ALMOST went to a different lake this weekend, but then my wife came along so I didn't want to make her go prospectin'. Went back to the same dang lake, flipped a gp Jewel Baits Tactical Flip'N HD Jig for a few hours – once again on every piece of structure and depth you could imagine and here's what I learned: That's a dang good jig. For real!
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Almost forgot: A south Jersey club had a tourney on the lake. I talked to 3 boats: 1 guy caught 2 shorts and said he was stickin' with south Jersey. 😂 Two other boats had zero. It's TOUGH here man! Weigh-in was done in minutes...😬
Countin' on YOU ketchin' 'em – let's go!
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How Michael Neal won by 70 lbs at St Clair.
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For sure St Clair/Detroit River has the numbers so I guess it's not a surprise that he won by so much, but wow that's a big number! Also good to see cranks doing damage again. Here's a bit of what went down, full pattern info is on the BB site:
> "...just a huge grass flat that went for miles...had a lot of 'differences'...anything different [high/low spots, sand patches, etc], there was a group of fish there....
> "I was staying on the trolling motor..could still go against the wind and current. I was going from spot to spot. I'd catch an occasional one between places.... 10-14' at the deepest, most averaged 12'.
> "...half and half between a crankbait and a dropshot. When it was calm, little to no wind...have to slow down and fish real light, like 7-lb line. If you had an active school, you could catch 4-5 on the moving bait, then slow down, dropshot and catch a couple more."
> Crankbait: Mid-running crankbait (well-known crank in "perch") with #2 Gamakatsu Aaron Martens G-Finesse Trebles ("I think that was a big deal – a bunch of the fish I caught just had 1 hook in them – I lost some but not that many").
> "...reeled it steady at above-average speed – not burning it but not a normal cranking speed. Whenever I hit grass, I'd snap it out. But that bait was running above most everything [10-12']. 75% of the time it would never touch anything."
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> "Almost like they were skittish of a dropshot for whatever reason. If there was 1 fish, you probably weren't going to catch it. If you saw 2-3 fish come together, 1 was fixing to bite it. The slower you could fish it, the better."
Shout out
> "That [treble] hook. Aaron wasn't able to be there and Aaron designed that.
> "If you look at the front hook on that plug [above] you'll see that it's missing one. I caught so many I wound up breaking one of 'em off and just kept throwing it [and landing fish]."
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1. When's the last time you won a tournament by 70+ lbs?
> "[Laughs] The dream I had the night before the tournament – I think I won by 100. It may never happen again but it was fun...."
2. Was Pro Circuit AOY ever a goal for you or did it just happen?
> "It wasn't a goal til after Eufaula, like halfway through the year. I've always thought about wining AOY or a tournament – it's always a goal.... A tournament win was more the goal...."
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3. Are you fishing or executing better this year or is it just your time for some Ws?
> "I feel like I'm making better and quicker decisions. [St Clair] was my 17th tournament of the year. Just doing all that fishing I feel like made me make quicker decisions than I used to. Earlier in my career I had problems taking way too long to change...."
4. Does owning a tackle shop [Dayton Boat Dock] help you somehow as a pro fisherman?
> "I don't think so – maybe a little bit, I see a lot of the trends. But I think being a pro fisherman helps the tackle shop more...."
5. Since Wheeler and those guys have the "ding" deal, what's your sound for boating/weighing one?
> "Silence. I'm not a very outspoken guy – I honestly have no idea. I think I weigh more fish just putting them on the scale and not saying a word than I do anything."
That fits because Micheal seems like a quiet, humble guy. I say "seems like" because he obviously has some serious hard feelin's toward the basses...like they wronged him...😁
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2nd-5th St Clair BPT baits.
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2nd: Alton Jones Jr
> Fished 12' bare spots in the grass.
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3rd: Scott Dobson
> Mouth of Detroit River, current seams and flats with clean spots holding shad, 15-18'.
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4th: Adrian Avena
> Key depth was 8-10', sand with scattered cabbage.
