Bassmaster Classic: The Dream That Never Was

During this past Bassmaster Classic week I heard several different fishermen from Federation anglers to Elite Series pro's express the notion that fishing in the Bassmaster Classic was a lifetime "dream come true." A couple of times I heard it said that fishing in the Bassmaster Classic is the dream of all tournament bass fisherman. I must be an odd case then, because I can't say that fishing in the Bassmaster Classic has ever been one of my aspirations.

Growing up my family had a cabin on Lake Sylvia/Twin (now East & West Sylvia) near Annandale in Wright County Minnesota, which is about an hour and a half NW of Minneapolis; The two lakes are prolific largemouth bass fisheries. I was taught to fish at a very early age by my Dad, Grandmother Maas, and my Mom. Dad was my main fishing tutor and while he liked to fish, he was not overly serious about the sport, more of a casual weekend warrior type. Dad was much more serious about cars and Ham radio. Our fishing boat was late 1960's 14 ft Alumacraft with bench seats and a 5.5 horse Johnson motor. We also had a pontoon boat we would use for fishing. However, most of my early fishing was done off of our or our neighbors docks.

Of my 3 brothers and me, I was basically the only one to be badly afflicted with the fishing bug. I have just always loved to fish and we were up at the cabin frequently in the summer, so I got to go fishing often and as I grew older my love for fishing just grew and grew. My first exposure to fishing outside my family came from TV shows by Virgil Ward, Roland Martin, and Bill Dance. My first exposure to the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society probably came from commercials while watching fishing shows, but I also distinctly remember looking at Bassmaster Magazine at the Barber Shop in Annandale when I was probably around 8 years old. I remember thinking B.A.S.S. was the coolest thing and I wanted to join, but my parents didn't pursue it for me. I don't know when I was first made aware of tournament bass fishing, but I don't think it was until I was a teenager that I ever heard about the Bassmaster Classic and the information I heard about it was pretty scant. When it came to fishing I was much more interested in learning how to catch fish than I was interested in hearing about tournaments.

It wasn't until I was out of college and in my early twenties that I gave much thought to tournament bass fishing. In the 90's Lake Minnetonka used to be the site of a prestigious bass tournament called the Don Shelby US Invitational that drew in some of the big names of B.A.S.S.. The "Shelby" had a $50,000 top prize, which was big for those days. I was just astonished by how big a sack of bass it took to do well in that tournament. Sylvia/Twin is a peanut factory where 3lb and up fish are rare, and these guys were bringing in sacks with close to or over a 4lb average per fish. Also for the first time in my life I had cable TV and so I could watch the Bassmasters TV Show and I think I joined B.A.S.S. in 1993. In 1995 I went to see my first weigh-in ever at the Bassmaster Top 100 that was held on Lake Minnetonka.

I did not fish in my first bass tournament until 2 years later in 1997 when I was 27 years old; That summer I fished as a non-boater in 2 Military Bass Angler (now ABA) tournaments at Clearwater Lake in Wright County. I got skunked in my first tournament but did manage to catch a couple of fish on my second try. Looking back at it now, I had very little clue as to what I was getting myself into when I fished those tournaments. But despite the poor results I did enjoy myself and wasn't all that discouraged. In 1998 I joined The Fishers of Men Fishing Club (Twin Cities) which is just a fishing club, not a bass fishing club. It was not until I was 31 when I started fishing bass tournaments with any seriousness.

I think because I wasn't brought up with it and didn't start tournament fishing until well into adulthood is probably why the Bassmasters Classic for me is the dream that never was.

Name Mark Menedez's New Puppy Contest

Mark Menedez was well known for his fishing partner, yellow lab Barkley. Unfotunately Barkley's time is now past and Mark has gotten a new fishing partner and his having a contest to name the dog. Contest winner will get stuff from Mark's sponsors.

Email your thought for a name to: info@markmenedez.com

Update: The contest is over and the dogs name is Tucker Finn.

Ardent Denny Brauer Flipping Reel Contest...

I love online contests for free bass fishing stuff and Wired2Fish is having a contest for an Ardent Denny Brauer Signature Series F-700 flipping and pitching reel. Details at the link.

Also BASS has it's Bassmaster Gear Up Giveaway...

How Kevin Van Dam Fishes The Red Eye Shad

This is good stuff people:

Brent Chapman the Invisible 5th Man

Elite Series Bass Pro Brent Chapman entered the final day of the 2010 Bassmasters Classic in 9th Place. But by for the final weigh-in Brent was in the Super 6 and he ended up passing Mike Iaconelli and finishing in 5th. Despite having the 3rd best bag of the final day and fishing in the same general location in Beeswax Creek as the other top finishers Brent Chapman did not get a second of TV air time for the final day; I don't think he was even mentioned to be honest. Ike who started the day in 4th and finished in 6th got plenty of air time. Personally I think the fact that he got no TV air time on the final day is ridiculous.

Brent has a blog and this is what he had to say about this issue:

In talking with some of you, I found out how disappointed you were in my lack of TV airtime. Believe me, I was disappointed too. I didn’t expect to get a ton of TV time with a fifth place finish, but I was hoping for some, especially for my sponsor’s sake! Please, if any of you feel strongly enough about this, send a comment to Bassmaster’s Customer Service, the e-mail is customerservice@bassmater.com .

I encourage everyone who reads this to shoot off and email and voice an opinion.

40th Bassmasters Classic Odds and Ends

In case you are not aware this is the Strike King Red Eye Shad in the color gold sexy shad and it is the lure Kevin Van Dam used to win the Bassmasters Classic. They have them at Tackle Warehouse for $4.99, which to me is a reasonably priced bait. I have seen the SK Red Eye's on sale from time to time cheaper. I like the idea of a gold rattlebait but I think I might own maybe one with that color. I am a big believer in going gold when it's overcast, but it was sunny pretty much for the Classic.

If you are going for the full KVD you need to change out the stock trebles and trick the bait out with the new Mustad KVD Elite Series Triple Grip Hook

One can only imagine the business Strike King and Mustad are going to be getting out of this Classic Win.

As for Classic losers I recommend you check out this final Classic video blog from Skeet Reese. It will make you smile. Skeets a funny guy.

