That pic’s from a book called Metal [as in Heavy] Cats, which I’m sure you all have. Btw, if y’all are on the biz side of bass feeshn, dig the Blaster and are not advertisin’ here, why is that?? Hit me back if’n yer interest in being on the #1 bassin’ team.Reminder: If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
Gotta call this out. Ray Hanselman of Del Rio, TX won last weekend’s Ray-o-Start Champeenship. Won it by a HUGE 8-02, with 46-11. But that’s not the hugeness I’m talkin’ ’bout.
Ray — who prefers to be called “Ray” — not only won that derby, he also won won all three Ray-o Texas Division regular-season derbies this season (Amistad, Rayburn, Texoma). Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaayum yo!
Check it:
#STOUT
This the first major-ish fall win with an A-rig? Check out Ray’s rig:
> …bladed umbrella rig. The A-rig consisted of two hookless and weightless 3-inch swimbaits, two 1/2-oz Strike King Squadron Swimbait Heads — rigged with 4-inch [unnamed] swimbaits — and a 3/4-oz [same jighead] with a 5-inch swimbait.
> Hanselman rigged the 4″ baits on the two bottom wires and put the 5″ swimbait in the middle. He said the bigger bait caught the majority of fish
> …also caught a few key fish on a 3/8-oz Denny Brauer Baby Structure Jig (blue craw) with a Strike King Rage Menace (Falcon Lake craw).
Ray wouldn’t provide many rig deets to FLW or BassFan. But those look like Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits (let me know if you think/know differently) and I’d be surprised if that wasn’t a YUMbrella Flash Mob or Flash Mob Jr.
More from FLW:
> …spent most of his tournament week fishing the Tennessee River at the base of Kentucky Dam.
> He tucked in behind obvious current breaks such as barge tie-ups and bridge columns to sling repetitive casts into the eddies formed by the structures.
> …he was hunting a unique form of smooth, “slate-type” flat rock. The hard, flat slate surface bottomed out in about 9 feet and broke off behind it into about 14 feet, into holes and pockets where big smallmouths would tuck down to ambush prey.
> He intentionally varied the weights and sizes of the swimbait bodies on the umbrella rig to make it perfectly balanced for the rate of the current flow.
From the top 10. Looks like a bunch of guys used Strike King and Rapala stuff.
2nd: Brandon Perkins looks as surprised as the bass probly were when they grabbed his Strike King 6XD:
3rd: Fitz Fitzy Fitzsimmons Fitzgerald of Fitzy Rods did well again. Either this dude can fish or his rods are magic.
4th: Brian Holder must read the BassBlaster because we call this the “Blaster sponsors shot” (lol) — Rapala DT-10s and a Strike King Red Eye Shad:
5th — Nick Prvonozac — used a YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. [the best A-rig] and flipped a YUM Wooly Bug (Virgo blue):
6th used a 1/2-oz Strike King Tour Grade Football Jig and a spinnerbait, and 7th Carolina-rigged a 4-inch Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw (green pumpkin with the claws dipped chartreuse).
8th: Jeff Hippert used a shakey head (Zoom Finesse Worm) and a Rapala DT-10 (Helinski shad):
9th: Bill Chapman — who if my memory is intact I believe is a great stick — used a custom-color Lucky Craft 1.5, which you can see here.
10th: How ’bout this guy? Some new dude named “Lenny” or “Danny” or something like that:
lol…THE MAN! Used a Strike King HC Flat Side, sexy blueback herring. [So, uh, Denny: Does that mean you were feelin’, you know, “sexy” that day??]
Okay that’s most of the top 10 but it all of it was interesting. Anyone who catches fish anywhere on the Ohio River is interesting….
Latest TX ShareLunker catch, believe it was yesterday: Roy Euper, Rayburn, 13.2 lbs, 25.5 inches long, 22-inch girth. Caught in 30 feet with a crankbait, not sure which bait yet.
About as big proportionately is this 7-02 PB smallie caught by Elitist Seth Feider:
You saw this feesh on the BassBlaster last year:
Here’s a bass from the same rez (Squaw Creek, TX), caught 1.5 miles from the first one and weighed the same at 3.5 lbs:
Ko-inky-dink? Caught on a YUM Corn Dog. (Okay I made up that bait name…but I like it!)
News
1. FLW Tour payout now no lower than Elites.
> What had some pros scratching their heads is the way payouts have been allocated for next year. In the past, FLW has been seen as a better value for anglers because of its lower entry fees compared to the Bassmaster Elite Series and because payouts extended deeper into the field than the Elite Series. While the entry fees remain comparably lower than B.A.S.S., FLW has joined B.A.S.S. in only paying back the Top 50 finishers.
Will this make more FLWers want to qualify for the Elites? Me thinky yes.
Aka James Overstreet. My fave line from it:
> You gotta love it or you won’t last.
True of everything in bassin’. You can’t just think you love it or want to love it or love yourself in it. You gotta LOVE IT.
Not sure why the article didn’t cover JO’s hobby of making cats look like iguanas:
It’s a little different but…. Sorry to out you on that JO! lol
3. FL: Rodman drawdown starting.
> The reservoir will be 7 feet below normal water level for over 3 months from the middle of Nov to the beginning of Mar 2016.
4. FL: Hydrilla spraying on Kissimmee and Hatchineha.
5. IL: 2 Asian carp found close to Lake Michigan.
[Jaws theme] Here they come.
6. T-Rock Open winner on BassEdge Radio.
James “it’s elementary my dear” Watson.
…ain’t all that? So days this article, but I’m not bettin’ against that company.
8. There’s a Bass Pro marathon??
Why would you have a sporting event that no bass pros can compete in…except A-A-Ron?
Tip of the Day
From various FLW RayoStart anglers, on Bassin’Fan:
> “As I would drag my dropshot slowly across the rocks, sometimes I would let the sinker sit in one spot and almost intentionally try to get the sinker stuck [in rocks].”
> “On a lot of the deeper stuff I fished you had to pull your bait a certain way – against the wind or against the waves. You kind of have to mill around and figure out how to get them to bite.”
> …key elements of his presentation was 8-lb Sufix Nanobraid main line and 20 feet of 6-lb Sufix Fluorocarbon leader. “The Nanobraid is the smoothest, strongest, lightest little line – it’s like trout line. I was also using a smaller hook…a No. 4. That’s tiny stuff and it’s a little nerve-racking. But I only lost two fish in 3 days.”
> Power-Pole Drift Paddles provided a significant advantage by slowing his drift and allowing him to sweep across key areas with effective presentations. …MotorGuide’s xi5…Anchor Mode enabled him to hold steady on his spot while he diligently picked away from that safe distance.
Quote of the Day
I had a good tournament and caught a lot of fish, and that got my confidence back up.
– Elitist Brett Hite talkin‘ ’bout the Chesapeake Bay Elite. Quote is here to remind you that even the best anglers in the world doubt themselves.
On that note, here’s a great article by Opens angler Pat Pierce about gaining confience in unfamiliar water. For even more confidence you could use BassGold — but you may want to wait to sign up til the new site and app are out early next year (will be ultra cool).
Shot of the Day
Look out single dudes!
Random
Check this headline:
Antarctica is actually gaining ice, says NASA. Is global warming over?
So…does Al Gore have to give his Oscar back now??
Here’s Al’s house — one of them, anyway. Not looking so energy efficient:
New smaller ad sizes
For smaller companies
Lemme know…
Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. His BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 or #3 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Also available as an app:
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