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Daily Blog Archive May 1 to May 30th, 2008

May 30, 2008

I spent the day yesterday working on the article for the first event on the Tear Drop Tournament Trail. I don't know why, but it became one of those jobs that hangs over your head and you just can't make yourself finish it. It does take a while to type up these things. When you read an article on the net, you don't see the tags that are used to code everything and add to the time it takes to type the piece. Every time you want to start a new paragraph you need a tag. For each link you need an a href tag. All the pictures have special tags and even saving the article requires a specific tag. Then you have to upload the article using a file transfer protocol, FTP and each time you then find something that needs to be rephrased or a punctuation/spelling error, you have to correct it and then resave it and upload the article again. Takes a while and that part of it gets a bit tedious. I am, however, almost ready to upload the Cadillac article and will have it up later this morning.

I also spent some time yesterday running around pricing a new mini DV camera. Mine bit the dust and won't record any more. I think taking it with me in the boat all the time is hard on it. I should probably buy one of those service contracts that acts as insurance against damage.

I think I found the best price, $189 for a Sony at ABC Warehouse. I have been using a Canon, but Canon and Sony are pretty comparable.

Dandy Don has a Sony and this one at ABC is just like his.

I have to film an off road race at the Hudsonville Fair Grounds Saturday night for a friend of mine who wants me to film and then put together a DVD for him. I made one for him last year and it turned out pretty good, so he wants another.

I talked to Don last night and he was wanting to know if there was an off limits for the BFL that's coming up June 7 on Burt and Mullet. I got on Great Lakes Bass where I know a number of BFL contenders hang out and posed the question. The answer I got back was you can fish right up to the registration meeting.

Don is talking about heading up to Aloha State Park on Tuesday. I don't know if that's when I'll go up or not. It's all a matter of $$$. He's going as a boater and I'm a nonboater so prefishing doesn't necessarily help me out.

Don and I fished Burt and Mullet several years ago when we were fishing the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation Classic Series. We ended up having to quit early because of boat problems and had around 19 lbs. which put us in no mans land in terms of weight. It took 30 lbs. to win. It will likely take near that again this year since it's about the same time of year. It will most certainly be a spawn tournament, which isn't a good thing for a nonboater like myself. I probably won't get too many shots at a bed from the back of the boat. Good thing I like to take pictures. Speaking of pictures I have some of when we fished Burt and Mullet. I'll have to see if I can find them and post them on the blog.

That year when we fished Burt and Mullet, my current Tear Drop partner Ron was fishing with Dan Chapman. They were running across Mullet at about 50 mph when suddenly their Mercury broke off the back of the boat causing them to stop like right now. They stopped so abruptly that it broke the graph off the front of the boat. Their rods, which were strapped down, went flying out of the boat as well. They both slammed into the windshields on the console breaking those. The motor hung by the cables and was still running when they finally recovered from the unexpected stop. A couple of young contestants stopped to help them and towed them to shore. As they did, one of the young guys was back by his motor fending the rope off the engine cover so it wouldn't scratch it. The rope suddenly broke and shot back like a rubber band and broke the kids wrist.

Dan and Ron were towed into a marina dragging the motor through the shallows. The marina used their hoist to lift the motor onto the back deck. It was an awfully messy sight seeing that Triton with the muck covered engine lying on the back deck.

I plan on doing a series of articles on the BFLs and you may have noticed a button already on the home page linking you to those events.

Cruising the net I found the second video excerpt that Costa Del Mar is doing on Jason Quinn . The video is only about five minutes long. It gives you a good look at Jason's traveling rig. He has a semi that hauls his boat and tow vehicle. It's quite an outfit.

On Bass Zone's site they have their In The House videos that I have linked to before on the blog. I watched one today that Dean Rojas did about his first bass boat. Made a quick connection with it because his first boat was the same model as mine, an old Skeeter Starfire 185. He had a Merc on his and I had a 150 Johnson. Man that was a good ole boat. Never had a lick of trouble with it. As far as I know, it's still running fine for the guy I sold it to.

The next FLW event is at Fort Loudoun on the Tellico Lakes, which are near Knoxville, TN. It's a good article to get you kick started if you have yet to pick your Fantasy Fishing team for that event. It looks to be another one of those tournaments where there may be quite a few relative unknowns in the top 10 because of the number of locals signed up for the event.

Almost time for me to get ready and head on over to ABC and pick up that camera. You can check back later today to see if I found those pictures of Burt and Mullet from a few years back. I know they're some place. I think they're on an old CD of pictures.

The parting shot for the day comes from William Jennings Bryan. He said, "Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved."

Take care and make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

May 28, 2008

Spent the day today working on some web page ideas. My son Nick does the design of the web page and has been shifting things around and putting in some new pictures. We're working on some new features and hopefully they'll work out.

You probably noticed the new Fin-tech link on the home page. Take a look at their site and see what you think of their products. I was quite intrigued by their design. They look like an item that could fit several of my fishing applications. I have an order in now and can't wait to give them a try.

Another new button on the main page is a link to Seth Burrill's Anglers Xperience . You'll remember that Seth had the Drop Shot Secrets DVD set that I often recommended. It's excellent. At the last tournament one of the guys said they had ordered it and thought it was very helpful.

Seth has two new DVDs out. One is called "Knot Tying Secrets Revealed." Seth has a great way of demonstrating the knots and this DVD is another of his great instructional projects.

His newest DVD is called "Secrets to Locating Big Fish Revealed." It's a DVD where he talks about how fish use the lake and relate to the contours of the lake throughout their seasonal migrations. It's a very good DVD for those who really want to be able to use a topo map to locate likely spots for big fish.

Seth has a weekly TV show that airs on several of the cable networks. He has been working hard to mesh his TV work with the internet and has come up with his "Ax Video Gallery." He has made available, through his website, a video archive of fishing material that you can access via the computer. For $34.95 a year, about the price of a magazine subscription or two you can have instant access to a ton of material on Seth's site. There are videos on bass fishing, crappie fishing, steelhead, walleye fishing, etc. There are tech tips, and some great recipes in the cooking section. Seth adds new videos regularly. The latest shows Seth burying a treble hook in his palm and using that unfortunate situation to teach how to properly remove a hook.

If you spend any time on the computer, you'll find Seth's site is an inexpensive way to stay hooked up and learning about how to catch more and bigger fish.

Here in Michigan there is still a lot of spawn fishing left especially in the north country. However, that time will soon pass and here is an article about "Keeping Your Options Open in the Post Spawn" .

Before I forget, if you're interested in applying for an elk permit you only have three more days. You do have an option of applying for a "chance" and those chances build one on the other increasing your odds in future elk permit drawings.

Now that the tournament season is racheting up there are a number of little things that come in to play which can affect your tournament performance, and some of these don't have anything to do with actual fishing.

One of the first things to come to mind is managing your fish in the livewell. Culling can take time away from your actual fishing time. Being ready to efficiently tackle sorting through your fish is important. I have found that one of the items that really helps you speed through this process is culling bags . They're a smaller version of the weigh-in bag. You can take each fish and place it in a bag and quickly weigh them. The fish doesn't seem to get nearly as stressed in the black bag and there is little flopping around with the fish ending up falling off and flopping all over the bottom of the boat. If you have two bags even better, because you can use the bags with a balance beam as well.

There are a variety of clips to tag each fish so you can locate quickly your smallest fish. I haven't found one particular brand that stands out from another, but the Bag-em culling bags are a really helpful item.

Here is an article that Dion Hibdon did on Culling and Fish Care Tips .

You probably noticed the new pictures up on the main page. Hopefully, we can put up new ones frequently. The picture of Rick Skinner seems to indicate that he's gained some weight. He's been picking on me a bit for becoming slightly more rotund, so I thought I'd get even. I have friends with photo editing skills.

