I'm starting my northern tournaments this month and you can't believe the difference. I have to change out some rods and a lot of tackle. The northern strain of largemouth is so different than the Florida strain that I can get away with lighter tackle up north cause the cover is lighter and the structure is more open.
This year I'm fishing the Northern FLW Everstarts as well as Bass Renegade and some CSFL's and believe it or not I'm fishing less lol. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done during the summer months, so I decided to slow things down this year and concentrated on bodies of water that I know I can produce on. In the last few years I have been fishing everything on one circuit's schedule and I have found that there were lakes that just weren't suited to my style of fishing and so produced poor results. Now I know what your thinking I'm just gonna fish lakes that I like to fish or that I know I can cash a check on. That's not it, there are some waters that are still tough for me but I'm fishing them cause they match my style. There is also the Renegades, I have not fished a lot of that water so that will be new to me this year. But with all of this I should still have time to get things done and work on a special project that I have had to keep on the back burner.
So far this year has been great and I finished higher in the FLW Everstart southeast division than I have ever. And I never would have been able to do that with out sponsors like Evinrude, St. Croix Rods, Xzone Baits, JB's Fishing Depot, Sirius Satellite Radio, VIA Rail, Bay Marine, and the whole gang at CPI Pictures and Management. And of course none of this would be possible without the funniest man alive Russell Peters.
I'll keep you posted on my pre-fish on Kerr next week. Take care everyone and tight lines!
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Monday, 7 May 2012
FLW Southeast Everstarts
Well the southeast division of the FLW Everstarts is done. I
ended up 55th overall which is 15 spots out of the championship. But I guess
55th out of 250 isn't too bad and it’s a big move up from last year where I
finished in 122nd. I guess I'll just have to make it through the northerns.
I would like to thank
Evinrude for that great motor which just kept going no matter what slop I was
driving through. St. Croix rods for such a solid product. I was finesse on
Guntersville and pulling 5 and 7lbs bass with the Tournament Legend finesse
rod. JB's Fishing Depot for keeping me stocked up with what I need. Bay Marine
for keeping the Russell Peters . com Ranger in tiptop shape. Xzone baits for
the Swammers, I threw those swimbaits everywhere and it catches fish. My buddy
Steve Crowley for traveling with me and helping me to understand the Florida
strain of bass. Maria de Castro-Brown my wife for understanding what I'm trying
to do and supporting me and of course none of this would be possible without
the support of Russell Peters. Thanks everyone else and I’ll see you at
Okeechobee in January, take care and tight lines.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
The A-Rig
So I have been using the the a-rig for about 6 months now and I can tell you it catches fish. But it doesn't work everywhere and all the time. Its time and place is very limited. In a lot of ways it's like a buzz bait that way. It's horrible in the weeds or shallow and it will not work if the fish are not willing to chase like in a cold front. The fish have to be turned on and have the feed bag on. It works really well with Florida strain bass that are willing to chase and will stay out in the open water chasing shad. A lot of northern large mouth anglers are going to be disappointed but you will find that the small mouth love it. Lol, but so do the pike and musky! You take a $20 a-rig and $8 in swimbaits and a 36" pike will open it up like a wire coat hanger. You might as well have been throwing a Lucky Craft lol.
What it also does is when the bite is on during a tournament it completely levels the playing field. It doesn't matter if you have spent thousands of dollars on working out a pattern and finding spots or if you have been a tournament pro for 30 years you just got brought down to the level of a rookie with blind luck. Now that is frustrating but what are you going to do? The FLW isn't going to ban it and it's too early up here in Canada to see what the Ministry of Natural Resources are going to do. So I hate the thing but you better be sure that next week on Guntersville I will have one tied on.
Tight lines everyone!
What it also does is when the bite is on during a tournament it completely levels the playing field. It doesn't matter if you have spent thousands of dollars on working out a pattern and finding spots or if you have been a tournament pro for 30 years you just got brought down to the level of a rookie with blind luck. Now that is frustrating but what are you going to do? The FLW isn't going to ban it and it's too early up here in Canada to see what the Ministry of Natural Resources are going to do. So I hate the thing but you better be sure that next week on Guntersville I will have one tied on.
Tight lines everyone!
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
FLW Everstart Lake Seminole
What a crazy couple of weeks I've had. Spent the last 2 weeks in Bainsbridge Georgia, Bainsbridge is a small town on the Flint river just north of Lake Seminole. It's an 50 minute run to the main lake from the boat basin but I only had to do it once. What I like to do when ever I go to a lake for the first time is take the first day a drive the lake that way I have a good idea of where I am at all times and I get to see what kind of lake it is and the kind of structure it has. Day 2 I look at all the back water, day 3 and so on I fish the back waters. What can I tell ya I'm a back water kinda guy, lol. From there I search for my pattern. Finding fish and figuring out why those fish are there and why they are hitting my lure. Once I have that figured out I test that pattern in several spots to confirm that it is a true pattern or is it just those are hot spots.
