Category: Personalities
Who Is This Guy?
Ran across this pic of Billy Westmoreland the other day, of “Them Ol’ Brown Fish”/Tennessee smallmouths fame. (Heck yeah I have a copy of that book, and was on pins and needles the first time I fished Dale Hollow.) Billy’s on the right – who’s that on the left? Y’all know who he is, older [...]
Why Doesn’t Jarrett Have a Dang Boat Deal?
Was talking to a father of a kid on my son’s soccer team the other day, the only other diehard basser within miles, seems like. We’re talking about this year’s Classic, he asks me a question I get fairly often: Are the pros good guys or…? Won’t give you my short + long answer here, [...]
Forrest’s Last Fish-Netting Mistake
An outdoor scribblin’ compadre of mine, John Neporadny Jr., once (maybe more than once?) interviewed Forrest Wood about a couple different subjects. One story Forrest told was this one, one of my favorites: A long time ago Nina and I were prefishing for a tournament on Lake Okeechobee, and we had an 8-pound bass in [...]
Mark Zona Is Not THAT Handsome
[This is our first guest post of the week, by Scotty ‘Bud’ Melvin, program director for 92.5 ZUU, Kalamazoo’s "Real Rock Station" – and it's proof that there really is something in the water in Michigan. Scotty, get your DJ to play 'Unchained' when I (Jay) school Z on the water this summer.] Some people [...]
Ever Do The Tacklebox Weigh-In?
Was surfing the new lurenet.com site (home for the Yum, Booyha, Bomber, Rebel, etc. brands) – you heard about it right? lol – and ran across this, from the one and only Bobby Murray: Competitors in the first Bassmaster Classic were limited to just 10 pounds of tackle. Nowadays a single Stowaway can weigh more [...]
Nate-gate: Is There A ‘Something Else’ Or…?
AAAAAAAAAAAAA! Nate-gate won’t die! Been trying not…to…write…about this again, but dang. Writing because Ray Scott and Bassin’Fan’s Johnny Johnson recently issued opinions on the Wellman matter, both on BassFan. If you didn’t read ‘em, they’re good. Ray said it’s all about the polygraph, and JJ saidtourney rules need to be enforced to the letter. Stack [...]
Science: Computers in Bass Fishing
Computer programs for locating and catching bass aren’t new. In fact, I still have Bassmaster magazines sitting at home from the ’80s that had Bill Dance and Roland Martin promoting the greatest thing since sliced bread in bass fishing success. It was called ‘Basstronics’ and was a simple input database about the size of a [...]
More: Bassin’ Athletes, Is It a Sport
To follow up on my post yesterday about whether bassin’ pros are athletes, two more thoughts. First one is this, which may be a) an argument that pro bassers aren’t athletes and b) the real reason
Who You Got in the BASS Legends Tourney?
In case you haven’t seen the announcement, on July 31 the following four teams of “legends” (they fo’ sho’ are) are going to duke it out on “a private lake near Montgomery” (one of Ray Scott’s private lunker ponds maybe?) as part of the B.A.S.S. All-Star Week. Here they are:
What’s the Next Buck Perry Nuts Thang?
Buck Perry is the father of “structure fishing,” a term and concept that anglers of the time (the 1940s, I believe) dismissed as nuts. “Nuts,” they said about his concept of fish relating to structure and doing things like moving between deep and shallow water. They also thought he was nuts for trolling so fast [...]
Clunn, KVD, Roland Do It: Do You?
Saw an interesting post on the Strike King site the other day about a few things Kevin VanDam has learned from the pros. Kind of cool to read – funny to picture KVD sitting in the audience at a bass fishing seminar…. Anyhow, here’s what he said about what he learned from Rick Clunn:
Go Fishing With Z
Do you want to see what it’s like fishing with the one and only (seriously) Mark Zona? All you have to do to get a shot at it is to give some dough to BoatUS – but you have to register here. From BoatUS: “Anglers must join by the contest entry deadline of July 31, [...]