Time for me to end this blog piece today. The parting shot comes from Brian Tracey, "Your self-image controls your performance; see yourself as confident and n complete control."

Take care and make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

May 26, 2008

Memorial Day 2008, and I'm typing the blog up at the Na-Tah-Ka using their wifi. I've been working around the cabin all day. It's been in the mid to high seventies today and quite windy.

I thought about Rick Mast several times today because he was out fishing a tournament on Muskegon Lake. I'm sure they're taking a few waves over the bow today.

I talked to Rick who has been a fishaholic this weekend. He fished Saturday on Hardy Pond and sacked almost 17pounds of fish which most days would be a winning sack on Hardy. However, with the spawn in full swing a number of boats had some hefty weights. Rick said twenty-two pounds won it.

Rick's partner and nephew Aaron Mast fished Cadillac and Mitchell Saturday in the Shoreline tournament. I believe Rick told me Aaron had around 12 lbs.

Doug Meekhof from Jenison won it with 13+ lbs.

Rick and Aaron are trying to fish three different trails that will hopefully qualify them for a three shots at a boat on Houghton Lake next year. I know I wouldn't be betting against them winning one of those boats. They're darn good anglers.

Dandy Don Fowler fished with one of the Brown brothers, Mark Brown, on Saginaw Bay in the "Fishers of Men" Tournament. They weighed in 22+ lbs of smallies which won them a nice plaque and an even nicer check. As usual Don didn't take any pictures so nothing to show.

Don said that on tournament day they had a ball! He said they hammered four pounder after four pounder. One of the best days numbers and big fish wise he's ever had on the water, and that's saying something after he caught some real dandies in the Northern Divisional last year on Lake Erie out of Vermillion.

My opening weekend of fishing wasn't quite as spectacular but we didn't to too bad. We fished the opener on Cadillac and Mitchell on Sunday in the $5,000 Tear Drop Bass Tournament Trail and caught five largemouth that went 12 lbs. 6 oz.

My partner Ron and I with our opening day catch.

That was good enough for fourth place and only one pound and one ounce behind the winners. We needed to cull one fish and even though we caught two and a half limits we still had one that we needed to upgrade.

Our tournament day ended an hour and fifteen minutes short which as it turned out might have cost us a win, but no regrets we had to help a disabled boater and there may come a day when I need a return favor.

We got a call from one of the contestants who had blown a motor and had very little trolling motor battery left and needed help. They were on the northeast end of Lake Mitchell and needed to be towed through the Clam Canal into Cadillac and then over to Kenwood Park. The wind was really blowing and they would have never made it on the little bit of trolling motor they had left.

After getting them into Cadillac in sight of Kenwood, we took one of the anglers in our boat with their fish bagged, to the landing on the east end of Cadillac where the weigh-in was going to be held. By the time we did that, it had taken a little over an hour. We had twelve minutes left to fish so we decided to just put it on the trailer. The wind was howling, and we wouldn't have had much time to fish plus, as I ran across Mitchell looking for the stranded boat my engine light and buzzer came on. It seemed to be pumping water fine and the oil light wasn't on, and actually the engine sounded and ran fine. Don't know what's up, but I'm planning to make some calls tomorrow to see about getting it fixed.

That wasn't the end of the bad boat news. When I went up to Cadillac to prefish, I got about an hour and a half into fishing and my trolling motor suddenly started on its own and wouldn't respond to the off on switch. It turned itself off and on several times then went dead. So, without a trolling motor you are pretty much done fishing. I made some quick calls to get Tom Soltow's number up in Kingsley, just south of Traverse City, a Minn Kota repair guru that I have been to before.

Tom Soltow in front of his business in Kingsley

I finally got a hold of him, and he said he knew what was wrong and that he had the parts to fix it. Good news is he fixed it, bad news is I missed a bunch of prefishing time and it cost me $168, not to mention the gas I burned towing the boat all over the north country.

If you ever need to get a hold of Tom he does great work and carries quite an inventory of Minn Kota parts, and he can be reached at 231-263-5998. He owns a laundromat in Kingsley and that's where his repair shop is as well. He's right next to the railroad tracks in town, 119 E. Main St.

Gas prices have and will impact the amount of fishing we all are going to be able to do. Don said that driving over to Saginaw and prefishing and then fishing the tournament cost almost $400 in gas. My gas for the weekend driving up from Grand Rapids and then to Kingsley and back and forth to the cabin twice from Cadillac cost me $200 and I haven't driven home yet or filled the boat back up.

The average tournament angler isn't going to be able to sustain that hit to the wallet. We're going to have to go to fishing two tournaments in one weekend with no off limits ahead of time so you can drive up to a locale and stay for a night or two and fish either the same lake twice or two lakes that are very close in proximity. That's seems to me to be the only answer for these smaller tournaments. Even the bigger events just aren't going to be getting the numbers to fund the pay outs that they have been paying.

The Fishers of Men tournament was way down in numbers, Shoreline had around 40 some boats which I believe is at least 15-20 boats or more low for them. Our Tear Drop event was down a few boats. We had 21 boats show up and were missing several of our regulars. One I know for sure lives in Cadillac, but has made the decision to hang it up because of gas prices.

Murphy's Law, I guess, I finally get retired and have more time to fish and now gas prices are going to keep me home more than I would like to be.

I spent a few minutes today purusing the usual informational fishing sites looking for articles and found one on Bass Fan. It really is a rehash of the Beaver Lake FLW event. The thing I liked about the article was it's one of those that goes through the winning patterns for the top anglers in the event.

Another link on Bass Fan's site will hook you up with an opportunity to win some "Secret Baits." I've talked about these new topwater scum frogs before on the blog. The link to Secret Baits will give you a run down of the features. The frogs come in three colors and have a keel on the underside to keep the frog tracking straight. They also have translucent legs so the bass doesn't see them and focusses on the main body where the hooks are. You need the agitation the legs give, but bass notoriously short strike them and the idea is with translucent legs they won't focus on the legs increasing your hookups.

This blog entry seems to be keeping me way too long here tonight and the Red Wings and the Pistons games have started so I'm going to end it here.

In keeping with the Memorial Day observance I would direct you to this Veterans tribute link for the parting shot of the day.

It's well worth the few minutes it takes to read and bottom line is we owe it to our vets to pay them this homage.

Even though Memorial Day focusses on the vets and well it should, many use this day to visit the graves of loved ones to decorated them. The parting shot today is one that goes out to the Mike Meysar family. Mike is a long time Tear Drop angler and a heck of a nice guy. He recently lost his dad and has put a tribute to him on the back of his fishing jersey.

Our condolences to the Meysar family on their recent loss.

I lost my dad suddenly a few year's ago now and on days like this the memories come flooding back. It's important to keep the memories alive and to pass on the many positive lessons that we have learned from our parents to our own family and friends. Truth be told, all we really leave behind is the impact of our life decisions. Toward that end, we all need to regularly take stock of our lives and question what we plan to leave behind to be remembered.

Take care, and now that you're back to work make sure you take some time to enjoy your day.

May 22, 2008

Good morning! Couldn't get the blog done yesterday. Just too many sticks in the fire. I had to work till 4:00 and then I had to run down to the Outdoorsmen Pro Shop in Jenison to drop off my reels to get them spooled with new line. Just running out of time and decided to have them do it. While I was there I ran into Grayson, who is one of the owners. He's a Lowrance expert and with me ready to put the new 520c on the boat I had a few questions. He told me to just bring the boat down and he'd take care of things for me. I did and he did and man I'm I glad he did and I didn't. He started snipping wires and pulling cords, and it would have taken me just an hour to get up the nerve to cut one wire for fear it was one I might later need. I bought a Lakemaster chip from the Outdoorsmen and man is that an upgrade over my old stuff! Grayson and Bill had hosted Lance Valentine's Lowrance School earlier this Spring. I put up a blog entry about it. That's where I got to look at the Navionics chip next to the Lakemaster. No contest.

