Current News

Daily Blog Archive April 2 through April 24, 2010

A Year of Archived Blog Entries - May 07 through May of 08

A Year of Archived Blog Entries - May 07 through May of 08

Blog Archive of the B.A.S.S. Elite Series "Dixie Duel" on Lake Wheeler

April 24, 2010

I'm transitioning over to the new mini laptop for the blog to be sure all the kinks in my learning curve are flattened out. My safety net is number two son who set the mini up for me and knows the ins and outs well. It's nice knowing he's only a phone call away.

I did go out to Walmart yesterday to buy a thumb drive. I got a Sansdisk 8 gb mini storage thumb drive for $20. That's a lot of storage for the price. You can get 4 gb for $15, but for an additional few dollars I can get double the capacity. With all the pictures I'm going to be taking in Alabama I wanted the thumb drive to store them on so when I get back I can put them on my desktop machine and save them on a CD. The mini doesn't have a CD drive.

Speaking of Alabama, we leave in two more days! Rick will be coming down Monday to spend the night with us, and then we'll hit the road early the next morning.

I mentioned that it was an eleven hour drive, but it's going to be hard not to spend a couple hours at the Nashville Bass Pro. Believe it or not, I am going to lobby for pushing straight through. On the way back it may be a different story. We'll be getting a Bass Pro Shop gift card at each event we Marshall. I'm sure they'll be burning a whole in our pockets on the way home.

I have been thinking about who I would like to draw in the two tournaments. My top three would would probably have to be KVD, Iaconelli, and the G-Man, Gerald Swindle. There are of course few bad rides on the Elite Series. Rick drew KVD last year, but I'm sure he would be flying high again to ride with him again.

Last year, I drew Matt Herren the first day, Tommy Biffle on day two, and then Marty Robinson, on day three. They were all great boaters.

Day two was cancelled last year, so they fished full field day one and three. Day four, Championship Sunday, they fished the top 50. It worked out well for us because we were only going to get to ride for three days, and to be there in a boat on Championship Day was very exciting.

On Sunday, they have the helicopter there, and the media presence quadruples. The crowd of onlookers is at least doubled as well. When it gets right down to it, and everything is on the $100,000 line, everybody is amped up on Day 4.

On Sunday, only the top twelve pros fish so normally not many Marshals get a chance to participate. The top six pros have a cameraman in the boat leaving only six seats open for Marshals. I don't know for sure, but it looked to me that those last day Marshal's spots may be given to local dignitaries that may want to ride. I know there were several that last day last year in the Dixie Duel on Lake Wheeler.

Well, yesterday the FLW Tour Pros fished their Day Three, and the field was cut to five. Glenn Browne, caught 13-14 lbs. to move himself into the top spot. Byran Thrift, who was the Day 2 leader, fell to second place. Thrift is hoping to become the first FLW Tour Pro to win back to back tournaments. He won the last event on Lake Norman and hopes to catch himself a big bag on Ft. Loudoun/Tellico to make history and cash two big back to back checks. Here's the link to the article for Day Three. At the end of the article, there is a current standings list: Browne Leads Thrift By 1-06 After Tough-Bite Day .

After Thrift's victory on Norman, he talked about some of the baits he used. One of them was a bait introduced at the 2009 ICast show called the Damiki Hydra . If you click on the link you will get to see the bait under water as Bryan shows you how the tentacles really flare out. It is definitely something different, and it looks like it would be a pretty good bed bait.

I don't have very much blog time this morning. I have a lot to get done before the trip, but before I sign off, I'll put the links up again to the FLW Live On the Water coverage. If you have time during the day you can check out what the top five are doing. The weigh-in will be at 4:00 pm today, and you can use this live weight-in link to view it on your computer.

The final cast of the day comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson. He once said, "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Take care and enjoy this opening weekend of catch and release bass season.

April 22, 2010

Trial blog entry number two with the Dell Inspiron mini laptop. We're are on Day 5 of the countdown to take off for our trip to Alabama, and I want to be sure the new mini laptop is up to the blogging task. I was having a bit of a problem with pictures, but that turned out to be an easy fix. In fact, it wasn't a fix at all. I just had to remove the memory card from my camera and put it in the slot built into the computer. On my desktop machine, that is done with a cord that I leave connected. It's not quite as convenient with the mini, but it will work fine.

The keyboard on the mini is a bit smaller and the keys a little stiffer. I often find that when I hit the spacebar it doesn't engage and two words come out as one. Maybe, if I type on it more I'll get use to it, and it won't appear as sticky.

To test the picture procedures involving transferring images from camera to computer and then resizing, I am going to use my second Christmas present this month.

I received a nice big box of baits from Poor Boy's Kim Straley. I am going to take them with us on our Alabama swing and splash them around. I will be taking them with me when we register for the events, and then I will be putting them on the table when we eat dinner with the pros. I don't want to run the risk of violating their no info rule by giving the baits to them when we get in the boats. This way I'm making them available in a generic way so as not to give unfair advantage to an individual.

As I said, I want to practice placing pictures with this new mini, so here are a few of the Poor Boy baits that I'll be taking down to splash.

Part of my Poor Boy pile for Alabama

Can't wait try this Poor Boy BBG (Big Bass Getter)

How about the flappers on this Poor Boy Kiss Craw!

Poor Boy ole stand by the Darter

Kim Straley, Poor Boy himself, was down on Guntersville recently and said they caught some nice fish split shotting one of his "Wiglers." I plan on giving that technique the once over to be sure. Here is one more picture featuring the watermelon red Poor Boy Wigler.

The Poor Boy Wigler

Well, so much for testing the pictures and using the blog as a bit of catharsis to help dissipate some of the pre-trip excitement. On to the next topic, the FLW Fort Loudoun/Tellico Tour event down in Knoxville.

Yesterday, as you know, was Day 1. As predicted, the event is turning out to be a sight fishing spring time event. The Day 1 leader is Roy Hawk . Roy wowed the crowd with one heck of a stout bag that weighed 20-14!! That is a WOW bag to kick of the event.

Of course I don't have Roy on my FLW Fantasy Team . I don't expect he's on too many Fantasy Teams, maybe his mom's. That's because, first of all, he's from Salt Lake City, Utah. How does someone come from Salt Lake and put a whopping on the locals. Secondly, he's only competed in two Tour events! What's up with that. How am I suppose to research and pick lucky louies like that! It's not fair, yes I'm whinning.

No one is conceding the event to him yet. It is only Day 1, and just eleven ounces behind Roy is the red hot Bryan Thrift. Thrift is currently numeral uno in the AOY Race and having him right behind you is kind of like being one stroke ahead of a charging Tiger Woods.

