You fish last weekend? Hope so. I'm still stackin' up the miles, runnin' to 'n from athletic events. Felt sorry for myself for about 48 hours, then I realized: Neither of my kids are playing summer ball – they're too old for that now hahaha wooohoooo! Gonna be a bassin' massacre out here man! (Lol probly not but....) Let's go!
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Who is Caleb Kuphall and what's he doing taking a blue trophy back to WI??
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What would you do if you were a relatively "unknown" dude fishing the Elite Series? Would you stand up in the meeting and tell all the guys that they were fixin' to get a beat down so they might as well not even put their boats in the water? Then would you rip your shirt off and flex like this in front of everybody?
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HAHAHA! Okay that probly didn't happen but it coulda since Caleb Kuphall shazammed all the other Elitists by 16-02 to take the first Elite trophy back to WI. Full deets are on the BB site, here's a little fishing info and his baits:
> "The first area I hit every morning right after takeoff...by the Goose Pond campground area. It's just a spawning cove, basically, just a mat of milfoil...just gradually gets deeper as you go out into the bay
> "The fish were in 6' of water...little secondary point before going out into the marina and then into the main lake. They were stacked on one tiny little spot...a radius of about a 100' circle you could catch them in with 1 tiny little sweet spot about the size of a boat...a little harder spot down there, no indentation or anything...
> "The 2nd area I'd go to pretty much 8:30-9:00 and was a much shallower type of flipping spot. ...a matted up main line of a real green type of leaves about the size of a quarter – I don't know what they're called. They'd get gnarly underneath and form a mat. Out from it was scattered patches of it – isolated scattered mats [20-60' wide] where I was catching all my fish...2.5-3' deep, also a little bit of hydrilla and milfoil mixed in, and pads and eelgrass.
> "...just off the main river. I knew it would reload every day – it had new fish coming to it the entire tournament.
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> His main sponsor is Piscifun: "They sell rods, reels, tackle bags...affordable fishing gear."
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He's got a sense of humor, always a good thing!
1. Has anyone else from Mukwonago [WI] won a tour-level bass tournament?
> "No, in fact I am the first WI resident to win an Elite Series event. Dave Mercer told me that...."
2. I heard that "Mukwonago" means "Land of big hairy forest men." Have you ever seen one?
> "I've never heard of that, that's a first for me. Never looked that up. Never seen one around there. We're pretty built up – we don't have a lot of woods and forest around there."
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[Man he ain't kidding ^ – never seen anywhere in WI that looked like that. Seems like a place Jar Jar Binks might visit...]
3. When you decided to win the model rocketry deal in the Cub Scouts, did you bring a 6-foot-tall replica of a ballistic missile and crush all the other kids with it??
> "I don't even know how to answer that, that's a crazy question. [Hahaha yes it is!] But if I did, I would say yes. I'm a very competitive person, so if there's a chance for a beat-down I'm gonna do it."
4. 19th ('20 Classic), 64th ('20 Elite) and 1st – not sure I see a pattern there. How did the first 2 tourneys there lead to the win?
> "Just experience on the lake would be the only thing. We hit it at such a different time of year. We were there in early March [Classic], then in October. I've actually never been to Guntersville before in May – the latest we've been there was late March or early April, so it was my first event there this time of year."
[He also fished it a bit outside of B.A.S.S.]
5. What are you best at? Second-best?
> "I'm a shallow-water angler. My strength by far would be flipping a jig shallow – that's my bread and butter. I've won a lot of money on that over the years. I'm not a deep-water guy, I'm not an electronics guru – I like to stay shallow if I can.
> "Second-best...I enjoy cranking – like spinnerbaits and JackHammers, stuff like that through grass. Squarebills...mid-depth-type stuff."
Bonus Q: How do you find where the fish are in a bay covered with veggies (his starting spot)?
> "There's only one way to do it. You can't really find those areas on a graph or anything like that, so you just fish for them. Take a guess where to start...start at one end, zigzag around til you get a bite, then Power-Pole down and flip around to see if there's more fish there...try to find a school within the milfoil."
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2nd: Wes Logan
Won the previous one at Neely Henry so I guess he's fishing pretty good!
> "4-8' deep, mixtures of grass, mostly hydrilla, milfoil, eelgrass."
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3rd: Greg Hackney
Hackos y los Attackos has a 2nd, a 3rd and a 7th so far this season – he's knockin'.
> 3/8-oz Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig (gp) with a Rage Craw (gp), 7' 2" Strike King Hack Attack Frog/Swimjig Rod [believe all Hack rods are Academy only?], Lew's Super Duty Reel (8.3), 50-lb Gamma Torque braid.
> Strike King KVD Sexy Frog (stump jumper), 7' 3" Lew's Greg Hackney signature Frog Rod [Academy!], Lew's Super Duty Reel (8.3), 65-lb Gamma Torque braid.
> Matted vegetation in 2-4' with bream beds in close proximity.
