BassBlaster

Insane launch and reload, Shallow winter crankin, Mouth waterin tips

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on December 5, 2019

Today’s Top 5

Ever see a launch/load like this??

Kevin Short posted it — never seen anything like it before and honestly looks a little sketchy:

Here’s a little of it being loaded up:

I think it was in Japan? Wherever it was, I salute our bassin’ bros for doing whatever it takes to launch a bassin’ tub where the feeshes live!

Btw the first place I thought of when I saw this was…TN — hahaha TN bass-heads cuz you guys are crazy/unafraid!

For all you tidal bassers.

Fool some basses with these shrimps (or crabs or craws) — @littlejack.official HanebiXes (I think those stripes glow in the dark)…

…or with this Neddiculous Rig with the Z-Man TRD Crawz…

…or go with the YUM CrawBug or new YUM Ned Craw:

How to look like a pro bass fisherman…

…in cold weather…from way up north. Exhibit A:

Here’s the complete rundown of his bassin’ duds in those pics, head to toes:> Mad Bomber deer skin/rabbit fur lid

The rest is all SIMMS stuff…seriously: a) he’s sponsored by SIMMS, b) SIMMS stuff works great, c) it amazingly goes with everything fishin’ fashion-wise, even a mullet n bomber, d) sounds like he was fishing in Arctic weather:

> Lightweight Core Top

> ColdWeather Shirt

> Fleece Midlayer Top

> Rogue Fleece Vest

> Challenger Hoody

> West Fork Jacket (black here, Seth’s color here)

> Lightweight Core Bottom

> Fleece Midlayer Bottom

> ColdWeather Pants

> Challenger Insulated Bib

> Guide Thermal OTC Socks

> Riverbank Chukka Boots

I own a bunch of that stuff — like I said wear it ALL the time, but don’t look as “distinct” as Seth does…. #steelydan

Mouth-waterin’ flavorin’s for red-blooded meat-eatin’ bass-ketchin’ men (and ladies).

Don’t know a bass fisherman/gal who doesn’t like to chow some animal musculature. So here’s you some ideas involvin’ 2 of my bassin’ vittles faves: Redneck Lipstick BBQ sauce and Gaspo’s Seasoning.

Bobby Wagner of Redneck Lipstick

Stuff is soooooooo lip-smackin’ good, here’s some fixin’-type recipes Bobby recommends, startin’ with a GENIUS sammich idea:

Fried tater sammich — here’s everything you need to know, minus the Lipstick which was put on after this pic was taken. Fried taters, cheddar cheese, pickles and BBQ sauce! [heart eyes emoji]

Can you imagine that deal with some brisket??

BBQ catfish — Goes like this: dry catfish, oil catfish, rub catfish, grill/fry catfish (5 minutes per side) and Lipstick each side once cooked, add Jamaican slaw.

Gaspo Dixon of Gaspo’s Seasoning

Gaspo’s wife Val works for Strike King, and Gaspo’s seasoning (and cooking) has been LEGENDARY for years now in the biz. Lucky for us you can now buy his stuff, which honestly tastes good on everything. I put it on rice, heard Andy Montgomery uses it in fish batter, dang it’s prolly good on Cap’n Crunch! Anyhow, here’s a few recommendations from Gaspo:

> It’s a staple in all my barbecue. Makes a real good bark like on pork butts, ribs, and does the same on a turkey. I like smokin’ a turkey. Just take a turkey, clean it up, stuff it with whatever you want. Drizzle olive oil on top…and all around. Sprinkle on the [Gaspo Seasoning], a decent amount [cover everything]. Smoke it at 250. If it’s a good-sized turkey you’re looking at at least 8 hours….

> Here’s a real good recipe: Take a piece of salmon…fresh salmon with the skin on. Let it sit out and get to room temperature. Sprinkle the rub on top of it. Get the grill to medium-low, 300-350, and spray a little Pam on the grill. Put it skin side down for 7 minutes, pick it up, spray a little more Pam, then meat side down for 7 minutes. Then flip it back over. Drizzle honey and sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar over top of that, and let it cook for another 4 minutes. The honey and brown sugar will caramelize…. It’s spicy and sweet…kind of eliminates the overpowering fishy taste of salmon.

One mo’:

> Get some big, thick pork chops…bone or boneless. Take a few cedar planks — only 1 if you’re only cooking 2-3 chops. Follow the directions on the cedar plank…soak it in water for a least an hour. Get your grill to 350. Coat the tops of the pork chops with Gaspo Seasoning. Put the cedar plank on 1 side, not directly over the flames else it’ll burn the wood. Just char it. Leave it on the grill for 5 minutes, then flip it over and put the pork chops on the plank…a little bit off the fire but still getting good heat. With a cedar plank you never have to flip the meat. Let it cook for about 12-15 minutes depending on thickness. Drizzle some honey across it, sprinkle on brown sugar, let it caramelize for 5 minutes, then pull off and let it rest.

