Surviving in the Reel World

Safari Club International

2012-02-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Outdoor Channel sent me to the Safari Club International (SCI) Show in Las Vegas to do an autograph signing in their booth each day. Wow! What a show!

I heard for years how incredible it was, and it definately was! I have never seen so many incredible mounts in on place in my life. After my booth time, I was able to walk the show and met with several outfitters with whom I will be shooting shows next year. All in all, a great experience!!!

Caribou

2012-02-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

Last week, I picked up the pedestal mount of my Woodland Caribou from Hamrick's Wildlife Studios. He did a rush job, finishing it in only four weeks so I could have it in time for the Hart Production's Cincinnati Hunting and Fishing Show. Paul Hamrick did an outstanding job!

Back from the Jungle

2012-01-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I got home from a true adventure! My whole life I had dreamed of traveling to Brazil to fish for Peacock Bass on the Amazon. It finally became a reality. Our outfitter for the trip was Billy Chapman of Anglers Inn International. He is famous for his operation on Lake El Salto in Mexico. In 2011, he expanded his operation to the Amazon by building a one of a kind floating mobile lodge. It was incredible to be fishing in the wilds of the Amazon jungle yet come home at night to air conditioned rooms with flush toilets and showers!

The fishing was amazing, and the Peacock Bass lived up to their reputation by providing me with six days of the best topwater fishing I've ever experienced in my life! I averaged over 35 bass per day with many topping the ten pound mark. The best part... it was all caught on video to air on Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors this upcoming season!

As amazing as the fishing was, I was more impressed by our native Brazilian guides, camp staff and their families that met our every need while we were in camp. These hard working people live a very simple life, but seem to enjoy every minute of it. I think we could all learn something from them. I know I did!

Amazon

2012-01-13T13:50:00.001-05:00

Today, I fly from Miami to Brazil through Panama. My final destination is Billy Chapman's Anglers Inn floating lodge on the Amazon. Our goal is to get two great Peacock Bass shows for Stihls Reel in the Outdoors. This is the fishing trip I have always dreamed of doing. My goal is a twenty pound plus Peacock on a topwater! I have beefed up the hooks on all my Lucky Craft baits to handle them... I hope!

Hunting Ibex

2012-01-10T21:36:00.000-05:00

Ibex on the mountain through our spotting scope.

I just returned from what I have determined to be the toughest archery hunt on the planet! After many attempts, I finally drew an archery tag for free ranging Persian Ibex in New Mexico. Typically they are hunted in places like Mongolia and Pakistan, but after six breeding pairs were transplanted in the 1930's, there is a significant herd now ranging in the rugged Florida Mountains in New Mexico near the Mexico border.

The success rate for bow hunters on these animals is only 3% to 4%, depending on the year so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I trained very hard for this hunt by doing tons of cardio and climbing work as well as developing my long range shooting. One hundred yard bow shots are very common on these animals. To hunt these animals effectively meant getting above them each morning, so we would leave the vehicles and climb two hours in the dark by headlamp. Much of the climbing was on all fours due to the steepness of the terrain.

After several close calls, I finally got a great opportunity at a large billy Ibex at just under 80 yards, but an unseen cactus branch saved his life and temporarily ruined mine! At that moment, I totally questioned the sanity of what I was doing.. When it was all over, I had survived seven of the most brutal hunting days in my lifetime and came up empty handed. I have total respect for these animals and in spite of my lack of success, would have to rank it among my most memorable hunting experiences!

A blown opportunity!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T22:21:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I've been on the go pretty hard so I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on what I've been up to!

I had chance to go to Detroit a couple weeks ago to visit my friend Mike Babcock, coach of the Redwings. It was cool to catch a game and watch him do his thing. Next I spent a week on Lake Okeechobee shooting Ultimate Match Fishing out of Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina. Great matches and great fishing!

I've finally gotten official score on my woodland caribou. We had hoped it was a new archery world record, but he ended up being #2.

Finally, I spent the morning after Christmas hunting Geese with my nephew Joey.

January is shaping up to be very busy too, as I'm heading to New Mexico and Arizona to video hunts and then to Brazil for peacock bass and another episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors.

A Dual Purpose

2011-11-23T22:25:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, I had a chance to take my nephew Joey hunting during the Ohio Youth Gun Season. The weather was cool, but very windy which is never good for deer movement. We ended up only seeing a couple of button bucks, but still had a great time together. I get people all the time trying to commend me for taking my children, relatives, and others fishing and hunting. Yes, it is my goal to give them a taste of the outdoors and hopefully they'll develop as hunters and anglers as they get older. But truthfully, my other reason for doing it kinda selfish.... I like going just as much as they do and if I can kill two birds with one rock....

Joey is ready for action!

A Great Idea?

2011-11-21T23:10:00.000-05:00

"Hey, I've got a great idea," I told my producer, Jim Kramer, last week. My idea was to hook up with my long time friend and Lake Erie expert Mike Traumbly and head up to the big pond for some late fall largemouth fishing. Mike has always told me stories about certain canals along the Michigan shoreline that load up with wintering largemouth bass. Sounds great right? It was great! All except for the daytime high temperature of 38 degrees coupled with 20-30 mph winds and, oh yeah, snow flurries...

It has been a long time since I have been so cold, but it was definitely worth it! We caught about 30 bass in the 2 to 4 pound range and action was fairly steady. The best bait for the bigger fish was my go-to 3/8 oz. Arkie Jig in black and blue with a black/blue crawfish trailer tail. The key was to fish the sea walls very slowly, just crawling the bait across the bottom in the 45 degree water. Surprisingly enough, the strikes were very aggressive for such cold conditions.

The other bait that worked very well for Mike was casting a Blade Bait into the center of the canal when we would start to mark the fish on the Humminbird Graph. The Blade Bait didn't produce fish as big, but definitely accounted for good numbers.

Chalk up one episode for next years Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors!

Shooting with a Camera

2011-11-10T14:13:00.001-05:00

I've been hunting near Lewisburg, Kentucky for the past several days with Drop Tine Outfitters trying to get a nice whitetail on camera for the Scent Loks High Places Show. Saw lots of deer, but no bucks big enough to shoot. One morning was very foggy as you can see in the picture. I plan to hit it a couple more days before Kentucky's rifle season opens on Saturday.

A Treat

2011-11-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

It is very rare when one of my blogs my blogs has nothing to do with fishing, hunting or the business thereof, but a guy has to have a little fun! Last night we went to our friends house in Terrace Park, Ohio for Trick or Treat with the kids. The live in a beautiful neighborhood where the folks really get into Halloween. When you live on a farm at the end of a dead end street, you don't get very many trick or treaters.... like zero and the houses are so far apart that the kids would have to hike several miles to fill a ziplock baggie with candy. Terrace Park on the other hand is a target rich environment!

The girls looked real cute in their costumes and a good time was had by all. I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.... Oh, yeah it is nice to be home for a change!

Little Red Riding Hood

Dorothy and Toto

Trying to steal candy from Red

Bonding

2011-10-27T14:11:00.001-04:00

I guess just about every guy who has a little girl ends up taking one of those father-daughter trips when they reach their early teens. It's great time to bond before she gets a little older and get too cool to hang with her daddy. My bet is that most of those trips are to the beach, maybe an art gallery, symphony or heaven forbid and extended shopping trip to the Mall of America in Minnesota! Oh yeah, my buddy had to do that and it darn near broke him.

But no, my 14 year old baby girl made me proud when she announced that she would like to go out west on an antelope hunt.... I could handle that. Man, was I glad she didn't want to hunt kudu in Africa!

Our little get away took place last week in Montana with my good friend Jammin Krebs of Western Timberline Outfitters. To say the least, he and his number one guide, Kyle, treated her like gold. Even though it was a rifle hunt, it was extremely challenging as the terrain was very open and the antelope were herding up in fairly large groups with lots of eyes to catch every movement.

