BassBlaster

What I learned at Bass U, Chase single fish in clear water, Bolton wins one

Today’s Top 5

Terry Bolton gets his first win.

YUGE congrats! Dude’s been at it for a while — always cool to see perseverance pay off. Terry won the Rayburn FLW, his first tour win though he’s had plenty of wins below that level. FLW said Terry almost hung it up after 2018 — glad he didn’t.

The top 10 baits aren’t out as I’m doing this-here Blaster, so can’t break ’em down, but here’s how Terry caught ’em — doing what he likes to do:

> “I was basically fishing bare spots on inside grasslines in the morning, when those fish were up feeding…catching them on a [Rapala] DT-10, DT-14 and some on a spinnerbait. Then, after 11:00, I was going to the outside grassline drains and fishing 15-18′ deep with the DT-16 and 3/4-oz spinnerbait [white Accent River Special].”

His DT colors were Caribbean shad and demon, and he fished ’em 12- and 14-lb Sufix Invisiline fluoro. He also C-rigged a 5″ Zoom Lizard (gp).

Note those DT colors: Those are the “Ike’s ink” colors, which all the pros seem to like over the standard colors:

Shout-outs:

> LA’s Nick LeBrun finished 2nd by a painfully close 12 oz.

> Bryan Thrift was in the dang hunt AGAIN — ended up 3rd.

> How ’bout non-locals Colby Schrumpf (IL, 6th), Sam George (AL, 9th) and Charles Sim (10th, another Canadian invader).

What I learned at Bass U.

Took in some of the Bass University learnin’s on Sat in NJ, got to hang wif the fellers:

The Cajun didn’t make the pic because he was skinnin’ a possum (or somethin’). Anyhow, here’s some notes. Should say first they all killed it — the Bass U folks (thanks again for havin’ me) and of course the pro/expert types:

1. Cliff Crochet: “Speed Kills”

> First of all, what up with Cliff lovin’ Sandra Bullock movies? Cliff, hate to tell you man, she doesn’t like boats or fishin’:

> Cool tip: If you know something changed but don’t know what it is, speed up.

> Flip a 1-oz jig or TX rig for a reaction bite. “No one in their right mind is going down the bank flipping a 1-oz weight.” Which I guess means…Cliff’s not right?

> Fish shallow places OFFSHORE with a Rat-L-Trap. Innerestin’.

> In Cajunese, “Chatterbait” is pronounced “Chattabeet.”

> “One of my favorite things to do is skip a Chattabeet around docks [and other cover].”

> “When you pick up and don’t feel the bait action, that’s a fish.” In other words, feel for the bait first. If you don’t feel it, hit him — don’t wait to see if you’re hung.

> He loves his new Cajun Wakebait, and his fave color is “cayenne” (pink chrome):

2. Seth Feider: Smallie blackbelt master class

If you fish for smallmouths, you’ll think you know a lot about it til you hear Seth talk about it. Dang man, wow.

> When it’s high blue skies, fish shallow for smallies and deep for largies. Vice versa when it’s blowing/cloudy.

> “Some people don’t fish with a hat. If you don’t, a) you look ridiculous and b) it doesn’t help block the sun. I always wear [a hat and] a hood so it’s as dark as possible around my head…” — to see the fish better.

> For slick/sunny fishing, he cranks his HydroWave and leaves it on.

> The blackest smallies are the easiest to see and catch.

> Storm Arashi Spinbait (“green gill” for mimicking small perch): 6-lb Sufix fluoro gets 4x more bites as 8-lb. Use braid instead of split rings and a tail marabou feather to increase hookups:

> When a smallmouth is tracking a bait, don’t kill it — slow your reeling and they’ll kinda run into it and bite it.

> BU host Pat Renwick and I were stunned that Seth pays attention to spinning reel gear ratio. We honestly had no idea what our spinning reel gear ratios are.

