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Archived Blog From February 2nd - March 1st

March 1, 2008

My oldest son's birthday is today. Happy birthday Matt! He's out visiting his brother in Lake Tahoe, CA. He says they have more snow out there than many of the locals have seen in years. I'll try and get some pictures from him to show you what some real snow looks like. Not that any of us really want to look at any more white stuff. I know I would rather see some crystal blue persuasion from the deck of my Cat.

I got up this morning and made my way down to the Outdoorsmen Pro Shop in beautiful downtown Jenison . My truck knows the way quite well. Sometimes it drives me there even though I don't want to go. It's quite mystifying. Once there they won't let me leave without buying a couple things. It is not my fault.

When I pulled in to Bill and Grayson's shop I found my buddy John already there. We waited for them to unlock the door and then we made our way in. I headed straight for the back of the store for a donut and a cup of coffee and then started browsing. I saw J. Brandt and son and talked with him until Rick Mast came by. Rick and I talked through three donuts and two cups of coffee.

Leaving Rick to talk strategy with Ed Opalek I started to cruise the isles looking at baits and met Ed Dyer from Kelloggsville. Ed coaches wrestling and teaches P.E. in K'ville My wife taught in the same district for many years and so I introduced myself. We talked while he showed me some of his favorite Poor Boy baits. I ended up buying some Poor Boy Darters and Danks. I also picked up some new Berkley swim baits and Berkley's new heavy weight worms. It was a good morning.

Tomorrow's View From the Toho Ramp

After the boats launch they tie up until blast off.

The final day of the first FLW Tour Event is tomorrow, and my Fantasy Fishing Team for this first event doesn't look like their going to have a great showing. I do have Ron Shuffield, and he should get me some points making the top ten cut.

Brett Hite is currently cruising comfortably in first with 25 lbs. 2 oz. He has an almost 12 pound lead over second place FLW Pro Dan Moorhead. Here are a couple of articles from the FLW home page that talk about Hite's Day 3 and then the Quick Bites Page for Day 3 which has all the nitty gritty facts and figures.

You can click on the results at the top of the two previous links or just use this hyperlinks for the Results List that has all the latest stats.

Don't forget to log on tomorrow and check out the final Toho Weigh In at 4:00 pm ET. Remember, the FLW site is now requiring you to log on first with your email and password even for this "Free Weekend." After tomorrow, you will have to be a FLW member to watch the weigh ins.

One last Toho item for today is the slide show that Bass Zone does. They have some great pictures. Check out the black coots in the foreground on a couple of the pictures. Cruising across Toho you can suddenly find yourself sailing through a flock of them as they come off the water. We bounced a couple and also got splattered with *@*# as they lighten their load on take off.

I have been a bit preoccupied with the FLW Tour event, but I did cruise some other sites. I found an article that was done on Ike, and it's one that you should read. I like Ike despite some of his escapades, and I think his heart is in the right place as evidenced by this "Wish Come True" story about him and his new young friend.

Today at the Outdoorsmen Rick and I were talking about the "Knot Wars" videos that have been circulating the web. Here is a link that will get you the low down on the "Knot Wars" .

This last item I may have had on the blog before. Swarming Hornet Lures were mentioned a couple different times by a couple of Classic anglers.

I took the granddaughter to the GVSU Conference Championship Quarterfinals GVSU Conference Championship Quarterfinals this afternoon. The Lakers beat Hillsdale despite a slow first half start. They will host the semifinals and finals next weekend.

The granddaughter was a bit disappointed. It was Spring Break at the University and there weren't hardly any cheerleaders on the floor, and the dance team was a no show at half time. I kind of missed the dance team too. There are a artful diversion to be sure. With that, it's time for the parting shot of the day. This quote comes from M.H. Alderson, "If at first you don't succeed, your are running about average." Sounds about right and fits very well with my fantasy fishing picks. Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

P. S. Tomorrow I will be archiving February and starting a new blog month.

February 28, 2008

I got up today, had two cups of coffee while I checked my emails and found one from Rick M. It seems he's getting to be a blog regular. Thanks Rick. In his email, he reminded me that the Outdoorsmen Pro Shop is having their Spring Fishing Open House this Saturday. They plan on having the best price around on the new Humminbird Side Imaging units. They are also going to have some seminars and good deals on equipment and tackle. Come on down and eat their free donuts and have a cup of coffee while you shoot the breeze with some of us regulars. I am going down fairly early because I have to get back to make breakfast for my granddaughter.

Another email I got today was from Captain Don House , who is a fishing guide down in Missouri on Table Rock Lake. I had heard of him from a post on Great Lakes Bass . Check out his site. If you ever get down in that neck of the woods check him out. His trip that he does on deep jigging sounds really interesting to me.

Having check all the particulars on the net this morning, I did several miles on the treadmill and then headed out to do some errands with my buddy JB. I got back later than I wanted because I didn't want to miss the Toho weigh in. I, in fact, missed about the first six people to weigh in and part of the reason was the new requirements that the FLW folks now have to view their weigh ins. You have to be a FLW member, and I am, so it didn't take too long to put in the email address and password. I didn't know that change was coming so I apologize for steering people to the link expecting to see the weigh in only to find they couldn't without spending some bucks.

As you probably already know, the FLW Tour launched their season down in Kissimmee, Florida on Lake Toho. The Kissimmee Chain is four lakes: Toho, Cyprus, Hatchineha, and Lake Kissimmee. You have to lock through a couple of times to get all the way down to Kissimmee. Here's a map of the area which shows the lakes, but for some reason, they didn't label Lake Hatchineha below Cypress.

Here's a couple of pictures from our November Toho trip that gives you an idea of what the anglers are looking at down there.

Mr. Fowler fishing a shell bed on Toho.

Fishing the Maidencane

A Shallow Spawning Flat Southeast End of Toho

I was geeked early into the weigh in because Ron Shuffield was leading the tournament for a while, and he is one of my Fantasy Fishing Team anglers. I was hoping that his lead would hold, but there were five others who bested his 17 lbs. Here is a Toho write up from the FLW site. At the top of this link you can click on "Results" and get a Day 1 Standings List. Notice Tony DeFilippo is 53 rd with 8-04 lbs. Tony is from Cedar, Michigan and has competed in some of our Tear Drop events years ago, and we see him at the Hawg Hunt in the Fall up on Duck and Green.

Another Michigan angler is Nate Wellman. I had Nate as a sixth grade student at Bursley School in Jenison. Nate is in 78th place with 6-10. I am hoping that both of these Michigan guys have great days tomorrow and make the cut.

There are some other Michigan anglers down in Kissimmee, and I wish them the best as well, it's just that I don't know them like I do Tony and Nate.

As usual BassFan has a good article on Day 1 and also gives a complete standings list.

Big bass for day one was a real pig an eleven pound nine ounce largie caught by Randy Hadden of Florida.

While you're at BassFan check out a freebie on their Dock Talk page from Plano. You have to go to Plano's Site to get the color of the 3258 box. If you don't want to check it out just type in "Burnt Orange."

Probably one of the last Classic articles, for a day or two at least, is one on Alton going to the White House . Winning the Classic has a lot of perks, but one of the coolest has got to be an offer from the President for a personal tour of the White House for you and your family.

Before I close for tonight, it's 1:36 am and time for me to hit the hay, I wanted to remind y'all that tomorrow at 3:00 pm on the Versus Network Kim Stricker's Hook' N Look is on. The show's focus will be crankin' Fall smallmouth.

The parting shot for tonight comes from Samuel Johnson who said, " Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance." Make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

PS.... Here's a Friday update. I'm not going to start a new entry until after the weigh in today. Check out this FLW Link for news and a bunch of great Day 1 and early Day 2 Toho photos. Also this is a free FLW Live weekend so it looks like everyone regardless of FLW membership can watch the Toho Weigh ins .

February 27, 2008

Now that the Classic is over the pros on both tours are gearing up for their respective tournament trails. Tomorrow, the FLW Tour pros will take off on Lake Toho, down in Kissimmee, Florida. That also means you have until 11:59 pm tonight to finalize your FLW Fantasy Fishing team. To sign up on our Tear Drop team use the number 10569 and the password Michigan.

The Site of Tomorrow's FLW Tour Opener

Looking Down the Shore Toward the Toho Launch

The forecast for the Kissimmee area tomorrow is for sunny skies, but the temperature overnight is suppose to drop to the mid 30's! That sounds like a pretty significant cold front that is going to smack those anglers or the bass they're after anyway, right up side the head. The temperatures are predicted to increase each day for the next few days by 10 degrees or so, but I don't think the post spawn frontal fishing will be very easy.

