Sorry got this BB out a little late – still trying to get through all the ICAST stuff, which is most of everything happening in bassin' right now. Will get to more stuff next week!

Meantime, who's the best American rock 'n roll singer ever? Probably no one person, but a candidate for sure is Ann Wilson of Heart. Here she is at 72 YEARS OLD (4 years ago) – "Magic Man" and "Even it Up."

I say that not because she could still sing amazing at that age, but also because I've never heard anyone else come up with melodies like that. Check "Barracuda" from the same concert – who would ever come up with that melody??

Btw her guitar player on the right at those shows is a top Nashville session cat named Tom Bukovac – he's insanely good. Here's his YT for all my fellow string-benders, and check out the opening jam in this episode, one of my faves. Caution: He's an F-bomber.

Alright, end of the detour – let's bass!

Gitcha Blaster video fix here:

Just some that made caught our eyes as being interesting, cool, practical, etc. Disclaimers:

- We did not see everything, and either way might have missed some stuff

- Not gonna list everything by every company

- Not all companies were there

- No particular order

YUM

YUM has some stealth really good baits – maybe stealth because they're lower-priced but good. I mean, Jason Christie anyone?? Anyhow, other than the Mother Bug flip bait I already talked about, they have a new Neko-oriented worm called the Gadget Worm.

• Asymmetrical profile to create an off-balanced shimmy
• Tougher, enlarged head holds nail weights securely and resists tearing
• Bulbous tail features a unique action tip that responds to the slightest bait movement
• Perfectly placed 360-degree indention simplifies centering an O-ring

Here's a YT video of Stetson Blaylock talkin' 'bout it.

5" and 6" with 14 pro-selected colors. $3.99 a pack man, dang!

Rapala CrushCity

Man CrushCity plastics are so good, I want to talk about 'em all but don't have the space so....

The Inspector is a Neko worm with a thicker head for Neko weights and nose-hooking, and also has a slot for O-rings. Some sweet colors because the baits have a "core shot." Check 'moon dust':

They also came out with the strange-looking Avatar Shad which looks great in the water (YT video), and one of the baits I'm most excited to fish is just a new size – the 3.25" Bronco Bug. Gonna put it on a Ned head!

Z-Man

Biggest deal is the new Elite EVO HD ChatterBait, which looks and feels HD in every way:

• Solid teardrop-shaped welded ring line-tie connection
• Reinforced head-to-blade interface
• Custom 5/0 super heavy-duty nano-coated hook
• Upgraded trailer keeper system
• Wire-tied silicone skirt, oversized 3D eyes

It won an ICAST award. Note that Z-Man had to DISCONTINUE the much-loved new-ish Tungsten EVO because tungsten prices are through the roof...which is why you are not seeing any new tungsten deals from ICAST!

I see Tungsten EVOs still in stock on TW so get 'em while you can! (I just bought a PILE lol.)

Also:

The new Octane Minnowz is the first swimbait they made specifically for bass, and has that Swag tail.

The new Gaff Worm Hook looks very promising – it's a hybrid between an EWG and worm hook.

They have new powder-coated weights (just flipping so far) that are made of lead + additives to make them more durable. Dang good idea with tungsten prices now orbiting Mars! 😁

Not sure I got the physics right on their new Sinking ElaZtech but I think it might be heavier than a salted bait but doesn't sink faster? And btw their older ZinkerZ baits do have salt.

Either way, that new Kingpin stick worm does stretch and stretch out...without breaking.

Strike King

As usual Strike King had some good stuff, but the thing that stood out to us was the FG Worm. According to Easton Fothergill – who designed it for Neko-rigging and apparently only wanted it to be available in 'red bug' 😁 – the "FG" stands for "freakin' gas." Honestly it could be "fish getter" or maybe something like – "Fother Gill."

Lol anyhow Easton said:

> "I wanted a worm that would move the most water possible, allowing you to generate as much action as you want without moving it toward you.

> "This worm was originally designed to be fished Neko-rigged, but I've already seen it perform incredibly well on a dropshot, hover rig, Ned rig, and more."

It'll come in a dainty 4" and a 5.5", available late this year.

Also, Strike King's new Chuker urchin will come in 7, 10, 18 and 24mm. Some of the colors will be "firetip." Prices will be $12, $13, $15 and $15 for these quantities respectively: 3, 3, 2, 2.