The first day weights in these sight fishing events always have the highest weights. The anglers have a bevy of beds GPSed and the fish haven't been hammered which makes them easier to snatch. Today ought to tell us, however, who is on a more consistent pattern. Maybe it will turn out to be another swimbait win. I know JT Kinney was using a swimbait to get smallies to show themselves.

Often when you're bed fishing, especially when looking for deeper beds, throwing a spinnerbait or a swimbait will cause the bedded fish to rise off the bed to challenge the bait. When they do they reveal their position and you can go back and use a tube or jig to catch them. In any case, we'll see what happens today and then wait to read the final wrap up articles to see how the pros really caught them. Here's the Day 1 Loudoun/Tellico FLW Tour Report .

If you have time during your day you can follow some of the live, on the water action, by using this FLW Live On the Water link. Make sure you scroll down to see the comments.

You can also watch the live weigh-in starting at 3:00 p.m. using this Live Weigh-in Link .

Well, I have a bunch of things to do in order to get ready for the trip south, so I am going to sign off for today. The parting cast is a quote I like from the Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda. He once said, "No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." Ain't that the truth. No matter how hard you prepare and practice, you're not going to win that often. It's what you're doing while you're not winning that will eventually lead you to the winners circle. Take care and take heart, there is only one more work day in the week and catch and release season opens Sunday!

April 20, 2010

I just finished picking my FLW Fantasy Fishing Team . You're down to the last few hours if you haven't updated your team yet. The FLW Tour Pros take off tomorrow on Fort Loudoun/Tellico Lakes , down in Knoxville, TN.

As usual, I did some research on the ole computer to try and maximize my chances in drafting a team. I do some searches, and I then use the AOY Standings on Bass Fan . The AOY listing has all of the anglers stats and their favorite techniques, ya da ya da. We'll see how I do this week. I haven't been making any stellar picks despite the research.

Well, it's seven days and counting until we leave for Alabama. We'll be leaving next Tuesday morning before the yellow orb makes its appearance. Rick will be coming down the night before, and we should be ready to rock and roll come O dark thirty Tuesday.

It's about an eleven hour drive from here, and we plan to push straight through. We should make it down to Athens, Alabama by early evening. We'll reminisce with Charlie and Paula some and then hit the hay. Wednesday, we'll head to to West End and check out the tackle. It's my favorite outstate tackle shop. I'd rather go there than to any Bass Pro Shop. It has a ton of pertinent tackle. They cater to the serious bass angler, and there are more than a few of them in that neck of the woods.

Around noon, we'll hear toward Florence. We have to resister for the tournament by about 4:15 p.m. We'll go through the line up and fill out the paper work and pick up our shirt, hat, and Bass Pro Shop gift card. You then go to the Marshal's meeting, and are briefed as to your responsibilities. After that, you are assigned a pro for the next day. You meet them and sit down and have a light dinner with them. You chit chat and get some autographs and then arrange a time and meeting place for the morning. Some pros like to just pick you up at the dock, while others (After they get a feel for your boat backing experience) will have you back their boat in and park their truck. After that, it's a waiting game until take-off.

You have time to walk around and get autographs and take pictures. They usually have some vendors giving away coffee, juice, and food. Last year Chick-fil-a was there passing out chicken biscuits.

Each day of the tournament, I bring an empty tackle bag that I put my SOS Suspenders in, my rainsuit lunch etc. I also make sure I bring an extra hat and a back up pair of sunglasses. I'm certainly not going to ask my pro to turn around after blast off to get my hat that has blown off. I take several zip locks for my camera and phone. You can take a still camera, but they ask you not to shoot video, even though most digital still cameras also shoot short videos.

Most of the pros don't put in their back seat, so once they start fishing, you either have to sit in the passenger seat or stand on the back deck. I usually stand so that I'm out of the way. It also allows me a better view for taking pictures. I plan on shooting a lot of pictures and will of course be posting them each night on the blog.

The weather down in Florence, AL has been in the low to mid 70s. It's going to be real close to the spawn. I would be guessing that it will be a spawn to post spawn bite. I would think that up river, in the sloughs, there will still be spawners. We'll see.

We'll be Marshaling, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for sure. We'd have to get lucky to go out on Sunday. Only 12 boats fish that day, and the top six all have cameramen in them. That would leave room for only six Marshals, and last year those were locals like the mayor etc. Sunday is the day to play though. They will have a helicopter there and all the hoopla kicks in. The three preceding days are just all business. Not much of that gets on TV.

When the Pickwick tournament is over, we plan on putting the boat in Wheeler for sure and maybe Pickwick. We'll give the State of Alabama our $30 for a seven day license and try out the spots that we gleaned from Marshaling last year's Dixie Duel on Lake Wheeler. We've got some great spots to try.

The bass sites have some articles that cover some of the patterns the B.A.S.S. anglers used on Smith Lake, which you probably know just concluded this past weekend. Here's one that features Jason Williamson who finished second, after leading the first two days.

That's going to be it for today. I still have a lot to do around the homestead to get ready to be gone for two weeks. The final cast of the day is another one of Dave Mercer's "Facts of Fishing ." Take care and make sure you take some time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on your face.

April 18, 2010

Another bright and sunny morning here in southwest Michigan. Birds are chirping, the turkeys are gobbling, and the lake waters are warming. It is less than a week until the early bass catch and immediate release season opens. It's just a couple more days after that, and the Cementman and I are heading to Alabama.

Speaking of Grampa Skinner, he in a round about way, sent me a couple pictures of his big bass he caught down in Florida about a month ago. He was fishing with his guide, Harry Swank, a fellow Michiganian, who has been fishing the Tear Drop Tournament Trail for several years now. It looks like Harry is a pretty good Florida guide!

Harry weighing Rick's biggest bass ever.

Rick with his eight pounder.

Big enough to eat a small child!

Harry also caught a dandy Florida strain largemouth!

Rick said he and Harry were fishing post spawn fish. They fished deep bushes, and had one of the best days that Harry said he's had all winter, beskinner luck! I'm always there the day after they have had their best day ever.

Well Christmas arrived early yesterday. I received a box of baits from Zipper Worms . I've been waiting to get some of these baits that I thought had gone extinct. The company disappeared for a while, but is now back in busiess. The smallies better run and hide. They are one of my favorite baits. I'm not divulging the style or color I use to use. I have to keep some kind of competitive edge.

