The first snow of the year, that I've seen anyway.
Yes indeed, the frost has been on the pumpkin up in the Great Northwest Corner. The leaves are begrudgingly hanging on, so there are pockets of color yet. Each day though, we get showers of leaves falling.
I came up north to get some work done, and work is what I've been doing. Added to my list was a well pump issue as soon as we got here.
We sometimes just leave the well pump on if we think we are coming up regularly enough, and when we got here we had no water and weren't sure if we had shut the pump off last time we left. I went out to the well pit and could hear the pump running. When I opened it up and checked things out, the pump was so hot you really could hardly touch it. It was evening, so I shut it off, and when I got up the next day I called Walt Adams Well Digging and Repair from the Tear Drop ad flyer, which you can access from the main web page.
Walt came right out and diagnosed a tank valve as the culprit. I was worried with the lake as low as it is that my well may have gone dry. $3,500 for a well versus a $17 check valve, I can handle that.
I ran up to the Dublin General Store and picked one up and he installed it. Walt left, and shortly thereafter the pump began to run without shutting off again. I looked in the pit to see a tiny leak in the brass check valve coming off the main well pipe. I then had to make another trip up to Dublin and get a new check valve and a new nipple and a compression fitting. As I was back putting the new pieces in, the Cementman made an appearance and coached me through the repair. When the new pieces were installed, we turned on the water, and the pump still ran without shutting off.
While working on the the check valve I had bumped the new tank valve, and felt it move a bit. I suspected that it had loosened up just a tad, and sure enough, when when I tightened it the problem was solved. If that pump is sucking the tiniest amount of air, it won't build pressure. If you're working on a well pump you better be prepared to "Get angry" as Walt says, and make sure all the connections are as tight as you can get them.
That job completed, I took the rest of the day off. The next day, my handy and most capable brother-in-law Neal came to my carpentry rescue as I tried rebuilding a small roof over the back porch. He did in 30 minutes what would have probably taken me most of the day. I just don't do enough of that kind of work to know what the best engineering approach should be, and I spend way to much time in the contemplation phase of the project. Any how, we now have an almost completed roof that just needs some final touches. Thanks Neal!
When I got up this morning, I checked out some of my internet haunts. I wanted to see how the Everstart on Kentucky Lake was going. Yesterday was Day 2 of that event. I was interested to read whether guys were utilizing the new Alabama Rig was producing in the Kentucky Lake, Everstart event.
Andy Poss, the lure maker, was there with a trunk load of his new rigs right after the first practice day. He began selling them from his trunk and within minutes he had a line 120 anglers long. The FLW article I read that from also said that prior to Guntersville, they had about 8,000 hits on their Alabama Rig webpage . The other day, they were at 138,000 and climbing! Let's see that's $25 a pop for the rig, times a gazillion anglers wanting the rig, which equates to a rather substantial sum! I would have hated coming up with the lure. Can you imagine the tax problem you would have on all that profit.
It doesn't appear that the A-rig is making the type of difference it made on Guntersville. Some of the old traditional lures seem to be what are accounting for most of the fish there. Here is an article detailing the Day 2 Kentucky Lake results.
If you clicked on the Kentucky Lake article you found it took you to the FLW site. I still don't like how their site is set up and how their articles appear. I think the webmaster at B.A.S.S. should be given a raise for his or her work there. It's more appealing, easy to negotiate, and the pages are so much more crisp and easy to read. You'll also find that whenever you click on a link to FLW's site you are redirected from the site you're on and have to negotiate back to finish, say the blog, or whatever else you had been reading.
B.A.S.S. has picked up the Alabama Rig story, and they have had several articles on their website about it. Here is one of their more recent articles which gives some history on this freshwater take on an old saltwater device for triggering strikes. The piece also gives you the law on using a multiple bait hook in a number of states: "Alabama rig: History and law lessons ."
While at the B.A.S.S. site you might have visited KVD's blog. If you didn't, he has a new piece about the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, TTBC. Kevin talks about all the talent assembled for the Lake Conroe event. He also mentions how the draught stricken lake is seven feet low! He comments on all the structure that is visible and how locals are adding to it so that when the rains come and fill the lake to its normal pool, there will be even more structure. Here's a link to King Kong's Blog .
As Kevin described in his blog, the TTBC invites the best of the top three circuits, B.A.S.S. FLW, and the P.A.A. The event started yesterday, and Texas B.A.S.S. angler Keith Combs is the Day 1 leader with a stout 28-08 opening day bag. Mike Iaconelli is right on his heels, however, with a 26-12 lb. bag. Van Dam is taking it easy on the field, weighing just 15 lbs. on Day 1. Here is a summary of how it went down on Conroe: Six Sacks Over 20 - Combs Claims Day-1 Conroe Lead, Ike 2nd .
That's just about it from me today. Too many irons in the fire to spend too much more time on the computer. Before I sign off though you may want to mark your calendar, or enter a reminder on your cell phone, for the weekend of November 26. On that day, Rebel is taking registrations for a bass boat give away: Rebel contest: Win a boat .
And for the very last word, just a reminder that on Sunday, November 6, at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time ends in the United States. Spring ahead, Fall back an hour.
October 24, 2011
The Alabama Rig, the Alabama Rig, the Alabama Rig . Get ready, because that's all you're going to hear about for a while! And, forget trying to buy one. I would suspect that after Paul Elias blew away the field at the FLW Tour Open on Lake Guntersville, beating the next closest competitor by 17 lbs., that these baits are going to be sold out for a long time.
Elias almost captured the highest weight ever title, in a FLW event, with his 102-8 lb. total on the highly pressured Lake Guntersville. He came in second. Elias already holds the record on the B.A.S.S. side of the two tours for a single tournament catch with 132-8 lbs., on Lake Falcon, back in 2008.
The Alabama Rig is an umbrella rig. It has five wires secured in a jig head that can then be bent to present a spread of baits. Elias was using swimbaits, but as you will hear and see in the instructional video below, you could present any number of different baits with it.
The Alabama Rig
I don't know if I can find a retailer left in the south that still has one of these rigs. I am going to try though. For $25 a pop, plus the cost of the baits, you're throwing about a $50 set up. I could see it being effective up here in the north country though when those smallies are chasing out in open water. It would be interesting to see how it works on our bronzebacks. I'll let you know if I find one. As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with my Alabama brother-in-law, and he's going to see if the local bait shop, and it's a good one, has any on the shelves yet. He's coming up for deer gun season, so maybe I'll have one to look at soon.
By the way, here is a link to the Bass Fan article that discusses Elias' Century Mark Eclipsed Elias Wraps Up Magical Week With 23-00 Sack . If you're interested in watching another really good video with Paul Elias and Andy Poss, the Alabama rig inventor, the FLW has a clip that is about fifteen minutes long. I'd say if you're interested in the new bait you had better watch this video: Click on the Reel Time Report Day 4 Guntersville .
As good as it got on Guntersville, it was almost the complete opposite for the anglers fishing the third Central Open on Table Rock Lake. Saying the fishing was tough was probably an understatement.
Seventy year old Tommy Martin lead the B.A.S.S. event for two days and would have taken home the check if he could of came up with a limit the last day. Kevin short smoke the field the last day. When everyone else was bringing in partial bags, even he had only three fish the first day, he saved the best for last with 15-07 lbs, bringing his three day total weight to 33-8 lbs. Here's a story from B.A.S.S. written by John Neporadny Jr. on K-Pinks win: Short rocks The Rock Solves Table Rock for 15-7 on final day to win Open by 7 pounds .
I'm going to have to keep it short today. Too many lines in the water today. I'll make the last cast be the latest segment from Tommy Sander's, "The Livewell" .
Take care and enjoy the sunshine today while it lasts. It's suppose to be raining again tomorrow.
October 20, 2011
Rainy days and Mondays, well maybe Thursdays too, seem to get me down.
In kind of a funk today. Haven't been able to get real motivated to do much. The cold wet weather sure hasn't helped. It also doesn't help that we are back at home instead of being at the cabin. This time of year, I love being in the Great Northwest Corner.
One reason I like to be up in the north-woods is that there is always a possibility of a big ole ten pointer walking by. Actually that did recently happen to one lucky Irons Area hunter.
I got an email from John "One Sock" Bennett, and it contained a picture of he and his dad, and a big ole buck his father just took with his bow. Congratulations on one dandy bow deer!
I didn't get a story with the big buck picture, but maybe I can work on getting the nitty gritty on how this deer was taken from "One Sock."
I had mentioned in the last blog entry, or the one before, that I'd try and get some info on the recent Hawg Tournament up on Duck and Green Lake near Interlochen.
I recently received an email from Wes Herndon and one from Keith Grandy, director of the tournament. Keith and Wes told me that Wes and his partner Brian Macdonell took big fish honors on Green Lake with a 4.24 lb. smallie. The largest fish on Duck was caught by the team of Ebach and Ebach, and it weighed 3.71 lbs. The combination winner was also the Ebachs.
I don't know the Ebachs, but they certainly had a good day! Congratulations certainly go out to them.
I heard that there were around 32 boats this year, and that the big fish, off each lake, won around a $1,000. The combined weight winners also got around a grand. Here are a few pictures that the Ricky Skinner sent of his day at the Hawg. He took them with his new iPhone.
As I've said before, the Hawg is a one day event, and it typically takes place the first weekend of October up on Duck and Green Lakes in Interlochen. Anglers fish a half day on each lake with about an hour for lunch in between lakes. It varies from year to year as to what lake they start on. I believe the entry fee is $100. It's a well run event, and they seem to always draw around 30+ boats. I'll try and email Keith Grandy to see if it's okay with him to put his email address on the blog for those who may be interested in next year's event.
I've been a bit lazy and haven't gotten a blog out in several days, so I hope those who have been involved in the FLW Fantasy Fishing League picked their team in time for the Guntersville event which started this morning. Here' a bit of a introduction, talking about current conditions, and likely fall patterns anglers will be using on the Big G: Guntersville Guesstimates Run the Gamut .
If you look at the line up for this event you will see a fairly substantial contingent of Elite Series anglers. I pretty much filled my Fantasy Team with them. Elite anglers Derek Remitz and Chris Lane both live in Guntersville and have to be considered favorites.
