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Shoutin' out Fishers of Men Tourney Trail and Samaritan's Purse for holding a Helene benefit tourney on Santee Cooper Sat, Nov 30. $100/boat, $10,000 for 1st, minimum $10,000 will go to folks in need. Good to hear fellas! Thank you to Andy "Monte" Montgomery for the tip.
#2: When I told an ol' bud of mine I live near Ray Hubbard, he reminded me of a tune we heard about a million times in our college frat (which was full of toxic masculinity) – "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers." It was written by...Ray Wylie Hubbard! Cracked me up.
I did know the chorus of that tune, but most of the time I was telling pledges to go up and change the music from country (Jerry Jeff Walker was huge) to Van Halen and guard the dang tape deck. Tape deck! 🤣
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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5 Qs with Bill "me later" Lowen on his M-O-N-E-Y under the radar swimbait head and other stuff
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At a dinner last week at Lanier, GA, the topic of a swimbait head Bill designed came up. I wasn't one of the peeps who'd heard about it, but the guys who had 100% LOVE it. I assumed it was new, but it's been out for years – called the LureParts Lowen's Signature Slip-Shad Jig[head]. Just in case you're late to the party too, here we go.
1. How did you come up with the Slip Shad Head?
> "The reason I came up with that is because I got sick and tired of losing fish on a ballhead jig and swimbait. It always seemed to me like a lot of the time that jig was upside down in the fish's mouth...I would lose 'em.
> "I got tired of that so I wanted to come with a way to put a treble hook in it. But I did not want it in the belly of the bait...[for] 2 reasons: 1 I wanted it to be able to roll over the cover easier, and 2 I didn't want to hook them in the tongue.
> "It really didn't take long at all to come up with it. I wanted to design some kind of line thru deal, but I didn't want to run it through the bait.
> "You know how fishermen are, we're just brainstormers in general. I was looking at different things, and saw a shakey head that had a screw lock in it. Your standard ball-head shakey head. I was like, You know that right there could work like what I'm thinking...gibe me the ability to screw that bait on there and run the line through the eye of the hook.
> "I cut the hook off and screwed a [2.8 Keitech] on there. I ran that line through the eye of the hook and put treble on the back of the swimbait.
> "I was on Erie...literally my first cast on a rock wall with that, I caught 1 about 3 lbs. My 2nd cast I caught a 3.5, and this time instead of fighting it like I normally would, I held the rod up high and tried to give the fish an opportunity to jump. It jumped 6-7 times and never thew it...once again hooked in the roof of the mouth. I said, 'Oh boy I might be onto something that works.'
> "That night I drew it...a week later [LureParts] sent a prototype and the rest is history."
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2. What swimbaits do you like to fish it with?
> "I love small compact-type baits [in general] and my swimbait stuff is no different. ...2.5, 2.8 up to about 4 inches, that's kinda my comfort zone. ...small-profile swimbaits, especially with a paddletail. I'm looking for that power-finesse presentation.
> "I designed that head to throw on shallow flats and rocky banks, things like that, and now can use it on FFS as well.
> "I like any high-quality treble hook. I prefer a #8 for smaller-type baits and will go up to a #6 on a 4-inch bait. A lot of guys think a #8 treble too small, but I've caught a lot of 5-6 lb largemouths and 4-lb smallmouths on a #8 treble. Preferably round bend, not EWG."
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> "Typically for me I'm throwing that on a spinning rod, a 7 or 7 2 M-action Ark Invoker Tour Rod, an Ark spinning reel, and for line I typically go with 10-lb Seaguar Smackdown Flash Green Braid to an 8-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro leader."
3. How on earth has this deal been under the radar for 7 YEARS! Was that on purpose on your part?
> "Well you know I've done a lot of stuff on it. I've talked about it a lot. Obviously you saw at dinner everybody's head kinda snapped around when it came up. I feel like it's one of those techniques – the guys that know know and ain't saying much about it...."
[Here's Bill talking about the head in a YT vid, here's the action of a Keitech-type swimbait underwater with that head, and they also make a version of the head with a swivel for an underspin.]
4. Any other Lure Parts-brand things you invented that we need to know about??
> "I got my whole signature series line of jigs – flipping jigs, finesse jigs, swim-jigs, finesse football heads – a buzzbait, a compact spinnerbait. The beauty of LureParts is you can build and customize it exactly how you want. You don't buy a finished lure...you can typically get 3 baits for the price of 1 if you were to get it off the shelf.
> "I'm a big swim-jig fisherman, but I would put my flipping jig up against any flipping jig in the industry. It's got a good-quality hook, the weedguard is right, the angle is right...comes through cover...."
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[TW has some of Bill's stuff, the rest is on LureParts.]
5. Are you going to fish anything other than the Elites next year?
> "My plan right now is to fish the Elites and the NPFL. I'm about 99%. And then I might try to fish the 3 Opens they will have in the fall."
Bonus Q: What have you learned from Fischer's relentless use of big swimbaits? [Fischer is his 12-yr-old son.]
> "I think what I've learned is that I'm missing the boat when it coms to that big swimbait stuff. To me it's one of those baits you've got to put in your hand and fish it, and I'm one of those guys if I fish for a while and don't get a bite, maybe I need to try something else.
> "The other thing...it's not just cast it out there and chop it back or wind it back. The manipulation of that bait I haven't quite got figured out, but he has the ability to trigger them where I have the ability to have them follow my bait. I need to start paying more attention to what he's doing to try and learn from him."
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"I've never been a believer in the natural-color concept."
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- That's Dr Keith Jones talkin', former head of R&D at Berkley (now retired) and author of the insanely good out of print book "Knowing Bass." Think about that for a sec – not a pro angler, but for sure knew more about bass behavior relative to baits than anyone in the world for a time, maybe still.
