You probably saw the USA hockey goalie had a big 'ol largie on his helmet – really cool. Did you know he runs a Vexus? News to me. But the big Qs are: Does he use FFS and fish the Coike? 😆 All good!

I didn't watch 1 second of the Olympics. Always used to but after chasing my kids around in sports for I guess around 15 years straight, I'm like the toast my Irish mom used to make (and probably still does): burnt! 😁

Other than that, it appears that where we settled in TX has zero places to put your boat on or near a lake that make sense. I think I'm finally over being mind-blown and ultra-bummed about it – and the fact that my driveway just can't be an option. So I'm rolling with it.

Okay I'm still a little ticked! 😤🤣 This weekend my wife was talking me down from getting red-faced over it. 😡 I'm that stubborn kinda bass-head. But I'll get there mang! Let's bass!

Gitcha Blaster video fix here:

Are you surprised Tak won? Heck no you're not surprised! He's the OG risk it all to come to the US of A to catch bass with no money and no English, and somehow not just do it but win multiple tournaments including a Bassmaster Classic. Yes he inspired Japanese cats, and also guys like MDJ and Carl Jocumsen to do what God put on their hearts.

That Bassmaster Classic win was one of the best ever – he was unofficially way behind and caught 3 fish in literally the last few minutes including an almost 5-lber to beat Aaron Martens (and KVD behind him) by 2 and change.

That Classic was on Wylie, NC which according to my memory and old video looked pretty muddy, and Tak was fishing shallow cover – just like what went down on Hartwell. Also no FFS in both tournaments for Tak. 😁Here's how he got his latest win.

Going in and practice

> "The last time I fished [Hartwell] was the 2015 Classic [where he got 3rd]. It was freezing cold. It was the same week, so I was thinking – spots.

> "I didn't have high expectations because now with FFS, all spotted bass is gonna kill me. So I was not too excited, to be honest....

> "What happened is day the before practice...it rained pouring rain all day long. That made the water muddy in the back end of the creeks. And [they had an] unseasonable warm trend, a near record-high week.

> "So the 1st day of practice I went around to all the back ends of the creeks looking for off-colored water for pre-spawn largemouths. I caught a 5-lber and a couple more 2-lb plus.

> "The 2nd [and final practice] day I went down the main lake and looked for spotted bass. I only caught one, 1.5-lb.

> "So I wasn't sure what I was gonna catch during the tournament. But my best chances are largemouth and that's what I'm good at. So I went to shallow-water power-fishing like I usually do.

> "Wed was our day off. I was sitting in my camper – by the way I'm the only guy [still in a] camper. So I was totally isolated. Nobody talked to me...nothing – so maybe this week I'd just focus doing my own thing....thinking about this warm weather should bring more pre-spawn largies to the back end of the creeks."

He said he was all in with the ChatterBait:

> "You can skip it under docks, you can fish laydowns to riprap – you can cover a lot of water with it."

Tournament

> "The 1st day I ran up to the one of those back ends of a creek [with] off-colored water and had a bite. The 1st period I caught 5 scorable fish.

> "I knew the guys on the spotted bass with FFS were gonna blow it away – but they didn't. I thought they would catch more.

> "So I was thinking in the 2nd period and 3rd period the fishing will get better because of the warm weather and the sunshine. My largemouth spots will only get better and I can maybe catch up to those guys.

> "Because usually after those FFS periods, they slow down a lot. And if I I can keep catching 5-6 fish each period I'll be up there. That's how I ended up 2nd on day 1.

> "I had 6-7 back ends creeks where I found off-colored water, and I was running between those creeks that were like 6-10 miles apart. I'd have to run all the way to the back, come all the way out, then run to another creek. I was running like over 100 miles a day."

[He said he was basically junk-fishing, and did the same thing with the same bait every day.]

> "Day 2, the morning I only caught 2 but I caught them good for the 2nd and 3rd periods. I ended up winning that 2-day combined [weight] so I skipped to Championship Day.

> "...different creeks too...some new places also. It was totally pattern fishing – running and gunning and pattern fishing. It didn't matter if I fished it the day before or never fished it before. As long as I saw the same ingredients, I fished it.

> "Shallow water was better, muddier was better. Sometimes you'd see a lot of shad flipping. But basically the water temperature...was like the high 50s. It's just the time of year – [the fish] were doing pre-spawn things.

