Welcome to Feb! Aka 1 step closer to pre-spawn (most places) and spring! Ready to get the pro tourney season going, ready to see what the bass are eatin', ready to overheat in the boat! 🥵
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Miguel Neal es todavia en fuego!🔥
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Well that didn't take long! Michael was AOY on the MLF Pro Circuit last season, and then won this weekend's opening Pro Circuit tourney on Rayburn, TX...by 8-03...and started the final day with an 8-09! 🤯 Miguel es siempre en fuego! 🔥 Some info from MLF:
> "Going into the tournament, I felt like 10 lbs per day was going to be really good, for me. I didn't have very high expectations at all for this event, but it's great starting the 2022 season back where I left off and just keeping the momentum going."
> ...on day 1 he caught them all out deep, on finesse gear [dropshotted a morning dawn 6" worm] but it seemed like the fish had moved up shallower today, and he was able to catch them on moving baits.
> "I caught all of my fish on a jerkbait [day 3]."
Said he used 3 jerkbaits: 2 in a shad color and a SPRO McStick in "blue bandit."
> ...he found a lot of his fish during the tournament just trolling around looking at his Lowrance ActiveTarget sonar.
Here's a quick 3 with him:
1. Can we get some more deets on how you caught 'em?
> "They were all drain or ditch-related. The whole tournament. Even the deep ones were in the drains but they were in the centers. And then as the day and tournament both went on, they started pulling up a shallower on the sides...around a piece of cover or in the back where it flattened out."
[He said the water T was 51-53.]
2. Did you just find fish with ActiveTarget or catch 'em using it too?
> "13 of the 15 I caught I saw bite on ActiveTarget. I would either look for fish or would look for a piece of cover. Some of the fish were so stuck on the bottom or tucked into a piece of cover you couldn't see them til that jerkbait came over and they showed themselves.
> "Depending on where I was at determined which jerkbait I would throw. I had one weighted so it would sink – so I could get down to 12-14' with it."
Follow-up: Did you plan to use ActiveTarget that much or was it because it got cold?
> "Yes I planned to. In practice the only thing I had going was fishing drains with a dropshot...seeing fish 2-3' off the bottom.
> "...most of them would never sit still...both in practice and all 3 tournament days. Most of the time I trolled with a rod in my hand – you just had a short time to get on that fish before it slid out of view."
3. You do know that when people say, "Michael you're so hot right now" they're only talkin' 'bout your fishing? 😂
> "I thought it was the looks. Oh I know they're talking about my fishing.
> "It's almost like there's some subconscious mental thing going on I can't quite understand or put into words about making the right decisions at the right time – constantly. I can't exactly put it into words. I acknowledge it's there, but I don't know exactly what it is."
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33.87 limit dropped at Caney Lake, LA! 🤯
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2nd was 14.33! 🤯 Didn't see any bait info....
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Bassin' stuff I learned in FL.
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In no particular order...Gary Klein pro photographer ^ 😁:
1. Live sonar stuff
> They might not agree, but for me it was all about the "forward facing" part. Meaning you could see where the fish were – and what the bottom, cover and bait looked like – without getting on top of them. Also could tell how far to cast and what you should be feeling down there.
> The "video game fishing" didn't work even 50% of the time – meaning they were watching and got bit or thought they got bit, but didn't hook up every time...at least when I was paying attention. EMOJ Possible factor: It was a cold front, in FL. Also, the other guys in the boat got bit without video-game fishing.
> Matching the forage size was everything. You could Live sonar your bait right to the fish, but if it wasn't what they wanted, forget it. Gary dropshotted a Berkley Powerbait Gilly soft-plastic and watched a bunch of bass shoot right over to it, but they never committed. The bait was small, so lots of small swimbaits and Neds.
> Using Live enabled these guys – and the rest of us in the boat – to cover less water more thoroughly. In other words, it gave us confidence the fish were there.
> Forward-facing sonar does not = a guaranteed fish catch, even for those guys. Not even with an A-rig. Big fish don't get big by being dumb or aggressive, and don't want to eat 24/7.
> After 4 days of fishing these small lakes, the fish were getting wise to something, even using Live sonar. Was it the baits? The boats? The pings? Who knows man....