She took her buck late in the second day of the hunt at 243 yards in a 30 mile per hour crosswind. That's a very tough shot even for an experienced hunter but she made a perfect shot on a beautiful mature antelope. I don't know what made me happier, the fact that she made a great shot or the fact that I didn't have to go to Macy's to see her smile!

New World Record?

2011-10-21T23:58:00.000-04:00

When you travel to hunt and fish as much as I do, you learn to prepare for each trip the best you can, then take whatever comes in stride, good or bad! As most of you know, I have a tremendous passion for bow hunting, and over the past several years hosting various hunting shows on Outdoor Channel has provided me the opportunity to travel and hunt in places I could have only dreamed of growing up.

Last week I traveled to Newfoundland to hunt Woodland Caribou with River Run Outfitting for Scent Lok's High Places. I had been there this time last year and had lots if opportunities, but couldn't close the deal. I honestly left there very disappointed in myself. That being said, I traveled there this year with cautious optimism trying not to get my hopes too high. My realistic goal with to take a good representative Woodland (the smallest antlered of all caribou species), get a good TV show and move one step closer to taking all 29 North American big game species with a bow.

On the first day of the hunt I got very close to a nice bull but high winds kept me from taking the shot. We quickly located more caribou in the distance. In this group was the largest Woodland Caribou any of us had ever seen! We closed the gap to within 100 yards. Then to 50 where I took the shot, which did the job. I couldn't contain myself (you'll see in the show) when I finally put my hands on what unofficially will be...the new archery world record eclipsing the old record set back in 1966 by 20 inches!

Record or not he is an amazing creature and I was truly blessed to to have this opportunity. When I was growing up reading Outdoor Life and Sports Afield, I could only dream of incredible hunting adventures and world record animals, and now unbelievably, I may have lived the dream!

Packing him out

Perfect Shot

2011-10-07T16:00:00.001-04:00

The past couple of days of whitetail hunting in Ohio have been amazing! Three days ago on our property near our home, my daughter Reanna took a beautiful eight point buck with her crossbow. It was so exciting for me to be right there and watch her make a perfect shot on her biggest deer ever!

As if that wasn't enough, I then headed out to Adams County to hunt with my friend Pat DeCastro of Kerry Automotive Group. He ran the camera for me as I took a big mature eight point. We estimated the buck to be around 5 1/2 years old! It will be hard to top this week, but I'm sure gonna try. I'm off to Newfoundland tomorrow to chase woodland caribou for another Scent Loks High Places episode.

Moose!

2011-10-04T22:47:00.000-04:00

Wow, I know fishing tournaments and producing fishing shows earlier in the year kept me hopping, but at least in most of the places I fish I have some type of communication with the outside world. Yeah, I know.... still no excuse for not blogging regularly. But in my defense, in these past several weeks I have hunted some pretty remote spots!

Two weeks ago, my camera man, Gerry, and I were packed into a remote tent camp in New Mexico where we chased bugling bull elk unsuccessfully for seven long days. We averaged over ten miles of hiking per day with the last day being over 17 miles on our GPS.

Last week, I had an incredible hunt for Scent Loks High Places in Utah with Ryan Foutz and Kurt Wood of Bighorn Basin Outfitters. We were bow hunting for Shiras Moose. Shiras are the smallest of all the moose species and only have huntable populations in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Utah. It is a "once in a lifetime tag" in Utah, so I really felt fortunate just to get to hunt them.

I was very surprised at the high-desert terrain in which the Shiras live. At over 8,000 feet it was a drastic contrast to other Moose hunts I have been on. The moose were in full rut and on day two, we called in two rut crazed bulls to within 40 yards! The cover was so thick it was difficult to get good video or a clear shot, until they got within 20 yards. My heart was pounding out of my chest as those bulls pushed each other around and raked the brush, grunting the whole time. I finally got a clear shot at the biggest of the two and made it count!

I feel extremely fortunate to have now taken the Canada, Alaska-Yukon and Shiras Moose with my bow. For me it was a major hunting goal fulfilled and a trip I'll never forget.

Alaska-Yukon Moose "2009"

Canada Moose "2008"

Woods and Water

2011-09-11T10:17:00.001-04:00

All weekend, I have been in Imlay City, Michigan at the Woods and Water Outdoor Weekend Expo. I was there for doing seminars and signing autographs for STIHL. My truck and boat were part of their display as well. It was a great outdoor event and crowds were estimated at over 20,000 for the three days.

Tomorrow, I head to New Mexico for an archery elk hunt for the High Places show. It has been years since I have drawn a good elk tag and I am really excited about this opportunity!

Blue Cat!

2011-09-10T21:35:00.000-04:00

Forty pound blue catfish

I had the opportunity to travel to Evansville, Indiana to shoot my 13th and final 2011 episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors. This time though, I was not chasing bass, but monster blue catfish with Captain Paul Willett of Camo Fish Guide Service. I was amazed by the various techniques he utilized to help us get a great show on a very tough day, where the temperatures topped 100 degrees and almost no current was flowing on the Ohio River. We capped the day with a true giant blue cat!

Deer Hunting in Kentucky

2011-09-08T20:43:00.002-04:00

Over the past weekend, I hunted in Kentucky with Drop Tine Outfitters It was opening the opening weekend for Kentucky's archery whitetail season. Kentucky is one of the few states that opens early enough for you to take a buck in velvet.

Most deer shed their velvet from their antlers by the second week.of September. While the 100 degree temperatures made the hunting very tough, I did get to see something pretty cool at the farmhouse we were staying in. A beautiful big spider had made its web in the corner of the front porch. It almost did not look real its colors were so awesome! Anybody know what kind of spider this is?

Northwest Territories

2011-08-29T23:17:00.000-04:00

I would like to apologize for not blogging over the past two weeks, but my Northwest Territories archery mountain caribou hunt for Scent-Loks High Places kept me far away from all communication! The hunt was extremely difficult physically as all mountain backpack hunts are. I had several opportunities, but I just couldn't close the deal. My hunting partner and camera man, John Furness, however, took a beautiful bull with a bow, and I got to capture it all on video!

Northwest Territories mountain caribou

That part of Canada is one of the most beautiful places I've been, and Arctic Red River Outfitters was one of the best I've ever worked with.

As soon as I got home, my youngest daughter Gracelyn informed me that the bass were really biting on our pond and we were going fishing! We caught several small bass and had a great time. I think her photo says it all..... It sure is nice to be home!

Fishing with my daughter Gracelyn

Lake Waynoka

2011-08-15T07:14:00.001-04:00

I had a chance to take my nephew, Joey, fishing this week on the lake where I learned to fish, "Lake Waynoka" where my mom and dad live. We had a great time and even caught a few nice bass. The one thing that is always consistent at the lake is my mom's meals.... Awesome!

Joey's first Bass of the evening at Lake Waynoka

Incredible!

2011-08-09T00:50:00.001-04:00

I would first like to apologize for not blogging the past couple of weeks and I am sure there were those of you who thought I must have slit my wrists after my disastrous finish in the FLW Tournament on Pickwick. Not true... I'm still alive and kickin'! In actuality, I have been on a two week long hunt in Africa with very limited access to internet. We videotaped the hunt for an episode of Scent Lok's High Places and the whole experience was incredible!

I will admit that I was very nervous about the nearly 16 hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg, South Africa. I normally get very anxious on flights over four hours... I made it through okay though, and without the aid of sleeping pills!

Once in South Africa, we hunted with professional hunter, Ricus de Villiers of White Lion Safari. He and his wife, Nelia, were incredible hosts and the lodge, food, and hunting were exceptional. I took a beautiful nyala with my bow after many failed stalks and topped the trip off with a 25 yard bow shot on an enormous cape buffalo after a very scary two hour stalk!

Bull nyala

Cape buffalo with a bow

I had fulfilled a huge hunting goal of mine with that animal. One other thing which made the trip even more memorable was the fact that my camera man, Gerry Addison, also got to hunt, harvesting a black wildebeest, gemsbok and a beautiful kudu. I can definately see why people who hunt Africa cannot wait to go back!

