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Archived Blog Entries From November 19th - 30th

November 30, 2007

I'm working late again on the blog, because I went to work today. That's right, I went in and subbed an hour and a half in a friend of mines autistic classroom. During my years in teaching I taught about 8 years in a program for students who were diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability. It was fun working with the kids today. I always find it rejuvenating, but probably the best part was I had a chance to see many of my old work compadres. Lots of hugs and smiles today. Can't have too many of either.

After teaching, I had to go back over to my son's to finish up insulating pipes. So, once again I missed the live weigh in from the B.A.S.S. Wild Card Event on Okeechobee.

When I got home one of the first things I did was have a big plate of homemade dumplings and a bowl of my wife's vegetable beef soup. Couldn't get to the computer without passing them by. Once equipped with steaming nutrients, I jumped on the net to see how Byron did in the WildCard on Okeechobee. Could Velvick stay focussed and hold on to his Day One lead? The answer, I found out, was yes! His big lead from yesterday, however, evaporated and is now less than a pound, but first place by ounces is still first place.

Byron had a tough day. It started out with a crappie fisherman sitting on his big bass spot which got inside of Velvick's head and it really ticked him off causing him to get stubborn and stick around way to long to get on the spot. Finally he realized he had to leave. No big fish today, but he did scratch out an eight pound limit. The good news is, with an average size limit tomorrow, he ought to clinch a top ten spot. This event isn't a money tournament but is designed to give those pros who didn't qualify on points one more chance to qualify for the 2008 Elite Series.

Some other good news for Velvick was that his girl friend, Mary Delgado, was also fishing the event as a coangler and the two seem to have worked out their differences from a spat that caused Mary to get arrested on a domestic violence charge for smacking Byron in the mouth. Here is a link to the Velvick WildCard Event on Okeechobee . If you check out the article you'll see the picture of Byron. One thing for sure, if Velvick wore that hat in my boat I'd have to call Mary to smack him again. Got to get some new head gear Byron!

I was looking at some of my regular internet fishing haunts and saw an article in fishingworld.com that talked about the new Bass Pro Shop in Massachusetts. It caught my eye because my friend Mr. Skinner travels out to Maine each year and this may give him a pit stop during his yearly pilgrimage to Maine's smallmouth waters. Oh yea, I forgot to mention that the reason they had the article up on the net was because it's the first Bass Pro Shop ever for Massachusetts. One more note, Rick's birthday is coming up in ten more days. I don't advise candles on his cake. That many candles will certainly impact global warming!

The other day I had a link up on an article that discussed a technique utilizing an oldie but goodie, a sinking Rapala. I noticed today that Rapala has a new revamped site. Check it out.

Another find today is one I need to email Dennis, our Tear Drop Tournament Trail Director. There is a new weigh in bag that is now out and on the market. It is a double bag. The inner bag is a mesh that fits inside a fairly traditional weigh in bag. The nice part is the mesh bag can be lifted out and placed in the scale basket saving the fish some handling stress. B.A.S.S. plans to use the bags next year. I think the Tear Drop needs to buy some to use next year. Here's the article that talks about new weigh in bags by Gator Grip .

Be advised that I won't be answering the phone or be checking emails on the computer tomorrow from about 1:00 pm until a little after 3:00 pm. The Grand Valley State University Lakers will be playing Central Washington in the third round of the Division II National Championship playoffs. I have been impressed with GVSU's team, and from what I have seen they are as good or better than the last two years in which they posted back to back National Championship wins. Go Lakers!!

One more reminder concerning "Jimmy Velvano Week" on ESPN. As you know Jimmy V died of cancer in 93 and before he died he started, with the help of ESPN, the "V Foundation" . I wear a yellow Lance Armstrong inspired cancer wristband in honor of two of my aunts who died of cancer. We need to all do what we can to find cures for cancer and other diseases like Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's, to name a few. Sending a donation to the V Foundation would be a great thing to do on a Saturday, especially the first Saturday of December. Here's another parting shot from Jim Velvano. "My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me." Enjoy the day!

November 29, 2007

Another day another dollar, no... I think the tune today was more "another day older and deeper in debt." I had plans today to go over to my oldest son's mobile home and check out the plumbing to be sure it was ready for the winter. It's an older mobile, and it's his first winter in it. Well, when I got there he said that the water wasn't running. Oh, Oh. Fortunately, I was in time because it had worked late last night. I got busy quickly and spent time insulating and zip tying electric heat tape. Might I mention that this was done underneath the mobile on my back, with dust and insulation falling in my eyes and mouth. Fun stuff.

Needless to say I missed watching the live weighin of the Elite Series Wildcard event on Lake Okeechobee. I did check out the leader board when I got home, and low and behold it was Mr. Limelight, Byron Velvick, from the TV show "The Bachelor" in first place with 21-05 lbs. As you recall from yesterday's blog, Velvick's girlfriend Mary Delgado was arrested on a domestic violence charge. So, there has been a lot of press and outside pressures that Velvick has had to deal with. He said that today was a chance to leave all that at the dock and just go fishing. With two more days of average weighin weight Velvick should place in the top ten and earn the opportunity to be one of the 110 anglers that will be fishing the Elite Series next year. Here's a link to Velvick's Wildcard Day One . Day twos live streaming video of the 2:45 ET live weigh in can be seen by clicking on the link.

Don sent me an email showing a youngster who took a big non typical buck. Here's the picture. The little guy shot himself a bruiser. Supposedly this is is second big buck. His first was a 12 point.

A Monster Non typical

I was reading on Bass Zone about Luke Clausen and Randy Blaukat's affiliation with Japan's Megabass tackle company. Blaukat attributes his success over the last 15 years to products Megabass has developed. Megabass has been number one in Japan, but it's products are hard to come buy in the States. That is going to change as Megabass steps up its efforts to crack the US market. To do this they will be wrapping Blaukat's boat and have also made a deal with Clausen, Aaron Martens and Danny Correia. Here's the article from Bass Zone talking about the "Mega Deal." Here is the link to Megabass USA .

I finally got a hold of Sidney Reeves tonight. I gave him a call and he was in some sports bar with some buddies watching the Packers Vs. Cowboys game. The game wasn't on any of the network stations and was only available on the NFL Network. So, if you wanted to watch the pair of 10 and 1 teams square off you had to have the subscription or go to a sports bar. The phone conversation I had with Sid was punctuated with loud cheers when either team made a big play. Sid did shout above the noise and told me about his 2008 schedule that he already has worked out. He plans to fish 12 different events and promised he would send me his schedule.

He said he has been thinking often of his trip to Orlando and the National Championship. He told me he also has been thinking about busting off that six plus pounder that would have vaulted him possibly into the Classic. He wasn't dwelling on it, and he knows that's what happens when you're after big fish, but man oh man that would have been a great fish to get in the boat. I'll let you know what I here from him.

It's now after midnight and I'm bushed so it's going to be parting shot time. In keeping with ESPN's "Jimmy V" week, here's another quote from Mr. Velvano. "I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust em." Please consider making a donation to the "V Foundation" to help fight cancer. Enjoy the day!

November 28, 2007

I'm back from a quick trip up to the far north to button up the cabin for the upcoming cold that is predicted for the weekend. This has to be one of the latest I've waited to drain pipes. I have the cabin set up so that I can turn the water on in minutes, and it only takes a few minutes to drain things when I leave. Before the rise in gas prices, we would go up almost every weekend all winter long. Now we measure our decisions to go up much more carefully. It costs about $60 to drive up in the truck, and if we stay home, we can have dinner and a movie and still save money. Gas prices are affecting almost everyone's travel decisions.

I did get a chance to see some friendly faces at coffee this morning at the Na-Tah-Ka . Craig Stumbrie and his son were there, as well as Jerry, Charlie, Beth, Sharon, Ruthie, and the owner, Larry Bender. Larry showed me his 360 or better class elk he harvested this year out in Wyoming. Beautiful animal with a huge rack. People were saying that the picture didn't do it justice. Larry said he had been applying for a permit in Wyoming for the last 10 years. He hunted on public land without a guide. I'll try and get a picture that I can put up on the blog. I also got a look at a nice buck that my old friend Tony Ellis shot this year.

Not a lot of big deer taken in the Irons area. The deer had too many acorns to feed up on and were scattered and staying put in the oaks. With the hunting pressure down, the DNR reported a full third fewer licenses sold this year, there weren't as many hunters out moving deer. I also think that since the DNR allowed firearm hunters to hunt from elevated platforms that not as many are coming out of their sheds and stands so deer don't get pushed around as much.

