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Daily Blog Archive January 3, through January 29th, 2010

January 29, 2010

Pretty morning this morning. Cold, I have 14 degrees at 8:00 am.

Jeff Brauneck emailed me today. He's another Manistee outdoor fanatic cut out of the same cloth as my ole buddy Steve Block. Must be something in that Manistee water that grows outdoorsman. If it's not the water then it could be that it's just another one of those beautiful northwest corner areas that provides so many opportunities for outdoor adventures.

Any how, Jeff sent me some more pictures of his ice fishing outings. He hooked up on some more steelhead and also caught a few nice gills. One of the gills was a real dandy, a ten incher.

Some more nice steelies caught through a hole in the ice.

Now that's a nice gill!

I would definitely say that is a photofish.

It's got the length and the girth!

Jeff says that he has also been catching steelies in the river. He puts on the waders when they shut down through the ice. He also told me that he is planning to go down to Brooklyn, MI to Wampler's Lake for an ice fishing tournament, the Midwest Open , that has a $12,000 guaranteed first place prize. He's going to prefish with a buddy on Saturday and then fish the tournament on Sunday. If you think that you might want to join Jeff, forget it if you haven't already registered. The tournament has reached its limit of 150 2-man teams. I asked Jeff to take some pictures and hopefully he'll have time to take some and send us his story once he gets home. Good luck Jeff, with $12,000 in your pocket you could buy dinner at Rico's.

I didn't mention the other day that Humminbird is suing Lowrance for patent infringement on its side imaging unit. Earlier in the week, there was an announcement that Humminbird was granted the patent and within a day or two the law suit was announced. It will be interesting to see what transpires.

The FLW Eastern Series opener was on Okeechobee on Wednesday. After day one, there were a lot of big names in the top ten. The leader Day 1, however, was a local making his debut in the Eastern Series. John Cox weighed in a 25 lb. sack. Cox continued to dominate on day two bringing in a limit that went 22 lbs. and change. He was said to be sight fishing. The Day 3 article is not up yet, but should be soon. We'll see if the rookie can hang on amidst the throng of big name pros barking at his heels.

While I was reading about the Day 2 results on Okeechobee, I found some ramblings about how the pros are using some "gafs" on the Big O. Some of guys are using 10/0 hooks! They also mentioned that they were using the new razor sharp TroKar hooks.

These Trokars are top dollar hooks and out of the package are extremely sharp. Some reviews on these hooks agree that they are the sharpest, but after they get dulled up on rocks or logs, and you touch them up, they aren't nearly as sharp as the out of the package models. Makes sense, but you may want to try some and decide for yourself if they hold their edge long enough to make the extra cost worth it.

Speaking of worth it, Mike Iaconelli did a piece for Berkley on a technique he calls "The Wet Noodle." Ike now has Pure Fishing as one of his major sponsors so it's hard to discern if this is just a promotional pitch or a technique he actually relies on in a tourament situation. It's just a short piece so it is certainly worth the read.

I also read an article today by Boyd Duckett. He wrote a piece about his new microguide rods. The article talks about why he decided to have the rods made in China. According to Duckett 98% of the rods sold in the USA are made in other countries. Duckett says he struggled with the idea of outsourcing and wanted to keep as much as he could in this country. If he did produce the rods in the states the price of the rods would have had to focuss on high end buyer. Having the rods made in China, and keeping the price per rod down, according to Duckett, would allow him to increase the size of his company distribution wise in Demopolis, therefore actually hiring and maintaining more workers. Sounds like a pretty good job of rationalizing a move for offshore production, but I am no economist and am not in a position to make an informed opinion yet.

If you are interested in reading the article here is Duckett's piece called Boyd's Biz .

That's going to be it for today. I'm running short on time and don't really have a good quote handy for a parting shot. So, I have another You Tube video that does a good job talking about Vicious Line . It in a remote way is like a last cast, and it was something I could lay my keyboard fingers on in a hurry. Take care and get ready to enjoy the weekend. Oh, by the way GVSU won last night. They beat Michigan Tech rather handily. It was fun getting out to watch them again.

January 28, 2010

Whoa, first thing I did this morning after I put on some socks, (It's down right cold today) was to open Smultron. Smultron is the program that I use for the blog, and when I went to copy paste the new date, I noticed I started out the last entry with "I up an at em..." I really do proof read this thing, however, there are days that it must not look like it. Oh well, as they say, it could be worse.

Last night I listened to the State of the Union address, and I won't get in to a discussion of politics on the blog because I strongly believe in a separation of fishing and state. I have been doing some reading on another forum site, and have found that it doesn't take long to loose your taste for talking about fishing when politics enters the fray. I don't know about you, but first and foremost, I fish because I enjoy it. I like just about everything about it. You have your boat, your gadgets, your gear, and the never ending quest to find that next secret bait. It gives you something to do even when you're not on the water.

I also like the fact that it is a community sport. You can fish by yourself, and at times that can be just the ticket. However, my most memorable times are always when I've been fishing with someone. The acquaintances you make and the friendships you forge are links in our social fabric that nurture us all.

I firmly believe that we are all better off if we have connections and diversions in our lives. Having things that we enjoy, and friends to enjoy them with, envigorates the soul. Making time to just enjoy the sunrise, and time to cajole and harrass your fishing buddy because they caught another redeye aren't just "fishing" outings, but are important parts of our social being that makes us happy.

With all the stressors that you encounter in life you need such diversions. I've never taken someone fishing that when they caught that first fish they weren't smiling. So, I'll try to always separate fishing and state. "For everything there is a season and a time for every matter..."

Wow, didn't intend to get into that philosophical moment this morning. Strange how the blog just takes you places. I know one place it's going to take me this morning is to the Michigan DNR Website so I can purchase my application for the Spring Turkey Hunt. I have procrastinated long enough, and I had better get er done.

I'm not a big turkey hunter, and I really don't know if I will have a lot of extra time because of Marshalling, but for the price of the application I'm going to make the donation.

Before I go too much further, I have to wish number two son a very happy birthday! Happy birthday bud!!

I originally mention the State of the Union address above to segway to Ron Lindner's second half of his radio program where he talks about the State of Tournament Bass Fishing . I got a little bit side tracked, but if you click on the aforementioned link you will get a Quick Time version of the show. If you would rather use a Windows Media version use this link.

January is running out of days rather quickly, and it soon will be Classic time on Lay Lake. B.A.S.S. just announced that Fish Fishbourne is going to help Keith Alan on stage during the weighins. I've always like Fish. He makes a great MC. To get you primed for the big event you many enjoy reading a piece that's up on Bass Fan that talks about my old fishing buddy Tommy Biffle.

My day two ride in Alabama, Mr. Tommy Biffle

Tommy is a crusty ole sole, and you can tell from his interactions with other pros that he is very well respected. Spending one day in the boat with him, really doesn't allow you to get to know him very well. You can easily tell though that he is very intense, and maybe especially so the day I was with him because he was leading the event. He ended up being the $100,000 winner. He was a good host, and despite the fact that I felt he drove a little fast in a dense fog, we had a great day. Maybe I'll draw him again on Pickwick or Guntersville.

Another article up now on the net is one that goes through all the Elite Series events, and gives a "Summary of Each Tour Win" . It's a very interesting read.

Before I close the blog today, I thought I might pass along a site that I now check each day along with Woot.com . The new site that my son clued me in to is called Steep and Cheap . I haven't bought anything from the site yet, however, I did order an eight inch HP photoframe from Woot today. They are haven't a Woot off. That means that every half hour to an hour, if that long, they offer a new item till it's sold out. This HP photoframe is a good deal. In fact, I've ordered two.

Well, I'm going to the Grand Valley State University basketball game tonight, so I'm going to hit the treadmill and try and get a few miles in this afternoon.

The parting shot today is a You Tube piece of video that features Gerald Swindle . He is one of my favorite anglers. He's a guy that you can tell works hard, fishes hard, wears his emotions on his sleeve, and knows the value of putting a smile on your face. Do yourself a favor and watch this piece. Until the next day comes, take care.

January 26, 2010

I'm up an at em at the crack of dawn this morning, and these days that's about 9:30 am. I can get a away with calling it the crack of dawn because when I get up, there is a crack of light seeping in through the edge of the shade in the bedroom, aka "The crack of dawn."

I turned on the TV while I ate my oatmeal, cinnamon, and raisins, and drank my first of many cups of coffee. There wasn't much on the outdoor channels that caught my attention. I did see that today at 2:00 pm the Bass Pros are on. For the past two weeks, that I have tuned the show in, KVD did segments from Rick "The Cementman's" lake. KVD came out this past June to Rick's place and was there all day with a Bass Pro Shops cameraman filming segments for the TV show. Rick was told they would send him a DVD of the segments, but as of yet he's still waiting. I did find, on a recent google attempt, that they sell the various seasons of Bass Pros , so we will be able to purchase a copy as a keepsake of his visit.

We talked to KVD a few weeks ago at the Novi fishing show and he told Rick that he may be coming back to do some more filming this summer. Kevin owns property that he has for hunting near Baldwin, so consequently Rick's place makes it very handy for him to do some filming. Just an F.Y.I., and I know I mentioned it above, but Bass Pros are on Versus at 2:00 pm. (I had to repeat myself to work the link in.)

KVD filming for the Bass Pros show

KVD on Rick's lake with cameraman Dave from BPS

The weather looks like it's taking a turn back toward the deep freeze, and I guess we do live in Michigan, enough said there concerning weather. The drop this week to potentially below zero temps will help that ice firm back up and allow some more gill getting.

I was on Bass Zone this morning, and was reminded of a segment that Zona did with KVD on ice fishing. It's only a four to six minutes long, and like most Zona programs, it's entertaining. Here's the Zona, KVD, ice fishing clip .

The Chicago carp story is still headlining many of the local TV news shows. They often mention that DNA from Asian Carp has already been found past the electronic barrier that they have set up to keep the carp from entering Lake Michigan. Here is an article entitled "Carp DNA Found Closer to the Lake" from the Milwaukee Sentinel, that sheds some light on just what this "DNA" is that they are finding.

I like to read Bass Fan editorials and today they have one up on the topic of what should be done about the "No Info" rule that the professional trails have. The article is called "No-Info Rules Serve Valuable Purpose" and it pretty much pushes for a continuation of the rule. It also suggest that it should be strengthened or clarified by including some kind of language that says anglers cannot solicit any kind of information during the off limit periods. They mention a couple of loop holes that need to be dealt with. They go on to say that it's not the anglers fault if they push the limits of the law, so to speak. It's kind of like my favorite WC Fields quote. When asked if he read the Bible, he said, "Why yes I do dear, but only for loop holes." If you find them, you can use them, but then the spirit of the rule comes into question and those that can, are responsible to address the rule and remedy the problem to maintain the rules integrity.

One of my favorite three anglers is the wild man himself Mike "Mad Dog" Iaconelli. He has been offering tips on the Bassmaster site, and one that I recently read resonated well with me. There are times, when you're fishing a tournament, where the fish just aren't biting and you begin to get a tad bit panicky. Ike has those same moments and has put together a "Panic Box." Read his Masters Series on Finesse Fishing article and find out what's in his crunch time panic box.

That's going to be it for the blog today. Remember that MSU plays Michigan tonight at 7:00 pm. That rivalry always seems to produce a good game. The parting shot is going to be another You Tube video that has started just after the New Year began. It's called Facts of Fishing and although some seem to think it's very funny, I found it to be maybe a one snicker on the laughter scale, but it is going to be a weekly thing and one that I will continue tune in. Take care and make sure you take some time today to combat that winter blues syndrome caused by all the Great Lakes effect clouds, and do something that puts a smile on your face.

January 24, 2010

Did you watch the MSU game today? Can you believe that State won that game! They had no inside play at all. Everything was from the perimeter. They were very lucky to win.

I love to watch Izzo teams play, but he just doesn't like to run an offense that creates many paint points. I think he also intimidates the freshmen he plays. Sherman never even looked at the basket to score. Makes it too easy for the opposition to clog up the middle. Oh well, they're 7-0 in the Big Ten and Izzo will have them ready for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, I hope. They sure do have some talent.

I talked to The Cementman the other day at lunch and I found out that our mutual friend Craig "Backup and Dump" Stumbrie had a significant health scare a few weeks back. He is going to be having some surgery, and will need some rehabilitative time, but I know he's one tough son of a gun, so I'm looking for him to come back strong. The journey of a thousand miles begins with that first step. I want to wish him well and let him know that he's in our prayers.

I read an article on the net that has three of the Alabama pros talking about Lay Lake, the site of the 2010 Bassmaster Classic. They all commented on the quality of the lake and said if the weather warms it could be a barn burner there. If it stays chilly, and it has been down right freezing, then they suspect that it will be a spotted bass tournament.

The spots tend to be up river and without a flippin' bite the weights could be down, although last time they were at Lay, at about the same time of year, Skeet Reese was catching 16 pounds worth of spots in the river. If you're interested in reading the article, here is the link to "Lay Experts Say It's all About the Weather ."

If you're reading Bass Fan you probably saw where FLW Fantasy Fishing took a major hit in terms of payouts reducing the overall payout by 95%. They have also restructured the game simpliying it point wise. Now you simply pick the top ten, in no particular order, and specify who you feel will win. The tie breaker is the winning weight. If you plan to play, you have to have your roster picked by the first FLW Tour event, February 10th.

There has been quite a bit of discussion since Randy Blaukat came out with his "editiorial" on the state of professional tournament bass fishing. I don't know if it is a reaction to Blaukat, I suspect so, but Ron Lindner has produced a similar piece with Bass Fan Radio, giving his take on the fate of professional bass angling. Here is the link which requires Quick Time to listen to: Ron Lindner (Quick Time Version) . If you need a Windows Media format here is the link for that: Ron Lindner (Windows Format) .

This economy is stressing all fabrics of our society, and it's pushing its way into even our fishing arena our sanctuary. We all are going to have to hunker down and make sure we don't knee jerk to heresay and gossip, and allow those who can, work to straighten this economy out. It's going to take some time. It's kind of like my current weight situation. It seems all of the sudden I find myself at my all time highest weight. I wish I could just make it melt away, but it's going to take time, hard work, and sacrifice to get back down to a healthy weight. And, if I don't do it, there could be some dire consequences.

Well on that somber note I think I'll end this short blog entry. To help the soul a tad I'm going to use this You Tube link as the parting shot of the day. Hopefully it will put a smile on your face. Take care and watch out for those Jets tomorrow. It's interesting isn't it, that the two meet after Indianapolis decided to rest their big guns allowing the Jets a door into the play offs. Makes for good drama.

January 21, 2010

You'd think I'd been on a mini vacation or something with no blog action for almost a week. If you had been a thinkin' that away, then you're right. We took off last Sunday morning and headed to Milwaukee to see number two son and his beautiful new wife. We didn't get a chance to see them over the Christmas holiday, so we planned to meet with them in January before the new school semester started.

The trip to Milwaukee runs any where from four hours and some change to six hours. It all depends on the traffic in and around Chicago. Leaving on a Sunday about noon, made for good traffic timing. We cruised through the city without any backups. We made excellant time both coming and going.

If you are ever looking for a get away weekend, Milwaukee would be a great destination. It has a great downtown with lots of things to do from musueums (they have a one of a kind art museum), the Bradley Center, where the Bucks and Admirals play, loads of great beer and brats hangouts, lake front boat cruises, and a bunch of brewrys to tour.

We stayed downtown at the Courtyard Marriot. It's very conveniently located within walking distance of most everything in the downtown area, and without going outside you have access to Milwaukee's downtown shopping mall.

We took Gramma with us on the trip and with her being wheelchair bound the Courtyard really worked out well for us. We've also stayed at the Hilton downtown. The Hilton is often the hotel that comes up if you hotwire a room for downtown Milwaukee. It usually comes up for under $60. The Hilton is just a block from the Courtyard and a really cool old classy hotel.

You can take the train from Grand Rapids to Milwaukee and walk from the station and be at either motel in just minutes. The ferry from Muskegon also docks within walking distance of downtown.

One of my favorite spots in Milwaukee to cruise for a while is Whole Foods . Yep, it's a grocery store, but inside it has several unique areas. If you buy a steak at the meat counter you can literally turn around and hand it to a guy who will cook it for you. You can then choose sides to eat with it. There is also an area where they have a brick oven and make pizza and great sandwiches. They roast chickens, have a huge salad bar area, as well as a big hot bar with all kinds of items to choose from. They have a sushi bar, and you can order rice bowls, etc.

Once you've chosen what you want to eat you can get a soda or you can go to their coffee bar and get a specialty drink. At the coffee bar, you can also get a wine card. You put some money on it like a phone card, and then walk over to the wine section and use it to get samples of their wine. You slide your card in and it pours out a quantity of wine. Now where can you shop and drink wine at the same time?