I sure do thank Grayson for his help. If you need a new sonar or GPS for your boat make sure you at least give these guys a call. Very competitive pricing, and they have sold and installed many, many units and can answer your questions. Having someone available that can answer those technical questions about the new electronics is invaluable.

I had said the other day that I got an email from Mark "Chief" Torrez. He qualified for the Western B.A.S.S. Divisional out in California and just finished fishing the tournament on Coeur D'Alene. It wasn't one of Chief's best outings and he was disappointed, but he'll be back because the guy catches them out there in sunny California. He's a swim bait guru, and does a good share of guiding showing the folks out there what the big baits can do. Here's some shots he sent me.

Mark "Chief" Torrez with an Casitas 8 pounder!

Chief with back to back 4 pounders from Lake Lopez.

The Chief and Hank swapping fish tales.

The Chief on stage at the Western Divisional

Chief with a dandy Coeur D'Alene pike.

I have to take off like right now to run and get an adapter cable so my sonar works on the new graph. Grayson was out of that specific cable, but he called around and found one for me. With the tournament coming up Sunday I couldn't wait for him to get it shipped in. He called Randy Van Dam down at D&R Sports in Kalamazoo, and they had one, so I'm taking the wife to work and using her more gas efficient vehicle to drive down to Kazoo. I'll finish the blog later this morning. Adios for now.

Well I'm back after a fast and furious day. Went down to D&R Sports and talked to the man himself, Randy Van Dam. He had the connector I needed for my sonar on the new graph. I also decided to check on buying some batteries. I was running out of time and they had the 31 Dekas so I made the decision to buy them. Hopefully they will be what I need at 2:00 on tournament days. Don't like to feel that power loss occurring right when you need to catch that last fish.

Next, I had to find trays to fit the new bigger batteries. That ended up not being an easy task. One place I called, I won't mention names, said they had them so I drove about 20 miles one way only to find they didn't have them after all grrrrr. Oh well, can't sweat the little things. I finally found them at Hall's in Standale. I called all over Grand Rapids and Holland, and nobody had them in stock except Halls.

Back at home spent some time standing on my head putting in new battery trays. Before I mounted the trays I decided to also change the fuel filter (water separator). It's really hard to get at. It took a while, but everything is back together.

It took me another couple hours rigging rods and sorting baits. Just about dark I squeezed in mowing the yard.

I guess I'm ready to head to Cadillac in the morning and check the status of some fish. I planning on heading out around 5:00 am, so I'm trying to wrap this blog thing up sooner rather than later.

I did a little net surfing and saw an article that Michigan's Kevin Vida did on Spring fishing on Saginaw Bay. There are a couple of opening day tournaments over there so you may want to read this article by Kevin titled, "Saginaw: Offshore Smallies Or Inshore Largemouths ."

One other article I read today was the newest installment from the Smallmouth Guru .

Well, maybe I'll see some of y'all Saturday if you're fishing the Shoreline tournament on Cadillac. I may go to the weigh -in. I'll be there tomorrow and of course on Sunday for the first event of the $5,000 Tear Drop Tournament Trail.

The parting shot of the day comes from Jim Rohn. He said, "Don't mistake movement for achievement. It's easy to get faked out by being busy. the question is: Busy doing what?"

Take care, and make sure you take time to enjoy your day. Oh yea, Pistons just won. PS: I may not have a blog entry for a couple of days we'll see though.

May 20, 2008

As you can see, I never got back to the blog Sunday evening. I ended up driving up north with my buddy John Baker, and I didn't get back on the computer to wrap up the tournaments that ended that day. I wouldn't have been a very good host sitting on the computer all night.

By now you probably already know that Fred "Boom Boom" Roumbanins won down on Lake Murray. Unlike the last several tournaments the Elite anglers fished, he was in first on Day 3 and held on to the lead for the win. He went up river and slop fished some big largemouth on a frog. Here is an article from Bass Zone that details his win and also gives you a run down of the top ten telling you what they used as a strategy and the baits that caught their fish on.

Here is the final interview that Harold Allen and Mark Jeffries did in their "Wide Open" segment.

If you just want to look at the final standings for Murray or just cruise ESPN's photographs of the tourney use one or both of the preceding links.

The Beaver Lake event out there in Arkansas was not won by the Day 3 leader hanging on for the win. On the contrary, Mark Pack, who has been fishing the FLW for nine years, notched his first victory by coming from behind all the way from sixth place to take home the trophy. He credited his win to experience on Beaver back a few years ago when the water was also high. He fished areas where there were hard surfaces, roadbeds, old boat ramps, gravel bars, etc. in a five mile stretch of the river to catch his 20+ pound last day sack.

His fish bit well that last day. He had a limit by 7:30 am. The current flow that last day set his fish up better for him, making them positioned and ready to eat. Here's the Final Day FLW article on Beaver Lake. This link will give you all the goodies: standings, photos, etc.

Well, Jason Wilbur made two great picks in our Fantasy Fishing League this week, and he catapulted up into first place with a pretty big lead. I dropped like a rock to seventh, but the points from seventh to third are pretty tightly bunched so the next event could shake things up and out.

If you're still not playing FLW's Fantasy Fishing you are missing out on some fun and a chance for some big cash prizes. $100,000 is nothing to sneeze at.

Louie Stout just did an article in the South Bend Tribune on why Indianna should scrap its closed season on bass. That is a touchy subject with a lot of folks including bass anglers who will hotly debate the issue. He has some good points though and it's worth the time to read what he has to say.

An internet acquaintance, Michael VanderReyden, who I believe is an Indianna angler, sent me a picture of his personal best smallie he recently boated while on a trip over to smallmouth heaven, Lake St. Clair.

Mike VanderReyden's 5-14 St. Clair Smallie

Well it's time for me to get ready for work this morning. I didn't work on the blog last night as I should have because I went up and got the boat and brought it home. I plan on going through it and putting some new batteries in it. Maybe I'll have time to put the new 520 Lowrance on. I'm mechanically handicapped so those projects, as small as this one seems, sometimes are a bit intimidating. and I procrastinate tackling them. I'm not sure where I should mount the antennae either which is hold me up, and I'm going to solicit some advice on that before I begin.

Saturday on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell is the Shoreline Tournament and Sunday is our first Tear Drop tournament.

I don't think I'll fish the Shoreline unless Don needs a partner and wants to fish that day. We'll have to play it by ear. $ are starting to come in to play more with these absurd gas prices, and I can't do everything even though I'd like to.

I'm going to break the blog here and come back to it later. I know I've said that before, but this time I plan to put a couple of others things up after work.

I'm back. Spent the day working in a lower elementary special education room. The day went fast, and I really enjoy doing what I do. I also enjoy the fact that going back in as a substitute, I don't have to stay late, bring work home, and go in on the weekends like I did for 34 years.

After work, I came home and uncovered the boat and pulled all the reels off my rods to get respooled and ready for the tournament Sunday. I have a lot of organizing yet to do and hope to give the boat a good going over and sprucing up as well, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Yesterday, I had sent an email to Rick Mast to check with him on how he had mounted his GPS antennae and to see if he had a battery preference and a battery source locally for 29-31 class batteries. He shot me an email back and invited me over to his house. So after dinner I went over to his place and we went through his boat. He gave me a number of excellent pointers. The guy is very knowledgeable and I certainly respect his angling skills and know how.