I was making my daily pilgrimage to the greatlakesbass.com forum, and I read a post about a new bait company that is making some very good looking crankbaits. It's called Koppers . The aforementioned link shows that the site should be up and running for business soon. I sure do like the looks of the baits they show.

I was on the Bass Fan site reading about the recent Stren Championship on the Mobile Delta. There was a bit of controversy centering around how several of the top ten finishers made a 240 mile round trip run to the Alabama River. The anglers who made the run obviously had to make a pit stop for gas. According to the report, gas on the water was very tough to come by. So, a couple of competitors stopped and made a run down a road and carried gas back to their boats in containers. The FLW only stipulates that the gas is purchased from a public place and that the boater and coangler stay together. The bruha, however, may spark some changes. Here's a link to the article on Bass Fan. Notice that B.A.S.S. has a different perspective concerning topping off the tank during tournaments.

I don't know how I have missed it, but there is a photo gallery on the ESPN site that has, above all else, a picture of Sidney Reeves big fish from the Toho National Championship. There are about 50-60 pictures from the B.A.S.S. Nationals. However, I was most happy to see the one of Sid and his big fish. When Sid was in line coming up to the stage he had thrown me his camera. I made one heck of an over the shoulder catch of it, but I put it in my pocket and when he was up on stage I was video taping and forgot to get his camera out to take a still of his fish as he held it up on stage. To make matters worse, when I got home and viewed the video, the footage didn't show Sid and the fish. There were a few occasions where I had thought the camera was on and it wasn't. The flip out screen is impossible to see in the sunlight and the viewfinder is very small and with my crappy bifocals I can't see what I'm filming with any clarity. I am usually just pointing and hoping. There were a couple of times that I was turning the video camera off when I thought I was turning it on and vice versa, because I couldn't see the icons in the viewfinder. I was really happy to see that Sid's fish was recorded for posterity by ESPN and my blunder didn't cost him a picture of his fish. Here's the link to the National Championship Photo Gallery .

Sidney Reeve's Toho Trophy

Sheron "Big Show" Brown

Don "Cadillac" Fowler

I have not been able to hook up with Sid who has called now twice. I am going to try and get a hold of him and see how he's doing tomorrow. I hope he's seen the photo gallery. There are several shots of Don and Sheron in the various galleries as well.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Wildcard event on Okeechobee starts tomorrow. This is the link to the live weigh in, which begins at 2:45 ET.

Watched MSU vs. North Carolina State tonight. Michigan State dealt out a whooping. They controlled every aspect of the game from the get go. It was an impressive showing. I enjoy watching MSU basketball. Izzo is one of those coaches who really knows how to mold a team into a contender. Looks like he's well on his way again this year with a pretty good group of talented young men.

Another talented bunch of athletes is getting ready to test their metal this Saturday. The Grand Valley State Lakers are taking on Central Washington. My football fanatic friend John can't make it to the game so I'll be watching it on TV unless my brother calls and wants to go and see them play at Lubber's Field. Can't wait for that game to start.

Yesterday began the "Jimmy V Week" on ESPN as they work to continue Jim's foundation work to fight cancer. If you have it in your heart to do charitable deeds then supporting his foundation would be a good place to make a donation. Here is a link to the "V Foundation" . The parting shot for today will come from Jimmy V's famous "Never give up" speech he made in 93 at the ESPY's just months before his death. "To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." Enjoy the day!

November 27, 2007

Good morning! Well I hope it's a good morning for Byron Velvick. You remember him don't you? He's the bass pro that was on the TV show "The Bachelor." The Associated Press is reporting that his long time live in from that show, Mary Delgado, has been arrested for a domestic violence offense. It's really too bad because it appears that alcohol was involved and maybe Byron was forcing that issue with her in calling the authorities. Mary has been fishing as a coangler in the Elites, and I believe she was in the back seat for a day with Ben Matsubu on Toho in the last Series event. In any case, I'm sure there will be a ton of pot shots and jokes made, but when all is said and done hopefully they can move on and things will work out for them. I always like happy endings.

Have to make a run up north today. Hopefully the water hasn't frozen to bust a pipe yet. I have pushed it way longer than I usually do and that doesn't always end happily. I've had one pump freeze and one water line bust over the past 20 some years. The weather gurus predict some really cold temperatures for the weekend so I have to make a run today.

