There are a couple of things that caught my eye when I looked at the new schedule. First of all, the Tear Drop anglers will be using the new ramp on Crystal. If any of you have fished that body of water, and used the downtown ramp, you know how badly they needed a new one.
The new DNR Ramp is on the south side of the lake just east of Railroad Pt. If you were looking west from the old ramp downtown, the first major point on the south side of the lake is called Railroad Pt. The maps I looked at in order to provide a link so you could see where it was, aren't new enough to show the new DNR access site. I'm told the new ramp is super nice, and that it has lots of parking. I can't wait to give it a try this spring.
Another thing I noticed on the new schedule is that instead of taking off from Wilson Hill Park off Jebavy Rd., this year, the group will be launching from the Ludington State Park . I double checked this with Dennis, and he said several years ago they upgraded the launch at the State Park, and that it will provide plenty of parking and allow for launching several boats at a time. The Wilson Hill launch doesn't have much parking close by, and launching boats on the narrow road, takes forever.
If you are interested in fishing the Tear Drop, you can get most of the information you will need by clicking on the "Rules and Info." button on this site's main page. You can also get Dennis Cook's contact information from the "Tear Drop Flier" button on the main page.
While I was surfing the web today, I stopped off at the Major League Bass Fishing League Website . If you're not familiar with the new league, it's one that Boyd Duckett has put together. They have invited 24 of the top pros to compete in a brand new event. You can read about the new organization and how they have come up with an interesting approach to TV tournaments by clicking on the link. Some of the new wrinkles include catch and release after an official on the boat weighs and records the catch. Every legal fish counts, no five fish limit. They are also not allowing any practice time on the water and no prerecorded way points are allowed on their units when they take off.
They have already held the first event back in November. They are getting ready to roll the footage out on the Outdoor Channel. They are also going to be providing the show with additional scenes on a pay for view format. It goes for $2.99 per episode. They also offer a package rate. The pay per view will be available starting on February 13. I'm springing for it. Got to see what this new MLF is all about.
I have been filling out the form for the B.A.S.S. KVD Sweepstakes every day. I also see where B.A.S.S. is starting a new sweepstakes that you can submit an entry for each day. It's just like fishing, if you don't have a line in the water you can't catch a fish. If you don't submit an entry into the sweepstakes, you can't win. Check out B.A.S.S.'s My Favorite Bass Lake Sweepstakes . You will find the sweepstakes button in very small print at the top of B.A.S.S.'s main page.
One other article I ran across today was on Bass Fan and it dealt with the guy who won the Lake Shasta, California, Everstart. The interesting thing about this win way out in California is that the winner, K.C. Harris, said that the A-Rig was the bait that won him the event. You can read their article using this link: Shasta EverStart Winning Pattern - Umbrella Rig, Day-2 Giant Lifted Harris To Victory Ban the A-Rig? I don't know about that. I think I'd like to see it used for a year, to see how it performs at various lakes at different times of the year. If it turns out to be that dominating, then let the various tournament organizations decide which way they want to go with it.
I usually mention each month that I break the blog monthly, and today I archived January up above and started the new February page. Just an F.Y. I.
The final cast of the day is a quote from an award winning American author by the name of Eric Hoffer. He once said, "We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents." There's always something good that comes from hard work. Take care, have a good day.
January 28, 2012
Well, the snow is back and the forecast is for more this weekend. We really didn't have much on the ground up until today. It's blowing pretty good right now, but the temperature is right at freezing. We're suppose to get several more inches of snow. We'll see though. We have been missing most of the storms that they have predicted.
My sister has a birthday this weekend and her whole crew went up north to have some fun. I should get a good report as to conditions, both snow and ice, when they return. I also get pretty good updates from the Cementman. He's been out getting some gills to eat on a couple of occasions of late.
Speaking of getting some bluegills, one of my former students sent me an email of a nice gill he got first ice on Hamlin. He said they were getting good messes right off the landing at Wilson Hill Park. He went on to say that all you have to do is look for the group of locals in order to see which weed bed is producing the best.
Nick Vawter sent me a picture of his son Bryan, who last weekend was on a backwater area of the Kalamazoo River and jigged up a nice mess of gills.
Bryan with a nice mess of gills in a backwater area of the Kalamazoo River.
Nick also sent me a bunch of pictures from a hunting trip that he and his boys went on just after Christmas down in Texas. Nick and Bryan both got a nice buck, and Brent and Brad got a nice pig each. Nick said that toward the end of deer season, the pigs get very wary and usually become nocturnal, making them a lot harder to get a poke at. As things settle down once deer season ends, it will again get much easier to put a little sausage in the freezer.
This little piggy didn't quite make it to the market.
Half a pig, some venison, and some wild pig sausage on the barby! Yum!
Brad with a good size hog!
Brent with the other hog that will stock the Vawter's freezer shelves
Nick with a dandy Texas buck!
Bryan with the last deer for the 2011 Vawter season.
Nick's winter handy work. He's getting to be quite a craftsman!
Nick told me in a recent email that he has been getting pretty good at mounting the racks that he and the boys get through their many hunting trips. He's also been quite happy with what he has been doing with antler repair and reconstruction. He says many of the Texas bucks seem to have broken tines. I'd like to see how his repairs look. I might have to start sending my, once in a blue moon, rack to him. My bucks always seem to have a brokent tine as well. I still have my "Hector Buck" in at Bugs to Bones. I hope to get it back by Spring.
Yesterday in the mail, I got my free Trokar stuff. It wasn't a big haul, but free is free. TroKar sent me a "backpack," some stickers, which I like to stick on my planos, and a package of six 3/0 finesse worm hooks.
I'll have to admit, that I haven't used Trokar hooks before, because I'm living on a fixed income, some may say more accurately that I'm just too cheap. TroKar hooks are a might pricey. I will definitely be giving these that I got a try this spring. They look really good, and I like the molded bait holder that is just under the eye of the hook. If you haven't been to the Trokar site to take their little quiz, and get your free stuff, you can use this link. If you scroll down a few entries you can also read about how to short cut the quiz which involves reading the : TroKar FAQ's .
My freebies arrived yesterday from TroKar.
While cruising the net today I read an interesting article that was posted on Bass Zone. They are going to be taking a little different approach to their coverage after the major tournaments, and feature a couple of anglers that didn't do well. Instead of the "winning technique," they will be approaching it from the "Where did it go wrong?" perspective. The first such article involves two Elite pros, Ish Monroe and Casey Ashley, two very good anglers, I might add. Take a few and read the article, it's really well done: What went wrong on the Harris Chain .
Keeping with the Classic hype, and I'm taking a look at maybe heading down to the Classic, here's a pretty interesting short little piece on How much do you know about the upcoming Classic? .
I have been getting inquiries almost daily concerning when the Tear Drop schedule will be published. I emailed Dennis recently, and he responded and said it is done, but he's waiting to see what a couple of other trail schedules look like before he officially publishes his Tear Drop schedule. As soon as he sends it to me, I will definitely post it.
The final cast of the day is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I don't know if he was talking about shallow or deep water anglers, but you may look at it that way... then again probably not, but I think it definitely can apply to your fishing. "Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect." Take care and have a good weekend!