BassBlaster

Prespawn cold front tip, Youngest boat deal ever, Melons of the week

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on March 22, 2018

Today’s Top 4

Ditch melons of the week!

Austin Terry caught this 13.40-lb ditch melon (25 3/4″ long) at Twin Buttes Rez, TX. No bait info but dang!

Dan Mohn caught this 9-11 on Toledo Bend — new PB for him. Not real sure what brand of bait he used (lol) but think it was a Big Bite Coontail Worm (tilapia), also a 7′ 4″ Denali Kovert LT Rod:

Anyone know who this dude is? It’s NASCAR vroom-vroomer Martin Truex Jr. Bass-head Kyle Grover took him out on Diamond Valley Lake, CA and smashed ’em — best 5 weighed 33. Caught on Senkos in 15-20′: “The lake is really high and the fish are suspended in deeper trees.” Kyle says Martin is “a really good fisherman, which is cool since he drives the Bass Pro Shops car.”

2 sick vid limits.

Not in tourneys…here you go:

46.89 lbs on Harris Lake, NC — sounds like a sick lake, wish it didn’t have the soundtrack but:

49-03 on a “public FL lake” — believe Mikey’s secret sauce is the fish-lickin’ dowg:

16-yr-old gets 3-yr boat deal…

…with Nitro and Merc: “…2018 20′ Nitro Z20 bearing a Mercury Pro XS 250 engine, a package that retails for around $62,000.”

> “Nitro and Mercury said, although they don’t keep track of birthdays and personal information, they believe he’s the youngest ever to receive a sponsorship of this level,” said Kevin Kimbrough, Jake’s father.

> Jake is currently ranked 16th in the world and 3rd in the nation in The Bass Federation….

Cool quote from the young man:

> “We are not better fishermen than anybody out there. I want to make that clear first and foremost. I hate it when people think we’re better or, more clearly, when they think we think we’re better. Just because we’re in a nice boat….”

Random Classic stuff.

Skinniest Classic yet?

Brent Ehrler (2nd) finished 1 lb back, and Jason Christie finished 1-01 back. How does that compare to, say, the lowest-weight Classic ever, in Pittsburgh — aka the Dinkfestivus? Welllll, KVD won it, A-Mart (2nd) was 6 oz back and G-man was 1-02 back. So:

This Classic winning margin was pretty darn skinny.
Swindle would’ve needed 2 bass to get that 1-02…seriously. A #money Clunn quote from that Classic:

> “I’ve never been to a place where I could catch 20 bass a day, have 20 more following, and never have a keeper.”

BassTrakk big eye vs small eye

Good post by Stevie “Ain’t” Wright on Bassin’Trakkin’ weights dependin’ on the pro. For ex, Jason Christie small-eyes ’em, and Ike always big-eyes ’em. Personally glad that BassTrakk ain’t 100% accurate. What would be the fun in that….

Classic observations

> If you never heard of “dog fennel” before the Classic, you have now – it’s the local name for the thick stuff that grows on the bare dirt when a lake is down. In 20 years of bassin’ coverage, never heard that one before.

> In case you’re like me and don’t believe everything you read, the Classic Expo was JAMMED. Lots of folks. The Southeast will always rule in bassin’.

Quick Kumar Classic tour

Just a few shots…clockwise from top left: Skeet was tryin’ to tell me fanny packs are back in, Not one for selfies but love to give Matty Lee some props, Hangin’ with fellow Jesus freaks (boys from Fishers of Men and the Bass Pastor — win his Z-18 here), Stoked to visit with Clay Dyer — check the hat…he was a long-time Ranger man:

Clockwise from top L: Mike Bucca of Bull Shad swimbaits with a custom-painted blueback herring bait, Hog Farmer Magnum Shakey Head feather duster (wild!), Costa gals had the most color-coordinated outfits, States the folks at the Expo were from:

News

1. LA: T-Bend Dylan Poche Memorial tourney this weekend.

2. 3rd “Going Ike” show season underway.

Git it on YouTube here.