I cruised the internet a little this morning and spent some time purusing the Anglers Resource Site . Can't really say I care for the look of the site, awfully busy. They too have some video tips available and I watched a clip on a new knot that I hadn't seen tied before. I also looked at their $20 entry for their Ultimate Fishing Sweepstakes. Didn't spend any money on it though. Check the site out and see what you think.

In a couple of days, 40 Bass Pros will be throwing down against one another for the last 10 spots in the Bassmaster's Elite Series for 2008. There are 110 spots for anglers on the Elite Series Trail and this is the last ditch attempt at qualifying for a spot. The anglers will be in Florida on the famed Lake Okeechobee.

Okeechobee, is at one of its all time low water levels which presents some real navigational hazards to the competitors. We'll see how it fishes at three and a half feet below normal pool. Here is a Wildcard preview article from ESPN. The tournament starts the 29th and will have live streaming video coverage of the weighins starting at 2:45 ET. I'll put a link up on the 29th that you can click on to go straight to the live weighins. As a P.S., I see that Byron Velvick is fishing the Wildcard Event. We'll have to see if his lip has healed up yet and if Mary is there supporting him.

Now that Thanksgiving has gobbled its way by us we'll have to start counting down the shopping days till Christmas. I have a number of sites I have collected that have some interesting, unusual, and some got to have gift ideas that are fishing oriented. Starting December I'll be putting one or two on the blog each day.

Well I guess its time for the parting shot and today I'll go to Don's wife for the last word. She's been known to say, "I think the only reason Don likes to go fishing so much is that it's the only time he hears someone tell him, "Wow, that's a big one!" Enjoy the day!

November 26, 2007

It's almost time to split the blog for the month. I noticed the other day that with two months worth of pictures and writing it takes a while to load even with high speed internet. For those who may be using dial up, it must take forever. When I do break the blog I am going to ferret out the Florida National Road Trip so it becomes a stand alone and then put the rest of the month as a separate link. I'll make the break the last day of the November.

Yesterday, I found another website that looks like it has lots of information and one that also contains a big list of shows that you can watch online. My Outdoor TV is a site you can spend some time exploring. I have an Alabama brother-in-law, Charles, that I have mentioned before. So, when I scrolled down on the My Outdoor TV website I saw that they had Outdoor Alabama. I have watched the show before when I was visiting down in Bama. The video ran smoothly and you can also watch it full screen. Check it out and you'll see a bunch of show offerings, as well as a number of other site offerings that I have not had time to explore yet.

Bass Fan Army just did an article on Jamie Laiche, the B.A.S.S. National Central Division Champion who is going to the Classic. On stage at the Nationals, Jamie talked about his uncle who inspired him on his Classic quest. This article details Jamie's relationship with his hero. Reading the article will help you connect with some of the anglers you will be seeing this February at the Bassmaster Classic.

I have been in contact with John Neporadny Jr. a writer/photographer that has went out of his way to send me some of his personal photographs from the Northern Divisional. John covered all the Divisionals for B.A.S.S. and did one heck of a job! Since meeting him, I have been noticing a number of his articles all around the web. Here is a Neporadny article on sight fishing. Most of us have sight fished for bedded bass in the Spring, but this article talks about how effective this method can be in the Fall as well. Check it out, and be looking for more John Neporadny articles on the web.

If you haven't check out Bass Fan, you haven't been using the links I have been providing. It's a very good site that offers lots of info, and if you are a member of the Bass Fan Army, which is free by the way, you can pick up freebies and some good discount deals. For instance if you use this link and have joined the "Army," you can get 25% off Vicious Fluorocarbon line. I have linked Vicious in the blog before and I am going to have to buy some and try it. $9.99 for a 250 yd spool of fluorocarbon is really cheap.

The parting shot for the day comes from Arnold Palmer a guy Mike Iaconelli must have studied, or do all great athletes think alike? Palmer said, "I've always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win." Never give up! Enjoy the day.

November 25, 2007

Took a couple days off. No blogging that is. Had to go over to my son's and help my brother-in-law redo the bathroom there. Helping means I stand around and act as a gopher. When it comes to plumbing or carpentry skills my family trusts me to get the coffee or sometimes I get to actually cut a board. My brother-in-laws, on the other hand, jump in to projects with both feet and fix just about anything. My dad was like that as well. While I'm contemplating what to do next they are sawing and pounding and engineering on the fly.