Dang I’m so hungry right now….

Know anyone who needs some love? If so hit me back.

Have a PILE of baits here, would love to send some to someone who needs a lift up. Could be a person who’s been bummed, who’s been going through something rough, or whatever.

If you know anyone in need of a bassin’ pick-me-up — a LEGIT need, not just “send some baits” — please reply to this-here email and give me the SHORT version of why they could use a little love…and please don’t expect a reply back soon….

Unfortunately this is one of those deals where lots of folks are deserving but just can’t send stuff to ’em all. Bums me out but that’s the way it is.

Did this a couple years back, lost the thread, gonna do it every year from now on…around the time of Jesus’ birthday….

News

1. Bradley Roy Stars & Stripes Open on Cumberland on Saturday.

Love folks supportin’ our military. #stout

Wonder if Jamey Caldwell’s fishin’ it?

2. Brandon Card’s running a Vexus on the Elites.Think he’s the first Vexus pro? He’s got the glass boat, the ultra-fine VX. Know one reason he digs it is these back-savin’ seats:

3. Alton Jones is running this screen in 2020.

On his console, mount being made out of adamantium, same stuff that’s in the Wolverine:

Okay none of that is true…except the Wolverine part….

4. Mike Ikeanelli gave Bear Grylls a survival tip.

Apparently if you’re ultra-thirsty you can get water out of a bass like this:

I was like, “Can’t you just drink outta the lake??” Mike said, “Nope it’s not filtered. The bass filters it.” I was like, “Dude I think you’ve been out here too long…seriously.”

Wondered if he was gonna start squeezin’ frogs or whatever so I was out.

5. Greg Vinson doesn’t like XFast tips for jerkbaits.

> “My favorite rod length for jerkbait and topwater fishing is a 7′ 2” M-action casting rod with a fast tip. A lot of the rod manufacturers claim XF is better for bait control. What I’ve found over the years is that I lost a lot of fish with the XF tip. It’s just not forgiving when the fish surges, and you’ll pull the hooks out.

> “Using the M action with the F tip has significantly increased my fish landing percentage.”

Asked him what exact rod he’s using:

> Right now I’m using a NMBS 862 Elite X (MHX) blank that I built personally. It’s a very high-grade graphite that to me naturally has a little faster action than some of the other types of graphite. So I get good action from the bait with little effort, and a very forgiving bend when fighting a fish.”

6. Josh Bertrand is selling his Nitro.

Z-21, Merc 250 Pro XS 4-stroke, Ultrex, Garmins.

7. FLWer Tom Redington uses the Force on mats (vid).

Garmin Force, that is — vid ^ is kinda impressive. The Force is with Tackle Warehouse…and Baby Yoda’s all:

Hahaha I love Baby Yoda man! Btw Tom’s fishing the FLW Pro Circuit and the Central Opens.

8. Little more on the new BPT Heavy Hitters derb.

Biggest 5 fish to qualify, 1 from each of the first 5 regular BPT tourneys. Also:

> …5-day tournament format…30-angler Shotgun Round (day 1) and a 30-angler Elimination Round (day 2). The top 20 anglers at the end of the 2-day total qualify into a Knockout Round (days 3 and 4). The top 5 anglers from each of days 3 and 4 will qualify into the 10-angler Championship Round (day 5).

> Scoreable bass vary each round. Shotgun and Elimination Rounds will score 1 lb or higher. For the Knockout Round…will test a 2-lb minimum…. In the Championship Round, MLF will test a 3-lb minimum….

9. Phoenix Boats is the new boat sponsor of the BFLs.

Been all over Gary Clouse’s ‘gram, not sure how he’d know about it….

10. Bassin’ media dude Shaye Baker talks manic depression.

[Can’t link it but it’s on Wired2Fish.com.]

Written from the heart about himself. Check it if you or someone you know struggles with it. Big-time props to Shaye for sharing with us all.

Shaye also scribbled an innerestin’ deal about the Anglr app. Anglr is big-time popular with yakkers, but Shaye is a boat man so might be worth a read.

[Ugh can’t link that’n either but it’s on anglr.com.]

11. 2020 FLW HS schedule is out.

Looks like they’re on weekends again which is good.

12. Caymas came out with a 20-footer.

Only had a 21. Thought this sounded potentially cool:

> …Hi-Speed Livewell Pickup System…actually pushes water into the CX 20’s massive independent livewells once the boat is on plane. This proprietary livewell system gently cradles your catch during those long runs to the weigh-in stand….

Cool but weigh-in STAND? When I think of stand, I think of:

13. New Lowe Boats GM came from Harley Davidson.

Hope he at least fishes….