Africa

2011-07-26T22:28:00.001-04:00

Part of life is about firsts, and today is one tremendous one for me. I'm headed to Kimberly, South Africa to shoot an episode of Scent Lok's High Places. My biggest concern is not about getting stomped by a cape buffalo, but surviving the 15 plus hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg!

Even though I fly a lot, I have always had anxiety issues on flights longer than 4 hours. My longest time on a plane to date is about six hours. Though a lot of experienced overseas travelers have suggested sleeping pills or tranquilizers to get me through, I just can't go that route. It is mind over matter right? Gotta be mentally tough.... right? Well, we'll see. I'm sure I'll be just fine. I'm not sure if I'll be able to blog from camp, but if I'm able I'll keep you posted. Hopefully with some photos as well....

Stopped

2011-07-22T21:01:00.005-04:00

Well my 2011 FLW season is officially in the history books! My two day total on Pickwick weighed a whopping 20 pounds 4 ounces landed me solidly in 84th place, smashing all hopes of qualifying for the FLW Championship. Ouch!

I am writing this blog on my phone as I drive up I-65 North towards home. Yeah, I know I should not be emailing while driving, but its all good as I have been sitting in stopped traffic for over one hour now! Please Lord..... I just want this week to be over!

Give-Away: Brandon Adams! I will send to you a Stihl shirt and hat if you send your snail address to jtpfishing@insightbb.com. Keep watching, everyone, for the next give-away.

Pickwick Day One

2011-07-21T23:46:00.001-04:00

Well I can tell you first hand it no fun getting pounded on the first day of a tournament! Pickwick did its job, putting out lots of great limits of bass, but I had to struggle to catch a limit weighing 9 pounds. Tomorrow has got to get much better for me or I'll be headed home tomorrow with no paycheck. I will do my best to keep that from happening, I promise you!
Shown below:

Kevin, a winner of a Stihl hat,

with a fish he caught while wearing it!

Slim Pickings at Pickwick?

2011-07-20T22:29:00.000-04:00

Today was my final day of practice for the FLW on Pickwick Lake. This weeks practice was like banging my head against a wall at times. Many of the key main river spots are getting hammered by our competitors. You would never think a lake this big would fish so small! Hoping for an early starting number....

Interesting

2011-07-19T21:47:00.000-04:00

Today was my third practice day for the FLW on Pickwick Lake in north Alabama. Aside from very hot temperatures and less than stellar fishing, I found something very interesting today:

A giant cactus of some kind growing out of a rock bluff above the high water line. I didn't even realize they grew wild as far north as the Tennessee/Alabama line. I took close up as well hoping someone could identify it and tell me if it is rare in these parts.

I know I'm supposed to be concentrating on fishing, but things like this spark my interest on an otherwise slow day!

Long Day of Practice

2011-07-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

Put in 12 hours pounding the ledges on Pickwick today. Found several schools of fish. I think some of the key spots will get pretty crowded during the tournament. We have three more practice days. I'll need all of them I'm sure!

Give-Away: I have another Stihl ball cap and shirt to give away. Drawing on Thursday of this coming week! The winner will be chosen from followers or subscribers in a random drawing.

Behind the Scenes

2011-07-16T22:19:00.000-04:00

Since I only had a couple days home after UMF before heading to the FLW event on Pickwick Lake in Alabama, I hastily got some production work done for Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors. I had five new episodes shot that needed what we call "sit down interviews".

Basically, I tell the story of each fishing episode so the show flows smoothly. That is another very time consuming aspect of TV production that people don't see. With my producer, Jim Kramer, who is a breeze to work with and with my son, Ryan, who wants to go into video production handling the light reflector disc, we had all five interviews done on less than four hours. Starting early to get good morning light helped me as well since the temperatures were fairly cool! Now, I'm off to Alabama for my final regular season FLW event of the year.

UMF Winner

2011-07-11T23:59:00.005-04:00

UMF Championship Belt

Today we crowned our 2011 Ultimate Match Fishing Champion! One Pro Angler is now $50,000 richer. As usual, production of the the final match took much longer than the preliminary matches. We didn't wrap the shoot and the season till 8 PM!

I'm heading home tonight, so I can get an extra day with my family before I head to the FLW Tournament on Pickwick Lake in Alabama this weekend. My GPS shows me arriving home at around 4 AM tomorrow morning. Long, long day!

Over the Top

2011-07-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

My co-host Fish Fishburne is over the top as he displays the UMF Championship Belt!

UMF Third Quarter Complete

2011-07-08T22:52:00.000-04:00

We completed our third quarter final UMF match today on Mullett Lake. The new Evinrude powered Rangers are performing flawlessly and the weather and fishing continue to be great! Our crew is doing an outstanding job even though the production days are long.

Shooting Aerial Footage of UMF

2011-07-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

We were able to do lots of running and aerial footage from a helicopter before our Ultimate Match Fishing this morning. It was a perfect, crystal clear morning. The footage looks fantastic. Oh yeah, the match was pretty awesome too. I love Mullet Lake and the Indian River, Michigan area!

All Stars

2011-07-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

Today was the our first Ultimate Match Fishing quarter final match on Mullett Lake in Indian River, Michigan. The lake lived up to its reputation as a stellar smallmouth fishery, with several big smallies caught by each angler. I wont say which anglers made it to the championship round, but I will say it is an All-Star lineup that you won't want to miss when it airs on Outdoor Channel!

Our new UMF boat graphics and our mystery anglers

Crankin' It

2011-06-30T23:35:00.001-04:00

Wow, what a day! Lake El Salto continues to live up to its reputation. The wind blew today and the crankbait bite was on. Most of my fish came on a chartreuse shad Lucky Craft Flat CB D-12. My best five today probably would have weighed 35 pounds! Many thanks to Billy Chapman and everyone at Anglers Inn for another incredible trip. Make sure to watch for this episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors on the Outdoor Channel!

Another Lake El Salto Giant!

Anglers Inn

2011-06-29T18:56:00.002-04:00

Another great day at Anglers Inn on Lake El Salto in Mexico. Today, I had the opportunity to fish with the American Modern Insurance "Reel Big Catch" contest winner Mike Teague. We had a great time and El Salto continues to live up to its reputation with lots of bass between five and nine pounds being taken by our group daily! Most of the big fish are comming on crankbait in the timber, as the fish are suspended about ten feet down in the branches near the deeper creek channels.

American Modern Insurance's "Reel Big Catch"

Contest Winner Mike Teague with a nice El Salt Bass!

Mexico

2011-06-28T12:00:00.007-04:00

Today, I fished and videoed on Lake El Salto. Fishing was incredible as usual with lots six to nine pound fish being caught by our group. Tomorrow, I get to fish with our Reel Big Catch contest winner, Mike League of Alaska. Mike and his dad won this all expense paid trip for two from American Modern Insurance Group. Can't wait till tomorrow!

My El Salto guide, Martin

Mike Hopkins entertaining our group at dinner

Only a few days until new episodes air on Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors - July 2nd! Some lucky people out there have Stihl hats and t-shirts on the way. I'll send out another set to follower Basspastor when I receive mailing information at JTPFishing@insightbb.com.

Boca Grande

2011-06-23T22:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we traveled south from Longboat Key to Boca Grande to video another day of tarpon fishing with our friends Jason and Rob from Odyssey Expositions and Captain Mark Liberman, one of the best tarpon guides in Boca.

Captain Mark Liberman

It was tough day, but I did catch a great 140 lb Tarpon on light tackle (40 lb test and spinning gear). The fight took nearly two hours as the big fish took us two miles out into the Gulf. I'll need a special extended episode to air this on Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors!

Boca Grand Pass Lighthouse

Mark Your Calendar!

2011-06-22T23:39:00.001-04:00

Awesome comments and thanks for reading! CrookedArrow, I'd like to thank you for reading and for your comment by sending you a Stihl's t-shirt and hat. CrookedArrow, send your contact information to JTPFishing@insightbb.com. We getting geared up for great new episodes starting July 2nd. Are you ready?

