Sorry this'n is late – tech difficulties....
ICAST next week so get ready for some stuff! Bass stuff is the best stuff man wooohooo!
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Reminder: If your email program cuts off the bottom of this email, click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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Oneida Open Top 10 baits breakdown.
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Did the deed on a bar/"high spot:"
> ...targeted a variety of irregularities including transitions of rock to sand, rock to grass, rock spines, depressions and rock drops.
> "Every cast I made was to the highest-percentage zone I could see on my screen. I couldn't have done it without Humminbird 360. I was constantly casting at some type of irregularity. I just stayed far away from them and targeted where they sit and live."
Dropshot = 60%
Football jig = 30%
Jerkbait = 30%
20% each = Ned rig, Hair jig, Carolina rig
10% each = Tube, Weightless plastic, Crankbait ( Bill Lewis MR-12 in "perch"), Flip plastics
Shout-outs
1. Liam (2nd) threw a dang pop-pom! Lookit that deal!
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😁 That's a 1/8-oz Brown Dog Tackle Black Marabou Hair Jig "with a Senko trailer for added mass and weight."
2. Canadian hammer in waiting Cooper Gallant finished 3rd.
3. Cody Meyer finished 4th.
4. Italy's Jacopo Gallelli has been fishing real well the last couple years and finished 6th.
5. Lookit this deal! Kenta Kimura (7th) dragged that thing – a Japan-only Berkley Powerbait Jago Rocket – WEIGHTLESS through structure – "Kimura would cast 50 yards ahead of the structure and drift back over it and his casts would last up over 10 minutes." 🤯 AND he cut the barb off the hook "for fish care purposes." Kenta is a crazy man and I love it!
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6. I think Grae Buck (8th) also has a couple top 10s now. His dropshot hook was the Hayabusa DSR132HD.
6. Props to NJ homie Craig Townsend (9th) for keepin' it together: "...blew his boat motor in practice and had to idle an hour to get to his one area each day...." Bet he mastered the harmonica that week too! 😁
7. Two Northern top 10s now for CT's Alex Wetherall – have we ever seen a tour pro from CT?? (I know we have, that's for my ol' buds who were those guys lol.)
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"In the polarized sunglasses of a youth bass fishing champion, it's possible to see a reflection of yourself."
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- That deep or what! From a post about the Bass Tactix youth national tournament in LA.
I actually said that to Brandon Palaniuk once – I was like, "When I look at you, I see me." He stared at me for a sec and said, "Are you serious?"
🤣
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These ski goggle-type sunglasses are GOOD! 👀
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Dang it score another one for Chris Zaldain. I mean, I thought he only knew about swimbaits – guess it's shades too! 😁
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Asked if they'd send me a pair, said I'd mention 'em if I liked 'em. I was skeptical, felt like I'd look like my father in law with those huge cataract sunglass deals. But it's a feeshn trend, it's my job to explore that stuff and who knows – maybe there's something to it.
In my 2c there is!
Been wearin' 'em to fish – my kids were like, "Dad you look so dumb" so I KNEW the glasses were devastating winners man hahaha! Anyhow, even with my big honker, these glasses – how do I say it...they shut out the light that sneaks into the glasses and my eyes from the sides, top and bottom. It's almost like I'm lookin' outta a space suit or something – everywhere I look, I'm lookin' outta the glasses, if that makes sense.
Still gettin' used to how they look – not wearin' 'em (yet) to my kids' games...unless I want to embarrass 'em HAHAHA!
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Inflatable PFD did not inflate in that False River, LA collision.
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Off the top:
- I'm not saying inflatable PFDs are bad.
- I have several Mustang inflatables in my boat.
- Every time I've had a Mustang inflatable get wet – usually by accident lol – it has self-inflated.
So I am just pointing this out again FYI – because as I've said in the BB a few times over the years, it does happen...which might make you want to think twice about wearing one WHILE YOU ARE RUNNING, especially in sketchier-type conditions.
> In late May, there was a two-boat nighttime collision on False River, the 13-mile long oxbow near New Roads in Pointe Coupee Parish.
> It occurred during the near 50-year-old Friday Night Cookie Jar tournament held regularly during the spring and summer.
> Two men died in that wreck, and Wildlife and Fisheries continues its investigation of the fatal crash between a lengthy bateau and a 20-foot fiberglass bass boat.
> After the recent accident, it took several hours for Wildlife and Fisheries to recover...body, and what they found was disturbing. ...was wearing one of those inflatable life vests. The problem was the vest didn't inflate. ...the vest's manufacturer won't be identified here to avoid all those legal entanglements in our litigious world.
> What happened after that tragic Friday night triggered a quick public Wildlife and Fisheries response, apparently because this wasn't the first time the LDWF's Safe Boating staff had seen the same problem with these vests, both during accident investigations and safe boating checks.
Here's what they said:
> All PFDs must be US Coast Guard approved, and there's a label on the PFD that says if it is. PFDs must properly fit the boater wearing it, including any age and weight restrictions.
> ...there are some inflatable vests on the market without a CO2 cartridge either attached or included. While these PFDs are being likely sold at a reduced price, they either come with the cartridge included but not attached and properly armed or the cartridge is sold separately. Appropriate cartridges must be purchased additionally and installed by the customer prior to use.
