Got out for a couple hours this weekend, but not really to fish – my daughter was in town and wanted to do the scenic boat ride deal. Still my son and I got to check out a little new water and make some casts.

I threw that new Berkley Slap Gill – definitely a different walking bait! Pretty cool, more on that hopefully later this week.

Hope you caught some this weekend – let's git to it!

Gitcha Blaster video fix here:

Yep the king of "never give up!" is laying down his rods and giving up...or is he? 🤔 We've found out these guys don't really "retire," and Ike is "retiring" even less than the other guys!

Gotta point out that Mike has been a complete stud at B.A.S.S. Wins include: Fed Nation Championship, Classic, Angler of the Year, Opens, kayak. If college was a deal in his time, I bet he would've won there too.

I think it's fair to say there's nothing B.A.S.S. has had over the years (just the circuit names have changed) that he hasn't won. How many guys can you say that about? And even more incredible – he came from NJ, where there's about 10 bass in the whole state! 🤣

Add to that his pioneering media and even more stuff, and what do you get? One of the best ever and a WORK ETHIC in all caps! Alrighty then, here we go.

1. Are you a quitter? 😁

> "[Laughs] The funny answer is, Brian [the Carpenter] he knew about this earlier in the year...said, 'Well I guess you're changing your motto now to 'Always give up' [laughs].

> "No this isn't quitting, this is just a redirection for me. Everything I've worked for in my entire career I'm going to keep the same, just in all these new projects and new things that are happening....

> "It doesn't feel like quitting. It actually feels like starting again...starting over a little bit. And you have to actually work harder when that happens."

2. Have you or Becky picked out your retirement home yet? 🤣

> "[Laughs] Yes we have and here's the great thing about it: Our retirement home is the house we live in because I was never here! ...I'm looking forward to spending more time at home.

> "Man there's so many amazing things about the sport I will miss. But one of them is not being on the road as much and getting more time at home.

> "We've been building [their house] for the last 15 years so now I get to enjoy my retirement home [laughs]. It doesn't come with the maids and nurses and we don't have a chef – we don't have any of that."

3. Was it wild to eventually realize that that your yelling and screaming on TV when you won the Classic inspired so many guys – since at the time a chunk of the bass fishing industry penalized you for doing it?

> "It's fun and it feels good to see come a little more full circle. ...it's a good feeling – I don't know the right word for it. It's humbling, it's an honor.

> "Back then being yourself [in pro bass fishing], maybe being different, was a bad thing. Now being different is celebrated in bass fishing. It's endorsed.

> "So it's cool to see that, not just from the pro fishing side, but just people. The stories I've [gotten] over the years from people – that stuff inspired them in their life, whether it was fishing or not, that's been an amazing thing.

> "I feel real lucky to have had that impact on people. That's probably been the best thing that's ever happened in my career."

4. Why "retire" now?

> "I guess the best answer is it just felt right – like the timing felt right. There's probably like a dozen things that all sort of happened in the last few years that when you combine 'em it felt right that the timing is right now.

> "...since I've been back at the Elites, I've always felt like it'd happen sooner or later. Every year Becky and I sit down at the end of the year...what do you think? Last year we sat down and said, 'You know what? The timing's right.'

> "You can take it from a religious standpoint or a philosophical standpoint, it was kinda like meant to be and I think it was.

> "We just had our first grandchild literally born the last day of my last Elite tournament. Things happen....

[More things that went into it:]

> "Getting all of these projects off the ground – not to sound morbid but we're running out of time. Everyone runs out of time in life.

> "I felt like for Vegas and Stella [his young kids], it's time for me to switch gears and be there more for them. Vegas – it's like I'm almost passing the torch...teaching and coaching and mentoring. Not just with Vegas, but in a bigger sense.

> "I am not an FFS basher. I'm not fearful of change, I'm not anti-tech. But the sport is not the sport I knew growing up. It's just different. I'm not saying different bad, but it hasn't felt the same for me the last few years....

> "All these little slices all kind of collided and it just felt right. The timing was right."

5. What's next for the madman currently known as Mike Ike?

> "Two things. The first one is I'm not 100% sure [laughs]. And honestly there's a beauty to that...the uncertainty.... I'm not 100% sure what's gonna happen in the next handful of years.

> "But Becky and I, we're very type A [I would say Becky is triple-A lol!]. There's definitely things that we have planned that we're stoked about, that I can't wait to bring out.

> "The top of the list is the return of City Limits Fishing [his] urban fishing show. It's so exciting to me to bring that back [2027].

