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Archived Blog From March 31 - March 2nd, 2008

March 31, 2008

Happy birthday to my 11 year old granddaughter!! She's a sweetheart, and we love her to death.

I talked to Don tonight, and he and Tony spent a cold wet day on the water. Couldn't talk about fishing because of the new FLW rules so we just chatted. They're staying at the Days Inn in Coleman. It was the closest place they could find to the dam where they will be launching from. They have one more day to prefish. The FLW rules have the anglers off the water the day before the event. Tomorrow looks like rain again so it's going to make scouting and or fishing that much tougher. The rain wouldn't be so bad if it were warmer, but it's forecasted to maybe reach 70. For the start of the tournament, it is suppose to be near 80 degrees. If the bass aren't headed to the bank yet, they should be with the weather getting that warm.

In the recent FLW Series event on Wheeler, fish were staging and moving shallow, and Wheeler is 60 miles north of Lewis Smith Lake. It should be interesting and a lot of fun watching the tournament unfold. I'll be channeling all I can for some good luck for Tony and Don.

I finished my FLW Fantasy picks tonight. I still have a couple of picks that I am not rock solid with. I plan on doing a little more research to make sure I'm satisfied that I have the $100,000 locked up.

Bass Zone did a story on Boyd Duckett . It's a good read, and if you heard Boyd down at D & R Sports it is a very good follow up. This guy is driven to succeed. I think you'll like the article.

For several years, I have been tempted to head down to Mountain Home, Arkansas to fish the Bass Cat Owner's Invitational. Don, and my current Tear Drop partner Ron, have fished it a couple of times. Baker and Evans, one of our Tear Drop Tournament Trail teams, won it two years ago. It has just never worked out for me to go. This year's results are up on the Bass Cat site. Just click on the blue splash in the upper left corner of the Bass Cat website . One more link before I head to bed tonight. It's from the ESPN Bassmaster site, and it features the Smallmouth Guru .

The parting shot today is from Vince Lombardi, and I think it's one that Boyd Duckett probably has on his office wall. "The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 30, 2008

It's about to get all exciting again as the pro tournaments rachet up. The FLW Series just concluded in Alabama at Decatur. (You can navigate with the FLW Series hyperlink to the news article on the tournament or check out how our old buddy Ron Fabiszak did as a coangler.) Our local boy Nate Wellman did us proud with an eighteenth place finish, taking home a little over $10,000. That's 18th in a field of over 180 of some of the best anglers in the South.

I guess he's really not taking that fat check home right away because the tournament ended for Nate Friday, and I would bet he picked up and directly drove the 50 miles southwest to Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Alabama. That's where the next FLW Tour event event is going to play out, and I know Nate is signed up for that event as well.

I haven't talked to Don and Tony since the other night when they were driving all night to get to Athens, Alabama to pick up Tony's boat at my brother-in-law Charlie's. They were then going to press right on to Lewis Smith Lake themselves. The practice for the FLW Tour event started yesterday, and they were out I'm sure yesterday and are undoubtedly out on the water as we speak.

From what I have read about the Series event in Decatur on the Tennessee River, the bass are beginning to stage for the spawn. Those anglers that were having the best luck were targeting bass on rock with pig and jigs . The shakey headers did some damage as well. One pro, did report that he did consistently well on crankbaits. The jig bite in March on the TVA impoundments, however, seems to be the go to technique and is talked about as being a consistent yearly approach.

Hopefully, I can get a call in to Don and Tony to see how there prefishing is going. Tony is fishing as a boater and Don as a coangler so they are prefishing together out of Tony's boat.

I figured instead of waiting till later I'd call them right now so I just quit typing a minute ago and called them. They in deed are on the water and were pretty much just burning gas looking at what is miles and miles of impoundment. He couldn't talk much because he needed phone battery in order to call in a while to check on a reservation at a house that they hoped to be staying at. At least, I know they got down there safely and that the boat is running well.

Tony had been down checking Lewis Smith out after the Toho tournament and hit something, and had to get his lower unit replaced. Yesterday would have been the first time they had had a chance to see how it ran with the new parts.

Fishing a any tournament requires everything to come together just right. You need the weather, your tackle preparation, your physical health, your techniques your boat and motor, and a variety of other things to all be well oiled so to speak. They all have to be functioning perfectly for you to maximize your chances. A break down which prevents you from getting back for the weigh in can end your tournament hopes. That happened to one of the pros in the last Series event. He had a 14 pound sack negated because of penalties assessed for being late for the weigh in. You could tell in his voice that he was really frustrated and actually near tears. Working so hard for good bites and to loose it because of mechanical issues is a dagger to the heart that really is hard to come back from. I know from experience how hard it is to keep your focus when you loose just one fish in a day. It would really be tough to loose that kind of weight in a three day tournament. You would want to just quit and go home to mama. However, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the rest of us Michiganders are waiting out what use to be a pretty normal Michigan winter. Over the last 10 years or more, we really haven't had snow all winter like we use to. This year brought us back a touch of reality. It makes longing for warmer weather and ice out that much harder when Spring comes late.

Yesterday I was with about 40 anglers that were at Lance Valentine's Lowrance GPS School . The Outdoorsman Pro Shop in Jenison , was the host for the seminar which went from 8:30 in the morning to past 4:00 in the afternoon. Each pair of class attendees had a Lowrance 520 machine on the table in front of them to practice on.

I had wondered when I signed up for the $75 course how in the world we could ever spend that much time on just the GPS side of the Lowrance units. After the class, I was left wondering if I had better take the class again just to make sure I digested all the info that Lance presented.

Man there was a lot to learn! I hope my notes contain the steps and procedures to replicate the procedures needed to utilize what Lance has learned and taught us. He uses his GPS to help him predict patterns and to put him on the fish year after year. Lance's use of the GPS isn't just to find your way around. Using it to its fullest means you have data that you can use to determine fish location and patterns on specific bodies of water at all times of the year. I'll try and regurgitate some of what he had to say via my notes in subsequent blog entries.

One thing that I did learn, is that my new 520 C with external antennae is just what Lance recommends. In fact, he uses two of the 520s on the bow and two on the console. Networked, these units are the key that drives his fish catching ability, and what he relies on daily for his charter business. He utilizes the four 520s to maximize his data collection. One 520 is always full screen sonar and the other full screen GPS. As I said, I'll try and explain his philosophy and procedures for collecting data, but you may want to keep your eye out for one of his classes and sign up. Here's a couple of pictures from the class.

Lowrance's GPS School with Lance Valentine

Lance up in front instructing.

Before I head out today to go shopping with the wife for my granddaughter's birthday present, here's a very good article on using spinnerbaits from ESPN's Bassmaster site.

I've gotten some emails lately from some of the sticks in the area. Rick Mast has been doing some walleye fishing and doing well. He said he had to sort through some smallies to get to the walleye though. That's a tough problem to have. I saw Rick down at D & R Sports and he introduced me to one of his sponsors, Shawn Straley from Poor Boy Baits . If you haven't tried Poor Boy baits, you should give them a shot. Not only does Rick like them, but many of the guys around here swear by them.

Ed Dyer, another local stick, showed me a couple of his favorite Poor Boy baits when I met him at the Spring Open House at the Outdoorsmen Pro Shop. I believe, if I remember the email correctly, Ed is down on Table Rock this week or maybe it's next week. In any case, he's spends a week on Table Rock almost every year.

My young friend Ross emailed me again and said he was finding more open water and wetting some lines and catching some bluegills. The boy is a fishing fool and as a high schooler, he may be schooling his fishing competition soon. He plans on trying to do some competitive bass fishing this season.

The parting shot of the day comes from Theodore Roosevelt, "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor souls who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 27, 2008

Man, I have been busy lately. I only have time for a brief entry tonight. First off, the FLW Eastern Series Tournament down on Lake Wheeler in Decatur, Alabama has two days in the books. I've watch some of the weigh in which is streamed live on the internet, both yesterday and today. They weigh in at 4:00 pm each day. Tomorrow, the full field fishes, and then on day four only the top ten will fish.

