Blog Archive for October of 2009

October 30/31, 2009

It has been rain, rain, raining! I was about to go out earlier and couldn't find a life jacket to put in the truck so I decided to wait and bang out a blog entry.

I tossed about the idea of jumping in the truck to go up to the cabin to try and fish today, but when I saw the forecast last night I decided I'd wait a few days. It is warm today though. I'd guess it has to be in the low 70s. I checked the radar and it shows another big batch of rain headed north that should be here directly. It's just been spittin' for the last couple hours.

There has been a lot of chatter on the net about the FLW. The FLW Tour Events will be four day cumulative weight events with only the top five pros fishing the last day. The overall purse will be reduced, but first place will still be $100,000, and they will continue to pay $10K through fiftieth place. All 150 anglers and coanglers will fish Wednesday through Friday with the top five pros fishing on Saturday. They save money by only have five cameramen in the boats rather that the ten that they have been using.

When this first announcement concerning 2010 FLW was made they cancelled the Eastern Strens. However, just today they changed their minds and have reinstituted the Eastern Stren Series events. If you're interested in reading the rest of the announcement from FLW click this FLW Slashes Offerings link.

The B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championships concluded yesterday down on the Harris Chain in Florida. You may recall Dandy Don Fowler was Michigan's Champion two years ago and he fished the Championship on Toho in Florida. Jeff Freeman was the overall champion that year from the Mid Atlantic Division. Jeff was the only angler I recognized on this year's roster that was a repeater. He ended on top of his division again this year, and so he will be heading to the Bassmaster Classic again. If I'm not mistaken it's his third time at the Classic. Maybe it will be the charm he needs to win won.

Brandon Rose, a GLB member, was the top Michigan angler this year and did his darndest down in Florida, but came up short. I have been there as an observer and noted the frustration and disappointment is almost crushing. To get that maybe once in a lifetime shot, and to come up short, is disheartening. However, to make it there once is a dream for many. Great job Brandon and take heart in Jeff Freeman's repeat performances. Lightning can strike twice. Here's a link to the B.A.S.S. Federation page spotlighting The 2009 Federation Nation Championship . Also, here is the link to the Day 3 Results for the Fed Nation Championship .

My man Mike Iaconelli is "In The House" at Bass Zone. Here's the first video segment that has Ike going through his tackle in his garage. The opening is all Ikey.

I started this blog piece on Friday and am just now getting around to finishing it up while I wait for the World Series to start. It looks like the rain is letting up some in Philadelphia, and they're talking of getting it going soon. I'm also manning the front door for trick or treaters. We haven't had all that many, maybe 70 or so.

Time for the parting shot, final cast of the day. It's going to have to be a baseball quote. Jim Bouton in 1988 made the statement that "Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?" You got a point there Jim. However, don't be on the football field when you make that comment. Take care and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Trick or Treat.

October 27, 2009

I'm thinking about getting my nursing degree. I'm getting quite a bit of on the job training with my wife healing from a broken ankle and my 86 year old mother-in-law back from Alabama. My wife seems to be doing very well, and she's starting to walk in her boot cast. Hopefully she heals well. You just never know when you break a bone how long it's going to take before it heals up. I've broken my ankle playing football in high school and broke my wrist playing fast pitch softball. The wrist took a lot longer than my ankle to heal. It has a lot to do with how much natural blood flow the area gets.

Speaking of softball, I just finished putting together an iMovie for my brother. He plays on a men's over 50 league. I videoed a game this past summer, and I thought I'd make him an iMovie. His team won a national tournament in Lansing several weeks ago. There are eighteen of these tournaments around the country, and the winners go down to play one another for the National Crown down in Florida, February 10-14, 2010. He's pretty excited about it. Sounds like a lot of fun. Here's a picture of his team.

Doug and Don's Auto Care

Northern Senior Softball USA Champions

Doug and Don's Auto Care Team off to Florida

Winning the Northern title, the team members all get rings. My brother says he's seen one from a similar tournament, and they're really nice. He says they are similar to the rings you get if you bowl a sanctioned 300 game. He's come close to that three times, bowling eleven strikes in a row in those games.

When I went to watch and video his games this summer I saw teams from 50 and over, 60 and over, and I believe they have one for 70 and over. Lots of Ben Gay tubes lying around the benches of those older leagues. Got to give them a lot of props though for getting off the couch and continuing to play competitively and at such a high level!

I have been monitoring the fishing sites and I've been watching the FLW Series event news from out on the Californial Delta. Cliff Pirch, now that is a great fishing last name right there, just won it with a wild last day catch of 37 lbs. and change. That's what you call screwing your rally cap on real tight and loading the boat! Here's a link to the article entitled Clear Lake FLW Series Winning Pattern . It was just this past Sunday on Versus that the FLW had an hour show from out on the Delta. Here is a link to the, 2009 FLW Series TV Show - California Delta . The link will allow you to watch the whole show commercial free. You have to commit to a little time though because it's 48 minutes long.

I have been waiting to hear the results on the big "Fish and Chips" tournament out at the Riverwind Casino in Oklahoma. The event pairs a pro with an amateur. They fish for two days and then play a Texas Hold'em tournament. They get points from their finish in each event and then crown an overall winner. Dean Rojas and his buddy, Jayson Kisselburg won the event. Bass Zone had an article covering the contest. Here is the link to Rojas/Kisselburg Chip in For the Title .

