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Anyone have any leads for a 1-way boat tow, NJ to FL? Would need to supply their own tow vehicle. Been striking out. One solid guy wanted over $2K – can't do that. Pls lmk!
Calling all yakkers – Got 2 of these in the box, never mounted. Boxes are not in the greatest condition but the mounts are and I assume all the hardware is there...been years since I even looked at 'em. If you have a need, pls lmk.
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Trolling motors are gone, thank you! Will be giving away the Garmin LiveScope LVS32 setup soon thanks to the good folks at Garmin finding a transducer for it – the cable on the original got jacked up.
Looks like the Murray Elite deets will be in the next one so here we go with other good stuff!
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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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Is a jig skirt color revolution already here? And is this the new white or chart/white?
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> "I always joke around and call this dude the money maker. Revelation Swim Jig...with my all-time favorite-color skirt from Omega Custom Tackle."
He says that skirt color – which I don't think I see on TW or the Omega site – is called "disco shad." More from Zack:
> "I've seen variations of that color in the past and have always done good with it. It's not something I've ever talked about or shown a whole lot, but it's been generally good to me and I've caught a ton of fish with it. I'e put that skirt on [spinnerbaits] too and do really well with it.
> "It's just a simple really good-looking color. I pick it up and put it...where I think bass should lay, and they're gonna bite. They can't help themselves."
I said it looks somewhat like that 1/2-oz Davis Baits Spinnerbait in the "peacock" color that Will Davis Jr fished to win the Nation Championship last year:
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> Zack: "I've caught smallmouth on it, everything on it. I catch largemouth on it the majority of the time. It's just something the majority of people don't throw. The majority of bass haven't even seen that color before."
YEP! That's why a jig color revolution is coming...or has already started. One guy at the forefront of it is Elitist Wes Logan with his Ark Wes Logan Swim Jig colors. Check this one called "Logan's luck" – look familiar?
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> "I don't really know exactly what the bass think it is. It's just a very good color in my opinion. I grew up on the Coosa River and for some reason spotted bass really like [that color] at all times of the year.
> "I really made the jig for springtime around the spawn. That's when it normally shines. ...we'd throw a yellow trick worm, a pink trick worm...so I put a little yellow – or this is more chartreuse – that and some pink, and that's kinda where that [color] comes from for sure. I think it's more of a reaction deal."
He said he has fished it other than in the spring, but likes it around the spawn, including post-spawn. Anyhow, that's just one of his new, interesting jig colors so I asked him what's up – why the different colors?
> "There's just so many [jigs] on the market, I want to make something different or give [fishermen] something the fish haven't seen before. I've been doing this technique for so long, I've found little things you can do to get more bites – what's good in a certain water color, stuff like that.
> "One thing people don't realize is that a color looks a certain way to us, but when you get it in the water in front of those fish, it might look different to the fish – it might not look crazy to the fish."
I said the "black crappie" color he has looks 🔥:
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He said:
> "That's thing has won me a lot of money – it's basically what won me an Elite. It looks okay in your hand, but you put it in the water in a certain water color and it really does shine."
More Wes
> "I throw a 5/16 the majority of the time...kinda up in the water column, where I can see it...floating boat docks, bank grass, lilypads, bushes.
> "My trailer a lot of the times is a Zoom Z Craw Jr. With that [Logan's luck color] jig you need to have a 'white pearl' one on there. If the water is a little bit dirty I put on chartreuse pearl."
> 7' 5" MH Ark Wes Logan signature 100K Rod (not out yet), Ark Gravity G8 Reel (7:1), 50- or 60-lb Sunline FX2 Braid.
> Why straight braid: "If I'm throwing it around a lot of cover. If it's a real clear fishery, around boat docks and stuff, I'll use 20-lb Sunline Shooter."
> What's different about his swim-jig: "I've fished a swim-jig since I could walk. I've had good ones, I've had bad ones – all of them have something good about them, but there hasn't been one that was perfect. I feel like ours is really close.