Home town boy, Nathan Wellman, has had two pretty good days and sits 18th as of today. Good job Nate!! He's only 1 pound 4 ounces out of the top ten cut. A good day tomorrow will mean a very nice pay check, and who knows he's not out of contention for a big win. Here's the FLW Lake Wheeler article on the event. You can make several selections once you're at this link. You can read the Day 2 story, check out pro standings as well as the coangler stats.

My brother-in-law Charlie lives just north of Decatur in Athens, Alabama. We've been to Decatur to eat at Big Bob Gibson's Barbecue . Those guys fishing down there better take a few minutes and enjoy some of the best darn barbecue there is. Maybe a little of Big Bob's sauce rubbed in to their fingers might be just the scent needed to lure in a big hog for tomorrow's weigh in.

I just got off the phone with Don Fowler who's driving as we speak with Tony DeFilippo down to get ready for the Lewis Smith FLW Tour event. Tony left his boat at Charlie's so he didn't have to pull it all the way back north after he fished the Lake Toho tournament. They ought to get to Charlie's about 11:00 am tomorrow if they drive straight through. The weather is a bit iffy, and if it gets bad, they'll stop for the night.

Charlie just sent me some pictures of a recent trip he took down to his buddy Hector's in Texas. Charlie, and my sister-in-law Paula, went down to Hector's for a weeks vacation and got back just a few days ago. They did some fishing and had a pig round up. He brought home a cooler full of hog, and Charlie is just the guy to smoke some great tasting ham. He built himself a smoker in the back yard and man my mouth is watering right now. I hope he put some in the freezer for me. I love to go down to Athens to visit. They're not just relation but good company, and we always have a great time. Charlie loves to hunt and fish, so needless to say he and I get along just fine.

Charles met his good buddy Hector out in Colorado on a mule deer/elk hunt. Charlie has a group of buddies that goes out West every Fall hunting. Here are some pictures Charlie sent of he and Hector.

Mr. Long and a Texas Trout

I smell bacon!

Charlie and Hector with some trout and black drum.

Whenever I get down to Athens to visit, which is just off I65 west of Huntsville, I try to partake of as much southern barbecue as I can. It's all about the smoke when you're talkin' barbecue in the south. No sauce unless you add it.

Within a rock toss of I65 as you exit for Athens is another great spot called Lawlers' Barbecue. You have to try their pulled ham barbecue. I would have never tried it if I hadn't been in with a buddy of Charlies and had him recommend it. That's all I order now when I go in to Lawlers' and we always buy some when we leave town to take home. If I'm not fishing, I guess you know by now that I'm eating.

Before I close for tonight here's just a couple of more things.

First an "In the House" segment from Bass Zone on Boyd Duckett, one of the anglers that presented at last weeks D & R Sports Spring Boat and Tackle Show.

The last bit of info is concerning this coming Saturday. I will be attending a Lowrance, all day seminar, at the Outdoorsman Pro Shop in Jenison . It cost $75, but from what I have heard it is suppose to be well worth the time and money. I'll let you know how it goes.

Got to run tonight so no parting shots this evening. Make sure you make time each day to enjoy the company of family and friends.

March 25, 2008

Having trouble thinking of how to kick the blog off tonight. I could complain about the weather, but I've overworked that. I could pump the pile of tournaments about to kick off in the next few weeks, and I will do that, but not tonight. I could and have made the decision to announce that Don was recently contacted by Jim Kientz, Ray Scott's business manager. It looks like we have a date to go down to Mr. Scott's estate for our fish off against Ray and Don Corkran, B.A.S.S.'s Federation Director. Here's the email.

"Don - �Sounds like a plan.� I'll get with Ray to ensure this is a viable time frame (that nothing on his schedule has changed in the past 24-hrs) and we'll try to firm up these dates of 24-26 of April for you to come challenge Ray and Don.

I'll have the boats put in the afternoon of the 24th: Two Triton TRx-20s.� Bring whatever you feel works to catch fish (rods/reels, lures etc).� Oh, and your nitroglycerin tablets.� There will be no nets in the boats and every one has to land their own fish.� I'll handle the weigh-in (on his front dock).

Try to schedule your arrival for the afternoon on the 24th and we'll try to pick everyone up at the airport, unless you�re driving.

This will most likely be a 4-lb test tournament, just to keep it exciting.� We provide/spool the line so that everyone is playing with the same degree of fairness.� There will probably be a 5-fish (between the two of you), no cull rule as well.� You/your partner catch a fish, you decide if it goes into the live well or not.� But once a fish is in, there is no cull (should you catch a larger fish later).� Five fish total.

� Regards,

� Jim

I don't have to tell you that this is a once in a lifetime trip for me. I know Don has said that he is really geeked as well. I haven't said much about the trip for fear that I might jinx it. However, the dates are set and, WE'RE GOING TO RAY SCOTT'S!

When I was down last weekend at D&R I got a chance to talk to KVD about fishing at Ray's. You see, Kevin and Mark Zona were just down there fishing and filming the FLAMICH CUP , for Zona's World's Greatest Fishing Show. They filmed enough for it to take up two of Zona's weekly shows and they will be aired the first two Saturday's in April.

Kevin said that the fish should be all over the bank spawning during the time we will be down there. He said we will catch a ton of big fish. I had been fretting a bit about the idea of hooking my biggest fish ever on 4 pound test line and then having no net. We have some very good lines on the market, and if I get a rod with a very fast tip I should be in the hunt.

We haven't decided if we're going to fish our way down or just fly down. I plan on giving Fowler a call tonight and talking some more about what we're going to do.

Don and Tony should be leaving any day now to go down to fish the FLW Tour Lewis Smith Lake event. We'll certainly be following there progress and from time to time I'll keep you posted on our Ray Scott trip plans.

I got an email from young Mr. Parson's about catching his first fish of the season. He found a private pond near his home that the ice had left and caught a 14 inch largemouth on a dropshot. Way to go Ross. He also went on to tell me that he saw an article on the Berkley King Shad , that KVD said he caught his bigger fish on in Florida. After hearing KVD's seminar, Ross bought a King Shad, and for a high school kid shelling out $17.99 for one bait it better be a big catching fish bait.

I probably should have seguewayed in to this piece from the bed fishing reference at Ray's pond, but oh well it's getting late. In any case, I saw this You Tube video that Kelly Jordan did on catching bedded bass. No four pound test for him.

Bass Fan had an article featured a few days ago about Brett Hite . Brett just completed a set of back to back wins going literally Coast to Coast. The article was quite interesting and had some good tips. It would be hard not to put this guy on your Fantasy Fishing team.

Tomorrow the FLW Series will host an event in Decatur, Alabama. They will have the live weigh in on the internet at 4:00 pm ET. Jenison will have Nate Wellman representing the area. Hopefully Nate sticks some big ones.

As the parting shot today, I would like to repeat what Coach Bobby Knight had to say to Boyd Duckett, Gerald Swindle, and Timmy Horton recently. At D & R Boyd made it sound like the comment from the Coach would become his new mantra, "The will to prepare has to be greater than the will to win." I have long been all about outworking the other guy. Hard work is a great equalizer. Take care, and be sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 23, 2008

Happy Easter! I saw a few tracks in the yard and found a few eggs so I'm sure it must be Spring now. I sincerely hope that these snows melt and bring us some warm sunshine. This last storm that hit Grand Rapids and areas south Friday afternoon was a doozy. I got up Saturday morning and the sun was poking out here and there, but the roads were snow covered and untouched by the plows. Despite what the roads were like I knew the sun would melt them off quickly so, I figured I'd head the truck south and make my way down to D & R's Spring Fishing and Boat Show . There were some spots on 131 that were down to one lane, and there were numerous vehicles from the night before in the median, but most of the way down I could do the speed limit.

