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Big props to everyone out there bassin’, ‘specially in the freezin’ cold! Ketch one for me man. I’m tempted…maybe on a warm-ish day….
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Today’s Top 5
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Scotty Suggs wobbles in the winter.
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Man I saw this vid on the MLFers’ site where Scott runs down his 3 cooler-water bass setups. One was a wobblehead – hit me like a dang lightnin’ bolt. Meaning: I want to fish the Brett Hite bait in cold water but they won’t eat it, I don’t have the patience to fish something slow – the dang wobblehead I can fish faster on the bottom and it works??
Called him, here’s what he said:
> “…a 3/4 and really heavy line – we have so many trees and everything [on Ouachita and DeGray]. I don’t wind it that fast because I’m fishing it so stinkin’ deep, usually 25-40′.
> “I prefer to try to find [channel] swing stuff that’s got real hard places out off the swings, and hard spots way off on points [tips of points]. They’re feeing on those crawfish really heavy right now [on those hard spots] – a lot of them have antennas sticking out of their throats.
> “…on my electronics…can tell there’s a hard bottom…notice on [Lowrance] sidescan or downscan jagged rocks [sonar return] on the bottom or the color of the screen – it’s a lot lighter color where the bottom is hard.
> “I make longs casts because of the depth I’m fishing…want that line to have the least amount of angle possible fishing that deep because it stays in contact with the bottom so much better. I wind it keeping bottom contact. If I stop feeling the bottom, I thumb it and drop it…slow, steady reel.
> “Don’t immediately set…couple-second pause, then start winding again til the rod loads up.”
His gear: 7′ 6″ H Abu Veracity Rod, Abu REVO AL-F Reel (6.4), 17-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluoro (which he says remains limp in cold water), 3/4-oz Epic Tungsten Swinghead (not out yet), usually a Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw but also a Powerbait Pit Boss (gp).
> “90% of the time I throw gp. Sometimes I might use gp with purple flake to darken it up….” |
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Also:
– He does have a 3/4-oz football jig rigged up too. He won’t use a 1-oz because he feels the bigger head gets snagged more.
– He has a wobblehead on deck year-round. “…straight worms on it all summer and I mean it’s a fish-catching machine. Try it [in good worm-fishing areas] and you’ll dang near quit TX-rigging.” The lightest he goes is 7/16-oz. |
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3 Qs with Buddy Gross.
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To get with the technological times, Buddy told me he’s changing his first name to “Bud.e”. True story.
Okay not really but here’s 3 Qs with a blue-trophy holder:
1. What baits do you like fishing in cold water and why?
> “I always keep rattle bait – a ‘Trap-type bait – tied on. Yellow or red, red’s probably my best color. You can move it across a grassy place, or yo-yo it on a sandy spot or gravel bar.
> “I like a single swimbait for bigger fish – a 5” Scottsboro [3″ pictured] if the water’s clear, but if there’s any stain I use a Zoom Swimmer because it has a little more thump. I like shad colors on a 3/4-oz head…usually target suspended–type fish around or above any type of cover. |
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> “Also a jerkbait, usually Megabass. TN shad is my favorite. I fish it around the same stuff – isolated structure, grass, brush, rocky points.”
2. What have you done different fishing- or gear-wise to up your game this year to win 2 blue trophies instead of just 1? (heehee!)
> “Well I’m trying to lose weight [laughs]. My competition’s getting younger but i’m getting older.
> “I’m trying to fine-tune my electronics because it’s getting to be such a big game…a lot of investment in Sonar Pros wiring harnesses…gives me optimal efficiency out of my units. I probably have the best electronics I’ve ever had. …no electronics sponsor this year. That’s not where I want to be, but the way technology is changing right now, you have to be competitive [and] nobody’s got it all yet.”
3. Have Jason Christie or Greg Hackney called you to make you aware of the “this is my creek rule” they have?
> “No but when they call me I’ll explain to them where I stand [laughs]. I’ve really never talked to Christie but I’ve talked to Hackney a couple times. I’m glad they’re [back]. The more competition, the better our whole unit becomes. When I go fish, I want to go fish against the best.”
Okay the best but how ’bout the meanest?? Only half kidding…all the guys are pretty nice once they’re back on land…. |
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How do you A-rig?
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Guessin’ if you do, you do it kinda like Chris Jones here with the YUMbrella Flash Mob and YUM Pulse swimbaits:
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But guess you could do the Skittles version like this? @10tenfeetunder_kiob post: |
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Bobby Lane swore this fish weighed 12 lbs.
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Til he landed it:
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I was like, “How much did it end up weighing?” He said, “8 lbs.” He was dead serious so I said, “Looks at least 8 and a half to me man.”
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No words for this rig.
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Still have no words. Maybe it’s a Coast Guard training deal?
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News
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VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jighead with a Storm Largo Shad:
> “This in my opinion is the best swimbaiting setup there is on the market, period.”
‘Splains the whole thing in this YT vid: |
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2. How Brandon Palaniuk chooses leader sizes (IG vid).
Now he’s all about the Seaguar Gold Label fluoro, which reminder is thinner AND stronger somehow, probly cuz this is Seaguar’s R&D facility: |
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3. How Ott DeFoe pics OG Slim crank colors (YT vid).
4. Chris Lane gets Duckett rods/reels.
5. Freddy Boom Boom has a new swim jig, the Gangsta.
Elitists Hank Cherry, Jay Yelas, Frank Talley, Bryan New and Marc Frazier, and some guy named David L Mercer esquire.
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Someone needs to remind Carl that the gravity here is different than the gravity in Australia:
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8. Did Cody Meyer just out the Double-Tail Hula Grub?