Next give-away is June 24th!

Unbelievable!

2011-06-21T23:19:00.000-04:00

Man, I love my job! Today I shot an episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors with my buddy Pat DeCastro of Kerry Automotive, guide Mac Gregory and mate Nick Wettstein in Longboat Key, Florida. Unbelievable action! Jumped 14 tarpon up to 150 pounds.... Can't imagine how cool this episode will be. I'm so looking forward to tomorrow!

To help you look forward to it, I'm going to give away a Stihl shirt and hat to one of the commentors on this day's blog by tomorrow evening.

Tarpon

2011-06-20T23:06:00.000-04:00

Flew to Tampa today and rented a car, then headed on down to Longboat Key where we will be shooting a tarpon show for Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors with friend Pat DeCastro of Kerry Automotive. It has been a long time since I have fished for tarpon and I can't wait to get on the water tomorrow!

New episodes of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors air starting July 2nd. To celebrate, I'm sending out a Stihl t-shirt and hat to Scott Crabtree! Scott, send your contact information to JTPFishing@insightbb.com and I'll get that right out to you.

Headed Home

2011-06-17T23:11:00.000-04:00

I couldn't get my truck headed home fast enough after today's weigh in. I took a gamble today to try to catch up after a bad day yesterday and it only got worse. I ran to Lake Barkley (which is connected to Kentucky Lake) to an area I knew from an earlier event. The area historically has good fish and I did catch two nice ones, but only two! It is so hard to go to an area without first practicing there. If it works you are a hero, if it doesn't your a zero! Well, in my case....

Kentucky Lake - Day One

2011-06-16T20:09:00.003-04:00

A small KY Lake 15" keeper

I caught more fish today than in any day of practice, but never caught a decent fish. My five keepers weighed in just under ten pounds.... I got crushed! I'll have to have one of those miracle stringer tomorrow if I'm going to take home any cash.

Storms

2011-06-15T22:20:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was my final practice day on Kentucky Lake and it seemed like I was dodging storms all day long!

Big storm rolling in

Today I worked on tackle most of the morning, before heading to the other end of the lake and checking into a different hotel near the FLW launch site at Kentucky Dam Marina. I really need to catch them tomorrow.

Hiding under a boat dock to escape rain and lightning

I'm praying for light winds since I'm running over 60 miles to my fish, but the forecast doesn't look favorable....

Give-Away: I'd like to send a Stihl t-shirt and hat to: David McKenzie! David, please send your mail address to JTPFishing@insightbb.com Want your own Stihl hat and shirt? Check back tomorrow - you may be the winner! Don't forget that new episodes of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors will begin July 2nd!

Looks Like a Musky to Me!

2011-06-13T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today was my second day of practice for the FLW Event on Kentucky Lake. It was a beautiful day, but still hanging in the low 90's.

Barge on Kentucky Lake

I caught a fish today that I swear looked like small Musky, even though the Tennessee DNR says there are none in this lake.

Still slowly putting the pieces together. Like I said before, It's a big lake!

Practice on Kentucky Lake

2011-06-12T21:14:00.000-04:00

Fishing wasn't exactly easy on Kentucky Lake today, but I did catch a few nice ones and learned a little. Two days of practice left...

Kentucky Lake

2011-06-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

I actually slept in yesterday morning until 7:30, then headed north from Pickwick Lake on the Alabama border to Kentucky Lake. It was a real nice drive through some country I hadn't seen before. I checked into my motel near Paris around 11 A.M. My plan is to stay on this end of the lake during practice since this is the end I plan on fishing in the tournament. On the off day, I'll move to a different hotel closer to the dam where we will launch from in the tournament. I can only hope I'm picking the right end. This is a big body of water and definitely can't see it all in three days of practice!

Crossing Tennessee River heading up to Kentucky Lake

Give-Away: The Boomerang pliers and holster were thrown out there but came back! Remember, to win a give-away you must check the blog daily and respond within a week. doverchip@gmail.com, send your contact information to JTPFishing@insightbb.com and you'll receive these great fishing pliers in the mail.

In anticipation of our great new episodes starting July 2nd on Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors, jeffbtripp@earthlink.net will receive a Stihl tshirt in the mail if he sends his contact information to the above email. Want to celebrate with a shirt of your own? Check back tomorrow to see if you won!

Pickwick Lake Smallies

2011-06-11T22:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I got up very early and drove seven hours to Pickwick Lake which is the site of our final FLW event next month. Since my schedule won't allow me any other time to pre-fish before the off limits begins, my goal was to get a half day on the water just riding, graphing and GPS'ing any potential deep water spots for next month's tournament.

Even after my terrible finish at Red River, I am still in contention for the FLW Championship if I can do well in the last two events. It was definitely a productive afternoon and worth the extra driving and a day away from home. I even got a bonus, when right before dark a big school of Smallies came up chasing shad on a point I was graphing. I grabbed a Lucky Craft gunfish out of my rod box, made one cast, and caught a beautiful smallmouth! Hey, a guy's gotta have a little fun! Today, I headed on up to Kentucky Lake to get ready for practice which begins Sunday.

Give-Away Day: I'm sending a Stihl shirt and a hat to follower Mac McBroom! Mac, send your snail address to JTPFishing@insightbb.com and I'll get it right out to you. Sadly, the Boomerang pliers and holster, a $40 value, has not been claimed. I'll be drawing for that tomorrow morning. Will you be the lucky winner?

Stihl Yourself for Reel in the Outdoors

2011-06-07T22:23:00.000-04:00

We are so sure you're gonna love the new episodes of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors, you're gonna want to tell everyone by wearing a shirt or hat that says Stihl. I'm giving away a few things in the weeks leading up to our first show on July 2nd.

A name is chosen randomly from our followers, subscribers and commentors. Winners will be notified only on the blog, not by email. You must check the blog frequently to see if you won something, as winners have one week to respond. If no response is received in that time, a second winner will be chosen.

I was driving long hours today - part of the territory.

Reeling Them In on Mullett Lake

2011-06-06T23:10:00.004-04:00

Today, we shot an episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors on Mullett Lake in Indian River, Michigan. I think the photo speaks for itself.

Six pound smallmouth

The fish were just coming in to spawn and it was clearwater sight fishing at its best! We had calm winds and sunny skies making it perfect conditions. I fished with Gerry Gosyinek of Great Lakes Bass Fishing Guide Service. Our best five smallies would have weighed over 25 pounds! What is even more exciting is that we are scheduled to to shoot our second round of Ultimate Match Fishing here next month. It should be awesome!

Joe with Gerry Gostinek and a big Mullet Lake smallmouth.

Beginning Saturday, July 2nd, Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors moves to a new time slot at 1 PM on the Outdoor Channel. Join me as I take you to some of the most famous bass fishing lakes in the world. To celebrate the new episodes and time slot, we are sending lrichards002@centurytel.net a Stihl t-shirt. lrichards002@centurytel.net, send your contact information and size shirt you'd like to JTPFishing@insightbb.com and I'll get that right out to you.
Want your own Stihl shirt or hat? Check the blog frequently to see if you are a winner!

Stihl the One!

2011-06-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

Get ready, because the new episodes of STIHL's Reel in the Outdoors are set to begin on Saturday, July 2nd in a great NEW time slot! I think this season might be the most exciting ever as I travel to some of the most famous bass lakes in the world. You can catch us at 1 PM EST immediately before Bassmasters, only on Outdoor Channel.

In anticipation of our upcoming shows, STIHL has provided us with plenty of STIHL t-shirts and hats to give away to my loyal blog followers, subscribers and commentors. Starting Monday, I will randomly draw a winner every other day to win a t-shirt or hat.

Another way to win: email a photo of yourself with a big fish you caught while wearing a hat or shirt that says "Stihl" (must be visible in the photo). I'll send you a Stihl shirt and a hat and feature your big catch on one of my blogs. The first person to respond will additionally win a pair of Stihl suspenders.

Boomerang!