3. Matty Lee gets Lure Lock.

Those new boxes that are supposed to keep your baits “stuck.” Matty’s also on BassEdge Ray-dee-o.

4. Brandon Lester gets Kinkee…Baits.

Spinnerbait company, website here.

5. Freddy Boom Boom explains how Frog Fur works.

Check it:

TW has his new Boom Boom Frog here.

6. Mark Daniels Jr was created on the Cali Delta.

His dad ain’t shy about tellin’ the story:

> We [Mr. Daniels and his wife] started going up to the California Delta to camp and fish. I believe Mark was conceived on one of those trips.

Uh…wow Mr. D!

But he thinks this was #foreshadowing for MDJ:

> During the time she was pregnant with him we did a lot of camping and fishing there. Before he was even born Mark was hearing sounds of the outdoors…. I believe, and scientists believe, that kind of thing during a pregnancy affects how a kid turns out. He was literally born to fish.

Fer sher some TMI there but a good story!

7. Trip Weldon has most Classics of any B.A.S.S. TD.

Pretty dang #stout. Crazy tough job. Congrats Tripper!

8. 10 great things B.A.S.S. has done.

More bass, catch and release, suing polluters — just a few highlights. Most of it’s in the rearview, but all good and worth being reminded about.

9. KY testing 12″ min size limits in 4 derbies.

4 tourneys on Cumberland and Cave Run over 3 years. Sounds…slow?

10. AL: TVA lakes’ weights on the upswing?

11. LA: Bunch of floaters after Cross Lake tourney.

Glad to see the trail address it.

12. KY: Largies being removed from Beaver Lake.

To prevent stunted bass.

13. SC: Arrest made in theft of ReelSnot trailer at Classic.

Sounds like it was a six-fig loss — tough for a small company. They have a GoFundMe here.

14. TX: Dude wins Big Bass derby by 0.04 lbs.

Garett Hall won $70K+ in cash and prizes at Bass Champs’ Mega Bass tourney on Lake Fork with a 11.38-lber — 2nd place was 11.34.

15. New Alpha Angler Clutch rod is out.

7′ 5″ M F “power finesse” baitcaster, of course co-designed with Brandon Palaniuk. I wiggled it at the Classic, felt great — can’t wait to GET ME ONE!! Cool vid about it:

Check it here.

16. Vexus is taking boat-build reservations…

…like a few of the newer automobile companies do. Interesting. Didja know the first Vexus model isn’t just tin but a tin-glass hybrid? I didn’t either til I got this tour from Vexus’ Keith Daffron — couldn’t wait to see the boat in person, man, it’s sick:

17. Fishers of Men has 2 new series.

> The Abu Garcia UBC (Ultimate Bass Challenge) is patterned after Major League Fishing. With only 15 slots available in each event and priority entry given based upon the points standings from the previous Berkley Team season….

> The new Berkley Weeknighter Series will give anglers in many areas a chance to get a small taste of what Fishers of Men is all about. With a super-low $40 entry fee and 100% payback of paid entries at the ramp, these events are designed to expose Fishers of Men to a whole new group of anglers.

I floated this name for a new trail but it got the thumbs down:

I was like, “I quit the board then!” Al Odom was like, “You’re not even on the board!” And I was like, “Dang straight” lol

18. Gene Eisenmann no longer at T-H Marine.

Got an email says he resigned as marketing honcho. Sorry to hear it….

19. New SeaArk BC 210 tin boat.

20. ND ramping up HS fishing.

#stout

21. New Costa FLW High School bassin’ camp.

22. New Bomber Jointed Wake Minnow.

It’s wake-bait season (or getting there, depending on where you’re at):

> Garner wanted to give anglers a “wake” bait right out of the package. So he started kicking around the idea seriously about five years ago.

> “…you can fish on heavier tackle and you can fish a little faster. It has more aggressive waking action than the Long-A, and it has a loud rattle on it. At the same time you can slow it down and get a very similar action to a Long-A.”

Check it on Tackle Warehouse.

