4 ounces — less than the weight of an iPhone 6 — was all that separated 1st-3rd places at last weekend’s Bassmaster Kissimmee Open:
1. Wesley Strader: 50-05
2. Cody Detweiler: 50-03
3. Mark Rose: 50-01
In big-bass Florida?? That’s nuts. Here’s what they used:
> …Strader caught most of his fish on a Zoom Fluke or Speed Craw and an Old School Twin Spin topwater bait. “Yesterday I got on a little deal in some hydrilla and caught some on a (homemade) chatterbait….
> Despite fishing in 58-degree water, Strader was able to coax bass into slamming the topwater bait. “Those fish came up and smoked it….”
> 2nd: Detweiler threw a Chatterbait in the rain the whole first day of competition [Remember that the Chatterbait made its name on Okeechobee]. When the weather tuned sunny the next day he threw a Humdinger swim jig and flipped a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver with a 1 1/2-oz weight to isolated mats. He also relied on the swim jig and flipped the Sweet Beaver to mats the final day….
Color looks like sexy shad:
Rumor is Strader was able to gain the winning few ounces with a prototype Bass Blower-Upper, brought to you by the same folks who make the Bass-O-Matic:
Strader’s a legit stick. Just needs to make the jump.
You might think I’m puttin’ this here cuz Petey Gluszek is a NJ homie…and you’re partly right. But really this article is one of the most real views into pro bassin’ and the bassin’ biz you’re going to get. Here’s a couple quotes:
> “I felt like I was fishing at the top of my game. Unfortunately that was right when the economy crashed and it seemed like every single sponsor started slashing and cutting their pro staffs. Even though I had won tournaments, made the Forrest Wood Cup and Bassmaster Classic, and cashed a check in nearly every tournament for the past 2 years, I ended up losing roughly 80% of my sponsorship dollars.
> “I was totally blindsided…. I had just gotten married, purchased a new house, and my wife was pregnant. At the time, the only income that I had was from sponsorships, speaking engagements, and tournament winnings.”
Pete at the time:
First Cali Division derby of the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT), cold-water at Lake Shasta. Weener was “Zach Attack” Elrite, had only 23.71 lbs, won $19,500.
Fished a single main lake point:
> “On the first day the weather had changed. The rain was gone and it started to clear up…I felt they were pulling back out and instead of starting on my secondary point, I hit the main lake point. My first cast was a 4.33. That one fish made the difference…it allowed me to realize the fish had moved out with the weather change.”
> Elrite stuck to the same long, sloping point…. “The point was near a main channel. I worked everything on it — the ridge, the drop off, the flat — everything. The majority of the fish were in 0-20′, but I would also have to pull out and catch them in 25-30 ft, when the bites weren’t coming as often as I felt they should. The area was constantly reloading, so after I fished out deep I could move back in again.”
> Rotating through techniques and moving up and pulling off the area to vary his presentation and pressure kept the fish biting.
> “The majority of my fish were caught on a D&M Custom Baits Underdawg with a 3″ swimbait trailer, a Keitech swimbait rigged on a ball-head and an Old Ugly tube [I think that’s a color?].
> “The underspin caught the fish that were a little more aggressive. When I had to go slow and dull it down a bit, the 1/4-oz ball-head was a more subtle approach. When they were tired of seeing that, I would throw the Old Ugly, which would pick up some better fish that were obviously looking for crawdads.”
> 2nd: Randy Pierson had 21.76, won $10,750. “In practice, I found some water that was little bit colder than everywhere else…I found the isolated breaks and points under the water that the fish would be looking for.”
> All of Pierson’s weigh fish were caught on an 1/8-oz dart head with a 6″ Trick Worm and a 3/8-oz football head with a Yamamoto Hula Grub in 301. Most of his fish came out of 15-30′.
> 3rd: Dan Sweat, 21.72, $7,500. Fished swimbaits and Hula Grubs slowly.
Good job to the other JO for getting some deets. But Wild West does need better photos.
Will bass eat ’em? Yepper. Would I fish one? Haaaaaaaaaail no. But maybe you would?
News
Can’t even finish the headline. This stuff is the part about life I don’t get, but I appreciated the Isaiah 57:1 verse his friend shared in that article. Dang it. RIP bassin’ brother.
2. Menendez gets New Pro Products.
Makers of the V-T2 Livewell Ventilation System, which Mark would not endorse til he tested it. Told me: “I ran the V-T2 Livewell Vents during the entire ’15 Elite season. Did it make a difference? Without a doubt.”
3. Casey Ashley gets Livingston.
Cool but…after his Classic-winner appearances are over?
4. AL: B.A.S.S. college derby will bring $2 mil to Lake Martin?
6. TN: Big Sandy River bass have mercury.
7. VT: 60% of male Missisquoi River fish have eggs.
Dang this is nuts. Or should I say…eggs. [drum hit]
8. Ranger/Stratos Feb 2016 promos.
Tip of the Day
From Bassmaster.com: — Bill’s a master of the Ohio Ditch:
> Over time we discovered a few things. The most important of which was that river bass worked hard at finding shallow, somewhat clear water — and it didn’t matter if that water was only a few degrees above freezing.
> The bass would respond well to bladebaits, hard jerkbaits and jigging spoons.
> My bladebait of choice is the venerable Silver Buddy. It’s as simple looking as any lure ever made, but it will catch fish.
> My choice in jerkbaits is the Ima Flit. It gets down deep and holds its position. I really don’t have a preference in jigging spoons. I use whatever’s available.
> The trick to catching bass under these conditions is to throw into the inflow area and work your bait back slowly. All I do with a Silver Buddy is gently lift it up and let it fall back down on a semi-slack line. I do basically the same thing with my jigging spoons.
> Effectively retrieving a jerkbait under tough river conditions is a little more complicated. After it hits the water the first thing you should do is pull it down to its maximum depth. Bring it back with short, gentle pulls. Let it sit dead still for at least 10 seconds, 30 is better. Do not get in a hurry. That’s the worst thing you can do.
Quote of the Day
Right now we are barely post-operative, and we’re changing wound dressings and looking forward to the day we can go out in a bikini!
– B.A.S.S. employee Heidi Bass (srsly?) talkin‘ ’bout the new Bassmaster.com. Never, ever heard a website described like that, not sure whether to be grossed out or what, and really can’t picture a website in a bikini. As always, the reason for stuff like this is:
New smaller ad sizes
For smaller companies
Lemme know…
Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. His BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Get the Blaster on an app too:
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