Yesterday, Saturday, was a family day at Gramma's. My side of the family always has Thanksgiving the Saturday following. We always have a good time and eat way too much. We play cards, and all kinds of games. The nephews always have a football game on, at least on the downstairs TV.

We watched GVSU play it's second round NCAA Division II play off game against North Dakota State. Grand Valley won 21-14. The score really didn't reflect how GVSU dominated the game. Grand Valley's defense was awesome. The offense turned the ball over three times leading to the two scores North Dakota had. GVSU's sophomore running back Blake Smolen, is a spectacular scat back who picks his way through the defense with deft and agility that harkens one back to Barry Sanders.

Grand Valley now moves on to play Central Washington who upset Nebraska-Omaha this past Saturday. They'll play at GVSU's Lubber's Field December 1. Looks like I'll be digging out my cold weather gear for a game next Saturday. Hopefully we'll be heading back down to Florence, Alabama the site of the Div. II National Finals. That's Florence, like in Lake Pickwick, Florence. Also home of some big smallmouth. Hmmmm, could mean another road trip.

Sidney Reeves called and talked to my son yesterday, and he said he was calling back today. It will be great to talk with him again, and maybe I can put the bite on him to get me on an online fitness regimen.

When I rode with Sid down on Toho the first day, he had probably the big bass of the tournament come up and bump his bait right at the boat. We left for a while, but then returned to the spot. As I watched him tense and begin to utter, "Oh oh oh," he began to tell me that he could see the big fish come out from the weeds and it was bumping his bait, right at the boat! Had Sid been able to coax that fish into biting, he certainly would have moved way up the leader board and also won some serious cash for big fish. After the third day of the tournament, while waiting to go up on stage, Sid told me he actually hooked the monster and it broke him off. That was one lucky fish!

Don Fowler and Sidney Reeves, Lake Toho

Sidney qualified for the Nationals in the Western Regional which took place on the Colorado River.

I have mentioned in the blog before that Bass Zone has a great site for all kinds of fishing entertainment and information. Here is one of the videos they have featuring Ben Matsubu on the Elite season's last event on Toho.

Last year in March, Grand Rapids hosted a Spring Sportsperson Event that drew many vendors and presenters. It was a three day annual event that thousands attended. Dave Lefebre was there and gave away reel grips. He happened to mosey across the street to Taco Bob's where I chatted with him for quite a while. To tell you the truth, I had not been following the FLW closely enough to really know his resume. He was very friendly though, and didn't seem to mind me interrupting his lunch with chit chat.

I resurrected that memory because of an article that Dave did for Bass Fan that I found and read today. This is one of those articles that us northerners will have to tack away on the memory bulletin board for next Spring. It's an article that discusses using one of the oldies but goodies in the bait basket a countdown Rapala . Give it a read and maybe a try this spring.

Time for another parting shot and this one comes from the baseball great Jim Abbott. "It's not the disability that defines you, it's how you deal with the challenges the disability presents you with. We have an obligation to the abilities we DO have, not the disability." Being a retire special education teacher this is something I always tried to get my kids to see. I often found that although ability is a great gift, those that were the most successful were the kids that had the ability to sustain attention and focus, in other words, it was the determination to succeed that more often than not, launched them past more capable peers. Enjoy the day!

November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving! We're getting ready to pig out. I take that back, I mean we're getting ready to turkey out. Where is Sidney "Guns" Reeves when you need him. I nicknamed Sid guns, and if you meet him you can see why, the guys has tree trunks for arms. He runs a fitness center and is a trainer. I have emailed him to see if he can put me on a diet and fitness regimen. Hope he sets me up on one soon, before I start getting as big as Fowler. He's great though in the front of the boat. Keeps that nose down so the trolling motor doesn't pop out in the waves.

Sidney Reeves and B.A.S.S.' Don Corkran

As I mentioned I rode with Sidney day one of the National Championship. First thing, he ran down to the southeast corner of the lake. He ran through the Kissimmee grass right up to the clear water near shore. Nice hard bottom with holes in the vegetation where the bluegill were tempting bass. Sid had caught them there in practice, but that first cold morning the bigger fish moved out. He caught several shorts and had one good splash on his fluke.

Sidney's Day One Starting Spot

The anglers all were given Lowrance chips that contain the detailed maps that they could use to navigate the Kissimmee Chain. The new chips have contour lines that also help in finding the right depth that you feel may be holding fish.

