Thoughts on our FL travelin's:

- Real estate prices are way too high (for what it is) and in many areas prices are still going up. They're higher than when we were here in Dec. Seems like a bubble.

- Talked to someone recently who said they'd been outbid on homes (they bid over asking) by cash buyers from Seattle and NYC among other places.

- Looked it up and FL has the most HOAs of any other state (45% of all homes) and it's increasing. Almost all HOAs don't allow boats – pretty crazy in FL. Long term will that hurt FL boat ownership? Is FL attracting people who don't want a boat? Is FL basically discouraging owning a boat??

- I just can't get with HOAs. I get the reason for 'em, but seems like communism to me. Literally.

- From what we've seen, no HOA means being in neighborhoods where some folks have rundown houses and trash in the yard. Wife and daughter give that the double thumbs down, especially for the $$$ peeps are asking.

- In Palm Beach County I paid almost $5/gal for gas this weekend. That's almost Canadian prices = crazy.

- Yesterday we were about to run the dogs on the beach and my daughter went back to the truck for sunglasses. She came hurrying back without 'em. Said the dude we saw on the way onto the beach was showering nekkid – in the public beach shower in broad daylight. Guess that "Florida man" deal is for real. Usually I'd say something to the guy, but this time I decided not to interface with that man.

Ain't sayin' we won't move here permanently, just haven't seen where yet.

Let's git to bassin'!

Will they fish as a team next year on the ABA Team Series? 😁 Okay just messin'. What I'm sayin' is: Will Jacob win his 3rd BPT AOY – which has never been done before. And will Justin win the Classic and AOY the same year, becoming I think only the 4th guy on the B.A.S.S. side to do that.

It'll be fun to watch – and a bunch of the guys will be trying to make sure neither of these deals happen. Quick breakdowns:

Justin Hamner

He has a 24-point lead over Trey McKinney in the AOY standings which ain't huge and there's still 2 tournaments to go. Justin's been fishing well and also knows FFS so smallie country should be fine for him – but you can say that for the guys behind him too.

Little history on the guys who have won the Classic and AOY the same year.

Gotta start with you know who: Kevin VanDam.

KVD won SEVEN B.A.S.S. AOYs and 1 FLW AOY. He won a Bassmaster AOY in his 2nd pro season...

...and later won 4 IN A ROW (2008-2011). 🤯 He also won 2 of his 4 Classics in 2010 and 2011 so I believe he's the only angler to have won the Classic and AOY the same year twice...and back to back.

Mark Davis was the first to win both the same year, I believe Davy Hite was next and no one else since then...? More than a few have won AOY and Classics in back to back years though not in the same year, which shows what we all know: Guys get hot and stay that way for a bit.

AOY alone: Aaron Martens, Mark Davis, Roland Martin (in a row) and Billy Dance all won 3. 2-timers include Brandon Palaniuk, Gerald Swindle, Davy Hite, Gary Klein and Jimmy Houston. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anyone. Tim "E" Horton won it his rookie year I think. Has anyone else??

Jacob Wheeler

The last event of this season is underway now. Jacob went into it with a 19-point lead over Alton Jones Jr, which doesn't sound like much and wouldn't be except for the fact that it's a rare tourney that Jacob isn't in the top 10.

His worst finish this season has been 17th, so even if he ends up there again Alton Jr can't overtake him. Jr's worst finish this year has been 16th btw.

Raise your hand if you're betting against Jacob...didn't think so!

Martin – like Zona, he basically doesn't have a first name except for legal purposes – is good buds with Jacob Wheeler. They've known each other for a while so I thought he might have a different, duck-influenced perspective on Jacob, and maybe there's some similarities between bass fishing and duck hunting. Here we go:

1. How did you get connected to Jacob?

> "...Jacob and I actually met when the Classic was in Tulsa, when Edwin won. We were both there.

> "Godwin [another single-name duck dude] and I got invited up to do a deal with Quantum and Zebco because 'Duck Dynasty' was going on and they thought it would be a good draw. ...we were also there with Under Armour – they had UA Fish and we had been involved on the hunting side since their inception. Jacob was on the UA team....