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4th: Jason Christie
His second 4th in a row, plus he's gotten a win and a 5th. I asked if he puts his fave Covert spinnerbaits under his pillow every night but haven't heard back...
Wasn't able to get with Jason for his baits yet so will just run this shot because his tour jersey hood is lookin' like a space helmet – and there's a mysterious-lookin' exhaust trail in the sky:
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5th: Chris Zaldain
Chris had three 2nds in '19, now has two 5ths this season and also the world's biggest bassin' shades soooo....
> 2.5-oz Daiwa Steez Spoon (chrome, all stock): "Good luck finding it, it's really cool they're so rare. It was given to me by Yusuke Miyazaki – he worked with Daiwa to put it out. I like it over the rest of them because when you jerk it upwards, you can feel it kick. Most spoons...when you jerk it upwards or pop it forward, it pulls through the water with no resistance but with this one you can feel the thing kicking and pulling. It has a nice flutter to it, a thump on the pull...."
> 7' 11" Megabass Levante Leviathan Rod – "It's a light swimbait rod with a longer than normal handle, which helps with pulling and jerking the spoon" – and 300-size reel (6.6).
> 50-lb Seaguar Smackdown Flash Green Braid to an 18" leader of 30-lb Seaguar Gold Label fluoro: "Because I've lost so many big spoon fish in the past, I've come up with this system. It starts with that lighter swimbait rod, but the magic is in the line. The Flash Green Seaguar Smackdown is high viz so it helps indicate some of the bites on the fall. If you see the line jump and pop, you can set the hook if you miss the feel. The Gold Label leader is the absolute strongest leader material I've ever used. I use 30-lb because this is heavy metal – a 2.5-oz spoon, it's constantly curling (in the water), metal edges...I like the 30-lb around all that heavy metal.
> "Also on a very long cast with straight fluoro you really have to jerk [to move the bait and set the hook]. With zero stretch [braid] all I have to do is pop my rod and I get [the spoon] to move 3-4' off the bottom, and it helps get good hook penetration.
> "I was targeting immediate post-spawn fish just coming to the ledges. I just fished out in front of huge spawning flats on the main river channel...anywhere from 14-16'...boat had to be sitting in 25-30'. Not real deep ledges – 14' was the magic depth.
> "I was catching shallow fish the first 2 days of practice, but then the weather stabilized and it got hot...fish were moving to the ledges offshore as the tournament happened...."
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Yella (gold?) bass caught!
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Josh Rogers caught this bass of a lifetime at Beaver Lake, AR. Ultra-rare and might be caused by eating too many McDonald's fries...which are 100% natural of course:
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Rumor is Skeet Reese and a couple casinos were in a bidding war over it – Skeet was insisting it was yella, they were saying it was gold. Not sure who'll win that deal but Skeet might be able to throw in a guide trip to [the Cali lake that can't be named because of those huge spotted bass].
Congrats Josh! Tx to his bud Lenny F for the heads....
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New Zaldaingerous sunglasses are a new kinda fishing optics?
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If you:
- Love skiing and/or ski goggles
- Like snorkeling or scuba, or always wanted to try it, or wanna just look like you do
- Wanted to pretend you're always riding motocross like the Shryocks and Matt Lee
- Grow a mustache and wanna do even more to look like a '70-'80s state trooper
- Got curious what it would feel like to be a little Zaldaingerous on the water
- Like staring at people without them knowing
Then these shades are for you:
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HAHAHA just messin'! But seriously, those are Chris' new sunglasses, the Optic Nerve Zaldaingerous Polarized FixieMAX. Not only do they LOOK different than your standard polarized optics but Chris said:
> "...one lens goes across your whole face. It covers the whole top half of your face, from the bottom of your hat brim. ...polarization in your peripheral...top, bottom, a lot of coverage.
> "The scratch resistance awesome – I was quite surprised."
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Knee he had replaced got infected so he went back under the knife. Sounds like he's good but has to sit out for a bit. Hope you're all good soon man!
7-06 big fish o' the day at the Gville Elite:
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Social media peeps be like:
- "There's no way that weighs more than 5."
- "You're holding it wrong."
- "That fish is literally dying."
- "Too bad that fish probably wasn't released."
Might be new nickname time? After he, his better half Kayla and their dowg cleaned out a pile of trash from around the Gville shoreline. Good on them! Guess you could also call him...Bruno?
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If you remember that dude all you Muppets fans out there!
On a 100% serious note, very cool of the Jocumsens AND if any trash collectors are readin' this – also folks who keep our Porto Sans and septics clean – THANK YOU. You are appreciated.
For years – YEARS – been waitin' on someone, anyone, to post something about bass fishing using the word "flounder" because for whatever reason, to me it's a funny word that has ZERO to do with bassin'. Well:
> That’s when I began to flounder. I was convinced it was just a matter of time before the better quality bass would start hitting my moving baits even though the water was changing and there wasn’t much wind.