Going down to Alabama, I plan on seeing Ray Scott and Jimmy Kientz. I try and take them a gift box of goodies, and for a fisherman, that usually means a box of baits. I want him to try some of the Zipper products. I really think he'll like them. I especially would like to see how he likes Zipper lizards. Down South they are lizard crazy.

For my use up in Michigan's Great Northwest Corner, I'm glad to have my secret Zipper bait. I'm also anxious to try their Zip Zit that I talked about and put a picture up showing, on the April 13th blog.

Besides the Zippers, I intend on taking Ray a box of Koeze's Pecan Puddles .

Like me, when Ray isn't fishing he likes to eat, and he has a sweet tooth. I sent him a box from Koeze's after he hosted us for the weekend, and he said he loved them. Maybe I can talk him into trading me some of his Chow Chow for chocolate. That's another story for later though. For now, it's Zipper time, and I'm anxious to use one of my favorite old baits again.

Well the "Devilfish" Skeet Reese surged to the lead in the Blue Ridge Brawl down on Smith Lake in Huddleston, Virginia. I have not picked him for my Fantasy Team because of his rivalry with KVD. I guess it's the hometown, support your local team, kind of thing. Of course though, he has to get hot, and is dominating this year's Elite Series thus far. Not good for my point total.

In reading the various news reports on the tournament, it appears that the West Coast swimbait is rockin' and rollin'. Several of the pros, Skeet included, are throwing it effectively on Smith Mountain. I'm going to have to work that lure in to my bait repertoire and gain some confidence in it. It has more than proven itself in a number of formats, and it's going to have to become a tackle staple.

Skeet has just over a six pound lead going in to the finals today. He's really going to have to end up with boat trouble to not win this one. He's been very consistent, and I'm sure he's feeling he can put together a bag today that will make him hard to beat. Here is the Bass Fan article summarizing Day 3. It's entitled, Reese Catches 21-13 To Take Full Command At Smith Mt.

Even though the swimbait looks like it's going to be the winning bait, many of the contenders are still relying on bedfishing. I mentioned yesterday, that the reports were describing a heavy layer of pollen on the water making the beds almost impossible to spot. There was some chatter on the forums that they saw footage on the Bassmaster site of anglers using squirt guns to clear the pollen away from the beds. There were indeed anglers employing super soakers, but the liquid in them was the key. They were loading the guns with a mixture of water and dish soap. When it's sprayed, the dish soap ruptures the surface tension of the water, and almost like magic the pollen will pull back clearing an area. It works because water molecules are very sticky and pull in all directions on each other. When the soap is put in the water, the water molecules stick to it breaking the surface tension. The surrounding water then pulls on the molecules and when the molecules that are sticking to the soap don't pull back it creates a hole, so to speak, in the surface. The pollen gets pulled away revealing the bed. Here's a You Tube Demonstration . I guess everyone will now be carrying super soakers. When you're not using them in the Spring, they may come in handy when you want to get your boat loaded first after a tournament.

Before I sign off today, I want to quick put up the link to the B.A.S.S. Live Coverage of the Weigh-In which will be today at 3:30 p.m.

The final cast for today is a quote from Confucius. He once said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do." Take care and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

April 17, 2010

The garage sale is over, and my honey do list is shrinking. We're ten days away from heading south to Alabama. The countdown begins and the excitement is building.

I'm sure the excitement level is reaching a crescendo down on Smith Mountain Lake as well. They cut to the top 47 for today, and the field will be further narrowed to 12 for tomorrow.

Jason Williamson is still the head honcho, but leads a charging Skeet "The Devilfish" Reese by only five ounces.

Jason sits a top a tightly bunched pack. The top twelve are separated by only five pounds. It's really still anybody's ball game. One big bite and someone catapults to the lead.

Williamson has been bed fishing like everyone else. However, he has focussed on deeper bedding fish. A strategy that is keeping him ahead of the shallow water anglers. The deeper the beds, the tougher the fish are to see. There are smallmouth up north here that will be in over ten feet of water. It takes a well trained eye to spot those fish. There are a very few anglers that are good at those deep beds.

The fishing yesterday was hampered significantly from an increase in pollen. If you fish much in the spring, you've probably been to lakes that get blanketed with a thick slick of pollen. It's miserable to fish in. Not only does it pretty much nix your ability to sight fish, it also coats your line, and along with pieces of fluff from budding trees, it makes a huge mess. It gets caught on your line and in the eyes of your rods. You spend more time cleaning than you do fishing.

The weights, not too unexpectedly, dropped after Day 1 as the full field hammered the spawners. Even though there is 500 miles of shoreline on Smith Mountain, those 97 Elite Pros, with their trolling motors on high, cover pretty much every foot of it marking beds on their GPS.

Terry Scroggins said he had his limit by 10:30 a.m. yesterday, and then he spent the rest of the day marking fish. He seems to be pretty confident right now, and someone as experienced as he is in bed fishing for largemouth from his days down in Florida, could be a hot prospect for the win. I would have liked to have picked him for my Fantasy team.

My Fantasy team is only doing so, so. I need them to pick it up today and get a couple of them in the top twelve. It's not outside the realm, so to speak. Crews is in 12th, and Hackney has a shot with a big bag. Casey Ashley was my only pick not to make the top 47. He won on Smith Mountain in his rookie season, and I was hoping for a little "deja vu all over again."

Bass Fan always has a good write up on the tournaments each day, and I like how they include the standings in the same write up. Here's the link to their Day 2 on Smith Mountain Lake coverage.

If you're sitting around today and have the computer on you can check out the on the water reports from Bassmaster using their On the water BassTrak minute by minute updates . I just checked them a couple of minutes ago and it looks like one of my Fantasy Team members, Greg Hackney, has been heard shouting, "Do you smell bacon? You should, because I've got some hogs in the livewell!" That would be great to have one of my top picks win this thing. That would shake up the ole Tear Drop Bass, Fantasy League Standings. By the way, there are several Vicious Pros , namely Crews and Swindle, that are up near the top of the leaderboard. (Remember to check out the proper knots for fishing fluorocarbon. It makes a huge difference!)

The B.A.S.S. Live Coverage of the Weigh-In starts today at 3:30 p.m.

On another note, I got an email from Ed "FLW Tear Drop Fantasy League Leader" Dyer yesterday. He spent his Spring Break down on Table Rock Lake. He has a group of buddies that go down each year. They spend the week fishing and then participate in a local tournament at the end of the week.

Ed's trip didn't start well. Easter Sunday, when they left Grand Rapids and headed south, they got caught in a storm with high winds, and it blew off his tonneau cover. Luckily the insurance company is going to take care of it, but he's still out the $100 deductible.

