BassBlaster

Insane limit, Bassquatches, Deep ripping in cold water

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on March 27, 2018

Today’s Top 5

Bassquatch melons o’ the week!

Gettin’ these done today cuz the BassBlaster special pre-spawn baits and such issue is comin’ Thursdee. Kickin’ ‘er off with Pablo Torres Jr.’s 13.34-lb squatch outta Kurth Lake. Fave comment on the post: “Now every jack wagon in east Texas is gonna be at Kurth….” Lol! Gotta love bass-heads.

Derek Mason caught this 12.67 from the shore of Casitas, CA with a Senko:

Stillhouse Hollow, TX is still kicking out the bigs. Here’s an 11.03 caught at a night 3×9 Tourney on a C-rigged lizard in 8-10′. Bass-head Steve Millsap is SERIOUS about his bassin’, check it:

Justin Royal and his boy smashed this 9.73 on the dang SABINE RIVER, TX! That’s like a 25-lber anywhere else! Said he was flipping a Stanley Original Casting Jig (b/b) with a Rage Craw (gp) around reeds where fish bed. Boat-flipped her:

Giant 8-03 brown squatch caught on Pickwick, AL by @samgeorgefishing…on a dang shiner which made me almost not run it but it’s huge so…:

SICK limit!!!

Clint Wade and Stacy Spriggs weighed — get this — 37.80 lbs (!!!!!!!) at the TTZ tourney on…you guessed it: Rayburn.

What…the…heck! Almost an 8-lb average, their biggest was a 9.71. Believe they’re local hammers.

Caught ’em on 1/64-oz Mr. Crappie jigs (pink/white).

Okay no idea what they caught ’em on. Anyone know?

BEEG weener in the first $100K yak derby.

Dwayne Taff won it on Kentucky Lake. $100K for a yak derby is pretty dang #stout. Couldn’t find a stout beer but found this:

That’s why it’s a top item here. Dwayne won it with…173.50″. That’s inches. 2nd was “less than 2 inches” behind. Sounds weird but that’s how they do it.

Guess what Dwayne won it with:

Yep, a Jack Hammer (Bhite delight) with a Zako trailer. That bait’s hotter than a dang billy goat with a blowtorch.

750 guys out there, and…they all fished within 200 yards of the launch. HAHAHA just kiddin’ mang! Props to ’em and the Kayak Bass Fishing folks.

> “2.4 million people fished out of a kayak last year and that number continues to grow.”

And that’s why if you’re a yakker you need to sign up for the Bass Yakker here.

Grand Lake Costa baits breakdown.

Okie Chris Jones won the Grand Lake, OK Costa:

Couple things remarkable about this one, other than the fact that Chris won it (hahaha Chris!):

1. His winning margin was 0 lbs 0 oz. Yep, a tie — at 47-03 with TX’s Jeff Sprague. Tiebreaker was day 2 standings, when Sprague was 5th and Jones was 4th. Tight one yo!

2. Chris won it on a spinnerbait. Spinnerbaits aren’t dead by a long shot, ‘specially in OK. Take a look at the Classic if you don’t believe me. #Christie #Evers

Chris’ baits:

> Main bait: 1/2-oz BOOYAH Blade Spinnerbait (chart/white, single #5 gold Colo blade) with a 3.5″ YUM Pulse swimbait [smaller size Pulse that will be out in July].

> “I was slow-rolling the bait behind the docks. A lot of them were suspended under the dock cables and on the corners of the docks. I didn’t even waste my time on the fronts of the docks.”

> …he spent a little time each day on a stretch of main-lake riprap where he caught a couple of keepers on…a YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr with 3.5″ YUM Pulse swimbaits.

Here’s the full top 10 broken down:

Spinnerbait = 50% — all Colo blades.

Crankbait = 40% — most were squarebills, but not all. Shoutin’ out: SPRO Fat Papa 55 (red craw), Bill Lewis Echo 1.75 (crawfish), Rapala Shad Rap (red crawdad).

Vibe jig = 30% — 1 Jack Hammer.

Jig = 20%

10% each = A-rig, Football jig.

Fat Cat kills it at the Classic.

