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.

Scent Lok's High Places

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!

Putting It Together

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.

Made of Stihl

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.

Good Company

Today I continued to struggle in my practice round for the Lake Hartwell FLW, but at least I wasn't bored today!

Steve Redwine from Ohio

Steve, a co-angler in the tournament, fished with me today and kept me company. I caught seven keepers on various baits,  but still fairly small fish and I've found no area that I feel comfortable fishing the tournament  in.  I did see some big fish cruising shallow today which is a sure sign there are fish starting to spawn. Tomorrow is the off day. Can you say, "Sleep in!"

Getting Ready

Today, I had the opportunity to do a car commercial for Kerry Automotive, my truck sponsor. Man, did I have to pack a lot of info into that 30 seconds! No wonder those guys talk so fast in car commercials!  Later, I spent a couple of hours working on tackle to get ready for my second FLW Event on Lake Hartwell. Not much down time right now. Seems like every day, heck every minute is accounted for.  


I'm going to take my daughter, Reanna, out for her birthday tonight since I will not be home for the actual day due to the tournament. It seems like I average being home for about one birthday out of every three. I'm not proud of that, but it's just the way is when you have to travel as much as I do. Guess I better get her a really nice birthday gift, huh?

Final Day of Practice

My final day of practice on Beaver Lake didn't go well. The lake was fogged in until almost 9 a.m. (photo). I fished a total of 11 hours for the one 2 1/2 pound largemouth I caught. One bite... all day! The one thing about tournament fishing is that you do not always go to the best lakes at the best times! Hopefully the tournament will go better. Tomorrow is a much needed off day...

FLW Tournament on Beaver Lake

Today was my second day of practice for the FLW Tournament on Beaver Lake in Arkansas. This is our first tour event of the year. Today was one of those days I would have liked to have a desk job.... Yep, that is sleet in my boat! It was windy, rainy and never got above 40 degrees the whole day. The lake level is low and the water temps are in the mid-40's which is making a tough lake fish even tougher. 

I have managed to catch a couple of nice largemouths like the one pictured, but the bites are few and far between. I'm hoping to find out more tomorrow which is my last day of official practice...