BassBlaster

Nothing changed with fish tech? Near 30 smallie limit!! Just follow the fish now

Couple quick deals:

Saw a tweet remindin’ that some vets are struggling in dark places. Lmk if you need prayer man — anyone for that matter.

Some year-2000-type rumors about the internet maybe going down around election day. Don’t think so (hopeful) but if so I’ll be back at ya as soon as I can!

>> If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!

Today’s Top 5

“At the beginning it was all dependent on the flasher.”

– Ron Lindner talkin’ to me yesterday. He was telling the story about how he was fishing (guiding) and got one of the first flashers, given to him by Carl Lowrance himself (Darrell Lowrance’s dad). Ron used it to mark spots and contour changes with homemade marker buoys made outta oil cans and stuff.

Point is, when that technology first arrived he (and others) realized what a game-changer it was and immediately relied on it. So…no different than today’s game-changing sonar tech in a way.

Here’s Ron:

Here’s the original flasher:

“…you can get back to the dot [GPS marker] but you can’t get as close as you could with a marker buoy.”

– Ron still talkin’, this time about what a game-changer GPS was/is…BUT had that ^ dang good point, which is 100% true. Sauce:

GPS.gov:

> On May 11, 2016, the global average URE [average user range error] was ≤0.715 m (2.3′), 95% of the time.

> To be clear, URE is not user accuracy. User accuracy depends on a combination of satellite geometry, URE, and local factors such as signal blockage, atmospheric conditions and receiver design features/quality.

Humminbird:

> Many of Humminbird’s fishfinders have our powerful Precision GPS/WAAS receiver built right in, providing fast position fixes accurate within 2.5 meters [8.2′].

Lowrance (Live):

> Position Accuracy: 20m RMS [Rms = “root mean square,” not sure from there — math/engineering folks might be able to decipher that here]

Garmin:

> Garmin GPS receivers are typically accurate to within 10 meters. Accuracy is even better on the water.

> Users can also get better accuracy with Differential GPS (DGPS), which corrects GPS distances to within an average of 1 to 3 meters [3-10′].

Couple more things:

1. GPS.gov says the gov’t no longer makes civilian GPS signals less accurate than the military.

2. Should we trust Russian and Chinese satellite systems?? Fyi from the Garmin site:

> …other similar systems to GPS in the world, which are all classified as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). GLONASS is a satellite constellation system built by Russia. The European Space Agency is creating Galileo, while China is creating BeiDou. Most Garmin receivers track both GLONASS and GPS, and some even track BeiDou….

Here’s the marker buoys TW has. If you don’t like orange — or the hole-jumpers see ’em too easy — some choices are Taylor Made, Baker and Lindy.

Q&A with Vexus head man Keith Daffron.

Got with Keith ^ for a little Q&A about my boat and some other stuff. He MIGHT know more about boats than I know about [something just as cool] but not sure…lol. Here we go:

1. Why is my boat so awesome? How much special treatment did I get?

> “You got quite a bit because we didn’t want you to call and harass us when it wasn’t special enough. We put a lot of extra effort into yours — we’re too busy to be harassed by Kumar.”

[Lol he knows I wouldn’t…much?]

> “No it’s not different. We put a lot of pride into every product that goes out the door, and yours is no different.”

2. Why did you make the 2080 if the 1980 is such a no-brainer and is just about as big?

> “We felt like, and I’m an example of this, that the 1980 is the best-seller because of size and hp [150] — it just fits a lot of angles — but there are some competitive anglers who would like that platform with a bigger-hp engine.

> “The 2080 allowed us to change that to a 200, so if you want to go a little faster and get there quicker, this is a tournament rig you can afford that has all of today’s creature comforts [like electronics and Power-Poles] at a price that’s significantly less than a fiberglass boat.”

3. If a guy was gonna buy a new bass boat and wasn’t sure which brand to get, what would you tell him?

> “To never sacrifice quality for length and hp.

> “It can be easy to find yourself at a budget number and then look at boats that fall into that. There are cheaper, larger boats [than Vexus] in the marketplace. But in doing so I think you’ll often run the risk of not getting what you desire or want to begin with.