23. Tackle Warehouse Classic sale still on!

24. Lew’s first all-metal reel: Pro-Ti SLP.

Available this fall:

> …1-piece aluminum frame and aluminum side plates with titanium composition…lightest, toughest reel ever produced by the legendary Lew’s brand….

> Hard aluminum alloy Speed Gears that have been cut on the finest Hamai CNC gear hobbing machine provide precision gear mesh that maximizes smoothness and durability.

25. Another #SeaFoamWorks story.

Charles N. from TX: “After going a year without use, I started up my Mercury 125 outboard – noticed rough idling and stalling out. I contacted Sea Foam’s tech line and was given instructions – it worked, Sea Foam fixed it! The method worked quick to clean the idle jets, and now my outboard is running smoothly. Thanks for your help.”

Reminder that Sea Foam’s big rebate ends March 31 so jump on it while you can. Works great in trucks, cars, anything with an engine. Deets at seafoamsales.com.

26. New Daiwa Tatula 150 reel is out.

27. KY wants to stop Asian carp with wall of sound.

Project consultants are Yngwie Malmsteen and Marshall amps:

THAT’s a wall of sound yo!

28. Fly fishing master Lefty Kreh passes on.

Not bassin’ but for sure a fishing pioneer. Bless you Lefty.

Headline of the Day

Canoes are the perfect bass-fishing boats

Aaaaaaand there you have it….

Still needin’ some GEEKS!

New Bass GEEK issue bein’ worked up. Geeks still wanted in various areas includin’:

Bass boat geek — all kinds of bassin’ tubs, glass and/or tin
Electronics geek — very knowledgable about different-brand units, not just one brand

On BassBlaster.rocks right now…

Jordan Lee’s Classic-winning baits and patterns

ALL the Hartwell Classic baits and patterns – every competitor!

All past BassBlasters are archived at BassBlaster.rocks!

Tip of the Day

Greg Hackney: Pre-spawn cold-front bassin’.

Few morsels from a good NC Sportsman piece by the ultra-prolific David Brown:

> …Hackney downsizes line size on his lipless [Red Eye Shad] and squarebill [Strike King KVD 1.5 and 2.5] crankbaits from 17- to 20-lb to 12-lb. Any smaller and he feels he’s sacrificing too much line strength, especially around grass.

> If he needs to reach deeper on the lighter line, he’ll just go with a larger crankbait. With the jigs, he’ll downsize to a Strike King Bitsy Bug with a KVD Junior Chunk trailer and fish it on 10- to 12-lb line.

> …persistence and repetitive casts are essential, as is bait impact. “I want to hit the structure with my bait. I almost want to crash that bait into that fish, especially after a cold front. When those fish are locked down, I need to hit that fish with my bait.”

Didja sign up for the Bass Yakker yet??

Quote of the Day

“The thing about him that’s so impressive is that he doesn’t need for everything to go his way for him to win.”

– Greg Hackney talkin’ ’bout Jordan Lee. Also said:

> “It seems like he just takes things as they come and then makes the best of what they offer him. That’s not what normally happens in this business. Most of us win when all the chips fall into place. Jordan doesn’t need that to happen. He wins even when the chips don’t fall into place. He can fish.”

That’s a really dang huge compliment. And, as usual for Hack, super astute. What Jo-Lee says about his Classic practice gives more weight to it:

> I had a tough practice. I only caught 2 bass of more than 4 lbs. One of them was in 30′ of water. The other was in 3′. And, they were 20 miles apart.

Shot of the Day

How much do you love your bass? Can you bear to let ’em go…even to the weighmaster? Here’s @kistler_rods pro @carlsmith82 keepin’ his loved ones close…huggin’ it out:

Random

May not know that there’s a decent-sized bigfoot group in bassin’. One pro angler put me onto this vid — REALLY freaky, about missing persons cases in National Parks and the feds’ odd behavior around ’em. Warning: You may be completely freaked out after watching. You also might be more inclined to shoot a bigfoot if you saw one….

Ya got me

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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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