When we were down in Florida for the National Championship in November a major cold front also moved through, and it shut the fishing down big time.

From practice reports on Toho, anglers are seeing fry and empty beds. The full moon was last week, so if there is another wave that will be coming up, it probably won't occur until the moon turns full again in several weeks.

Anglers are going to have to mine the deeper water on the Kissimmee Chain. Deep water though, is relative on Toho, which averages a depth of only 5 feet . Here's one of the Toho previews from FLW's site. Here's another short piece from the FLW Angler of the Year Jay Yelas as he comments on his Toho practice period.

Tomorrow's Toho weigh in will be live on the net starting at 3:00 pm ET. Make sure you tune in because Michigan's Tony DeFilippo will be doing his best to cash a big check. Go Tony!

The BASS Elite Series pros will be heading down to Florida as well. They are going to be fishing the Harris Chain. Don and I fished the Chain two days in November and will be looking forward to seeing how the pros do down there. The Harris Chain has the record for the lowest total weight ever in a BASS event. Let's hope it shows up much bigger this go round.

While we are on the Elite Series here's one more follow up article on the Classic. It's a pretty good one because it takes you through a number of pros and talks about what baits worked for them on Hartwell.

Time for the parting shot of the day. It's a quote from Kevin Short on Day 2 of the Classic. "Tomorrow, I'm going to open up my box of lures, throw 'em out, and if anything makes a move on anything, that's what I'm going with." I've had days like that. Make sure to make time to enjoy your day.

February 26, 2008

Okay, today I'm using the blog as a bit of a diversion. I told myself I was going to get up and get on that short black highway, yep the treadmill, and already I'm looking for excuses not to. I thought to myself, get the blog done first so people who eat lunch at their computer can jump on and have something to read as they chow down. Sounds good right?

I really do plan on doing at least 40 minutes on the treadmill today. I haven't been on since I did an hour on Sunday.

I have been going through a severe bout of cabin fever. I want to go fishing pretty bad. When I can't fish I buy baits so I am trying to figure out how to get down to Lunkers this weekend for their Fishing Extravaganza. I haven't been down to Edwardsburg in years, and last year I told myself I was going to try and make it this year. The weekend is not an open one for me. The granddaughter and her friend are coming for the weekend and I'm the social director. We plan on going to the GVSU basketball game on Saturday.

The Grand Valley Lakers have set a NCAA Michigan collegiate record with their 30 game perfect season. Saturday they will play Hillsdale in the quarterfinals of the GLIAC Conference Tournament. It looks like the DII National Tournament doesn't start until March 12th.

I just took some time off to get on the treadmill for fifty minutes while Bass Pros and Bass Edge were on the Versus Channel. I like to have something to watch on TV while I work out. How are your workouts coming? Even if you're walking each day they say you will be healthier and get those legs ready for 8-10 hours in the boat come spring.

I guess most of us are decompressing from the Classic and still checking out all the post game analysis. One of the things I found as I was doing just that was this short video Alton Jones and his son recorded on Falcon Lake. Check it out, its not what you'd expect.

ESPN has several Classic articles and here is one of them. Here's another take on the Classic from Bass Zone .

Also on Bass Zone they have a series of slide shows that you can select to see some of the Classic photos their staff took. I watched all of them and they're well done.

I thought the Classic coverage this year was pretty good. ESPN has just a bit of experience in covering sporting events. I do wonder though, why they relegated the show to the extreme ends of the viewing schedule. I can't believe that anglers can't garner a better time slot, than say Classic Boxing. Maybe we'll have to start an email campaign to show the kind of following that the show has.

In terms of Classic surprises, Charlie Hartley has to be the poster child for that category in this tournament. It was his first Classic and to be leading after Day 1, made him a bookies long shot bet.

Most people, including myself, didn't know much about Charlie. It didn't take long to see the genuine spirit and passion he has for the sport and his fellow anglers. He took a few knocks for being so high strung, and a couple more hits for his apparent compulsive tendencies, but truth be told those pieces of his persona quite likely are the strengths that brought him as far as he's traveled. You can sure see how popular he is with his angling peers and I think Charlie has increased his own fan club considerably. What a class guy!

It certainly appeared that Lake Hartwell turned out to be a Classic deep bite. Charlie did all right for two days on his docks, but just ran out of shallow fish. Even though Alton's deep bite numbers dropped significantly the last day. He was still able to put a limit in the boat, and it was a limit that had some shoulders to it.

Fishing in thirty feet of water is a tad foreign to me, and I'd have to do a lot more of it before I could feel comfortable with it. Having that side imaging Humminbird sonar though can really give you the confidence to fish a deep area that you can see so well from up above. There won't be a pro or a serious angler around without that crucial piece of equipment. Humminbird has struck solid gold with its $2,000 state of the art unit.

If we turn to Classic baits, I believe that the bait that will emerge from the the Classic with some resurgence will be the crankbait. You began to see it popping up more like in Ben Matsubu's Toho victory in the last 2007 Elite event. In that same Toho tournament, Reese secured AOY cranking. Reese then inspired Jamie Laiche in the B.A.S.S. Federation Nationals to crank and that got Jamie a trip to the Classic as well. I know I'm going to succumb to the fever and buy a couple of KVD's sexy shads. I already invested in the Lucky Strike RC 100s.

I was on "Lt." Dan Kimmel's Great Lakes Bass Forum and one of the guys was talking about a Knot Site that I checked out and found interesting. I have cataloged it with my other knot sites, and you might find yourself book marking it too.

I was pleasantly surprised in yesterday's mail to get a card from Ben "Chain Saw" Schilling. It was great to hear from him and I hope that if I get a chance to go out to Lake Tahoe to see my son this Spring that I'll be able to drive up and sore mouth a few bass with Ben.

It's time to go do some errands. I have to mail a couple of things out to folks. Ross P. wanted a copy of my National Championship DVD so I'm sending that out and I'm also sending out some tunes to my son's girlfriend. My number one son is flying right now out to see son number two out in California. He called me from Detroit saying they were delayed and would probably be missing their connecting flight. He wasn't happy. In any case, it's time for the parting shot of the day.

During the Classic I heard one of the announcers talking about how they felt that there would be anglers falling out of the event the next day. He describe one in particular saying he felt like he would drop like, "Socks on a rooster." I thought it was funny, but I guess you had to be in the moment. Make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

February 24, 2008

By now you probably know the rest of the story. Alton Jones is your 2008 Bassmaster's Classic Champion.

The final six Classic anglers approached the stage and took their seats as Bobby Lane sat in the hot seat. First of the six to weigh was Mike Iaconelli. Mike has five career tour wins, along with a 2003 Classic win. Ike had four fish that went eight pounds seven ounces. Jeff Kreit weighed next. He has one career win on the trail and on one of the more important fishing days of his life weighed three fish that went nine pounds and four ounces. Next up was KVD, and he weighed a limit that went eleven pounds and seven ounces. His weight unseated Bobby Lane and put KVD in the hot seat. Then there was three. The quiet and unassuming Cliff Pace weighed after the Tiger Woods of the bass world. Cliff weighed a limit and knocked off "King Kong Kevin" with eleven pounds even. Charley Hartley came up next and did his best to unseat Cliff, but the crowd favorite only had three pounds and five ounces and dropped to fourteenth place.

Alton Jones was the last angler to weigh in. He didn't think he had much of a chance as he came in to the dock at the end of the day. It had been his worst day of Classic fishing. He had only five bites all day. Forturnately he called all five. Those five fish weighed thirteen pounds and seven ounces, but it was his lucky day. The weight turned out to be a few pounds more than he needed to become the new 2008 Bassmaster Champion.

Alton has three kids, a boy AJ Jr. and two daughters. They all travel to the tournaments together, and he and his wife home school the kids. Little Alton, as his dad calls him, (He's 16 years old.) prefished with his dad all week. What an opportunity that boy has!

Alton said the key to the Classic was his Humminbird Side Imaging sonar. He used it to find standing timber in 28 to 35 feet of water. He would then fish the inside edge of the timber with a Cotton Cordell CC jigging spoon. The spoon was only an early go to bait, and after the first half hour of fishing he then went to a half ounce football jig with a brown with purple fleck skirt and a black and blue yum chunk trailer. He also occasionally threw a three quarter ounce jig. Alton used Kistler rods and spooled 17 pound fluorocarbon on the jigging spoon and 14 pound test Silver Thread Fluoro on the jigs.

Alton had a mantra going all day helping him focuss on each cast. Trying to put everything else out of his mind he zeroed in on just catching the next fish. That focus did the job and earned him a $500,000 pay day!