> Now that I've seen all that, here's the baits I'm going to always have tied on when using Live sonar:
- Swimbait that matches the lake's bait size/color or just a small shad- or minnow-colored one.
- Jerkbait and anything else I can make suspend at depth.
2. 2Ding
> 2D sonar is still real effective (duh but some peeps are wonderin'!). In Hank Parker's boat when we saw the bait and fish come under the boat, we caught some.
> Yep you can drop or swim a small swimbait to suspended fish using Live, but you can do a similar thing with 2D, aka "tight-lining" – meaning just drop it to the depth a fish is at and basically hold it there. The Damiki Rig is a similar deal.
> A-rigging: If you know or see where the bait is, just throw it around 'em. Live sonar not needed. If you see a giant fish all alone, like on OH Ivie, maybe drop it to 'em....
3. My 2 fave rod/reel setups from the trip
Really was there for baits, but these 2 combos got noticed by my hands and brain:
Abu J Lee rod 'n reel
Been looking for a good light crankbait rod/reel deal. Tried every rod I had and never really found what I was looking for. Well I found it on this FL trip, and it's the Abu J Lee signature stuff: a 6' 10" MHF Topwater/Spinnerbait Rod ($99.95) and a 7.1 J Lee reel ($109.95).
How I found it: Felt like they would be on a small crank up shallow, so I put a Frittside 5 on there, all 1/3-oz of it, and I cast it like 40 yards...WITH some brakes on because I need 'em...and come to find out the line was 17-lb Trilene 100% Fluoro! 🤯 Can't wait to get the combo and try it with 12:
Elite rookie Joseph Webster had me dial the brakes all the way off – I made one cast and poof, that fast I had to do surgery and then respool lol!
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This was one of Shane's setups, and when I picked it up I couldn't believe it – weighed about the same as 2 potato chips + a dried-out cricket. Crazy! Has to be easily the lightest combo I ever fished.
Felt sorta...high tech? I mean, it was just a rod and reel but it felt like someone handed it to me from the future. (Is Shane from the future?? 🤔)
Strung braid to fluoro, could cast about a million yards, no issue with hooksets up to 5-lbers even with that ML rod:
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4. Reminders to myself
> Always carry bibs. I just had rain pants figurin' it couldn't possibly get that cold. But it was. SIMMS Challengers all the way mang!
> Forgot my Revital Outdoors CBD gels and paid for it, goin' from pro desk jockey to all day in a boat. Had to rely on ol' Aleve. Never again!
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Benny the Bass predicted an early spring!
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> Benny will be out bright and early on Jan 29, choosing whether to devour some minnows, and thereby declaring whether we'll have 6 more weeks of winter. At 7am the official ceremony will take place.
> "I make an official proclamation, and then I pour a bunch of minnows into this big tank with a live bass. Then people chant, 'Take the bait, spring can't wait.' The bass has 3 minutes to eat a minnow. If he does, it's an early spring. If he doesn't, it's 6 more weeks of winter."
Thankfully Benny gulped ALL the minners within 3 minutes so let's go spring! Here he is:
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1. Matt Lee gets Deps Optimum Baits, ima.
Believe he was 6th Sense:
> Deps Japan currently supports and works with two Bassmaster Elite anglers, Kenta Kimura and Masayuki Matsushita.
...shows/says they're the exact same bait – same as the engineers/designers who built both baits say. But you XR50 fans keep buyin' 'em spendy on eBay if that's what gives you confidence!
Check the BOOYAH One Knockers on the TW. After watching this deal I was like, "Jason you really need to lay off the caffeine man...." 😆
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Busch is back! Wonder if Lee will "have to wear the patch" – remember that deal?? Anyhow, good fer him, tho little surprised it's not a whiskey with that whole Whiskey Myers thing?
New deal on Strike King's YT channel.
Not real sure what it's about exactly but check this about pros gettin' product:
> Guys are scrambling to get electronics and trolling motors. And in some cases even outboard motors. At least one angler with several wins has actually installed an old flasher unit on the bow of his boat.
