Now Reading...

After 5 plus years of Blogging from the seat of my pants, I am now going to put in some effort to actually learn about how the blogging craft is properly done. I wish I would have read a book like this before I started in 2004, because I have made some mistakes along the way and still don't really know a whole lot if anything about the more advanced elements of blogging and blog promotion. The book I'm reading now, Google Blogger for Dummies, wasn't printed until 2009, so it wasn't around when I first started blogging. I also will be reading The Rational Guide to Google Blogger which has a copyright date from 2006, which I hope puts the book under the perview of old blogger templates like I use for this blog.

Update: I am still at the beginning of the book, but I have learned some things even out of the basic stuff.

Mercer Facts of Fishing-FYI Episode 3

Have to agree with Mercer on his FLW Fantasy Bass Fishing take. As for the part about saving the sport of fishing; it is my understanding that the recession has actually been quite good for fishing and the fishing industry.

For earlier episodes click on the Dave Mercer Label below.

Toad

For some reason the last picture on this Flowing Waters blog posting reminds me of Cyberfish of MT Bucket blog. I think there is a bit of a physical resemblence between the two.

Fear of the Frenzy Popper!?!

I am Facebook Friends with Internet Bass Fishing website mogul Russ "Bassdozer" Comeau. Anyway he likes to use Facebook to promote lures he sells at his ebay store and today he was promoting the vaunted Lobina Lures Rico popper which he sells for $23 (shipping not included).

Seeing this I left a comment saying I would love to see the Rico go head to head with a $3 Berkley Frenzy Popper. (Although now that they have been discontinued I think the going rate for Frenzy Poppers will dramatically increase.) Apparently Russ didn't care for my comment and deleted it.

Does he fear the Frenzy?

Bass Pundit Blogging Note:

I have been doing a lot of work updating my side bar/right column of late. I have re-ordered and labeled some things on my blogrolls and gone through and got things updated getting rid of broken links and adding a few. I just got done updating the Bass Pro Site-ING blogroll, which is my list of links to the websites of fishing pro's. I was disappointed to find not a whole lot of blogs are springing up among the pro's. I had not checked this list in a couple of years and so there were a number of names that got removed. I do wonder if anyone even uses that Bass Pro Site-ING list cause it is a whole lot easier just to type a name of a pro you want to know about into Google and see what comes up. Finding the bass fishing blogs that are out there is not so easy and I think I can claim to have the best website on the internet for finding the bass fishing blogs that are out there.

If you are a bass fishing blogger, even if it isn't your main focus, and not on my blogroll, let me know and I will add you ASAP. You don't have to blogroll me in return, but I do appreciate the folks who do.

Cool Jig Color!

This is a Bass Assault Ambush Series Flipping Jig but I don't know the name of the color. I have seen black and red jigs and spinnerbaits before, but not with a mostly red head or 50/50 red in the skirt.

Move Over Kermit, Here Comes Bass Pro Shops Kermy!

It looks a lot like the Spro Dean Rojas "Kermit" Bronzeye Frog (click on pic to enlarge) but this is the value priced Bass Pro Shops Kermy Frog. Bass Pro is selling it for $4.99, which would be a heck of a value if it's a quality frog. There is only one review up at Bass Pro Shops at the moment. For some reason BPS does not list the weight in the catalog or online.

Another lure that caught my eye in the BPS Spring Angler 2010 Catalog was the Storm Kickin' Stick

This one looks to be another Sebile Magic Swimmer Clone, but unlike the Koppers Livetarget Blueback Herring and the Strike King Sexy Swimmer, the Storm lure goes for under 10 bucks at $9.99. It's 5 inches long and weighs in at 2/3oz. If they carry this thing at Mills Fleet Farm, Mills carries lots of Storm product, than I will certainly be buying one with the gift certificate I got for Christmas

Zoom Bait Company Blog

(Picture- The New Zoom Swimmin' Super Fluke)

I am really liking TBrinksFishing.com blog as he seems to have something good and new every day. Today he blogged about the new Zoom Swimmin Super Fluke and linked up to the Zoom Bait Company website which is a Wordpress Blog similar to Lucky Craft's The Daily Crank and ULTIMATEBASS which are both outstanding bass fishing blogs. I did not know Zoom had a website, let alone know that it was a blog.

So if you are a fan of Zoom baits, now there is a blog for you. Outstanding!

FLW Series East Lake Okeechobee Results

2010 FLW Series East Lake Okeechobee Results...

BassOnline.com blog out of Florida had good Day 1 coverage but nothing is up for Day 2 yet. For that matter FLW doesn't have an article yet either. I wish BassFan would cover these tournaments because I think the level of talent and payouts are "major league."

FLW Outdoors Day 2 Story...

FLW Outdoors Day 3 Story...
So it's Cox, S. Martin, Gags, Tom Mann, and JTodd Tucker but it looks like Debary, Florida’s John Cox is a lock.