The Classic winner usually starts a mad rush toward the lure that won the classic for him. There were several baits mentioned besides the CC spoon above. Here are some that were Classic anglers mentioned on the show. A couple of them were featured early on Bass Fan . Another bait I saw and heard referred to was the Su-Spin from Buckeye Lures. They also talked about the Lucky Craft Flat Mini DR , and Aaron Marten's Scrounger .

Alton also gave kudos to Kistler Rods he used, and the Ardent XS 1000 reel he had on each rod.

If you watched the ESPN2 coverage you saw Gerald Swindle advertising his new website called G-Man's Garage . I checked it out, and it's pretty good. The G-Man is a pretty wild and crazy guy. Check the site out, it's different.

Well, it was a great fishing weekend and the Classic proved to be everything it was hyped up to be. You had KVD in it all the way shooting for his third Classic win. Charley Hartley showed up big in his first Classic and immediately became the sentimental favorite. Then there was Ike, behaving this year and not getting disqualified as he has in two previous Classics. The Lane brothers made history and Alton Jones from Waco, Texas proves the eleventh time is the charm! What more can you ask for. Well, maybe more prime time coverage instead of red eye time frames, and there always can be more daily on the water camera time.

There undoubtedly will be a bunch of Classic articles to read and take a look at tomorrow, and I'll try and wrap them up in a package that you can easily unwrap.

Until then, take care and enjoy your day.

February 23, 2008

Time for the Classic morning report. I got up this morning at 7:00 am to tune in on ESPN2 for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, South Carolina. I watched the action, and I thought it was well covered considering the poor weather. I always would like to see more footage, but I guess we have to take what ESPN gives us.

One thing I found out is that I should look at my own blog info a little more carefully. If I had, I would have been able to get an hour and a half more sleep, because they repeated the coverage at 8:30 am. Here again is the TV schedule .

There have been a couple of sites with pieces done already on the first day of the Classic. Here's what they had to say about it on Bass Zone , and what they had to say on Bass Fan .

Another article I found was done on the B.A.S.S. Federation qualifiers . There are no less than three Federation anglers, Jeff Freeman, Jamie Laiche, and Mike Baskett, who are sitting comfortably in the top twenty with legitimate shots at cracking the top ten. Mike Basket and Jamie Laiche both have about 15 lbs. That leaves them six pounds back of the leader, but if one of them can put together two good final days, who knows where they may wind up!

Did you see KVD reeling in those big fish today on that crankbait? He looks like he has a spot that can not only produce big fish, but quantity as well. He's using a custom painted Strike King Series 5 crankbait.

When I did some surfing this morning to find some info on this bait, I ran across what looks like an excellent tutorial on crankbaits on the Strike King site.

Well I just checked the ESPN Blog and the last entry was 9:15. They say KVD is fishless as well as Scott Rook. Bobby Lane is in first with a second day sack so far of 13-1. Mike Hartley is second with 6-1 today. Alton Jones has 9 lbs so far for third. Ike has 6-8 for fourth and Scott Rook has 3-15 for fifth. Bobby has a two day total so far of 28-01.

The ESPN Blog stated that the weather today was definitely better with sun predicted. At take off, the temps were in the 40s, and it was foggy. The early bite will be under the fog and then later in the day that sun will push the bass to structure. Maybe those shallow water guys will cash in on the docks. Lets hope KVD's fish start shaping up and biting for him.

If you watched the TV coverage, you heard Casey Ashley singing. Man the kid has a voice! He won't be fishing as a pro for long with a voice like that. His "Fisherman" song will be a chart mover. It'll be in my iTunes library as soon as it gets picked up by Apple. I searched for it, and it isn't on the net yet that I could find. I did locate a blog that was interesting and talked about Casey Ashley's singing at Skeet Reese's angler of the year party, his wife threw for him.

Well, I'm going to be following the Classic online and watching the video from ESPN's Video Coverage and probably get back and add to the blog as the day progresses. I will definitely be watching the weigh in at 4:30. So, until then make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

Hey, I'm back and it's 1:39 pm. Right now Alton Jones is leading with an unofficial weight of . KVD and Scott Rook are not having a good day. Each has just one fish as reported at 12:15 pm on the ESPN Blog.

I did find where you can buy the Casey Ashley, "Fisherman" song. If you haven't heard it yet here is a link to a short excerpt of Casey Ashley's singing . Here's where you can buy it . Back later with more.

The Day 2 weigh in just ended. It seemed to be a much tougher day today. Yesterday the anglers were complaining about the wind, rain, and cold and were hoping for the sun which came today. However, it didn't seem to do what most anglers thought it would do. Alton Jones seemed to figure it out though and sits currently in first place with a two day total of 36 lbs. even. Charlie Harley is 1 lb. 13 oz. back, Cliff Pace is 2 -11 back, KVD is 4-15 back. It looks like anybody in the top six has a shot and someone could come flying out of the pack but it doesn't look likely. Here is the ESPN Real-Time Leaderboard for Day 2 of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic.

Make sure you set your DVR for 10 pm for the Day Two highlights on ESPN2.

Remember too, that you can watch the whole Day 3 weigh in online at ESPN Tournament Live Video at 4:30 pm tomorrow.

I may be back on yet again tonight, but most likely I'll be blogging tomorrow early. Until then, enjoy your evening.

February 22, 2008

Well for the next couple of days it's going to be all about the Classic, but before we turn our focus toward Lake Hartwell, down in Jasper, Texas on Sam Rayburn there is a Stren event going on right now. Today is cut day, and the field will be narrowed to 10 tomorrow. Much to the chagrin of many of the anglers down in the Lone Star State, the weather has cooled and will be in the low sixties today. Those Southern boys would rather have the hot weather any day. From my standpoint right now though, low sixties is hot. Hard to feel too sorry for them when it's been below zero the last two nights.

The leader today on Rayburn had about 37 lbs. giving him only a pound and a half lead. You can watch the Rayburn weigh in at 4:00 pm on FLW Live .

If you like watching weigh ins there's another Stren event going on out in California on Lake Havasu and that weigh ins at 6:00 pm our time.

Justin Kerr from California is currently leading that contest with about 29 lbs. You can use the same FLW Live link above to view that weigh in.

Now let's get back to the classic. To start, here is the TV schedule for the this weekend's Classic.

The Classic anglers are out on the water right now for day one. They launched this morning at 7:15 am. I've been listening to the ESPN live coverage that they are running all day on this ESPN Live link. I just watched an interview with Jason Quinn, and during the interview they said that KVD is in fourth place. I'm a KVD fan and always will be. He's Michigan's home team on the water.

I'm still trying to surf the major sites to find out where the best info. and video leads will be. Here is the ESPN page that seems to be the place to start for your latest Classic News . In fact I just went back to that site and here is the blog info on who's catching what. If you would rather not hear who's in the lead, because you want to wait till tomorrow to watch the coverage, don't go to the link just provided or read any further.

If you do want to know, here's the latest as of 1:30 pm. Scott Rook leads with 21 lbs. 10 oz. Ike is second with 19 lbs. Terry Scroggins has 18 lbs., just 8 ounces ahead of KVD. Cliff Pace, Charlie Harley , Alton Jones, Aaron Martens, Kotaro Kiriyama, and Kelly Jordan round out the top ten.

When the field took off this morning the weather was terrible. Temperatures were in the 30s with rain. The forecast for tomorrow looks much better with temps in the low 60s.

When they talked to KVD at blast off, he was optimistic and wasn't worried at all about the weather. On the contrary, he felt this weather would make his fish bite. He had his rainsuit and body armor on, and was only worried about keeping his hands warm. He said he had several glove options to try and was as prepared as he could be.

The weigh in is going to be on the net at 4:30 pm today, and you can view it at this weigh in link . At this link, they have three options for camera views. Make sure you click on the Arena Link for the weigh in.

Another good site for Classic coverage is Bass Zone . They have some video updates and may be another spot to cruise to tomorrow after the TV coverage in the morning is over. I know that I'm going to get off now and spend some more time on the net. I want to be situated to watch the weigh in at 4:30. If you're in to bass fishing and if you're on this site I guess that's a dumb question, this is exciting stuff. It's not like being there catching fish, but it's a close second. I know I'm geeked about it!

Make sure you take time to enjoy your day and go KVD!

Bassmaster Classic addition.

I watched all 50 Classic contenders cross the stage and weigh their fish. Here is the link to the First Day Weigh In Results . Notice that there are three Federation Anglers in the top 20. The three of them have a chance yet to make that top ten cut and fish Sunday. It will be fun to watch the ESPN2 show tomorrow starting at 7:00 am.