> "The size of the hook, the gap of the hook...a lot of times if you don't have right gap from the point to the eye you won't have a good hookup ratio [and it might snag on veggies]. The angle of the weedguard is huge, the stiffness of the weedguard is huge...a hand-tied skirt is a big deal. It won't pull down, but a lot of people don't know that you get a lot of better action on it [vs a rubber banded skirt].
> "The head design...no lead down the shank of the hook – all of the weight is on the end. So you get a lot better action and you're able to work it a lot easier. There's a lot that went into it."
More Zack
> 3/8-oz Omega Revelation Swim Jig with a 3.3 or 3.8 Keitech Fat (sight flash) or Reaction Innovations Little Dipper (white trash).
> 16- or 20-lb Yo-Zuri T7 Fluoro, Ark G8 Reel (8:1), 6' 11" MHF Alpha Angler Power Skip Rod ("the jig has light wire hook in it."
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Top 10 baits breakdown from the Eufaula, AL Invitational
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Well former Bethel U basser John Garrett won in FL based on his TN River experience, and in this deal former Bethel basser Jake Lawrence got 'er done the same way. Eufaula is on the Chattahoochee River but can set up like a TN River impoundment and that's what helped Jake:
> Like many in the Top 10, he threw a few minnows on jigheads, including a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader and a Jenko Tremor Shad, on 3/16-1/2 oz heads. ...also dragged a jig a little, and a lizard on a Carolina rig, but the ace up his sleeve was a 3/4-oz long bill Tennessee River Tremor Head with a 5" Castaic Jerky J.
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> "...we were all rotating the same schools, I feel like I caught a couple each day that I don't know how else I would have been able to trigger them....
> "These were fairly small groups of fish, but inside of that group there would be a smaller cluster that would be competitive and work with each other to bite. I would pan through the school until I found that one little section.
> "...I would make my cast and just retrieve it...keep it about 2-3' off the bottom. I would speed it up and...slow myself back down. You'd get 30 followers for every one that would touch it, and then you'd only catch one out of every 4 or 5 that would touch it."
The Top 10's baits broken down:
Damiki rig = 60% – Rapala CrushCity Freeloader, Jenko Tremor Shad, Zoom Fluke, 4" and 5" Yamamoto Shad Shape Worms, Strike King Z-Too (20%), Castaic Jerky J, Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad (20%)
Crankbait = 60% – Strike King 6XD (20%), 6th Sense Crush 500DD, Berkley Dredger 17.5, 20.5 and 25.5 (20%)
Hair jig = 30% – True Bass Shuttlecock
Neko rig = 20%
Football jig = 20%
10% each = Scrounger, Jig, Carolina rig, Big worm, Shakey head, Jerkbait (Berkley Stunna 112), Swimbait
Shoutouts
1. LA's Colby Miller (3rd) got his 3rd top 5 in a row.
2. AL's Tucker Smith (4th) got is umpteenth top 10.
3. Chris Lane's son Cal (5th) continues to fish well. Also he says he doesn't believe the "family story" about his dad winning a Classic...KIDDING! 😁 (Bobby when Chris calms down please tell him I was kidding man, thank you....)
4. Justin Barnes (6th) won the 2023 Eufaula Bassmaster Open.
5. Adrian "Jersey baby!" Avena got 7th cranking Berkley Dredgers and fishing a hairy hair jig. 😁
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6. Dakota Ebare (9th) and Emil Wagner (10th) got some more top 10s.
Hey all you Chambers of Commerce/Tourism peeps – if you rename one of your local lakes "Eufaula," maybe you'll start getting some tourneys come your way! 😁 Shoot it might even work with a pond! 🤣
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Abu Garcia REVO Top 5 Tips, Techniques and Trends for April!