You can watch the live chilly weigh-in today at 3:30 p.m. on the FLW Website .
Each day, I usually turn the computer on and then surf through some of my bookmarked favorites. I read KVD's blog regularly. It's always interesting and he does a good job of blogging. Here's is latest piece: KVD's World-Offseason in Overdrive .
Another thing I ran across today on the Bassmaster site is that the last B.A.S.S. Central Open starts today on Table Rock Lake. One of the more interesting aspects of this event is Janet Parker's efforts to become the first woman to qualify for an Elite Series berth. Points wise she in the hunt and quite likely to pull off this first. You can watch the live weigh-in from Missouri at 4:15 p.m. by using this link to the Bassmaster site: Live Weigh-in for Central Open #3 today at 4:15 ET.
In closing today, I thought I'd include some final shots from the recent Grand Rapids Art Prize Competition. The winner was the "Cruxifiction" by Mia Tavonatti. She won $250,000. Her glass mosaic is below in an earlier blog. Here are some pictures from the last day of the competition when we went down with my niece, her husband, and their daughter.
Oh by the way, I made the move, and decided to sign up for the Marshal program again.
Take care and stay dry.
October 15, 2011
Sittin here wishin I could go huntin this morning. I've been up at the cabin for several days taking care of those jobs that need to be done every year in the fall. Took my sprinkling pump out, put the pontoon boat in the garage, raked all the sticks out of the yard and blew leaves. I still have to take the dock out and do some work on a little roof over the back entry way that had to be removed.
It's been raining pretty steady since early evening last night. Right now, I'm sitting at my computer station by the front window of the cabin looking out at the lake. I stop typing every few minutes to scan the wood line on both sides of the cabin. I don't have any neighbors and so we see lots of wild life. I usually see more deer though than I've been seeing recently. I don't know if the warm weather and abundance of acorns this year have them hunkered down and not traveling as much. The wind has been pretty stiff as well and I suspect that has them staying put more. We lost power for a few minutes several times last night. Not for long, but just enough to make us have to reset all the clocks.
Our lake is as low as I've seen it in years. It's been very dry up here and even when we have been getting soaking rains in the Grand Rapids area, they have not been getting the same systems move through up here in Michigan's Great Northwest Corner.
I haven't be out in a tree stand yet. As I've said before, I start bow hunting in earnest as the season gets further along toward the end of the month and first of November.
I've been getting some reports on this year's archery season. The Cementman said yesterday when he was helping me take out my pontoon boat, that his brother Jim had shot a nice nine point over near his home in Clio. Ricky Jr. sent me a couple of pictures of a couple of deer that his cousins took last weekend. Here are those pics.
As I said, I haven't been out yet, but I did bring my compound and my new Ten Point crossbow up. The crossbow isn't new, I bought from a guy who had it for sale on Craigslist. I had to have the serving replaced on it, but other than that, it's ready to rock and roll. Who knows maybe I'll set out tonight before the Tigers are on at 8:00 p.m.
Whoa! Just saw a red fox high tail it through the yard. Something seemed to spook him, maybe it was just the wind. It's still really rippin. We have at least two foxes we see regularly. Many times they almost appear tame and don't seem to be the least concerned when you drive past them on the two track in to the cabin.
I have some pictures that Ricky Skinner sent me from the Hawg Tournament up on Duck and Green last weekend. They had over 30 boats show up. They paid a little over a grand for big fish on Duck, big fish on Green, and a grand to the team with the highest combined weight for the two lakes.
I've sent an email to a couple of people to see if they can fill me in on who won what. I'll try and find out and when I do I'll also post the pictures that Ricky sent me from the event.
Yesterday, I had to clean out and move things around so that I could get the boats in. In the process, I found a box of old newspapers, Baldwin Stars. In many of those old papers, there are articles that I use to have published in the Star covering the Tear Drop tournaments. The first paper I picked up had an article in it about an event on Big Bass Lake in 1992. I also found a picture of Craig Stumbrie and Matt Roark from an earlier IATA event that they won. I am going to start scanning some of those old articles and putting them on the blog. They are fun to read, especially if you're old like me and were fishing those tournaments back then. You can look for those soon. I need to have access to my scanner. It sounds like a cabin fever job this winter.
Ricky Skinner sent me a picture of his youngest son Trevor. Trevor was out catching some salmon with some buddies not long ago. From all that I've read, this year has been a particularly good year for catching salmon. I was just looking at a newstand reading the headlines and one of the local papers up here was saying the rivers have had a larger than normal run this year. Here is a picture of some of the fish Trevor caught.
I haven't given up on getting out fishing a few more times before the gales of November start blowing across the lake. Consequently, I have been perusing the net looking for Fall fishing ideas. One of them I found was talking about a new hook that is being manufactured for soft plastic jerkbaits or swimbaits. Here is a link to the article talking about them: Soft Swimbait Hook Solution .
Another new piece of terminal tackle that looks pretty good is a jighead for finesse fishing a shakey head. It's on the Bassmaster site: This jighead defines finesse shaky heads!
One last article that pertains to Fall fishing is a piece Edwin Evers, E Squared, just posted. He has three ways that you can combat Fall turnover, the condition that occurs in our lakes as the water cools and the warmer water nearer the bottom will move to the top of the lake churning the lake up into a cloudy mess: Edwin Evers' 3 Ways to Beat Turnover Blues .
Well that's going to be it from me today. Time to start thinking about the Michigan Vs. Michigan State game. I know my buddy John will have his snacks ready and will be bleeding the Maize and Blue. Take care, enjoy the rest of the weekend!
October 8, 2011
I guess I should start this morning by talking about the above addition to the blog entry. Alton Jones' new music video, "Sitting Here Wishin' That I Could Go Fishin' " is now out on You Tube. I heard about the new song/video while cruising the net and reading the blog that Alton does on B.A.S.S.' site. Alton doesn't do the singing, just the lip sync acting. It's a pretty good fishin' song though. You can download it for $.99 on iTunes or you can go to this CD Baby web site and download it for the same amount.
Alton admittedly says he can't sing, maybe you'll have to talk to the Cementman about it. He drew Alton in 2009 on Lake Wheeler. Maybe he did some crooning in the boat.
Speaking of Marshaling, Monday is the first day you can sign up early for 2012. That is, if you are a B.A.S.S. Life Member or a B.A.S.S. Federation Nation member. I'm not too happy with B.A.S.S. though. For the past several years, early sign ups have been right after the start of the new year. In advance of that, I have been trying to get signed up as a Federation Nation Member.
I called Paul Sacks, President of the Michigan Federation, and he told me that they don't have a way to sign individuals up who don't want to start a new club, or that want to join an established one. He also said that the membership year starts in November and that if I wanted to sign up then it would be the best value for me. Best bang for the buck so to speak because memberships expire on a set schedule no matter when you sign up. Consequently, I was waiting until November to sign up thinking that I would still be on track to get the early entry come January. Then, out of the blue, B.A.S.S. announces, October 3, that they would be starting Marshal sign ups October 10, 2011. Drats, double drats!
Whatever the case, I'm going to be trying to sign up for the "Mystery Lake" event which starts June 28th and goes through July 1. There is an outside chance that I may also sign up for the Lake Okeechobee event in March. It takes place over my wife and I's anniversary, so maybe we'll make it a part of a celebration trip.
The Cementman told me last year that he would not be Marshaling in 2012. Maybe he'll change his mind. If you're interested in Marshaling, and it's a blast, sign up, and we'll make a road trip out of it.
Yesterday, FLW Everstart anglers fired up the big engines for an event on Table Rock Lake. From reading the accounts of the action, the weather was hot but the fishing was not. I know several blog regulars travel down to Table Rock annually to fish. Myself, I've never made the trip. Here is the story on yesterday's action: Table Rock is a Hard Place .
Speaking of tournaments, Sunday is the annual Hawg Tournament up on Duck and Green Lakes near Interlochen. I've fished it a couple of times, and Don Fowler and I won it one year. This year, I won't be able to make it, but I do know that a number of the Tear Drop crowd will be up there chasing some of the big bass that swim in those two lakes. The Hawg anglers spend half the day on Duck and half on Green. You can weigh one fish from each lake. Each year the pay has varied a bit . Some year's it's a winner take all event. (At the end of this blog entry, I'm going to repost an old Hawg Hunt article.
If I were going up to the Hawg this year, especially with this warm weather we've been having, I think that the topwater bite might just be the ticket. I would have a buzzbait on to try. I was reading an article that KVD put up recently talking about the Fall, and that very same topwater bite. Here's the article: Put a Buzz in their Ears this Fall . One other thing that I know I'd be doing if I was planning on fishing tomorrow, is respooling line. I always put new line on before any tournament. With the cost of fluorocarbon, it can get a tad bit expensive. If you're serious about contending though, you have to take care of all those things that you can control, like having fresh line.
As a side note, I have had a number of opportunities to try out the new Vicious Pro Elite fluorocarbon and it's the real deal. I know many of you have tried the old stuff, and may have been disappointed in how it performed on spinning reels. You'll just have to make sure you get the Pro Elite and give it a try. It will change your mind, and save you some respooling dollars. Here's an article on respooling: Pro Lessons Respool And Refresh .
One of the reasons, and I have a couple, that I'm not fishing this weekend is that I have my niece's family coming for the long weekend. We really look forward to their visits. They are taking advantage of Monday's Columbus Day holiday to get a long weekend. It's a 5-6 hour drive for them. They just sent me a text saying they are on the road, so I guess I'd better get busy and do some of my company coming jobs.
The final cast of the day will be a segment of Tommy Sander's The Livewell . It features Alton Jones and Ish Monroe visits. Jones discusses his new video and Ish talks about his recent Open win and the 2011 season.
Take care and enjoy the weekend! Good luck to those fishing the Hawg! Maybe next year, I can be there to contribute to the pot.
Also, as I mentioned here is a reprint of a 2006 Blog post talking about the Hawg Hunt in 2006.
2006 Hawg
By the way, here is a link to the Bass Fan article that discusses Elias' Century Mark Eclipsed Elias Wraps Up Magical Week With 23-00 Sack . If you're interested in watching another really good video with Paul Elias and Andy Poss, the Alabama rig inventor, the FLW has a clip that is about fifteen minutes long. I'd say if you're interested in the new bait you had better watch this video: Click on the Reel Time Report Day 4 Guntersville .
