Okay, found out I can’t drive from NJ to FL and do stuff with the fam and also do the BB, so will be ONE Blaster this week and one or two next week. Sorry ’bout that — lot o’ bassin’ stuff builds up fast so here’s a loooong one…. Tx much fer reading bass-heads!
If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
Here’s a few excerpts from Justin’s winning pattern on BassBlaster.rocks. No bait pic, but let’s just say it looks to be a popular dropshot worm in a purple/brown color that rhymes with “fargarita fruitilator.” If’n ya cain’t figger that, offer to straight-up trade Justin a chili dog for some info next time you see him. Dude likes ’em with extry raw onions and spray cheese.
> “The end of the dock had old wood pilings with wooden cross pilings in between every 10 yards. So there was a lot of structure. There also was some on the bottom you could feel but couldn’t see.
> “It was 5-8′ on the end of the dock with a ton of grass growing out — like a 300-yd grassline as well. I could also feel bait biting the end of the worm — the bass were spitting up white perch and bluegills. So that spot had shade, structure, grass, current depth, bait — it had everything.
> “I’d throw over the pilings on purpose, then pull the bait up — I could get it on top of the piling. I was shaking the dropshot on the piling or letting it fall over. [When he let it drop off the cross-beam], they’d follow it down and as soon as I clicked the bail back over and got the line tight, they’d be on it.”
Couple more things:
> Justin’s got some crazy American bassin’ ninja thing going:
> “[His spot was a] giant milfoil and hydrilla mat — it had some coontail in it too. It was like 1/3 of a mile long — a big, giant mat that had some ditches in it which gave those fish some security at low tide. And it was at the mouth of a creek. It had the right ingredients for sure.
> “I had about 20 bites the last day. That exceeded the amount I’d had the 3 previous days combined — I had 17 bites the first 3 days.
> “I went in there a little later. I decided to change it up. I went and caught 14 or 15 lbs on hard cover, something I hadn’t done all week. When you start in your best area with 14 or 15 already, you just fish loose, you take your time, you’re patient. I went to a different area on that same mat I hadn’t fished all week.”
His bait was the Booyah Pad Crasher (on the new Sunline FX-2 braid) in his fave color = sunburn:
> “It’s the most natural and versatile color we have. In dirty water they can see it because it’s a darker color, and you can fish it in clear water because it’s the same color as a perch [bluegill]. It matches perch and there was a lot of perch in the area I was fishing.”
Last but not least, vid of Jason talkin’ ’bout his pattern here:
> Cox used his tin boat to access the upper reaches of Cotaco Creek…7 miles back off the main river. It would take him about 40 minutes to idle and plow over logs and under trees to reach one or two deeper stretches where a resident population of bass lived.
> The Cotaco Creek drainage basin includes several springs, which supply Cotaco with cooler water. In addition, a thick shade canopy over the creek helps keep it cool.
> But what Cox particularly liked about the area when he found it was a layer of duckweed on the water’s surface where the Cotaco Creek bass sought refuge.
Lookit his spot:
And away we go (top 10 baits info here):
Topwaters = 90% — Cox was the only guy who used a frog (Jackall Iobee Frog), rest was a mix of hard baits, a buzzbait and Horny Toad/Ribbit-type plastics.
Kitchen sink = 40% — Guys who threw a mix of metal, hard-plastic and soft-plastic baits. The beeg weener of this category was Todd Auten (3rd)…here’s why:
Top 5 reasons why not:
5. Not enough bass — Yep there’s never enough bass, but what I mean is: Weren’t enough bass to go around the whole world, so God stuck them all in the US of A. Worth it to not being an Olympic sport.
4. Not popular enough — There’s no way bassin’, with its X million (no one really knows) participants, can EVER compete popularity-wise with Olympic sports like trampoline, synchronized upside down underwater dancing, ping pong and badminton. I guess? The closest we’ll ever get is canoe sprint, but so far no trolling motors allowed there:
2. Can’t have a relay — Picture tourney bassers trying to hand off their fish to one another on the water. They’d be yelling at each other about coming in too dang fast, then they’d make fun of what the other guy caught, then one guy wouldn’t want to tell his teammate what he caught ’em on. Wait — did I say teammate? In bassin’?? Hahahaha! Never happen.
1. Wrong threads — No one in bassin’, except Zona and Sanders who don’t count as athletes, have the stones to wear the various forms of undie-like uniforms barely concealing the privates of our star athletes down in Rio (Olympics in 50 years I guess will be rated X?). Can’t run most pics, but here’s American wrassler A.T. Bisek vs. a guy named Bozo (for real):
A.T.’s ’70s highway patrol ‘stache is $$$ too — thank goodness we have enough 5-0 bassers to cover that base.
News
1. Swindle talks leading AOY in home stretch.
Told him he could give me something funny or serious, and he said:
> It’s boring but when I walked off the stage at the Potomac, my thoughts simply went to how to win the Mississippi River, never really looking at the points.