The Right Tool Rod for the Job
Anybody catch the latest episode of Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show with Kevin Short? Z-Train and K-Pink were throwing jerkbaits to lethargic, cold-water bass in Arkansas. Not sure if you caught it, but Z said he was using a G. Loomis saltwater popping rod (probably one of these), because the soft action helped him make a [...]
Brianna Palaniuk: B.A.S.S.’ Erin Andrews?
If you’ve been watching any of the BASSCam footage at Bassmaster.com this week you’ve probably noticed the charming brunette handling some of the pre-launch interviews. That’s none other than Brianna Palaniuk, sister of Elite Series rookie and BassParade guest blogger Brandon Palaniuk. We’re not exactly sure how Brianna snagged the gig, but one thing’s for [...]
Old BASS Article: What Year Was This?
Check out the article below, news report about the beginnings of BASS, then guess what year was it written….
Z’s Top 5 List: NRX and Core
My ol’ buddy Zona is at the top of the Billboard Fishing Show charts, and recently brought Shimano and G. Loomis into his Awesome family. Because neither of us has anything better to do, I asked him the following questions about Loomis’ NRX rods and Shimano’s Core reels. Serious stuff all the way.
Something’s Brewing at B.A.S.S.
I’m not quite sure what’s going on at B.A.S.S., but something is up. Have you guys been paying attention? Surely, I’m not the only one that’s noticed. I started scratching my head when I read a quote from Jerry McKinnis buried way down in a story about the Lewisville Central Open. Here’s the excerpt I’m [...]
“I’m the KVD of Fantasy Fishing”
Yeah, I said it. It’s the smacking-est of smack talk, and I put it out there in this interview with Fantasy Fishing Insider [FFI]. I have to give FFI host Greg Huff credit. He grabbed the salt and ketchup and choked down his crow like a man after talking his fair share of fantasy trash [...]
Bassmaster Classic Time Machine
The year was 1991. Paul Elias’ beard was black instead of gray. Bo Dowden was rockin’ some stylish camo suspenders. Rick Clunn was THE MAN. Zell Rowland was catching fish on topwaters [okay, some things never change]. And the impressive rookie not-yet-known as KVD was still an “up-and-comer”. Oh, what a difference 20 years makes.
This Is Just Cool
A while back we had a post on Jarrett Edwards’ new initiative, Operation Outdoors USA. In brief, (hope I get this right) it’s a stars-and-bars-wrapped Phoenix boat that Jarrett is towing around, filming and doing other things in as a tribute to our military folks. Actually it’s way more than that. What’s really cool is
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!
Somewhere in California, Skeet Reese just kicked a kitten. Can you hear him screaming? “NOW you change it? After I’ve had AOY after AOY stolen from me by your hokey, nonsensical postseason structure… NOW you want to make a freakin’ change!?”
Stand Up and Fight: Activist Angler
Robert Montgomery is mad and he ain’t gonna take in no mo’. (Actually, don’t think I’ve ever seen him mad – but he ain’t gonna take it no mo’ anyhow.) For that reason, he’s got a new website called Activist Angler. This is a perfect fit for Robert.
They’re Good, But Why?
You’re probably familiar with Rob Newell’s work. And if you’re not, you should be. Rob’s one of the busiest journalists in the outdoors industry and I’ve always dug his stuff. The best compliment I can give Rob is that he pays attention. He’s always on the lookout for those little habits and routines that tour [...]
Christmas Message from Al Lindner
Don’t think Al meant it for Christmas, but it’s appropriate. Merry Christmas all!
McKinnis Addresses Elite Pros
If you’re looking for the closest thing to a B.A.S.S. State of the Union address, Jerry McKinnis laid one out earlier today in an email to all Bassmaster Elite Series pros. In the email, Jerry talks about B.A.S.S. as a business, discusses the possibility of expanding the Elite Series schedule and asks the Elite anglers to [...]
