Practice?

Allen Iverson- "practice? we talkin bout practice? not the game, not the game I'd die for, what we talkin bout? practice? how silly is that?"

Im toast... I had a request via email from a follower about my practice tactics. Well, this is what I do and this is what I've done. I essentially fish as much water as possible for the first 3 or 4 days. Cover water, cover water, cover water. What you are doing is eliminating water. As far as baits, you just try everything at every spot you hit and if you catch a fish, make a note about what you did, what time it was and what the conditions were. It sucks because everytime you find something that works you move on to something else because you dont want to burn up all your fish not to mention you absolutely have to find as much stuff that works consistently as possible. It honestly feels like you are wasting practice time doing this but you are slowly figuring out the things that work, where they work and when they work.

This week has been brutal in that its extremely hot, not much stuff has worked and in not many places but at the end of today I feel like I have a solid plan to get limits each day. Today was by far my best practice day and what made it good was that I went back to all the places that I felt would produce and that had produced during the week and all those things worked again. Its different now though because the tournament is only two days away so you CANT stick a fish. I dont know if people really now how freakin hard that is.  I had blow up after blow up on buzzbait and basically had to slowly put tension on the line to try to pull the bait from the fishes mouth (you can bend over your hook as well but I didnt want to screw up a brand new warrior baits buzzbait). I had one of the biggest bass Ive ever hooked on today and I basically had to lose her on purpose...That blows but if it gives me a better shot at her thursday then I have to take that chance.

So at the end of the day, you hopefully have a bunch of puzzle pieces that you are able to assemble. I hope to god I can put it together thursday...It felt and still sort of feels like one of those dam 10,000 piece puzzles of autumn leaves. LAME!

S.T.P.

The Misery continues...

Im trying not to let it get to me but all these mechanical issues is getting old. At Lake Norman my transducer temp sensor decided to take a shit on me (My HDS units are less then a year old) and now my front unit has decided to quit all together. DONT GO CRAZY!
Two more days of practice, two more days of 97 degrees and two more days till the reckoning...

S.T.P.

Tennessee...

Im getting smoked down here.  Ive practiced for 3.5 days now and I have yet to establish a workable pattern. Ive fished 100s of humps and points and Ive used about 50 different techniques and nothing is consistent. Holy Christ what did I do to deserve this! Ive got 3 more days of practice and right now Im about as low as Ive been since I signed up for these tournaments.

A few notes.

My truck got destroyed by the most wicked hail storm Ive ever encountered on the first day. My truck looks like a golf ball now. I took video of it, hopefully I can figure out how to work this whole uploading deal and you can see it for yourself.

Talked to Gerald Swindle today at B.P.S. he seems like a legitimate good guy, Im happy he is doing so well this season.

Casualty count... 1-G Loomis shakeyhead rod, $220 (broke) 1- Quantum Energy baitcaster $150 (broke)
1- GMC Sierra 4x4 2500, need estimate (hail)

This whole pro fishing scenario aint all its cracked up to be unless your at the top of the game and Im so far from being that its ridiculous. But Im commited and I wont quit.

Alot to say...

God, Im amped to get out of Ohio. Heading to Tennessee on thursday to start practicing for the 3rd and last stop on the B.A.S.S. southern open circuit. That will give me about 6 days of practice. Ive talked to a few people about the lake, got some good advice, loaded up with tackle that I think Im going to need and all thats left to do is rake the lake for some chunks. Deep clear water is not my deal so Im definetely going to have to adapt. What does that mean? I dont even know if I have the answer to that question. All the things I know Im good at revolve around fishing dirty water. Fishing in Ohio pretty much means your fishing dirty water unless you're on Erie. Even lakes that people consider clear lakes are nothing but mud in comparison to some of the lakes out west and in Tennessee. We just dont get that sort of opportunity on a regular basis so this whole game is going to be fairly new to me. Ive spent some time on Cumberland and a few other lakes in Kentucky but that is the extent of my experiences on that type of water.  What am I left with? I dont know but Im swinging for the fences, hopefully I dont strike out!

Filmed my first promotional video for Warrior Baits yesterday at Burr Oak. Editing is underway, I will post it on here and on YouTube when its done. The idea is sort of unique in that there is more creativity involved in the videos we are making. These vids arent going to be the run of the mill "how too" type deal. Hopefully if they come out the way we want them to you will be somewhat entertained at the same time as being a little informed. The idea is to get Warrior Baits products out there on a more mass scale but at the same time not sound like a lame commercial. A little bit of comedy mixed with a little bit of an edge sprinkled with some tips and of course some bass. We are going to work on a bunch of them throughout the summer but the first one will prob be out in a few weeks.   Late, S.T.P.

Alum Open....

Thank god for my partner, Tom Lacks. Dude is one of the better smallmouth fisherman around. You all know him as Thick Rick on your favorite Columbus rock station 99.7 the Blitz. We finished 3rd today with a little over 9lbs, all smallies, 3 were very nice, the other two cost us a win. Congrats to Mike Reeves and Marshall Yarnell on their win with a sweet bag of 10.5lbs give or take a few tenths.

Alum Creek smallies are fun to catch if you know where to get them. Get out on those rocky points and drag your favorite lures around, mine happens to be a Warrior Baits Reaper. Im not even sure Brandon is still making them but they are sick for smallmouth fishing. Glad I got loads of them to last me for awhile. As soon as Thick Rick sends me the pics, I will post them and give you a little more detail about how to catch them at Alum. Should make for a good pic. Later peeps.

S.T.P.

Old School...