> “That’s why our brand is so focused on building the most-advanced fishing machine made. I believe over the long run you’ll feel like it’s a better value — you get what you want to begin with, and you get the longevity and residual value engineered into every product.

> “It’s like the difference between YETI $400 coolers and Wal-mart $30 ones…I know it’s the last one I’ll ever need. And I think pride of ownership comes with that, with either example. You should be proud of it — proud to know you have the best in your garage or shop….”

4. Since you run the place, is it fun to finally get to tell Randy [Hopper] what to do?

> “[laughs] No, but I will tell you we’ve been a team since I was a teenager, and I’ve never had as much fun working alongside someone who I believe is the best boat-builder in the business. We work hard but have fun doing it.”

[Okay Keith, maybe you’re having the most fun now BECAUSE you get to boss Hopper around instead of vice versa? Just sayin’…lol!]

5. Would you fish tournaments at all if no one invented the Whopper Plopper?

> “Well the Plopper’s not been very good to me this fall. I blame James Watson for that. I intend to mail him my Ploppers so he can…give them his good mojo.

> “…do love to power-fish though. When you fish as infrequently as I do, it’s a simple game of math: How much water can I cover to find a fish dumb enough to bite my bait.”

I do the same math! He’s a big Plopper nut and a good fisherman — here’s his Plopper gear: Dobyn’s DC705 Rod, Lew’s Super Duty Reel and 50-lb braid “with the drag cinched down like a bronc-rider’s saddle.”

Bonus Q: Why is the Vexus trailer so nice? If anything it looks overbuilt — plus it’s super-easy to get the boat loaded. Why is that?

> “It’s something we take a lot of pride in. We’ve built trailers here [first Ranger, now Vexus] almost as long as I’ve been alive. In doing so we understand that the trailer is one of the most, if not the most important accessory to the boat. And in today’s world of…traveling and high speed, it’s more critical.

> “We build a trailer that handles that and lasts as long as the boat. For years, they would not….

> “We may be the only ones who produce it under the same roof — that’s how strongly we feel about it. It’s a real easy place to cut corners but we just don’t believe in that.

> “It costs real money, make no mistake…costs money to put the best polyurea on it, braided brake lines, LED lights…every little component matters, every single component.”

Elitist Destin De Marion’s team weighed 29.28 lbs of SMALLMOUTHS!!!

WTHeck!!!!

> “We caught supposedly the biggest tournament bag out of Buffalo [ever] recorded…with 29.28 and a 6.88 kicker at the Douglas Big Money Open. Dude, what a day! My partner was @andrewfull_fishing.
> “Surprise, surprise, our #1 bait was a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm in ‘brown back’ and ‘natural shad.’ Fished on a #1 and #2 Owner Mosquito Hook with 3/8-1/2 oz tungsten weight.

> “Fish Sense Binsky Blade bait in ‘sexy shad’ also added one of our weigh fish over 5 lbs too.

> “I won’t allow nets to be used in my boat, so it made it even more fun…or terrifying haha!”

OutSTANDING man wow! Couple things:

1. Rumor is Destin and Andrew had to go to a reeeeeeeal sketchy part o’ town the night before the tourney and trade some small appliances, an old jack plate, 2 burner phones and other stuff for some Flat Worms. Just a rumor….

2. Binskys! They’re big here in NJ too. Added ’em to my TW order…which I talk about next….

Feesh!

Got the fall FEED issue part 2 done early so Tues I skated out for 4 hours o’ bassin’. Felt like 20 minutes…. Anyhow, mighta seen on the ‘gram got exactly 2 bites:

A dang 4.5 large and 5+ small — in NJ?? NEVER HAPPENED to me before here. Crazy.

Can’t tell you what I used to catch ’em, but will say soon as I got home I hit a well-known Cali tackle website — rhymes with Frackle Scaremouse — and ordered a bunch of expensive Brett Hite baits, if you know what I mean. Hit the “pay now” with my eyes squeezed shut….

For the ginormous smallmouth, trailer was a Berkley Powerbait MaxScent Power Chunk (gp) cuz a) I wanted the bait to seem like either a baitfish or craw and b) after Justin Lucas and everyone else I’m all about fishin’ the purple package stuff right now.

