Today’s Top 5
Hunka chunka feesh! Caught on Lake Chabot, CA, word is on a big swimbait that is conspicuously absent from all photos. More pics here.
– Brent Ehrler talkin‘ ’bout the split-lake Elite next year (Bull Shoals and Norfork on alternating days). Also said:
> There are going to be guys getting more info than they should and that’ll hinder the rest of us.
Is he saying: “Guys on the Elites cheat”?
Brent, since you’re new to the Elites, not sure if anyone told you about what happens when someone says that in public. You get sent to Trip’s cousin Leon’s house and:
Wait — I might be getting confused with the old-school FLW approach… (hahaha!).
3 you need to know about the Ft. Gibson Central Open winner:
1. This Tulsa kid won it — right after makin’ a run at the St. Clair Elite win — which means this Tulsa kid (okay he’s 29) will be fishing the Classic…held outta Tulsa.
Since it sounds from all the coverage like Elam was only fishing against Tommy Biffle at the Open, guess he’ll only be fishing against Jason Christie at the Classic??
2. Classic-related: James proved that the hometown lake curse isn’t always a curse when he ran around fishing local holes the last day and caught enough to win.
Example (from here):
> A key move was a decision to run all the way to the other end of the lake to try a sweet spot he knew to be “a big-fish hole,” even though he had yet to dip a line there in the tournament. “It was just one fish but it was a 4-pounder, maybe more.”
> “This year, history hurt me in a lot of events.”
3. Elam was a HS state champ and ALL-AMERICAN in wrasslin’. Awesome — not a requirement for bassin’ success nor does it guarantee it, but it fo sho indicates something…
…’specially since Okies gradee-ate from high school at 27 hahaha! Okay, not true for everyone (Biffle graduated HS when he was only 14, dude is a genius), but check out these Okies fishing Ft. Gibson:
Hahaha love it! James Overstreet, who texted that shot to me (tx bro!), said his Okie boat driver told him they had to be Arkies…. I asked if Biffle flipped the foam and:
From 10 years of license data:
> Typical anglers buy 3 of 10 years.
Yoda say:
So I guess everyone we know is “atypical?” Lot of unanswered Qs though, like what are the #s just for bass-heads.
What’s that helmet color — crystal shad? Pearl glitter? Whatever you want to call it, the team with the best unis in sports adopted a bassin’ color and that’s cool.
In other news, the Ducks were advised never to wear this helmet in Arkansas after Oct:
News
Gary was a long-time Quantum guy.
2. AZ: US Open boats must be decontaminated.
This week, after the derby. To stop spread of quagga mussels. Can they really get every crack and crevice of a boat??
3. Why Casey Scanlon likes Bass Kandi.
Case you missed it, click here.
One more event (9), no West Coast swing. Weirdest deal is that split tourney — 1 day at Bull Shoals, 1 day at Norfork, etc. Someone thinks that’s a good idea because….?
5. LA: COPS derby THIS WEEK.
> Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S) invitational bass tournament on the Red River in Shreveport, LA Sept 17-19, launching out of Red River South Marina. The event will honor fallen officers of Louisiana and benefit the Louisiana chapter of C.O.P.S.
> Entry Fee is $200 per team and will pay back $10,000 first place based on 250 boats.
6. Kid invents HydroWave-like device.
Sits in the water, about the size of a small Nerf football. Got $75K investment already.
7. TX: Toyota derby on T-Bend.
Oct. 10-11.
> Participants are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible for this fellowship-filled, prize-rich event. Limited space is available. To register, please call Kendell or Kristie at (918) 742-6424, or email: [email protected]. Online registration will also be coming soon at toyotafishing.com.
8. Fuel being made from algae.
Someone on Lake Erie is going to get rich….
Tip of the Day
With the long, hot summer, Mark still has deep cranks tied on:
> “One type of sweet spot I always try to locate is an area of hard bottom — particularly important on older lakes where silt usually covers most of the bottom.
> “A hard bottom can be rock, gravel, a shell bed or even just smooth clay, but it will show up very well on today’s electronics and isn’t hard to identify. When I find hard bottom like this, that’s what I’m going to fish.”
> Initially Mark keeps his lure choice as simple as possible, choosing either a shad or chartreuse-colored Strike King crankbait capable of diving deep enough to reach that hard bottom with a long cast and light, 10-lb line. If the hard bottom or cover is deeper than about 20 feet, he may use long-lining to get his crankbait 8 to 10 feet deeper.
> “Boat positioning is an important part of deep cranking, too. I want to be as far away from my target as possible, but still get my lure down to that target. I’ll also experiment with casting angles, circling the spot to see if the bass want my lure coming from a certain direction.
> “Most of the time, I’ll have my boat in deep water and cast shallow, but sometimes it’ll be just the opposite, and I’ll usually learn this by making a complete casting circle around the target.
Quote of the Day
It’s incredible how mental this sport.
– Brandon “ESL” Palaniuk on Facebook. Not sure if he’s trying to talk more like Yoda or what, but strangely…I feel he’s right.
Maybe it’s the fact that he was running, GoProing and Facebooking at the same time:
Shot of the Day
Dave Mercer makin’ his own fishin’ hole — great shot:
Love the Phoenix stripes….
Random
Now we have to watch out for this stuff fishing around dams? Pop a couple Rock Star Energys, risk death and gitcha a few views:
Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. His BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 or #3 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Also available as an app:
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