BassBlaster

Specimen melons n derps, New bass syndrome, Screen steppin, Swimbait pickin’

Today’s Top 5

Specimen melons and a couple derps!

Brady L farmed this 13-04 melon outta Lake Cherokee, TX on a 3/8-oz Jack Hammer (B-Hite delight) with a Lake Fork Magic Shad (watermelon red):

10.41 T-Bender caught on a wacky-rigged 5″ Senko (watermelon/purple flake) by Craig Broussard — @LA Sportsman:

Kyler C lucked out big-time gettin’ this GREAT once in a lifetime melon derp outta KY Lake!!! Bait was an IMA Flit 120 jerkbait (wakasagi):
Mike O got this #makemyday PA derp on a Z-Man TRD Crawz (motor oil):

Damien N caught this less-derpy derp at Smith Mntn Lake, VA on a black hair jig, which is only a secret smallie bait in MN (lol):

Guess what the official name for this is.

Talkin’ this:

Here’s the answer (link is a pdf):

> Blotchy bass syndrome is the occurrence of black ink-like spots on the skin of Micropterus species.

Blotchy Bass Syndrome! Sounds like BBS to me…heehee! More:

> The cause is unknown but some reports from anglers suggest spot occurrence increases with colder water temperature [which the study did not find].

‘Nother highly-important bassin’ factoid brought to you by yer neighborly BassBlaster….

This a new trend?

Check it — first Elitist Chad Pipkens:

And Elitist Matt Arey:

Seen other guys do it too, just the shots I could find quick. Obviously the screens and mounts can take it — I guess? — but doubt the warranty covers it…?

Need a term for it — Screen Steppin’? Hop Uppin’? Bow Stalkin’? Break Neckin’??

Maybe bassin’ tubs need little standin’ deals on the bow, like inshore guys havbe. Here’s a cool one fer the camera guys — almost like a deer stand:

Btw, believe Matt’s wearin’ SIMMS Challenger Boat Shoes, case yer diggin’ ’em.

Japan fish regs WAY different than here.

Who knew. Check this:

> The USA uses a public property rights regime whereby access rights are assigned to the states, which manage the fishery resource for the public good. Japan uses a common property rights regime whereby access rights for waterways are assigned to fishery unions, which manage the resource for the benefit of their members.

> Members of fishery unions are likely to develop an emotional attachment to the fishery that results in few regulation violations or illegal fish introductions. The USA would benefit from actions that promote such a caretaker attitude toward the environment.

> Habitat improvement is a major activity in the USA but is less prevalent in Japan where stocking is the dominant management activity.

> Catch-and-release angling, size restrictions, and employment of professional fisheries biologists are more prevalent in the USA compared to Japan.

And the bassin’ in Japan seems to be pretty stellar so what does that tell us?

Anyhow, I’d like to join the Bassin’ Unions at the following lakes: Okeechobee, Guntersville, Clear Lake, the lake that rhymes with “Buzzards Car” but can’t be named, Erie, Fork, etc.

Just make sure a certain group of folks from the NY/NJ area doesn’t end up runnin’ the unions, such like:

Coolest product you haven’t seen yet?

Know some of you’ve seen ’em but not everyone — Jewel Baits’ DockStix:

Seen ’em work in person, pretty slick…slix….

News

1. Great Drew Benton post about how to load yer tub…

…for max fuel efficiency.

2. Elitist Keith Combs fishes jigs??

Not sure I believe it, unless there’s a Strike King XD jig? Guessin’ he cranks ’em…lol Combs!

3. Deets on how BPTer Cajun “Cliff” Crochet caught his ‘Trap fish (vid).

At the Chick BPT. Fished it with a pull and drop, which I bet hardly anyone does anymore….

4. Elitist Seth Feider hates kangaroos.

> “I hate them. They are stupid. What do they do? Just hop around?”

Honestly this is the first time in my life I’ve heard of anyone hating kangaroos. For Seth, believe it goes back to the time this dude picked a fight with him:

5. Why and how BPTer Josh Bertrand finesse flips (vid).

6. Sick Elitist Drew Cook hookset.

Think he’s got one on?

Lol!

7. If Paul Elias got injected with the California Virus?

What I thought of (for some reason) when I saw this Bill Lewis pic, which I dig — for sure a different way to hold up a few feesh:

8. Watch FLWer Josh Douglas catch this sight-fish…

…cuz you (we) can’t right now:

Believe that’s on a BioSpawn ExoStick.

9. Country stah fishes for the basses.

No idea who Morgan Wallen is but maybe you do? Anyhow, props for the shot and for the song lyric-like words with it, which were “Packin dips n rippin lips:”

10. Dude thrown from bassin’ tub (vid).

Crazy! Shows the boat doing donuts, rescued the driver who got the boat back. Glad he’s okay.