Also gotta shout-out 2 things:

> Kistler’s new lowest-priced Graphite series. I was fishin’ a 7′ LMH 3-power…great. Love it and great (for me) for the jigs with blades.

> Told ya I’m always wearin’ the SIMMS ExStream Hooded Jacket mang!

Didn’t see either fish on the ‘lectronics — not saying they weren’t there but I didn’t see ’em. Also, both came off mostly shallow rocks (a little dying veg) near deep water so the Chatters ain’t just about veggies…I guess? Gonna ask BHite about it….

News

1. Brandon Palaniuk’s Santee production is up.

Don’t just call it a video man, he gets really ticked…heehee!

2. John Crews says he’s clueless.

I think he meant only this year? HAHAHA Crews!

3. Randall Tharp likes a Rapala BX Brat now.

Balsa core with plastic over it. Couple highlights:

> “It’s smaller and that seems to get me more bites in the fall.

> “This bill gives it a little bit of a different dive angle…causes it to deflect a little differently. It has a coffin bill instead of your traditional squarebill….

> “The fact that the bill is bigger than most other crankbaits, that makes it hide the hooks better…makes it more weedless when running it through grass. That bigger bill makes it run nose-down, which doesn’t get you hung up in the grass as much….”

Can get ’em at the TW.

4. Edwin Evers vs Ott DeFoe in the illegal boat (YT vid).

Ott’s tunnel-hull jetboat with anti-radar stealth technology and some other James Bond stuff….

Warning: Lotta cussin’.

HAHAHAHA kidding! Shoot I don’t even think E2 knows what a cuss word is?

5. John Murray’s in contention for FLW ‘Yota AOY.

Dude’s versatile so watch out!

6. Zack Birge likes to fish places you run by.

> “When I’m fishing the topwater baits, I look for flats just beyond where a channel swing ends. I’ll also look for shallow brush or other cover that most anglers don’t fish. I like fishing stretches where people typically run by them in their boats. I look for small spots on those do-nothing banks.

> “Same with docks. I don’t fish every dock, but ones that have something unique that other anglers miss.”

He likes a Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil in white or bone — check the 125 size here, 100 here.

7. New Brian Latimer Favorite rod coming.

Not out yet:

> It’s 6′ 10″ M Mod action graphite-composite construction. Even though my mind was centered on crankbaits, it’s also a viable option for Chatterbaits, small spinnerbaits and other reaction baits.
But…will it be his favorite…Favorite? So much #win there man…!
8. TN: Here’s the Wade Bourne Nature Center website.Very cool.

9. PA: La Salle U tourney to help save the baseball team.

Can fish anywhere. Deets here on the web, @savelasallebaseball on IG.

Sux to see a few colleges using Covid as an excuse to balance their books (Stanford) or do some weird anti-sports stuff (Stanford, Dartmouth, others). Yes I looked into it…because my daughter is a HS jr maybe interested in those schools….

La Salle stick n ball’s been around for a long time man, hope it remains!

10. WV: New New River ramp open near Gauley Bridge.

11. Alpha Angler is offering free 2-day air til Oct 31.

Use code: FREE2AIR

12. Denali is coming out with tungsten weights.

13. Murray Staters talk #1 ranking on Rapala college podcast…

…and say they could take Swindle and Palaniuk anytime.

Lol not really — Harbor Lovin (what a bassin’ name!) and Zach Martin from Murray State U.

14. WI’s rec industry = $7.8 bil to state’s GDP.

> …supports over 93,000 jobs and contributes $3.9 bil in compensation to Wisconsinites….

15. TN: Asian carp update.

> …no significant change in carp distribution…TWRA and TVA fisheries crews conducted concentrated surveillance in east TN reservoirs and tailwaters and did not encounter any silver, bighead or black carp.

> Asian carp work will be conducted in the TN and Cumberland basin as well as Reelfoot Lake. Plans include providing incentives for the commercial removal of Asian carp….

16. Garmin’s killin’ it.

> Revenue from the marine segment grew 54% in the 3rd quarter across multiple categories led by chartplotters. Gross margin and operating margin were 61% and 31% respectively, resulting in 152% operating income growth.

Also released some new products including a new single transducer for UHD ClearVu, SideVu and CHIRP traditional sonar.

