1. Video tribute to Irwin Jacobs.
Glad FLW did the vid. Couple things popped up for me:
> Always felt that Irwin did everything he could — pulled strings, leaned on folks, cold-called ’em — to make FLW go.
> Scotty Suggs won a tournament! Forgot that (heehee!). $1 mil — guess he didn’t need to win another one after that….
Other than that, a little disappointed it gets into FLW hype at the end — wish it just focused on Irwin. But no big deal….
2. Elitist Chad Pipkens more relaxed in Opens.
Has done pretty good on the Elites this year so maybe more relaxed there too?
3. Chris Groh: Why limits matter.
> I almost wish that I could point back to some particular event or mishap that caused me to fall this low in the standings, but it really boils down to…a failure to catch limits every day. …if I’d just filled out limits on the days I fell short with bare-minimum keepers, I’d be well inside the Classic cut.
4. Elitist Bernie Schultz used Dave Mercer’s Scrabble word.
Few years back Mercer and I were on Live at an Elite event, and he used the word “bulbous.” I knew what it meant, but man that ain’t a normal word…which I told him on camera hahaha! Anyhow, Bernie just used it:
> Most squarebills have full, bulbous-like bodies that are highly buoyant.
I blame Dave and strange Canadian vocabulary….
5. Matty Lee is doin’ trips on Gville and Smith!
You’d be crazy not to go with him or any top pro. I’m actually thinkin’ of flyin’ down there….
6. Brent Ehrler says he’s sick of not winning.
Innerestin’ stuff:
> Lots of close calls, plenty of 2nd places and Top 10s, but no wins. In that same time period, Edwin Evers has won 5 times since I started fishing with him in 2015!
> I’ve had plenty of opportunities to win. Of course, you can’t capitalize on every opportunity. I blew 3 opportunities in a Classic I fished, and just getting one of them into the boat would’ve won the tournament. As a professional who expects to win, the victory should never come down one or two opportunities.
> …makes me sick that I haven’t won anything. I need to change something.
Well…dude from CA named Aaron something finished 2nd a TON then started winning a lot…. And Edwin spent a lotta years not winning before he won. It’ll happen dude!
7. Skeet Reese loved year 1 of the BPT.
Just look at the big smile on his face:
HAHAHA Skeeter!
8. Great Gerald Swindle post on failure.
I’ll say it this way: Failure is GOOD. Just have to embrace it. Good job G….
9. 1 reason Mike Iaconelli is so good.
Dude never forgets anything fishing-related:
> “A guy in our Top Rod Bass Club named Dave Borodziuk was the first guy I can remember throwing the tiny buzz over grass and hammering them on it.”
Remembering the technique is one thing, but he remembers the dude’s NAME and I bet could tell you off the top of his head the month (maybe day), year and conditions on that day.
10. WI: Ike and Johnny Morris will speak at NPAA conference.
Jan 4 in Wisconsin Dells. They’ll get there by plane, then bus, then this:
Ike was into the dog sled idea, but Johnny nixed it….
11. FLWer Wade Strelic on BassEdge Radio.
Hosts are Aaron Martin — NOT the Aaron MarTENS who hates Doritos — and FLWer Kurt Dove.
12. Toughest dude in bassin’?
Great post by Steve “Ain’t” Wright about Opens angler Vernon Kemp. Bless you Vernon, keep on prayin’ and fishin’ brother!
13. PRADCO Fishing buys Gene Larew.
> “Today, we’ve added two more legendary names — Larew and Garland — to our already historic lineup of fishing brands,” said PRADCO’s Bruce Stanton. “In addition to growing our bass offerings with Larew and jumping right to the top of the crappie bait category with Garland, we’re also getting a wealth of manufacturing experience, industry knowledge and fishing expertise that fully complement the things we do that put us at the top in this industry. We’re excited!”
> “Only a couple hours up the road from Ft. Smith (AR), we know PRADCO, Bruce and many of his team, so I’m elated to be passing along my company to them because I know it’ll be in great hands,” said Gene Larew owner, Chris Lindenberg. “They have proven themselves to be a great caretaker of the brands that I grew up fishing with, and I wanted Larew and Garland to have a permanent next home in such a prominent place.”
Here’s the Larew stuff on TW.
14. Clam buys All Terrain Tackle.
Clam’s a MN company that mostly makes ice-fishing stuff but recently has gotten into apparel with Blackfish Gear raingear and apparel.
15. MD: No surprises bait-wise at Potomac Costa.
MD’s “Marvelous” Marvin Reese won it every day and then the whole deal by 1-06. His main deal:
> “…a pier in 20’of water in D.C…. I threw up on the side of it [ain’t that chumming? hahaha!], and they would hit the bait on the fall. I was feeding the lure line so it could get down to the bottom….
> “It had 2 key spots on it that accounted for 12 of the 14 bass I weighed in…the 2 corners…. That structure is hollow underneath, and once that tide gets to a certain level they sit under there and they’d come out and hit it [the bait] on the fall.”
He used a 1/2-oz jig and Strike King Rage Craw (both gp), and a Zoom Trick Worm (gp/green flake) on a 3/16-oz shakey head. Rest of the top 10 baits were mostly a mix of jigs, worms, Senkos and topwaters. Shout-outs:
> BPTer Adrian Avena finished 5th.
> Robert Grike (6th) fished an old-school Cheeseburger Jig. Does anyone still make those? Little more on the history of that jig here.
16. TN: Bethel U senior qualifies for Bassmaster Classic.
Cody Huff won a fish-off with teammate Carter McNeil. He covered a lot of water on Watts Bar, fishing hydrilla clumps with a Spook (clear), a prototype bladed jig and an Zoom Speed Worm (gp — B.A.S.S. said it was 8″ but I think the biggest is the Magnum UV Speed Worm at 7″?).
17. Bassmaster has a new Roku channel.
Good and smart. My fam uses Roku (like Apple TV or Google TV) and we just dumped DirecTV after dealing with junky service. Right now we’re trying out YouTube TV which is way cheaper than satellite….
18. FL: Will Okeechobee go up 3′ from Dorian?
That’s a crazy amount of rain…. Please stay safe folks.
19. ON: Pan-American Bass Champeenship on the St. Lawrence.
Oct 15-19:
> …the top competitive anglers from Canada, First Nations, U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and possibly other countries of the Americas…on the section of the St. Lawrence River called Lake St. Francis….
20. Latest Rapala #WeAreCollegiate podcast is out.
21. Jewel jigheads and skirts available in bulk.
Only on Jewelbait.com right now — look in the left column menu for “Bulk Tackle & Accessories.”
Told Kevin Short about it cuz he needs to bulk up….
22. Big-time sale on Kistlerrods.com.
Insane….
23. #Winner new TRD color names.
3rd place: Meat dog
2nd place: Bubble gut
1st place: Goby Bryant!