This is what I did on Seminole and it seemed to work. By the end of my practise I had 4 spots and 2 patterns. My furthest spot was 15 minutes from the boat basin and I worked my way back from there. My first spot was the largest and I spent haft of day 1 there. I pulled 3 fish there fishing a space between the weed edge on shore and a bed of hydilla that ran for about a mile which included a 5 pound red eye. I was throwing a black with blue flake wacky senko in there but not letting it sit. As soon as my line went slack I reeled up and fired it back out between the edges. My second spot was a small grass bed that was mixed with clover but was on the edge of some deeper water. Here I was throwing a 4" watermelon red flake Xzone Swammer on the grass and swam it back. I did have a couple of blow ups in the deeper water during practise but I didn't remember that little fact till my non-boater scream for the net and pulled a 7.9 out of there lol. Well that was his limit for the day but I was still looking for 2 fish. So off to my next spot and which was about 1 minute away and had the same kind of cover but only a little thicker. And after several blow up I pulled another fish. That would be my last fish for the day, I was still getting blow ups but nothing would commit. I made it back to the weight-in on the exact minute that I was suppose to check in, I fished till the last second and left everything out on the water. At the end of the day I had 13.9 for 4 fish and in 31 place.
Day 2 I decided to fish only the 2 spots that produced for me. My first spot did not refill during the night like I had hoped. I was only able to catch 1 fish there at about 11 am. That's right I stayed and worked my spot with my pattern because tournament day is no time to try something new. Ok I was scared, lol. I went to my second spot hoping that those fish that blow up the day before would be on. They were there and hungry. I was able to limit out, but before leaving I had a fish on that will haunt me for a while. It hit in that clover that that grows on a 1/4" thick vine. I set the hook and I saw it come out of the water but when it landed I was unable to turn it and lost her in the slop. It would have gone 8 plus and put me in the top 10. But that's fishing or at least that's what my therapist tells me. So I brought in 5 fish for 13 lbs and it put me 20th spot. I'm currently in 48th spot overall and with a good finish at Santee Cooper and Guntersville I will be able to go to the championship.
I would like to thank all my sponsors especially Russell Peters, Evinrude and Bay Marine for a motor that would not quit and Xzone baits for that Swammer and JB's Fishing Depot for making sure I have plenty of Gary Yamamoto Senko's.
Take care and tight lines everyone.
This is what I did on Seminole and it seemed to work. By the end of my practise I had 4 spots and 2 patterns. My furthest spot was 15 minutes from the boat basin and I worked my way back from there. My first spot was the largest and I spent haft of day 1 there. I pulled 3 fish there fishing a space between the weed edge on shore and a bed of hydilla that ran for about a mile which included a 5 pound red eye. I was throwing a black with blue flake wacky senko in there but not letting it sit. As soon as my line went slack I reeled up and fired it back out between the edges. My second spot was a small grass bed that was mixed with clover but was on the edge of some deeper water. Here I was throwing a 4" watermelon red flake Xzone Swammer on the grass and swam it back. I did have a couple of blow ups in the deeper water during practise but I didn't remember that little fact till my non-boater scream for the net and pulled a 7.9 out of there lol. Well that was his limit for the day but I was still looking for 2 fish. So off to my next spot and which was about 1 minute away and had the same kind of cover but only a little thicker. And after several blow up I pulled another fish. That would be my last fish for the day, I was still getting blow ups but nothing would commit. I made it back to the weight-in on the exact minute that I was suppose to check in, I fished till the last second and left everything out on the water. At the end of the day I had 13.9 for 4 fish and in 31 place.
Day 2 I decided to fish only the 2 spots that produced for me. My first spot did not refill during the night like I had hoped. I was only able to catch 1 fish there at about 11 am. That's right I stayed and worked my spot with my pattern because tournament day is no time to try something new. Ok I was scared, lol. I went to my second spot hoping that those fish that blow up the day before would be on. They were there and hungry. I was able to limit out, but before leaving I had a fish on that will haunt me for a while. It hit in that clover that that grows on a 1/4" thick vine. I set the hook and I saw it come out of the water but when it landed I was unable to turn it and lost her in the slop. It would have gone 8 plus and put me in the top 10. But that's fishing or at least that's what my therapist tells me. So I brought in 5 fish for 13 lbs and it put me 20th spot. I'm currently in 48th spot overall and with a good finish at Santee Cooper and Guntersville I will be able to go to the championship.
I would like to thank all my sponsors especially Russell Peters, Evinrude and Bay Marine for a motor that would not quit and Xzone baits for that Swammer and JB's Fishing Depot for making sure I have plenty of Gary Yamamoto Senko's.
