BassBlaster

More Cherokee crappie baits, Bug eyed merp, Best winter baits

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on February 16, 2017

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Today’s Top 5

What 2nd-4th fished at Cherokee.

All the deets on the BassBlaster webby-site but here’s the baits yo:
2nd: Jamie “dang I almost won my first Elite…and I’m from NY!” Hartman

> “The head is a custom head from i1baits [a walleye bait company!] called the Hart-Attak Jighead. It was 3/8-oz paired with the Damiki Armor Shad in 3 different colors: pro blue, pro purple and baby bass.

> “For the largemouth I used a prototype 3/8-oz Riot Baits Minima Jig (summer craw) with a prototype Riot trailer called the Tantrum (Missouri craw).”

3rd: Jesse “I’ll be in the top 5 at every tourney” Wiggins [he didn’t say that!]

From top: Jenko Fishing Big T (dirty milk), Damiki Armor Shad in (pro blue black flake), 3/8-oz tungsten ball-head jig with a Zoom Super Fluke Jr (blue pearl silver)

4th: Seth “they wouldn’t bite a dropshot” Feider

> #4 Rapala Flat Jig (anchovy), 10-lb Sufix 832 braid to 8-lb Sufix fluoro, 6′ 9″ Tatula (med light) with Steez SV reel.

> 3/8-oz VMC Mooneye Jig, 3″ minnow-style bait, 10-lb Sufix 832 to 6-lb Sufix fluoro, 7′ Steez AGS (medium) with Steez 3012 reel.

5th: Paul “this is why I ice-fish” Mueller

Top to bottom:

> 3.5″ Reins Bubbling Shaker (bluegill) on a 3/8-oz Do-It Molds round-head jig.

> Same bait/jighead (baitfish).

> Same bait/jighead (natural pro blue).

> 3.25″ Reins Fat Rockvibe Shad (gizzard Shad) on 5/8 oz Do-It herring head underspin with white painted blade.

> 3.25″ Reins Fat Rockvibe Shad (natural pro blue) on 1/2-oz Do-It tube and tail jighead.

For the how-they-fished-’em deets, click here to see the post on the BassBlaster site.

What the crappie was going on at Cherokee?

Jacob Wheeler’s baits looked kinda like walleye baits and for sure some walleye/ice baits were used, but as you can see the baits of the rest of the top 5 looked like they were used in a crappie derby. Here’s what Terry “chowhound” Scroggins said about it:

> “People use the Damiki Shad because it has almost no action, and those fish at Cherokee are so lure shy they seem to like that subtle presentation. But they weren’t liking it for me, so my roommate Britt Myers and I had to call an audible after day 1 of practice.”

> “…next thing you know, I’ve spent $150 in the crappie-fishing section at the Knoxville Bass Pro Shops. I had everything in my bag from tiny little 1/8-oz marabou jigs to curly-tail grubs, and all shapes and weights of jigheads.”

Shoulda paid Ma Nature a buck-fitty too cuz it’s pretty tough fishing 1/8-oz in double-digit depths with any kind of wind, but whatever.

Gotta note that dropshots wouldn’t work — cuz I had a loooooong sit-down with those bass and was like, “We can’t watch hours of guys fishing dang dropshots!” lol. The dreaded Flanders rig never made an appearance either…probly cuz none of the Elitists would want to fess up about fishing a Tootsie Roll on camera.

Just in case you think the crappie thing only worked at Cherokee, check this 12.6-lb ditch melon just caught at Chickamauga, TN by a guy trolling for crappies:

Feider’s shakey action because…?

Seth Feider shakes everything. He shakes his dropshots. He shook his jigs at Cherokee. He shakes his salt, he shakes your hand. Where’s all this shakeyness come from?

Maybe it’s listening to the Thomas Dolby tune “Hyperactive” too much. But for sure it’s cuz of his breakfast….

…and then his personal chef makes him this “smoothie” to take in the boat:

Guessin’ the Dew is why he loves the neon lime color of Sufix braid:

Btw, here’s Seth before and after the Dew or too much exposure to Ike on the Elites:

Gittin’ BassBlasted means you’re one o’ the guys, Feider! Keep on keepin’ on.

Does your jerkbait have a bullseye?

Check out Jason Christie’s jerkbait:

Notice that red hook — it’s a #4 on his Perfect 10 Rogue (ayu). He said:

> “That’s a bullseye! Gives the fish an area to target when they bite.”

