THE LATEST NEWS
It’s Ike Live! Time Again!
Ike will be talking to a number of the Elite Pros fresh from the Bassmaster competition on the Delaware River, so he’s planning a special 3-hour show!
Assuredly all the Pros will be crowing/grousing about the 6’, twice-daily, tidal swings augmented by the full moon—so big it’s being called a Super Moon—and the cooler than normal temperatures
Get Some Swagger
Bladed jigs (chatter baits) have quickly become a popular lure in tournaments, and rightfully so – they are versatile, imitate multiple forage species, and attract bass. This week I was able to use the 3/8 oz. “Swagger Jig” from Buddha Bait Company
DESIGN: The Swagger, on first appearance, looks like a typical bladed jig, until you peel back the skirt and notice two atypical features: a 6/0 black nickel hook and a solid bait keeper. With a stream lined pyramid style head design and quality skirting, this jig has all the looks of a solid fish catcher, and is available in 3/8 and ½ ounce sizes. The head also was equipped with large inlaid eyes, which gave the jig a more “fishy” appearance. The model we tested had a skirt that had longer strands along the shank, leaving a skirt “trailer” coming off the back of the bait. We used a StankX Bait Company “Flukez” (www.stankxbaitco.com) trailer during the testing to evaluate the movement of the bait and the quality of the bait keeper.
PERFORMANCE: The Swagger Jig delivered as advertised: a solid bladed jig with consistent vibration and excellent feel coming through the water. The swaggers movement was very unique, as the body of the lure produced both a side to side and up and down motion as it went through the water. The Swagger jig came though hard cover very well, and hydrilla was easily shaken from the bait upon retrieval. The StankX Bait Company Flukez trailer was easily held in place by the bait keeper, and undulated well with the bait. During the evaluation, the line tie never wrapped around the blade as it can with other bladed jigs, so every retrieve produced immediate vibration.
FISHABILITY: The Swagger Jig was very controllable, as the vibration was easily detectable yet not overwhelming. Managing depth was also easy to control. The swagger was fished on a Denali Rosewood Mark Tyler Signature MH rod with 17 lb. Sunline Shooter FC line and a Daiwa Tatula 6.3:1 Reel. Distance control and cast ability were a breeze. Strikes came usually within the first 3 seconds of the retrieve, and the 6/0 hook never lost a fish during the evaluation. We never had to replace the StankX trailer, and it barely moved during testing, so the bait keeper proved to be quality.
OVERALL: This bait was very impressive – solid action, feel, and fish holding power, and they obviously liked it! With a variety of color options (blade and body), we feel the Swagger Jig will become the staple bladed jig for a lot of anglers. With a solid lineup of swim jigs, flipping jigs, buzzbaits, spinner baits, and bladed jigs, the Buddha Bait Company has a qulaity product with some unique designs that would compliment any anglers selection. Go to www.buddhabaitco.com for more details and to view their enitre line up.
By Chris Murphy
Find out more about Chris by visiting his web site, be sure to like his Facebook page.
Duckett Leads Bassmaster Debut On The Delaware
PHILADELPHIA — So, do black bass live in the Delaware River?
Oh, boy, do they. Boyd Duckett showed how those bass can be caught when the four-day Bassmaster Elite Series event on the Delaware River kicked off Thursday out of Philadelphia for the first time in Bassmaster history.
Bringing in a limit of five largemouth bass that weighed 16 pounds, 14 ounces — a respectable total anywhere during midsummer — Duckett of Guntersville, Ala., led the field of 106 pros, each after the event’s first prize of $100,000 and an instant qualification for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.
Duckett — the 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion — posted a hefty lead over Morizo Shimizu of Osaka, Japan, who took second place with 12-2.
Third place after one day was claimed by James Elam of Tulsa, Okla., with 11-12. Kevin Short of Mayflower, Ark., had 11-6 for fourth place. Fred Roumbanis of Bixby, Okla., had 11-5 for fifth place.
Those five pros on top of the leaderboard all weighed five-fish limits, unlike many others in the field.
Knowing well after two and a half days of practice time that Delaware River bass were going to present one of the Elite season’s biggest challenges, Duckett made a key decision: go for the big bass during the river’s just-right tidal conditions, taking the chance that he would not end up with five in the box.
“I found a couple of deals that work a little better to get a bigger bite,” he said. “I’m throwing bigger baits. There’s no guarantee you’ll get five bites in a day here. At least if you get them, I want them to be bigger ones.”
Duckett said that toward the end of the day, he had a limit, but the smallest, a 2-pounder, was bugging him.
“I was like, ‘Oh, if I could just cull this one.’ Then finally I got my sixth bite, and it was a 3 1/2. I knew I had about all the river was going to put out for the day,” he said.
The five he weighed looked like cookie-cutter bass. The largest was 3-13.
Duckett said he’s working the main river as well as backwater areas, always trying to follow the tides.
Shimizu said he caught four of his five bass within one midmorning hour. When the action shut down, he moved to one of his secondary spots, but nothing worked for him there. He returned to the place that gave up the quartet. And there he landed his fifth largemouth of the day.
