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Today’s Top 5
Won by local Charley Almassey with either 58-08 or 60-01 — the FLW story has both weights. Tougher bite with wind and cooler temps:
> He targeted wind-blown spawning flats with bluegills bedding on them.
> One of the biggest factors…was being near the spawning flats at low tide. High tide would have the flats in 5′, but Almassey was catching them in 1.5-2.5′.
Baits: 3/8-oz Bobby D’s Grinder (bluegill) with Assault Lures Ringer paddle-tail (watermelon candy), a 3/8-oz custom-made swim-jig with a 4.8″ Keitech Swing Impact Fat, and a new ABT Lures bluegill glide bait:
All the top 10 baits broken down:
> Bladed jig = 50% (2 of 5, including the weener, used Bobby D’s Grinder)
> Senko-type bait = 50%
> Crankbait = 30% (two Lucky Craft BDS baits in red craw)
Dane Mitchell (10th) only cranked: Strike King KVD HC 1.5 and 2.5 squarebills and an H2O Express CRS. Changed the hooks to Gamakatsu EWG Treble Short Shank 2X Magic Eyes, #2 on the 1.5 and #1 on the 2.5. Used 16-lb Sunline Super FC Sniper for the 1.5 and 20-lb Sniper for the 2.5.
> Spinnerbait = 20% (including some new guy named Bobby Barrack…lol)
> Flipped = 20%
> Topwater = 20% (1 frog, 1 Whopper Plopper)
> 10% each = glide bait, dropshot, jig
Don’t know whether to laugh, cry or not care…but would love to know what Forrest thinks. Feels like Ferrari coming out with a dump truck.
…at the TTBC on Ray Bob. Interesting that winner Matty Herren thought the shallow bite was on the way out and fished off the bank, while Bryan Thrift (2nd) and Luke Clausen (3rd) basically winged it up shallow and almost won. So I guess Herren was right?
Here’s their baits (no pic for Luke) but full deets on BassBlaster.rocks:
Thrift mostly flipped a Damiki Knock Out [gp] with a 1/2-oz tungsten weight, a punch skirt [gp] and a 5/0 straight shank hook:
Clausen’s baits:
> Flipping tires: 1/2-oz Dirty Jigs Tour Level Pitchin’ Jig (white), Z-Man Turbo Crawz (pearl).
> Other flipping: Z-Man Palmetto Bugz (green pumpkin, California craw), 3/8-oz weight, 4/0 straight shank hook.
> Docks: 1/2-oz prototype weedless Project Z bait (white) with a Razor Shadz (pearl), and a Megabass 1.5 S Crank (sexy French pearl).
> Unnamed froggy.
Gotta agree with Pete “the Dean” Gluszek — Clausen’s a monster fisherman. Looking forward to seeing what he does on the Elites…if he wears earplugs….
Gitcha slabs o’ buttah heeyah! [Ballpark dude saying it.]
Here’s 11.12 of butter melon caught on T-Bend (of course) on a swimbait over a hump in 15-20′:
‘Nother T-Bender, this one 11.74 caught on a Zoom (of course) Magnum Trick Worm on a ledge in 8-10′:
12-04 of Okhissa Lake, MS buttah, caught with the always-reliable YUM Dinger:
When I started BassFan, everyone was like, “What are you going to write about every day?” When I came up with the Dock Talk idea, people were like, “What’s going to go there?” And when I started this BassBlaster thing, people be sayin’, “Where do you get all your stuff?”
What’s the point? Whelp, here’s exhibit A. Channel-surfing the other night and was going to make my wife watch Hee Haw cuz she hates it so switched it on and this:
Bass stuff just follows me around…bet it happens to you too?
News
1. G-man ‘livin’ on the ledge’ at Gville.
Love that smile man — ketchin’ big’uns never gets old:
Caught ’em on a Strike King 8.0 and a Jewel Baits Feather Shad.