As good as it got on Guntersville, it was almost the complete opposite for the anglers fishing the third Central Open on Table Rock Lake. Saying the fishing was tough was probably an understatement.
Seventy year old Tommy Martin lead the B.A.S.S. event for two days and would have taken home the check if he could of came up with a limit the last day. Kevin short smoke the field the last day. When everyone else was bringing in partial bags, even he had only three fish the first day, he saved the best for last with 15-07 lbs, bringing his three day total weight to 33-8 lbs. Here's a story from B.A.S.S. written by John Neporadny Jr. on K-Pinks win: Short rocks The Rock Solves Table Rock for 15-7 on final day to win Open by 7 pounds .
I'm going to have to keep it short today. Too many lines in the water today. I'll make the last cast be the latest segment from Tommy Sander's, "The Livewell" .
Take care and enjoy the sunshine today while it lasts. It's suppose to be raining again tomorrow.
October 20, 2011
Rainy days and Mondays, well maybe Thursdays too, seem to get me down.
The whole state is engulfed in this Fall storm.
In kind of a funk today. Haven't been able to get real motivated to do much. The cold wet weather sure hasn't helped. It also doesn't help that we are back at home instead of being at the cabin. This time of year, I love being in the Great Northwest Corner.
One reason I like to be up in the north-woods is that there is always a possibility of a big ole ten pointer walking by. Actually that did recently happen to one lucky Irons Area hunter.
I got an email from John "One Sock" Bennett, and it contained a picture of he and his dad, and a big ole buck his father just took with his bow. Congratulations on one dandy bow deer!
John Bennett with his dad's trophy whitetail.
I didn't get a story with the big buck picture, but maybe I can work on getting the nitty gritty on how this deer was taken from "One Sock."
I had mentioned in the last blog entry, or the one before, that I'd try and get some info on the recent Hawg Tournament up on Duck and Green Lake near Interlochen.
I recently received an email from Wes Herndon and one from Keith Grandy, director of the tournament. Keith and Wes told me that Wes and his partner Brian Macdonell took big fish honors on Green Lake with a 4.24 lb. smallie. The largest fish on Duck was caught by the team of Ebach and Ebach, and it weighed 3.71 lbs. The combination winner was also the Ebachs.
I don't know the Ebachs, but they certainly had a good day! Congratulations certainly go out to them.
I heard that there were around 32 boats this year, and that the big fish, off each lake, won around a $1,000. The combined weight winners also got around a grand. Here are a few pictures that the Ricky Skinner sent of his day at the Hawg. He took them with his new iPhone.
The Hawg has been taking place Columbus Day Weekend. Fall colors are at their peak then.
I do believe that's Dandy Don Fowler standing with Brian Miller and Tony Maddux.
The Cementman with a smile on his face. That's before all the boat issues occurred.
The weigh-in line on Green.
Matt Kaiser presenting a big smallie to the weighmaster.
Matt Kaiser and his Hawg partner Josh Meyers.
Brian Macdonell with the big fish off Green.
As I've said before, the Hawg is a one day event, and it typically takes place the first weekend of October up on Duck and Green Lakes in Interlochen. Anglers fish a half day on each lake with about an hour for lunch in between lakes. It varies from year to year as to what lake they start on. I believe the entry fee is $100. It's a well run event, and they seem to always draw around 30+ boats. I'll try and email Keith Grandy to see if it's okay with him to put his email address on the blog for those who may be interested in next year's event.
I've been a bit lazy and haven't gotten a blog out in several days, so I hope those who have been involved in the FLW Fantasy Fishing League picked their team in time for the Guntersville event which started this morning. Here' a bit of a introduction, talking about current conditions, and likely fall patterns anglers will be using on the Big G: Guntersville Guesstimates Run the Gamut .
If you look at the line up for this event you will see a fairly substantial contingent of Elite Series anglers. I pretty much filled my Fantasy Team with them. Elite anglers Derek Remitz and Chris Lane both live in Guntersville and have to be considered favorites.
I drew Derek in the 2010 Elite Series Guntersville event. Good guy!
Some to the baits Derek threw on the Big G.
You can watch the live chilly weigh-in today at 3:30 p.m. on the FLW Website .
Each day, I usually turn the computer on and then surf through some of my bookmarked favorites. I read KVD's blog regularly. It's always interesting and he does a good job of blogging. Here's is latest piece: KVD's World-Offseason in Overdrive .
Another thing I ran across today on the Bassmaster site is that the last B.A.S.S. Central Open starts today on Table Rock Lake. One of the more interesting aspects of this event is Janet Parker's efforts to become the first woman to qualify for an Elite Series berth. Points wise she in the hunt and quite likely to pull off this first. You can watch the live weigh-in from Missouri at 4:15 p.m. by using this link to the Bassmaster site: Live Weigh-in for Central Open #3 today at 4:15 ET.
In closing today, I thought I'd include some final shots from the recent Grand Rapids Art Prize Competition. The winner was the "Cruxifiction" by Mia Tavonatti. She won $250,000. Her glass mosaic is below in an earlier blog. Here are some pictures from the last day of the competition when we went down with my niece, her husband, and their daughter.
This was from a cool exhibit. You have to look at this pic and the next shot.
This exhibit was called, "Four on the Floor."
A collection of prints that are quite striking.
This is a very unique "collection" piece.
My grand niece in front of the Gerald Ford Museum. What a cutey pie!
Many were enjoying the art, and a bunch of anglers were honing their craft as well. The salmon were running.
Oh by the way, I made the move, and decided to sign up for the Marshal program again.
Any body interested in making a road trip?
Take care and stay dry.
October 15, 2011
Sittin here wishin I could go huntin this morning. I've been up at the cabin for several days taking care of those jobs that need to be done every year in the fall. Took my sprinkling pump out, put the pontoon boat in the garage, raked all the sticks out of the yard and blew leaves. I still have to take the dock out and do some work on a little roof over the back entry way that had to be removed.
It's been raining pretty steady since early evening last night. Right now, I'm sitting at my computer station by the front window of the cabin looking out at the lake. I stop typing every few minutes to scan the wood line on both sides of the cabin. I don't have any neighbors and so we see lots of wild life. I usually see more deer though than I've been seeing recently. I don't know if the warm weather and abundance of acorns this year have them hunkered down and not traveling as much. The wind has been pretty stiff as well and I suspect that has them staying put more. We lost power for a few minutes several times last night. Not for long, but just enough to make us have to reset all the clocks.
Our lake is as low as I've seen it in years. It's been very dry up here and even when we have been getting soaking rains in the Grand Rapids area, they have not been getting the same systems move through up here in Michigan's Great Northwest Corner.
I haven't be out in a tree stand yet. As I've said before, I start bow hunting in earnest as the season gets further along toward the end of the month and first of November.
I've been getting some reports on this year's archery season. The Cementman said yesterday when he was helping me take out my pontoon boat, that his brother Jim had shot a nice nine point over near his home in Clio. Ricky Jr. sent me a couple of pictures of a couple of deer that his cousins took last weekend. Here are those pics.
Jeff Skinner with his 2011 archery deer harvest. Mmmmm backstraps!
Todd Skinner put the smack down on this six point.
As I said, I haven't been out yet, but I did bring my compound and my new Ten Point crossbow up. The crossbow isn't new, I bought from a guy who had it for sale on Craigslist. I had to have the serving replaced on it, but other than that, it's ready to rock and roll. Who knows maybe I'll set out tonight before the Tigers are on at 8:00 p.m.
Whoa! Just saw a red fox high tail it through the yard. Something seemed to spook him, maybe it was just the wind. It's still really rippin. We have at least two foxes we see regularly. Many times they almost appear tame and don't seem to be the least concerned when you drive past them on the two track in to the cabin.
I have some pictures that Ricky Skinner sent me from the Hawg Tournament up on Duck and Green last weekend. They had over 30 boats show up. They paid a little over a grand for big fish on Duck, big fish on Green, and a grand to the team with the highest combined weight for the two lakes.
I've sent an email to a couple of people to see if they can fill me in on who won what. I'll try and find out and when I do I'll also post the pictures that Ricky sent me from the event.
Yesterday, I had to clean out and move things around so that I could get the boats in. In the process, I found a box of old newspapers, Baldwin Stars. In many of those old papers, there are articles that I use to have published in the Star covering the Tear Drop tournaments. The first paper I picked up had an article in it about an event on Big Bass Lake in 1992. I also found a picture of Craig Stumbrie and Matt Roark from an earlier IATA event that they won. I am going to start scanning some of those old articles and putting them on the blog. They are fun to read, especially if you're old like me and were fishing those tournaments back then. You can look for those soon. I need to have access to my scanner. It sounds like a cabin fever job this winter.
Ricky Skinner sent me a picture of his youngest son Trevor. Trevor was out catching some salmon with some buddies not long ago. From all that I've read, this year has been a particularly good year for catching salmon. I was just looking at a newstand reading the headlines and one of the local papers up here was saying the rivers have had a larger than normal run this year. Here is a picture of some of the fish Trevor caught.
Trevor's Salmon catch out of Manistee, MI.
I haven't given up on getting out fishing a few more times before the gales of November start blowing across the lake. Consequently, I have been perusing the net looking for Fall fishing ideas. One of them I found was talking about a new hook that is being manufactured for soft plastic jerkbaits or swimbaits. Here is a link to the article talking about them: Soft Swimbait Hook Solution .
Another new piece of terminal tackle that looks pretty good is a jighead for finesse fishing a shakey head. It's on the Bassmaster site: This jighead defines finesse shaky heads!
One last article that pertains to Fall fishing is a piece Edwin Evers, E Squared, just posted. He has three ways that you can combat Fall turnover, the condition that occurs in our lakes as the water cools and the warmer water nearer the bottom will move to the top of the lake churning the lake up into a cloudy mess: Edwin Evers' 3 Ways to Beat Turnover Blues .
Well that's going to be it from me today. Time to start thinking about the Michigan Vs. Michigan State game. I know my buddy John will have his snacks ready and will be bleeding the Maize and Blue. Take care, enjoy the rest of the weekend!