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5th: Jacob Wheeler
> Dropshot: Multiple baits. "...in low light conditions or cloudy I opted for a 'gp goby' Googan Baits Rattlin Ned. Smallmouths are sight-feeders so the more natural colors [like 'smelt'] I used when it was sunny or flat calm, it was hard for them to see when it was darker.
> "The only other thing I did, in the river a lot of those fish were feeding on shad – so I fished a Fluke-style bait on a dropshot."
> "St Clair is pretty featureless so a lot of fish were keyed in on clear spots among thicker grass...area half the size of a football field, some perch grass mixed in there. Fish would use that clear area to go and feed [14-18'].
> "When the wind blew I went to the river – on St Clair it's harder to generate a lot of bites [in] big waves. In the river I was fishing high spots and rockpiles [10-20'] that were breaking the current."
> "For some reason some of the smallmouth in the river set up on rocky places [in 5-15'], and they were really keying in on crayfish – they were spitting up a lot of them. It generated quite a few bites...about half the fish I caught in the Knockout Round, the day that solidified the AOY win...."
He said the smallies didn't mind the heavy line and he used a fast reel and heavy rod because:
> "...let the jig float or sway in that current, and when you'd get a bite you'd have to pick up a lot of line. It was not a normal smallmouth hookset. [Sometimes the fish would thump it but sometimes] the jig would be bouncing along the bottom and would stop. It would either be a rock or a smallmouth."
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"Anyone else see a largemouth bass?"
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I dig the new truck fo sho but then we're a Yota fam – mostly because we drive 'em til they die and Yotas have held up great for us over the years. Couple shots below but first looks like a couple new engines (at least for the Tundra) and no V8:
> ...available i-Force 3.5L twin-turbo V6 engine and i-Force MAX 3.5L twin-turbo V6 hybrid engine....
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Gonna let all you "gotta have it" folks debug those motors and see how good they tow! 😁 Let's see what happens with availability too. Toyota trucks are going for more per oz than palladium right now apparently because of that chip shortage so.... An auto dealer dude told me last week that new cars are going over list, no negotiation...🤔
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ICYMI the last 2 are:
- 8:30 pm EST Mon, Sept 27 with UFC Fighter Jim Miller (a LOT of folks secretly hope Mike gets what's been comin' to him...HAHAHA!)
- 8:30 pm EST Mon, Oct 4 – LPGA Tour Professional Marina Alex (genius finding a person with the first name "marina"!)
Hope he killz it....
...for getting him into Heavy Hitters. I'm pretty sure that's a first, but all good unless Bobby thinks it talked back??
...in a fishing tourney. Shoot, not sure where Andy gets his stories from, but it's a limitless supply!
From Mike McClelland's Insta:
> Join myself along with professional anglers @ottdefoe @timmyhorton_bass and @davidwalkerfishing for the Fifth Annual Nashville Predators Fishing Tournament sponsored by @bassproshops and Guy Harvey, and benefiting the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund...will take place on Saturday, Oct 2 at Old Hickory Lake....
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In my 2c they make the best fishing shorts and these look kool:
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To help restore trout and steelhead. Guess the smallmouths would do okay, just the water levels would change...?
Largies in there. DNR hopes the cats will take out some of the bluegills.
Sounds like the lock hasn't been used since 19-and-51.
> Brunswick Corp has acquired SemahTronix, a global supplier of high-complexity electrical wiring harnesses for advanced products in the marine, mobile and defense industries.
How crazy is this: SemahTronix is based in Flippin, AR! Must be a bassin' tub connection.... Reminder that Brunswick is a lublic company that owns Merc and MotorGuide (among many others), recently bought Lowrance, and sounds like its plowin' tons of $$$ into its Advanced Systems Group. Here's their HQ btw:
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I was like, "Man that looks like one of those Jawa Sandcrawler deals!" The ASG folks got real frosty after that for some reason...🤣
> ...a multi-million-dollar 27,400 sq-ft project scheduled for this autumn. ...expected to create 77 new jobs for assembly workers, technicians and supervisors, along with positions in shipping, IT, HR and tech support.
