Hope all you folks in LA are doing okay. If you need help, or prayer, please reach out. We're all in this together, connected. And thank you to everyone who's taking time and energy to selflessly serve others. Beautiful.
Little confession: It's my wife and I's (didn't know how else to say it) 25th anniversary today. Amazing – cuz neither of us feel that "old," it went crazy fast and man we've gone through some stuff. Sometimes we thought we wouldn't make it together. But we stuck with it and have tried to honor each other and God (first!) so He has blessed us both with being able to put up with each other 😁 and then some.
Yep I'm an idiot – my wife is so much a better person than me it's crazy. I'm almost embarrassed that she's still with me. What a gift!
Not looking for congrats or whatever, just if anyone out there is struggling or ends up struggling (it's a hard, dark time in the world for sure) and it's not cuz of something real bad, man I'm here to encourage you that if we can do it, you can too. Love 'n hugs...and please keep praying for Aaron and Lesley Martens. Thank you!
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Is Garrett Paquette onto something here? 🤔
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Garrett got his own color of the Big Bite Pro Swimmer, name of "GPaq money." Okay big deal, right? Well, because Garrett is crazy detail-oriented (all the guys are but he takes it up a notch), I took a harder look at it and:
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You see that? The darker color (or more colorful) part and the flake are on the BOTTOM of the bait. So I had to call him about it, what he said:
> "When you're talking about those finesse swimbaits, I think the power of the color is not in the main body, it's in the flake. So I wanted something real natural...grayish top, a translucent whiteish belly and chartreuse flake in the belly.
> "Most of the time when you're fishing the fish see [the bait] from the bottom, and [this design] highlights it better....
> "That idea of a color is more for smallmouth fishing. That style color I think is money for smallmouth. I'm not saying it's exclusive to that because that chartreuse flake will show up in dirtier water better than most people realize.
> "That chartreuse flake is the real key. It's not overpowered – the main body isn't chartreuse so it won't turn fish off in clear water."
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Chris Johnston won another one at the St Lawrence.
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> "People think it's easy to go out there and catch a big bag, but it's really not. I don't have a spot that's loaded, I only hit 2 spots today, but they're not loaded, I had to work for them. I needed all 4 hours to catch them.
> "Today my starting spot never had a bass on it. On day 2 I hit 2 that were dry. That's what's scary, when you're making that run, if you hit 2 spots in a row that don't have them, you don't have enough time to be running around."
> ...mostly fished deep rock, usually piles or stretches of it in general areas. Mostly in 20-40' of water, he fished small-enough sections that he wouldn't get too bogged down.
Shout outs
1. His bro Cory finished 2nd with the same un-IDd bait, but it wasn't close – Chris won by 6-05.
2. Couple more pro dudes did well too: Justin Atkins (3rd) and Marty Robinson (10th).
3. The dude with maybe the best attitude in bassin' – Charlie Hartley – finished 7th.
Tube = 30% – Check the cinnamon color Snack Daddy Lures Elite Tube (color discontinued) OH's Scott Cooke used to finished 9th – don't see that everyday:
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10% each = Ned rig ( Finesse TRD), Hair jig, Flip plastics
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What tough love (still) looks like.
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Whatever happened to tough love? I mean, pretty sure that if I yelled at some teens around here they'd cry, run home and tell their moms I was scary. So then I'd send my daughter over there to kick their tails!
Lol, just messin'...sorta. Anyhow, glad to see the tough love deal ain't dead on the Elites. Check David Mullins' IG post vid titled "Chris Johnston 10 beers in at every family reunion" – 🤣 meaning it's directed at his bro and fellow stick, Cory:
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Hahaha outstandin'! Cory's time is comin' for sure. Lotta household names struggled for YEARS before gettin' a W and some still don't have one.
Btw Cory got a 7th at the 2020 St Lawrence Elite and a 4th there this year.
I might have heard that Chris changed his iPhone contact image to a pic of all the St Lawrence trophies so Cory would have to see it all the time...😂 Prolly a rumor tho...🤣
(Just in case: 10 beers is an exaggeration just to make the whole deal funnier! I'm sure for Chris it wouldn't even take 1 beer...😆 #bros)
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"I've never seen a sad person in a picture holding a fish."
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Exception to this deal: 2nd place at any big tourney...😁 Seen it with my own eyes, prolly you too!
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"If it's meant to be, God will direct your steps and guide you along the path and bring people into your life that He will use to encourage you and show you that you truly are meant to do this for as long as He has planned for you."
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- 100% right in my 2c. Great line from bass-head Cheyenne Jankowski, featured (along with his wife Carrrie) in the last donny barone craftsmanship. How many bass-heads do you know who took up violin-building?? 🤯 Shoot, would be easier to build a dang computer! More from Cheyenne:
> "I'm family simple. Like most people I want to be happy, I want to be better at enjoying life and the blessings we are given. I want to enjoy the ride and see where this 'red dirt road' takes me.
> "I want to get the end wore slap out in a smoking heap knowing I gave it my all and did the best I could. Some days that's not very much, but I think a lot of it is just in the willingness to try.
> "Nothing is guaranteed. We have to try to make the best of it. Find people to love and pray you are blessed enough to be loved back."