2011-06-02T21:17:00.000-04:00

Rgrandslam24@yahoo.com is the winner of today's random drawing and will receive the Boomerang pliers with a holster! Rgrandslam24@yahoo.com, please email JTPFishing@insightbb.com with shipping details so I can get those right out to you. Thanks to all of you that follow, subscribe, and comment on my blog!

Didn't win this time? No worries! Check this blog tomorrow afternoon for some exclusive news and great give-away opportunities.

Memories from McDougall Lodge, Alaska

2011-06-02T07:39:00.000-04:00

I had to postpone my much anticipated opportunity for a King Salmon show at McDougall Lodge in Alaska this week. I shot an episode there two seasons back and it was an awesome experience. We were forced to postpone due to our need finish up commercial production and put the finishing touches on our first two episodes of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors which begins airing at the end of this month. We have given the show a new look and I think the extra work and schedule juggling will definitely be worth it.

Give-away winner for these past two weeks will be announced this afternoon!

Airing June 25th!

2011-05-30T22:33:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know it today was Memorial Day but I still had to put in a little over half a day trying to get caught up on our production work. My producer, Jim Kramer, and I worked into early afternoon shooting elements for the Kerry Automotive and Arkie commercials that will run during this season's Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors. The shows will begin airing on Outdoor Channel Saturday, June 25th. I will admit I am pretty excited to see the finished product!

Give-Away: With Ryan's graduation and the holiday, I've been a little quiet on the blog, so I'll extend this week's give-away deadline until Thursday. Followers, subscribers, and commentors will be eligible for a chance to win this.

Kerry Automotive

2011-05-27T23:24:00.000-04:00

Today, I appeared with my truck and boat for Kerry Automotive at the Northern Kentucky Auto Dealers annual tent sale at Northern Kentucky University. The place was crankin' and Kerry was moving lots of vehicles. The boat and truck was very popular with the customers.

Tomorrow, I'll actually be home all day as we are having a big graduation party for my son, Ryan. I'll be at the tent sale again this Sunday from 3-6 PM, so if you are in the area please stop by.

Who Reeled It In This Week?

2011-05-23T15:26:00.000-04:00

This week, subscriber kedfisherman won a Stihl embroidered baseball cap! Kedfisherman, send your contact information to JTPFishing@insightbb.com to receive your prize.

How would you like to win a free pair of Boomerang Fishing Pliers with a holster included? In the next two weeks, you can enter once per day with a comment on the blog. One additional entry can be made by becoming a follower or subscriber. Be sure to check back on June 6th to find out if you won!

Redemption

2011-05-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

Going from Red River, Louisiana to Lake Fork, Texas was only a 2 1/2 hour drive, but from a fishing standpoint, it was like going from Hell to Heaven. I fished today with pro-angler and Lake Fork guide, Lance Vick. We had an outstanding day, boating over 30 bass, with 4 topping the 7 pound mark. Most of our fish came on Lucky Craft DV 2.5, crankbaits and swim bits. I really needed a day like today after last week!

There will be a random drawing tomorrow for a Stihl baseball cap. One lucky winner will be chosen from the followers, subscribers, and comments from this week. I will also announce the next chance to win.

Jacob Wheeler Wins the 2011 BFL All American

2011-05-22T06:45:00.002-04:00

I stayed over in Shreveport most of the day before heading on over to Lake Fork where we plan to shoot tomorrow. After picking up my producer, Jim, at the airport, we headed to the convention center to catch the final weigh in of the 2011 BFL All American which just happened to be in town. My primary reason for attending was to watch my little buddy, twenty year old Jacob Wheeler walk away with the $100,000 prize.

I could not of been more excited as I watched him clinch the title and take a major step towards the professional fishing career he has worked so hard to achieve. I will have to admit that it brought back great memories for me as well. Congrat's Jacob, on a job well done!

Rearview Mirror

2011-05-20T23:20:00.000-04:00

The Red River truly kicked my tail this week! Today, I only locked one pool down, to try to maximize fishing time, but I still only managed 3 fish weighing 4 1/2 pounds. My whopping two day total of 6 pounds 15 ounces landed me solidly in 119th place. Ouch again! The few fish I did catch were on a Lucky Craft TX 1.5 in Copper Green Perch color. I was crankin' it around logs and scattered Milfoil clumps. Tomorrow, I head over to Lake Fork near Dallas to shoot an episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors. I truly can't wait to put this tournament and the Red River in my rearview mirror....

Day One - Red River

2011-05-19T22:50:00.001-04:00

I was so concerned about locking, that I guess I forgot you have to catch fish. Today seems like a bad dream! I caught 8 or 10 fish, but only had 2 small keepers for 123rd place. Not sure what to do tomorrow, but I definitely have to do something different from today.

FLW: Locking It Up

2011-05-18T21:28:00.002-04:00

On top of trying out how to catch a few bass tomorrow, I have been laboring over whether or not to sacrifice valuable fishing time by locking through one or even two locks to try to get away from the crowd. By my calculations, if I lock twice into pool #3, I will only have 3 1/2 hours to fish at the most. I'm sure I'll be thinking about that one all night long... Anyway, who said fishing is a relaxing sport?

Watch the FLW Red River weigh-in live tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Red River

2011-05-17T22:45:00.000-04:00

As I write this blog it is 9:15 PM. I put in an extremely long final practice day today, trying to figure something out. The Red River is fishing so tough I can't believe it! I did catch a few decent keepers today though, including this nice Spotted Bass in the photo. I honestly think about 6 or 7 pounds a day here will make the money cut for $10,000.

Backwaters

2011-05-17T01:40:00.000-04:00

Well you know when I'm snapping pictures of alligators and birds during a practice day, fishing must be pretty bad. I saw a lot more wildlife today on the Red River than I did bass! The main river is nearly unfishable due to the mud and strong current. Everyone is crowded into the backwaters looking for clear water and it is making this place fish very small. Hopefully, my practice will go better tomorrow.

Winner for this week: Congratulations to Anglers Ace who won this week's drawing for two Lucky Craft lures. Anglers Ace, please email JTPFishing@insightbb.com with information as to where to send your lures. Next week, I'll send one lucky winner an embroidered Stihl baseball cap. Thanks for all the readers' comments and letting us know who you'd like to see fish UMF.

Flooding

2011-05-15T20:39:00.000-04:00

I left Benton, Kentucky early yesterday morning and headed south towards Shreveport and the Red River. It is only about an eight hour drive, but I wanted to get there early enough to prep my boat and tackle for today's practice. Near Memphis, I saw first hand the extensive flooding from the Mississippi River. In places, it came within several feet of the highway. I can only hope the water levels on the Red River continues to drop as projected.

Give-Away news: We've heard from Roy Mims! Congratulations, Roy! Check here tomorrow evening for the next lucky winner and what I'll be giving away this week.

Scent Lok's High Places

2011-05-14T01:38:00.000-04:00

Today was a busy day! I spent nearly 10 hours today in Benton, Kentucky shooting with the guys at Commonwealth Productions. We knocked out interview segments for 13 episodes of Scent Lok's High Places, a hunting show on Outdoor Channel which I am co-hosting in this fall. Tomorrow, I head on to Shreveport and the Red River for my fourth FLW Tournament of the year.

Give-away news: Still waiting to hear from Roy Mims. Roy, email your address to JTPFishing@insightbb.com to receive your free lure. The next drawing will be this coming Monday for two Lucky Craft lures. One comment a day qualifies you for another entry in a random drawing. Let me know you're out there!

UMF: Do You Have What It Takes?

2011-05-10T21:31:00.000-04:00

One question I get a lot is, "How do you pick the anglers for Ultimate Match Fishing?" Well, there are a lot of qualities that the Outdoor Channel Producers and I look at when selecting fishermen for UMF. The first is obviously their tournament history. We typically only choose anglers from the top two pro circuits, the Bassmaster Elite Series and the FLW Tour.