11. TNT Fireworks sponsoring B.A.S.S. Nation stuff.

Nice! Love me some fireworks…. Word is when the deal got done, Hank Weldon was leadin’ a parade ’round the B’ham office singin’ the chorus of AC/DC’s “TNT” — wish I was there man wow:

‘Cause I’m TNT, I’m dynamite

TNT and I’ll win the fight….

12. WA: Smallmouths like “sand rollers” more than salmon…

…in Lower Granite Rez on the Snake River anyhow. Never heard of a sand roller, here’s one:

13. IN Bass Fed releasing 3.200 largies into Monroe.

8-10″ fish. Good! #stockbass

14. MN considering 2 rods per angler.

For open water, already allowed for hard water.

15. IA will spray Crystal Lake to kill milfoil.

16. MD spending to improve some lakes…

…includin’ Deep Creek.

17. How cool is this shot of Storm Corn Pops.

Oops, meant COVER Pops: (der!)

18. Oh snap, 30-packs of YUM Dingers.

It’s POSSIBLE I might’ve unexpectedly found a few of these fat packs in my backpack after talkin’ to Alton Jones Sr, but if he asks me I’m blamin’ Jr:

$9.99 at the TW, tough deal to beat….

19. This can be installed with tape!

Fits my technical “ability” right on the screws #icandothis

Believe it’s the T-H Marine Tackle Titan.

20. Alpha Angler Chatterbound rods are back in stock.

Sayin’ it cuz they can’t keep that dang stick IN stock — s’posed to be the best Chatterbait rod ever invented in the history of the world includin’ before the flood…!

Here’s Alpha’s Jake Boomer tellin’ ya ’bout it, who has a PhD in Rod Nerdistry, which is like Dentistry only slightly less painful — hahahaha! Seriously tho, fascinatin’ stuff:

21. This is kinda cool…

…the YOLOtek Pro Vlogger GoPro Case (Hero 5, 6, 7 only):

22. New Navionics new SonarChart Shading.

23. 10″ crawdad found in KY!

Was dead, but dang look at it!

24. Short-term NOAA forecast.

> Nearly 2/3 of the lower 48 states face an elevated risk for flooding through May, with the potential for major or moderate flooding in 25 states…. The majority of the country is favored to experience above-average precipitation this spring, increasing the flood risk.

Favored?? Also, El Nino has a 65% chance of sticking around through the summer.

25. Gas prices have been rising for 8 straight weeks.

Now over $4/gal in CA…while the CA gov’nor, who supported a gas tax increase, is demanding an investigation into why gas prices are so high [eyeroll emoji]. #derp

Tip of the Day

How Byron Velvick narrows down swimbait choices.

If y’all were around to recollect, back in the early ’00s Byron woke the country up to the whole Cali swimbait deal by ketchin’ ’em on the Elites. Before that, swimbaits weren’t really a national thing. Here’s a quick deal from an old Bassin’masters post about how Byron picks a swimbait:

> “The first thing I do on any lake that I go to is to find what the main forage is. For instance, at Clark’s Hill it’s blueback herring, which usually run around 5″ in length. In FL, it may be a golden shiner that is around 8”. I want the shape, size, and color of my swimbaits to be as close as possible to the main forage base these bass prefer.

> Matching your swimbait to whatever bait is indigenous to the lake you’re fishing is step 1, according to Velvick. Step 2 is to identify the depth the bass are holding. “By using your electronics, you can see where the majority of the bass are set up within the water column.

> “This is going to tell me if I need to be throwing a bait that has a fast fall, or one that stays closer to the surface. I’m going to know this before I make the first cast, and in those 2 steps, I’ve already narrowed down my bait selection to just a few choices.”

Quote of the Day

“There’s no such thing as a bad day on the water and I’m a firm believer in that.”

– Aren’t we all…except when you run into those jackwagons at the ramp, at a community hole, crowdin’ you in tournaments, etc. HAHAHA yep there’s a lot of ways for a day on the water to be a little worse! But still good.

That’s Alton Jr talkin’ in this-here Kistler Rods vid:

Shot of the Day

What’s going on here? Can’t be that Jared Lintner (or anyone) casts a swizzle stick that hard, though he is a big dude. Thinkin’ he either snagged his boat official, is stuck on a tree, is thinkin’ ’bout that kid who used to chase him home every day before he got tall, or is just plain gittin’ ready to break that sucka:

@MLF/BPT shot

Random

Jaws — which was filmed in New England — is actually happening:

> …several beaches have been outfitted with tourniquet-stuffed trauma kits and extended lifeguard shifts….

That’s at Cape Cod, MA. No thanks mang!

Ya got me
Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup

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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