|
Not real sure what I was thinking – since the Redcrest Expo doesn't start til today, not gonna have anything new from that til next week. But got some good stuff in this'n!
KVD says hey:
| |
If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff. | | |
Time for a different kind of cull tag? | |
|
Interesting info from Josh Bertrand on a new type of cull tag. Here's 3 Qs with him and then some more info:
1. Why did you think the regular clip tags were bad?
> "I definitely wouldn't say all regular non-penetrative tags are bad. However, I personally feel like some of them put unnecessary strain on the fish, especially smallmouth and smaller largemouth.
> "I've seen many times where a healthy fish goes in the livewell and 30 minutes after being tagged through the mouth it's showing signs of stress – lips and fins turning pink. I'd then take the tag off and the fish would quickly show signs of improvement.
> "I'm no biologist, but I felt like I could pinpoint that the bulky cull tag was causing the stress. A lot of folks tell me they see similar issues. Many of them think it's due to the fact most non-penetrating tags don't allow the fish to fully close its mouth while clipped on. I think it affects their breathing."
2. What's the diff between these and regular cull tags?
> "The biggest difference between the DD26 Cull ID tags and standard cull tags is the way they attach to the fish. Without having to attach in the mouth [they attach to the dorsal fin], they are less obstructive to the fish while they're in the livewell."
| |
|
3. How long have you been working on the DD26 tags and why is that a better solution?
> "For years I've been afraid to use cull tags on my fish due to fear of them dying. I'd livewell every fish I caught without a tag, and they'd stay healthy all day. The only problem was the amount of time it would take to cull due to them not being marked and identified.
> "Dave [Davis, DD26 owner] and I have been working on trying to find a better solution for close to a year. The Cull ID Is simple and it addresses the issues I was having.
> "The Cull ID tags identify each fish and work in conjunction with all of the popular culling scales tournament anglers use – same colors as the Bubba scale and also the numbers that other scales use. They are attached to the back dorsal fin of the fish and are easy to see on fish in the livewell.
> "They do hold well on the fish swimming in the livewell, but they aren't meant to be used as a leash to lift the fish. What I like to do is belly-grab the cull fish out of the livewell rather than try to lift by the tag.
> "You might have to roll up your sleeve to grab the fish, but that sure beats a possibly dead-fish penalty and not taking care of the resource we all love."
Interesting eh? Here's more – Josh and DD26 did a test/study at the WONBass US Open at Mohave last year:
> ...anglers using the DD26 Cull ID tags...saw a significant reduction in the number of fish fatalities compared to anglers using other types of tags.
> ...183 boaters. Out of those boaters, 105 of the anglers helped provide the data used.... 87 anglers using cull tags placed in the fish's mouth experienced a 1.154% fatality rate with 9 dead fish out of 880 fish weighed.18 anglers using the DD26 Cull ID tags saw...fish loss at 0.606% with 1 loss out of 165 fish weighed.
Then they took a deeper look:
> Out of the fish that did not survive in the group of anglers using cull tags locked into the mouth of the fish, 1 of them was gut-hooked...4 of them were [lost] due to a mechanical issue with a livewell. Those 5 catches were removed from the data. That brought the loss percentage down to just over a half percentage at 0.516% – 4 of 875 fish.
> The same conditions were excluded for anglers using the DD26 Cull ID tags.1 fish was gill-hooked with a crankbait. That was the only fish that did not make it from that group of anglers, bringing the loss rate down to ZERO – no fish loss out of 164 fish.
> This data supports a significant improvement in fish survival for...using the Cull ID system. The data suggests there is a major benefit to using tags like the DD26 Cull ID tags that do not inhibit the fish breathing.
If interested, get 'em at the DD26 site for $29.99.
| |
Top 10's baits from a couple Toyotas | |
|
Kentucky Lake
This one was won by TN's Jake Lawrence...AGAIN. He won it last year too and in 2018. Dang son! Here's how he won this'n:
> ...weighed 10 smallmouth and 5 largemouth...caught almost everything from current breaks with a minnow on a lead-head.