One of the things that Rick uses on his boat that caught my elbow was Bass Boat Saver . Wherever I leaned on his boat I'd slip off and I asked him if he'd just waxed the boat. He said he hadn't actually waxed in a while, but he has been using Bass Boat Saver for a season now and if you add it to your at the ramp wipe off you'll notice a big difference. I'm going to get some and start using it after I wipe my boat down at the ramp.

Another product that Rick said he uses and really likes is Mercury's Quickleen. It's a fuel additive like Sea Foam that works to keep your injectors clean. He uses it religiously, and has really like how it has affected his boats performance.

I got to look as well at Rick's set up for his GPS and graphs. Several hours went by quickly, and I certainly appreciate the help although I feel a bit badly because I probably got him in the doghouse with the wife for not getting the grass mowed. Sorry Rick, but thanks.

B.A.S.S. is celebrating there 40th year anniversary with a big giveaway. The contest doesn't start officially until June 1, but here is the website so you can begin entering daily for the Gear Up Giveaway once June rolls around.

I have to work again tomorrow and have a lot of fishing preparation to do yet, plus my son is calling tonight and we're going to make some website changes, so I'd better call it a night.

The parting shot of the day comes from William James. He said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind." I'm a firm believer that how you see life unfold before you is as much mental as anything else. However, like everything else you can't sit on your hands. You have to work at seeing the world through rose colored glasses before you can actually start to smell the roses. Take care and make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

May 18, 2008

Well it ain't over till it's over is how the old adage goes. My picks in the FLW Fantasy Fishing League looked again liked pretty dismal point value picks. None were in the top ten until George Cochran made an unexpected jump from eleventh to tenth to make the final cut. Wondering what happened I checked the Bass Fan site and here's the article I found explaining it. George may salvage my event.

If you are a FLW Fantasy Fishing participant you're going to want to watch the weigh-in today from Beaver Lake. If you're not a FLW member you won't be able to log on to watch the weigh-in. I'm hoping my man George Cochran can make the big move from not being in the top ten to coming from as far back as you can come and win the whole thing. The FLW Tour anglers bring their fish to the scales at at 4:00 CT so that would be 5:00 ET for us northerners. Don't forget to check out BZ's Wide Open on Beaver Lake report. While you're there you may as well check out their Day 3 Photo Gallery giving you some on the water shots of the top 10 pros on Beaver Lake.

Today the B.A.S.S. Elite anglers down on Lake Murray will be weighing in at 3:15 pm ET. Here is the Live Weigh-in link. While you're waiting for the final weigh-in check out the Day 3 coverage at Bass Zone's Wide Open video link. Make sure to check out the Elite Series Photo Gallery for tournament action shots.

I'm not going to end the blog quite yet today so no parting shot for now. I'm heading up to the cabin and will hopefully have time to put some final day results up. If not I'll try and be sure to do it tomorrow morning after coffee at the Na-Tah-Ka .

May 17, 2008

Crawled out of bed and turned on the tube to check out Zona's "World's Greatest Fishing Show." Just had a feeling that he may be repeating the "Flamich Cup" show and low and behold day one was on. Watching it a second time after being down there was definitely a treat. Knowing where they were and how the boat was sitting in relation to the lake structure and seeing the sights again certainly brought back memories.

Speaking of that memorable trip, yesterday's mail brought a letter from Mr. Scott thanking me for my thank you note and gift that I had sent down to him and his staff. That letter will be in a frame on the wall!

I had sent Ray's thank you note down on a scanned $10 bill that he and Don Corkran signed and gave me for winning the big bass pot.

My Ray Scott and Don Corkran big bass pot winnings!

The scanned bill turned out great and made a nice card. We sure had a great time down in Alabama and reminiscing about it will provide me with plenty of pleasurable moments.

Here's a photo indicative of one of those moments.

That's me in one of Mr. Scott's hats.

Being Saturday, I had better get busy reporting the myriad of events in the bass world so I can get out and get some of those household jobs done. Once finished I may then be able to get up to the cabin and put the new batteries in the boat and mount the new 520 Lowrance that's going on the bow.

First off in the B.A.S.S. Federation Western Divisional my man Sidney had a bad third day and did not make the move from second to first on his state team to qualify for another trip to the Nationals. I know Sid has to be be disappointed, but also knowing Sid I would bet he was the first one to congratulate the winner and wish him well.

Mike Baskett was down in Florida in November. We didn't meet him and don't really know him, but he was the overall winner at the Divisional and will be heading back to the Nationals and maybe back to the Classic again. Here's an article on the finals of that three day tournament on Cour D'Alene.

Sticking with B.A.S.S. the Elite anglers have cut to fifty and are fishing as I type down on Lake Murray. Here are the current standings , and an article about the Day 2 Leader Rick Morris.

The ESPN photographer's take some great pictures and here's the photo gallery link. If you're wanting tournament results you can't miss out on the Bass Zone "Wide Open" video report from down on Murray. Take five minutes and watch Mark Jeffries and "The Legend" cover Day 2.

The FLW pros cut to 10 today on Beaver Lake in Arkansas. Alvin Shaw is leading the event with 26-2 lbs. Only two pounds separates the first five anglers. This FLW link has all the info., including standings and photos. As I said above though, you can't move on until you spend 3 minutes or so watching the Bass Zone's coverage of the event in their "Wide Open" segment.

Bass Fan had a brief article on the Kyle Clement tragedy and their piece is worth making sure you read to remind yourself, and those you care about, to make sure you wear those PFDs even on smooth water days.

Bass fan also has an article up written by Jay Yelas. Jay was the FLW AOY last year (FYI, Jay was AOY in 07, but has never won a FLW Tour event.). I had put him on my Fantasy Fishing team this event figuring he was due and he did have a pretty good tournament, but just didn't make that top ten cut. Here's what Jay had to say about his 2008 performances.

Don't forget you can watch streaming video of the two trails today. Both Bassmasters.com and FLW.com have the live links available.

Time for me to get on with the day so here's the parting shot which comes today from a body of work by Winston Churchill. He said, "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." I've said it many times, it's all about the journey and those life stories you accumulate. Take care and make sure you take time to enjoy the day."

May 16, 2008

Stop the presses and everyone rub their favorite lure for luck. Sidney Reeves from Utah, fishing for Wyoming in the Western Divisional, hauled in 15+ pounds today and is sitting second on his team with a heck of a good shot at taking the team lead tomorrow. That would mean a trip back to the Federation Nation Nationals. Go get 'em Sidney!!!!

Don Corkran and Sidney Reeves

I got to spend a day in the boat with Sid down on Lake Toho last November. He's a great guy, a super angler, and one heck of a lot of fun. I'm sure hoping he whacks them tomorrow. He told me tonight on the phone that yesterday he got run off his water. He found out that he had been too nice and could have fished his spot despite what one of the anglers thought. Some guys feel they own the whole lake. Today Sid stayed on his spot sharing it with several boats and pulled out 15+ pounds.

I tried to find the streaming video link today, but the Lake Murray event must have bumped out the link. I hope tomorrow they broadcast the last day weigh in at Cour D'Alene so I can watch Sidney win the state championship plaque.

Not only did I talk to Sid tonight, but I got to say howdy to Ben "Chain Saw" Schilling. It's funny how spending a few days with a group of guys can produce such good friendships. Ben has been tearing up the local tournaments and winning some pretty good checks. I pleaded with both Sid and Ben to be sure they sent me some pictures for the webpage. They both said they would.

Well, where do I go next. Might as well take a look at what happened down on Lake Murray with the B.A.S.S. Elite anglers. Grant Goldbeck is in first with 20-4 lbs, and "ESquared" Edward Evers was second with 19-5 lbs. Most all of the anglers were doing the same thing, running points to find finicky bass that are ambushing spawning blue back herring. Evers said that the bass were the smartest fish going. They get all year long on these points in local tournaments and you have to throw something different at them to get them to bite. Here's the standings for Murray and some of the Day One Photos .

We also can't move on until you check out the Wide Open Video from Bass Zone covering Lake Murray.

The other group of anglers fishing today were on Beaver Lake in Arkansas. The leader of the pack is Mark Pack weighing in 14-13 lbs. to take the early lead. In the FLW Beaver Lake article he sounds pretty confident about continuing to dominate the tournament. He said that he and his nonboater caught at least 60 fish and 30 keepers today on a strong midlake pattern. I wish I had him on my Fantasy Fishing Team.

Using the Beaver Lake link above, you can check out the standings to see where our Michigan guys finished. I watched the weigh in and saw that Tony D. struggled today with just two fish and Nate Wellman had three fish.

I don't know how I missed this sobering report of an accident involving Kyle and Patrick Clements, a father and son who were out practicing for a Stren Series Event in California. The report I read tonight said that Kyle hit a cruiser wake and was thrown from the boat. Neither Kyle or his father were wearing PFDs and Kyle did not have the kill switch attached. Kyle's body has not yet been found. A terrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Clement's family.

I know we all have been out running fast and have not buckled up the PFD or the kill switch lanyard. This story is a sobering reminder to always be safe. I have a new set of SOS Mustang inflatable suspenders that I'll be wearing this coming year.

The parting shot for today comes from Vince Lombardi, "The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand." Pretty good advice for anyone to take to heart.

Take care and make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

May 15, 2008

If you're in to following the pros on the two tours, then you're in hog heaven this week. There are weigh ins galore today to check out on the internet. You can watch the B.A.S.S. Elite anglers today bring their bass to the scales down on Lake Murray at 3:00 PM.

As was mentioned yesterday, Murray is one of the smaller lakes that these pros fish and they say it fishes small. The water is high and muddy, but experts are still predicting around 20 lbs. a day to win it. The power fisherman may have the advantage with the current conditions. As always, I will be rooting for my favorite power guy, the Kalamazoo Kid, KVD.

If you're interested in another Murray Lake preview article check this one out from Bass Fan .

You'll need to decide which tour anglers you want to watch weigh in today because the FLW Tour pros will also be weighing in at 3:00 PM today. You can watch it on FLW Live that is, if you are a FLW member. You would have had to pay the $15 to become a member, but if you're playing FLW Fantasy Fishing then you should have coughed up the money. I hope to win the big money in that contest or at least move up and challenge young Mr. Zach "GVSU" Stroh who's currently leading our Tear Drop Bass League .

Like Murray, Beaver Lake is muddied up after getting a bunch of rain. The lake is up on the banks allowing the power fisherman there shots. The anglers are finding some clear water down by the dam, but that could get real crowded. Here's a Beaver Lake Preview that interviews a few of the competitors giving you their inside look at how the tournament may unfold.

Our old buddy Tony DeFilippo is on the water and hopefully he's got a big one in the boat already and notches his first Tour win down on Beaver Lake.

When you go to FLW Live via the link above you'll also see that you can watch a Stren event out on the California Delta at 5:30 PM today. Also the B.A.S.S. Federation Western Divisional is in its second day today. When I watched the weigh in yesterday John said it would also be on ESPN Live today at 6:00 PM after the Elites weigh in on Murray.

While watching the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Western Divisional yesterday,I saw several of our Florida National Championship buddies weighing in. Sidney Reeves, the Wyoming Champion, and Mark "Chief" Torrez, the California Champion, were in the hunt for Cour D'Alene's big fish. Our good buddy Ben Schilling the Montana Champion, who lives in Idaho, has told us about how great the fishing is in Coeur D'Alene. He considers it his home lake. He's not fishing this event and I believe he said it was because the Nationals last year conflicted with the qualifier for this years tournament.

It appears that some of the states give their previous year's state champion an automatic berth on the team and obviously Montana doesn't. Too bad for Montana, because Ben would have been a big help on that team. I'll be rooting for Sidney and Mark today and hoping they have big sacks. They are both great anglers and are really stand up guys!

The "Smallmouth Guru" has another installment on his blog on getting Wet and Wild . He talks in this entry about catching smallmouth in rivers and fishing from the bank or wading. In the "Great Northwest Corner" of Michigan the river smallmouth fishing doesn't get any better than on the Manistee River. Here's an article that you'll need to scroll down in order to find the Manistee River smallie info . Using the Guru's advice, when summer finally gets here may just provide you with one of those banner days of chasing some river smallies.

The last article today is a follow up to some of the press on Paul Elias's record catch in Texas. In this article, he talks about the crankbait modifications he makes to improve his hookup to catch ratio.

The last of today's blog news is going to be a couple of links to Bass Zones short videos they do in their "Wide Open" section of their website. Both of these links will give you short video previews of the Beaver Lake and Lake Murray contests that are in progress right now.

It's time for the parting shot of the day and it comes from John Gierach who writes a lot of trout fishing stuff, but his comment certainly can transcend easily to all types of angling. He said, "The best anglers I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them." Now that's a piece of some sage advice.

Take care and make sure you take some time out to enjoy your day, even if you only get a brief respite from your regular grind.

May 14, 2008

Just when I thought things might be slowing up a bit up jumps both bass tours with events scheduled at the same time. The Elite Series event down on Lake Murray in Columbia, S. C. and Beaver Lake in Arkansas.

Columbia is a town I had a brief history with. I took my first plane trip to Columbia after being drafted. I had to report for Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

There won't be time for any basic training when the pros take the water on Murray. The lake area has had lots of rain lately and is above normal pool. According to some of the locals this will put the fish on the bank and in the bushes. The talk is that it will take in the low twenties each day to win it. Here is an article from Bass Zone prepping us for the Lake Murray tournament that begins this Thursday. In the same article, they talk about the FLW Tour event that begins the same day on Beaver Lake in Arkansas.

Dandy Don was in a pike tournament this past Saturday on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. He fished with Steve Knaisel, the owner of one of my favorite bait shops Pilgrim's Village . While they were fishing they caught more than just pike. Here is a series of shots that obviously Steve took. Don never remembers a camera, and maybe that's on purpose so he's always the one in the picture. Poor Steve remains anonymous. You'll just have to look for his pictures while you're mailing letters at the Post Office.

Don dripping slime on Dennis' boat.

Don with a nice Cadillac smallie.

There are some nice largemouth in Cadillac as well, right Mr. Whipple.

When Don and I went down to the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship we were able to meet a number or really great guys. One was Ben Schilling the Montana Champion. I noticed that the Federation Nation Western Divisional is starting today and it's on Ben's home lake, Coeur d'Alene. I'm not sure if he's fishing it or not. He's not a computer guy, and I communicate with him through his dad. His dad's last correspondence said he had just won a big tournament and that he was fishing another big event soon, so maybe he will be fishing the divisional. I'll be checking the standings today and hoping to see his name high on the list.

Months ago Ben was telling me about Coeur d'Alene (Ben was Montana's State Champion but actually lives in Idaho.), and I did some searching on the net. Check these pictures out from a golf course on the lake. Their claim to fame is a floating green ! It certainly looks to be a very scenic area.

While I was surfing the net yesterday I found a very good article that talked about the authors experience in trying to learn and put together some kind of pattern for Lake Amistad in Texas. Watching the Falcon and Amistad events has certainly created a bunch of interest in anglers traveling down to fish and this article would be very helpful to anyone with such ambitions. With gas prices surpassing the $4.00 a gallon mark, however, it will certainly curtail many a Michigan angler from making the drive.

