "I love learning. It's been a lot of fun learning about it and how it applies.... I was really fortunate to get on it ahead of the curve, at least here on the TVA lakes. I did as much as I could to hide what was going for as long as I could. But after a couple Toyota wins and...winning local events around the house, it eventually got out.
> "I wanna say 4 years ago was when I first caught onto it...Taku Ito doing it at Pickwick Lake. I was watching Live like everybody else...going, I know every single bass fishing technique out there and I've never seen anybody fish a bait like that. He's doing something totally different.
> "...trying to hunt down and figure out what that was. ...at that point there was zero information in English about it. It was all in Japanese. I would watch a YT video and pause it, and go over to Google translate and figure out what they were talking about. It was a lengthy process...very fun."
5. Is your new nickname the Jack Attack or the Chick Attack?
> "[Laughs] Guess I'll have to go with Jack Attack."
Bonus Q 1. Is green your favorite color or do you just want to blend in with the lake a little more than other guys do?
> "Green has always been my favorite color, and obviously [his sponsor] Sportsman's Warehouse, a big shoutout to them.
> "It's also not a flashy boat. You get a long way away across the lake and it's not a white or red or something easy to see."
Bonus Q 2: Did you have a Bible verse for this event?
> "I did not going in. He's always a big part of my life.
> "I am very hyper-focused on myself in these events. I am very selfish by necessity. All my buddies and my roommates kinda give me a hard time...I'm so particular about everything.
> "Obviously John 3:16 is always one to live by, but I didn't have a verse going into this week that was specific to the week."
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2nd-5th Chick-Nick BPT baits
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Most or all of this is Nickajack only.
2nd: Jacob "18" Wheeler
> "I committed to the river section of Nickajack targeting spotted bass and smallmouth, but mostly smallmouth. The big key for me was finding gravel places where the smallmouth were grouping up after the spawn. Most of those places were in 4-12'...depending on the area that they were set up.
> "My #1 bait was an OG Scrounger paired up with a Freeloader. When the current was less I could shake a Freeloader and catch them, but as the current got heavier I had to use the Scrounger to catch them.
> "I caught big bass of the Knockout Round – a 6-lb 2-oz smallmouth – on a [Rapala] Jowler, and caught a couple key fish on it every day.
> Scrounger: Rapala CrushCity Freeloader (electric shad) on a 1/2-oz Scrounger head, 14-lb Sufix Advance Fluoro, KastKing Skeet Reese Icon Reel (7.2), 7' 7" Duckett Jacob Wheeler Select Rod.
> Topwater: Rapala PXR Jowler 127 (silver flitter shad), 40-lb Sufix 832 Braid, KastKing MegaJaws Elite Reel (7.2), 7' 1" MH Duckett JW Select Rod.
> Minnow rig: Rapala CrushCity Freeloader (gizzard shad) on a 1/4-oz VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jighead, 8-lb Sufix Revolve Braid to 10-lb Sufix Advance Fluoro, Shimano Vanford Reel (2500), 7' M Duckett 2.0 JW Spin Rod.
I asked him about the KastKing reels which I have not seen him use before:
> "I've been a free agent on reels for the last couple years and have been [fishing] several different brands. This is the first event that I actually had to chance to try [the KastKings] out. So far I've been really impressed."
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Aka the old Wobbletron but improved per Justin Hamner:
> We've taken the original Wobbletron and reimagined it from the inside out – enhancing every detail to create something faster, louder and more explosive. With redesigned kicking legs for more aggressive action, a streamlined hollow body for unmatched snag resistance, and razor-sharp hooks....
Don't see it on TW yet but looks like you can get it a bunch more places....
4. New Savage Gear 3D Soft Shine Glide Bait
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7" bait, I saw it in a tank and to me it looks real good tho I am not a glide baiter. More:
- Designed to excel on medium to fast retrieves
- When paused on a steady retrieve, the bait subtly wanders to the side
- Can also walk it in place
- Line-thru treble system tucks into a molded belly slot
- 8 colors, MSRP $24.99
I don't think it's on TW yet?
