Anyone need sunglasses? KastKing wants some eyeballs on/in their new Billy Dance set, pls lmk if you are in need and/or curious.

Apologies that next week the BB schedule will be jacked up due to travel. Hopefully some bass will be involved! Hope you have a good one – and maybe stay away from social media lol dang!

You might recall that one of the baits Nick Hatfield fished to win MLF Heavy Hitters was the new Megabass Vision 110 SR – SR = "shallow runner."

A new V110 is a big deal because even with all the new real good jerkbaits we have now, everyone knows that the OG V110 is still the standard. And it's still fished a ton. So what's up with this new version?

Got with Megabass' new marketing dude Patterson Leeth to find out more:

1. Why come out with the SR?

> "...the whole notion was while the original Vision 110 is great in a myriad of applications [and] you can impart an action to where it will not dive as deep as you would normally want it to do, what we wanted to do was to be able to use the same profile with an updated bill to allow anglers to utilize it just like Nick Hatfield did...when the fish move up shallow and they're still chasing bait....

> "...it's the same profile with a different bill that allows the bait to have a more erratic side to side action vs a down and up. So being able to work it in a much shallower range."

[SR is on the bottom.]

Follow-up: Does it have sound?

> "It sounds similar to the 110...beads in there making noise."

2. How does it have more action than a regular 110?

> "I wouldn't say it has more action than the 110, it just has a different action.

> "When you work a 110, the side to side action is imparted as it starts to move down in the water column. The scooped bill on the front of [the SR] is...more cupped...almost a depressed teardrop shape. That bill allows the bait to still have very similar characteristics of movement as the 110 but without the need to [jerk it down to get it to have action].

> "You can get it to go...4. But the cool thing is you can impart action to it on an upward movement...so it can be pretty close to subsurface.

> "It's definitely different but it shares very similar characteristics [as the OG V110] without going as deep. I would say it moves more left to right. This bait you can impart less action for it to move more on a horizontal plane vs a big down to the right and a big down to the left [of a regular V110]."

[That is way harder to explain in words than it is to see it, but hopefully you get what he's saying.]

3. Several companies make really good jerkbaits now. Why do you think so many people still fish the 110?

> "... its action is just more bite-provoking and it performs in a myriad of applications. So at the very basic level, I think it outperforms even the closest knockoffs.

> "At the tournament level, there's a ton of confidence in that bait. ...we have a pretty healthy range of offerings in that [V110] platform [+1, Jr, etc] so there's the ability to scale up or down....

> "It's almost like the [Zoom] Speed Craw. There's a lot of crawdads out there, but man you see that in pretty much everyone's boat.

> "[Also] Megabass is so particular in their design ethos and everything that goes into it...."

Bonus Q: Why is 'mat shad' all that – and what are your other best-selling colors?

> "One is it's a confidence color. It also has a natural color profile without a ton of flash that can mimic a ton of different baitfish in a wide range of color palettes of water. It's one of the most natural colors once it gets in the water. People love that everywhere for largemouth and smallmouth.

> "...the ability to mimic a wide range of baitfish colors at different times of the year."

'Mat shad' is one of their bestsellers. Also 'elegy bone,' French pearl OB', 'GG deadly black shad' and of course 'GP pro blue'.

Patterson also said about all the colors they offer, he hears from folks that a particular color kills it on a particular lake (for ex 'elegy bone' on St Clair).

Note: The SR comes with new Megabass out-barb hooks that have "upgraded 1X wire."

That's Gage King and Banks Shaw of the University of North Alabama who won the Bassmaster College Series at Chickamauga, TN last weekend. And guess what? They were cranking.

Fishing ledges and bars so the deep cranks played – in their case a Strike King 10XD (citrus shad and green gizzard):

> ...ledges and bars in 15-25 feet, the winners sought small schools of fish that were likely to be overlooked.

> Both days they'd start with crankbaits to catch the most aggressive fish and energize the school. Once the fish were fired up, they'd pick off targets with a...3/8-oz Picasso Tungsten Ball Head with a 6" Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ, and a 3/4-oz Picasso football jig with a Zoom Super Speed Craw....

> "With the crankbaits, we changed angles on the fish. We got a couple of key culls by showing the fish a different look from what they'd seen.

> "With the football head, we changed the cadence. We'd work it like a spoon, then slow down. The more active presentation was best."

So my concludin's are:

1. They're sure not gonna fish something they don't have confidence in, especially with a win on the line.

2. To get good at something you need to practice it (duh) so they're obviously fishing cranks. And that 10XD sure ain't an easy one to slam into the bottom for hours.

3. Maybe more "evidence" that the younger guys really want to fish a wider variety of stuff.

Also gotta shout out the 10XD – which also was fished by Guntersville Toyota winner Isaac Peaveyhouse:

Used to be the 6XD was all that on ledges (and is still a TW bestseller) – is the 10XD coming on? 🤔

So I got to thinking – how can we do an "online"/virtual tourney to make it as fun as possible for you, aka regular fishermen? Didn't have any rocket science insight but the bottom line is:

• Very low cost to enter ($20 – plus another $20 if you want to enter the Sidepot)
• Chances to win stuff (even if you don't win = random prizes)
• A no-FFS wrinkle

So everyone around the country (and Canada) can play, we're using the very easy to use, solid and stable FishDonkey app which has a great track record. It is catch/photo/release with an easy to follow procedure: Thousands of fishermen have used the app with no issues.