Many anglers are actually mulling over the feasibility of continuing to fish a number of tournaments. Many will be cutting back. Maybe the government's stimulus rebate checks will help. If you're waiting for your check, and are getting it by direct deposit, you should have it by May 23. If you are getting a paper check by mail, then those check don't start going out until May 16, and then they go out numerically according to your last two Social Security numbers. Here's the schedule.
00-09 May 16

10-18 May 23
19-25 May 30
26-38 June 6
39-51 June 13
52-63 June 20
64-75 June 27
76-87 July 4
88-99 July 11

With money so tight and your tournament schedule in jeopardy you may be looking harder for a sponsor to help lighten the load. ESPN is doing a three part series on sponsorship. Here is their first piece in the series, "So You Want a Sponsor, Part One" .

Don't forget that this is the last day to pick your new team for the FLW Fantasy Fishing League . If you are short of cash maybe lightning will strike and you'll win a bunch. Speaking of winning, on Bass Fan they have another gear contest that you might as well sign up for. You may win some Plano storage systems.

Well time to get some work around the homestead done so I can get up north and put some new batteries in the bass boat. Going to look around today for someone who sells Delcos in the area. I have used them in the past and have liked their longevity. Plus, I like that fact that they are sealed batteries and you don't have to worry about adding water.

The parting shot today comes from Bobby Knight. To say that he has a reputation for being a little irreverent may be an understatement. With the Pistons closing out Orlando last night I thought the basketball quote would be apropo. Here comes a Knightism, "If the NBA were on Channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on Channel 4, I'd watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy." Now that's funny!

Take care and make sure you take time to enjoy your day.

May 12, 2008

I see that the second B.A.S.S. Southern Open down in South Carolina on Santee Cooper got shortened by a day because of inclement weather. That's always a bad deal for most of the field and only good for whomever had the early lead. Jonathan VanDam was looking for another high finish after taking a third in the first Southern Open on the St. John's River. However, he stumbled on Santee Cooper and finished back in the pack. His buddy Luke Gritter though finished around 32nd. Here's an ESPN account of the tournament. Here's the link to the final standings for the event.

If you haven't picked your anglers for the FLW Fantasy Fishing League for Beaver Lake you only have a couple more days to do so. Tony DeFilippo is on his way down as we speak, and the rest of the field is on the road again as well. Here is an article from the FLW website talking about the upcoming Tour event on Beaver Lake .

On the Bass Fan site, there was an article put up today about the "Clean Water Act," and how that might impact recreational boaters. The article talks about a California judge nixing the exemption that would allow recreation boaters to be viewed as a separate group rather than lopping them in with ships and factories. It appears that the act has Congressional support and we don't have to be too concerned about any big changes affecting our bass boats. It pays though to keep abreast of what's going on so take a look at the "Some Quick Action Needed on the Clean Boating Act" article .

There isn't too much going on right now across the net which sometimes allows one to take a look at regular series and catch up on things like the FLW Pros Pointers. Here's an interesting article they have on Baseline Data and Practice .

The article talks about how some of the most recognized names in the sport only win a very small percentage of the time. It's kind of like a baseball batting average. Some call baseball a game of failure. You can make millions and be considered one of the better hitters when you're batting in the .300s. However, a .300 hitter is only reaching base safely 3 out of 10 times. You fail way more than you succeed. It's a short article and one I think you'll want to read.

If you're a hunter and are interested in applying for a bear license or an elk tag, you only have about two and a half weeks left in the application period. Here's the MDNR link to the bear and elk application section. It will cost you $4 to apply for each license. You can apply online.

The last thing I have tonight is a link to Cabella's Bargain Cave . They usually have some pretty good deals.

I just remembered one more thing that came up over the weekend. Marty Williams up in Cadiallac has a 93 Ranger for sale on the Tear Drop home page. If you check out the "For Sale" button you'll find pictures and info on the boat. Marty has just reduced the price to $10,900.

The parting shot today comes from one of the Michigan giants, Henry Ford. It relates to the Pros Pointers article above. He said, "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." Take care and make sure you take time to enjoy the day.

May 10, 2008

Woke up today and tuned in to "Wild Man" Zona's, "The World's Greatest Fishing Show." It was a rerun of a trip he took with the Gman and the Hack Attack, ( Gerald Swindle and Greg Hackney) down on Lake Salto in Mexico. Zona is a natural on TV. He's got to be my favorite TV fishing personality.

After Zona's show I watched the B.A.S.S. Elites on Clarks Hill. It was good to see Michigan's KVD back in the top 12. His sexy shad Strike King crankbait was my best bait down on Ray Scott's lake. The nice part about that bait is that it's only $3.99. I bought several of every depth range.

I broke the one I was using in Alabama after it popped out of the mouth of a nice fish, and shot forward and broke the plastic lip when it hit the side of the boat. I caught the biggest fish of the day on it, and I had a double with the bait. It was a blast. It was also part of my this year's resolution, and that was to throw more crankbaits and jigs.

On the Clarks Hill show, the bait of choice seem to be the Sebile swimbait. I had reported last month that I saw the Sebile line down at West End in Athens, Alabama. They were a new series of baits that I wasn't familiar with. Their designs are some of the most unique that I've seen in a while. Their bait shapes are very creative and probably the most interesting aspect of some models is the fact that they have hollowed out centers filled with a oil type liquid that has glitter in it. When the bait swims, that oil rolls around and the glitter really moves about and creates a ton of flash. Imagine one of those Christmas snow globes that you shake and the snow envelopes the scene. Now put that inside of a bait with glitter instead of snow and imagine the flash the glitter creates as it swims. Some of the baits have red glitter to give that injured baitfish look. Here's a link to West End . Once at the site, you'll have to scroll down to find the Sebile baits. I like their fantastic selection of tackle at West End, but I'm not wild about the layout of their web page. They need my son Nick to do a little redesign for them.

Don is fishing a pike tournament today with Steve Knaisel the owner of Pilgrim's Village located up in Cadillac, Michigan on the shore of Lake Mitchell. If you're ever in Cadillac fishing, you had better stop and check out Steve's tackle shop. It's small, but he listens well to many good anglers who fish Cadillac and Mitchell, so he has his finger on the pulse of what baits are hot in bass fishing circles. Hopefully we'll get some pictures from Steve, because Don never takes any despite my harping at him.

I was doing some surfing and found an article that Bass Fan did on KVD. The article talks about KVD's difficulties in cracking the code down in Texas on Falcon and Amistad. Here's the KVD Texas Article . As I'm typing away today I'm listening to fishing shows and Hank Parker is doing a show about the mojo bungee rig. It's basically a drop shot rig, except that the line from the hook to the sinker is made out of an elastic piece of "bungee cord." You can fish the bait as you would a standard drop shot rig, but with a half ounce weight holding the rig in place the bungee cord makes your worm dance like crazy. A very interesting modification. Here's Spectastic's website. They give you some rigs to buy and also have a video you can watch. Check it out.

I guess on Mother's Day weekend it's very appropriate to have a mother of all bass article to read. Out in California, on Lake Dixon, there has been more than one report of anglers catching and trying to catch, what was felt as the bass that just may beat Perry's world record fish. Dottie, as the big fish was named, was pursued by a number of anglers and actually caught on a bed a year or so ago. She was fowl hooked though so the catch couldn't be an official record. Just recently, however, Dottie was found dead. A sad day for sure, but she lived to be a ripe old age and made it to spawn one last time. Here's Dottie's Story .

Time to get some work done around the homestead, and I don't have much time between trips to the hospital to check on my mother-in-law. My wife has been staying up there, so I'm taking care of the house. Our back yard has a forest of huge oak trees consequently the backyard is a never ending job of raking stupid oak leaves. My next house isn't going to have any trees! I'll be firing up the backpack blower and begin hauling leaves momentarily.

The parting shot for the day has to be one about Mother's Day. Here is a great quote from Tenneva Jordan, "A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."