October 8, 2011
I guess I should start this morning by talking about the above addition to the blog entry. Alton Jones' new music video, "Sitting Here Wishin' That I Could Go Fishin' " is now out on You Tube. I heard about the new song/video while cruising the net and reading the blog that Alton does on B.A.S.S.' site. Alton doesn't do the singing, just the lip sync acting. It's a pretty good fishin' song though. You can download it for $.99 on iTunes or you can go to this CD Baby web site and download it for the same amount.
Alton admittedly says he can't sing, maybe you'll have to talk to the Cementman about it. He drew Alton in 2009 on Lake Wheeler. Maybe he did some crooning in the boat.
The Cementman hooks up with Alton on Wheeler for the day.
Speaking of Marshaling, Monday is the first day you can sign up early for 2012. That is, if you are a B.A.S.S. Life Member or a B.A.S.S. Federation Nation member. I'm not too happy with B.A.S.S. though. For the past several years, early sign ups have been right after the start of the new year. In advance of that, I have been trying to get signed up as a Federation Nation Member.
I called Paul Sacks, President of the Michigan Federation, and he told me that they don't have a way to sign individuals up who don't want to start a new club, or that want to join an established one. He also said that the membership year starts in November and that if I wanted to sign up then it would be the best value for me. Best bang for the buck so to speak because memberships expire on a set schedule no matter when you sign up. Consequently, I was waiting until November to sign up thinking that I would still be on track to get the early entry come January. Then, out of the blue, B.A.S.S. announces, October 3, that they would be starting Marshal sign ups October 10, 2011. Drats, double drats!
Whatever the case, I'm going to be trying to sign up for the "Mystery Lake" event which starts June 28th and goes through July 1. There is an outside chance that I may also sign up for the Lake Okeechobee event in March. It takes place over my wife and I's anniversary, so maybe we'll make it a part of a celebration trip.
The Cementman told me last year that he would not be Marshaling in 2012. Maybe he'll change his mind. If you're interested in Marshaling, and it's a blast, sign up, and we'll make a road trip out of it.
Yesterday, FLW Everstart anglers fired up the big engines for an event on Table Rock Lake. From reading the accounts of the action, the weather was hot but the fishing was not. I know several blog regulars travel down to Table Rock annually to fish. Myself, I've never made the trip. Here is the story on yesterday's action: Table Rock is a Hard Place .
Speaking of tournaments, Sunday is the annual Hawg Tournament up on Duck and Green Lakes near Interlochen. I've fished it a couple of times, and Don Fowler and I won it one year. This year, I won't be able to make it, but I do know that a number of the Tear Drop crowd will be up there chasing some of the big bass that swim in those two lakes. The Hawg anglers spend half the day on Duck and half on Green. You can weigh one fish from each lake. Each year the pay has varied a bit . Some year's it's a winner take all event. (At the end of this blog entry, I'm going to repost an old Hawg Hunt article.
If I were going up to the Hawg this year, especially with this warm weather we've been having, I think that the topwater bite might just be the ticket. I would have a buzzbait on to try. I was reading an article that KVD put up recently talking about the Fall, and that very same topwater bite. Here's the article: Put a Buzz in their Ears this Fall . One other thing that I know I'd be doing if I was planning on fishing tomorrow, is respooling line. I always put new line on before any tournament. With the cost of fluorocarbon, it can get a tad bit expensive. If you're serious about contending though, you have to take care of all those things that you can control, like having fresh line.
As a side note, I have had a number of opportunities to try out the new Vicious Pro Elite fluorocarbon and it's the real deal. I know many of you have tried the old stuff, and may have been disappointed in how it performed on spinning reels. You'll just have to make sure you get the Pro Elite and give it a try. It will change your mind, and save you some respooling dollars. Here's an article on respooling: Pro Lessons Respool And Refresh .
One of the reasons, and I have a couple, that I'm not fishing this weekend is that I have my niece's family coming for the long weekend. We really look forward to their visits. They are taking advantage of Monday's Columbus Day holiday to get a long weekend. It's a 5-6 hour drive for them. They just sent me a text saying they are on the road, so I guess I'd better get busy and do some of my company coming jobs.
The final cast of the day will be a segment of Tommy Sander's The Livewell . It features Alton Jones and Ish Monroe visits. Jones discusses his new video and Ish talks about his recent Open win and the 2011 season.
Take care and enjoy the weekend! Good luck to those fishing the Hawg! Maybe next year, I can be there to contribute to the pot.
Also, as I mentioned here is a reprint of a 2006 Blog post talking about the Hawg Hunt in 2006.
Annual Interlochen Hawg Hunt
Show Me the Money!
Sunday, October 8, 2006 the annual "Hawg Tournament" was held up in Interlochen on Duck and Green Lake. If you are not familiar with Interlochen, it is about 20 minutes southwest of Traverse City. It's the home of the nationally renown Interlochen Music Camp and it also has one of the nicest state parks in Michigan. Here's an "Interlochen area map."
The "Hawg Tournament" is a one day, $80 entry, two lake big fish contest. There is a big bass pot for each lake. You weigh one fish from each lake and the total weight winner takes all! No second or third place money.
This year the 18 boats headed out onto Duck Lake at first light. The weather was cool, it was going to be clear bluebird fall morning. The moon had been shining full and as the sun rose the wind began to pick up. It was a stiff wind, the kind that can really get under an angler's skin. You have to be constantly on the trolling motor, and soft plastics are tough to use because of the bow that develops in your line stealing that sensitivity from your rod.
My partner Don and I have fished Duck and Green countless times over the years. Our last Tear Drop tournament had been on Duck and our second day of our two day Classic was on Green. We felt we had as good a chance as anyone. We had to just get lucky and stick some big green fish. There were several other Tear Drop anglers fishing. Brian MacDonell and Wes Herndon, Brian Miller and Tony Maddox, Josh Myers and Mike Meysar, and Danny Warner and Matt Kaiser were signed up. Ron Fasel, who took a break from the Tear Drop this year fished the event with Tony DeFilippo. All these guys plus the rest of the field knew these lakes well so it was going to be a backyard tourney.
They took off in five flights determined by pulling cards. Aces were the first flight and so on. Whoever drew the joker started the boats. My partner, "Mr. Lucky" drew the joker so we had the dubious honor of starting the boats and taking off dead last.
I had been down at the edge of my lake the night before taking some fall color pictures as the sun was setting. As I snapped a few pics, I could hear and see bass working the minnows up shallow. They were actively feeding and that fact was part of the reason Don and I decided to start on some of the shallow flats on Duck to see if the pattern was occurring on there as well. Don boated a short off our first spot, but we came up empty over the next hour or so. We moved out onto a deeper flat and I had a good size smallie come up and smack my spinnerbait just a few yards from the boat. How can they hit those spinnerbaits and not get hooked up??? Don boated a few dandy perch off a drop, but no more bass. We tried two other deeper flats and pounded some shoreline to no avail. We had about 45 minutes left so we headed for one of Don's favorite spots a big flat off a point that has weed patches here and there. The wind was really making it difficult by this time, but what can you do? We fished the whole flat and decided to move across the lake and try one more quick spot. I pulled the trolling motor tied my rods down as Don kept casting. It pays to keep a line in the water. I was just grabbing the steering wheel to sit down and Don hollers "Fish." He said it felt like a good one, and as it broke the surface we new if we could get it in the boat that we would be in this thing. A couple of stabs with the net and it was in the boat. We were dancing! To old to do the Iaconelli brake dance moves, but we gave it the over 50 shuffle. As the shirt says, "Old Guys Rule!" We figured it was around 3 lbs. and would definitely keep us in the ball game. We decided to finish the last few minutes just down from the ramp. We didn't want to be late for the weigh in.
The teams loaded their boats and then brought their fish to the scales. We weighed our smallie and it went 3.41 lbs. Big bass for Duck was another smallie that went 3.46 lbs. Lost the $90 big bass pot by five hundredths of a pound. Oh well, we were very happy with the fish we had and headed to the Karlin Grocery to get one of their great subs for lunch. We had to be over to the launch on Green by 1:00.
At Green, we again drew cards for take off and this time "Mr. Lucky" drew a first flight ace. The wind on Green was running the length of the lake making shelter from it almost nonexistent. We headed down the lake and started on a weed flat. Don picked up his spinnerbait and on the first cast had a nice smallie follow it almost to the boat. We both dove for an alternate bait, but too late the fish just eased its way back into the deep. Well, at least we knew that the flat was holding fish and all we needed to do was figure out how to catch them. Speaking of catching, one of the things that is a must is good sharp hooks. I recently talked with a guy who told me that an excellent source for quality hooks at a good price was "Hookerz Tackle." I have checked it out and plan on putting in an order to get a head start on next year's stock pile. Well, back to the weed flat.
We decided even though it was windy to give up on the spinnerbait and go to soft plastics. It turned out to be a good decision and we caught 5 good keepers two of which were in the four pound area. We fished right till the buzzer because we knew Green was capable of giving up a really big fish. Tales of 7 pounders abound from this lake. The wind never really let up much and the strain on the trolling motor batteries was showing and we were having an increasingly more difficult time with boat positioning. With about fifteen minutes to go we headed back. We had to put our two big ones on a balance beam to decide which one was going to the big show. It was close, but we got our big one and loaded the boat on the trailer feeling mighty good about the whole affair. At the weighin, there were two smallies larger than ours, but only by a few ounces and we ended up with a grand total of 7.89 lbs. Our next closest competitor had 7.03 lbs. With the winner take all format Don and I took home $1250! Yes! Chances are, that will be our last tournament of the year and a good one to winter over.
The guys that ran the tournament did a super job and the anglers who fished it were great to talk with and congratulatory at the end. I know how hard they fish and how much they would have liked to notch a win, but to a person they were all there to give us a hand shake and that was very much appreciated.
The tournament organizers asked the competitors about which lake they wanted to start on next year. They decided to fish Green Lake first next year. So, I;m not sure of the exact date for next year, maybe I can find out, but they always have it about this time of year so keep it on the back burner. Well, I guess with the end at hand I'd better give "Mr. Lucky" Don Fowler, my partner kudos for the day. I caught one dink and he caught six keepers. Don't know what to say. Threw the same bait, once I saw how hot it was, with notta thing. Only thing different was he was using 8 lb. fluorocarbon and I had 10 lb. mono. Had to be the line..... or maybe he really is "Mr. Lucky."
