Someone in the Olympics was bass bit! 😁

Hahaha! Gotta credit my daughter for spotting it first. She's always loved track and used to run it – and still should!

It's the pressure era in bass fishing. FFS is being used to pressure fish that have felt no pressure. Working at home and flex schedules mean more local fishing pressure in general. So we see more finesse fishing and more things to enhance/tweak those techniques.

Like bait colors. Matte colors, which I'll talk about in the new Abu Garcia REVO Top 5 of the Month that's about to come out, have been around for a bit with hard baits – like the Megabass Vision 110, some big swimbaits.

Believe it or not, stream/pond brand Rebel said at ICAST it's coming out with matte baits like:

Matte has been I guess a growing option, but still not a popular one, especially in soft-plastics. But then Great Lakes Finesse burst onto the scene last year and 100% of their colors are matte, including their jighead colors:

Asked GLF main man Dan Miguel about it:

> "We used to rub all of our soft baits on the carpet of our boat and sand the shine off our hard baits before every tournament. I truly believe that doing that made me more money in tournament fishing than anything else. Matte finish is a much more natural look.

> "As anglers we sometimes think what these fish feed on – baitfish or whatever – is shiny when we pull them out of the water because they are wet and the sun is hitting that wet surface. But the reality is almost everything these fish target and eat has no shine or glare underwater. If everything bass ate was shiny the bait could never hide.

> "As anglers we shouldn't be trying to make our baits scream 'look at me' because that's not what happens in nature. Fish in nature are always hunting bait that is trying to blend in and hide.

> "...if you're trying to trigger a reaction bite, shine is ok. But for big, smart, pressured fish they need to feel like they found the bait – and that natural matte finish allows the bait to blend into the underwater surroundings, making it look more real.

> "This I believe is key to fooling those bigger, more-educated fish. This applies to any kind of fishing really, not just smallmouth."

Guess that would help explain why green pumpkin is such a great color. I mean, it looks like crayfish, bluegill, baitfish and...grass! But it might not explain things like pink and chartreuse colors, and maybe blades flashing? Ain't doubting Dan at all, just pointin' out stuff.

Also the new Big Bite Baits Nekorama worm, designed by MLF BPT phenom Drew "redear or blue" Gill, comes in 12 colors and ALL are matte:

That's because Drew believes in pressured situations like tournaments, you get more bites with something more subtle, aka matte.

Speakin' of Big Bite, they also intro'd these colors at ICAST:

A different lookie:

Colors in this series are: pinkasagi, ice out, purple shimmer, chartreuse purple, blue glimmer. Available in the 3.3 and 3.8 Pro Swimmer, and the 4" and 5" Jerk Minnow. Big Bite posted:

> Designed to be the ultimate tool for targeting pressured fish that have just seen it all!

Jennifer at Big Bite told me:

> "What they are is completely transparent plastic, where the only coloring at all comes from small amounts of glitter. This results in a very transparent bait that fish can't get as good a look at."

Makes sense! So...we going to see more matte and subtle colors? Let's see what happens but I'm bettin' on it fwiw.

I think meaning FFS by itself isn't as good. Interesting stuff from here:

> "With FFS you will never get the picture and clarity that you do using [Humminbird] MEGA 360. When fishing a grass flat, I use it to find holes in the grass, little points, hard spots and rockpiles that you would never be able to see with FFS.

> "When I see someone without a MEGA 360 on their boat, I automatically know I have an advantage...."

Just bear in mind Kyle falls out of boats so...😆

Peep you this, the new Savage Gear RevMag Walker:

Don't judge yet, here's another one where you can see why I'm asking the Q:

Yep a weight-transfer system but it's new and different enough that it's patent-pending. More:

> ...patent-pending reverse magnetic weight transfer system that ensures longer casts while maintaining perfect balance in the water.

> ...enables precise casts and long-distance presentations. The innovative magnetic weight transfer system in the RevMag Walker allows the weight to move backward during the cast. Then the internal magnet kicks in, transferring the weight and propelling the weight forward while ensuring a smooth, flat landing on the water.

> No longer will anglers endure the frustration of topwater lure hooks fouling on the surface upon impact.

Here's Savage's main man Mads "man" Grosell explaining it in a FB vid.

The bait is made for saltwater but it will come in 2 bass sizes – 95 and 120 – and a bunch of colors including bone, white and chrome so...?

MSRP $14.99, should be available in Sept.

If you haven't noticed, seems to be a lot more emphasis now on making loooooong casts so the feesh don't know you're a-stalkin' 'em.

As you probably know by now a lot of guys use the Aqua-Vu cams up north but not only there. Some guys don't want to talk about it, some guys do – like Dylan Hays who posted:

> If you want to know what my favorite smallmouth fishing bait is, well this is it! With the quad view I can see all four directions at once!

