Today’s Top 4
Have we seen repeatedly that folks who know specific tidal fisheries tend to win those events? Yep: Ike, J-Lu, Woo Daves, etc. Latest dude that fits the mold is Chris Dillow, who won this weekend’s Northern Open on the James River.
Fished the main river, not far past the mouth of the Appomattox, shallow wood and deeper structure. Deets from BassFan:
> “The last day I did more swimming and dragging of the jig on deeper structure,” he said. “I caught my last one flipping. I fished deeper than I had been because of a drop off I’d found.”
Couple BTWs:
> Ike finished 4th.
> Dillow has won on the James before, and won a Stren Series derby in 2008 doing the exact same thing…on the tidal Potomac.
> Dillow’s Perfect Jig — a homemade 3/8-oz bait — sports a 4/0 Gamakatsu hook, a limber rubber skirt, a crawfish-pattern paint job and a green or brown trailer. (From here.)
Here’s a pic:
Believe this is the jig too:
Looks amazing, but even more amazing is that someone was HOLDING THAT ROD at the time. A father and son almost died from this. What a story, video here:
This:
Plus this:
Equals…this:
HAHAHA!
News
1. FLWer Strader gets Fish Head.
2. FLWer Mike Williamson has stroke.
Hope he’s doing okay.
3. Texas A&M B.A.S.S. college champs.
4. OH: Bass spits blackbird at BFL.
Just in case you thought A-Mart’s pattern out west was weird:
> Weisenburger and Burwell likely would have won the event, but a bass Weisenburger caught spit out a blackbird it had eaten.
5. CA: Westys don’t like Zoom copying Roboworm colors?
Color names, that is.
6. GA: Bass boat/pontoon crash at Seminole.
Sounds like no one seriously hurt.
7. BASS HS gets TNT Fireworks.
Be safe, kids — unlike JPP on the Giants. [Here’s the best version of TNT: AC/DC with Bon.]
8. CO’s biggest derby coming up.
The 16th Annual Full Moon Open, hosted by Centennial Bass Club, is the largest bass tournament by number of boats and by payout in the state. It’s a fundraiser with proceeds going to multiple charities, conservation projects and their youth club.
Team tournament, capped at 50 boats, teams fish from 7pm on Aug 1 to 7am on Aug 2 for the $1,000 1st place prize. Registration now open.
9. IA: Big algae fish kill at Crystal Lake.
10. Unboxing the HELIX 7 SI GPS.
Humminbird’s Jeff Kolodzinski unboxes it and installs it:
Good dude.
12. Bass fishing is getting younger?
B.A.S.S. claim. Would love to see some stats to back that up.
13. This tube look cool or what?
Stanx Bait Co. — anyone know anything about ’em?
14. Tell the EPA to POUND SAND on ethanol.
EPA looking for comment. Forward it to a bud. #ethanolsux #porkpolitics
15. MT: Guy hoaxes Asian carp stocking…
…on Craigslist. Why??
New Stuff (ICAST-related)
1. New Lunkerhunt stuff.
Popping Frog
Natural Series
> Lunkerhunt is about to release a new technology that makes hard lures more realistic than ever before.
Here’s FLWer Matt Arey with the Naturals Hatch Spin in “common shiner.” Weighs 1-oz with a #4 blade:
> The Pro-Series 4″ Fatty features patented Concealed Leader Technology. After a strike occurs, a concealed 10″ length of 40lb. steel cable leader deploys from an internal spool. This heavy leader provides added abrasion resistance, enabling anglers to tie lighter leader or mainline directly to the lure for a better, stealthier presentation. A deployed leader distances the lure from a fish’s mouth, making it extremely difficult to shake free, greatly improving the ratio of strikes vs. landed fish.
> In mid-2014, Mister Twister introduced the Magnum SinSation. FLW pro Clent Davis used it during the 2014 FLW Tour season, and…had an idea. What if the SinSation had a swimming paddle-tail, like Mister Twister’s classic, Sassy Shad®? After 6 months of testing and refining, we had a bait with the exact swimming action Clent was looking for…the 5″ SwimSation….
K2 Cooler winnahs!
Really wish I could give a cooler to everyone who entered, but I can’t. So THANK YOU to all those who did enter, and if you didn’t win this time, don’t worry — there’ll be more stuff to win. The winnahs this time:
1. Gregory Jones (you went to Purdue)
2. Otis Thompson (from MN)
3. Bryan Adams (from NE)
4. Tony Maxedon (from IL)
5. Curtis Spindler (from MT)
6. Glenn Hahn (from TX)
Reply to this email with your SHIPPING addy (a cooler won’t fit in a PO Box!).
Note: This is ICAST week so it’s nuts, and next week is catch-up week. So while I can’t speak for K2 (which is shipping the coolers), please do not expect the coolers to get there super-fast. Also, I won’t forward the addys on to K2 til I have ’em all so reply ASAP!
Tip of the Day
From Bassmaster.com:
> …your lighter lines are going to cast easier with traditional lures like jerkbaits and crankbaits. As you go up in size to like 20- to 25-lb fluorocarbon, my experience is that they tend to backlash a lot easier, so you have to pay attention that you don’t let your spool overrun.
> Here’s a trick I’ve found helpful: With lighter lines up to 16-lb, I’ll completely fill my spool. But if I’m going to be casting with 20- to 25-lb line, I won’t fill my spool up all the way.
Quote of the Day
When you have a rather large fishing lure embedded in your rather large posterior, you find out who your friends are.
– Takin’ yer word for it mang! Guy talkin‘ ’bout an incident that happened in college, when a bud yanked a Heddon Torpedo out of a bush and “snagged” it in a, uh, “ham.”
Shot of the Day
Don’t think I’ll see a new duckling bait at ICAST, but:
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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