October 3, 2011
I didn't get up in a tree stand this weekend, but that's okay. I got to spend the weekend with my granddaughter, and those times are cherished. I usually don't get too excited about bow hunting until a little later in the season. In a couple of weeks, when the leaves are down, and the deer are really moving, it gets much more interesting.
I know the Skinner Clan was out in force this weekend, and the only report I got was that they had one doe in the cooler. Not a firecracker start for them, but there is a lot of hunting time left.
The Vawter Boys are down with their dad in South Texas for the opening of their deer season there. I got one picture of a pig so far from them. Nick emailed me to say there would be more coming, and that he might even have time to write up an account of their opener. Here's a pic of one little piggy that didn't quite make it to the market.
In my perusing of the web, I found that KVD has been doing a bit of hunting as well, and claims to have harvested the biggest buck of his life. Here is an article that he wrote and a picture of the bruiser he took with his muzzle loader: Bassin' Buddies and Big Bucks .
As I said, I spent the weekend with the granddaughter. Saturday night we went to the GVSU football game. She really seems to like football. We have a great time going to the games. This is the second game she and I have attended so far this season.
The "Hawg Tournament" is a one day, $80 entry, two lake big fish contest. There is a big bass pot for each lake. You weigh one fish from each lake and the total weight winner takes all! No second or third place money.
This year the 18 boats headed out onto Duck Lake at first light. The weather was cool, it was going to be clear bluebird fall morning. The moon had been shining full and as the sun rose the wind began to pick up. It was a stiff wind, the kind that can really get under an angler's skin. You have to be constantly on the trolling motor, and soft plastics are tough to use because of the bow that develops in your line stealing that sensitivity from your rod.
My partner Don and I have fished Duck and Green countless times over the years. Our last Tear Drop tournament had been on Duck and our second day of our two day Classic was on Green. We felt we had as good a chance as anyone. We had to just get lucky and stick some big green fish. There were several other Tear Drop anglers fishing. Brian MacDonell and Wes Herndon, Brian Miller and Tony Maddox, Josh Myers and Mike Meysar, and Danny Warner and Matt Kaiser were signed up. Ron Fasel, who took a break from the Tear Drop this year fished the event with Tony DeFilippo. All these guys plus the rest of the field knew these lakes well so it was going to be a backyard tourney.
They took off in five flights determined by pulling cards. Aces were the first flight and so on. Whoever drew the joker started the boats. My partner, "Mr. Lucky" drew the joker so we had the dubious honor of starting the boats and taking off dead last.
I had been down at the edge of my lake the night before taking some fall color pictures as the sun was setting. As I snapped a few pics, I could hear and see bass working the minnows up shallow. They were actively feeding and that fact was part of the reason Don and I decided to start on some of the shallow flats on Duck to see if the pattern was occurring on there as well. Don boated a short off our first spot, but we came up empty over the next hour or so. We moved out onto a deeper flat and I had a good size smallie come up and smack my spinnerbait just a few yards from the boat. How can they hit those spinnerbaits and not get hooked up??? Don boated a few dandy perch off a drop, but no more bass. We tried two other deeper flats and pounded some shoreline to no avail. We had about 45 minutes left so we headed for one of Don's favorite spots a big flat off a point that has weed patches here and there. The wind was really making it difficult by this time, but what can you do? We fished the whole flat and decided to move across the lake and try one more quick spot. I pulled the trolling motor tied my rods down as Don kept casting. It pays to keep a line in the water. I was just grabbing the steering wheel to sit down and Don hollers "Fish." He said it felt like a good one, and as it broke the surface we new if we could get it in the boat that we would be in this thing. A couple of stabs with the net and it was in the boat. We were dancing! To old to do the Iaconelli brake dance moves, but we gave it the over 50 shuffle. As the shirt says, "Old Guys Rule!" We figured it was around 3 lbs. and would definitely keep us in the ball game. We decided to finish the last few minutes just down from the ramp. We didn't want to be late for the weigh in.
The teams loaded their boats and then brought their fish to the scales. We weighed our smallie and it went 3.41 lbs. Big bass for Duck was another smallie that went 3.46 lbs. Lost the $90 big bass pot by five hundredths of a pound. Oh well, we were very happy with the fish we had and headed to the Karlin Grocery to get one of their great subs for lunch. We had to be over to the launch on Green by 1:00.
At Green, we again drew cards for take off and this time "Mr. Lucky" drew a first flight ace. The wind on Green was running the length of the lake making shelter from it almost nonexistent. We headed down the lake and started on a weed flat. Don picked up his spinnerbait and on the first cast had a nice smallie follow it almost to the boat. We both dove for an alternate bait, but too late the fish just eased its way back into the deep. Well, at least we knew that the flat was holding fish and all we needed to do was figure out how to catch them. Speaking of catching, one of the things that is a must is good sharp hooks. I recently talked with a guy who told me that an excellent source for quality hooks at a good price was "Hookerz Tackle." I have checked it out and plan on putting in an order to get a head start on next year's stock pile. Well, back to the weed flat.
We decided even though it was windy to give up on the spinnerbait and go to soft plastics. It turned out to be a good decision and we caught 5 good keepers two of which were in the four pound area. We fished right till the buzzer because we knew Green was capable of giving up a really big fish. Tales of 7 pounders abound from this lake. The wind never really let up much and the strain on the trolling motor batteries was showing and we were having an increasingly more difficult time with boat positioning. With about fifteen minutes to go we headed back. We had to put our two big ones on a balance beam to decide which one was going to the big show. It was close, but we got our big one and loaded the boat on the trailer feeling mighty good about the whole affair. At the weighin, there were two smallies larger than ours, but only by a few ounces and we ended up with a grand total of 7.89 lbs. Our next closest competitor had 7.03 lbs. With the winner take all format Don and I took home $1250! Yes! Chances are, that will be our last tournament of the year and a good one to winter over.
The guys that ran the tournament did a super job and the anglers who fished it were great to talk with and congratulatory at the end. I know how hard they fish and how much they would have liked to notch a win, but to a person they were all there to give us a hand shake and that was very much appreciated.
The tournament organizers asked the competitors about which lake they wanted to start on next year. They decided to fish Green Lake first next year. So, I;m not sure of the exact date for next year, maybe I can find out, but they always have it about this time of year so keep it on the back burner. Well, I guess with the end at hand I'd better give "Mr. Lucky" Don Fowler, my partner kudos for the day. I caught one dink and he caught six keepers. Don't know what to say. Threw the same bait, once I saw how hot it was, with notta thing. Only thing different was he was using 8 lb. fluorocarbon and I had 10 lb. mono. Had to be the line..... or maybe he really is "Mr. Lucky."
Registering and Don's Lucky Joker Draw
Waiting For First Light
Josh and Mike Ready to Rock and Roll
Our Duck Lake "Hawg" Smallie
"Duck Lake Weigh In"
Green Lake Launch
Don's Hawg 4.48 Smallie
Michigan's Beautiful Northwest Corner
October 3, 2011
I didn't get up in a tree stand this weekend, but that's okay. I got to spend the weekend with my granddaughter, and those times are cherished. I usually don't get too excited about bow hunting until a little later in the season. In a couple of weeks, when the leaves are down, and the deer are really moving, it gets much more interesting.
I know the Skinner Clan was out in force this weekend, and the only report I got was that they had one doe in the cooler. Not a firecracker start for them, but there is a lot of hunting time left.
The Vawter Boys are down with their dad in South Texas for the opening of their deer season there. I got one picture of a pig so far from them. Nick emailed me to say there would be more coming, and that he might even have time to write up an account of their opener. Here's a pic of one little piggy that didn't quite make it to the market.
Brent, with what looks like a tender camp pig.
In my perusing of the web, I found that KVD has been doing a bit of hunting as well, and claims to have harvested the biggest buck of his life. Here is an article that he wrote and a picture of the bruiser he took with his muzzle loader: Bassin' Buddies and Big Bucks .
As I said, I spent the weekend with the granddaughter. Saturday night we went to the GVSU football game. She really seems to like football. We have a great time going to the games. This is the second game she and I have attended so far this season.
It was a bit nippy at the game, but it was a full house nonetheless!
Grand Valley beat Tiffin University (Tiffin is south and east of Toledo ) 70-7. We actually left early and went to get some chips and cheese with my buddy John who goes to the GVSU games with us. The Wisconsin game was on, and the Tigers were on as well, so with the Lakers man handling Tiffin, and the temperature dropping fast, we opted for food and TVs.
Sunday, I did some World History with the granddaughter and then we packed Gramma in the car and headed down to Art Prize. The weather was cool but bright and sunny. There were literally mobs of people downtown. The venues were shoulder to shoulder. We will go back mid week to meander around and spend more time taking in the fantastic displays of art. The crowds will be much smaller and it allows you to take more time enjoying the pieces.
We saw all but one of the Top 10 entrants and our vote went to Mia Tavonatti's glass mosaic entitled the "Crucifixion." This very large piece hangs in the entrance of the DeVos Place on Monroe. (Same door you would go in for the Fishing Show they have there every Spring) It truly is spectacular! To think about the time, effort, and talent that went in to such a creation is unbelievable. You really have to view it in person to see how it changes as you move around it. I wouldn't say I'm an overtly religious person, but this masterpiece really moves you.
There are many thousands of pieces throughout the downtown area and greater Grand Rapids as well. You can only vote for one of the Top Ten pieces. You can vote and change your mind, but you can only vote for one. Later this week they will announce the winner and award the $250,000 prize. Here are some of the Top Tens we saw, as well as a number of others.
One of the last stops we made was right in the heart of downtown next to The Bob where there is an area that they have a stage with live music, food, drink, and more art exhibits. This piece of driftwood sculpture is from an artist in Florida. He had a similar piece which made the Top Ten last year as well. The artist can be seen conversing in the video. He's the one with the ball cap and white hair.
Sunday, I did some World History with the granddaughter and then we packed Gramma in the car and headed down to Art Prize. The weather was cool but bright and sunny. There were literally mobs of people downtown. The venues were shoulder to shoulder. We will go back mid week to meander around and spend more time taking in the fantastic displays of art. The crowds will be much smaller and it allows you to take more time enjoying the pieces.