After your meal, you will want some of their jelato, which is an ultra smooth Italian ice cream in all kinds of flavors. I had "Gorilla" which was caramel and banana. If you're not in the mood for jelato, they have a rather large pastry counter with all kinds of tarts, cakes, etc. This is all surrounding the grocery aisles. You could go to pick up your milk and bread and have a gormet lunch or dinner! My kind of shopping!

One of my favorite Milwaukee Stops, Whole Foods

Now where else can you drink wine, eat great food, and pick up your gallon of milk all in one stop?

Don't tell anyone, but I drove by two Bass Pro Shops, one in northern Indiana and the other in Gurnee, IL, but stopped at Whole Foods and also, I have to confess, at Kopp's Custard . In fact Kopps, was our first Milwaukee stop. The excuse for stopping was that my granddaughter wanted a t-shirt from Kopps.

Kopp's is a Milwaukee original. There are two Milwaukee locations.They are akin to the West Coast "In and Out Burgers" in terms of their loyal cult following. Unlike In an Out Burger, they don't have any indoor seating, just small round tables you can stand at. They don't have a drive thru either. The place is hopping though. It's a real local favorite. Each day they make a different kind of custard, and they also have great burgers, fries, etc. When I googled their web page today, I saw that today's flavor is Turtle Sundae, which just happens to be my all time favorite Kopp's creation. If you get hungry take the train or the ferry and head to beer town. Make sure you put the Brat House , and the Rock Bottom Brewry , on your eats list. Also leave time for a tour at Lakefront Brewry . You won't be sorry. If you need to rest a while after eating take in a Brewers game at Miller Stadium or tour the Pabst Mansion. On second thought you might need more than a weekend in Milwaukee.

I'm going to keep plugging along on this blog entry, but it's about to get interrupted. Rick "The Cementman" Skinner, and his wife Jean, were in Muskegon and decided to drive down to go out to lunch with us. They are on their way. I'd surely hate to have to stop typing to go out for lunch.

While I was in Milwaukee, I checked the emails and Nick "Bajo El Maestro de Texas" Vawter had sent me some South Texas pig pictures. After reading his email, and checking out the pics he sent, I may have to change his nickname to Nick "Cazador de Cerdo" Vawter.

I thought about going over his email and ferreting out the details of the trip for the blog, but he did such a comprehensive job that I thought I'd just ask him if I could post his email. He said yes, so here it is.

The hunt was great! Bryan flew in a few hours ahead of Brad and Brent last Friday, Jan 8th. Bryan arrived about 11:00 a.m. After he arrived, we drove another hour north to Johnson City to get things ready for our long weekend. The temp was about 31 degs, not too far from what Bryan left behind in MI.

The first order of business was to get the bar-b-q cooker going. No Texas hunt is complete unless you are cooking up something on the smoker/grill. You won't find too many grills like these up north. They have a large grill area on one side just for smoking your food. On the other side you have your burning chamber where you load your wood. You can either cook over this area like a traditional grill, or place your meat selection on the other side and cook/smoke your dinner. We got the pit going and tossed a small "Nolan Ryan" fourteen pound beef brisket on along with some store bought baby back pork ribs to kind of "prime" the cooker for some wild pig.

Prepping the B-B-Q Grill

Mmmm ... B-B-Q Pork

The next order of business was to go to each hunting area and lay some corn down to attract the pigs onto the road ways and sendero's. Next we set a pig trap that was down by the river. After that, Bryan and I went to the small rifle range to have Bryan fire a shot or two from each of my 4 guns they were going to use. I brought along my 7 mag, 308, 243, and 30-06. I brought along the old 450 that I shot my bear with, just because the boys wanted to see what it would do to the iron sided porkers. By the time all that was complete, it was time to go sit out.

I was taking Bryan to my blind down by the Pedernales River. I had already shot four pigs on two different occasions there this season. There was still plenty of sign in the area, so we thought it was as good a spot as any to take our first hog.

About a month earlier, I had four pigs come in front of me facing away and into the wind. I shot the biggest one, a two-hundred pounder, and dropped it. The remaining three didn't know where the shot came from and froze. So, I racked another shell in the .243 and dropped another. Again, they were confused and I was able to drop a third one. Still the fourth one didn't get it. I went to rack another shell, but the gun was empty. I had only put three shells in. At the time, I was annoyed at myself for not having a full magazine. But, as soon as the work started, I was glad that I didn't take that last pig. I had to load 450 lbs of pig onto my game carrier and walk it back to camp. Once there, I had all the butchering work to do, and being all by myself, I knew I would be working late into the night.

On that trip, I was alone at camp. My buddy Carl, who took me to Falcon where I caught the ten pounder, is also on the lease with me, but decided not to come. Note to self: "Don't shoot more pork than you weigh yourself".

The ranch property we lease borders the Pedernales River. My hunting blind is at the end of a roadway that touches the river. You can hear the water cascading over some small falls while I'm hunting. It's very beautiful.

Last year, Brent and Bryan came down and shot a few pigs in February. Our water system was being worked on at the time, and there was no running water all weekend. After a couple days in the low 80's, we opted to bath in the river. The water temp hovered around 50 then. We were varying shades of purple when we got out. This river is one of a couple that has the last natural population of Guadalupe bass.

Bryan shot pig number one that evening about an hour before dark. We had seen a couple others pass through our field of view, but they were moving to quick for a shot. When it got too dark to shoot, we went back to camp and dressed out the pig.

We grabbed a quick nibble on some of the pork ribs we placed on the cooker earlier and then headed back south to San Antonio to pick up Brad and Brent. When we got back to camp around midnight, we sampled the beef brisket that had been on the smoker side for about 10-11 hours now. It was tasty, but still needed another 12-15 hours to get to the point of perfection.

That night the temps dipped to 9 degs. The two small electric heaters that I had in cabin bedroom probably only got the inside temp to about 48. The cabin was constructed in the 60's and obviously insulation wasn't a consideration then in South Texas.

Saturday morning Bryan slept in. He had been up for about 48 hours straight. Brent and I gave Brad a tour of the ranch. The entire ranch is approx 5,100 acres. I share the lease with five other guys, and the land the boys and I had to hunt totaled around 1700 acres.

Saturday, the temps managed to reach a high of 20. It was cold no matter where you find yourself, but this was unusual for Johnson City, Texas. The water lines in camp where frozen solid. That meant no shower or any running water. We reminisced about our river bath that we had taken the previous year, but knew that wouldn't be an option in below freezing temps.

Saturday evening I took Brad to my river spot hoping to get him his first pig. About a half hour before dark, we heard Brent take a couple shots from a nearby blind. As each minute drew closer to 6:30 pm, which I knew from the previous nights hunt would be the very last minute of available light, I thought to myself that Brad was going to have another unsuccessful pig hunt. However, just at the last possible moment, I spotted a lone porker heading for my corn feeder. Brad readied himself, raising the .243. He watched the pig through the scope waiting for it to stop for a moment. A head shot is preferred. You don't want to track a wounded pig into the brush. As the pigs image went in and out of focus, Brad asked me, "Which way is he facing", I replied, "I cant tell. You have the scope." I then heard him say, "Got him." and the shot rang out. I had my ear to the window of the blind and heard the shot connect with flesh. In the few minutes between the shot and the high fives, it had gotten too dark to see if the pig was lying under the feeder which was 125 yds away.

I told Brad that I didn't see or hear anything run away. We hurried down to the area and found Brad's first pig laying there with a perfect shot between the eye and ear. We loaded his pig onto the game carrier and went to pick up Brent and his pig.

Bryan went blank that night only seeing deer. Saturday evening dipped to 14 degs. Needless to say the pigs we had hanging were in no danger of spoiling.

The next morning at around first light which is about 7:00 a.m., I laid in bed listening to the boys getting up. I could hear them say they were going to take a walkabout. I knew they were hoping to catch a lingering pig on one of the roadways. It wasn't 60 seconds after they closed the door that I heard two shots ring out. One minute later Brent stepped back inside the door and informed me that Brad had shot two pigs, out of a group of eight, that were wandering around the dump site where we deposit remains of our animals after field dressing and skinning. Pigs are carnivores after all. Brad had just gotten two "bonus pigs".

That afternoon one of the guys on the lease stopped by camp on his way to fill his feeders with corn. He extended an invitation for any of the boys to hunt his spot for pigs. That evening Bryan decided to check it out. He had to hike in near a mile or so, as the ground is always wet in that area, and I wasn't eager to get my 4WD truck stuck. In his first 30 mins of his hunt, Bryan had a group of eight or so nice 50-60 lb pigs run out waiting for the feeder to go off at 4:00 pm. He was quick with the .308 semi auto and dropped a double on his first shot. He then picked off another before they hurried out of sight. He had 3 pigs on the ground with over two more hours of daylight left. Unfortunately that would be it for him, or anybody else that night. Pigs get a little wary after shots start going off.

The tally thus far stood with Brent having one pig, Brad with three, and Bryan five. That last night, Brent would get first choice for hunting spots followed by Brad, and then Bryan. After the other boys chose their spots Bryan decided to go to Carl's river spot. It had been hunted once earlier, but they weren't cleaning up the corn very well. About 4:30 pm, I heard a shot and Bryan got on the walkie talkie and said he had a big reddish hog down. About an hour later, I heard a pair of shots ring out, and it was Bryan again. He had a big sow with eigth or so 50 lb'ers in tow. Bryan took a shot at the sow and missed, but managed to again pick off a little more tender one. This year's hunt had yielded 11 pigs with a gross hanging weight of over 1,200 pounds. The boys cut up and packaged in vacuum bags and freezer ziplocks over 160 pounds of boned trimmed meat. They will have some good eating until mid summer. One of their favorite meals is pulled pork.

I took home the pigs Bryan shot on the last night giving one to Carl for letting us use his blind. The other I kept for my "guide services". I never pulled a trigger that weekend, but I had more fun than all my boys put together. Just being able to spend the time in the outdoors with them doing what they and I enjoy is my reward.

Another good report from the Vawter boys. I may have to drop by to see the boys here in town to see if I can spot the grill smokin and sample some of that pulled pork. Sounds really good. Here are some more shots of the boys and a few of the pigs they harvested.

Brad with one of his pigs.

Brent with one of his porkers.

Bryan with his big brown boar.

One of the things that Nick talked to me about in a separate email concerning the hunt was some ice formations they found that were quite unusual. He said that on the way to their hunting stands they found some patches of ice formations. He had never seen such a sight and I don't believe I've seen anything like it before either. Here is a picture of what they found.

Strange Texas Ice formations.

If you've got any ideas of what may have caused these ice formations we'd be interested in knowing. If they weren't white I might have said they were frozen toad stools.

When I got home from our trip another email had been delivered from Manistee's Steve "Reno Rocko" Block. As I have said before, Steve is "Mr. Outdoors" and is always out in it. He sent me a picture of his first coyote of the season and his largest coyote ever.

Setting up, calling, waiting, one good long shot.

He shot the varmit at 270 yards with his .243. That's some long distance shooting! Coyotes have really taken over in the last few years. When I first started going up to our cabin, you never heard much about coyotes. Now you hear them almost nightly and see them quite often. Many people attribute the drop in fawn sightings this year to predation from coyotes.

A quick google of "Coyote Hunting in MI" will give you a variety of hunting tips. Here is one from You Tube that gives you the Top Ten Tips for Hunting Coyotes .

If you're in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo area, or even if you're not, you may want to put Matteson Marine's Open House on your winter itinerary. Saturday, February 6th is the date. Matteson's carries Ranger bass boats, Lunds, and a variety of other brands. You can check out the brands they sell by looking at their website using the link above. George Cochran and Joe Balog will be there giving seminars along with walleye pro Mark Martin. For me, the drive to Matteson for the open house is worth it for the food alone. They have homemade cinnamon rolls that are fabulous! If you need directions to Matteson's, which is near Shelbyville on the south shore of Gun Lake, use the hot link up above.

If you are reading about the fishing news online you probably already seen that Gamma is no longer going to be making their fishing line. They have been in the business for the last few years, but have recently decided to focus on their tennis products.

Another topic that has been popping up on the various sites is one about Boyd Duckett's new rods. He has come up with a line of rods that use micro guides. I have been really intrigued by this new concept in rods and would like to try one out. Duckett has signed several pros to his company from the Elite Series, and he certainly looks like he is committing 120% to this new company.

Tournament news has Chris Lane winning the B.A.S.S. Southern Open on Ochechobee, and Brent Erhler winning the Western Series FLW tournament on Shasta out in California. Yes, there are guys on lakes in short sleeves catching bass. It will only be a matter of 13 weeks or so for us wanabees here in Michigan.

Well, we had lunch with the Skinners, and had a really good time. However, I'm now losing focus here with this blog entry. I started it at 9:00 am, and it's now 9:07 pm. So, I don't want to meander my way along any longer and will end it with this parting shot of the day. It's a quote from one of my favorite comedians Bill Cosby. He once said "Every closed eye is not sleeping, and every open eye is not seeing." Not funny, but oh so true. Take care and make sure you take some time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on your face.

January 15/16, 2010

January 15th, hmmmm, time is certainly not flying this winter, but that's ok. At my age, you can't afford to have it go any faster than it already is. What has seemed to fly fairly fast is the counter on the website. In the next day or so, it will turn 50,000. That's me going to the site 45,000 times. Not really, because the site doesn't count my visits. I do have to check it regularly to make sure what I type on the blog looks right and all the links act properly.

I use a program called Smultron to type the blog each time. It was something my number two son found, and it is much easier than what I use to use, which was html and simple text. Smultron puts all the coding in colors so you can reference it and look at it critically if there is a problem.

I am going to be heading to Milwaukee soon to visit my site authoring son, and hopefully I can pick his brain to see if we can't start putting some video clips up.

I've had a few offers to put the blog up on a couple of other sites, but I already, at times, feel like I've created a monster, so feeling additional pressure to produce for someone else isn't something I'm considering right now. It takes a pretty good chunk of time most days to keep the site fresh and have a new blog entry posted. When we travel, like to Marshal in Alabama, I often have to work quite late on the blog while everyone else is in bed. I have to sort through pictures, resize and touch up the pictures and then type the blog. The last part of each blog is the worst part for me and that's proofreading it. I know some days it looks like I haven't, but I do give it a reread before I open up Fetch and send it to the server where it's loaded and site readied.

Besides the daily site work, there is also an expense that is incurred with this monster. You have to pay yearly for the domain name. In order to have a site, you have to call it something, and after you decide on a name you have to research it to be sure it's available to buy. Once you purchase it, there is a yearly fee to keep it. You also have to pay someone like GoDaddy.com to host the site. As I have said, I use Fetch as a file transfer protocol, FTP. You have to buy a Fetch license and once you have it, it's good unless they get you to pay for their occasional upgrades.

After all that, you simply have to allocate at least a couple hours a day to reading and writing. I don't mind that part most days. The reading I like to do.

I find more and more, that what I read comes off the screen as opposed to print material. I try to read my Bassmasters rather than simply letting them stack up, but they are now online if you are a Bass Insider member. Rick and I became Insider members so we could get priority entry into the Marshal program.

I have used the material on Bass Insider often. They have articles and a video library that you can use to while a way some time learning more about techniques or strategies.

Anyway, hitting 50,000 on the counter isn't life changing or even a really big deal, but it is a milestone of sorts for me.

Mr. Jeffrey Brauneck, has been out on Manistee Lake, on the hard water, catching some pretty big fish. This Fall, Jeff has been featured on the blog several times with pictures of his archery and gun deer kills. He was one fortunate hunter this fall and bagged some very nice deer. He and his dad have fished the Tear Drop Tournament Trail the last few years, and they have done quite well.

Jeff sent me these ice fishing pictures a few days ago.

Steelies through the ice on spawn

Two great looking Manistee Lake trout caught through the ice.

Jeff said he uses regular bass/walleye rods. He used a 6 ft 6 in. for these steelies rigged with 12 pound test and 6 pound fluorocarbon leader. He said he uses a slip bobber and spawn bags for bait. He sits his rod on a bucket and leaves the reel in free spool. If you don't, you're apt to loose a rod down the hole.

Jeff, as I said, was out on Manistee and fishes near the river mouth. Now, make sure you are very careful if you're thinking about trying for some of these trout. The ice on Manistee, according to Jeff, was six to eight inches thick last week before this warm up. As you get closer to the the river mouth, the current keeps the ice much thinner. Where Jeff drilled his holes, it was only four inches thick. Jeff says that the current is where the trout are, and he simply lets his bait sweep in it. When they hit, it's a hard fought fifteen minute plus battle.

If you haven't been out on Manistee before, please don't go out by yourself, and be especially careful to stay on safe ice. Falling through the ice is always potentially life threatening, add river current and it would be especially dangerous.

Jeff said that there were guys out on Manistee fishing for pike as well as the steelies. He saw one big toothy critter iced that was over forty inches! That's a big pike. Hopefully, Jeff will be sending us more of his winter fishing experiences. Just be careful on that river ice Jeffrey.

I did it again. I started this blog yesterday and it's now Saturday, and I'm finishing it up. When I checked this morning, the counter was at 50,001!

No ESPN2 fishing shows on this morning. Just English League soccer. Never did play soccer. Coached it, believe it or not, when my kids were little, so I had to do a little research on it, but it isn't something I watch. They should start the new season of Bassmaster's TV soon. Maybe they will kick it off in February when the Classic starts.

I got an email yesterday from Nick Vawter with a link to a forum down in Texas where they were discussing the conditions in the January 7th FLW American Fishing Series event on Falcon Lake. The reports, from some of the anglers, and specifically the winner, claimed that waves were as high as 13 feet. Now that's some big water! The discussion on that forum link was focussed on whether the waves could have been that big, but if they were half that size, it would have been one dangerous, scary, and very wild ride.

Nick said he was also sending me some pictures, but I'm not sure if he meant from Falcon or pictures from his late season muzzle loader deer hunt or his recent Texas pig hunt. Maybe he'll send me the trifecta, and we'll get to see them all.

Before I forget, I have to send in my 2010 turkey hunt application . The Spring Season application period runs through January and that leaves just 15 more days. Don't forget to apply!

Randy Blaukat, who has fished the B.A.S.S. trail for twenty years and the FLW trail for thirteen years, has been in the news recently because he has decided not to fish the FLW this coming season. He has published an expose on tournament fishing which has turned a lot of heads. His "Major Tours Must Start Capitalizing On Opportunities" article is certainly critical of the major tours, but it is not one that you would say riddles the tours with all their faults without having anything good to say. It's not just a piece that is vindictive or overly negative. He makes some good points, and his article certainly is worth the reading time.

Once you have read that article there is another very good reaction piece that Bassfan has on it's site that you will want to read. The article is called "Readers React To Blaukat and State of the Sport" .

If you have been reading the blog, you read the info about Kurita's world record bass catch. A related video has a reporter in Japan going through a tackle shop there looking at baits available at Popeye's, Japan's equivalent to Bass Pro Shops. Here's the Japanese Fishing Tackle Video clip.

Hold the presses! I have the Bass Pro Shops program "Bass Pros" on and in the "Fishing In 4" segement they have KVD giving a topwater frog lesson on Rick "The Cementman" Skinner's lake. KVD and a Bass Pro Shop videographer, Dave, came up this past summer and spent the day at Rick's. They said they filmed several segments focussing on several baits and techniques. We have been waiting to see if they were going to show up on an instructional DVD or on a show like Bass Pros. Rick, of course, would like to get a copy of the segments that show up on TV. I'll be looking on the web to see first of all, if we can get DVD copies of the Bass Pro TV programs. In the meantime, if you get have recording capabilities and can make a DVD copy of the show I'll trade you a drop shotting DVD for it. The Bass Pros airs on Versus Saturday at 9:00 AM, Tuesday at 11:00 AM, and Friday at 10:30 AM.

Well, the granddaughter is here this weekend, and she's now out of bed. I told her we would go out this morning and cruise the mall. At 12 years old, that's what she likes to do. So, I'm going to end today's 50,000th hit day with a quote from one of my favorite authors Ralph Waldo Emerson. He once said, " What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Take care and remember MSU plays today at 3:30 pm.

January 12, 2010

After I got finished reading the Monday blog, I realized that I had forgotten to post the first couple of pictures I took at the show. I had Rick take a picture of Dan Kimmel and I in front of his greatlakesbass.com booth which was right between the Garneau Baits and Nemesis Baits displays. I think the reason I forgot it was that when I got home from the show, I went on greatlakesbass.com and posted the picture, and then when I went to do the blog on Sunday that picture, was not with the rest and I forgot to post it. Really, I didn't mean to leave you out of the picture Lt. Dan.

Dan and I kid back in forth, but the fact of the matter is I have enjoyed Lt. Dan's fishing forum on his site for several years. It is a wealth of information and Dan always monitors the forum section well, keeping it civil and free from all the bickering that seems to always pop up on forum sites. Here's the two pictures I forgot from Saturday.

Dan Kimmel from greatlakesbass.com.

Nemesis Baits - New company on the soft plastic/jig scene.

I have yet to try any Nemesis baits. I've heard that their drop shot goby bait is a good one. They also make jigs. I'll have to give them a look.

There's more news on the Genmar bankruptcy precedings. A company out of Beverly Hills, CA, Platinum Equity, bought it for $70,000,000. They now have control of boat lines like Ranger, Champion, Stratos, 4 Winns, and more. Just what is going to happen to these companies remains to be seen. Here is an editorial from Bassfan entitled "When the Foundation Shakes." It gives you a pretty good look at what may be happening in this bankruptcy proceeding, and also what the prognostication for FLW as a corporation is.

Another newsworthy item that has been on the forefront lately is the IGFA's decision to certify Manabu Kurita's 22 lbs. 5 oz monster bass as the biggest ever. They officially tied it with Perry's 22 lbs. 4 oz. bass because in order for a fish to claim the top spot it has to best the current record holder by more that two ounces. Manabu's fish was an ounce shy of taking the title from George Perry.

George's fish was caught in Georgia in 1932. The record has stood for a long time, but I think most would agree that Perry's and now Kurita's is on the verge of going down. With lakes like Biwa in Japan, the new stocked lakes in South Africa, and lakes in the US like Falcon, Amistad, and then the lakes in California the record will surely be tested soon. More than likely a California lake holds the best chance. After Kurita's fish the next seven biggest fish caught in the last few years all have come from California.

I read an article recently that I now can't find, but it was from a US reporter who traveled to Japan to spend some time interviewing Kurita. In the article, he went over the expense account that Kurita gave him before they parted company. The reporter was taken aback by some of the expenses. Kurita was gone by the time he went over it, so he used his interpreter to help him figure out the charges.

One of the charges was tolls. They travelled from Kurita's home each day to Lake Biwa. During the week the Japanese government imposes heavy tolls to discourage travel. I believe it was around $300 for the round trip toll. He also said there was a hefty fee at Lake Biwa to launch Kurita's boat. Because land is at such a high premium in Japan, boats are stored in racks, and it requires a fork lift to put the boat in the water. The receipt also had one gas fill up costing over $7 per gallon. The reporter wondered how many anglers in the US would pay $500 a trip to go fishing for the day.

In a Bassmaster issue, I read where Kurita is truely a big bass addict. It was reported that he would condition bass to feed in an area by releasing ayu, a native Japanese food fish. He would rev his boat motor and slap the water before releasing the fish. He spent as much as $10,000 in one month on ayu. He waited weeks before he caught one of conditioned fish to be sure he was indeed attracting big fish.

Kurita's favorite artificial bait he calls "Mother." It's a hard swimbait that is 12 inches long and weighs 13 ounces and is 1 1/2 inches thick. He's not interested in catching anything small. He likes to use big bluegills on live bait rigs to catch big bass as well. It's what he used to catch the world record fish. He also claims that he has seen much bigger fish than the record breaker in Lake Biwa. This last bit of info on Jurita came from the January 2010 issue of Bassmaster. Here is another pretty extensive article on Kurita that is up on Bass Fan called "Lake Biwa Fish Ruled Tie With Perry's Legendary Record."

That's going to be it for today. The parting shot is a quote from the American writer Charles R. Swindoll. He said, "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." Take care and make sure you take some time out of your work day to do something that puts a smile on your face.

January 10, 2010

As they say in the water industry, "It's colder than a well digger's butt." Some chilly weather this weekend, but we did see some sun which is nice. Over here near the lakeshore sunshine in the winter is a rarity because of the lake effect. Get inland a ways and there is far less snow and a lot more sunshine.

We did indeed make the trip over to Novi yesterday to cruise the Ultimate Fishing Show . Four of us left the Grand Rapids area around 6:45 am and headed east. We made a stop at a Bob Evans to have breakfast, but we still stayed on schedule to get to the show just before official opening time at 10:00 am.

A thank you goes out to Wayne Carpenter of Combat Fishing and Lt. Dan Kimmel, of Great Lakes Bass.com for the free tickets to the show.

I have been to the Ultimate Fishing Show here in Grand Rapids many times, but have never made the trip to Novi. The shows are pretty much carbon copies of one another. It is vendor city there with boat dealers, tackle shops, guide services, food vendors, and several "stages" where presenters speak on a wide variety of fishing related topics.

