Today’s Top 5
– Brent Erhler talkin‘ ’bout pre-tourney info, in this case:
> …I’m astounded when I hear about tournament anglers (of all levels) who are handed a bunch of waypoints and are basically told where to go fish and what to throw.
– Kevin “I don’t know how to pull no punches” Short, who said:
> A tip from one of my fellow competitors who finished in the Top 12 (not anyone in this photo, btw) “if there’s lots of boats in a tight group, go in the middle.”
– FLWer David “chainsaw” Dudley talkin’ ’bout fishin community holes on the Chick makin’ him crazy:
He junk-fished into 3rd.
– The one and only Larry Nixon talkin’ ’bout his birthday party….
Okay seriously, he was talkin’ ’bout finishing 5th at the Chick by fishing a spot that he said stuck out like a sore thumb (whatever that means) on a map:
> “It was an underwater bar in the middle of a creek, and it was the only one in there. It had a defined point to it and the fish tucked around on the sides. I guess people just missed them.”
Either that or they didn’t have that spot marked in the GPS….
Btw Larry’s bro Leland is in the BFL All-American.
25 lbs, 2 casts, Lake Fork, TX. Sick!
News
1. Johnny Crews’ Missile is expanding.
Cool. Couple revelations in this article:
> “Also hot is a new lead-skirted lure, called Ike’s Mini Flip Jig….” [A lead SKIRT? Will sink fast, but not much action….]
> [Crews] hobbies…weight training and golf. [That’s like a cucumber and sausage sandwich man!]
Just in time to finish 8th last weekend at the Chick, using the new Strike King 8XD and 1-oz Strike King Denny Brauer Structure Jig (blue craw).
3. When you know a play-ah is cool.
Play-ah as in football:
Brian Robison of the Vikes. Check the logo on the shades….
4. CT: Study says bass evolve to be less aggressive…
…due to angling pressure:
“The fish adapt in the face of a new predator, humans, and evolve to become less aggressive.”
5. GA: Charity derby on West Point.
Benefit for family after young father passed. RIP fishin’ brother.
> On August 1, Johnson will host the tournament to benefit Dewberry at the Highland Marina Resort on West Point Lake. The entry fee is $100 per-boat along with an optional $10 for the big fish pot.
6. TX: Medina stocked with 204K fingerlings.
Water is finally up which is why TX is stocking.
7. AR: Man killed by lightning strike on Beaver.
RIP fishin’ brother.
8. MO: Bass boat hit floating object…
…on Stockton, sounds like guy okay.
10. B.A.S.S.’s best bass lakes list out.
T-Bend wins. What stood out to me:
> The rankings were created by first polling the fishery agencies of each state to produce a current list of bass-rich waters. Next, the B.A.S.S. Nation was employed to chime in on the best fisheries they compete on across the country. All 630,000 B.A.S.S. Facebook fans were polled to make sure non-tournament lakes were considered, and then the B.A.S.S. Council, a 3,500-member panel of super-avid bass fishermen, helped put the lakes in order. Finally, after scouring tournament data from hundreds of bass fishing clubs and tournament organizers, the rankings were finalized by a 15-member blue-ribbon panel from the fishing industry.
Wow! Awesome, but have to say I’m pretty disappointed a swami, hedge fund software and darts weren’t used as part of the process — hahaha!
Still a great idea to get people looking and talking, propellers to B.A.S.S.
11. AL: World HS finals July 8-11.
TBF derby on Pickwick/Wilson.
12. 2 cool baits.
Check this Deps 250 — sick:
Another custom paint job, this time poison dart frog — would you fish it? Let me know on Faceybook.
13. This a peacock bass or…?
Cool-lookin’ fish. Can you ID this? Let me know on Facebook again here.
14. Did ya enter to fish with Ott yet?
New stuff (ICAST-related)
BOOYAH Finance Jig.
> Available only in the pros’ top eight color patterns and three sizes (3/8-, 1/2- and 3/4-oz), the Finance Jig maximizes all the characteristics professional bass anglers want in a jig for multiple uses.
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
See if you can make yourself do this, from Bassmaster.com:
> By allowing a surface lure to remain stationary, you’d be surprised by how many additional fish it can attract. The key is patience.
> Early in my career, I qualified for the All American Bass Championship on Kentucky Lake. I went with what I knew: targeting that shallow brush. And I caught fish — good fish — using spinnerbaits and buzzbaits.
> The next morning, I awoke to freezing temperatures and a stiff northerly breeze…not a single fish responded. Concerned, I switched to a shallow-running crankbait, then a jig, and finally some soft-plastics. Still nothing.
> Finally, with no fish and nowhere else to go, I made one last lure change: I decided to try a topwater walking bait. I cast the lure to the next few brush piles to no avail. Then, in a last-ditch effort, I walked the bait up to a piece of brush and let it lie motionless. Maybe 15 to 20 seconds passed when, suddenly, a 3 1/2 pounder crushed the lure. On the very next cast to the same brushpile, another 3 pounder attacked the bait — but not before letting it lie still for nearly 30 seconds.
> If not for my exposure to dead-sticking soft plastics back home [FL], I would never have made the necessary adjustments with the topwater lure…. …since that time, this same presentation has proven effective in countless situations.
> Just like dead-sticking a soft-plastic, a stalled topwater hovering above a fish is sometimes more than it can resist. The strike may be a long time in coming, but it’s usually vicious when it occurs. And the grade of fish you’ll catch is usually much better than average.
Texted Bernie for more deets:
> “It’s not a cold front deal necessarily. It can work then, but it can be effective throughout the warmer months. It’s suited to lethargic or pressured fish.”
> “Allowing the lure to lie still isn’t east to do, especially when you’re looking at it. But if you practice some discipline, the rewards can be huge.”
> “I like the Rapala X-Rap Pop, Skitter Walk and X-Rap Prop.”
Quote of the Day
Whoever say it not hurt, they lie.
– FLWer Shin Fukae, taken noodlin’ for cats by FLWer Wesley Strader. Full quote is $$$, Wesley talkin’:
> “Shin said, ‘He bite me, he bite me. Then he said, ‘Whoever say it not hurt, they lie.'”
Bwahahaha! Sounds from the article that Mrs. Fukae was a little tougher…just sayin’….
Shot of the Day
The ONLY way to get Super Happy Crazy Fun Time (as they say in Japan) like this is with an A-rig:
Random
I’m confident because I’m the best player in the world.
– LeBron James before not winning the Stanley Cup of basketball (that’s for you Mercer!). #eyeroll
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:
Booyah Baits | Rapala.com | StrikeKing.comBassGold.com | TackleWarehouse.com
BassBlaster.rocks
To send me sumpin, respond to this email or click here.