Tomorrow, the state champions from around the country, as well as qualifiers from Japan, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Italy, etc. will compete in the 2009 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship down on the Harris Chain in Florida. If you recall, Dandy Don Fowler was the B.A.S.S. Michigan Champion two years ago. That year they competed on Lake Toho. I traveled down to Florida with Don. We fished our way south. One of the stops we made was on the Harris Chain. We fished it two days. We fished Lake Harris a half day and only had a couple of bites. We then tried Lake Griffin, and found a spot just a short ride straight out of the ramp. It was the first point we spotted so we stopped and immediately saw shad busting. We started throwing our chrome ratttletraps, (which were effective all the way south) and started catching a bunch of bass. We could have sat there and culled a nice limit, but we wanted to explore the lake a bit. As we travelled around the lake, we saw some huge alligators, even way out in the middle of the lake. We tried to find some other productive points, but had very little luck. On our way back to the ramp we stopped again at our first point and the fish were still there. We had to compete with the cormorants, but caught several more fish before heading in.

Don on our Lake Griffin Sweet Spot

One of the little ones on Lake Griffin

One of the nice ones on Griffin

The Michigan Champ, who is losing sleep in anticipation of the start of the National Championship tomorrow, is Brandon Rose, from Saginaw. We'll wish him the best of luck as he tries to beat the other Northern Qualifiers to win a spot in the Bassmaster Classic. I'll keep you posted on his efforts.

I guess it's time to work on that Tuesday to do list. I have a spare day with no jury duty today. Looks like it's time to fire up the leaf blower and have at it.

The parting shot of the day comes from funny man George Carlin. He once said, "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" I've driven with a few guys that have made this observation. Take care and make sure you take time today to do something that puts a smile on your face.

October 22, 2009

I hate to, but I'm leaning toward winterizing the BassCat. I still am holding out for a few more days to see if the forecast won't give us just a little Indian Summer, so I can run up to the cabin and get out one more time. Maybe I'll get to chase a few smallies, but my problem has been not only the weather but jury duty. I can't stray too far from home because each night at 5:15 pm I have to call the Circuit Court hotline to see if I have to report the next day. With my boat up at the cabin, I can't just run out for a day's fishing very easily. If the weather turns nice like it was yesterday, maybe I can drag Dandy Don or the Cementman out to toss some baits.

I wouldn't be talking at all about fishing if it wasn't for my good buddy Rick "The Cementman" Skinner. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I toasted a wheel bearing on my last fishing trip several weeks ago. Rick came over and got my boat and when he pulled the wheel to look at the bearings, he found my brakes were also shot.

My BassCat trailer has brakes on all four wheels. Many trailers just have them on the rear axle of the tandem pair. In any case, Rick repacked the bearings on all four wheels and repaired the brakes. That must have been a ton of work! I certainly appreciate it greatly!

I talked to Rick just yesterday, and they have been getting a bunch of wet weather up in the northwest corner. He also told me that he just traded in his old maroon truck and picked up an 09 cherry red one. He couldn't find one in the color he wanted, but I'm sure he'll be styling this winter plowing snow in the this new red truck.

I asked Rick about his bow hunting exploits, and he said with all the rain they've been having, that he hadn't been out much. If you've been out in your favorite tree, and have some pictures to share, send them to me. I'm waiting for those Vawter boys to send me some pics. I know they're eating venison by now.

Even though I have been extremely busy with our recent wedding and jury duty, I have been taking five to check the fishing sites to see what's happening. One of the things I ran across was a short video clip on the new Yamaha VMax . It is, as I said, a short little blip and doesn't give you anything but a tease, however, for those of you that have a need for speed you may be interested in keeping a look out for the new motor intro from Yamaha.

On greatlakesbass.com there has been a thread concerning our need for vigilance with the new legislation being proposed concerning recommendations from the Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force. The thread on that site is asking we make sure we contact our legislators to remind them that the recreational fishing component of the legislation must be separated and considered apart from commercial fishing. Here is a site where you can read more, and they also give you a sample of what they are recommending you send to your legislator. The site is Keep America Fishing.Org . You should know that the Keep America Fishing group is the trademark name for the American Sportfishing Association. That group, and I'm quoting from their site, is a vested interest group who says,"We give the industry a unified voice speaking out when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself." Don't forget that they are a group speaking for those making a living from selling sporting goods. Not that they would be against things that we as anglers may not be, but I'm just saying always check your sources before you believe that last email you get from a buddy is the gospel truth. By the way, you can check most of those emails that claim this or that by going to Snopes.com . Check out their "Top 25" and you may see some of those recent gossip emails listed there. To use Snopes, just type the topic in their search window, and they will then give you an idea if the information is true or false. They also will give you the background on the issue. It always pays to spend a few minutes checking things out to make sure you know from hence you speak. I try, but I also know I fall prey to being lazy as well.

Once you have your emails to your legislators out, you may also want to send an email to a couple of sick friends. Our contributing blogger and long time friend Nick Vawter has been diagnosed down in Texas with N1H1. I hesitate to post his email address without his permission, so if you would like to send him your best wishes for his speedy recovery sent them to the website, and I will forward them. Also the same thing applies to Paul Sacks. Paul is the Michigan B.A.S.S. President and many of you know him. He's in the hospital with an infection in his abdominal wall. He may be in the hospital for quite a while. I'm sure both Nick and Paul would appreciate hearing from you.

Well, that's going to be it for today, oops, I just thought of one more thing. I sent my phone to Texas with my son. At the wedding, he gave me his phone to return, and I didn't want him traveling without a phone. So, for at least one more week, if you try and call my cell phone you won't get me. Hopefully my son will relay the message.

The final cast today is from Ann Landers hereself. Ann once said, "Know yourself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." I can't say I agree with Ann. I find dogs to be wonderful judges of character. With that, take care and make sure you take some time out of your work day today to do something that puts a smile on your face.

October 20, 2009

The wedding of the decade is over, and we're all winding down from a spectacular event. My penchant for sayings brought one from George Carlin to mind which captured the moment. George, is a my era comedian, and no it wasn't the paleozoic era. He's probably best known for coming up with the top ten things you couldn't say on TV and then saying them. George, however, seems to have had a more serious side. He once said that, "Life shouldn't be measured by the number of breaths we take, but rather by the moments that take our breath away." This weekend was certainly one of those breath taking events. Words don't always describe heart warming special family momemts very well. Beautiful, memorable, spectacular, fun, special, are just a few of the descriptors that can be attributed to the weekend wedding.