There's 3 monthly tournaments – Jun (already rolling!), Jul and Aug – with 6 regions and a Sidepot each month:

Yep the Regions are based on the Nation ones.

Entry is $20 per monthly tournament and the optional $20 Sidepot is for the biggest bass caught with a Berkley bait and...

...the FFS wrinkle is that in the Sidepot it's NO FFS ALLOWED. This is to give non-Scopers their own "division."

Prizes will be awarded each month for each region and "division" for the largest bass, the biggest 5-fish limit, and a random-draw prize too.

Register by downloading the FishDonkey app to your phone, then searching for "The BassBlaster Ditch Melon Derby" in the app:

You're gonna be fishing anyway, so might as well upload some of those catches into your Digital Livewell for a chance at prizes! Note: You 100% can still sign up for this month, you'll just have to wait 24 hours after registering until you can start submitting fish.

Most important – have a time! And a big thank you to Abu Garcia and Berkley for putting up all the stout prizes you're fishing for – much appreciated! More deets soon.

Click that pic ^ and you get an IG vid showing it being rigged. I hadn't seen it before and it's more like a toad, but either way there's you a big'n!

Made by a company called Lost 40 Lures, doesn't look like it's for sale yet. On their IG page it says next Apr.

All you bait developers/nicknamers, I was at the store yesterday and:

Cornichon – "It's like you're fishing with 'corn'!" 😆 Yes? No? 😁 Bet there's a bunch of ideas at the grocery store....

1. Ott DeFoe says the Big Rocco 6 is for heavy shore cover

Here's that bait on TW. If Ott ever comes out with a bait that has a number on it higher than 6 (feet), start building a fallout shelter in your backyard...😁

2. Brad Whatley: How to really get rid of water spots...

...on your rig. Man if I ever grow a bassin' 'stache it's gonna look like Brad's.

3. One of Larry Nixon's fave ways to fish shallow grass

Slow-winding a Yamamoto Swim Senko with a slip sinker in 2-5' grass.

4. Cole Sands says this is the best dock spoon

> The Diamond Baits Deuces Wild Spoon is hands down the best marina spoon ever made. It falls right back to where you ripped it from and has the most unique action of any spoon on the market.

Comes in 3, 4, 5 and 6" on TW in nickel/gold and nickel/silver:

5. What KVD is fishing shallow this month

6. Love this post about Vexus' director of ops

Nam of Matt Raynor. Highlights:

- 9-hr drive as a young man to intern at Ranger Boats

- Brings pizza to Bible study at Vexus every Thurs ✝️💪

7. TN: Fish basket found on Chickamauga? (IG vid)

Actually it's a varmint trap with fish in it. Sounds like they didn't catch whoever planted it. Those deals are tricky to open and close with your hands let along a jig or whatever....

8. Apparently this 'peach ring' Spook color catches spots

Salty bait so looks like you can only get it here in the 3" Boyo model of Spook. Looks fishy to me! 😁

9. Lukerhunt's Ned Finesse Worm floats

The pointed tail floats – and it also has a flat, ribbed bottom like such:

10. Eagle Claw's 100th year of hooking fish

Congrats to 'em! Company is still led by a McGILL 👀 in CO.

11. New Bait Pop Elite

If you recall Bait Pop is a gel-type scent that also helps your bait show up better on sonar – which Jacob Wheeler endorses. New deal is more (a bigger size) for the same price, and the new Ghost Series that is transparent.

12. NY: Cayuga being sprayed in Jul and Aug

> ...in the vicinity of Wells College Bay again....

13. 3 new Academy stores opened this quarter

1 each already in FL and VA, another opening in WV.

14. CA fish have Southeast Asian parasites?

15. ON: Peeps ticked about wake boat-caused erosion

Headline of the Day

Five-year-old catches specimen roach at Appleton Reservoir

😁

How Bryan New fishes bridge pilings in the summer

From In-Fish:

> ...New rotates through a lineup including a Neko rig, dropshot and a jig for bottom contact. A 3-4" swimbait on a ball-head jig....

> "I'll also throw a jighead minnow on pilings, and that's a technique I would use without FFS. For many years, that's a technique I've used without [FFS] because with pilings you know where the fish are."

> Deeper scenarios might find New making a semi-vertical presentation along a piling, but in most cases, it's a cast and slow-wind deal. He'll also cast and deadstick an unweighted Fluke-style bait....

> A sneaky option that's often overlooked...are the log and debris jams that often accumulate at the base of a bridge where the mainland forms a corner. Flip around the debris edges and run a spinnerbait or swim-jig through any lanes and gaps, but don't hesitate to punch a heavily weighted creature bait through the floating mass.

> "Don't go all-in on one thing. You might say, '2 days ago I caught them on a jerkbait,' but then you come back 2 days later – of course you're going to try the jerkbait but you need to try other things."

"He couldn't skip a wacky worm under a bridge."

- Hahaha! 🤣 John Garrett talking about Emil Wagner's entry into the Abu Skip Challenge. Love how these guys bust on each other.

@hoodfishing_entertainment posted this SPECIMEN derp – wow! Replica mount for sure! 🤣

Giant banana sculpture stolen from NH town

Cow-tipping must have gotten old? 🤣

Fishers of Men Tournament Trail

Bass Chaplain podcasts

Contact Chris Wells the Bass Chaplain

CullGear.com - Versaweb

Advanced Angler

StrayCasts crazy web show!

BassEdge Radio

Champion Jigs

Trophy Bass Co.

National Professional Anglers Assoc.