Ed said that some of the better baits for them down on Table Rock, and Ed did say he caught a seven pounder, were the Spro McSticks , Mega Bass Visions 110s , and the Lucky Craft Bevy Shad . Ed also said that one of the bigger fish they caught was hooked swimming a grub.

Ed had some pictures on an online picture storage site, and I need to figure out how to download and resize them. I'll try and do that and have them up soon.

That's it for today. I'll be watching and rooting for my team on Smith Mountain. Go Hackney, KVD, Takihiro, and Crews!. The parting cast today is a quote from football great Vince Lombardi. He once said, "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

April 16, 2010

Hey, hey, hey! I'm on my new laptop and trying to crank out a blog on this smaller keyboard. It's a mini, and even though it's a tad bit smaller, I think it will do the job.

I'm outdoors in the driveway holding down the fort. My wife decided we needed to have a garage sale, and each year our subdivision has a big community sale. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I'll be glad to get things out of the house. My winter goal was to clean the basement, and I've been sorting a pile for the sale and dumpstering the rest. After today, anything that's left gets boxed and a local charity will come and pick up. Yahoo!

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was 80+ degrees, and today my nose is cold, and I have on long pants and a sweatshirt.

We'll see what difference a day makes in the Smith Lake, Blue Ridge Brawl, B.A.S.S. Elite Series event. After Day 1 , Jason Williamson, with a 22-9 lb. sack, is leading Bobby Lane by about a pound. It is definitely a sight fishing bite. Jason waited out the competitors in his area to pick off the reluctant biters that the rest gave up on. Maybe his angle relied on the sun angle that got better as the morning wore on. I know that first thing in the morning, it is very difficult to see beds well. Once that sun gets a little higher its much easier, but as the morning wears on, the wind usually picks up and puts a ripple on the water that again makes watching the fish tougher.

Largemouth get lockjaw on the beds. There's a period of time when they're aggressive, but if you miss that window they are very difficult to get to bite. Williamson said he limited himself to 30 minutes on a fish, but it's easy to lose track of time when you're working a big fish.

You throw the kitchen sink at her. If you're not ready when she picks up your bait to move it off the bed, you've missed your two second window in your long patient battle of wills.

I've seen guy work a fish forever, and then give up only to have the next boat that moves in box it. It's really hard to know whether to stay or go. Having a boat load of GPS coordinates is a real necessity. You need a bunch because their is no guarantee that the fish you marked yesterday will still be there.

I've known guys to use all kinds of of paraphernalia to help their bed fishing. Things like step ladders to periscope type pieces of PVC. I've even seen guys use a mask and stick their faces in the water to get a better look at deep bedding smallmouth. I've also seen guys insert sticks on the bottom to mark the bed, or throw a golf ball out on it. Anything to help them keep the bed in sight as they back away to make their casts.

My best baits are by far tubes, either white or florescent yellow. Drop shotting is another good way to entice them. It allows you to move in close and put a cast right on the bed then back off to let the fish settle in. I've even seen guys use bobbers to float their baits over fish that are in a bunch of wood that would snag them up with another approach.

One other very important tool when sight fishing is having several pair of sunglasses. I have learned over the years that having two or three different tints can be critical. From one body of water to another, the same colored lens will not always give you the best view. It really makes a significant difference!

Once again my Fantasy Fishing picks were not good. My best finisher Day 1 was Greg Hackney in 22nd place. There is still hope that today some of my guys will catch fire and make the 50 cut and then hopefully the 12 cut. If you're not in the B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing League yet, use the link to join. You will of course be out the year end cumulative hunt, but you can still win prizes for the individual events that are yet to be fished.

If you are interested in looking at any of the great B.A.S.S. pictures, here is the link to the Blue Ridge Brawl Photos . If you're looking to watch the live weigh-in today here is the link from B.A.S.S.: B.A.S.S. Live Coverage . The weigh-in begins between 3:30 and 4:00 pm.

When I was reading the Day 1 coverage, I saw that Marty Robinson from South Carolina was the co big bass leader and was a top ten contender to boot. I rode with Marty on the third day down on Wheeler last year in the Dixie Duel.

South Carolina Elite Series Pro Marty Robinson and Me

Marty on stage with B.A.S.S. MC Keith Allan

Marty with a tail worn spawner

Marty was a great young gun with a beautiful young family. His two boys and his wife were with him in Decatur, and I'm sure they would be very excited to see him win. Even though he wasn't one of my Fantasy picks, I really hope he does well.

I heard from my buddy Rick "The Cementman" Skinner yesterday. He had his boat out on my lake and was testing it out to make sure everything was in good running order. We leave in 11 days to head to Alabama. It should be a great time and the excitement is certainly building.

It's been a hectic day today, and I really had to cram this blog in. The final cast of the day is another one of Dave Mercer's "Facts of Fishing #13 . Enjoy, and have a great day!

April 13, 2010

Back blogging, after a short hiatus. I have been busy trying to get a mobile home, that I kind of inherited, fixed up and ready to sell, give away, get rid of. It's a double wide three bedroom two bath. It's an older trailer, but very livable, and I would think someone in this economy could benefit from it. We're really not interested in doing a lot of fix up on it. One bathroom needs work, and we have spent a day and a half working on the front deck. It comes with all the major appliances and is air conditioned. We'll see what happens in the mobile home market.

Each time I type the word blog it reminds me of that commercial of the guy in the boat with his wife where she says, "You're kind of quiet today." She then asks him what color of bait he's using and when the color comes up she says, "Chartreuse, now that's a funny word. I wonder where it comes from." "Blog," is something like that. It actually doesn't come from France like Chartreuse does. It was derived back in the day from "Web Log." The two words were shortened and combine and then voila, blog.

My Wisconsin son, and my Texas son, have been home helping me on the trailer. We got most of what we wanted to get done the last couple of days and I can finish what's left. It was nice working with the two of them on a project.

My Wisconsin son, ordered and then put together a new ten inch mini laptop for my wife. It cost a little over $300 and it really seems to fit her needs well. He also put the programs I need for the blog on it, so I'll be taking it to Alabama in a few weeks to do the blog during our Elite Series Marshaling adventure.

Speaking of the Elite Series, you don't have much longer to get your B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing roster updated for the Smith Mountain, Blue Ridge Brawl . The Elite pros hit the water in Huddleston, Virginia this Thursday, the 15th. Barring any cold rain, it looks like they'll hit the lake with the bass on the beds. The timing of the spawn is similar to last year when the fished Smith Mountain. That ended up working out well for KVD last year. He won it fishing for bedded smallies on main lake points. Fishing bedded smallmouth is right up Kevin's Michigan alley. Hopefully, he can capitalize on his brown fish experience, and can make up some ground in the AOY race. He's currently sitting 42nd in the Angler of the Year Standings .