> "I didn't know him, but to be fair I only mildly kept up with fishing...obviously I knew Kevin and Gerald...the household names.

> "We went and ate dinner together...[Martin was like] man this guy this guy is different. He thinks about things like I do in the hunting world – outside the box...trying to see things from a different perspective. I can hang around this guy.

> "We swapped phone numbers, kinda the typical deal – 'Yeah man, let's keep in touch'.... As life would have it and as the good Lord would have it, we continued to see each other at the usual places...at the Expos and [stuff].

> [Jacob was fishing in MS and] called me one day and said, 'Hey do you mind if I crash at your place'.... We spent the whole night at my house talking.... Just one of those deals – I think the good Lord intended on us to find one another for whatever reason...still TBD.

> "We hung out together several times, we fished together often. He still challenges me to think on a bigger level...kind of what Willy Robertson [at Duck Commander] challenges you to do....

> "I like surrounding myself with those kinds of people...it's fun, it's challenging – it's stimulating almost, intellectually. So it's cool deal."

2. Anything ever blown your mind watching him bass-fish?

> "Oh my goodness gracious. Do we want to just mention one?

> "Alright – me and him did a deal for Academy where on Father's Day weekend we were going around to fire departments in southern MO and northern AR doing give-backs to all these first-responder places.

> "You know Jacob – we spent the night outside of Fayetteville, and Beaver Lake is there. ...he goes on to tell me...why don't we just wake up at daylight and go fishing.

> "I've never fished anything like this. LA is all mudholes essentially. Looking at this, I was like, What in the world are we about to do here.

> "His first cast with a swim-jig is up under the float of a dock [so far back] I couldn't see it. I was like, 'Man how in the heck can you do that.' He said, 'You can do that too.' 'No, no I can't.' By the end of the day he actually taught me enough that [Martin wasn't terrible at it].

> "For me to do that, I have to really slow down and focus. He was doing that with the trolling motor on 10 and never getting off of it. It was incredible. But there's been a lot....

> "As soon as FFS came out – the way the man can never look up, hit the fish on the head with the trolling motor going...he can lead them and it goes right in front of their face.

> "There's a bunch of 'em. It's unbelievable. I've fished with a lot of professional fishermen, but there are very few that do all that."

3. You're an all-around outdoorsman – is there anything you've learned from Jacob that has helped you in the outdoors aside from of bass fishing?

> "Yeah...he always told me when you're fishing in the spring and get a big rain, and the water pushes up, those fish a lot of times rush to the edge of the rising water. They get as far up and as far back as they can go, looking for fresh food....

> "As soon as it settles out and wants to start dropping, they pull back all the way to where they know is security and safety.

> "That's the same thing that ducks do. ...flood the system, ducks want to be right on the edge of the water, where all the food is.... As soon as all the water starts dropping out, they get back onto what they know is permanent.

> "That's the way I've always chased ducks, but I never realized that's what it was all about. I was never able to put all the puzzle pieces together...like they pull back to gather their thoughts and fish do the same thing. It was a really cool way he explained that...deer do it, everything wild kinda does the same thing.

> "...it would've take me a long time to get to that epiphany without him explaining that to me."

4. What's harder, catching bass or shooting ducks?

> "[Laughs] Both are equally as difficult in LA. I've noticed when I get away from all these rednecks we got here, it gets a lot easier on both of those [laughs].

> "For me it's definitely catching bass. ...ducks I've fine-tuned my craft, where fishing has just been a hobby, something fun.

> "But I will say the more I fish, the easier it gets. It's like anything – the first time you get out in Feb and Mar, you backlash...by the time the end of summer is here, I can do all the things, skipping.... So it's whatever you apply yourself to."

5. Does anybody ever call you Justin – even when you're not in trouble? 😁

> "[Laughs] There's only about 3-4 people that actually call me Justin – my wife being one of them, one of my best friends from HS, my mom obviously. But I've been known as Martin my whole life.

