BassBlaster

Insane blowup!! How to start post-spawn crankin, Top weekend baits

Hope you’re findin’ time to get out and catch some! If not, give yourself an obligation – promise to take someone fishing. Works for me….

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

Today’s Top 4

Check this insane blowup!

BOOYAH Baits posted it for its “Beat This Blowup” contest — full vid here. DM ’em your blowup vids on Facebook or the Insta to have a shot at winnin’ a selection of BOOYAH topwaters. Btw that bait’s a BOOYAH ToadRunner Jr, which is this:

Notice the screw-lock on the tail….

“I can’t get her out of bed to go to school, but if there’s a fishing tournament, she’s up at 3:00 ready to go.”

– That’s great!! Long-time KY pro basser Dan Morehead talkin’ ’bout his teenage daughter, who it sounds like beats up on her dad sometimes:

> “You get a dollar for the first fish, dollar for biggest fish, dollar for smallest,” she said. “I have still not gotten paid.”

C’mon Dan! Lol! #girlpower

Why is it that it’s way easier to get up early to fish than for any other reason [chin-scratch emoji]….

Top baits from the Rayburn Costa.

Congrats to TX’s Kris Wilson who won it by a mega 14 lbs (!!!) with 72-08 (15 feesh). FLW said he was Carolina- and TX-rigging “two soft-plastics poured by his tournament partner, Harold Moore…a red bug creature bait that looks similar to a Zoom Brush Hog (does anyone actually fish a Brush Hog anymore? hahaha!) and…a red bug ribbontail worm.” Wonder what his fave color is….

Here’s a breakdown of what the top 10 fished:

Flip plastics = 80% [go figger]

Crankbait = 50%

Carolina rig = 20%

Stick worm = 20%

Frog = 20%

10% each = Shakey head, Swimbait, Punch rig (flipped)

Shout-outs:

> Most often-mentioned crank brand = 6th Sense, Cloud 9 C6 and C20.

> Here’s Cloud 9’s new/prototype Popping Frog, fished by Cory “they drew first blood, not me” Rambo (6th):

> 2 long-time hammers fished Mister Twister plastics, pretty unusual: blues man Albert Collins (5th) Carolina-rigged a Mister Twister Buzz Bug (gp candy red) and flipped a Mister Twister Hawg Raiser (gp candy), and Dicky Newberry flipped a Mister Twister Buzz Bug (Fork special and watermelon candy).

Guess how deep Paul Elias was fishin’…

…when he was kneelin’ and reelin’ to win the ’82 Bassmaster Classic on the AL River like such:

Deets from the MLF website:

> Using a saltwater poppin’ rod simply because it was 7′ long with a longer handle, Elias fished the deepest crankbaits available at the time to target fish in 12′….

> The Rebel Maxi R and Bagley DB3 could dive to 10′, and Elias discovered that with a longer cast aided by the longer rod, he could get it down a few feet deeper. He simply kneeled down and stuck the tip of his rod into the water to gain the extra 2′.

Yep that was big-time innovative at the time:

> This was the idea behind deeper-diving crankbaits, including Mann’s 20+ that he still fishes today. His win also started a trend for lengthier rods and longer handles.

Here’s how he found his offshore spots back in the day:

> “…I had things written down [on a paper map] like ‘line up this tree and the end of this gable and then line up with this power line’….”

!!!!

Paul also broke the AL Rig to the bassin’ world — a pioneer fo sho…. Asked him what’s new now and he was like, “I hear it’s vegan hamburgers.” I was like, “Paul, I was talkin’ about bass fishing.” He said, “I know.” Didn’t know what to do so I was like, “Do you hear an ice cream truck?” and took off.

News

1. We lost Stan Fagerstrom.

Ah dang it. Stan was 96, a big-time bassin’ media pioneer and one heck of a good, humble dude who LOVED bassin’ way before it was cool:

I’m having a shameful moment — I should’ve been in touch but wasn’t. Bless you Stan and much love brother.

2. Garmin co-founder passes on.

Gary Burrell…

> …co-founded Garmin with Dr. Min Kao in 1989 with the vision of creating products powered by an emerging technology known as the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

Pretty dang cool. Bless you fishin’ brother.

3. Adrian Avena’s baits from Table Rock BPT #2.

> “I was all in offshore — targeted brush and standing timber in 17-30′. Dropshot and spy bait were my one two punch.”

> Dropshot: 5″ Handpour worm (“color didn’t matter”), #1 Berkley Fusion Drop Shot Hook, 1/4-oz tungsten weight, 6-lb Berkley 100% fluoro to 10-lb Berkley X5 Braid, 30-size Revo Premier Reel, 7′ M Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier Rod.

> Berkley Spy 70 Fast Sink [not out yet?], 7′ 6″ M Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier Rod, same reel and line.

4. Jeff Kriet’s got a hospital gown on again.

Believe he’s tryin’ to get thru the BPT season then get that disc taken care of….

5. Shin Fukae used a sinking braid on T-Rock.

Dropshottin’:

6. Elitist Brandon Cobb started off on the bow.

His dad took him to tourneys and fished as a co.

7. Great donny barone post on Elitist Brad Whatley.

Dude quit his job at the Cooper Tire plant in Texarkana, AR to make the jump.

