Happy Turkey Day!

Well there's no denying it now, winter is right around the corner and the fishing around here has turned ugly, in fact I was skunked for the first time in a few years just a day ago. Actually lets keep it real, I was skunked twice in the past couple days. Water temps have dropped into the high 30's and the overnight temps have been hitting single digits, everything is covered in snow and as of yesterday, all the lakes have officially froze over.

Sadly, I dropped off my boat to be winterized. Fortunately, I don't expect it to stay that way long. I plan to head south several times this winter to continue to learn other bodies of water. Still though, it's depressing dropping the boat off no matter how positive you try to look at it.


I've been keeping busy by upgrading some tackle and equipment as well as selling some rods and reels. I've also been closely considering which tournaments would fit me best next year. My not so long term goal is to start fishing the Bassmaster Opens and FLW American Series as a pro, though I plan to take 2011 to get ready for that. Looking at new trucks, working out stuff with my sponsors as well as taking one more year to get to know these national level fisheries, to give myself a running shot at making it at the higher level without to many setbacks. I'm already looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead, but sometimes the behind the scenes business is as important to ones success. It's a commitment I'm more than willing to make, but I'd like to get as much of the odds in my favor as I possibly can. One things for sure, the heart's in the right place.

Other than that, Bri and I are headed out to Colorado to visit my Dad for the holiday. He bought a bar in Idaho Springs last year and has been eagerly making changes and it's finally finishing up. The name of the bar is "The Vintage Moose" and it sits a couple blocks away from my Step Mom's store "The Wild Grape". Bri and I both are overly thrilled to get out there and enjoy good drinks, great food and nothing but smiles over the weekend!

As soon as I get back though, I'm looking forward to take out my Minnesota Vikings aggression on some winter smallmouths! Seriously, it's on!

Also, please check out my "Video" portion of the website, I put up a couple new ones. One is on deep water cranking with the Biovex Deep Runner for largemouths and the others on finesse fishing late fall smallies. Both are full of good lessons as well as some quality fish catching action!

Until then, everyone please have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey Day!!

Tackle Update: TroKar Hooks

Source: Matt Gray, Basszone

Lazer TroKar, the newest and sharpest fishhook on the market is cracking skulls, drawing blood, dominating the competition and battling it out…

Introducing the awe-inspiring line of Lazer TroKar fishhooks… for those who aren’t just out to catch fish, but are out to win. A hook with a point designed in the medical field, shapes perfected on the pro tour and manufactured with cutting edge technologies right here in the USA.

TroKar – The only hook using patented Surgically Sharpened Technology has produced the wickedest fishhook ever made….just ask their Senior VP who managed to embed one in his skull during testing, or Skeet Reese who actually drew blood the first time he handled them. Or maybe Shaw Grigsby, the honorable and venerable Godfather of bass fishing, who was as giddy as a schoolgirl on Christmas morning to get his hands on the first production of TroKar hooks. The multi-faceted, freakishly sharp point on the TroKar fishhook is only the beginning. They used ultra clean, cold forged high-carbon steel to beef up this bad-boy. They tweaked the tempering process, amped up the wire diameter, perfected the barb profile and wound up with a gnarly instrument that will slice through a jugular. Go ahead, set the hook like you actually mean it. Feel the strength and confidence course through your veins as you realize you are now playing in the big leagues, with big boys and sharp toys.

The Relapse

Addiction - the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular thing, activity or substance.

Relapse - a deterioration of one's state after a temporary improvement; to return to a worse state.


It's been a whole four months now since the day it came crashing into my life and filled me with such a rush, something that I had never before experienced and one that I truly had a taste for. That first cast, what a feeling. It was like I was doing something wrong but everything felt so right. The sound of the bait smashing the water and creating the most enticing ripple, exactly the same sound as feeding bass when their boiling up on bait. The slow and painful yet methodical retrieve of the six inch morsel as it just barely quivers through the water column, looking and acting as natural as can be duplicated without the very hand of God. Slowly pulling the bait through the thickest of vegetation clumps and just as the bait slides through that last clump of foil it gets hit like a freight train, knocking slack into your line just as forceful as one can only imagine.


As you reel down to try to catch up with the chaos that has occurred under the water you set back to penetrate the hook and every muscle in your body restricts as your impeding on nature's most severe course. The feelings that start flowing in your brain are a blur as your body starts releasing endorphins leaving you in a sedated state of mind. These heightened emotions quickly become frantic fear as you see the mouth of a fat five pound largemouth break the surface with nothing but a single hook of the Weedless Huddleston Swimbait lodged in her mouth. Sure you've fought thousands of bass before but none like this, the amount of energy a five pound slonch puts into destroying a six inch swimbait is nothing like anything you've experienced before. The brute strength of such an impact is as addicting as it gets.

Finally, as you reach down to lift that fish into the boat, all that emotion comes to a head. What a feeling! Insane to say the least. As you reach your hand all the way into that fishes mouth to pop free your Hudd, you can't help to let out a scream! You dive to hug your fishing partner like you just caught the game winning pass in the Super Bowl. As you lift nature's trophy into the air for the picture, your smile shows the evidence of a truly affected soul.


And then it starts. As you lean over the boat to release the fish you feel more like your releasing the moment. As that brute swims back into the darkness your left with that unsatisfied feeling, the urge to want more.

Like I was saying, it's been four months since the weekend I spent being introduced to the real advantages of throwing large swimbaits. That weekend I learned a lot. There is truly a time and place for those baits and there's not a body of water in the country that they will not be effective on in the right conditions.

Since then I'll have to admit that it left me in a different state. I refer to swimbait fishing in my experience as one does to an addiction. To some I may be throwing that word around a bit loosely but really I'm pretty spot on.

Ever since that weekend I've wanted nothing more than to relive that but never found the opportunity to do so, or at least never had the kahunas to actually trust in it when the money is on the line. When my same buddies asked me to come up over deer hunting opener and cash in on that late fall bite, I was all in!


My good buddy Eric made the trip with me as he was wanting a taste of the dark side himself. As we dumped in on Saturday morning we were met with a stiff cold wind and temps in the mid 30's. The water temp was floating around a chilly 42 degrees and all the trees in the area were vacant of their leaves. You could see the blaze orange spots in the woods where deer hunters were sitting in their stands.

I couldn't have made more than a few casts when I felt that unmistakable rush, that very same feeling that I yearn for. As I flipped that giant into the boat Eric's eyes light up like a christmas tree as he tripped over the seats desperately trying to get to the swimbait I had given him to tie on.

Just like that it was back, I'm telling you one fisherman to another, there's no better way to catch them. The thrill itself is so rewarding that I bet a guy can easily remember every swimbait fish he catches. Heck, I can't get rid of the vision when a big one loads up on the bait and gets off. Talk about being punched right in the gut. It's utterly painful to endure. The "what if's" that flow through your mind.

After missing a few bites, my buddy Eric fashioned a stinger hook that was really quite impressive and one that I'll use 100% of the time I'm throwing these particular baits. In fact, the little invention quickly rewarded him with his first swimbait fish, a bass barely shy of six pounds caught by the stinger! The Hudd strikes again! Let me ask you, do you think he dropped that bait again? Another statistic to swimbait fishing.


For those of you that think swimbaits are just for California and wouldn't work on your tournament pressured lake, your wrong. It's weekends like these that prove this theory, I never got bit on any other bait the entire weekend. These baits attract big fish. Before winter freezes up your honey hole, get out and see what your missing. Come and play ball on this side, where the grass is always greener!

See you on the water!

Finessing Autumn Smallies

As the brisk autumn air continues to bring cooler temps, here in the north country, we're forced to get things ready and prepare for yet another frigid Minnesota winter. Luckily for guys like me, the smallmouth in the area are forced to follow suit. To prepare for a long winter the bass are loading up in big schools and eating like piranhas, trying to fatten up as much as possible.

My good friend Rich Lindgren and I were excited to be able to get together and set some hooks as well as capture some good video footage for our respected filming ventures. I figured we would have a good day, but being we were getting out on the coldest morning of the year thus far, I didn't expect it to be as good as it really was.

I awoke to temps in the mid 20's and after busting out a stocking cap and Under Armour, as well as filling the Thermos with some much needed coffee, Rich and I were on our way.


We were fishing a small feeder river, north of the Twin Cities. Right after we launched we instantly noticed how much current we had to deal with. This past week we had lots of rain as cold fronts started pushing into the area and as a result the water was high, a bit dirty and was kicking substantially more than one would expect for this time of year. Also the water had dropped a good 15 degrees from just a few days ago and was now hovering in the low 40's. When you start thinking of all that was working against us it was surprising that neither one of us were overly worried. The reason for this is simple, no matter the current conditions, these bass know that their living situations are only about to worsen and if they want to stay healthy through the winter than they need to be sure to get while the getting is good.


Rich and I start by throwing some reaction style baits and working a shoreline not far from the ramp. I started out throwing a Rapala DT-Flat 3 and a Biovex Stay 80 Jerkbait. Rich was going in between a Storm Wiggle Wart and Ima Flit Jerkbait. It didn't take much time for myself to come to the realization that I needed to finesse it up and right away I found myself switching up to spinning rods equipped with 8 lb. Seaguar Fluorocarbon. Just a few casts and I was quickly rewarded with two solid smallies, both caught on a Jackall Flick Shake Worm with a 1/8 oz. Zappu Inchi Jig Head.

Rich had also made the change the same time I did and was also setting hooks. There was no denying that these fish were a bit thrown off but like I said, they still needed to eat. It just took a little extra coaxing to trigger some bites and probably even more importantly the bait needed to be on the bottom. Never do I recall them grabbing the bait while the bait was falling or even while the bait was moving, to my recollection every fish took the bait while I was deadsticking it. These fish were lethargic enough that they all still had mud on their bellies from tucking down in the muck.

All day we continued to catch fish while employing finesse bottom bouncing baits and not only did we catch quantity, but even better we had nothing but quality. It seemed like every smallmouth was around or well over 3 pounds, we really only caught a few smaller ones. All our good fish came on a mix of 3 baits, the Flick Shake Worm, a 3" tube and Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver on a Picasso Shakedown Jig.


In the end it was a great day, we caught lots of good fish and had a great time doing it. Fall is always my favorite time of year and days like this that remind me why. Keep checking in for our video from the day, lots of action and some good points to help you on your next outing.

While winter insists on arriving you'll know where you can find me living in denial one cast at a time.

See you on the water!

My Favorite Bass Fishing Magazines and Television Shows

After a much needed vacation back down to where Bri and I used to call home, Florida, we're finally back home here in Minnesota. During travel I found myself with some added down time and found the best way to deal was to read one of my favorite bass fishing magazines. This got me thinking, I figured I should write a blog on not only my favorite fishing magazines but also on my favorite bass fishing shows. I'm not sure about you but one thing I know is that I have a very understanding wife, not only is our coffee table littered with all sorts of different bass magazines but our DVR is loaded with bass fishing shows.

I've watched fishing shows all of my life and would venture to say that I watched more fishing shows and read more fishing magazines as a child than even the most trendy bass fisherman at the time. Call me a nerd but my Mom still has my collection of old In Fisherman magazines that not only did I collect but that I also wrapped in plastic sleeves and organized by date. I once skipped out on a school dance to watch the Bassmaster Classic on whatever country channel that was at the time.

I didn't have a boat growing up and didn't have the luxury of having someone to take me fishing every chance I had. I came from a sport family, hockey year round and golf, football, even baseball. In fact, it was only fishing when it was convenient. Don't get me wrong, I definitely had some very key people that through my young days were very influential in my developing a obsession for fishing. I'm just saying that I didn't have any one person that was obsessed or even close to as passionate as I was. The point I'm getting at is I used these different publications to learn. In fact, leading up to my very first BASS federation tournament with the Gopher Bassmasters just 3 1/2 years ago, I was 100% taught how to bass fish from magazines and television shows. The kicker, I went on to take second place in that tournament and eventually finishing in 3rd overall in the Angler of the Year points in probably the most skilled bass club in Minnesota.

Now since then then, there has been a lot of key people that have taken me under their wing if you will and helped excel these talents and teach me new techniques. Though I can honestly say that my studying was one of the best ways of learning and still is. I don't just watch a fishing show, I study it. I rewind a fishing show more than anyone could imagine and can easily turn a half hour show into a two hour ordeal. Trust me, it drives Bri crazy. I don't always want to hear what the host is plugging, I want to see what the host is doing. In fact I learned how to throw a texas rigged worm all by watching Hank Parker. The funny thing is he wasn't actually teaching anyone that, but he was using one and I watched his every move. I have no idea who is guest was or what the product was they were plugging that day but he was throwing a Berkley 10" worm and I was watching his every move, how far his casts were, how he twitched his rod and reeled in the slack, how he set the hook. In fact by the end of the show I could see when he got bit before he ever set the hook. Talk about gaining confidence, the next day I headed to a little lake and put an absolute whacking on them. Thanks Hank!

Now that was a while back and since then I've obviously excelled much more and am way more of a well rounded tournament angler but still I've only been tournament angling for three years. I've never fished as a non boater and am 100% self taught, I've made a name for myself in a very short time and cashed my fair share of checks and learned all this from watching fishing shows and reading any publication I could get my hands on. In that amount of time I have developed my favorites if you will and have made a top 5 for each. Keep in mind that a lot of these will help even the savviest of anglers but anglers new to the sport should take my advice and read and watch anything and everything, you can't possibly learn enough. Also I have a list of each that I really don't like or that I think have overly sold out. I decided not to post these as I'd rather not hate and instead appreciate.

First off I'll start with magazines and give a quick explanation for these.

1. BASS ANGLER Magazine: This publication is actually new to me and when I received my first copy I couldn't believe the content. There is so much awesome info packed between these pages that I can easily say this is my favorite magazine and I can't wait for the next issue. I don't care how much you know you'll learn something and the best part is how easily you'll learn it. They use pictures and diagrams to demonstrate what their talking about. Even better they haven't sold out to all the sponsors. You hear what's really going on from guys that are just like us. I can easily say, if you don't subscribe to this magazine your missing the boat!

2. BASSWEST USA: This magazine is awesome. The first thing you'll notice is the pictures, some of which are damn near breathtaking. In these pages you'll learn a lot about west coast techniques and the influences that other countries like Japan are bringing to the table. New lures and trendy techniques that are helping anglers cash big checks all over the country. This is another must for every serious bass fisherman.

3. BASSMASTER Magazine: This one gets grandfathered in no matter what. If your a bass fisherman and don't subscribe to BASS than your really not a bass fisherman. This magazine has obviously sold out to sponsors but there's still a very good reason to read it month in and month out. BASS is largely responsible for the future of our sport and supporting them is key in our growth. Also I'll say that BASSMASTER which covers the Elite Series hosts the best bass fisherman in the world and to be able to read how and why they caught their fish is a lesson worth reading. When guys like KVD and Skeet Reese talk the rest of the bass fishing world should listen.

4. BASSIN' Magazine: When it comes to keeping up with new lures on the market, this is where I usually hear about them first. Again, a great magazine that's been around for a while and usually has some awesome info.

5. FLW Magazine: Last but surely not least. FLW has some of the best writers and some of the trendiest anglers on their tour. Young anglers using new techniques and these anglers understand how to be marketable largely because they have to with so much competition. Sure the magazine has sold to sponsor dollars and you get a lot of certain tackle and boat manufactures shoved down your throat, but if you read in between the lines you'll take away a lot of quality info.

Here's is my list of favorite television shows.

1. Classic Patterns: I'm obsessed with these programs. The amount of knowledge that is given to you is awesome. Straight from the cats mouth you'll learn a new technique or better yet how to read water. I've learned more from this show than any other.

2. Bassmaster Elite Series: I can't wait for these to be aired but like I said watching them is a process. I break it down like you wouldn't believe. If an angler is simply fishing a bridge I look for the subtle things like which way is the current flowing compared to which way he's casting? What lure style is he working? What on the bridge is he targeting? I can even tell how deep he's fishing by counting down his lure after a cast before he starts his retrieve. If he's throwing a crankbait I pay attention to the retrieve. Is it stop and go? Is he ripping the bait? Burning it? All these things play a pivotal role for me and I assure you I'll find myself looking at a very similar bridge one day and will have a better idea how to attck it.

3. FLW Tour: For literally all the same reasons as above. If your going to learn, you might as well learn from the best.

4. Ultimate Match Fishing: You can probably see a trend here. In my eyes you get the real deal when guys are casting for big paydays. No editing, just the real deal. Joe Thomas does such a great job of putting the worlds best bass fisherman in straight up one on one mode. Watching Kelly Jordan whack giants on a Kentucky Lake ledge with a 1 ounce spoon was life changing and that's just one example.

5. World's Greatest Fishing Show: Which I believe now has gone through a recent name change. This show is just awesome, I don't usually learn too many techniques but I learn something even more important, to just plain old have fun with it. When your as passionate as I am in the sport it's way to easy to get all wrapped up in it and Mark Zona does an incredible job of making you forget all that and just have a good frickin' time. The dude may simply be one of the funniest people in the world and does a great job showing you the real side of these professional anglers.

I hope you found this list intriguing enough and hope if nothing else it helps some of you look into these shows and magazines a little further. Now though I gotta roll, it's Saturday morning which means there's all sorts of bass fishing shows on as we speak, class is now in session!

Greetings from the Sunshine State, the Bass Capital of the World!

As I write this blog update, I'm currently sitting in a hotel room on the Macdill Airforce Base, in Tampa, FL. Bri and I are attending a good friends wedding down here and this past week has been a blast. Being that both of us used to live in the Tampa/St. Pete area a few years back we've been fortunate to be able to take some time and get around our old haunts and see old friends.

Our little get away started in Miami last weekend where we pretty much just relaxed and enjoyed the beach and some good food. On our way north towards Tampa we made a pit stop in the everglades were Bri and I got to ride on a air boat and check out the many alligators that inhibit the area. All I know is it was awesome and sometimes I wish I had a air boat to get around the river instead of a 20 foot Ranger.


We also made it a point to swing through Clewiston and more importantly, Lake Okeechobee. You probably already guessed it but I totally stocked up on some much needed, hard to find tackle at Roland Martin's Marina.


From there we made it to Clearwater Beach, were we stayed in a hotel right on the water. Everything was nice and relaxing until I saw people catching fish in the tide. Saltwater fishing? Surely there's no bass in the Gulf, but hey I'm game and the next thing you know Bri and I find ourselves at a local tackle shop purchasing a new rod and reel and everything needed to catch some inter coastal fish.



Thus far, it turned into one of the best times on our whole trip for the both of us! We loaded up on some live shrimp and lucky for us the tide was just starting to come in and the fishing was pretty good. We managed to catch some speckled sea trout and lady fish. Nothing gigantic but fun none the less. That day we also saw many sting rays, had tarpon blowing up all around us and even got up close and personal with a manatee. Not to mention our hunt for conch and crabs!

Now that we're on the base and everyone's getting ready for the big wedding, I find myself with not much to do. Bri's off tonight at the bachelorette party, which gives me time to update my blog and the next couple days being that she is in the wedding party and will be busy, I have plans to go bass fishing! Since I have control of the rental car I'll be pond hopping looking for 10 pounders, yes I said it and I mean it, 10 pounders! In fact, the groom gave me directions to a small golf course pond were his brother recently caught and released a 13 pound giant! Game on!!!

One thing I knew from my time living down here was that if a puddle has water in it, it also has a bass in it. Don't ask me how they got there cause I have no idea and from everyone I've come across either do the locals, but they are and that's all that matters. I feel a little naked in that I don't have my regular arsenal of bass whacking equipment but I got myself a St. Croix Spinning rod, some 15 lb. Power Pro, a pack of 5/0 Gamakatsu SuperLine Hooks, some 5/16 oz. Tru Tungsten Worm Weights and a pack of 10" Ribbon Tail Worms as well as a pack of 5" Senko's. I never met a bass anywhere that won't eat those! Wish me luck!

As soon as I get back home I plan to write a recap of the 2010 bass season as well as some of my tentative plans for 2011. Until then it's back to my much needed vacation after a long, hard battled tournament season.

Denny's Super 30 Shootout

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Two for two! Corey, Ryan and myself again manage to make the Denny's Super 30 Shootout this year and a bit more convincing than the year prior. Last year was our first year fishing the Denny's and somehow made a late season push and snuck in the backdoor taking the final spot and rode that to a 3rd place finish in the Shootout. This year consistency was on our side and we rode it to a 9th place overall seeding. We never made it rain but we never got blown out either, in fact we were really only one fish out of the high end paychecks in all but maybe one tourney.

Hopefully this would be our time to shine and up for the task was Corey and myself. The bite had been tough in the days leading up to today though practice we managed enough good bites to think we were on them well enough.

Unfortunately for the two of us things started out slow and worse yet, it never really got better. I broke off on two that probably would have helped and did manage to catch a couple good ones but we never really got the bites we needed to even come close.

In the end, we finished in 12th place, a far cry from what was needed to win. By far Corey and I's worse day on Tonka all year. Even if I could have a mulligan, I still don't know what I would have done differently. Probably nothing. We were around good fish but sometimes things just don't pan out. It's frustrating but Tonka overall was very good to us this year and we're really looking forward to our third year, we're figuring this beast out and catching them all seasons. Hopefully we can notch our first Denny's win in 2011!

Denny's Super 30

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Going into this event Corey and I found ourselves in a very good spot, we were sitting 8th overall in the points and today was the last event before the end of the year shootout. The top 14 qualify for postseason play and we had a pretty good lead over the 15th place team so barring some catastrophic setback, we were pretty confident we were in. Though of course we wanted more, we really wanted to claim our first Denny's win and throughout practice we got enough bites to give us that extra shot of confidence.

Tournament morning started slow but we managed a small limit relatively easy. Early afternoon things got a bit better when I was able to boat three close to three pound largemouth and Corey really gave us a shot when he yanked a 3 pound and an almost 5 pound largemouth.

Now with still about roughly four hours to go we were sitting with around 20 pounds but still had three babies (12") in the boat. Still 4 hours on Tonka to cull out 3 rats? Easy! Right? Well I don't think we ever made another cull the rest of the day. Signs of a tough day, I guess.

We weighed in with just shy of 20 pounds good enough for 10th place and finished in 9th overall in the team of the year standings. Hopefully our bite gets a bit better before the Shootout next week!

Even more importantly, I'd like to wish my beautiful wife Bri a Happy Anniversary! 5 awesome years of marriage to the most perfect wife in the world. Besides how many women understand when their man fishes a bass tournament on their anniversary? Just one of the many reasons she's the best! Love you Baby!

Silverado Pro Tour

Horseshoe Chain, Cold Spring, MN

This entry is a hard one for me to write about, so much that I felt I needed to wait until some of my feelings inside developed and digested before I wrote it out. I realize that I write this blog for the public to view but first and foremost it's a personal diary for me, something that I'll be able to refer back to and remember both the good and bad trials in my pursuit of professional bass fishing. To some, these entries may not seem like much more than me promoting myself for personal gain. To me, these entries are the product of mine and my families hard work and dedication to a sport I cherish and love more than almost anything else in the world.

Going into this tournament, this venue was one I was excited for since I first saw it was included on the tour schedule. I had never even been on the chain before but from what I had heard, I knew it would fit my style better than any other body of water we were going to be fishing all year. First off, it's a river system and this section of the Sauk River houses both smallmouth and largemouth bass. The chain is known for it's stained water and abundance of shallow cover that lines it's banks. It also has an abundance of rock, some of which is out deeper forming nice structure and others up shallow mostly in the form of riprap banks.

There was also some added pressure because of poor performance's in the first three stops I needed to win this event to qualify for the post season Tournament of Champions held on Lake Minnetonka were a brand new, fully loaded Ranger bass boat was on the line. Being a part of this post season event meant a lot to me, in fact it was the sole reason I chose the Silverado over other tournament trails. I consider Lake Minnetonka my home water and the opportunity to win a new boat there would mean the world to me.

Throughout practice I was able to build some confidence in multiple different areas targeting largemouth but was concerned by the lack of smallmouth catching. It wasn't until my final day of practice that I really put in the effort on locating some brown fish. This was partly on purpose because this year smallmouth have really burnt me in the Silverado. Usually I prefer to chase them but after getting punked by them in the last two stops, I wasn't exactly eager to count on them in a tournament that had so much on the line.

I was able to get my Am partner Lance out for the final day of practice and in the morning we ran around so I could show him what I was planning to fish the next day so he'd have a good idea of what to expect. Every now and then we'd stop and fish some new water and try to find a couple more things that could give us that push and assist in a much needed win. On one of these such stops, Lance fired a spinnerbait and wouldn't you know it he catches an easy 5 pound smallie. I turned around and fired my crankbait to the same area and landed a solid 2 1/2 pound smallie. This was an extra shot of confidence because this spot was out of the way and I was very confident not many people knew it existed. This way I could leave it until later in the day and hopefully make a few key culls once my largemouth bite slowed down a bit.

I ran a few more areas that I thought may hold some smallies and was able to catch a few, nothing huge but worth the stop. I had found a couple riprap areas and a few deep rock spots as well.

After a late boat draw, I started on a spot that transitioned from riprap to sand. After a few casts with a crankbait I put the first fish in the box, a 15" largemouth. I then ran some of my spots were I had pulled on some fish and couldn't buy a bite. After a couple hours with only 1 bass in the box I decided it was time to get to the smallies and see if they were going to actually cooperate with me.

I approached my first spot and noticed it was getting pounded by the wind. I made a few casts with the crankbait and caught 2 keeper largemouth's right away, only going about 13" each. I switch to a carolina rig and after a few short strikes I landed a quality 3 pound smallmouth. A cast later and Lance boats a 2 pound smallmouth. Everything was rolling in the right direction when I got another bite, I set the hook and instantly knew I was in trouble as there was to much slack left in the line and before I could adjust I watched a doozer smallmouth jump 3 feet in the air and throw my bait. That hurt but I was able to somewhat shrug it off and after a few more casts with no takers I decided it was time to head out and let that area simmer.

My next area was a riprap bank and it only took three casts with my crankbait and I was hooked up with a huge 4 plus pound smallie. I noticed right away I only had her with the back treble and did an excellent job thumb spooling her and when she was wore down we went in with the net and somehow managed to get the front treble caught in the net and in no time the smallie sprung loose. Ouch, that one really hurt and after visually watching two real nice fish get away I couldn't help but feel it mentally. I knew this chain of lakes was going to fish tough and that big bites had to be capitalized on and I couldn't help but have that awful feeling in my stomach.

Still I tried to stay positive but as the day wore on my bite got worse and worse and I couldn't seem to get a single largemouth to bite. I decided to go back to my riprap spot and after a few casts again hooked up with a bruiser of a smallmouth and after a very short fight wouldn't you guess, she got off. I checked my crankbait and was just ill when I saw that one of the hooks on the back treble bent out. Insane!

Now still one bass short of a limit, I went into full out panic mode. I knew I was still in it but really wanted to get a limit and after about an hour I finally boated our limit fish on a 3/8 oz. Tru Tungsten Jig. The 13" largemouth came on a laydown in about 2 feet of water and after fishing the rest of that bank with no more bites I decided I better head to one last spot before time ran out and hope for a hail mary.

After a few casts with a crankbait God himself answered and again I was hooked up with another 4 plus pound smallmouth. I worked liked crazy to keep that fish on and just as the net came in it was like deja vu, the net caught the treble on my crankbait and before my eyes I watched yet another bruiser come off at the boat. I truly felt like I was going to vomit. It was the most disheartening feeling I have ever had in all my days of bass fishing. I knew that I had the tournament all but won and some how managed to throw it all away.

This way of thinking came to a quick reality when I arrived at weigh in and found that most the field failed to come in with limits. I weighed in a limit of bass for 10.2 pounds and took a disappointing 16th place, 5 pounds shy of the winning weight.

I've had dropped fish cost me money in tournaments and possibly even a win or two, but never have I had it so obvious to myself and in such a big event. I knew what I had to accomplish and put myself in position to do just that, just to finish in such a gut wrenching way. Sure I left 8 grand on the table and even worse left what could have been my spot in the TOC, but none of that hurt as much as the feeling of knowing what I had to do, being right there and watching it all vanish. In my little world, I'm sure it's the equivalent of fumbling the football on the goal line with only seconds left in the end of the fourth quarter, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

I waited for all these thoughts to calm in my head before writing this because I now have a better appreciation for the outcome. Sure it eats me like none other but it's all part of the game and may not even be the last time it happens. This is probably one of the reasons I fish competitively instead of for the simple fun of it. I'm definitely not the only one that can say they had it and then lost it, in fact everyone of my idols in the sport can say the same. Instead of sitting and feeling bad for myself and my misfortune, I'll instead use this as a motivator. I proved to myself that I could have and maybe even should have won this event, with just a little luck or better execution I could have done exactly what I set out to do against the best Minnesota has to offer.

With all this said, I want to send out a special congratulations to my very good friend and team tournament partner Ryan Brant for besting the field and notching his first big win. I always said to him for the past 3 years we've been fishing together, if I can't win it, I hope he does. Well congrats man, you deserve it! Hat's off Brant!

Smashing 'Em!

The past couple weeks between tournaments, I've been out putting in work doing guide trips and testing new sponsor products. One of my favorite things to do when out doing this is to practice and sharpen my skills. There's a few examples of this and I'm a firm believer that anything I can do to better myself and my fishing will eventually payoff when the money's on the line.

One is always to be looking for new water. This has got to be one, if not the best way to become a better fisherman. This is a skill that the best have and it shows by continued success at the scales. Bottom line is fish move and you need to be able to move with them. Sure we all have spots that seem to always produce no matter the time of year but that's very rare. Usually you need to be able to follow the fish as they transition through the seasons. Every time I'm on the water I attempt to find something new or learn something about what the fish are relating to. Even if the lake your on isn't a big tournament lake, it teaches you to always keep an open mind and how to fish different types of water.

This brings me to my next point. When I'm out on the water and I'm not practicing for a tournament, I try to use baits and styles of retrieve that I don't have much confidence in. Sometimes I'll use baits that I do have confidence in to find fish holding areas but then try to switch baits and see if I can trigger them to bite. This is what builds confidence in new tactics and makes me more of a well rounded angler.

The past week or so I've had the opportunity to do just that and let me tell you the end reward is far more satisfying then accomplishing the norm. Recently I had a guide trip, I had decided I would meet the client in the city he was staying and fish a lake that is right within minutes of his hotel room.

I had been to this lake before but very rarely ever this time of year and if I was we basically just threw frogs at all the abundant vegetation that makes up this lake. This is a solid pattern on this body of water but it is also the most obvious.

I had been getting bit on lakes in the area fishing deeper and thought that if I could find some nice deep structure I could provide some awesome fishing for my client. I was very happy when after about a whole 5 minutes of Humminbird Side Imaging work along with studying my Navionics Mapping Chip, I located a nice point that had some scattered hard bottom along with some patchy weeds. The target area itself sat in about 14 feet of water. On my first cast with a hand tied 1/2 oz. Picasso Football Jig I landed a chunky 5.6 pound largemouth bass. Awesome!

My client and I went about 4 for 4 each on consecutive casts after that both catching bass no smaller than 3 pounds. Already a good trip and we haven't been on the water for more than 15 minutes!


I continued this pattern around the lake and located 6 or 7 different spots that all had some of these similarities and also had the same end result. We boated giant after giant in what finished out as one of the best outings I had all year. No joke, we boated a 6 pounder, multiple 5 and 4 pounders and our fair share of 3's. In fact, I don't think we caught but 1 that went under 3 and all came on some of my favorite baits, a football jig and an Outkast Tackle jigworm. The kicker was we ended up spending about 2 hours frog fishing the slop without a single blow up. Huh? Things to think about.


Leaving I was obviously excited. I had provided an awesome experience for someone and also got to jack up on some toads. Even better I had challenged myself to find something new and the result was overly rewarding. Still though the competitor in me wanted more so 5 days later I was right back there with a buddy to do some sponsor photos with the many big bass that where available for the picking.

My confidence level was through the roof, I mean these fish were really making it easy on me. I was throwing baits that I have nothing but confidence on, in areas that gave me more confidence then I knew what to do with. We only had 4 hours to fish as my buddy had to be to the Minneapolis Airport by noon. 4 hours? No problem!

I took my buddy to the first spot and gave him the quick rundown, handed him a Picasso Football Jig and told him the technique. I thought I'd just sit back, tie up a couple rods that I was going to need for an upcoming tournament and get ready with the camera. After about 1o minutes with nothing I decided it was time to get up and show him how it's done. Nothing. Not a bite. OK, OK hold up here. This is a fluke, I mean they were jumping in the boat days ago here, they gotta be at the next spot.

Well after about 2 hours without a bite, my confidence went way down and the new word to describe me would be embarrassed and humbled. Maybe now it's time to revert back to old faithful and get to the slop with ole' Kermie.

After about another hour of no bites, no hook sets and just a whole lot of talking, I figured we needed to get back out to the main lake, they had to be there now. We worked all these spots on the way back to the boat ramp and continued to throw the jigworm and football jigs and couldn't buy a bite. Now I was going from the outing of the year to the first skunk in the past 3 years! Unbelievable!!

On our very last stop, which was also our very first stop this morning, I was accepting defeat. I mean I couldn't get a bite on spots that where holding giant sacks just days ago and I was throwing baits that I had nothing but confidence throwing. As I was putting my rods and tackle away I saw my new bag of Biovex Deep Runner Crankbaits. This ate at me even worse because I was hoping to get to use these and catch a few nice bass with them so I could send some quality pictures back to Biovex.

Deep cranking is not a strong suit for me, in fact it's probably the worst technique in my repertoire. I just never had much success with it and really never tried to hard to make it work. Just always kind of had the impression that if they'll bite a deep crankbait, they'll definitely bite my jig, carolina rig or worse case a shakey head. Even though I knew this was a invalid and biased opinion some habits are just to hard to break.

With only 10 minutes left before we had to load up and bail out, I decided to tie one up and see how they run. They are a brand new bait released by Biovex and look absolutely amazing, I'm sure they run even better than they look. I took my first cast and had to make just a slight tweak to the line tie and had it running perfect. The bait got down quick and ran nice and tight without to much drag which results in less fatigue to the angler. It took me another cast or two to find the hard spot and about on my third cast I was grinding the plug into the bottom right through the strike zone. Just as I was thinking how cool it would be to one day find this crankin' bite and 'WHAM", my rod loads up on a giant 5+ pound largemouth. That was insane and extremely addicting! I was grinding the Deep Runner over the rocks and the fish just inhaled the bait.


After a couple pictures I released the fish and was immediately overwhelmed with happiness because that was probably the first true deep crank lunker bass I've ever caught. I thought I may have activated the school and maybe now I could catch another one and we both started throwing our football jigs and Carolina Rigs, and yet again, nothing. Just then I started thinking it must have been just one solo fish that happened to show up right as my plug came ripping through. Curious I picked up the crankbait and chucked it back across the point and wouldn't you know it, as soon as it hit the bottom I was instantly whacked and again boated another lunker going an easy 4 pounds. On my next 5 casts with the Biovex Deep Runner I went 4 for 5, all going over 3 pounds. Now if that's not an eye opener I don't know what is!


Unfortunately for the both of us we had to get off the water but again similar to 5 days ago when I was leaving this lake I had a smile on my face. Sure we struggled hard, really hard for 95% of our outing, but the last 5% will never be forgotten. One, I now have a ton of confidence in a bait that before just got tucked into the bottom of my boat and two, found that it can be a better option than good old faithful. Those fish didn't just show up that last 10 mnutes, they were there the whole time and just had no interest in what I had to offer. They were on a reaction bite and wasn't fooled by the old ball and chain or by dragging a big jig. Again, even though I knew this to be true, I mean there's a reason crankers like Kevin VanDam have made millions on top of millions throwing this bait, sometimes the only way to truly buy into it is to actually accomplish it. Good for me, once again I had reason to have a smile on my face! There is no such thing as perfect, but hard nosed preparation will get you the closest thing to it.

Up next I'm outta town practicing for the last stop of the Silverado Pro Tour held on the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes near St. Cloud, MN. You think I'll have a Biovex Deep Runner tied on?

Tackle Update: New Baits from Biovex

As an aficionado of well made, high end tackle, I pay attention to detail when I see new baits hit the market. I'm not always convinced of the baits that hit the mainstream, in fact there has got to be something that attracts me to the bait. This is why I'm so excited about some of the new products that have been released by one of Japan's industry leaders, Biovex.

First off, I'd like to introduce the new Biovex Amp Wake, a top of the line wakebait that has a sick action when pulled across the top of the water. Sure the bait is appealing to the eye, but it's the aggressive action that the bait omits just under the surface that's the real appeal. This Wake has been a staple for me from the postspawn through the end of Fall. It's a big fish bait that provides big time action.


Next is the Biovex Amp Stay 80SP, a suspending jerkbait that is the perfect size and action for any bass whether it be spotted, smallmouth or largemouth. I've had the best luck with this bait catching cold water smallmouth bass. The Stay 80SP, is a non intimidating bait that hovers in place yet imparts an erratic action when worked appropriately or can be fished with a mellow retrieve when the bite is really tough. Again the size of the 80SP is perfect in my eyes at seducing wary fish.


Last but not least, is the Biovex Amp Deep Runner, a deep running crankbait that has a tight wiggle, is realistic as can be and runs to deep depths. I've always been a HUGE fan of the Biovex Midrunner and this is that bait on steroids! On light line this bait will easily hit 15 feet and hits it quick. It's big lip ricochets off cover with perfection and the size off the bait is very appetizing for large bass. I just got a box of these in the mail and already have been using these as a one, two punch with a football jig to entice deep largemouths. The Deep Runner is already a staple in my tackle box.


I'm very lucky to be sponsored by Biovex as their baits are not yet available to the U.S. market. I've been hearing some rumors from the Biovex camp that there may be a big announcement coming some time in the future. That's exciting news considering I've been working with them on designing some new baits that I know are going to be a huge hit. Keep checking in.

I'm also proud to say that both Bri and I have been involved in some of the marketing for the company over in Japan. Here's an ad from one of Japan's largest bass magazine's, Rod and Reel magazine.

Cabela's Kids Fishing Event

Today I got the honor of representing myself, Tru Tungsten and the rest of my sponsors by helping out at the Cabela's Kids Fishing Event. At first I didn't really know what to expect from this and actually had a little bit of anxiety toward it. This definitely struck me as odd because I've done numerous fishing events and have never had a problem, in fact I'm actually pretty good at them. My years of experience in the hospitality industry as well as my true love for fishing makes gabbing about it quite easy, though the idea of entertaining children was actually a little intimidating. Not all these kids get the opportunity to get out and fish and I really wanted to be sure they had an awesome time. They are the next generation of our sport and enthusiasm starts now.


The Cabela's, located in Owatonna, MN, has two private ponds that are stocked with both bluegills and largemouth bass. Cabela's provided all the rods, reels, tackle and bait as well as a free lunch for all the children and family. My job was to walk around the ponds and help out in any way I could, mostly by taking fish off, retying rigs, untangling lines and of course putting nightcrawlers on hooks.


I couldn't believe how many kids showed for this opportunity and better yet just how many fish were caught. I'm talking more slab sunnies than I could imagine and one little girl even caught close to a 3 pound largemouth bass, her first to say the least.

I stayed more than busy and really truly enjoyed myself. There is nothing better than watching kids become hooked on fishing right in front of my eyes. So much of my fishing career is selfish and all about me and how I can be better. It is far more rewarding watching kids fall in love with fishing than to cash a check at a big tournament. It reminded me of when I was a kid and how much I purely loved fishing before the money, sponsors and reputation got involved. To be honest it was humbling and I am very blessed I got the opportunity to be involved. Hats off to Cabela's for providing this free event, here's a company that truly cares and stops at nothing to give back to the outdoors.


Next year when this event comes around again, I'll be sure to do a better job of notifying my followers on my site, via Star Tribune's Outdoor Page and both Facebook and Twitter.

Denny's Super 30

Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN

Pressure's on! It's time to make it or break it out on Lake Minnetonka this time of year. Going into this event we found ourselves sitting in good position in the team of the year points with a respectable 9th. With only 2 more tourneys left before the Shootout, it's time to prove your in for the long haul. The top 14 teams qualify for the year end championship and let me be the first to tell you the competition is stiff, all 51 teams can and will sack 'em and it's important your one of the teams consistently bagging 'em up.

Ryan and I are the two up for this go round and practice went great. I mean it when I say it we probably had the best practice we have ever had. Not only did we get bites in all the places we wanted to get bites we also never burned a single fish. We were able to pull on every bite, never sacrificing a good one.

We had a early boat draw and decided to start in an area that usually has done us well and things really didn't start all that great. I caught a couple right away but nothing to get your blood flowing, my biggest was probably 3 pounds.

We went on to fill a limit right away but size was embarrassing to say the least, I mean we had like squeakers in the boat, babies to say the least. Finally we had a decision to make whether to stay and pound it out or head to the other side and start banging out on some water and kind of sling from our hip. I made a suggestion that we stop by an area that had been good to me first and then we'll make the journey. This proved to be worth the stop because it didn't take minutes and Ryan was at war with what ended up being a 5.25 pound giant. There's is nothing more gratifying then culling a 5 pounder out for a 12 inch dink.

Minutes later and I was wrestling with a giant and again we made a sick cull with a 4 pounder and got rid of another little bumper baby. Sticking with this pattern, Ryan suggested an area that was very similar and again another cull. We finished the day by running these areas making a few culls here and there and in the end finished up with a solid 12th place and moved up to a two way tie for 8th place in the Team of the Year standings with only 1 more event left.

We still had a couple small fish in our limit and yet again were oh so close to pulling a top 3, still in the end we're getting so close we can taste it. We just got to keep putting in the work and we'll reap the reward soon enough.

Silverado Pro Tour

Green Lake, Spicer, MN

This was a tournament that proved to be a learning lesson from the very get go. I've had some past experience on Green and really thought I'd have an ace in the hole for this event before I even got there. This probably proved to be my biggest mistake.

Last year I finished with a very respectable 14th place while fishing the Silverado in early June. The obvious bite was a spawning bite and the vast majority of the fish were up on spawning flats. I also found great success fishing deep, very deep. Being that this tournament was mid summer, I thought this would be the ticket to cashing a much needed check and turning my luck in this years Silverado events.

Throughout practice I tried like hell to make the deep bite work and really wasn't getting the bites I thought I would, though when I did get bit it was a giant 4 plus pound smallie.

This caused a good deal of confusion in that I kind of adopted a mentality that all I needed was 6 bites all day and since the quality was there I could easily weigh over 20 pounds. As practiced continued though I realized that there would be a better than not chance that I may not even get 6 bites all day. This was obviously a problem.

Everyday of practice I was able to catch a couple quality fish but patterning them was horrible. I'd catch one out of 30 feet on a dropshot, then I'd catch one out of 2 feet on a spinnerbait. In 3 days of practice I caught roughly 10 smallies going over 3 1/2 pounds and all on different baits out of different depths.

Though I was a bit confused onto what, when, where and how I was going to catch 20 pounds, I knew I was around the fish to do it and just planned to junk fish all day.

To make a long depressing story short, we managed to drop two giant smallmouths in the morning that really hurt. My Am partner Brian Brecka put on a clinic thereafter and really stepped up putting a couple in the box and giving us a shot to still put together a solid limit.

As the day wore on I was able to start making some big culls and caught our biggest bass on a Biovex Midrunner Crankbait and then followed that up with a nice largemouth on a flippin' bite as well as another lunker smallie on a tube over a rock pile.

In the end we weighed in with 6 bass totaling 15.75 pounds, only good enough for a very disappointing 30th place. It's really tough when I think of what could of been had we landed those two doozer smallies right away in the morning that got off at the boat. We would have weighed in around 20 pounds and cashed a check as well as moved up greatly in the points with only one tournament to go. With that said though I was still so off in the big picture, most guys whacked the crap out of them and probably threw back 18 to 19 pounds. I was so close, yet so far away.

I'm more than upset with the outcome, this one really hurt. I missed the ticket all together and also missed the opportunity to still put together a bag. It's disheartening to say the least. I've been tournament fishing hard for 3 years now and have always had good success. This year has been horrible, bad practices, bad decision making and bad execution along with bad luck have all combined to have me on the outside looking in. Not a position I'm used to and definitely not a position I will get used to. A little humiliation can be a good thing and will provide the extra motivation necessary to get back on top. Now the only way I make the Shootout on Lake Minnetonka is to win at the last event at the Horseshoe Chain. I'll never turn down a challenge and am excited at the opportunity.

Up next though, it's time for the Denny's Super 30 on Lake Minnetonka where we're currently sitting 9th in the Team of the Year points race with 2 events remaining. The top 14 teams qualify for the end of the year Shootout. Time to turn this year around, starting now.

A Weekend to Remember

This past weekend, Bri and I along with our good friends Matt and Luanne, went up to Bri's family cabin for a fun and relaxing weekend on the water. As I said in my last post, Bri's cabin is seriously one of my favorite places in the world. The fishing is fantastic but just being off the beaten path and away from the everyday hustle and bustle of the city is a treat all of it's own. Anyone who knows us knows that sure we grew up in the city but our heart is in the country and we're doing everything it takes to make the permanent move. I know I'm fortunate to get to many different lake destinations throughout the year but there's something a bit more satisfying enjoying it with my family and good friends without all pressures of tournament fishing.

We were blessed with beautiful weather that gave way to clear nights with plenty of shooting stars to wish on, while we kicked it around a campfire, enjoying good conversation and roasting delicious pudgy pies. Ahh, pudgy pies, something I have never heard of that will now be a staple for me while sitting around a fire. I'm not sure whether to hate Matt and Lou or love them for it?

Some other highlights from our trip was climbing to the top of the ranger station overlooking the entire area. It's really a breathtaking view all the way up there and never seems to get old. During a good old booze cruise, we also managed to breakdown in the pontoon on the complete other side of the lake, we couldn't of been any further from the cabin! After trying like hell to paddle with zero success, finally a couple came to our rescue and towed us all the way back. Thank God for them two, otherwise we may still of been out there.



The fishing was good though it started slow. Matt and I started by fishing reeds with really nothing to show for it. We then went even shallower and started throwing around some topwater frogs through all the cover. The action was better here but still not what I was accustomed to on the lake. There was a lot of fish in these areas but they just weren't wanting to eat the frog. I think we hooked maybe one for every five blowups. They were just smacking the bait, more pestered by it.

My wheels starting turning and I decided it was time to check another area of the lake. We were finding some action shallow just not with total success yet it was still good enough that I couldn't get myself to completely abandon the shallows and head for deep water. So instead I picked a area of the lake that had a lot of boat docks but also had some mixed floating vegetation between them. I figured worst case that if we still couldn't get bit real good on the pads that maybe we could bust a couple under docks.


It didn't take but the first dock and I knew the answer to the question was found, I caught three good ones under one dock. We continued on that pattern and I don't think I ever picked up my frog rod again, I just kept slinging jigs under docks and just kept catching fish after fish. The jig we were using was the one and only Tru Tungsten Jig, is there really any other kind?

Matt, who loves to fish more than anything but just doesn't have the time to fish as much as most the people that get in the boat with me, hadn't ever skipped a bait under a dock before, let alone a jig on heavy baitcasting gear. Between raising two kids and running his own auto garage, Gustavson Repair, it's hard to get the time to learn such an advanced technique. You think I'd be easy on him and rig up a spinning rod with a senko on it but where's the glory in that? If your going to learn something, learn it the right way from the beginning. Instead I handed him the exact same setup and was more than impressed at his determination to conquer it.

In fact it didn't take to long at all and wouldn't you know it he sets and lands a nice bass from under a dock on a jig. Not only was it his first dock fish but it was his first jig fish! It took me a long time to catch my first jig fish and he does it in less than an hour and under a boat dock! That's sick!


After an awesome trip we capped it off with a night out a Zorba's, yeah that's right, Zorba's with a Z. Though come Sunday morning I think we all mutually agreed that Zorba's was probably the worst idea of the weekend. We were all a bit on the slower side if you know what I mean?

I gotta say that this past weekend was just what I needed, time with my beautiful wife, two dogs and some of our very best friends! I feel relaxed and recharged and chomping at the bit to get back on the water and put my game face on! The Silverado Tour hits Green Lake baby! I can't wait!

My Favorite Place in the World

I went from counting down the weeks, to counting down the days and now we're getting close to counting down the hours. Soon Bri and I, along with two of our good friends Matt and Luanne, will be heading up north to one of my favorite places for both fishing and relaxing, Bri's cabin in McGregor, MN.

The cabin is just awesome and we're all in need of some good fun including bar-b-queuing, sitting around the fire and tipping a couple back. The best part is the fishing is untapped! No one is fishing bass on this lake and the bass grow big, real big! In fact, I caught my Minnesota big bass at a lake just down the road tipping the scale at a whopping 7 lbs. 6 oz!

I'm hoping my new G Loomis Swimbait Rod will be in before I go as I plan to chuck the old shoe (Weedless Huddleston) to bass that I guarantee have never seen one before and also plan to power up the Humminbird Side Imager on a lake that has never been scanned for it's hidden rockpiles. I'm 100% confident that we'll have plenty of pictures and video to show off our weekend's results!

I've been passing the time by spending some time on the water locally. I've been doing some guide trips as well as getting out and doing some camera work. This past weekend we spent out on one of my favorite bodies of water fishing deep structure with my go to favorite bait, the Picasso Fantasy Football Jig. The fish were movie stars as they were more than happy to make their appearances for the video camera. Keep checking in as the video should be up and ready to be viewed very soon.

If anyone is interested in getting in the boat with me for a guided trip contact me sooner than later. The summer largemouth bite is on and the fall smallmouth bite is right around the corner! In fact, last week I did a corporate guide trip for a company out of Wisconsin. Instead of a company golf tournament, it was a company bass tournament. Not only did my boat catch fish, they won the whole tournament! What a outing! These guys really worked me, they had me running from front to back taking off fish and snapping photos. It was just awesome!!


Well, all for now! I got lots to do before I head up for a weekend of partying and setting hooks on donkey largemouth! When I get back it's back to business and preparing for the next Silverado Pro Tour stop at Green Lake, in Spicer, MN. Talk about a smallie haven!! I'm more than excited! I can already hear my drag spinning!

Silverado Pro Tour

Lake Minnewaska, Starbuck, MN

I have been thinking about this event for a year now. Almost exactly a year ago on these exact waters, I had my worst bass fishing tournament of my life, nothing went good, seriously nothing. This lake really made me mad, I couldn't find a pattern at all and I couldn't catch fish no matter what or where I attempted to do it. The result was to be expected, my worst placing ever and I completely knocked myself out of the Angler of the Year standings, blowing my chances at qualifying for the TOC.

Now you can see why this upcoming tournament weighed so heavily on my mind, this lake really intimidated me. Sure I was determined to get some revenge, but when you spend days on the lake with nothing to show, it's sets a bit of anxiety up for my return trip.

To offset some of this, I managed to put together a lot of practice time to help me better understand how this lake works. Wouldn't you know it after my first weekend back I had one of my best outings of the year. I found two spots where in a matter of 10 casts, I caught 5 largemouth weighing over 23 pounds. If that's not a confidence builder than I don't know what is. The problem was the tourney was still a few weeks away. Will they stay there? That was the real question and one I wasn't about to bank on.

**Bri and I camping at Hobo Park on the shores of Lake Minnewaska while practicing for the Silverado.

Lake Minnewaska, known as a good largemouth lake also has an awesome population of good sized smallmouth bass. Last year I had a heck of a time trying to find them and on game day managed to drop three real nice ones. This practice I spent my share of time looking for these elusive ghosts and it didn't take long to get tangled with a good one. Throughout the remainder of practice I managed to find a half dozen or so spots that were holding good sized smallies, but my one concern was that I couldn't catch more than one, I wasn't finding schools but instead single rogues that frequent these areas to feed. So every time I'd check these spots it was hit or miss.

Going into tournament day, I was pretty pumped. I had some areas that were holding really nice largemouth as well as smallies. When I got to registration I found out I drew boat 6 and really got excited. My original plan was to start on my two big largemouth spots, but with that early of a boat draw I knew I could get to one of the few "community" smallie spots and hopefully put a couple big smallies in the box right away. I was confident that no one was on my largies and thought it would be beneficial to roll the dice.

I even checked my starting spot right away in the morning the last day of practice and couldn't keep the smallmouth off, I pulled on fish after fish and it took a lot to finally get them to spit the bait. I was amped and ready to go! I knew going to bed that night that I had given myself a chance to win this one, a far cry from where I was here a year ago.

Right away tournament morning I raced to my first spot. Nothing. You gotta be kidding me? They were just here! After about 45 minutes I raced to another smallie spot and again, nothing. I probably prefer to fish smallies all in all, but I don't know why? There's a reason they call them ghost fish, they're known to just disappear.

After burning up a good two hours with nothing to show for it, I finally raced to my good largemouth. Maybe the smallies are being fussy, but I'll get the largies going. Well I did just that, only I left these two spots with a limit of 12 inch fish. Not what I had in mind, but it's a limit, we're upgrading from here.

With the temp starting to climb up I decided to go get at those smallies again. This time I was met with a bunch of short strikes and saw a real nice four pound fish follow my bait to the boat. I did manage to land one 14" and another 16" smallie.

I knew of a few weedlines that were holding some quality largemouth and decided it was time to head there. It didn't take to long to upgrade our limit to all 14" fish and with only 45 minutes to go I decided to finish out the day on one of my largemouth spots where I had previous success. The bite was on and I made a few small culls and with only 20 minutes to go was caught between staying here or trying for that big smallie that followed all the way to the boat. Just then I bang a nice 3.6 pound largemouth and decided to stay.

Looking back now, I wish I would have left right then because one more quality fish and I'd of been way up in the money. Instead I weighed in with a 6 fish limit weighing 12.72 pounds and with a dead fish penalty ended with 12.47 pounds, good enough for 20th place.


My emotions after this one were a bit conflicted. On a personal level I was happy, I finished way better than I had done last year, saved face and moved up in the points. On the other hand, the competitor in me was more than disappointed. I had worked my butt off in practice, found good fish and wanted the win. I don't fish these tournaments to place mediocre, I fish them cause I want to win them. That's what it's all about.

Tournament Update - Denny's Super 30 TOY Race

2010 Super 30 Minnetonka

Team of the Year Standings

Team of the Year - 2010 1-Jun 21-Jun 12-Jul Total

1 Brad Cline & Jason Berg 49 48 43 140
2 Ted & Dean Capra 47 38 50 135
3 Cody Zdrazil & Dusty Mahn 46 40 45 131
4 Steve Hauge & Corey Guttenfelder 41 33 48 122
5 Matt Pretzel & Craig Walters 38 39 41 118
6 Brad Leuthner & Jeff Meuwissen 42 28 42 112
7 Rod & Rustin Robinson 33 43 32 108
8 Eric & Greg Schultz 15 44 49 108
9 Josh Douglas & Ryan Brant 37 32 38 107
10 Chuck & John Hengel 18 42 47 107
11 Shane Raveling & Joe Bartusek 50 34 22 106
12 Todd Doege & Bob Hennen 29 41 35 105
13 Mike Vinci & Paul Neumann 17 46 40 103
14 Seth Feider & John Figi 16 49 37 102
Jason Holmer & Jason Dudek 39 25 33 97
Andy Young & Larry Wittig 44 37 15 96
Todd Brezinski & Joe Ecklund 23 45 28 96
Joe & Guy Feldmann 10 47 39 96
Chad Kastenbauer & DaveSicheneder 24 26 44 94
Randy LaTourelle & Corey Weber 10 50 30 90
Corey Larson & Mark Persson 31 24 34 89
Andy Hribar & Randy Hayes 48 30 10 88
Jacob Larson & Toby Ferriel 30 10 46 86
Steve Lee & Ron Feyo 43 14 20 77
Chuck McGannon & Jeremy Bester 20 36 21 77
Mike Carter & Pat Wenning 34 10 29 73
Noah Schultz & Che Johnson 28 19 23 70
John Vig Jr & John Walsh 32 27 10 69
Bruce Smith & Paul Sladek 35 21 13 69
Mike Brill & Andy Peterson 14 20 31 65
Lonnie Murphy & John Nelson 25 29 10 64
Torrie Oswald & Bob Biehler 21 31 10 62
Dalon Schmidt & Brad Lutz 40 10 11 61
Will Pappa & Gary Flicek 36 11 12 59
Pat Bartley & Chris Zakashefski 27 15 17 59
Dennis & Austin Felix 12 22 25 59
Denny Nelson & Bob Younghans 10 23 26 59
Steve Loraus & Matt Burch 13 10 36 59
Chris Luedtke & Tadd Johnson 45 10 x 55
Jeff Gilmer & Randy Wilcox 10 10 27 47
Jay Green & Steph Peterson 19 13 14 46
Gordon Covyeow & Darrell Preston 10 16 19 45
Colby & Brady Bolin 11 17 16 44
Steve Rowe & Tom Zrust 10 10 24 44
John Nugent & Al McColl 22 10 10 42
Steve Karsseboom & Steve Higgins 10 18 10 38
Peter Madonna & Pat Ripley 10 12 10 32
Tim Dedeker & Alan Melby 10 10 10 30
Tom Conboy & Jim Oster 10 10 10 30

So as you can see we're sitting in good position for qualifying for the post season "Shoot Out". We're in a much better place than we were at this point last season and we managed to qualify last year and go on to claim 3rd in the Shoot Out. The plan is to stay the course and try to continue to move up the rankings by cashing a couple checks going out! Wish us luck!