Moved my daughter out of her college dorm last night – amazed someone can get that much stuff into a little room. I didn't have that much stuff til I got some dough and sunk it into bass fishing! 🤣
2 quick funny deals: She got a big kick out of me calling "hair ties" "scrunchies" (dad's hilarious lol), and peeps at her city school were amazed at a super-fat "squirrel" on the lawn – it was a woodchuck! Bahahahaha! 🤣🤣 My daughter thought it was hilarious too....
Tomorrow look for a Bassin' Fashion Special Issue. Working on the Post-Spawn Special Issue (coming soon) – instead of just squeezing in apparel, wanted to shout out the stuff I really like.
Have a great weekend!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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5 Qs with On Em This Year Fo Sho "Matt" Robertson
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What's Matt been doing different? Why is he in the hunt a lot? Does he have a body double?? Had to know, here you go:
1. You seem to be swinging for the fences every tournament. Is that your strategy this year?
> "Yeah absolutely, every time. I'm not fishing for checks anymore, I'm fishing for blue trophies."
2. What prompted it?
> "I usually have a rough stretch in FL...usually fishing to cash checks, and I've never fished to cash checks my whole life. I've always fished to win, especially when I wasn't in the Elite Series.
> "If I came in 4th or 5th place or 100th place, I always fished to win, every single place I went. I felt like I got off that path.
> "If I'm aiming for #1 and fall short of that, that's okay. But if I'm aiming for a top 50 to make a check and fall short, that's not okay. So that's why I'm fishing for 1st place."
3. Is it working better than you hoped or not as well as you hoped?
> "It's working how I anticipated it to work. I know a lot of people see me as me choking. But I know how to close big tournaments. I've won a B.A.S.S. Open, I've comes close to winning multiple Opens, I've won as much locally as you can win. I know how to close. But one thing I've learned is when it's your time, it's your time.
> "But fishing like I am, if I hook up those other couple days, I'm gonna win. And when I do win, I'm gonna blow it out of the water."
4. Have you been fishing mostly one bait per tournament? Because it seems like it.
> "No the tournaments just kinda set up for it. I'm just sticking with my style of fishing.
> "I like swimbaiting...when you get into the post-spawn, swimbaits are a big play. It just so happened [in the last couple he was] mixing topwater in.... Both are things I grew up on Kentucky Lake doing, so it falls into my wheelhouse.
> "I'm just fishing my strengths, you know, and I'm not veering from that...it's just what I'm gonna keep doing.
> "Before I was trying to get bites instead of getting 5 of the right bites in a day. I have to know to be calm – even if I only get 3 bites throwing big baits, they're still gonna outweigh the 5 bites I'd normally catch.
> "I'm gonna have to change that up a little bit and I will make those adjustments, nonetheless I am fishing for 1st place every time."
5. Are you using forward-facing sonar much in your fishing?
> "I mix it in with my fishing but I'm not relying on it. I use it as a tool. A lot of guys are relying on it...and it's working, but I just use it as a tool as I'm fishing. I don't really rely on it.
> "...to see the structure, the grass and stumps and whatnot. Sometimes I do see a fish on it. I see a fish follow my swimbait and see it go back into a tree – I caught one on a wacky rig doing that. ...using it to pinpoint structure vs just looking for those fish the whole time and trying to catch that fish."
Bonus Q: Are you aware that with a ponytail and your stylin' new On Em hat you look like a different person and some folks get confused? 😁
> "[Laughs] I did not know that. But listen – I got the goods whenever it comes to the hair. And out on the lake, if I don't put it up, it's in knots, it's a mess, and I have to rip out my hair every night. If I did that every day, I wouldn't have hair by the end of the week.
> "I have the goods, so I have to protect them."
