Ditch Melon Derby winners – Sounds like 95+% of folks have gotten their stuff, but a few still have not. If you have not, and have not emailed me already, will you please let me know by responding to this email with your name, what you won and have not rec'd, and the shipping address you gave. Thank you and apologies again.

Ants – Waved the white flag, got the exterminator man in last week, no ant activity in under 24 hours but I found some (or they found me) this morning. Suckers are tough! Exterminator man is coming back, thank you for what you do exterminator folks.

And gitcha Blaster social fix here:

Denny Brauer trained himself to flip and pitch left-handed because he could make more pitches in a day and have faster hooksets. Jay Yelas learned to be a lefty for efficiency and versatility, and probably more guys have done it. The latest is "old man of the Elites," Jordan Lee 😁 – for a new reason.

He trained himself to hold a spinning rod with his left hand instead of his right because...it makes him a better minnow shaker. BassBlaster's Andy "Montgomery" Greene talked to him:

1. Why did you start using a spinning rod lefty for shaking a minnow?

> "When I started learning to shake a minnow in the colder months for largemouth, I realized the bass bite better when the minnow is horizontal in the water. They didn't want the bait pulled up and away from them. I was moving the bait too much while holding the spinning rod in my right hand – pulling the bait away from the fish.

> "When I use a baitcaster, the rod is in my left hand all the time. I feel like I'm left-hand dominant while holding a rod. I learned that I could have more control of the spinning rod while holding it in my left hand.

> "You typically don't impart a lot of action into your baits on a spinning rod. You never really work other baits with a spinning rod like you do when shaking a minnow. I swapped hands with the rod and started to shake it downward. I could keep the bait in the strike zone longer doing this."

2. Why do you shake your rod more down and to the side than vertical?

> "It gives me more control of the bait, and I don't necessarily move the bait vertically. Your margin of error of messing up the action of the minnow goes down while shaking it with the rod down. If that bait goes up, vertically, especially on a high-pressured fishery – if it does something unnatural – you won't get that bite.

> "A lot of guys are better than me at minnow fishing and have mastered this technique. These guys – and a lot of the Japanese anglers – shake with the rod down to move the bait less."

3. What rod do you use?

> "I use an Abu Garcia Zenon 6' 10 ML – a really soft rod. I like the softness of the tip. You get better action with a shorter rod."

Follow-up: Do you need such a high-end rod for minnow-shaking?

> "This is one of the techniques where you need a superlight blank – especially if you do it all day. There could be one fish that you throw at in a big tournament scenario that you need to catch. If you mess that up because you're fatigued and don't shake it correctly, it can cost you a lot.

> "...a lot of techniques you don't need a high-end blank, but this one you do. With the Abu Zenon, you get what you pay for. It's super-sensitive, lightweight and will last longer than a cheaper blank."

Bonus Q: Has your preference in minnow rods changed over time?

> "Yeah. I think the shorter the better. I like anything from 6' 6 to 6' 10 at the longest – especially when you're shaking it with the rod down and you're trying to control your bait. Your rod tip doesn't need to touch the water.

> "I started with a 7' M because that's what I fished a dropshot, Neko and shakey head with. Going down in size gave me more control. The benefits of the shorter rod outweigh the longer rods."

His minner-shaking setup

> 5" Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad or Deps Sakamata Shad, 1/8- or 3/16-oz custom tungsten jighead, 6-lb Berkley X5 Braid (flame green) to 12-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluoro, Abu Garcia Zenon MGX Spin Reel (3000), 6' 10" ML Abu Garcia Zenon Spin Rod.

That's from an In-Fisherman post by the one 'n only Stevie "Ray" Quinn – who like Zona and VanDam etc is "retired." 😁

Anyhow, that is showing how close you need to put the bait based on a suspended fish's aggressiveness/mood. What do you think?

Post was written in '21, this part stood out to me:

> ...I've lowered my Aqua-Vu camera to reveal dozens of big smallmouth bass scattered out among rocks and sand in 22-23' of water. I excitedly pitched a dropshot rig and waited for a bite that finally came. But it was a 13-inch largemouth.

> ...I dropped back and came up with a 0.5-lb smallmouth. I lowered the camera to verify their presence, but I couldn't buy a bite in almost 2 hours.

Steve I have 3 words for you: MaxScent Flat Worm – lol! I believe it because that's happened to me – without the camera – a lot more than once!

Little roundup, no particular order:

1. GLF's Dan Miguel has a new bait and (might have?) caught a 7 on it...in a tourney

That's actually a 7.4, bag was 26.52 for 7th. Tourney was the Rumble on The [St Lawrence/Ontario] River. More from Dan:

> Our fish came on the Great Lakes Finesse 2.5" Juvy Craw and 2.4" Ned Bug slowly dragged on bottom, as well as the 2.75" Drop Kick Shad [below] on a dropshot. We also mixed in a GLF prototype bait that was key for some much-needed bites and will be released in 2026.

