BassBlaster

TN tactics win 500K, How to fish dangerous, Vid bass eat duck


Today’s Top 4

 

Brad Knight from Lancing, TN weighed 51-12 over 4 days at Ouachita to win the FLW Cup and $500K life-changing $$$. Stoked for the guy. Cool. Fishing info:

> …back end of Big Blakely Creek. For four days he seined a 250-yard stretch of creek ditch that snaked out of the woods and through a vast, shallow flat. As the small creek channel meandered through the flat, it brushed up against the bank in several areas, creating classic channel-swing banks that were sweetened with laydowns, logs and pieces of brush.

> The bottom of the creek ditch was about 8 feet deep, and the shallow flats around it were 2 to 3 feet deep.

> “I just felt comfor in there. It looked like one of those typical deals back home [on Watts Bar] where resident bass live but don’t get fished for all summer because everyone is fishing deep.” [I love that!!]

 

That was the buzzbait, easy-pickin’s bite. Then as it tightened up:

> “On Old Hickory, the bottom is so silted that bass get conditioned to traditional lures that sort of punch into the silt and disappear into the bottom. So we pitch a dropshot on even the shallowest targets there.

> “Instead of disappearing into the muck, that worm just suspends there right next to the object, giving the bass a different look. And that’s exactly what I did here. I caught a lot of my fish off logs and root wads that were as shallow as 2 feet on a dropshot.”

 

Very cool…though I’m a little sick about TN anglers shallow-shotting. That’s like:

Here’s the bait deets from a great pattern story on Bassin’Fan:

> Dropshot: 6″ Roboworm straight tail worm (morning dawn), 1/0 Roboworm Rebarb hook, 1/4-oz dropshot weight, 10-inch leader.

> Buzzbait gear (day 1): 1/4-oz Boogerman buzzbait (pearl black), trailer hook. “All three of my big fish on day 1 were caught on the trailer hook.”

> Crankbait (day 4): Homemade balsa crankbait (silver shad) he hasn’t fished for years.

Word is every time Knight got a good fish he did a little Irish Riverdance thing:

A fisherman without options can be a dangerous guy.

 

 

 

G-man quote that inspired FLW Cup winner Knight. More:

> “That applied to me in this tournament 100 percent. I didn’t have anywhere else to go and that really helped me. When it got slow and I went 3 hours without a bite, I wasn’t thinking if they were schooling down the lake or that I needed to run and do this and that. I didn’t worry about any of that stuff. I put my trolling motor down and all I had to focus on was what adjustments I needed to make in that area.”

 

So dangerous he makes giraffes do this:

Vid: Bass smash duck bait.

 

 

 

Check it:

Cool…but my 2c: That bait could’ve been shaped and colored like a fire engine and bass would eat it.

Can you ID these jigs?

 

 

 

As seen on Instagram. If you know what they is, let me know on the BB Facebook page.


 

News

 

1. FLWer Shad Schenck retiring.

After 16 years.

2. Interesting stuff from the FLW Cup top 10.

> Jacob Wheeler led it 2 days, ended up 4th.
> Red hot Scott Martin ended up 5th.
> Some unknown named Larry Nixon ended up 7th — and was the only guy from AR in the top 10.
> Only four of the top 10 had 20 fish.

3. TX/LA: T-Bend hydrilla gone?

From lots of rain?

4. New Strike King website.

Check it here. Ran across this great profile of James Niggemeyer there.

5. Arctic Ice making K2 Ice.

> K2 ice is powered by Arctic Ice Chillin Brew and is designed to maintain a “colder than ice” cooler for cool dry contents or to prolong ice on really hot days. These panels are available in 2.5 and 5 pound sizes and fit perfectly in the 20qt and larger K2 Summit coolers.

 

6. AL: ’16 FLW Cup at Wheeler.

7. College bassthletes can’t unionize.

8. Bowman inducted into Arkansas Outdoor HOF.

Rumors were true….

9. NV electrofishing largies out of Tahoe.

10. ID wants to change Hayden length limit.

11. TX: Park rangers can’t ID bowfin.

One wondered if it was a red drum. **eyeroll**

12. WI: 1,266-angler derby.

Muskies. My questions: Housing? Parking??

> …195 muskies over the 3 day fishing period, which was just shy of the record.

So that’s 3,798 fishing days ÷ 195 muskies caught (min 36″ fish) = 0.05 fish per angler. Woo…hoo….

Tip of the Day

 

 

Jimmy Hustle was one of Jimmy Houstin’s first derby nicknames, and the guy has caught more fish on one of them than even KVD probly. So:

1. Start with a spinnerbait that’s heavy enough to cast easily and accurately. If it’s too windy to cast a 1/4-oz bait but you feel that this is the right size and profile for the day, simply trim (or even remove) the skirt from a 1/2-oz bait. If you need a slower retrieve at the same depth, add a bulkier trailer.

2. Keep colors simple. Stick with white/chartreuse for simplicity and all-around performance. Try other color patterns as you grow as a spinnerbait angler.

3. Use an underhanded cast. With practice it will allow you to place the lure where you want quicker.

4. To improve your hook-up ratio, use pliers to open up the hook bend a little.

5. Always fish the lure within sight. I fish them right at that depth where they just start to disappear, but I can still see the flashes that attract fish.

 

Never understood why #5 had to be the case — given things like slow-rolling — but everyone who knows spinnerbaits says to do it thataway….

Jimmy likes them Booyah spinnerbaits. Check ’em out on TackleWarehouse.com.

Quote of the Day

 

This ain’t the AL River, boys!

 

Gen. Stonewall Jackson Elitist Russ “git outta my” Lane fishing on St. Clair and posting this pic:

Pretty sure that’s the next Deps swimbait size…lol.

Shot of the Day

 

Guess the Elites are fishing the helium sea on the fourth moon of Jupiter. Looks rough! (Cool Justin Lucas, aka J-Lu, shot.)

You fish these baits yet?

The best, yo!

Gitcha informed…

Get a K2 cooler cuz!

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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Gitcha Bassin' Fix

The best, worst and funniest in bassin'! 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™. Make sure you sign up for the BassBlaster email!

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