For anyone else who ever wondered about this, here you go:

Guess I thought it would mean something cooler than that! 😁

Gitcha Blaster video fix here:

- Would you be surprised if I said that's Kevin VanDam? Talkin' 'bout what it often takes to win a 4-dayer – meaning it usually ain't some magic deal where you wallop 30+ on the last day.

He said that on Dave "this is what I do in my downtime" Mercer's pod.

As many times as I've interviewed and just talked to Kevin, in my 2c he is always worth listening to. And I keep waiting for him to be 100% open and let it all out – because for YEARS he never has lol! Give us all that juice KVD! Drop them bass politics bombs! 🤣

Couple more deals from that interview, which has a lotta good stuff:

1. Kevin credits Denny Brauer with teaching him how to win.

2. KVD is a predator! An example: "You can see they're mentally beat already in their eyes. I can see it. I can read it." Yes he can, and I have seen many a time when he has the 180-degree opposite look in his eyes – that hyper-aggressive predator look. We can all read that!

3. He says FFS – the technology – "outpaced the rules" and the overall understanding of how powerful it is.

> "FFS is way more efficient than an AL rig.

> "...it's not because Garmin, Lowrance or Humminbird is paying them [the leagues] so much money [for max FFS] because they're not...that's not the case at all."

Exactly! But it remains one of the most persistent rumors online. Go figger.

4. Fan-perceived integrity of the leagues is an issue, he says, like it is right now in the NFL (officiating).

5. He says 2 bombs a year on the Elites and a guy will get cycled out – and that's the way it should be in sports.

6. Dave is right – Kevin is 100% competitive in everything, including what he does now: bass fishing TV. He also has only 1 speed – which you know from watching him fish!

Other than that I 100% disagree with several things he said. (Not true, I just want to get in his head hahaha!)

A good interview that shows how much Kevin is a student of EVERYTHING it takes to be a champ (and then some), not just the fishing part.

Still cracks me up how Dave is so stealth about getting into hot topics with peeps. No radar can see him coming! 🥷

Also – like all Canadians he SEEMS nice, but he's really a killah! 😁🤙

Sent some stuff out to bass-heads who volunteered, got some stuff back! Here's some of it, more coming. Why I am doing this:

1. I can't fish everything I get and it deserves to be fished

2. I love hearing what us regular bass-heads think

3. Sharing a little "free bassin' stuff" love

Jeff G from IL at Lake of the Ozarks

Rapala Mavrik 110 Deep Jerkbait

> "I own and have fished several Rapala jerkbaits over the years. This one fished very well and definitely gets down near the advertised 10' depth on 12-lb fluorocarbon. I managed to catch one small 2.5-lb largemouth fishing it."

BOOYAH Flash Point Jerkbait

> "I had never fished any BOOYAH jerkbaits prior to this one. I was pleasantly surprised while fishing this one. I casts great and definitely shows up well on FFS. It had a great action as well. I managed to catch 3 fish with this one – the largest was just over 4 lbs. Great color as well."

Yo-Zuri 3DB SP 110 Jerkbait

> "I had not fished these baits either. This one fished well also.... I like the matte finish – it really shows up well on an overcast day which was what we had that day. Managed 1 small Kentucky with this bait."

Berkley Finisher 7

> "This one is very intriguing and will get a lot more testing this coming spring. It really shows up well on FFS and has some really great action. I think I spent more time trying a bunch of different retrieves and watching the bait than I did trying to catch a fish.

> "I think this bait has a lot of potential once I figure out how best to use it. Didn't manage to catch anything on it this trip but am sure that it will be a good addition the arsenal."

Kistler Chromium Reel (7.3)

> "I was pleasantly surprised with this reel. I have heard of them but had never considered purchasing one. I use primarily Lew's and Quantum reels, and I feel this one is very similar to Lew's.

> "Once I got it dialed in, it cast very well, was smooth, and felt like a quality reel. It cast well with both heavier and lighter baits. I will be interested to see how it holds up over an entire season."

Jerry H from MI

Note: Water temp was 54-56.

BOOYAH Covert Series Finesse Spinnerbait

> "...1/2-oz in white/chart/blue with silver and gold willow blades. It casts like a bullet, has great flash and vibration. It's the Finesse Series so it's smaller than a typical 1/2-oz spinnerbait.

> "The day I fished, the bass were not very aggressive but the fish I caught smashed the spinnerbait. Overall I really liked it and will look to add this to my tacklebox."

Rapala CrushCity Salted Ned Roll

> "I fish Z-Man Neds quite a bit and have confidence in them. The Rapala CrushCity Salted Ned Roll is almost twice as large as a Ned TRD. It has more action with the small tail on it.