It was a stellar day after a very slow practice, he said.
“I say, ‘Never give up,’” he said, repeating what is not only a Michael Iaconelli mantra, but what has been Shimizu’s slogan for 15 or 16 years, he said.
Elam, with 11-12 worth of largemouth for third place, said he was learning how to work with the massive tide swing of the Delaware. The water drops 7 feet at low tide.
“I saw one place today in the morning (at low tide), where I caught a fish later. I thought I could pull up at high tide there and get bit,” he said. “I spent my practice time trying to figure out how to run the tides and the windows when the fish would be biting.”
The largest bass of the day, a 4-3, was caught by Brandon Card of Caryville, Tenn., making him the frontrunner for the event’s Carhartt Big Bass award of up to $1,500.
Duckett leads the event’s competition for the Berkley Heavyweight award of $500 for the tournament’s largest bag of bass.
Philadelphia native son Iaconelli produced a limit of bass that weighed 9-2. It was good for 21st place. Now living in Pittsgrove, N.J., the Elite pro received a resounding vote of confidence from the crowd: “Ike, Ike, Ike, Ike,” they chanted.
Another hometown notable took the stage Thursday: Mayor Michael Nutter made an appearance to welcome the Elite Series to Philadelphia.
The full field will return to the river Friday for the second round. They’ll take off from the Frankford Arsenal Boat Launch (5701 Tacony St.) at 6:15 a.m., and then weigh their catches on stage at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing (211 S. Columbus Blvd.) beginning at 3:15 p.m.
Fans are invited to watch the takeoff and weigh-ins all week through Sunday. There’s no admission charge to attend.
Other free Bassmaster activities at Penn’s Landing include boat rides Friday, Saturday and Sunday in new Nitro, Triton and Skeeter rigs powered by Mercury and Yamaha engines. Fans can sign up for the demo rides at the Nitro, Triton and Yamaha booths.
The Bassmaster Elite Expo, which features local exhibits as well as those of Elite Series sponsors, will open Saturday at noon, and again at noon on Sunday. Free Expo activities include the screening of the newest Costa GeoBASS film on Saturday preceding the weigh-in.
The hosts of the event are Philadelphia Sports Congress, Visit Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic Youth Anglers & Outdoors Program. The local media partners for this event are 6ABC TV and 92.5 XTU radio.
The Delaware River event will be featured on The Bassmasters on ESPN2 on Aug. 24 and 31 from 8 to 9 a.m. ET.
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series presented by Allstate, B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro.
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Swindle is Fishing with Crappie Lures
Gerald Swindle has competed as a pro in an admirable 217 B.A.S.S. tournaments.
This morning, he said there’s a clear new leader in his personal ranking of the toughest tournaments he’s ever fished. “Yep, the Delaware River here in Philly has passed Lake Wissota as a strong new #1 on ol’ G’s list of the toughest derbies I’ve ever been in,” said Swindle with an ever present grin.
Swindle competed in the June, 2005 B.A.S.S. event at Lake Wissota, WI where nearly every pro posted a zero on at least one of the competition days.
Thank goodness nobody was keeping official score in practice this week on The Delaware. “I never had a bite in two of the three days of practice. I went 14 hours Monday without a bite, and 9 hours yesterday without a bite,” said Swindle, who’s having a great season thus far and sits 6th in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
So what’s a guy to do when it’s this tough? “First off, you gotta force yourself to stay positive mentally,” says Swindle, a huge believer that like most of life, success as a pro angler begins between the ears and in the heart.
Secondly, downsize. Smaller lures. Smaller line. “I’ve scrounged up every tiny, crappie-sized crankbait I could get my hands on,” admitted Swindle just before morning launch. “I’m taking the same approach to my pitchin’ style baits.”
Instead of bulky full-sized jigs, or creature style soft plastics, Swindle is actually pitching a skinny Zoom finesse worm rigged Texas style with baitcasting equipment, like most anglers would typically pair with a shaky head and spinning rod.
Speaking of spinning rods and reels, Swindle has two of them rigged this morning. A Quantum Energy spinning reel was paired to a tiny finesse worm rigged Texas style, and his Quantum Smoke spinning reel was paired with one of the tiny crankbaits he rounded-up to deal with these exceptionally tough conditions.
“I’m also using 14 and 16 pound Sunline instead of the heavier 20 or 25-pound line that I’d normally pitch with,” he added.
Swindle’s approach to the stingy conditions he’s facing here should serve as a lesson to all bass anglers when getting so much as a single bite seems next to impossible, especially on waters like The Delaware where not many big bass live.
Downsize everything … except mental toughness and heartfelt desire.
Ike’s Finesse Class
Mike Iaconelli shares in-depth information and secrets about his most effective soft plastic finesse fishing techniques for tough conditions in his latest class on The Bass University TV. Iaconelli also reveals tactics that he relies on to catch bass on the difficult Delaware River, which is the location of this week’s Elite Series event! Learn about the most consistent fish-catching tactics for bass relating to the top of the water column, suspended in the middle zone, and for bass relating to the bottom.
Watch the entire class here: http://thebassuniversity.com/tv