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Today’s Top 3

ICAST – the fishing tackle trade show – starts this week and I’ll be there. News of new stuff is already starting to trickle out, a few items below. But first:

1. Rayo Breckenridge headed for HoF.

Not the bassin’ hall, but the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame. More on bassblaster.bassgold.com, but check out these quotes from a Memphis newspaper, which gave me the chuckles:

> Breckenridge wasn’t insanely loud or covered with flame tattoos like current New Jersey bass pro Michael Iaconelli. [Ike is insanely loud and covered in tats?!]

> He didn’t have earrings or a ponytail like South Carolina angler Jason Quinn, and he never became known for a flashy catchphrase like Michigan superstar Kevin VanDam has with “Sexy.” [KVD is known for a flash catchphrase, not for fishin’?!]

Lol. Way to go Rayo, a Classic winner…in his rookie year!

2. The ultimate Rapala broken back?

For some reason, original Rapala minnows – including the original broken-backs – work when nothing else does. Also love the way they can be fished super-shallow. Looks like Rapala is releasing an updated version:

> The heart of the Rapala BX Series boasts a balsa core that is embodied in a durable copolymer shell.  

> A slow-sinking bait with methodical swimming action…a sleek minnow-shaped bait with flat sides that flaunts a strong flash on the roll….

> “Designed with the clear intention that it would embody the traditional attributes Rapala balsa baits are known for, with the heavy-duty toughness that fighting large-tooth fish demand, the BX Series of baits is making a hard splash with fresh and saltwater anglers alike,” said Iaconelli.

If Ike actually said that, word for word, I will eat the roadkill of your choice, uncooked.

3. Bass Pro going to Yankee-land.

For years Bass Pro Shops has been the king of the south and Cabela’s has been the king of the north. Both competitors have tried to move into the other’s territory, but with variable success. The latest move is for Bass Pro to move to the state that’s home to Yale the world record striper: Connecticut. Is that the most northeastern store they’ll have?

Only time will tell if this means good things for bassin’ up north.

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Tip of the Day

Wonder if this can be applied to basses in some way?

> In a northern pike study, researchers gave pike the opportunity to hit a moving prey target that was located above them in the water column. A pike’s eyes are located high on the front of its head so the bait was put in a perfect location for them to see, but the researchers blindfolded the pike so they had to rely only on vibration to hit their target.

> The pike were successful about half the time. When researchers allowed the pike to see but blocked it’s ability to sense vibration, successful strikes dropped below 50 percent.

Hmmmm.

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Quote of the Day

Every tournament has a mortality rate, whether it’s a four hour Saturday morning fruit jar or an Elite event.

Fruit jar?! Love that! From Kevin Short’s post on the Green Bay fiasco. As usual, very good stuff.

Shot of the Day

Three of the best in the biz at work. Don’t know if you think this is as funny as I do, but this is what you do when you’re not on camera – you wait for the camera to come back on! (From Z’s Facebook page.)

Comment on any of these items here.

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