Armchair Anglers blog out of Alabama writes about how Coontail Grass Made Beeswax Creek Special We have the same Coontail up here in Minnesota and I can attest that it is excellent stuff for fishing with crankbaits. Our Minnesota coontail tends to really shine in the Fall after other weeds have died off. I would tell you coontail is also excellent in the Spring, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

Kevin Van Dam 2010 Bassmaster Classic Champion- Analysis

Kevin Van Dam is so good at bass fishing it is shocking. Like golf, fishing is an individual sport that rewards good technical mechanics, raw physical abilities, mental toughness, mental intelligence, and something golf doesn't have which is anglers intuition. I think I can confidently say at this point that Kevin Van Dam has proven that he is the best bass angler ever to posses these skills and traits. Don't get me wrong, Rick Clunn had/has all these features in spades and is like none other. However, I think Kevin is showing domination in a time when the level of competition has never been higher.

A question that is entering my mind after the finish of this Lay Lake 40th Bassmasters Classic is whether Kevin had the best spot in crowded Beeswax Creek or whether he was simply the best dimensional fisherman in Beeswax Creek? The standings in this one bear out remarkably that the best place to be fishing on Lay Lake the past 3 days was in Beeswax. If I am not mistaken all of the so called Super 6 were in Beeswax catching fish. The top 3 all fished close to one another but not in the exact same water and they all hoarded their specific area for the vast majority of time in the tournament. I think the answer to my question is that there was a little of both. The fact that Kevin's area gave up the two biggest stringers of the tournament tends to favor the answer that he was in fact in the very best area. However, the fact that KVD, Jeff Kriet, and Todd Faircloth were all pretty much using the same category of lures I think favors the answer that Kevin was the best dimensional fisherman. While I don't know yet all the exact lures KVD caught his fish on I am confident that all of the top 3 guys were primarily on the very best pattern which was lipless crankbaits. Because KVD has an Elite Series win on Lake Toho that was a lipless crankbait pattern proves he is a virtuoso of that particular craft.

And lastly let me conclude that it speaks volumes to Kevin's level of ability that he bagged 51lbs 6ozs which blew almost every pre and during tournament prediction out of the water. I think measured by the numbers head to head this 2010 Bassmaster Classic will have proved to be tougher fishing than what went on when Boyd Duckett won in 2007; Still that did not stop KVD from convincingly beating Boyd Duckett's winning weight this year.

Kevin Van Dam Wins the 2010 Bassmasters Classic

In 2007 at Lay Lake KVD let it all slip away. Not this year my friends, not this year!!!

51 freakin 6!!!

OH YEAH! Congratulations KVD!!!

Now I gots to take the dog for a walk.

Mercer has a Twit Vid on the Super 6, video kind of sucks but it's more than nothing. At the start of the video the light on the screen looks like it came from Mercers 1st Twit Vid this morning when he was following the convoy.

2010 Bassmaster Classic Leaderboard Liveblog

OK now that that phone call is done with I can get down to the pointless exercise of live blogging the ESPN Live Real-Time Leaderboard.

6:13PM KVD weighs the days biggest bag with 19-7 for a 51-6 Total and he wins his 3rd Bassmasters Classic Title. Move over Rick Clunn there is a new Greatest Of All Time!!!
6:11PM KVD needs 14-8

6:10PM Just to be the 1st to say it Kevin Van Dam is your 2010 Bassmasters Classic Champion!!!

6:07 Russ Lane needs 20-12 to take the lead. He has 18-1, so the Squirrel holds on by a threat.

6:06PM If Ike ever gets off the stage Russ Lane is next.

6:05PM Naturally Ike is taking forever.

6:02PM Brent Chapman will move up to 5th.

6:00PM Ike needs 19-11 he has 10-9, somebody owes me a donut.

5:58PM Ike is next. Dollars to Donuts he doesn't beat Kriet.

5:56PM Jeff Kriet with 14-5 which puts him in 1st with 46-6. That is pretty dang good, too bad it won't be good enough.

5:53PM For some reason Todd Faircloth weighed next 12-5 which puts him in 1st with 44-3.

5:51PM Brent Chapman shows strong with 16-12 for 37-14 total, into 1st place for now. Maybe he will move into 5th place in front of Ike.

5:49PM Man the Super 6 Hoopala is taking a long time.

5:47PM From Bass Insider Bass Cam I got a look at 4 of Kriets fish and it looked like 2x2lbs+ and 2+3lbs+, Van Dam is supposed to have multiple 4's.

5:40PM From here it goes Chapman, R. Lane, Ike, Faircloth, KVD, Squirrel.

5:39PM From Bass Insider Bass Cam Russ Lane claims he missed 2 fish yesterday that probably would have won him the Classic.

5:35PM Looks like Pam Martin-Wells will finish 22nd.

5:32PM Biffle last man before the Super 6.

5:30PM Matt Herren 12-7 which will jump him to #1.

5:27PM Only 3 more till the Super 6.

5:26PM Ike was quite positive in that pre-weigh in interview. He is satisfied that he fished about as good as he could. Next up on Insider Bass Cam Kevin Van Dam.
5:22PM The Cajun Baby Cliff Crochet can NOT take the lead.

5:20PM Ike is up on the Bass Insider Bass Cam, this should be good.

5:17PM We are more than half way done. Sorry to the anglers I have not mentioned.

5:16PM Quick trivia question, which Elite Series Pro has been beaten in 2 Bassmasters Classics by women?

5:15PM We know this much, Steven Browning will take 25th.

5:12PM Kevin Wirth strong with 15-8, and he is in the hot seat for a moment. Has Big Bass at 5-9.

5:10PM Cliff Pace Blah Blah Blah.

5:07PM Federation Angler Jeff Freeman weighs in 14-6 and is in the hot seat, only if just for a moment.

5:03PM Swindle can't crack the top 3.

5:00PM Bass Blogging Ninja Kota weighs in 10-4 doesn't touch top 3.

4:48PM Mark Tucker with 12 but it's not enough to leap frog yesterday's top 3.

4:53PM Pam Martin-Wells weighs in 8-4 which gives her 25 even. Good Job Pam!!!

BTW A-Mart now has Big Bass with a 5-3.

4:51PM Oops it was 13-15 not 14-5 for A-Mart.

4:48PM A-Mart with 13-15 but that ain't good enough to lift him into 1st even for a moment.

4:45PM Things seemed to have stopped after Rojas, I hope that leaderboard didn't lock up.

4:40PM So far I've missed Browning, Rojas, and Quinn. None of which could take the lead. Quinn got a 4-2.

