Last Blaster of June so we're halfway through another fab year of bassin'! Hope you and your family have a great 4th break, you get some rest and of course stick your thumb in some fish mouths! π
Got out and fished yesterday β for sharks! Adrian Avena put me, my younger bro and my 2 "kids" on 'em big-time. Who knew 9' sharks that weigh 300+ lbs aren't too far off the beach in NJ? It was a time, but today I feel like I got run over by Skeet Reese's tow vehicle at least twice lol.
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Reminder: If your email program cuts off the bottom of this email, click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that β email programs keep changing stuff. |
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Learn ya some about that Berkley Gilly swimbait. |
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You might recall that the Berkley Powerbait Gilly won best soft bait (I think) at last year's ICAST show. Well okay, but so what? Meaning for just about every ICAST winner it's a new bait (or new whatever), so diehards like you and me haven't had a chance to fish it yet...meaning we can't really know if it's good, even though almost every bait now comes to the market after tons of pro-angler testing.
Anyhow, that's the way I tend to think about most ICAST winners.
In the Gilly's case, we know that for the most part Berkley's been killin' it with baits. And I personally trust Mike Iaconelli about baits 'n gear because he's super detail-oriented, loves baits and bait history, and knows what he's talkin' 'bout β and he helped design the Gilly. He's not too bad a fisherman either....
On top of that, over the last year this bait has gotten a decent amount of "regular fisherman" buzz with all the ways you can rig and fish it.
So with ICAST 2022 just around the corner, I asked Mike and one of the bait's designers at Berkley, Aaron Wavra (in #2 below), what up with this deal. Here's we go β Ike first:
Mid-size bait, bluegill profile
That's how Mike thinks about this bait from a swimbait perspective, although he doesn't just use it as a swimbait:
> ...a wide body, big fat panfish-profile baits. Fish all over the country love bluegill. They love panfish...it's one of their favorite meals. It's funny that up until recently, 5 years or less, that profile was β outside of the Japanese market, nobody was making wide, fat-body baits. But think about it β it's the most prolific forage out there. ...they're in every lake a bass lives in. It's a major part of their diet.
> ...so many bluegill species...all have that profile. The Gilly...is good all year. I've heard guys say they fish it during the spawn and post-spawn β yes it's really good then [when bass] hate bluegill. But love 'em in the pre-spawn, bass love 'em in the fall, bass eat 'em in the winter ...when I fish winter tournaments in south Jersey, if you look in the livewell bluegill are in there.
> "Berkley did a really good job of creating a bait that has the right action and the right stance. A lot of the testing I did with it...in the pool.... When you see a bluegill swim and it almost has this undulating, rhythmic S motion...the Gilly has that action unbelievably, that same action.
> "It does that because of that die cut [back part of the bait]. ...the meat to the bait is only where the hook's at. The rest of the body is die-cut and it undulates and creates that left-right motion. They put tabs and rudders on it...creates that undulation.
> "The thing that blows me away on that bait is the positioning of the body. When you rig it, it swims anatomically correct.
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> "The top of the body is hollow, almost like a tube. The bottom is solid, the top is hollow. So it causes that bait to have a ballast at the bottom, which always makes it [rightside up]...makes it in the anatomically correct position. It's incredible.
> "...that hollow spot also doubles as a great spot to put things in. I've addles rattles in there. packing peanuts...I've seen guys push a tube head in there and rig it like a tube....
> "Here's what I've learned form other guys about the versatility of the bait: you can fish it on a weightless TX rig, a weighted TX rig, a weightless or weighted swimbait hook, you can side jig it, put it on a jighead, a dropshot, a Carolina rig β nose-hooked, wacky, jighead nose hooked, fish it it over slop like a frog.... All these systems, all these ways to fish it, it's incredible.
> "I think it'll be around for a while because of the different ways you can rig it, and 3 sizes gives a lot of ways to rig it too.
> "The 110 and 130 are my favorite sizes. The 110 to me is like a panfish that's probably 2-3 years old. That 130 is an adult panfish...."
3 ways to rig it
> "Your tendency when you look at the Gilly is to screw it in the nose...but actually you rig it flat...put the hook thru the flat part of the Gilly. In your mind you think you want to rig it [rightside up] but no β because of that hollow spot there it will right itself and swim belly down.
> "The next way is side-rigging. I utilize a VMC HD Ringed EWG Hook...has a welded ring on the eye. Same hook sizes, rig it TX style. ...lay [the bait] flat...instead of the hook through the middle of the body, rig it toward the bottom of the bait on an angle...the point of the hook comes through the body to the belly side of the bait.
> "You can do it weightless or take a little nail weight...on the chin on the Gilly we put a little bullseye for where you put that nail weight in the chin. But weightless is my favorite style because it sinks super slow, almost like Senko slow.