Can you believe how consistent that KVD is! Man the guy can catch fish, as was said, "in a tractor tire ditch." Kind of cool that he did so well today. It was his twin boys birthday today.

Here is a link to some of the first day pics first day pics.

Don't forget to log on and check out the coverage on the ESPN site above. Even after the weigh in today they had a short press conference with Charley Hartley, Terry Scroggins, Scott Rook, and Kevin VanDam. The guys did a nice job answering questions. A bunch of class athletes.

Make sure you set up the coffee pot and have the alarm dialed in to a few minutes before 7:00 am. Should be fun!

February 20, 2008

It's finally stopped snowing here and the sun is out, which is rare in southwest Michigan in the winter. It's still chilly. My outdoor thermometer says 16 degrees and my driveway has about a foot of snow that is waiting to be blown off.

I've been getting queries about the Track'n Trail Tear Drop Bass Tournament Trail. I have a couple of guys looking for a partner. One guy lives in Rockford and another in Bear Lake. If you're thinking about fishing, but need a partner, send me an email. If you scroll down to the February 10th blog entry you'll see this year's tentative schedule. Dennis Cook is the Tear Drop Director.

My only involvement any more any more with the Tear Drop, is to offer some webpage space. I have fished the Tear Drop for a long time, and therefore can answer many of your questions, but if you need to talk to the decision maker call Dennis. If you need his email address or phone number, check out this online link to our 2007 Tear Drop Flyer . Remember, if you find an ad buyer for the Tear Drop Flyer, your membership is reimbursed as soon as you turn the money in for the ad. Flyers are disseminated though out the west side of the state from Traverse City to Kalamazoo.

Thought I had a half day of work yesterday, but it turned in to an all day job. I got up this morning early, despite an opportunity to sleep in, so I could watch Kim Stricker's Hook 'n Look show on the Versus Network. The show featured Kim and Strike King's President fishing in Texas. They were fishing shallow grass with Strike King's new Rage Shad . This link gives you a video look at the action of the new bait. It looks really good in the water. What I liked about the bait was that it really created a ton of surface action to get those bass curious. You can buy them at this link to Bass Pro . If you decide to buy some, and are going to do so online, make sure you access Bass Pro from Dan Kimmel's Great Lakes Bass Forum. It helps support his site which is a great place for information and discourse.

Only a few more days till Classic time. I was on the ESPN Bassmaster site and read an article about Boyd Duckett, Gerald Swindle, and Timmy Horton going down to Texas to film some Classic hype for ESPN with none other than Bobby Knight. Bobby, being the gentle soul that he is, really gave it to the three pros. They went down just two weeks before Knight retired in order to film the promotional video. Here's the Bobby Knight Classic article.

There are still articles popping up all around the net discussing the practice period that the anglers fishing the Classic are now utilizing to finalize a strategy. Here's an interview Bass Fan did with Boyd Duckett . Boyd definitely was the man last year, but he narrowly fended off the Tiger Woods of the fishing world, KVD. This will be Kevin's 18th Classic already. He's won two of them, and would be a hard angler to bet against in any fishing contest especially the upcoming Classic. I suspect he and Boyd will be duking it out again this year. Here's an article that gives you some KVD Classic Insight .

As I have said before, Don and I are fishing the Michigan BFLs this coming year. Just to keep those competitive juices flowing I read this Bass Fan Army Article about a BFL that's taking place this weekend on Lake Murray. In the article, they talked about using a Mop Jig . Using the link you can go to Buckeye Lures and check one out.

Yesterday I put a picture up that Don sent me with the deer on the deck. Here's another one that is pretty interesting.

Yes, trampolines can be dangerous!

If you're going to have some time tonight around 10:00 pm, you can witness a total lunar eclipse. It's suppose to be clear tonight so get outside. There won't be another one until 2010. Here's some Lunar Eclipse information that Wood TV 8 has on their site.

Time to get busy today and shovel the driveway, so here's another of the "I didn't know that," trivia that I got in an email. "If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes." Something to ponder when you're feeding the pigeons. Make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

February 18, 2008

It can't keep snowing forever, can it? I have tried to ignore it, enjoy it, embrace it, but now it is simply time for it to go. I have had enough. I do plan to get in some walleye jigging before the ice leaves, but I'm am definitely ready for soft water and warm sunshine.

I talked to Don tonight and he turned my attention to a bait company called "Get Bit Baits" . Don's been dealing with them and had them make a few baits that he has made a good deal of cash with. The baits manufacturer has gone out of business and he has been having trouble getting them copied. Get Bit Baits duplicated his special requests just exactly how he wanted them. He has also had a chance to take a look at a number of their baits and has been quite impressed. Notice the swim baits? They look good, and I bet every bit as good as Bass Trix. Can't find Bass Trix, because of their "Play hard to find" marketing plan. So give "Get Bit Baits" a look. They may just be what you need for this coming season.

I ran across another freebie that you need to register for. It's called Club Crashers . They're giving away Minn Kota trolling motors and Humminbird Side Imaging units. Somebody has to win so why not have it be someone from this site. I hope it's me, because I really want one of those side imaging sonar units.

If you are a Tear Drop member, and sign up at Club Crashers, use the club name Tear Drop Bass and the hometown Ludington in the section where your club can win a visit from Al Lindner or Hank Parker. Maybe we can get Hank to one of our events! How cool would that be!

After talking to Don, and cruising the "Get Bit Baits" site I saw that Get Bit makes their own football jigs. So when I checked some of the major sites and I saw that Bass Edge had an article on fishing shallow bass with football jigs it got my attention. I also noticed that the piece was written by one of my favorite fishing authors and photographers John Neporadny Jr. Check it out. It's a good article.

The clock is still ticking down toward this weekend's Bassmaster Classic and Bass Zone has an article that gives you a report from this weeks Bassmaster practice by 9 pros who are Classic contenders.

If you are trying to set your weekend plans situated here is the ESPN2 Classic TV Schedule: Saturday, February 23 from 7:00 am till 8:30 am. Day 1 coverage, 8:30 am - till 10:00 am more Day 1. Then later at 10:00 pm till 12:00 am they will have Day 2 coverage. On Sunday the coverage continues starting at 6:00 am till 8:00 am with Day 2 coverage. It continues until 10:00 am with Day 2 footage. They again have late night coverage on from 10:00 pm till midnight with Day 3 stories. I don't know what the deal is, but they also have the schedule showing that there is Day 3 coverage on Thursday, February 28 from 4:00 pm till 6:00 pm. I hope they don't make you wait for the final weigh in till then.

Lately I've been reading about some movie that was being made by Hollywood starring comedian Bill Engval about bass fishing. People have been talking about it for quite a while. Well, it looks like it is the real deal. Here is an article on Bass Fan in their "Dock Talk" section talking about Preston Clark working with the Hollywood folks as a consultant. Billy Ray Cyrus plays the villain in the movie.

I have some other articles that I would normally put on tonight, but it's getting late, and I only work a half day tomorrow and will have more time to elaborate then on more blog items. One thing I will put on yet is a pretty cool picture that Don sent me in an email.

Best Buddies or Inquisitive Neighbors?

I think there are only a few more "I didn't know that," trivia pieces left. However before this one let me preface it by saying that despite what they did years ago, family violence is nothing people in this century can condone or tolerate. "In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have the expression today, "The rule of thumb." With that, make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

February 16, 2008

Well, it's over with and done already. I'm talking about the TV coverage of the BASS Federation Nation Championship on Toho. If you have been reading the blog you know that I watched the event from the back seat of three of the competitors. First day I rode with Wyoming Champion Sidney Reeves, second day I rode with Massachusetts Champion Sheron Brown, and the third day Montana's Champion Ben Schilling. If you watched the show you saw a little bit of Sheron's day and a few seconds of me in the back of his boat. The show ended up being all about the eventual Division leaders with the TV cameras focussed almost exclusively on them. It was interesting to see how they edited the footage.

Hoogie came over, and we had breakfast and watched the show together. Watching the show was fun but a little sad because it brings certain finality to what stands as the trip of a lifetime. It was a great adventure, fishing our way south and then being able to participate in the event, even if it was as a volunteer. I have the DVD I made to watch periodically to remember times and friends. Until the next big adventure, this one will remain solidly etched in the memory bank.

If you watched today's ESPN Bassmaster show, you saw that at the end they had a piece hyping the Classic which is next weekend. The "Big Show" is just that, and ESPN plans on eleven hours of coverage! Here is another Classic article adding to the build up or count down, however you choose to view it.