Amazing. Here they are:
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Couple quick deals:
2. Included this also for encouragement for all of us. I strongly feel God wrote something on each of our hearts that we love. If we walk in that, in faith, He will provide. Seen it – and the opposite too – often in men's ministry fwiw.
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Sounds like his bro Matt hasn't told him yet about the rare earth magnet he put on Jordan's transducer...😁
Jordan says he'll fish more events next year to get in the groove. J-Lee in the groove is a dangerous man....
> Humminbird Live [Active Target] has allowed me to be more efficient. I am watching the way fish react in real time in front of the boat when they don't know I'm there. You can see how they're responding to your bait, how you're working it and where the fish are repositioning.
> There's no guesswork anymore. Between Humminbird Live and Humminbird 360, I can see everything and always know what's going on. This has sped up my learning curve for everything from the way the bait runs, to the way it sits, when to kill it, when to hop it up, etc. So this technology has allowed me to learn more about the bait and the fish.
The fish are like:
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4. Alton Jr says the new Geecrack Beat Craw is great for punchin'.
Check "sprayed grass":
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I was like, "No offense but got any proof?" And he was all:
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One more to go, starts in a couple weeks:
1. Ott DeFoe - 430
2. Jacob Wheeler - 418
3. Brent Ehrler - 413
4. Justin Lucas - 383
5. Stephen Browning - 366
Amazingly Jacob isn't 1st, and the top 3 are pretty tight. Brent's all stealth like:
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😂 Word is the BPT rules committee is thinking about banning Ott from designing his own crankbaits, which might be illegal because they have a tunnel hull...🤣
> The 10 anglers who qualified earned their invitation based on their 2021 Pro Circuit Angler of the Year rank, or the average of their 2020 and 2021 rank – whichever rank was higher.
* = new to the BPT:
1st: Michael Neal, Dayton, TN
2nd: Skeet Reese, Auburn, CA
3rd: *Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, AL
4th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, AL
5th: *Cole Floyd, Leesburg, OH
6th: Cody Meyer, Star, ID
7th: *Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, MI
8th: *Clabion Johns, Social Circle, GA
9th: *Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, MO
10th: Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, MO
I'm concerned about Clabion Johns' social circle...hahaha! Anyhow, looks like they do not go farther down on the list when guys double-qualify so then I guess only the bottom 5 in the BPT points will get moved to the Pro Circuit?
To help with a study about largemouth bass virus, which probly should be renamed just "bass virus."
Just like they do here!
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Guess who named that part of MX:
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L to R:
Congrats to Brody Herron and Liam Tanner who will now fish the 2022 Bassmaster HS championship in TN! 👊
So great:
> Logan picks what [soft-plastic] lure they're going to make then decides what color to use. He also helps massage the scents into the lures after putting them in the bag.
> The business has given Logan the opportunity to grow and develop different skills. "It has opened him up to speak to people with his autism," [his dad] said. "And it's been also helping him with his speech."
Keep goin' Logan! Bless you little bassin' brother! #fishinheals
Suggestion to the NJ DNR: Plant structure, fix your ramps and stock some non-trout feesh! That'll get peeps hooked dang it!
Isn't that the farthest north one of these things has been caught? Yikes.
They used to be there, then trapped out. Says the beavers bring back ponds = more bassin'.
Pretty sure everything's bad then...except for bassin', bacon, firearms, pickup trucks and red meat...😁
Thinkin' that's a good sign?
> Gaining a better understanding of long-term patterns is further complicated by the fact that satellite records of daily sea-ice cover go back only about 40 years.
> Dr Eayrs said it was also not clear that man-made climate changes was to blame for reducing sea-ice cover in the Antarctic, explaining that more research was needed.
Headline of the Day
🙄
Line of the Day
...hatchery offspring often ended up all male, partially albino or otherwise unlikely to survive.
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now...
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Well first of all he's crazy and that about sums it up...😆 Just messin'. Innerestin' quick deal from a while back:
> My shakey-head rod is a 6.5' MH spinning rod. I fish a MH rod because I normally fish a shakey head in deep water and can end up with big bow in my line. The MH rod gives more feel for what's going on with the bait. If you shake a shaky head on bottom, a lot of times you don't feel the thump of the strike.
> When you do get a strike, your line will feel as though it has tightened up, like the jighead is caught against a rock or something. It's easier to feel that very subtle strike on a MH rod than on a M.
Makes sense. Guess I'd like a MH with a softer tip....
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"You have to think you're better than the fish, and that you could catch those critters."
- Bo Dowden talkin' around the time he was bein' inducted into the LA Sports Hall of Fame, along with other pro athletes who might not be able to fish...😁
Don't think I've ever thought about whether I'm better than a fish – you??
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Lol we all wanna be the guy on the right! That's Spencer Arredondo with a 9.85 he caught in a 3-hour, 3 fish, 3x9 Series derby on Stillhouse Hollow, TX. He and pard Preston Ellis finished 3rd. Spencer said the fish bit a 10-inch worm in "about 27 foot of grass":
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> The victims are understandably distressed by this unacceptable behavior.
"Victims." 🤔 Many money comments on that FB post like:
> In Heinz sight it could be worse, however hope someone spills the beans on who it could have bean.
> ...you better be aware the crime rate has bean going up.
> This is terrible! Why would someone do this?! What an absolute waste of beans!
HAHAHA love it!
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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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