We got my buddy John hooked up with an electric scooter, because of his broken ankle, and the four of us them went pretty much our separate ways. Rick and I sat in on one of Lt. Dan Kimmel's seminars, and we also listened to KVD's spinnerbait seminar.

KVD giving one of his spinnerbait seminars.

Quantum is coming out with Kevin's new high speed reel this year. It will be the fastest retrive at 7.3 on the market. One revolution of the handle will take up 34 inches of line. Put this reel on a seven foot medium heavy rod with a fast action tip and you're ready for some chuckin' and windin'.

Kevin is a firm believer in burning spinnerbaits. All you want the fish to see is a profile and flash. He is also a strong believer in a trailer hook that extends just to the back of the skirt, a 2/0 or a 3/0 at the most. He likes colors that profile well against the surface and those color skirts that he picks will always depend on the weather, but for the most part he's throwing a silver and gold double willow leaf, with a sexy shad colored skirt. He also never uses line under 17 lb. test for spinnerbaits and often usese 20+ lb. line. He likes fluorocabon for everything except topwater. He uses mono for that because when using a floating bait he uses line that floats. It gives his topwater lures better action.

After Kevin's seminar, there was a pretty big crowd of autograph seekers surrounding him. We wanted to say hello to him, but we didn't have time to wait in the long line. After Rick befriended him in Decatur, and had him to his house this summer, we felt a bit more of a connection and wanted to be sure to wish him well in the February Classic on Lay Lake.

We actually headed out of the show, but by the time we made a couple of stops and talked to Larry Gargas, whom Rick bought his Ranger from, we noticed there weren't too many in the KVD autograph area. We headed over and after a short wait, and a little cutting in line, we were able to say howdy and wish him well in his upcoming fishing challenge.

Rick on the left, Larry on the right, mystery man in the middle.

While Rick was talking with Larry, I kept thinking he looked awfully familiar and then it dawned on me why. Larry, and his buddy in the photo, were working in the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation Nation booth. Larry fished the B.A.S.S. State Championship a few years ago up in Charlevoix. That was the same year Dandy Don and I fished it. Don and I did some prepractice out of the launch at Elk Rapids, and on that day I caught my biggest smallmouth ever, a six plus pounder. We didn't have a camera with us, so I had put the fish in the livewell until I could get back to the ramp and run the block and a half into town to get a disposable camera. However, at the ramp we met Larry and he said he'd take a picture for us and mail it to me, which he did. Another one of those small world connections.

Paul Sacks, MI B.A.S.S. Federation Pres. and myself.

Just an F.Y.I: I was told by Paul Sacks that this year's State Championship will either be on Muskegon Lake or on Hamlin Lake depending on which Chamber of Commerce comes through with some money to cover the cost of the pretournament meeting. The Federation isn't after big bucks from the Chamber, just enough to defray the cost of the dinner. That should be a bargain to either one of those communities. Having the number of boats come to that area just for the tournament would put a substantial amount of money into the local economy. Also, once the tournament is announced, Clubs from around the state will put that lake on their tournament schedule which will bring even more money to the area. Personally, I'd like to see it on Hamlin. Muskegon is a good lake, but there are a ton of tournaments there. Paul did say though that Ludington's Chamber doesn't have a budget for such things because they are a tourist destination already so they don't hand out dollars to attact any groups like B.A.S.S. to come to the area. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on Muskegon Lake as the site for this year's Championship.

I know the sequence of the article had us leaving the building, but before we did we had a chance to meet and greet a number of familiar faces. One of the guys we saw was our BFL buddy and Vicious rep Kendall, "KDawg" Ulsh. I have talked about Kendall on the blog many times. It's always nice to reconnect. We chatted some at the show, talking about the Northern Opens and 2010 BFL tournaments. Kendall is going to fish the BFLs as a boater this year. He also guides some on Lake St. Clair, so if you're looking for someone to take you out and put you on fish give him a shout.

KDawg himself, Kendall Ulsh of Kalamazoo

Another contact we made was with Garneau Baits . I fished a State Championship a few years back with with Ted Prisbe, I believe that's his last name, and at the time he was working for UPS and was also dabbling in making his own soft plastics. He started a company called Happy Times and began selling baits. He then hooked up with a couple of partners, one of which was Bernie Pepin.

Bernie use to have a company that made aluminum storage boxes for four wheelers. My buddy John repped for him and has known him through that contact for years. Together, Ted and Bernie and a couple of other partners now run Garneau Baits. They sponsor another "Kalamazoo Kid," Luke Gritter who was a 2009 Elite Series rookie. I met Luke down in Alabama. Great kid and although he's not fishing the Elites in 2010, he's going to be fishing the Southern Opens.

The Garneau Bait Gang

I had the chance Saturday to meet Mark Romanack . Mark is more of a walleye and pike guy. My buddy John knows him and introduced me to Mark, his son, and his wife. John and Mark talked about doing some coyote hunting this winter.

Mark Romanack and son with my buddy John Baker

Next to Mark's booth was where Kendall was working and they had a nice Vicious Fishing display. I couldn't pass up getting a shot of the line display and my bright red Vicious shirt. I have been using Vicious now for almost two years. It's a great line. They have picked up several Elite pros for their Pro Staff team, Timmy Horton and my buddy Gerald Swindle. If you haven't tried their line, you owe it to yourself to pick up a box of their mono and some of their fluorocarbon. F.Y.I.- Make sure when you use fluorocarbon to take great care to cinch that palamar knot down wet. Use some good ole saliva and cinch it down carefully to keep that line from getting brittle from the heat generated by the friction in a dry slide.

Getting Vicious in Novi, at the 2010 Ultimate Fishing Show

One of our first and last stops of the day was to see our old Tear Drop friend Jason Frolenko who now owns and operates Strike Zone Charters . Jason guides out of Manistee on Lake Michigan, and also on the Manistee River where the new world record brown trout was caught this year. He also has been branching out for the last several years and fishes the St. Joe River, and Saginaw Bay. If you need a trip on any of these waters for salmon, trout, or walleye, give Jay a call.

Captain Jason Frolenko of Strike Zone Charters

Once we left Novi we drove north to Auburn Hills and Bass Pro Shop. We cruised the store and made our deposit at the register and then headed across I75 on Baldwin Ave. to Joe's Crab Shack .

For those of you who know me, if I'm not fishing I'm checking maps for some new restaurants. You don't get into the shape I'm in by missing too many meals.

John's walleye buddies at the show encouraged him to try Joe's. I had eaten at a Joe's down in the Orlando area when we were there for the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation National Championship. I had their "Joe's Bucket," and it was great, so I talked John and J.O. into trying it Saturday. Rick had his usual burger, albeit this was no usual burger at Joe's. It was a burger topped with shrimp strings and deep fried onion rings and a sauce that Rick said was very good. It was their surf and turf burger. I usually don't like to fight with crabs. You work up an appetite just getting the meat out. However, I haven't had their bucket in a while and so I went for it.

It is literally a bucket containing two different kinds of crab clusters, boiled shrimp, boiled redskins, sausage, and corn on the cob. It's very good and for $20 was quite a bit of seafood.

Skinner and his surf and turf burger.

J.O. getting crabby.

The beginning of the bucket...

The end of the bucket...

By now the Cementman has probably rigged up the two ice fishing rods he bought at the show and is out catching some more of those tasty bluegills on his little piece of heaven up in the great northwest corner. He left for home this morning at 7:00 am.

That's going to be it for today and I'll end the blog with a comment I heard this morning on a hunting show. It caught my attention because of our trip over to the sport show. These shows are a very friendly place, and it seems there are no such thing as strangers among the fishing community. Just friends we haven't yet met. Take care and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

January 8, 2010

The 2010 B.A.S.S. Elite Series field has now been officially announced. There will be 95 anglers fishing the circuit. There are seven new anglers coming in via the Opens. Two are from the Northern Opens.

Dandy Don Fowler fished two of three opens last year, and my old Tear Drop partner, Ron Hicks fished two of them as well. Don and Ron fished the 2009 Opens at Chesapeake Bay and Lake Champlain. They both sat out the tournament on the Detroit River although originally that was the tournament they were both really looking forward to. Don had boat trouble and couldn't compete. I'm not sure why Ronnie didn't fish. Here is a link to the B.A.S.S. Elite Series and Opens schedule for 2010.

The Elites aren't fishing South Texas this year. No Amistad or Falcon on the schedule. That was disappointing to the Vawters.

Brent and Nick, who fish the Tear Drop, were hoping to Marshal an event in Texas now that Nick is living down there. The tour should be back in Texas next year so they will eventual get their chance. Speaking of the Vawters, they are starting a pig hunt down in Johnson City, Texas today. I should be getting some pork pictures for the blog.

