Hope you had a good turkey break! Good one at the Kumars. Light on peeps cuz most of my "birth family" and my wife's decided to unilaterally separate a while back – we think cuz of politics? Sounds crazy but they never said anything so we're thinking that's it. Sad, man.
6 months ago we woulda been bummed but not anymore...okay actually my wife was bummed – she's from a big family...like way too big, if you know what I mean. 😂 Anyhow, it was us 4 and 2 more: 1 of my sisters in law and my niece. Too bad for the rest because my wife cooked the best meal she ever has! I made the stuffing, which had to have breakfast sausage – gracias to a bass-head's recommendation of TN's Swaggerty's Farm sausages. Good stuff!
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"The problem is that most anglers are sissies and don't want to go out there when it's real cold, so they imagine the fish don't bite. But believe me, they do."
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> Brauer targets sharp-breaking channel swings on the main lake but says you don't have to fish as deep as some anglers believe – as long as deep water is nearby. "I've caught a lot of [cold-water] bass in 2' of water, and I've even caught fish by dragging a jig off shoreline ice and letting it fall into open water."
> ...he limits his line to no bigger than 15-pound fluorocarbon line...on baitcast gear. Brauer's preferred jig for winter fishing is a 1/2-oz Strike King in natural colors, although green pumpkin and black/blue remain his top choices.
> "The water coming out of the dam was 32-34 degrees, and I caught a 5-lber on a jig."
Also a line in that deal about Denny fishin' a jig on spin gear but I'm gonna say it's fake dang news and either way I already said too much about it...😂
Also gotta point out Denny retired to south TX so guess he got tired of the cold even if bass don't?? I was like, "What do you think about THAT Denny!" He was like:
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WTHeck is the Tornado HH knot and why do we need to know it?
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Here's the logic:
> Many anglers including professional anglers have blamed a broken line on the hookset with fluorocarbon to be a "bad batch" when in it was the knot they were tying. Why is fluorocarbon more impacted by a poor knot and a strong hookset? The answer to that lies in the nature of the carbon raw material....
> Anglers choose fluorocarbon for the improved sensitivity it provides. That improved sensitivity comes from the fact that fluorocarbon is a harder material than the nylon lines used for years, and that hardness allows it to better transfer feeling to the rod. That same hardness can also cause fluorocarbon to quickly cut itself much faster than a nylon line.
> If an angler ties a knot with fluorocarbon where the fluorocarbon crosses itself, that crossing can cause the line to break very easily at that spot as the fluorocarbon cuts itself. Failure will happen at that location with a strong hookset.
> With the line crossed, many anglers including professionals experienced breakoffs with the Palomar knot when they first began using it on a regular basis. When tied properly, the Palomar can be an effective knot for fluorocarbon because it doesn't cinch down on the line as much and ruin the abrasion resistance, but there are also other choices that will give you greater performance.
They added this, which is dead on:
> Data in the lab does not always match with what anglers experience on the water...if you have success with a knot, keep using it.
I'd also bet that different types of fluoro have slightly different properties relative to knots, but can't prove it with charts 'n such....
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Cody Meyer caught a dang tank smallmouth!
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What's it weigh? Didn't say but said it's his biggest CA smallmouth...so maybe not his biggest from any state? If it's Cali only, I'm sayin' it's shy of 7 but who knows since Cody has a knack for catching the bigs like:
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Not sure why chubby fish are attracted to Cody...? 😁
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Pro tip: Don't let the pro on the water...
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> BMP: "That's like maybe the biggest bass I've ever caught on this lake. That's a dang giant one!"
> Jake: "You know how far I stopped before the waypoint so that you wouldn't do this until the cameras got setup?"
> BMP: "I can make really, really long casts with this setup."
Bahahaha love it! Jake is OCD-ish so it's even funnier. Here's the feesh, a 5 'n 3/4 HOSS – click the pic to see the 2-min vid:
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Couple Dead Sea trips over break!
