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Will be at the first couple days of the first-ever MLF BPT next week! Lookin’ forward to seein’ it, hangin’ with the fellers and meetin’ some of the new folks the MLFers found buried up in brushpiles and such…I guess? Lol, anyhow there’ll probly be a delay in you getting the first Blaster next week. Just breathe slowly into a paper bag, all good….
Also will be at the first couple days of the first Elite too — cuz that’s new too — the week after….
>> If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
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“Best way to make a million fishing is to start with 2 million.”
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– Hahahaha! $$$ quote from a TexasFishingForum.com thread about FLW Costa entries being higher. Thought that quote was right on the screws for the start of the pro season because for once — on the BPT and Elites anyhow — it does NOT look thataway.
I’m like:
The pro boys are like:
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What the MLF/BPTers might use their livewells for.
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Since livewells won’t be needed, here’s some likely scenarios — in fact very likely:
1. Sammiches (duh) — Refs give bonus points for ones that stick with the whole 3-letter deal, like BLT, PBJ, etc., but personally I’d be diggin’ somethin’ like this:
Hey — is bassin’ fun? You bet. Is bein’ hungry fun? No. So….
2. Timeout killers — Rather than stress about other guys ketchin’ ’em during timeouts, the experienced dudes know to do things that help ’em kill the time like:
3. Secret weapons — Such like these dink-farmin’ baits:
HAHAHA! I know some of the guys can’t wait to show off the big baits they’re usin’….
4. Secret stank — Put/leave stuff like this in the well, or maybe pour a whole bottle of Gulp Alive in there. Not sayin’ it’s chum but….
5. Emergency gear — Somethin’ like this-here, especially after one o’ those steak sammiches — just in a livewell, not a bucket:
Can’t be wastin’ no time headin’ to the bank yo!
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Took a look at the MLF rules and…
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…here’s some stuff that jumped out at me. Rules were the most recent ones I could find, updated Mar 2018:
> While landing bass, the bass cannot touch the carpet or any other part of the boat inside the gunnel at any time during the process. If the bass comes unhooked from the bait and falls to the carpet or hits any other part of the inside of the boat it will be assessed as a violation.
So…put a tarp on the deck. Is a tarp or mat a “part of the inside of the boat?” Gotta think not unless it’s bolted to the boat…?
> …MLF angler is not allowed to cradle bass or allow bass that he is landing to touch his body. [Eeeeeeeeew — fish slime!] An MLF angler cannot allow a bass to touch any part of his body other than his hands or forearms. A slight touch will not be penalized. If the MLF Cup Angler [just the Cup? is that different?] brings the bass to the body deliberately to secure control of the bass or the bass hits the MLF cup angler more than slightly, then it will be a penalty. From a rules standpoint, the body is to be treated the same as the carpet.
The way I’m readin’ this, the boat and the pro are pretty much the same thing?
> The Boat Official may require an MLF Angler’s bait be shown to him in which case the MLF Angler must allow him to inspect the bait for its lawfulness.
Boyd and Gary are like:
> The weight of a Bass caught by the technique of “visual fishing” [sight-fishing] can only be scored once during that day.
How can you tell for sure??
> A MLF Angler will be allowed to utilize a second line in the water ONCE PER PERIOD.
Wow, 2 lines in the water?? My dude Wally-burg was like:
> Camera Operators are not required to wear the life preserver….
What? Why? Are these guys Amish or something? (Figurin’ Amish folks ain’t allowed to read the Blaster, but just in case — no offense to Amish peeps….)
One more thing: MLF capitalizes “Bass” all the way through like each fish is named Bass — which, for all we know, is true.
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Biggest bass so far this year!
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Forgot this in the last BB — 14-03 (27″ long, 23″ girth) outta Chickamauga, TN. Derek Turner caught it practicing for a TN Team Trail tourney with a 3/4-oz Rat-L-Trap:
> “When we got to our first spot we got to looking around and saw some bait moving.” …in and around shallow ditches just off the main river channel…north of Hiwassee Island.
> …within 5 casts in their first spot he caught a 3-lb bass in about 6’….”I put my Power-Poles down to hold us in place because the current will move you around in a hurry. We know in those types of spots if you catch one you can catch more.”
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Power_Poles/catpage-PPA.html?from=bblst
> …only 2 casts later [the beeg] fish hit. “…it didn’t move. I was just kind of holding it.” Hembree [his tourney partner] asked, “Are you hung?” Turner: “No, I can feel the head shake.”
> …suddenly it started screaming drag, the 17-lb Seaguar [fluoro] peeling off…. The fish never jumped so they wondered if Turner might have snagged a big carp.
> “When we finally got it in the net Brandon looked at me and said, ‘That’s a [cuss-word] state record.”
> “I just sat there. I was weak from my knees to my neck.”
Weird that his feet and head were okay? Here’s what releasing a 14-lber looks like:
TN state record is 15-03. Wonder if TN could be the new TX for teeners. TX has really slowed down the last couple years….
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“The fish are confused and therefore it’s confusing plenty of anglers.”
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– Opens angler Tim Frederick talkin’ ’bout the Harris Chain, FL — but hole up, hole up: Pretty sure the bass feeshes are NEVER confused, and honestly at least half the time we’re confused.
Wow. Think about that. This year I hope I’m less confused on the water — actually more less confused than the bass are. I think.
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News
1) Ever see Johnny and Palpatine/Sidious in the same place at the same time?
2) Johnny already forced Vader out — dude’s retired, chillin’:
Heehee! Serious tho, all good. Johnny’s deals are part of the shake-up in the outdoors biz, and I’m optimistic lots of good will come from it, even for us regular bass-heads. Kinda already happening….
20. BassBlaster apparel sale is ON yo!
Now through Friday 1/25, all items 20% off, code is: MLKDAY
Gotta say: Part of me doesn’t like the idea of a sale because of a day that honors Martin Luther King Jr, who was one of the most awesome people ever to walk the earth. I know it happens on Christmas too though so…I need to figure this out….
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now…
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Tip of the Day
Innerestin’ Jason Christie winter jiggin’ tips.
From a Bassin’masters post:
> Make your jig crawl across every rock and limb and then tumble naturally on the back side.
> “A lot of the bites you’re going to get that time of the year are going to be super-soft. It’s just going to feel like you hit a leaf or something — really mushy. I want to keep my line tight so I can really feel that bite.”
[Ugh I am now running through all the cold-water “leaf” bites I never set the hook on….]
> “In the wintertime, the water’s typically clearer, but also I’ll have on gloves and a big jacket, so you can feel the bite a lot better with lighter line.
> “…I’m using a crisper, more sensitive rod than I would for flipping and I want to get that hook in the fish’s mouth. I don’t feel like I can penetrate a flipping hook with 10- to 12-pound line and a medium rod.”
Jason typically uses a 3/8-oz BOOYAH football jig (greens and browns). If it’s windier, he might go to 1/2- or 5/8-oz. On the back he starts with a YUM Craw Papi, but if he needs a slower fall will switch to a YUM Christie Critter.
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Quote of the Day
“I don’t know how, but I caught a bass down there one time, and I just started to want to catch bass.”
– MT bass-head and HS wrassler Lee Lambrecht talkin’. Heck yeah mang, that’s how it goes down: one bass = that’s it! Rest of what he said:
> “All my life I’ve just been trout fishing and fly fishing, and once I started to catch bass I just thought that was cool.”
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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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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….
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