Matt is this really you? Or...🤔
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5 Qs with a guy who still fishes yellow crankbaits
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After seeing that Randy Howell fished a YELLOW crankbait in Heavy Hitters, where he finished 4th, had to ask him about it – and a few more things. Here we go:
1. Do you like the color yellow for crankbaits?
> "Yeah I do. It's kinda goes back to old school NC crankin'. I grew up in NC cranking Gaston and Buggs Island, fishing with Gerald Beck, David Wright, Jeff Coble, David Fritts of course and Jerry Lohr – the whole western NC crew.
> "I was fishing Red Man as a teenager and they were dominating as I came up. They had a lot of mustard, hot mustard...yellow has been a staple color in Carolina lakes...so when Livingston did the Howeller [crankbait] I wanted a couple colors with yellow in it.
> "That 'yellow craw' [he fishes] every time the water's dirty and I'm not trying to imitate crawfish – I'm just trying to get the bait to show up. ...the warmer the water gets, the more that yellow color seems to work good. I don't really know why, it's just always been like that."
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> "I still would like just a straight up solid yellow bait, but it might look a little too ugly for the fishermen...but when mix that in pretty brown back in, some black stripes, a little orange on the belly, that looks good and fish just eat it man.
> "...when I was practicing, the water was dirty out there...had so much rain, wind and turbulence it just had a dark tint to it. I wasn't getting bit on normal [color] baits or they'd slap at it.... I thought, Let me try my yellow craw...I started catching them and they would have the whole bait in their mouth really good so I knew they liked it."
2. Are there any other colors you think guys overlook?
> "...VanDam made 'sexy shad' a staple years ago, and it seems like that's the most common pick now.
> "...some of our guys still use chart/blue back, but you see more and more people don't even use that anymore. But I think that's probably the most dominant offshore deep-water color there is, even better than the white or 'sexy shad'.
> "I can't really think of anything else that...people don't fish that I fish. But that yellow or mustard-type color is probably the one that's an old dying breed color."
3. You seemed to get psyched up for Heavy Hitters. Do you feel differently about it than other tournaments?
> "I've been psyched up pretty good about everything this year...had a good year least year catching big fish in every tournament. I won the Heavy Hitters [big fish] category overall...for the season. So I've been really blessed and had a lot of favor to catch big fish it seems like ever since last year.
> "And it's kind of continuing this year, so when I got in this event, I've just got a lot of confidence that I'm gonna catch a big one. I don't know why – I'm just believing it, expecting it and it's happened....
> "All 4 days I caught a big bass in that event, so it's just cool that things are rolling good and I have that momentum.
> "Having that opportunity every day...that kind of money for one swing of that bat, one cast and you could win 25 grand or 50 grand or 100 grand – I was probably more psyched up about."
4. How much is Laker doing well motivating you, maybe like Chris and Cal and Al Sr and Jr?
> "You know I believe it really motivated me a lot because I want to not only be a good role model...and to help him and teach him, but I want to be competitive. I don't want to be fizzling out while he's coming on. I want to enjoy his early years out on the tour....
> "I'm still here and still a relevant angler. I have a lot of time left as far as I'm concerned.
> "I think I've become a better tournament angler now than I ever was...because of Major League Fishing and the no-limit format...made me a better angler because it's pushed me above and beyond my limits [to] be better and catch more fish faster and not relax...not be complacent...with Wheeler, Connell, Ebare and all these good ones we've got out here now.
> "[Laker has] helped me a lot...with electronics and all that. It's kind of excited me and given me something new to learn, getting better with offshore and forward-facing sonar and all that. It's just exciting again for me."
5. Did it hurt to fish in a regular hat last week? 😁
> "Oh my gosh, that was the worst part of my whole tournament experience, having to fish out of a regular hat. I got a headache literally every day. That's why part of every morning you'd see me without a hat.... I get headaches in regular hats cuz my hair is stiff I guess and the way that flat top is....
> "...glad that's over. I'll be back in my normal looks from here on out this year."