After reading the article on the classic, take about five minutes and watch last year's Classic winner Boyd Duckett as he shows you how he is set up to make all his fishing and business commitments'.

One more Classic bit is a Bass Fan Radio session that Tim Horton did after his Bassmaster Classic practice on Lake Hartwell. Tim gives the low down on what Hartwell is like and what he thinks it will take to win the event.

I got all of my BFL confirmations yesterday. They sent each one separately. I'm really looking forward to them. I'll be traveling with Don and prefishing with him. It's something different and a step up in terms of tournament competition. It certainly will provide a lot of fodder for the blog. You can be sure I'll be clicking off pictures and spinning some tales of the hunt.

I stopped by the Outdoorsmen Pro Shop to make sure they had marked me down as paid for their Lowrance GPS School on Saturday, March 29th. It's a seven hour class. They provide each participant with their own unit to use during the class. The class is limited to 40, so if you're interested, you had better call soon. It may be filled up already.

The Outdoorsmen is having their 31st Annual Spring Tackle Sale, Saturday March 1st. They're having factory reps, seminars, and donuts and coffee, plus their best sales of the year.

The parting shot to day is one more of the "I didn't know that," trivia that Don and Larry sent me a while back. "Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet Your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice." Did you know that? Make time to enjoy your day.

February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day! I took care of all my Valentine duties. We went out last night to beat the crowd to Carrabba's . They have the best marsala ever made. They cook their chicken and steak, salmon, shrimp, etc. over a wood fire which really gives it a great flavor. If you ever go in to one, go sit at the bar that is immediately adjacent to the cooking area. If there is a chair open at the food bar, you don't need to wait for a table, even when people are lined up out the door. Not only do you get to sit down right away, but watching the chefs at work is very entertaining. It's one of our most favorite places to eat.

JB and I went and watch GVSU clean up on Lake Superior State. GVSU won by 30 or so. They have one more home game before the play offs start.

Only hours now before ESPN2 airs the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship. I can't wait. Once again here is the schedule for the Championship and the Classic.

I have been in touch with Josh Clark from Great Lakes Bass , and he's going to record the Bassmasters Show Saturday for me. I asked him what I could do in return for him making the recording and sending it out to me and he said to just give the Vibraspin from KaRu Lures a try and let him know what I think. Josh is repping for them. I told him that last summer or maybe even spring that I had put up a link to KaRu Lures and talked about their Vibraspin bait. I am planning to catch some fish on them this spring when the water softens up. I like the combo of the erratic chatterblade and the willowleaf attractor. Check them out and see if you may want to add some to your arsenal.

While we're on the topic of fishing products, I sent out an email to B&R Outlaw Rods . I was quite impress with their rods after getting the lowdown on them while at the Grand Rapids Sport and RV Show. I bought two of them and used them all summer. I liked how they felt in my hand and the action they had. I also used them on my trip down to the BASS National Championship. Some how though I managed to break a tip on one. Don't know when or how it happened, but it did. B& R has a simple replacement policy. You just return the rod and $50 and they'll send you a new one. I have to do that soon.

At the show, the B&R guys said to just saw the rod into pieces that would fit in an envelope to save postage. I may not do that but rather wait till they come to the Grand Rapids show this March. We'll see what they say when they answer the email.

I just read where BassCat won its fourth JD Power award for best customer service. That's not four in the past twenty years, but four out of the last four years. Every year since they have entered the award program. Being a BassCat owner, I would have to say I have never been disappointed when I have contacted them for help with the boat. On the contrary, I have been surprised by how much help they have been. Their Owners Invitational is a one of a kind extravaganza. If you ever talk to any one that has gone all they do is rave about it.

I didn't have much time today to cruise many sites, but one caught my eye when I was at Ultimate Bass . Their article on the tournament at Lake Havasu jump out at me because, I believe that Sidney Reeves, Wyoming's BASS Federation Nation Champion, whom I had the pleasure to meet and spend a day with, is going to fish that tournament. I'll have to get an email out to Sidney. I plan on it anyway because I'll be anxious to hear what he thinks of the ESPN coverage that will air Saturday.

The parting shot today is yet another one of the "I didn't know that!"pieces that Don sent me. "In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind your pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "Mind your P's and Q's." I didn't know that. Make sure you take time to enjoy the day.

February 12, 2008

Have you ordered the flowers, bought the chocolates, and made the dinner reservations? Only one more day to get er done.

I got a couple of emails today from a couple of Tear Drop anglers. Wes Herndon from Traverse City sent me a note detailing a workout routine that would kill most guys. He's playing hockey, lifting weights, and we're talking an hour and a half workout every day! He's motivating me to get on the weights in the basement that have been collecting dust. I've been on the treadmill regularly and doing crunches and push ups, but I need a rotation of weights.

Wes and his partner Brian whooped on us pretty good this year. They beat us out of first place at the end of year Classic by ounces. They are pretty tough to best when it comes to catching green fish. They are also some of the nicest guys you can meet, but with no indifference to the nice guy persona, with a workout schedule like he has, if a fight ever breaks out at a weigh in I'm looking for Wes.

Steve Block also sent me an email today, and with the email he attached some fish pictures from today. He was out spearing for pike and pan fishing. He caught a real nice mess of perch with a bonus gill. He also stuck a nice pike that he said had a 12 inch perch in its stomach.

Steve has been my mentor when it comes to jigging for big walleye and catching salmon on the big lake. It really doesn't matter where or how it swims, Steve will catch it. Here's the pictures Steve sent.

A nice mess of Northwest Corner perch.

Nothing better that pike fillets!

A home away from home.

Like several of the Tear Drop anglers Steve and Wes are smallie gurus who have garnered local attention from their prowess with these great fish. If you have been reading the blog you know smallies are my favorite as well, and I have been following the articles by another smallie aficionado from down Dale Hollow way, Steve Headrick. Here's another entry in Steve's smallmouth blog called "The Shadow Knows." The last couple of days I've had links to some fishing videos on the web. Today I listened to Bass Fan Radio . They interviewed none other than the infamous KVD. They talked off the cuff with him asking him a bunch of questions concerning his career, his upcoming classic, and the 2008 season. It lasts about 10 minutes and takes a minute or so to load so be patient.

Speaking of the Classic, I found the TV schedule for the Classic on the Bassmaster site. It also has the time and channel for this Saturday's Federation Nation Championship from Lake Toho. Don't miss it!

I like to take advantage of all the freebies out there. You never know when it just might be your turn to get really lucky. Here's an opportunity to go on a great fishing trip on fabled bass waters with Kevin Wirth. If you get even luckier you could win $1,000,000. Register for this opportunity at the Early Times website .

I have had an order in to Bass Trix forever. It probably will never be filled. I hope their show boating marketing campaign caves in on them because Berkley is coming out with their own version of the Bass Trix swim minnow. Check it out, and the accompanying article, on Berkley's Catch More Fish site. Rounding out this day's blog entry is an article on one of my favorite anglers, Gerald Swindle. If you watched the Classic last year you saw his bonehead move where he ran on plane through the spectator boats, causing his tearful disqualification. Well Gerald is back and ready to rock. Find out what's up with Gerald . Oh yea, I have just one more thing. MSU lost to Purdue. Drats!! A very disappointing game! The Spartan's played their butts off though in the second half coming from 18 points down, and made a game of it pulling within one point in the second half. Purdue though, got insane with some late threes. Not much you can do when someone's that hot. The game was televised on ESPN, and they will again be on ESPN playing Indiana on the 16th.

Just watched the sports news and they had a high school girl from Texas who is 6'8" and dunked several times in the game. Don't see that much in the girl's game in college let alone high school. This girl, they said, has signed to play with Baylor next year.

As I said yesterday, I am going to use some of the interesting trivia stuff that Don and Larry sent me for the daily parting shot. Here's another, "I didn't know that." factoid. "In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase..."Goodnight, sleep tight."

Make sure you take time to enjoy the day and then sleep tight.

February 11, 2008

Another snow day today for many of the school districts in this section of the state. The roads, even tonight were very slippery. It's a must in those conditions to keep your speed way down if you didn't want to call a wrecker. There was a 50 car expressway pile up yesterday on 96 near Coopersville.

Not having to work, I snow blowed the drive, roof raked snow, then worked out on the treadmill. How did you do today with shedding pounds and getting in shape for the fishing season?

When I start thinking seriously about spring fishing, one of the first things I do is check the lunar tables to see when we'll be getting a full moon. That moon is critical for timing the bed fishing. Here's a software program that is quite inexpensive and looks good. Check out the Quick Phase .