The Triton TR 21 X2's Dash

The Lowrance had all the information right there in front of you: the map, water temperature, the time, speed, depth. It's all right there. Man, the site each day of all those new Tritons was impressive, and if you weren't already psyched up they certainly put you in the mood to boogie.

Thank you Earl Bentz

The boats were kept in a guarded lot.

Up north, most of us have muttered a few euphemism or worse when the waverunners and jet skis invade the bass waters. After spending a few days on Toho, I'll never complain about them again. The swamp buggy's on Toho are the loudest, nosiest, pain in the necks that float. Probably a heck of a lot of fun though to drive. If you ride or drive one you better have ear protection or learn to read lips.

These baby's will make you reach for the Excedrin!

Yesterday, I put on a link to the Bass Fan article featuring Jeff Freeman. Here's the second Freeman article.

One of the top baits that the competitors used on Toho were the Rat-L-Traps . Every angler that I rode with threw them, and Sheron Brown, the Day One leader, wore one out. On the second day when I rode with him, he continued to catch fish on it. Freeman used it as well. When Don and I fished our way down to Florida we caught most of the fish in Alabama and Florida on traps. We used silver or chrome in a shad pattern. When we lost those we used chrome and blue and continued catching them.

I had better keep things short today. We have company and it probably isn't the most courteous thing for me to be on the computer for too long. Besides, the Lions and Green Bay will be on before too long.

Being Thanksgiving, the parting shot should be one about how thankful we are.... for all the smallmouth we have in Michigan, but because it's Thanksgiving we had better make it a football quote. Here's a good one from Dave Barry, "Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent." Enjoy the day!

November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving Eve and I'm looking around for an awl to put another whole in my belt in anticipation of the dinner tomorrow.

I stayed up late last night to watch the Michigan State vs. UCLA basketball game. MSU gave them a heck of a game. Neitzel, their point guard, for MSU is from Wyoming Park High School, a neighboring school district. I watched him play high school ball against my nephews since he was a freshman. He was playing sick last night. They said he had the flu and hadn't been out of bed till game time. Granted, UCLA had their point guard sitting the bench, but MSU played them very tough! With a couple of breaks or calls, they could have stolen a win from the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

Grand Valley State played MSU in the opening game of the season and won in a double overtime. GVSU's football team plays North Dakota State this Saturday in the second round of the play offs. I would love to go watch the game. It should be a great one. I'll be at my family's Thanksgiving get together and so I'll have to plan on watching the game on TV.

I spent a little time today cruising the various internet sites and saw the list of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic Contenders . Check it out and pick your winner. The Classic will be on Lake Hartwell, in South Carolina. Here's another page that has Classic Info. and a number of quick links.

As I mentioned a day or so ago, I'll probably be reliving some of the Florida trip for many days to come. Here is a pretty good article about how Jeff Freeman, of Virginia won the B.A.S.S. National Championship. Here's a picture of the locks that you go through heading south out of Toho and where Freeman focussed his fishing.

Freeman's Lock Spot

It will be fun to follow the Federation guys as they fish against the big guns. I'm a KVD fan, but it would be great to see a Federation angler win the Big Dance.

Another angler headed to South Carolina is an unknown to most of us, David Coble . ESPN did an article on him because he is one of those local guys who has developed quite a resume fishing a tournament here and there. Coble has already been to the Classic once. He went through the Federation ranks and made the "Big Dance" in 2002. The article is a quick and interesting read.

The parting shot for today comes from one funny guy, W.C. Fields. I love his dry humor. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it." Aah yes, my dear. Enjoy the day.

November 20, 2007

Another one of our gray cloudy days here in southwest Michigan. Living close to Lake Michigan is nice, but it produces too many of these lake effect gray days that get old fast. My son lives out in Lake Tahoe, CA and talks about how he still can't get use to all the clear blue sunny skies that they have out there in the Fall and Winter. It may snow literally two feet in a night, but then the next day is sunny and clear.

If you can ever make it out to Tahoe it is well worth the visit. You are only a 40 minute drive down the mountain from Reno, and an hour and a half from Sacramento and palm trees, and about three and a half hours from San Francisco. There are a number of little towns around Lake Tahoe and just about any place you stop you can take a picture post card shot.