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2nd-5th baits from the Santee Cooper Elite
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2nd: Mark Menendez
> 7" Strike King Cut-R Worm (junebug), 5/0 Gamakatsu Straight Shank Round Bend Hook, 1/4- and 5/16-oz Tour Grade Tungsten Weight, 20-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro, Lew's HyperMag Reel (8.3), 7' 6" Lew's Custom Speed Stick Magnum Heavy Cover Rod (discontinued).
> "I did catch my first fish of the event on a Strike King 4.0 in 'summer sexy shad,' which is the bait I found these fish with."
> Cypress near river channel in 4-5' of water.
> "Getting a bite per hour. Fished too fast day 2 resulting in fishing over the fish."
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3rd: Drew Cook
> Big Bite Baits Quarantine Craw (tilapia), 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook, 1/4-oz tungsten weight, 20-lb Sunline Shooter fluoro, Dobyns Champion Extreme 744 Rod.
> 4" Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog (tilapia magic), 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Heavy Cover Worm Hook, 1/4-oz tungsten weight, same line, same rod.
> 5" Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog (tilapia magic), 5/0 Gamakatsu G Power Hook, 3/8-oz tungsten weight, 22-lb Sunline Shooter fluoro, Dobyns Xtasy 754 Rod.
> "Fish on beds. When I saw them from a long way away I would throw the Quarantine Craw. If they wouldn't bite that, I would throw the 4-inch Fighting Frog. When I would find a pair on a bed, I would back off and throw the 5-inch Fighting Frog hoping that the bigger bait would get the female to bite first.
> "I was fishing a mix of pads, eelgrass and coontail where the fish were bedding."
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4th: Brandon Cobb
> "Basically every fish on a wacky-rigged Fluke Stick. Removed the tail. It's just always been my favorite stick bait. Good fall rate and more durable than other stick baits. I don't like O-rings and this one won't fly off when it's hooked in the middle."
> Zoom Fluke Stick (gp/purple green flake), 1/0 Decoy HD Wacky Hook, 10-lb Yo-Zuri SuperBraid to 10-lb Yo-Zuri HD Fluorocarbon, prototype Ark spinning reel, 6' 10" Ark Cobb Series Hartwell Magic Spinning Rod.
> "Basically every fish around 3-5' cypress trees."
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5th: Brandon Palaniuk
> Megabass Kanata Ayu Jerkbait (kameyama ghost pearl and MB gizzard), 12-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Daiwa Tatula SV 70 Reel, Alpha Angler Slasher Rod.
> "That bait comes out of the package as a floater, so I was adding lead tape in front of the front hook hanger to make it suspend and could easily get the bait 9-10' on a long cast. I started off the tournament swapping the hooks to #3 VMC 7548 Trebles, but ended up going back to the stock hooks for the longer shank and lighter wire. Felt that gave me a better chance at getting extra hooks in the fish while fighting them.
> "I was fishing hard spots, stumps and brush in 5-15'."
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2nd-5th baits from Heavy Hitters at Caney/Bussey
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4th: Randy Howell
> Caney: "I had an offshore area and pattern, and a sight-fish pattern. Plus a shad-spawn morning pattern that only played for 1 fish 2 of the mornings."
> "Offshore I caught a 6-04 on a Livingston Howeller Plus (yellow craw) in 10' around creek channel brushpiles." 12-lb Daiwa J-Fluoro, Daiwa Tatula Elite Reel (7.1), 7' ML Daiwa Tatula Elite Randy Howell Shallow Crank/Jerkbait Rod.
> "Then I caught a few on a swimbait in 6-8' in the offshore areas."
> "I sight-fished a few that day with a 4.5-inch Yamamoto Flapping Hog (gp red) on a 4/0 Pro X Wide Gap Hook with a 3/8-oz red Bass Pro Shops XPS tungsten weight. 65-lb Daiwa J-Braid Grand, Daiwa Tatula Pitch/Flip Reel, 7' 6" H Daiwa Ish Monroe Tatula Elite Flipping Rod.