Make sure you get out shopping for mom, and be sure to make time to enjoy the day.

May 8, 2008

Okay I admit it, I'm a blog addict. I should be in bed getting my measure of beauty sleep, but I had to get on the computer and a couple hours later and I'm typing up another entry.

I had to work today and then gather up some things at home to take up to the hospital where my wife spent the night with her mom who is being treated for diverticulosis. I stayed with them until about 10:30 pm and then came home with the intentions of going to bed. Didn't happen. I first of all decided to listen to some music, and then downloaded David Archuleta's song he did this week on American Idol, "Love Me Tender." He did a great job on it.

I then decided to check out Bass Fan and see what was cooking in the bass world. That's when I came across a new post to the ESPN site. They did a 23 minute video about Paul Elias's record breaking catch on Lake Falcon. I watched it and new I had to make a blog entry if for no other reason than to put up the link to this very well done video. It's kind of long and takes a few minutes to load, but it is well worth setting aside a few minutes to watch. Here's the "Record Breakers" link.

I also noticed that this weekend on Mother's Day they are going to televise the FLW Tour Event on Lewis Smith at 11:00 on FSN . Be looking for Tony D. and Don. Remember they made there way down to the heart of Dixie to fish that event.

By the way, you have less than a week to finalize your FLW Fantasy Fishing team for the Beaver Lake tournament down in Arkansas.

If you watched the Elias video you're probably not going to have time to do a bunch more reading today, however, here's a pretty good article that Greg Gutierrez did on "Dealing With Short Strikes" .

I'm starting to fade fast here so I think it's time for the parting shot of the day. It comes from one Ralph Waldo Emerson. I happen to like this quote and try and emulate it's directive for a more positive life. "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what your could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Take care and make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

May 7, 2008

It's been a wet windy day here in Michigan. The gloominess of the weather has accentuated our long day. My wife and I have spent yesterday and today at the hospital with my mother-in-law who lives with us. She's 84, and has been having some severe stomach pains. They admitted her today, and I just got back from the hospital a few minutes ago around 10:30 pm.

She has been diagnosed as having a severe case of diverticulosis. She's quite dehydrated and the doctors thought it best, considering her age, to admit her and treat her intravenously. Looks like she'll be in the hospital for several days. She was beginning to settle in late this afternoon, and despite not being able to take any liquids or solid food by mouth, she seems to be perking up.

Getting home late and having to work tomorrow means I don't have too much time to work on the blog. So here goes an attempt at a hyperspeed blog entry.

As I said the other day, the Tear Drop 2008 flyers are out and if you fished the Tear Drop Bass Tournament Trail last year, you should have received one in the mail. I scanned the front page, and I will put the whole flyer up on the web page hopefully tomorrow. Here is page one and my apologies for the blurry scan. I tried to clear it up, but this was the best I could do.

Front page of the 2008 Tear Drop Tournament Trail Flyer

Dennis, our Tear Drop Director, sent out an email a few days ago announcing that the Tear Drop would be work with Bass Anglers United (BAU) on two tournaments. Here's how it's going to work. The Tear Drop will be having its regular tournaments, however, the July 27th Portage Lake event and the August 3rd Green Lake tournament will be combo events. There will actually be two tournaments running at the same time on the same lake and possibly with one set of anglers. If, for instance, the Tear Drop anglers all sign up for the BAU event then there will be two sets of entry fees and two sets of pay outs. After the two tournaments, the top 50% of those who signed up for the BAU tournament will fish for a boat in the BAU Championship Challenge. Tear Drop anglers will get first crack at filling the 25 boat BAU field. If there are openings in the 25 boat field left after the Tear Drop anglers sign up, then it's open to whomever wants to fish. There is a membership fee and tournament fee for the BAU. Check out the BAU website and or contact Dennis if you have any questions about fees, rules, etc. Dennis' phone number is 231-690-2605 and his email address is turfy@verizon.net. With the price of gas going sky high here is a chance to fish two tournaments, and qualify to fish for a boat, and not have to pay any extra money to prefish or travel on tournament day.

Larry Coleman, one of several anglers we came to know from the Federation tournaments sent me some of his pictures from some recent outings.

Larry fished with Don a day down in Vermillion and also represented Illinois as there Federation Nation Champion. We hung out down at Toho. He's quite a guy. A ton of fun. Here's a picture of him with Ray Scott down in Vermillion and the other photos are from a couple of tournaments he has fished this Spring. He's been winning some money lately!

Mr. Ray Scott and Illinois Federation Nation Champ Larry Coleman

Larry Coleman with Big Bass on Kentucky Lake

Larry on stage down at Kentucky/Barkley

Larry said he got his big fish, which went 5-8 lbs. and was 25 inches long, pitching a jig at a bush in the north end of Kentucky Lake. I'll get more of the low down from Larry and put up a couple of other pictures he sent me in a couple of days.

I just received an email tonight from Ben "Chain Saw" Schilling's dad. He said that Ben just won a big tournament out in Idaho this past weekend. I have to get the particulars on that big win and will post it as soon as I can get it.

Ben was another one of the anglers from down at the Federation Nation National Championship that we got the pleasure to meet and hang out with. He was the Montana Champion even though he lives and works in Idaho.

I had only a little surfing the net time tonight, but did find this pretty cool video that Bass Fan had up on their dock talk section of their webpage. Here is the video link. Check out the first part of the video that has some really cool underwater shots of a smallie blasting up from the bottom to hit a topwater bait.

Speaking of smallies, the Smallmouth Guru has more on his ESPN blog. He is focussing in on how the hook set is different when fishing for the those powerhouse bronzebacks.

Well, believe it or not that has taken me an hour to put together and I'm tired and not feeling very well myself. We had dinner with the Fowlers both Friday and Saturday night last week and Don came down sick Sunday with a fever. A couple days later the wife is sick and now I'm feeling poorly. It must be the creeping crud. Any how, time for the parting shot of the day.

This quote comes from Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland, "There is no use trying, said Alice; one can't believe impossible things. I dare say you haven't had much practice, said the Queen. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." So as you're eating your Quaker Oats tomorrow at breakfast what impossible thing can you dream up to believe? Take care, and make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

May 6, 2008

It's been interesting around the homestead lately, and I haven't gotten on the computer to do a blog entry in several days. Tonight, I plan to get back on track.

To start with, how about the Elites down on Clarks Hill. Kenyon Hill was hanging around for the first few days and then rose to the top at the right time to win the event with a four day total of 68 lbs. Here's how they wrote it up at Bass Zone . To follow that up here is an article from Bass Fan that details how the top five guys caught their fish.

KVD was back in the spotlight and always a threat when he's in that top twelve group. I know I'd sure be a bit intimidated if he were lurking in the cattails just a few pounds out. It's nice to see him representing all us Yankees up north in a big way again, after all it's been over a month or so since he's won anything.

Kevin's buddy, Mark Zona, and Kevin Short were on Bass Zone's Wide Open talking about the Clarks Hill event with host Mark Jefferies. Make sure you watch it, because as always, Zona has a lot to say, and he says it so well. I like the guy. No man crush or anything like that, I just like the enthusiasm he brings to his reports and has on his Saturday ESPN "World's Greatest Fishing Show." He lights the place up.

My young friend Ross, who has been emailing me through the winter, emailed me again a day or two ago, and he talked about how well he's doing in school, all As! He's also running track and working on getting ready to fish his first tournament with the Tear Drop this summer. I have been encouraging him to look into joining the Michigan Bass Federation and maybe starting up a youth club. Once he joins the Federation he is able to apply for one of the scholarships that the Federation gives out regularly. Remember, Don and I are still looking for some anglers to join up with us and have a club so we can fish the state fish off. Be sure to let me know if you would want to join us. It's one heck of a ride that the Federation has for the every day angler who has dreams of fishing the Classic.