Backing up a bit to Tuesday of last week, we were ticking off the list of things to do before we made the drive to Milwaukee. My wife needed to take my oldest to Detroit for an appointment with a specialist there. Just outside of Lansing, they stopped at a rest area. While talking and walking back to the car, she stepped off the curb and found a pothole. She thought she just twisted her ankle badly so they decided to finished their drive to Detroit to see Dr. Peters. They ended up back in Grand Rapids at about 7:30 pm. By that time, her foot was telling her that she needed to be at the Urgent Care Center. I met them there, and we waited to be seen. After about two hours, we got the x-ray comfirmation that she had broken her ankle!

We told them about our wedding plans and that we needed to leave that day to drive around the lake. They fixed her up with a boot cast that she could put on and remove, and told her not to put any pressure on it.

We left at 10:40 pm for home. Once there, we decided to pack the truck and head out. We could miss Chicago traffic by traveling through the night. We finally left at around midnight and got in to Milwaukee around 5:30 am.

I slept a few hours, and then met my son and his best man, who had flown in the day before, and we started working on our wedding task itinerary.

My wife, albeit very disappointed that she would be encumbered, and worried that she may be a burden, really handled things well. She was able to chill, manage her pain, and learned to use her crutches and wheelchair. My good buddy John, had gotten his wife Ann out of bed Tuesday night, while we were still at the med station, and brought a wheelchair over for us to use. Thanks John and Ann!

Our wedding work went very well, mainly because it was so well planned and organized. There was a day by day, hour by hour, written itinerary, that enable everything to get done without all the stress that might normally have been heaped on to the work at hand. I highly recommend the old adage, "Never start your day until you finish it on paper." To pull all the activities off without adding to the normal jitters and nerves is a real accomplishment. The bride and her family worked their plan to perfection. They did a tremendous amount of work, and it truly was the wedding of the decade!

The events kicked off with a dinner with the bride's family that was spectacular. It provided us with some quiet time to enjoy some good food and meet some very special people.

The next day, we had a ladies brunch and a guys outing. After their lunch, the ladies had a pretty important activity. My son and his bride had made from scratch, chocolate cake with butter cream frosting, which they then covered in fondant. They also had colored fondant rolled out that the ladies used to decorate the cakes which were place on each table for the wedding guests. They were very eye catching, and the best cakes I've eaten, delicious!

One of The Cakes!

The guys went on a brewery tour to Lakefront Brewery . Milwaukee, as you know, is a beer town so why not experience the history and a tad bit of the flavor. We had a very funny and knowledgeable host for our tour. He kept everyone in stiches, and the tour turned out to be more fun than any of us expected.

Decisions, Decisions

Our Lakefront Host was the Most

It certainly wasn't a glass half full experience!

Lakefront is a small brewery that makes about 11,000 barrels a year, which our host pointed out was about what Miller spills during one shift on one day at their plant. You can take a tour of the big plants, but... but if you ever get over to Milwaukee you should definitely plan on taking this tour. (Check out the website above for times and dates.)

They gave us all a Lakefront Brewery glass and from prior to the tour, during the intro, through the how to seminar, during the brewery plant itself, we were constantly encouraged to keep our glasses full. If you were not a beer sampler they also made their own special root beer that was out of this world good. My family went back before they left on Sunday and bought six cases.

After the tour, we all made our way over to the Brat House for lunch and a few more beverages. Again, like the brewery tour, lunch was more than I could have hoped for. They had a terrific menu that included some very unique brats and combos. Delicious!

My recommedation, bratwurst, kraut, sauteed onions, pretzel bun!

My son, his best man, and I went prior to our guys outing to sample the fare. My favorite was featured in the caption above, but my second favorite was their bratwurst sirloin, which looks like a burger but taste like a lean and mean brat. Excellant! I would also recommend the fries over the onion rings, and the potato salad and beans over both of those. I also discovered, from my family, that they serve breakfast which they raved about: eggs, bacon, potatoes, fried tomatoes, and a brat.

In Milwaukee, there are quite a few places downtown that have local flare and a wide range of fare, and they're all in walking distance of the major hotels. You can park your car and leave it. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriot . It's connected to the downtown indoor mall, which exits onto Wisconsin, a major downtown thoroughfare.

A couple hours after the Brat House, we had the wedding rehearsal. It was going to be an outside wedding, and this time of year they had to anticipate any weather problems, so they had a tent set up with heaters. Reverend Linda had the rehearsal well scripted, and she ran a very tight ship. Once we were well rehearsed, we went back to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.

The dinner was booked at the Rock Bottom Brewery , which is a restaurant in an old bank building right on the river downtown. They have, as the name implies, their own micro brewery. We've had dinner and lunch there before, and we liked their food, so we decided to have the rehearsal dinner there.

After the rehearsal dinner, we invited everyone to join us for what was billed as "Friday Night at the Movies." We had some beverages, popcorn, chips, pretzels, etc. and watched a twin bill. I had the pleasure of putting together a DVD covering the period from birth till the time the two met, and the bride's father made one from the time they met up until the present. It turned out very well and everyone had a great time sharing some tears and cheers.

Saturday, the day of the wedding was a flury of activity, from early set up through the wedding itself. The weather was a tad bit cloudy and cool, for an outside wedding, but you know what? No one minded a bit. The proceedings went smoothly, the reception was magnificent, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was the wedding of the decade, oh what the heck, the century. Here's a shot off my camera that was taken of our family. I can't wait to see the pictures the professional photographer took.

Getting ready for pictures.