Don't forget to set your alarm for 8:45 am on Saturday to catch the ESPN2 coverage of the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship. I can't wait to see all the guys that I got to spend time with and riding with during the tournament. I've been wondering how they are going to cut the video. Should be a gas to watch!

ESPN is using the Championship as a prelude to the Classic. Getting to know the anglers fishing, like I did at the Nationals, makes watching the program that much more fun. So, to help you get ready for the eleven hours of Classic coverage, take some time and read Bass Fan's angler profiles part two. I had up the first half up a while ago, but if you missed it you can link to it from this article . Not only will this Saturday's coverage of the National Championship be a prelude to the Classic, it will also give you a glimpse of what the first FLW Tour event, which is also on Toho, will look like. That FLW event will be the first Tour event of the year and kicks off the Fantasy Fishing Season. You still have time to join our league. Use this Fantasy Fishing Link to pick the 10 FLW anglers who you think will place the highest on Toho. If you need some help check out the Bass Fan Site for the list of top FLW pros from last year. Make sure you have the password Michigan and the number 10569 to join our Tear Drop Bass League. If you are a Mac user, you may find, like I did, that you will need to use a browser like Firefox rather than Safari. I had trouble picking my team using Safari.

As I said yesterday, there are a ton of sites that have fishing information videos. You Tube is no exception. Here is a shakey head video that is an example of what is out there concerning free fishing videos.

Before I close for the night I'll toss out one more article that I recently read on Bass Edge. It's an article about picking apart vegetation. It's called "Fishing Veggies" . I almost forgot that yesterday I said I'd check out the Grand Rapids Teachers Credit Union for their ticket deal for GVSU basketball tickets for this Thursday. Regular tickets cost $7. At the credit union you can pick up a ticket package for $5. You get your ticket plus $5 worth of concession stand food and a t-shirt. A pretty good deal, and it's their last date for this package offer. Yes, I know it's Valentine's Day, but I already have things covered and my wife does not like to go out on a work night. So, JB and I are off to watch the Lakers play Lake Superior State in what I believe is their last home game before the play offs. Go Lakers!

I'm going to deviate a bit in the parting shots for the next few days and use some interesting stuff that Don and Larry sent me. Here's the first of a few. "It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon." I didn't know that. I should have told my father-in-law about that one. Seems like a good tradition to reinstitute. Remember to take time to enjoy the day.

February 10, 2008

Time for a serious discussion today. If you know what's good for you, you'll pay heed to today's date. You have just a few more shopping opportunities before Valentine's Day! If you value your fishing time you will keep that sweetheart of yours in mind and make sure you take care of business and shop wisely. I've already made a stop at Koeze's to pick out chocolates. I shipped out a box to my son's girl friend and bought more for the wife. If you're last minute, you might check them out and maybe there is still time to get some shipped. The milk or dark chocolate puddles are really good.

For my Valentine's at work, I made a music CD and made a special Valentine cover and added a chocolate treat. It's all about those "brownie points."

If you don't want to push your way through the Valentine Day crowds for dinner and are waiting instead for the weekend to take your Valentine out, I saw tickets to the Grand Valley game for Thursday on sale at the Grand Rapids Teacher's Credit Union. They have some special pricing to entice people in on Valentine's Day. I believe the tickets are $5 (they're $7 at the door), and with that you get a $5 food voucher and a GVSU t-shirt. I'll check that out tomorrow and let you know for sure what the specifics are.

JB and I went to the GVSU game Saturday. They played Northern Michigan and handled them mercifully. They're now 26-0, including an opening game over time win over Michigan State, who is currently ranked number ten in D1. Opening the year with 26 straight wins, set a state of Michigan record that hasn't been accomplished by a D1 or D2 school. Go Lakers! Looks like another great shot at a National Title.

I got an email today from Sammie Joe Denyes a WBT pro who is affiliated with Billy Raymond's Bass Feed . I hadn't made a post on their forum for a while and she was just wondering, as much as I like to talk, why I haven't been throwing my 37 cents worth in on their site.

Billy Raymond's site is one I have mentioned many times before, principally because of his podcasts. They were and are companions of mine when I am working out. (Are you in it to loose it with me? I was on the treadmill, plus crunches and push ups yesterday and today. Goal - a pound a week till summer.) They are great pieces of fishing information that anyone on the water could learn from. I get all the podcasts automatically downloaded to my iPod via iTunes.

Billy has set up a sponsor program for Sammie Joe on his site. A rather unique enterprise to help Sammie on her WBT endeavor. Give it a look and see if you may be interested in becoming part of "The American Girl Army."

Yesterday was the final day in the FLW Series East/West Fish-Off. I believe I have been calling this event a Stren Series event when it is not. In the FLW, there is a hierarchy of tournaments. The bottom tier starts with the BFL and then there is the Stren Series, the FLW Series and then the top tier circuit is the FLW Tour. (There is also the Texas Tournament Trail, TTT that is part of the FLW.)

Here is an article from Day 3 of the Fish-Off. I like it because the nuts and bolts of the tournament are reported in these "Tid Bit" articles. It also caught my eye because it mentions Dave LeFebre. I spent a few minutes with Dave at Taco Bob's directly across the street from the Van Andel Arena where they have the Sport and RV Show every year. Meeting and talking with these pros really makes following the tournaments that much more fun.

Remember, when you head down to Grand Rapids Sport and RV Show that my adopted nephew Bobby's, Taco Bob's is right on Michigan, and as I said, directly out the door and across the street from the Van Andel. The link above gives you some coupons that are good during the show period. The food is reasonably priced and very good!

Ron Fabiszak, our buddy from the Florida BASS National Championship also was fishing down on Amistad against his Western Tour Series coangler. I see he did well, and I have an email in to him to get the low down on his tournament. I emailed him to congratulate him and to see if he qualified for the Forest Wood Cup. If I read it right he did! Here is the wrap up article from the East meets West tournament.

I have been meaning to put up some Tear Drop Tournament information for Tear Drop Director, Dennis Cook. He would like me to tell everyone that ads for the annual flyer are do in asap. For those of you that aren't aware of the ad deal, if you find a $100 or $200 ad buyer for the flyer your membership fees for your boat are waved. You'll have to pay for your ad before your membership is waved. This is new for this year. Dennis had several people tell him they had an ad and waved their membership, but they stiffed him and never paid for the ad. If you have any questions give Dennis a call at 231-690-2605.

I have had several requests to repost the Tear Drop Tournament Trail 2008 schedule, so here it is again. Remember this is a tentative schedule and check back in early May to be sure it remains as is.

2008 Tear Drop Tournament Trail Tentative Schedule

May 25th Cadillac/Mitchell

June 22nd Crystal Lake

July 6th Manistee Lake

July 27th Portage Lake

August 3rd Green Lake

August 31st Hamlin Lake

Sept. 20 & 21st Classic Weekend on Duck and Long Lakes

Host Tournament June 29th Cadillac & Mitchell

As long as we're talking about the Tear Drop, I'll make sure I put in this link to the Toyota Bonus Bucks Program . Don and a number of buddies drive Toyota's, and if you do, make sure you check out this program. It could put some extra cash in your pocket.

Many of the sites are putting up video messages now. I was cruising the Bass Fan site and watched their BassFan Army TV . This particular segment talks about the new Humminbird units. It gets into the side imaging just a bit. Worth the couple of minutes to check it out.

I said a few days back, that I was going to ignore the weather. Well, it didn't work. The weather isn't getting any better and today, it's as bad as it gets. Thirty below zero wind chills, white outs all around the area, freeways and roads shut down. It's plain nasty.

My wife and I braved the weather last night and drove to Saugatuck to have dinner with my sister and her friend Clare at Spectators . Clare is one of the owners of the popular sports bar. They have a great menu! The food is terrific! They also have the Big Ten Network, and I was able to catch the MSU Spartans VS the Northwestern Wildcats game. Local boy Drew Neitzel had a good game with 21 points, and the Spartans won by 15. They will be on ESPN the 12th and 16th, which is Tuesday and Saturday.

The dinner at Spectators and the game were great, but the drive home was a total white knuckle trip.

I have a few other things I found today on the net, but I'll save them for tomorrow. Time for the parting shot. With weather like we've been having I think this quote by Anthony J. D'Angelo is a good one to keep in your pocket till Spring. "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." Enjoy the day and be careful on the roads!

February 8, 2008

I'll start out today with a couple of articles on the Wal-Mart FLW Series East-West Fish-Off on Lake Amistad, in Del Rio Texas. An interesting note about this tournament is that Ron Fabiszak is fishing as a coangler. Ron fished the Vermillion Northern Divisional in 2007 on the Indiana team. He came in second behind Don Fowler who many of you know. They both fished the 2007-2008 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship down on Lake Toho.