The second thing we look at is personality. UMF is a personality driven show and we need competitors who are able show their emotions on camera! We also like a variety of anglers. We try to pick both young anglers and older veterans. We have ones who are household names as well as little known up and comers.

Finally, we like guys guys who are hard core competitors because their passion, tenacity and desire to win really comes across on the show. Not to mention the fact that those are the guys who give our referee Mark Randolph the most grief over his calls and everyone knows I like it when Mark catches heat!

Who would you like to see on UMF? Remember, one comment per day per person is another entry to win two Lucky Craft lures!

And the Winner Is......!

2011-05-09T22:26:00.000-04:00

Roy Mims!

In a random drawing of followers and subscribers, Roy was chosen to receive a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP. Roy, please email contact information to JTPFishing@insightbb.com to receive your lure.

Didn't win? Don't worry! There will be more chances to win fishing or fishing related products by following or subscribing to this blog. For the next give-away, you can enter more than once by commenting on this blog (one entry per blog post per day). On May 16th, I will be giving away TWO lures: A Lucky Craft Sammy 100 in Aurora Brown, and a Lucky Craft Pointer 100DD in Aurora Black.

Want to know more about Lucky Craft? Visit their website!

Thomas Hit List

2011-05-08T17:17:00.000-04:00

Took Gracelyn out after that noisy old gobbler this morning. We called in that big old bird and had him strutting and gobbling inside 20 yards for over 15 minutes, but she could never get a clear shot. It brought back great memories of hunting with my older kids at that age. I could feel her shaking like a leaf as she sat in my lap with that little youth model 20 gauge resting on my knee. Okay, maybe that qualifies me as a true redneck, but I'll always remember today, even though we didn't score. After all, it is about the experience with my daughter and not about the kill. But don't get me wrong, he's still on the Thomas hit list!

Winner Announced - Tomorrow

Check back tomorrow to find out if you are the winner of a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP. No purchase necessary to enter - just follow or subscribe to the blog.

Shooting

2011-05-06T23:07:00.000-04:00

Today we finally saw some sunshine at my home in southern Ohio and we took full advantage of it. I spent much of the morning at my house with my producer, Jim, and editor, Larry, along with some of the folks from American Modern Insurance shooting a new commercial for them. It went very well.

Once it was wrapped up we shot several intro's for episodes of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors. For me, the hardest part of the day was listening to the continuous gobbling of a tom turkey down in the valley or holler, depending on where you are from, behind house. My plan is to take my daughter, Gracelyn, out in the morning to try to quiet him down.... permanently!

Give-Away: Only two more days to follow or subscribe to this blog to win a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP. The randomly chosen winner will be announced on Monday.

Hosting UMF

2011-05-02T22:48:00.000-04:00

One question that I get a lot from our Ultimate Match Fishing fans is "Isn't it hard to just stand there and watch (I feel like I do a little more than just watch) while the anglers catch all those fish in UMF?" Well, the answer to that question is pretty simple: heck yeah, it's tough! I love to fish, so when they are whacking them I can hardly stand it!

I guarantee you that there are lots of times that Chris Collinsworth wishes he was on the field instead of in the press box announcing the game. I'm no Dick Vitale, but I get fired up and excited when a match is close in the 4th quarter and someone boats a big one! I figure if I can't be the guy catching them, being the guy watching the best anglers in the world catching them live from 20 feet away is a close second...

Note: Don't forget to "follow" or subscribe to this blog to get at chance at winning a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP in Aurora Black. A winner will be chosen in a random drawing in less than two weeks!

Roy versus Lane

2011-05-01T19:38:00.000-04:00

Spotted bass dominated again on Lake Lanier in our UMF Match between 19 year old Elite Series Rookie of the Year Bradley Roy and Elite Series seven year veteran Russ Lane. I could nor have been happier with this week's matches and how Lake Lanier fished. It will make some great TV! Headed home...

Russ Lane

Bradley Roy

Match Five

2011-04-29T20:50:00.000-04:00

Match 5 of Ultimate Match Fishing on Lake Lanier is now in the history books! Elite Series Anglers David Walker and Tim Horton put on quite a show. The water temps on Lanier continue to rise and the bass are quickly vacating the spawning beds, but fishing is still very good. One more match tomorrow and then I get to head home!

Don't forget to subscribe or follow this blog to win a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP! Drawing in two weeks.

Exciting!

2011-04-29T07:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, I know I'm sounding like a broken record but yesterday was another great UMF Match! Our competitors were Scott Suggs from the FLW Tour vs. Dustin Wilkes from the Bassmaster Elite Series. It came down to the wire and was super exciting to watch.

FLW announced today they have re-scheduled our canceled event for late July. Unfortunately for me, it falls right smack in the middle of my "High Places" hunting show shot in Africa.

Follow this blog and win! Readers who follow this blog or subscribe to the blog by email will be entered into a random drawing in two weeks to win a Lucky Craft Pointer 100SP in Aurora Black. The winner will be announced in two weeks on this blog, no later than May 9, 2011.

UMF: Another Great Match

2011-04-27T22:04:00.000-04:00

We had another great UMF Match on Lanier today between Anthony Gagliardi and Gerald Swindle. G-man kept my crew laughing all day with his one liners and "Swindlisms".

Shooting Plano Tackle Segment

UMF Referee Mark Randolph

We also got word today that the FLW Tournament on Table Rock Lake was canceled due to record high water. Looks like I will get a much needed week at home!

Big Fish

2011-04-26T19:18:00.000-04:00

Today's UMF Match between Bryan Thrift and Aaron Martins was awesome! Lots of big fish caught! Should make an outstanding episode.

My zany UMF co-host Fish Fishburne

Got word today that the FLW Event on Table Rock might be canceled, due to the Noah's Ark flood they are having in the Midwest. I almost hope they cancel the tournament since I don't really look forward to fishing picnic tables and parking lots!

UMF: The Winner Is....

2011-04-25T21:39:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of Ultimate Match Fishing. Our competitors, Tom Mann Jr. and Dan Moorehead, slugged it out on Lake Lanier until the very end. The bass here are in a transition stage just coming off the spawn. Our match was very close but in the end...... Oh, you didn't think I would actually let that out, did ya?

The shoot ran very late though due to a severe storm we had to wait out before the weigh-in. All in all, a great match that will make a super episode of UMF.

UMF Boat Prep

2011-04-24T20:59:00.000-04:00

I started my day in Chattanooga meeting with the owners of Chattanooga Sun and Fun Marine. They are taking care of our UMF boats, so I wanted to stop in and day hello and make sure the boats were in order and ready for my guys to pick up later in the afternoon to transport the to Lake Lanier.

Once I finished there, I cruised on down to Lanier (about 3 hours) where I met up with my brother who lives near the lake, along with my nephew and a couple of his friends for a few hours of fishing. The boys had a great time and we even caught a few nice spotted bass. Tomorrow will be all about prepping the boats and our production meetings.

Packed with Meaning

2011-04-22T19:41:00.000-04:00

There are two things that I really hate about my job. One is the packing for extended road trips and the other is saying good-bye to my wife and daughters. Today, I got to do both!

It is especially tough when it is an long trip like this one, causing me to be gone over Easter! The first week of this roadtrip is to shoot the first round of UMF 2011 in Georgia on Lake Lanier, and the second is my 4th FLW Tour Event on Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Right before I left, my seven year old, Gracelyn, handed me a picture she drew of herself waving bye to me through the laundry room window.

Ouch, that hurt! Funny how you never read that stuff in the "Bass Pro" job description.

Happy Easter, everybody!

Banner Day!

2011-04-19T13:03:00.000-04:00

Ohio turkey season opened yesterday! Every year, I try to take one day during the Ohio season to go out to Brown County to hunt with my good friend, Mike Hopkins. Most years, I miss opening day due to my fishing schedule but this year, I was in town so we took advantage of it! You can't imagine how much I look forward to that one day each year when I blow off my work responsibilities and just go chase birds with Mike.

