BassBlaster

World’s smartest bass caught, Combs outs spot seniority, Pressured fish tips

Today’s Top 5

World’s smartest bass still got caught.

@tecomatelaperla shot:

Lucky for us, even with that huge brain, it still bit a soft-plastic….

Keith Combs talks about “spot seniority.”

Interesting and fer sher true though usually doesn’t get talked about — from Bassmaster.com:

> …spots that particular anglers had “claimed” as their own. Maybe they’d won a tournament there or had a high finish, and then they thought that they had the right to keep others out. Or maybe they were the only one who made a long run one year, then got that tactic exposed on television, and the next year they found a lot of boats crowding that area.

> Are those places “fair game” or do you have a right of first refusal to fish them again? It’s a sensitive subject, and the answers aren’t always black and white.

Usually it looked like this:

> While the [Elite] tournaments were always truly a test of the best, in some ways the repetition and territoriality made them less exciting than they could have been. You knew that certain anglers fished certain areas and certain styles. It limited the amount of innovation we saw.

> That’s all going to change this year.

S’pose it will…unless a dude tries to get on Keith’s spot hahaha! Props to ya man….

Bassin’ round the world.

Been holdin’ these for a bit, love the views from around the bassin’ world….

Check these shots Brandon Palaniuk took a while back at a Japan bass tourney. First up, these battle flags are too cool:

How ’bout that for a crowd:

And when it gets cold, our Japan bassin’ bros don’t stay home:

This boathouse on the Vaal River, South Africa (@peppercustombaits shot) looks like some kinda pagan temple — flip it Indiana Jones style, meaning be ready to bolt outta there asap:

Next hot spotted bass bait.

Not really but how ’bout this popper, posted at @swimbaitrevolution:

That’s a Miria Lures “Duck Dive,” 230mm = 9″. Believe that’s bigger than most spotted bass….

When you know you’re fishing too slow.

Lessons:

> Don’t work your baits as slow as @davyhite. Dude used to fish pretty fast too….

> Davy says shoes, tires and shopping carts bite harder than clams…lol.
> Next time you need one more clam for a limit, remember they like junebug.Could millions of tiny junebug worms be the deal for getting rid of zebra mussels??

News

1. Mike Iaconelli says he suffers from depression.

So cool he got it out and was/is transparent with it. If you pray, maybe say one for Ike.

2. BOOYAH’s making a new Jason Christie bait…

…or baits — sounds like a spinnerbait or spinnerbait-type bait:

3. BPTer David Walker’s 5th-place baits from Conroe.

> “It went from winter fishing to spawning [over the course of the tournament].

> “The first day I caught every fish on a 3/8-oz Z-Man Crosseyez Finesse Jig (moccasin craw) with a Z-Man TRD Crawz (Drew’s craw).” 16-lb Sunline Shooter fluoro, Shimano Curado K Reel (8.5), 7′ 5″ 3-power G. Loomis GLX Jig/Worm Rod.

> “…around the deeper stumps and some laydowns that were in 5-6′. Basically those fish started off hugging up around that deeper hard cover, and as the week went on the fish moved up shallower around lily pads.

> “The last day caught all my fish on a 3/8-oz Jack Hammer (chart/white) with a Diezel Minnowz (smokey shad).” 7′ 1″ G. Loomis GLX 3-power Jig/Worm Rod, same reel, 20-lb Sunline FC Sniper fluoro.

> “…mostly around pad stalks and stumps in 3′ or less. Caught a few fish in 1′ or less, right against the bank around dollar pads.”

4. BPTer Josh Bertrand is paranoid about his hands?

Few rockstahs have insured their hands cuz that’s how they make their living, maybe Bertrand will too?

5. Win a feeshn trip with KC Ashley.

On Table Rock. Doesn’t say if he’ll sing you a song but you could insist on it. If he won’t do it, threaten to show him a pic of skull cow. He hates skull cow man:

6. Elitist Clent Davis gets Coosa Cotton clothing.

7. T-Bend guide won the T-Bend Bassmaster Open.

Darold Gleason weighed 40-02 over 2 days (1 day canceled) and won it by a huge 10 lbs over Japan’s Taku Ito. Props to ’em both, here’s what Darold did:

> Targeting offshore structure that rose from a depth of 24′ to 10′ and created a bass-friendly current break….

Fished a Strike King 6XD (chart/blue back), a 6th Sense C15 crank (same color), a 3/4-oz V&M Football Jig (blue shadow) with a V&M J-Bug (gp), and a Carolina-rigged V&M Pork Shad (gp candy) or a V&M Chop Stick (watermelon candy red).

Also props to Gary Adkins who gave Darold the space he needed to win.

8. Dave Mercer will be at Bass Pro Shops in Toronto on Sat.

2pm. Toronto’s in the great white north eh.

9. MLF gets Mustad.

No link 🙁

10. Interview with the new Costa TD.

11. TN officials propose no KY Lake tourneys Jun thru Aug.

This is nuts:

> “We are mainly concerned with fish kills,” [Zach] Tinkle said, “especially because research has shown as many as 50% of all bass released following summertime tournaments will die.”