I got there about 9:40 and Boyd Duckett's seminar was suppose to begin at 9:30 so I shot right back to the seminar area. There were 30 people or so there, about a quarter of the seats were occupied. The weather had definitely affected the early crowd.

Boyd was just getting started. He began by saying that the approach he has to fishing is design to minimize distractions. He quoted Bobby Knight, with whom he had made a commercial for the Bassmaster Classic that you may remember seeing. He said that Coach Knight told them that, "The will to prepare has to be stronger than your desire to win." A mantra that Duckett really believes in.

Boyd begins his preparation, studying the lake thoroughly that he's about to fish. He utilizes the internet, people in the area, studying everything he can get his hands on. He travels with a laptop and uses it extensively. While preparing though, he says you must keep an open mind. You have to be an eclectic. One who absorbs it all, but then refolds that information blending it with prior knowledge and what you find in practice to come up with your own strategy for the lake.

He stressed repeatedly that you have to rid your mind of any possible distractions. Make a list of your weaknesses, as well as your strengths. Then go about minimizing your weak areas while capitalizing on your strong points. For instance, make sure all those boat items that may act up on tournament day have been checked, i.e. replace the batteries if there is any doubt that they will provide you power all day long.

When it comes to tackle, have it handy and accessible. Make sure you respool and when out on the water retie often. He is amazed by the number of coanglers that fish for long periods of time without retying and then are befuddled when they break off a fish.

On game day don't be trying new techniques. Stick with your plan and always fish your strengths. Also as game day approaches plan for change. If it does blow up a storm, you are ready and unflappable with plan B. He also stressed that through outworking your opponent in the area of preparation, it allows you to be more relaxed and focussed on tournament day.

Boyd talked about the year he won the Classic, and how during the last day he could feel himself tensing and decided to take a time out. He sat down in the boat and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and took his time eating it. Thirty minutes later, nearing the end of the day, he caught the big fish that won it for him. Eliminating "mind clutter" allowed him to focus and capitalize on the bite.

Boyd believes that your mental game has to always be stronger than your mechanical skills. He is also a believer in writing things down. At the end of a tournament, write down the things you feel you did right and the things that you did wrong. Once these things are in black in white it forces you to pay more than lip service to them. He's always working to improve for the next time out.

Duckett's message rang loud and clear and was well prepared and presented. He had notes, and you could tell that he put in the effort to make his seminar top notch. You would expect nothing less from one that has been so successful in building a thriving business as well as making himself in to one of the top bass anglers in the country.

Check out ole Boyd Duckett's Kickers.

Ross, Boyd, and Eric. The Pros were very approachable!

After listening to Boyd, I wandered up to get a picture and met up with mifootball, Ross P. Ross has been emailing me through the Tear Drop website, and we have been talking about fishing this winter. Ross is from over toward the Lansing area, and his dad brought him and his buddy Eric down for the seminars. We met up and sat together during the rest of the seminars and they took me out for lunch at "The Parlour." We had a great job and it was my pleasure to have met such nice people and avid anglers.

Unfortunately, Al Lindner and Rick Clunn's flights were canceled because of the storm. Consequently they were no shows. Mickey Thomas, who spoke Friday, filled in on Saturday along with Jonathan VanDam, KVD's nephew.

Mickey Thomas relayed a great story about how he befriended a little guy while stopping for gas on his way back from a tournament. It was quite a story, and you can read about it in this month's issue of Bassmaster magazine.

Mickey talked about some baits that I hadn't seen before. One is River2Seas Stand'n Yabbie 80. It's a soft plastic prerigged crayfish. It has hollow plastic claws so it always stands up in a defensive position that crayfish use to keep from getting eaten. Very realistic looking. The other bait Mickey was very high on was the C Flash crankbait. Get your wallet ready for these hand made, hand painted balsa crankbaits. They are $21.99 a pop. Mickey took me straight to Greg Mangus who gave me the low down on the C Flash.

Next we listened to JVD's presentation on drop shotting. Jonathan did a great job talking about how he uses this presentation when those strong cold fronts move through. He had some good pointers, but if you want the definitive word on drop shotting you need to head to Ax Fishing , Seth Burrill's site, and check out his Dropshotting DVD set. You will not be sorry you spent the $20.

After JVD, came KVD's seminar. Kevin brought his wife and twin boys with him. He proceeded to preach to a standing room only seminar room on a variety of techniques, strategies, and baits. One of the baits KVD had tied on was the new Rage Shad. I'm going to have one of those tied on as soon as there is soft water. I just like the looks of this bait. A topwater. slop fishing, type bait. I've talked about it before on the blog. This Bass Pro Shop's link has both the Rage Shad and KVD's other favorite, the Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait. The Red Eye Shad was KVD's top producer in his recent win down on Toho.

Here's some shots of the pros that were down at D&R. I would like to say that the pros that were there, to a person, greeted and talked with the folks and made you feel your question was important to them. Very approachable and really great guys! They went out of there way to spend time with the folks. I was really impressed.

One of the big sticks around, Greg Mangus.

Mickey Thomas and some old guy.

Ross, KVD, and Eric

One last item of note from the D&R seminars were the shoes that Boyd and KVD had on. I tell you what, they were some fancy bling bling Nike's. I can see the commercials coming down the pike now. "Just Fish In Them"

Before I forget again, the website schedule for the Tear Drop shows the last tournament on August 19th. WRONG, it's actually Sunday, August 31. My son, who has remodeled my site, is going to fix it ASAP. We're also going to make some other changes. New pictures will be up soon and maybe some video segments.

I was checking the FLW Fantasy Fishing site, and they have the new roster for Lewis Smith Lake up. I started researching my team and hope to have it done this week.

Don and Tony should be heading down next week to Alabama for the Tour Event.

Nate Wellman from nearby Jenison, MI, is fishing the FLW Series event on Lake Wheeler down in Decatur, AL. before he heads over to Lewis Smith. The live weigh ins for the Wheeler Lake Series event begin on Wednesday of this week.

I talked to my buddy Rick "Great Grandpa" Skinner up in Irons, MI today, and he said they still have a foot and a half of snow on the ground and about the same amount of ice on the lakes. He's still ice fishing. He said the deer herd looks to be doing well and he's only found a few deer that the coyotes have gotten. He said he's seeing a lot of deer this year.

Well to end today's blog segment I wanted to put up one more picture from down at D & R Sports. I took the picture with my Alabama brother-in-law Charlie in mind. I wanted him to see what a Spring Boat Show looked like in the North.

Ah, yes just another Spring Boat Show in Michigan!

As the parting shot of the day I felt that this quote from Peter Marshall would be an appropriate one to commemorate the day. "The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in." Make sure you take time to enjoy the day.

March 20, 2008

I think maybe with Spring officially declared that Mother Nature may have to give up some sun and warmer weather pretty soon now. It was nice today, but I still have snow in my front yard and till it's gone it's hard to think Spring.

Yesterday I hyperlinked the first of a two part article on KVD's win down on the Kissimmee Chain. Today's second article talks about his red eye shad pattern and his other piece of technology that literally called in bass so he could upgrade his limit. Here's the KVD article from Bass Fan.

Remember that starting tomorrow you can see and listen to KVD down at D & R's Spring Fishing and Boat Show . I've been hearing from quite a few people that they plan on heading down. I can't go tomorrow, but I would love to. I am, however, definitely going down on Saturday. Should be a great day to get some good tips and take some pictures of some the biggest names in bass fishing.

One of the rising stars this year has to be Carl Svebek. Carl came in second in the FLW's Toho event and is known for his finesse expertise. Here's an article that he did on Working Wacky Worms .

The FLW pros will be on Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama April 2 for their second Tour event. Don Fowler and Tony DeFilippo are heading down to start prefishing for that event in the next week or so.

