For Christmas got me some Aaron baits for the Aaron box I'm puttin' together. Can't wait to fish 'em:
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Wonder what they'll teach me man. I keep running into things – he said what? He did what? So much genius. Missin' him. Love 'n hugs.
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We gonna see a jerkbait revival this year?
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Some factorin's:
1. Hank "I only fish jerkbaits dang it" Cherry won 2 consecutive Classics on a jerkbait, and then Berkley comes out with his signature jerkbait.
3. Live/forward facing sonar. That's how Brandon and Patrick did it, and Hank and others say he thinks it will open up jerkbaits even more because you can see how the fish react to the bait.
Or maybe the jerkbait revival is already goin'?
Here's a good jerkbait vid with Brandon – among a few "non-traditional" spots for jerkbaits he likes is suspended fish around bridges:
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Couple more 'lectronical thoughts.
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1. How 'bout tourney divisions with restrictions?
Bass-head Pat D with innerestin' thoughts:
> ...a solution some drag-racing tracks have come up with is a "No Electronics" class that gives the racers who don't want to use the delay box or other electronic controls a place to race. Why not have a No Live or 360 sonar class? Would not take anything away from the all-in competitors if the no-high-dollar electronics guys were not going to enter otherwise.
> Some circuits have big boat and small boat classes, or youth classes. They all fish the same derby, just not against each other.
That's pretty dang good!
2. Don't let the state gov'ts get involved!
From readin' the DeerBlaster, I believe 2 western states have recently banned trailcams – completely, for any use – and a few more have hunting-related bans of 'em.
The states talk about too much game concentrated at water holes and related stuff, but they also cite the "laziness" (basically) of hunters who just put up cams instead of being out there scouting – and they mention rumors of guys getting pics of nice deer and selling the GPS data to the highest bidder...though I haven't seen one actual case of that cited, which I can't believe would be legal.
Understand how this goes down: These states – by a vote of a politically-appointed commission, which might be just 6-7 people who might not even use trailcams – outlawed an entire class of technology. And when it's at that point, the media is involved, politicians are involved – so the whole deal gets distorted.
So in my 2c it probably would be bad news if things got to the point with fish tech that DNRs and fish/game commissions or – even worse – politicians and the media jumped in. It could spin out, and then all of a sudden the bad guys (animal crazies, etc) see an opening into regulating our sport. And then we'd have to show up and protest:
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Lol okay for real: I hope all tourney organizations – not just B.A.S.S. and MLF – take a real hard look at how to handle this deal, before folks who probably don't understand tourney- or bass-fishing jump in. I think Pat's idea above is a real good one to ponder on....
One mo': The Boone & Crockett record club is now requiring hunters to sign an affidavit they didn't use a cellular trailcam, smart scope or other banned tech to take the animal.
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Asked y'all for some tippage 'bout anything you learned last year, and a couple guys wrote in the exact same deal so here it is:
> Bass-head Al P: "One thing I have been doing for the past 2 years and is working well is adding a screw-in spinner [blade] to a Senko after taking about an inch off of the tail of the Senko.
> "You can swim it and catch fish, but my favorite is off the bank through trash on the bottom. I keep the rod tip pointed down towards the water. When I hit something, I sloooooowly raise the rod tip. 9 times out of 10 if it's a bass it usually swims off and it's SET THE HOOK BABY time. If it's limbs, etc, when you raise up the tip it will come over the cover."
Here's a pic of it from another bass-head, Tom B:
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Cuz it's an easy way to transport 'em!
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😂 okay: Got curious about whether anyone ever said anything about pork (Uncle Josh) "frogs" – aka chunks, aka trailers – beyond what we already know: salty, bulky, tough, good in cold water. Found a little – both from Bassmaster scribbler Mark Hicks, who I guess likes pork almost as much as he likes headbands:
> "Pork is more pliable, more fluid, more lifelike than plastic in cold water. Bass hold on to it better too. They like the meaty feel and salty taste of pork.
> "I have tried other scents with pork, but I've found that its own saltiness is as good an attractant as you can use. I've also learned that some scents harden the pork if you mix them with the brine.
> "Because it's more buoyant than plastic, pork gives jigs and spinnerbaits a different action. When I want to fish a bulky jig that falls slowly in muddy water, nothing in plastic can compete with a No. 1 Pork Frog. I even use it during the summer when I flip and pitch."