> Seth uses an INSANE amount of rod action for hard and soft jerkbaits in clear water. Soft jerkbaits have to have a lot of salt to stay down with all that action.

> He pulls out a Ned Rig for…finding fish. I honestly never thought of the Ned as a search bait but I guess that’s sorta what it is.

3. JT Kenney: Fish de Flanders

JT talked about the Ned Rig for 45 MINUTES. 5 mins in I was like:

My phone woke me up — Brian the Carpenter texted me this:

HAHAHA! Okay I got a couple things out of it (other than catching up on email — heehee):

> JT’s Magnum Ned Rig Head is heavier and has a bigger hook gap.

> He doesn’t really set the hook — YouTube version here:

> He likes to cut a 6″ Senko-type stick worm in half because the 6″ worms are fatter than the 5″ ones.

> Use the FG Knot for tying fluoro to braid. Took him 6 months and a couple temper tantrums to learn it.

Thanks again to the Bass U folks and the pro fellers for lettin’ me sit in…. If you wanna spend your hard-earned $ wisely, go to Bass U. Here’s the remaining class schedule.

“I’ve chased fish a quarter mile and caught ’em.”

– Seth Feider talkin’ at Bass U ’bout single smallmouths. Had to highlight that quote because it blew my mind. Think about it: Sounds like it would take an hour, but he says 10-20 mins…which would probly feel 2 hours on a tourney day.

When Seth was done talkin’, I was like:

Have to assume 5 Mountain Dews help a bunch with that kinda focus….

“I get giddy when there’s a ledge-fishing tournament…. I love it that much.”

Brandon “Wild” Card talkin’ ’bout AFTER he upgraded his ‘lectronics:

> By upgrading my electronics, my least favorite technique — fishing offshore — became one of my favorites. I’m extremely confident in it now.

Here’s what Brandon looks like when he gets giddy (up):

Hahaha that pic never gets old man!

Anyhow, yep, GOOD ‘lectronics are that important now.

Google translate of the day: “Introducing a real baitfish-based worm moving like a crap”

HAHAHAHA!! Choked on my gum when I read that! “Worm” looks kinda cool tho:

[Link is https://www.lurenewsr.com/37907/ — I can’t link it.]

News

1. BPTer John Murray gets Enigma rods.

2. FLWer Andy Morgan going in Chattanooga Sports HoF.

Kind of a charity deal…. Hahaha just kiddin’ Andy, congrats man!

3. Elitist Paul Mueller on BassEdge Radio.

4. 3 guys get Sunline.

BPTer Wes Strader, Elitist rookie Garrett Paquette, FLWer Bradley Hallman.

5. What B.A.S.S. is doing for the Elite pros.

Innerestin’ behind-the-scenes look by Bernie Schultz.

6. Even mo’ Bassmaster on ESPN this year.

> …ESPN will now be streaming 24 hours of “Bassmaster LIVE” programming from each Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on both ESPN3 and the ESPN App — up from 18 hours….

> …B.A.S.S. will be live-streaming 252 hours of programming through ESPN and Bassmaster.com this year, an increase of 27%….

> Coverage of B.A.S.S. will also extend to ESPNU, with 9 hours of programming….

7. 7 FLWers get Hayabusa Hooks.

> …Bradley Hallman, Matt Reed, Bill McDonald, Nick LeBrun, Miles Burghoff, Jay Brainard and Tyler Woolcott. They join Casey Scanlon, Bryan Schmitt, Pete Ponds, Blake Smith and Grae Buck….

8. Opens angler Mandel Pettus has a sweet tea sponsor.

Is this the first sweat-tea sponsorship in bassin’?? Can’t be true but if it is, it’s in the Northeast. Mandel — who won the co side of the Bassin’masters Open Champeenship without even bringing a rod (!!) — is from Long Island, NY and has a Montauk Iced Tea wrap:

Last big tea deal that happened in the Northeast:

9. CA: Will bass be a political football in salmon lawsuit?[eyeroll emoji]:

> …4 agencies…are suing the state of CA over a decision to increase unimpaired water flows on 3 rivers with the goal of increasing salmon population by 1,103 more fish a year.