We saw all but one of the Top 10 entrants and our vote went to Mia Tavonatti's glass mosaic entitled the "Crucifixion." This very large piece hangs in the entrance of the DeVos Place on Monroe. (Same door you would go in for the Fishing Show they have there every Spring) It truly is spectacular! To think about the time, effort, and talent that went in to such a creation is unbelievable. You really have to view it in person to see how it changes as you move around it. I wouldn't say I'm an overtly religious person, but this masterpiece really moves you.
Mia's piece hangs in the entrance of the Devos Hall.
This is a cut glass mosaic! Unbelievable!
The light creates a different view as you look at it from a variety of angles.
There are many thousands of pieces throughout the downtown area and greater Grand Rapids as well. You can only vote for one of the Top Ten pieces. You can vote and change your mind, but you can only vote for one. Later this week they will announce the winner and award the $250,000 prize. Here are some of the Top Tens we saw, as well as a number of others.
This bronze was commissioned by the Skinner Clan.
We walked across the Grand to the Gerald R. Ford.
One of the many sculptures.
Mic Carlson's "Fallen Soldier" pieces.
A Top Ten piece, Da Bears.
This sculpture reminded be of the Cementman in his tree stand.
The Public Museum was packed so we just cruised the main hall.
This dog was one of the Top Ten. Made of car parts.
Hey, Hey, it's the Monkeys, as we head back across the river.
This preying mantis is a Top Ten piece.
Another Top Ten. Two of these three bronze pieces are alive.
One of many murals on the side of a building.
There are a lot of outside metal sculptures.
One of the last stops we made was right in the heart of downtown next to The Bob where there is an area that they have a stage with live music, food, drink, and more art exhibits. This piece of driftwood sculpture is from an artist in Florida. He had a similar piece which made the Top Ten last year as well. The artist can be seen conversing in the video. He's the one with the ball cap and white hair.
"Ocean Exodus" a drift wood piece from artist Paul Baliker
Here is another short video of one of the street performers who are also downtown during Art Prize. I liked this guy. I can see Gary Evans with his bass guitar down there in a year or two. Maybe he can hook up with this guy. He was making good money on tips. Gary could earn enough to buy another power pole. He's a pretty good picker. Make sure you watch the whole video. The guy is really good! There was a huge crowd around him.
A one band man extraordinaire!
I'll have to make that the final cast of the day. I have to run over to my mother's today and do a few hardly handy man jobs. Take care, and enjoy this extended stretch of sunny weather we about to embark on.
September 28, 2011
Well, I have been working for several hours this morning on getting la caza y experto en pesca, Nick Vawter's 2011 Classic report ready for the web. I think I have it ready to go. Here it is.
The long awaited Tear Drop Classic was held September 17th and 18th on Long and Green Lakes in Interlochen, MI . I flew up from my home in South Texas the Thursday evening before wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Going from 100 degrees to 49 was a shocker. Once on the ground in Michigan, it didn't take long for me to zip the legs on my fishing shorts.
Brent was picking me up at the airport, and we were to head to a local marine repair shop to pick up our boat. As most of you know, we have had an issue all season long. The boat just wouldn't get up on plane. We were very hopeful that it would be fixed. When I landed, however, I received the sour news that they didn't know what was wrong. We had dumped over $2000 this year into repairs trying to find the problem. So, we resigned ourselves to having to go to the Classic lakes and use the big motor for just idling around. Our frustration was palpable!
We ventured half way up to Interlochen that evening, stopping at our cabin in White Cloud to spend the night. It got down to about 30 degrees that night which made sleeping with a little blaze going in the wood stove, just about perfect. The next day after getting around, we took our time enjoying the rest of the trip to Interlochen State Park on Duck Lake. We had hoped to fish Duck just for fun that day, but the wind was pretty stiff, so we opted for setting up the tent in the daylight instead. We usually fish way too late and end up setting it up in the dark.
We camped next to Myers, Kaiser, and the Skinners. We spent most of that evening conversing with our neighbors and readying our equipment for the big day on Long Lake (Scroll Down) . We set our alarms for 5:30 a.m., and attempted to get some shut eye.
Saturday morning seemed to come much earlier that most of my Saturday mornings. The campground was a bit noisy, and I'm a light sleeper. But thanks to adrenaline, a hot shower, and a morning temperature of 37 degrees, we got moving rather quickly. All the anglers gathered to fish the Classic look forward to fishing Long Lake at this time of year. There are lots of big smallmouth just waiting to be caught.
I am sharing with you all of our misfortunate events, so none of you will feel alone when something unfavorable happens to you. Just remind yourselves the Vawter's have these things happen all the time.
We arrived at the launch around 6:20 a.m. The water was still cloaked in darkness except for the area around a flood light at the ramp. I immediately backed the trailer in and dumped the boat and Brent into the water. I parked, and started socializing with some of the guys. After 15 or 20 minutes, I didn't notice Brent anywhere. After launching the boat, he usually beaches it and meets me on shore. I ventured across the road and back down to the waters edge. In the darkness, I could see a figure hunched over the bow of what I figured was our boat. He was working on the electric motor pull rope. Once we launched he was just going to use the trolling motor to pull up to shore, and the rope broke when he tried to lift it up. Our morning was off to our typical dysfunctional normal start. After fixing the broken rope, he found himself stuck in the sand several feet from shore. He decided to try to start the gas motor to pull himself off. When he turned the key to start the big motor, nothing, it was dead as a wedge!
Every man has his breaking point, and with how poorly the boat has run all year, the ton of money invested into useless repairs, an authorized Mercury dealer not being able to fix it, the trolling motor rope breaking, and now the motor not starting... You probably thought I was going to follow with "priceless", but not this time. I found the maximum Brent was going to take. In fact, if Brent would have gotten into the lake at that moment, the 65 degree water would have boiled and sizzled.
At that moment, Dennis Cook called for a pre-tournament meeting. We walked away from the boat. We had our quick get together, and Dennis announced that due to the fog on the water there would be a 30 mph speed limit, and our tournament would run to 4:00 p.m. Didn't bother us, we weren't going anywhere very fast very soon any way.
It was time to get started, and all I could think to do was to take off and fish with the trolling motor all day. We got back into the boat, and Brent tried one more time to start the motor. This time was different though, as he turned the key, the lights and buzzers were acting funny. Brent noticed that when he put some side pressure on the key it would actually crank and try to start.
Danny Warner and Wes Skinner were starting to call off numbers for takeoff. When it came to us we waved everybody on. As we pondered our situation, I instructed Brent to drop the trolling motor and fish while I played with the key switch. We hadn't gone 10 yards when I got the idea to hot wire the motor. I told Brent to go back to the dock and get me a wire stripper from his tool kit in the truck. Once we retrieved the cutters, Brent resumed casting while I cut and spliced wires. Having only seen this method of overriding the key on TV, I had little confidence of it working. But after a few minutes, I had gauge power, and had the motor cranking. Another minute later she was started. Brent literally, in one motion, jumped down from his butt seat up front, slung a life jacket on, and we were off.
By this time it was fully light out, and the fog had lifted a little. Brent was having a "Need for speed," and he pressed the hotfoot down hard. We shot up on plane, and were running 70 mph plus in seconds. Maybe that switch was the problem that has plagued us all season?
We started fishing a large flat with plastics. After a bit, we both made a cast at the same time, landing 10 inches apart. Usually that is not a good thing, and you'd typically just reel your lure right back in. However, before I could even turn the reel handle, my line took off, and I instinctively set the hook. Brent did the same. We had a double on! I horsed mine a little too much, and it came unbuttoned, however, we boated Brent's. We continued with plastics, but couldn't get another bite.
Brent switched over to a spinnerbait, and my work started for the day. I'm our teams honorary weigh master, cull man, livewell operator, etc. Brent went on to catch about 15 keepers, which culled us up to an estimated weight of 19 lbs. The couple of fish that I actually boated weren't big enough to take a ride. As we moved around on the lake, despite having to twist the sparking wires to start the boat, it ran perfect all day.
We arrived back to the launch just prior to 4:00 p.m. to find ramp traffic heavy with other recreational boaters trying to launch. It took in excess of 40 minutes to get us all out of the water and start the weigh-in. We were one of the last boats to get trailered.
The scales were set up in the parking lot across the road from the launch. I was at the water's edge waiting to take pictures. Usually opting to take pictures on the waterfront, keeps me to far away to hear what the weights of each team are. As each team comes down to release their fish, I usually ask them what they weighed. I knew it was going to be close, because Braunecks weighed a big bag, as did Warner and Skinner.
Neither Brent, nor I heard Dennis make the announcement of the places. I was still down at the water, and Brent was wrapping up the boat. We were in a hurry to get to Cadillac, as earlier in the day I had called and bought a key switch over the phone from one of the Tear Drop sponsors (Page 3 of the ad flier found on the main page), J & D Marine in Cadillac . Jerry was going to leave it sitting outside for us to pick up. We dropped the boat back at the campground, plugged in the charger, and took off.
It wasn't until returning to the campground 90 minutes later that we found out we were leading Day 1 with 19.52 lbs. Fred and Jeff Brauneck were right on our heels with 19.43 lbs. In 3rd place, was Dan Warner and Wes Skinner with 18.20 lbs. They had big bass also that was around 5.5 lbs. Harry Swank and Chris Mieras were in fourth with 17.59 lbs, and in fifth were the anglers of the year, Wes Herndon and Brian Macdonell with 17.44 lbs. It was sure to be a slugfest the next day on Green.
That evening we ate dinner with Josh and his family. Brandy, Josh's better half, had invited us to dinner weeks earlier. They served BBQ chicken, hobo potatoes, taco salad, and we had some corn on the cob Bruce Mitchell had sent over from his campsite. Having feasted heavily, I went back to install the key switch.
With that little project done, we made our way down to the end of the row where Dennis, Bruce, and the Brauneck's were having a big campfire. We sat and chatted with the group for a long time, until we finally made our way back to our tent to hit the sack.
The next morning the alarm went off, and you could hear the wind blowing through the trees. Not the sound you like to hear as you get ready to fish. We showered, and headed to the gas station for some drinks and ice. We then drove off to the launch. We knew it was going to be tough to hang onto the lead today. Both Long and Green Lake are waters that can make or break you. The lakes certainly hold fish big enough to allow for a team to make up a disparity in the Day 1 weights very easily.
