Little ICAST sorta prediction based on what I'm seeing/hearing: Not as much new stuff. Mostly because companies still can't fill orders of existing stuff, so can't blame 'em, just reality. Having said that, can't wait to see whatever's rolled out! It's comin'!
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You get your traffic cone yet?
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Traffic cone, ice cream cone, (Humminbird?) Mega Phone, flogger/blogger/vlogger/frogger, wizard hat, bath-y-soap, whatever:
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Seen 'em used before, just not so much, they help to see in the water (duh), in this case deeper-bedded smallmouths – except for Alton Jr, who was just trying to find his phone 🤣. Sooooo...sometimes the ol' low-tech eyeball deal helps more than all the latest/greatest sonars? 🧐
> ...Chad Pipkens and his friend Jeff Cox imported one from Europe to use for sight-fishing [in] northern MI, and Poor Boy's Baits, who sponsored Pipkens at the time, began selling them...known as the Flogger...still sold under the LureCraft brand name....
> ...originally used for underwater viewing tours in Europe....
> MI's Scott Dobson, pioneerin' cone user: "When you get beds deeper than that, say up to 12' or 15', or you get ripples or drops of rain, it’s much harder to see them and judge their size. When you drop that bathyscope in the water it basically takes the glare and ripple off the surface. Once you get a trained eye and you do it enough, you can kind of gauge the size of the fish."
> The most frustrating part of using it, according to Dobson, is that the constant standing and kneeling and shuffling around on the deck can get tiresome. Plus, the Flogger is so light that it can bounce in waves and smack the user in the face.
Hmmm. Few deals:
1. What I love: These guys aren't gonna miss a dang thing, especially someone whose name rhymes with "Makeup Peeler." 😁 Just messin' Wheels!
2. Interesting – SSeems like largemouths are actually a factor in the MLF all you can weigh format. In a 5-fish deal, they would be pretty much ignored because the bulbous goby-filled smallies are heavier.
4. Unofficial word is that Wheeler put this one on his head...
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...and heard the word "Ravenclaw!" Anyone know what that means? 🤔 Anyhow, after that he waved a pointed stick around and caught like 1,237 lbs? Anyone? Dumbledore??
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Here's how we got here: Chad Pipkens + a scuba mask + Jeff Cox + finding a better way + their buds + winning. More deets from a convo with Chad:
> "It all came about fishing BFLs up north [where he lives]. I won 3 in a row with over 27 lbs of smallmouth each time. The first year I won I actually used a snorkel mask."
Hole up – say what??
> "The first day [I think of practice] was glass. I was fishing in 12-17' water, sight-fishing...saw them everywhere. It was ridiculous. The next day was perfectly sunny with only a ripple on the water and I couldn't see anything....
> "I was like, I don't need to fish, I just need to find them. So I went to Walmart and bought a couple snorkels [and masks]. [Next day] I threw out 2 drift socks...put my head in the water, and when I'd see a big one I'd throw a buoy over it [then go back and] see how big it was.
> "...tournament...troll around til I saw something, then used the snorkel mask to see what it was...couple times one had changed positions on the bed...."
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Dude doesn't look a day older...anyhow, how do you get from the mask (a GENIUS idea btw) to the Flogger deal?
> "My buddy Jeff Cox, great guy, is a little lazier than myself...always finds a better way to do something – he's a smart guy. He started looking, found that and ordered a couple to play around with.
> "My buddy Ryan and I were fishing the Toyota Series on Thousand Islands...we didn't really know what do to with it. We were seeing some beds deep [used the Flogger] and were like, Oh my God this is unreal. We were using it as a team – his bait was there, and I was watching the fish respond.
> "The next year...all 4 guys in our group had one. I won again, and my other buddies were 2nd and 3rd...we crushed it...pretty obvious there was a big giant orange cone on the deck.
> "The next year – the 3rd year in a row there – I won again. I saw 30 boats in practice [and all had] a cone on the deck."
Why it's called a Flogger:
> "Ryan and I are out there fishing [the 1st year at Thousand Islands]. His favorite band is Flogging Molly. He's like, 'We're putting the flog to them!' I'm like, 'What do you mean? What's a flog?' He says, 'My favorite band is Flogging Molly....' I'm like, 'We're calling this the Flogger' – and it actually stuck. It's been sold that way nationwide...hilarious!"
Flogging vs technology:
> "If you relate everything to sight-fishing – like a largemouth bass in shallow water, when you can see perfectly – this cone allows you to do that in deeper depths, right above the fish. If there's a little clouds or a little ripple, you're not able [to see 'em without it].
> "...forward [Live] sonar – I have buddies using that stuff to sight-fish. For fish that are shallower you can't get right on top of, you can use that tool. You can't see it plain as day [with your eyes] but it allows you to get that picture, a little distorted, to see fish reacting.
> "So they're different tools used for different times [and species] based on water clarity and what the fish are allowing you to do...."
More floggin's:
> "I use it a lot. If we're at places where it's really clear, I will have it in the boat. Obviously around the spawn it's a no brainer. I also like to use it to see what's down there...just checking out the bottom to see what's going on.