My wife and I are certainly proud and pleased to have a new daughter, and to be connected to her wonderful family. In closing today, I would like to use the ending of what I read during the wedding ceremony. It's from James Dillet Freeman's "Blessing for a Marraige". For those of you who may need to make a wedding toast, I think this might be very appropriate. It goes "May you have happiness and may you find it making each other happy. May you have love and may you find it loving one another."

October 10, 2009

The anxiety is definitely building as the date of my son's wedding approaches. We're one week away and things are starting to roll quite quickly. I finished my half of the rehearsal dinner slideshow/iMovie. For a twenty-five minute program I have over 30 hours of work in it.

I had to go back through all my 35mm slides and all our old photo albums, as well as go back through video tape. After that, I had to make a number of trips to get pictures digitized so I could import them into the computer. Walgreens had the best deal for converting slides to a digital format. They will put twenty-four slides on a CD for $5.98, and they'll do it in just a few hours. Meijers, one of our "super stores," has scanners you can use in their photo department where you can scan paper prints. You can put 300 prints on a CD for $2.98. That's a real bargain!

Using a Mac, makes making home movies about as simple as it gets. The iMovie program is pretty intuitive, but there is a learning curve, and it's nice to have someone to call should you encounter a problem.

I've made a number of movies over the years, so I have the process pretty much down. Apple, however, does its best to make enough changes from year to year in the program to really keep you challenged.

We should complete all of our assigned wedding jobs this weekend and maybe, just maybe, the anxiety will subside a tad.

I had lunch with Dandy Don yesterday. He had to come in to Grand Rapids for some work he was doing. We talked about fishing the Hawg Tournament which takes place up on Duck and Green Lakes tomorrow. Don and I won it a few years back. The tournament is just a big bass tournament. You bring in your biggest fish after a half day on each of the two lakes. The largest two fish total wins. Some years it's a winner take all tournament and some years they pay two places. I believe they will be starting on Green Lake in the morning, and they will take off from the DNR Ramp on Green.

I was hoping to fish it, but in the back of my mind I really didn't think it would work out with it being as close to the wedding date as it is. It would require me to make a 300 mile round trip and I'm really not ready to commit my best to it. I'm too competitive to go up and not give it 100%, so I'll probably pass on this year's event.

I talked to Rick "The Cementman" Skinner this morning, and he head just gotten in from the deer stand. No horns this morning, just a few does passed by him. As we talked, he was making casts in his bass pond honing his touch. He is planning to fish the Hawg Tournament. He and his son Ricky almost won it last year, coming in second just, a couple of ounces out of second. I'll have to see if I can get Rick to take a few pictures for the blog.

I have had a little bit of time to puruse the fishing sites for the latest news. The most important info coming across the net is worrisome for FLW anglers. It appears that Walmart, a principle sponsor, may be withdrawing. It also appears that BP a long time team sponsor is also withdrawing support. The economy is taking its toll,but hopefully things will somehow work out so that there will be upper echelon fishing opportunities in 2010. Here's the article discussing the FLW struggles for sponsors .

Who knows what is going to happen with the lower tournament fishing tiers like the BFLs. I was hoping to fish the Michigan BFLs again next year, so I hope they will be supported next year.

On a little bit lighter note, there is going to be a two DVD set movie released on Halloween day that is going to be a bass documentary. It takes place on the California Delta. Here is the article on the movie called Bass: The Movie that is up on the Bassmaster site. If you read the article there is a link at the bottom for you to view a trailer of the movie. If you want to skip the article and just watch the trailer, here is the link to Bass: The Movie trailer .

As I said up above, I have an agenda for this next week, and I will try and get to the blog when I can. For today, here is the parting cast from a baseball legend. Now that we are in the throws of another pennant race and World Series it makes only sense to look for a good baseball quote. This is from George Herman Ruth, and even though it was a baseball quote it has a much broader application for life. Here's what George has to say, "Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." Take care and enjoy your weekend.

October 7, 2009

The frost is on the pumpking is what they say when the days begin to shorten, the temperatures begin their downward trend and the leaves loose their chlorophyl revealing the brilliance of fall. It is a beautiful season, and it would be my favorite if it just lasted a little longer.

For those of us living in Michigan, we get complacent with the grandeur afforded us as the leaves change. There are some spectacular vistas to behold, especially up in the beautiful northwest corner.

One of my favorite fall activities is spending time in the tree stand. Just kicking back and taking it all in is invigorating. Toss in some deer approaching the stand, and it gets almost down right hard to beat. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors, and being in a tree stand is where most mornings I'd rather be, but that would have to be after a mental struggle trying to determine if I wanted to go chase smallies or deer. Truth be told it would be chasing smallies. It would be a close call, but when those smallies move up in their wolf packs on the flats... man that can be some fun.

Speaking of hard to beat, the Ice Mountain Tear Drop Tournament Trail culminated its season this year with their Classic up on Long Lake and Green Lake near Interlochen, which is southwest of Traverse City. The top ten teams from the six regular season tournaments fish for two days for a share of the Classic Jackpot. There are two additional boats that get to fish the Classic. One is the wild card team selected by a blind draw from those tournament anglers that fished all the regular season events, and the other boat fishing is the tournament director and his partner.

The Tear Drop is a 100% plus payback trail. The tournament director's position, therefore is a voluntary job. He is rewarded though, for all of his efforts, with an entry into the classic. So, twelve boats, 24 anglers faced off in the end of the season two day Classic contest on August 29 and 30.

My good friend Nick Vawter qualified and fished the Classic with his son Brent and filed this report. By the way Nick has given me permission to interject throughout his article. I can't help throwing my two cents worth in. So without further ado here's Nick's write up.

