Today’s Top 4
BB reader Jordan D. caught it on a frog. That is a frickin’ fish of a lifetime for anyone, especially in Washington state. Nice one man!
Ever heard of Michael Wooley — dude who just won the FLW Tour on Chickamauga? If not, can tell you two things about him:
> He’s not afraid to go against the grain.
> He’s a beast deep.
If you have hard of him, probably stems from his 8th at the 2014 FLW Cup on Murray. There he fished deep fish he couldn’t see on his electronics with a Carolina rig. At the Chick he could see ’em, and fooled them with a jig and doing the deep shake — deets from BassFan:
> The top of his bar was covered with mussel shells. It came to a defined point on one end, and that’s where the fish were sitting on the first day — in approximately 13 feet….
> “A lot of the guys who caught them on reaction baits were getting them at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and by that time I wasn’t doing much fishing. I was idling around looking for other stuff.”
This is an ADORABLE children’s book that explores the values of friendship and…no wait, this is the BassBlaster (lol).
The Zoom Magnum Trick Worm is being used successfully by lots of folks fishing deep. Why? More on the bait:
> The Zoom Magnum Trick Worm is a straight tail worm with a larger profile, designed for attracting big bites from big bass. Zoom combined the popular Zoom Trick Worm and the Magnum Finesse Worm to create the Magnum Trick Worm. It retains the characteristics of the original Trick Worm, but Zoom has beefed up its profile and thickness. Zoom recommends beefing up your hooks when fishing the Magnum Trick Worm. It should really be fished with 5/0 to 6/0 hooks for maximum effectiveness.
The Strike King Rage Lobster is the deal because big bass love big crayfish. Period.
> The Strike King Rage Lobster has been described by Denny Brauer as “absolutely awesome.” The Lobster features the Rage Claws, which move violently even in slow, mellow currents. The slightest movement will make them go crazy. “The big profile body and claws are 4.5 inches long and displace a large amount of water,” Brauer says. “If I’m pitching or flipping soft plastics, these are the deal. I even use them as a jig trailer when I need a big bulky profile.”
Here’s the Rage Craw and Rage Lobster:
Even though record fish are caught all the time by crappie fishermen using dinky baits, most of the time you gotta upsize like this:
Btw, a a lot of the Top 10 at Chickamauga used the Nichols Ben Parker Magnum Spoon. That’s pretty amazing.
You see this cool post on a couple college boys in the Bassmaster Wild Card? Check it:
> “Before we left home we had to replace the water pump on our 1991 Johnson to get it runnin’. Then, look here, we lost the wheel bearing on our trailer tire and we’ve got half a pop can duct taped on there as a bearing buddy.”
> The seat cushion became detached and blew out along the highway on a recent trip. So Rivers rode on a throwable seat cushion in the passenger’s seat, located just in front of a dry storage box whose lid was not attached to its hinges.
> “Check out my battery posts, man, we lost the wing nut, so we had to zip tie the cables to the post.”
> “…a soft plastic swimbait that we stuffed in the livewell drain hole to keep ’em full, because we didn’t have a plug.”
That is AWESOME!
Everybody wants to be the guy driving a million-dollar boat and looking like they just won the sponsor lottery, but this crazy sport was built on bassin’ bums who lived to fish no matter what, like these guys (name ’em if you can right here):
Glad to see bassin’ bums are still around. Go get ’em boys!
News
1. TX: Fish with Klein, Zaldain, Crist.
Part of a Bass Brigade auction. Dang reasonable prices too!
2. New kid says why got more bites than Rojas.
Allegedly…got some stones mang!
> “I was fishing beside Dean Rojas, using a dropshot. I felt like I was getting a lot more bites because I was using straight braid and a fluorocarbon leader. He was using fluorocarbon. When you use that braid, the bait will do exactly what your rod tip does. I was shaking my bait a whole lot more, and that makes a huge difference.”
Love the crazy confidence of the FNGs. Gotta have it to make it….
3. Joey Sancho on BassEdge Radio.
I’d like to learn more about J-Sanch.
> T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., of Huntsville, AL, and R2 Marine Innovations, of Chester, VA announce they have entered into an agreement granting T-H Marine the global exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights for the R2 Marine product line – including the patent pending Eliminator trolling motor propeller nut, Equalizer trolling motor lift assist system, and Silencer trolling motor vibration pads.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Asked the guy who’s been brokering all these deals lately, but he wouldn’t say a word:
5. OK: Man injured in Greenleaf bass boat incident.
6. B.A.S.S. part of NYC outdoors day.
God bless all for going to that place, no thanks…and I grew up pretty near there!