Take care and tight lines everyone.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
The Show
Now I know what your thinking. I'm finally going talk about TFB The Show. Well I'm not. That will be coming soon enough but not yet. I'm talking about the first show of the year, The Spring Fishing and Boat Show. I love this show! I get to pay back to my sponsors by selling product for them and helping out two good friends of mine Brian and Steve from JB's Fishing Depot. This is also where all of us on the tour get to meet and catch up, the winters for us can be very long lol. Some of the guy's we don't see from September to June. So you the show makes for a good catch up. You also get to meet all your internet friends, you know the people that you become friends with on facebook or twitter and have long talks with but never have actually met. And then there's all that new product to look at and that one new item that everyone has to have. This year it was that stupid Alabama rig. I saw everyone from 10 to 70 years old buying that thing, and no one thought about whats going to happen when a pike or a musky gets a hold of it. lol. It's going to look like an opened up wire coat hanger. The product that caught my eye and shocked me is the St. Croix line of RAGE rods. I can't believe the quality of the rods at that price point! I don't know how they were able to produce a rod like that so inexpensively. I'm going to pick a few up myself.
To a large degree the show is where and how I measure my success. I keep count of all the people that recognise me, all the vendors that talk to me, and the requests that I receive. I'm very happy with this years results even though my knee's and feet are not, lol. I would have to say the highlight of the show for me is when I was asked to be on stage with a panel of experts talking and answering question from an audience with Big Jim as the host. That was a first for me and an honour.
As always Andy, Vita and the whole gang did a great job! From the outside of the storm everything looked smooth and perfect. Congrats guy's and thanks for a great job.
Well I have to start getting ready for my next stop. I'm heading down to Georgia for an FLW Everstart on Lake Seminole.
Tight lines everyone!
To a large degree the show is where and how I measure my success. I keep count of all the people that recognise me, all the vendors that talk to me, and the requests that I receive. I'm very happy with this years results even though my knee's and feet are not, lol. I would have to say the highlight of the show for me is when I was asked to be on stage with a panel of experts talking and answering question from an audience with Big Jim as the host. That was a first for me and an honour.
As always Andy, Vita and the whole gang did a great job! From the outside of the storm everything looked smooth and perfect. Congrats guy's and thanks for a great job.
Well I have to start getting ready for my next stop. I'm heading down to Georgia for an FLW Everstart on Lake Seminole.
Tight lines everyone!
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
FLW Tour Okeechobee Open
Wow what a tournament! Even though I was a non-boater I had a blast.I met so many new friends and many facebook friends for the first time. Got to see my two hero's Roland Martin and Bob Izumi in action. I had fantastic boaters both days Arnie Lane day 1 and Roger Crafton for day 2, Great anglers and all around great guy's. The excitement in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The time out on the water went by so fast but at night I was so beat. I left everything out on the water did not rest a second because that next cast could be the bass that could change the tournament, your career, your life. I'm happy with what I caught but not satisfied if that makes sense, I'll be back next year maybe as a boater. So with my beautiful wife and children in hand I started my long journey home feeling sad that it was over but blessed for having had the opportunity to do what I do for a living. I would like to thank Xzone baits, I caught so many fish on their Swammers. St. Croix rods cause there's no way I would have got those bass out of the slop and from behind that Florida cane with any other rods. I would also like to thank Bay Marine, Evinrude, CPI Pictures, Sirius, Via Rail, JB's Fishing Depot, and last but not least the funniest man alive Russell Peters. With out your help and support I would not be able to do this. I would also like to thank my wife Maria and my children Isabella and Andrew for coming out and cheering me on.
Well my next stop is the FLW Southeast Everstart on Lake Seminole but first is the Spring Fishing and Boat Show. So for the best prices and selection on St. Croix Rods and Xzone baits come see me at the JB's Fishing Depot's booth.
Tight lines everyone!
Well my next stop is the FLW Southeast Everstart on Lake Seminole but first is the Spring Fishing and Boat Show. So for the best prices and selection on St. Croix Rods and Xzone baits come see me at the JB's Fishing Depot's booth.
Tight lines everyone!
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Getting Ready 2012
So I have started to get ready for the 2012 season which begins in 2 weeks. I start my year off as always with a series of tournaments in Florida on Okeechobee. I love it there cause anything could happen, because of this I always bring too much tackle. I will start my year off slowly prefishing for the FLW Everstart opener on Okeechobee. But before the everstart I will use a BFL on the big O as a practice. There's a lot to do before I can fish a tournament properly. I have to give my new Evinrude 250 H.O. Etec a shakedown. I have to sort out all my tackle to get it ready for the new year and have it all in the right place in the boat so there's no confusion when I'm under the gun tournament day. Not to mention miles of line that has to be replace. With my friend Steve Crowley keeping me company I have spent a lot of time on the big O in the last few years and have acquired a considerable amount of water. So I am very excited about this year. I have three tournaments on the big O this spring including a FLW Tour event which I'm very excited about. All in all I'm having a hard time sleeping at night lol. But I think I have all my tackle sorted and my rods are ready so is the boat, trailer and truck. So stay tuned I will keep you all informed as to my progress and my where abouts. Be safe on the ice and tight lines everyone. Mike.
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