> "#2 for us is live programming. Even for me as fan of fishing or other sports – or other things in culture – I love live programming and I watch it. ...the Ike Cam will be our live programming platform...it will give people real insight into what happens in a day of fishing.

> "The last piece is the continued growth of the Ike Foundation. We really want to take it to the next level. Getting more kids fishing, getting more kids fishing in cities, coaching, mentoring...especially me personally at a whole new level because I didn't have the time before.

> "...those are the top 3 things. It's not retirement – it's just changing gears. I'm going to keep working with all the amazing companies we work with. All that's the same, I'm just not fishing the Elites.

> "...I can't go cold turkey [on tournaments]. If I could fish 6-10 events a year, that would be a nice year. The Northern Toyotas, 1 division of the Opens – whichever one has more events close to the Northeast – and a couple kayak events.

> "I can't just shut it off like [KVD and Skeet ] did. If happen to win [an Open], I could make a another Classic. I'd love to fish another Classic."

Bonus Q: A lot of people don't understand what a student of the sport and baits you are. You've been ahead of the curve on baits for a while now. Can you give us a hint about anything coming that you're involved in?

> "...one of the biggest things I'll continue to do is work with companies on new products, new shapes, new colors, new actions, rods and reels...that are different. I have a lot of cool stuff in place that's following some of these new trends.

> "...the [new/not out yet puffball] jig I'm doing with John Crews that we soft-launched at ICAST. You'll see a lot more come down that pipe, and the same thing with Berkley. Some crazy shapes...

> "The big-bait stuff has been the storm. The Chop Block [Berkley glide] has been a bigger launch and had more impact than any other bait [he's done with Berkley]. I think that's because it has crossover.

> "[Other baits he did] were very largemouth- and smallmouth-focused. With the Chop Block and some of these big baits – glide baits and swimbaits – they have crossover appeal. The muskie guys love it, the saltwater guys love it, it's become the hottest snook and tarpon bait in FL.

> "So obviously there's going to be more of that. And the big one is...I'm looking forward to doing more international travel. ...that's the best way to get new ideas and concepts, is to go different places and see how different people do it.

> "I'm excited at getting a closer look at that stuff and hopefully bringing it to more anglers."

We all know Alton is one of the best. A Classic win, 5 other Bassmaster wins, 1 Bass Pro Tour win, a BPT Team Series win, and more top 10s than you can count on all your fingers and toes times 2. This was his last year fishing the tours, here's what's up with him.

1. Why "retire" now?

> "Well, a couple things. One is I was not able to compete as consistently as I once could. And it's just not as much fun. Fishing's just as much fun, but the tournament game's not as much fun when you're not at least somewhat-regularly doing well.

> "The other thing is I've been kinda thinking about it for 5-6 years, but now we have 4 grandkids on the ground, all 3 and under, and that made the decision really, really easy."

2. Is it true that you got spoiled fishing private TX lakes so you're done with public water? 😁

> "No I wouldn't say I'm done with public water, but I wiI will say this – the private waters I've been fishing the last few years are so good, I'd be out on a public lake in a tournament and I'd be like, Man what am I doing? I could be catching 60 this morning. It seriously kinda ruined me.

> "...the Lord has a way of putting things along your path to let you know when it's time to change to a different chapter.

> "I'm not done with public water. I'm keeping my Ranger, I'm going to keep all my social media content going – not necessarily for sponsorships...I do love engaging with fans and sharing my experiences on the water with people who are interested.

> "I'll make a trip or 2 every summer up north to catch some smallmouth...and when a lake is hot around my area in TX, I'm gonna go there. But 90% of my fishing is going to be private because I have access and it's good."

3. Is it true that last year Alton Jr said to you, "Hey there's only room for one Alton Jones in this sport and it's not you?" 🤣

> "[Laughs] He didn't say it out loud but I think definitely I got that message just by watching his performances vs my performance.

> "Honestly I think he wanted me to stay around because I've been paying for the housing for the last 5 years. Jimmye Sue's been cooking... So he's gonna start paying his own rent and learn how to cook I guess."

[Lol love the competitive dad stuff!]

4. Was your biggest achievement in the sport winning a Classic or is it Alton Jr?

> "Wow [pause]. It'd be hard to pick one – both are great highlights. If I had to only choose one, I'm gonna choose Alton Jr.

> "But I don't think either one of those are necessarily my biggest achievements... The thing I look back on most fondly – and I think has the most significance – has been my contribution to ministry.