Canada already does.
New Stuff (ICAST-Related)
1. BOOYAH adds Knockers.
> Formerly known as the XCalibur One Knocker and Rattle Bait, these two lures received a makeover prior to joining the BOOYAH family….
> The One Knocker is the proven XCalibur bait with a new look. It features a single tungsten rattle in a sound-intensifying chamber. …the “thump” of the single tungsten rattle allows the One Knocker to stand out and above the rest.
> The Hard Knocker…updated with incredible color patterns. The bait still produces like it did, only better.
> New color patterns were designed by some of the best anglers in the world, including Terry Scroggins, Jason Christie and Alton Jones. Both [baits] are available in three sizes (1/4-, 1/2-, and 3/4-oz) and eight color patterns.
2. New BOOYAH Bank Roll jig.
> This new stand-up jig features a flat top and top-heavy design that keeps it upright on bottom – effectively standing on its head. …unique skirts feature multiple colors and produce reflection like no other.
> If used with a crawfish-imitating trailer, the Bank Roll keeps the claws up in a defensive position…. When used with a more-baitfish or Beaver-style trailer, the Bank Roll swims with a slightly down-turned attitude and mimics baitfish feeding action when crawled slowly across the bottom. The angle of the hook adds up-and-down “floppy” action when shaken or lifted….
Win ya a K2 Cooler dads!
K2 Coolers and me are celebrating dads the whole friggin’ month! Giving away 1 high-end, high-dolla K2 cooler a week (winners will be announced all at once!) like one o’ these-here:
Drool over all the K2 offerings right here.
How do you win? 2 ways:
1. Post a pic of you and your kids fishin’ to the BassBlaster AND K2 Facebook pages.
OR
2. Send me a cool sticker (nothing worse than rated PG) for my cue-bald white K2 cooler, because a cooler without cool stickers ain’t cool. Mailin’ addy:
Jay Kumar
Sasq Media
PO Box 133
Lebanon, NJ 08833
Git on it yo, and good luck! (U.S. residents only, sorry!)
Tip of the Day
K-Pink on the Mag Trickster.
Got curious about that Magnum Trick Worm so I called Kevin, a Zoom man:
> “I think the reason you’re seeing it in tournament results is it catches tournament-sized fish. It’s big and bulky, and the bigger ones seem to get to it first. It’s the right size [7”], but not just the length, it’s the bulk too.
> “I rig it three different ways depending on how fish react to it. First is on a magnum Jewel Bait Jeff Kriet Squirrel Head — it’s a football shape with a flat spot on the bottom that helps it stand up as you’re dragging it across the bottom. I’ve tried it on different shakey heads, but I catch more fish using that magnum Squirrel Head. I fish it just like a football jig, the same places and stuff, from 3-4′ down to 20′.
> “Second is a Texas rig, with a 1/4- to 3/8-oz tungsten weight and 7/0 Mustad Grip Pin Edge Hook. I’m flipping wood, brush, any kind of hard cover — standing timber, stumps, laydowns. If you’re looking for bigger bites [in that type of cover], that [bait] will get ’em.
> “Third is just your basic Carolina rig — 1-oz tungsten weight, swivel, 14- or 17-lb mono leader and that same Mustad 7/0 Edge hook.”
> “I’ve seen situations where you go through an area with a crankbait and catch fish, then turn around and fish that Magnum Trick Worm right back through there, catch more fish and 1-2 bigger fish, fishing the exact same stuff.”
Quote of the Day
Call TVA and tell them to turn the water on.
– KVD at the Kentucky Lake BASSFestivalofBass, talkin’ to some of the approximately one thousand spectator boats around him. Three things:
1. That’s funny! [Yep, KVD can be funny, but not Zona funny….]
2. That’s the nicer “I might win this” KVD on the water. When he’s having a bad derby, he’s not as happy. Or maybe that’s just when I’m out there watchin’ (heehee).
3. Some of us have been having convos for years now about whether the number of spectator boats KVD has drastically impacts his odds for winning. No way to answer it, not bettin’ against him and he’s for sure not the only one, but managing spectator traffic is now part of some guys’ fishing plans for every day. Pretty crazy to think about.
Shot of the Day
Casey Scanlon action-shottin’ with the Garmin VIRB cam on Lake of the Ozarks — sweet shot:
VIRB is pronounced like this:
Random
PSA: Friend of my son’s dad died yesterday, sudden heart attack. Get out there for a check guys, doesn’t matter what weight you are. I get it, I don’t want to do that either, but five boys and a mom are missing someone pretty bad right now.
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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