Don't see it on TW but it is on the Aqua-Vu site. More deets from there:

> ...the Aqua-Vu QUAD HD packs four 720p underwater lenses into a single all-seeing camera module...leaving no fish unseen.

> A 10" daylight-viewable LCD features 4 touchscreen-selectable quadrants and touch zoom for even greater up-close examination.... View all 4 quadrants at once or select a single directional view and tap the screen a second time for 2X zoom.

> LCD features digital on-screen displays of camera depth, water temperature and camera direction.

Looks like that Quad rig is top of the line and $$$ but you can get your underwater cam on for – PRICE REDUCTION – just $350. Not sure how long that will last but I believe that unit used to be $500-$600.

1. Justin Lucas chose Lowrance ActiveTarget 2

Tackle Warehouse emailed this, can't find a link to it:

> For 2024, we gave Justin Lucas the chance to fish whatever forward-facing sonar he thought was best for his game. He chose Lowrance ActiveTarget 2 with HDS Pro.

> "The combination paints the clearest picture possible, enhancing fine details, and allowing me to clearly distinguish between fish and structure while easily tracking my lure. To put it simply, the target separation is superior...."

2. Remember this pic of John Cox's Redcrest baits?

John couldn't say at the time, but now we know that to the right is the Berkley Unrigged PowerBait CullShad and to the left is the Berkley PowerBait Clatter Craw.

3. Takahiro Omori likes the LC 2.5 in summer

Talkin' in an IG vid about fishing offshore cover with that bait in "TO gill" which looks like a cool color:

4. Why Chad Pipkens likes the new Ultrex QUEST

> "Being able to keep my trolling motor on 80-90% during 15+ hour practice days while covering water will be crucial during the northern tournaments.

> "Being able to Spot-Lock in 3+ foot waves and stay in one place while not having to worry about drifting off the spot are small details we take for granted but I could not fish without."

That troller is already a best-seller on TW.

5. BLF happenin's

Lake Erie – MI's Michael Sitko won his 2nd of the season and his 7th BFL. How he caught 'em:

> "I made a big run to the north shore of the lake, about 37 miles one way.... I targeted some isolated breaks on the bottom, boulders and other stuff up that way."

> ...he caught all his fish on dropshot rigs with a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm and Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Minnow....

Kentucky Lake – KY's Dustin Vaal won the 3-fish limit deal fishing a big worm on ledges:

> A key ledge in 12-15' feet produced most of Vaal's fish throughout the day. "I wasn't catching them off one individual spot," he said. "I was just going down a ledge catching them one here and one there."

> The key bait for Vaal was a 10" ribbontail Yamamoto Ichi Worm.

Lake Ferguson, MS – 5 fish for just 10 lbs won it for MS's John Anderson. He had the only limit too – tough lake! Caught 'em using a mix of Scoping and shallow cranking.

St Lawrence River, NY – NY's Ethan Carr won it on the river because Lake Ontario was off-limits. Sounds like he was drifting a finesse jig:

> "My main bait...a Beast Coast Open Water Sniper Jig. I was throwing that in 1/4-oz, and the color is called 'sexy melon.' And then I was putting on a trailer of a MaxScent Lil' General in either black or gp....

> "...a lot of fish spit up small gobies. I think that jig is a perfect representation of the smaller gobies that they seem to be feeding on this time of year."

> Carr targeted fish in 20-27'...drifting along with the current, letting the jig roll and kick along in the flow. Occasionally, when he'd see fish on his Garmin LiveScope unit, Carr made pinpoint pitches to them.

6. AR: 2025 BFL All-American will be on Hamilton

$120K to the winner.

7. OR: Conrad Demecs won the Columbia River BAM Pro

> Demecs employed 4 baits for his weigh fish, which included an A-rig on an Alpha Angler Wide Glide...with 3/8-oz heads on a mini rig with mini blades and 3.3 Keitechs.

> "My big kicker was on a walking bait that would get them to come up and explode. I fished it on an Alpha Angler TopHammer with 40-lb braid.... I also fished a jighead minnow with an Alpha Angler DSR...with 10-lb braid to a 6-lb leader – an Owner Range Roller 5g head with a 4- and 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad."

8. 2025 WON Bass schedule is out

9. AK: East TX Baptist U bassers went on a mission trip

Walkin' the walk, love it! 💪

10. Wally-eye pro Duane Hjelm won with the Mooch Minnow

On ND's Lake Sakakawea. Interesting deal about FFS and the minnow is that it catches everything, not just bass. Can't say that about every bait:

> Hjelm's go-to bait was the 3/8-oz VMC RedLine Tungsten Swimbait Jighead with a 3/0 hook rigged with a CrushCity Mooch Minnow (pearl white).

> At times Hjelm would go 10 or even 15 minutes without making a single cast as he drove down the shoreline with his trolling motor at max speed. "I had my LiveScope set at 120' and my fish were coming at 60' and under. The water was fairly clear in my area, like 6-8' clarity. Some fish would react as far as 15' away from the bait."