State of the Union: Bass Fishing.

Blogger TBrinksFishing.com put together a State of the Bass Fishing Union essay on his blog. It is worth the read, so check it out.

So what does the BP think about the State of the Bass Fishing Union?

I see a difference between the state of bass fishing in a general sense and the state of bass tournament fishing in a particular sense. I think bass fishing in general is in pretty good shape, maybe the best shape it has ever been. To start things off a world record largemouth was just caught and officially certified. Next I think in most places that bass inhabit the populations seem to be thriving and in many of places the fishing has never been better. Then there is the excellent state of bass fishing equipment, which certainly has never been better in terms of quantity and quality. Bass fishing wisdom and knowledge is widely available in all forms of media both old (Books, TV, Magazines, VHS) and new (blogs, Internet forums, websites, DVD's, computer games, podcast/Internet radio, social networking sites, etc.) Indeed the general state of bass fishing is very good.

The state of tournament bass fishing, however, is not nearly as positive and this is true for the Professional Bass Angler, aspiring Pro and semi-professional bass anglers and the weekend warrior clubbers. The problems are well known; Money and Sponsorships are leaving the sport while the costs of participation are increasingly prohibitive at all levels; For this and other reasons participation on the whole is down instead of growing. However, before one gets to down on the whole enterprise there is a silver lining because the current difficulties present an opportunity for those in the tournament industry to re-evaluate, innovate, and build upon the good things that remain.

I think I should acknowledge that even with the set backs there are things about tournament bass fishing that remain positive such as that thanks to the Internet ESPN/BASS and FLW have been and will continue to take steps to make Professional Bass Fishing more fan friendly. Many if not all of the things that I mentioned earlier as being positives for bass fishing in general also apply to tournament bass fishing. As Tyler Brinks mentioned in his essay on this subject:

One of the most positive things I have seen in fishing has to do with the future of our sport. The youth and college programs in bass fishing have never been better. Youth clubs are becoming hugely popular and are even being seen at the high school level. College fishing is exploding and is training our young anglers for a long future in the sport.

And last but not least tournament bass fishing is still fun so if you are inclined to this kind of thing it is worth the price we have to pay, whatever that may be.

Largemouth Bass World Record Certificate

Manabu Kurita has got pictures of a couple of certificates at his blog...

College Bass Fishing Top 25 Rankings

Ok I am stealing this from TBrinksFishing.com blog and he stole it from the ESPN 2010 College Bass Blog entry by Tommy Edwards. It looks like ESPN has a host of people contributing to this College Bass Blog (scroll down for blogs) for them.

Here are the Rankings: (No clue how they arrived at their conclusions)
1 North Carolina State
2 North Texas
3 Northwestern State
4 Virginia Tech
5 Eastern Kentucky
6 Florida
7 Auburn
8 Stephen F. Austin
9 Texas A&M
10 Murray state
11 Alabama
12 Arkansas
13 Indiana
14 San Jose State
15 Arizona State
16 Louisiana - Lafayette
17 Oklahoma
18 LSU - Shreveport
19 UCF
20 Arkansas - Little Rock
21 Sacramento State
22 Texas State
23 Tarleton State
24 North Alabama
25 Faulkner

I think it's a travesty the Iowa State Hawkeye's didn't make it.

College bass fishing has come on really strong in the past couple of years, but between FLW and ESPN/BASS and whoever else is involved, the picture is kind of muddled about how exactly things are sanctioned and who all is participating. Hopefully we will see some Minnesocold Teams in the Future.

Update: I've just noticed a list of participating schools. The U of M and St. Cloud State appear to be the only MN schools. Lots of Cheesehead schools though.

Another Minnesocold Bass Fishing Blog: Team Patience

Team Patience adds yet another blog the "The BassNblog Capitol of the World.". This blog is off to a slow start with only 3 posts since it's debut in August of 2009. Hopefully they will get in gear and start posting some more stuff. I am going to leave a comment encouraging them to keep with it and add more content; I recommend for Bass Pundit readers to do the same. Also it is a Blogger blog, so don't forget to "Follow" that blog.

2010 FLW Fantasy Fishing Open For Registration

FLW FantasyFishing.com is now open for business and the details of the game for 2010 are now out in full.

For familiarities sake I wish they would have kept the website layout the same, but honestly I can't say that I think the change of layout is worse than what was there last year. Heck it might be an improvement.

Scoring:
I think I like the new scoring system a whole lot better than what they did during the big money years. The emphasis is still all about picking anglers that make the Top 10 but now instead of those fluky exacta's (ie, picking a top 10 angler in his specific place of finish), you are instead heavily rewarded now for how high of a finish your selected anglers end up with. Now the game for all practical purposes is about picking multiple anglers that finish high in the Top 10, which means the winners will be the people with the best rosters, instead of the luckiest rosters due to exacta's.

Prizes:
This year things go back to the Fantasy Bass Fishing norm where only the very best of the best rosters win prizes. For both regular tournaments and the end of the year they are only going down a total of 15 places. I think if something is a bit of a disappointment to me this would be it. I would prefer they cut $35,000 out of the Top 2 end of the year prizes and spread the love out to the top 50 finishers of each tournament and in the end of the year. I think not spreading the love is a mistake and I suspect the number of people who play next year is going to be down significantly because of it.

Here are the Prizes:
FLW Tour Events - 6 Events
1st $5,000
2nd $500
3rd $100
4th-10th $50
11th-15th $25

Cumulative End of Season Prizes
1st $50,000
2nd $25,000
3rd A $5,000 Cabela’s gift card plus a 5-day guided fishing trip for two to Lake El Salto, Mexico $12,000
4th A BRP Can-Am Outlander 400 All-Terrain Vehicle. $9,699
5th $5,000
6th-10th $1,000
11th-15th $500

Blogging Note: Not to complain or anything, but one of the downsides of a big blogroll is blogroll upkeep. Something I have not done much of especially on the Blogroll-O-FishNblog. I am in that process now and man did I have a lot of junk on there. I was also bummed to discover Bass Pundit is not blogrolled at the new Fishing Jones blog. Only 38 more blogs for me to check, Hooray!

The 2nd Favre Interception

I in no way shape or form blame Brett Farve for the NFC Championship loss due to that costly interception at the end of the game. We had barely made it into field goal range on the drive and when we got that costly 12 men in the huddle penalty we were effectively taken out of realistic field goal range. Don't forget we had a long field goal blocked for a touchdown earlier this season. Had we not gotten a penalty for the 12 men, we would have gotten a delay of game penalty for calling consecutive time outs. I think Chilly tried to get a little too cute playing head games with the Saints defence and ended up outsmarting himself and costing the team. So what is Favre to do because he really needs about 10 more yards to put us in field goal range. Farve is under the gun at that point and needs to make a play. Favre's best option when no one on that side of the field broke open was to pull it down and run but all season in similar situations circumstances Favre has passed the ball, sometimes taking a penalty for being beyond the line of scrimmage. Had the pass been incomplete the Vikes would have to have gone for it on 4th and 15 where the odds of conversion are not in our favor. The penalty screwed us far more than Favre's bad throw.

As far as I'm concerned Favre nearly won us the game and it was screw ups on Chilly's part that were the real culprit at the end. Chilly went conservative when we really needed to tack on 10 to 20 more yards; Chilly's handling of the time out was a disaster.

Update: I haven't listened to talk radio all day but the Star Trib only mentions the interception, not the impending 55+ yard field goal or 4th and 15. After the penalty the chances of the Vikings winning in regulation were very low.

Game Over Vikings Lose: Favre Retirement Speculation Begins.

More than disappointed over the loss, I am disappointed in how the Vikes played. Win or lose I wanted to see the Vikings play well. It's pretty clear our Offensive mistakes cost the game, but the Special Teams contributed to the loss and the Defence gave up touchdowns instead of fieldgoals. However, I can't complain to much about the Defence because they played a darn good game and were hurt by Special Teams and the Harvin fumble. After having watched the match up, I think if this game was played in the Metrodome it most likely would have been a Vikings blow out. Today we showed how you can lose while being the superior team.

Favre Speculation: I really hope Favre is in his right mind and doesn't go out when it's pretty obvious he is capable of taking this team on a Superbowl run. But then again you never know with Favre, if I have my history right he quit on the Packers after losing an NFC title game with his last pass then also being an interception.

Vikings vs. Dem Saints Game Day (My take)

I just am trying to enjoy the fact that my Vikes have made it to an NFC Championship game again. The last 2 NFC Championship games were heavily dispiriting with losses in 1999 (3 point overtime loss of a game we should have won) and 2001 (41-0 blowout) being just about equally brutal to take. As I have said before I would be a lot more positive on the teams chances if the game were here in Minnesocold. At the same time I am not super pessimistic either, I don't think it is a fluke that we have made it this far. If Favre and Peterson have good games than there is an excellent chance my Vikings can pull this one out. If the offence faulters than we probably have little chance because I think the Saints score at least 17 points.

I will not be liveblogging as that the last time I did it, the Vikes played terrible until I gave up and just watched the game.

Anyway, win or lose it's been a pretty great season up until this point.

Skoal Vikings!!!

Note on Jets v Colts: Either way I want the NFC Team to win the Superbowl this year. I think the Jets are probably weaker vs. the Vikings due to our run defence and the Colts are probably the weaker match up vs. the Saints because I think the Saints will have an easier time putting up points against the Colts. In all scenario's I like the NFC chances.

Dave Mercer Facts of Fishing FYI Episode #2

What is your favorite reel?