A Case In Point, Lake Tahoe

My son, Nick, who lives out there was my webmaster for the website. He designed the logo and upgraded the design of the site. He also has a site he maintains for his employer out in Tahoe. You should check out, tahoedaves.com . I talked to Don last night. He had a great opening day of deer season on his property. His nephew shot a nine point, his son shot an eight point, and Don shot a nice seven pointer. He also took a friend's son out and sat with him and video taped him shooting a nice eight point. As usually, Don didn't take any pictures that he could email me. I'm going to have to grab his video and capture a still shot so I can put it on the blog. I did grab a still off some video I shot on our way down to the Nationals. It's a shot of Don and his mom. She's a Michigander who retired to Kentucky. The laws on moon shining are not as strict down there. She's got a tobacco field across the street, or at least they told me it was tobacco, and a patch of woods in back where she can hide her medicinal white lightning facility. Just kidding Tina! We love ya and appreciate your hospitality for the two nights we spent with you on the way down. Here's a shot of Don and his fishing mentor. (I won't go in to how she also taught Don to twirl the baton!)

Ms. Tina Fowler and Son Don

She was schooling Don on spinnerbait fishing.

I was very fortunate to have had John Neporadny, photographer from BASS Times, send me some of the pictures he took on the water at the Vermillion Northern Divisional. I plan to use them in the DVD I'm putting together. Here are a couple of John's shots. I don't know who the guys are netting the fish, but that's Larry Coleman, the Illinois Champion, in the wrapped Triton boat he had just bought from Davey Hite.

The Northern Divisional Anglers Boating an Erie Smallie

Larry Coleman with a fish on at Vermillion, Ohio

I hope you had a chance to read the article I linked yesterday about the most productive patterns of 2007 that was on Bassfan. If you didn't the day 2 link will get you back to it as well as to today's Part Two. Here's the 2007 techniques summary .

I'll probably be reminiscing a bit about the Florida National Championship trip a bit from now to maybe 2010. Here's a shot or two from the Orlando Sun Resort where the competitors stayed.

The Orlando Sun Resort, Orlando Florida

There wasn't much time for the pool!

The Main Lobby

The resort had a main lobby and convention center area. The rooms were in oval clusters in a large circle around the main building. Each cluster of rooms had a pool, and a smaller kids wading pool that they surrounded. Tennis courts were also available. It's an older resort, but very nice. It's only five minutes from Disney World and on one of the main drags that has every restaurant chain and store you could think of on it. It was about a half hours drive to Toho. The bus in the first picture was the one the competitors rode there and back each day after a continental breakfast in the main lobby.

This year, the site of the 2007 tournament was not announced until late September and then the lakes were immediately off limits. This year, however, they have already decided on the site of next year's 2008 National Championship. Here is the B.A.S.S. 2008 Championship site announcement link. When you click on the link be sure you sign up for the Triton boat give away. Earl Bentz provided the Tritons for the National Championship and they were darn nice rides. I have been entering the sweepstakes every day for a while now. Sure would like a new boat.

Got to run today to get some more "company coming" jobs done. The parting shot comes from the "Motor City Madman," "The Nuge," Ted Nugent. "If Elvis Presley had been a bowhunter, he'd probably be alive today." Enjoy the day.

November 19, 2007

Getting up at 5:30, snow on the ground, fires out and it's colder than a well diggers..., a propane lantern for light, and an outhouse that is 15 yards behind the shack. Yep, it's deer season in Michigan's Northwoods.

Roughing it again this year up near Tustin, MI on a 60 acre piece of property my buddy John owns. Nice piece of rolling woods, mostly Maple and Beech trees with a spattering of Oak. about a third of the property is a Cedar swamp. Should be whitetail heaven.

We went up Wednesday and ferried in our gear on John's four wheeler. It's about a quarter mile back in on a makeshift trail that they cleared through the woods. There is a corduroy section through the swamp that will rattle your fillings out of your head. The shack is about the size of a back yard shed. Just large enough for a set of bunkbeds, a wood stove, a small table, an old propane stove and a sink with direct access to the woods. The excitement of the adventure is heightened by the fact you may burn up in your sleep. The flames in the old wood stove are visible through any number of cracks and rusted out little holes. Last year I took along a smoke alarm to put above the bunks, but this year in my haste to pack, I forgot it. It gave me pause when I was about to doze off, but we made it back safe and sound and got to spend some real back to nature time in the pursuit of the old wily swamp buck. No better times than that except when the big smallies are biting, but it's a close call and when you can do both, you're living large.

