Hope you and your families have a Merry Christmas, peaceful break and great start to 2022 – which means this is the last BassBlaster of the year. 😳 Taking some time to recover, renew, do some stuff like clean the office and reflect on friends who have passed on. Really hope 2022 is the year things turn around. I tell my kids: It'll either be way worse, like Australia, or way better. We're going with God bringing the latter along with hopefully a healthy dose of justice.
Thank you for taking time 2x/week to get on this "atomic redneck" ride, much appreciated. Thank you to all the companies and folks who support the Blaster. Literally couldn't do it without you. Thank you to the pros, the almost pros, the leagues and all tourney trails for doing what you do – it is amazing. This is still the greatest sport on the planet, and with the Lord's continued blessing always will be.
Bless you and love from me. Little reminder for us:
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5 retro and forward-facing Qs with Bryan Thrift.
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Bryan finished 15th in the Bass Pro Tour points this year after gettin' 18th his 1st year. Pretty dang impressive given the different format and the strength of the BPT field. Then again, after burning down, smashing and destroying like any angry T Rex the entire FLW Tour multiple times, guess everyone figured he'd been doing pretty dang well!
In John Cox-ish fashion, seems like Bryan doesn't necessarily need the latest 'n greatest on his boat to do well either. I mean, back in July he finally upgraded his Fortrex to an Ultrex, and word was he was so upset he couldn't eat for 3 days. Neighbors thought he lost his dog!
Okay I made that part up but the rest of it is true...let's get going with 5 with him:
1. As a guy who famously took like 5 years to upgrade your trolling motor, if you could be in charge of bassin' 'lectronics regs, what would you limit fishermen to?
> "The only limitations I would put...are numbers of inches of screen you could have on a boat for tournament competition. To me it's kind of like professional baseball – in college you can hit with aluminum bats, but in the professionals you use wood.
> "The technology doesn't need to be regulated, but you need to regulate inches of screen [to around 50 inches]...so you could have 2 15s and 2 12s, or 4 12s.... I feel like it would just be a happy medium to stop all the fussin'...."
2. Do you have a flasher on your boat?
> "I do not, and the main reason is because I've never used it...kind of a past technology when I started fishing. If I had learned to use one from an early age, yeah I'd probably be prone to use one – I'm sure I could read it probably just as good as other types of sonar."
3. With all that plus your love of Vienna Sausages, have you ever been tempted to chuck the jersey and go with a vest or jumpsuit instead? 😁
> [Laughs] "No, I've never been tempted to go back old school. I used to have the old shirts...button up, stiff as aboard and itchy. Glad we got away from that."
4. Do you use Live Sonar yet?
> "I got the Mega Live this year, probably around June or July, and I've pretty much quit using 2D up front now. I have Mega Live on 1 graph and 360 and my map on the other.
> "With Mega Live I can see what's directly underneath, I can see what's in front 70-80' and what's behind me about 15'. I can drop down on fish directly underneath the boat, pitch out to fish that are ahead and...back behind the trolling motor – that's where the co-anglers get you a lot."
[Ruh-roh new Live sonar controversy – Makes it tougher for the cos! 😁 Somewhat related: Bryan posted this cool Boat Logix Mega 360 stabilizer bracket:]
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5. Why did your Chatterbait need to have a bigger blade than anyone else's?
> "...to fill a gap in the Chatterbait family. I wanted a bigger bait that would appeal to more aggressive and larger fish...could still slow-roll it and get a good vibration, and something to give you a little more thump in dirtier water. It has the first-ever orange blade on a Chatterbait...."
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> 7' 3" H Fitzgerald Stunner Rod – "...a little heavier, stouter rod because it's a bigger package – bigger bait, thumps harder, little bit heavier head, 6/0 Mustad hook on it. With the bigger blade you get more lift, so we had to vary the sizes of the head...have to get 1/2-, 5/8- and 3/4-oz sizes to make it fish like a regular Chatterbait."
> Abu Revo STX – "It depends on what I'm doing with the bait for gear ratio...depends on how deep I'm fishing.... If I'm fishing deep, I use an 8.0 so if the fish slacks the line on a long cast, I can take up line quicker. If I'm bank-fishing, I throw it on the 7.3 gear ratio."
> "You can throw all your normal trailers on it. Craw style, Fluke style, swimbaits – they will all work on it, there's really no limit. If you use a Fluke-style body, it really hunts and cuts up...traditional Chatterbait won't do that."
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Jason Christie: The best Rogue for winter Roguein'.
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> "You can catch them on finesse tactics when the water gets cold, but I've found I can catch a lot of big fish on jerkbaits and cover water quicker."
> Christie reaches for the Smithwick Perfect 10 Rogue when the water temp gets below 50 degrees. The 5.5" bait with a larger-than-normal bill and titanium ball insert dives to 10' on an average cast, and farther on a long cast.
> "During the winter, there are a lot of shad dying off, and I've caught several fish with giant gizzard shad sticking out of their throats. The bass don't eat as often then, but they will take bigger meals when the opportunity is there."
> "When the water gets clear in the winter months, the fish lounge a little deeper, especially on sunny days. Whereas they might typically be on 8-12' ledges, they will live in 18-20' under bright skies.
> "Sometimes during the winter months you have to fish through areas you suspect the fish are using, and I can make a lot more casts than if I'm fishing slower-moving baits." He prefers a jerk, jerk, jerk pause, and then maybe a single jerk before another pause.
> "When I think the fish are lethargic or the water is really clear, I may let the bait sit for 4 or 5 seconds before jerking again."
> "In cold weather I have a lot of clothes on so I get more fatigued with a longer rod when working a jerkbait all day."
> "There is a 3' depth diving difference between the 2 line sizes."
Fyi Smithwick has the similar Elite 8 Rogue for fishing 6-8' ish.
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5 "I'm Fitness in my livewell" Qs with Elitist Caleb Sumrall.
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If you check his Insta, you'll see Caleb's got his priorities straight: fish, hunt, work out. He loves him some big weights – feesh and plates. So I was at the gym the other day and was wonderin', How would Caleb respond to these pump-up sayin's in the context of bassin'? Luckily we get to find out:
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> "...essentially outworking the rest of them. Everybody's got an equal skill level, but this comes into controlling what you can control...working harder than the next guy, whether that's health or bass fishing. That's the way I think about it."
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> "When you put a bunch of effort in and suck at an event, that's the worst. Use it as fuel for the fire. You gotta have fuel, and nothing's more motivating than not doing well. That's the goal – to never not do well again."
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> "That's a good one, I like that a lot. That means you have to take chances. You don't have to always know exactly what you have to do in fishing – maybe you have to go to a part of the lake you've never fished, or do something you've never caught a bass doing. That's just how to you play the game."
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> "It's all mental man. We think we're tired at the end of the day, but I learned from running and working out that your mind wants to quit a lot sooner than your body does."
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> "That's right. It think of that as a summary of all of 'em. Going that extra mile, you'll never regret doing it. In my mindset it only benefits – it will hurt temporarily, but it will only make you stronger and better.
> "Bass fishing goes hand in hand in that. There's the mental side, the physical aspect of standing in the boat all day in waves.... Take a big chance and sooner or later it will pay off."
Bonus Qs
6. What else have you been training or improving for the Elites next year?
> "I actually backed off the running a little this year. I'm doing a little more weight-lifting, switching my goals up a little bit, seeing how it helps me.
> "Other than that I'm just enjoying time off and trying not to burn out with it. I'm a big-time hunter and like to stay outdoors no matter what. So I'm staying sharp with the outdoors, and when fishing time comes around I'll be ready to go."
7. Would you ever grease up for a pose down with Johnny Crews on the weigh in stage?
> [Laughs] "I think I'm a in a bigger weight class than him – I don't think it'd be a fair competition."
That wasn't a No! You hear that Mercer??
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Couple random bassin' future thoughts.
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1. Sonar – What's next?
You saw this model of a "heads up" display for anglers from ICAST:
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Okay that's cool because it takes the display off the screen, but how about 'lectronics that can PREDICT where the fish are?
My 2c: Can happen, maybe already. The BassGold data can be used for that pretty easily, and I'm aware of at least 1 other digital deal that could be repurposed for this as well. What needs to happen first is for at least 1 of the big 3 electronics manufacturers to stop thinking only in terms of screens and maps. Should happen at some point....
> Aircraft, they suggest, could use this combined laser/sonar technology to sweep the ocean surface for high-resolution images of submerged objects. ...could make it easier and faster to find sunken wrecks, investigate marine habitats, and spot enemy submarines.
> "Our system could be on a drone, airplane or helicopter. It could be deployed rapidly...and cover larger areas."
> ...peering into water from the air is a different challenge. Sound, radio and light waves all quickly lose their energy when traveling from air into water and back. This attenuation is even worse in turbid water....
> So he and his students combined the 2 modalities – laser and sonar. Their system relies on the well-known photoacoustic effect, which turns pulses of light into sound. "When you shine a pulse of light on an object it heats up and expands and that leads to a sound wave because it moves molecules of air around the object."
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Zero practical use for bassin' yet, but bet somethin's comin'! I mean, who spends more, the US Military or bass-heads?? 😆
2. Tourneys – What do we need?
Okay all these new anglers came into the sport – how many of them fished a tourney? How many of 'em want to fish a tourney? How many of 'em are scared to compete? How many of 'em got a life-alterin' rippin' ride down a lake in a bass boat?
