2. Russ Lane’s in a dang TV ad!
I’m switchin’ ‘tween football games and I hear Russ Lane’s voice coming from my TV. First thought was, Dang bassin’ ‘lucination again. But then I SEE him on the screen so I’m like, WTHeck?
Turns out he did a spot for the company “hims,” which sells man meds for man uh…stuff. Was texting with him and was like, “Cool bro — hope all’s good?” He swore up n down he doesn’t have a friend named “Ed,” if you know what I mean…hahaha glad to hear it man! Anyhow, big congrats to him, cool to see.
3. Keith Combs’ Rayburn tourney is Sat, Oct 26.
Open team tournament with an over 100% payout. Dinner and live auction the night before:
> The main objective of the tournament and auction is to bring awareness and to raise funds for
Warrior’s Weekend…a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of veterans…with an emphasis on those wounded in the Global War on terrorism.
#stout — all info is at Keith’s website.
4. Brandon Palaniuk now selling BMP Fishing apparel.
Startin’ to feel like: Can’t wait to see what Feider’ll come out with next. #BassinFashion
7. Jeff Kriet said he was behind the fish all year.Kept tellin’ him to get in front of ’em, but he was like, “They don’t like the pressure.” I said, “You mean fishing pressure?” And he was like, “No man, sinus pressure! The bass feel it. Kevin told me.” Think he meant VanDam…which, you know, explains the whole deal….
Hahaha!
8. Dean Rojas’ son Austin is fishing the WON Bass Open.
Dean told him to catch ’em on frogs or don’t even bother coming home for dinner…lol. Good luck to ’em both!
9. Few highlights from the BassFan post on the MLF-FLW deal.
> FLW president Kathy Fennel: “When we got off the call, it was obvious that everything that they wanted was everything that we had.” [No doubt.]
> …FLW had been acquired by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) and MLF, which is partially owned by Outdoor Channel (a Kroenke property) and a group of anglers/investors. [So sounds like MLF is/will be PART owner of FLW.]
> Trish Blake, daughter of Irwin Jacobs: “”What my father appreciated about MLF was the entrepreneurial spirit and the risk-taking. My dad liked to shake things up. He liked to get people to pay attention and grow things. MLF is very unique in that manner. My father recognized their innovation and how different it was.” [100% can see that myself.]
> She said the framework of the deal was in place by the time Jacobs passed away….
Interview made me realize what a big deal this is, meaning FLW was/is the only other major bassin’ organization basically ever. So FLW changing hands is big.
10. Trip Weldon wrote another column.
Says his back hurts from liftin’ huge bags of fish all year. Makes me think Mercer could help out a little (Dave?). Also mentions that the cost of marshalin’ will be under $100 for 2 days next year….
11. What Billy Dance looks like without a hat.
Strange but not bad! Congrats to him for gettin’ in the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame.
12. Johnny Morris is worth $3.9 bil?
What on earth is he doing hanging out with us rednecks then??
13. Learn a little more about Dave Precht.
The man!
14. AR: 6.2-lber won AR Big Bass Bonanza on Dardanelle.
Local stick Mike Rhinehart won it on a jig. Here’s the story — had to duck outta a crowded sitch:
> “I won the DAV Big Bass tournament, and I won checks in another big bass tournament. They all came from the same spot. Word gets out. People were following me everywhere. I was covered up with boats, and it killed it.”
> Rhinehart slipped away unnoticed to a pocket that had no cover and no features except for a single stump that he marked on his GPS a week ago. …no current, and the water was the color of chocolate milk.
> “I went straight to that stump…bounced the jig off the left side, and she crushed it.”
15. New Vexus vid on the VX rear deck.
Too cool — click it to watch:
I was there when they were filming this deal, and after seein’ this…
…I said, “Maybe the bass are livelier with those wells cuz with all those lights they think they’re at a dance club.” Thought it was funny but Randy Hopper was like, “Get the HECK outta my office!” He also mighta said, “Who let that fool in here,” but I was too far down the hall to hear for sure:
HAHAHA! Could happen!
16. More info on the Nichols Trailblazer.
For some reason this bait fascinates me — gotta see it in the water but til then I asked Brooks Woodward at Nichols about it. He said:
> The Trailblazer is a 4-1/4″ long bait designed primarily as a jig trailer for Nichols’ line of jigs, although of course it can be TX-rigged, flipped, etc. It features a dense ribbed body along with 2 large appendages. I wanted to body to be fairly durable and thick so that it would stay up on the shank of a jig’s hook, especially when paired with our patented Toothpick Keeper Collar (there is a hole in the lead bait keeper, you shove a toothpick through the bait, through the hole, and snip off the extra).
> “I also wanted a wide body to give the skirt a bit more flare. The bait is pretty long out of the package to allow an angler to trim to their liking. I usually chop off 3-5 ribs and thread it right on.
> “The 2 big ribbed claws give the bait a natural wavy action, and a really big profile while laying on the bottom of the lake. It was NOT designed to be a high kicking huge-action trailer, but more of a chunk-style action.
Bunch of laminate colors. That’s ^ “sungill” — gp purple top/sungill bottom which is amber-ish with green/gold flake.
They’re on the Nichols site now and apparently are hitchhikin’ their way to Tackle Warehouse….
17. Check these Googan topwaters.
Really dig the color [big eyes emoji]:
18. MI: Adrian College’s Hunter Schneider on…
…the Rapala #WeAreCollegiateBass podcast.
19. CA: HS team gets $40K in fishin’ stuff…
…confiscated from a fisherman “who illegally caught and was in possession of more than 700 crappie.” Sounds like some livewell…lol.
20. NH created an outdoor rec office.
Seems to be a trend. Wonder where the extra $$$ will come from. Better not be from license sales….
21. ME: U of Maine 3D-printed a 25′ boat.
Weighed 5,000 lbs! Check this crazy time-lapse vid of how it went down.