Opening morning was actually pretty quiet. I saw three does and heard very little shooting. John, and his brother Larry, saw only a couple deer a piece and no horns. That evening things really didn't improve much. I saw about 7 does and John and Larry saw only a couple elusive shapes moving through the cover.

Friday morning, I again saw my does and around 9:30 I heard a shot nearby. I thought it was Larry, but it turned out to be John. He hunts in what he and his brother call the wood pile blind. It is an elevated shed that sits on a knoll with a 360 degree field of view for at least a hundred yards in all directions. It's been a good spot over the years.

The Woodpile Blind

Anyways, the shot was John's. He had heard the crunch, crunch, crunch on the frosty leaves and slowly turned to see a doe and a fawn coming down the west ridge toward his stand. In a moment the scene filled up with a buck nose down and trailing them. Then, things began happening fast, as they can when hunting or fishing. John only had a moment to slowly swing himself into position. He projected where the buck would come and set up for a shot when the deer entered his lane. As luck would have it, the deer continued on its path across the shooting lane, and John lined up the crosshairs and dropped it in its tracks at about 80 yards. It turned out to be a year and a half old 6 pointer. The rack was strange in that it was more palmated that pointed. It had a point on the right side that almost counted, but didn't make the one inch minimum.

John and his six and a half point.

Year and a Half Old Deer

We hunted through Sunday morning and never saw another antlered deer. Saw a number of does that always kept us on the edge of our seats wondering if that buck would come trailing along behind them.

The woods is always a nice get away. The solitude, the sobering cold sits as the early morning darkness lifts with the sun, the array of wildlife, the anticipation of what may be, and the chance to share moments with good friends. Those are the things which bring us to the woods.

On our way home Sunday we stopped outside of Big Rapids at a MDNR Check Station.

MDNR workers checking deer at one of many check stations.

There were about 10 vehicles in line at the makeshift check station. The biggest deer there at the time was a ten point from Newaygo County. John had his deer checked and was told it was a year and a half old. The DNR workers record a bunch of information and then give those who stopped for the survey an embroidered patch. The patches are different every year and become real trophies that many collect and proudly display.

We skinned the deer when we got home and although I had told John I would help him cut the deer up today, he called me this morning and said he and his wife had it butchered and ground up for burger already. They grind the meat themselves with pork tenderloin mixed in. It is very tasty!

My son, Nate, had a bunch of guys up to our cabin on Big Bass Lake. Josh, a friend from Holland, MI drove up with him. Josh had never really hunted much and came a little underdressed. I see from the photo that Nate fixed him up with my boots, old bibs, and my jacket. Hey, maybe that's really me disguised as a 25 year old! Needless to say, who had beginners luck? Yep, JOSH ! He sat for only about an hour before he bagged this really nice eight point. Near our cabin is acres of Federal and State land that draws crowds of hunters. An eight point like this is a good deer for the area. Congrats Josh, and did I say that rental on that gear may cost you a steak?

Josh's Lake County Eight Point

I had told Ben "Chain Saw" Schilling's' nephew that I would get a gator picture up when I got back from hunting. So Reily here it is.

Ben's Florida National Championship Gator

Gators and Bass Love Flukes

I had hoped that the picture would have turned out better, but the sun was in a bad spot , and I was recording on video and the resultant picture was not a quality shot, but it did record the event. In the excitement of the moment, and with a gator running around the well of the boat it doesn't give you much time to line up a shot.

Ben has more than one gator story. One goes back to his high school days. It involves a pond, a bike, and a suitcase. I can't do the story justice, so I'll let you hear it from Chainsaw himself out there in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

I was cruising my usual internet haunts today and found part one of two articles that Bass Zone has put together on the "Winningest Patterns of 2007. It is well worth your time to give it a look.

Time for me to get busy. We have company coming for the Thanksgiving holiday, and there are a list of things from the wife that she wants done. I spent too much time today already perusing some of the video tape from the National Championship. Can't wait to start editing it.

The parting shot or shots today come from W.C. Fields known for his womanizing, boozin', and humor. "I never drink water, because of the disgusting things that fish do in it." Probably my favorite all time W. C. quote is when he is riding in the back seat of a car with Mae West and she leans over to him and says, "W.C. do you ever read the Bible?" W.C. without skipping a beat replies, "Why yes I do dear, but only for loopholes!" Now that's funny. Enjoy the day!