Should be time to check your Fantasy Fishing roster and pick your new group of anglers for Lewis Smith. I'll check it out tomorrow and see if the new list of participating pros is up yet.

An old student of mine who is also fishing the FLW Tour is Nate Wellman. My walleye buddy, John Baker, said that Nate had called him yesterday. They talked some about Nate fishing the FLW Series event on Wheeler, out of Decatur Alabama. Nate will fish that event on March 26 and then high tail it down to Lewis Smith for the Tour event.

My brother-in-law Charles Long lives just minutes from Wheeler. Don and I stayed with Charlie and my sister-in-law Paula and fished Wheeler last Halloween. We caught a bunch of bass. Here are a couple of pictures from Wheeler.

Don with a Wheeler bass caught on a trap.

That's the Hwy 72 bridge behind me, just east of Athens, AL

The south is certainly heating up and the spawn is going to start moving north. Once ice is off in April it will be time for us Michiganders to fire up the outboards and take advantage of our catch and release season. Here's an article that talks about some ice out angling over on St. Clair with Steve Clapper .

I have to work tomorrow so time for bed. The parting shot is this short video of a relaxing day on the lake . Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 19, 2008

Back at the blog after a couple day hiatus. We've had company since last Thursday and I've been staying up late talking. It's been great, but I have also committed to working all week as well and late nights and early wake ups leaves little time to get to the blog. Hopefully the schedule eases up, and I can get back in to the routine.

I was on Bass Fan reading their summative article on the Citrus Slam going over what KVD did to notch another victory. Here's Part 1 of a two part series on KVD's Citrus Strategy . Once you puruse that article check out the video from the last day of the tournament and the photo gallery that Bass Fan always has following an event.

We're lucky here in Michigan to have the opportunity to see and hear KVD often. With his brother Randy's D& R Sports store just 50 miles south of Grand Rapidson. Here's the page from their site that shows their location on a map of the area. You can just punch in your address and get a door to door map.

This Friday and Saturday at D & R Sports, they have their Spring Fishing and Boat Show . Rick Clunn, Boyd Duckett, Mickey Thomas, Al Lindner, Mark Zona, and KVD, are all going to be there. I wish I could get down there on Friday, but I have to work, so I'll be heading down and spending the day on Saturday. I going to try and see all the seminars. In between the seminars, I'll squeak out a trip to "The Parlour" which is just a few hundred yards east of D & R right on M43. The Parlour has some good eats. Good sandwiches and the best ice cream around. You have to try their peanut butter sauce. I'm telling you it's the best! It's on the north side of the street just after Meijers and Mickey Ds as you're heading toward D & R from the expressway. We ate lunch there one year with KVD and his two boys. I can't help it, I'm a name dropper.

I got an email from Mark "Chief" Torrez from out in sunny California, and he's volunteered to answer any questions folks might have about swim baits. I just emailed Mark back to see if he knows Butch Brown. Butch is an angler who fishes strictly for monsters. Swimbait in hand, he videos himself landing ten pounder after ten plus pounders. His latest video shows him landing what is said to be a 19 pounder. Here's the Butch Brown video. Shoot me an email with any swimbait questions you have and maybe we can have a Q and A with the Chief.

I made a comment a couple of days ago about a modification that I saw down at the Ultimate Sport Fishing Show last weekend. Jeremy VandenBosch showed us how he uses stainless steel 25 gauge wire to make a keeper on his soft plastics hooks. Not only does his wire wrap provide the "keeper" it also prevents the line from slipping in to the eye on those hooks where the eye has a slight gap that catches your line. First he lays the wire down the hook opposite the hook point and then wraps it three times tight against the eye of the hook. He then clips the wire as close as he can to the hook shank. Next he bends the piece laying against the shank back toward the eye and cuts it quite close leaving just a sixteenth inch long. He says if it's too long it isn't as strong. I'll try and put up a picture so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about. You really do have to see it. I'll get some wire this weekend and then take a sequence of pictures showing you what I mean step by step.

I'm going to end tonight with GVSU's Regional win advancing them for the second year in a row to the Elite 8 in the Division II National Championship. They will play Winona State (35-1) next Wednesday in Springfield, Mass. Number one versus number two. Why is that, especially with 8 games to go? Seems like that stuff happens to GVSU too often. Should be a good game though.

The parting shot today is about families and is from George Eliot. "What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." Make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

March 16, 2008

KVD seals the deal ! I can't believe the Kalamazoo Kid has done it again! Unbelievable!! KVD, closed the field out today with a little over ten pounds. In the article linked above, he talks about how he thought he had let it slip away today when he brought in a ten pound limit.

The weather today was conducive to big weights, but the Chain wasn't giving up any big bags and even though Ray Sedgewick made a bit of a charge, he fell almost two pounds short.

Ray said he lost a four pounder that cost him the $100,000. Needless to say, I have never fished for that kind of cash, or anything remotely close, but I do know how losing one fish on a tournament day often comes back to haunt you at weigh in time.

Here is the standings sheet for the Citrus Slam and the photo gallery from the event.

My walleye guide Steve "Reno" Block sent me some photos to rub in the fact that the walleyes started to bite before the season ended the 15th. He caught some nice eaters and released some larger fish in the 7-10 lb. class. Here's a couple of Steve's fish.

I don't recognize that secret jig?!?

They melt in your mouth not in your hand.

Steve passed along a recipe he made up that he says is fantastic. I will have to give it a try on some tilapia. No walleye for me. The freezer is walleyeless. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup of finely chopped smoked salted almonds
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
a dash of garlic salt and pepper
combine the ingredients in a blender process them
dip the fillets in a half cup of milk that has been blended with one egg
dip the fillets in the almond breading and pan fry in real butter approximately 3 1/2 minutes on a side or until golden brown. According to Steve, "They melt in your mouth."

Blocky can cook some fish I'm here to tell you. I have sampled his fare before and it was excellent. I am definitely going to try this one.

Time for me to hit the hay, and I'm not even going to dig out a parting shot. Just a well done for KVD tonight. The guy is amazing. The D&R Spring Open House should be coming up this weekend or next and KVD may be there. I know Boyd Duckett is suppose to be on the seminar schedule. More on that tomorrow. Until then, make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

March 15, 2008

I got up early this morning to watch Zona's show and it was a rerun of his Red Fish trip down to Louisiana. It was a good show, but I sort of half watched it as I made some breakfast, or I should say, prepped some breakfast items for when our company got up.

Bassmasters comes on after Zona, and they had the "Sunshine Showdown" from the recent Harris Chain event on. I was particularly interested because I have fished the Chain before and was looking to see if I recognized spots we had been to and also to catalog a few new ones should we get down there again.

It was hard to watch Snowden's meltdown on the final day. He went in to the event with a ten pound lead, and most thought it was a tournament for second place. However, the fishing stars were not aligned for Snowden. He lost several fish, one particularly good won, and ended the day with the livewell dry. Mike McClelland, on the other hand, dissected a pad field and caught and passed him to take home the big money. Like most payouts all the money is front loaded and second place is nice, but the pay drops substantially.

The Elite pros moved immediately from Leesburg, Florida down to Kissimmee which is just a short drive from Disney World in Orlando. Byron Velvick, who gained a big shot of notoriety from being TV's "The Bachelor" lead Day 1 with 25 lbs. He fell to second on Day 2 as Kelley Jordan brought in a big bag of bass he caught sight fishing. KVD also made a move up the leaderboard with a bag that went around 18 lbs. He put two days worth of similar weights, and he's within reach of the leaders at 3rd place. Here is a Bass Fan article which will catch you up with the tournament action on the Kissimmee Chain "Citrus Slam." The top 50 anglers are out on the water as we speak and you can watch them weighing in today at 4:00 pm.

