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How Brandon Lester got his first blue trophy.
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Brandon has been fishing pretty darn great this year, with an Open win and 2 Elite top 10s including his win this weekend on Pickwick. Here's how he got his first blue trophy – full post is on the BB site:
Practice
> "...idling and saw a little tip sticking out in current...saw a school sitting there about 60' out to the right. Another competitor's boat was fishing 200 yards from me so I just marked it...came back when there weren't any boats. I made 1 cast and got a bite, then another cast and caught a 3.5-lber.
> "That was the place I was gonna start. I felt like if there was any place I found that no one else did, that would be the highest probability. It was 4-5' on top and dropped into 8'. ...little clean spot, little shell bed."
Tournament
> Day 1: "The first morning I'm boat #80, I get to that spot, and lo and behold nobody's there. So that's good. I didn't get to it until 7:50 probably. At 8:16 had 21-06. I was done...they were fired up, they were eating.
> "Day 2 I was boat #12. I ran to that spot...nobody's there. ...caught 5-lber on the 4.0 and another keeper, then they got funny on me. I could see them on Active Target, but they didn't want to bite the crankbait, they'd just bump it. They wouldn't bite the jig.
> "I picked up Neko, and it was every cast on the Neko...just lit 'em up. Before long I had a good bag. I think I caught all my weight off that spot the 2nd day. I stayed there longer that day than any other day because up to that point I spent maybe an hour on that spot. So I was still trying to learn the spot. I stayed there probably til close to 10 am....
> "Day 3 I ran back up there...threw the crankbait first to check their activity level, their mood. Day 3 I didn't catch any – maybe 1 small one on the squarebill. I threw the jig, nothing. I throw the worm in there and they start eating again.
> "...before long I've got another really good bag, 18+ within the first hour of fishing. Then I left by 8:30-9:00 because by this point on day 3, once caught 8-10 fish off that spot, it busted the school up.
> "...fished some other places...my goal was 20 lbs every day. I went and fished a little spot, made one cull, then went and checked a place I caught them off in a Bassmaster Open 2 years ago. They'd not been there day 1 and day 2, but I rolled over them day 3...could see them on the Lowrance down scan, 7-8 of them. So I got spot-locked and just lit 'em up on the crankbait [Strike King 6XD].
> "It was 14' on top and rolled off into 20-21'. I made 2 good culls off that spot.
> "Day 4 once again the goal was 20 lbs. I told myself if I catch 20 lbs I'll be hard to handle because going into day 4 I had a 3+ lead. So I knew someone would have to catch a bigger bag than had been caught to beat me.
> "My starting spot...I was wondering do I have enough fish left. I get there, ease up to it – I can see them up there on Active Target. I made a couple casts with the crankabit, then I went straight to the Neko worm. My first bite was a 4.75-lber and I was instantly breathing a sigh of relief.
> "I remember looking at my clock – we launched at 7:00, about a 25-mile run to get there, and at 7:51 I already had 18 lbs in the boat. Just phenomenal. So having that quick start was key.
> "Then I ran to that secondary spot...lit 'em up again. I made a couple more culls there, then looked at another spot, then came back to that secondary spot. I knew I probably had about 18-19...wanted to get over 20.
> "I caught a couple on a Neko worm, caught a couple on a 6XD...a really great bait over there is a 3/4-oz scrounger. I throw it out there [for the first time that week] and sure enough I catch a 5-13. That was the most memorable fish catch of my whole career because I knew in that moment that sealed the deal."
Baits
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> "It's a lot of different baits because that's what ledge fishing is about."
> 3/4-oz Scrounger head, 5" Castaic Jerky J (green shad), 15-lb Vicious 100% Fluoro, 6.3 reel, 7' 4" MH Mustad Instinct Brandon Lester signature rod. "I try to keep it close to the bottom. When you reel a scrounger it will try to rise...couple times through the retrieve stop it and let sink back to the bottom.... I feel like it needs to be riding 1-2' off bottom unless a school is 6' off the bottom."
