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THANK YOU veterans, military folks and families! None of us literally could do what we do without you, so bless you all and thank you again. “Thank you” feels insufficient but not real sure how else to say it….
>> 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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Gettin’ Zona this for his birthday.
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Don’t tell him — it’s an Attic Lures Gecco Frog in whatever that color’s called:
Kinda looks like it belongs in a bubble bath?? Please someone take a pic of him fishin’ that deal…cuz he WILL fish it! Overstreet and Wright, bet this is the frog you needed in AL that one time.
Reminds me — looks like the Geico Gecko’s head is gettin’ big with all that screen time:
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What Matt Herren’s fishing right now.
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Know Matt’s a power-fishing guy so wanted to know — here you go:
> “I like fish shallow cover in the fall in AL. Laydowns, brush, docks, rocks, gravel — plus most of the lakes I fun-fish on have water willow or primrose grass. For me, from now until Christmas around here I’m fishing 1-5′.”
Baits
> 1/2-oz Dirty Jigs prototype spinnerbait “coming soon”
> 3/8-oz Dirty Jigs Matt Herren Signature Series Jig (hematoma) with a “Little Spicy” Beaver (tramp stamp). [The Little Spicy Beaver is not out yet.]
One time Matt was fishing this stuff shallow and Ott snuck up on him:
Heehee! Okay been lookin’ fer a way to use that shot…..
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4 looks of Jimmy Houston.
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Gotcha current…
…then classic…
…then I guess this is what Jimmy would look like on the Western Coast now — @pakkaa Insta shot of himself (lookin’ good man!) that reminded me of Jimmy:
Btw Jimmy’s on Strayin’Castin’ tonight, at StrayCasts.net — part of Pat havin’ legends on the show:
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Are we part of glitter-palooza??
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Check these quotes, from folks in the glitter biz:
> “…compared to other uses of glitter…greeting cards and Christmas ornaments and the cosmetic industry, the volume is way more [in bass tubs]….”
> “I used to work for a bass boat manufacturer back in the ’90s and we bought it in 30-gallon drums, probably 10 of those drums a week.
> “300 gallons of glitter every week, or 15,600 gallons every year, is definitely buying in bulk. And that could just be for one boat company. Industry-wide, we’re talking glitter-palooza.”
Here’s a Fender geetar in a color that’s known by some as “bass boat gold:”
Apparently lotsa things out there with a lotta flake are called “bass boat” something….
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Seen a bunch about Jerry comin’ out, feel like I need to share some of it:
James Overstreet (his pic ^) — Gonna quote his whole Insta post because it’s good and because Overstreet is a dang poet without knowin’ it:
> “This afternoon we will all gather together at 3:00 to celebrate the life of a man known to those that worked with him, as ‘The Hammer’. I’m not talking about the use of the word like you see it thrown about on social media, no, talking bout THE hammer.
> A lot of us will mostly likely have jeans on….like he would have. The chosen suit of the working man. It’s there at the bottom of the obituary, ‘wear jeans’. He stayed with how he was raised when it came to work and passed it on those that worked with and for him. Man, that old-school approach to working hard and putting in hours to make a finished product you’re proud of…one of the things I admired most about Mr. Jerry.
> You didn’t have to look around to find if he showed up…he was already there.
> Back in October when we were trout fishing in Wyoming, I watched him a lot. When I have a camera in my hand that’s my job…but not like that. It was different.
> It had been some time since I’d worked close with him. To watch him orchestrate his vision of an outdoor life and fishing in places we mostly dream of. He fished pretty much all of them…multiple times. Found the best of the best.
> I feel he wanted you to see it…like he did. But that he knew you never could…so he brought it to you. And you watched it for years. We all did. We were all watching a huge part of an incredible life. His life…what an adventure.
> We were at the cabin the last afternoon in Wyoming and he told me a couple things between us, things that friends only say between friends. That’s all that matters…the between-friends part.
> To the man I referred to on the back of his book as ‘The Teddy Roosevelt of fishing’, it was my incredible honor. Thanks for always taking the time to take us fishing.
Ken Schultz — Ken’s the former Field & Stream writer Jerry fished with in that Fishin Hole vid I linked last week. He sent this in about that show and Jerry:
> Like many, I was saddened to learn about the passing of Jerry McKinnis. I feel that Jerry and Forrest Wood were the most likable and genuine people that I knew in nearly 4 decades in the fishing business.