Don't forget that the Ultimate Sport Fishing Show is running all day today, until 9:00 pm and Sunday until 6:00 pm. Stop in to see Wayne Carpenter at his Combat Fishing booth. I already stopped in and bought some of his new drop shotting "Great Lakes Craw" 2 1/2 inch tubes. I've been buying big bags of Wayne's tubes for years. Whenever I'm on the East side on St. Clair or Erie I'm throwing one of Wayne's tubes. Cy Ruel and Lt. Dan Kimmel are down working the show with Wayne. Cy was down at Matteson's Marine on Gull Lake at their Spring Open House, and we were both looking at Humminbird's new side imaging sonar. Cy is cutting loose and making the purchase. Us retirees will have to wait and save our pop cans that we collect along the road. I figure I should have enough saved in about twelve years. As an aside, you can save a little more money and save a few hours of can collecting by using this MSN site which uses your zip code to find the cheapest gas in your area.

I got hold of a good site for those interested in Humminbird Info. . They say the aforementioned forum has some members that really know their sonar.

If your looking for something else to do this weekend an event worthy of your entertainment dollar is the GVSU men's basketball game tonight at 6:00 pm in GVSU's Fieldhouse Arena. They will host St. Joseph's College in the DII Regional.

I'm going to watching the Michigan State game coming on shortly. They play Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. The winner moves on to the finals, which I think is tomorrow. The game should be over just in time for me to watch the weigh in from Camp Mack at 4:00 pm.

The parting shot today is from William D. Tammeus. I like how he put this idea of the importance of family. "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back."

March 14, 2008

Good Morning! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. It's relatively cold this morning at 29.1 degrees at 7:52 am, but the sky is clear and we're going to have sunshine in West Michigan today. A sunny day in the winter in Western Michigan is a rarity. That's one negative effect from being so close to Lake Michigan. Speaking of the big lake the reports I have been reading are that the Great Lakes should be up at least 6-10 inches this year. That should put some more smallie water into play. We need at least another foot, but I don't want to be greedy after seeing how low the water was in the southeast part of the country. Here's a shot that shows how far down the water was when we were fishing Dale Hollow in November.

Look how low the water was at Dale Hollow.

We went down to Dale Hollow as part of the road trip Don and I took for the Florida B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship. The experience for me was certainly memorable and goes beyond that to a once in a lifetime experience. The people we met down there were awesome and it has been fun keeping in touch with them. In fact, I just got some pictures from Mark "Chief" Torrez the California Champion. Mark was certainly one of the guys that could have won the "Mr. Congeniality" Award. Everyone knew Mark, and he was a riot to be around. He kept everyone smiling. He was also "Mr. Swimbait" Here's a couple of the pigs he gets out in sunny California.

Now those are some sure enough hogs!

This is Mark with the Bass Boss, Ray Scott.

Forget the gold rush. We're headin' west for pigs!

Mark sent me a few more photos that I will post soon. Hopefully, he will send me more as his fishing season gets in to full swing. Out in Cali though I doubt it ever slows down much. I don't even think they have a closed season. I'll have to find out.

I went down to the Ultimate Sport Fishing Show yesterday to help Paul Sacks, the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation President, set up the MI Bass booth. It took us a couple of hours, just long enough to miss getting Taco Bobs. Bobby told me they'd be open till 4:00, and they closed before 3:00. Bummer, because I didn't eat any breakfast and had been thinking about some tacos all day. I don't know what he puts in that taco meat but it's addictive.

Bob is usually only open until 2:00 pm, Monday through Friday. With there location on Monroe, there's no front door parking so they do primarily a walk up downtown worker lunch crowd. When they have special events across the street at the DeVos Place, they'll stay open on Saturday. Remember them if you go down to the show and get hungry. The food inside DeVos Place is very pricey. Taco Bobs is in the bank building, just casting distance across the street, right next to the two parking garage driveways. It's hard to see, because they won't allow outdoor signage. Here's the Taco Bob coupons link again.

While I was down at the show, I sat in on a seminar at the NBAA stage. It was given by, I believe I remember the name being Jeremy VandenBosch. It was his first seminar, and he did a great job. I picked up a couple of modifications from him that I am toying with exposing to the blog readers. You always kind of hate to give away some good secrets. You have to keep that competitive advantage at least a little bit on your side. Aw, what the heck. Tomorrow I'll divulge the good stuff. Today though, I want to get to the B.A.S.S. Elite action from the B.A.S.S. Tournament Stop #2 on the Kissimmee Chain.

At the show I got to talk to Jonathan VanDam several times as he passed by the booth. He has a phone with internet access, and he was checking Uncle Kevin's status in the tournament for us. Jon was a tad bit nervous he said. He was giving seminars for the first time as well and had to do one from up on the big tank and catch fish for the crowd. I didn't get to hear him, but I'm sure he did well. Seems like a really nice kid. Here's a couple of pictures from down at the show.

Paul Sacks, Jonathan VanDam, Jeremy VandenBosch

Paul at his Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation Booth

Yesterday was Day 1 of the B.A.S.S. Citrus Slam on the Kissimmee Chain. Byron Velvick had the "Velvick Touch" and is leading the tournament with 25 lbs. He caught his fish covering water looking for spawners. He and others said that the active beds were few and far between, and you had to cover a lot of water. Most of the pros were looking to capitalize on the big females as long as they could, but didn't know if there would be enough still coming up to count on that pattern for all four days. They all claimed to have back up plans should the fish quit coming up shallow.

KVD is in 8th place with 18 lbs. He must be finding a couple of bedding fish as well, just not the right group to get the numbers needed to boost that sack weight up there into the twenty pound area.

Here is a photo gallery from Bass Zone , and a short video interview with Velvick and Scroggins.

After today, the field is cut to 50. You can watch the live streaming weighin at 4:00 pm by clicking on this hyperlink .

My son and his girlfriend came in last night, and it is always great to see them. They're going to be staying for several days. As I said a few days ago, my oldest just got back from Tahoe visiting his brother there. Here's a picture he took on the north end of the lake. I'll post a few more tomorrow to give you a look at some of their snow.

The North shore of Lake Tahoe

Well that's going to be it for now. The kids should start stirring pretty quick, and I want to have some breakfast ready. They brought danish and a delicious cheese bread from Mars' Cheese Castle . I've eaten half a loaf already.

The parting shot today comes from Dr. Seuss. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 12, 2008

Well, I once again have too many sticks in the fire, and it has caused me to loose a day on the blog. Oh well. No one sent a telegram or derogatory emails so I guess we're okay.

My middle son is flying in from California tomorrow, and he and his girlfriend are coming for a 5 day stay. I can't wait.

The visit though generated a huge honeydo list. I just finished painting the kitchen, dinning room and hallway ceilings. I hate painting ceilings, but I'm kind of cheap so I broke out the roller and brush.

Tomorrow I plan on meeting Paul Sacks down at the DeVos Place for the Ultimate Sport Fishing Show . He needed some help setting up the B.A.S.S. Federaion booth. If you are coming down you can save some money on parking if you use the meters that are on Monroe just north of Michigan. If you are facing the DeVos Place look down the street to the right, which is north, and the meters are just beyond the expressway overpass that you see going over Monroe. Use the meters on the West side of the street, the other side is for short term parking. The meters cost you 25 cents an hour and you can load around 5 hours on them. There are more meters just west of the Gerald R. Ford Museum across the river from the DeVos Place. A bit longer walk, but it will save you $5.00 if the ones on Monroe get filled up.

Another savings can be had by eating at Taco Bobs, which is right on Monroe directly across the street from the Devos Place. You could make a cast from one door to the other. Taco Bobs is kind of hard to see because they won't allow them any outdoor signs. They're in the bottom floor of the Michigan National Bank building. They will be open Friday till 4:00 and all day Saturday till 4:00. They're closed on Sunday. Five or six bucks will buy you a bunch of very good food. Here are some Taco Bob coupons you can print off on your printer.