Electronics
> "I couldn't have done it without 'em. I have all Lowrance – 2 HDS-12 Lives up front, 2 at the console. I spent a ton of time at my console looking for schools of fish for this tournament and found that winning school of fish with it [with] side imaging.
> "The rest of those places I used side scan and down scan. When I got up front I used Active Target. Every time you catch a fish out of one of those schools, the school moves a little bit. So having Active Target lets you know where they are to make the perfect cast."
Shout-out
> "When I started my career I was a custom rod-builder. Every rod I fished with the first 5 years of my career, I built every one of them. I learned what makes a good fishing rod...put all that stuff I learned into these Mustad Instinct signature rods – 14 models I hand-picked to cover any situation you can face in the bass fishing world."
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5 Qs with the new king of Pickwick.
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1. You started the season as the hottest fisherman in the country and then took a break. 😁 Why?
> "I don't feel like I really took a break, but I feel like Brandon Palaniuk is the hottest in fisherman in the country. Any other year I feel like I would be leading AOY. I've made a check in every tournament I fished – it's been a great season, and definitely feels good to get another win under my belt."
2. You had top 10s in 2018, 2019 and 2020 but none last year, then this year you won an Open, got a 5th – your 2nd-highest Elite finish ever – and now a win. What's going on this year?
> "Getting that Open win earlier this year and knowing I had already qualified for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic definitely took a lot of stress off me, there's no doubt. I can't say I've changed my practice style any, it's not made me fish any different – I don't want to go messing with my tournament strategy.
> "It's just helped free up my mindset...made me more comfortable. I don't have that stress of I have to catch a limit today, keep my points up and stay in this Classic cut. It's changed my mindset – I'm more carefree I guess."
3. Is it true you got Gary Clouse to agree that if you won one you'd get to keep your boat and his boat too?
> [Laughs] "That sounds good to me. I don't know if Gary would agree to that but it sounds good to me."
4. It says "Lake Hop" on your truck – where is that lake and how do you fish it??
> "Lake Hop isn't a lake, it's actually a ride share program that works a lot like Uber or Airbnb for a boat. So if you're off somewhere traveling and you're away from your boat, go to GoLakeHop.com, book a day on the lake, go on the water and have some fun."
5. What's one thing you know now that you wish the rookie you knew?
> "To just stay clam and stay the course. My rookie year...actually took me 3-4 years to learn this: Sometimes you'll get out there and don't catch one for the first 45 minutes or an hour, or the first 2-3 hours of the day, and your instincts will tell you you gotta go, you're falling behind, and you start fishing fast – when the very best thing you could actually do is turn the trolling motor down and fish slower.
> "I learned that if you can keep the mental side of this game under control, do what you're confident in and follow your gut, most of the time it will work out.
> "[Instead of trying] to make it happen, nowadays I slow down and let it happen. That has change my whole career."
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2nd-5th Pickwick Elite baits.
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> 2.75-oz Dixie Jet Talon Spoon (shattered glass), 20-lb Bass Pro Shops Fluoro, BPS CarbonLite Reel (8.3), 7' 6" H Johnny Morris Platinum Rod.
> Missile Magic Worm (pb&j), 1/0 Neko hook, 1/2-oz tungsten dropshot weight, 8-lb Sufix braid to a 10-lb BPS Flouro leader, Johnny Morris Platinum spinning reel, 7' 4" M Johnny Morris Platinum Spin Rod.
> 3" Storm Largo Shad (sexy shad), 1/2-oz Hybrid Head, 8-lb Sufix braid to a 8-lb BPS Fluoro leader, Johnny Morris Platinum spinning reel, 7' 1" M Johnny Morris Platinum Rod.
> Rapala DT20 (big shad), 12-lb BPS Fluoro, Johnny Morris Platinum Reel (8.3), 7' 6" BPS Cranking Stick.
> "Concentrated on ledges with the current hitting them in 20-27'."
3rd: Chris Zaldain
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> "Huge key last week was hanging in there until the pressure thinned. First 2 days I couldn't even make those long swimbait casts because I'd be casting over other anglers' lines. I only had 3 spots in 15-25' and there were 1-3 boats on them the first 2 days so I had to shake a worm around them.
