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Daily Blog Archive for November, 2008

November 30, 2008

I think I hit a blog wall. I just haven't had the drive to sit down and type out an entry lately. It's a time consuming activity, and I try not to let it become an obligatory type task, so I've decided if the words aren't there to not force it.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home on Thursday, and then yesterday we went to my mother's to have our "Shine Thanksgiving." It's always a full house, over thirty turkey eaters. We always have a great time and eat way too much.

A few days ago, I notice on greatlakesbass.com that Lt. Dan, the web page master, was having a fishing video contest. I like to mess around with iMovie, and I have a number of iMovies I've made. I decided to upload one that I did to thank my good buddy Steve "Rico" Block for taking me out salmon fishing a couple years ago. We went out of Manistee in August and caught some good eaters. If you would like to watch the video click on this link . I'd like to win the contest primarily to get a set of the Flip Clips that I have been wanting to try for quite a while now. Maybe I'll be a winner?

Despite not having written an entry in a while, I have been scanning the bass sites and reading a number of articles. They still have information up on Bassfan detailing the FLW Series East/West fish off. Greg Hackney won, and I linked that article earlier. Another angler that did well down in Zapota, TX was David Fritts. Supposedly he used a new Berkley product called the Clackin' Rap . The lipless crankbait can be a very effective fish locator. and it certainly has its place in the boat. It's a tool, I have on and try during the course of the whole season.

Even though I've put my boat away, there are many Michigan anglers, one being Rick Mast, who have their boats garaged and ready for a quick trip out for late season action. Up north the techniques may be quite different from the reservoirs in the south, but the "Smallmouth Guru" from Bassmaster.com likes the float and fly technique. I have read about this numerous times and have yet to try it. Hopefully, now that I've decided to curtail my tournament fishing, I'll be able to get up to say a lake like Green Lake in Interlochen for some early spring fishing and try the float and fly up there. Maybe you've tried it, maybe you haven't, but take a look at the article and you may find a place for the technique on a lake near you.

Tomorrow, I plan on calling Bassmaster to inquire about their Marshall's program. I hope to get the low down to see where I might stand in getting in to one of the Bassmaster Elite contests as a Marshall. I'll let you know tomorrow on what I find out.

That's going to be it for today. The parting shot of the day will be from Edward Martin, who once said about Thanksgiving, " Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." Take care and make sure you take some time out of your work day each day to indulge one of your passions.

November 23, 2008

I was on the net early this morning looking at some of the latest happenings in the bass fishing world. I see where Ron Fabiszak, from Indiana won the FLW East West fish off coangler title on Lake Falcon to win $5,000 and qualify for the 2009 Forest Wood Cup! Outstanding job Ron!

Ron was one of the anglers we met down in Orlando last year at the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship.

Ron Fabiszak on stage at the 2008 Nationals.

Ron with the group at the final banquet.

In the FLW Series East / West fishing article, it talks about how Ron was thinking about packing the truck and heading north after weighing in on the third day. He hadn't caught a five fish limit and when asked if he thought that it would cost him the lead, Ron dejectedly said yes.

I know Ron has come in second before in some big tournaments, one ot those was the B.A.S.S. Federation Regional at Vermillion in 2008. He finished just behind Dandy Don Fowler who went wire to wire to win that event.

Ron on stage with the Bass Boss at Vermillion, OH

A couple of Ron's big Erie smallmouth.

Well, it was Ron's time to shine down in Zapota, TX, and in what was described as the closest coangler weigh-in ever Ron held on to win by ounces. I plan on emailing Ron to see if I can get the story surrounding his win. Fishing down on Falcon and winning some green backs was I'm sure very nice, but qualifying for the Forest Wood Cup is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities. Again, a hearty congratulations to Ron.

Ron wasn't the only one catching some big fish down on Falcon. Greg Hackney led one of his famous "Hack Attacks" catching a final day five fish limit of 37-11 lbs! That gave him a three day total of 109 lbs and 6 oz. Wow! That is an unbelievable catch. It would sure be nice to win the lottery and head down to Zapota, Texas and do some fishing for some monsters like that.

