BassBlaster

Qs with Evers, The dropshot rules! Fishing for suspenders

By (mostly Jay)

Posted on January 16, 2024

Got more snow here today. Stinks but the good news is my boat is getting re-rigged this week so I'll be able to 360 every piece of structure with no fish on it in NJ mang! 🤣 Lol stoked anyway!

More real innerestin' stuff from the Berkley trip coming Thursday, as well as some mind-bending trendin' on the top tours. Hint: transducers. Let's go!

If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.

Today's Top 4

3 quick Qs with Edwin "The Nut Collector" 😁 Evers

As you know, Edwin is one of the most accomplished – aka winningest – bass fishermen ever. So if you guessed he was a serious dang competitor and perfectionist, he is.

He lit it up when the guys first switched to MLF, but since then has had more ups and downs. So when I sat down with him real quick (at dinner!) at the Berkley deal last week, I started there.

1. How do you feel like you've been fishing the last few years?

> "I'd say like 80%. I've been fishing pretty good. Or I've been fishing really good, but will have 1-2 bad events.

> "I get locked down on something, like at St Clair last year...[had had fish but] didn't figure out how to catch 'em [and didn't leave]."

2. You crushed it when you switched to the every fish counts deal. You excited it's back?

> "I'm excited that we're going to Toledo Bend! I'm ready for it to be consistent – to do whatever we're gonna be.

> "I know how much harder it's gonna be this year. I'm excited, but [every fish counts is] a lot harder. There's no breaks in a day, ever."

3. You've always been known for your versatility. Are you continuing to expand your skill sets or do you find that after all these years competing you're narrowing down how you catch 'em?

> "I feel like I'm continuing to expand – I'm trying to get better everywhere. Last year was the first year I've thrown a glide bait and I loved it. It was a ball of fun.

> "In my game I just need to improve my accuracy in casting with [Lowrance] ActiveTarget. I think I have a great grasp of it, but what separates everybody is a foot to the left or to the right...being exact in that cast, not wasting that cast."

Bonus Q: Everyone wants to know: How is peanut farming like bass fishing? [I intentionally said peanut...🤣]

> "We rely on the weather, and the conditions on the outside dictate how the farm's gonna do."

Follow-up: What's your favorite Evers Pecans product?

> "Jalapeno – jalapeno pecans."

Huh – never have seen Edwin as a spicy kinda cat! 😁 Btw, that pic at the top – me and 2 other dudes were in Edwin's boat last Friday for a few hours in a windstorm. Guess who was the only guy to catch a bass??

The good ol' dropshot dominated on the Bass Pro Tour last season

Crazy! Or is it? Also includes Bubba-shotting. Some info from the interesting MLF post:

> No technique accounted for more wins or top 10 finishes on the Bass Pro Tour in 2023 than the humble dropshot. In fact, it wasn't close.

> ...at least one of the top 10 finishers at every BPT event except Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain. It served as the primary tool for 4 of the 9 winners. It even swept the Top 10 at Stage Six on Lake St. Clair, with every Championship Round angler attributing the bulk of their success to the technique.

> Anthony Gagliardi: "There's a lot of different stuff you can do with it, and I think a lot of people just pigeonhole the dropshot as a 4-inch finesse worm, and it's for super clear water.... That's not the case."

> Alton Jones Jr: "When you're generating enough bites, your statistical odds of catching a big one just go up. I feel like, especially as pressure has gotten to these fish, just being able to generate a number of bites to help yourself statistically to get a big bite is really key."

> Josh Bertrand: "I would say [for] 75% of the country, dropshotting is probably the technique that can put more fish in the boat than anything."

> All...praised the drop-shot for its efficiency. Since the weight doesn't hinder the bait's action, a dropshot can be fished with heavier weights than, say, a shakey head or Neko rig, allowing it to quickly reach a fish seen on live sonar. The fact that the lure can then be twitched and wriggled in place helps generate bites from bass that need to be convinced.

Baits

> [Anthony and Alton Jr] said a hand-poured worm like the Roboworm Straight Tail Worm is their bait of choice, while Bertrand's go-to is the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm.

[Gotta shout out Josh's 6' 10" ML Abu Pro Series Dropshot Rod – really good.]

> Alton Jr: "...when you're around pressured fish with forward-facing sonar and you can see that they're not committing, trying those different baits [like the Geecrack Bellows Gill] is key."

> Jones has taken to threading his dropshot baits onto straight-shank hooks with a keeper...because he believes it results in a better hookup to landing ratio and improves the durability of his baits.

