Today’s Top 5
Fish too…. Talkin’ Brad “Lee” Hallman, former Elitist now fishin’ the FLWs, won the Okeechobee opener this weekend. Good pattern deets on the website, but the part that stood out to me was:
> Hallman ordered two custom-built rods from Mosley RodWorks in Oklahoma specifically designed for punching and horsing giant bass out of vegetation. The rods are 8 feet long and have a parabolic bend….
> “Several years ago I learned that in that heavy mat-punching game you can’t snap-set the hook. You have to sort of pull into the fish and let the rod load up, and then start cranking on the reel. It’s a strange way to set a hook, but it works with big tungsten weights. Having a rod that loads up parabolically like that is a must.”
If’n you don’t know what a parabola is:
HAHAHA! Reminds me of my favorite cook book name:
Not sure I’d wanna cook with pooh…. Back to bassin’:
> Hallman pitched and punched reed heads in South Bay…notes that the more isolated reed heads were better, especially earlier in the week.
> “The smaller ones standing out there by themselves were the deal the first day. But once that wind got blowing, it shook those isolated heads up too much, and I had to move to the bigger reed clumps and islands. I think those offered more stability to the fish in the high wind.”
> Combatting the harsh winds…Hallman let the wind push him into a reed head or clump, engaged his Power-Poles, turned his back to the wind and then essentially pitched, or even tossed, his punching rig far up into the heart of the reeds where matted vegetation was trapped in the interior of the clump.
> Hallman relied on a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver 4.20, a 1 1/2-oz tungsten weight and a 4/0 Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Flippin’ Hook…[several colors including] electric blue, hematoma and penetration. He added a punch skirt (black/blue)…believing that the skirt added more potential for a bigger bite.
> With the brutal conditions on the final day, Hallman downsized everything, going to a Gambler BB Cricket with no punch skirt and a 3/4-oz weight. “When the water temperature starts dropping in Florida, going smaller is a big deal.”
Will repeat again: The deals on the Big O are Reaction Innovations (Beaver and swimbait), Gambler plastics and Chatterbaits. Yamamoto in 2nd place, Strike King becoming consistent there too. A few quick Top 10 finisher stats from here:
- Most popular baits = crawfish-like soft-plastics (60% of top 10 finishers)
- Most popular soft-plastic = Reaction Innovations Beaver
- Second-most = Zoom UV Speed Craw
- Most popular color = various shades of blue
Here’s a Beaver in hematoma:
Worth noting:
- About half the top 10 finishers used Shimano Metanium reels. #stout
- Clark Reehm (8th) fished a Megabass Ito Vision 110 [!!].
- 2nd and 3rd used G. Loomis rods and PowerPro braid.
Dude was off the hook, man, wow. Rest of the time I was kinda bored with the lack o’ first downs, and 100% did not get the Teletubbies acid trip at halftime. So who will get the biggest sacks this year on the Elites?
Well, let’s check the BassFan Weight Rankings…uh, no, because it’s blank. So is B.A.S.S. TTBAOY page. A search on Bassmaster.com won’t work either. (Wth happened to bassin’ stats??)
Will do it manually, looking at historical AOY stats. Why AOY? Ideally not the way I’d do it, but seems like bass media is asleep at the wheel so:
1. Guys who have finished in the top 10 in the last 2 years: A-Mart (1st and 4th), Dean Rojas (3rd and 9th), J-Pow (5th and 3rd), Greg Hackney (8th and 1st).
2. Guys in the top 10 in 2014 and 2013: Martens (4th and 1st), Todd Faircloth (2nd and 9th), Keith Combs (6th and 5th).
3. Guys in the top 10 in 2013 and 2015: Martens (1st and 1st), Edwin Evers (2nd and 4th), Chris Zaldain (8th and 6th).
4. Guys in the top 10 in 3 of the last 4 years: Faircloth, Evers, A-Mart.
Do “hot streaks” (not what they are) continue from year to year? Yep. That’s one fact that led to the BassFan World Rankings back in the day…and another rankings that may be coming soon….