> "Days 3 and 4 I had those spots basically to myself so I was able to set up on them properly and hit those money angles with my deep swimbait.
> "We also had that typical slow current generation on the weekends and I noticed the fish were suspending. My swimbait was a perfect in that mid to deep section where most of the shad were being chased."
4th: Jacob Foutz
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> "18-22' Had one spot, just a shell bed on the corner of a big flat."
5th: John Cox
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> "Cover changed every day. Day 1 was just running stuff that looked good on the bank, pockets, points, laydowns. Day 2 was a mayfly hatch – all fish came in the same spot, a 10x10 area on the bank. Day 3 the water came up and I couldn't see anything so I ran places where I saw bluegill beds and just fished slow. Day 4 just stunk lol."
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MO's Connor Cunningham blows out the BFL All-American.
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Check this out:
- He led every day on Lake Hamilton, AR.
- Won it by almost 12 lbs with 44-04 over 3 days. 2nd had 32-09 so that 12 lbs was basically another day's good limit.
- He only fished a bone Whopper Plopper.
Love the All-American, one of THE biggest tourneys in bassin'. Congrats to all who qualified, and big congrats to Connor.
Shakey head = 20%
Flutter spoon = 20%
10% each = Carolina rig ( Senko), Sight fishing/spawners, Jig, Spinnerbait, Chatterbait, Jerkbait ( Berkley Stunna), Glide bait
Shout-out
How 'bout Bass U's Justin Kimmel finishing 8th? In this pic he even looks like a serious fisherman: 😁
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Didja miss the Sea Foam Top 5 of the Week last week?
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Gettin' in a little bit of a groove with this'n:
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Can watch it every Friday on BassBlaster social or BB YouTube.
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> Practicing on white bass will help you gain an understanding of the right distance that allows you to effectively work a bait through the fish without getting right on top of them.
...in the Coquille River:
> ...through Oct 31. There are no size or bag limits on bass harvest in the Coquille.
> The temporary rule is meant to reduce impacts of non-native smallmouth bass on wild fall Chinook salmon....
Gitcha jigs!
> While largemouth bass consumed...the same fish species as the other predators [muskies, pike, walleye], crayfish and other invertebrates were much more important. Yellow perch were also a much less important diet item for bass than the other three species.
...on the Great Miami River.
The state sent 400 letters and got 3 takers so far:
> This program provides a 35% rebate on purchases of lead-free tackle. The maximum award is $2,000 total per retail establishment.
Headline of the Day
That deal comes from Japan – you catch literal minnows with tiny hooks. Of all the states that it might take off in here, I did not think TX would be one.
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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> The longer a spinnerbait's upper wire is the more it dampens the blade's vibration. When you throw a short arm spinnerbait, you can feel the blade thumping through the rod like a bladed jig.
> With a traditional long wire spinnerbait, the blades get in the way of the hook. You feel a bass plaster it, see the boil and you miss it. The reason is because a lot of bass go for the blades. My hook ratio has gone way up with the short arm spinnerbait because the bass has to go past the hook to get at the blade.
> Because the blade is closer to the head with a short arm spinnerbait the blade hits the head, especially when you twitch or pause and restart the retrieve. Also, when the bait bumps into cover, the blade stalls and starts and hits the head.
> The only time I put a trailer on it is in water under 50 degrees and when the water is the color of chocolate milk.
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"I think one reason why rubberlegged crickets will outfish poppers at times is that they don't make any noise."
- Fly fisherman talkin' 'bout topwater fishing for smallmouths. How many topwaters do you have that make no noise??
One time on the CT River I was staying at a friend's house and only had a fly rod there – caught a bunch of smallmouths on rubber-legged foam deals. Everyone else was still sleeping hahaha!
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Stumbled across this shot of a 9.4-lber caught in AL's "Black Belt" region. I mean how amazingly healthy does that fish look! Congrats to Joey Anderson for smashing that beauticious melon:
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Not sure who sells this masterpiece but I sure hope to find out! 🤣
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest 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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