> "I didn't think anybody had won [after getting a pass into] Championship Day. [Jacob Wheeler did it last year on KY Lake and I believe it happened one other time as well.] So no pressure...the worst I get is 10th place.

> "I only caught 1 fish the 1st period, but it was cold and windy – gusts 30+ mph. So I knew if I can catch fish in that afternoon bite...[and] those Scope guys never took off in the morning. They couldn't fish that main-lake stuff...just guessing that's what they were fishing.

> "I might grind out the next 2 periods. I was very optimistic – I was just glad to be fishing in the top 10 Championship Day.

> "I never lost fish. I missed one of those 4-lbers and it came back to get it for my next cast. Which usually didn't happen this week – you only had 1 chance.

> "I didn't catch very many compared to the 1st 2 days of the tournament. That was my worst day [but] enough to win. I ended up catching 12 fish and I only caught 1 the 1st period so I must have caught 5-6 each [of the next 2 periods]."

He said the wind the final day jacked up some of his creeks. Either blowing away mud or causing too much wave action even with the mud.

Baits

> 3/8-oz Z-Man JackHammer (white/chart) with a 5" Z-Man DieZel Minnow ('pearl' and 'hot chart').

> 3/8 because he was fishing shallow, and he tied his own skirts: "I make hand-tied skirts with Skirts Plus material – because the skirts that come with it, I don't like some of those colors.

> "I had one rod in my my hand in my hand and one rod on the dock – one each with a different color trailer.

> "I had 8-9 rods with the exact same setup. I don't have to retie, and if my line gets a little loose I just put that one in my rod locker and pick up a new one. Or during a break, I wouldn't even retie – just pull a new one out.

> "You don't have time to do tackle in this format. You gotta keep your bait wet. FFS guys are not making a cast til they see fish. I have to wet my bait every second.

> Why he used a big trailer: "The water was muddy. And that ElaZtech plastic has so much buoyancy [a 5-inch bait] gives it more lift in shallow water. It's harder to skip because it's so bulky, but I was fishing for a 2-lb minimum size in off-colored water so why not use a 5-inch."

> 7' MH Daiwa Tatula Elite Omori composite Cranking Rod: "I use the same rod for squarebills, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, topwater, jerkbaits – all moving baits. Rick Clunn told me to me to use a composite rod many years ago [for a] better hookup ratio. I believe it."

> Daiwa Zillion Reel (9:1): "That [retrieve ratio] is all I got. I've been using this reel for like 8-9 years now. They do make a 10:1 – I use the 10:1 for flipping and pitching stuff."

> 16-lb Sunline Shooter fluoro: "It's low stretch and very sensitive but low stretch is the key. The tip of that rod is a little softer so I use no-stretch fluoro for my line to balance stuff."

Electronics

> "You gotta have a GPS to run around with a good map of course. But I was more using my eyes." [He runs Lowrance stuff.]

> "Power-Poles were very important too. Because the wind would blow you out after you caught a fish, or would try to push you when you were skipping your bait under a dock. In shallow water it's very important to have Power-Poles to stay in your location.

> "It was so windy you would blow away without Power-Poles. They were really helpful."

Shoutouts

> "My total package, especially Bass Cat [he runs a Cougar] and Yamaha. They're very strong. I ran 100 miles every day to cover a lot of creeks. The boat is fast, it floats shallow. That was very important."

_____

After this win, I sure hope the Bassin' Hall of Fame nominators think and pray even harder about putting Tak into his well-deserved place there THIS YEAR! With John Murray! 😁🤙

I've known Tak a long time but have not talked to him in what feels like a long time, so it was great to catch up. If you didn't know, Tak loves to laugh and has a great sense of humor. So here we go!

1. Why did you wait so long to win on the Bass Pro Tour? 😁

> "[Laughs] I'm doing my best every tournament to try to do good, but it just never happened!

> "It's just that many quality fishermen I'm trying every day to keep up with. I'm not getting younger...they're really good."

2. How much of this win was fueled by the fact that you can't stand FFS? 😆

> "I have no disrespect for guys using [FFS] because Bass Pro Tour rules allow us to use it. So they're doing it...I'm not against any of it. That's just what it is.

> "I honestly a lot of times don't feel right to fish with it. I'm not saying that because I'm not good at it [laughs].

> "...like or don't like [it], if you're a pro, to make money in this business you have to learn to do it and be good at it."

3. What was the longest cast you made the whole tournament?

> "Maybe 80'. I made long casts in one of those creeks way back in a pocket, and caught a 4-lber."

[I pointed out that a lot of his casts were short.]

> "I had to make 5-6 casts a minute. So if you do that for 2.5 hours for 1 period, you're gonna make like 700+ casts. Between moving from spot to spot, I bet I easily made around 2,000 casts."

With shorter casts, why doesn't boat noise spook the fish?

> "Because the water was muddy. And bass are dumb."

🤣

4. You're a shallow crankbait master – why no crankbaits?

> "It's really hard to skip a squarebill under a dock [laughs]."

5. Did you want to win Qualifying and head straight to the Championship Round or did it just work out that way?

> "I definitely have not made a top 10 for a while so I was gonna make it if I could. I was gonna think about it all day on my day off what to do Sunday.

> "If you're not in it, you have no chance to win. So at this point every chance I have to make a top 10 [he will take it]."

Bonus Q: How does it feel to win again?

> "This win means a lot to me because the way I won, without FFS, it's not gonna happen every week. It might happen once every 10 years, who knows.

> "If they don't change the [FFS] rule, if I don't get better with that technique, [winning] might not happen [again]....

> "The older I get, the more I appreciate winning a tour-level tournament against younger guys in their prime, so this means a lot to me."

Did not hear from Banks Shaw (4th) yet.

2nd: Jacob "Johnnie" Walker

> 1/2-oz RAID JAPAN Maxx Blade (chart/white), braid to 20-lb Sunline Shooter fluoro, 7' 4" MH Phenix M1 Rod. "I used this setup with braid for making long casts parallel to the bank. I wanted the braid for sensitivity to feel the bites on super-far casts."

> 1/2-oz Z-Man JackHammer (white), 20-lb Sunline Shooter, 7' 4" MH Phenix M1 Rod. "I used this setup with straight fluoro because it’s better for skipping, and the 20-lb Shooter is super strong around metal cables and dock cross-members."

> Trailers were a Rapala CrushCity The Mayor swimbait (chart/white) and a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper (white trash). Also a prototype Deps Sakamata Swimmer.

> 4" Deps Sakamata Shad ('indy sagi' for cloudy days – “it’s much brighter and has more flake” – and 'silver shiner' for calm sunny days) on a 3/64-oz Owner Range Roller Jighead, 16-lb Sunline Almight Braid to 7-lb Sunline Sniper fluoro, 7' 1" ML Phenix K2 Spin Rod.

> "I used that super lightweight jighead because I was mainly scoping in 3-8' around the banks catching pre-spawn largemouth making their way into the creeks and pockets. Anything heavier would spook the fish."

3rd: "Welcome" Matt Becker

> "Started each morning throwing a minnow. Ran a ton of places – deep drains/pockets, timber, brush, points. Targeting fish in 10-30'."

> 3.5" Yamamoto Hinge Minnow (green gizzard) on 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4 tungsten ball heads, 22-lb Seaguar PEX8 Braid to 10-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Fish USA Flagship Elite Minnow Shaker Rod.

> "After my Scope period, I transitioned to shallower points with groups of bass on them and dragged a Ned rig. The Ned Rig points were around the 10’ range, right outside where the slime was growing. ...a depth range where this nasty green slime was on the bottom, so I had to stay just a little deeper than that."

> Yamamoto Ned Senko ('electric shad' and 'gp magic') on 1/8 and 3/16 Ned heads, 22-lb Seaguar PEX8 Braid to 10-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Fish USA Flagship Elite WWW Rod.

> "On windy days I would also mix in a crankbait on any sort of rocky bank, shoal, saddle or point that had wind crashing into it."

> Bill Lewis Hammer Flat (green gizzard), 12-lb Seaguar InvizX Fluoro, 7' MH Phenix X10 Crankbait Rod.

> "I chose the Hammer Flat because it’s an extremely loud flatside crankbait. I wanted something to call fish from a long ways, and loud baits really make spotted bass react when maybe a quieter bait wouldn’t.

> "I focused on the mid-lake section of Lake Hartwell, from the mouth of the Seneca to Sadlers Creek."

5th: Jacob "another brick in the" Wall

FFS periods

> "For floating (suspended fish) I was using a 3/16- or a 1/4-oz Dirty Jigs Guppy Head with a 1/0 hook. For deeper fish (on the bottom) I was utilizing a 1/2-oz tungsten jighead to get the bait down faster in order to be more efficient.