One thing to do stuff on your own social channels, when you can do bunches of takes to get one you dig, but totally something else to do it spontaneously — and get someone laughing who knows zero about fishing.

Check Fat Cat Newton — N-E-W-T-O-N lol — getting interviewed at the Classic ramp on Hartwell. So many good lines not even gonna call one out:

Been keepin’ an eye on Fat Cat. Showed me something this time. Based on this I’m a-sayin’ he’s gonna go somewhere in bassin’ — or he should. Hope to see it.

That said, slightly concerned about Fat Cat’s mental stability, possible disconnects with reality, lack of bigfoot experience, etc.

News

1. AL: We lost a brother on Tuscaloosa.

This weekend, sounds like Danny Pate, age 64, hit a bridge during a tourney on Saturday. Bless you bassin’ brother.

2. Why Jason Christie fished shallow at the Classic.

> When I came to this event, I committed 1,000% to fishing shallow. I’m not going to beat Brent Ehrler fishing deep, so I never made a cast deeper than 10′.

I asked Brett why he likes fishing deep so much, and he texted me this pic with, “Cuz you can catch fish like these:”

Wonder if he was serious?

3. Git you some Swindle.

Dude’s greatest gift ain’t bassin’, it’s the funny. Check it at the Classic:

4. KVD can hurt himself too.

Fishing-wise:

> Stubbornness hurt me the second day [of the Classic] when the weather was cloudy but there was no wind. I couldn’t pull myself away from the areas and patterns where I caught good fish in practice.

> Honestly, that’s one of the things I’ve always struggled with after having a strong, pre-tournament practice. When I have a bad practice, I’m much quicker to change tactics, have a more open mind and follow the current conditions better.

Kind of amazed by that. Love the transparency from him. Here’s a word picture for what he’s talkin’ ’bout:

5. Chris Lane has a new feeshn contraption.

What is it??

Asked my diehard bassin’ bud Liz what he thought about that rig and he was like:

But he always makes that face….

6. Elitist David Mullins gets Legendary Anglers apparel.

7. Check Hunter Shryock’s YT channel.

Elitist rookie, brother of orange Fletch. Couple 2cs:

Good quality, well done.
Interesting way to build a fanbase — cuz it will be interesting to see whether it matters to a particular fanbase whether it’s more important to win or to get to know a guy better than you can through 3rd-party media (like league — BASS/FLW — media).

Sooner or later the whole BASS Live deal will or should morph into (or add) this style of “coverage,” where guys stream or publish their own content outta their own boats. B.A.S.S. might not like it but it’s coming.

8. James Niggemeyer selling his Ranger.

Good vid of it on his FB page.

9. TN: Jimmy Houston speaking at First Baptist Church.

5-9pm April 6. Church is at 1275 Stuart Road NE in Cleveland:

> The event includes a Cajun meal, 50 talk-and-teach tables related to the outdoors, photo-ops with a world-record buck and thousands of dollars of giveaways, including rifles and fishing rods. Tickets, $15, must be purchased in advance at the church, online at firstbaptistcleveland.com or at 423-709-9100.

10. Mark Fisher inducted into MN Fishing Hall of Fame.

“Fish” is a great dude, believe he recently retired as Rapala’s bait design chief. Congrats man! Here’s Fish as dressed up as he ever gets lol:

11. TX: You gonna fish with some celebs on Rayburn?

Brrian Robison — aka B-Rob — of the Vikings’ charity deal on Rayburn. Good event last year, assumin’ the same so go if you can!

12. Cool Bassin’Fan post about BASSTrakk…

…and whether top Classic competitors would’ve wanted to look at it. Personally I’d use it as a competitive tool — either sandbag big-time or throw out Evers-sized weights to spin folks out lol.

But I’ll never be in that position so….

13. LA: B.A.S.S. supports making LA waters public.

Lots of should-be-public water is already private, and sounds like more canals and such are being gated all the time.

14. KY: Bass-head rescues guy at ramp.

Sounds like a guy was trapped inside a truck that was underwater. Dude jumped in and pulled him out (#stout). Authorities showed up, and said the truck was stolen…!