The article on Falcon doesn't mention too many swimbaits accounting for the angler's big creel. It is though, one of the baits that I played with some over the past season. I can't say that it was, or is, a technique that I would go to on the lakes I fish, but I have seen some guys do well with it on Erie. Tru-Tungsten has a new swimbait ready to ship called the Tru-Life four inch swimbait. If you click on the link, be sure to watch one of the videos that show the bait in the water. I like the size of this bait for Michigan bass, and I'll have to give it a try. It sure looks good in the water. I do have to be careful though, because I have come to realize that bait companies really don't make lures to catch fish but rather to catch anglers. Check these baits out though, I think you'll like what you see.

I watched a short video by Jared Lintner on drop shotting. He shows you that the technique is more versatile than some might think. Don't forget if you are new to drop shotting or want to improve your results with the technique you have to get Seth Burrill's Drop Shot Secrets Revealed DVD. Using the hot link here, you can go to Seth's site and enjoy all that he has to offer. I would have to say that he has the best fishing site I have visited. You can go to his tackle section and navigate to where you can order his drop shot DVD. I have been after some of the local outdoor shops to carry the DVDs Seth markets. They all are quality DVDs that are very good at teaching you new techniques. Something for your Christmas list to be sure.

Talked to old, very old, Rick Skinner today to get an Irons, MI deer hunting report. Not many deer have made it into the cooler according to Rick. Rick's grandson Wesley shot a seven pointer, and that's been it for the Skinner crew. Slow year for the Branch Bunch.

I turned the Lions on today and found them ahead by two touchdowns. Well that didn't last long. I did watch a winning team yesterday. GVSU played and won their first NCAA Division II tournament game. They had a bye the first week and played Ashland, Ohio. The Lakers ranked number one in the country won easily by a score of 40-7. They play number six ranked Minnesota-Duluth next Saturday at GVSU at 1:00 pm. Both Charter and Comcast Cable have been carrying the games on TV. Grand Valley is a fun team to watch and if you have a chance to put on the Carhartts and go watch them, you'll see some good football.

My buddy John and I have been also going to the GVSU basketball games. So far this year the basketball team is 2-0. Last year they only game they lost was in the National Championship where they lost to the eventual National Champs. GVSU plays Monday night, and I think I'll go watch.

Well that's it for today, and the parting shot is a deer hunting story. "A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. "Where's Henry?" "Henry had a nasty fall and broke both his legs. He's a couple of miles back up the trail." "You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back!?! "A tough call, "nodded the hunter, "but I figured no one is going to steal Henry!" Take care and make sure you know who you're hunting with.

November 19, 2008

Well, it's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas weather wise. This morning the cold seems to be seeping its way in despite sitting here typing in a flannel shirt. It might help to turn the heat up a tad, but I'm a cheapskate, and have it set to get warmer at noon.

While we're on the subject of cold weather, there are some who seem impervious to the cold. These die hards are out on the water catching fish late into the season. One such angler is Rick Mast, from the Hudsonville area. He sent me a picture that I put up in last year's blog of a New Year's Eve walleye hunt that had most of Hardy Pond frozen and his boat snow covered and iced up. I just got an email from him where he talks about a trip he recently took on Hardy Pond with his buddy Jim Horn. Rick said they were out checking out the walleye bite and had what he termed a slow day until they got in to some smallies. Once over them, the duo caught about 35 nice smallies. He said the water temp was about 45 degrees. He didn't mention the air temperature, but I gather from how they were dressed that it was a tad chilly. Here are a few pictures he sent me.

A late, late, season Hardy Pond smallie.

Jim Horn connects on another bronzeback.

Rick boats another nice smallie!

When you're catching nice smallies you don't feel the cold.

Rick was emailing me just before leaving to go up to deer camp. Maybe he connected on a nice Michigan whitetail, and will send us in some more pictures. The guy is a stick when it comes to bass fishing. We'll have to see what how he does with the rifle. I would bet, quite well.

Another stick, but from the east side of Michigan, is Joe Balog. Joe fishes many tournaments, and I saw him several times this past summer in the BFLs on St. Clair and Erie. Joe was recently featured on BassFan with an article he did on late season smallie fishing. I thought it made sense to follow up Rick's recent trip with an article on how Joe catches smallies on Erie in November. It's a good article, and has some good tips in it especially if you fish the big water. Here's the link to Fall Factors for Great Lakes Smallmouth .