14. Why Cabela’s sold to Bass Pro Shops? (vid)

Fox dude Tucker Carlson did a deal on it (Cabela’s part starts at 5:19), makes it sound like New York City $$$$ guys forced Cabela’s to sell out. Not sure how accurate that is, but to me the moral of the story is one of my personal biz beliefs: Never go public. If you do, you make it about greed and sometimes the wolves get in. Just one bassin’ idiot’s 2c….

15. MT senator proposes $10K fine for zebra mussels??

Dude has lost his dang mind:

> Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka…submited the bill request earlier in the day. If enacted, drivers of vehicles found transporting watercraft carrying invasive quagga or zebra mussels could face [the $10K fine] and have their vehicle and trailer impounded until they post bond and the watercraft is cleaned.

Since it seems like Mike doesn’t own a boat, let me educate him: You can clean the crap outta your vehicle, trailer and boat and still miss 1 microscopic mussel/larva. Get a clue man….

16. Blue-green algae can kill invasive mussels.

Maybe 2 wrongs CAN make a right??

17. Check how Asian carp spread, 1973-2019.

18. WA: Sounds like birds are way worse on steelhead than bass are.

Upper Columbia River:

> With 11 years of results, their study found that between 31% and 53% of these juvenile steelhead get snatched up before they reach the ocean by 4 kinds of birds that have formed colonies along the Columbia: Caspian terns, double-crested cormorants, California gulls and ring-billed gulls.

No idea how they can measure that but we’ll take it!

19. Healthy reef sounds get fish to colonize not-healthy reefs.

Not bass fishing but it makes me wonder how important the right SOUNDs are for fish:

> …researchers found that up to twice as many fish ended up populating the reefs where these sounds were played, versus areas in similar states of decay where they were not.

Might also explain a little why the Hydrowave works, why rattles work in plastics, etc. But maybe we’re just scratchin’ the surface of the sound deal….

20. WTHeck is up with the Tesla “pickup.”

Guess if you were collectin’ moon rocks or wanted to roll up stylin’ at the scifi convention it’d be cool…

…but man it just ain’t my thing. Here’s what a buck would look like in the back — lol from yesterday’s DeerBlaster:

Line of the Day

Spotted bass are slow.

The Spotted Bass Have Feelings Too Coalition plans to protest the White House over it:

On BassBlaster.rocks right now…

> Pros changing tours, Why use a multi blade spinnerbait, Ax bass caught

> Black Friday-ish special issue part 1!!

> Black Friday-ish special issue – part 2!!

Note: The TackleWarehouse links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase I might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in the BB.

Tip of the Day

Scotty Rook cranks shallow in the winter.

From an older Tackle Warehouse post:

> “When all else fails under these conditions, shallow crankbaits will catch them…it’s one of the most overlooked yet productive patterns you can fish during the winter months. When everyone else is out dragging jigs or working spoons around deep brush and creek channels, I’m on the bank chunking a crankbait. They are lucky to catch 2 or 3, but I’ve had several 20-plus fish days.”

> January is his favorite month to crank shallow water, even when air temps are in the 30s and the water surface temperature dips into the low 40s.

> He looks for specific types of banks, with sunshine being a key. “I’ve caught them doing this on gray days, but sunny days are best…after a few consecutive sunny days it gets even better.”

> The best banks have a 45-degree slope into deep water…. “You don’t want to be fishing big flats…nor do you want bluff banks because the bass will suspend…. You want the sun heating up the bank and water.” Channel-swing banks are a good place to look.

> It was this pattern that nearly earned him a Bassmaster Classic win at Lake Hartwell…in Feb 2008.

> Rook’s favorite winter cranking lures are the Rapala Shad Rap in sizes 7 or 8, the Rapala DT-6 or a Bomber Flat A. He favors crawfish colors unless the area has an abundance of shad.

Quote of the Day

“I remember listening to him talk about line that had been on one of his reels for over a decade.”

– Dude talkin’ ’bout his frugal dad, who he said also had a bunch o’ stories about “the one that got away.” I bet — too funny.

On the other extreme, unless you do this for a living -or- you’re fishing the biggest derby of your life -or- you’re in the boat with a bud and bet him [whatever] you’d catch the biggest or most, you don’t need to be changin’ your line every day or week or whatever. Just keep it outta the sun and be smart with it!

On the other side, don’t be lazy and not retie…like we’ve all done…cuz you know what’ll happen next….

Shot of the Day

Is this how we got peacock bass?? @anglrlabs shot from the Allegheny River, PA:

Good job wearin’ the PFD — just make sure the inflatable will inflate if needed (maintenance tips here).

Random

A woman in TX was killed by feral hogs, near a house.

Horrible. How do we kill the crap outta those things once and for all??

Ya got me

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