The end of the Ice Mountain Tournament Trail was held Aug 29 and 30. The top ten Teardrop teams, the tournament director, and one lucky wildcard draw traveled to Interlochen to fish the waters of Long Lake and Green Lake. Some teams traveled far (Nick flew up from Texas all season long to fish the Trail and the Classic.), some teams were still having coffee in the dry comfort of their own homes one hour before blast off. They definitely had home field advantage.

The area is home to some of the guys who fish the circuit and a vacation destination for others. If you haven't been chasing green fish in the many lakes in Michigan's beautiful northwest corner, you are simply missing out on a real opportunity. These lakes can hold some of the monster bass that we all hope to have on the other end of the line especially in a tournament. And what better time to catch them than in the Classic.

Our weekend started out like so many other weekends over the years, attempting to fix our boat. Nothing can frustrate an angler more than having constant mechanical problems with your equipment. We installed a new VRO pump outside Ron Hicks garage in the rain the night before the big event. Trying to cure a problem that matched a previous scenario, however this time luck was not on our side. So at 10:00 p.m., the Friday night before the Classic, we found ourselves pulling Ron?s tackle out of his boat and putting ours in. Ron has been more than generous and has loaned us his boat on a couple other occasions. With the transfer complete we were finally off and heading for the State Park by 11:00 pm. Arriving around 12:30 a.m., we set up the tent in the dark and hit the sack a.s.a.p. We awoke to a light rain, and damp sleeping bags! Nothing we could do except pull on our rainsuits and head to the launch. We would have to find a dryer at a laundramat latter.

The morning stiffness, from a short night, in wet bags, was pretty much gone by the time we met up with everybody else at the launch at Long Lake. The rain continued, and with temps hovering the mid 50?s, it certainly felt like November weather. Dennis, our most honorable and dedicated Tournament Director announced that we would fish for 9 hours this first day, so we blasted off in the order that each team finished the AOY race. Yes, Josh and Kasey took off first again. It's getting to be almost like they are guaranteed that position. They are on quite a role.

Brent and I headed to a large flat along with five other boats. After a few minutes, we noticed a fish being boated by the Warners. It's always nice to see someone put a fish in the boat, but at the same time it heightens the anxiety a bit. The morning bite is one you need to capitalize on, and it's hard not to start fishing too fast as you see others catching fish.

It is a tad bit hard to really watch too many other boats when the rain is falling. You try to keep your head down to keep the water from running down your hood and soaking your back. A good rainsuit is a tournament anglers best buy. One that has tight fitting cuffs is a real plus to keep that water from running down your arms as you cast. The 100 MPH gear Bass Pro Shops sells is top notch.

The morning action was very slow. The flat should have produced more fish. Everyone hung around for about an hour or so, then one by one they cranked the big motors and sloshed their way through the rain to their secondary spots.

The perpetual precip continued to pummel us. The wind started to kick up several notches as well. We knew the weather wasn't going to cooperate, but we were hoping that the fish would bite and keep our minds off from it.

We went five hours before getting our first strike. At around noon, Brent landed a nice smallmouth which would end up being big bass of the day. We fished for the remaining four hours without another tap on the line. We headed back to the launch soaked and slightly discouraged. No, I take that back we were surprised and quite discourage that a great fishery like Long Lake had been so stingy.

As we watched the day one weigh in, we found those who had the focussed on the largemouth were the ones to bring in their limit. That's not usually the case. Smallies usually rule the Classic weigh-in up here in the north country and especially on Long.

Ross Machiela and Jesse Weener found themselves at the top of the leader board after day one with a five fish weighing thirteen pounds and eight ounces. Landing in second place was the team of Cook and Mitchell, who were close behind with five largemouth that weighed thirteen pounds and four ounces. In third place was the AOY team of Johs Myers and Kasey Kyser. They too found the largemouth, by targeting small clumps of weeds with a slow falling tube jig. They gave five bass a ride to the scales that weighed thirteen pounds even.

Fourth place was the BassCat Boys Dave Baker and Gary Evans, and they weighed in another limit of largemouth for eleven pounds and three ounces. We tried to get Dave Baker to contribute some color commentary for the article, but they decided to play their cards close to the vest. (No return email from my request.)

The House of Flavors team of Dan Warner Jr. and Sr. rounded out the fifth place spot Saturday with a five fish bag weighing ten pounds and fourteen ounces. As I mentioned earlier, my partner and son Brent caught big bass of the day, a nice four pound three ounce smallmouth that won us the $120.00 big bass pot for day one.

Day two of the Classic, we awoke to a beautiful silence. The silence was the first thing we noticed because it meant no rain! Even though it was a solid hour before sunrise, when we stepped out of the tent you could tell the day was going to dawn brighter for us. We arrived at the DNR launch on Green Lake in plenty of time. Those who had internet access via their phones, and those that just arrived from home and who could catch a weather report on TV, while eating breakfast and sipping hot coffee (Dang locals!) assured us that it was going to be a much more pleasant day.

Dennis was busy orchestrating the morning and was busy collecting $10.00 per boat for a second chance Tournament. Whichever team brought in the heaviest sack for this second day would get an extra $120.00. For us being so far down after day one it was our only chance for some extra money.

We all took off in the same order as the day before. As the boats roar off in the morning everyone's excitement level is high. It's a rush. The scenery is spectacular, the speed of the boats flying down the lake is exhilarating, and the anticipation of a big bag of fish, is why we're out there.

The morning was a little cool, but at least there was no rain. We still wore our rain pants to keep from getting a soggy bottom from the soaked boat seats. Once we hit our first morning spot, we found the fish much more cooperative than the day before. We were fishing mostly smallmouth. We had one nice green fish about three and a half pounds, but the rest of the fish in our livewell were not the quality we would need to contend for the second chance pot.

When you know you need one or two more good fish you wish the day could last a little longer, and when you have several nice ones you conversely want the day to end quicker. In any case it was a lot more fun this second day when we were putting fish in the boat. Your hopes are that big one will be the next tap on the line.