Instead of the early swing through Texas this year, the Elite anglers will be heading out to California as soon as the February 19th Classic on Lay Lake is decided. They will fish the California Delta and Clear Lake. Two fantastic fisheries.

I have a couple connections out there, and I was very tempted to make the trip myself and experience some West Coast action. The Delta is near Sacramento and that's just down the mountain from Lake Tahoe where my middle son has lived and worked for seven or eight years. I could stay with his buddy Josh in Tahoe and run down to Sacramento to either Marshal or just attend the weigh ins. Traveling that far though, it would be hard not to be in a boat and Marshal that event.

The Clear Lake slugfest would also be a great trip. I ran in to John Bennett from up in Irons while I was buying some jerky at the Dublin General Store this past summer. He told me that he is now living out in California and fishes Clear Lake regularly. He offered to take me out to do some fishing if I ever had a chance to make it out that way. A very tempting offer. By the way, if you have never tried some of Dublin's jerky you're missing out. They have a million different varieties and you can order it online from their website. One of the Fisher boys has now opened a Dublin Jerky shop in Grandville in a little strip mall just north of Cosco by Rivertown Mall. If you try some Dublin jerky make sure you also try their smoked cheddar cheese. It's amazing!

As I have reported several earlier blog entries, I am heading down to the Ultimate Fishing Show in Novi tomorrow. Rick "The Cementman" Skinner is coming down, and we're hooking up with my buddies John Baker, and John Otto to make the drive to the East side. We're leaving at the crack of dawn and plan to make a day out of it. I'll be taking my camera and making a full report. I will probably have it on the Monday blog next week. In the mean time if you would like to take a look at some great looking bass fishing products check out this Bassmaster Product Showcase .

I expect to hear news of the Genmar auction any time now. The auction took place yesterday and the fate of some of the top lines in the boating world may be decided. The net is reporting that we should hear something today or tomorrow as to how it all went down.

Whoa, the day has slipped away. I put the blog on hold as I did some chores around the house. One thing led to another and it's 8:30 pm. Rick got here around 5:15 pm, and he brought some fresh fish, bluegills. I had taken some of my homemade venison brats out and grilled them and put them in a bath of onions and beer in the crock pot. We fried some taters, sliced some french bread, made some cole slaw and sat down to a pretty good meal. The bluegill was delicious, and my brats were pretty darn good as well.

Rick has access to a private lake where he ice fishes, and the water is pristine. The fish that come from it are the best! I hope to get up their and help him catch a few more this winter so we can enjoy another fish fry.

As I mention twenty times now, tomorrow we are heading over to the show in Novi. I have the camera battery on the charger and plan on taking a bunch of pictures. Maybe I'll see you down there.

As the parting cast today I thought I'd put up a link to a You Tube video of Casey Ashley singing his "Fisherman Song." When I checked out the Elite Series roster today, which is in alphabetical order, I saw his name and immediately thought of the song. It's one of my favorites. The kid has a great voice and the song is certainly a classic fishing tune. Here's the link to Casey's, The Fisherman . Take care and enjoy your weekend.

January 5/6, 2010

So far it's been a pretty lazy day. I'm becoming quite domesticated in my retirement years. Today I made apple dumplings. I had picked a bunch of apples at Crane's Orchard in Fennville this Fall, intending on giving them to my son and his new wife. We never made the trip to see them, after I picked them, and they have been hibernating in our garage. They really have stayed quite well out there. However, they won't stay good forever, so I wanted to use them up.

Anyway, while I was doing my domestic chores my buddy John called and wanted to know if I was interested in going to the Ultimate Fishing Show in Novi. I had said a day or two ago, that I really wasn't too interested in a five hour round trip car ride to attend the show, but John said he was putting together a trip with a few of our mutual friends. So, I reassed my not so busy schedule and reconsidered.

The impetus for the trip is that Bruce Alvord, my diving buddy, has to go over to Detroit to look at a metal lathe. John told him that if he had to go why not make it Saturday. The old two birds with one stone thing. So, it looks like there are four or five of us are heading to Novi.

I referred to Bruce as my diving buddy, because I first met him after I fell out of my bass boat and lost a rod. I had just put a new graph on my boat and it was my first spring outing. I had the boat waxed up bright and shiny. I was casting and looking at the new graph. As I made a cast, I reached down to adjust it, and the rattle trap I was throwing caught on the eye of my rod. As I continued the cast, the rod, being now out of balance, flew out of my hand. It bounced off the deck and into the water. It began to sink in the lake, so I quickly knelt down on the gunnale of the boat. I had jeans on, and as soon as they hit the fiberglass I was sliding into the water head first.

I did a summersault into the water and became disoriented in a hurry. I saw the rod and the air bubbles and decided to follow the bubbles. Once I surfaced and climbed back in to my boat, I saw Bruce standing on his dock asking if I needed any help. I told him I had a cabin just around the point and would run there to change clothes. He asked me if I lost anything, and I told him about the rod. He said he had dive tanks and would go put them on. By the time I got back to his dock he had found my rod. Bruce and I have been friends ever since.

Bruce is an avid big lake angler and a member of the West Michigan Walleye Club . That's where he met my buddy John Baker.

Bruce and John fish a lot together, and they have also been attending the Regional Fishery Workshop that takes place each year in Ludington. In fact, this coming Saturday, January 9th, at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center in Ludington, Sea Grant Michigan will be having this year's workshop. If your interested in attending there is a $20 fee which includes lunch. For information and registration call 616-994-4580.

I've been to one of the workshops with the guys, and if you have a cabin fever building, getting out and listening to some fisheries biologists talk about fishing is not a bad way to spend a Saturday. They also start the day with coffee and doughnuts, and they have a pretty good lunch catered in. It is geared more for charter boat captains, but I found it quite interesting. We would have gone this year, but it conflicts with our Novi trip to the Ultimate Fishing Show.

The bass fishing sites are now back up and staffed, so we're getting more info of a bass fishing nature from them again. As I mentioned before the New Year, the fishing sites in early January, would be focussing on the Genmar Aucion. This auction will determine the fate of lines like Ranger, Stratos, Champion, 4 Winns, etc. Jon Storm, Editor-in-Chief, for Bass Fan has this Genmar editiorial up on that site. It's called "A Deafening Silence" .

Quite a while ago I had a blurb on the blog about "Bass, The Movie." It's now out on DVD and here is a link that will give you some background info, as well as a couple of movie trailers. Just click on this link for a sneak peak at BASS THE MOVIE .

I might have mentioned before that Dandy Don and I were invited down to Ray Scott's home a couple of years ago and got to fish on Ray's private ponds and stay at his home. Of course, it was a chance and trip of a lifetime. We spent the day and ate dinner with Ray. We listened to him tell BASS stories well into the night.

Ray and Don Corkran getting ready to fish off with Don and I.

Enjoying Ray's stories after dinner.

If you have a chance get Ray's book "BASS BOSS" you will get to read a very interesting history of the professional bass fishing. By the way, you can now book a "Trophy Bass Retreat" , down to Ray's. You get to stay in his "Presidents Cabin" and fish his ponds. If you have some money burning a whole in your pocket this would be quite a trip!

Just recently on Bass Fan, they have come out with an ad for a new book featuring, a man many BASS historians and pros are calling "The greatest natural-born bass angler ever." The man is Glen Andrews, and Bill Dance unabashingly calls him his mentor and number one reason for his success. The Glen Andrews biography was written by his son and chronicles his dad's early years in bass tournament history. The book is available through Whitefish Press and is called "The Impossible Cast" .

As sort of an F.Y.I. there has been a couple of collapses in the fishing tournament scene. One of which is on the B.A.S.S. side. It's the WBT, Women's Bass Tournament. B.A.S.S., in a cost saving mode like many companies and individuals these days, does not feel they can maintain the women's trail. The second change is from the FLW side, and it involves the Stren Series. The Strens are the AA level bass tournaments in the FLW tier of events. At first, FLW said they were going to cancel some of the Divisions, but they have reinstated them (The Northern Division) and renamed them. Stren must be pulling it's sponsorship, consequently, the Strens will now be called the FLW American Fishing Series .

As you can see for the double date up at the top, this is another blog that I started one day and finished the next. Not a big deal. I use to feel compelled to put the pedal to the metal and power on through on those days when the blog spirit wasn't 100%. Now, after almost three years of blogging, I'm more inclined to say that what it is, is what it is. With that said, enoughs enough today. We're heading out to lunch and a matinee today, and I'm also going through some old 35mm slides to take up to Walgreens. They have a special right now where they will scan 25 slides, printes, etc. and put them on a CD. The special is you pay for 25 and you get a second CD free.

