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 3
1. U.S. Open winning deets.

Rusty Brown, named after two kinds of crawdads…not, won it with three limits of 10 pounds. Yep, a whopping 10 pounds a day – not a great commercial for Lake Mead.

Anyhoo, he fished grass beds in Gregg Basin with:

> Rapala Skitter Walk and Reaction Innovations Vixen Spoke-style topwaters (more on these baits next week)

> Phenix ProLine spinnerbait (shad, with smaller willowleafs)

http://www.phenixbaits.com/subpages/prolinespinners.html

> Size 3 Storm Arashi crankbait

If you’ve never heard of the Vixen (might be coming back) and ProLine, it’s cuz you ain’ from the Left Coast.

2. St. Clair issue = no gobies?

At the recent St. Clair Elite, pretty much no one fished St. Clair – which Bassmaster Mag had ranked the #1 bassin’ lake in the country – because the fish were skinny.

Haha not that skinny, but just heard from some folks who went underwater there and saw hardly any gobies…which is a HUGE statement.

Anyone know what’s going on? Heard it might be quagga mussels – live deeper than zebra mussels and eat more of the stuff fish eat. Word is Huron has been really hurt by them.

Or maybe a natural population crash because the lakes have too many gobies?

3. TX wardens saying no to boat LEDs?

> Game wardens are cracking down on the boat LEDs, they don’t even want them on when parked. Leaving Eagle Mountain we got a warning ticket. He said you can have them on at your dock and nowhere else, especially running.

> They said that its becoming a problem since your navigation lights are red, white and green. They can’t tell if a boat is coming or going. Coast Guard said they need to enforce it all the time now.

Word is they were gonna ticket Brandon Palaniuk’s rig but cot skeert cuz thought it was a UFO (props to Jim Edlund):

Might have a point cuz I seen BP make this shape with his mashin’ taters once:

BP?

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News

1. TX: RIP Bill Long of Angler’s Quest.

Dang….

2. AL: HOF tank = 36,000 gallons.

We better not see a trout in there except at feeding time….

3. PA: Climate change hurting smallies?

Warmer water, possibly motivated by this recent Nation Wildlife Federation study.

But hold on a sec:

4. Climate change good for smallies?

From a just-released scientific paper:

> As with many invasive fishes, the spread of M. dolomieu [smallies] beyond its native range has been facilitated by intentional and accidental stocking and climate-mediated habitat expansion. [Translation: Illegal stocking and global warming. Anyone see a problem??]

> To improve M. dolomieu control, we recommend integrated pest management plans that include several nest failure strategies, perhaps in combination with other options (e.g., adult removal).

Uh…no? Maybe this whole thing started with a mushroom and this:

5. US dude gets Middle East fishing show.

Huh? Hate to be there when that Syria thing goes down….

6. Ricky Green fundraiser.

You can donate online.

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THIS is why you should be using this shaky head:

Buy ’em here!

Tip of the Day

Brian Snowden: Summer-to-fall crankin’.

> During the peak of the summer heat, Snowden vacates deep ledges and river channels and targets isolated flats where bass are chasing large schools of baitfish. Often located at the mouth of a river, Snowden will follow the flat until it begins to bottleneck. “The hotter it gets, the further back into a river I like to go — but only until the river really narrows down.”

> “This time of the year, a shallow-running crankbait in these areas will outproduce a spinnerbait.” Targeting flats in 1 to 5 feet, Snowden will begin fancasting a shallow diving crankbait like a Cotton Cordell Big O, searching for schools of baitfish. The Big O not only moves a great amount of water, but also provides a large profile for the bass to key on.

> Snowden’s fall crankbait pattern begins once the water reaches the mid to low 70s. Early in the fall, he will still target the same shallow, isolated flats he did in late summer, but, in addition, he will follow them “all the way back to where the creek or river makes its first major swing.”

> “As the water cools, bass start looking for subtle changes in bottom contour. It seems shad this time of the year are moving away from the shallower clay flats onto gravel bottom flats farther up the creek, and the bass are following them out.”

> When targeting these bass, Snowden fishes a 1/2-ounce Cordell Spot or a Bomber 6A. He also focuses on making casts around schools or balls of baitfish.

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Quote of the Day

…make dogged runs that bent my fiberglass fly rod like a noodle.

– Guy talkin’ ’bout ketchin spotted basses in LA streams back in the day. Pretty darn sure that there rod would bend like a noodle without a fish on the other end.

Also talked about ketchin “killer gobbules” with “fluff butts,” so not sure if he sent that in from a funny farm or what.

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Shot of the Day

Frickin’ nice one!

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