Veterans are awesome. Military families are awesome. Love and appreciate you folks a TON, thanks much for everything.
Bought 2 of those YETI Veterans Day Tumblers with the American Flag, now sold out I believe:
|
|
If you know of a veteran bass-head who's hurting, needs a little boost, lemme know. Will send him/her a Tumbler and some baits. Please know: a) I will get way more peeps than I can send something to (sorry), b) will do my best to get back to everyone at some point.
|
|
Well dang Ott DeFoe gave up the juice on his illegal tin rig! 👀
|
|
Props to the MO/OK jug band "Jon E Morris and the Major League Fishers" for gettin' Ott to talk about that boat, which he was asked never to fish outta again by B.A.S.S. because they wanted no part of any boat that'd been used for transportin' east TN moonshine, even if some of it went to B-ham, AL.
Okay that wasn't the reason, which to this day we still don't know – but it MIGHT have to do with Ott runnin' off with some blue trophies? 😁
Anyhow, here's some highlights from the post, and between me and you I'm not buyin' that Ott told 'em all the secrets man. Those TN boys are reeeeal secretive and borderline sketchy/scary about that stuff, even Ott and especially David Mullins and Wes Strader:
> The stock boat that DeFoe customized is a 17' Tracker Grizzly 1754. "...has a 36v Ultrex and a Humminbird Helix 9 front and back. Instead of Talons, I use a Minn Kota DeckHand electric anchor winch on the bow because most of the rivers I fish are rocky and an anchor works better."
> DeFoe turned to friend Mike Watson in White Bluff, TN, to help him fully customize the stock Grizzly 1754. "There's no one else I'd trust to do it. He did all of the metal fabrication, like extending the front deck to have a rod box and more storage. He also did the fuel tank swap, making it 18 gallons instead of the 9 that came standard. He also added storage under the driver's seat and raised the seats."
> Watson fabricated a new transom, turning the boat into a tunnel hull – that structure change (along with a 60-hp Mercury jet) allows DeFoe to access extremely shallow water.
> "The original product of this boat was 60-horse with a prop, so it was tournament legal and had 2 jackplates – a T-H Marine Atlas mini [believe that's the Micro?] and standard size to get shallow with a prop. We also had a convertible tunnel so you could lower the engine and close the tunnel in open water to get more speed, and then open the tunnel and raise the jackplates to get in shallow water."
For-real suggestion: Bass Pro Shops probly won't do it, but they should come out with an Ott "River Otter" model (or whatever you wanna call it) based on that exact boat. I'd be shocked if they didn't sell 'em. I'd want one...although I did see a river-type boat at Vexus one time...🤔
Also now that the juice has been spilled, would not at all be surprised if a cat named Jacob Wheeler showed up at a derb next year with an even more illegal tin rig....
|
|
Ed Loughran talks 'bout how to cast small cranks.
|
|
You might remember the note I had last week about not being able to cast small cranks. Ed reached out, here's what he said – good stuff:
> "With any lighter bait you're going to have difficulties casting it, particularly in the wind. They're harder to cast accurately because they don't have the bulk and weight to them.... So you really need to make sure your equipment is tailored to that specific crankbait.
> "Typically that means a significantly tippier rod – a lot more parabolic. Problem is, so few of these rods are made...so often end up with 7' rods. Even the most limber of [hybrid graphite-glass] rods that Shimano makes are a little too big and clunky to be able to throw this little nothing of a lure.
> "What I've always ended up doing as far as a rod goes, I've always tried to throw a smaller rod – 6' M, 6.5' at most. Those have really fallen out of vogue over the past several decades so they're virtually impossible to find. What you end up with is what you would consider lower-end rods, but they have the right action.
> "...6' rod, a cheaper rod, I think they have less graphite in them...you get the give and flexibility you want to throw a small crankbait. There's a little more tip to it, which enables you to cast [small baits] more easily.
> "Those shorter rods...you can throw from a million different angles. With a 7' rod, for example, you would have a hard time throwing parallel to the boat and casting to the front of the boat.
> "You have to have a really high-quality reel. For a very long time I threw [small cranks] with a Shimano Curado 100D – it's a pretty small reel and handled those smaller baits really well. The past 2 years I've gone to the Aldebaran which is really a finesse casting reel. So that reel combined with the 6' M Shimano Clarus – I think they're discontinued....
He said he DOES NOT have a full spool – it's roughly 7/8 full – because that helps when precision casting:
> "When you're really trying to cast accurately, if you have a foot of line hanging off the end of the rod when you go to cast ...you're not going to be able to cast that worth a darn. You need to have a limber rod and...maybe 1-2" of line off the end of your rod. If you do it like that, there isn't any pendulum action from that foot of line swinging around. ...it's a laser beam – it's not swinging around on an arc.
> "You have much more control over...where it's going to go. But you have to put pace on it and make that rod load up."
Had a few more Qs for him:
Do you change the hooks to make the baits a little heavier?
> "No...I tinker with baits a lot, and it's pretty hard to modify a bait enough to where it makes a casting difference without drastically affecting the action."
How long are the casts you're making?
> "I bet that I'm making casts maybe only 25-30' – very short casts. I'm almost on top of some of the cover. When you're casting under a cypress tree – I'm talking murky water...James River, Sabine River, even Santee Cooper – you can be 20' away from the tree so you're maybe making a 30' cast. You're much more accurate doing that."
Why don't you use spinning gear for these little baits?
> "When you're talking about precision casting and a little heavier cover, spinning rods are not as accurate. It's easier to manage a 6' casting rod to accurately cast the bait than spinning gear. ...12-lb fluoro on a spinning rod...it blows off the spool.
> "Some crankbaits – like custom balsa baits that are real skinny...you'd have a real tough time casting them with any casting rod and have to use a spinning rod."
|
|
What does your green pumpkin jig look like?
|
|
That's a 3/8-oz Terminator Pro Series Jig in "bama craw" (sold out at TW til hopefully TODAY) that me and the fish fell in love with last weekend. I chose it for the color – a sorta opaque green gp, rubber-ish looking but not exactly. Just wanted a darker-colored gp and that was literally the only jig I had that color. The other ones are way lighter.
I wanted a little brown in it, a little orange on the bottom, but dark overall – know what I mean? Anyhow, do you like it a little lighter or a little darker or does it vary? Let me know what you like 'n use mang!
Trailer is a Berkley MaxScent Meaty Chunk (gp party). The lake I'm fishing doesn't have many fish and doesn't have aggressive fish – I believe MaxScent makes 'em hold onto it longer.
Few more shout-outs from my feeshn:
1. Fished the jig on a new high-end 7' MH Abu Garcia Zenon Rod. That thing is so sensitive if my jig was in Alaska and I was here I could probly feel an ant crawl across it! Anyhow, I like it, just wish it was a little longer. I really like feeling everything and knowing that when I hit 'em they're gonna get the whole pop.
My fave bite was: feeling the jig hit the bottom, crawl up some dying veg, pop off the veg and a bass smashin' it. Here's that feesh:
|
|
Looks like I need some tooth whitener in that deal lol WTHeck!
2. Put a YUM Breaking Shad (all chartreuse but I think it's called "sinful shad"?) on the back of a JackHammer because I didn't want all white (smallies in the area too), it looked longer/bigger, and I just wanted to see what it did.
It was cool – the Hammer still hit hard AND for whatever reason that trailer made the bait sorta "trip" and hunt a little from time to time. Now if I could just figure out how to make that happen on purpose.... Anyone know?
|
|
3. I oiled that Ike REVO Reel and now it casts like a million yards. I'm like, so THIS is why you oil reels! 🤣
4. Shoutin' out Okuma rods. I was real skeptical just cuz that's the way I am and I know you are too – because #bassheads. Anyhow, a few of their rods have made it into my box and have stayed there. The one in the pic is a Cerros, also got an EVX and a Psycho Stick in the box now. More deets soon.