I've been corresponding with a couple of lure manufacturers about spreading the marketing word for their product down in Alabammy. Curt Johnson of Zipper Worm is sending down some of his product.

I have always liked zippers for smallies. I catch largemouth on them too, but they seem to be especially seductive to the brown fish. The Zipper Co. has some new products that the southern boys may love to try. Their shakin worm, crawfish, and lizard should be right up those Tennessee impoundment anglers I65 alley.

I'm very interested in trying out their shakin worm and their Zip Zit (Check out the natural craw and the cinnamon blue black colors), which is their tube type bait. I'm also recommitted to fishing more pig and jigs this year, and I want to try their craw as a trailer.

Zipper Lures new Zip Zit

The thing I really like about the Zippers is that the design really allows for a lot more surface area on the bait. It makes for a slower tantalizing fall and provides plenty of area for scent dispersement. Quite a few Great Northwest Corner smallmouth have fallen prey to one of my carolina rigged zippers.

Another soft bait manufacturer that is trying to make some inroads in the South is Poor Boys . If you've been in any tackle shop in any state surrounding Michigan you have seen Poor Boy displays. I, like a lot of other smallmouth anglers, have been using their products for years. Their Erie Darter, which is a lot like a Zipper, but with a different tail, is smallmouth candy.

That distinctive Poor Boy green label is easy to spot.

The picture above is from Edwardsburg, Michigan's Lunker's . I wasn't able to get down to their Spring Fling this year. I miss going down there. Not only do they have a ton of fishing paraphernalia, but they have an in house restaurant that is excellent. If I'm not fishing, you know I'm probably looking for a good restaurant.

Lunch at Lunker's in Edwardsburg, MI

My wife had the french dip and I, of course, had their fish. It was all mighty tasty.

There are some rumors floating around that B.A.S.S. may be for sale. There is a communication company that was acquired by the Outdoor Channel, Winnercomm out of Tulsa, that has a CEO that is good buddies with Donald Rucks, the past GM for B.A.S.S. Putting Bassmasters on the Outdoor Channel might be what that station needs to compete with Versus and the Sportsman's Channel. Winnercomm isn't in the print marketing business, so the magazine might not be something they would want, leading to speculation that B.A.S.S. could be sold off in chunks. We'll have to see, if and when this happens, how it will all shake out. I hope I can still watch Bassmasters on my cable.

That's going to be it for this dreary, drizzly Tuesday. The final cast for today is a quote from the English writer Aldous Huxley. He once said, "Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities." Take care and make sure you take some time out of your day to do something that fuels your fire.

April 9, 2010

Yep, we live in Michigan, and after a stint with the temps being in the 70s and 80s, I awoke to snow on the ground this morning. The good news is that the sun is out, and it's melting fast.

I gave my buddy John a call this morning to make sure he new about the Trenton, MI FLW Walleye Tour Event that's going on right now over near Detroit.

Rockford, MI Walleye Pro Dave Kolb and John Baker West MI Walleye Club Board Member

Rockford, Michigan Pro Dave Kolb is currently in seventh place. I met Dave down at the Grand Rapids Ultimate Sport Fishing Show, a few weeks ago. My buddy John knows him from their West Michigan Walleye Club .

The weather in the Detroit area, where the tournament is taking place, has been cold and very windy. The anglers have the river and the Western end of Erie to fish. They have been concentrating on Erie. Weights, in the mid to upper thirty pound range, have been coming to the scale after Day 1. I wish Dave well, and I hope that he can move up even further in the standings.

Yesterday on the Bassmaster's site they had another one of their "Days on the Water." They had Stephen Browning and James Overstreet, a bass reporter, that they followed for a day. They photographed their moves on a private lake in Arkansas. They streamed the video from a computer on the boat using a cell phone connection. The technology is not perfect. During the show they lost signal several times. The wind made it difficult to hear, and it created a lot of annoying noise. That considered, I found it to be very interesting. I watched it off and on for over an hour. While watching, you could send in questions for the anglers to answer. It was the second such show they had on the site this week. I looked to see if they left up the questions and answers from the show, but I couldn't find them. They followed the anglers for almost eight hours. I'll try and find out when the next such show will be on and post it on the blog.

One thing I did notice while perusing the B.A.S.S. site, was an article featuring KVD talking about next week's Smith Mountain Elite Series event. It's called "Beauty and the Brawl."

Kevin said in the article that the pattern this year, with all the cold weather in the South, will obviously will be different from last year. Kevin cleaned up on smallmouth on his way to winning that event last year. He's said that he hopes the fish will be in a prespawn mode. If the are the smallmouth and largemouth will be hungrier.

If you have fished for spawning fish, you know that once largemouth are on the beds they are tough to talk in to biting. On the other hand, even though smallies can sometimes be difficult, you can almost always get smallmouth to bite. If they smallies are in prespawn, it ought to give Kevin an advantage.

I've been trying to keep tabs on the B.A.S.S. Central Open down in Del Rio, Texas. I would really like to someday go down there to fish that fabled big bass lake. Who knows, maybe they will fish an Elite event there next year and I'll go down and Marshal it. Here's an article on that event: Nania, Reehm tie for Open lead . Here are the standings after the first day of that tournament: Lake Amistad Central Open Standings Day 1 .

I got some good news, bad news yesterday in the form of a package from Smoky Mountain Knife Works . My Bill Lowen signature Buck knife came yesterday. It's a beautiful knife, and like all Buck knives, it's solidly built. The bad news was that it didn't have a gold bass on the side. If it had, I would have been one of the five lucky winners of a nice rod and reel. Oh well, I knew a 1:100 chance was not very good odds, and I didn't order the knife counting on a new fishing rig, I just really wanted the knife. The knife is now sold out. There were only 500 made.

That's going to be it for today. The final cast is going to be a You Tube video on Zebra Mussels. It's a short little video and please, even if you know your mussels, watch this video so that you can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Here's the link to Zebra Mussels: In-Depth Prevention Tips . Take care and enjoy the weekend.

April 7, 2010

Well, I'm back home after a long weekend at the cabin. We needed to get up there and check things out to be sure no critters had gotten in or a branch or partridge had come through a window. Each spring, we need to take several screens in for repair because of bird strikes. You'd think they'd know there was a cabin in the way by now.