[Here's a vid on Yamamoto IG of Randy talkin' 'bout how he rigs the Flapping Hog for flippin.]
> "Same on day 2 – sight-fished and caught 1 on a topwater early, then a 6-lber on a wacky Senko (gp purple/green) with a size 1/0 Pro X Hook.
> "Day 3 I caught 1 on a swimbait on the shad spawn, then bed-fished for the rest of the day catching the 6-04 $50K fish on bed as well as the majority of the 29 lbs to win the Knockout round with the Yamamoto Flapping Hog.
> "So I basically junk-fished all 3 days, bouncing around shallow, deep and mid-range, just fishing the conditions."
> Bussy: "I didn't get to practice there so I went back to where I caught the 12-14 last year. I immediately caught a 7-01 on a 5-inch Senko (blue/black laminate) flipping hardwood trees in 6'. I caught 2 more keepers and lots of 2-2.5 lb fish that weren't big enough for the 3-lb minimum."
> 4/0 ProX Wide Gap Hook, 70-lb Daiwa Samurai Braid, Daiwa Tatula Pitch/Flip Reel, 7' 6" Daiwa Ish Monroe Tatula Elite Flipping Rod.
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5th: Josh Bertrand
Caney:
> Dropshot: 6" Berkley Bottom Hopper (Ike's morning dawn), 1/0 hook, 1/4-oz Bass Pro Shops XPS Tungsten Weight, 8-lb Berkley X5 Braid to 8-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluoro, Abu Garcia REVO MGX 30 Reel, 6' 10" Abu Garcia Pro Series Josh Bertrand Dropshot Rod.
> "Focused on areas with hard bottom and patchy grass where bluegill beds were present, 5-8'."
Bussey:
> Flipped a TX rig: Berkley Pit Boss (gp/green flake), 4/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook, 3/8-oz Bass Pro Shops XPS Tungsten Weight, 20-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluoro, Abu Garcia REVO STX Reel (8:1), 7' 6" H Abu Garcia Fantasista X Rod.
> "Focused on isolated willow trees. Wish I'd have fished the cypress trees!"
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Keep wanting to do a deal on this but keep having to kick it down the road so gotta at least get it out there:
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How genius is that? Shows where the forward-facing transducer is facing, used by some pros already, designed by NASCAR engineer types:
> C-Stic is a directional indicator for your transducer beam. Use this product to visually align your transducer with your target (fish or cover) for a more accurate cast.
> A tool that easily attaches to your trolling motor – stows and deploys with no interference with other electronics on the bow.
Hope to tell more in the future but at least you know about it now! Get one at csprosolutions.com.
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1. Mike Iaconelli says he'll win again before he quits.
Don't bet against him...or really don't bet against Becky kicking his tail til he does it...😁 Just messin' Ikes! (Sorta!)
2. Hunter Shryock runs down his Murray setup...
...for "dock wrangling" – love that term. IG vid.
3. Here's your MLF BPT top 10 in the points.
1. Ott DeFoe -- 231
2. Chris Lane -- 218
3. Andy Morgan -- 202
4. Nick LeBrun -- 198
5. Dakota Ebare -- 197
6. Keith Poche -- 191
7. Edwin Evers -- 185
8. Andy Montgomery -- 181
9. John Hunter -- 180.5
10. Jeff Sprague -- 180
Long way to go yet but here was the top 10 at the end of last season when it was still ketch 'em all:
1. Jacob Wheeler -- 529
2. Jordan Lee -- 459
3. Alton Jones -- 429.5
4. Dakota Ebare -- 419.5
5. Kevin VanDam -- 399
6. Jesse Wiggins -- 387.5
7. Zack Birge -- 387
8. Justin Lucas -- 386.5
9. Mark Daniels Jr -- 385.5
10. Michael Neal -- 380
Amazed Ott, Edwin and especially Dustin Connell were not in the top 10 at the end of last year.