> …scientific research strongly suggests addressing predators such as the non-native bass that now support a massive sports fishing industry [among other measures]…is likely to increase salmon population significantly more than the 1,303 a year….

10. PA: Susquehanna smallie population up again.

Goes up and down year to year, last year it was way up.

11. TN: King U adding competitive bassin’ this fall.

#stout. Sounds like “King” refers to the King of Kings = the most #stout

> “In just the few weeks we’ve been exploring this…I’ve been contacted by numerous high school fishing clubs, local professional fishermen, and a number of current high school students. The response has been tremendous, and I am looking forward to seeing everything come to fruition in the fall.”

Heck yeah mang!

12. Garmin looking for college anglers.

Also Secret Lures is sponsoring the Bass Pro Shops (former Cabela’s) college trail.

13. B.A.S.S. wants HS All-American candidates.

I love this stuff. Send in your young’ns!

14. PowerPro’s new Super8Slick V2 braid now available.

15. St. Croix rod is looking for a new CEO.

No link 🙁 but hit up Nora Klaphake — nklaphake AT lymandoran.com — if’n yer qualificated (don’t use that word lol).

16. Okuma bought Soft Steel USA.

Soft Steel apparently makes fluoro and mono lines. Never heard of ’em, can’t find a website, no link. 🙁

17. KY: Asian carp auctions have started.

They’re trying to turn into an international fish-buying operation. Good thing because a juvy Asian carp was found in a lower OH River tributary.

18. Fast North Pole shift might affect GPS…temporarily.

> Earth’s magnetic North Pole is dramatically shifting by as much as 30 miles per year — and scientists have no idea why. Its mysterious motion has forced experts to issue an emergency update to maps used by GPS systems….

> …GPS systems…updated once every 5 years, and the latest version was supposed to last until 2020, but since Earth’s magnetic field has been behaving so erratically that scientists felt they couldn’t wait.

> “The error is increasing all the time….” Scientists are still trying to figure out what’s behind the strange behavior of Earth’s magnetic field.

Could it maybe be because of their scientific pals under France doing high-speed atom-collision stuff??

Headline of the Day

Take a bite out of Crackerhead bass

Not sure what that means…for a sec I didn’t see the “er” after “crack”….

Housekeepin’

Mike W in AZ won the big BioSpawn giveaway. Says he’ll share his loot with his 3 girls “who love to fish for bass!” Good job there man!

Rapala winner name comin’…. Make sure you follow BB social (Instagram, Facebook) to know when the giveaways are a-happenin’.

Meme of the Day

Lot of tip info up top so hittin’ you with this today — someone had the bassin’itis worse than me:

Props man!

Quote of the Day

The main deal when you’re reeling that [bait] is — keep reeling.

– Hahahaha! $$$$ quote from Cliff Crochet at Bass U.

Cliff, sorry if you heard me bust out laughin’ at the back of the room…it was a funny line!

Shot of the Day

Niiiiiice @therealvexusboats shot that’s makin’ me big-time Jones for some bassin’ weather:

Random

Costco sells out of 27-lb mac-and-cheese bucket with 20-yr shelf life

Guess you’re thinkin’ preppers bought ’em, but I’m goin’ with bass clubs, bass pros (no refrigeration needed), just James Overstreet (and maybe extended family) or people who own more than 5 cats…or maybe dogs.

Ya got me
Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup

of the best, worst and funniest in bassin’, as curated 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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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Matthew Mattingly

    January 17, 2019 at 10:11 am

    Does Seth have a video out on how he ties those braid loops? Or maybe get him to make one? Also does he tie it with Llama hair braid? Maybe that’s the smallmouth secret

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