> "...if you want to get it deeper, take a little nail weight β VMC makes them out of lead, and I like it because you can nip it down...dial it in.
> "...with the side rig, especially weightless, I throw a lot more pauses into it. I throw it out, start reeling it with a medium retrieve, and every once in a while I throw a little twitch into it then throw slack into the line...bow to it...lean a little. What it does is throw slack into the line, for maybe 1-2 seconds. Then I pick it back up on a medium retrieve.
> "When you side-rig it, when you throw that pause in there, the bait turns back like 180 degrees and looks at the fish. I get so so many bites when I throw that pause in and I see the line jump. Or as soon as I pick it back up."
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> "The 3rd way is a straight-up old-school TX rig with a pegged worm weight. Guys are free-rigging it too....
> "What surprised me in testing was once again, even TX-rigged β 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 oz β when you reel it, it will swim anatomically correct.
> "I fish it a lot like that when I'm trying to get it in and out of heavy cover. Beaver-style baits for years have been the deal, but I've started playing with the Gilly...punching it, flipping it it's a killer. With a pegged VMC worm weight it swims great...that bluegill profile.
> "There's endless ways you can rig it."
> Gear: 7' 4" or 7' 6" MH Abu Ike Casting Rod, Abu REVO Ike Reel (8.2:1 β "the bites are so vicious and they come right at you"), either Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon ("70% of the time I fish it on fluoro because it's dense, it sinks and it gives that Gilly a better action") in 12-20 lb for the 110 and 130 sizes (though mostly 15 and 17) or if in super heavy cover (pads, hydrilla, milfoil) he'll fish it on 30-50 lb Berkley X5 Braid (mostly 40-lb)."
Frog-type hookset
> "One factor I had to learn when they're feeding on bluegill is about 50% of the time when they bite that Gilly, you got them no matter how they bite it. ...vicious...it's instantaneous.
> "The other half of the time they try to kill...injure it before the they head-shot it. So I had to retrain my brain a little bit on how to set the hook when fishing the Gilly or any bluegill-profile bait, even the hard ones. I've seen bass playing tennis with bluegill β they'll swat 'em....
> "I call it a side-step hookset β that's the best way to describe it. When I feel that tick or that pressure, instead of just swinging, I step back and start to sweep my rod up, but I don't totally jack. It's a lot like when you're fishing a holly-body frog.
> "When I step to the side and start to sweep, either the rod loads up or there's nothing there...continue with the sweep and if there's pressure, try to jack him as hard as I can. If I don't feel that pressure, I'll lean forward, give it slack and start the retrieve again. About 99% of the time, on the first crank they'll head-shot it again."
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Talked to Aaron Wavra ^, one of the bait-design folks at Berkley involved in the Gilly design, and here's what he said:
> "I was in Japan several years ago β we have a pretty big Japanese product line.... Their tackle shops are amazing...all kinds of different ideas and thoughts. I ran across a bait you're probably familiar with that had that sort of texture to it [what Ike calls "die cuts"] that I'd never seen before. So I bought some, did a little research on it, and the action and movement that generated was incredible.
> "Some guys like to be haters.... The reality is soft baits started with a rubber worm, and every bait since has been a derivative of something else. ...the art of bait design is taking good elements that are there and making them better.
> "I was working on another project with Ike and it wasn't doing what we wanted it to do. So this bait kinda came along and I pitched it to Mike...nothing like it in the North American market.... The Japanese bait similar to it...led us off in that direction, but our colors are different, the anatomical design is different, and it doesn't run as well as ours does.
> "An ultra-realistic swimming bluegill β that was the purpose but we didn't have a particular technique dialed in. ...the reason we did it ultra-realistic was to harness the power of our HD true color technology while developing a bluegill bait [type] new to the market.
[Asked him when he fished it, what stuck out to him:]
> "The action β 100% the action. You can skip it really well, even in kind of semi-clear water, and you can watch the action, see how it moves β you can see fish coming up and trailing it. You can see it waking just under the surface, you can kill it β you can fish it so interactively. That's what I love about it. It's very [visually] interactive in the way you can fish that bait
> "My favorite way to rig it is weightless. Skip it around docks, let it sink β it has a really cool dying baitfish kind of action.
> "I think we don't really know everything it's capable of. The rigging obviously is a big deal...but I don't really think we know what niches this is going to play in yet β just because there hasn't been a bait that moves this well or naturally really out there.... So I would just encourage people to use it in any way they can dream up.
> "Another little tip is you can put some nail weights in the belly and get it to sink deeper and faster β an interesting possibility from a forward facing sonar perspective."
