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Welcome to the BassBlaster, your daily email about all things bassin’. Hey – take a sec to forward this Blaster to a bassin’ bud! Click here to forward to a bud(s)
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Today’s Top 5
Not sure if there’ll be time to do a ‘Blaster tomorrow (Fri) because of the War Room. If you see me on there and have a Classic-related or Classic tackle show-related question, hit me up at [email protected] and I’ll see if I can help.
1. Snow won’t hurt a thing.
First, snow is a low = bites. They will catch ’em.
Second, locals say when it snows, Grand’s fish bite…better. In other words, they bite good anyway.
Third, check out this graph, which we may or may not discuss in the War Room tomorrow. I put it together, shows each year’s weather for this week (averages) plus this week’s forecast . So snow or no snow, this year is warmer than most…which means they’ll catch ’em. Yeehah!
Last but not least, forecast calls for a 30-degree upswing in day and night temps between Friday and Sunday. Woohoo!
> The water isn’t “muddy†but it has enough cloudiness to it that fishing will be a tad more challenging – fitting since the guys competing on the lake this weekend are a tad more talented than most.
2. Great quotes from Bassin’Fan.
You better catch ‘em. It’s going to take some weight.
– Classic favorite Edwin Evers. Is he messing with the competition? We’ll see tomorrow,
I need bigger fish so I’ve been trying to stick with my big-fish pattern all day long. If I don’t catch them, that’s the way it is in this tournament.
– Yusuke Miyazaki. He ain’t kidding. This is an all or nothing derby.
Being boat 51, I’ll probably drive down and go, ‘Nope, can’t go there,’ and then drive some more and go, ‘Nope, not there,’ before finally getting to a place I can get on.
– Shaw Grigsby, who won an ice bowl here back in the day, on tomorrow. Also said: I know I can catch some, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fish the stuff I want to.
3. I’ve said all along I wanted this to be the coldest Classic in history.
– Jerkbait master Mike McLelland, who will get his wish on day 1…but maybe not after that.
4. More on the BASSTrakk weirdness.
If you’re late to the party, the controversy concerns B.A.S.S. springing on Classic competitors that the public (including competitors) will be able to see the BASSTrakk GPS data in real time.
First of all, whatever happened to competitors not being allowed to use cell phones in case of emergencies? Other than that, here’s Boyd Duckett making a good point, but…don’t know if he’d make the same point in MLF world.
> “If we know each other’s locations, you’re a weak competitor if you’re not smart enough to watch the phone all day and if they’re catching ‘em up the river you better get up there with them. Now, you’ve changed the entire dynamic of the sport.â€
Recently caught by NJ’s Bob Williams on FL’s Rodman Rez, a new TrophyCatch fish. Was 13-14, 27″ long, 20″ girth, released but…caught in a shiner.
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Classic-Related News
Courtesy of Fantasy guru Greg Huff, I joined some other mooks, pictured below, to give our 2c on what might happen at the Classic, what BassGold shows, etc. Worth a listen fo sho if you are playin’ the fantasy game.
2. Shimano/Loomis casting competition…
…at the Classic launch.
3. Color-changing Smartbaits debut at Classic.
Change colors in different water Ts….
4. B.A.S.S. helping vets charity.
Very cool. If you’re at the weigh-in when the bucket is passed, put somethin’ in!
Btw, the Classic is supposed to “pump $26 million into the Tulsa-area economy.”
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Other News
1. Tackle Warehouse sponsors Ike.
2. Swimbait guru Jerry Rago joins Livingston lures.
B.A.S.S. sponsorship, Kriet, Howell, Chapman and now Rago. Livingson is going after it, mang!
3. Dodge joins, Yamaha Marine continues, collegiate sponsorship.
Dodge creeping up on Toyota in bassin’?
4. FL having open houses on bass regs.
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Tip of the Day
Mike McLelland: Cold-water jerk fishing.
> The most important things to remember about fishing a stickbait in the late winter and early spring is to slow down, and to pause the bait long enough to generate a response from inactive bass.
> It is important to make as long a cast as possible…. The optimal part of the retrieve is the middle portion, when the bait is at its maximum depth. It is important to line up so that you cast past your target, reaching the desired depth by the time the bait gets there.
> I begin my retrieve by winding the bait down eight to ten turns of the reel handle to get the bait into 3-5′, then I pause for 5-10 seconds. After that initial pause to allow the bait to settle into the right position, I methodically pull the bait forward with the rod tip 1-3′. Following that motion, I pause the bait again for 10-20 seconds before twitching…again.
> The big key is discovering how long to pause the bait, but a good rule of thumb is that the colder the water, the longer the pause should be. I pause [the bait] at the side of my boat frequently throughout the day. What I’m looking for is whether the bait suspends, sinks or floats toward the surface.
> Remember that in the colder water, I want the bait to suspend or slightly sink, so if it floats, I will make one of two adjustments. I can upsize the front hook of the bait to a size four, or I can merely attach a couple of split rings to the eye of the front treble hook.
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Quote of the Day
It was because of Family B.A.S.S. that I have come to admire a sport that a few years ago I had never heard of.
– don barone, the best writer ever in bass fishing, talking about having brain surgery 9 weeks ago and insisting to the docs he had to be at the Classic.
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Shot of the Day
John Crews at Classic practice. Love the snow, but it’s already gone….
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