> The YouTube clip you linked to came from the award-winning show that he and I did together…. Jerry was very tight with fellow Arkansans Billy and Bobby Murray. The latter won the first Bassmaster Classic and the former was a longtime cameraman and general helper/buddy with Jerry, as well as an excellent angler. I fished with the Murrays on a number of occasions in the late 1970s, and they introduced me to Jerry.
> In late 1979 or early 1980 Jerry called me and said that he was taking his then-syndicated Fishin Hole show (it was sold to an assortment of local tv stations around the country at the time) to a new cable enterprise, originally known as the Entertainment and Sport Programing Network. I’d never heard of it, and I could not get cable (still relatively new at that time) in the mountains of upstate NY where I lived.
> He wanted to do a smallmouth bass fishing show in New England and asked me if I had any ideas. I told him about NH’s Squam Lake, which I’d been to a couple of times while working for Field & Stream. I mentioned that it was the filming site for On Golden Pond. That sold him and we had a great time catching smallmouths and filming a show.
> The episode that we filmed was the first outdoor show made for ESPN broadcast, and the Fishin Hole, and that episode debuted on Thanksgiving Day in 1980. It was rebroadcast numerous times in following weeks. I got many calls from people who had cable, telling me that they’d seen me on TV. The Squam Lake episode won first place in the OWAA television programming awards the next year.
> Jerry and I reprised our visit to Squam years later for his 25th anniversary show, and found that the lake then had largemouth bass as well as smallmouths. We had another great time.
> I’m convinced that Jerry’s easygoing down-home manner, his genuine enthusiasm, and his non-egotistical presentation style is what made his show such a success.
Melissa Clunn — Rick Clunn’s wife and a friend of Jerry, from a great post of Jerry tribute quotes on Bassmaster.com:
> He cared too much. His big heart made him vulnerable, but he loved people anyway.
That really spoke to me. Seemed at times to me too that Jerry cared “too much” — like everything was sorta life and death to him, which I guess is part of where his passion came from. I remember talking to him at least once about that, me comin’ from my NJ “heck with ’em if they don’t get it” attitude and him just torn up about folks who didn’t get it, whatever it was at the time.
Me — I was politely called out about saying that Don Logan and Jim Copeland were just the $$$ guys in the former B.A.S.S. ownership triad. I was not an insider at B.A.S.S. nor did I know either man — that was just my impression from watching, listening and knowing how things work (and don’t work) in this biz. That said, I for sure could be wrong so apologies if I understated their roles in saving B.A.S.S. I probably understated Jerry’s as well….
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News
1. We lost Joe Higgins.
VP of sales for B.A.S.S., post says “after a lengthy illness.” Joe jumped in when Jerry, Don and Jim bought B.A.S.S.
Very tough week for B.A.S.S. folks, please keep them in your prayers. Bless you Joe and family.
2. Ike Mikeanelli’s goin’ Ike on YouTube again.
Season 5 starts uploadin’ today.
3. Here’s what BUFF gloves Otter DeFoe wears.
> The Aqua glove is perfect for all around weather, not too hot or cold. 3/4 finger length and a quick-drying material.
4. Bobby Lane gets Frogg Toggs.
Joins his bruh Chris and fellow BPTERs Andy Morgan and Keith Poche, as well as Elitist David Mullins and FLWer Jay Kendrick, on the team.
5. New Hank Cherry-designed Dock Rocket Jig.
6. MLF’s purchase of FLW is now done.
> MLFLW, LLC (the newly created entity that purchased the assets of FLW) is owned 100% by Major League Fishing, LLC, which in turn is owned 50% by The Outdoor Channel Inc. and 50% by Pro Bass Tour.
Here’s the diagram explaining the ownership, which is way less complicated than the whole BPT-MLF-selection/qualifying deal:
Heehee!
7. SC: Nation Champeenship dominated by non-locals.
Whole deal was won by OR’s Cody Hollen, who pulled out a Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe (blue chrome) on 12-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro on the last day to smack a good limit and rocket from 10th to 1st. Congrats dude!
> “I had 5 or 6 cane piles way down lake where the water was cleaner than it was up here. They were in those cane piles. I was setting myself up maybe 30 yards back of them and casting into them. The bait would hit the cane pile and the fish would hit it hard.”
Could that bait play at Gville in March at the Classic…?
Now dig this:
> Taylor Smith from WA was 2nd, and Kelly Kellogg from WA was 6th.
> Cam Sterritt from NH and Brock Belik from NE were 3rd and 4th.
> Justy Varkevisser from South Africa was 5th, Matthew Langford from Australia was 8th and Pedro Rodrigues from Portugal was 10th! Nobuyuki Terajima — from TN but I think originally from Japan? — was 7th.
