11/2/09

Hello again. Well after a long drive and a lot of fishing the last Bassmaster Open is now over for the year. Santee Cooper was a great lake to fish just maybe not the place I would have chosen this time of the year. 
    On day one we went started out over into a cove on the southeast side of Lake Marion and flipped pads with senko's. I had a real nice fish after about 30 mins of fishing that a lost at the boat. Then we quickly moved into the canal fishing a a small patch of hydrilla. I started throwing the good ole Ocho Senkos from Strike King and couldn't stop catching 11" fish so I switched over to the Red Eye Chrome Shad Black with chrome sides from Strike King. Within 5 cast a 14" keeper (1lb 6oz). The bad thing is that the was the only  fish I could catch due to the long run back to the ramp.
    Day two we ran to a cover past the bridge and started cranking around some cypress tree's. I caught a bunch of 11" fish yet again but no keepers. I ended up not making the cut and finished the event in 104 place which wasn't so good but I ended up in 60th place for the year in points out of 300 others.. Not too bad. But I can't wait until next year all ready. A lot of great lakes I will get to fish some for the first time....

I would however like to congratulate a good friend of mine David Kilgore for coming into 3rd place for the year in points for the Southern Opens and qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2010 



9/25/09

Wow... What a great week. Been busy studying my maps and charts for a tournament this weekend in South Florida. Had some great news this week though. I found out that I qualified for the Bassmaster Weekend Series Regional Championship on the Columbus Pool in Mississippi. Unfortunately I'm going to be unable to fish it due to me being in SC for the Bassmaster Southern Open on good ole Santee Cooper.  


8/19/09

Laser Lure

This year at ICAST I got to meet a lot of new and exciting people as well as a ton of new and exciting products. One product that caught my eye because of all my doubts was the laser Lure. I managed to have quite a long conversation with Bruce Young (Inventor of the Laser Lure) at the Laser Lure Booth. He explained to me how the laser lure was invented which was pretty wild. I was very interested after hearing his theories FULL STORY


7/20/09

ICAST 2009

Well with ICAST 09 finally over I can honestly say wow. There are so many hot new products coming out this year it is amazing. What a overload everything from Electronics, Reels, tackle and all kinds of products. I will be doing some reviews and testing on each of the products that I have and will be posting all my reviews. Please be sure to check out my Tips/Techniques section of my website to see all the updates and reviews on each product.



7/10/09

Photos

I have recently added a photo section to the website. It is currently under construction but will be up and running soon. Thank you for your patience and fish hard.

6/21/09

QUESTIONS.. MY FAVORITE TYPE OF EMAIL


    Through my website I get questions from people, stories and sometimes people just asking what they should use on a certain lake this weekend. But from time to time I get a question that I think everyone should here the answer to. I received a email tonight from someone who I met at Harris Chain of Lakes during the Bassmaster Open this year. They asked me how how they could learn more and become a better fisherman so they could start tournament fishing. My response was quite simple. About three years ago I mention to my fiance' how I wish I could fish in one of the bigger bass tournaments. Her answer to me was why don't you do it. I explain how I didn't have the confidence and enough knowledge to compete in that type of event. She gave me a weird look and a smirk and nothing more was said. The next day I arrived home from work with her standing over the computer with her CC in hand and said take me to the sign up page cause your fishing this tournament (Bassmaster Weekend series on Lake Wylie) whether you like it or not and if you don't I will be very mad and disappointed in you. After 20 mins of arguing I indeed signed up and spent the next month worrying about the tournament and how I was going to feel like a idiot fishing with those guys. Well, we went to North Carolina and I fished the tournament. I did not weight in any  fish but  I learned more in that one day on the water than I have in a long time of fishing. I caught fish just not keepers, but I learned so much in depth information that day that when the tournament was over I wanted to pay my boater  not only the daily expenses but for the knowledge I learned.  I continued fishing these events ever since that one day and have moved up to fishing the Bassmaster Opens as well now.  
        You should never feel not good enough to fish ever. Its a learning experience for sure and the knowledge you gain from every trip, tournament or weekend on the water is awesome. Every time I fish I learn something new. I always encourage everyone that wants to learn more in depth about  fishing to fish as a co-angler in one of these tournaments. You will be glad you did trust me and just remember one thing, The boaters and other fisherman you are fishing with started just like you are at some point and they understand. Please keep the questions coming. I hope you enjoyed me sharing this as much as I did receiving and answering the question.