> "I varied my weights and colors on the minnow throughout the week depending on water clarity, cloudy or sunny skies and depth I was fishing.

> "The other bait I used [for FFS] was a 5/8-oz [Rapala] Jigging Rap in Helsinki shad, white or chrome depending on the same things.

> "The key this past week for my FFS bite was targeting deeper water, typically 35-55'. The best area I had was 40-55' deep...a road bed with a ditch next to it. The ditch was full of standing timber and those largies and spots were on the bottom in 50-55' at the base of the trees.

> "I think lots of guys got distracted with the floaters in this particular area and didn't target the fish glued to the bottom.

> "I would keep my bait a couple feet off the bottom and wait for them to come up to it. The minnow was more of a feeding bite and the Jigging Rap was my way to make them react."

> Minnow rig: 6' 10" ML Duckett Wheeler 2.0 Spin Rod, 8-lb Cortland Master Braid to 8-lb Cortland XTR Fluoro Leader.

> Jigging Rap rig: 7' 2" M Duckett Black Ice Rod with 14-lb fluoro.

> "In my non-FFS periods I caught them primarily on a 3.8 Keitech [FAT in 'pro blue red pearl'] on a 1/4-oz Dirty Jigs Guppy Head with a 3/0 hook. I was targeting flat clay/rock points near these deeper areas where the fish would slide up to feed in either the clouds or the windy conditions.

> "I was swimming it above the bottom/mid-column. The bottom in lots of these areas was coated in a slimy nasty grass.

> "I also implemented a Carolina rig if I found a place where I would get multiple bites on the swimbait. My C-rig was a 3/4-oz tungsten barrel weight, to a 2' leader with a [Zoom] Z Craw Jr (gp) on the back.

> Keitech rig: 7' 1" MH Duckett Wheeler Select Rod, 12-lb flouro.

> C-rig rig: 7' 4" H Duckett Pro Series Jacob Wall Rod, 16-lb mainline to a 14-lb leader.

Ott finished 9th at Hartwell and was doing a couple things I wanted to ask him about so here we go:

1. Guntersville was clear-ish, Hartwell was dirty – does the DT6 work no matter what the water clarity is?

> "It can work in clear water. There's nothing you can do to make it see-through, and generally translucent colors in crankbaits can catch more in clear water.

> "So a DT6 has some limitations a little bit when it comes to water clarity. But it is pretty close to being exempt because has a such a great action, profile, all of those things."

2. You were fishing so close to the bank in that dirty water. Why weren't you concerned about boat noise – because of wind/current?

> "I actually watched some of my GoPro footage from that day and I caught 2-3 on a DT6 with 8' of line out. So in dirty water I feel like they become very much less [sensitive to] the boat.

> "And wind – even though the boat was making noise in the wind, the wind helps because everything is making noise in their environment."

3. Did you really fish a float 'n fly??

> "A float 'n minnow, yeah I did on the last day for a few minutes. [And] my first scoreable the first day was on a bobber.

> "Man when you're in a place and bass are going nuts all around the boat and it's really hard to get them to bite, your brain kinda goes crazy!

> "It's not something I have done much recently, but I'm sure there'll be a time and place...some of these really cold winter tournaments where it will play. We don't really fish many tournaments in sub-50-degree water temps where it would play."

Ott's float 'n minner rig

> 3" Bass Pro Shops Rock'n Shad (TN shad) on a 1/8-oz VMC RedLine Jighead with a 1/0 hook, slip cork, 10-lb BPS XPS Braid to 10-lb BPS XPS Fluoro, BPS CarbonLite Spin Reel, 7' 3" ML BPS CarboneLite Technique FFS Minnow Rod ("the same rod I use for regular minnow-shaking").

1. New Jacob Wall-designed glide bait

It's called the Wallrus – just kidding, it's called the Wall-Hanger! It's a 7" slow sinker. TW has 'em, $49.99.

