BassEast is heading out to Vegas on Tuesday, July 13 for ICAST 2010.  From the start of the show on Wednesday through the conclusion on Friday afternoon, we’ll be blogging live from the show floor right here on BassEast Blog.  Alongside the tons of video and featured content we’ll post on the BassEast homepage, be sure to follow the blog throughout the day to see what’s up straight from the show!

Over on the BFHP (see acronym post below for details) a couple days ago, someone mentioned something about Skeet Reese.  Imagine that.  Well, as is typically the case on the internet, it was a rumor, or possible mistake turned rumor, that someone posted regarding Skeet’s BassCast camera footage on Day 1 at Guntersville.  Apparently, said poster mentioned he saw Skeet cull two fish upon catching one and throwing it in the box, thus having 6 fish in the boat at some point. (A rule violation on the Elites obviously, among most other trails)  The scenario played out as this, as I read into it:  Skeet caught a fish.  He went to the ‘well to cull.  He pulled (a) fish from the box and tossed it back.  Two splashes followed the toss.  Skeet said something like “did I just do a bad?” to his marshall.  Marshall said “Huh?”  Skeet made another cast.  Marshall ate a sandwich.  End of story.  Obviously, such a violation would be means for a DQ, and someone of Skeet’s (high) caliber would realize the wrong and call the officials.  And on that note, apparently BASS officials looked into the issue and realized Skeet was in the good and made a mistake just by culling a larger fish than another that he’d kept, at that time.

So Skeet’s in the good here, but what about guys at your local events?  Have you ever been in such a situation?  How’s it go down, and what do/did you do?  I try to avoid this problem by using cull clips on every fish and only keeping 5 clips on the boat. Period.  But while this method has (luckily) worked for me and avoided issues, what are some other innovative culling techniques to avoid mishap? Bill Lowen, Bobby Lane, please don’t reply. (Story on that here)

“DANG!  What are them, 20s?!?”  Yep.  They’re 20s.  A few years ago, that’s all I’d hear at the gas station, the boat ramp, or anywhere I stopped.  I started running 20s on my (EZLoader) boat trailers in ’06, and haven’t ordered one without them since.  For the first couple years I ran them, people I’d talk with couldn’t really grasp why you’d want or need them on a trailer, but that resistance is wearing off pretty rapidly in our industry, with time.  In fact, more and more manufacturers (even Nitro) are offering 20s as a factory option.  Is this just another passing trend, or is the bigger steel here to stay?  I’ll say it’s here to stay.  Not only do the 20s look sweet, they track better, they offer better traction and handling (well, the tires wrapped around them do), and they look sweet! (did I mention that?)  And as is often the case when you opt for the upgraded trailer, depending on the manufacturer, the 20s are bolted up to torsion axles, eliminating any squeaks, creaks, rattles, or possible breakage that the standard leaf springs are known for.  So as an overall package, the 20s and torsion axles give you a trailer that rides like a Caddy and sets your 50k worth of ‘glass apart from the pack like none other.  Sounds tight, right?  It is.

So while these advantages are gaining recognition at a pretty rapid pace across the industry, not everyone’s sold on the idea.  Some guys –most notably guys in the south– just think they’re out of place, and others can’t get it into their head that the boat will launch easily like a standard trailer (which it does, by the way) with the bigger wheels.  What’s your take on the issue?  Overkill, or no?  Either way, I’m rockin’ ‘em for good.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. No, not that one. Acronyms in Bass Fishing. I’m not sure that any other sport on earth has made such use of acronyms as the sport of bass fishing. Think about it. It all started with B.A.S.S., then FLW came along, and now we’ve got WON, USAC, FOM, ABA, TTBC, BBT, and a ton of others, just to name the organizations; and within those organizations we’ve got BFL, TBF, AFS, and the like. What gives? What brought about such a heavy use of acronyms? Was it the B.A.S.S. namesake origination (which was genius, by the way) that others have tried to follow?

And it’s not just the tournament trails that follow this pattern. Boats today are labeled the Z series, X series, FX series, I series, and BCB, to name a few.  We find fish on our HDS or SI unit.  Guys talk fishing on the internet on BBC, BFHP, W2F, and BZ (and sometimes even on BE, as a few have dubbed us). We clean our boats with BBS and BTS. We buy our tackle from BTD, TW, and BPS. Oftentimes, that tackle is made by LFT, XPS, or GYCB. It’s crazy! And to top it all off, the #1 man in the industry is none other than, you guessed it, KVD. So it seems that to make it in the bass fishing industry, you better have an acronymable (nope, that’s not a word) name. Otherwise, GTHO. (Kidding, of course)

So in the recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of big bass events — tournaments in which there are hourly prizes for the biggest bass weighed — across the country. Naturally, these events have taken place most frequently in Texas and California, states known for their big bass factories and anglers passionate about throwing huge baits to catch them. But if you haven’t noticed (see 3rd banner ad to your right for starters) these events are spreading across the country in a big way. Currently, the Oakley Big Bass Tour is about to host events on both Lake Norman in NC and Table Rock Lake in MO. These lakes, while known for producing very respectable 5 fish limits, aren’t known to be big bass powerhouses like Falcon or Fork. With that said, however, a big bass is a big bass in relation to the other bass in the lake (or on the scales, in this instance) not in relation to what’s posted on the internet. So to get to the point, it’s a possibility that someone, or maybe even a few people, or maybe all of the winners, will weigh in a 2-or-so pounder this weekend at the BBT on Norman and take home the hourly prize(s); or better yet, a new boat!  That’s an awesome possibility. In contrast to the typical tournament, an event such as this lets someone fish the lake in a potentially totally new way to take home some (hourly) cash. Of course, at the same time, someone could totally luck up and catch the only fish of their life to win a new boat, but hey, if it happens to be you, you won’t be complaining, right?

So to sum up, I think this type of event and it’s spread into new areas and lakes with a smaller sized average bass is a needed diversification in east coast bass events and something I’ll definitely look forward to becoming more involved in in the future. Is this type of event in these types of areas something we’ll see continued growth in? Based on the reception of the Oakley tour thus far, I think so.