I'm gonna say "not many" to all the Qs except the "scared to compete" one. I do think more folks are scared to compete now – not sure why, maybe cuz our country has been wimped down a bit in my 2c, but either way maybe tourney beginners aren't just kids anymore?
One more thing: Are there any new ways to compete in bassin', maybe totally different than what we're used to? Yes. We've all seen hints of it here and there with these online tourney deals, but that's not even 1% of where it can go. Only issue is it'll take significant $$$ to get it to the next level, and honestly not sure who has the money, vision and stones to make that happen (it's not the leagues).
But if/when it does happen it'll be very cool.
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> "A small blade bait like a Silver Buddy or Damiki Vault...I'm usually using a fairly small one to imitate the smaller size of shad that you normally see this time of year. I'll cast it out, reel it like a crankbait on the bottom, or slowly hop it along. You can do a lot of different things with it and it's one of the best baits for that 20-30' zone."
> "It gets down there quicker than most people realize. You think, 25, 30, 35 feet of water, that'll take forever for that jig to get down to the bottom. But it doesn't. It goes fast."
> The Moontail Jig's oversized flat-aspirin head design enables the drop speed..."it's thinner so it cuts water much faster. You get a better, faster drop speed."
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Jake Wittkop, MLF senior director of marketing integrations:
> "We're really trying to grow the sport into a true nationally-recognized sport. We want to be spoken in the same breath as the PGA Tour and the NASCAR Cup Series, and this partnership is really going to help with that."
15 years of writin' about something he basically had no idea existed when he took the gig and did a heck of a job – one of the best bassin' writers ever, in my 2c, and the best at what he did. Hope to see him in the Bassin' Hall of Legendary Heroes one day.
One reason I believe don was so good at this wasn't just his big heart, which he has, and his love for everyday folks, which we all are, but also the fact that he was vastly overqualified for the gig – his professional experience I mean. That brings a weight and confidence and perspective to things that you can't duplicate. To borrow his Aaron analogy, it made his stuff more like a symphony than a 4/4 rock song, if you get my drift.
One more deal: The better-crafted something is and the better the craftsman is, the more simple that thing is, or seems. That's don's stuff. No $100 words or English lessons needed. Timeless too.
Good job db and thank you man. Love from me. 🙏✝️ Gonna chase you down for a 5 Q deal soon....
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5. Couple innerestin' lipless options from Japan.
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TX peeps guessin' you can take this'n to the bank:
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Bill Lewis has even more new colors comin' in '22....
'Bout time for it? Gotta say I've barely bladed let alone bladed with a blade – need to get on it!
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11. IN is increasing license fees.
First time since 2006. Doesn't say how much. Can't link it, on the DNR website.
Never thought o' this'n but gonna steal it! #chili
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PSAs
1. Did you Sea Foam yer rig?
Frank O in DE's #SeaFoamWorks story: "Pulling my boat out of the water for winter storage is the most depressing time of the year for me. I have friends that always have motor problems come spring when they put their boats in the water. I am always calm because I use Sea Foam Marine PRO during the season and for winter storage. The boat starts up first try every spring!"
2. Gitcha stars 'n bars on.
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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This was my biggest plug-knocker year probly ever. Got most of 'em loose, but most times it was an epic goat rodeo and glad no one else was on the boat or they woulda been crampin' from laughin' so hard!
Wish I had this little rig at the time wow – woulda made the whole deal so much easier. Wintertime project for me. Here's NPFL angler (and US ARmy vet 👊🇺🇸) Doug Chapin talkin' it in a Jewel Bait vid (IG):
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"...people here haven't missed their calling in life. People here are boat-builders."
- Haaaaaaaaaaail yeah mang! Dude talkin' in a Vexus IG vid 'bout the folks who work at Vexus, some of whom were at Ranger and other places. If you've never been to Flippin, AR you might not truly understand how a couple generations of those folks really are boat-builders. It's in their blood man, for real, and there's a tremendous pride in workmanship that seems built into the whole town (couple other parts of AR too)....
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Love it:
> Participants can start hunting on public or private land (with permission) at noon Jan 7 through 30 minutes after sunset, then hunt again 30 minutes before sunrise until around noon Jan 8. The biggest 3 squirrels from each team will be weighed (field-dressed with skin on)....
> In addition to medals, the overall winners in each division will receive Gamo Air Rifles.
Polygraph not mentioned...😁. Maybe they can get the MLF polygraph dude, who I hear takes like 5 hours to ask a couple Qs just to make the guys sweat – wears a sidearm, gets a little crazy sometimes:
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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'!
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