That Two Timer Spinnerbait will only be in 3/8-oz, and apparently the 2 blades will "tick" each other and flare.

Snag Proof

Yep a new topwater! 😁 Called the Zoo Wag, and is pretty much self-explanatory EXCEPT I believe you can just kinda straight-reel it with the Jitterbug-type lip on it.

BaitFuel

BaitFuel is coming out with Flavored Freshwater Gels: alewife, bluegill, crawfish, goby and gizzard shad. Smart! Not for human consumption, even on a cracker! 😁

Seaguar

Seaguar launched 1 new product and – it's a mono! Called Seaguar Brawlr. Couldn't have been more surprised because fluoro is their wheelhouse, but hearing the story it makes sense:

• Mono is 50% of line sold
• They spent years developing and refining this new and improved mono
• 13% thinner (than existing monos), 10% less stretch, 8% more tensile strength, 17% more knot strength
• Less memory + less water absorption than other monos, and good abrasion resistance
• Will come in low-viz green and clear – clear will have a fluorescent component
• 2-30 lb, will be 11.99 which is about the high-average for mono on TW

Little Seaguar trivia:

• The brand is owned by a Japanese chemical company
• Believe it invented fluoro in 1971 (that is Red Label)
• InvizX came out in 2005

My thought: Shallow jerkbaits!

KastKing

Reels

KastKing makes some very good stuff, particularly (in my 2c) their reels and tools. Their higher-end reels are crazy smooth. 2 weekends ago I made a cast and then looked at my hand because the line came off so smooth I knew it had to be a KastKing. It was their new Al-Ti Reel.

At ICAST they had a new Kestrel Ultimate BFS Reel, which we got to cast in the pond – same deal. This one is a magnesium frame (the rest is carbon fiber), aluminum spool and with a few more custom KK deals that make it – yep – very good.

Apparently their reels feel so smooth because the have like Formula 1-type tolerances on them. Whatever the case, they feel great.

Will Davis Jr even thinks the $85 KastKing Royal Legend Pro is one of the best spin reels for the $$ you can buy. Gonna have that short vid out soon.

Rods

In my 2c KastKing has not been known for their rods, but that might be fixing to change now that they have krazy kayak man Drew Gregory on board. They have a whole new lineup of rods he designed – the DG series for "Dog Gonnit" 😁 – with some different touches like:

• They're all 2-piece rods, which makes them just as good but cheaper (according to Drew)
• Double triggers on a baitcaster, which looks crazy but actually can make sense depending on how you fish
• A spin-rod grip that helps your hand from getting so cramped
• A reverse real seat (I think spin rods only)

Words don't really work here – you'll have to check 'em in person.

Tools

KastKing makes som real good tools and accessories for pretty cheap $, the latest of which is a rechargeable 55-lb mini scale for $14.99. Battery is supposed to last 10 hours. It's on backorder at TW.

Livingston Lures

Maybe the company name should add 2 Ls – Livingston Lures Likes Legends. Because they're working with the one 'n only Rickey Clunn, and swimbait guru/mastermind Jerry Rago. Talked to both gents at the Livingston booth.

Rick I THINK designed the OG 1.5 (RC 1.5), which has to be one the best-selling crankbaits (including similar baits/knockoffs) of all time. Either way, his first designed bait for Livingston is the Primetyme CB 1.5. Not sure if CB is for "coffin bill" or "circuit board" but they bothy apply!

Rick told me:

• He wanted a bait that dove deeper than the 1.5, and it had to go through brush better. The circuit board coffin bill lip accomplishes both.
• A coffin bill gives "more deflection points" which = more chances to trigger strikes.
• It has flatter sides and is inbetween a tight and wide wobble.

Always amazing to talk to (mostly listen to) Rick. He smiled and said nice things so you know he musta had a good breakfast...lol love ya Rick!

If you recall, back in 2010 Byron Velvick blew up the bass fishing world winning the Clear Lake Bassmaster on a Rago swimbait. Then Skeet Reese won I think the next tournament on Smith Mountain Lake also with a Rago swimbait.

That same Jerry Rago showed me what will be his first new Livingston bait, a rat that's "6 rats in one" – because you can make it articulate or not, and you can switch out the lips. Little tip from him about rats:

> "You catch an equal amount of fish on a big rat as a small one, but the bass hit the bigger ones harder so you catch more with it."