> "...we had some neighbors move in down the street and their oldest one was named Justin...so his mom was the one who started calling me 'Martin' because she'd say 'Justin' and we'd both look up.

> "Once we got into sports and all that...that's your name. That's where the 'Martin' really got started. All my buddies from HS are in my phone as their last name. Then the [Duck Dynasty] show started and it just stuck.

> "Jacob calls me J Martin."

- Keith Carson talkin' FFS of course, even though he just won the Detroit River MLF Invitational with FFS. More from a good Vexus post:

> “I relied on it purely because I’m tired of getting my butt whooped by it.

> "...the sales of all other tackle are going to struggle in a big way, and that doesn’t leave the fishing industry in a healthy place."

Also said this about his hybrid tin boat in that big-water event:

> "I never once felt that guys running more-expensive fiberglass boats had an advantage over my aluminum Vexus. Not to mention, my fuel economy was absolutely awesome on that super long run."

Tough to narrow it down to just 10, but had to have an even # so here you go – the SeaFoamWorks.com Top 10 of the Week, plus the usual fun stuff! 😁

A lot of cool new stuff at ICAST as usual, here's my top 10 faves from the show. As I always say, I did not see everything (impossible for one person to do that!) and might have missed some stuff. If I did, put 'em in the comments! 👇 Love to hear what you think is cool.

Here's the rundown for Episode 90 of the SeaFoamWorks.com Top 10 in Bass Fishing:

10. Great Lakes Finesse Hover Minnow

9. Berkley PowerBait Drip Minnow

8. Rapala CrushCity Janitor

7. Abu Garcia Max Spin Reels

+ Abu Veritas rods

6. FishLab BBZ Hard Swimbait

(6" Bucca Trick Shad isn't available yet)

5. KastKing Bait Kapsule

4. Lunkerhunt Furenzy Mouse

3. BOOYAH Flashpoint Jerkbait (110 mm)

2. Z-Man Tungsten Chatterbait Elite EVO

1. Lowrance Eagle Eye package

1. GA: We lost a brother on Sinclair

From the article:

> ...Jeremy Bernard Williams, 45, was found alongside his boat trailer and truck on the Hancock County side of Lake Sinclair. ...also found Williams' bass boat on the Putnam County side....

Bless you bassin' brother. ✝️🙏 Please pray for his family.

2. Paul Elias went into the MS Sports Hall of Fame

For being the only man to win a Classic fishing on his knees! 😁 Actually the 1st bass fisherman to be inducted, which sounds a little incredible – what up MS peeps??

Paul pushed Eli Manning off the stage because he was hogging the time – here's the pic afterward:

Congrats Paul!

3. On Em's free KY Lake tourney is Sept 21st

$7K for 1st, no bonus for a mullet...😁

4. Matty Wong's "wong shad" Basstrix color looks 🔥

I mean it looks 100% wong:

Can't get it on TW but you can on the Basstrix site.

5. Will TX's Jaden Parrish be the youngest BPTer next year?

20 years old, could be. He's from Moss Hill.

6. John Hunter is selling his '24 Falcon Predator

Predator F205, Suzuki 250ss and all Lowrance.

7. BPTers will be fishing team tourneys next year

General Tire deal is being changed to 2 men in a boat, and to make it real authentic they're only fishing Wed nights! Okay I made up that last part. 😁 Could be cool, some real interesting teams in there, 12 teams per tourney. Here's a couple from the first derb:

• Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell (these guys have NO CHANCE 🤣)
• Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield (same 😆)
• Cole Floyd and Andy Morgan (should be real interesting)

I think the one after that will have Alton Jones Sr and Jr in the same boat.

Gonna be interesting to see how they all navigate that FFS deal....

8. MN: Meet you some Opens pros

Aug 18 at Calvary Church in Walker, vittles at 6pm and the guys start talking at 7.