In Joe's article, he talks about how dropshotting begins to pale as a technique as we move into the fall. It was a tactic that I came to use more this past year, and I also became a believer in the Berkley Gulp products that go hand in had with the technique. Gulp products are made of water soluble materials which increases the scent that they give off, and it also makes them color safe when mixed with other baits. In fact, Berkley is coming out with multicolor buckets of Gulp. Here is a Catch More Fish article that discusses their new assortment buckets.

While I'm on the topic of baits, it reminded me of a recent phone call to Dandy Don Fowler. During the conversation I had with him, he told me that Steve, up at Pilgrim's Village , is now carrying Koppers Live Target hard baits. If you've been reading the blog and the BFL articles you probably read the reports I've made about the catches being made with these new baits. They are certainly something you need to take a look at and give a try on your favorite body of water.

I'm still toying with the idea of signing up to try and become a B.A.S.S. Marshall in one of the B.A.S.S. tournaments this year. I hope to make my mind up by tomorrow and get my registration in.

I see where they have just finalized the February 20-22 Bassmaster Classic field. There will be 51 anglers competing, and for the first time ever, there will be a woman competing in the field. This year's points leader from the WBA Kim Bain - Moore.

Kim is originally from Australia and now resides in Alabama. She is married to fishing pro André Moore. That just might give her an edge in the Classic where two heads may be better than one. We'll see. It's always very difficult, with the caliber of competitors that the Classic has, to pick a winner. I'm sure there will be many who'll try, but it's like trying to predict what tomorrows weather may bring. Everybody has their guess. Here's an Bassmaster article which talks briefly about the classic, and at the end of the article lists this years contenders.

Well that's it for me today. The parting shot of the day comes from a quote that William James once made. He said, "The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook." Take care and make sure you take some time out of your work to enjoy the day.

November 17, 2008

I took off on Friday at about 12:30 pm to head up to the cabin. I went up with my nephew Kris. We originally intended on going up and having deer camp at the cabin. My son Nate, however, left a few months ago to work down in Texas. Without him and his buddies, we ended up with just the two of us going up.

I have been extremely busy this fall, and have not had the time to get up to do any deer scouting. When my dad was alive I would hunt on some property that he and his buddies had, and I also had access to some land my brother-in-law had almost adjacent to my dad's. In the last couple of years though, that property has changed hands, and so I don't have my old haunts to frequent.

There is plenty of state and federal land around the cabin, but there are also a lot of hunters that frequent the area. You really need to spend some time ahead of the season to get yourself an out of the way spot where you won't have company too close. I also hadn't had time to shoot much preseason, so for those reason I decided to not hunt the opener. I haven't ruled out hunting later on, but this weekend I took advantage of the time and closed up the cabin, and put my boat to bed for the winter. I also took care of fall leaves that were still covering the grass at the cabin.

My nephew an I made the rounds of the various deer camps where we found friends and family enjoying Michigan's firearm deer season. We first went to a camp over by Lake City. Our buddy Clare has a beautiful cabin there that his family owns. It was not in the "cabin class" like my place. This was a truly spectacular log home that was deck out decor wise to show off the log features.

Clare is an owner in Spectators, a sports bar and restaurant just outside of Saugatuck. Needless to say he knows his way around a kitchen, and when he invited us over to their deer camp for prime rib dinner, we couldn't start the truck fast enough. Not only did we sit down to a great meal, Clare's family and friends made us laugh all evening as they told stories from seasons past. Great place, great food, and great company.

On Saturday, opening day, instead of getting up way before daylight to be in the woods opening morning, we enjoyed sleeping in. After getting up, I used the backpack blower and cleared the cabin yard of oak leaves. I then winterized the boat, and puttered around doing all the little jobs that needed to be done to get ready for winter's cold temperatures.

I have the cabin set up so I can winterize it quickly and open it up in a flash should I decide to go up during the cold weather. It's a great time of year, having its own virtures despite the gray cold that sometimes gets a little old.

Around 4:30 pm, we headed over to my brother-in-laws deer camp near Pine Lake off M55 near Wellston. We waited for the crew to come back in, and we were anxious to see if anyone had scored. Mark, my brother-in-laws brother, was the only successful hunter. He got a small five point, maybe a six.