It seems like the BASS Elite anglers no more that just finished a grueling tournament on the Harris Chain and already they are starting on the Kissimmee Chain. Tomorrow, Thursday, the Elite anglers will be blasting off trying to corner the market on some big Florida bass. Here is a Kissimmee tournament eve article from ESPN. The first day live weigh in will be tomorrow at 4:00 pm.

I know there are a bunch of programs out there that want you to sign up to win something, but heres one that looks pretty easy and has some good prizes. Evinrude has put together their version of Fantasy Fishing. Here's the link to Evirudes Ultimate Fantasy Fishing Experience .

Seth Burrill from AX Fishing called me this evening to touch base and to see what's going on in this neck of the woods. I met Seth in a round about way, through his drop shotting video he did a couple years ago. We have been corresponding since. Seth has the best drop shotting video going, bar none. If you want to learn or refine your drop shotting technique you really need to spend the few bucks it cost to order his DVD. It's a double DVD and has a ton of good stuff on it. I really shouldn't mention it, because he's got some really good modifications he covers in the DVD that are very unique and have been very effective for me. Seth has some really neat stuff he's working on and I'll spend some time talking about them coming up here in the next couple of days.

Time is short for me today so I have to call it quits for tonight.

The parting shot today comes from Izaak Walton, "Angling may be said to be so like mathematics that it can never be fully learned." Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 10, 2008

Well the countdown begins to next weeks Bassmaster event and to the coming of the green next Monday.

Not much happening today, but there are some pictures and articles up on Bass Zone that are worth some of your time. Here is a short video , and then here are some still shots from the Harris Chain. Bass Zone did a great article in which they talked to a number of the top Harris finishers to find out how they fished and what they fished with.

If you're trying to pick your anglers for the B.A.S.S. Kissimmee Stop #2, it would be hard to not to have the Lane brothers on your roster. Problem being, everyone else is going to have them on there too. Here is an ESPN article on the Lane brothers.

If you have ever been around me long you know I usually have a camera out snapping shots. I have all the old 35 mm gear, and have moved into the digital era with stills and video. I get engrossed with iMovie and have put together a number of DVD projects. I would like to think that my picture compositions have gotten better through the years, but I still am a quantity over quality photographer. Take enough shots and you have to get some good ones. Whoever has been snapping shots at the Classic and Harris Chain for ESPN, has been taking some really spectacular shots. Here is there photo gallery . Looking at the pictures really gives you a feel for the type of water the anglers were plying for their limits.

The Lane brothers were talking about using a "Cane Toad" on the Kissimmee Chain as their main go to bait. Doing a bit of research on that particular bait I found one of our friends from the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship, Ron Fabiszak , won the Lake Okeechobee Jan. 2007 Coangler title using the Cane Toad as one of his go to baits. The "Cane Toad" looks like the hot bait for Florida and maybe a bait that will tilt the scales for the Lanes in the next B.A.S.S. event.

Time for the parting shot of the day and this one comes from a Mr. Charles Dickens. "It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." Take care and make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 9, 2008

I got an email from Paul Sacks today. Paul is the president of the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation. He's looking for some help to set up the Federation booth at the upcoming Ultimate Sport Fishing Show which starts this Thursday downtown at the Devos Place. I hope to be able to get down there about noon to give him a hand. If you plan on coming down on Thursday bring 6 food items and you get in free.

I watched the online live B.A.S.S. weigh in this afternoon. I was quite impressed with how they have upgraded the online show. They now include a preview before the weigh in, video of the anglers out fishing, and interviews after the weigh in as well. Great show.

The leader going in to the final day was Brian Snowden. Take a look at some of these Photos from Bass Zone from Day 3 on the Chain.

Brian had almost a ten pound lead going in to today, and most people thought it was going to be a contest for second place. However, it was about to all come crashing down for Brian. He blanked today! Man, that has got to be so disheartening. It looked painful for his buddy, Mike McClelland, to take the trophy. Mike commented that he had told his wife that he hoped Brian would win it. Brian has had several seconds and is really looking for that close out deal and getting that trophy. Many of us have been in similar straits. I know I have. Sometimes you know you need to catch them, and that one additional fish can and seems to always make a difference, and it just eludes you. Here is the an Article from ESPN on the final day of fishing. Here's a final day standings sheet.

The FLW Stren anglers also finished their tournament down on Lake Norfolk today, and here is an article on their final day down in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Within the aforementioned link you can click to get a look at the final standings.

This next little blurb is especially for my buddy John. Bass Fan is now offering a new link devoted to walleye anglers. Check out Walleye Fan . I know I really wanted a crack at some eyes through the ice this season, but the time just slipped away, and this weekend is already booked up with my son and his girlfriend coming to visit, so it will have to wait until next year. Here are a couple of pictures though that my icefishing guide Steve "Reno" Block sent me.

Steve is an angler's angler. Always on big fish.

Speak softly and carry a big spear.

After checking out Steve's monster I thought this short video might serve well as the parting shot of the day . Make sure you take time to enjoy the day.

March 8, 2008

Hey. Saturday morning and I'm up watching "Beat Charlie Moore." I'm not a real big fan of Charlie. Too much white bread in his background. I really like to watch Zona's Show though, which comes on right after Charlie's show.

The "World's Greatest Fishing Show," was highlighting smallmouth out of Buffalo, New York on Lake Erie this morning. Zona is quite a bit like Ike, and can't really conceal his zeal for the sport of fishing. I like the enthusiasm and it really adds to his show. He wears his fun on his sleeve.

We had some carpet laid this morning in a bathroom. Just so happens the guy we had lay it was Larry Peterson. He's a member of the West Michigan Walleye Club, and he knew my buddy John Baker well. He's fished on Erie out of John's camp down in Turtle Creek, Ohio. Just an aside, Baker and his wife and two adult kids are in Hawaii for 10 days. He said he'd send me some pictures for the blog so us northerners can commiserate over them.

Well, I'm wondering how the top fifty Elite anglers are doing down on the Harris Chain today. Here is the Standings as of yesterday, Day 2.

Brian Snowden is leading the field by about two and a half pounds. Mark Menendez and then Bobby Lane, Rick Morris, Mike McClelland, Bill Lowen, Rick Ash, Mark Davis, Dave Wolak, and Guy Eaker, round out the top ten. KVD sits tied at 43rd with a two day total of 21-15 lbs. Here's the Day 2 Story from ESPN.

Remember, you can watch the weigh in live on the internet. They've really started to improve the streaming video by inserting fishing scenes from that day. First time I've seen that. First time I've had to watch commercials as well. If they are going to juice the weigh in up with fishing footage though, I'll suffer through the commercials.

Talk about suffering, the anglers down in Mountain Home, Arkansas fishing the Stren event on Lake Norfolk have had to battle some very frigid temps. Today looks like it might warm up some for them. When I checked the standings I didn't see any Michiganders fishing the event. Here's a look at what has been happening down on Lake Norfolk .

with the FLW Stren anglers.

I talked to Don about Tony DeFilippo's boat that he KOed down on Lewis Smith Lake, the site of the next FLW Tour Event. Seems all Tony did was end up with about $4,000 worth of damage. Hopefully, it will be warranteed. If not that 10K Tony won on Toho will be shrinking up a bit.

I got another email from Rex Chambers . Rex has a newsletter he sends out detailing what's going on down on Lewis Smith. Here's what the newsletter had to say about the fishing.

"Fishing on Smith Lake has been great the last few weeks. Of course it's a hit and miss on the good days. Saturday may be slow, but Sunday may prove to be a lifetime trip waiting to happen. The abundance of largemouth this early season is still amazing. Last weekend's weigh-in at Speegle's Marina was dominated by largemouth, nice ones to boot! Tournament weights are extremely high for this time of year. The sixteen to seventeen pound bags are an every weekend thing the last few weeks.