YES Clark! Not sure how anyone can top that....
Who is that dude? This guy:
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Yep ol' Neon Prime himself! Said in that IG post:
> Who wants to Fish with CoachPrime? Or should I say BASSIE PRIME! Fishing tournament coming soon.
Largie-smallie hybrid. OH Ivie would maybe be a good place to look for pots of gold, the Loch Ness monster and obese baitfish....
Will be 16,641 acres – the bass-rich get bass-richer:
> So far thousands of 1- to 2-year-old ShareLunker offspring have been stocked, and around 30,000-40,000 fingerling ShareLunker offspring are scheduled to be stocked into what will become the lake.
> ...left areas of pipes, concrete and piles of brush scattered...these will turn into "reefs" or structure under 10-20'...has also left standing timber in parts of the lake and natural vegetation....
Man how juicy does that sound! It's filling up now...wonder if it will beat the Headwaters Lake in FL....
May 22 through Oct 31...because the OR gov'nor says the smallies won't comply with her dictatorish demands so they must be eradicated...and also salmon returns in that river ain't great so they're taking out their rage on smallmouths.
> "Many spear-fishing anglers participated in this unique harvest opportunity last year."
Uh..."anglers" are NOT spear fishermen...just sayin'....
White River Marine = Bass Pro Shops' boat company with Ranger, Triton, etc. Does it really need more boat brands?? Self-reflection: Do I really need more fishing gear...answer = yes.
So far they're mostly in FL but have a couple marinas in TN:
> Southern Marinas...and an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, an investor in travel and leisure businesses, are pleased to announce their partnership to acquire and operate a portfolio of marinas across North America.
A LOT of venture $$$ out there looking to get into the post-covid "red hot" fishing/marine businesses. Wonder if these folks will be sniffing around at El Clasico....
Teledyne is mostly a defense company I believe.
Patagonia brand – my kids call it "Patagucci":
> "To survive, our irreplaceable wild fish need clean, undammed rivers undiluted by inferior hatchery stocks, accessible spawning grounds, protected ocean habitat and sustainable fishing practices. To thrive, wild fish need wild fish activists – a lot of them – to protect, advocate and defend them.... Tomorrow's fish depend upon what we do today.... That's it. It's that simple."
> "As anglers, we're all activists. It means we do the little things like keeping fish wet or picking up streamside trash, and it means we stretch higher too. We vote, we contribute, we show up. It's our obligation to do all we can for our sport, our fish and our fellow anglers."
Headline of the Day
Careful fellas! Only bass fishermen like to get bit by big females...
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Zaldaingerous deep big spoon fishing tips.
Who in their right mind would fish an 8" 2-oz spoon for largemouth bass? Well, no one. That's right, no one in their right mind, which means bass fishermen would hahaha!
Anyhow, not me – because I wouldn't have the first clue what in the heck to do other than what I've seen about it, which is pretty much where Chris started too...except he's got it down now. So I asked him for a little tippage for us bass-heads, here 'tis:
> "Here's something the ledgemasters never talk about – it's just my opinion from growing up in CA and having to learn this ledge-fishing thing [out East].
> "When you launch your boat on any TN River system it's intimidating because it's just a giant flooded river. It can be a 60-mile stretch, 120 miles – the whole lake is a ledge on both sides...miles and miles of straightaways. Look for underwater turns in the river channel. That helps shrink the idling and imaging areas.
> "So basically you're just looking for underwater outside channel bends – the exact same premise when you're fishing on Table Rock or the White River system. There you're fishing channel-swing banks, but [ledge fishing] you're just looking for underwater channel swings.
> "You'll start to see life at some point in the channel bend. Once that happens, start fluttering that spoon or throwing a crankbait or whatever."
How to throw what seems like a do-nothing bait to at least some of us:
> "I think it comes from the saltwater background I had – a lot of West Coast saltwater fishing...just getting big fish to react to big lures, like a big 8" spoon....
> "A giant flutter spoon provides a presentation that no other lure can imitate. The only thing that kind of comes close is a big 6-7" Senko.... The way it falls in the water column – no other bait does that: It lays horizontal but falls vertical. A horizontal fall but a vertical presentation.
> "There's just something about May-June bass that love that presentation [and] coming off the spawn, they prefer to bite shad. A lot of them at Guntersville were relating to white bass as well, which means they were feeding on them."
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"These Kentucky Derby winners you see out there – we're doing that with bass right here in Texas."
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Thinkin' our dropshot baits are way too small?? Watch Zaldain put a Magdraft on it.... Got Zaldain on the brain today...it's a Zaldaingerous thing to experience....
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Zombie tree farts "contribute about a fifth of greenhouse gases"
Looks like "tree farts" are a thing now, and why not? And not just any tree farts – these are specifically referring to ones from DEAD trees, which makes even more sense!
[At sciencenews org, can't link it....]
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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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