17. Good Coastie reminders about cold-weather boating.

Couple:

> Dress for the water temperatures. Even if you are not planning on entering the water, the possibility of that happening is very real. [Awkward wording — “if not planning” der — but we get it!]

> Never leave without a VHF-FM radio or personal locator beacon and always be sure to tell someone where you are going, when you expect to return and advise them of any changes in the plan.

I’d add:

> Have extra dry/warm clothes on board.

> Make sure you have a boarding ladder or at least a Versaweb.

> Might be worth re-skimming the big/cold-water boating post we put together last year.

18. Lookit this gaff.

Yep no need for ’em but this deal looks MEAN:

Headline of the Day

Self-cloning mutant crayfish take over Belgian cemetery

Luckily Gojira hates those things:

Updatin’s

Best names for this “new species” of bass “contest.” This fish:

Here’s the ones I really liked from IG and FB — thanks much for the creative brainage, loved it:

> Big Belly Kelly (Brian Robison)
> All Gut and No Butt (Fat Cat Newtonian Physics)
> Bubble Bass
> Shorty McFatBack
> Kim Kar-bass-ian
> Cartman Bass
> Water Bassalo
> Cellulite Sally
> Cankles Bass
> Log Donkey
> Ol’ Stump
> Stump Tail
> Stumpulous Maximus
> Tater Toad
> Big Chub Bass
> Maximus Stub
> Chunky But Funky
> Toad Biscuit
> Pony Keg Bass

Of the ones I floated, Butter Slug got the most love.

The winner is…kinda randomly-chosen cuz I like a bunch…a tie: Tater Toad and Tater Biscuit! Guess I was diggin’ the Tater part.

DMd the winners on social so there you go!

On BassBlaster.rocks right now…

Note: The TackleWarehouse links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase I might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in the BB.

Tip of the Day

Mark Menendez says just follow the dang bass!

Real good reminder (via the amazing Ricky Clunn) to do the basics and not look at every season as a cliche — in this case it ain’t all about small shad or schooling shad. From the Bassin’masters:

> If you want to catch more and bigger bass in the fall, follow the channels. [Clunn’s] done that for years, and the rest of us took notice….

> Start with a major channel that’s out a ways and follow it all the way back until the water thins and turns into dry ground. The bass are doing the same thing….

> Somewhere along that channel you’ll find an irregularity of some sort. It might be structure or it might be cover. Either way…a place to stop on their way to super-shallow water. These places aren’t hard to find.

> You hear about the “fall feeding frenzy” over and over at this time of the year. That happens but only when they’re way back in the shallows with tons of baitfish. That period of time is brief. More likely you’ll have to hunt for them, and hunt hard.

> You have to bear down and spend time with your electronics instead of making meaningless cast after meaningless cast waiting for the “frenzy” to happen.

Quote of the Day

“Hoo boy, the age-old argument of which is better for bass fishing — spinning tackle or the baitcasting gear.”

Say wha??? Only place I’d believe this really was an argument is at…okay I have no idea where it could be an argument man.

YES, spinning gear does have its place, but my 2c is baitcasting = no “wind knots,” better accuracy, quieter presentation, and THE SAME sensitivity and light-bait delivery with the right gear. But…I’m the farthest thing from a pro angler there is in this universe so definitely believe those cats!

Shot of the Day

Falcon Bass Boats posted this Hulk/Frankenstein-colored bassin’ rig. That’s bold man but I’m diggin’ it! Makes me think: LOVE to see a bass rig painted like a lowrider….

Random

Wrote out a deal on why I voted like I did, to get it outta my head and to show my kids even though they pretty much know it all — except maybe the first-generation American (which I am) point of view. Was gonna link it here not cuz I wanted to, just sometimes it’s easier to show someone in your family what someone ELSE says, if you know what I mean. But I think I got a “no” in prayer so….

Then I happened to see this vid of Elmer from east TN and was humbled. Beautiful dude. An American man. My vote is for folks like Elmer, who just want to live simple, peaceful, humble lives in a TRULY FREE country. That’s me and wouldn’t be surprised if that’s you too. Man I LOVE the US of A and all patriots, especially the folks who in faith have fought for our country. Big love from one bass-head man!

Ya got me
Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup

of the best, worst and funniest in bassin’, as curated 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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