At the end of the day around the weigh-in site, we heard a few guys talking about how they had struggled, but not everybody was talking. You know when that happens someone has a good bag of fish.

It was nice to see some of the guys who didn't make the Classic show up to watch the weighin. Rick Skinner, Craig Strumbrie, Jared Strumbrie to name a few drove about an hour to support the contenders.

As the weigh-in began you could sense that there was going to be a significant shuffle in the standing. Chris Mieras and Harry Swank shook the standings up with a hefty sack of smallmouth rocking the scales at sixteen pounds and three ounces. That would give them the $120.00 side pot for the second day mini tournament, and it also bumped them up a few notches in the standings. Not that they needed more money, but they also had big bass with a four pound twelve ounce smallmouth. That one fish garnered them another $120.00.

The Bass Cat Boys were doing what they do well and that's bringing in a nice assorted bag of fish which flattened out the scale at fifteen pounds and one ounce.

Then, just when you thought all the big bags were in, here comes Josh and Kasey. As we all know these guys are one of the most difficult teams to best on any of the waters we fish. Their five fish limit on Day Two weighed fourteen pounds and two ounces.

Herndon and MacDonnell finished day two in fourth with a bag of fish weighing twelve pounds two ounces. Wes's daughter came out the last couple hours, and subbed for Brian. I'm pretty sure she put most of those fish in the livewell.

My partner and I managed to finish in the fifth slot of day two with a limit weighing in at eleven pounds and eleven ounces.

Now for the drum roll please...If you did your math as you were reading, you will probably be a few key strokes ahead of me. First place in the 2009 Ice Mountain Tournament Trail Classic goes to the Tear Drop team of Josh Myers and Kasey Kyser. These guys finished third on each of the two days of fishing, and just as it goes in the race for the AOY, you need to have a steady average to win the Classic. Their two day weight totaled twenty-seven pounds three ounces. Nice job and congrats! They went home $1000.00 richer. Josh I'm sure needs his winnings to buy his yet to be born baby a new pair of shoes, or a fishing rod.

Coming in a close second was the Bass Cat team of Baker and Evans with a two day total of twenty-six pounds and four ounces. That two days of "work" provided a nice $600.00 paycheck.

The Reed City Ice Mountain Team of Chris Mieras and Harry Swank stormed back to take third place overall with twenty-three pounds and three ounces, taking home an additional 500 smackers and adding the big bass and side pot monney's they took home $740.00.

Dennis Cook, our tournament director, and his partner Bruce Mitchell brought in enough fish to add to their day one total to give them twenty pounds and three ounces for two days of fishing. They raked in $450.00. Not bad, for being the launch boat and the last ones to leave the dock each day.

Rounding out the top five was the team of Wes Herndon and Brian MacDonnell with nineteen pounds and fifteen ounces. They took home $400.00. The remaining seven teams all took home $300. It's kind of nice to know you can go and have a not so hot couple days of fishing and still take home $300.00 for losing. And, there is no entry fee for the Classic.

In closing, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Dennis Cook for all his hard work and efforts to organize our ad flyer, work at the thankless job of lake scheduling, working all the weigh-ins and doing all the other sundry tasks so that the rest of the anglers can simply fish and have fun. It's a lot of work and I know I really appreciate it! Also, a special thanks to Dan for allowing me to guest blog and for taking the time and effort to format these articles that I put together. I know he probably spends as much, if not more time, editing what I write than I did composing it originally. Hope to see you all next season.Until then...keep a tight line.

Wow! Another great report from nuestro companero de pesca de Texas, thank you Mr. Nick Vawter. Nick and Brent also took pictures at the Classic and here they are.

The 2009 Tear Drop Anglers of the Year Kasey Kaiser and Josh Meyers

Kasey and Josh 2009 Classic Winners!

The Ice Mountain Team of Chris Mieras and Harry Swank

Bruce Mitchell and Dennis Cook

Joe Kozak of the Team Kaiser and Kozak

Wes Herndon and his future WBT Daughter

Noah Laird and Mike Meysar and more WBT Hopefuls

Gary Evans and Dave Baker

Brent Vawter and Day One Big Bass

October 4, 2009

I had to make a run up to the cabin Sunday night to complete a couple of maintainence items that needed taking care of. The bass boat is still in the garage with a wheel bearing problem and Rick "The Cementman" Skinner may be taking care of that for me. Rick is one of those guys that knows how to use a wrench and tackles many mechanically challenges fearlessly. I, on the other hand, am mechanically challenged. Hopefully, my jury duty obligations for the month of October, will open up a bit and I can get up and give Rick and hand and possibly learn a thing or two from him.

Rick and I had coffee Monday morning and one of the local guys brought in a nice six point he got with his bow. Of course, I had left my camera at the cabin and didn't get a picture of it. If any of y'all get a deer make sure you send me a picture for the blog.

Part of the reason I went north was to pick up a new set of glasses in Cadillac. While we were there we had dinner with Dandy Don Fowler and his wife. We ate at Lakeside Charlie's . The restaurant tends to be more upscale price wise. It's a nice sit down restaurant with a beautiful view of Lake Mitchell. Great sunsets!

We asked for a bar menu and had sandwiches. My wife had the club, Don's wife had a reuben, I had a taco salad, and Don had his favorite there, the chicken quesadilla.

I noticed that when I pasted the link for Lakeside Charlie's that the restaurant had several less than stellar comments on their food, however our dinners were excellant. I wouldn't hesitate going back and having any one of the meals we ordered. Don also ordered a plate of Lakeside Charlie's cookies. They were mighty tasty, and worth the trip in and of themselves.!