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The bass fishing world keeps spinning – here's the most interesting stuff to come outta APRIL The breakdown:
1. More smallie spawning tourneys? 🎯
2. Is Europe's FFS sitch coming here? 🤔
3. Bait sales down or...? 🤔
4. Jig color revolution? 😃
5. Braided split rings 👀
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Ban it for half - of 2025! - quick foller-up
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Interesting convo with an unnamed bait – I mean person 😁 – at one of the leagues after I gave my 2c about FFS in the last Blaster.
First, to be clearer to everyone: My 2c was only about the TOP COMPETITIVE LEVEL(s) of our sport for 2025 only. Top competitive levels, 2025 only. 2025 only! 🎯 Okay hopefully that's clear now.
Some folks seemed to read it as about FFS for bass fishing in general or forever but...no.
The other big factors for me are fair competition for everyone at all levels, being cautious with new tech like other pro sports (no carbon fiber bats, no golf rangefinders, etc), and making sure competitive bass fishing is desirable and affordable for everyone.
But the leagues have more/other things to consider. Without saying anything I shouldn't, l will point out that they have these revenue sources:
- Membership (500K+ in B.A.S.S.'s case = millions of $$)
- Entry fees (millions)
- Advertising/sponsorship (millions)
- Towns paying to have tournaments (maybe millions but it's gotta be less than the other 3)
Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything obvious. Either way, I hope you can see that when weighing what to do about FFS, the leagues have more things to think about than we do. Seems more complicated for them.
I would also say that B.A.S.S. has the obligation to safeguard the history and tradition of bass fishing while at the same time allowing for the constant change that is bass fishing. MLF does not.
I also have a bias that the leagues (MLF and B.A.S.S.) might not share. I've always seen the pros collectively as one of the leagues' biggest customers and thus should be treated that way.
You could argue that it's pretty easy for the leagues to replace those customers – and from a $$$ POV you'd be right. But is it just about money? Do the leagues have a responsibility to be faithful (but not protectionist) in those relationships? (Without of course going bankrupt.)
Last deal: I'm not a genius and can't tell the future, same deal for the folks at MLF, B.A.S.S. and every other tourney organization. So don't be surprised if you (or I) feel like they get it "wrong" with this whole FFS deal.
If/when that happens, I'll remind myself about 2 things:
- Have grace
- Love bass fishing for where it's at
Bassin' is always great overall, and it ain't goin' nowhere.
I'm also 100% sure – 100% – that if people don't like or can't afford FFS, there will be places for them to compete without it. Real surprised that's not the case already. Every market always adjusts to demand. Stay tuned on that deal.
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Finding post-spawners on points
From Yamamoto's baits.com website:
> ...post-spawn bass spend more time on the sides of points than on the tops, and usually a little ways out. Cast across points a lot before moving on – different angles are important and so is covering a large range of depths. They can be all over a point in various stages of recuperation and transition.
> Drag the bait very slowly with the rod, and watch the line. If the line stops or goes slack, especially on the fall, pull up. The key is to discover how far out or how far in to shore they are. They can be very far offshore post-spawn.
> If you're rigging your bait on a dropshot, use a shorter leader, like 6-12". Same thing with a splitshot rig.
> Covering different depths and different angles is key, and don't neglect fishing uphill either. You may be able to sit up shallow on a good point and catch one fish after another, just fan-casting the point.
Real interesting on that last deal – ever do that??
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"If we wait until all this stuff is mainstream, then it does get more difficult to regulate or to modify behavior."
- Canadian fish biologist talkin' who refuses to use scented baits "that have been designed to trick fish to bite" (what else are they for??) and "doesn't have a $3,000 fish finder" – but studied that stuff and more, and now wants to regulate it.
No thanks on that "modify behavior" stuff man, speaking for myself. I'm confident us regular ol' peeps can figure out what to do on our own without having to be "modified."
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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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If you're forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much – or you can email me the addys and we'll take care of it! We'll never send spam or whatever....
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