5. Spearpoint thinks their new frog hook is an upgrade
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Not on TW yet....
6. FL: A full-ride bassin' scholly to FSU Panama City?
Didn't realize there are full-ride bassin' schollys? Either way, congrats!
7. DC: Tackle industry assn asks for immediate tariff relief
Glad that they are standing up. Letter written by ASA prez Glenn Hughes, who I always said was the keyboard player in Deep Purple but a BB reader (sorry forgot who!) reminded me that he in fact is the bass player! 😁
FYI from what I have seen, fishing stuff has not increased in price nearly as much as stuff in many other "enthusiast" areas. Some fishing folks (like Abu Garcia) have actually been able to DECREASE some of their prices.
Not saying that will last forever because it can't with inflation, just fyi from my own travelin's.
8. New hydrogen outboard being developed
I will take the gas dock thanks!
Headline of the Day
Riprap often is a productive bass fishing hotspot
Can't believe he outed my secret deal! What's next, talkin' 'bout firetiger crankbaits??
Hahaha how many times have you seen/heard that complaint on social, sheesh! And btw I can't remember the last time I fished firetiger....
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Beau Browning's ChatterBait setup
Excerpting some of the 🧃 from the Bassmaster site – click here for the full read:
> ...it took me close to 4 years of experimenting to get it truly dialed in.
> The hook on an Evergreen JackHammer and the new Z-Man Tungsten ChatterBait Elite Evo...you'd find on a light swimbait jighead. You need tackle that will drive the hook home without bending it or ripping it out.
> Rod: ...I recommend a 7' to 7' 4" casting rod that has a MH Mod to a Mod F action. With a 7' I lean more toward a Mod F action. With a 7' 4"...I want more of a moderate action. The longer rod gives you more leverage on the hookset. A moderate action prevents you from ripping the hook out.
[Said he likes the 7' 3" Evergreen Brett Hite Super Combat Stick Jack Hammer Rod, the 7' 2" MH Daiwa Tatula Elite and the 7' St Croix Legend Tournament Sweeper Spinnerbait Rod (don't see it on TW).]
> Reel: Many anglers fish ChatterBaits with a reel that's too fast. A 7:1 gear ratio is, hands down, the best.
> Line: I used 14-lb fluoro until last year. This year I switched to 16-lb Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon and it feels like the final piece of the puzzle for me. With a diameter of 0.38 mm Gamma is a little thicker than other 16-lb fluoro lines. If you don't go with Gamma, find a fluoro that has an equivalent diameter.
You heard that peeps! Gitcha micrometer out and start measurin' at the tackle store! 🤯
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"I cried when I watched Easton Fothergill win the Classic."
- Tombigbee Open winner T-rey Schroeder talkin' on the Bassmasters. YES! 2 deals:
1. THAT is what Classics are all about – inspiration, joy, chill bumps, etc. Too cool.
2. How 'bout that young man's transparency! Keep it up T-rey! 💪
Full quote from the Bassmasters:
> I cried when I watched Easton Fothergill win the Classic. That was really cool. He and Jordan Lee winning the Classic are 2 motivators for me. Seeing them make a career out of what we all love is amazing.
Trey, just to remind you – JLee won 2 Classics. They were just so close together maybe they seemed like 1...😁
Also, Fat Cat Newton is THE ONLY PERSON ever to have won 2 Classics the same year. A feat that was never attained by KVD and Rick Clunn so...🤣
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Check you the unofficial OR record spot – 9.3 bulbous melonious lbs caught by Joshua Buller. Only deet I have that it was LiveScoped, but I'm pretty sure it was fed a lot of fast food and drank a lot of Mntn Dew growing up. 😆 Posted on BAM's IG page:
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-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'!
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