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Got out on the local Dead Sea 2x over the break. Tuesday took my son out for a couple hours. Only trailer in the lot because it was crazy cold (low 30s without the wind, little snow) and windy (15-17, whitecaps). Got 2 pops on a jig, 1 ended up in the boat. Feeling bites with a 1/4-oz jig in that wind was a little challenging man – pic was taken in a calm area! Kinda cracked me up that the kid froze! 😆
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Thanksgiving was sunny, no wind, in the 50s. Took my son and daughter out in the early afternoon and thought we'd kill 'em. But crazy deal – the largemouths vanished. Gone. Only bite we got was my son's lil smallie, on a jig again. My daughter zeroed on a MaxScent Ned Rig. So...the jig won:
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All the reels happened to be Abu Zatas ( casting and spinning) – I like 'em and it's my son's fave casting reel. Casting rods were Abus, spinning were Alpha Angler and a Loomis NRX because Gussy bullied me into trying one...😁...I still haven't fished it but it feels good in the hand man!
Loved seeing my kids' casting skills come back, makes me feel good for some reason. Loved fishing with 'em even though we lost 3x as much tackle. 😆 Hope you got out too.
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> His duties will include appearances in stores and at special events, conducting on-the-water demos, testing boats and working with engineers on product development. He'll fill a role similar to the one that longtime pro Stacey King played with the company in recent years.
> "I got to do something that I loved, but that took me away from home for a lot of years. I don't want to be selfish at a time when people need me at the house."
Hate to hear it but understand. Hope to see ya at Table Rock man!
Not sure what that means since we know their faces already – are they getting face lifts?? Face masks?? Yep I'm being "face tioius" – glad to see 'em back.
2 of the new guys are from Japan, 2 are from almost Canada (WI and MN), and I gotta shout-out OH's Alex Redwine because OH (and IN) have a lotta good fishermen who don't seem to filter into the bigs that often....
Couple lols in it too like:
> He was on the water in Florida, and as most Aaron conversations go, he was all over the board. He talked about why he liked the boat, the bugs that were biting his legs and flying in his face and the fish he was catching all in the same sentence.
😂 Only way he talked man!
> When he came to the [Phoenix] plant to meet us, I knew instantly he was a great human being, a great angler who paid attention to the slightest of details and a person who never had any kind of ulterior agenda.
> I never saw him show one hint of arrogance throughout his career. He had the genuiness of a young kid who never would say anything to hurt anyone and who carried a childlike innocence and love in his heart.
Yep, love it Gary, thank you man. 🙏✝️
> On Sunday, Nov 7 Ken Mah from Elk Grove, CA won the Wild West Bass Team Trail Pro/Am Championship on the California Delta with a 3-day total weight of 52.61 lbs. The following day...Mah won the APEX Cup Tour Championship on Lake Berryessa with...18.67 lbs. ...earned right around $100,000 in prizes, cash and incentives....
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As of 2022. Matt said the first thing he's gonna do is repaint the walls – says he loves green fish but not green walls. 😁 Just messin', congrats to 'em both. Gotta ketch up with 'em.
Lots of fish and you can ketch 'em pretty much how you want:
> Fish are holding at varied depths of 3-6', 12-18' and 20-25'....
Sounds like the DNR's really trying to create a trophy fishery:
> After 2 years of drawdowns and construction work...the lake refills. It may take 3-5 years for the 1,500-acre reservoir to reach full capacity....
> "The largemouth bass killed during the rotenone application had both FL and northern largemouth bass alleles. We plan on restocking pure FL largemouth bass...which will increase the trophy potential of the fishery."
> ...67 habitat sites on the lakebed...[also] "we hinge-cut 1,653 trees to offer complex cover for juvenile and adult gamefish." The lakebed has been allowed to dry and crack, recycling nutrients into the system, and grasses and plants have grown throughout the lake that will offer ideal nursery habitat for forage fish when the lake begins to refill. The decaying vegetation will make even more nutrients available....
> Sunfish spawning areas were created...by spreading dump truck loads of pea gravel to offer spawning substrate for bluegill, redear sunfish and other bream species.
> The lakebed also received about 1,550 tons of lime, which was spread throughout the lakebed to lower the acidity of the lake's sediment. This will increase the effectiveness of fertilizer added to the lake once it is full.
That's how you do it state peeps, wow! AR peeps lmk if you know of any houses or shacks for sale around there...😁
Lotta good tips in that deal including actual waypoints??