2010 Bassmaster Classic Day Final Take 2

11:30AM Just got on computer have yet to check anything. First stop BASS live blog. I read the bottom first, to keep things and suspense in order.

11:42PM I'll be dipped and fried the 8:57AM blog talks about KVD catching a pickeral. I could have sworn last night watching the Classic coverage on TV that Brent Chapman had caught a toothy critter, not a bass. Maybe I wasn't seeing things. I hope the disappointment of catching a non-bass makes the TV show.

11:52AM Straight up from the Live Blog:

10:55AM ET You want to get a good idea of how much these guys respect each other?

Todd Faircloth and Brent Chapman have been sharing water in Beeswax Creek all week. Chapman has been having a good morning. He has a limit. Meanwhile Faircloth only has two.

According to Robbins, Chapman just idled over to Faircloth and handed him a bait, assumedly the one or one like he's been using.

Faircloth is tying that bait on.

Chapman is a great guy, always has been. But he may be ready to see some with a shot at slaying the dragon succeed.


Brent Chapman and his wife are also bass fishing bloggers. But I'm not going to link to that now.

12:00PM Ruh Row!!!

11:15AM ET We didn't get to talk to Jason Quinn this morning. But we've just learned that he is dealing with food poisoning. He was up all night hugging the porcelain.

He's still out there today, casting away and probably feeling pretty terrible at the moment.


12:05PM I'm all updated on the 2010 Bassmaster Classic live blog Looks like Russ Lane is going to make a serious run, KVD will add drama, and Kriet and Faircloth need to catch more fish.

12:15PM If Bass Trakk is correct and KVD has 15lbs today than Ike is in serious trouble.

Kriet bags his limit, needs serious upgrading.

12:20PM Just got a call from my 38 year old brother Steve who was proud to say that he finished his first marathon today (1st one he ever tried). WAY TO GET IT DONE STEVE!!! I am sure I will blog more on this later today.

12:30PM On to watching the days Bass Cam video's

I see that Todd Faircloth has a limit but it's tiny fish.

The thing about these Bass Cam video's is that I have to pause them so they can load up, but if when I do that a new video is posted then the one I'm loading gets preempted by the new one. Hate that!

12:45PM From Bass Cam video Chris Lane says he's going to confront some guys who are fishing in Beeswax Creek, where most of the top guys are. Personally I think that is a bogus move, if people want to fish they have as much right to the water as the Pro's. Now I wouldn't fish on Pro's water in the BMC, but this is fishing and these kind of things can and do happen.

12:55PM As much as I love KVD, I'm rooting for the "Squirrel" in this one Jeff Kriet. Now if it was Ike and KVD than I'd be all KVD.

1:00PM On Bass Cam Russ Lane keeps talking about the head games that must be going on in Beeswax because of the crowd cheers when a fish is caught. Yeah if your not catching em' that would play with your head.

1:10PM These Bass Cam video's are basically short video blogs, worth the look if you are not watching them. Tip- They are in order from new to old, start with old and work your way back.

1:15PM Mercer Twit Vid Kevin VanDam Catching a giant on the final day of the Bassmaster Classic So good this one gets an embed.



1:30PM Mercer with an earlier Twit Vid than the Van Dam one. Why wasn't Mercer on the water the first two days?

1:35PM Rich's Bassin' Blog Mid-Day Report...

1:45PM Another Mercer Twit Vid from earlier in the day... He's on the water. Money quote: "I'm a roving reporter with nothing to report."

1:55PM Just finished up the Bass Cam on the water video's. On the very last one photographer James Overstreet reported that Kriet has more than what Bass Trakk is showing, but he is probably still short of Van Dam.

Just got to a Mercer Twit Vid of Mercer "in the bush," this one is kind of funny for once.

2:02PM Mercer was a Twit Vid fool this morning KVD Fish # 1 (Big One) and Bassmaster Classic Take Off

2:10PM Another Twit Vid from early this morning Bassmaster Classic Convoy

Note- The reason why the Twit Vids go from latest to earliest so far is because I am finding them as a go down my Facebook Newsfeed.

1:20PM It kind of looks like the on the water Bass Cam commentary is done for the day. BOOOOOO!

2:30PM Just read Ike's Bass Insider blog from last night and he sounded kind of beat down. Had 5 bites, landed 4 and that missed fish is obviously a huge loss in Ike's mind. Doesn't sound confident at all about nailing a 20lb sack.

2:45PM Going to take a break, get the dogs out and eat something.

3:15PM I'm back and if the Bass Live Blog and Bass Trakk are to be believed it looks like KVD blew this thing out. We know Bass Trakk can be wrong, but 7 plus pounds wrong is stretching the margin of error to it's outer limit.

3:40PM Alton's Angle blog No regrets

Skeets Beat blog Thank you everyone

4:20PM Once again today I will liveblog the leaderboard unless Rich Lindgren comes through and live blogs 360 at the Bassin blog.

I think I'm going to blog in draft KVD as the winner, so I am ready the instant it is official.

2010 Bassmaster Classic Day Final

"My son thinks the outdoor show is like trick-or-treating for lures"

Bobbi Chapman, wife of Brent, on her blog Chapman Fishing---Camping Fun! Check it out!!!

Non Classic Note- Tyler Brinks of TBrinksfishing.com blog finished 15th and checked at the BFL Gator Division Tournament on the Kissimmee Chain. Read about it at the link.

2010 Bassmaster Classic Day 2 Wrap Up

Once again Big Indiana Bass blog has run the Bass Trakk numbers vs. the real results and he doesn't like what he sees.

Boyd's Biz blog Not the outcome I wanted — to say the least

John Murray Blog Classic – 2nd and final day for me

Skeet Video Blog from Day 1... If your not watching these Skeet Video's you should, I think they are excellent.

AnglersChannel.com blog 2010 is Shaping Up To Be a Classic Alright! And if you go to the main AnglerChannel.com page there are video's.

“I actually caught two keepers on a frog today."
Dean Rojas as quoted at Bass Zone

Mercer Facts of Fishing-FYI Bassmaster Classic 2

As promised

I don't get the bit about Grigsby and "blue steel" can someone please explain in the comments. Thanks!!!

2010 Bassmasters Classic Day 2 Take 2 (Liveblogged)

Because I'm bored and what else am I gonna do, I will liveblog the leader board:

I'm going to dinner.