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How 'bout weighing TWO 7+ smallmouths in a 5-fish limit?? π€― |
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At least this 'lectric outboard looks normal... |
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Don't know much except what's here β that is the "fully-electric E-Motion 180E outboard motor and associated powertrain system." Last part I think means this β from here:
> Our flagship outboard powertrain (βE-Motionβ) is the first fully-electric purpose-built outboard powertrain system that combines an advanced battery pack, inverter and high-efficiency motor with proprietary union assembly between the transmission and the electric motor design utilizing extensive control software.
> Our E-Motion and related technologies are uniquely designed to improve the efficiency of the outboard powertrain and, as a result, enhance both range and performance.
The one word in that that makes me nervous: software. Can't fix a software out on the lake mang! Says overnight to charge and you can't buy one β only comes as OEM.
The company β which is public (NASDAQ: VMAR) β says they're about "fighting the problems associated with waterway pollution" which is a stretch at best but whatever.
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Are we gonna see baits in bags all the time now? |
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Not sure if this will be a trend, and not sure how to lure fishermen to baits without being able to see 'em, but my 2c is it's worth paying attention to:
> βWe are past the point of having to be better at helping the environment. We love to fish at Jewel and do all things outdoors.
> "We felt this was a necessary step to help ensure our customers get their product quickly, that we as company use less resources to help keep costs down and finally make sure we do our part to ensure sustainability for the environment. As a company we strive to be better every day and the Green Fish Project is a part of that effort."
> The new packaging will be a unique bag that will have the famous Jewel Bait Co logo...will also double as a way to remove any trash while fishing that day. Stuff paper or soft plastics in the bag so nothing is left behind.
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> βWe believe we make the best products to help people catch fish. So collectively as a group we went out to find the most economical and environmentally friendly way to get Jewel products to our customersβ, said Jordan Cecil, marketing manager at Jewel Bait.
The Green Fish Project will go into effect on July 4. All orders though Jewelbait.com will be shipped in the new green bags. |
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> As the all-time leading money winner among female bass anglers, itβs no surprise Pam Martin-Wells recently won the LBAA event on Bull Shoals. ...she claimed victory with a Toyota sun buff covering her bald head, because just days earlier she had received her third chemo treatment to defeat ovarian cancer.
> βThere is no doubt in my mind that I am here because of the good Lord! So many factors took place from diagnosis to surgery that could have only been from the hand of God. I had a CT on a Tuesday followed by an MRI and a CA125 blood test all in one day. All of which was pre-certified by insurance the same day. That doesnβt happen, only God can make that happen."
> 10 weeks after major abdominal surgery, buoyed by faith, her familyβs encouragement and competitive determination, Martin-Wells put a Stanley Top Toad and SPRO Popping Frog to work on Bull Shoals to generate explosive topwater strikes that lead to victory....
She also coaches the Emmanuel College bassin' team. Please pray for her. πβοΈ
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2. Pro boats for sale.
Phills drafted him outta Dallas Baptist U:
> ...when the 2020 minor league season got canceled due to the pandemic and [Darick] Hall wasnβt invited to camp, he spent the summer in Arizona, competing in bass fishing tournaments. He even won $944 in one contest, which is great, because minor leaguers donβt make a lot of money.
Good! Get with the program CT! Here's the part that really stuck out to me:
> Create New Fisheries: Pursue access to waters currently closed to fishing as well as modify regulations on bass management lakes to allow for increased fishing.
Lemme summarize it: Anything chartreuse. Other than that, dropshot or Ned, preferably MaxScent. π
Yep not unusual, but surprised about that at such a Southern/redneck college of that size?
Sounds like it mighta been a little heated: π
> Brenda Funk soon noticed and raised a point or two about the number of spinnerbaits purchased and used by Paul, who fished every chance he got. So he started making his own artificials....
Believe that means he had an "or else" moment...π
19' Ranger tin tub, guessin' because it gets there faster and is easy to cast from? I mean, why row if you don't have to??
Gitcha pain lessed:
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Keep your head on a swivel:
> ...Boatsetter has seen a 378% year-over-year increase in interest in pontoon boat rentals, as well as 332% increased interest in party boat rentals, 261% increased interest in fishing charter rentals....
Interestingly because of LESS rainfall = fewer nutrients from farms, etc in the system.
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now... |
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And other ways he finds bass with a frog β good BB vi from a few years back. One reason I like it: It makes me look at and fish some areas differently than I would:
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"It is like me being a pass rusher. I donβt think, I just do it. These guys out here, they know as soon as they see something it is a split-second decision on what to do."
Just messin', always good to see former pro athletes come over to the green side and find out how tough it truly is!
Says his goal has always been to fish the Classic.
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I'm all for anyone figurin' out how to keep skeeters off, but this deal has me skeptical:
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', picked by me β 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'!
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