15. AR studying hybrid stripers’ effects on largies.

Lots of studies done on how stripers affect bass pops, I guess way fewer on hybrids vs bass.

16. New B.A.S.S. HS All Staters.

Love it! Congrats to ’em….

17. New Yo-Zuri Knucklebait colors.

When you gotta Knuckle down and catch ’em, now you can do it in black/blue, chart/white and bluegill. Click the pic to see Bobby Lane jawin’ at ya about ’em:

18. Favorite has Sick Stick combos back in stock.

Since everything Favorite does sells out in like 24 hours, if you want one you better mash it. $149.99, free shipping….

19. Jack Hammer now available in 3/4-oz.

What Brett Hite says about the bait:

> “Everything about the ChatterBait JackHammer is high-level and ultra-refined. It took us a full year, for example, just to perfect a process for applying detailed paint finishes to the bait’s stainless steel, hex shaped ChatterBlade. This is a super-tuned, efficient bladed jig that starts vibrating with the very first turn of the reel handle.”

> Hite adds that the bait also features a flat-bottom, low-center-of-gravity head with a specialized channel groove for blade protection. “We insisted on the sharpest Gamakatsu heavy wire flipping hook available. The premium silicone skirt is hand-tied and color-matched to the jighead and blade. And a double-wire trailer keeper locks soft plastics tight to the jighead. Even the line-tie is tricked-out — a high-grade Decoy Egg Snap.”

New size already on Tackle Warehouse.

20. New Shimano Bantam MGL 150 baitcasters.

All metal, 1-piece aluminum, comes in 6.2, 7.1 and 8.1. Quick vid tour from JP DeRose (click it):

21. New G. Loomis E6X bassin’ sticks.

Little lighter yet supposedly more durable. Don’t know how it’s possible to make a lighter Loomis rod — do they use more…air?

22. Reminder that the Sea Foam rebate ends THIS SATURDAY.

Here’s the one and only Al Lindner learnin’ ya about it:

On BassBlaster.rocks right now…

Prespawn cold front tip, Youngest boat deal ever, Melons of the week

ALL the Hartwell Classic baits and patterns!

All past BassBlasters are archived at BassBlaster.rocks!

Tip of the Day

Deep rippin’ for the basses.

Got curious about this when I talked to Brent Ehrler about his Classic pattern, which involved firing up deep fish — bear in mind that’s in cold pre-spawn water. Tripped over an In-Fish post with some interesting info, here’s a couple excerpts:

> …bait of choice is a 5/8-oz Rat-L-Trap for provoking strikes in emerging clumps of grass scattered across 5- to 8-foot deep flats. He makes long casts with the lipless bait and lets it fall without any drag from the line.

> “It’s important to let the lure free-fall all the way to the bottom. Then I reel slowly, purposefully hanging the lure in grass. Then I quickly pop it hard, usually twice. I jerk it as hard as I can and never reel in the slack. You want the lure to fall naturally after you rip it up. Watch your line. There’s no doubt when a bass hits as your line jumps dramatically.”

> “I’ve found that these bottom-dwelling species [like gobies] hop high up off the bottom when moving around, especially in large rivers. They seem to hop upward, catch the current, and jet themselves 3 or more feet downstream. The first time I saw gobies hopping up and down, it came together for me.”

> While most Great Lakes smallmouth anglers drag tube jigs along bottom to imitate gobies, sculpins and crayfish, or else fish deadly slow with dropshot rigs, Shibata rips tube jigs off bottom as fast and as violently as he can.

You a Yakker?

Quote of the Day

“I treat this like fishing. You can spend $3 or $5 on a lure and throw it out there and might catch it on a stump and lose it. Or you might catch a big fish.”

– Dude talkin’ ’bout buying lottery tix…which really does seem like buyin’ baits in a way. But baits are way more purdy. Bass-heads lookin’ at baits be like:

Shot of the Day

Can a jig be too good at getting ’em in the upper lip??

Ouchy for @rickharrisfishing:

Random

Rich People Will Soon Be Able To Buy Fake Meteor Showers On Demand

Well yahoo for them. Delivered by satellite. I’d pay for largemouth fingerlings delivered by drone. “Drop ’em right here boys!”

Ya got me

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