Kevin Van Dam 31-5 just 2ozs, back!

KVD last to weigh-in.

Todd Faircloth right behind with 31-14, yes that's 3ozs back.

Kriet comes in big with 15-10!!! Takes over lead with 32-1, so Ike is back 5 and change.

I'm counting 6 skunks today and once again Byron got beat by the girl in the Classic. Ha!

I wonder how it is that KVD, Faircloth, and Kriet are the last 3 to weigh-in?

Pam Martin-Wells had 9-15 today to put her at 16-12 which definitely allow her to fish tomorrow.

From Bass Insider Bass Cam learned that KVD had falling water today. That is what killed him at Lay in 2007. Will he be able to adjust?

Boyd Duckett with a Skunk today, not good for the Fantasy Team at all.

30 Guys weighed in Ike at the top with 26-12. And the dog is bugging me to go for a walk.

Brent Chapman with 2 Day 21-2. He's not out of it totally but will certainly need 20+ tomorrow.

This just in Dave Mercer has a new addition of Facts of Fishing FYI done. I will be embedding it later. Hope Dave has some good material for this one.

From the Bass Cast video "No one remembers who comes in 2nd at the Classic" Mark Menedez. Talk about a cliche that isn't true. Anybody that follows the Classic knows about Aaron Martens, Tommy Biffle, and Gary Klein have all been bridesmaids but never big winners. And there are a number of guys who have won that I couldn't name.

Gary Klein will not make the cut.

Hmmm- From the Bass Cam video's I've noticed several guys wearing Quantum caps.

So far it's looking like 10lbs was a good day.

How about that, somehow I missed a bunch of Day 2 video's on Bass Insiders Bass Cam.

Big Bass- So far Alton Jones with a 5-1, but he only had a 2lber to go with it. At 14-1 Alton probably doesn't make the cut. Learned from Bass Insider that Alton got the bites today for a big string, but he had two big one's get off on top of a mat.

Just Noticed- Ike only had 4 fish, OUCH!

Aaron Martens Two day at 16-4, I think that will make the cut but he's probably out of it.

Matt Herren according to Bass Trakk had the biggest bags of the day at 13-8, actual was 13-15. Could it be that conditions are improving but top weights are dropping? I think so!

Ike's 12-3 for 26-12 should keep him in it, but he will probably need 20+ tomorrow.

Russ Lane only 4 today. Missing that 1 fish has got to hurt.

Mark Menedez 6 for 8-7. I thought this guy was supposed to be good in cold water. BOOOO!

4:55PM Neither lead about coverage of the weigh in proved true, I'm so sorry and this sucks!!!

4:45PM The weigh in has started, follow at the Live Leaderboard, which appears to be working

I have a couple of leads on guys who might be covering things live.

40th Bassmasters Classic Day 2 Take 1

4:20PM Bass Insider is really dragging it's feet today.

ESPN Classic Live Blog is done for the Day, which means the Anglers are done.

Will Kriet be #1? By the way Bass Trak was off in their weights yesterday, who knows who's in the lead.

Latest Bass Cast video was an interview of Alabama Angler who was on winning team of the 1st College Classic or whatever they called it. Here's the thing ESPN, pretty much no one cares because your target demographic is 2 fricken colleges and we know that with the Febuary Classic hundreds of fishing schools need not apply. It's bogus as bogus can get.

Note- If BassTrakk is accurate it looks like Pam Martin-Wells will be in the cut.

Dave Mercer has another twit vid up... Just watched it and I think Mercer needs to do a better job, these twit vids have been kind of lame for the most part so far.

Note- Having Bass Insider is a bit of a disappointment today. All the action seems to be on the free Bassmaster site.

Blogging Note- Yesterday was my best traffic day so far this year. Today however has been dismal. I think I might have screwed up by not posting a Classic Day 2 Post early this morning or it could be that people didn't think much of what I was doing yesterday.

2:00PM Rich's Bassin' Blog has some Bassmaster Classic Podcasts.

Doh!- Just learned from Bass Cam that Shaw Grigsby broke one off when he got it caught in the trolling motor.

1:45PM Man how time flies. Annoying how I will be loading up a Bass Cam video and a new one comes in and preempts what was loading so I have to switch over stop the preempt and get the one I wanted to watch started again.

BTW- Mercer has a Twit Vid...

1:15PM Time to watch the Bass Cam video's of the day, this will take me awhile because I don't get instant loading.

1:10PM Follow Bass Trakk here... Just upon my initial scan it looks like 1 or 2 big bites today will play huge, lots of people with 8 to 11lbs. My guy Kriet looks to be #1 with 13lbs.

1:00PM Live blog now looked through, looks like yesterday's leaders are not pulling the same kind of weight today. Still Kriet and KVD look strong which is fine with me. I need Duckett and Skeet to come up big, but they are silent.

12:35PM I am starting my morning at the 2010 Bassmaster Classic Live Blog.

12:30PM I'm awake, that's right I did not get up to watch the ESPN Day 1 coverage of the Classic and I did not get up to follow things right from the start, which means I've got a lot of catching up to do.

Bassmasters Classic Day 1 Take 3

AnglersChannel.com Blog- Looks like it is a pretty good place for Classic Info

Big Indiana Bass is has run the unofficial Basstrakk numbers vs. the actual results.

Boyd's Biz blog- Nothing like blowing up your boat

Alton's Angle blog- Day 1 disappointment

Gary Klein's Classic diary... This was written and posted this morning but it is well written and worth the read.

Gerald Swindle appears on Skeets Classic Video Blog... Good Stuff! For some reason the video and audio are now synched unlike a couple of days ago.

John Murray Blog- Classic – 1st Day

Kramer Gone Fishing is writing off most of the field at this point.

Note- I am kind of a little shocked Hack did so poorly, I thought he might do well.

Official Standings Here...

More to follow...

Mercer Facts of Fishing-FYI Bassmaster Classic 1

This is pre-weigh in.

Does not like like much traffic at the Expo.

Oops forgot to downsize that screen...fixed!

Mercer Twit Vid post-weigh in...

40th Bassmasters Classic Day 1 Take 2

Once again KVD proves HE'S THE MAN!!!

How did I get the impression that Tim Horton was in this years Classic? Bah!

Day 1 Weigh In over, official order here...

6:52PM A-Mart said Ike had lots of spectators follwing him, A-Mart not so much. Ike said "It wasn't disappointing; It wasn't a super day."