Yo don you should really pursue a career with this writing deal man, you’re pretty good at it…!

8. FLWer Bryan Schmitt on BassEdge Radio.

10. MLF BPT points standings, top and bottom 10.

11. AL: MLF getting $150K from state for Gville HQ.

> Boyd Duckett…said the [MLF] Anglers Association headquarters will be part of a new City Harbor development in Guntersville. “[It is] a real feather in our cap to further extend the message to the rest of the country that hey, we’re all about bass fishing. Major League Fishing, which is the highest level of bass fishing, has chosen to house its Anglers Association here in AL, which will draw attention nationally.”

Few things:

1. Innerestin’.

2. One of Boyd’s houses (maybe it’s the only one, I have no idea) I believe is on Gville.

3. Pretty sure another bassin’ organization has its HQ in AL..?? Hint: rhymes with BassBlaster.

12. On ‘Em won back to back BFLs last weekend.

1st one was Sat, next was Sun, both on KY/Barkley in KY/TN. Matt “On Em” Robertson is a highly entertaining dude which you might remember from this year’s Classic:

> “I was fishing the mid-section of KY Lake, from the Blood River to the Highway 68 Bridge. The high water had the schools busted up.

> “I was just fishing points at the mouths of the bays, where the fish would come to after they spawned. I think the lake is about a month behind, and a lot of them are just now getting done.”

> …key baits Sat were a Strike King 5XD crankbait (chart/powder blue) and a Scottsboro Tackle swimbait (ole smokey and natural light).

> …Robertson returned to a couple of spots he’d fished Sat, but they didn’t produce…found a couple of small schools around the mouth of Jonathan Creek. The fish are moving a lot with the rising water.”

> …fished the Scottsboro Tackle swimbaits, but…the majority of his fish on a TX-rigged Strike King Bullworm (gp).

13. TX: Guaranteed $50K for 1st at Bassin’ Champs Rayburn.

This weekend. Should be a parade of hammers in that deal.

14. Fishers of Men has a new MLF-like HS series.

> This series will be the first at a national level to use the MLF-style scoring format for high school events.

15. OH portage lakes have good largies?

8 lakes where “catches of 15-lb limits are anything but rare.”

16. PA: Check this HS fishing team logo.

Diggin’ it:

> “The reason we went with it…fishermen are hunters, same concept. The octopus is one of the most adaptive, stealthy creature hunters in the ocean. They’re super-intelligent, they can blend in, there’s a lot of stuff about the octopus which I guess I never even realized.”

17. GA: SPRO expands warehouse by 2.5x.

Rumors:
> Dean Rojas insisted on an indoor froggin’ pond…because who wouldn’t if you could.
> John Crews had to have a D1 weight room because of the whole “Little John” and “Fat John” thing.
> Russ Lane said he’d no longer associate with the company unless it had a legit indoor pitching cage with a mound and a Powerade (not Gatorade) vending machine that was free for him but no one else, especially Mike McClelland.

Naw they ain’t high maintenance….

18. ND: Zebras found in Ashtabula.

19. AL: Tyson chix waste killed 150K fish…

…on the Black Warrior River. Let’s see if they get a slap on the wrist or what.

20. Check this very cool 2-min SIMMS vid.

About what fishin’ is, sorta. You’ll ID with all of it, might even get a little choked up:

“You get one life. Fish it well.”

Word!!!!!


Doh!

It was BILL — Bill Arey was the guy whose boat was hit by a police cruiser, not TODD Arey. Sorry, was blastin’ too fast….

Hahaha! Okay, it was Matt Arey. Hope those insurance folks do him right….

Tip of the Day

Mark Menendez: How to start post-spawn crankin’.

Post on the Bassin’masters. If you didn’t know, Mark’s a crankin’ master:

> The place to start is in front of their spawning areas. They won’t move any farther than necessary so they’ll look for someplace close first. Water depth doesn’t seem to be much of a concern…. What is a concern to them is the first contour change out from the spawning spots where there’s a hard bottom.

> …define contour change broadly…anything from a gentle slope up or down, or a straight up or down cut. And I include underwater points in my definition of a contour change. Really, anything that changes the shape or depth of the bottom….

> I define hard bottom just as broadly. It doesn’t have to be granite. A mixture of shells, sand, gravel or anything that isn’t covered in mud or muck will be hard….

> Current is important…it helps keep suspended solids away. They don’t accumulate on it. That keeps the bottom clean, and clean keeps it hard.

> Step 2 is the lure you use. These bass are aggressive. …big, easy to find and grab plugs [older word for crankbaits!] are what will put them in the boat. My first choice is always something that makes a lot of noise.

Loved this line about the bass feeshes:

> They’re dumb and they’re hungry. It’s almost like they have a revenge thing against winter.

Quote of the Day

He likes to stand on the sofa at home pretending it’s a boat like his daddy.

Post talkin’ ’bout the 3-yr-old son of a bass-head. Love it man! Sounds like a kid who’s fished on a boat more than from the shore — either way’s good!

Shot of the Day

Dave Mercer’s (@factsoffishing) team of 100 Canadian special forces vid peeps grabbed this trailcam-like shot — like the bass is trying to look in the camera?

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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