Don't know if I said this already: One innerestin' deal about spendin' so much time casting and not much time catching this summer was I learned a TON about what rods/reels/lines work for me and don't. More on that comin' soon too.
|
|
Hopin' this is a new Disney or Dollywood ride!
|
|
Needs to come with an audio countdown, a start button that says "Ignition" on it, and a 4-point harness with 2 kill switches. Hit a coot in that deal and you'll be wearin' it for the rest of your life! 😂
|
|
Salutin' rednecks with too much $$$.
|
|
Gotta be where this thing came from:
|
|
David's more than a little OCD/CDO about tackle, such like:
> "A lot of bass jigs have 5/0 or larger hooks. After flipping all the various jigs for 20 years, there's no doubt in my mind the large gap of a 5/0 leaves you vulnerable to snags even when you're fighting a bass, which leads to lost fish. Instead, the heavy-duty 4/0 VMC flipping hook we chose is big enough to hook bass really well. It's also compact enough to move cleanly through the cover."
> "Still amazes me how many jigs use skirts with those little rubber bands. Sooner or later, the band breaks and the skirt falls apart. It's why I carried a little fly-tying kit in my boat for years: to hand-tie my silicone skirts with copper wire. To my knowledge, CrossEyeZ jigs are the only ones with hand-tied, copper-wire-wrapped silicone skirts. Z-Man fought me on this because it's takes longer to produce. But what a difference it makes."
A ton more CDO jig info at that link.
Good info as usual:
> The low-knock [original] version is usually my starting point...where my confidence lies. After using it to work over a school, however, I'll usually follow up with the silent one. That's my mop-up bait, and it often helps me catch a few more critical fish.
> However, the silent model is sometimes my starting point, such as when chasing clear water smallmouth or fishing places like Amistad over the grass. A lot of people may not know that the silent model runs 12-18" shallower than the standard version....
> If you want the silent model to achieve the same depth as the standard, or vice versa, then you can achieve that by switching up your line size. I typically crank with 12-, 15- or 17-lb test Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon.
He says the hard knock version is the loudest and he only uses it when he's around older fish that are hard of hearing.
Okay I made that up, but I suddenly wonder if fish get old enough for that??
Good vid. Never thought of having the fluoro tied to the reel handle – gotta make it so much easier.
For me, those 2-3 final overhand knots are the killers. Never gonna be an easy/fast knot to tie, I don't think.
What up with no subtitles B.A.S.S.? 😁 Just messin' Canadian peeps eh!
> "I love MLF – this isn't a B.A.S.S. vs MLF thing. I just felt like I wanted to wrap things up, and the place where I started and go back to B.A.S.S. for the last chapter."
Also with Kevin VanDam fishing the MLFs, Mike knew he could now finally be part of the community – lol remember that??
...at Guntersville Nov 21, Civitan Park. Russ Lane will be there, word is he will be showin' the ballers how to throw whether they like it or not – hahaha Russ do it man! (And please get it on vid.)
7. How MLFLWer Spencer Shuffield jerkbaits now.
> Water temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s draw bass out of river channels and up onto long points. Shuffield uses his LiveScope to find schools of bass relating to wood on the tips of long points. A jerkbait is his tool of choice for its ability to draw fish up and trigger the school.
> He explains the importance of making [several] casts to pull them up – it's common to catch 3-5 fish before they stop biting.
> He favors natural colors on sunny days or in clear water, and brighter colors on overcast days or in dirty water. If there's a pile of shad around, use a non-natural color to make your bait stand out.
|
|
Such like these – check me on 'em Kenny "the human stat machine" Duke!