> "I've used it in 4-5' water, right on top of them and caught 'em. Some fish will let you sit right on top of them...won't bite right away. [Mostly smallmouths.]
> "It's like with technology – front sonar and this and that...everyone is using the technology, but the guys typically catching them and winning are still winning [but] the group is better as a whole on days when it's tougher to catch them sight-fishing.
> "Everything's gotta be right for you to fish multiple days with it.
> "...ripped jeans, bloody knees, sore back...that's why a lot of guys now want to disallow the Flogger. I think that's a joke, people are lazy. You have front sonar, down imaging, side imaging, polarized glasses – and don't want people to use a cone?"
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"I don’t have a lot of fancy electronics on my boat so I just used my football jig to drag the bottom."
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- 🤯 That's ME's Eric Low talkin', who won the B.A.S.S. Nation Northeast Regional on Erie with LiveScope...kiddin'!
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What he be sayin':
> "If [the bottom] was sticky, that was good. If it was sticky, then soft, then sticky, then soft – that was really good. If there were little contours where you got hung up (occasionally), that was good too."
Sounds like he's talkin' 'bout a Snickers bar lol, love it!
> Low used a 3/4-oz Do-it Molds football head with a 3.8" Keitech FAT. "I couldn’t use the 3/8-ounce (football head) because the wind was carrying it right off the bottom."
> In the final round, Low caught 1 of his keepers on the football head. The other 3 bit a dropshot with a 1/2-oz weight and a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm.
Shout out to NJ homie Will Kanwisher for his 5th.
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"He's really open-minded because he hasn't learned any bad habits yet."
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- The Tackle Warehouse website 🤣 – more an addiction than a habit....
- Watching YT videos and saying to myself, "Who would ever watch this?" and then realizing I'm talkin' 'bout myself
- Talkin not-nicely 'bout other drivers...
- Not moisturizing enough 😂 (got that one from my wife)
- Too many delicioso snack foods
Okay bassin' ones:
- I can't not pick up a JackHammer any time of year (dang it Hite!)
- I fish history too much – real embarrassed about that
- I don't fish a lowly grub enough (at all!)
Probly a lot more!
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"There's no other lure that loses more fish. Period."
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- Awright gitcha pencils sharp for this'n – Chris Zaldain is talkin' 'bout...the spybait. I will now claim that this is why I took mine outta my box! 😁
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John walked down the dock to use the facilities and I was like, "Aren't you worried about your stuff?" And he's like "Naw man, Batman's here." I was like, "Batman??" He pointed to the ramp behind me and:
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I turned back around and John was gone, but Batman was still there...🤔
Wheeler Fishing Foundation College Bass Shootout on Chickamauga, TN. Track it on @wheelerfishingfoundation on the Insta. Extra points for having 1 screen from every manufacturer, a traffic cone deal and Rapala DTs...lol kidding. Do not second-guess Wheeler!
Gives some juice!
Mentioning because he real recently had knee surgery again, good to see.
...on the Greenwood Lake petition? C'mon man!
Headline of the Day
Exciting for sure. Successful...🤔 Sometimes? Depends on your definition of success?? 🧐
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Few Ned Rig tips from Brandon Lester.
Always looking for a way to make this fun for myself, maybe you feel the same – from westernbass com (can't link it sorry):
> "It is really hard to fish the Ned Rig wrong as long as you are fishing it slowly and around targets. Many times they will hit it on the initial fall, so I like to cast it to a target, let it fall on a slack line and then shake it a few times in place before dragging it.
> "Once the bait is a few feet from the target, I will reel it in and make another cast to a target and typically do not bring it all the way back to the boat."
> ...Mustad Grip-Pin Ned Jighead. "The cool thing about that head is that it comes in 1/8-oz, 3/16-oz and 1/4-oz and all of those sizes are available with 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0...very sharp Mustad Ultra Point. That really opens it up to the types of baits you can use and gives you more options.
> "The other cool thing is the Grip-Pin holds your bait in place very well. With this technique, you can get a lot of sunfish, perch and little fish pecking at the worm and pulling it down the shank and that stops that."
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"I saw a report recently where Kevin VanDam, who is probably one of the greatest bass fishermen in the world, was on Chickamauga throwing Strike King 6XD."
PROBABLY??
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John Sykes! Anyone who likes harder tuneage should know who he is – former Whitesnake guitar man (fired for being too good-lookin', for real, could happen to Justin Lucas 😂), the guy behind the '80s masterpiece "Still of the Night." Sykes also played in the greatest Irish rock band of all time: Thin Lizzy.
Anyhow, I see this new Sykes tune vid pop up on my YT feed and I'm like, Hmm okay let's hear it – all us current and ex-guit-slingers are just as skeptical and competitive as bass-heads man lol. Anyhow, it starts like some typical heavy stuff, but then the lyrics – wow! Surprised me. Won't spoil the surprise for ya, enjoy metal-heads!
Will add that it gave me some inspiration to pick up the ol' fiddle again. John made something new outta the same 'ol riffage, very cool.
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) stuff in bassin', 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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