> Fishing mostly in the 5-10' range, Lawrence used a prototype minnow from Jenko and did most of his work with a 3/16-oz head....
Here's the top 10's baits:
Damiki rig = 60% – 4.3" Berkley Power Swimmer, 5" Jenko Tremor Shad, Rapala CrushCity Freeloader, Keitech Shad Impact
A-rig = 30%
Big swimbait = 20% – both Berkley CullShads
Jerkbait = 20%
10% each = Bladed jig (Z-Man JackHammer), Jig, Lipless crankbait
Shout-outs
1. Red hot Drew "Blue" Gill finished 6th with an A-rig.
2. How 'bout local Brent Anderson (10th) junking it up with a jig and a lipless! 💪
| |
2. CA's Juarez Jackson turned OFF all his electronics – "he found those fish more apt to bite with the graphs and transducers off." | |
2 baits playing this spring are.... | |
|
Been noticing these baits popping up semi-regularly, here's some info on 'em.
Berkley CullShad
This bait came out at Redcrest last year and a bunch of the Berkley guys were catching 'em on it. Well, check what On Em "Matty" Robertson fished to finish 2nd at that Kentucky-Barkley Toyota last weekend:
| |
Jordan Hartman (3rd) also fished it, and it was the primary weapon for John Cox's 7th at the NPFL Championship last weekend on Lake Amistad, TX: | |
 | |
What John said:
> "Amistad was awesome in practice and even awesomer day 1. I didn't really have any spots but I knew the males were starting to pull up...the females weren't there yet.
> "In practice I had the Nessie [Berkley swimbait] out, and had one that was 10-something come after it. I reeled it in as fast as I could because I didn't want to let them see it until tournament day. Then the first tournament morning I picked up the CullShad and they were choking it down their throat so I kept throwing it.
> "I had 4 6-lbers and a 4-lber the first day, all on the CullShad. It was so nuts – I'm talking like 15' line of line out and a 6'-lber comes up and engulfs the whole thing. It was one of the best days ever.
> "Days 2 and 3 that north wind moved so much water...cooled off the water I was fishing and moved them out. Guys were Scoping them out in front of me. ...makes me think I'm gonna have to put that [FFS] on. That 10-lber in practice – a guy caught it [Scoping] 30 ' from where I pulled [the Nessie] away from him in practice."
John threw the CullShad every day – the 6" version (ghost gizzard and electric shad):
> "If that warming trend kept going, someone would've caught 40 lbs."
His CullShad gear: 7' 3" MH XF Fenwick Elite Rod, Abu Zenon MG-X Reel (8.3), 20-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluoro.
Those Fenwick Elite rods have been getting a lotta love from their pro staff. Ain't cheap but real nice....
Bill Lewis Scope-Stik
| |
Been seeing more than a few mentions of this bait in top 10s – like that one ^, Tucker Smith's 2nd at the Okeechobee Open, and this one – Marshall Hughes' 3rd at the Rayburn Invitational: | |
 | |
Bill Lewis/GSM pros are actually fishing it, meaning they're not just mentioning it. Called GSM Fishing head man Crispin Powley and asked him about it.
A little about Crispin if you haven't run into him: He's a good fisherman and occasional tourney fisherman, and was a long-time sales dude and bait designer for Strike King. So he 100% knows what he's talking about. Just be careful: If you walk by him with an energy drink, he might snatch it from you. 😁
1. Why is this bait catching on now, other than the fact that it's jerkbait season?
> "We've wondered the same thing. We really felt like this bait was special out of the gate [last year]. I've had the opportunity to be part of some pretty successful jerkbait launches in my career, and I really believe this product is the best jerkbait for what we designed it to be that I've ever thrown.
> "...the attributes that make it truly a Scope-Stik – it's designed to be more of a viable option for FFS. The thing has incredible action. It's really a great bait. We've been scratching our heads – why has the bass fishing world not fallen in love with it?"
2. Other than the fact that it shows up well on FFS, why is it good?
> "We really made sure we covered the depth ranges right. We have 2 sizes. Each size comes in a floater, which isn't super popular anymore but is a fish-catcher. Then we have 4-6', a 7-10' and...the 10+ sinker – and not everybody offers a sinker.