6/12/09
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL MY SUPPORTERS IN 09'

        With the season almost over for 09' I wanted to take this time and thank all of my sponsors and supporters for 2009. With the economy in its down fall I'm very grateful to gain such support from all of you and be able to chase my dream of turning fishing into a full time career soon.        
         Fishing is not just a hobby for me, Its a way of life and not a easy one at that. Its takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and planning.  Its not just getting up on Saturday and casting a line in a lake. I spend countless hours researching the lakes I plan of fishing, maintaining all of my tackle, inspecting my boat before I leave, and making travel arrangements. Its really is a lot of planning, work and cost a lot of money. With out the support of all my sponsors and supporters it wouldn't be possible.  So I would like to end saying thank you again for all your hard work , support and dedication in the 2009 season.
                 
5/5/09

Bassmaster Southern Open Stop #2 (Lake Wheeler)


        Well its Tuesday night and I'm back home in Florida after spending the week fishing Lake Wheeler. What a week... I left home around 1am Tuesday night on my journey to Decatur driving all threw the night (actually riding my fellow angler drove..Nice). We arrive around 10am to Bass Pro Shops in Leads, Alabama. What a exciting place. As we pulled up there was ATV trails, walking trails. a nice lake and all sorts of goodies are one here in Orlando doesn't have. We started to notice that there was only 10 cars in the parking lot and none even close to the doors...Hmmm... So I looked at the sign on the door which said open at 9am. So I pulled on the door and locked. Come to find out...when traveling cross country always make sure to pay attention to time zones..haha (something I must get use to)
        The tournament started on Thurs morning which was a perfect morning in every way .We worked some small crank baits catching a bunch of small bass, striper's and a few white bass. SWEET. We moved on getting ready to run down the lake to fish some cuts when out of nowhere the hub spun on the prop....Fun... After a long agonizing journey back to the launch ramp to visit the Skeeter/Yamaha repair tech on site and loosing a few valuable hours of fishing time we were back on the water. LESSON: ALWAYS CARRY A SPARE PROP....I ended up weighing in a few fish finishing the day in 114th place.
        The second day was terrible. The morning started off with a one hour  delay due to the heavy rains in the morning. After getting to our spot I threw a wedge spinner bait and on the second cast manage to land a nice 3lb keeper. I thought the day was in the bag. Not so much. I struggle the rest of the day with small fish, lost fish, and tons of rain. After toughing it out threw the elements I ended up with a few keepers putting myself into 145th place. Not my best but I tried my hardest and there is always next time. All in all it was a great trip and I'm looking forward to this weekend on the Harris Chain back in Florida.

4/5/09
Bassmaster Weekend Series St Johns River

I would like to thank everyone that came out to the weigh in for the Weekend Series event on the St John's River. It was a tough day but it was good seeing everyone out there.
 
My Lovely Fiance' Kristen showing her support!


Fan Photo St Johns River 4/4/09




2/1/09
Bassmaster Southern Open Harris Chain of Lakes
Leesburg, Florida




Day One:

Well with the first major event of the season now over here is my 3 day run down. Day one I started out pitching a Gary Yamamoto senko into pads and caught my first fish (8:05am) which he sucked my so far down its throat I couldn't get the hook out. My second fish came about a hour later (9:10am) throwing a Fat Free Shad around some docks off of Monkey Island. My last two keepers came between (12pm and 3pm) throwing a Red Eye Shad around a grass line by the Hickory Point launch ramp. Overall it was a good day but very tuff with the conditions very bad with temps in the low 30's and rain all day.  I ended up weighing in 5lb 15oz with my 8oz penalty for dead fish.

Day 2:
Day two started of again with freezing temps and rain like day one.  I caught my first keeper around (10am) throwing a Red Eye Shad off the grass line. I continued catching small fish until catching my 3rd fish around (2:30pm) on my Red Eye Shad. I really wish I was able to fish longer because it was starting to warm up in the afternoon and the bite was starting to turn on since the fish were moving out to the edge of the grass more. But 3 fish was good enough to make the cut

Day 3: 

Day three was a tuff one. We started off throwing Trick Worms in a canal and I ended up with one keeper around (8:30am). We then ran down to a spawning area and focus a lot of time of trying to catch some big bass we spotted on the beds. We threw everything but the fish ended up being spooked very easy from the cold front that just past. The weather was great it was the fish that just didn't want to bite anything we threw.

Conclusion:

Overall it was a very good tournament.  I ended up coming in 28th place which is good. I didn’t get quite the big bites like I had hoped for but I did however learn a ton of new things and got to hangout with a lot of old and new friends. I would like to thank all of my sponsors, Family, Fans and Friends. If it wasn’t for all of your support I don’t know what I would do.