6:10PM More than half the field is now in. Pam Martin-Wells is sitting just about on the mid point. 3 Skunks.

5:55PM Shaw Grigsby lost his first bite of the day, said it was a 3lber. Ended up with only 4 fish. Ouch!!! Turns out Shaw lost another good fish on what he called "a rookie mistake."

5:42PM It's relaxing listen to Tak fish on Bass Cast... It's nice that it has sound so I don't have to watch unless he catches something, then I can switch over rewind and watch it.

Listening to the sounds of the water and the small talk in the boat is really nice while I wait for that live leaderboard to update.

5:30PM Just learned from Bass Insider Bass Cam that Denny Brauer skunked and didn't even get a single bite. Ouch!!! Says it was "frustrating". You betcha Denny!!!

5:20PM Hmmm 13 visits last hour, none so far yet this hour. Come on people you can't beat the Bass Pundit Classic coverage. (unless you have a stick)

5:15PM I do recommend while you are waiting for the Live Leaderboard to update going and loading up the Bass Cam footage from today.

4:55PM Live Leaderboard working, KVD smoked em 19/8. Skeet was 1st to weigh in with 3 for 5lbs. I think Skeets Goose is cooked, but we'll see.

4:47PM Live Leaderboard switched from showing Boyd to Skeet, but no weight registered. I don't have ESPN 360 so I'm clueless as to what is actually going on.

4:45PM No official results yet on that Live Leaderboard. Maybe weigh in starts at 5PM.

4:40PM Live Leaderboard here... (No indication yet that the thing will work)

4:24PM- Rich Lindgren has informed me that weigh in starts at 4:30, which is 6 minutes away. The big question: Will that Live Leaderboard work or break down.

3:40PM- Sifting through the days Bass Cast Vids. Will take awhile cause my DSL isn't fast enough for an instant load.

Mercer's 1st Twit Vid...

2:00PM- Ruh Row, just read on the blog that Boyd blew his engine. He was planning on lots of run and gun covering water.

1:30PM-I'm wide awake and it looks like while I've been asleep the fishing has not been half bad if Bass Trakk and the Live Blog is any indication.

As of right now Faircloth in the lead with 15, 35 guys with at least 1 fish, 15 guys and 1 gal with a skunk in the boat. One of the skunk's is Duckett, other skunks Klein, Ike, KJ.

I will now commence looking at the accumulation of stuff, so far today.

Note- Just learned from the blog that Ike has fish and a good bag at that.

Update- Just learned from the blog that Pam Martin-Wells has fish, maybe a limit. Looks like Bass Trakk is having problems, what a surprise.

40th Bassmasters Classic Day 1

While I'm away get your fix at the official Classic Live Blog...

Think I need to take a nap

7:45AM- BassTrak is reporting Brent Chapman and Jody Adkins have small keepers...

7:40AM- Just saw a Bass Cam segment with KVD fishing, so that Countdown Clock was off by an hour, which I kind of thought it had to be.

7:30AM- From what I've seen there won't be any live streaming, but short video segments that are filmed periodically. Hmmmm.

6:30 AM- Just noticed the Classic Countdown clock and it says there is an hour and a half to go yet. Can that be right?

6:15AM Note- BassCam has just come on streaming live from Lay Lake. (for me the video is choppy) Actually I just learned that was not a live stream but was recorded.

From Yesterday Boyd's Biz Blog- Approaching the Classic

From a couple of days ago Bass Cam (lots of stuff with Boyd)...

It is coming up on 6AM and I've been on the computer all night. It's about time I did into the Bassmaster and Bass Insider websites so I know what is up for today. In the past couple of years they have had streaming video of the take offs. Don't know if they will have that this year or not

Big Indiana Bass Scoop

Local Classic Reporting... I recommend you check this link.

Dave Lefebre Talks Straight Up About the Red River...

On Facebook I read an ignoramus who claimed he knew for a fact Dave Lefbre was on nothing and that a Co-Angler caught the fish in Dave's boat.

Get the real story here...

Mercer @ the Classic

Canuck Bass Fishing Funny Man Dave Mercer is going to be doing these "twit vids" all weekend long, plus more episodes of Fact of Fishing-FYI.

AnglersChannel.com Blog has Classic Coverage

Check it out... Good Stuff!

Skeet's Beat- No more practice...

Skeet Classic Video Blog #3...
(doesn't sound like Skeet is on much)

Alton's Angle- One more Day...

Update- John Murray Blog...

Chapman Fishing---Camping Fun... See some pictures of the Chapmans with the Howell's, Jones', Marten's and ??? Maybe Faircloth's.

"Cautiously Optimistic" Brent Chapman

Kramer Gone Fishing Classic Contest

The excellent bass fishing blog Kramer Gone Fishing is having a contest where you can win Sebile product.

Van Dam Your Boat Contest

If you own a boat you are eligible to win state of the art Hummingbird electronics in the Van Dam Your Boat Contest.

You can enter once a day for the length of the contest. I am going to enter. I can just imagine my 10ft Coleman Crawdad Jon boat hooked up with electronics that are worth 10 times what I paid for the boat. HA!!!

Actually if I were to win I don't know what I would do. I don't really have a boat worthy of that kind of stuff.

This just in... (non-Classic, Yes Bass Blogging)

Bass Fishing Home Page regular and father of Elite Series Pro J Todd Tucker, Butch Tucker has a blog called ButchesFishtales. The bad part is he posted 5 times and then apparently gave up. This one goes into the "inactives" and I just found it thanks to Facebook.

Brent Chapman Blogging: "Cautiously Optimistic"

Classic Practice

Skeet- Still deciding...

Alton Jones- The final practice (Good read)

Skeet Reese Video Blogging the Bassmasters Classic

Skeet is once again on the cutting edge, this time rather than audio blogs it's video blogs.

See the 1st Classic video blog here...

Note- His video requires very high speed internet, my DSL isn''t cutting it. For some reason the video is quite choppy for me even after I've given the video time to load but the audio is clear.

Update: Skeet has a 2nd Classic Video blog done...

Skeet is also blogging for BASS/ESPN, in what is known as Skeet's Beat...

Mercer-Facts of Fishing FYI Episode 6

Mercer talks all about what he will be up to at the Classic.

Classic Blogger Franchise

It seems that Brent Chapman and his wife Bobbi are making a go of it on the blogosphere.