Check T-Roy Lindner’s bug-eyed merp!

Should be some kind of “merp bass” disease study…except it’s also in other fish like:

Gonna propose to the scientific community that this fish disease be called: Merp Derp Herpy Derpy Merpitis. Any other good names let me know here on Facebook.

News

1. FL: Okee BFL winner had less weight than co.

Winner had 5 for 21-05, and co had 5 for 22-09. Since the Elites are there soon, here’s what the winner fished:

> “We fished the North Shore, specifically a hole in the grass with a shell bed.”

> …used a variety of baits during the event, but relied heavily on a 3/8-oz Z-Man ChatterBait [gp] to catch his fish. “I fished the ChatterBait with a slow retrieve. We just came off of a cold front, so they didn’t want to chase anything faster than that.”

In a local Okee derby, 1st and 3rd fished a Gambler Big EZ swimbait, and 2nd used a Crazy Shad topwater — which is an old-school prop bait used to be made by Cotton Cordell. Here’s one:

2. TX: Bass Champs T-Bend took 36.11 to win.

#Stout weight. 1st and 2nd used 6th Sense stuff: 3/4-oz Hybrid Casting Jig and Quake lipless crank. 6th Sense stuff definitely getting used more in TX, seems like other places too.

3. AZ: Costa winner Uribe used Flanders rig.

Yep, that’s right. Pretty soon a tourney’ll be won on a bare hook — a #22.

lol, more on the Havasu baits next week.

4. CA flood updates.

From tons of rain:

> Oroville has been a dangerous mess but seems to be going the right way.

> Clear Lake temporarily closed to motorized boats…which means Matt Allen will be out there rowin’ a bucket if he has to.

5. KS: DNR fishing forecast has historical sampling data.

Beware of such data. Biologist data may or may not reflect how a lake fishes. Have seen it not big-time in hunting.

6. New G3 19-footer.

7. Global Rapala strategy update.

8. New regional sales group for Lew’s.

> Lew’s announces that sales organization Tim Bailey and Associates has been contracted for Lew’s sales responsibilities in the group’s regional territory of Texas and Louisiana.

9. New Raymarine Axiom units.

Too many words there to tell fast what the deal is, but did notice this infrared feed which could be cool for low-light nav…but honestly don’t know enough about it to say either way:

10. Gander Mntn responds to bankruptcy reports…sorta.

Responds but doesn’t address the b-word.

11. Cabela’s revenue down in Q4.

12. WallyMart buys Moosejaw.com.

Outerwear, not fishing-related, but worth paying attention to if you’re in the biz.

Meme of the Day

MDJ in the Elitist house yo!

Ya miss ’em?

If you missed the last couple Blasters:

> Five firsts at Cherokee, Wheeler’s winning baits, Which lipless when

> Mega melons of the week, Bassers shooting docks, Just change colors

Tip of the Day

What’s worked in TX this winter for big’uns.

Yep, winter. Bass eat all winter. Some eat shallow. So:

> “I’ve had a lot of luck catching fish this winter on Chatterbaits…with swimbaits and Flukes for trailers…I’ve also caught fish on spinnerbaits too. With both baits, most of my bites have come in fairly shallow water, 3-8′.”

> …around rocks, timber and grassy points. “Bass still feed in the wintertime and they will still go shallow to find baitfish. You just have to slow down and sometimes get them to react to a bait by not burning it by them.”

> [Different dude] “In the winter, I like to use a big swimbait, usually 5” or possibly even bigger depending on the size of the shad in the body of water I’m fishing.

> If he’s going to err on swimbait size, it will likely be bigger rather than smaller since…sizable bass don’t feed very often in cold water. But when they do, the fish will be looking to maximize the so-called bang for their buck by targeting larger baitfish that offer big protein-packed meals.

> “I rig mine with a swimbait head, typically 1/2- to 3/4-oz depending on the depth I’m targeting. And I try to make a very long cast if I believe that the bass are on the bottom, like they often are when the water is really cold.”

Quote of the Day

The key is to not leave takeoff with negative thoughts about the weather, the lake or fishing pressure.

– KVD talkin‘ truth. I’d add: none the night before either. All competition revolves around confidence, bassin’ included. But don’t get overconfident like this guy:

Shot of the Day

Long-arm a 9-lb ditch melon on Falcon and it’ll look like this:

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Git on these yo!

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Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass.

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