> "The Lord has allowed me to be used in that through Fellowship of Christian Anglers and Fishing Church, speaking at men's events around the country...which I plan to still do....

> "Terry Chupp [the OG Bass Pastor] started FCA, and it was going and thriving when I started in 1990. When he was no longer able to continue fishing tournaments [what are now the Elites], the Lord just laid on my heart that hey if someone doesn't pick up the torch and run with this, it's going to go away and there needs to be a ministry to the fishermen and their families.

> "...for about 10-15 years I did that and it was very satisfying. You know, you don't really find joy and happiness in your life life unless you're accomplishing the things that God has put you here to do.

> "Fishing's the platform and he built that for me. But it wasn't what I was supposed to do. It was just the platform He used to put me in front of people that He wanted me in front of.

> "I'll do that different now. It'll be my grandkids and children. It's gonna be other men and friends, pickleball friends to fishing friends, whatever."

5. Are you going to be doing anything else in bass fishing other than fish those private lakes?

> "...just keeping up my social media.... I will probably fish more next year than I did this year. My passion for fishing has not gone away.

> "I am still doing Bass Force [app].... I think we'll probably sponsor MLF again for 2027.... So that takes a little bit of my time, but it's not too bad and I have good people working for me.

> "It's weird – I have friends calling me, 'Hey I hear you're retiring. You gonna be okay?' I guess I don't understand the question because as a professional fisherman for 36 years, I've basically been retired for half the season for my whole career.

> "So to me this is just an extended offseason that allows me to do other things..a lot of volunteer work at our church, 1 on 1 discipleship and mentorship with men.

> "When you bring a guy down [to the private lakes] and he has his best day on the water ever, it really opens up conversations to meaningful things...'As iron sharpens irons, so one man sharpens another' is a really important dynamic in my life...."

On that note, I've mentioned in the past that Alton played a role in my road to salvation. Eternal gratitude for that! ✝️💪💪

- Dakota "ted" Ebare talkin' on Bassmaster.com. The rest:

> "I needed to take a step back and get my life together. Once I reorganized my priorities to put my faith in God first, family second and my career third, that's when I got back on track and began having fun on the water again."

No doubt! ✝️💪💪

1. Here's the 2027 Elite schedule

No details in that post on what FFS will look like, but in the schedule reveal vid the guys said they are doing the coin flip/flop again:

• Feb 11-14 -- Lake Okeechobee, FL
• Feb 18-21 -- Kissimmee Chain, FL
• Mar 19-21 -- Classic -- Hartwell, SC
• Apr 8-11 -- Sabine River grind, TX
• Apr 22-25 -- Lake Fork, TX
• May 6-9 -- Seminole, GA
• May 20-23 -- Santee Cooper, SC
• Jun 17-20, Tenn-Tom, MS
• Aug 5-8 -- St Clair, MI
• Aug 19-22 -- Mississippi River/La Crosse, WI

Quick thoughts: I like seeing Seminole again, a lot of shallow stuff, just one smallmouth fishery.

2. TX: Lake Ralph Hall now filling

New lake in/near Ladonia, 7,600 acres when full.

3. IA DNR now taking tournament applications

Always opens Sept 1.

Jeff Kriet shakey head tips...

...learned from back when he was on it early:

> "A 3/16-oz head is probably the heaviest I'll ever throw – and that's just for extreme cases, such as when I'm fishing really deep in windy conditions. I'll throw a 1/8-oz probably 90% of the time and a 1/16-oz the rest of the time.

> "With a 1/4-oz head, the shakey head just doesn't do the things I want it to do – it's no longer finesse. The whole thing with a shakey head is that a lot of the bites come as the bait is falling."

> If there's a spring, barb or locking device protruding directly from the jighead itself, he won't use it. "If you have the head of your worm positioned at the same angle as your hook, it's difficult to get a good hook set because it keeps the worm from collapsing on the shank of the hook."

> Kriet likes his worm keeper...positioned on the hook shank itself.... "When you set the hook, the worm is already against the shank of the hook, so the hook pops through the worm and into the bass."

Word is Jeff is doing fine – he has a couple Snow Cone franchises in the Bahamas...maybe. 😁

"I'm not scared to come in with just 1 or 2 fish."

- Jason Christie talkin' on the Bassmasters about learning to grind it out in his primary area on day 4 – and know you will have lower weights on day 4 – vs leaving and trying to find something else.

👀 Well what do we have here – an Abu Ambassadeur VOLTIQ, posted by Abu Japan on IG. Interesting! And remember...you can't spell "Ambassadeur" without "bass"! 😁

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