4. Here's the Elite Top 10 in the points.
1. Brandon Cobb -- 387
2. Drew Cook -- 369
3. Tyler Rivet -- 349
4. Carl Jocumsen -- 335
5. Kyle Welcher -- 333
6. Michael Iaconelli -- 324
7. John Cox -- 324
8. Shane LeHew -- 320
9. Drew Benton -- 302
10. Pat Schlapper -- 301
5. WI: City of Sturgeon Bay still in Nonsenseville.
Far as I know, any city has ZERO authority to manage a public (state) natural resource – which in this case they admit they are trying to do through limiting parking and ramp use:
> Should the recommendation be adopted by the Common Council, to take effect in 2024, use of the city's launching ramps and other facilities for holding catch-and-release bass tournaments would be limited through Jun 30 to only the weigh-on-the-water variety....
> Committee/board members discussed whether to require that rule year-round – given a concern about bass kept in livewells...having the potential to spread the largemouth bass virus – but they agreed to limit it to the first 6 months of the year, to apply particularly during the time when smallmouth bass would be in the process of spawning.
Fishery, livewells, virus – that's a state-level matter, period, unless something's weird in WI besides cheese curds...😁 The virus "potential" – that's the same logic for why I don't leave my house: I might get hit by a meteor. 🤪
> That rule would prohibit city facilities from being used in May for the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament....
My 2c on this deal again:
- There's no problem and has never been a problem
- So someone is trying to "solve" a "problem" that doesn't exist...
- ...with zero authority to do it so trying a workaround instead
- And it sounds like this is the whole reason for it:
> The change was advocated by committee/board member and District 5 alderman Gary Nault, who runs the weigh-on-the-water Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament in May and also operates a fishing-guide service.
Seriously?? If true, do any attorneys up there bass-fish? Maybe sue this guy (and anyone voting for what he wants) for conflict of interest/breach of public trust? Pretty sure Ray Scott would have! Do public officials there need to be bonded? If so you can maybe go that route too. (None of this is legal advice since I am not an attorney!)
Worst thing about that is that guy is supposed to be one of our own. Peta is just laughing at us man....
Wish we could count on the WI DNR or WI gov'nor but so far they seem to be 🙈 🙉 🙊.
Pls lmk if I am off base on anything here...occasionally it does happen! 😁
6. KastKing is giving away a Millennium Falcon reel.
Lotta "the Fourth" stuff today on social, this is cool – a custom-painted KastKing MG12 Elite Reel:
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How Andy Morgan junk-fishes
Said he's made a career out of it so:
> "Through junk-fishing, you will develop a pattern. Eventually, the lightbulb comes on. For me, tournaments always start with junk.
> "I know a lot of people think it's random, but it's not. ...if you know the water at all, you'll target the highest-percentage spots.
> "I'll have no more than 6 rods on the deck. One rod will have a crankbait, another a jig to fish a rocky stretch, I'll have a jig or a piece of Zoom plastic to pitch under docks or into brush, on flats a spinnerbait or a Strike King Thunder Cricket.
> "It's truly a mindset. Let the small patterns develop and keep your bait selections simple.
> "A lot of times no pattern ever develops. This is when you just fish what's in front of you. Put the trolling motor down and go. You can make it work, if you're hellbent and keep going. This is pure seat of the pants fishing, just go, go, go."
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"I don't like flipping at all."
- Believe it or not that's Bryan Thrift talkin' – after he won $100K at Heavy Hitters flippin up a 9-06 which was his only scoreable fish of the Championship Round.
Sounds like Bryan's buds maybe need to do a bassin' intervention with him and keep an eye on whether he starts orderin' tofu over steak! 🤣 Lol just messin'!
But seriously, keep an eye on him...😁
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Actually at a loss for words on that deal...
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-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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