Championship Round on Wilson Lake

For the past several days, the Ultimate Match Fishing Crew and I have been shooting the championship round on Wilson Lake in Florence Alabama. The fishing has been great, and the matches very exciting. I love this area and the people! Unfortunately, I have nearly lost my voice (probably due to the numbers of fish I have had to do commentary on). Guess I will have to rely on my co-host, Fish Fishburne, who is never at a loss for words...

Fish Fushburne and some of the UMF crew prepare for the days shoot

Behind the Scenes

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.

Shooting Aerial Footage of UMF

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

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

UMF: Do You Have What It Takes?

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!

Roy versus Lane

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

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!

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Exciting!

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.

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UMF: Another Great Match

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

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....

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?

 l

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

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

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! 

FLW Tournament - Day One

What a lousy way to start off the season! Today was definitely a struggle for me on the water despite prime, warm and windy fishing  conditions.  I had only 5 bites all day... all largemouths.  On Beaver Lake, the size limit for largemouths is 15".  Three were 14 1/2 inchers, one was a solid three pounder that I lost at the net, and finally the one 2 1/2 pounder that I weighed in. 

All my fish came on a crawfish colored crankbait in steep wind blown pockets. The bright spot in my day was getting my picture taken with a couple of young fishing fishing fans. Jaden and his little sister, Joclyn, whose parents are big fans of Ultimate Match Fishing and Stihl's Reel in the Outdoors. 

With the money cut being about 7 pounds, I'll have to catch at least 10 pounds, tomorrow to make a check.  Stranger things have happened!