Next deal will be a swimbait – at least one – like such:

More from ICAST

1. Missile Baits – That new Missile Dice Jig is really a jighead, not a jig. And notice is not called an "urchin" jig. Did not get to see it in the water, but Mike Iaconelli germinated it and he's often ahead of the curve bait/rig-wise so....

2. Great Lakes Finesse – That Stay Pinned Spy Bait they launched at the Classic is already a TW Bestseller. A spybait! So I asked Dan Miguel how he fishes it:

- Long bomb cast and and reel it slowly and straight.

- "Just reel it back like a hair jig."

- Focus on flats and targets.

He says it works for all 3 bass species, and often is a "last resort" bait in tourneys because fish bite it but come off. He says his bait – largely through that detaching hook on the back – fixes that problem.

3. Buckeye Lures – The Dumpster Diver Jig wins the best new bait name award – love it! Co-designed by Left Coaster Ken Mah, it's designed to to go through and hookset through heavy grass.

4. Bucca Brand – Is the Trick Crawler the first crawler from a bigger company? And/or one that doesn't cost a kidney?? Mike Bucca seemed pretty stoked about it – a topwater crawlers with that new Trick Herring body.

Not sure I want to cast one 😁 but I do want to fish one.

5. Big Bite Baits – Came out with a Rollerama XT Minnow, a TPE version of the original Drew Gill-designed Rollerama. I'm waiting for Drew's Crawarama, Shadarama, etc...😁

6. SPRO – That tail on the new Disco Roller might be a deal sometimes?

7. Gamakatsu – Their new Ball Rig Hook was shown but is not available on TW yet.

8. Imakatsu – Showed this Dumbbell Crab deal a while back, was only smaller but now out in 22mm...just not available right now.

9. Lew's – They have a new Hypermag Spin Reel, one model of which will have a shallow spool and the same 7:1 retrieve as the Hyperspeed. Shallow spool = no backing needed. Wish more folks would come out with shallow spools!

10. Bubba – They were showing a new $200 Pro Series Smart Bump Board. Measures your fish electronically and I assume sends that to the app. Kinda cool concept but a $200 bump board...🤔

11. Garmin – Somehow they got Anthony Galgiardi's boat in the pond to show us LiveScope 2. It looked pretty dang great – the 42HD 'ducer. More about it next week.

12. Buff – Looks like Buff is trying to get back into the fishing game. They were in years ago, sponsored Ott DeFoe (and the BB!). I'm not a fishing glove wearer but was told be a couple bass-heads that they can help with cramps and help grip a rod if you have an injury or arthritis.

_____

I think we have even more ICAST stuff coming next week! 🤯

Outdoor Life has a long, recently revived older post by a gentleman named Sam Welch where he talks about conclusions from his logbook of 20,000 bigger bass caught. 🤯 All from Bull Shoals, MO. 🤯

Before getting into it, Bull Shoals is a highland/upland rez, meaning deep, clear, rocky. Here's how Sam caught his fish:

He calls it the "jig and eel," which of course is a jig with a worm, which is now making a comeback – especially in that type of water – as a jig + TRD. Sometimes he would use a NINE INCH worm on the back of his jig...which was a hair jig:

Look at that tiny hook gap! Re colors:

> ...2 of the top lunker specialists I know put white over any other color, night or day.... My personal preference in eels is for red, black, white and yellow, in about that order.

Yellow! I still feel like that color is underrated in bassin', but real few options to test it out anymore.

Episode 140 of the Sea Foam/Sufix Lines Top 5 of the Week in Bass Fishing – here's the rundown and thanks for watching mang!

1. New LiveScope 2 questions answered 🎯

2. Polymer mount = WAY better FFS? 🤔

3. New crankbait for brush! 😃

4. Scope + suspended fish + crankbait = 🏆

5. Z-Man's new sinking plastic baits 👀

Sea Foam Marine PRO

Sufix line

#1

Garmin LiveScope 2

Garmin LVS44 transducer

Garmin LVS42HD transducer

Garmin Spy Pole

Garmin GT360UHD transducer

Garmin ECHOMAP

Garmin GPSMAP

#2

True Sight Mount

#3

Bill Lewis Brush Crank

#4

Bill Lewis DR24 crankbait

#5

Z-Man Kingpin

Z-Man Stuntman

1. Alton Jones' last rodeo is coming up on Erie

Says he loves the competition but physically and mentally has lost a step. Plus I heard he's way into raising Netherland dwarf rabbits...possibly...😁

2. Spencer Shuffield LOVES Great Lakes smallmouth

> Any smallmouth south of the Great Lakes is a knockoff. The name-brand smallmouth are the ones in those big lakes up north. You can catch a 17" smallmouth on Pickwick or Wheeler and it's a 2.5-lber. A 17-incher on Lake Ontario or Lake Michigan might be pushing 4 lbs. They're meaner. They look different. They're the real deal.