> This latest expansion follows a 17,000 sq-ft addition to the warehouse in May....
Find this hard to believe since no one I know uses 360 or side imaging...😆
Hope they open a bunch of ramps and parking too man lol!
Brent Ehrler is already using one, mostly to take pics of himself because...you know, he's Brent Ehrler and he loves him some Brent Ehrler. 🤣 Just messin', he's totally not that way....
Calls coolers "passive cooling boxes," says Igloo's annual revenue is $400+ mil, bought it for $677 mil cash mo-nay.
Headline + Line of the Day
Wilson Burton has decided to fish his first back-eye division Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament....
Assumin' both "back eye" refs are a reference to the Spicebush Caterpillar? If not there's a BFL division needs some 'splainin':
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Redneck Headline of the Day
Not gonna find a state park named "Sloppy Floyd" in too many places hahaha love it!
Line of the Day
Black bass spotted bass, and largemouth bass are good with success using earthworms.
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Misc Berkley Choppo and Whopper Plopper tips.
'Bout that time – and for some of you it's never not that time! 😂
> "This time of year they're roaming from the shallows into the depths, and I need something that can cover a ton of water. That's when I throw the Berkley Choppo. Usually, I go with bone or black color patterns and work it on a H rod and a reel with an 8:1 retrieve ratio."
> ...he starts by prospecting with a medium 105-size lure first, but if he's getting short-bit will graduate to a larger 120 model.
> "I can't tell you how many times, especially with this water being clear, we're getting bit...throwing that thing out, letting those ripples get away and starting to reel the bait. Wait 10 seconds or so before you start reeling...."
> For the biggerr sizes he uses a 7' 4" MH Abu Ike Power Rod, Abu REVO Premier Reel (6.4), 50-lb Berkley X9 Braid. "I'm using that 6.4 because it's a reeling bait. You're not using the rod tip to move the bait."
> "You first want a fast gear ratio reel...8.1 or 8.3...you wanna take up a lot of line. I keep it pretty simple, really any size of Whopper Plopper.... Open water...50-lb braid. Braided line floats too, keep the bait's nose up and make the bait work properly. All about extremely long casts....
> "On lakes with a lot of vegetation, fish have a tendency to push up to the grass edges when they're pulling current. That's where the fish are feeding. They're very aggressive, and you can catch them on topwater lures."
> For "power on" conditions, his topwater choice is the River2Sea Whopper Plopper. "You can really wake those fish up with that lure if it's choppy." ...he fishes aggressively. "You can fish quickly if they're pulling water. If you're not getting bites, you're probably not fishing the right spots.
> "You can still catch them when they're not pulling water, but they won't be nearly as aggressive." He helped to develop the Lane Changer from River2Sea with placid "power off" conditions in mind.
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"We've all carried lures we thought we'd use but never do, and we see stuff in tackle shops that we buy impulsively and add to the overwhelming menagerie of lures we carry throughout the fishing year."
- Clark Wendlandt talkin'. Clark, I have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout man...HAHAHA heck yeah! My solution = more storage bins! But Clark is like:
> Obviously you can't fish them all, so the offseason is the time to decide which ones gets booted from the rotation and are given away to young anglers, sold on ebay, stored in the garage or simply put in trash.
Put...in...trash??? 😱 Someone in TX needs to go check on Clark please...bassin' sanity check...🤣
Listen – for real: NEVER throw out a bait! You never know when you might need it! Plus, it hurts...down deep...🤣
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Japanese swimbaitin' brand DRT posted this absolute HAM of a ditchie: "@frank_hedlund_fishing, 8.16 lb x 21 inches of WA-grown fish beef! DRT Tiny Klash lip in v-tail dead dead slow!" Daaaaaaaang maaaaaaaaang:
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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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