> "That [10+] casts incredibly well and you can get it down. Usually jerkbaits that can get down...the problem with them is they usually...don't have any action. You've killed it with the weight. The design of this thing, with the flat sides and that shovel bill – it's got incredible action even at depth, which is not the norm."
3. Is there anything guys need to know about how to fish this bait? Something you've found?
> "I like to throw the non-sinking versions on 8 or 10 [fluoro] because I think that maxes their depth capability and I don't get a lot of line drag. The sinking version on the other hand – I'm often throwing it around brushpiles and stumps. I'll go to 12 on it in case have to pull fish away or through some cover.
> "The whole thing is it's a great jerkbait on its own. Turn off your FFS and jerk this thing around – you're gonna catch 'em. The things that make it good for FFS don't diminish it at all for great jerkbait fishing.
> "A lot of times we design baits that are 1-dimensional. This thing is multi-dimensional."
| |
"I would hate to see in 10 years from now where we've lost all the tradition to our sport." | |
- Ryan Salzman on MLF Live talkin' 'bout the potential of a focus on Scoping to eventually erase a lot of the info on other baits and techniques. Ryan is a younger dude and is real good at Scoping. Great point man! | |
Trey is here! Sonar glasses? Castable camera? | |
|
Here's the SeaFoamWorks.com Top 5 of the Week in Bass Fishing, Episode 81 – gitcha info 'n laughs!
1. Trey McKinney is here! 💪
2. FFS or spots? 🤔
3. FFS glasses? 👀
4. Castable camera? 🤯
5. Tech ain't winnin' everything! 😮💨
| |
|
That's LA's Sid Wilde with a 15.78 monster (27" long, 23.5" around) that he flipped up while waiting for the boat ramp to clear:
> "I told my son, 'There's no need to get impatient,' so we kept fishing, waiting until it wasn't as busy. And about 2 minutes later, I caught this fish."
> ...broke the [lake] record set on Feb. 26, 2023 by Robert Rush of Crosset, AR, a 15.36-lber. And it's only about 3 oz shy of Greg Wiggins' 15.97-lb state-record bass from Caney Lake, caught in Feb 1994.
It was his first time fishing the lake, and before that his PB was a 6-14:
> "I've never seen anything like that. I thought I was going to throw up – I got sick to my stomach."
I bet! Caught it flipping a 5" Netbait Paca Craw (AL craw) to the base od a tree in 6'.
6. IN record smallmouths was on a Berkley Stunna jerkbait.
Legend "Louie" Stout got the deets, probably after some kind words followed by mild torture 😆 lol – thanks Louie! Full story at that link ^:
> [Rex] Remington was fishing a Berkley Stunna jerkbait on a rocky bank near a channel swing around 11am when the bass hit. His boat was sitting in about 10' of water and he was casting at a 45-degree angle. [In other words, NO FFS.]
> "I caught a small largemouth, lost one and caught one about 4 lbs there. So I knew I was in a good area."
> With the water temp hovering at 45 degrees, he was working the jerkbait slowly – 2 twitches and a long pause. When he tried twitching again, the bait didn't move.
Fish weighed 8.23 lbs, on 12-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro.
7. TX: First ShareLunker caught outta Inks Lake.
Also a pending record for that lake, a 13.4 caught by Darryl Hanson.
Check this: Inks is the 78th public TX rez to produce a ShareLunker (13+). Big props to the TX DNR for taking bass seriously and serving their fishermen!
8. MX: 14.14-lber is a new Picachos record.
| |
Word is the little Hellgrammite is a killer dropshot bait. Has GLF's matte finish and neutral buoyancy. | |
|
> ...6.5'' Sensei features a custom-tailored soft plastic formula that leaves the worm neutrally buoyant in the water. ...allows for a wide, slow shimmy when rigged weightless.
Don't see it on TW yet but I do see it on the Yamamoto site.
12. New Smeltinator Jighead color: Gussy shad.
Looks like for now only available on the Northland site.
