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Seaguar has already built a lasting reputation for making the finest fluorocarbon lines on the market but today I'm happy to announce the release of their much anticipated Kanzen Braid and Senshi Monofilament. These two new lines are joining an elite lineup but for very good reason.
Senshi Monofilament is strong yet very supple and has the best cast ability of any line I've ever thrown. Senshi makes for great topwater line but I'm very excited to use it in all my carolina rig leaders and even more excited to employ it on my jerkbait rod for those cold days on the water.
I'm stoked about the Kanzen Braid! I've been waiting for someone to come out with a braid of this caliber. It has a thin diameter but is as strong as any proven braid on the market. One area in particular that sets this braid apart is that it is a waxless braid, perfect for spinning gear. It doesn't dig into your spool like other waxed braided lines do. Couple this with a Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon leader and you have all the best elements for the perfect spinning rod setup.
Check out any of the Seaguar lines at your local tackle store and see what it's like to fish with the world's #1 fishing line.
I'm happy to announce that one of Japan's leaders in tackle manufacturing, Biovex and myself have come to an agreement that will highlight me sporting around the freshly wrapped Ranger showcasing the Biovex logo's as I partake in some of the highest national level pro tournaments the U.S. has to offer. Taking a giant jump forward in my quest to compete in a Bassmaster Classic and a FLW Forest Wood Cup, as well as attempt qualifying for tour level play.
Biovex is preparing for their highly anticipated release to the U.S. market in early 2012. I'll be out putting their innovative and quality baits to the ultimate test, trying to work my way towards the top of the pack of professional bass fishing.
My Ranger is in getting wrapped as we speak. Here is a template of my boat and what it will look like when it's complete.
I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished product as soon as it's ready to hit the water.
In anticipation for the 2012 season when I plan to make the jump to the Opens, Everstarts and/or PAA Tour events, I'm using this time to learn and progress myself as much as possible. Preparation is key and though I understand there will be a significant learning curve, I still plan to put myself in position to succeed. This is a major opportunity for me and I plan to take full advantage. I'm working on my weaknesses and mastering my strengths by trying to be on the water every available second. For instance, there's a certain lake that has always been a tough lake for me when the smallies are shallow. If there not in 25 plus feet than I often enough find myself looking from the outside once it's time to hand out checks. So when the opportunity came to get out there with my buddy Ryan Brant just for the fun of it, I was all in.
We were able to help each other become a better angler. I helped tune him into a deep bite and at the same time I learned something from him when the bass are shallow. In the end I was slinging 4 pounders on the new Biovex Kolt Fish Tail like I'd been doing it all my life. Now because of that I built confidence in methods that have historically got the better of me, making me a more versatile angler.
All for now, heading out of town soon to one of my favorite places in the world! More details on that soon.
Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN
Today was my first event on Lake Minnetonka as my team tournament partners for these events, Ryan and Corey Brant took the first one in early Spring. They were good enough for a rock solid 10th place finish and with this years Team of the Year money being so lucrative, this was a huge start. We've never started out this good in the past and historically the early season tournaments aren't our best showings bit somehow someway we always manage to fight our way to the top through the heart of the summer and into the fall and find ourselves in the top 12 come end of the year shoot-out time.
We seem to have a better handle on the lake come summer and fall but this year we put in some hard fought hours better understanding where these bass are in this odd post spawn transition. I literally found myself on the water every available second the last few days leading up to this tournament. Through a lot of trail and error I was able to figure out a couple things and felt I had enough numbers that my only concern was quality bites. In hindsight, this was probably a good problem to have being that we usually have quality but seem to never have the quantity and always seem to have a teeter totter bag, five giants and 3 rats.
Paired with me was the younger Brant, Corey aka Core Dogg. Corey coming off a quality smallie tournament on Green Lake were he and his brother Ryan finished 4th, was chomping at the bit to get out and cash another check. We all fish a lot of tournaments all over but to a lot of die hard Minnesota bass anglers the Denny's Minnetonka tournaments are really a big deal, it's truly the best of the best and the anticipation for these events is honestly very high.
Unfortunately we were boat 50 out of 51, sucks but to be quite honest this was the tournament for this to happen, we really didn't have any one place we needed to go. I really don't like to get into details on patterns and tactics on Lake Minnetonka but I will say it was a fun day all together. We caught a ton of fish and a limit was no problem, it was pure pandemonium for a little while, one would set the hook and drop one in the livewell and the other would then set the hook and do the same. We were rotating perfectly for about two hours. The only issue was that we had a limit of two pound bass but we had both landed a nice three to three and a half pounder.
We started looking for kicker fish and really found it to be a challenge, we made a few small culls for around one or two ounces at a crack until Corey busted a nice 4.6 lb largemouth and now we knew we were right there. We still had a couple hours in our day and knew we needed one more to be right there and two more to bust the top three.
We ran as much high percentage big bass spots as we could squeeze in but it wasn't till about five minutes remaining that I popped a real good bass that surged us up about a pound in a half. We made some last second desperation casts but in the end was one fish away yet again. We weighed in with 24.1 pounds good enough for 9th place. The good start should find us in 2nd or 3rd in the Team of the Year race heading into the summer. In that aspect, neither of us could ask for better. It's setting up to be a fun season on Lake Minnetonka!
Stay tuned to JD Fishing, I have some real exciting news coming in the next few days!
See you on the water!
Lake O' Dowd, Shakopee, MN
Preparing for this tournament wasn't tough at all since I grew up just a couple miles from the boat landing and still do most of my guide trips on this very body of water. One may think I should have this one in the bag and in the summer months when the bass go deep I would consider myself a tough one to out do but this time of year the bass are shallow and big bass at that. It was truly anybodies ball game.
I was paired with fellow fishing buddy Rich Lindgren for this event which wasn't really the most ideal pairing in that we were sitting first and second in the Angler of the Year race with Rich slightly edging me by less than a pound. I new I had the water to do well in this event but new damn well Rich would stick his fair share of them. We fish together pretty often and are used to sharing the front deck, why would today be any different? We decided we'd just act as if we were out fun fishing and rotate on the trolling motor.
The action starting slow which was a surprise to say the least. I had a stretch that I found in practice that I honestly thought both Rich and I could put 14 pounds in the box within the first 30 minutes. Not the case. Instead we left the first couple spots with nothing to show.
Success was to be had and after a mind boggling start we finally got our act together and started setting some hooks. Rich and I went blow for blow all day, culling lots and often but upgrading only ounces at a time. We joked all day about who had the better bag, both thinking the other did of course. Our main pattern was ultra shallow water because the snowy winter made for some high water and the fish were literally on the bank. Most my fish came on a Lake Fork Ring Fry with a 4/0 Trokar Magworm Hook.
Knowing we needed a kicker fish, Rich and I decided to hit a deeper spot that I knew the bass would use as a transition from shallow water out to the deeper water. Basically the weedline forms a underwater point between to spawning flats and also has some mixed in rocks. Both Rich and I were able to catch a few on football jigs, I was using a 1/2 oz. hand tied Picasso Fantasy Football Jig.
Back at weigh-in I really wasn't surprised to find out the overall weights were up. This lake is loaded with 5 pounders and I've seen my fair share of 6's and 7's as well. Actually there was a donkey of a 6.45 lb. largemouth that got weighed in as well.
I finished with 5 for 15.71 lbs. and good ole' Richy finished with 5 for 16.01 lbs. barely edging me out and adding a few more ounces to his AOY total. If I had my choice I'd take 15.71 pounds for 5 in every tournament I fished and would cash checks in almost every event but this time it was only good enough for 6th. Just like I said to the boys, "I'm on 15 pounds unless I crack a kicker or two." I had a bag of all 3 pounders and just never popped that big bite I needed to jump up into the top 3. Though I have to admit, Rich and I had a great time whacking on 'em all day that's for sure!
On another note, Lake O' Dowd sucks, stay far far away from it. ; )
Medicine Lake, Plymouth, MN
I've lived in the Twin Cities most of my life and fished most every lake in my immediate area with one exception, Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN. I guess whenever I travel to the North West Suburbs I just assume launch the Ranger on good ole' Lake Minnetonka. Maybe I should reconsider from time to time.
I'm usually fishing Lake Minnetonka this time of year with a three man team in myself, Ryan and Corey Brant. Being that I was wrapped up in a few things this Spring when it came time to divide up the "Tonka" schedule I opted to sit back the first few events out there so that I could take care of some other obligations and set it up to not miss a single other event out there the remaining of the season.
This strategy also made way for me to jump in to some good ole' Gopher Bassmaster Events and since I had always wanted to fish Medicine I figured this would be the added motivation to get out there.
I always heard very good things about this body of water so I was eager to take a couple days to check it out before the event so I wasn't running around blind. I was able to get out with my lovely wife Bri on Monday afternoon for a few hours and then again Wednesday morning for another rendezvous. Basically practice was as good as I could expect and as good as I heard it would be. I managed to bag up close to twenty pounds both days and still pulled on a bunch that I never felt needed to get hooked. The bite was good shallow, boat docks and sight fishing. I really couldn't ask for a better scenario unless I could get freak nasty on 'em out on rock points. Unfortunately I never did find that bite but it would of made it a little cooler.
I was mainly using a few different rigged soft plastics with Trokar Hooks and Lazer Tungsten Weights. With all the panfish activity going on I also managed a few really big bites on the new Biovex Wake.
Tourney day I was last boat to take off and found a few competitors already occupying some rows of boat docks that I had pulled on what I thought to be nice fish. My first few stops provided me with nothing but a bit of anxiety, the boat docks weren't coughing up a single bite and the bass I had marked on beds seemed to already have moved off.
After two hours without a keeper bite and an attitude that needed a serious adjustment I decided to stick to the plan I had developed and just start looking for productive water. That's exactly when things started looking up. I figured the stretches I was working earlier in the week probably were getting more daily sunlight and therefor were most likely further ahead then other areas of the lake. So I set out and was rewarded quickly. With the sun getting higher I started seeing fish locked on beds in other areas of the lake. Even though they were on the smaller side I decided I best starting putting fish in the box.
First bass I spotted on a bed I was able to catch rather quickly, nothing to write home about but a bass is a bass. I kept working the bank and skipping docks but mainly kept my eyes peeled for active beds. I came across a nice cruiser and initially tossed a weightless Lake Fork Tackle Ring Fry at it and it just spooked out of sight. I made a Hail Mary type cast in the direction it was darting and wouldn't you know, "tick", I set the hook and just like that added a nice 3 pound bass to the box.
The remaining stretch I was able to limit out rather quickly all by sight fishing off of beds though still no quality at all, seriously I'm talking peanuts. I recalled a stretch of docks that sat right off an immediate quick drop and remember thinking to myself that come summer these docks would be insane. Thinking maybe these docks would hold a pissy rehabilitating female I set out and was surprised by what I found, quality largemouth locked and loaded on beds. The first one I came across looked to be about a 4 pounder and it didn't take much work at all to coax a bite. The remainder of the day I worked over bedding fish and was able to just find the time to cull out every last small one.
Headed back to weigh-in I new the bite had to of been tough on some but also new the potential of big bass in this lake could make for a big sack. I weighed in at 15.98 lbs. and managed to hold the lead until of course the very last boat, my buddy Rich Lindgren tipped the scale with an even more impressive 16.2 pounds, edging me out by only 2 ounces.
The competitor in me was obviously upset and to be edged out in the very end by a good friend whom we've always had added competition made it burn just a bit more, but with that said I had one of the better tournaments of my life and flat out had one of the best days on the water I've ever had. I've obviously caught plenty of bigger sacks in my day but never had I been so successful bed fishing an entire event like that. Every fish I saw and needed I eventually was able to coax into biting. I always thought sight fishing was my worst weakness but after this past year of actually putting in the time I can honestly say it's one of my strongest suits.
So far this season has been everything I was looking for, a fun, competitive and a educational year before upping the ante next year on the national circuits. Up next, Lake O'Dowd. A true gem.
These days I spend most all my time preparing and partaking in different bass tournaments that I don't get the time to do as many guided bass trips as I once did. This is a serious down fall of being a tournament angler because I happen to enjoy being a bass guide. Why wouldn't I? I get the opportunity to influence someone else and help show them the enjoyments that I cherish with every bone in my body. To just be able to get people out of their element and into mine is rewarding but nothing is as rewarding as seeing the look on their face as they hold up their personal best bass and then watching them let it go to be enjoyed another day.
I guess I could say I'm used to helping people keep a lasting memory that they'll reflect on for the rest of their life. Understand I don't take anything I've accomplished in bass fishing for granted but it's hard to remind myself of that when your doing it everyday. Though I have been accustomed to providing long lasting memories for my clients, it wasn't until a trip last week that some clients provided memories that I'll soon never forget.
Let me introduce you to two new friends of mine Kalai and Manju, two business men in from India and looking to go out and catch their first bass on lakes not anything like what they're accustomed to back home.
At first this was a trip very similar to what I've been accustomed to, meet them at the boat dock, introduce them to the fast boat and start teaching them to cast. Next came the fish catching and catching we did but it was their true level of sincerity and enthusiasm that slowly started taking me back. The true enjoyment on their faces could of been seen far and wide. It's their first trip to the U.S. and are feeling very fortunate to be in this situation yet all I could think about was how truly lucky I was to be able to have these two in my boat at that exact time. It goes to show how two far away and much different worlds can collide and provide an equally enjoyable experience for us all. The catching was good and the boat riding was exceptional.
Kalai and Manju, I know you had an awesome day but please know you provided me with an even better one, you helped me get back some of that enthusiasm that maybe I was forgetting. I can now say, I have friends as far away as India. Thank you.
Mississippi River Pools 3 and 4, Red Wing, MN
Talk about what I thought was to be polar opposites. Yesterday we were on the Mississippi River Pool 2 and today we find ourselves just 30 or so miles south on Pool 4. Pool 2 I was expecting to be a slug fest and the north side of Pool 4 I was expecting to be a limit grinder, get 5 and you're all good. Unless guys were planning on making the long haul to the south side of Pool 4 and fish the Wabasha area, the catching up in Red Wing can be a challenge.
I'm pretty familiar with the waters on these pools and would probably tend to favor Pool 3 as I've cashed a very rewarding first place paycheck fishing these waters two years ago at a BASSMASTER weekend Series event, though with the extremely high barge traffic this season locking through could be a huge mistake. So instead I focused all my efforts on the north side of Pool 4. Catching smallmouth would again be my forte but they were being overly elusive for me but because of the high water I was finding largemouth and pretty good sized ones at that. I decided I'd stay close to the launch point and basically fish the same style as I had planned on for Pool 2, flipping and pitching laydowns.
After burning up the first hour on tournament morning targeting largemouth, I decided it was time to see if I could better my luck on smallies. This was a great move as I quickly caught my first two within minutes, both on a shakey head with 8lb. Seaguar Invizx fluorocarbon line.
I then ran to a similar area to what I had fished the day prior while on Pool 2. To my surprise I couldn't get bit by any quality largemouth but was able to back off the laydowns and instead work the rock and catch quality smallmouth. This is a perfect example of how you need to fish the moment, all of practice I struggled to catch smallmouth but was able to catch largemouth. This time the largemouth weren't cooperating for me but the smallies were snapping. Feeling like I had to make a move I decided to run to an area that I hadn't practiced in but had past success on one or two lunker smallmouth. The area I'm referring to is a riprap bank that sits off the main river but is protected from the current. I caught a few right away on a Biovex Stangun Spinnerbait and then managed a nice 18" smallie on the shaky head. My very next cast I hooked up again but unfortunately this one didn't stay pegged. It happens but still leaves you feeling a bit empty when you know your right in the mix of things.
In the end I weighed 5 smallmouth for just shy of 10 pounds good enough for 7th place. I was very close and really just needed one good kicker to make a run at back to back victories but in this sport you have to be somewhat satisfied to be in the mix of things. In hindsight my only regret would be to not have stuck it out for a little longer in these areas as my good buddy and team tournament partner Corey Brant won the event and did it by dedicating his entire day to one key stretch. You live to learn I guess.
Up next I got lots of guide trips on the books and if anyone is interested in booking please be in touch. The local largemouth are keying in on the spawn and the whack fest's should be on like donkey kong!
See you on the water!!
Mississippi River Pool 2, St. Paul Park, MN
With Bri and I's upcoming plans to move south, the preparation has found myself on the outside of the hardcore Minnesota bass fishing scene looking in. It's honestly a tough pill to swallow but is setting the stage for big things and truly preparing me to be able to chase my life long dreams on the big stages all across the U.S.
I told myself that I was going to use this time to go back to the chalk board and remaster the basics and develop more skill that will be necessary to compete with the big boys. One way to do this was to go back to the grass roots of bass fishing and fish with the same individuals that I first cut my teeth with, the Gopher Bassmasters. These guys are some of the best sticks in the state and doing well here says a lot about your fishing ability.
The first tournament of the year was on Saturday and was on a venue that I'm very fond of, the Mississippi River Pool 2. This body of water suites my strengths very well. There's a lot of main river smallies as well as backwater largemouth.
For the most part, practice was a success though it was different than I had expected. I usually tend to favor the smallmouth on this pool but because of the delayed Spring and the very high water, getting the smallies to cooperate was a huge challenge. I knew they were getting close to grouping up and preparing to spawn but consistency was a big deal.
I instead focused my energy on largemouth and found an ideal backwater slough that I felt would be the ticket with winning this event. The largemouth bass in this area were preparing to spawn. During practice I was able to catch a few off beds with relative ease but with the weekend weather forecast calling for non stop rain and thunderstorms I knew sight fishing would be more than difficult so I instead planned to fish these key backwater areas very slowly and pay extra special attention to my line so that I could detect the very subtle bites.
Tournament morning I was one of the last boats to take off but because of my new Evinrude ETEC H.O. I was one of the first to get back to my key areas. I quickly was able to put together a limit within the first couple hours, because of the low light conditions I wasn't having to much success flipping the trees so instead I fan casted these areas with a hand tied 1/4 oz. swim jig and was rewarded very quickly. Once I had a decent limit put together I reverted back to flipping but keeping an open mind I instead started catching better bass by flipping the main shoreline where there was an abundance of grass, wood and most importantly rock shoreline. This was very key to have the three types of cover as the bass where spawning in these areas and I had to pay very close attention to my line as detecting these bites was extremely difficult. My main weapon of choice for this tactic was a Reaction Innovation Sweet Beaver with a pegged 1/4 oz. Eagle Claw Lazer Tungsten Weight and most importantly a 4/0 Trokar Magworm Hook. The Trokar hook was seriously a difference maker as the fish were not eating the bait they were simply trying to move the bait from the beds and then would spit it out and the sharpness and the over-sized hook would assure that they fish got stuck and stuck well. I went with 15lb Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon which seemed to be a perfect compromise between finesse and power.
Towards the end of the day the pressure really started to get to this area and I decided to take the last hour and try my luck on some smallies. This proved to be a very good decision as I was able to cull twice on two smallies around the 18" mark.
I weighed in 3 largemouth and 2 smallmouth for an impressive bag of 17.33 pounds and claimed the top spot at the first event of the season! It felt good to notch another victory but it felt even better knowing that I developed a game plan and stuck to it all day, trusted my instincts and kept my head under control the entire day. Something I've set out to master this season before throwing down in the years to come.
Tomorrow Pool 4!!! I can't wait!
Lake Okoboji, Okoboji, IA
Tournament season is finally upon us yet if you went strictly by the outside temperature and the ridiculous weather we've been having, you'd feel as if it were still the heart of winter. I'm not complaining, simply just sharing facts, as long as the water isn't frozen I'll be happily wetting a line.
I was excited to get in on this years Okoboji Open, the past years Ryan Brant and I had found some success down there. Two years ago we took second in our debut showing and last year Ryan and his good buddy fished the same bite and again found themselves in second place. The only place to go from here is to finally claim the top spot and no better time than now. Maybe the third time's the charm?
Unfortunately for the both of us we were unable to get in much practice time. With only having one day we decided to search out new water to go with our already successful pattern and hopefully get enough bites throughout the day to put together a winning sack. The practice though proved to be a challenge and finding quality water wasn't coming as easily as we had hoped. In fact, really we only found one maybe two areas that could possibly pump out a keeper and if we were really lucky would cough up a good one.
Game day didn't go as planned to say the least. The take off temp was hovering around 30 and with the 20 to 40 mile per hour winds the wind chill was at a staggering 23 degrees. We really struggled in our primary areas as the water temp shot way down over night and was completely effected by the harsh winds. Our hope was that the area would warm as the afternoon sun came out but since the temps never came up enough and the high winds were very persistence the water temp didn't cooperate. The areas never produced and though we did manage a few descent fish we were never able to fill a limit. A tough pill to swallow considering we banged out three good ones in a matter of twenty minutes. We both managed to leave a couple good bites swimming and in the end was on the outside looking in.
It was easy to find our mistakes, the largest being fishing off of memory. Bottom line our previous check cashing areas hadn't yet become ripe and are still a couple weeks from maturing. The late spring season has everything set back a bit and we didn't do a good enough adjusting to that. We also left a few out there and in a tough tournament where you don't have a lot to work with bites are key and need to get in the livewell. The result was a very disappointing 23rd place finish and to be honest it wouldn't mattered if we finished 50th, 23rd or 2nd, we came to win it and weren't even close. We'll chalk it up to a lesson learned and use it as motivation for bigger and badder tournaments ahead.
The past week has been awesome! It's been real cold and nasty around here but lucky for us the ice gave in just before the cold arrived so it's business as usual for a guy like me. I've been without a boat for the last couple weeks as I'm awaiting the arrival of my engine, which I'm happy to announce my brand new Evinrude ETEC 225 H.O. will be strapped on first thing next week! Lucky for me I got some good buddies who have as equally good boats and even better they all share that overwhelming sick desire to withstand the cold temps, 30 mile an hour winds and sideways rains for the chance to jack up on a fat ass dandy!
I'm not kidding either when I say we've been dealing with some unseasonable weather. A week and a half ago it was pushing 70 outside, since then we've been dealing with highs in the low 40's and snow. Then take in factor that I've been rolling shotgun behind some pretty damn good sticks and you could guess that getting good bites are few and far between when in reality the getting has been good! Real good!
What a day! The sun has been shining, the air temp has been well over 60 and with the future forecast the local lakes will be rid of their ice in no time. Better yet, today I ordered my new Evinrude Etec HO 225 outboard! Dude, I am straight jacked! I've put a lot of love into my boat that I just couldn't get myself to sell it. I have all the top of the line electronics between both Lowrance and Humminbird units and more importantly they are all rigged exactly the way I want them to be. I have a new jackplate and just mid last season I added a brand new Minnkota Fortrex 101 to the bow. All my boat batteries are new last season as well as new seat skins sitting next to me just waiting to be put on.
I also put brand new tires on the trailer as well as all new brakes and master cylinder. I even got a new swing away tongue. All this and my only real issue was my engine that has a bragable 1000 hours on it as well as a warranty that freshly expired.
I looked at pricing out a new boat but in the end, I really really like my boat and now that my new engine is on order I can simply concentrate on fishing and enjoy the fact that I have a all around new boat that is already pimped exactly to my liking.
Next in line will be matching Power Poles and trust me they'll be mounted on sooner than later.
See you on the water!!
Finally! The Sport Show is gone and passed! Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy working the shows but the ending of the show means fishing season is underway! The long winter is over and the temps stay steadying in the mid 50's, the lakes ice is on it's last stand.
The show itself went great. The Navionics booth was hopping as usual, everybody very excited about the new lake map application by iPhone and Android. The different vendors were very pleased as well as people were out in droves to cash in on all the deals floating around.
I got my new St. Croix Fiberglass Glass Rod for a great price and my boy Ryan Brant picked up a couple Shimano Stradic Ci4 4000 Spinning Reels for just over $160 a piece! Capra's Sporting Goods was selling G Loomis NRX Rods like they were the last rod made. I guess the words finally out.
I also got the privilege to hang out and have dinner with the walleye legend himself, Tommy Skarlis as well as Navionics own, Jeff Brodeur. Lets just say I'm glad ole' Tommy stays on the walleye side, I really wouldn't want to try to compete against that guy on the regular, dude's a stick! I got the opportunity to hear about whats in the works for Navionics and there continuing efforts of providing the best and most detailed maps available. It's real easy to represent a company when you have 100% confidence in them.
All in all, the show went great but now that it's over let the fishing begin! It's so sweet when I can finally exit a post with.......
See you on the water.
Today was my first day working the Northwest Sport Show representing the Navionics booth. I figured I should actually wait to bust out a preview post until I had actually experienced first hand what the show has to offer, before the masses make it out this weekend.
To my surprise the show actually had good attendance for a Thursday afternoon, so I'm banking that the weekend should be jammed packed. I'll personally be on sight all day for the remainder of the show so be sure to stop by the Navionics booth and talk shop.
There's some steal deals to be found out there as well. I mean come on, a guys got to get when the getting is good and I'm flat psyched about the new rod I picked up for a good deal at the Capra's booth. I'm a 100% G Loomis guy but today that changed to about 95% as I hooked into the new St. Croix Mojo Glass Rod. This rod is perfect for what I'm looking for, I won't tell ya what I paid for it but it retails for only $120 bucks! I know Loomis carries a similar rod, trust me I have a few, but this particular rod I'm banking to be very technique specific. I want to tell ya, but I'm not giving that up!
If you make it out tomorrow, Scott Petersen of Humminbird is slated to give a seminar on fishing electronics. Scott's the man at pulling your full potential out of today's electronic units. Don't be surprised if you see me taking a much needed break from the booth to pull a few secrets away to us on my Humminbird this summer.
See you at the Show!!
Let me first admit that I have been in a downright funk the past couple weeks. Thank God for my recent fishing trip out to California or I'd be in a straight jacket right about now. The utter lack of fishing is very disturbing for an individual wired like myself and the fact that we're so close, yet still so far away is haunting. For my readers that live south of the Minnesota border, you'll never be able to understand the pure torture us ten thousand lakers have to endure year after year. See our lakes have been ice covered since roughly December and this winter has dealt us a few substantial blows in that we've had very cold sub zero weather, record breaking snow falls which also lead to the inevitable, river flooding. The cold doesn't help in that it continues to make layers of ice on the lakes that adds days to the thaw meter. Yet just when we had some serious warmer weather and all the snow was close to thawed, we get blasted with yet another Canadian clipper that brings in another half foot of snow in the metro, over a foot up north and more temps in the teens. The result, an even longer winter and even worse river flooding which clearly means no fishing anytime in the very near future. Anyone that questions my soon to be move to Tennessee just purely is not wired like a true bass fisherman, or at least not an obsessed bass fisherman that probably has clinical mental concerns when it comes to the sport.
In hindsight, this period has been considerably worse on me than years past and anyone who's read my posts over the last few years knows that it's bad every year. I got a lot on my plate in the future and I don't plan on leaving a single crumb to waste. If things continue to go right, next winter should be my last here in Minnesota and even then I'll be spending a lot of time down South. Bri and I's move should have us down in Tennessee a lot next winter planning our living arrangements and my plan to make a run at the sport's highest levels should have me fishing year round, as I plan to fish events in the PAA Tour, Bassmaster Opens and/or the FLW Everstart Series. My anxiety level is literally off the charts and the one thing in the world that balances me out is simply not an option, but we're getting close, very close. I'll have a rod and reel in my hand in no time, right?
Being a junkie fisherman, I probably watch weather just as much as I do tournament broadcasts and now I can officially say we are on the mend. Looking at the 10 day forecast here in the Twin Cities we got highs in the 40's and 50's and rain, that's right I said rain, not snow. Nothing wreaks havoc on ice more than 50's and rain, except of course 60's, yes that would be even better but for now I'm focusing all my energy on positives so hip hip hooray for 40's and 50's!! Spring is here!
The next few days shouldn't be to bad for me either as I'll be working the Navionics booth at the annual Northwest Sport Show held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. A long weekend of talking shop is probably no cure for what I got but at least it'll burn up a couple more thawing days and at very least take my mind off the fact that I'm not fishing, which talking fishing isn't exactly the same but it's kinda close.
What's more exciting this time of year than watching the ice melt on all the major Minnesota lakes? Since it's impossible to actually watch the ice melt on all the lakes, the second best thing is the annual website telling us the progress. Follow link here.
I started and am getting closing to finishing a chore that will be rewarding in the end but is also a giant mess and that's going through all my tackle and cutting off old line, replacing terminal parts and reorganizing everything. This also allows me to figure out what needs restocking and it's a lot easier getting products now than in the middle of the summer when my favorite color plastics are all sold out.
Some other things that I have on the agenda or have already conquered are cleaning all the corks of my rods and checking guides for any nicks that would need replacing, as well as cleaning all reels that need a bit of love. Making some necessary boat repairs as well as servicing my trailer are also on the check list.
Lately I've been getting a influx of guide inquiries and dates are starting to book so if you have any desire to book a guided bass trip this year please feel free to contact me with any questions and to check availability.
Well I'll end my post and/or bitch session here so that I don't continue to ramble on and actually put myself back into my funk. Please, if you find yourself at the Sport Show this weekend stop by the Navionics booth and take a look at some of the new things they got in the works or just stop by to talk fishing, trust me I'm all ears!!
Bye bye Winter! Hello Spring!
Before I even get started, if you're reading this and find bed fishing for bass to be negative in any way possible by all means stop reading. My personal take on this format of fishing is actually better compared to that of hunting but with an even better take as I practice catch and release 100% of the time. With that said, I find bed fishing extremely intense, nerve racking and just a plain old good time. If you question my sportsman ethics than you clearly have no idea who and what I'm all about. I respect everyone's views, you don't need to respect mine.
On to the basics.
First and foremost, there is one common thing that a sight fisherman needs, a quality pair of polarized sunglasses. This should be common sense but when your trying to see the bass that you intend to catch, being able to see into the water without glare is highly beneficial. If you haven't been to the eye doctor in a while be sure you do, prescription sunglasses or contacts will obviously aid your sight. Also a large brimmed hat as well as a hood can also assist in blocking out additional light.
When sight fishing, it's equally important that you can see the fish and at the same time you don't want the fish to see you. Keep in mind what your wearing, a red shirt isn't the best idea. I like to wear colors that match the sky such as certain shades of blue or white and if there is a lot of cover around you than you may want to consider camouflage. I meant it when I said it, it's more like hunting than fishing.
When it comes to equipment you want to factor which species of bass your going after, whether it be largemouth or smallmouth. In my experience I consider smallmouth bass much easier to catch off a bed and therefor I don't change up my presentation all that much. I usually just use a spinning rod with 8 lb. fluorocarbon and whatever plastic bait seem to be best. When it comes to smallies you can simply chalk it up to their overall attitude, they don't care if your right there, they'll bite it damn it, it's just that simple. I've caught them before and placed them back on the bed just to make another cast with the same lure and catch them again. They got a bad attitude and frankly belong in a loony bin, that's why I love 'em so much.
Mainly I want to focus on tips to catching largemouth as I consider them much harder to catch while spawning. As a general rule, big mouths are much more finicky and more aware of their surroundings.
Equipment is a very big key in bed fishing. I've found a three step process of baits key to triggering a bite. It's a process, sometimes the first bait will do the trick and other times the third and final bait will do the trick.
My first bait choice is a white 1/2 oz. jig. I like the 1/2 oz. jig because it's heavier, gets on the bed quick and is easier to bring to life without pulling it off the bed. Really any jig will do but there is a couple modifications that I feel makes the jig more efficient. First I cut the skirt way down, above the bend of the hook. Largemouth aren't hungry this time of year but they are very territorial. Most of the time they'll nip at the bait and spit it off the bed, so I try not to leave them nothing to nip at without getting hook. The other thing I do is cut off the weedguard completely, again I don't want anything to come between me and the fish. I use white so I can see it, not for the fish. Again they're very territorial, more often than not they don't care what the bait looks like, they want it gone and there's only one way to get rid of something, their mouth, if bass had hands we'd never catch them off beds, pure and simple. I also don't use a trailer, again it's not necessary, always try to avoid the short strike.
If the area you are fishing is real snag filled than instead of the jig I'd go with a texas rigged plastic such as a weightless senko or a weighted tube or Beaver.
Lastly, I always have a dropshot close by with light line and a very dear to my heart certain plastic. If I wasn't sponsored by this company I'd honestly never open my mouth about these plastics, they are simply the best. I've used them before when they were prototypes on smallmouth and ran out within in hour. At Diamond Valley Lake in California earlier in the month, they outproduced every other plastic I had including California's precious Roboworm (Mourning Dawn). The bait I reluctantly speak of is the Biovex Kolt Fish Tail, a bait that comes to life in the water and quivers like no other bait I've ever seen. Also it floats, this is very key when bed fishing with a dropshot rig because I want that bait to sit right in front of the bass's face. Additionally the bait has numerous tiny holes going through it that aids in its buoyancy, I find a better trait in that these tiny holes produce small bubbles exactly like a live baitfish would.
On the terminal side of things I go with a heavier weight similar to the same reasons of the jig. I want the bait to get down as quick as possible and when I impart action I want the weight to be an anchor and keep the rig on the bed. The hook is very important and I go with the best out there, a Trokar Dropshot Hook. There isn't a sharper hook on the market and when I finally get that bass to bite, I want a hook that will bite back. Lastly I use fluorocarbon line mainly 8 lb. test.
One note on line selection that I feel is very important. Usually I try to use the heaviest line I can get away with almost all my regular fishing, the exception being when sight fishing. I know a lot of anglers would argue this point but while sight fishing I want to use the lightest line I can get away with, key words being "that I can get away with". The reason for this is lighter line will let your bait be more realistic and give it more of a natural action. When the key is soliciting a bite by annoying the bass I find this tip to be very crucial. Fluorocarbon always gets the nod here as well, when sight fishing you need to be always thinking stealth. Invisible is as stealthy as it gets so I'm always going to make sure the bass can't see my line.
Now that we're rigged for battle, it's time to catch some fish. This is by far the most addicting way to catch them for several reasons. This is the best time of year to catch a true trophy, the females are the largest and they're extra plump now. You can see the fish and have to initiate a strike without spooking her, way easier said than done. When I come across a fish on the bed the first thing I do is move on and make a mental note of where the bass is. Some people will mark the bed with a long stick or a weight/fishing line/bobber combo. This simply aids them in making accurate casts. I haven't used this but I can see how it could be beneficial. Basically once I spot a bass on her bed I'll simply trolling motor away and develop a game plan. Remember if you come across one on a bed there's a good chance the bass already saw you too. So calming the situation is key plus it gives you time as well. I'll position my boat so that my shadow doesn't cast over the bed, that would not be a good idea so sun in the face or better yet from the side would be best. I get myself to where I can barely see the bed and use the the fishes lateral line as a visual aid. It's like one of those 3D pictures, you stare long enough and you'll see nothing but the hidden image.
Once I feel like I'm in perfect position, I'd ideally drop my Power Poles. Unfortunately, at this time I don't have this anchor system on my boat but it is a must come this Fall when I'm rigging up my new boat. There are so many advantages to having Power Poles and this is surely one of them.
I'll start with the jig and make a long pitch past the bed. It's important to not cast it directly onto the bed as you'll almost always spook the fish, so instead cast beyond and swim it onto the bed. Now is a crucial time as you can see the mood of the bass. If the bass swims quickly off the bed and doesn't come back relatively quickly, you may be screwed and need to come back. If the bass spooks off the bed it's very important that you leave the jig on the bed until she comes back. You may not see the bass anymore but I guarantee she is watching the bed and the fact that there is something foreign in her space will most likely draw her back.
Now that you have a bass on the bed and your jig is also on the bed it's up to you to use your annoying traits and produce a bite. I start by lightly quivering the jig ever so seductively, meanwhile constantly watching the bass and paying close attention to how it reacts. With some luck on your side the bass will start showing signs of being highly annoyed of your jigs presence. An annoyed bass will nose down on your bait, start fanning it's fins trying desperately to intimidate your bait into leaving. Remember they're not hungry therefor they're not going to eat it, to get your bait in their mouth you need to make the bass feel like the only way this thing gets out of their area is by moving it and lucky for us they need to use their mouths to do just that.
If I haven't been bit yet, I'll start getting real erratic with the jig by making quick violent hops with the bait. If the bass turns broadside, I'll whack her on the belly with the bait, trust me it works, you'll get a similar reaction as you would if you hit on some UFC fighters girlfriend and then put your finger in his face after he confronts you. Through all this remember, if the white disappears, SET THE HOOK! The bass will simply crush the bait and spit it off the bed, so cat like reflexes are a must!
If all this isn't initiating a bite or you keep missing on the hook set go to your dropshot and nine out of ten times they grab it instantly. By doing this your creating a reaction bite, the bass was getting conditioned to your jig and all of a sudden another fish jumped on it's bed, game over.
I hope this gives a few readers a better understanding of bed fishing, it wasn't that long ago that I thought this style of fishing was by far my worst, but little did I know I'm pretty darn good at it, it just takes patience and practice. Please remember to be responsible during this time of year, the bass are reproducing and it's important to practice catch and release. There's no denying that bed fishing has a few negatives that come along with it but honestly I'd much rather catch a fish from it's bed before it's even laid eggs than to catch a male while he's protecting his fry and people do that all the time and not even realize they're doing it.
No matter what, please practice catch and release, it's for the livelihood of our sport and if everyone keeps the fishes well being in mind than there's no reason we can't all enjoy hunting our favorite quarry.
I sit here dwelling on the fact that technically it's Spring, yet just when all the snow was melting and the lakes ice showing it's vulnerability, we get blasted by a bunch more snow and a weeks worth of cold weather. To stay sane, I try to look forward to what's right around the corner and that is bass in the shallows preparing for the spawn. Naturally, I never considered the spawn one of my strong suites, I had tried a few times with less than perfect results but living in Minnesota it's hard to sharpen your skills. Minnesota has a closed bass season from the end of February through the end of May and usually the largemouth bass have mostly wrapped up the spawn and are already blowing up my frog in the shallow vegetation.
It wasn't until last April when I traveled down to Oklahoma to take part in a tournament on one of my favorite bodies of water in Grand Lake, just outside Tulsa. Three consecutive years I had made the trip to Grand with my buddies as a way to kick off the season and enjoy some fun fishing. Fun we had and I managed to get on a bite that pumped out giant staging females that were setting up for the spawn. When I found that there was a Bassmaster Weekend Series event going on I was all in.
I made the trip by myself and took part in a tournament that I really thought I had a better than not chance of winning. It didn't take long at all to realize that the pattern I had come to master the previous few years was a day late and a dollar short. Instead I was finding fish up on the bank spawning. Trust me, had I known this beforehand I would never had the balls to venture all this way and take part in a tournament that would require me to sight fish against a field that employs this technique annually.
To make a long story short, at first I relied on a shakey head to catch these fish by positioning my boat far enough away that I couldn't even see my quarry. I managed to use this technique to boat four descent bass and it wasn't until the last hour that I came across a nice one on a bed. I instantly spooked her and without any hesitation she fled for deep water. Knowing I needed this bass to show face at the scales, I made the commitment to stick out the last hour and throw it all in the wind for a chance at catching this fish using a technique that I've never found successful in the past.
I pulled my boat back and waited and after about 20 minutes she showed up back on the bed. Staying far enough back so that I could just barely see the bass I started pitching a texas rigged Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (Xmas Pumpkin) to the bed. To not startle the bass, I would pitch the bait onto the bank and gently pull it into the water and onto the bed. Instantly the bass turned and stared at my bait. I wiggled the bait a bit and the bass moved in for a closer look. After about twenty pitches to the bed the bass was really getting annoyed, fanning her fins hard and trying to kick at the bait with her tail. With time running out I quickly ripped off the Sweet Beaver and rigged on a white tube. As soon as the bait hit the bed I could tell I was going to get my chance, just then the tube disappeared and I set the hook to see a big ole' mouth come to the surface and just like that I had a 3.6 pound largemouth in the box rounding out a pretty solid limit. I can't even begin to count how many 3 pound bass I've caught in my life but that particular one sits in my top 3 catches of all time.
On my recent trip to Southern California I expected that a bed bite may be the ticket. It didn't take to long to realize that my assumption was dead on. For three straight days I honed my sight fishing skills and on the last day was even able to guide two friends from Biovex Baits to bed fishing success.
I had never considered myself good at sight fishing but now have all the confidence in the world and actually am looking forward to the next opportunity. Looking at my upcoming tournament schedule I see potential on two of my first events. One will be on Iowa's Lake Okoboji, which takes place early May. My educated guess tells me that it will be to early in the year but at the same time I'm a firm believer that the bigger fish spawn first and if not the case, having a understanding of where bass spawn will aid me in finding the prespawn females.
Another event will be the TBF Open on Lake Pokegama in early June. This event should definitely offer up some sight fishing opportunities as this lake is located in the far Northern end of Minnesota and the timing should be setting up perfectly.
Check back soon for a "Tricks of the Trade" segment where I plan on laying out some of the tactics that have proven for me. I'll go through bait, line, rod and reel selection, insight into spawning location, technique and differences between sight fishing smallmouth and largemouth bass.
Check back soon!
Diamond Valley Lake, the "Jewel" of Southern California. I've fished all over the country but never had the opportunity to head out west and get down on some of the world record breaking reservoirs that litter the golden state. Lucky for me, I had the opportunity thanks to Biovex Lures who was holding a meeting in Long Beach and invited me to come out and spend some time in the beautiful state. As far as the meeting went I do have some very exciting news but lets start with the fishing.
I have to admit I was a bit anxious the weeks leading up to the trip, for many reasons really but two main reasons were the long drive and before I could even fish Cali waters I had to get my boat passed through inspections and from everything I had been hearing, this was no walk in the park. You can imagine my anxiety level accepting the fact that I may be driving all across the country, over 2,000 miles one way and be told I wasn't fishing. Luckily, this trip was a blast from the very beginning and everything just went right. I passed inspections with flying colors. Basically, the state of California is trying to keep the infestation of the Quagga Mussel out of their precious waters and zero tolerance is zero tolerance. To be honest, they need to be strict with infested waterways such as Lake Havasu and the rest of the Colorado River so near by.
The drive was truly grueling, really much harder and much longer than I ever expected. The trip was so long that I had the new Dr. Dre and Eminem song, "I Need a Doctor" memorized within the first three states of the thirteen total that we traveled through. Try pulling a heavy Ranger Bass Boat through the Vail/Frisco Pass in Colorado's Rocky Mountains and you'll have a new appreciation for trailer brakes! Though with all that said, I do it again tomorrow! I got problems, I know.
Helping assist me in passing inspections as well as getting on fish was the local tackle shop Last Chance Bait & Tackle. Don't be fooled, this is your traditional Mom and Pop type shop but on steroids. I've visited tackle shops all over the country and this is easily in my top three, with a fighting chance at being my personal favorite. The husband and wife duo that own and operate the shop, Dan and Megan Merchant, stop at nothing to be sure they are carrying the very best products that the industry has to offer. A guy like me can get lost for hours in the isles looking at all the high end baits but also the very hard to get baits as well, including JDM products. Besides tackle, their staff is also full of local knowledge. This is something that shouldn't be taken for granted either. Again, I fished everywhere but there isn't anywhere that fishes like Southern California. Matt Magnone, one of their very experienced employees and a local DVL stick, offered up tremendous knowledge and better yet, I left there a far more experienced angler and know for fact that I'll take some of those techniques he taught me and cash paychecks all over the Eastern United States. Thanks Matt, your the man!
The fishing started out slow for me to be honest. I had done lots of research on the lake the months leading up to this trip and felt pretty confident in my plan of attack. I felt that the spawn would be just around the corner and that I just needed to probe some near by deep structure and I'd find loads of giant females staging to move up. I studied maps and previous reports and felt I had identified some key pieces of structure that would hold up, though inexperience on these Cali waters proved to much as I'm used to fluctuating water levels but not like this. The trees that I had seen on Google Earth were literally under water. The water that I was hoping to probe in 40ish feet was now in 70?? I still gave it my best and after burning up my entire first day I finally caught what I thought to be a giant ledge donkey and instead ended up being a nice striper. Let me tell you about a rush! You throw a football jig on 50 foot structure, feel that "tap" in your line and hook into what feels like a moving tractor, then tell me the thoughts that run through your head while fishing lakes that pump out potential world records like their hot cakes at a Sunday morning breakfast hot spot. To finally win the battle and see it's a striper on a football jig?? Cool, but not really..
Finally later in the day, I ventured shallow and started seeing some nice largemouth up on the bank. I worked one and caught my first largemouth of the trip that went roughly 3 1/2 pounds. I never thought of myself as a good bed fisherman but after this trip I'm pretty damn good. Maybe it's because I can be pretty annoying when I want to be so why wouldn't that work with my fishing? Let me assure you it did!
The next day I started my morning by heading back out to some deeper stuff and trying that again, a bit stubborn but in my defense I never did see any big females up shallow and was convinced that they were holding up somewhere. After again burning up several hours in the morning I started working shallow and right away was awarded with a quality smallmouth on a wacky rigged senko. I catch four pound smallmouth all the time back in Minnesota, but catching them here with a mountain filled back drop is a bit more rewarding.
After now catching two quality bass off the bank I started working my way around the banks and it didn't take long to start seeing the bucks up preparing the nests. The rest of the day I spent sharpening my sight fishing skills with success! I basically went between three different lures to do the job. First I would try the new Matt Lures U2 Flat Tail Ultimate Gill (White), this is a bad ass bait and worked real well. I didn't catch too many on it but it was very effective at annoying the fish so that I could easily catch them on one of my other two baits being a all white 1/2 oz. jig modified to be more effective on bed fish and a drop shot with a Roboworm (Morning Dawn) with a Trokar dropshot hook. There's really no better hook than these Trokar hooks, they're simply the best.
Throughout the days the fishing just got better and better. I was mostly catching males though and from time to time I would see giant females sitting in the flooded trees but after hours upon hours of trying to figure a way to yank on one of these toads, I ended up with a attitude of that's just plain a tough fish to catch. See this lake is known as a light line lake, seriously light line. I never got bit on anything more than ten pound fluorocarbon and that's even considered heavy line to the locals. The lake is gin clear and these fish aren't like any I've ever fished for, they really make you be on your game. I can foresee this year being very challenging on the fisherman because with the water up so high there is so much cover for these fish to hide in. Even worse, there's so much cover for these fish to break you off in. There's a common phrase I hear amongst the locals. Ask them what their big bass is and they'll spit out a ridiculous number like 11.6 pounds but they'll all follow it with "I've broke off a dozen or so better". That's just the beauty of the beast. The Jewel gives it and the Jewel will take it away.
The last day on the water I had the privilege of being joined by Katsushi, the owner of Biovex and Hiro, the owner of Zusho Venture Partners. The reason for my trip to California was to join in on meetings as Biovex who makes awesome Japanese bass baits, will be soon distributing to the United States. This is extremely good news, I've been fortunate to be using these high end baits for a few years now and have been very heavily involved in this new expansion. A lot goes into this kind of move and I've been assisting in developing a line of baits that will cash many paychecks for tournament anglers all across the US. I'm very lucky to be sporting the Biovex logo in 2012 when fishing the Bassmaster Opens and FLW Everstart Series in my push to qualify for the tour level.
Katsushi brought out some new baits that have been developed and we got to put them to good use. It's really a good feeling when the company that I represent makes a bait that out performs other baits that I had been using all week!! One such bait was the Biovex Kolt Fish Tail, a four inch morsel of love with a awesome hyper tail. Tip this bait on a drop shot and it comes to life. Another winning bait was the Biovex Kolt Stick and Kolt Shad Tail, these simply catch fish and there's really no other soft plastic on the market that resembles the detail and action that these particular baits provide.
Katsushi and Hiro went on to catch numerous largemouth their first time bed fishing and we all had a blast doing it. Unfortunately for me I broke off on two giants that day, just as I was explaining before, light line, nasty trees and giant bass don't mix. I easily broke off the two biggest fish that bit all week. Both were females that finally moved up and both found a way to break me off. Still cool though, in the clear water I got to see everything and so did the camera that was running. Stay tuned for the video of numerous bed fish and the tactics used to catch them! It was truly exciting!
In the end, I was slightly ticked that I was never able to crack that deep bite but with only a few days on the lake I didn't really have the time I wanted to be able to break it all down and sometimes the most obvious pattern is the one that will produce in a crunch. I still had a boat load of success and am pretty confident if a bed fishing tourney broke off there that I'd be right up in the mix. There wasn't too many that I couldn't get to bite after a little bit of work.
I also had a chance to hit the annual Fred Hall Fishing and Outdoor Show. I had a good time and got the opportunity to see some pretty sweet baits as well as rub shoulders with some of California's best fisherman. One such was Troy Lindner, son of famed Minnesota fisherman Al Lindner. Troy has clearly stepped out from his fathers shadows by making a name for himself on the west coast. Look at tournament results in Southern California and if his name isn't on the very top, it's surely a spot or two after. I especially like his Fit 4 Fishing, I take pride in staying in shape and truly believe it'll give me an advantage over my competition and Troy's expertise in this field is second to none. Check out his website at www.fit4fishing.com for more information.
Now back in Minnesota, Bri and I can say we had one of the best trips of our lives. Besides fishing and the business end of fishing we also had the chance to visit some nice restaurants as well as some sweet vineyards, you know, things to make my beautiful bride happy of course! To be honest, everything went perfect and I'm very excited to know that I get to go back yearly!
On another far more important note, I want to send my condolences to the people of Japan for the catastrophic series of natural events that occurred there. It hit close to home for me when my friends from Japan had to sit and watch the devastation thousands of miles from home. We need to do something to help the country of Japan and it's people. Here is a link to a donation site if anyone can and wants to help out. Follow Link Here.