Ooooo check it, from the Scottsboro Insta:
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Just have 2 casting rods rn – a 6' 10" MHF Finesse Jig Rod and a 7' MMod Wart/Crawler Rod:
> VIRTUS rods were designed by competitive anglers and built by a staff with years of rod-making experience, the culmination of over 30 years of rod-making and development. This knowledge and experience unite to form the right kind of rod for specific applications. These hand-crafted rods are made in the USA....
> 2 series...a Red Diamond Series and a Blue Diamond Series. Both the Red and Blue Diamond Series will [eventually] offer a full line for all fishing applications.
> "At Jewel, we make specific tools to do specific jobs to help people catch more fish. VIRTUS rods are created to help all types of anglers catch more fish in their specific situation. This is why we are releasing the Finesse Jig rod and Wart/Crawler rods first. These are specific tools for specific baits that create what we want to give our customers: A great fishing experience," said Gayle Julian, owner of Jewel Bait Co.
> ...host Kyle Curry talks with Logan Parks and Tucker Smith from...Auburn U.
Coach was like:
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Completely #stout, love it.
Outstandin'!
Hahaha love it! Should be required in every grade!
> During the presentation, students described how they chose their baits, how to put together fishing poles and tie hooks, the locations they fished at, how many fish were caught and more.
> Most of the fish, 51 of them, were caught using hotdogs, while the other 21 were caught with corn. 45 of the fish were bluegills....
Note: Some bass were caught with corn and hotdogs so.... Reminded me of one class I took in college, known to be easy. Buds and I went fishing and took pics, put 'em all in a report – that was the final. I think I got a B! Money bait for me at the time, for backwater NH river bass, was a broken-back Rapala.
No surprise but guess it's public now. VP of sales said:
> "We would also like to duplicate the success of the Senko in some new bait designs and we are staffing up our team to make sure we are at the forefront of soft-bait innovation and plan to launch some new styles in the coming year."
Not sure about that "duplicating the success of the Senko" deal but if he's serious maybe make a soft-plastic out of every Zebra and Bic pen shape? 😆 Team-wise, I did hear they scooped up a good dude...not public yet....
Stock price since the Oct 2020 IPO keeps going up.
Updatin's
MULTIPLE peeps wrote in about Carolina riggin' back before it was called that – like the '50s, '60s and '70s – so maybe just the term "Carolina rig" was invented in the '80s? Who knows, either way not surprised so many peeps had figured it out. Fishermen = rednecks = smartest people on the planet! 👊
Fave lines from the emails:
> Steve Goodwin of NC used the Carolina Rig [at the time called the "Carolina worm"], although it did not have a name at that point, to win the 1977 Florida Invitational. However...I'm pretty sure I saw pictures of the Carolina Rig before 1977.
> We would go to Lake Hartwell, tie on a rig and put a Zoom U Tail worm on, make a cast and never move it and catch fish! It was incredible how well pumpkinseed worked.
At the time "pumpkinseed" was a new color...which makes me wonder how fish might react to a truly new, maybe gp-ish color.
THANK YOU all for sharing all your knowledge, it's great!
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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> The Long A is supposed to be a jerkbait. It'll catch bass that way, but it's also effective as a wake bait when you crank it along real slow. It wiggles, twists and turns so that it looks very much like a baitfish on top fighting for its life.
> ...I fish my topwater lures on an Abu Garcia MH 7' 3" Fantasista Rod with an Abu Garcia REVO Rocket Reel with a 10.1:1 gear ratio. I like the REVO Rocket because it makes fishing these lures easy. I can crank slow with little effort. And when I get a bite I can take up line quickly and get a good hookset.
> I use a fairly long 15-lb mono leader with it. It just doesn't perform right on [straight] braid.
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"It was just somewhere you could sleep, make coffee and go to the bathroom all in the same little area...."
Props to 'em for takin' the risk and jumpin' all in with the travelin' bassin' carnival life. Yep it's a risk, so is anything worth doing in my 2c...like going 60+ mph on water in an open platform boat! 👊 Yeeeeeehaaaaaaa!
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Don't feel like fishing in the cold? I get it. Texted Dave Mercer about it, here's all he had for us:
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> 19 of the 20 samples contained "no detectable tuna DNA sequences whatsoever," the lab found, according to the lawsuit.
Say what?? I don't eat there but WTHeck?
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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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