Good new YT vid on the Mooch Minnow here.

11. More info on the new Zoom Winged Fluke

Don't see it on TW yet:

> ...features a small wing on each side of its head. "It's designed to be on a jighead or as a hover-strolling bait," said...Patrick Walters. "You can fish it in the middle of the water column, and with the flat sides it rocks back and forth when you shake it but the wings keep it from rising."

Comes in 4" and 5" and 6 colors, should be available any day.

12. Alpha Angler Rods is now in the pinging game

New 4g and 6g ShAAkr Heads:

> ...built around a proprietary alloy developed to enhance sonar return. Higher-density materials like tungsten may have a great sonar return, but the smaller head sizes reduce the sonar surface which negates [some of] the benefit of the dense material.

> The alloy in the ShAAkr head includes elements with high sonar reflection. It's also less dense, allowing for bigger head sizes. For instance, the 6g (0.21-oz) head is the same size as a 1/4-oz head and the 4g (0.14-oz) head is the same size as a lead 3/16-oz head.

> Increasing the head size allows for a greater surface for sonar returns, AND keeps the bait more horizontal in the water when shaking!

13. New Duckett Sway Head and Sway Minnow made to rock

Is it me or does it look like that jighead is doing a situp? 🤣

14. UT: Largie reg changes proposed for a few lakes

Gunlock, Quail Creek and Sand Hollow.

15. Shimano global fishing sales down 6.8% in first half

> "As demand for fishing tackle that had been overly strong globally cooled down, sales remained weak. However, adjustments to market inventories started to show signs of progress."

16. Sounds like Egypt is getting into the hook biz...?

...to compete with China as a supplier.

17. New tech for faster development of soft-plastics?

> Philip Jones, founder of 3D Tech Innovations, has received a utility patent for his approach to manufacturing soft plastic fishing lures using metal 3D-printed dies, and is prepared to license that technology to interested parties.

> Jones – who has designed over 200 different products for 6th Sense Fishing, Googan Squad, Z-Man Fishing Products, Bass Mafia and others – believes that usage of his offerings will make the development of new lures more efficient, less costly, and more customizable.

18. UT: Independent scientists say anti-smallmouth plan is bunk

Well how 'bout them apples:

> The report says the nearest population center of humpback chub is 76 river miles downstream in Grand Canyon water that is too turbid for smallmouth bass to proliferate.

> "We think the various management actions being considered to control smallmouth bass recruitment are unlikely to be effective given the modest history of success of similar actions in the last 2 decades in the Colorado River ecosystem."

Like I theorized...it's about fundraising....

19. Corps holding public Asian carp meetings

Aug 15, 5-7:30 pm CST, TWRA office at 5105 Edmondson Pike in Nashville.

Aug 27, 5-7:30 pm CST, Lauderdale County Extension Office on Veterans Drive in Florence, AL.

More info in that post. Bottom line: Those fish are still a problem...and the folks responsible for bringing them here in the first place to my knowledge are not involved in paying for mitigation or the solution.

20. AL: Small lake closed because of giant salvinia

Washington County Public Fishing Lake.

21. NC: Johnny Morris bought Hatteras Yachts

> The Ranger saltwater and Mako saltwater boat brands will now be built in New Bern....

Headlines of the Day

$345K SIU study focuses on how to keep farmed largemouth bass from eating their own

Gonna solve this one: goldfish. You're welcome. 😁

Alligator Reportedly Spotted at East Avenue Boat Launch in Erie

Doubt he'll make it....

PSA

Here's your annual reminder that Jewel DockStiX are the deal:

Watch Elitist Cole "desert" Sands fish a lake...

...with a multitude of different baits. He's good on camera, gives good tips and it's not the FFS minnow deal. Even finds a place to fish right there on the water using Apple Maps.

He fishes a Yo-Zuri 3DB Popper in at least one of the just-released shad colors, that interesting new 3DR-X Flat Heavy Minnow, a wacky rig and I think a Yo-Zuri 3DB Series MR 1.5. Believe the lake is in TN....

"These northern fisheries, they have such a short summer that 1 week of time is a huge amount of time in their summer pattern, so things change really fast."

- "Place" Matt Becker talkin' some insight 'bout smallie country. Explains a bunch!

Does the "motor oil" color mimic crawfish?? Check this cool GLF shot – that's their 2.5" Juvy Craw:

Effort to auction off bedpan collection falls flat

Don't know about you but that actually does surprise me.

Fishers of Men Tournament Trail

Bass Chaplain podcasts

Contact Chris Wells the Bass Chaplain

CullGear.com - Versaweb

Advanced Angler

StrayCasts crazy web show!

BassEdge Radio

Champion Jigs

Trophy Bass Co.

National Professional Anglers Assoc.