While we were up there my mother-in-law got pretty excited on a trip back from Manistee. There is a place, not too far from the cabin, that we regularly see a small group of albino white tails. I've put pictures of them up on the blog several times, and if you check out last month's blog, March 12th or 13th, there are a couple of pictures as well as a link which talks about an area in Wisconsin that also seems to have a higher than normal population of these critters. The link is a video and it's very well done. It's called "The Ghost of the Forest." I saw an old BFL buddy, Mike Elkins, down at D & R Sports and at the Grand Rapids Ultimate Show. He's been very active in some charity work, specifically, Lifeline Youth and Family Services . He asked if I would help spread the word on what they're doing. I told him that I would be happy to do so, and will be placing a button on the main page soon to help do that. There is going to be a Bass Tournament on Muskegon Lake, September 5th of this year to help to raise money for this very special charity. It is part of the what they call the Fish With The Pros series, which many of you may have heard of. "Fish With the Pros" has been headquartering out of the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City every Fall for years.

In fact, this year they have two "Fish With the Pros" opportunities available up in Traverse. This year they are going to be using the Great Wolf Lodge but rather the Spider Lake Retreat which is a beautiful lodge in the Traverse City Area.

The Traverse City events are not tournaments. Your entry pays for your weekend stay, and all the amenities. You then fish for two days in an around the Traverse area with some top pros. I know Van Dam has been one of the pros over the years. Each year though, the pros rotate through, and I don't know if they have a line up out yet for their September and October outings. I do know that the October outing is already filled and there are only five spots left for the September event.

The Muskegon Lake event differs in that it is a money tournament. You can participate by donating a certain amount to fish with a pro in their boat, or you and your partner can sign up to fish the tournament. Tournament registration forms and information are found at the website that I have hot linked above. Think about it! It's a great charity and a way to compete for cash, and at the same time give back to a very worth while charity.

This morning I got up and jumped on the computer and had my morning cup of java. On the FLW site, I read a very interesting piece that was done with Brian Thrift, the recent winner of the Lake Norman FLW Tour event. FLW did an online Q&A with Thrift, and then posted all the questions and Thrift's answers. It's full of good fishing tidbits and well worth the read. Here is the link to Reel Chat with Bryan Thrift .

Just an F.Y.I. for those participating in Fantasy Fishing. The next event that you have to have your roster ready for is the B.A.S.S. Elite Series tournament on Smith Mountain Lake, in Huddleston, VA. The Elite anglers will be taking off on April 15th. The B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing deadline for rosters has been midnight of the day before, so be ready by the 14th. Your FLW Fantasy roster needs to be updated prior to the Fort Loudon/Tellico Lakes event, in Knoxville, TN. That event starts on April 21st. If they continue to use the same roster deadline, you'll have until early the day of take off. I would recommend though that you have it done by midnight on the 20th.

I made a call today to Lee Whipple at Ken's Auto Parts in Muskegon to get a rear axle and housing for my son's 99 Dodge pickup. Lee, has fished area tournaments for years and has participated in the Tear Drop events off and on for many years. He's fishing the Tear Drop again this year to defend his wins on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. By the way, if you need salvaged auto parts Ken's is a good place. Right now they have lots to choose from because of the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

Lee Whipple and Heidi after one of their Cadillac wins.

I decided to spend some money the other day and order a new Buck pocket knife. Bill Lowen, a B.A.S.S. Elite Series angler, is sponsored by Buck Knives. Together they have designed a pocket knife that has a bass scene on the side. The small blade on the knife has Bill Lowen's signature, and the large blade has the saying "A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work." scribed on it. There is going to be only 500 of these knives made. If you order one and it comes with a gold bass on the side of it, you will win a new rod and Revo reel. Five out of the five hundred come so adorned. A measly one percent chance in winning, but lightning always finds someone to strike. The knife sells for $24.99. With standard shipping the total ends up being $32.48. I should be getting mine in the next day or two. If you're interested in getting one, here is the link: Buck® Exclusive Bill Lowen Canoe with Bass Shield .

I have to run to Muskegon so it's time to end this entry. I know I used Dave Mercer's "Facts of Fishing #11" to end the last blog, but he already has #12 out, and it's one of his better ones. So, take care and make sure you take some time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on your face. Here's Mercer's "Facts of Fishing #12."

April 2, 2010

As you can see, and already know, it's a new month, so I archived March up above, and I am starting the month of April blog page here. I have been retaining the last day of the previous month because in most cases it has just been up for a day or so, and some may have not had time to read it.

Can you ever remember a Spring like this one? It follows the warmest November I can ever recall as well. Certainly some nice weather despite it being quite freaky. They say rain mixed with snow for later next week. We do live in Michigan!?!

Burt, John, and I headed down to D & R Sports Friday at about 11:10 a.m. We got to D & R around ten after twelve. We parked in one of the biggest crowds of vehicles and people that I have ever seen for D & R's Spring Fling. As I walked out between the store and the service area where the seminars are held, I saw Matt Kaiser, one of the Tear Drop anglers that I have known now for several years. We caught up with what each other had been doing and talked about how anxious we both were to get out and do some fishing. I walked in to KVD's seminar with Matt, but because of the crowd, we parted company, and I wormed my way in to one of the few remaining seats.

I estimated the crowd to be over 200 folks for KVD's seminar.

Kevin is a masterful speaker. He does a super job of keeping you entertained as well as giving you the very nuts and bolts of the fishing game. He started his seminar by talking about Beeswax Creek. If it doesn't ring a bell for you, it's the creek that he fished and won the Bassmaster Classic in. Kevin said that back in 2007, when the last Classic was fished there, he felt like he had given the tournament away. He was leading it in to the last day and then just couldn't get the one big fish he needed. Warm weather had scattered his fish, and he just couldn't pull it off.

Beeswax Creek is basically five to eight feet deep with patches of coontail grass and scattered stumps. In the back of the creek, where he spent his days, there were also a few slightly deeper depressions that he focussed on. One of the things that he liked about Beeswax, and the one thing that made it different from the others, was that the Creek was not flowing. Kevin remarked, that in the Spring when the water is cold, he doesn't like flowing water.

One thing Kevin did after catching a couple good fish out of Beeswax in practice, was to get a good look at his area with his Humminbird Side Imaging unit. He cut the power down in the unit to about half. The graph normally scans out to 150 feet on both sides of the boat, but he dialed that down to, 75 feet. By doing that, he got a more precise picture. He had all of his key pieces of structure GPSed, so that he new exactly where he needed to cast his Red Eye Shad .