Brent's Blog- Was the intial offering and apparently didn't make it past last years Bassmasters Classic.

For this year the Chapman's have started two blogs with Google Blogger.

AWG Outdoors- This one appears to be Brent's blog and is going to be centered around his fishing.

Chapman Fishing---Camping Fun- Looks like it will be a blog by Brent's wife Bobbi and will chronicle life on the road as a touring Bass Profesional family.

Check out these blogs and get yourself included as a "Follower" so you know when they update their blog.

Update: Another Elite Pro and Classic fisherman with a new blog for this season is:
John Murray

By The Way- You CAN BE a "Follower" of Bass Pundit. At the top of my blog page on the left side next to the search box it says "Follow," clicking on that hyperlink will set you up as a Follower of this blog. You can also subscribe to my feeds, or subscribe by Email (email subscription is on the right towards the top of sidebar).

Classic Pre-Practice Info

Bassfan has a story up Headline: Few Found Anything They Can Bank On At Still-Frigid Lay ... Cool to learn that John Murray has a blog and will be blogging the Classic. He has comments so you can leave him some encouragement.

From that Free month trial with Bass Insider- I got to read KVD singing the blues, but as I recall he did that at Hartwell a couple of years ago and then came out the first day and whacked the snot out of them.

At Bass Insider Ike wasn't giving out much info other than to say it's going be a mental struggle under the conditions. Sounded like he was psyching himself up, so he wouldn't get psyched out.

BassZone has an article up: Weather They Like It Or Not, Chilly Classic is Coming... Here Kevin Short claims to be on something and we learn Niggemeyer has been sick making him an even longer shot than he already was.

I did not know that...

From Jimmy Houston's Facebook I learned that Minn Kota is an abbrivation of Minnesota & North Dakota and the name came because The Minn Kota Manufacturing Company was started in Fargo/Moorhead.

Welcome to Bassmasters Classic Week!!!

It's time for the 40th Bassmaster Classic which is being held at Lay Lake in Alabama. The Bassmasters Classic is widely held to be the most prestigious tournament in the world of tournament bass fishing. In February of 2007 the Classic was held on Lay, but it looks like things are going to be a colder than they were 3 years ago when Boyd Duckett barely beat 2009 Classic Champion Skeet Reese. It has been a much colder than normal Winter in Alabama and it is not going to warm up significantly this week.

Here is the weather forecast for the week:
> Mon., Feb. 15 - Partly Cloudy - 34°/27°
- Wind: From the W at 12 mph

> Tues., Feb. 16 - Mostly Cloudy - 28°/29°
- Wind: From the W/NW at 11 mph

> Wed., Feb. 17 - Cloudy, Overnight Snow/Rain - 48°/31°
- Wind: From the SW at 10 mph

> Thur., Feb. 18 - Mostly Sunny - 50°/31°
- Wind: From the W/NW at 7 mph

> Fri., Feb. 19 - Partly Cloudy, Overnight Snow/Rain - 48°/31°
- Wind: From the SW at 10 mph

> Sat., Feb. 20 - Partly Cloudy - 48°/31°
- Wind: From the SW at 10 mph

> Sun., Feb. 21 - Partly Cloudy - 46°/36°
- Wind: From the NW at 7 mph

The cold probably means that the tournament will be dominated by the Alabama Bass, which until very recently were believed to be Spotted Bass. The "Coosa River Spots" as they are often called are known to be aggressive and hard fighters. In 2007 Boyd Duckett won on the strength of a couple of big largemouth, but I think runner up Reese was all "Coosa River Spots."

Here is how the week shapes up in terms of the fishing schedule:
Monday, Feb. 15 -- Off
Tuesday, Feb. 16 -- Off
Wednesday, Feb. 17 -- Official practice
Thursday, Feb. 18 -- Off
Friday, Feb. 19 -- Competition
Saturday, Feb. 20 -- Competition
Sunday, Feb. 21 -- Competition

The anglers have been on the water for the past 3 days, but the coverage of that pre-practice has been pretty minimal at the official BASS/ESPN website. I expect maybe BassFan and BassZone will get out some info about the pre-practice this week.

At this point I would have to say favorites to win are Boyd Duckett, Skeet Reese, and Kevin Van Dam who finished 1,2,3 in 2007 along with spotted bass phenom Aaron Martens, and experienced locals Matt Herren, and Russ Lane.

It is going to be interesting to see how the lone woman angler and veteran pro Pam Martin-Wells handles the pressure. Personally I look for her to have a strong showing.

Update: BassZone has a little on pre-practice from Browning, Short, Niggemeyer, and Pace.

Update: To get more Classic info I'm going to give in and get the BASS Insider 30 Day free trial. I really don't like to do free trials, but if I don't the Classic info at my disposal looks like it will be pretty minimal.

Bass Pro Shops Car Wins Daytona 500

I'm not really a NASCAR kind of guy, but I did watch the end of this years Daytona 500 and I thought it was cool that the Bass Pro Shops car driven by some guy named Jim McMurray won, never heard if him.

Update: I got an email from BPS that says in celebration of the victory they are offering $1 shipping on orders over $100. I'm sorry but orders over $50 should get free shipping just like Tackle Warehouse.

For My Little Brother...

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

Alton Jones is blogging the Classic for ESPN

Read Alton's blog here, but it isn't up to date with actual info from practice...

Note- I guess the blog is called Alton's Angle

Looks like Boyd Duckett is also doing a blog for ESPN called Boyd's Biz.

Gary Klein's Classic Diary is another ESPN blog (I guess these journals are blogs, right?)

2010 Bass Snatchers Season Schedule & Preview

My bass club schedule for this year has taken shape. Here are the dates and lakes with my thoughts.

June 5th Whitefish Chain- I have only been on the Whitefish Chain twice in my life and have only fished in a very small area of it. (You can read about that experience here...) Chances are my boater is going to know the Chain fairly well and early June is usually a great time to fish bass in MN. Word at our club meeting was that the tournament would most likely be won with smallmouth. I hope I draw someone that at least makes an attempt for smallies, not because they are winning fish, but because smallies rule. I think the Chain is a much better choice than Cedar Lake (Aitken) which was our first tournament last year.

June 20th Farm Island Lake- I've been on Farm Island once and that was (the Bass Snatchers season opener tournament on June 11th of 2008. I really did like what I saw of the lake in 2008 which was a late and cool Spring that had the fish pre-spawn to spawn. Chances are good that this June 20th tournament will be post-spawn with much more mature weed growth. I look forward to fishing this lake again.