2. Check the Top 10 in the MLF BPT points

1. Jacob Walker -- 158

2. Banks Shaw -- 153

3. Jacob Wheeler -- 151

4. Justin Cooper -- 146

5. Zack Birge -- 143

6. Spencer Shuffield -- 142

7. Ott DeFoe -- 142

8. Mark Daniels Jr -- 140

9. Jacob Wall -- 135

10. Keith Carson -- 135

3. Here's the top 10 in Elite AOY points so far

1. Cory Johnston -- 180

2. Trey McKinney -- 175

3. Brock Mosley -- 174

4. Kyle Welcher -- 173

5. Stetson Blaylock -- 170

6. Caleb Hudson -- 168 (leading ROY)

7. John Garrett -- 168

8. Drew Cook -- 165

9. Cody Meyer -- 162

10. Matt Robertson -- 159

4. 2027 Bassmaster Classic will be at Hartwell, SC

It's been there 4 times before, most recently 2022 when Jason Christie became the first guy to use a minnow with FFS to win a Classic (he also fished a jig). The one before that (2018) was won by Jordan Lee, his 2nd of a back to back, and he was basically junk-fishing.

Those 2 guys have a chance to repeat. The other 2 Hartwell Classic wins were by Alton Jones and Casey Ashley.

5. AL: All 'Traps, No Scopes Tournament on Gville THIS SUNDAY

$120 registration (kayak $75), $5K guaranteed for 1st. Gotta throw a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap or Hammer Trap.

Oh mama this tourney is on my bucket list – and I would be throwing the Knockin' Hammer Trap or a Mini Hammer Trap...not that I know anything about what's happening there lol. The Mini has better colors though. 🤔

6. TW-only Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO Mini Max back in stock

> Built with a heavier gauge hook, premium blade connection, and hand-tied skirt....

7. Z-Man Swag LT Swimbait now available everywhere

Believe it's been on TW for a while, but now I guess you can get it everywhere. Highlights:

> ...wedge-shaped tail [also keeled] that remains stable at any retrieve speed.

> ...innovative Over/Under Line-Through rigging harness...allows for single top hook and belly hook rigging options...twin-clip keeper on the belly.

> ...includes an internal glass rattle....

> Constructed using Z-Man's famous 10X Tough ElaZtech....

Comes in 5" (3/4-oz) and 6" (1.25-oz).

8. MN: New C&R bass season starts Feb 23

You all enjoy that ice bassin' lol! But sounds like a step in the right direction?

9. Now you can get a giant American flag Rapala DT

Used to be just the Original Floater but now there's this bad boy:

Put that on your dash! 🤣

10. Mitch Feathers new Yamaha Marine ops manager

11. Ford wants to build a lower-cost EV pickup

Supposedly would start at $30,000, no mention of towing in that post:

> The end result...will be an EV truck with about 15% more range, or 50 miles, than an equivalent pickup powered by gas.

Interesting for 2 reasons:

• Ford took an absolute bath on the F150 Lightning.
• It is doing this to "compete with Chinese automakers." Where, here in the US??

PSA

Reminder Humminbird and Minn Kota have that Season Opener Sale happenin'

Up to $500 off Humminbird and $300 off Minn Kota. Sales end MAR 25.

Couple Jesse Wiggins shakey-head tips

The shakey master talkin' on the MLF site:

> "The fish see it falling, and you get a bunch of bites right when it falls or within a few pulls of the rod"...this is the reason he prefers a jighead with a collared bait keeper instead of the screw style.

> "The collar [keeps] the bait secure and puts a little bend in the worm when you rig it, and that gives it a spiraling action as it is falling. The screw style rigs the worm straight and will still catch fish, but they just sled down.

> "The biggest key anytime you are fishing a shakey head is to try to shake the tail of the worm and not just the jighead. I do this by shaking it on a slack line, and that lets the worm wiggle while the jighead stays in the same place.

> "If I'm fishing it around something on the bottom, I am going to work it back to me and make sure I fish it all."

I didn't know the worm was NOT supposed to be straight! 🤯

"I still have to go out there and catch their freakin' butts tomorrow."

- Justin "I'm the ice cream man" Lucas talkin' after the first 2 days at Hartwell. A deal that would probably run right by in conversation but looks hilarious written down! 🤣 Bass butts! 🤣

How 'bout this tiger-looking Rayburn bass caught by Andrew Behnke at the Open. Never caught one that looked like that, would love to:

Brian Kelley Says Florida Georgia Line Reunion Excites Him as Duo Repairs Friendship

Tell 'em if they rename the band "Seminole" and kick off their tour there, we will get behind 'em – lol get it??

Fishers of Men Tournament Trail

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