3. K-Pink: How we should roll.
KP gets a little db (his good bud) in this one. For sure worth a read. Here’s the shot that summarizes it:
To me that’s music. God’s music. Reminds me of the tune “[Music] Over My Head” by one of the best and most-unheralded bands in the land (of Texas): King’s X. (Potty word warning.)
Props to K-Pink and Carl Jocumsen for taking Michael fishing. If you can help Michael and his family financially, here’s the GoFundMe account.
4. Matty Herren giving away Kistler rod.
Reel too….
5. Guess whose workbench this is.
Only 1 guess:
Lol. If’n y’all missed it, check it here. Thankfully I don’t have the version of this pic where Z is actually licking my cheek. Felt like bluegill pecks. Sorta.
7. NJ: Ike Foundation derby in August.
Charity deal, KVD and other pros will be there. Me, I wanna fish with Gluszek down there on the Delaware man! #money
8. KVD auction for CAST for Kids charity.
9. Marshal’s day on T-Bend with KVD.
He was a little blown away.
10. New Strike King Skipping Jig coming soon.
Most important thing about this pic is that Andy Montgomery is holding it, and no doubt had a ton of input on it. Aren’t but a handful of folks who can skip a jig as well as he can. Just assuming there, not sure anyone can….
- 3D Scale texture
- Beefed up and highly detailed pectoral and anal fins
- Realistic facial and gill plate detailing
- New internal weight system
- Mouth concavity to conceal line-tie and large screw-lock hooks
Freddy what up with not hippin’ me to this man??
- Bass will bite anything.
- The soft-plastic version of these will catch ’em too:
13. VA: Penn State kids wax field at James River.
That’s a stingy place. Wire to wire win. Most impressive young Woowans.
14. Nile crocs captured in FL waters!!!!!
Daaaaaayum! That is crazy spooky man! Those things get like 20 feet long and eat full-grown African mammals yo!
15. CA/DC: Sen. Feinstein still out to destroy Delta bass fishing.
Is there anything Congress CAN’T screw up??
16. MO: Teen derby final recap.
Lookin’ fer
Someone who does apparel — printing, possibly fulfillment. Hit me back on this-a-here machine if that’s your biz and you’re good at it.
Don’t let the potty-ish name fool ya, this bait is on a lot of pro boats now. Ish Monroe talkin’ on Bassmaster.com:
> The front section looks much like any other walking bait, but the tail end of this 1 3/8-ounce behemoth rotates like a buzzbait blade and sprays water. There are also glass beads inside to make additional noise.
> “…I’ve been throwing it over grass and around docks. In slick, calm conditions, you can wind it like a buzzbait, but in windy conditions you can really rip it. You have to let the fish tell you. I was on Clear Lake one day winding it, and I never had a bite. Then I started ripping, and I caught a bunch of big fish.”
> He uses it when searching for beds, too, and that’s how he’s caught some of his biggest fish this spring. Typically, he starts with a mostly black loon pattern that provides a big profile under all conditions. [He also likes the color “powder.”]
> “You can catch lots of 2- and 3-pounders on it, but when you need a big bite — 7-plus — that’s when you should pull it out.
> “I use braid on all of my topwaters except a Devil’s Horse. You can make longer casts, get a better hookup ratio and you don’t break fish off.”
Rod/reel/line info in that story is out of date. Here’s what Ish said he uses now:
Here’s the colors he likes. Case you’re wondering, yep there’s a color called “munky butt.”
Quote of the Day
The curly tail concept is the most exciting built-in action I have seen in soft lures. This amazing principle of animation doubtless will be added to many new types of lures in the future.
– The late and great writer Homer Circle talkin‘ ’bout the first twister-tail bait ever, which became the Mister Twister. Invented by Dr. Robert Glynn Carver (a former biochem prof — so’s my dad!), now 79 and running Toledo Town on T-Bend.
How right Homer was. Was also one of the first guys to understand what Ray Scott was doing. Dude had it going on. #Homerknew
Shot of the Day
Random
Jay Kumar is the guy who created BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a whole lot more in bassin’. Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best in bassin’, and is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass. Get the Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster app:
