If you’re getting the BassBlaster for the first time it’s cuz a bud signed you up!
Today’s Top 5
[Check this shot: Hack stoked, Mercer beltin’ out “You Are So Beautiful (To Me)“, Trip’s like, ‘Just keep smilin’ and ignore these psychos’…]
Some deets culled from the full pattern story on BassBlaster.rocks:
> “If I caught one off a point, it would be where a creek channel or the river swung on the point. And a lot of big pockets had a drain down the of them. The fish were relating to those drains.
> “On places like that when the water gets real high, that’s the time of year when they’re not wanting to go shallow. They just go straight up. So they’re sitting where they were when the water was normal…
We were talking about his braid flipping setup, and he said this — super-interesting:
> “I watch a lot of footage — I’m still very much a student of the sport. I watch on the FLWs how a guy changes the fight because of a dip net, and I learn from that stuff.
> “You have complete control over that fish until you pick up the net or reach down to lip it. My deal is when he gets the bait, I want him in the boat as quick as possible.
> “For me not to swing one it has to be a 7-plus. The less time in the water, the less chance they have of coming off.”
More on the tip below, and his full braid-flip setup deets are here on BassBlaster.rocks.
Bet you didn’t know Hack is a big-time Squatcher. Anytime he’s out on the water — even in tournaments — once in a while he lets loose a big howl or yowl or whatever Squatchers call ’em:
> “The first 2 days it was slick calm, and the last 2 days the wind blew periodically. On the final day there was one point I wanted to throw a topwater on. In the morning I drove by it but there was a lot of wind so I couldn’t throw it on there.
> “An hour or two later the wind died, and I thought: ‘I can go over there and fish that main lake point.’ Sure enough I caught 4 out of 5 weigh fish there.
> “I was fishing [topwater] the exact same places I was flipping. I knew the fish were there the lake was continuing to drop so it was pulling more fish out to those same bushes. That gave me confidence to fish the same areas [he’d been flipping].
> “I was throwing back in that stuff. Most of them would hit it as I was bringing it past a bush and coming out.”
Bait is the same Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil I mentioned last week — weird, huh? Here tis:
You’d have to be at a dead stop to read this:
News
1. TX: Dead man found in bass boat.
Lake Weatherford. Gunshot wound, possibly self-inflicted. Dang it.
2. OK: Casino gave away Evers’ boat.
They bought it first….
3. Brandon Lester vid recap from Texoma.
Well, had the wrong link in the last BB — to K-Pink’s awesome column where he takes a hard look-see at spectator boats and spot-pirates. Check it here.
5. AL: Locals want stocking program at Guntersville.
I assume this means it’s fishing tougher?
Inaugural. Billy Hines and former Elite angler Greg Gutierrez:
8. Canada using zebra mussel-sniffing dogs.
Is this the dumbest use of a perfectly good hunting dog or what??
Tip of the Day
We got to talkin’ ’bout why he chooses every single part of his “flipping system,” and Hack gave up some GREAT stuff. Full meal deal on the BB site, but some excerpts here:
> “If you’re fishing braid with a stiff rod and you move the fish too much on the hookset, you get slack. And that’s typically when one comes off. If you blow one out, you have to make 2-3 cranks on slack line – and if you’re going to lose one, that’s when it happens. I want to keep the fish on the bend of the rod the whole time. That way you get no slack.
> “For me not to swing one it has to be a 7-plus. It happens so fast, you need to get them in the boat as quickly as possible. The less time in the water, the less chance they have of coming off.
> “Braid makes me a lot more efficient. I don’t have to retie as much, and if I would have bigger, stiffer rod, I wouldn’t be as efficient.
> “Regardless of water clarity, if I’m catching fish out of cover, in my mind it would be hard for me to imagine that a fish could distinguish between the line and the cover.”
Quote of the Day
These guys have given it all and I just want to give a little bit back to them.
– Edwin “Pea-can” Evers talkin‘ ’bout takin’ vets bassin’ through the Healing Heroes in Action Tour. Word. #stout #vetlove
Shot of the Day
A little river gold for any of you still in hoodie weather: