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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.
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What I learned yesterday scoping with Ike 👀
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Yep Mike and I live in the same state, but run into each other everywhere but NJ. So it was good to be in the boat with him again. The reason for it was the new Berkley PowerBait Power Switch...
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...I didn't understand it. A bait that looks like a jighead with a soft-plastic (big deal?) that can do a bunch of different things underwater? Zig, zag, jump around, stay still – all on the same cast? I mean, I heard the words from the Berkley bait design guys (shoutin' out Aaron W) but how is that possible? On a jighead??
I didn't doubt the Berkley guys (learned that lesson a while back), but I couldn't see how it was possible. BUT after Ike demoing/explaining it, now I get it. And they're right. Full rundown vid is below, but some tidbits first:
1. The head design is key. That makes it sit level and is most of the reason for the different actions it can get.
2. The bait sits dead horizontal when the line is tight.
3. If you let it fall, it does not fall straight down like an anvil. It spirals a little, like an old-school tube.
4. Maybe think of this bait's actions like this: It can do the jighead + minnow thing, it does the moping/Damiki thing, it can do an ice jig, it can do a hover rig, a tube thing and whatever else you can make it do. Subtle or not subtle.
5. So you really can fish it 5-6 different ways on the same cast – you can "switch" the actions. That's the purpose of it: If your target fish is not reacting to the bait, you can change up the presentation without reeling in.
6. Unless you're moping/tight-lining, SLACK line is one key for letting this thing do what it does.
7. Mike wasn't afraid to change sizes and colors to get fish to react...and I guess I kinda forgot how fast pros can re-rig!
8. The head is lead and apparently the mylar strip in the body (tail) helps it stand out on FFS. I could see the bait on FFS no problem.
9. Mike had Lowrance ActiveTarget, and was able to tell the different species of fish by:
- How they looked (how the different blobs looked vs one another)
- How they acted
- Where they were (structure and water column)
- How many of them were together
And it still wasn't 100%...which I guess is why more and more guys are using Aqua-Vu cameras.
10. He was focused on FFS, but was reading 2D and side scan at the same time.
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11. We caught almost every species in the lake. Jake, Mike's camerman, fished a 1/16-oz in the back of the boat and caught the most. Since it was NJ, guess what species we caught the least – even with one of the best of all time in the boat. Yep! 🤪
12. Believe I said at ICAST time that Berkley must believe in this bait because they launched it in 6 sizes, from 1/16-oz to 1 5/8-oz. For FFS fishing, Mike likes 1/4- and 3/8-oz. For crappie yesterday, 1/4-oz was a maybe and 1/16-oz was money.
13. Great example of a bait that would never "win" at the ICAST show because it's not sexy on land but in the water....
14. The bait seemed durable – good for a pre-rigged deal.
15. Even though we were fishing NJ and Mike and I both know what that means, I was once again amazed by his absolute confidence (literally "never give up") and relentlessness about wanting to find and catch bass. I gave up on the dang NJ bass about 4-5 hours in! 🤣
16. I brought 2 rods with me – a jig and an underspin. This underspin isn't a well-known bait, but Mike knew what it was even though he didn't hold it or look at it up close. Reminded me what a student of tackle that guy is.
17. I had the big bass of the day – which wasn't big. Here's how it went down: I cast out the underspin, got a backlash, picked it out, reeled in the slack, and when I pickedf up the bait a fish was on! 😂 Too funny man. #NJ
18. I'm starting to think that these Switch types of baits might – might – replace a dropshot in many situations.
19. Hope it goes without saying but – yep Berkley supports the Blaster (which helped get Ike out the door lol), but telling you about this because I was impressed with it and I don't think there's anything else like it. Remember, me being skeptical prompted this trip. But as always, you be the judge!
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Another FFS jig win and the 'Yota Championship pays great!