He used a red, red eye shad and a gold colored one almost exclusively to catch his fish. He also said that most of the stumps he targeted had a good number of the baits impaled on them. If he hung one on a stump, he broke it off and tied on a new one to keep from disturbing his area. Of course he can do that because he also gets all his baits free. He had contacted Strike King prior to the event and told them to send him two dozen of each color.

If you watched the Classic, or read about it, you know that Kevin made a pretty big deal about taking the stock hooks off and replacing them with Mustad Triple Grip Hooks . Kevin feels that because the hooks don't have the traditional round bend that they rotate when a fish is hook, turning inward so that they don't come out of the fish as easily as other treble hooks do. The hooks are also made out of a thicker piece of stock so that they have very little flex.

Kevin once again emphasized that you need to be fishing with a fluorocarbon line. He uses it almost exclusively. More on line and knots later when we talk about what Aaron Martens had to say.

Kevin is debuting a deep diving crankbait, and had it available at D & R. He said it dives deeper than any on the market. The bait is a Strike King Series Six XD crankbait. It will dive to a legitimate 20 feet according to Kevin. He also made a comment about crankbaits saying that they have to be in contact with the bottom. You don't want to use a crankbait whose max depth is deeper than the water your fishing though. If you do the bait digs too hard and you lose the action you want. Varying your fluorocarbon line size will cause the same bait to travel at different depths. He said, for instance, when they go to Kentucky Lake he'll have 6-8 rods with the same bait on it, but different sized line to help vary the depth that each will dive.

The World's Greatest Bass Angler, Kevin VanDam

KVD's arch nemesis, Skeet Reese was also down at D & R on Friday. I will have to say that despite their many 1: 1 battles that it looks like the two of them get along pretty well, and even though Skeet was in enemy territory he handled the situation well and joked about Kevin winning this and winning that. Kevin will always be number one in Michigan, but take nothing away from Skeet though, he's currently rated the number one angler on the planet in some of the polls. He's certainly what you call a "Stick."

Skeet is a California boy who brings all the sunshine. Just about everything he wears or sells is yellow. His new line of Wright - McGill made rods, that he talked about in his seminar, are indeed sunshine yellow. He told the crowd about the development of his rods, and he claims his aim was to make a reasonably priced rod that was every bit as tough and sensitive as the more expensive models. His rods sell for $89. I picked up several models and they felt good. I was tempted to get one and still may in the near future. The rods come with a limited lifetime warranty.

Skeet Reese during just after his seminar at D & R Sports

During the seminar Skeet talked about the new Trokar Hooks . I've been reading about these hooks for some time, and although I'm sure they are very sharp, the price scares me off. Here's what some folks had to say on the Bass Boat Central Forum about the Trokars .

One of the things that I wrote in my notes during Skeet's seminar was the information he gave on Gulp vs. Power Baits. Reese says that his experience has been that if you are smallmouth fishing, or fishing for spotted bass, you want to use Gulp. If you are largemouth fishing, then you can't beat the Power Baits. Sure, you can catch fish on either, but he swears what he's learned over the years holds true with these two types of scented baits when it come to catching green fish versus brown fish.

Skeet is sponsored by Lucky Craft and part of his seminar was devoted to those baits. He talked about the color that Kevin calls Sexy Shad, and said it was one he came up with on a trip to Japan to meet with the Lucky Craft designers. In the Lucky Craft brand, the color is called "Chartreuse Shad."

When Skeet was asked what his favorite top water Lucky Craft lure was, he said it was definitely the Gunfish 95 . He said it has that good top water walk-the-dog action with an added kiss of water from its scooped nose, similar to what you see when you use a Pop R style bait.

His second favorite topwater bait is a popper style topwater the G Splash 80 . He said many like the larger size in this bait, but he likes the 80.

I can't say Skeet's seminar was loaded with info, but he did say that he always wacky rigged his drop shot worms and that he always used braid for frog fishing. He said not to mess around any time you use braid. Don't whimp out with 20 pound test, he always uses 65 pound braid, and he does all of his topwater fishing with braid. He also made a point of saying that you can't power set the braid and fluorocarbon like you use to do with mono. With the no stretch lines you'll pop them in a hurry on a power set.

Skeet and some mean Vicious old guy.

After listening to Skeet, we wandered around the store and took a few minutes to have a Moe's Barbecue. This is the first year that they have had Moe's there. The smell coming from their grills was the first thing that hit you when you got out of your car. It was mighty tasty.

Inside the store I talked to a number of people I knew, and also met some new fishing fanatics. One was a young gun from Grandville, Tyler Christopher. He gave me his card and one of the things I noticed on it was that he started and was president of Davenport University's Fishing Team. He also fished the BFLs, so we talked about Burt and Mullet, St. Clair, Erie, etc. He may have even fished the BFLs same year that I fished, but I don't remember seeing him at the Saturday night pairing meetings. He said he was going to be fishing the BBT's and I think he said the Lake Drive series.

I also ran in to a couple of scary looking dudes that I talked with a bit. They were terrorizing the customers and threatening to give seminars on Saturday. Here's a picture of the dynamic duo.

The notorious Mr. JVD and his partner in crime Mr. Luke Gritter

Looking down the Quantum aisle inside the store.

I spent some time between seminars talking with Dan Potter the Vicious rep for this area. He had a booth and was selling lots of Vicious line, especially the fluorocarbon.

Russ, the BBT Tournament Director, and Dan Potter, the Vicious Fishing Rep for our area.

Before I forget, after the Skeet Reese seminar, as the crowd was filing out, I spotted one of the local celebrities Lt. Dan Kimmel, from greatlakesbass.com . Dan always likes to pose for pictures for the blog. All kidding aside though, Dan is "The Man" responsible for the early catch and release season in Michigan. He, at his own expense, traveled many miles to speak and lobby for the early season. All of us that like to chase bass before the official opener owe him a debt of gratitude.

Mr. Dan Kimmel from greatlakesbass.com

The last seminar I attended on Friday was Aaron Martens. Aaron now lives in Alabama, but he is a born and raised Californian. His claim to fame is finesse fishing. He's probably also well known for the number of second place finishes he has, especially in the Classic.

D & R Owner Randy Van Dam introducing Aaron Martens

After Randy introduced Mr. Martens, Aaron started talking about drop shotting. He said he learned the technique years ago from a Japanese couple that hired him on a guided trip in California. Aaron uses the drop shot a lot. He doesn't just apply the technique to a vertical presentation. He often cast the rig. He says it is way more versatile that most think it is.