9. Montevallo U bass team photos show a ton of studying

Lol not one! All good – book learnin' is overrated in my 2c...while I pay for my kids to get it!

10. Damiki is coming out with a Fat Armor Shad (3.8)

Not on TW yet....

11. Kenny Duke is now working with the NPFL

Media and communications coordinator. Ken has hosted an NPFL podcast since the start of this year.

Word is the NPFL folks were worried that Ken actually is an "A I" construct...and are still worried about that...🤣 Just messin' fellers! Congrats!

Serious for a sec: If the NPFL keeps attracting top-level fishermen, it could maybe – maybe – leapfrog the Opens and Invitationals to be perceived as a 3rd top tour. Let's see what happens....

12. ON: Canada's first B.A.S.S. club is still going

Aurora Bassmasters. Says it started in 1995 – that was the first one?

13. KastKing's Al Noraker is retiring

At the end of 2024. Really believe this will be a huge loss for KastKing and even the fishing biz – in my experience Al has a very creative mind, great biz sense and a constantly positive attitude:

> KastKing owner Tate T.S. Cui: “Al has been a tremendous leader for our company. He’s taken us to new heights and leaves us in great shape moving forward. We’re sad to lose him, but happy to see him move on to a joyful retirement.”

> Al: “I grew up in a small town in MT. Fishing has taken me around the world and introduced me to people I never would have met without it. If I had one advantage as I started my career, it was that I wasn’t afraid of failure. I made plenty of mistakes, but also had my share of wins. I always tried to make the people around me — both coworkers and customers — feel welcome, important and appreciated."

Bless you Al, don't go far man!

14. Sounds like biz as usual for GSM

New majority owner says nothing will change – which is what they all say but hopefully true:

> “We will partner with the company to expand its offering through in-house R&D and pursue the large and growing pipeline of prospective acquisitions in both existing product categories and new segments."

15. Sportsman's Warehouse got a $45 mil loan

Did not realize they were on Nasdaq (SPWH):

> With the addition of the $45 mil term loan, the company’s total borrowing capacity, which includes its revolving credit facility is now $395 mil, subject to borrowing base calculations. Of such total borrowing capacity, $162.3 mil is currently outstanding and $124.2 mil is currently available for future borrowing.

Headline of the Day

Slaunchville

Wonder if some folks who use that term realize it's one of a few crazy Zona names for bass that inexplicably stick. Bet 50 years from now peeps will be catching slaunches and have no idea!

Darold Gleason: Summer heavy "finesse"

In quotes because a TX guy's finesse might not be your finesse – from a MS Sportsman post:

> “When I think of ‘heavy finesse,' I may throw a Carolina rig on 15- to 17-lb line with a 1-o weight, but I’ll throw a Trick Worm on the back of it, which to me is more finesse. Instead of throwing a creature bait, which is big and bulky, I’ll throw a (smaller) worm.”

> Likewise, instead of dropshotting on spinning gear with 8-lb line, Gleason might use a baitcaster with a beefier dropshot on 14-lb line and heavier weight with a 10" worm.

> “If I’m getting a lot of fish pecking at my TX-rigged worm and I’m missing the bites, a lot of times I think they’re suspended a foot or 2 off the bottom and they’re pecking at the weight as it goes by them. I’ll go to a heavy dropshot rig to get the bait off the bottom just enough to get the worm in front of them."

"Maybe we won't be winning all the time but we should be check-reliable."

- Trey McKinney predictin' on BassFan about him and fellow rookies Tyler Williams and JT Thompkins. I like the confidence, which you gotta have. Let's see what happens....

Looks like Aquaman's boat is ready for pickup – or maybe its Noah Lyles' boat:

Turkey rage is alive and well on the streets of Boston!

> A Boston woman’s car was a victim during a wild turkey attack that was caught on video.

Car...victim...turkeys. Someone video'd it instead of running out there and shooing off the birds.

This might give you a little clue about why the Kumars decided that the Northeast wasn't our bag. People actually call the cops to deal with turkeys, aka birds. 🤪

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