> "When we fish places like Lake St Clair where there's large numbers of fish being caught, I'm saving baits throughout the day by threading it and supergluing it. Also I can be really quick. Like, I catch a fish, if it's not the size I need or it's not the one I want, I can let that fish go immediately and my bait doesn't have to be re-rigged."

Interesting. My 2c: Dropshot use isn't because of FFS, it's because it's efficient – always has been. Aaron Martens used it so much because it generated bites, not because he loved it. With FFS, it's not necessarily more efficient – either way it's more effective because it's not pulled away from fish as fast and there's less random casting/time wasted.

The ol' dropshot's like:

When you love fishing a swim-jig but the swimbait bite is on? 😁

Posted by @zappu_official on Insta. Check the quick vid. Assuming it's a little slow-mo, but if not that's amazing:

Would you fish it? I wouldn't – don't love swim-jigging enough – unless I was in a boat with someone killing 'em on it and I was getting ticked! 🤣

Should we be A-rigging "mud flaps" for bigs?

And maybe on other rigs too? Billfish guys are using them on the rigs, which they call "dredges" or "squid chains." Look like this, from Marlin mag:

> You'll also see schools of flat, black rubber tuna – commonly referred to as mud flaps – cut to various sizes. These 2D mud flaps intend to mimic the silhouette of a live tuna....

Benefits are they're durable, and way less drag through the water with a bigger silhouette. Think about being able to reel an A-rig with huge-looking baits on it = bigger fish?

> "Since using the [mud flaps] I estimate that we've seen a 30-40% increase in the number of blue marlin sightings and bites."

2D nature of it kinda reminds me of that new 6th Sense Panorama if it was all black.

News

1. Dakota Ebare leaves the BPT, will fish the Opens.

Explains it in that IG vid, sounds like he prayed a bunch about it and wants to fish/win a Classic. Wouldn't bet against him.

2. Dustin Connell now with Rapala VMC.

Rapala hard baits and tools, CrushCity soft plastics and VMC hooks. Word is Jacob Wheeler tried to talk him out of it...lol just messin'!

3. Greg Hackney spent 3 days on Grand Lake...

...pre-practicing for the Classic and never made a cast. To keep his head in the game he dressed like a Jedi the whole time:

😁 I know you can see it!

4. Both Skeet Reese's ICON reels are available now.

Spinning and casting, both $99.99 made by KastKing. Here's Skeet's vid on the baitcaster, spin reel vid here:

Innerestin' info:

> "...features that are important in my style of fishing...led to making a baitcaster with a high spool capacity first and foremost. When I'm fishing 15-20 lb fluorocarbon, I want to be able to make a long cast with a big bait and not run out of line.

> "To me, comfort is everything in a fishing reel. When you fish as many hours in a day as I do, any little ridge or hard edge on the reel frame or paddles start to wear on your hand and fingers. It was critical that the ICON Series needed to be comfortable and easy to fish all day. I also like oversized handles on a baitcaster, which equates to fewer turns on the retrieve."

> ...KastKing equipped the ICON baitcaster with a high-capacity spool holding 110 yards of 50-lb braid, a low-profile frame with smooth edges on the palm plate and the soft comfort of TPE handle knobs in Reese's signature yellow. The handle length of Reese's ICON baitcaster is an oversized 110mm length for easy cranking.

> ...comes in right or left-hand retrieve, weighs only 7-oz and has a...7.2:1 gear ratio. The AutoMag Dual Braking System found on multiple KastKing baitcasting reels helps limit the dreaded backlash. KastKing's patented Low Friction Tapered Vortex line guide limits the amount of friction on the line, allowing for maximum casting distance.

Check 'em on the TW.

5. Russ Lane selling his boat.

2023 Phoenix 921 PHX, all Garmin and Power-Poles.

6. '24 Elite rookie JT Thompkins gets FishUSA.

Opens angler Joey Nania also.

7. Italy's Jacopo Gallelli get's Ebare's spot on the BPT.

8. FL: Hear 'n meet sketchy Opens guys! 😁

Jan 27, New Harvest Church in Clewiston. Bless you guys for being faithful in this.

9. FL: Adrian College won the MLF Abu College Championship.

Kissimmee Chain, Braylon Eggerding and Lucas Washburn won it by ONE OUNCE over Campbellsville U's Carter Doren and Ryan Lachniet. 2-day tourney, winning weight was 42-04.

10. Marty Stone is now in the dock biz.

Sounds grateful for it too, glad to see him say that God's got a plan.