> Only guy left in the top 10 I haven’t mentioned is Greg Alexander (9th) from MD.
WTHeck??????? I blame Tak Omori and especially Carl Jocumsen for this upside down deal hahaha wow!
Quick story: One time I was hangin’ at the campground and Carl asked me if I wanted to have some dinner. I said, “Sure man, what’re we having?” He was like, “Gonna put some shrimp on the Barbie mate!” I was thinkin’…
…and was about to call Alton Jones to pray with me about the whole deal, but then I saw Carl dumped a bunch of shrimp on the grill so….
8. TX thinking about bass changes at 2 lakes.
For the 2020-21 season, Moss Lake would go to a 16″ max rather than a 14″ min length, and Brushy Creek would go to a 14″ min.
9. Is this a great cold-water flip bait?
That’s what @chad_warner_fishing says and he does fish cold water and works for YUM so…. It’s a YUM Wooly Hawg Craw, claws dipped, on a 4/0 straight shank hook:
10. New bigger-size Lunkerhunt Phantom Spider.
First one was 1/4-oz, new one is 1/2-oz — not on TW yet but I assume will be:
11. You can sign up for the 2020 T-H Marine Atlas Awards.
Git it afore you forgit it!
12. American Baitworks adds another 50%er.
Bought 50% of STH (Set The Hook) Bait Co., which makes baits for the Great Lakes. If yer a-keepin’ score, AmBait owns:
> 100% of NetBait, Halo Fishing, Snag Proof, Scum Frowg
> 50% of Freedom Tackle and STH (believe these are both Canadian companies)
13. Smaller-size Cush-It now available.
Cush-Its are those deals on your rod butts that float your rod if you have a panic attack landing a giant…or something. New ones are called Elite Pro IIs, not on TW yet but the originals are.
Struggling? Changing technique, lure colors may help
Kinda says it all…unless you’re Hank Cherry fishing jerkbaits (lol Cherry!).
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now…
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Tip of the Day
Would you fish a crank this way?
Was perusin’ an older Louie “the Legend” #Stout post on the Bassin’masters and saw this. My first reaction was, Well they do that with walleye so it can work. Second reaction when I saw who Louie was quotin’ — Niagara River guide Frank Campbell — was to pay attention…cuz I’ve fished with Frank and know he knows stuff I don’t. So here’s a lil excerpt:
> Reaching depths beyond traditional crankbait limitations…is no problem with the 3-way crankbait rig, a popular tool on the Great Lakes.
> “It should work anywhere there’s a rocky or clean bottom,” says Frank Campbell. “It’s an effective way to fish on windy days and through areas where the bass are piled up.”
> Tie a 3-way swivel to your mainline (he uses 10-lb fluorocarbon). Add a 6-10″ leader tied to a heavy sinker on one prong of the swivel and another 4-6′ leader on the other prong and attach that to a crankbait. Campbell uses 1- or 1.25-oz “pencil” sinkers on his drop line…don’t snag as easily as others when bounced over a craggy bottom.
> “I use this rig where there is current or enough wind that I can drift with the current. But you also can cast it over deep water and wind it along the upside of a reef.”
> “You can match the forage better with smaller crankbaits, which are more realistic than the big billed, deep diving baits designed to get to 20′ or more.
> “I think it looks like a baitfish chasing something and that excites bass into striking.
> “One trick we use is to remove the front or middle hook. We did some experimenting a few years ago and found out that the hookup with fish was even better at times.”
> Campbell says it doesn’t work where zebra mussels exist…..
Do we call it Carolina crankin’ or…? Frank said he likes the Bomber 6A or Bomber 7A (firetiger) for stained water and the Lindy River Rocker (alewife or “aunt creepy”) in clear water. If you’re curious like I was, here’s the “aunt creepy” River Rocker:
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Quote of the Day
“I remember freshman year we had 16 people in a house, with 2 bathrooms, and of course it was a mess, but it was lots of fun with a lot of good stories….”
– NC State bassin’ team captain Gilliam Tharpe talkin’ travelin’ to derbies on a college budget. Love it!
Also pretty sure that’s still how the Bassmaster media crew rolls on the road…experienced it first-hand….
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Random
Turkeys “terrorizing” NJ town.
Even MLB player Todd Frazier (not sure who that is) is scared…of birds:
> They have come close to harming my family and friends, ruined my cars, trashed my yard….
Todd, do you know what a dog is? A weapon? Fireworks? Cojones?? Cmon man….
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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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