July 10th Cass Lake- The club has never fished this lake before but the Excel Singles and Excel Team circuit fished it last year to positive reviews and that is pretty much why we will be going there this year. Word I have gotten is that Cass is very much like Leech Lake where shallow slop and reeds are king. I like this kind of fishing, but can I survive the long day? Cass is another hours ride beyond Leech. I am going to seriously think about getting a hotel room for this one.

July 24th Rabbit- Originally this one was going to be on Le Homme Dieu but the club thought the better of that and that's ok with me. I think I have been on Rabbit 3 times revolving around a tournament I fished there with Excel Singles June 27th 2004 where I got 3rd Place. For that tournament I found fish shallow, but it could very well be that I draw a partner who chooses to fish this lake deep all day. Rabbit does have some smallmouth, but I don't think the population is very large. Overall I don't view Rabbit as an outstanding bass fishery, so I will just be happy with a limit in this one.

August 28th Washburn- Never fished it, don't know much about it and I'm guessing doing Internet research isn't going to turn up much. I really hope I draw a boater who is on to something or this one might be tough.

October 2 Serpent- Serpent was the sight of my best showing in the club (3rd Place and Lunker) and took place slightly earlier on Sept 20th.. That tournament was the only time I have ever fished this lake so I don't necessarily have a strong feel for it. In 2007 it was a half way decent day to fish yet only 10 of our 24 guys got a limit, however there were 6 guys 1 fish short of a limit. Wish this one was taking place when smallmouth were still in season.

Some guys in the club were complaining the lake choices were kind of predictable and boring. I guess we will see.

My Top 4 Online Fishing Forums Ranked.

Did some work on the sidebar today with my Fishing Forums/BB's blogroll. Basically I ranked the 4 that I think are the best out there.

Here's how they came in:

#1 The Bassholes- IMO Jared Pease runs his message board the way it should be done and as a bonus it is one of the most up to date and feature rich bass fishing forums out there. The Bassholes totally blows that outdated ugly behemoth of bass fishing forums, The Bass Fishing Home Page, out of the water. The Bassholes only downside is that it certainly could use more quality contributors.

#2 Futurebass.com This is another bass fishing message board that does it the right way IMO. It is an excellent resource for bass fishing in the Upper Midwest. It is a much less ambitious site than The Bassholes but that is OK. It isn't the most populated message board out there, but I think it has a very good base of quality contributors.

#3 Kevin Van Dam Forums- Once again this is a forum that I think does things the right way. My biggest complaint about it, is the poor color scheme that makes seeing poster identities difficult.

#4 Tackle Tour- I am not 100% behind this message board's policies like I am with the first three, but this board makes up for that deficit with overall quality in information, membership, and layout.

So What are your favorites? (Leave a comment)

Some More Bass Fishing Bloggers

The Armchair Anglers Podcast is a couple of bloggers that I found thanks to Big Indiana Bass blog. I took a shine to Armchair Angler blogger Bo Crawford as that he got banned from The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide forums and didn't go down about it quietly. This blog is out of Alabama and is all over this years Classic.

Note- This blog is hosting Fantasy Fishing Leagues with FLW and BASS/ESPN that are going to be offering some pretty phenomenal prizes.

Bo Crawford, CFP, CLU, ChFC (Don't know what those initials stand for) This obviously is the personal blog of Armchair Angler Podcast blogger Bo Crawford. One thing I know about him besides the banning is that he had a Opinion piece published in BassFan.

Clembone's Blog is written by long time outdoor writer/editor Alan Clemons. Much like Kramer Gone Fishing this is a blog by a true pro with connections, so you know it's got to be good. I found this one thanks to Bo Crawford blog's blogroll.

FLW Tour Red River- Was Canceling the Right Decision?

It has now been 24 hours plus since the cancellation of the FLW Tour Tournament at the Red River out of Shreveport Louisiana. As the dust has settled some anglers have come out and voiced disagreement with the decision to cancel.

The first instance that came to my attention was BASS Elite Series Pro Edwin Evers in the cancellation story on BassFan.com. In BassFan Dock Talk Elite Series Pro Steve Kennedy had remarks voicing his disagreement with the decision printed. And in one more instance yesterday on Facebook Jimmy Houston changed his mind and second guessed the decision after having initially said he thought the right thing to do was respect the opinion of the anglers who said it was too dangerous to fish. (Note- It is unclear whether or not a majority of the FLW Tour anglers were in favor of the decision to cancel, but according to the rumor mill at Bass Fishing Home Page it was close to around 100 anglers that wanted a no go.) FLW Tour angler Scott Canterbury seemed to indicate he agreed with Jimmy Houston on Facebook.

Here is an excerpt of what Jimmy Houston had to say when he changed his mind:
...No one ever forced us to fish and everyone had the option to quit if it got to tough or scary for them. A group of fishermen that were too afraid of the river, after spending three days practicing on it, should not penalize the rest who were willing to compete. I've heard the rumor that some fishermen did not want to compete because they were not catching fish. I hope this was not true. As a group, the FLW fishermen are exceptionally talented and extremely good fishermen. Every angler has the right to pull out and go home if they fear the water or weather but it's not right to force their opinion on the field.

On this matter I think Jimmy Houston and the others who voiced their displeasure are 100% misguided. I have looked into the matter and it is pretty clear to me that conditions were indeed hazardous, and in case of an emergency downright dangerous. Apparently the river was under a hazard advisory and the Coast Guard had pulled it's boats from the river.

It is no secret to tournament fisherman that events have been held many times, at pretty much every level of the sport, when conditions were indeed hazardous. It is just a fact of life that if something important is on the line than some competitors will push things beyond the limits of reasonableness and safety. I have heard horror stories and have seen pictures and video of boats and anglers in distress. Some problems may indeed be chalked up to gross angler negligence and stupidity but sometimes conditions are hazardous and accidents just happen.

There is little doubt in my mind that there has been real negligence and stupidity on the part of tournament organizations that have basically forced anglers to take risks when conditions are hazardous. I for one don't think it is good enough to say, if you don't like it you can just throw your entry fee and crucial championship and Angler of the Year points away. Often times too much is at stake for anglers or tournament organizations to let discretion be the better part of valour and that is NOT good for the sport. I for one don't think the upper echelons of the sport, be they anglers or tournament organizations, set a good example when they go ahead when conditions are clearly hazardous. That said, some conditions such as storms with gusting winds and lightening are more unpredictable and thus harder to take into account in advance.