This is the question being asked over at Fisherbabe Blog and this is my answer:

My favorite reel is a Team Daiwa X-103. The reel on the left is the US model TDX-103HSDF and this version along with the TDX-103HSD are my workhorse reels that are on most of my set-ups. The reel on the right is the Japan model X-103H that I got off Ebay last year; I have fallen in love with this particular model because it is lighter in weight than a USA TDX-103 and it fits in my hand perfectly for use with vertical techniques.

FLW Fantasy Fishing launches 2010 Season

Hooray Hooray FLW Fantasy Bass Fishing is not going away.

I had my doubts that FLW Fantasy Bass Fishing was going to be a million dollar endeavor for more than the 1st year. I was shocked when they kept offering an insane level of prizes last year. It comes as less than no shock that the prizes come crashing back much closer to earth this year. However, I am happy to say that the prizes offered are still downright pretty amazing.

This is what FLW Outdoors has to say so far (click link for full article):

Fantasy Fishing is free to play, and participants will compete for a first-place prize of $50,000. Second place will take home $25,000, while the third-place finisher will walk away with Cabela’s Ultimate Fishing Trip, which includes a trip to Lake El Salto in Mexico and a $5,000 Cabela’s gift card. The fourth-place finisher will win a Can-Am ATV valued at $9,699. All the prizes for 2010 are guaranteed and include $5,000 to the winning player for each of the six FLW Tour qualifying events, as well as cash and prizes to the top finishing participants overall and in each respective qualifying tournaments.

Apparently the game is going to be scored a little differently this year. It looks like they are getting rid of the "exacta bonus" except for one on the tournament winner. I did not care for the luck factor involved with the exacta bonuses, so this change sits very well with me.

More details to be released soon.

2nd Annual Minnesota Fishing Challenge (for MN Teen Challenge)

Last year was a huge success so they are going to be having the Minnesota Fishing Challenge again this year (click that link to go to the event website).

Date: June 5th 2010
Lake: Gull
Categories: Bass, Pike, Walleye, and Panfish

Each two-person team will submit an entry fee of $100 that covers a banquet the night before the tournament, special awards and prizes. Each team then raises a minimum of $500 from friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. Last year, teams averaged more than $1,000, and the 87 two-person teams raised more than $100,000 for Minnesota Teen Challenge. All donations are 100-percent tax deductible.

Once again the top fundraising team will get a fishing outing with Al Lindner and the 2nd place fundraiser gets a fishing outing with Walleye Dan. This year the 3rd Place fundraiser gets a day trip with Ron Lindner. COOL!!!

Last year the guys that I sponsored won the Pike division.

Note: Once again this year it looks like I have a conflict with the date, so I will be sponsoring somebody else.

Brett Favre "Pants On the Ground"

For your viewing pleasure

Congratulations!!!

Bass fishing blogger Tyler Brinks won a tournament on topwater today down in Florida...

Fishing Stud FLW Pro Brent Ehler won FLW Western Series event at Lake Shasta.

Hmmm, Wired2Fish.com which I pretty much never visit started a blog, but it doesn't look like they are putting any effort into it.

Viking Victory!!! (Over Cowboys)

All Smiles, BABY!!!

When Favre signed with the Vikes this is what I blogged:
If the defence can be as good or better than last year and Farve is and stays healthy then a division title and shot in the NFC Championship Game are reasonable expectations.

The Vikings have thankfully reached my expectations for them this season. Now the big question is whether Farve and that Viking Defence can exceed my expectations from here on out. I don't mean to be a downer to my fellow Vikings fans, but I am pessimistic and here's why.

Answer me this: When has Childress won a game that he really wasn't suppose too? Now I know lots of people favored the Cowboys in this one, but come on the game was in the Metrodome where the Vikings should be the winner because of the advantage home field gave our defence. I would have some reason for optimism if the Vikes beat the Steelers or the Cards this season but we lost both of those games and the Cards game was lost badly. If the Vikes were playing in our dome, I would say that we should be favorites but not by much. I think having to go into New Orleans makes them prohibitive favorites even though the Cowboys did beat the Saints there a couple of weeks ago.

Losing the Cards, Steelers, Carolina and Bears games look as costly now as they ever have. Today I think we proved that winning in the Metrodome would be a difficult task no matter how good a team was and had been playing coming into the game. If the Vikes can make it to the Superbowl, I will be ecstatic and if they don't make it, which I expect, than I really hope Favre gets a clue and signs on for next year.

With that said:
SKOAL VIKINGS!!!

Fast Lane at Big O BASS Southern Open

The results are now in and bass fishing brothers Chris and Bobby Lane finished 1st and 2nd respectively. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Both Chris and Bobby are Elite series Pro's, but FLW guys showed well in 4th (Tharp) and 6th (Kenney) place.

MN Boy Remitz "The Wolverine" started the year well finishing in 14th with it's $2,843 paycheck.

Final Results here...

MN Boys at the Big O BASS Southern Open

The official standings don't recognise any anglers as being from Minnesocold but actually there are at least two of them. The more famous one is Derek "The Wolverine" Remitz who is in 9th place after Day 2. The other guy is none other than Minnesocold Bass Fishing Blogger and soon to be FLW Pro Mosaic Matt Peters of FisningwithMatt blog. I didn't know Matt was fishing the Open because he never wrote about it on his blog or on Facebook. I only figured it out thanks to a Facebook Wall post from Minnesocold BassNblogger Brian "Fishing Hype" Brown. Matt missed the cut by 3 ounces but did make a $569 check. Good Job Matt

It is a bit of a surprise to me that FLW Pro Chad Grigsby who lives Maple Grove, MN isn't fishing this one with his good buddy JT Kenney.

Update: Some new information has come to light and apparently the Matt Peters that fished the Open is NOT the Matt Peters from MN. It was easy to confuse the two because MN Matt Peters was in Florida at the same time.

Bassmaster Open Lake Okeechobee

Hojin Express Fishing "Big O" Bassmaster Open

I see from the Day 1 Standings (Now with Day 2), that Hojin Chang of the bass fishing blog Rattletrap Ramblings is fishing this weekends BASS Southern Open on Lake Okeechobee. He did land a 15oz squeeker which is more than you can say for 64 others.

Update: Hojin caught a single bass (2-6) on day 2. I think that means he is done fishing for the tournament.

A couple thoughts on the Southern Open: Like Tyler Brinks blogged:
The interesting thing to me was seeing alot of big name FLW Tour Pros fishing the event. Could it be some of them are looking to qualify for the Elites next year after the recent chaos of the FLW Tour? Michael Bennett, Luke Clausen, Ott Defoe, Greg Pugh, Scott Canterbury, Koby Kreiger and several others. All of these guys were fishing for an FLW Team last year and are all here. Early season warm-up or looking to jump ship, you decide.


And I took a close look at the standings and the only woman angler in the field is Pam Martin Wells. Since the cancelling of the WBT Tour I saw a number of comments on message boards that the WBT league cancellation was no big deal, "the women can just fish against the guys." Well it looks to me if BASS doesn't do something about making some spaces available just for women than they probably are not gonna have that chance. I am all for some affirmative action with 10-15 spots set aside in the Opens just for women and how about 1 slot in the Elites. There are a few women on the women's side including Byron's Bachelor girl Mary Delgado.

Found New Blog: AnglersChannel.com blog has some Big O coverage...

Dave Mercer with Facts of Fishing FYI

Dave Mercer is a Bass Blogger, TV Personality and Facebook Friend who sent me a little birthday love, so I thought I would promote his new Youtube project called Facts of Fishing FYI.

Have We Seen the Last Million Dollar Bass Tournment Check?

I read in BassFan Dock Talk that the Ranger Cup Contingency Bonus for winning the Forrest Wood Cup is going to be $100,000 in 2010, which is down from $500,000 last 3 years. In case you did not know, the Forrest Wood Cup win for the last few years has been worth $500,000 and so Ranger owners had a shot at a million dollar payday with the addition of that 500K Ranger Cup money. The first million dollar winner was Scott Suggs in 2007. In 2008the million was claimed by Michael Bennett In 2009 the Forrest Wood Cup was won by Greg Hackney, who happened to be with Triton Boats at the time, so he didn't make the million. It very well could be that the days of the million dollar bass tournament payday are now over for good.

It may be a sign of the end of the world that the last $1,000,000 paycheck in Professional Bass Fishing went not to a fisherman, but to Terry Moberly of Kentucky for being a lucky Fantasy Bass Fishing player.
I wonder what that FLW Fantasy Fishing Challenge is going to look like this year? Will they even have it?

Found: Bass Fishing Blogs

TBrinksFishing.com This is a bass fishing blog by Tyler Brinks who is a tournament fishmen out of Fort Myers Florida. The blog has only been around since March and I found it thanks to I am a bass fishermen. I have enjoyed the content with just a short look and I think Tyler is off to a great start.

Update: Tyler is all over that Bassmaster Open down on "The Big O" this weekend.

Tami Curtis...What's Up Bass Fishing Blog Here is the blog tag-line which I suppose says it all: "My life on the road as a Pro Bass Angler (co-angler) competing with the guys". She is out of Texas but it looks like she fishes throughout the SouthWest. I found out about her blog because she is a Bass Pundit "Follower" although she just became a follower silently and I only found her blog because I went to look and see who this follower was. Visit her blog and show this chica bass blogger some love, although for some reason she doesn't allow comments.

Update: Maybe I missed this the 1st time. You can leave comments but you have to be in a specific blog post to do it. For some reason the comment link does not appear on the full blog.

Here is Tami catching a good fish. It's a fun video


Kramer Gone Fishing- George Kramer is a veteran outdoor writer who is all about bass fishing. This is a bass fishing blog that most certainly doesn't suck, the guy really knows his craft.

Blogging Note: I have now put the same Bass Pundit Sitemeter on all Blogger Bass Pundit Blog Franchise Empire blogs, so in my theory a hit on any frachise blog is now counted for Bass Pundit.

Good Read About Some MN Winter Bassin

No ice hole necessary: You can catch fish all winter in open water... This is an article from the MN Sun about a fishing trip with Minnesocold Bass Fishing bloggers Rich Lindgren and Josh Douglas.

Hmmm I have an idea.

Just to see what would happen I Googled Eddy's Launch. On the very first page of results there were 3 results from Bass Pundit blogs (2 From Bass Pundit and 1 from BP Fishing Log Blog.) from when I blogged about my launch trips with Dad.

Next I Googled Jim Moynagh On the 1st page of results is Bass Pundit Blog post and on the 2nd page of results is a Bass Pundit blog post.

From this experiment, I have come to the conclusion that my little blog may actually be worth something in terms of promoting something like a Fishing Guide Service. I wonder if any guides out there would be willing to trade a trip for a Bass Pundit write up. I might just have to look up some guides and make a few phone calls and see if anyone is interested.

Packer Arizona Loss Facemask Controversy

The Packer Nation will sure to be squawking about this one. In the replay you can see that the defender who knocked the ball out of Aaron Rodgers hand ended up getting Rodgers facemask as Rodgers was brought to the ground. In defence of the refs, I would assume their eyes were no longer focused on Rodgers at that point but instead were looking at the ball which was loose and live. I don't think it helped matters that the ball bounced off Rodgers facemask down and in the opposite direction to which Rodgers was tackled. I didn't see the facemask until reading about it online precisely because while watching it on TV I was 100% focused on watching where the ball went. They do not do replay to check for uncalled penalties, so the Pack faithful are just gonna have to sulk in their misery.

I am no expert in the rules of football, but I think had the facemask been called it would have still been Cardinal football at the Packer 31 yardline because the fumble preceded the facemask.

Update: I had a hunch blogging about this might be good for some blog traffic. I was right.

Also Cheeseheads should note that couple of weeks ago I didn't protest the facemask on the Adrian Peterson fumble in Da Bears game.

Tentative Bass Snatcher Tournament Lakes 2010

Well it isn't looking good for the lakes I wanted to fish. Since I am fairly new in the club and a non-boater I didn't throw out any of my lake choices, but several of them did get voted down at one point or another. The schedule won't be cemented until the end of our Feb. 6th meeting.

So here are the lakes as we have them and my initial thoughts (Lakes in order fishing)

Whitefish Chain- It's an OK fishery that I have pre-fished and fished a tournament on for a grand total of 2 days on the lake. I did well pre-fishing, the tournament was a disaster and I have barely seen any of the water on this somewhat large chain of lakes. There is a pretty good chance my partner will have a lot of experience on the chain.

Farm Island- If this one holds it will be my 1st repeat lake for the site of a Snatcher Tournament. Like the Whitefish Chain, I regard it as an OK fishery where there is a good population of fish, but the quality maybe isn't top notch. I do like the lake.

Cass- This is a lake I and the club has never fished before and I didn't vote for it because I don't necessarily want to travel that far. That said this lake may be a diamond in the rough. Last year the Excel Circuit fished the lake twice and it showed out with some big bags and big fish. I don't know anything about how it fishes, but I think it may be Leech Lake like shallow weeds deal with lengthy runs required to get there.

Le Homme Dieu- Another lake I and the club has never fished and I didn't vote for because of the travel factor. I am actually quite surprised the club has never fished it because it hosted the Minnesota Federation Nation State Tournament in 2005 (bass blogger Rich Lindgren took 2nd). It would seem from those results, this place is a peanut factory which I suppose can make for a fun day on the water if I can fish the way I prefer and get lots of action doing it. I can tell you right now I want to throw a Berkley Frenzy Popper.

Washburn- I didn't have a clue about this lake and thus I didn't vote for it. This 1,500 acre lake is in SE Cass County North of the town of Outing. The club fished this lake in 2005 and 1995 and the 2005 results don't make the lake stand out and the 95' results make me wonder why they ever considered it again. The lake has clear water and unfortunately no smallmouth population like say Woman, Little Boy/Wabedo, Roosevelt, or Serpent. I have zero clue about how it fishes other than the fact that weedline/dock guys dominated in 2005. A lake where more than half the field in 2005 couldn't get a limit concerns me.

Serpent- If it holds this would be my 2nd repeated tournament lake as a Bass Snatcher. Serpent was the sight of my best showing in the club (3rd Place and Lunker). I would be a lot more enthusiastic about this choice if Smallmouth were in season because I would want that option to be available. The tentative date for this one is Oct 2nd. Smallmouth were not an option in that 1st tournament either because that one was in late Sept; Also some very good fishermen stumbled at that tournament which gives me some pause about the bass population in the lake.