Don and I fished our way down to the Nationals, and we hung around with Ron. I have several pictures of him on the blog archived above.

Ron has been doing well on Amistad. I watched him come across the scales today on the FLW Live streaming video. It will also be on tomorrow at 3:00 CT which is 4:00 ET.

If you use the East West Fish Off link above you can select, at the top of the article, the angler pairings for each day to see what kind of weight the competitors brought to the scales.

Derek Remitz was a pretournament pick because of his Elite Series Rookie season win he had last year. In the East/West fish off, he didn't have a good first day. He made up for it Day 2 when the winds died down and the temperature rose. Here's an article that talks about how he did, plus it has some fishing tid bits about Amistad.

Tomorrow morning there are a bunch of fishing shows on that I always get up early to watch. I have mentioned Zona's World's Greatest Fishing Show, and then there is of course the other show Zona does with Tommy Sanders for Bassmaster's. A week from Saturday on the 16th, Zona and Tommy will air the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship program. I can't wait to see it. Having been down there for the tournament and being in the back seat for three days as an official observer, I am very curious to see what they will include. I rode with Sharon Brown the Massachusetts Champion, and he had camera boats follow him all morning. Good chance I'll get some incidental footage from riding with Sharon. Set your alarms for 9:00 am next Saturday to catch all the National Championship action.

There is another show that will be having its debut coming up next Friday on the 15th. Mike Iaconelli has a new television series called "City Limits Fishing" . The show is going to focus on bass fishing in urban areas where others may never think of catching big stringers of bass. Check out the article and you'll be able to see if they are going to be fishing near you.

The Classic is now only two weeks away and on Bass Zone they have a video feature they call "Wide Open" . If you watch the short video you'll get their predictions on who will win the 2008 Classic.

If you're considering going down to the Classic you may want the read this article from Ultimate Bass . The Classic weekend is not all waiting around for a weigh in. There are a ton of activities that can keep you busy all day and all night.

Maybe you're getting tired of hearing all the Classic hoopla. If you are, and waiting for something to sink your teeth in to that will help you load that livewell this coming spring, check out this article on Fishing Secondary Points . Time to call it quits for today. I didn't get on the treadmill today, but I did do the whole routine yesterday. I'll get in the crunches and push ups before bed, but the treadmill makes too much noise at night, so I'll have to turn on fishing tomorrow and get the short black road workout then. I hope you're taking the challenge along with me to get into a little better shape and loose some pounds.

David Walters offers up the parting shot tonight. He had this to say about the treadmill. "An hour of basketball feels like 15 minutes. An hour on a treadmill feels like a weekend in traffic school." I don't know if I can agree entirely with David. An hour of basketball would probably kill me. I can get on the treadmill for 40 minutes to an hour if fishing shows are on. I guess to each his own. Any how, take time to enjoy your day.

February 6, 2008

I am going to ignore the snow. Maybe if I do, it will just go away. I'll let you know how it works.

It's going to be a brief blog entry tonight because I am working all five days this week. I have to learn to tell people no. The problem is, I'm subbing in buildings where I use to work, and I know the people that need me to sub. Knowing the curriculum, and in many cases the kids it's easier for them to write sub notes.

When I started subbing I didn't plan on working every day. One day of subbing though pays for one fishing day gas wise. They pay $75 before taxes. Not a lot of gas money there when you're fishing big water, but every little bit helps.

Don signed up as a boater tonight for the BFLs, and I am going to sign up as a nonboater. He has a sponsor, Swaffers Toyota in Cadillac, that's helping out with the entry fees. Thank you Swaffers!

I got an email reminder today concerning Kim Stricker's new show Hook-n-Look. The show is going to focus on the St. Clair River. My buddy, and fishing partner in the Tear Drop, Ron Hicks came in third in the State Federation Championship on the St. Clair River. After that tournament was over, we stayed an extra day and Ron took us to his hot spot where we whacked them good.

Stricker's show specializes in unique underwater shots. The show is featuring segments that actually show how the smallies in the river pick up your jigs. They say it will open your eyes. Can't wait to watch it. The show airs on the Versus Network. On my cable it's Channel 55. The show is on three times a week. On February 12th it's on at 5:00 am, Feb. 13 it's on at 8:30 am, and on Feb. 15th it's on at 3:00 pm. Check it out.

I think I have had this link up before. It's one concerning an article that Joe Balog did on Erie smallmouth . It's worth a second look.

The Classic is getting closer and closer. Bass Fan has an article covering each angler fishing the Classic, and giving us there picks as to who might be a contender in Bassmaster's Crown Jewel of the season. So check out the Classic Field Analysis . Well I'm off to bed, and I didn't make the treadmill today. I'm going to go through the crunches and push ups before bed. Maybe there will be a snow day tomorrow and I can get everything done. I figure if I can loose one pound a week for the next twenty weeks I would feel much better. It seems quite doable but, not if I can't leave the goodies alone.Two miles on the treadmill only burns about 220 calories. That means the best exercise going is pushing away that piece of cake that's probably 400 to 500 calories.

The parting shot of the day comes from Victor Hugo. He has been quoted as saying, "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." I'll buy that. So, if we all work at smiling more maybe we can usher Spring in a few days earlier. Make sure you make time to enjoy the day.

February 5, 2008

Last check out the window and it's still winter. Even the ground hog wasn't venturing out too far. It appears that we just missed a significant snow event. I should say we look to be dodging it tonight, but it will be quite slippery as you head out to work Wednesday.

Getting to the blog late tonight, because I really have been trying to make that effort to get on the treadmill. Didn't make it last night, but I did do the sit ups and push ups. Got the whole round in tonight. I did the crunches and push ups and did two miles on the short black road.

Super Tuesday is almost over. California will be coming in late so we'll see what happened out there in the a.m. If you like the political process you're in your glory. The rest of us hope it progresses quickly so the daily political grind will get behind us

I ran across a PDF file that is entitled Crankbait Anatomy . It comes from the ESPN Bassmaster site, in their fishing tip section. Although it would certainly have to classified as a "quick tip," it had some interesting tid bits about crankbaits.

When Don and I fished our way down to Toho in November, we caught a bunch of fish in several parts of the country on rattletraps. Not a crankbait, but it would have to be a close cousin. The infamous Roland Martin has a son Scott who has an article on Bass Fan entitled "Two Techniques From Aruku Otaku Martin" . The article features a bait by Spro called the ArukuShad . As you learn in the article, this lipless crankbait does one thing that no other trap does. When this bait settles to the bottom, it doesn't lay on it side. It instead, stands on its nose. Martin says this enables him to fish it on beds. He'll sit the bait on its nose in the bed with its razor sharp hooks at the ready so when that big fish picks it up, bam! Fish on! Another thing the bait does, because of how it's weighted, is when reeled it rattles it's way back in a nose down position so the hooks are not as likely to snag up on grass or wood. Check out the Scott Martin expose on the ArukuShad.

On my blog calendar I show that the FLW Stren Series East Vs. West Stren Series event on Lake Amistad starts on Thursday the 7th. I mentioned the event before. It has the top thirty Eastern Stren Series anglers paired in reverse order with the top thirty Western Stren Series anglers. The coanglers are also lining up to fish off in the same 1:1 manner. They only have to beat the angler their paired against. The top 30 boaters and top 30 coanglers will win some cash, but more importantly, they'll win an entry into the 2008 Forest Wood Cup. The first place prize money this year in the FWC is $2,000,000!

The parting shot for today comes from a few years back in 1AD when a Roman philosopher Seneca was quoted as saying, "What must be shall be; and that which is a necessity to him that struggles, is little more than choice to him that is willing." Be careful, driving in this wintry mix is too often fender bending. Enjoy the day.

February 4, 2008

I'm going to start out tonight apologizing to Craig Walters, from "The Eyes Have It" in beautiful downtown Leroy, Michigan. Way last summer I had to pick up a reel that was being replaced by GLB's Mac Bass, and I had the opportunity to meet Craig and cruise his shop. I was impressed by the selection of hooks and lead heads he had, not to mention all the other merchandise he packed in to his shop. I told him I would exchange links with him, and he emailed me just the other day to remind me that I hadn't done my half yet. I took care of that today and added a link here and on my "Interesting Sites" button on the main page. Sorry Craig. I have a long list of excuses, but none that are really any more truthful than I just plain forgot.

I should be off to the bank today, if I could have only predicted the upset of the decade and picked the Giants to win the Super Bowl. Man, what a game. That catch by Tyree will be a highlight film segment that will be shown for many years to come. It just goes to show you that if you're number two you really do try harder, and in this day and age, David can still slay Goliath.