> "I fished it on a 1/5-oz head, and on the day I fished it I absolutely crushed them. It was a day they weren't too aggressive, but the bait was just bigger than a TRD and I feel that made a difference.

> "I caught 14 fish on it and you couldn't tell. The bait looked brand new. It stood up the jighead up easily, and the color – gp with blue flake – looks great. I will definitely be trying more of these."

_____

Thanks fellas!

If you want in on the product review deal, please email back your name, address, what your 2 top fishing strengths are, and how many years you've been doing 'em. But note: Hundreds of folks have volunteered already so it might take some time to get to you!

I spend way too much time on Tackle Warehouse lol. As Fat Cat Newton would say, Dang it Bobby! 😁 In no particular order:

Look at this color!

That's the OSP Rattlin' Blitz Max Squarebill in 'matte chart back real gill.' 😍

How 'bout a red and PURPLE lipless?

That's a Copper Red Baits Snatchin' Shad rattler in 'royal red.' We have red, red/gold, red/orange – not sure I've seen many or any red/purples for a red lipless?

Never heard of that bait but it looks like it's supposed to be a thinner lipless. Anyone fish 'em?

Which color glide?

That's the new Yo-Zuri Pro Series Glide 180 (7") in 'ghost sexy shad' and 'bone.' I want to fish the 'ghos sexy' because Yo-Zuri does that color so well and the fish like it, but man that bone wiht the brown back looks good!

Gonna always have one on the deck now that the new Abu BEAST stuff makes casting these baits a lot more normal-feeling for me.

Dare you not to fish this!

Maybe it's just me but every time I see an inline spinner I'm like, 'Dang why don't I fish one of those anymore??' Caught soooo many bass on 'em when I was young.

Well this one – the Lunkerhunt Wire Arm Inline Spinner (can't get more descriptive than that! 😁) has a mushroom jighead, light wire and a custom turtle-type blade. Honestly believe that deal would SLAY those feesh.

Gitcha hyper-expensive pistol grip!

That's a Megabass Great Hunting Huntsman Rod, which is on TW for...$700. More:

> ...extraordinarily thin, lightweight, sensitive, and produces impressive torque for its size.

> Designed to excel when making pinpoint presentations in tight quarters, casting precision is further amplified through lightweight titanium/SiC guides optimally spaced for increased accuracy and reduced resistance.

> Individually made from natural hardwood...hand-carved and finished grip....

3 of the sizes are 5' 3", 5' 11" and 6' – gitcha old school on!

Please 'splain these Scum Frog Small Dog colors to me

Top is 'white' and bottom is 'red pearl'. 🤔 Confused me but if I look real hard I think I can see a 'red pearl' tint in the plastic of that 1 bait.

That Hideup Chain Worm in the last BB I thought was the first such bait ever, but nope! Turns out the first one was made in '68 (I think?) by a company named Burke outta Traverse City, MI:

Thanks to bass-head Mark V for hipping me to it, and shoutout to the Bassin' Archives for archiving it. Soooo much good stuff in the archives, and so important.

1. Drew Gill won $1 mil with MLF by 23 yrs old

Doesn't surprise me one bit. Talk to him – or listen to him talk, like in this recent, good Tom Redington pod – and you will know why.

2. Dustin Connell talks which fish to throw at on FFS (YT)

3. Matt Lee gives 5 ways to rig the new MaxScent Flux-Gill

All good stuff but the Neko rig action looks sick and the trailer for a buzzbait (it's MaxScent too) is real interesting. Here's the Flux-Gill on TW.

4. Carl Jocumsen likes the sound of tungsten

In that IG vid he's talkin' 'bout the knock a tungsten jighead makes on rocks – in his case the VMC RedLine Tungsten Swimbait Head (the one Wheeler and Connell uses) with the Rapala CrushCity The Mayor swimbait.

Says he also likes that the head is matte.

5. Caleb Kuphall only fishes spinnerbaits with an eye

Says he learned the hard way from breakoffs. Interesting little IG video.

6. Here's your 101 2026 Elites

7. Ricky Clunn is on Byron Velvick's podcast

I haven't listened yet but it should be a good one. Byron also just did a 2-parter with Billy Dance who has more stories than any 10 bass fishermen...except maybe Larry Nixon lol. Larry start that podcast man!

8. WI: 2026 Freshwater HOF class announced

Bass guys:

• Lee Bailey Jr – Fished B.A.S.S. and FLW, fished a few Classics and FLW Champeenships, won the 1997 Missouri Invitational on Table Rock. Originally a New England guy.