> According to the proposed rules, no tournaments would be allowed from near the end of Jun through Aug.

I don’t live there, but as an observer this seems a) overblown big-time and b) the last thing that area needs right now. I think Mr. Tinkle and friends should be focusing on somethin’ called ASIAN CARP, which have done 1 million times more damage to the bass fishery there than 100 tournaments ever will.

12. FL: Updated plan for aquatic veggies control.

Figger this out:
  • Creating more habitat management plans for individual lakes.
  • Forming a Technical Assistance Group (TAG) of FWC staff, partners and stakeholders to help guide the FWC with lake management.
  • Improving the timing of herbicide spraying treatments.
  • Increasing the coordination with manual plant-harvesting companies.
  • Exploring new methods and technologies to oversee herbicide application contractors.
  • Developing pilot projects to explore better plant management tools.

Not sure what any of that really means but sounds like hydrilla is becoming a bigger issue in at least Lake County.

13. MO: This weekend’s Ozarks BFL already postponed…

…due to “extreme cold.” In the olden days guys like George Cochran would be at the ramp like:

14. Lanier BFL winner shakeyed a Senko.

Interesting since the Elites were just there — GA’s B-Rad Davis won it:

> Davis only had 5 bites…4 from points in the Old Federal Campground area, and the fifth from a spawning flat…3 came within the first hour on an Owner shakey-head rig with a 4″ green-pumpkin Yamamoto Senko.

> “I’ve had a lot of success with a Senko on it — it’s a lure with a bigger profile that appeals to the bigger fish.”

Innerestin’ that a 4″ Senko is a bigger profile…?

15. Check this War Eagle Copper Eagle spinnerbait.

Not sure how it is where you live, but up here in the Northeast a copper-bladed spinnerbait will outcatch just about anything else in tannic/stained water:

Find it on TW.

16. New Hobie bass yakkin’ series.

> The Hobie Bass Open Series will comprise 6 open events, 11 satellite tournaments, 1 last-chance shootout and a Tournament of Champions in Nov on Lake Ouachita, AR.

17. FL: New ‘lectric tin boat coming in May.

> Watershed Innovation will sponsor the Battle of the Bass Fishing Tournament on May 11 at Camp Mack Resort in Lake Wales. Watershed will reveal the quiet aluminum fishing boat with electric propulsion that U of Central FL Engineering Senior Design Program students have been developing this school year.

18. AR: Can you crappie-fish? Cuz…

…I think the Mr. Crappie derby on Lake Hamilton Oct 4-6 will pay $100K to the winner. But…it’s an Invitational.

19. Red Dead Redemption 2 adds fishing tourneys.

Gotta be pretty desperate to fish to do that I guess but….

20. Afghanistan suicide bomb had fishing lures in it.

Somehow that makes it even more disturbing — to me anyhow. Take care all you military folks, we need you back here! And thanks a TON. Love and hugs from all us bassheads….

Tip of the Day

Hunter Shryock’s pressured fish tips.

Here’s how he figgered ’em out: Ohio. Yep, OH:

> I grew up learning how to catch pressured bass from Ohio’s small inland reservoirs. These lakes have little in common with the fabulous smallmouth fishing in Lake Erie’s Western Basin. I often competed in 60-boat tournaments on lakes of less than 3,000 acres. And those were not electric motor only deals.

> Most…downsize to cope with pressured bass…but this route isn’t always the best option, especially when everybody else is fishing finesse baits. I try to be different in other ways. If I see everyone else flipping and pitching into shallow, brushy cover, I’ll fish the same places with a spinnerbait or squarebill.

> Subtle changes also pay big dividends for me. If I’m flipping to the same cover other anglers are fishing…I’ll downsize from 20-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon to 15-lb and sometimes even 12-lb. I’m not really concerned that the bass are line-shy. I downsize my line mainly because it gives my bait a more natural action.

> I always pay attention to the rate of fall when I’m flipping. I usually have 2 or 3 flipping rods rigged with the same bait, but with different weights. That’s true whether I’m fishing a TX-rigged bait or a jig.

> When the bass want a bait that falls slowly and looks natural, I’ll go as light as 3/16-oz. Other times I have to go as heavy as a 1-ounce bait that sinks fast and triggers an aggressive reflex strike.

> Stealth is important…. The bass hear boats and trolling motors come past them day in and day out and the disturbance puts them off. I ease up to cover with my trolling motor on a low speed. And I plan my moves a few steps ahead to avoid making too much commotion.

Good post, read the whole deal here.

Quote of the Day

“Scientists say that when the water temperature drops below 40 degrees, a bass will quit eating or eat very little.”

– (From here.) Quit eating?? Not a biologist, but pretty sure a critter will be deader than a brick if it stops eating. Also pretty sure bass eat LESS OFTEN when they’re cold, but they dang well still eat! It’s not like they’re all:

Shot of the Day

Not just the shot but the shot + caption from @daviddudleyfish:

> The moment you’re thinking PLEASE GET INTO THE BOAT!

Hahahaha heck yeah DD!

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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