> Read all instructions because all inflatables are not the same in function and/or deployment "Wearers must be made aware of deployment procedures and should never assume that an inflatable will automatically inflate."
More info here in that 2019 BB post we did about bassin' safety. Note that the CO2 cartridges have a date on 'em so you have to check if they're still good.
Something to think about....
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Fluoro, from a good post on how he figured out smallmouths, which he'd never fished for before coming here:
> The great thing about smallmouth is they're typically more aggressive than largemouth, so even if they're not in a feeding mood they may still bite your lures. That doesn't mean that it's always easy. Using 6-lb-test fluorocarbon makes a huge difference, and they clearly prefer some lures over others.
> I know that with my specially-scented soft plastics from Japan's Eco Gear, I typically get 5 or 6 times as many bites as with any other bait. American bass must love sushi as much as I do!
That Q&A with him is a good one btw.
Plus the Expo which is Mar 10-12, 2023. First time the Bass Pro Tour will be at Norman.
Was the top 3 in each division and the top 3 in the overall points, but as of next season:
> ...anglers hoping to earn a coveted invitation...can only qualify by competing in all 9 [Opens].... Anglers competing in every tournament will form the Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers and the format will be marketed as the Bassmaster Opens EQ.
> The Top 9 anglers...will earn an invitation to join the [Elites] in 2024. With the exception of a berth going to the...B.A.S.S. Nation champion, fishing all 9 events and participating in the Opens EQ will be the exclusive route for earning entry into the Elite Series.
> This season, an unprecedented 83 anglers registered for all 9 Bassmaster Opens tournaments.
Interesting. Opens head honcho Hank Weldon said:
> "To make it to the Elite Series, anglers need to be tested not only against their peers but also against various fisheries all over the country at various times of the year."
Not sure if he meant it this way, but to me that's a valid point: If guys prove themselves through that grind, they might have a better shot at making it through the first couple years of the Elite grind.
DNR says inflation is "outpacing revenue growth" – but residents are paying for both – and it's not just deer:
> ...unveiled a plan to raise the cost of most of its resident fees by at least 10%, though the changes would not take effect until 2023. It would be the largest fee increase since 2014....
> Fishing and hunting licenses would increase from $34 to $40, almost an 18% hike.
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Digging the shape and made from a floating plastic:
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Technique-specific bass rods.
Fountain Lake. Still gotta think there's something there for the Asian carp? On the other hand, tinkerin' with that stuff seems to be a real bad idea lotsa times....
Outstanding. YT vid ^.
Apparently if you cook burbot – a northern, deep-water, burbot-looking fish – in Sprite you get "poor man's lobster":
> The recipe is simple: mix water and Sprite (yup, the soda), 50-50, into a pot. Bring it to a boil and drop in the cusk meat, cut up into chunks. They don't need to boil in there for long, just until they begin to float on the surface. Take them out, allow them to cool and dry, and dip them in melted butter.
Thinkin' the shallow, muddy water for bowfin might kill that idea?
Headlines of the Day
How about a Tackle Warehouse addiction? 🤣
Word! I especially like the hand-poured ones...hahaha!
PSA
Be sayin':
> "Adding Sea Foam Marine PRO after an event to treat the fuel that's going to sit for a couple weeks. Keep your engines running strong all season."
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FYIs:
- Marine PRO stabilizes fuel and I believe preserves your ignition vapors – I'm probably saying that vapors part wrong but you hopefully get what I mean.
- TW has Marine PRO, or you can get it at any WallyMart or auto parts stores (not sure about Marine PRO at auto parts stores).
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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> 5.25" – "It's a perfect all-around size and I'll use this one 50% of the time. The rest of the time is split between the other sizes."
[Really! That one surprised me...but then Josh is surprisingly surprising...😁]
> 4.25" – The shorter profile...lends itself to a different action.... "It's shorter and more stubby and that gives it a different look. t also has a little less wobble when it falls and that can be good when the fish are pressured."
> Bertrand especially likes it for smallmouth and spotted bass....
> 6.25" – "I fish this size in places like Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and even here in Arizona. It has a much heavier weight and that lets you be more controlled when casting it. I can also fish it weightless on 20-lb fluorocarbon and still get that great slow fall."
> ...will also add the 6.25" bait to a Carolina rig..."something that a lot of people aren't doing but it works great."
> MaxScent vs. PowerBait: "...in clear water I really like the MaxScent because they have a muted, matte finish. The PowerBait The General has a little bit brighter colors and that is better for dirtier water in my opinion."
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"Every time I get to go I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, are you serious?'"
- John Cox talkin' about fishing for a living in a very good post on him by Mike Suchan – maybe the best one I've seen (please don't tell Mike I said that lol). Full quote:
> "I wake up and just feel like I need to be pinched. I've worked some awful jobs. I worked on a paving crew as soon as I got out of high school, and then...me and Keith Carson, we painted nasty apartments for so long. It's just incredible. Every time I get to go I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, are you serious?'"
John also said he might deepen his fishing to 5-6' HAHAHA! Love it Cox!
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Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now Siemantel finally found those double-rainbow bait leprechauns and they told him where to catch a smallie! 🍀 Nice shot by whoever took it:
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest 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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