I found a pic of the new prototype bait:

🤣 Smaller and smaller! Just messin' Dan! 🤣

2. Here's the guys who won that tourney and...

That's Travis Manson (aka, smallmouthcrush, left) with pard John Pelletier, and they also mixed in dropshotting the 2.75" GLF Drop Minnow – a bait Travis helped design. Oh yeah – they had 29+, all in the river. 💪💪

My only Q for Travis is what kind of mojo he gets from shorts with long black socks and boots...🤔😁

3. Don't waste time trying to get 1 smallie to bite?

Well on the one hand that is the opposite of how Trey McKinney, for example, won at St Clair. But it is (allegedly? 😁) how MI's Nolan Mandel has finished in the top 10 of the last 11 BFLs he's fished. From an MLF post:

> "I would have 3 of the same things tied on...and I was just going to cover as much water as I can. If it's a bass, some people throw 6 different things at them, try to get them to bite. I'm going to cast 1 time – if they don't eat it, I'm going to go find another one to cast at."

> "I don't throw that dice stuff." He sticks to...jerkbaits, jighead minnows, dropshots, jigs and Ned rigs. 

> "If they're within like 1-3' (of the surface), I love a jerkbait. ...anything deeper than that, a minnow – like anything that's less than 10'. And then if it's deeper than that, a dropshot or a jig."

Peep the rundown for Episode 120 of the Top 5 of the Week in Bass Fishing – brought to ya by the good folks at Sea Foam and Kistler Rods! Links to all baits/gear are below: 👇

1. Laker Howell rides again 🏇

2. Topwaters can win anything? 🐸

3. Emil Wagner spot-fished smallies 🎯

4. Scott Canterbury's los dos! 2️⃣

5. FFS championship won on a...jig! 🧩

Links to all the baits 'n stuff in this episode:

Sea Foam Marine PRO

Kistler rods, reels and line

Berkley PowerBait Jig

#2

Snag Proof Frogs

Livingston Lures Walking Boss

#3

Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad

Fenwick World Class Spin Rods

#4

Scott Canterbury's setups are too long to list here but you can get the links here.

#5

Shoot Lures custom jig: ?

Strike King Rage Menace

1. Elitist Bryant Smith won the Cali Delta BAM

Had 35.18 over 2 days:

> When going for quantity, he covered a lot of water throwing a Strike King Thunder Cricket around grass.

> ...final-day adjustment led him to a Strike King Rage Bug rigged on a 3/0 hook...1.5-oz weight...[7' 6" H] Alpha Angler Mag Hitter 2.0 with a Lew's Custom Pro Reel...with 50-lb braid.

Ken Mah got 2nd and your fave flipper, Ish Monroe, got 4th.

2. GREAT post on A-Mart by Tucker Smith

What he learned from Aaron. I might break it down a little next week but worth a full read 👆.

3. Good Ben Milliken vid about Elite Series "retention"

Meaning the various things that can determine whether a guy can stay on it or not. He explains it pretty well, and it's still confusing!

Fwiw, I have 2c'd for years that when guys make the Elites they "should" be allowed to be there for 3 years, maybe with some minimum average point level. Because for most new guys, it typically has taken at least that long to get their feet under 'em.

4. Taku Ito's favorite fluoro leader is Seaguar Grand Max

Grand Max, only recently available here, has been a staple for Japanese anglers since 1999 Supposed to be somewhat hard and abrasion-resistant:

5. Pro boats for sale

Jacob Wall's Vexus VXS 20, Mercury Pro XS, Lowrance

Beau Browning's Ranger 520R, Merc Pro XS, Garmin

6. MLF Pro Circuit registration now open

Insist that you're registering for the Invitationals too! 😆

7. NPFL registration open til Oct 31

This is your chance to beat guys like Christie and Hackney! Maybe...😁 Online application here.

8. NBT Marine just released its own black box

The folks who make those huge screens for Garmins. This deal is $1,800 and it will let you do things like run Lakemaster and other maps on your Garmin units, among other things.

Why someone has not tried to buy that company is beyond me...or have they? 🤔

9. Some "bests" from the Pitman Creek dealer show

Pitman Creek is a distributor of fishing tackle, had smaller ICAST-like show and here's a few who won (not everyone was there):

Best Hard Lure and Overall Best of Show: Strike King Hog Father Jr

Best Soft Lure: Z-Man Swag LT

Best Terminal Tackle: Rapala VMC Minnow Shaker Jighead

Best Accessory: Plano StowAway Waterproof 3700 Boxes

Also sounds like from that deal that Daiwa has entered the ultra-thin braid game:

> Daiwa XBraid X9...is specifically designed for spinning rods and [FFS] baits...ultra-fine diameter and optimizes tensile strength drastically reducing wind knots.... Each spool has a midpoint marker to perfectly spool 2 reels.

10. Did Rapala make a spinner-less tail spinner?

Sorta? Maybe? The new Nano Rap – 2/4" and 1/16-oz:

11. New Bobby's Perfect and Smashmouth frog colors

Bobby Barrack likes 'stump knocker' (top) around matted veggies and 'burnt toad' in open water and shade lines. Then again Bobby pretty much likes all frogs so...😁

12. Picasso has titanium-wire spinnerbaits

Don't think it's the first since the old Terminator ones, but interesting. 4 models. I'll take the turtleback/CO and the IN/willow!