Lakeside Charlie's is just a short walk from Pilgrim's Village my favorite tackle shop in the great northwest corner. The Knaisel's carry some A number one fishing tackle and really stay abreast of what's hot in terms of baits. They of course carry Koppers Live Target hard baits. If you recall the blog I wrote during the Northern Open, I predicted it would be won on a crankbait bite and lo and behold Jonathan Van Dam struck pay dirt cranking the north shore. (Here's the article about JVD Crankin' the North Shore from Bassfan.) I have fished that north shore with Dandy Don this time of year and the crankbait bite can be awesome.

If you notice in the slide show that the webpage opens to, one of the smallies I'm holding has a Live Target bait in its mouth from a trip last year to where JVD was catchin' em this year.

Grant Kopper, Live Targets founder and owner, just hired a new office manager, Tom Chopin. I have been in contact with him concerning some of the new Live Target baits that are coming out. He sent me one of the new designs which I just received. I don't have time today, but tomorrow I'll take a digital picture of it and give you a look. I had it up north with me this weekend, and was showing it around. Should be a good little bait and a nice addition to the line.

While we were at dinner Don gave me the run down on the bear hunt that he just got back from up in Canada. The outfitter up there is a friend of his and had called him to come up and try for a record book bear that they had on film. Don packed his bags and his PSE bow and headed north.

As luck would have it, the weather up in Canada had gotten very cold and it snowed several of the days Don was up hunting. The bear sightings drop off significantly and the guides surmised that they had already started to head for the dens. In any case, no record book bear was taken, but Don did get a nice boar. Here are some pics. Yes, I said pictures! Don finally got his digital out and took some pictures!

Don's Canadian Bear September 30, 2009

A nice bruin taken with a PSE bow.

Don shoots for PSE and is one heck of an shot.

Well, I have a ton of things to do again today and need to get on the stick. Time to end today's blog with this parting cast. Today's quote comes from England's Margaret Thatcher. She once said, "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing, it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it!" Well let's hope Margaret knows what she's talking about, because I should be quite satisfied by days end today. Take care and make sure you take time out of your work day today to do something that puts a smile on your face.

October 2, 2009

As you maybe already know, I always break the blog at the beginning of each month and start a fresh page so to speak. I archive the blogs up above, so if there is something you want to go back and read you can. One problem with archiving the monthly blogs is that some of the links expire. That is to say, you may click on an old link, and it won't find the article or will pop in an unrelated article that now has the same reference. If you like an article you read online and want to save it, it's best to copy it and save it to your desktop.

If you should ever need help doing some computer magic, make sure you give me a shout. I am not professing to be an expert, but my son is. He is a PC guy where I am a long time Mac user, however, he is becoming very knowlegeable with the Mac as well and bails me out all the time.

I decided during the last month's break to include the last day of the previous month as well. Those last few days of the month don't get the play that the other days get, so I'm leaving the last September entry on this month's blog. It will give those walleye guys a chance to check out my buddy John's pictures from the recent West Michigan Walleye Club qualifier on Lake Charlevoix.

When I woke up and checked the computer today I had several emails from some friends. One was from a relatively new acquaintance Ryan V. It was one of those small world moments when I met Ryan. I have been trying to get healthy and have been walking regularly. During one of those walks I spotted a bass boat through the houses on an adjacent street. I altered my route the next day and saw that it was a BassCat Jag, the same year as mine. I decided that if I walked by it daily I would end up meeting the owner. That's exactly how I came to meet Ryan. During our initial conversation, he said that he was going to fish a tournament trail up north called the Tear Drop, and I said I've heard of that group....

Ryan and I have since had many conversations during my walks, and just this morning he sent me some pictures that he took during an outing on Grand Traverse Bay last year. Ryan was telling me in the email that they were going back up for their annual trip in two weeks. He invited me to meet them up there, but it is going to be the same weekend that my number two son is getting married. Here are some of Ryan's pictures from last year.

Here's Ryan with a beautiful northwest corner smallie.

Doug had a great day boating nice smallies.

Another chunk from G.T.Bay

Ryan's buddy Koz Going Blue and Green!

I think you can see why Ryan and his buddies are heading back to the bay!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather for the weekend of the 17th and hopefully it will be a good day to get married and to catch some great Michigan Northwest Corner smallies. I'll be talking to Ryan and be sure to get some more great pictures of this year's trip.

I received another email from my good buddy Steve from up in Manistee recently. He sent me this correspondence that he received from a friend Alex who had sent out an email showing off a fish his compadre Kyle Anderson caught up near Traverse City on Torch Lake . Here it is!!

Now that's the reason why I don't swim in Torch Lake!

Kyle Anderson's New State Record Muskie!

Wow! Probably worth a double Wow! That is one big fish. It is 56 inches long, and that boys and girls, is just four inches short of five feet long! It weighed in at 50 lbs. and 8 ounces. It will be a new state record to be sure.

Kyle's buddy Alex says his friend really deserves the trophy and claims that Kyle has been fishing Torch Lake for the last seven years and has logged over 4,000 hours trolling for muskie. Congratulations Kyle!

In my trips to Torch, I have stopped for eats in the store that sets at the mouth of the Clam River and while waiting for the great sandwiches they serve, I marveled at the size of the muskies they have on the wall. I don't recall the name of the store, but the restaurant directly across the river from it is the Dockside . (If you click on the hot link you will see a aerial picture of the dockside and the store is directly across from the restaurant.) The Dockside is often quite busy so we opt for the store across from it. They have a deli and will make you a great sandwich while you stare google eyed at the big mounts on the wall.