A Pine Lake five pointer on opening day.

Brother Bones admiring brother Mark's deer.

Mark had packed, as many do, to spend the entire day from predawn to after dark waiting for his deer. He hunts hard and is staying all week in hopes of seeing that second buck with at least four points on one side. Your second buck in Michigan has to score at least that high in order for you to harvest it.

Sunday morning the 16th dawned with a light dusting of snow, but by 10:30 am it was snowing big fluffy flakes.

A heavy fluffy snow fell almost all day on the 16th.

The snow covering the ground usually gives an advantage to the hunters. It's much easier, because of the contrast, to see movement in the woods with a white ground cover. However, when the flakes are as big as they were, they hang on all the branches and become a curtain of white. The deer have to move very close in order for you to get a glimpse with these conditions - advantage deer.

We decided we would head over to my buddy Rick Skinner's compound and check out the success of their deer hunting faithful. Rick had shot a nice eight point with his bow just a day before the opener.

Rick "The Cement Man's" bow eight point.

The only rifle buck was killed by one of Rick's brother's and is hanging in Rick's cooler just behind his eight point in the picture above.

Kris and I hung out at the Skinner's most of the afternoon and headed out about the time they were going back in to the woods. We decided to make a quick trip to my dad's old deer hunting camp, at the Branch Ranch.

The Branch Ranch is for sale if you're interested.

Just two of the old guys were there when we stopped, Morey and Don. It was good to chat with them a minute, and then we were off to get something to eat at the Na-Tah-Ka . We ate and chatted with some of the locals that were watching the last Nascar race.

After our late lunch, we headed back over to Pine Lake to see how my brother-in-law's group was doing. The Pine Lake boys still didn't have any other deer hanging. There was a lot of grumbling about the weather, but everyone was having a good time regardless of the weather or hunting results.

Kris and I sat down and played some nickel dime poker with the guys. We had a great time and played cards way too late. Here's a shot of the poker crew at Pine Lake at 3:00 am.

Deer Camp Buddies

Monday came, and Kris and I had to head home. Both of us talked about coming back up to hunt, but whether I will or not remains to be seen.

When I got home, I wanted to get the blog done and add a picture of one of the Vawter Boys Pike County Illinois buck. You may remember the picture I put up earlier of Brent Vawter's tremendous deer (The picture is below if you scroll down), and here is his brother Bryan's big whitetail.

Bryan's Pike County Brute

Wow! What a buck!

Well, that's going to do it for today. I have some pictures from Rick Mast that he sent me of a late season walleye outing that turned in to a hawg smallmouth event that I'll put up tomorrow.

The parting shot today comes from one of the great outdoorsman, John Muir. He once said, "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." Take care and make sure you take time each day to enjoy the moment and get outdoors.

November 12, 2008

Well as Arnold would say, "I'm back." I have been neglecting the blog entries for a couple of weeks now. As you may have read, I went out to Lake Tahoe, CA to see my son and road trip with him back from Tahoe to Milwaukee.

Lake Tahoe from the rim.

Lake Tahoe is a bucket list destination. You simply need to put it on your vacation schedule for places to visit. The lake sits in a basin surrounded by a rim of mountains. There are something like eighteen different ski resorts surrounding the lake. It's approximately 72 spectacular miles around the lake.

The lake from a peak at Squaw Valley.

Tahoe from lake level - 6,200 ft.

Everywhere you drive in the basin is a picture postcard waiting to happen. It takes you a good solid day to drive around the lake stopping at all the scenic turnouts. Half of the lake is in Nevada the other half in California. Gambling, among other things, is legal in Nevada so the Nevada half of the lake has a number of casinos.

There are several little resort towns you travel through around the lake, like Kings Beach, South Lake and Tahoe City. If you decide to drive in to Reno, it's takes just fifty minutes to drive up and over the rim. If you head toward Sacramento and San Francisco, you have about an hour and a half ride to Sacramento and about three and a half hours to San Fran. Winter or summer there is a ton of things to keep you busy.