I used to fish Lake Rupert in Vinton county almost daily. My dad would drop off my brothers and I at the lake, we would fish all freakin day, then he would come get us. I havent been fishing there for 15 years but I know that lake like the back of my hand. So when Brandon Estep(above) from Warrior Baits asked me about some hot spots on the lake, I obviously told him everything I knew. Im sure he was thankful because the beast he caught had NOTHING to do with the info I shared. LOL. Thats why we practice huh.  That big one was caught on a 4" Warrior Craw and it weighed 6lbs. If you havent picked up some of those craws, your missing the boat. Insanely versatile (trailer, texas rigged, punching matts, with skirt without skirt, swimming etc) a must for anyone fishing heavy cover.

Bed Fishing...

I am self-admitedly terrible at bed fishing. I do alot of things wrong, I am usually not properly prepared for a bed when I stumble accross one and when I say stumble, thats usually exactly how I find a bed, by accident. I have never spent a day totally sight fishing for bed fish and my experience fishing on beds compared to the Elite Series guys is pretty much non-existent. Living in Ohio makes it a little tougher to do it as the lakes are small, usually pretty dirty and our springs seem to be more windy then other parts of the country (I could be wrong but it just feels that way). Needless to say, getting better at fishing for spawning bass is a major goal of mine. To my credit, I have caught plenty of spawning fish, the smallies that I target at Alum Creek are up on the points that I fish because they spawn there. Alot of the largemouth that I catch throughout May are indeed spawning, but I catch them sort of blindly, not really knowing where their bed is but just casting at targets that would likely hold a fish, some of those fish happen to be spawning.

I read and research just like anyone else and one of the things I have been researching is bed fishing. I stumbled across this guide much like I stumble across beds so if you suck at bed fishing like I do, then maybe this link will help you like I think it will help me.

S.T.P.

http://www.bassfishin.com/blog/bed-fishing-spawn-bass/

Its On

Just got word from Fletcher Shryock that he has been awarded a slot at the B.A.S.S. Southern Open at Douglas Lake in Tennessee. Thats great news for me since now I dont have to worry about giving up my slot. So now the preperation begins. Actually, Ive been preparing for this tournament since I got back from North Carolina. Douglas is not like any lake in Ohio. Its big, deep, and clear. I have fished lakes similar to this lake but its been awhile and I have no idea what the lake will look like when we get there. All this rain the south has gotten will likely effect the fishing. I have a few ideas of things I want to try but Im going to keep an open mind about patterns and locations. Im also going to try to get down there a day earlier then Ive went in the past, hopefully giving me an extra day to fish, god knows I need all the practice I can get.

For all the NBA fans out there, Lebron James can suck my crank.

S.T.P.

What I Love..

I love me some American muscle. Both me and my wife have a weakness when it comes to cars. Every time we get one payed off, we buy another. Only problem is, I have ran out of space for my "investments". In recent months I have considered selling all three of my prized possesions so that I can really put my best foot forward when it comes to fishing but my wife continues to remind me that nothing will be gained by selling our nest eggs. Nothing like a "nest egg" that roars and growls at you when you step on it!

My 69 Camaro and My 04 GTO

I know this isnt a car blog but I have some advice for those of you that have the storage space, the funds and the stability. Buy cars. Not just any cars though. Buy ones that are cheap now that are likely to appreciate. The right cars hit a bottom in value at some point and after that all they do is rise. Late 80s, 90s and early 00s Z28 Camaros and SS,s are good ideas. The latest GTOs (04,05,06), any car thats considered nothing more then a used car now that is rare, powerful and fast are perfect investments for tomorrow and its alot more fun having a wicked muscle car in your garage then owning stocks!

Burr Oak tonight...

Had to blow off some steam, so I went down to Burr Oak to take it out on the fish. There is a great bunch of guys that have a tuesday night pot tournament down there. 18lbs in less then 3 hours on an Ohio public inland lake, not bad for a non pro huh?

Also, forgot to mention, every ounce of that 18lbs was caught on a black with gold blade Warrior Baits Buzzbait. The nastiest buzzbait on earth. Not all buzzbaits are created the same TRUST ME. Take a look at them yourself if you dont beleive me. http://www.warriorbaits.com/.

The Curve...

When you think about curves, you think about catching a break, getting some sort of a handicap based on the way things have went in the past. In fishing there is no curve, what you see is what you get, the board is face value and it doesnt lie. Anything that happened on the water that you cant see on the board is nothing but an excuse. I lost this fish, I lost that fish, I broke down, I broke off, yada yada yada. The board has no sympathy and its the only thing people see in the end and all it shows is one thing, did you catch them.

I welcome new comers to the tournament world but I loathe people that say they can do it but they never try nor have any intention of ever trying, why? Because in reality, they have no confidence in themselves. One excuse or another, its all the same. "I could do it, I know I could, I catch so many bass, Im just as good as those guys but..." but, but, but what?. "I dont have a boat"... Every big tournament I fish is filled with guys competing on the co-angler side that dont own boats. They live and breath fishing but for whatever reason in their life, they dont have a boat. It doesnt keep them from tournament fishing.
"I dont have the money". There are plenty of small bass clubs out there that would welcome you with open arms and they all have easily affordable pot tournaments nearly every week. For those of you that feel you need a boat, and you want a boat. There are boats in EVERY price range. I for one, do not look down on those in affordable boats because I would also do whatever it would take to be on the water.

The reason I am saying all this is because there are alot of haters out there. We just want the haters to know that we see right through your bullshit. We know that you talk shit about tournament fisherman because you lack confidence in yourself. We know that you dont really know how to fish and trying to be-little those that do is your only solace. Its the only thing that makes you feel better about not being able to do what we do. Jealousy, but not jealous of money, or life, jealous of skill.

Those that are on our side, we know who you are and we get you, you get us and we appreciate it. Those that arent, your all just a miserable group of fisherman and yall can keep your neighbors pond to yourself cuz its the only place youll ever win a tournament, in a field of one.