I thought that maybe Ross, or other high schoolers, might be interested in which colleges had bass clubs that participate in the College Bass National Championships . Click on the link for a list of the schools and a lot more about the college bass scene. We'll have to get Zach going at GVSU and maybe have the first Michigan College signed up for the event.

My ole buddy Steve "Reno" Block sent me some more pictures of his outdoor adventures. Here are some shots of a nice Manistee County gobbler.

It's turkey season in Michigan.

Steve "Mr. Outdoors" Block with his 2008 gobbler.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, that Steve is the consummate outdoorsman. If it happens in the out of doors, then Steve is your man. I have had the good fortune of knowing him, and having him show me the ropes on a number of outdoor activities. As a matter of fact, if anyone is interested in seeing a short film I did on salmon fishing with Steve let me know. I'll send you the DVD and you can take a look at a morning of salmon fishing out of Manistee that Steve took me on back in 2006.

Just a F.Y. I, Berkley is coming out with another size in their Gulp Minnow line. The minnow is a hot little drop shotting bait, especially out on Erie. Here is a link to Berkley's site so you can get the low down on this new minnow size and on some of the Berkley heavy weight worms.

If you fish, you have used Berkley products. You certainly don't need me to tell you about the Berkley Powerbaits and Gulp. However, do you know what really makes the difference between these two baits? Check out this article on Power Bait VS. Gulp . When I went down with Don to the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship, Jason Quinn was there for a meet and greet when the anglers signed in the first day. Jason fishes the Elites, and one of his sponsor's is Costa Del Mar. They have filmed a series of videos starring Jason. This particular first of seven segments talks about his opening Elite Series tournaments down in Florida starting with the Harris Chain. Check out the "Good, Bad, and the Ugly" with Jason Quinn.

While Don and I were down in Alabama fishing with Ray Scott, Don Corkran was there as well. He had just signed Xtreme Bass Fishing Glove as a B.A.S.S. sponsor. I first saw the glove on Trip Weldon, the weighmaster for the Elite Series. The glove intrigued me right away. As you may recall, I mentioned it in the blog a while back. Jonathan, at Extreme Glove, sent me an email just before we went down to Alabama. He had seen the blog entry on the glove I did, and told me that he would get a couple of gloves to Don and I at Ray's.

Fowler got the three fingered model and I got the two fingered one. I wore it while we were down there. It took a little getting use to. Having something on your hand like that feels funny at first. However, the glove definitely grows on you.

I fished a crankbait for a number of my fish, and I was a lot more sure handed in lipping them with the glove on. It doesn't protect you from the hooks, but does help ensure that once you grab the fish, it doesn't slip out of your grasp. It is also invaluable in getting fish out of the livewell. No more getting finned or having your thumb all tore up. You'll see me wearing my XGlove at the tournaments I fish this year. You may have to check them out yourself.

Well once again I managed to stay up way past midnight working on the blog. I have some pictures and information from our old Federation Nation Illinois Champion Larry Coleman that I wanted to put up tonight, but exciting as it is, Larry's tournament news will have to wait until tomorrows blog entry.

The parting shot today is another quote from Mark Twain. He said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Being kind of "long in the tooth" I can't say I have been too disappointed looking back twenty years. I do know though that life is really all about the adventures. It doesn't have to be a trip around the world, but trying new things and making sure you step outside your comfort zone once in a while seems to be invigorating and often results in memorable experiences. Try it, you'll like it. Take care and make sure you make time to enjoy your day.

May 3, 2008

Well, I'm back up typing at the Na-Tah-Ka . We drove up to the cabin last night and stopped in Cadillac to have dinner with Dandy Don and his bride. We had Chinese at Hunan's and as usual I ate way too much. We even stopped and got butter pecan ice cream and some butterscotch to take back to Don's where they baked cream cheese pastries which we ate ala mode with the butterscotch. Good thing I got in a 3 mile walk, but I doubt in put a dent into my caloric intake. Got to do better.

I don't have too long to spend here using the Wifi so I have be brief, I'm on a schedule.

The first site I hit today was Bassmaster's to see how the Elite Pros were doing down on Clarks Hill. Yesterday, the legend, Denny Brauer, was leading at the end of Day 1. Day 2 on Clarks Hill found Edwin Evers taking the lead by a couple of pounds. Edwin said he's finally learned not to be afraid of the clear water on Clarks Hill and moved shallow to catch his big stringer yesterday. He caught big fish of the day with a 6-7 lb. largemouth. Fellow Oklahomian, Kenyon Hill, is sitting second as Denny only managed a 9 lb. sack today. Here's the href="http://proxy.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/media/tournamentDaily?tournamentId=1208"> standings as of Day 2. They cut yesterday to the top 50 and tomorrow only the top twelve will fish. Here's the link for the 3:00 pm live streaming video weigh in.

Here is the link to ESPN's picture gallery . They have some really great photos.

I always like to check out Bass Zone's Wide Open video they do on each day of the tournament. Click on the link and check it out. It only takes a few minutes.

I forgot to mention earlier that when I went to Don's that he had some Tear Drop Bass flyers. I put some in the Na-Tah-Ka today and will run some up to the Dublin General Store . I don't mind making that drive because it provides me with an excuse to get some of their great jerky. If you have never been to Dublin you need to make it a destination.

Not only did I get some flyers from Don, but he presented me with a team shirt for the BFL's we're going to fish together this year. He just got them back from getting embroidered and they look great. We also have a couple of different hats to go with the. We're definitely going to be stylin'. Thanks Don!

I need to hit the road before the wife gets too upset that I left her at the cabin without a vehicle. She's really great about all my bloggin' and fishin', but it's always wise not to push it.

The parting shot for the day hits too close to home with my memory issues. It's a quote from Mark Twain, " When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not." Make sure you take time to enjoy your day! I hope your horse wins. It's derby day!

May 1, 2008

As you can see, I have broken the blog for this month. Once May is done I will have been writing this blog for a year. Once that happens I'll place this year under one link and start year number two.

It's been fun, but at times I feel like I've created a monster. It takes a good chunk of time each day and at times it gets to feel a bit like work. However, it is also cathartic and provides an outlet for my fishing zest.

The B.A.S.S. Elite Pros have been working today as well. With calm winds and cooler than normal temperatures they took off this morning on Day 1 of the Clarks Hill Tournament. One of B.A.S.S.'s all time greats is in the lead by over 3 lbs. Denny Brauer employed a run and gun strategy today that netted him a 22 lb. limit of big green fish. Here is a pretty comprehensive article on Clarks Hill, Day 1 .

Tomorrow you can watch the action on ESPN Bassmaster live streaming video at 3:00 pm ET.

I'm hoping that Denny has one of those t-shirts that state "Old Guys Rule," and wears it under his jersey. It would be great to see him at age 59 pull off the win.

I have been reading on the forums where clubs are already starting to run some paper tournaments during the early catch and release season here in Michigan. Bass Club Digest has a pretty good article up on its site called Pre Tournament Practice that will get you prepared or at least really get those competitive juices flowing.

I found another one of those contest that you need to enter. Leer is having a contest on the ABA's site, and the winner gets a truck tonto cover. If you don't have a truck the contest allows you to give it to a truck owner. So, if you enter and don't have a truck, think of me. Here is the link to the free contest offer .

This has to be a short entry today and hopefully I'll have more time tomorrow to put up some other information that I was going to use tonight. It'll keep till tomorrow though.

The parting shot today is in keeping with the brevity of this blog entry. Short but sweet. It comes from one Henry David Thoreau, and says, "Success usually comes to those who are to busy to be looking for it." From what I saw of Mr. Scott's work day this would fit him to a T.

Take care and make sure you make time to enjoy your day.