#anaerobic
I think I see another parabola in there…lol
Gotta give this a shout out — a 9.1-lber in NJ is like a 20-lb bass in CA. Rarer than an albino Sasquatch.
Caught in unnamed water in south Jersey on a 3/16-oz black/blue finesse jig in 7-8 ft.
What amazes me is how small that bass looks compared to the teens-weight feesh you see here in the Blaster.
News
1. Dylan Poche’s final bass boat ride.
The young man and nephew of Elite pro Keith Poche who was killed last week. Dang it. I’m sad even though I know he’s upstairs. God bless the Poches.
Broke his rod too:
5. Bryan Thrift calls out his worst finish ever.
132nd at the Big O. Love that he owned it.
6. TX: ShareLunker program in lull.
Not many entries (13-lb minimum) this year, and still no 20-lber out of TX.
7. Get tix for the Bassin’ HOF induction at Classic.
8. Charger building Champion 210?
Johnny Morris sold Charger the molds? One claim in that BBC thread:
> If you call the factory right now, they will tell you they are indeed building the Champ 210 with a modernized cap.
9. Ever hear of Falcon Bass Boats?
Company out of Newberry, SC:
Michael Murphy is running one on the FLW Tour, so is Elite rookie John Hunter. Murphy said:
> “The people behind the company are great people with many years of boat-making experience in both freshwater and saltwater, with Stratos, Bumble Bee, Sea Pro, Sea Boss, and Tidewater Bay Boats. The result is a boat with freshwater bass boat speed, but saltwater rough-water durability and ride.
> The F215 that I run has a 99″ beam and is 21.5 ft long. A big boat, but surprisingly has the fastest hull shot I have ever seen, and easily sees low- to mid-70s on tournament day with 50 gallons, fully loaded, full livewell and two anglers.
10. Win a trip to the Classic w Yamaha.
11. Fly rods on Bassmaster.com??
Lookit:
12. All contingencies website.
I dig it, good luck Jason:
> “The idea started on the show floor at the 2014 Bassmaster Classic in Alabama,” said Jason Baggett. “After learning that nothing existed, I went to work.”
So says Garmin:
> The ruling will have no impact on Garmin products already purchased by Garmin customers and dealers, or any products purchased going forward.
14. Sports Authority may file bankruptcy.
They sell some fishin’ stuff.
Tip of the Day
Intentionally. Don’t laugh when he does it. Even Zona won’t laugh when KVD backlashes:
> Most baitcasters have a spool tension knob on one side and a braking system on the other. The tension knob allows you to adjust for the weight of the lure while the adjus brakes provide cast control so you can compensate for gravity and wind drag near the end of the cast.
> Magnetic braking systems are the simplest and least-expensive type, but also the least efficient. They are great for learning with a baitcaster, but don’t provide the minute adjustments and casting freedom as a centrifugal braking system.
> That’s why I prefer the infinitely adjus centrifugal system. The difference between a 10 mph wind at my back and one at my face can be huge and require specific adjustments.
> Make no mistake about it, I get backlashes because I keep pushing the reel to get maximum performance and constantly make slight changes to achieve the perfect balance. That’s easier to do with centrifugal braking system.
Quote of the Day
When I got on the Elites, the financial pressure was immense, and I started fishing just to get checks — just to survive — and it changed the way I fished.
– Former Elitist and this weekend’s Okeechobee FLW Tourist winner Bradley Hallman talkin’…and that’s pretty much what Kevin Short said in his last column. More:
> “Transitioning from regional-level competition to national-level competition changes the way you fish. At home I had success fishing my way — fishing my strengths as a pitcher and flipper.”
> “I was trying to fish the way other people fish just to stay out there. When I quit the Elites I vowed I would not return to national-level tournaments until I could fish my way all of the time.”
That’s cool, good for him.
Shot of the Day
This may be the only time I’ve seen a live largie in the taxidermy mount pose:
New smaller ad sizes
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Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. His BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Get the Blaster on an app too:
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