Asked whether that was not wanting to look or just treating this season the same as any other:
> I’m just focusing on each tournament and fishing to win, not looking at the points.
Well…that WAS boring for Swindle, so here you go — he talks about being so hot at the Potomac he felt like Bill Clinton must feel being married to Hillary:
3. Why FLW Cup champ Cox runs tin.
Love this:
> “I started in aluminums because I could not afford bigger glass boats. Aluminum rigs are a more realistic boat purchase for the average working person. I used to paint apartments and just could not afford a $60,000 glass boat.
> “After fishing out of aluminums, I discovered they have distinct advantages of being lighter and they can get up on plane in very shallow water. They don’t get stuck as bad when you plant one on a sandbar, and they tend to hop over logs and stuff better. They are simply more efficient for the way I like to fish.
> “I did run a glass boat for about a year on Tour. But I returned to aluminums because they suit my fishing style better.”
#muddobbintinman
4. Matt Reed on BassEdge Radio.
Matt talks about his late summer deep-water strategies for catching big basses.
5. Jimmy Houston honored for 50 years…
…by Quaker State at FLW Cup:
2016 Ranger 521C with just 75 hours??
> “I put her in the livewell, but she didn’t even fit — her tail stuck out.”
10. VA: ‘Northern’ Open on James River this weekend.
Not the first time the James has been a “northern” water but:
12. NC: Crawfish boom making Neuse bass fat.
Sept. 8 in Concord.
14. MN: Brainerd Warriors are HS champs.
What is it about Brainerd, home of the Lindners. Ridiculous amount of fishing talent in that no traffic lights town.
15. MN: Zebras confirmed in 5 MN lakes.
Proves:
- MN DNR exotice species/boat washing paranoia is justified (what about washing heron legs??).
- Nothing they can do about it.
16. SC: Hartwell, Keowee bass have mercury.
17. MO: Brent Frazee leaves KC Star.
Outdoor writer at the paper, big-time FOB (friend of bassin’). Enjoy retirement Brent!
18. Plano jumps on MLFer bandwagon.
Two things gotta call out in the release:
> KVD is called the “bionic basser.” [O…kay?]
> Plano Synergy’s marketing VP Pete Angle: “Anytime real innovation takes place in the outdoor lifestyle space where our consumers live, we want to recognize and support that.” [So…we’re “outdoor lifestyle consumers”?]
19. New Navionics charts in US and Canada.
20. U.S. outboard shipments up 7% thru July.
21. Are tackle-store peeps unfriendly?
If they are, they’re nowhere near as unfriendly as gun store peeps.
Bassin’ Tub News
1. Phoenix
> New 921 PHX — “…21′ 6″ with a wide 96″ beam just like the 921 Pro XP. The 921 PHX will be the flagship for the Phoenix brand,” states Phoenix prez Gary Clouse. “I am excited to run one in the Bassmaster Opens for 2017. I am sure it will be the boat of choice for many of our Elite Series pros….”
> 721 Pro XP — “…has the same proven running surface that the 721 has had since its inception in 2008. We have updated the deck to hold even larger electronics in the bow and console. The front deck is elevated to allow for better pitching and flipping and also affords more rod storage. The boat will be nationally advertised at $50,495….”
2. Ranger
Weird not to see Randy Hopper quoted anymore:
> New flagship tin boat, also can have a 150.
> Ranger 18′ 8″ multi-species boat — For all you big-water guys, or guys who are trying to make the wife happy even though she’ll almost never be in it….
3. Bassin’ Cat
Tip of the Day
…from within his Potomac River pattern, but applicable ever-whar:
> “The first day they wanted it really, really slow. I’m not sure why. Every day after that it seemed like it just got faster and faster. The last day they wanted it super-fast. I was working it so fast it was getting really close to just a steady retrieve, and they would have it in their throat….
> “If I brought it over a hole the size of a basketball, I’d stop it just to give [a fish] time to move [to it]. A lot of the bigger ones I caught the last day were in holes about the size of the hood of your truck — I wanted to come through those holes fast to get them to react. The water was really clear. The bigger the hole was, the faster I’d bring the frog through it.”
This helps me because I always want to make it “act like a frog” or walk it, and that’s not all there is (duh). Hopefully you’re smarter than me…not hard….
Quote of the Day
…next thing I know Jacob is running across the water yelling ‘SHARK!’ The fin of the shark cut his leg and it hit the boat….
– Patty Daves, wife of Woo Daves, talkin’ ’bout a close call for Jacob “J-Pow” Powroznik back in the day. Woo has helped J-Pow quite a bit, and at 70 just had a pacemaker put in. Keep goin’ Woo! Great to see an article on him.
Hey Bowman how ’bout an update on a B.A.S.S. legend once in a while?
Shot of the Day
Cal Delta DD in the house yo! Jack Chastain banged this 10.13 on the Bill Lewis Echo 1.75 squarebill (pinch’n peach):
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