- 1st place at the Ouachita River by 1.5 lbs
- 1st guy born in HI to win that tourney
- 1st guy born in HI to fish the Elites (coming)
- 1st guy born in HI to fish the Classic (same)
- 1st guy to win a major B.A.S.S. tourney wearing sweatpants – or at least camo sweatpants (I'm not counting Austin Felix's flannel pants as sweatpants)
|
|
Congrats to him. At the Ouachita River he fished "a variety of balsa-wood squarebill crankbaits...bluegill, shad and chartreuse as his go-to colors. He also flipped a brown jig and used a War Eagle spinnerbait with a chartreuse blade and chartreuse trailer."
Shout-out to WA's Taylor Smith for 2nds:
- His second 2nd at the Nation Champeenship in 3 years
- Caught the 2nd-biggest weight of the tourney on the last day with a white Bandit crank
> ...between Penhook and Craddock Creek, and up Roanoke River near Smith Mountain Lake State Park.
...for this time of year. Sounds like more smallmouth fishin'!
|
|
BUT in CA it may soon be a crime to swimbait or even think about swimbaiting...🤪
2020 #s, way more than just hunting and fishing but:
> Outdoor recreation generated $688 bil in gross output during a year of shutdowns and closures, and 4.3 mil jobs in communities across the country.
> Industry segments like boating and fishing, biking, camping and RVing, hunting and shooting sports, and powersports experienced record sales and unprecedented growth.
...because it's too expensive for what it does:
> An initial deployment of the method nearly 2 years ago resulted in the capture and removal of 79,000 lbs of the carp over the course of 2-3 weeks.
> "To give you a perspective on how much that is, one fisherman can probably do that by himself in 7-10 days...except we're not paying him anything except buying his fish from him and paying a subsidy."
Apparently that dude is unaware that gov'ts are all about finding ways to spend too much $$$ for stuff!
Headline of the Day
A DNR has a "cannabis grant program"??? Do they also have a munchies program??
Line of the Day
- Non-US Bassmaster vid game reviewer talkin' – lol! Dude tried to weigh a striper...HAHAHA! Gitcha tail over here and learn the fun way!
|
|
On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
|
|
A-Mart's Gilly rig – for the dropshot.
Wow a little weird but awesome watching Aaron vids today. This deal I'd forgotten about – the Gilly rig:
|
|
One of probably 100 ways he rigged plastics for dropshotting. That pic is from this Bass U vid where he talks about it:
> "It looks stupid but the cool thing about it...when you move that bait it wants to swim forward...wants to dart forward."
> "It falls faster...it sinks quicker. It doesn't twist your line."
Man I listen to this stuff and I'm thinkin': Been fishing my whole life and I'm such a dang beginner compared to him....
|
|
"We have a cattle trough in the back yard, probably 4' by 8', big enough that my wife and I can lie in it and not touch."
> ...while I still push the boat as fast as I can, I'd rather lose 1 or 2 mph and know that I have anything I can possibly need.
Okay then Patrick carries a WHALE LOAD of tackle if he's losin' that kinda speed with a 250. B.A.S.S. might have to get all NASCAR and start weighin' boats? I'm sure Garrett Paquette and a couple other guys already weigh theirs...😂
Lol okay, here's what the trough is for – I think:
> It was a huge help this year with the smallmouth events. I bought about 8 different brands of little swimbaits and tested them in the trough. There was one that was clearly better than the others – it would sit perfectly flat on the bottom without rolling over and had a better, more subtle action than the others. That's the one I relied on in competition.
|
|
Millions of giant spiders that spin golden webs are invading Georgia. Here's why that's good news
Let me clear this up: There's no dang way a bunch of giant spiders is ever "good news."
Can't link that headline, it's at: studyfinds org – here's the for-real spider:
|
|
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'!
|
Sign up another bass-head!
|
If you're forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much – or you can email me the addys and we'll take care of it! We'll never send spam or sell the list or anything else crazy....
|
|
Gitcha hands on the best stuff!
|
|
Gitcha BassBlaster social at these links:
|
|
|
|
|