He starts the set up with a 1/0 split shot hook. He always uses the drop shot weights that have the clips versus those you tie direct. He uses the lightest weight he can get away with given the conditions. Where he differs from most is at the knot. He likes the Albright Knot for connecting his braid to his fluorocarbon. He either uses straight fluorocarbon or the braid with a fluoro leader. Aaron says that the knot will take you some time to learn, but it will be worth it. After he connects the two lines, he then ties a uni knot . The demo of the knot is tied with fewer wraps than what Aaron recommended. He likes six to eight wraps. He is a non-believer in the Palomar Knot . He has knot wars with other pros on the tour who doubt his favorite knot. He claims his the uni has never been beat.

One of the things that stood out in Aaron's seminar was his attention to detail. He's one of the pickiest anglers I've run across in terms of his terminal tackle. He said that he visually inspects his knot and makes sure it is dead center in the hook on almost every cast. He is also very meticulous about his guides. He cleans them regularly and urges others to do so.

Aaron has developed a jig he calls the Scrounger . The Scrounger is his go to bait, and one that he's put on the map, and to his dismay is copied by quite a few different companies. He claims that the type of plastic he uses to manufacture the bait is a difference maker. Others try to copy it, but it just isn't the same. The Davis Bait Company is now making the baits. I tried to hot link their site, but it wouldn't load. Maybe it's still under development. Martens did say that he just switched all of the production of the scroungers to this company, and they are just days away from having them out on the market.

Martins fishes the Scrounger with many different baits and using several different techniques. One of his favorites methods is to use it with a fluke. The piece of plastic on the jig gives the bait tremendous action. Aaron modifies that plastic bill in many different ways to meet different conditions. For instance, in grass, he narrows it up substantially.

One last tip from his seminar dealt with getting line twist out. Spinning reels are the finesse anglers number one tool, but they are known for developing line twist in a matter of hours when fishing finesse baits. To remove the twist, Aaron said to make a long cast, and then grasp the line in your palm and place as many fingers on it as you can. As you reel the line in you literally push the twist out of the line. Once the line gets short enough hold it above the water and let the twist spin itself out. Do this in back to back cast and you should have twist free line.

Aaron Martens and Me

It has been a real test getting this blog entry out. I have been having difficulty with the laptop that I use. The fan has quit in it, so it overheats and shuts down after about ten minutes. I have to use the laptop when we travel, and I've been up north the last few days, thus the delay in this entry. I'm getting a new laptop, which should arrive by the weekend, to use on my trip to Marshal the two B.A.S.S. Elite events that Rick and I are heading down to in a couple weeks.

For now though, I am going to end this entry and use Dave Mercer's Facts of Fishing #11 as the parting cast of the day. Take care, and I hope you had a Happy Easter!

March 31, 2010

Another teen ager hit the streets today in the form of my favorite granddaughter. Yep, she turns 13 today! Happy birthday Kayla!

I had breakfast yesterday with John's walleye buddies. They talked about getting things ready for this year's soft water season. A couple of the guys were discussing when they would be heading over to Saginaw Bay.

On greatlakesbass.com there have been several posts about the walleye run on the Detroit River. They say that boats are bringing in fish, but that it's not at the peak of the run yet.

My son has some buddies that said that they're getting walleye, and big ones, off the pier at Holland. They get there about sundown and fish till eleven or so. They are throwing husky jerks.

I'm sure that this warm weather, they're talking maybe 80° by Friday, is going to cause some fish to really start staging.

Myself, I'm thinking of heading to the beach with my flip flops. Not really, when you get to be my age the only time you should be shirtless is when you take a shower.

On Friday, John, Burt, and I are heading down to D & R Sports to hear VanDam , Martens , and Mellow Yellow Reese . We may take in Romanack's seminar as well. I've never heard him speak.

Speaking of Van Dam, he didn't have one of his stellar performances out in California on the recent B.A.S.S. Elite Series two week swing through that state. As he sits in the standings right now, he wouldn't make the Classic cut. It is, however, early, and being this year's Classic champion, he gets an automatic berth in the 2011 Classic. I don't think he's going to rely on that though. Smith Mountain is next and he won that last year.

Bass Fan has a pretty good article up entitled "Fished Better Than He Finished: VanDam Not Too Bummed About California Results." It's a pretty good read. It talks about how on Clear Lake, it was a case of unpredictable tidal fishing. Then on Clear Lake, it was a matter of the big ones that got away. I'm sure we will hear more of the details, straight from the horses mouth, on Friday when we go down to hear Kevin. I'm going to take a note pad and my camera, and so we'll have the rest of the story on the blog Saturday.

I've mentioned that my mother-in-law lives with us and today while receiving some physical therapy at home, her therapist, Nick, talked about his dad's cottage up on Burt and Mullet Lakes. I was talking to him about how they could learn more about the lake by fishing the Michigan BFL they will be having up there in early June. In fact, the Michigan BFL season starts there June 5th and 6th.

I would highly recommend that anyone who wants to get in to tournament bass fishing try fishing the BFLs a season or more as a coangler. You don't need a boat, the entry fee is nominal, and you have a pretty good chance of winning some money. Even if you don't cut a check, it's a good way to see what fishing a tournament is all about. You can learn a great deal.

When you fish a draw tournament like the BFLs, the boat owners fish the front of the boat and make all the decisions about where to go. They compete only against the other boat owners and you as a coangler compete against the other back of the boat coanglers. You meet a lot of great guys, and it's a lot of fun. The hot link above will take you to the FLW site where you can get all the information you need.

If you do decide to try the BFLs, don't wait till the last minute. Obviously they have to have an even number of owners and coanglers. If they don't have enough boaters, you won't be able to fish. To guarantee a spot, get on one of the fishing forums like greatlakesbass.com, and seek out a boater. If you sign up together you are guaranteed to fish. Chances are you won't fish with the boater you signed up with., because you're paired in a blind draw the night before the tournament. Another caveat is that you must attend the Friday night pairings meeting. If you don't show you don't fish!

My buddy Don Fowler with a nice Mullet Lake Smallie

Well that's going to be it for today. Not too much going on in the fishing world. In keeping with my last parting shot of the day, I'm going to use another quote from the basketball world. This quote comes from one of the great player coaches Phil Jackson. He once said,"In basketball - as in life - true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way. Of course, it's no accident that things are more likely to go your way when you stop worrying about whether you're going to win or lose and focus your full attention on what's happening right this moment."

Take care and make sure you spend some time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on your face even if its for only a few minutes. That might include making a list of excuses to give your boss for not working Friday, so that you can go down to D&R Sports Spring Sale. Take care and maybe I'll see you Friday.