> Though he can't explain why, Thomas has found that bass will inhale a 1/4-oz jig tipped with a No. 1 Pork Frog when they're missing a Tournament Frog.
> WI's Mark Duerr, a Bassmaster Opens competitor, dotes on pork's toughness when he punches through grass. "Sometimes you catch several bass on consecutive pitches. But you have to get the jig back in the sweet spot immediately. Pork won't rip apart and slow you down."
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How would you rather start your day??
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Big statement:
> "The gear stands up to all the great design elements of the Japanese products I have used in the past, but also has that extra American power."
Word is the entire reason for the deal is Chris' sunglasses – not sure what it means but it means something: 😁
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Stores in OK, TX, FL and a few other spots:
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Gotta be a first in pro bassin'? Might need a treadmill sponsorship now Mike! 😁
Mike says he will not be devoting one livewell to custard, but I told him he might want to reconsider....
Midway's getting serious about sellin' feeshn stuff....
Not a whole lotta colors:
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What he uses each braid for, heaviest to lightest.
Don't see Mickey Ds on jerseys much....
Also believe he and fam are living in the US now (not Italy).
Says he's sick of college kids...😁 just messin'. Congrats to him – the Weldon legacy is still rollin'. Texted Hank what kinda director he was shootin' to be, and he was like, "George Lucas." So I guess expect some Star Wars on the Opens? 😆
> The Marine Fuel Tax Program was created in 1970 in cooperation with the AR Dept of Transportation and AGFC to collect a portion of taxes on gasoline purchases devoted to boats, and devote those funds toward public access on AR waterways.
> According to AGFC Chief of Staff Chris Racey, the Marine Fuel Tax Program delivers about $1.7 mil per year in these construction projects..."that's great but the formulas used to generate those numbers are based on calculations made in 1967 when the program was being established."
> According to Racey, updated calculations developed by ArDOT engineers project the funding for the program could be close to $3.7 mil per year.
Almost, grades 4-12. Love the idea....
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In NE?
> This new line of premium hooks is focused on serving the custom tackle community and lure manufactures who demand precision, strength, and innovation.
> ...LureCraft has been an industry leader in soft plastic materials and lure molds for over 50 years. With 100s of mold designs and multiple soft-plastic formulas....
I get the impression that LurePartsOnline is bigger than peeps realize, but that's just a feelin'.
In IL that will allegedly "prevent invasive Asian Carp from reaching the Great Lakes." There's more than 1 door into the Lakes though....
> "Part of the issue is we don't know if we're on the leading edge of an invasion...or are seeing signs of reproduction because we're looking."
Dang that's a lotta land. Says some bass are in there somewhere.
> "...if we understand why they stick so well, that could help us design things like non-toxic biodegradable glues, which could offer an alternative to internal stitches for surgery or localized drug delivery applications."
...maybe should be better used for a bass spawn experiment? 🤣 Check this line:
> The researchers say their experiment was inspired by a levitating frog.
Sounds nuts but:
> ...the inspiration for the chamber came from Andre Geim, a physicist at the U of Manchester in the UK who...devising an experiment that made a frog float with a magnet.
Dang we can make a frog float with just plastic mang! 🤣🤣 Please send us that Nobel prize asap! 🤣🤣🤣
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Key is a FLOATING plastic. That's the Z-Man TRD Bugz and here's the deal:
> If you're fishing over top a bunch of junk and dead grass, try this extra-short EWG dropshot setup. Similar to a Jikka rig or TX rig, but it'll give you a little more separation when the buoyant ElaZtech does its thing!
Almost like the TX rig and the dropshot met in the middle. With this rig and things like the Tokyo Rig, we're seeing a bunch of slightly different cool ways to fish plastics. If you come up with one and wanna share, lmk!
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"Everybody's out there looking at bass on creek channels. That gives me a lot more room to fish on the bank."
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Who knew the Livermore, CA firehouse has had a lightbulb burning for 120+ years. 🧐
They even have a live webcam for it – at centennialbulb org (can't link it). Don't know about you but I'm feelin' a little scammed by current bulbs....
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) stuff in bassin', picked 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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