Mike pretty much taught me how to hunt them and actually called in the first one I ever shot. In spite of the windy, cloudy conditions that made calling the birds tough, (would have been a great fishing day I bet), we had a banner day taking two big toms! My 24 pound 11 ounce gobbler was my largest to date. All in all a great day and some much needed R&R after last weeks frustrating tournament.

Detour

2011-04-18T00:09:00.000-04:00

I had so much to catch up on after last week's tournament that turkey hunting was the furthest thing from my mind when I got up right after daybreak. I was buried, trying to get a million things done for next week's UMF shoot on Lake Lanier in Georgia.

I did know, though, that Ohio's youth turkey season was open this weekend and the word around the Thomas house was that the birds had been "gobblin' their heads off" around the yard! Anyway, so I'm headed into my office (shoulda been headed to Church really) when I detoured and walked out on the back patio just in time to here a distant gobble over the hill! Enough said! Thirty minutes later I had my daughter, Reanna, staring at a big tom down the barrel of my 12 gauge. Well, all things considered, I guess I do have my priorities straight. Okay, except for missing Church. I'll work on that one!

That's Part of the Game

2011-04-15T21:43:00.000-04:00

I almost pulled it off today. Going out this morning, I figured I would need about 15 lbs. to have a chance of sliding into the top 50 and making ten grand. My five fish limit today weighed 14 lbs. 8oz., leaving me a little short, coming in 66th place. Looking back, I can't feel too bad about this one. I executed pretty well, catching every fish that bit except one in the two days of competition.

I really just didn't have enough going on. The areas I found in practice didn't have the quality of fish I needed to do well. The majority of my fish in the tournament came casting a black lizard and flipping a 5.5" black tube into shallow laydown trees. When the water began dropping, a lot of the fish that were trying to spawn pulled out into the tips of those trees in three to four feet of water. If the tree had less than three feet of water on the tips, I couldn't get a bite and as the lake continued to fall, those trees became harder and harder to find. I have to admit it really stings when you get that close after all that work and go home empty handed but that's part of the game... the part that I don't like!

Looking to Tomorrow

2011-04-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

Morning

Tough day today! I caught pretty much the same number of fish today as I did on my practice days, about 12 or so, but I just didn't have quite the average size. The water continues to fall, leaving a lot of the cover I'm fishing too shallow to be productive now. My 12 pounds 14 ounces has me right in the middle of the pack in 77th place. I am disappointed, but the weights are tight and a good day tomorrow could put me back in $10,000 territory!

Perspective

2011-04-13T19:50:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, we fish when it counts. I always get pretty stressed the day before competition. I guess I've always been that way even way back in high school. I would get so tweaked up before a football game or wrestling match. At the pre-tournament meeting today, we had the opportunity to hear a few words from a National Guardsman who did two combat tours. His accounts of service men's sacrifices really helped me to put things into perspective. I guess in the overall scheme of things, bass tournaments, even high dollar ones like we fish, are not worth losing sleep over.

Cold Front

2011-04-13T02:00:00.000-04:00

Today I was back to a sweatshirt and rain gear! We had a pretty substantial cold front come through, and even though it hit 60 degrees in the afternoon, I was cold all day. The water on Lake Chickamauga has dropped over 2 feet in the three days of practice, but I am still catching them pretty steady. My only fear is that the size I am catching won't be good enough. My best 5 fish each day have averaged about 13 to 14 pounds. Tomorrow is a much needed off day!

Putting It Together

2011-04-11T21:39:00.000-04:00

During the past two days while practicing for the FLW Event on Chickamauga, the weather has been awesome! It has been so nice to fish in shorts and a t-shirt. The water level has fallen two feet though, which is making fishing a little tougher than it should be. Regardless, my son, Ryan, and I are catching some nice fish and starting to put together a pattern. Tomorrow is the final day of practice.

Headed to FLW Lake Chickamauga

2011-04-09T20:43:00.000-04:00

My son, Ryan, and I left Cincinnati at 5 AM this morning, headed for Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee for my third FLW Tournament of the season.

After a short six hour drive down I-75, we were settled into our beautiful Red Roof Inn. I worked on tackle for couple of hours and then headed over to the grocery store to get drinks and lunch stuff for the week. The only time I ever grocery shop is at tournaments. I was totally lost and it took three times longer than it should have.

I am anxious to see how the fishing goes this week. It should be real good. Anytime the water temps hit 60 degrees on any of the Tennessee River Lakes it is usually awesome! Either way, it looks like the weather will be warm and fairly dry this week. It will be nice to fish without wearing my long underwear and rainsuit for a change.

Made of Stihl

2011-04-08T22:23:00.000-04:00

Today, I took my rig to Springboro, Ohio for the Grand Opening of Moe's Ace Hardware. Moe's is one of our newest and largest STIHL dealers in Ohio. I had a chance to meet a lot of the customers, sign autographs and just talk fishing! Once that wrapped up, I headed home to pack my gear and work on my tackle. Tomorrow, I head down to Chatanooga to start practice for my third FLW Event of the season.

Calling Him Out

2011-04-07T22:16:00.000-04:00

Today was my day to be a dad and hang with my girls. My 7 year old, Gracelyn, all of a sudden is fired up on turkeys since her big sis whacked the big gobbler the other day in Kentucky.

Reanna's Gobbler

We were out working in the yard when my wife, Diane, said she heard a turkey gobbling in the hollow. Well, that was all Gracie needed to hear. She was in her camo in a flash begging me to call in so she could see it up close.

"I've never seen one up close," she said. You can legally call them before season in Ohio, so off we went. Fifteen minutes and a few sexy hen calls later, I had a giant gobblers strutting in front of us at 10 yards! It gets better: Gracie eyes were big as saucers as that bird strutted and gobbled loud enough to shake the trees! I guess all the hen calls and returned gobbler calls attracted a hen that was in the area. That hen came sauntering right up to the big boy and he, well, he began having his way with her right in front of me and my innocent baby girl. I was paralyzed!

While the big bird took his good old time doing the deed. I was wondering what I should say to Grace as this dude continued to put on a show with his new girlfriend. Finally the silence was broken by my daughter whispering in my ear, "Look! They are mating!"
Without thinking, I whispered back, "How do you know?"
She immediately looked me in the eye and said, "Dad, we have 20 chickens. Duh!" Enough said.

Once we got back to the house, she gave me a big kiss and told me it was the coolest thing she ever saw. My hope is that it stays that way for at least the next 15 or 20 years!

Stihl Catching Them!

2011-04-05T23:24:00.000-04:00

Man, oh man! I love it when a plan comes together! I will admit I was a little concerned when I hooked up my boat this morning at 5 AM in a pouring rain and the exterior temp gauge on my truck reading 38 degrees. The itinerary for the day was pretty simple: pick up my camera man, Jim Kramer, and drive 3 hours over to Martinsville, IN to shoot an episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors with my buddy, Nick Teeter of Ranger Nick's Guide Service. Nick had offered to take us out on a large lake in a rural housing development.

Well, the rain did give way to partly cloudy skies by the time we got on the water but it stayed very cold with winds near 25 MPH. In spite of the cold front conditions and high winds, we absolutely crushed the bass. We used Nick's homemade spinnerbaits and Lucky Craft Staysee 90's to boat 15 bass between 3 and 6 pounds! That is why I always say in fishing , "You won't know if you don't go!"

Mileage

2011-04-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

I'm always getting asked what it takes to make it as a pro bass angler. Well there is one thing that it takes that seems always to get overlooked in that "how-to" manual and that's driving: lots and lots of driving! It really came to mind for me last month when I left my house in Cincinnati at 4 AM with boat in tow in a downpour headed for Nashville to get my Ranger boat wrapped. Had to be there at 8 Central Time. From there, I was off to Arkansas for the FLW Event and then off to another lake to shoot an episode of Still's Reel in the Outdoors. About 1700 miles give or take 50. Trust me, if you can't handle long nighttime drives, pick another vocation! My best friends are definitely my satellite radio and my GPS. And yes, the GPS, she does talk to me... and sometimes I talk back to her...