> He said he was told the move was not performance-based, but rather one of several cost-cutting measures the organization was taking.

He's working at A&K Dock Services on Kerr Lake, VA and is still part of the MLF ownership group.

11. MN: Scott Bonnema and Matt Straw going into HOF.

MN Fishing Hall of Fame. Scott is a tourney bass fisherman who has been part of the scene for a long time and is a board member of the Mille Lacs Smallmouth Alliance. Matt is a well-known In-Fisherman writer. Congrats to 'em!

12. TX is trying to get people to record 8+ lbers.

Good crowd-sourcing strategy:

> ...anglers who reel in largemouth bass weighing 8 lbs or more, measuring at least 24", can participate in the Toyota ShareLunker Program. By entering their catch details online or through the ShareLunker mobile app...participants stand a chance to win a "Catch Kit" corresponding to their fish's weight class.

13. American Baitworks bought the rest of Freedom Tackle.

Owned half of the company since 2019. American Baitworks owns several brands including BaitFuel, NetBait, Halo Fishing, Snag Proof and Scum Frog.

14. M-Pack Lures was bought by Lake Fork Trophy Lures.

We lost Mark Pack a few years back. Bless all the M-Pack and LFT folks.

15. Check Nichols' top-selling products last year.

TW links:

Reminds me: Word is salty guys are still blastin' stripers on big flutter spoons.

16. St Croix release Seviin spinning reels.

Released casting reels last year.

17. AR: Ginormous striper caught at Beaver Lake.

Caught it on a minnow but dang – 46 lbs, 46" long and a 30" girth! 🤯

On BassBlaster.rocks right now...

Cool new FFS baits, Huge new jig ‘n craw, 50 lb limit!

Note: The Tackle Warehouse links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase I might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in the BB.

Tip of the Day

How to fish for suspenders with the Jewel Live Spin

Reminder that this bait was developed WITHOUT FFS – in fact the gentleman who developed it doesn't even have FFS on his boat:

> ...after 8 years of testing and research the Live Spin was born. The Live Spin was perfect for targeting these deep suspended bass in clear water because it excelled at all of the important things an angler needs when targeting suspended bass.

> First, it weighs enough [1-oz] that you can cast it a mile and it will also sink fast enough to reach those fish that are suspended down deep. Secondly, once it gets to the depth that the fish are at it is easy to maintain at that depth. Thirdly, it has really enticing action that can draw bass to it (this is due to the Jewel Bait Co-exclusive spiral blade).

> ...finally, it matches the shad that the bass are feeding on (2.5" in size and featuring realistic colors that match the bait fish).

> ...we recommend using a longer rod. Anything from 7' to 7' 6" will work just fine. However...you are still dealing with treble hooks so you want to be careful not to use too stiff of a rod otherwise you will rip the bait out of the fish's mouth. A MH rod with a fast or moderate-fast tip seems to be the most ideal.

> The 2 rods that we recommend for fishing the Live Spin are the Virtus/Jewel Red Diamond Swim Jig Rod and the Blue Diamond Bladed Jig Rod.

> ...a sweeping hookset and then you maintain pressure on the fish with the reel, so having a high speed reel is quite crucial. It is very similar to how you usually want to set the hook when using a spinning rod.

> ...simply cast out the Live Spin and let it fall down to them. If you have LiveScope you can watch the Live Spin fall to them, or if you are not using forward-facing sonar then you can count down the bait – it falls about 1-1.5' per second depending on line size.

> Once you have it down where the fish are...one option is to just subtly shake it with your rod tip. You can reel it, or probably the most popular and effective way to fish it is pull it with your rod.

> When working it with the rod, you can jerk it and fish it very similar to a spoon: Once you have jerked it up with your rod tip, you can follow the slack line back down. ...the more slack you have in your line when jerking it, the less it will move forward....

TW has 3 colors, the Jewel site has 4....

Quote of the Day

"One thing I have seen often throughout my 10 years or so of tournament fishing is people struggle to listen."

- From a real good post by '24 Elite rookie Kyle Patrick on Bassmaster.com. Lil more:

> I believe anglers struggle to succeed often due to a lack of knowledge. They don't know what they don't know. That is the most dangerous problem to have because it eventually can lead to thinking you know everything.

> Most of the time, that is solved by asking questions to individuals who simply know more than you do, and of course listening.

Yes! Very wise and we need more of it in bassin', in my 2c.

Shot of the Day

Check this real sharp racing-type color scheme on an iKon boat:

Random

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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-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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