I had planned on taking my Apple laptop with me when I left, but my wife had plans for it, and so I decided that I could use my son's computer. However, I use my Apple iPod as a backup hard drive, storing my blog work on it when I travel. I didn't realize that my son's PC wouldn't read it. So, I was kind of stuck. I was able, with the help of my son, to get one blog entry done on Halloween that you may have read. Even though I had hopes of making several more it just didn't happen. Getting ready to drive cross country and then actually making the trip took more time than I thought.

During the next few days I'll include some more of the pictures that I shot in Tahoe and some from the road trip itself.

One of the things I did on the plane flying out, was to proof read a paper copy of the BFL Cherokee Lake Regional Tournament article. I now have that up on the site and you can access it through the menu on the left.

Even though I didn't make blog entries while I was away, I did do quite a bit of surfing on the net, and I read several very good articles and gathered some fishing information.

One of the articles I found, dealt with the new rule changes for the upcoming BASS 2009 Tournaments. As you have probably read, in 2009 the BASS Tournaments will no longer have coanglers participating. Instead, they will be initiating a "Marshals" program. The "Marshals" will be riders who will observe during the tournament. They will be briefed on tournament rules and regulations after which they will ride with the pros. There will be a $100 registration fee, and I believe that is for each event. I'm not sure at this point, but I do believe that $100 would be for all three days of the tournament. On the final day, "Marshals" would be replaced by a camera person. Here is an article from Bassmaster's website that details the Marshal's program .

Becoming a "Marshal" looks interesting to me and being retired I have the time to devote to one or more of the BASS Tournaments. Maybe I'll give it a go on either Guntersville or possibly up the Bay De Noc event.

I also read another article pertaining to BASS concerning the BASS Federation Nation National Championship on Milford Lake in Kansas. In fact, I followed the event from start to finish.

As you may recall, I went down to last year's National Championship with Michigan Champion, Don Fowler. It was a memorable time, and I put together an hour long DVD of that trip if anyone would be interested in watching it. Give me a shout and I'll send you a copy of the DVD to check out. It really gives you a nuts and bolts look at the event. If you'd rather, you can also use the archive blogs that are linked at the beginning of this page. I have the blog account of our trip delineated there.

This year's championship included some familiar names like Jamie Laiche and last year's winner Jeff Freeman. I can't believe that the action this year could have been any worse than last year, but it was. Only 41 bass were weighed in by the 50+ competitors over the two days of the tournament. A practice day and a tournament day had to be canceled due to high winds. The winner Bryan Schmidt, from Olney, Texas won the event with three fish weighing nine pounds and twelve ounces. Last year's winner Jeff Freeman blanked both days, as many others did as well. I can relate to that type of tournament, after fishing the BFL Cherokee Lake Regional. Here is the BASS Federation National Championship article. Here is the link to the final standings , and a link that contains the pictures from the event .

There are undoubtedly many a Michigan hunter already up scouting the woods in advance of this Saturday's deer firearm opener. I plan on heading up on Friday. I have a doctor appointment that I have to make early Friday. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pictures and accounts from some of the successful hunters.

One of our buddies have already scored big this year. My Tear Drop fishing partner Ron Hick's son, Clint, shot a nine point with his rifle during the youth hunt and also connected with his bow, harvesting a nice eight point. Ron's wife Melanie also shot a five point with her bow. Ron is down in Pike County, Illinois as we speak, looking for one of the counties famous monster bucks.

Brent Vawter, one of the "Vawter Boys" was down during bow season on Ron's Pike County lease and shot a big eight point and a doe. Here are some pictures he sent me.

A Dandy Pike County Buck

This deer will cost him some taxidermy money.

Brent's well over six feet tall and looks small compared to the brute he shot.

Man, what a buck! Brent didn't tell me what it weighed, but looking at it hanging, it must have dressed out well over 200 pounds. Now that I'm home, I'll have to give him a call and get the story on the deer. I'll be keeping you posted with all the 2009 deer season stories. If you get your deer, send me a picture via the website, and I'll post it. Be sure to include the details.

The parting shot of the day comes in the form of a tribute to our veterans. They deserve our admiration and unwavering support both during their tour of duty and for the rest of their lives. Here's a brief but summative quote from Elmer Davis. He once said, "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." Take care and make sure you take some time today, and any day actually, to thank a vet.