I've had more than a few inquiries about what the lake will be like for the upcoming FLW Tour event. I believe that this event will be won bed-fishing for largemouth. I've pretty much told everyone that pre-fishing for this event is useless. The lake is on the rise and the weather is a guaranteed change, so the when tournament times rolls around, it will be like fishing an entirely different lake than what the anglers have previously practiced on.

Over the last few weeks, the crankbait bite has been better than I can remember in recent years. Good limits of spots and largemouth alike have been coming from crankbaits fished in shallow brush. Great water color and rising water has been the ticket for the crankbait bite. The creek run-ins will soon, if not right now, be extremely helpful for the bass fishing. Each year at this time, I land nice fish in the backs of the moving creeks that are a few degrees warmer than the main channel. Shadraps and small jigs are always the ticket and I'll be trying the backs of those creeks tomorrow morning. "

Well, I'm going to get off the blog for a bit and come back to it some time after the B.A.S.S. weigh in at 4:00 pm.

The weigh in is over down in Florida. KVD ended up his day in 31st place with 30-1 lbs. Bill Snowden may just run away with it. He ended the day 9 lbs. and 14 ozs. ahead of the pack. Here is an article and the Final Day 3 Standings from Bass Zone. There was a three way tie for the twelfth spot. Mark Davis got bumped out on a tie breaker. Mark has just came back to BASS after fishing the FLW for a number of years. Pretty good way to start the new season out.

The Lane family represented today. Dad Lane finished as a top 10 coangler and the two Lane brothers, Bobby and Chris both made the final 12 cut. The Lanes are a Florida family and they may just be able to team up and catch Snowden. If not, they will be a force to be reckoned with down on Toho which is the second stop for the Elite Pros.

I actually got to watch some of the Stren Series weigh in from down on Lake Norfolk. I lost the connection though just after the first few pros started to weigh in. Here is the rest of the Story and Standings from FLW Outdoors.

I just finished watching the North Carolina/ Duke game. It was another great rivalry game. North Carolina pulled away at the end to not only win the game but also clinching the league title.

GVSU also won tonight finishing a perfect 33-0 season by beating Findlay and winning the GlIAC Tournament Championship. The news tonight said GVSU will probably be hosting the Division II National Championship Regional next weekend. Might just have to go to that game.

Hey, it's almost midnight, so I guess I'll go around and make sure the clocks are all reset to reflect the "Spring Ahead" Daylight Savings Time hour. Good night all.

March 7, 2008

Well, this is a good morning, entry to the blog. I thought about getting on last night, but not all of the sites have their recaps of the days activities up until the next day.

I guess I'll start with the Elites first. As you know, the B.A.S.S. Elite Anglers are down on the Harris Chain of Lakes, centered around Leesburg, Florida. The weather yesterday was rainy and nasty, but three anglers caught bags of 20+ pounds. Bill Lowen, an Ohio angler is leading the field with 21 lbs. 10 oz. Bryan Hudgins and Billy Brower are right behind him by only ounces. Dean "Ribbit" Rojas is in fourth with 18 -2. KVD is down in 58th place, weighing in a little over 9 lbs. Here's the Standings after Day 1 .

As I mentioned the weather for Day 1 wasn't great. Cold fronts in Florida are devastating to the bass bite. Day 2 looks to be even worse with a front coming through bringing 35 mph winds, tornado watches, and a temperature drop of over 20 degrees. Here's the Weather Underground Florida Forecast page for Leesburg. The Elite pros will certainly have their work cut out for them.

Here's the Day 1 article from ESPN .

To go along with the article here are a couple of links to the Harris Chain Day 1Photos and a Video Interview of Lowen and Rojas .

When Don and I were down in Leesburg this past November we were told to be careful where we parked the truck and trailer while we were out on the water. We were told that there had been a bunch of thefts at the ramps. Seems that advice should have been passed along to Elite anglers, especially Glenn Delong who had all his rods and most of his tackle stolen. Here's Glenn's Sad Story on the theft. Sounds like the fishing brotherhood is going to take care of him, but it would certainly be disheartening to have all you favorite baits and rods you're comfortable with gone just before a big tournament.

Don't forget you can watch the Harris Chain Live Weigh In today at 4:00 pm right after you watch Kim Stricker's "Hook N Look" on the Versus Channel at 3:00 pm.

Here are a couple more of the pictures I took down on the Harris Chain.

This was a real Lake Griffin hot spot.

Putting in On Lake Griffin

Whatever Happened to "Don't Feed the Ducks?"

The Weather Down in Mountain Home, Arkansas (Where they have the BassCat Owners' Invitational) has been even more brutal than the Harris Chain. They had to postpone the tournament a day due to snow, and the forecast for the Northern Arkansas impoundment for the rest of the tournament is pretty bone chilling. There's a 70% chance of more snow down there today with highs in the low 30s.

Here's the FLW Stren Series Article with links at the top of the page to check out the standings for boaters and nonboaters. I checked out the standings, and it shows Rick Pierce in tenth place. Rick is one of "The Pierce Family," the owners and operators of BassCat . Good job Rick! I would say you could watch the the weigh in down in Mountain Home, but yesterday I couldn't get any streaming video from FLW. I sent them an email, but I doubt I'll hear from them. So, if you want to watch it, you're on your own. Good luck.

I got a call from Don today saying that he got in as a Coangler for the FLW Tour Event on Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama. He was wanting to go down and prefish before the March 17th deadline. His boat is out in Arizona and he was wondering if I'd be available to go down with him to fish in my boat before the cut off. I don't know if I could even get at my boat at the cabin. I'm a mile in on a two track, and they have had a bunch of snow. Anyway, I can't make it down to prefish with him. Several reasons, but the most important is my middle son is coming for a visit next Thursday, and we only get to see him about once a year. The Lewis Smith tournament does have a four day prefishing opportunity before the tournament begins April 2. I may go down then, and do a little fishing. That's Spring Break, and I could get away then.

The wife says she has things for me to do today, so it's time for the parting shot. This quote kind of reminded me of the Berkley commercial of Ike and Skeet as bass. Here's the quote from Dennis Diderot, "We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates." So as Ike says at the end of the commercial "Beware, my friend beware." Make sure you take time to enjoy the day.

March 5, 2008

It's about to get fast and furious as the BASS Elite Series and the FLW Tour both swing into action. The FLW pros are transitioning from Florida to Alabama and will be back out the first of April. The Bassmaster anglers will kick off their series tomorrow on the Harris Chain, in Leesburg Florida. The Harris Chain is similar to the Kissimmee Chain in that there are a myriad of options: canals, lakes, and rivers. Here is a map of the area , and an article I found on the Harris Chain when Don and I were down there in November.

Here's a few pictures from down on the Chain.

A Spooky Looking Backwater Spot on Lake Griffin

My First Florida Bass Came On Lake Griffin

Back in the 9th St. Canal off Lake Harris

We fished the Harris Chain for two days. Our first day we spent on Lake Harris just after a huge cold front. We caught a few fish but nothing of any size. When we were taking the boat out we talked to a local about how many huge gators are in the Harris Chain and particularly in Lake Harris. Thinking about those big gators as you go to lip a bass always makes you feel a little uneasy.

Our second day on the Chain was spent on Lake Griffin. We caught about 25 keepers all pretty much off one point. The fish were really oriented to schools of shad. We did well when the shad were busting on chrome traps, and when the bite slowed we threw some shakey heads and picked up more fish. Again, we saw some BIG gators on Griffin that looked as long as the BassCat! We never saw anyone in the water, swimming, tubing, or jet skiing, etc. Not to hard to figure out why.

The Harris Chain, back in the early 90's, went through some tough times and the fish population took a real hit, so much so that in a three day Bassmaster Elite Series event Mike Folkstead caught a grand total of 14 pounds and 10 oz. to win it. A B.A.S.S. record low weight. For this year's event tournament pros are predicting 75+ lbs. are going to be needed to win it.