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That quote is from an In-Fish Q&A 4 years ago by Hall of Famer Stevie Quinn. More:
> "...under the conditions you state – clear and shallow water – the full spectrum of a predator's color vision, and thus its ability to discern and discriminate lure colorations, is at its fullest potential. One might suppose that lures with distinct, recognizable color patterns – natural or not – would be most effective there, but that's not necessarily so, for 2 reasons.
> "First, just because bass can see certain color patterns better in clear, shallow water doesn't mean they tend to favor them. Visual detection/recognition and behavioral preference are 2 entirely different things.
> "Second, the characteristic look of a prey in the eyes of a predator – the key visual pattern it may be looking for – could be limited to the photic environment where the prey is normally encountered. Outside that realm, it may be largely unrecognizable.
> "For example, let's say a smallmouth normally preys on a certain species of crayfish at depths of 20' or more where the color red is greatly diminished. Under those conditions, the crayfish probably looks a dull grayish brown. But if the bass sees that same crayfish in clear, shallow water where the crustacean's normally brilliant red color now stands out, would the color pattern still match what the smallmouth is looking for? Probably not.
> "Recent research has shown that bass have their best color vision in the red zone of the spectrum and, secondarily, in the green zone. That means when it comes to discerning one color from another, or discerning minor differences in shading of the same color, bass have their strongest abilities in distinguishing reds.
> "So among the many red – and red-orange – crayfish patterns, even seemingly insignificant differences in color shadings might have meaning for local bass. The same is true, to a lesser degree, for different green firetiger patterns."
This is making me think about what Brandon Palaniuk said about jerkbait colors recently on Bassmaster.com. Called it out a few weeks back, here 'tis again:
> ...we've always assumed that in gin-clear water everything says to make it look as natural as possible. That means translucent colors, mild and toned down. But in reality, sometimes bright atrocious colors create reaction strikes. It makes them react in a different way. I don't know the science behind that, only what I've experienced."
This dive into Keith Jones stuff came from me putting together a gas grill, seeing my oily fingerprints all over it. Can't see fingerprints on baits, but I know they're there and water alone sure ain't gonna wash 'em off!
More on that in a future Blaster.
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So when you downsize a bait it's a Jr but when you upsize it's a...Mommy??
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Google translate of that Dstyle IG post says:
> EBISON MOMMY: Size up!! Introducing the new mummy [mommy!] size that is easy to use with bait!! Introducing a size up model that can be used with bait for EBISON, which imitates the escape action of shrimp!!
Okay then! Next time I'm in the boat with someone I'll be like:
- Maybe you should fish a Mommy size.
- You have a Brush Hog Mommy?
- Do the fish love your Mommy?
Lol!
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Speaking of Japan, I guess that's what Zoom packaging looks like there? Never knew that. Imagine Fritts and the fellers back in the day with a ZBC patch instead of Zoom!
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2. Ott DeFoe's unanswered prayer led to a Classic win
Quick IG reel about how "unanswered prayers" are sometimes answered, just not how you want them answered.
3. Brandon Coulter talks finding 'em in FL
At the current Team Series tourney:
> "...if you ever fish in FL just remember ...you just gotta keep moving. When you find where they are...you catch them. But there is a lot of water that you have to cover where the fish are not grouped up. But when you get in an area that's got fish moving in, or fish setting up, you can have a 3rd period like we had today."
> "Every bass that I caught today came on a little (Berkley) Slobberknocker [bladed jig].... It is a fish-catcher, simple as that."
4. Bradley Roy will fish the Cumberland state police derby
Sat, Dec 7 on Cumberland. Winner gets all his tickets taken care of for a year...kidding!
5. Matty Wong is an arteest!
Not only is Matty a stick and crazy man cuz he fishing the Elites from HAWAII, the dude won an Emmy! 🤯 I believe for this vid, which plays on Hawaiian Airlines flights.
He's also a heck of a photographer and is selling his shots.
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When you see him maybe say "Maika`i" = congrats/good job mang! 🤙
Btw in that vid he says "aloha" literally translates to "the presence of breath." Very cool.
6. MS: Alfred Williams gets Outstanding Sportsman Award
From the MS Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Guessing they got on board after Alfred was inducted into the Bassin' HOF this year. Congrats to him!
Remember – one of his accomplishments was he was the first to use skirt material for frog legs.
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Mike McClelland: Fall cranking craw colors
Mike's one of the best to ever do it, especially out in the Ozarks/highland lakes. Here's a little from a good MLF post:
> "Once I stop visibly seeing fish chase shad, I really focus primarily on a craw-colored crank."
> ...16 of the 18 patterns of the SPRO RkCrawler 55 crankbait...are variations of a craw color...he's currently throwing 'phantom brown' and 'phantom green,' and will narrow his colors even more the later he fishes in the fall and early winter.
> "The exact color you fish is a process of elimination. Anytime you see a craw that a fish has regurgitated, pay close attention to what color is predominant.
> "The colder the water gets, I tend to veer a little more toward patterns that are more pale, like 'molting craw' and 'green craw.' Crawfish will get a little more creamy appearance as the water gets colder, so paler colors tend to match the hatch better."
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"We need to bring positivity to help professional tournament fishing endure, improve and remain appealing for generations to come."
- Stetson Blaylock talkin' on Bassmaster 'bout there being too uch negativity around it all.
Fwiw I agree, but I do think there maybe needs to be a little cleanup (in aisle 3 and some other aisles too lol) too.
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Looks like a BB reader name of Blake raised his son right! Love it and congrats to 'em!
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-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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If you're forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much – or you can email me the addys and we'll take care of it! We'll never send spam or whatever....
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