World Record Bass Fisherman Manabu Blogs It In...

He titles his post: My Record Becomes World Record Giant Bass!!

Unfortunatly Manabu doesn't allow comments so we can't congratulate him there.

I understand Manabu does post at Delawaretrophybass.com

MT Bucket Ice Bluegill Derby

Stealing a page from Bass Pundit, Cyberfish at MT Bucket Blog is hosting MT's 2010 Monster Bluegill On Ice Derby. Unlike a Bass Pundit Derby, Cyberfish is actually offering a prize for the winner, but to qualify you have to jump through a few hoops while the BP Derby's have been 100% honor system.

Of coarse the big problem with Cyberfish's Derby is that the only bluegill ice fisherman better than Cyberfish is Da Man, Dave Genz himself.

The Lakes I Would Like To Fish Tournaments On This Summer.

As I have mentioned before, this Saturday is my Baxter Bass Snatchers Bass Club meeting where we come up with a preliminary schedule for this years club tournament dates and lakes.

Here in no particular order are my Top 6 Choices with reasons:

Minnewawa- Last summer the Range Bassmasters club proved this was a worthy fishery with lots of big fish and great average size. The club has never fished it.

Platte/Sullivan- Sure these lakes usually have not been real good to me on tournament day, but it would be cool to see how others approach the lakes I fish most.

Pokegama (Grand Rapids)- Big fish potential, largemout and smallies.

Shamineau- I know it holds some big fish and the club hasn't been there in quite a while.

North Long- A good lake and the club fishes it often.

Birch (by Ten Mile)- It got bumped last year and I thought it offered a great chance for big bags and bass.

I will be very happy if I get 2 of my choices.

World Record Bass Officially Japanese

The Jury is in and this big ole bass officially ties the famous George Perry record. BassFan has a write up from the IGFA. Personally I am a skeptic when it comes to Perry's fish (Just like Hellabass) and I am with Hellabass in acknowledging that Manabu Kurita is now rightfully DA Man!

Congratulations Manabu!!!

Update: The one downside. Manabu caught the bass with a live sunfish. That IS NOT kosher here in Minnesocold, "the State wher nothing is allowed."

Hmmm, time to think...

What lakes do I want to fish tournaments on this Summer? My bass club, The Baxter Bass Snatchers, is meeting on Saturday to come up with lakes for this summer.

Update: Didn't think about anything, took a long nap. Don't think I dreamed about the lakes either.

Does Bass Fishing Cost too Much?

Vagabond Persimmon Seed #21 $68.99

Yesterday on Facebook one of my friends wrote:
The economy continues to wreak havoc on the fishing industry but it seems people in the industry just don't get it. Come on $20 crankbaits, $70k boats! The average angler is being hurt the worst.

Several people clicked "Like" or commented in agreement. I ,however, was the lone dissenting voice when I wrote:

Sorry but I disagree, I think at no time in history has it been so easy to get quality equipment at a reasonable price thanks to the very large Internet inspired new and used marketplace.

I think at the outset it might be a good idea to make a distinction between an "average" bass angler and an "average" bass tournament angler because I don't think the Joe average bass fisherman is necessarily a tournament person. To be a tournament fisherman generally is going to require a financial commitment to equipment that is completely unnecessary for the basic task of having a good time by catching a few bass as a hobby.

For the guy that just wants to go out on a regular basis and bust a few bass it most certainly does not require "$20 crankbaits" and "70K boats." Any suggestion that this is the case is ridiculous. There is no doubt in my mind that right now and into the foreseeable future the average fisherman will be able to acquire quality equipment that will bring plenty of bass fishing success even on a tight budget.

I think the same pretty much holds true for Joe average bass tournament fisherman, because Joe average bass tournament fisherman is a club guy fishing for little to nothing beyond bragging rights, a trophy and maybe few hundred up to maybe a couple of thousand dollars at the high end. Bill Ludenia, who is a guy in my bass club, is a perfect example of a guy who has been a very successful bass tournament fisherman who doesn't see a big need to "keep up with the Joneses." He keeps it simple, fishes to his strengths and gets the job done.

To my comment someone replied with this:
Pretty hard to get a used BDS 4 spring craw. Used boats time is now but who has the cash, half price may as well be full price.
(Note a BDS is a Lucky Craft Crankbait that retails for $15-$17 depending on size, spring craw is a color pattern)

Well obviously is someone is dead set on getting a specific Lucky Craft crankbait, finding a good deal on it may not be possible. Heck the notion of "good deal" and Lucky Craft crankbaits is probably an oxymoron to the average Joe bass fishermen who probably gets bye just fine with a few Bandits or Bombers out of the bargain bin.

Owning a boat is nice but not a necessity. With the Internet it is easier than ever to get connected with people who have boats or find out about local opportunities to catch bass where a boat isn't even necessary. If you are in the market for a watercraft as long as you have a couple of hundred bucks you should be able to find something between Craigslist, Ebay, and local fishing forums.