This morning the temps were a little higher, somewhere around 57 at launch time. The wind, however, was starting to kick up and zooming across the water made it feel just like yesterday when it was 37 degrees.
Our motor started up without incidence and before you knew it we were screaming across the water at 70 m.p.h. We pulled up to a familiar spot we like and started to fish. We boated several largemouth, but all were just short of 14 inches or just barely legal. We finally had out limit in a couple hours, but it was only about six or seven pounds. This was not the Green Lake we knew. We passed Miller and Maddox, and they said they had a limit around eight pounds. We knew we had to step things up a notch. We roamed around through the day and picked up a couple nicer smallies that put us up around 10 lbs., or so we thought. When calling out the weights to Brent so he could tally them, we both forgot that one of our fish was over three lbs. Later we deduced that we had counted the ounces, converted then to pounds, and then only gave credit for a two pounder.
As the tournament time ended, and we made our way back to the launch, a familiar figure was standing on the dock taking pictures. It was none other than your blog host Dan Shine. Dan, and his wife Jude had driven up for the weigh in with the Cementman and his wife Jean. Rick was going to help Dennis trailer his camper back to Ludington. I think the real reason they came was that they heard about the cookies Ruth Brauneck made for the anglers.
When Brent got to the scales we were pleasantly surprised with 11.43 lbs. We knew that there were several of the guys who always fish well on Green, and it was going to be a close race. As I took pictures, I noticed that there were only three other limits brought down. Any of those three teams from Long could take the lead away from us.
After the weigh in was done, Dennis tallied up the numbers. He started a count up from 12th place. Before Dennis starting presenting checks, however, many of the contestants were doing their own math to see where they would place.
Josh had brought a big bag of smallies in, and he and Kasey ended up the winner of the daily side pot they had just for Green. He already peeked at the weights, being the weighmaster he is right at the scales. He they had to make up a little over four pounds. There 15 lb. plus bag was the best on Day 2, but would it be enough to make up the deficit they had from Long.
When everyone had weighed, he let it slip that we had won before Dennis made his announcement. Seconds later it was official, Brent and I had won the weekend event with a two-day total weight of 30.95 lbs. With our boat issues etc. we never expected to win. What we had accomplished really didn't sink in until the ride home. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Two fun days of fishing with my son, excellent weather, an extra $1,000, and the boat was running better than ever. Wait for it, wait for it...priceless!
Coming in second place was Josh Myers and Kasey Kyser with a two-day weight of 30.37 lbs. As I mentioned, Josh and Kasey won the separate $120 pot for Green Lake. They also had big bass for the day which garnered them $120. Adding those two amounts to the $500 the won for taking second, and it made for a pretty fai pay day for the duo.
Edging up from sixth place after day one, to third, was Mike Mesyar and Ricky Skinner Jr. with a combined weight of 29.26 lbs. Fourth place went to Dan Warner Jr. and Wes Skinner weighing in 28.53 lbs. The fifth place slot went to the Cadillac team of Brian Miller and Tony Maddox who brought in 27.22 lbs. for the weekend. All the anglers get a pay day for making the Classic, $300 went to each of the remaining teams.
After the weigh-in, Dennis made a presentation to the team that won the Anglers of the Year plaque. This year, it was won by the Traverse City team of Wes Herndon and Brian Macdonell. Two nicer guys you'll never meet. This team are smallmouth experts, and are always in it to win it, especially when smallies are the predominant species. They are very good anglers! So, from all the Tear Drop guys, congratulations Brian and Wes!
I'm already looking forward to next year. I will be making plans to fly up for the tournaments from South Texas to Michigan to enjoy Michigan's Great Northwest Corner with a great bunch of Tear Drop anglers! Each year the friendships are getting a little closer, you couldn't ask for a better group of guys to fish with.
I for one, am a little sad the season has ended for me here in Michigan. I will convert my equipment over to do battle with some of the bruisers down here in Texas on Falcon Lake this Fall. That entails removing my 8 lb. Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon and winding up some Vicious 30 lb. braid . It's always a struggle for me down in Texas this time of year. Do I go fishing and end up having to reel in those big fish, or do I go out to my stand and hunt pigs or whitetail? The bass season is year round, and hunting season starts in just a few days. Just what does one do? Tough job, but somebody has to do it!
Thanks to all of the Tear Drop sponsors. Check them out in our flier. There is an online copy to view on the main page. Also, a big thank you to Dennis Cook for the time and effort he puts in to getting a schedule settled, putting together an ad flier, as well as doing all the work at the weigh-ins.
Until then...keep a tight line.
Once again great job Nick! Thank you for taking to time to put it all together and for sacrificing your time at each tournament to take pictures! Thanks to Brent too. I know he's taking care of all the other boat duties etc. while you're busy with the photography.
Speaking of photography, I have been finding that when I take short videos with my pocket camera that it really helps get so much more of a feel to the scene. If a picture's worth a thousand words, a short video must be worth quite a bit more. Here's one of the short videos I took as Mike Meysar and Ricky Skinner got their fish out of their boat prior to the Classic weigh-in on Green Lake.
September 28, 2011
Well, I have been working for several hours this morning on getting la caza y experto en pesca, Nick Vawter's 2011 Classic report ready for the web. I think I have it ready to go. Here it is.
2011 Tear Drop Tournament Trail Classic
2011 Classic on Long and Green Lakes
Written by guest blogger, Nick Vawter
The long awaited Tear Drop Classic was held September 17th and 18th on Long and Green Lakes in Interlochen, MI . I flew up from my home in South Texas the Thursday evening before wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Going from 100 degrees to 49 was a shocker. Once on the ground in Michigan, it didn't take long for me to zip the legs on my fishing shorts.
Brent was picking me up at the airport, and we were to head to a local marine repair shop to pick up our boat. As most of you know, we have had an issue all season long. The boat just wouldn't get up on plane. We were very hopeful that it would be fixed. When I landed, however, I received the sour news that they didn't know what was wrong. We had dumped over $2000 this year into repairs trying to find the problem. So, we resigned ourselves to having to go to the Classic lakes and use the big motor for just idling around. Our frustration was palpable!
We ventured half way up to Interlochen that evening, stopping at our cabin in White Cloud to spend the night. It got down to about 30 degrees that night which made sleeping with a little blaze going in the wood stove, just about perfect. The next day after getting around, we took our time enjoying the rest of the trip to Interlochen State Park on Duck Lake. We had hoped to fish Duck just for fun that day, but the wind was pretty stiff, so we opted for setting up the tent in the daylight instead. We usually fish way too late and end up setting it up in the dark.
We camped next to Myers, Kaiser, and the Skinners. We spent most of that evening conversing with our neighbors and readying our equipment for the big day on Long Lake (Scroll Down) . We set our alarms for 5:30 a.m., and attempted to get some shut eye.
Saturday morning seemed to come much earlier that most of my Saturday mornings. The campground was a bit noisy, and I'm a light sleeper. But thanks to adrenaline, a hot shower, and a morning temperature of 37 degrees, we got moving rather quickly. All the anglers gathered to fish the Classic look forward to fishing Long Lake at this time of year. There are lots of big smallmouth just waiting to be caught.
I am sharing with you all of our misfortunate events, so none of you will feel alone when something unfavorable happens to you. Just remind yourselves the Vawter's have these things happen all the time.
We arrived at the launch around 6:20 a.m. The water was still cloaked in darkness except for the area around a flood light at the ramp. I immediately backed the trailer in and dumped the boat and Brent into the water. I parked, and started socializing with some of the guys. After 15 or 20 minutes, I didn't notice Brent anywhere. After launching the boat, he usually beaches it and meets me on shore. I ventured across the road and back down to the waters edge. In the darkness, I could see a figure hunched over the bow of what I figured was our boat. He was working on the electric motor pull rope. Once we launched he was just going to use the trolling motor to pull up to shore, and the rope broke when he tried to lift it up. Our morning was off to our typical dysfunctional normal start. After fixing the broken rope, he found himself stuck in the sand several feet from shore. He decided to try to start the gas motor to pull himself off. When he turned the key to start the big motor, nothing, it was dead as a wedge!
Every man has his breaking point, and with how poorly the boat has run all year, the ton of money invested into useless repairs, an authorized Mercury dealer not being able to fix it, the trolling motor rope breaking, and now the motor not starting... You probably thought I was going to follow with "priceless", but not this time. I found the maximum Brent was going to take. In fact, if Brent would have gotten into the lake at that moment, the 65 degree water would have boiled and sizzled.
At that moment, Dennis Cook called for a pre-tournament meeting. We walked away from the boat. We had our quick get together, and Dennis announced that due to the fog on the water there would be a 30 mph speed limit, and our tournament would run to 4:00 p.m. Didn't bother us, we weren't going anywhere very fast very soon any way.
It was time to get started, and all I could think to do was to take off and fish with the trolling motor all day. We got back into the boat, and Brent tried one more time to start the motor. This time was different though, as he turned the key, the lights and buzzers were acting funny. Brent noticed that when he put some side pressure on the key it would actually crank and try to start.
Danny Warner and Wes Skinner were starting to call off numbers for takeoff. When it came to us we waved everybody on. As we pondered our situation, I instructed Brent to drop the trolling motor and fish while I played with the key switch. We hadn't gone 10 yards when I got the idea to hot wire the motor. I told Brent to go back to the dock and get me a wire stripper from his tool kit in the truck. Once we retrieved the cutters, Brent resumed casting while I cut and spliced wires. Having only seen this method of overriding the key on TV, I had little confidence of it working. But after a few minutes, I had gauge power, and had the motor cranking. Another minute later she was started. Brent literally, in one motion, jumped down from his butt seat up front, slung a life jacket on, and we were off.
By this time it was fully light out, and the fog had lifted a little. Brent was having a "Need for speed," and he pressed the hotfoot down hard. We shot up on plane, and were running 70 mph plus in seconds. Maybe that switch was the problem that has plagued us all season?