You can watch live streaming coverage of the weigh in starting tomorrow, Thursday, at 4:00 pm. If you have some time before the weigh in, check out the Bass Zone's Wide Open feature for a video preview of the Harris Chain.

Remember too, that tomorrow the Stren Series contest on Lake Norfolk begins, and you can watch the streaming video if you are a FLW member at FLW Live at 3:00 pm CT (4:00 pm our time). I'll have to have the wife's laptop going with the Stren Event and the desktop on the BASS Event.

The FLW announced their first $100,00 winner in their Fantasy Fishing Competition. If you're a Fantasy Fishing competitor, you can log in and see the list of winners. You needed to score above 3100 pts. to win a prize. and it took over 5,000 pts. to win the $100,000.

As the parting shot today here is some more St. Patrick's Day Trivia. New York has the largest St. Patrick's Day Parade, larger than the one in Dublin. The Celtic Cross was originated by St. Patrick. He superimposed a circle symbolizing fire on the cross. Fire was a very important aspect of pagan rituals and St. Patrick used it in his efforts to convert the pagans. "The shamrock, once called the "Searoy" is a type of small herb with leaves made up of three leaflets, and is the common name for any of several three-leafed clovers native to Ireland. The Irish have considered shamrocks as good luck symbols since earliest times, and today many people of other nationalities have adopted that belief. It has become the national symbol of Ireland."

Remember to set your clock ahead on Sunday as Daylight Savings Time begins. Just a last minute FYI, if you're a Spartan fan, they play on ESPN tomorrow night at 9:00 pm. Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

March 4, 2008

Man, am I tired tonight. This working for a living when retired isn't what is all cracked up to be. I'm making some extra fishing cash, but it cuts in to my sleeping and doing nothing time.

Finally, the FLW Fantasy Fishing Results are posted. I didn't do very well with only one top ten pick. I had 1638 points which is about middle of the pack in our Tear Drop Bass League. They plan to announce this tournaments Fantasy Fishing $100,000 winner soon. Some serious cash and prizes that go down to about 600th place. It's not too late to enter and have a shot at that big money yourself. Check the later posts from February for our number and password.

As reported on the blog Sunday, Brett Hite literally blew the competition away. He didn't even need to catch a fish on the last day and could have still won by seven pounds. Here's the FLW article on Brett's win. You can check out the final standings by selecting "Results" on that link.

The FLW Quick Links are also out and are always interesting to look over.

My brother-in-law from Alabama called and said Tony D. dropped his boat off after getting a new lower unit put on it. He had to be towed in off the lake and didn't get a chance to get any practice time in. Already Lewis Smith is looking tough. The second FLW event there starts April 3rd.

With Lewis Smith a few weeks off, the next FLW event is a Stren Tournament down on Lake Norfolk on Thursday. Lake Norfolk is down in Mountain Home, Arkansas and is the home of the BassCat Owners Invitational. Don and Ron have fished it several times and Gary Evans and Dave Baker, annual Tear Drop contenders, won the whole tournament with 600 or more entrants bringing home one tricked out Cat. Check out this Baker and Evans article to read about their win and get some info on Lake Norfolk.

Last Saturday at the Outdoorsmen Anniversary Sale I met Ed Dyer. We talked for quite a while and compared notes. He told me about some of his trips from last year and said he had some pictures he would send me for the blog. Last April he was down in Amistad, and then he also did some fishing up on Bellaire, near Traverse. Here are some of the trophies from those trips.

Ed on Amistad in Texas

Ed's Wife and His Buddy

Ed with a Bellaire Smallie

Well, I'm going to call it quits for tonight. On Sunday, I said for the next few days the parting shot for the day would be St. Patrick's day trivia. You cannot have too much incidental knowledge.

St. Patrick was said to have driven all the snakes from Ireland. Snakes were a pagan symbol, and it is felt that St. Patrick's evangelism, converting the pagans to Christianity is symbolism that resulted in the tale that "explains" why there are no snakes in Ireland.

Another tale has St. Patrick using the three leaf shamrock as he traveled around Ireland as an example of the "Trinity." "Erin Go Bragh," or "Ireland Forever."

May the luck of the Irish be with you as you make time to enjoy your day.

March 2, 2008

I got a call this morning from FLW Tour Pro Tony DeFilippo who's on his way back from the Toho, that is after he takes a look at Lewis Smith Lake down in Alabama. I decided to fly down myself, via Google Earth . I have mentioned Google Earth several times on the blog, and if you're not using it to take a look a fishing water, you're missing a great tool. It's a free download.

Lewis Smith Lake is in North Central Alabama about 20 miles northwest of Birmingham. Here's one report I found on fishing Fishing Winter Bass on Lewis Lake .

When I zoomed in to the upper end of the lake with Google Earth, it looked like it had some stained water. This Fishing Alabama site gave me another Reeds Guide Service report on finding fish in stained water on Lewis Smith. They recommend that when the rains come to head to the backs of the creeks to take advantage of the stained water in a lake that is typically gin clear. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits, they say, work well then.

Don and I have been talking about maybe going down to visit my brother and sister-in-law that live just about an hour north, of Lewis Smith. Alabama is a great escape from the early Spring gray blahs of the North. It also would give me a chance to visit one of my favorite mom and pop bait shops, West End , on Highway 72 which is of course the "West End" of Athens, AL. On the exact opposite end of town on the same Highway 72 you can stop in at my favorite Southern barbecue spot, Lawlers . They have Southern barbecued ham that is out of this world. I have eaten their barbecue beef, pork, and chicken, but the barbecue ham they serve is very unusual and very good.

I just finished watching the final FLW Lake Toho Tour Event on FLW Live. It was a record setting event. Brett Hite won it without even having to weigh a fish on the last day. When he did, he won by 20 lbs. 4 oz.!

Second place was Carl Svebek with 18-05 lbs., Third, my only top ten fantasy pick, Ron Shuffield weighed15-13 lbs. Fourth place was, Andy Morgan with 15-10 lbs. and next was Shinichi Fukae with 15-06 lbs. Dan Morehead was sixth with 15-02 lbs. He was followed by Pat Fisher with 14-01 lbs. Bryan Thrift had a two day final total of 12-02 lbs., and Shad Schenck came in ninth with 7-12 lbs. Randy Hadden, a rookie who was fishing his first FLW Tour event, blanked the last day and ended his two day final fish off with 5-04 lbs. All the recaps and final articles will be out later tonight or tomorrow, and I'll have them linked in the next blog entry.

Brett Hite etched his name in the FLW record books and took home to mama $125,000, and like all the guys in the top ten, he also garnered some big Classic points. Someone who is taking part in the FLW Fantasy Fishing League is also going to win big. Tomorrow the FLW folks are going to award $100,000 to the fan who has the most points in the first Fantasy League contest.

It's not too late to join the Fantasy League. You can join our Tear Drop Bass group. You will need this number 10569 and the password Michigan.

I try to keep you up to date with events, but also like to be sure you get to peruse some good technique and tackle sites.

Don did some sports shows last year and came across a spinnerbait that he said was awesome. It's made by Ohio Pro Lures . If you like spinnerbaits, then you need to check these out.

That's it for now so it's time for today's parting shot. Instead of a quote, I thought I'd get back to some more trivia. I like trivia. Here's some St. Patrick's Day office contest trivia help.

St. Patrick was born in Britain in 389 AD. At age 16, he was captured in a pirate raid and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his six years there as a slave, he dedicated himself to religion. He escaped from slavery and returned to Britain. In Britain, he studied in various monasteries and was sent by Pope Celstine 1 to minister in Ireland. He dedicated his life to converting the Irish people to Christianity. More tomorrow. Make sure you take time to enjoy your day.