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Hope your May is kickin’ off big! Dang winter coats all weekend again (ugh), but s’posed to be decent feeshn weather this week. ‘Bout time…hope you’re gettin’ out there!
>> If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
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HAHAHA! Congrats to Kevin…again! He didn’t do nothin’ too spectacular…except catching 5 lbs more than everyone else in a surprisingly otherwise-tight tourney, and setting the all-time B.A.S.S. record for wins. Wellll…not bad….
All his bait and pattern needs on the BB website, but here’s some choice vittles:
> “I was looking for little staging spots where the fish would hold before moving back in the pockets to go to the beds. Rock transitions, bottom-composition transitions, some depth irregularity along the bank…. The majority of my bites came in 5-7′.
> “I had [small] stretches that I’d really focus on, like 10 or maybe 50 yards. That lake has a lot of no-wake zones, so sometimes I’d idle back in a creek a quarter-mile just to fish [a small spot]. Then I’d leave, where a lot of guys just fished through everything. I’d key on the best areas.
> “The other bait was a 1/2-oz Denny Brauer Structure Jig with a Rage Menace [both gp]. Basically I fished the jig where there were docks or cables over the rocks. That jig skips exceptionally well.”
Rest of his gear and more pattern deets on BassBlaster.rocks.
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We’ve seen lots of Bassin’masters hammers over the years, notably Ricky Clunn and Roland Martin when it comes to #s. Been debates about who’s the best ever. Stick a fork in that.
Yep there’s the # of wins for KVD — 25, most ever — but also 16 2nds and 18 3rds. In fact 110 TOP TENS (includin’ wins). Seth Feider’s uncle was like:
Kevin’s so far up there, now gotta have a neck like this…
…or a job like this…
…just to get a little peek at him. Why’s he so good?
Doesn’t hurt when you get a escort from the 5-0 either:
Lol! Anyhow, you still want to debate it, take it up with this kid:
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Big congrats to Tommy, whose last 2nd-place finish was in 2009. Tommy loves him some rocks now (#hardheaded #hardhead) and is an Okie, so it’s kinda not a surprise he did well in this one. What he did:
> Gene Larew Fat Tail Tube (dark watermelon dipped chartreuse) with a 1/8-oz Elite Tungsten weight and 4/0 hook.
> Fished 3/4 of the way to the backs of creeks in 4-6′. Tube and jig: 45-degree banks with ledge-type rock. Hardhead: Flatter spawning-type coves with rock from pea gravel to the size of a fist.
Check how chill Biffle was — hahaha Tommy!
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Hawk fished a Mallard pattern??
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Roy Hawk (4rd) texted me this: “The jig was fished around laydowns, behind docks and skipped under ducks.”
Under DUCKS?? That incredible or what!?!? NEVER heard of that pattern. Had to ask him more:
> What species of duck?
> Do you throw coots in there too or…?
> Single ducks or rafts of ducks?
> How do you see their feet to time your casts and not get your line tangled in there? I mean check it:
HAHAHA! Love the voice to text stuff #thanksSiri. Here’s what he did:
> Backup was an unnamed 1/2-oz jig (gp purple pepper) with a Yamamoto Cowboy (gp) fished on a 7′ 6″ Taipan flipping stick, same reel and line. Dropped it around laydowns, behind docks and skipped it under DOCKS.
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B-Rad Roy bugged ’em to 4th.
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Here’s how B-Rad-Lee Roy-ee caught ’em (vid recap here):
> Pitched to short walls in the backs of pockets and creek arms for spawners in 2-6′. Basically was blind bed-fishing. “If I got a bite I would repeat the same cast to catch the other fish.” Lower end of the lake.
Didn’t get the stuff yet from Seth “si me llama” Feider, but will….
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Tip of the Day
KVD talkin’ the Hydrowave.
I’m amazed, but not surprised, so many bass-heads think the Hydrowave is a gimmick or “doesn’t work.” My answer to that is always: Look at the guys on the Elite Series. They don’t put stuff on their boats that they think MIGHT work. They don’t put more sound in the water because they think the fish need to get pinged more. They have Hydrowaves on their boats because they really believe the units help them catch more fish.
And every Elitist (literally) I’ve talked to who uses one has a couple stories about how it’s helped catch ’em (or at least fire ’em up).
When I talked to KVD yesterday, I made sure to ask him about the Hydrowave for 3 reasons:
1. I know he uses it and, well, he’s KVD so what he says about it is #heavy.
2. It’s helped in plenty of pre-spawn tourneys, which Grand was.
3. Feel it’s my duty to inform y’all about stuff that can help you catch ’em.
So here’s what he said:
> “I used the Hydrowave every day. The thing that was interesting here, the first day of the tournament no bait was evident. Didn’t see any bluegill, didn’t see shad flipping, didn’t see anything. By the end of the tournament, it was warming up and you saw bluegill in the shallows, shad flipping.
> “When the conditions were dead calm and slick, I used Finesse and Crawfish on Gravel [sounds], and the Power Pattern when it livened up. The biggest thing is when the water got warmer the last 2 days in afternoons, when I’d come into an area I’d all of a sudden see the shad start popping. The shad definitely get active when they hear the Hydrowave. It’s very noticeable.
> “I typically run it on a 30-second delay. If it’s pretty calm and I’m fishing slow, I’ll run it on a 60-second delay. I try to think about what would be natural for the conditions.”
KVD Hydrowave vids
Story on Lewisville, TX
Story on T-Bend
Good explanation of why/how he uses it
The whole key with the Hydrowave — and your electronics in general, and tools like BassGold.com (hit it, now FREE yo!) — is if you want to get the biggest benefits out of them, you have to put time into them. You HAVE to take the time to understand them and what they can do for you. Time.
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Quote of the Day
“I’m a bass geek, fan of the sport, fan of all of it. I know what it means to win, period, and how hard it is, so the longer I do it, the more I’ve learned to appreciate it.”
– Guess who, the man with alien bassin’ DNA:
Great shot by Joel Shangle.
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Shot of the Day
Aussie basser Carl Jocumsen took this shot…which I can’t find anything wrong with so here ’tis. Believe that gal is Brandon Palaniuk’s cuz:
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Ya got me
Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup
of the best, worst and funniest in bassin’, as curated 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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