• Don Wirth – Bassmaster Mag legend writer who just retired. He is in the Bassin' HOF.

Shoutout to Jason Przekurat who's also going in – he's now known as "Jay Przekurat's dad." 😁 Happens to all of us man! Jason is a wally-eye pro with many awards, and says the only thing more relaxing than ice fishing is trolling. (Okay I made that up hahaha!)

9. Bass pastor Chris Wells is doing live devotionals on TikTok

Every morning – get every day started right!

10. KY: Amazing dude intro'ing folks to fishing

Paducah area – send that man some tackle!

11. GA: Toys for Tots tourney on West Point SATURDAY

12. Z-Man now has more shrimp to ping!

Personally I can't wait to ping some bass on shrimp, and yep I will be trying a couple of the PrawnStarZ baits:

> ...expanded PrawnStarZ lineup, now in stock with 3 new models...downsized 2.5" and 3" pre-rigged versions, plus a 3.5" LB (Loose Body) model for maximum rigging flexibility.

TW has a couple of 'em.

13. Might wanna have this color ready for the spring

14. KastKing is still having a mega sale

A LOT of stuff that is not on TW.

15. GA: Hartwell and Strom Thurmond now drought managed

Because of lower water levels and flow, sounds like dam releases will be less at Thurmond and Hartwell's water level will be managed to be in line with Thurmond.

16. GA: Mega-company Cox Enterprises now in the outdoors

Announced 3 days ago that they and other "conservation-driven families and businesses" bought hunting apparel brand KUIU (one of may faves!), then said they are combining that investment with the fly fishing brand Loop Tackle they bought in Oct 2024.

New division is called Cox Outdoors, run by a guy named Will Thorburn. Gotta assume they will be on the hunt for more properties and brands.

17. Big challenge with electric high-HP outboards is...

Summed up well on boatingmag.com:

> The energy density of gasoline is around 46 megajoules/kg, but the densest ­energy we can safely pack into a modern battery is closer to 0.7 megajoules/kg.

> In ­other words, you need about 65 times as much battery – by weight – to carry as much power as gasoline. ...who wants to trade in a 100-gal fuel tank weighing around 630 lbs when full for more than 40,000 lbs of batteries? No one.

18. TX: You can't fish or spread bait with drones

19. LA is expecting a good crawfish season

Gitcha Rayburn reds ready!

20. OR: Chinese mitten crabs spreading in the Willamette

They are mostly FRESHWATER crabs. Gitcha crab baits ready peeps!

21. onX made a movie about access to public lands

Probably not bass fishing related but interesting.

22. Fried carp is a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner

Who knew. Send 'em ours!

Headlines of the Day

Jig and pigs prove excellent at getting bass to bite

That is so true that people will argue about it on social media. 🤣

Ohio Football Team Assists in Recovery of Deceased Florida Mako

I have so many Qs....

Keith Combs' quick 360 tips

Humminbird MEGA 360 of course. From the Bassmasters:

> ...I strongly suggest you consider implementing 360 into your game...certain situations where it'll help you more than just about anything else.

> Unlike side-imaging, where it takes a while to understand what you're seeing, 360 is intuitive from the moment you turn it on, but it will still require a little bit of tinkering

> ...it's critical to get sensitivity and contrast right because a lot of what you're reading is shadows.

> Also remember that you don't need to use the full 360-degree rotation. A lot of times I don't need to see what's behind the boat, so I'll isolate my sweep area to 180 degrees. At other times, I'll put the trolling motor on Spot-Lock and just watch the school of fish move from left to right in front of me, with an even more limited sweep.

> The bigger the picture, the more you're likely to learn and understand what you're looking at.

"If I caught 5, I'd catch 5, and if I didn't, I didn't."

- Tournament fishing in a nutshell – can't argue with that! 😁 That's SC's Lucas Murphy who won the BFL Wild Card on Pickwick last month. Guess he caught 5 both days!

Won it by just 11 oz with 46-04. 1st and 3rd were separated by less than 1 lb – wild.

Is this how bass see crawfish? 😆 Posted by Magnum Baits about their 4" Punch Beef:

Swedish musician and video blogger Mattias Krantz became the first person in the world to teach his pet octopus to play the piano

If you've got that kinda time and spend it teaching an octopus to play piano, well okay then! 😁 Can't say I'm surprised at the octopus – seem to be real smart critters.

Fishers of Men Tournament Trail

Bass Chaplain podcasts

Contact Chris Wells the Bass Chaplain

CullGear.com - Versaweb

Advanced Angler

StrayCasts crazy web show!

BassEdge Radio

Champion Jigs

Trophy Bass Co.

National Professional Anglers Assoc.