Does bass fishing cost too much? No! Lack of money is not much of an excuse.

Update: Be sure to look at this threads comments as there are some excellent things pointed out.

This just in...

BassFan is reporting that the Women's Bassmaster Tour is going belly up. Too bad!!! Looks like Pam Martin-Wells will be the last woman in the Classic for some time. I hope that at least a small cadre of the best women can get the sponsorship to make a go of it in the Opens. Maybe one day a woman will tackle the Elites, knock on wood.

Belated Birthday Well Wishes from Bass Fishing Legend

Not to name drop or anything but I got a nice belated Birthday note from Jimmy Houston on Facebook. I think that is a awfully nice gesture seeing how the guy has a thousand plus Facebook friends.

Thanks Jimmy

My Birthday Wishes:

A Vikings Victory and a Eagles loss. Skol Vikings!!! Halftime Update: No offense Kristen but this is my kind of game. Just wish it was the Conference Championship. Game Over Update: Well I got step #1. All things being equal the Cowboys should beat Philly because they are playing at home. Halftime Update: I LIKE! Update 6PM: I think I will celebrate now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

My Top 10 Baits of the 2000's

Ok I know I said I wasn't going to do a retrospective look back at the 2000's decade but then I saw Hellabass do one on his Top 10 Bass Baits of the past Decade . I thought it was a cool idea and so I am going to do my own Top 10 list.


#10 Mann's Minus One- I use all 3 sizes and they have caught many bass and some big pike. I threw thew them a lot more often earlier in the decade and in the latter part of the decade I have used them primarily for going after pike.

#9 Buzzbait- I don't throw buzzbaits a whole lot but they were the key lure for winning the 2008 Fisher of Men Fishing Club Fall Outing Fally WallEE Trophy  and I caught a 5lb bass on the Herb's Dilly Buzzbait this decade.

Top Brands: Herb's Dilly, Northland, Blue Fox.

#8 Rapala Subwalk- The Subwalk gets the nod mainly because I caught these 2 bass on it in one cast and then there is the episode of getting one bit off, retrieving the lure several days later, and then losing that particular bait never to be seen again.

#7 Rattlebaits- This particular family of baits was hot for me early in the decade, but I have developed upper back issues that interfere with me being able to rip the bait.

Top brands: Cordell Spots, Berkley Frenzy, and the venerable Rattletrap

#6 Swim Jigs- I have pounded bass and pike hard over the last couple of years thanks to swim jigs and of coarse there is the episode of The Lost Jig.

Top brands: Bass Pro Shops Tom Monsoor Enticer, Outkast, All-Terrain, Brovarney.

#5 Buzz Toads- This type of bait is #6 because I just love to throw em and a white Sizmic Toad caught one of my Top 5 biggest bass of the decade.

Top Brands: Zoom Horny Toad and Sizmic Toad.

#4 Suspending Jerkbaits- This decade I hammered bass (Larry and Sally), pike, and walleye on suspending jerkbaits. A green Smithwick Dead-Stick Rogue caught one of my Top 5 biggest bass of the decade and I believe a Husky Jerk was probably responsible for my personal best walleye which was caught trolling in the Fall on Mille Lacs.

Top Brands: Rapala Husky Jerk, Rapala X-Rap, Smithwick Dead Stick Rogue, Smithwick Suspending Rogue, and Bomber Long A.

#3 Slop Frogs- Snagproof Tournament Frogs were responsible for my two biggest bass of the decade and accounted for more 4 and 5lb bass than any other lure. Also Mike Thompson caught the biggest pike I witnessed get caught this decade on a Snagproof Frog.
Top Brands: Snagproof, Spro, River2Sea.

#2 Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke- I have caught a lot of bass (mostly Larry's but some Sally's too) on Zoom Super Flukes over the past 10 years and it has been clutch for me in tournaments. My Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke is responsible for my 3rd place finish and Lunker at the 2008 Baxter Bass Snatcher Club Tournament at Serpent Lake (4/02), Big Bass and Tournament win at a Fishers of Men Club Tournament on Rush Lake (20.5"), My 3rd Place in the 2004 Excel Singles Tournament at Rabbit Lake, and was partially responsible for my 2004 Team Bass win at Bone Lake, WI; there is more but those are the biggest Super Fluke highlights.

#1 Berkley Frenzy Popper- Some of my most fun and prolific times on the water this decade involved the now discontinued Berkley Frenzy Popper. Fortunately for me I snapped up lots of Frenzy Poppers off Ebay before they were discontinued.

Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

Click Pic to enlarge (it's much better)

U2 to the New Year...

All is quiet on New Year's Day,
A world in white gets underway,
And I want to be with you,
Be with you night and day.
Nothing changes on New Year's Day.
by U2

It's 2010 maybe I should blog that.

Wow I even learned something new when I did this.