13. OK: 2025 Nation Championship will be on Grand Lake.
My money's on Will Davis Jr. 😁 No idea if he's fishing it again....
14. TX: Amistad water level critically low?
> Lake Amistad is 66' low and sits at just about 1/4 full...the lowest recorded since the lake was filled after the dam was completed in 1969.
> The US has rights to 56% of the lake's water, while MX controls the remainder.
> The low water levels in the lakes are being caused by...a "double drought" – an ongoing lack of rainfall to replenish rivers and reservoirs, combined with decisions by MX to withhold water from the Rio Grande that they are supposed to be handing over to the US.
15. NH: Town chooses to make a boat ramp locals only.
Hope that doesn't spread....
16. Thank Sam Tisdale for New England bassin'.
> ...in 1850, Samuel Tisdale, a wealthy merchant from Wareham, MA, hatched a plan to introduce this gamefish to his home waters. Tisdale acquired 27 bass from Saratoga Lake in NY and put them in Flax Lake (no longer the pond's name) near his home in Wareham.
> During the following 2 years, Tisdale arranged to have even more bass...stocked in other ponds in Plymouth County. Encouraged by the results of his stocking, Tisdale arranged for the progeny of those fish to be stocked in ponds throughout eastern MA and...other New England states.
> Enthusiastic reports from anglers in the region praised Tisdale, crediting him for their enjoyment of the newfound sport of bass fishing in MA, RI and CT. Bass from the Tisdale line were also transported to NH....
17. FL: Too much hydrilla in West Lake Toho?
> The aquatic plant management department at the FL FWC estimates that roughly 80% of West Lake Toho is inundated with invasive plant species.
18. IA: Hamburg-Mitchell ramp closing as of Jun 30.
On the Missouri River, sounds like permanently.
19. CO will have state line checkpoints for mussels.
20. WY is next state wanting to train citizens to inspect boats.
Calling all you HOA board members! 😁
21. Keep an eye on...
Looks like the Atlantic coast 10-knot speed limit will happen??
Would affect rec fishing boats even though commercial ship props do the damage, makes zero sense and zero proof it will help right whales. It's federal insanity – check the area that would/will be affected:
| |
|
> "The proposed rule is based on incorrect assumptions and questionable data, and fails to distinguish between large, ocean-crossing vessels and small recreational boats, which could not be more different from each other."
> ...the proposed rule could put more than 810,000 American jobs and nearly $230 bil in economic contributions in jeopardy. More than 95% of boats sold in the US are made in the US, and approximately 93% of boat manufacturers are small business owners.
Thank you Frank Sargeant for covering this – keep it up!
Autonomous boat fleet being built for the ocean
Don't know about you, but I don't want to see self-driving cars/trucks or boats!
Headlines of the Day
Time is running out to keep invasive carp out of Lake Michigan
You got that right. Ultra-expensive barriers ain't gonna do it unfortunately. That won't stop biological pollution. And politicians should not be the ones responsible for stopping 'em. Are they know for making good, cost-effective decisions? Being decisive and moving fast? 🙄
Eye tracking via sonar: Researchers hope to make VR headsets more efficient
Sonar IN the goggles to track eye movements.
| |
|
"It's just gonna be a matter of catching them faster than the next guy."
- Michael "Top 10" Neal on MLF Live talkin' 'bout a spot he was sharing with Dustin Connell and Anthony Gagliardi.
"Spotted bass smell good. Not as good as a largemouth, but pretty nice."
- Lol! Ryan Salzman on MLF Live today. Now I need to test that out for myself....
"...I like challenging my skills against modern technology even though I know it's harder to win against it."
- Greg Hackney talkin'. Heck yeah Hack! He also said:
> Having said that, I won't get my teeth kicked in without changing.
| | |
|
Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'! | | |
|
Check out BassGold.com! It's FREE!
Sign up another bass-head!
If you're forwarding every Blaster to other bass crackheads, tx much – or you can email me the addys and we'll take care of it! We'll never send spam or whatever....
| | |
GITCHA HANDS ON THE BEST STUFF! | |
Gitcha BB social at these links | | | | |
