Hope you had a good long weekend! Back at the bassin' and blastin', 'bout time for the fall bite to kick in here too...😍 Let's go!
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John Murray talks the Triple Dropshot.
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Grabbed him for 5 Qs:
1. First of all, why would you even fish a dropshot?? 😁
> "It's just the most fish-catching technique there is to me. Largemouth bass, smallmouths, spotted bass.... If I need to catch a bass, I'll probably have some sort of dropshot on to catch it."
2. How did you get onto this treble hook idea?
> "It really came when the A-Rig came out – the multiple-bait idea. Back out West, 20 years ago, guys would tie 6-7 Gitzits together and won tournaments, but they banned that. So I knew it was a good technique and I thought: How do I do it with a dropshot? I used it 8-10 years ago and did videos on it 6-7 years ago....
> "It looks bulkier, a group of baits."
3. Did you try baits other than Flukes on it?
> "For me it's always been some Fluke-style baits [to look] like spawning shad. I've always thought about it when I see the shad spawn. I have tried Roboworms and stuff and have caught few fish on it, especially some bigger spotted bass....
> "...lotta options there, just don't ever get to try them. But if you wanted a bigger fish or a higher-pressured fish, a bulky thing would be more appealing to them, like the A-Rig did with the swimbait. It's a totally different look but doing the same thing."
4. How do you fish it?
> "I like to fish it fast. I like a heavy weight – a 3/8-oz tungsten.... Whenever I see shad spawning they're usually darting around quickly. So I'm not moving it really slow...heavy weight, hopping it off the bottom, almost stroking it...so they're not getting a good look at it.
> "I've always used it as more of a shad-spawn bait.
> "With an open treble hooks...sort of limited where you can throw it. I suppose you could make one with weedguards and all that...."
5. Do you miss many fish on it?
> "Not too many. If you don't pre-rig your baits with Owner screw locks or something, you will lose a lot of baits. But if they commit to it, they eat the whole thing. I haven't missed a lot of fish on it.... They commit to it really well when they get on it."
Asked him whether that's a heavier dropshot rod than he normally uses:
> "I like a fast taper and little bit of butt to it, not a light parabolic action. I love to cast a dropshot a long ways and I like to get the hookset. I use a little beefier rod than most guys do for dropshotting."
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"...it's going to be a totally different place with forward-facing sonar."
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Is Justin tryin' to confuse the official with that BUFF? 🤔 Anyhow, few reminders based on deals I've seen on social media:
1. Live sonar does NOT apply in all situations (not yet anyhow!).
2. It doesn't make fishing stupid easy – nothing does man, come on....
3. It does not cut down on the level of skill needed. In fact, it is an additional skill.
Also, it appears some fish are already getting wise to it in certain places....
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Humminbird 360 key in B.A.S.S. Nation win.
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> Hamann said he made the longest run of anyone in the field and targeted a fall migration area that he believed other anglers wouldn't find. ...located submerged weedbeds as well as longer points. "I focused on stuff I knew other anglers wouldn't get. Stuff you can't see without Humminbird 360."
> A Chatterbait did the majority of the damage on the final day, but Hamann had as many as 16 rods on his deck each day of the tournament and believes he caught a bass on each rod throughout the week.
16???? Tell me if you saw 16 rods on the deck you would think that guy would win....
What's more important, 360 or Live? Answer: Yes.
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How to spinnerbait reeds.
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No idea how I trip over stuff on YouTube, or YT trips over stuff for me, but just for chuckles gave this old "Bass In Heavy Cover" vid a watch. As usual, the old stuff is new again like Al Lindner talkin' spinnerbaitin' reeds – highlights:
- Do not use a spinnerbait where the arm does not extend past the hook point (else it gets hung too much).
- Fish the lee side because reeds on the windy side will be blown over by the wind and tough to fish. For whatever reason he catches more fish on the lee side too.
- He's IN the reeds and fishing toward the back edge, looking for denser patches of reeds (he calls 'em clumps but they don't look like clumps to me).
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Funniest thing about it is looks like the rod Al's using is made outta cooked spaghetti and rubber bands! 🤣 Amazing the hook even penetrates!
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Made me think: We probably don't a) think about cover/structure in non-standard ways enough and b) we might not put our trollers to the test enough. I mean, Al's '70s troller wasn't near what we have now!
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Cool bassin' tidbits from an interview with Kenyon Hill.
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> [His dad] came out with a pH monitor. He found out the various acid and alkaline balances in the water affected fish location and behavior.