> It's the way they fight, their coloration, how they're built. Everything. You can catch them in 5' of water or out in 40 off a single rock. And there's a good chance that smallmouth you catch on the Great Lakes has never been touched by another human. That's cool.

3. NY: St Lawrence Toyota will be river only

Specifically 27 miles of river from Massena to Waddington, I think because of high water? Anyhow, I'm expecting to hear about crowding, fistfights and lower weights...😁🤙

4. MLF + Bubba Scoretracker Live app is a big deal

Or it could/should be if they get it right. Basically you can do your own catch/weigh/release tourneys with the Bubba scale and app. Makes me wonder if you will have to register for these tourneys with states the require it or not?

5. LA: 'Tiger bass' stocking has pumped up Claiborne

Almost 200K fingerlings over the last few years. I believe "tiger bass" are FL hybrids bred "bred specifically for fast growth and aggressiveness."

6. ON tourney study finds bass live 10+ years

Thought this was well-known already about northern bass?

> ...data from competitive angling events in the Great Lakes found that more than 20% of black bass weighed-in at these events are over 10 years old, with at least one individual reaching its early 20s.

7. KS: New 5-fish tourney record at Milford?

Scott Smith and "the outlaw" Jesse James at the I-70 Bass Anglers tournament had 21.94 lbs with a 4.93 kicker smallmouth. Limit might have been all smallmouths?

8. AR wants input on stream bass management plan

9. AR: 8 new smallie Blue Ribbon Streams

It's now 10 which are: Buffalo River, Caddo River, Crooked Creek, Current River, Eleven Point River, Illinois River, Kings River, Spring River, War Eagle Creek and the White River.

Limit is 1 smallmouth with a 15" minimum.

10. GA: Hartwell ramp on Rocky Ford Road closed

Unusually low water. Seemed to me there's a ton of ramps on Hartwell so hopefully no big deal.

11. AL: Moundville ramp open again on Warrior River

12. TN: 2 promotions at Caymas

Todd Falk is the new prez and COO, and Ben Dorton is now VP of sales and marketing. Earl Bentz is still the CEO.

13. KY: Paducah Bass Pro Shops should open next spring

14. FL: Manatee population doing much better overall

15. MN: Zebras found in Manuel Mine Lake and Perch Lake

16. Japan feels largemouths have hurt carp in Lake Biwa

Well that would be a plot twist! Sounds tough to believe based on what we see here, but who knows.

17. Scottish fishing dude finds graphene clothing repels ticks

> A decade ago, Inverness-based Scott helped develop the world's first graphene high-performance fly-fishing rod using a material derived from space age technology.

> Now his company, Mackenzie Fly Fishing, has applied the same technology to clothing after what he says was a chance discovery that the specially engineered fabric appeared to deter ticks.

Post says they are worried about Lyme over there. Would love to hear how those ticks crossed the Atlantic.

Headlines of the Day

Freshwater drum: The overlooked native fish that has been crushing trillions of invasive mussels in Lake Erie

Good to know!

German Companies Test Groundbreaking Drone Boat Launched From Submarine Torpedo Tubes

More Skynet stuff...yikes.

Line of the Day

No matter how hard lure manufacturers try they will never be able to create a lure that works better than real thing, period.

Disagree! And not just for bass. One example is Berkley Gulp! in saltwater. Seen it outfish bait at times.

"At the age of 65, I no longer hop around the boat like a rat on crack."

- 🤣 Writer and tournament dude talkin' 'bout getting up there in age. As a good bud said once, "Getting old ain't for wimps."

For you younger folks – he wishes he still could run around the boat so all good!

Not bass fishing but – you ever seen a striped bass with spots like a salty trout/weakfish?? Check this fish caught off CT. It's gotta be the only one ever? Click the pic for the IG vid, posted by @joe.diorio.guide.service:

Fishers of Men Tournament Trail

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