We started fishing a large flat with plastics. After a bit, we both made a cast at the same time, landing 10 inches apart. Usually that is not a good thing, and you'd typically just reel your lure right back in. However, before I could even turn the reel handle, my line took off, and I instinctively set the hook. Brent did the same. We had a double on! I horsed mine a little too much, and it came unbuttoned, however, we boated Brent's. We continued with plastics, but couldn't get another bite.
Brent switched over to a spinnerbait, and my work started for the day. I'm our teams honorary weigh master, cull man, livewell operator, etc. Brent went on to catch about 15 keepers, which culled us up to an estimated weight of 19 lbs. The couple of fish that I actually boated weren't big enough to take a ride. As we moved around on the lake, despite having to twist the sparking wires to start the boat, it ran perfect all day.
We arrived back to the launch just prior to 4:00 p.m. to find ramp traffic heavy with other recreational boaters trying to launch. It took in excess of 40 minutes to get us all out of the water and start the weigh-in. We were one of the last boats to get trailered.
The scales were set up in the parking lot across the road from the launch. I was at the water's edge waiting to take pictures. Usually opting to take pictures on the waterfront, keeps me to far away to hear what the weights of each team are. As each team comes down to release their fish, I usually ask them what they weighed. I knew it was going to be close, because Braunecks weighed a big bag, as did Warner and Skinner.
Wes Skinner and Danny Warner had a good day on Long.
Wes Herndon with a couple of his and Brian's first day catch.
Nick and Brent Vawter with 4 of their Day 1 leading bag.
Reed City's Smallmouth Gurus Harry Swank and Chris Mieras
Meysar and Skinner's limit from Long Lake
Matt Kaiser and Dave Yeager with some Long Lake brutes.
Tony, of the Maddox and Miller, team with two nice smallies.
Jeff and Fred Brauneck's with 4 of the 5 they caught on Long Lake.
Neither Brent, nor I heard Dennis make the announcement of the places. I was still down at the water, and Brent was wrapping up the boat. We were in a hurry to get to Cadillac, as earlier in the day I had called and bought a key switch over the phone from one of the Tear Drop sponsors (Page 3 of the ad flier found on the main page), J & D Marine in Cadillac . Jerry was going to leave it sitting outside for us to pick up. We dropped the boat back at the campground, plugged in the charger, and took off.
It wasn't until returning to the campground 90 minutes later that we found out we were leading Day 1 with 19.52 lbs. Fred and Jeff Brauneck were right on our heels with 19.43 lbs. In 3rd place, was Dan Warner and Wes Skinner with 18.20 lbs. They had big bass also that was around 5.5 lbs. Harry Swank and Chris Mieras were in fourth with 17.59 lbs, and in fifth were the anglers of the year, Wes Herndon and Brian Macdonell with 17.44 lbs. It was sure to be a slugfest the next day on Green.
That evening we ate dinner with Josh and his family. Brandy, Josh's better half, had invited us to dinner weeks earlier. They served BBQ chicken, hobo potatoes, taco salad, and we had some corn on the cob Bruce Mitchell had sent over from his campsite. Having feasted heavily, I went back to install the key switch.
With that little project done, we made our way down to the end of the row where Dennis, Bruce, and the Brauneck's were having a big campfire. We sat and chatted with the group for a long time, until we finally made our way back to our tent to hit the sack.
The next morning the alarm went off, and you could hear the wind blowing through the trees. Not the sound you like to hear as you get ready to fish. We showered, and headed to the gas station for some drinks and ice. We then drove off to the launch. We knew it was going to be tough to hang onto the lead today. Both Long and Green Lake are waters that can make or break you. The lakes certainly hold fish big enough to allow for a team to make up a disparity in the Day 1 weights very easily.
This morning the temps were a little higher, somewhere around 57 at launch time. The wind, however, was starting to kick up and zooming across the water made it feel just like yesterday when it was 37 degrees.
Our motor started up without incidence and before you knew it we were screaming across the water at 70 m.p.h. We pulled up to a familiar spot we like and started to fish. We boated several largemouth, but all were just short of 14 inches or just barely legal. We finally had out limit in a couple hours, but it was only about six or seven pounds. This was not the Green Lake we knew. We passed Miller and Maddox, and they said they had a limit around eight pounds. We knew we had to step things up a notch. We roamed around through the day and picked up a couple nicer smallies that put us up around 10 lbs., or so we thought. When calling out the weights to Brent so he could tally them, we both forgot that one of our fish was over three lbs. Later we deduced that we had counted the ounces, converted then to pounds, and then only gave credit for a two pounder.
As the tournament time ended, and we made our way back to the launch, a familiar figure was standing on the dock taking pictures. It was none other than your blog host Dan Shine. Dan, and his wife Jude had driven up for the weigh in with the Cementman and his wife Jean. Rick was going to help Dennis trailer his camper back to Ludington. I think the real reason they came was that they heard about the cookies Ruth Brauneck made for the anglers.
When Brent got to the scales we were pleasantly surprised with 11.43 lbs. We knew that there were several of the guys who always fish well on Green, and it was going to be a close race. As I took pictures, I noticed that there were only three other limits brought down. Any of those three teams from Long could take the lead away from us.
After the weigh in was done, Dennis tallied up the numbers. He started a count up from 12th place. Before Dennis starting presenting checks, however, many of the contestants were doing their own math to see where they would place.
Josh had brought a big bag of smallies in, and he and Kasey ended up the winner of the daily side pot they had just for Green. He already peeked at the weights, being the weighmaster he is right at the scales. He they had to make up a little over four pounds. There 15 lb. plus bag was the best on Day 2, but would it be enough to make up the deficit they had from Long.
When everyone had weighed, he let it slip that we had won before Dennis made his announcement. Seconds later it was official, Brent and I had won the weekend event with a two-day total weight of 30.95 lbs. With our boat issues etc. we never expected to win. What we had accomplished really didn't sink in until the ride home. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Two fun days of fishing with my son, excellent weather, an extra $1,000, and the boat was running better than ever. Wait for it, wait for it...priceless!
Coming in second place was Josh Myers and Kasey Kyser with a two-day weight of 30.37 lbs. As I mentioned, Josh and Kasey won the separate $120 pot for Green Lake. They also had big bass for the day which garnered them $120. Adding those two amounts to the $500 the won for taking second, and it made for a pretty fai pay day for the duo.
Edging up from sixth place after day one, to third, was Mike Mesyar and Ricky Skinner Jr. with a combined weight of 29.26 lbs. Fourth place went to Dan Warner Jr. and Wes Skinner weighing in 28.53 lbs. The fifth place slot went to the Cadillac team of Brian Miller and Tony Maddox who brought in 27.22 lbs. for the weekend. All the anglers get a pay day for making the Classic, $300 went to each of the remaining teams.
Justin Brown with a couple of his teams Day 2 catch.
Dave Yeager showing off his Green Lake fish with the help of young Mr. Cook.
Kasey from the team, Meyers and Kuyser, with two of their big smallies from Green.
Mesh, and a great picture of Ricky, from Day 2 on Green
Danny Warner and Wes Skinner's Green Lake catch.
The Vawter's with just enough to win the 2011 Classic.
After the weigh-in, Dennis made a presentation to the team that won the Anglers of the Year plaque. This year, it was won by the Traverse City team of Wes Herndon and Brian Macdonell. Two nicer guys you'll never meet. This team are smallmouth experts, and are always in it to win it, especially when smallies are the predominant species. They are very good anglers! So, from all the Tear Drop guys, congratulations Brian and Wes!
The 2011 Tear Drop Tournament Trail Anglers of the Year
Wes Herndon and Brian Macdonell
I'm already looking forward to next year. I will be making plans to fly up for the tournaments from South Texas to Michigan to enjoy Michigan's Great Northwest Corner with a great bunch of Tear Drop anglers! Each year the friendships are getting a little closer, you couldn't ask for a better group of guys to fish with.
I for one, am a little sad the season has ended for me here in Michigan. I will convert my equipment over to do battle with some of the bruisers down here in Texas on Falcon Lake this Fall. That entails removing my 8 lb. Vicious Pro Elite Fluorocarbon and winding up some Vicious 30 lb. braid . It's always a struggle for me down in Texas this time of year. Do I go fishing and end up having to reel in those big fish, or do I go out to my stand and hunt pigs or whitetail? The bass season is year round, and hunting season starts in just a few days. Just what does one do? Tough job, but somebody has to do it!
Thanks to all of the Tear Drop sponsors. Check them out in our flier. There is an online copy to view on the main page. Also, a big thank you to Dennis Cook for the time and effort he puts in to getting a schedule settled, putting together an ad flier, as well as doing all the work at the weigh-ins.
Until then...keep a tight line.
Once again great job Nick! Thank you for taking to time to put it all together and for sacrificing your time at each tournament to take pictures! Thanks to Brent too. I know he's taking care of all the other boat duties etc. while you're busy with the photography.
Speaking of photography, I have been finding that when I take short videos with my pocket camera that it really helps get so much more of a feel to the scene. If a picture's worth a thousand words, a short video must be worth quite a bit more. Here's one of the short videos I took as Mike Meysar and Ricky Skinner got their fish out of their boat prior to the Classic weigh-in on Green Lake.
Ricky and Mesh deboating their Green Lake fish.
I was doing a bit of net surfing today and the B.A.S.S. site has a new "Livewell" video up. Evidently, in their last posting of the Livewell, Tommy Sanders went over the new Elite Schedule with Davey Hite, and when they did they omitted Toledo Bend. So, this week Tommy made up for that by spending pretty much the whole episode with the Frogman, Dean Rojas. Dean, if you recall, won the Elite Series event there this past summer by an ounce over Gerald Swindle. Here is this week's episode: Tommy Sanders, "The Livewell" .
Well, I guess with all this rain we've been having, I will try to find an indoor job today. I do have to go mail some smoked frozen salmon to my son. I made a cooler out of a Priority Mail box and packed it with some Lake Michigan salmon that I had smoked. I hope they enjoy it.
Take care and make sure you safety harness up if you're climbing a tree for the opener of bow season this weekend.
Well, I guess with all this rain we've been having, I will try to find an indoor job today. I do have to go mail some smoked frozen salmon to my son. I made a cooler out of a Priority Mail box and packed it with some Lake Michigan salmon that I had smoked. I hope they enjoy it.
Take care and make sure you safety harness up if you're climbing a tree for the opener of bow season this weekend.