> Then he figured out that fish could see color and could differentiate different shades of the same color. They could see different colors better under different light conditions of water clarity, which was the Color-C-Lector...was the most successful product offering he ever had. Mechanically, it is a light meter.
> It had 3 different bands with all different kinds of colors on it. You read whichever band it was and it gave you the color. (Fish) could see that color the best at the given conditions. It went over huge and it affected lure companies and the colors they sold. That was a summer of '85. He made a lot of money off of that.
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> It's the only thing I've every really wanted to do. When you make the Classic that's a pretty cool deal. When I won my first tournament, that was pretty special. The second one I won, I was like, 'OK, I am not a flash in the pan. I am actually legitimate.'
> It's not easy. Sometimes you are not catching them. I had to borrow money against the boat once to keep going. Back in the early days, I remember heading to a tournament in Columbia, SC and fishing Lake Murray and had $26 in a checking account waiting for me when I got home.
> The lifestyle is unforgiving, the time on the road. How many sponsors you've got is how many bosses you have. It's not all about tournament winnings. Sponsor dollars is what you really count on.
> I don't know (about the future of pro bass fishing). I think things are really out of whack. I think $5,000 entry fees for a (Elite Series) tournament is ridiculous. I think the expenses have gotten too big a pill to swallow, especially for a guy starting out.
Agree and will always agree on the high entry fees. Anyone who says they have to be there is at best misinformed. Will say again: Back in the day at BassFan we proved you could PAY fishermen to fish – called an "appearance fee" in other pro sports – have a 6-figure 1st place prize and televise it, and it worked financially. One key: Low overhead.
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John Soukup posted:
> Skeeter is in need of prayers as he has been in the hospital for sometime with covid.
Right now a guide trip with John is up to $1,300, other items there ( Riki Pike's FB page) as well. However, please note: John will NOT reveal any of his LiveScope techniques.
Lol just messin'. Please pray for Skeeter and his family. 🙏
Shoulder surgery. Good to hear man!
Very cool. Didn't know about the OFF 'EM hat but they're outta stock 🙁
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Jun 2-5.
Aka KeelShield. T-H's 4th acquisition of 2021. Here's a vid T-H CEO Jeff Huntley posted:
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Nice rings Jeff! 🤣
Seems like that lake has finally come back, hope they don't mess it up now....
Yep not bassin' but worth knowin'....
Couple years ago looked like Euro bait company Westin was going to jump into the US market, but then it didn't happen.
Hit hard from a fish virus in the late 2000s, now speculating that gobies are eating musky eggs.
Headline of the Day
Talkin' bluefin tuna feeshn but ture for bassin'! More similarities:
> When hunting pelagic species like tuna and jacks, captains use electronics to measure temperature, depth, and structure....
> ...sportfishing is not a cheap gamble, but it is a gamble.
Nothin' cheap about bassin' lol!
PSA
Always loved 'em. Now you can't bring 'em to school anymore or whatever but still cool!
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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> "If the water temperature drops, pick up a frog and fish it all day.
> "I always like fishing the thick cheese or duck weed first, that yellow green mossy stuff. It's super loose, and when bass hit it they rarely miss it. The cheese is usually over submerged vegetation like milfoil.
> "Find the alleys – if it's darker colored, it usually has thicker weeds under it. The lighter color usually has the alleys under it and is best for big fish. Lots of bream and baitfish live there. I've caught so many 8-pounders in the thick cheese over the years."
> "If the water levels are up, fish back into it, and if the water level is down, fish the edges.
> "If I want a lot of bites, I throw a black frog, and add a little red for confidence. A bream color can be great for really big fish. White looks larger and mimics a shad or whatever larger baitfish there are. If you see a lot of frogs, use a frog color, and if there are a lot of crawfish – sometimes those crawfish love under the weed mats – use a craw color."
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"It's impossible to make fish bite when they don't want to or when you're not fishing around them."
- Patrick Walters talkin'...common sense? 😂 Just messin'. AND it is (allegedly) possible to make fish bite when they don't want to, Patrick, there's this deal called "reaction bites" and "reaction baits." Bahaha! Patrick was the master of the reaction bite at Fork last year fo sho.
Can't argue with not being able to get a fish to bite if a fish ain't there. It's almost too logical...🤔
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Don't know who Ernie Wallace is, but he's a bass-head who ain't skeert of a lil rain! Sure he could use him some SIMMS, but either way they were bitin'! 👊
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> Fairbanks and his K-9 partner, Si, also assisted in searching for a suspicious person howling and screaming in the woods near residences.
😳 People don't do that man....
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) stuff in bassin', picked 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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