One other email I got today was from David Baker up in Wellston. He was anxious to hear the Classic story from this year's Ice Mountain Tear Drop Tournament Trail. I have to plead guilty to not getting that up in a timely fashion. Nick, mi amigo de Tejas, Vawter, sent me the article a week or two ago. I procrastinate at times becomes the job is labor intensive, it takes me about three hours to do. I am in the throws of several pressing projects and sometimes I procrastinate and sometimes just have to prioritize. I will try and get that article up soon. I also am planning to put all of this year's Tear Drop articles in a group so they are easier to access. Hopefully, before I work on the article, I can get some more personal information on the tournament from Dave. The articles are always more interesting when I can get first hand accounts.

Speaking of great articles, I read an story from the great sportswriter Don Barone. Don did an article on Gerald Swindle that started out to be a run up article to the AOY Race. It ended up being something altogether different. It is one of those pieces that you simply have to take the time to read. It's really good. The article is called A Livewell For Tony .

As I said earlier, I have a ton on my plate and need to make hay while the sun shines. The final cast of the day comes from the back of Ryan's buddy's shirt up above. It is a simple statement, but one that can really be inspirational in the trying times we find ourselves in. The back of the shirt says, "With valor comes hope." Take care and make sure you take time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on your face.

September 29, 2009

I hope you had a chance to watch the coverage of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Title chase. ESPN2 had the three hours of coverage Sunday from four to seven pm. If you missed it, I am guessing that on the Bassmaster website you can log on, if you are a Bass Insider member, and watch it like you can with the other Bassmaster shows. It was a fast three hours.

I am always hoping for great fish catching shots on those shows, but having ridden as a Marshal in an Elite event, with camera at the ready, it's tough to catch that exact moment of the strike and then be able to also pan and shoot the fish coming in to the boat. It's not like setting a tripod up and making one adjustment and filming a football or basketball game. I've videotaped those before and they are much easier to do in the sense that you get all the beginning to end footage. Put twelve anglers on the water and have them be able to be miles and miles apart and then try and put all that together in a TV show is no simple task.

The Chase had some of my favorite anglers spotlighted. KVD has always been high on my angling heroes list. Mike Iaconelli is another one of the guys I really like to see do well. I am also really getting to like the Gman, Gerald Swindle. Then there was Tommy Biffle, who I rode with a day and a quarter down on Wheeler in Decatur, Alabama this past spring.

Watching the show, knowing already who finished where, was a little anticlimactic. It was definitely more exciting watching the live weigh-in on the internet than on TV. However, you don't get to see hardly any of the on the water footage on the net. In any case, having watched the event has me fired up and ready to head down to Guntersville and Pickwick at the end of April to take part in those Elite events. If you have a chance, sign up to Marshal an Elite event. It's a great time. A big adventure that will leave you filled with tons of memories.

My good friend John "Big Daddy" Baker came over last night with his wife and had some apple pie and coffee with us. He also brought me some pictures of his weekend trip up to Lake Charlevoix. John is a board member for the West Michigan Walleye Club , and they had a Cabela's National Team Championship qualifier on Charlevoix this past weekend that he officiated at. Here's some pictures of the top finishers.

Finishing First with 20.06 lbs Caleb Taylor and Brian Erler

Second Place with 14.12 lbs. Chet Babcock and Jim Graff

Third place at Charlevoix with 12.65 lbs. Al and Jim Dood

Albeit, I'm not a walleye angler, but I have caught a number of nice walleye through the ice. I have a beautiful stringer mount of walleye with the smallest being eight pounds and the largest ten pounds. I love to eat walleye and catch most of mine when I'm throwing spinnerbaits, believe it or not.

In a bass tournament, on Saginaw Bay, we got in to a school of walleye. They tore our spinnerbaits up to the point where we had to leave. As we did, we tossed some live bait walleye guys our spinnerbaits because they weren't getting bit and couldn't believe we were hammerin' them like we were.

John, as I mentioned, is on the board of the West Michigan Walleye Club and they are without a doubt the largest fishing club on this side of the state and maybe the largest single club in the whole state. I've been to several of their meetings, and it is always a good time and quite informative. If your interested in walleye fishing and are near Grand Rapids check them out.

The Walleye guys used the ramp near the Ironton Ferry

We have had several bass tournaments and several B.A.S.S. Federation Nation State Championships on Charlevoix. It's a pretty piece of water and a place where you may run into the man himself, KVD. He's known ply the waters of Charlevoix frequently.

If you get a chance to get up there to fish bass or walleye you won't be disappointed. It is a beautiful area. Just a trip around the lake looking at the homes can be interesting. Here is a picture John just took of one of the weekend places on the lake.

The boat house door on this weekend place is 65 feet tall.

Another beautiful place near Charlevoix that we happened across when we were looking for accomodations for one of the State Championships was the Horton Creek Inn Bed and Breakfast . It's nestled back in the woods surrounded by forest noises. It has a pool, hot tub, and the place is a real show place. Each bedroom is decorated around an outdoor theme. Each night they have warm pie or cake in their lounge area. Their breakfast was very good and they got up considerably early to make sure all us fisherman had our morning sustenance even though it was hours before their normal breakfast time. It certainly garners a five star recommendation from me. Take your wife there, and she will most cetainly not begrudge you some fishing time.

I got an email from a youngster today wanting to know some good baits to use in the Fall. I know here in Michigan it's crankbait time. I had mentioned the other day that I thought the B.A.S.S. Northern Open guys would do some damage cranking, and sure enough in the early reports that I have read on Jonathan Van Dam's victory, it came via the crankbait.

I have said it before and I will say it again, that if you want some big smallies in the Fall, you better be tossing a Koppers Live Target crank. The one that opens up on the home page is hard to beat. If you're not a believer then buy one and you'll find that the old adage seeing is believing will certainly be the case.

Well, I have my walking shoes on and have four to five miles ahead of me, so it's time for the parting cast of the day. Today's quote comes from "The" big man himself, Shaquille O'Neal. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok." May not be motivational, but Shaq knows how to make you laugh. Take care and make sure you take time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on someone else's face.