I think he did. Under the radar bass killer – he used it to finish 5th at the Shasta Wild West Bassin’ Tour.
9. Matt Arey got Pulse Fish Lures.
10. Elitist Kyle Welcher gets Missile.
Word is if you’re an Elite rookie and get John Crews coffee every morning – without missing a SINGLE day because John is CDO about that – you’ll be considered for a Missile sponsorship…heehee! Congrats to him and FLWer Code.E Huff.
11. CA: MLFLW postponed 3 Shasta tourneys…
…allegedly because of local virus regs but word is the bigfoot migration is around then so….
12. AR stocked mostly baitfish last year.
Love it:
> …biologists have concluded that the lakes are well-populated with adults who need forage to grow.
> The 2nd-most produced and stocked fish in 2020…was a record 2.5 mil FL-strain black bass….
13. Lookit this Hardcore Minnow Flat 95SP!
“Ghost pro blue” – can see the magnetic weight transfer too, but man that color: |
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Get ’em at TW, also available in 70, the magical 110 and 130.
14. New YT vid walkthru of the Vexus AVX181.
Vexus’ Ryan Patterson does it – seems crazy how much room it has. Ryan just caught his first bass last year …just messin’: |
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Boat can be had for $23,399 – deets here on the Vexus site.
15. Check the “Deadliest Yak.”
MotorGuide slowmo vid makin’ it look like those big boats on the Bering Sea: |
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That’s the MotorGuide Xi3 yak motor which apparently is the shizzle….
16. How Yo-Zuri baits look in real life.
My 2c – even better than in the Tackle Warehouse pics: |
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Believe that’s the Yo-Zuri 3DB Vibe in “prism bluegill.”
17. Guessin’ the new Okuma Serrano reel is pretty good?
Don’t have one yet, but check former pro surfer ow bass-head Todd “O” Kline usin’ one: |
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Guessin’ they taste good too? They’re on TW for $89.99.
18. This reminds me that huge bass get caught on little baits.
How many truly huge bass have we seen get caught by guys crappie-fishing or trout-fishing with little jigs? Well check this tubby ditchy on the new Lunkerhunt Big Eye Tail Spin Jig: |
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@indy.fishing posts some juicy bait shots and this’n has extra juice (to me) – 1/2-oz Dirty Jigs Tour Level Football Jig (AL craw) with a BioSpawn VileCraw (gp): |
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21. Bass Cat owner investing more in ‘lectric boats.
Not for Bass Cat but you never know in the future….
22. Bassin’ Hall of Fame adds 6 peeps to its board.
Todd Ceisner of In-Fish, Kathy Fennel of MLFLW, angler and Bass Zone co-host Matty Pangrac, Tim Price from Johnson Outdoors, and PRADCO Fishing GM Bruce Stanton.
23. AL: Montevallo U’s Brenton Godwin is on the Rapala college podcast.
24. When you study fishing too much?
> 3 key elements of fishing and boating are main motivators to these new anglers and boaters: social connection with loved ones, the challenge of the activities and the connection to nature they offer.
Gonna go out on a limb here and say that THE key element of fishing is CATCHING FISH, and the bigger and more, the better. When people catch fish, they’re happy and want to keep doing it. When they don’t, they live in NJ
Headline of the Day
I mean…I’m pretty sure he…ah never mind man. #newguy |
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PSAs
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Stuff works! You can get Marine PRO at TW if you can’t find it locally.
2. Another reason I like YETI.
Realized that Labs are all over their social. We all love our domestic wolves for sure, but I am biased toward Labs and glad to see YETI – or whoever does their social – is too (heehee!): |
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Speakin’ of yetis, didn’t realize Indian Army guys found yeti tracks that measured – get this – 32″ x 15″!! Even allowin’ for some snow melt, that’s crazy man whoa. (Thanks to the Hack Attack for the tip.)
3. Don’t fog.
If you’re fishin’ in the cold with shades on, there’s a way not to fog up: The BUFF ThermoNet Hinged Balaclava with the laser-cut VaporGrid opening there: |
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now…
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Note: The TackleWarehouse links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase I might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in the BB.
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Tip of the Day
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Dang. I keep seeing this stuff and think, I need to be out there. Anyhow, little embarrassed I forgot about the Jewel Gem-series stuff in cold water. The Gem stuff is designed to be rigged with 2.8 and 3.3 Keitech FATs and if I remember right can be almost neutrally buoyant with ’em (or at least real slow sinking), depending on a couple things like line size.
Anyhow, here’s Jonny Schultz of @fishthemoment (IG vid – click on the pic) on how to fish the 1/8-oz Gem Shad 2.0 Swimbait Head with the 3.3 Keitech Fat for suspended winter fish. Couple highlights:
– Reel it as slow as you can. – 7′ M spin rod (he likes the Falcon BuCoo), 10-lb braid, FG knot to a 10-20′ 6-lb fluoro leader. |
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Quote of the Day
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“I had the fish on to win several times and they just came off. I lost 1 on a worm, 4 on a ChatterBait and another one on something else…just wasn’t meant to be.”
– Doomsday “David” Mullins talkin’, who lost AOY to Clark Wendlandt by just 3 points. Things I take from this:
1. Smaller field = tighter points.
2. The guys remember EVERY fish they lose, even if they’re not even close to winning AOY. That’s one reason they’re so nuts about their gear.
3. Mullins needs a new nickname, maybe something like “Sunny day” or “Feliz Navidad” or this one worked great for Homer: |
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Shot of the Day
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Ya got me!
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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’!
Check out BassGold.com! (It’s FREE!)
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Use the best stuff mang!
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Check these out!
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National Professional Anglers Assoc.
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Gitcha BassBlaster social at these links:
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