When I made the iMovie for my son's wedding I found that the cheapest place to get slides converted to digital was at Walgreens. They told me to watch for specials that they occasionally have to get more of my old slides converted, at a little cheaper price.

One other task on the agenda today is to check out a photo frame that is on Woot . Woot is a site that has a few "Deals of the Day" each day. You have to be johnny on the spot if you're interested in an item, because good deals sell out, and once they do you're out of luck. The deals are also good for just a day, so if you're reading this, and it's not January 6th, they won't have the photo frame available. The 8 inch HP frame that is up today is $39.99 and looks like a very good bargain. I've been pricing them for several months and this looks like the best buy I've seen. See what you think.

I thought for the parting cast of the day I would put up one of my all time favorites. It's from W.C. Fields. You have to picture him sitting in the back of an old but sleek sedan with a buxom May West. May leans over and asks him, "W.C. do you ever read the Bible?" W.C. at first appears taken aback, but replies, "Ah, yes my dear I do, but only for loopholes." You got love it. Take care and make sure you take some time today to do something that puts a smile on your face.

January 3, 2010

Well, it's official, no more 2009. Time to start figuring out how you are going to avoid cabin fever and bide your time until soft water is back.

The 2010 fishing season kicks off with a big Show Span Ultimate Fishing Show in Detroit. The show starts Thursday and continues through the weekend. If you visit the link for the show that I've highlighted above you will be able to put in your address and get directions door to door. You'll also be able to access the list of seminars. They will have the full gamut of species pros there. KVD, Joe Thomas, Mark Romanack, Dan Kimmel, Wayne Carpenter, and one of our old Tear Drop anglers, Jason Frolenko will be just some of the seminar leaders in Novi.

I would like to go, but spending the five plus hours in the car to get there and back, and that's if the weather is good, isn't appealing to me. I guess I'll wait until March for the Grand Rapids show. I do have a free admission ticket if anyone plans to head over. Email me and I can either drop it off or mail it to you. It'll save you the $10 admission fee.

I've already been dealing with some cabin fever and tried to stave it off by organizing photographs from 2009. Of course the biggy for me was my trip down to Alabama with the Cementman to Marshal the B.A.S.S. Elite Series "Dixie Duel" on Lake Wheeler in Decatur. Here are a few of about 300 pictures I have from the event.

Me on Matt Heren's boat at Wheeler in Decatur, AL

Skeet Reese's souped up tow vehicle.

Biffle's last cull on Day 2 at the Dixie Duel

My Day 3 ride Marty Robinson

One of my favorite anglers, "The GMan," Gerald Swindle

The Cementman with his new bowling buddy, KVD.

The Forest Wood Cup $500,000 winner Greg Hackney.

You probably are tired of hearing about how much fun the Cementman and I had Marshaling down in Alabama in April of 09, but it definitely was my 09 highlight. I take that back, it was my 09 fishing highlight. My middle son's wedding has to come in first, in terms of big events this past year.

Rick "The Cementman" Skinner and I are heading down again this coming April, and we will be Marshaling two B.A.S.S. Elite Series events. We're going to be at Pickwick and Guntersville. I would bet you could still sign up for one or both of these events. Get off the couch and give it a shot. Rick and I can show you some good barbecue joints! We're pretty good tour guides.

Soon, all the fishing shows will be replacing the deer hunting shows on TV. One of the shows I look forward to watching is Kim Stricker's "Hook N Look." Kim does a great job showing you the above and below the water story. His underwater camera work really gives you a good feel for what your adversary is doing. If you haven't watched the show before here is a good summary of what you will be seeing if you dial it in. Read Angler Takes Expertise to Cable TV Show , and you'll get a good overview of the program and the times and network that it airs.

I guess that's going to be it for today. Not much up on the net yet, but tomorrow everyone will be back to work and we should get to hear about what's going down, like what is going to happen in the Genmar bankruptcy auction.

Take care, and make sure you start your work week by setting aside a few minutes to do something that puts a smile on your face.

December 30, 2009

I guess you have to say that 2009 is pretty much in the books. Only two more days left for those avid late season bow hunters that are still out chasing white tails.

Speaking of hunting, I don't know if you received the same email that I did about the Pure Michigan Hunt Application . It's a program, actually I'd call it more of a contest, that would give three hunters a license to participate in every limited-access hunt available - elk, bear, spring and fall wild turkey and antlerless deer. In addition, those chosen in the drawing will get the first pick of a hunting zone in a managed waterfowl area reserved hunt. If you were lucky enough to get selected you would not lose any of your preference points for any of the species listed. Even if you were drawn before for an elk license, you can apply again for this contest. It cost $4 and you can buy as many chances as you would like, and you can buy them online. I guess there's a sucker born every minute as P.T. Barunm use to say, so I'm off today to buy a couple of chances. I've always wanted to try and harvest an elk.

If you didn't already notice, Dennis Cook had me post the new 2010 Tentative Ice Mountain Tear Drop Tournament Trail Schedule (Scroll down to view it). I'll make sure to put it in each of the next few month's archive, because this month is only a couple days away from that status now.

There has been quite a controversy coming to a big head carp crescendo. The State of Michigan is preparing to file suit to have Illinois shut down the access canals from the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. These canals connect the two drainages and actually allow a great deal of our Great Lakes to flow to the Gulf of Mexico. They say the canals cause a three inch drop in Great Lakes levels. They also provide a means for invasive species, like the big head carp, to make their way into the Great Lakes and connecting waters.

The big head carp, or Asian Carp, are those that you may have seen in videos that jump out of the water when a motorized boat cruises near them. They are algae feeders and are prolific breeders. There is real concern as to what they will do to our fisheries if they make their way into the Great Lakes. Here is a very good article that talks about the history of the canals in question as well as information on the big head carp. The title of the article is Michigan Sues to Protect Great Lakes from Asian Carp .

In surfing the net today, I visited several of my regular web haunts and was reminded that there are a number of sites that offer good video fishing tips that may be of interest during times when you are on the verge of cabin fever. One of those sites is Bass Edge. Here is a link to their video tips library. This link will take you to a Guido Hibdon Fishing Docks video that would make a good starting point. Once that video is over you can go on to quite a few others that they have listed.

I also watched today a short video clip from Bass Zone that features Mike Iaconelli in one of their "In The House" video series. There are some pretty entertaining videos on Bass Zone which feature a number of top pros. You learn some pretty interesting details about the pros you see on TV or get to fish with when you Marshal like me and the Cementman.

If you're off work on Christmas vacation you may be up for some more reading, and one of the articles I also read this morning that you may be interested in, was a expose on Elite Series Pro Kevin Short . He won the Elite event on the Mississippi this past summer, and in this article he shares some of his thoughts on the 2009 season and on the upcoming Classic in February.

I have been getting some reports about the ice up north. They are out on Hamlin Lake, although I'm not sure if the whole lake has safe ice. The Bayous freeze up first, so if you head up to fish make sure you check on ice conditions. The weatherman has forecasted some very chilly temps for the next week and a half so that should start getting the lakes pretty hard. Like the video recommends at the top of the page, make sure you know your lake. Many are spring fed and have week spots even in the dead of winter. The majority of the lake can be many inches thick, while isolated areas are still quite dangerous.

Ed Dyer has been out on a private lake recently with ROI Tournament Director, Luke Winstrom. They had a really nice mess of gills. A number were over nine inches! Here are a couple of pictures that Ed sent me. I don't know what's up with his camera, but he's been sending me some blurry pictures. I have tried to clear them up, but this was the best I could do. Maybe Santa brought him a new camera.

Some first ice slab blue gills.

You can fillet gills that size!

I thought I'd end the blog today with a quote from Doug Collins, a former Pistons coach. He once said, "Any time Detroit scores more than 100 points and holds the other team below 100 points they almost always win." Yep, I think that's the reason why Detroit has had some troubles over the years with their sports team. They hire deep thinkers. I really hope he said that as a tongue and cheek comment to the press. Take care, be safe, and enjoy the holiday. Happy New Year! Here's a toast to the future, A toast to the past, And a toast to our friends, far and near. May the future be pleasant; The past a bright dream; May our friends remain faithful and dear.

PS If you need a copy of Auld Lang Syne for your New Year festivities here is a You Tube link. Auld Lang Zyne You'll need to scroll over to the right to access the player.