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Congrats to TX's Chad Mrazek who won it by just 7 oz over BFL All-American winner Emil Wagner. He had 47-02 over 3 days on Table Rock, which you can see was good enough for $200,000! Dang son! Word is the Yotas don't pay well down in the standings but man if you make it to the championship....
No wonder so many pros and non-pro hammers fish that deal. Highest pro finishers I saw at a quick glance were Dakota Ebare (13th) and Justin Lucas (14th). Here's how Chad caught 'em:
> "I fished drains all day, scoping them of course, mainly targeting singles, casting at every one I would see. In the [afternoon] I was fishing flatter, shallower pockets and creeks. Every school I had that was setting up late in the day, they were only setting up in flatter, shallower drains, and there aren't a lot in this lake. I pretty much found 5 of them, and rotated them all day [3]."
> "[Day 2]...fishing 'shallow' in 20-37'. Targeting main lake pockets and drains with a flat contour and timber, Mrazek was able to pick off fish with a jig that were in and around the trees. "In the timber, every once in a while, there will be a tree with a ton of branches on it."
> On many of his best casts, a handful of fish would show interest, but it took patience to garner a bite. "If 5 of them were there, 4 of them would come up and look at it on the way down, and then go away. And one would stay, and I might be able to get it to bite. I would let it sit in front of their face, shaking it, almost like I was bed fishing.
> "For whatever reason, if I could get one under the boat, I could get them to bite. I don't know if they like the shadow of the boat, or if it was the way I was working it, but they would bite."
> The key bait was a 7/16-oz football jig with half a 6th Sense Clout [stick worm].... "I've been scoping with that bait for a while now."
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"Today 5% of the ones I casted at bit, maybe less. Yesterday, maybe 50% of them bit."
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- That's Chad talkin' again, just in case you think FFS makes catchin' a gimme. That 50% number is pretty good tho, depending on how many casts he made!
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"...one thing about Trey is that he understands the nuances and how to trigger a fish to bite better than anyone I've ever seen."
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A little insight on Teen Elite rookie Trey McKinney from a guy who has fished with him since he was 11 named Rick Cheatham. Full quote from the Seaguar site:
> "I've been in the boat with many people over the years, and one thing about Trey is that he understands the nuances and how to trigger a fish to bite better than anyone I've ever seen."
Highlighting it because I keep hearing that about FFS fishing – TRIGGERING those fish to bite is the real key to the deal. In other words, it's not seeing 'em and presenting the bait. It's more like bed-fishing – reading the fish, figuring out which one will fire and how, etc.
Here's Rick and Trey from this year...kidding that's a little while back! 😁
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1. LA: We lost an original.
> Tommy [Thompson] enjoyed bass fishing competitively and served as the vice president of the first bass club in LA, Ouachita Bass Club.
Bless you bassin' brother. Please pray for his family. ✝️🙏
2. Ya think Jesse Wiggins and his bro won at Smith Lake??
Jesse and Jordan fished an AL Bass Trail team derby there and it was actually less likely the sun would come up in the east than they would win that deal: 😆
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> Jesse: "We used 2 main baits. The 1st was a topwater walking bait, and the 2nd was a Jackall Driftfry.
> "Typically we don't weigh any fish on the Driftfry, but we found this massive school of fish. We could see them on the forward-facing sonar, so we dropped the bait down to them. I would catch a 3-lber, and Jordan would drop down and catch a 25-lb stripe. This happened back and forth a couple times, so it was pretty hectic there for about an hour. It was honestly more fish than I have ever seen, and it was all about being in that right area at the right time."
No shakey head around docks?? Burshpiles??? 🤯
3. Last week to maybe win Randy Howell's insane rig!
Gitcha ticket, drawing is this weekend!
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Reminds me of Flavor Flave!
9. B.A.S.S. digital chief Jim Sexton is retiring.
Dang I did not know that! Good dude and a brother in Christ. Jim expect a phone call my man!
Word is he will pursue his hobby – whittling people's big toes outta wood. Okay I just made that up...but I bet someone does it! 🤣
10. LA: FLs and F1s stocked in the Red River.
> Approximately 18,000 largemouth bass fingerlings...4-6" in length, with 7,200 FL largemouth bass fingerlings and 1,800 F1 fingerlings released...around the Ben Routh Recreation Area in Effie in Avoyelles Parish.
11. ID 10-15 large record is valid.
75 years later:
> Thanks to Ken Duke, Nathan Benson and Terry Battisti of The Big Bass Podcast for researching this story and providing the details that blew the dust of this state record and set it straight. I'm certain Mary Alice Hurt Taylor would be happy to see her own name on the list.
12. New Minn Kota Ultrex QUEST now shipping.
All the pros that have one love it so far and mine just got to the house so they are for sure shipping. Stoked! 😀
Looks like TW has both the regular and the MEGA DI/SI versions.
13. MN: 10 Signal crayfish found in Lake Winona.
Pacific Northwest species, look like gp/blue-ish that can have red on their legs and claws:
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14. So now there's "macro" fish management?
From a scientific study about what sounds like a big national dataset with creel and other info:
> To effectively manage fish populations and provide opportunities for recreational angling, management agencies are placing an emphasis on managing fisheries as large-scale social-ecological systems....
Includes this, which sounds sketchy to me:
> In addition to impacting the fish themselves, a changing climate may influence angler behavior directly. Changes in conditions associated with climate (e.g., decreasing ice duration, heat waves) may lead to shifts in when or if anglers choose to participate.
> Large-scale datasets can help researchers better quantify associations between broad-scale patterns in climate and fishery characteristics to better understand the impacts of climate change on recreational angling.
Sketchy because my 2c is the last thing we need is national agenda-driven data computer models causing even more regulating of fish and fisheries.
Anyone know anything about this, pls lmk!
Headline of the Day
The Fight Against the Smallmouth Bass Invasion of the Grand Canyon
Insane. That's in WIRED, which is supposed to be about tech! #sketchy
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How Tom Mann Jr fished for suspended fish
Bet it still works too – from the MLFLW site. Reminder that Tom's home lake was (is?) Lanier, GA:
> Over the years Mann has tweaked his finesse-jighead tackle to perfection. He uses 6- or 8-lb...fluorocarbon from Berkley, a 1/8-oz Fred "Taco" Bland finesse jighead made by Bush Hog Lures and a 5" Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm, usually in gp or watermelon. He fishes the worm Texas-rigged to the jighead.
> "I just throw it out there and let it fall straight to the bottom with the bail open. You want the bait to free-fall to the bottom without stopping. The bite almost always happens on the initial fall or as soon as it touches down on the bottom. Bass can't stand that nose-down, tail-up presentation, especially spotted bass.
> "In 20' or 30' of water you don't usually feel that thump or bump like you do in shallow water. It's more of a steady pull or pressure, and your line will be moving in a funny direction. You have to be a line-watcher."
> Mann advises that the best set is to pull back and reel into the fish.
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"I've woken up a few times in the middle of the night since the final Open on the Harris Chain. I had to look at the trophy to be sure I really did it."
- AL's Logan Parks talkin' 'bout making the Elites this year after being 1 spot shy in 2022. Love it!
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Is it me or does this bass look smushed? Like in an accordion way? Nice fish tho! Posted by @lake.marina_shiga on IG:
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Check this alleged Yowie (Aussie bigfoot) print – from here:
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How 'bout that depth. If legit, it might be a decent example of one of my fave bigfoot proofs. First let's ignore the fact that no one in their right mind is going to run around leaving fake big, deep tracks in the middle of the wilderness (and leave no tracks themselves).
So – you're out in the middle of nowhere and come across tracks that big and that deep. If you think they're faked – big wooden feet or whatever – take a sec to think about snowshoes and how they work. If you distribute regular human weight over a bigger surface area, you sink in LESS. But many of these tracks sink in further than human and even horse tracks so....
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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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