Reanna's First Turkey

2011-04-03T21:50:00.000-04:00

I could't have scripted a better turkey hunt today! We went to a friends farm in Kentucky for the early youth hunt. My daughter thought it was so cool that we had to drive through a creek with the truck to get to our hunting spot.

I did have something very unusual happen though. Shortly after daylight, we were sneaking along an old logging road, calling every few minutes when I heard a faint rustle in the leaves behind me. I turned just in time to see a big mature coyote running full speed at us at twenty yards. My guess is that it thought we were a turkey breakfast.

I snatched the gun out of Reanna's hand and fired at the big dog as he closed within 15 yards. While the shot missed it was still good enough to scare some sense into him and send him packing down the hill. It shook Reanna and I up a bit, but pretty soon we were back in the hunt.

Shortly after, I was able to call in two mature gobblers, that came in running. Reanna made a great shot and her first turkey was a giant with a ten and 3/4 inch beard with 1 inch spurs!

Talking Turkey

2011-04-02T22:48:00.000-04:00

I actually had a Saturday at home! Since I rarely am home on the weekends when the kids are not doing school, I decided to spend some time with my oldest daughter, Reanna, while my youngest was taking her Saturday ice skating lesson.

I asked her what she wanted to do, and she said, "Let's go shopping!" My first thought was, "Oh Lord, why me?" Wrong.... She wanted to go to Bass Pro Shops to get a new pair of camo bibs for our turkey hunt tomorrow. (Kentucky Youth Turkey is open this weekend and she knew it.) We found exactly the right pair of bibs along with a matching t-shirt. I will admit that I do posess a great sense of camouflage fashion. Now, all I have to do is find her gobbler tomorrow and we'll be golden!

Reanna in camo

Reanna's first buck

Alaskan Brown Bear

2011-04-02T01:00:00.000-04:00

I had a chance to stop in to Bryan Equipment Sales training showroom to see my big Alaskan brown bear mount which was recently delivered. I took the bear with my bow in 2008 while filming a hunting show for Outdoor Channel. It is pretty bad when you have so many mounts that you have to get the area STIHL distributor to house one for you. It looked awesome! My local taxidermist, Mike Redding, said he put over 80 hours into the mount. It sure brought back great, but terrifying memories. You can see the video clip of the bear hunt on my YouTube hunting channel.

Fishing Rising Water

2011-03-31T21:06:00.000-04:00

Most of the Central U.S. has been hammered over the last several weeks by massive spring rains, and almost every lake I've fished lately has been on the rise and much muddier than normal. That being said, under those conditions, I have had some of my best spring fishing in recent memory!

Never let rising water keep you from heading to your favorite lake. Always remember that rising water (within reason) usually means new cover, an influx of food and stained water. Stain can be a big help in lakes that are typically clear. It brings fish to that new shoreline cover and makes them, well... stupid and easy to catch! You still need to avoid major creeks or drains that have super muddy or cold runoff though. Always remember to, "Rise with the water". The fish will as well.

Baits like Spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits that send off vibration are my personal favorites under these conditions. If the water is below 55 degrees, a jig with a big trailer tail can be very effective as well around that new cover, but if that water is 56 to lets say 64 degrees, it should be "game on" with the Spinner and Chatter. I like those better because I can cover lots more water...

Eating Like a Pro

2011-03-30T22:29:00.000-04:00

One of the toughest things for me to battle as I spend 200 or so nights on the road is what to eat. Try getting a healthy meal traveling down I-75 or in a Super-8 or Red Roof Inn. It's just not going to happen unless you prepare! For me, that means always packing packing essential food items for life on the road. I figure, if you can cover a healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks, you can almost always find the time and the place for a decent evening meal.

When I head out on a trip, at minimum I always carry with me, tea bags and sweetener, low sugar instant oatmeal, cream of wheat, protein and /or meal replacement bars, almonds or peanuts and microwavable Healthy Choice soups. It is also a good idea to pack an inexpensive electric boiler pot in case you don't have access to a microwave. My little food bin assures me that I will never go hungry while I'm traveling and can eat healthy throughout at least 75% of my day!

Seeing Spots

2011-03-29T21:07:00.000-04:00

Well, I didn't get the 6 pound Spotted Bass I was looking for, but we did catch another 15 or so beautiful Spots and wrapped up what should be another great episode of Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors! The water in the main feeder arm of Carters Lake was very stained due to all the recent rainfall and the bass were right on the bank and crushing a spinnerbait like only a Cooosa River Chain Spot can. All I have to do now is drive my rig seven hours to the house. Should be home before midnight and the end of this 13 day road trip. No problem!

Fishing for a Giant Spot

2011-03-28T22:20:00.000-04:00

Today was a long one for me. I packed up my gear and left my hotel room this morning at 7 AM, drove four hours to Calhoun, Georgia where I met my producer, Jim Kramer, and checked into another hotel room! I threw my bag in the room, changed into some warm clothes (it was 43 degrees and drilling rain) and headed on over to meet Louie Bartenfield on Carters Lake.

Our goal was to cash in on some of this little known lake's incredible spotted bass fishing for Stihls's Reel in the Outdoors. And cash in we did! In a little over 5 hours we caught 20 or so beautiful Coosa River Spots between 2 and 3 pounds. Tomorrow we plan to hit a different area of the Lake where Louie believes we could catch one of the 5 or 6 pound Spots he is famous for. Even after 11 days on the road and anxious to get home, I'm excited about the possibility at a true giant for our show.

A Perk of the Job: Great Fans

2011-03-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Pattern on the FLW-Lake Hartwell

2011-03-27T22:49:00.000-04:00

I was blown away by the size of the crowd at the final days weigh in at the Coliseum here in Greenville. It was a real grind on the water for me, only getting six bites all day, but my 11-15 limit was enough to move me from 10th to 7th place in the final standing on Lake Hartwell. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely happy! I felt like I maximized what I had to work with, only losing one fish the whole event!

For those wondering my pattern, here goes: I was fishing a 1/2 oz. Chatterbait on 17lb fluorocarbon line, which I was slow rolling in the back of stained water pockets up in the Tugaloo River. The key for me was targeting shallow pockets off the main river with shallow flooded shoreline grass. The key, though, was that they had to have a ditch with a little deep water running into them. A pretty basic pre-spawn pattern, but for me it was with $16,500 and a smile on my face!

Day 3 - FLW Lake Hartwell

2011-03-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

It was a squeaker, but I made the Top Ten Cut! I finished the day in 10th place with 11 pounds 4 ounces. Had it not been for an unfortunate mechanical failure causing Jimmy Houston to be late and ultimately disqualified, I would have finished 11th and sent packing.

The weigh in was held at the Convention Center in Greenville

and the fans really came out in force.

We signed lots of autographs and met some great fans!

Regardless, I'm in and proud of it. My only concern now is that the massive amount of rain we are getting will blow out the backs of the shallow pockets I'm fishing. I'll just have to wait till tomorrow to see if I'll need to go to Plan "B". Oh yeah, I just remembered, I have no plan "B"!

Made the Cut

2011-03-25T19:59:00.000-04:00

I made the 20 cut! It wasn't pretty, but I hung in there. The cold, bright, calm conditions were really not conducive to the shallow water fishing I'm doing. I got just enough bites on the Chatterbait I've been using exclusively to get the job done. I weighed five fish for 11 pounds 4 ounces.

I'm hoping the forecast of rain will help me tomorrow. Either way, I'm in the top 20 cut and very, very happy!

Stoked!

2011-03-24T19:48:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah! Sometimes you get the chicken and sometimes you get the feathers! For me it was definitely chicken today. What the heck! After all my whining about my tough practice, the wind blew hard today and I absolutely whacked them.

I had a 19 lbs. 10 oz. stringer, anchored by the Big Bass of the Day, a 6 lb. 10 oz. giant. I am so stoked! I'm sitting in 4th place. I know the conditions played a big part in my success today, but I made an adjustment and it worked. Tomorrow I'm just going to keep my head down an push for the top twenty cut.