13. Sounds like Garmin has a new wireless kill switch?

Asking about it, will post the answers when I get 'em....

14. FL: Rodman saved from "death row" again

Those people hate bass! 😱

15. Travis Tuma now on Rapala Global Mgmnt Team

He's now VP of sales at Rapala USA and will be the Rapala USA prez Jan 1.

16. Tyler Maring new head of sales and mrktng for Trik Fish line

17. DC: ASA prez Glenn Hughes new chair of...

...the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, "which promotes the growth of the outdoor recreation economy and activities."

I've always tried to clarify that he is not the same Glenn Hughes who was a keyboard player for Deep Purple, but I was wrong. As a bass-head pointed out to me, Glenn Hughes was the BASS PLAYER for Deep Purple.

Which I should have known because I am aware that he's been in a band called Black Country Communion with blues guitar man Joe Bonamassa and Jason Bonham, son of Led Zep drummer John Bonham. So there you go!

18. TX: Lake Austin might be drawn down too...

To fight hydrilla, in addition to grass carp.

19. OH boat dock lottery is on for 16 lakes

20. What might eventually be coming in boat electronics?

A stretch because it's the military, but remember that the military gets everything first...after the aliens I mean: 👽

> Anduril has become a model for the new wave. It builds autonomous defense networks [aka Skynet] and now an AR helmet called EagleEye that gives soldiers real time data in the field. 

> ...Rivet also won a $200 mil Army contract to deliver AI powered glasses with night vision, maps and situational awareness. The work includes close testing with soldiers over the next 18 months as edge devices move past pilots into the battlefield.

21. Keep an eye on...

B.A.S.S. is doing another redfish tournament and has a walleye post on their website

Might be time to install that underground bunker...😁

Salty sonar folks Furuno now have bird radar

Run over there and throw a Spook! Maybe coming to a bass boat near you...paging Mr Wheeler?? 😁

Check this IG vid of a United Arab Emirates big-$$$ biz guy talking about how water (in the US) will be "tokenized" like a commodity...

...and he mentions something being backed by water reserves in TX. Pretty sure TX doesn't have enough water, let alone reserves?? Anyhow, if that commodity thing actually happens, fishing might not be able to afford it...for real.

IN: Google data center proposal withdrawn due to citizen protests over water use

But it'll have to go somewhere.... Data and AI are going to guzzle a LOT of water. And power.

CA: If you carry in/to Cali, the state banned Glock and Glock-style handguns

Yep it's unconstitutional and they are being sued over it, but I guess technically it's a law there for now.

Scientists are modifying wildlife DNA. Should these species be released into nature?

The irony of some of the peeps worried about alleged species declines being in favor of modifying them....

22. MN: Peta gets even dumberer

They want this – which of course makes zero sense – installed at Lake of the Woods:

Headline of the Day

GAME & FISH Promotes Warden to Editor

A lot of violations coming in that office! 😆 Congrats to him!

John Murray: Why a flip a free rig instead of a jig

Sometimes anyhow. Good stuff from the dude should/will be a Bassin' Hall of Famer, John Murray – full deal on the MLF site:

> During the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event on the St Lawrence River this summer, he used a Yamamoto Senko on a free rig to catch several quality largemouth each day...helped him buck the typical smallmouth approach...and finish in the top 10. 

> "...what I was doing is pitching it in holes in sparse grass where I normally pitch a jig, but the free rig got through there better and hooked them better. I could present a Senko, which just catches them better than a jig. There's just a lot of advantages to pitching that over a jig."

Also some good stuff from Jacob Wall:

> "It just has a little more hang time, has a little bit more of like a weightless presentation. I feel like on an unpegged Texas rig...once you start hopping it, that weight kind of gets tighter to the nose, and it doesn't really free up as much.

> "On a free rig, if you're fishing in 10-12'...and you cast out there, your bait is going to have a lot of hang time on that initial drop. You hop it, and you're going to have a bunch of hang time inbetween each hop. Like, your bait isn't just going to congeal to the side of the weight.

> "Even when you're dragging, [the free rig] gives that worm more fluidity behind that weight rather than being so locked down to a jighead like a shakey head is.

> "And also another thing is when a fish eats the bait, if you lean a little bit toward the bait, the fish can eat that bait and not feel any kind of resistance from any kind of weight."

Check free rig weights and stuff on TW.

"Close to 60% of our riders are stating that they're taking their phone out every 5 minutes during a ride to do something."

- Talkin' 'bout jet ski peeps. Why does that not surprise me....

From that post, sounds like PWC sales are red hot vs boats. 😬

Well here's what's working in Japan's Lake Kasumigaura right now...doesn't look like finesse or Scopin'! Posted by OSP:

'I didn't know what to think': Runaway spider monkey causes stir in Eutawville

What up SC peeps! I would pay to see that fishing show: crazy spider monkey in the boat! 😆

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