> A blown lower unit is more than a trip to the service truck these days. It could possibly put you out of the tournament. I'm also keeping covers on my screens, and I'm watching what I hit with my trolling motor.
We all might wanna keep that in mind!
Cliff Crochet, Dean Rojas, Cody Meyer, Jason Lambert – North Delta Outdoor Show, Monroe Civic Center, Feb 5-6. I asked Cliff for some details and he texted me back this:
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Not real sure what to make of it?? 😂
Not sure if it's the first launch or first launch of the new boat, but gonna do it at the first launch! Pray, shake up a Coke or water, and go!
8. What is MLF doing with fish? 👀
Tip: Don't get Gary Klein talking about fish, fish genetics, stocking fish, etc...UNLESS you have at least an hour and want your mind blown about what's possible to do with fish stocking and what might actually happen in the future. If even half the stuff Gary told me MLF is working on actually happens, this whole deal is way more important and cool than folks realize. More deets in a future Blaster....
Top 6 had 20+.
Not sure but.... Lake County is home to the Harris Chain and many other lakes:
> After 69 years successfully working to keep Lake County's lakes, creeks and the Floridan aquifer protected and healthy, the current elected board of trustees will no longer be in charge of who runs the authority – the Lake County Board of County Commissioners will.
> If HB 1105 becomes law, the county commissioners shall appoint five residents of their own choosing to a newly named "board of advisors." These "advisors" will serve 4-year terms and must each represent a county commission district. What, exactly, this new "board of advisors" will advise the commission on is not noted specifically.
> Fish are being caught shallow on moving baits, wacky-rigged Senkos and suspending jerkbaits. Cranks, dropshots, Carolina rigs, A-rigs and swimbaits are the tickets offshore.
To me that all actually sounds unfair...😁
16.8 lbs of smallies won the Arkansas Hawghunters team tourney there. Looks like it was mostly A-rigs, jerkbaits and jigs.
Now must be registered or have a launch permit.
Hahaha easy now yak bros/sisses! Just messin' – Z-Man is expanding its pro team with yakkers Ryan Lambert and Jody Queen.
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18. Lowrance 360 only works if you're off the trolling motor...
...because it spins the motor to give the 360 view. In other words, the transduver is on the motor – it doesn't have a separate transducer pole like Humminbird Mega 360.
Question you need to answer for yourself is – does that work for you? Couple YT vids on L360 are here and here.
Retails for $749.99 - $779.99 for all you fat cats (not Newton):
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🤣
The Minden, LA Press-Herald – Ron's a long-time, hard-working media guy and good guy...and ain't afraid to fish in the cold:
> "If you want to go out in below freezing weather, you'll notice the eyes on your rod have a tendency to freeze up, making casting and retrieving virtually impossible. I always carry along a can of vegetable spray, such as Pam, and spray the eyes and also the reel to prevent ice from forming."
Or...just wait til spring. 😁
Tidbits:
> Mercury gained 160 basis points of U.S. retail market share in 2021, with more than 500 basis points of share gains in each horsepower category over 200hp. We anticipate our previously announced significant additional investment in capacity for higher horsepower outboards will enable increased production for international, commercial, repower, and new OEM customers, with full effect in the fourth quarter of 2022.
> ...our Advanced Systems Group enjoyed the first full quarter with Navico [Lowrance], RELiON Battery, and SemahTronix in its portfolio, with each contributing to the strong results and Navico outpacing expectations.
Every time they do some dam thing they need to create a dam entry...🤣
Headline of the Day
Who in their right mind would wanna do that instead of actually fishing???
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Shane's had his own A-rig company (Shane's Baits) for 10+ years – I doubt there's anyone who knows more about A-riggin' than him. So I asked him to run it all down in a vid – and he actually caught one right on cue! 🍀 Real good info...even Bassmaster Mag editor James Hall, who was in the boat with us, said he learned some stuff:
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Here's the gear Shane talks about:
OR
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"More trustworthy than your past relationships."
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Some fishermen are wondering whether the same technique can be used to lure fishermen away from holes they want to fish...🤣 Bet it'd work on some guys! Possibly myself included, depending on the sausage. Okay probly any sausage would work....
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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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