During the last blog I said I'd be sure to post the culminating article of the Stren Tournament on Lake Seminole down in Bainbridge, GA. Clint Brownlee won it, and the name Brownlee is a bit prophetic in that it was brown fish that won the tournament for him. Here's the FLW Stren Series, "Holy Shoalie" report.

Getting out Saturday to the Fishing Extravaganza down at Matteson Marine really ratchets up the fishing bug. On the FLW site they have a piece that lists their Best Largemouth and Smallmouth Locations for 2008 Check out the top three smallmouth spots. I can't wait!!! I'm putting in weeks worth of fishing on the top three spots this coming year. Don signed us up for the BFL's today. I'm geeked, pumped and a tad bit excited.

I have passed along the link to Bass Zone's "In the House" video interviews several times. This week they traveled to another pros house. They knocked on Boyd Duckett's door. Boyd, in this segment, takes you through his tackle room. These short clips are about 5 minutes long. It's kind of fun to see how it feels to live the big show, so check them out.

I have a plano box that has collected a number of spoons over the years. I started out with Hopkins and then I've added a collection of other jigging spoons. I have only given them a limited try out and actually have caught a few fish on them, but not many. Like many of my new baits, I give them a try when I get to the lake and then tend to give up rather quickly so I can get back to my comfort zone with the tried and true and overused old baits.

In the seminar that Peter T did Saturday, he said that most people give new baits a try just like I have always done. He recommends though that you should always start out with your confident baits first when you're out practicing. When you start whackin em good, then it's time to try the new baits. Will you continue to catch fish? Will the size of the fish increase using the new bait? Makes a lot of sense to approach your new techniques and baits that way. I'll definitely keep it in mind this year and see if I can learn a little more about the baits in my boxes. Here's an article on jigging that Randy Edwards, a Lake Lanier, GA bass guide wrote called "Bass Love Heavy Metal: Part 1" .

If you read the blog entry from Saturday you know that I mentioned and took a picture of a former student of mine. It was really great to see him and have him tell me of his accomplishments. It was one of those make your day kind of things. By the same token though there are the days, like today, where you get socked in the nose, with just the opposite kind of news. While at Meijers shopping, I ran in to a parent of two boys that I had in my class years back. The dad told me that his son has had a bad couple of years. He has been diagnosed with MS. He went on to say, with tears in his eyes, that a week after the diagnosis his son was in a wheelchair and blind. Lost his sight in a snap of your fingers. The muscular control had been going down hill for a while. With some heavy steroids they were able to get some of his faculties back and most of his sight. The prognosis though is not a good one, and this is a young man in his late 20s. Devastating news. The family is going through some tough times. My student is struggling hard with the "Why me?" question that anyone with a debilitating illness struggles with. Life isn't always kind nor fair. My heart goes out to the family, and I'll be adding one more friend to my nightly prayers.

My parting shot today is one of hope. In the face of such insurmountable odds, I hope my young friend and student remembers that, "Those that wish to sing always seem to find a song." That "song" can unburden the heart and help one get busy living. When something hits you between the eyes it certainly stuns you, but when your head clears, you have no other option than to start moving forward. For all of us, our task, as tough as it may sometime seem, is to enjoy each day. Find that "song."

February 2, 2008

As you can see, I broke the blog as usual for the new month. If you're interested in reading any of the entries from last month or earlier, you can click on any one of the links above to read them.

This morning I got up and watched Zona on the World's Greatest Fishing Show. Zona has to be my favorite TV host. He's enthusiasm and demeanor makes him always fun to watch. On the show they were catching smallmouth using wire line and retro spoonbills. The spoonbills are all metal plugs that are bent so they will dive like a crankbait. They were trolling with them. Not a method I have seen used, mainly, I think, because most bass tournaments don't allow trolling. However, it was interesting to watch and according to Zona when those smallmouth hit that spoonbill on wire line, it nearly jerked your arm loose. Zona's show is on every Saturday morning on ESPN. If you haven't seen it yet, set your alarm and check it out.

After Zona's show, my friend John picked me up, and we rode down to have breakfast with another buddy, J.O. We had a good breakfast and discussed important theories and political quandaries - we talked about fishing. J.O. and John are walleye guys, but other than that they pretty good joes. We left breakfast and headed down to Matteson Marine for their open house. Matteson's is down on Gun Lake, which is south of Grand Rapids about 20 miles and then east a few miles. Here's a picture, but it doesn't do the place justice because it is a lot bigger than I could show with the photo.

Matteson Marine on Gun Lake, Shelbyville

There seemed to be a very good turn out for their "Annual Fishing Extravaganza."

The Crowd Inside Matteson's

When we got to Matteson's, we walked inside and there directly in front of us, as if pleading with us to eat several of them, was a huge platter of homemade softball size cinnamon rolls with inch thick cream cheese frosting. You might remember me saying we ate a big breakfast on our way to Matteson's, but you had to have been there, these things were irresistable. They were, "marry that girl" deeelicious. I will have to say that Matteson's is worth the drive just for the hospitality! They had all sorts of other things to eat and drink, and you couldn't meet nicer people.

John and J.O. went in to Mark Brumbaugh's walleye seminar with frosting on their chins. Here's a shot of John with Mark.

John and Ohio's Mark Brumbaugh

The dynamic duo gave the seminar a thumbs up and said it was excellant. I, unfortunately, missed the first half of it because I stopped to talk to Cy from GLB and his fishing partner John. (I also found out later that Cy snagged the Vibraspin prize that Kimmel had just before I got there, and he didn't even mention it as we talked!) I think we chatted for over 45 minutes about a variety of fishing related topics.

Cy and John are fishing the BBT this coming year and like many of us are getting anxious for Spring and its soft water. We talked at length about the impact that the new side imaging sonar by Humminbird is going to make on the fishing scene this year. Cy is looking at buying the unit for his boat. I just bought a new Lowrance 520 and would love my wife to get a second job so I could buy the Humminbird unit. When you watch the pros this year you can bet there won't be many that don't have the new side scanning sonar. It truely is revolutionary!

After chatting with Cy and John, I talked with Lt. Dan from Great Lakes Bass It's always good to see Dan. He has the best fishing forum going. He's also, in my opinion, the reason we have an early catch and release season. He worked hard and long to get it through. If there was an angling group around looking to give someone a well earned reward he would be my choice as the recipient. Dan was there supporting Matteson's, who is a GLB sponsor.

Lt. Dan headed off to take a picture of Randy Ramsey, the other bass pro seminar leader, and I tagged along thinking I would get a picture too. Before we got to the Ranger where the picture was being taken, I ran into an old student of mine and his father, Tom and Josh Vander Whitte. Josh just recently graduated from Dental School and is practicing in Grand Rapids. He and his dad have fished walleyes for years and both plan to fish the FLW Walleye Tour this coming season. It was really good to see them. Here's a picture of father and son.

Tom and Josh Vander Weide

While I was talking with Tom and Josh I saw Peter Thliveros, Peter "T," heading toward the seminar room. I said my good byes and found a seat. Peter "T" spoke for an hour and forty minutes and had some excellent advice and gave up some of his best kept secrets for fishing a carolina rig.

I love using a carolina rig, and it's often a go to bait for me. I have used a variety of weights on the rig but Peter T says he always uses the rig with at least an ounce weight. He says most anglers use too light of weight. Using at least an ounce sinker allows you to fish the rig with a tight line which is necessary to detect the light bites. Detecting the bite early helps to keep you from gut hooking fish. He also said he always fishes the rig with fluorocarbon line. When asked about the length of the leader he uses, he replied that he almost always cuts it to be from the tips of his fingers to the center of his chest. Here's a picture of Peter with some Bass Elite wannabes.

Peter "T" Thliveros

The trip down to Matteson's was one of the best days I've had in a while. Great fellowship, great info, and a chance to see some sweet boats. If you're looking for a new Lund, Ranger, Alumacraft, or simply need some help with your boat or trailer, I would highly recommend Matteson's.

I watched the live weigh in of the Lake Seminole Stren Series after I got home. They didn't, of course, have the final article written yet on the event, but it was won on "Shoalie Fish" . I'll make sure I have the link to the winning pattern article tomorrow.

Time to head out to watch the MSU basketball game. It's on the Big Ten Network and I have to go to go out to watch the game. It ticks me off that so many of the games are exclusive to the Big Ten Network, but that's a discussion for another day.

The parting shot of the day is a quote from David Thoreau. It's one I have used before, but I like it. It fits well with my day at Matteson's. "Many people go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." Enjoy the day.