In the case of the Red River you had a combination of high fast flowing frigid water on a river known for wood and other potential hazards. Jimmy made the argument that if you practiced in it than it was clearly fishable. But the fact is there is no time limit or pressure to go 100% wide open on a practice day. Obviously lots of anglers did not care for what they had to encounter in practice and saw the potential for things to go wrong. I think the fact that plenty of anglers were out in it and thought it was not acceptable trumps the you practiced in it, you can fish it argument. Dave Lefebre thought he was on the fish to do very well, but was 100% behind putting the safety of everyone first and that speaks volumes to me.

I think it unfortunate that FLW didn't foresee the potential for this to happen and have a back up plan just in case, but obviously I believe FLW did the right thing by the anglers and the sport.

Update: Art Simms has weighed in...

Update: FLW Tour Rookie Matt Peters weighs in...

Update: A dissenting opinion from The Armchair Anglers Also you can vote in their Poll.

So do you agree with me or disagree? Leave a comment

Fantasy Bass Fishing Hot Tip

You want to up your odds of winning a prize in Fantasy Bass Fishing this year? Of Coarse, who doesn't, right? If so then I highly recommend you get yourself into the Tackle Warehouse League in FLW Fantasy Fishing and into the Tackle Warehouse Group for BASS/ESPN Fantasy Fishing. The ESPN Group is public so you do not need a password. The FLW sign up info is here...

Jig and Pig Mafia- Cool Name for a Bass Fishing Blog

Jig and Pig Mafia blog has been around since August 2007. Here is the info on the blogger: Dave Perrego
President, Eastern Shore Bassmasters of Delaware, Powell rods Dealer/Pro Staff,
Explosive Tackle /Director, Pro Staff. So the blog is out of the bass fishing oasis of Delaware. Do not have time to look over it right this second, but I will get to it later today. Found this blog by doing a Google Images search for the Tackle Warehouse logo.

Updated: More Bass Blog Information:
Mike Folkstead has a couple of articles with suggestions about angling sponsorships:
How to Obtain Sponsors.
How to Retain and Keep Sponsors.

Mercer Facts of Fishing FYI- Episode 5

Since there is no FLW Tour Red River tournament to pundit about, here is Mercer, Blah, Blah, Blah

Breaking News: FLW Tour Red River Tournament Canceled

Just got the word on Facebook from FLW Tour Mosaic Pro Matt Peters. Apparently the rain and cold has just made the river too dangerous. Today in BassFan Dock Talk it was reported that some of the Pro's had serious concerns. Apparently FLW listened and made the "No Go" call.

FLW Pro Chad Morgenthaler agrees with the decision.developing...

FLW Story...
Apparently there will be no rescheduling, they are just going to drop the 1st Tournament. Don't know what to think about that, it would probably be a pretty good idea to have a back up for any tournament held on a river.

FLW Fantasy Fishing Hot Tip #2

Need help with that line up for the Red River? Over at Rich's Bassin Blog there are some good suggestions, be sure to listen to the podcast.

2010 BASS/ESPN Elite Series FBF Now Open

Sign up for ESPN Fantasy Fishing Here...

Well ESPN has changed their game once again this year; They have totally scrapped angler values and salary caps. Now there are 3 "Buckets" of anglers. The 1st Bucket has the Top 15 Anglers from last years AOY standings and you get to choose 2 from this Bucket. The 2nd Bucket has the next 15 anglers according to last years AOY race and you get to choose 2 from this Bucket. The 3rd Bucket has 21 anglers in it and you get to choose 1.

It seems to me that going to the Bucket system might not change the make up of fantasy line ups very much because the Bucket's conform similarly to what was offered in the angler point value system; Under that system you could field 2 top tier guys, but not really 3 and if you had 2 top tier guys you had to have a minimum of 1 guy at the very bottom of the totem pole of angler value, which would leave you with a choice of 2 mid to low angler value guys to fill out your roster.

Prizes this year go down 10 places for the Classic, 8 places for Elite Series Tournaments, and 10 places for the end of the year. No surprise that the ESPN prizes are not nearly as good as FLW Fantasy Fishing but all things considered the ESPN prizes are pretty good.
Full Prizes listing here...

For the Bassmasters Classic at Lay Lake rosters Lock: Feb 19 8:00AM ET.

Saints Super Bowl Champions!!! & Super Bowl Stuff

Congratulations to New Orleans and their football Saints for showing up and winning the big one. I thought the Saints were well positioned to win even before they scored that 4th quarter touchdown with 2 point conversion. Had Peyton not thrown the pick 6, but instead gotten 7 for the Colts and tied it up, there would have been enough time for the Saints to drive and win leaving the Colts with the short end of the stick. However, it didn't play out that way thanks to the Saints opportunistic defence. It is awfully nice to know your team has just won the game with about 4 minutes left on the clock.

Commercials: Most of my Facebook friends that had something to say about the Super Bowl commercials were down on them. I thought collectively it was about normal with lots of commercials that were not that good with only a couple of good one's. My favorite was the Doritos Dog Shock Collar bit. For the most part the others that I liked I don't remember.

Puppy Bowl VI MVP's and Recap

Well all the fun is now over, unless you are watching the replays. Once again it was a frolicking and fun Puppy Bowl for Animal Planet. I thought the hamster blimp and rabbit cheerleaders special features kind of fell flat. It seemed like they kicked out more dogs this year than in previous additions. It also seemed like there were more puppies; I don't remember it taking the full show to get all the dogs on the field.

Here are my Top 3 MVP's
#1 Jake
I totally agree that Jake the "Chug" (Chihuahua/Pug Mix) was the star of the show with his dashes up and down the field.

#2 Fava
Fava the Cattle Dog Mix scored two touchdowns and was quite active beyond that.

#3 Chamomile
I think Chamomile was one of the most active dogs in the 2nd half (or maybe I am mixed up.)

Puppy Bowl VI on Animal Planet: Preview

Tomorrow may be the biggest day in football, but it is also an up and comer in dogdom. Animal Planet will be airing Puppy Bowl VI starting at 2PM (Central). If you haven't seen a Puppy Bowl than you are really missing out. Basically Animal Planet puts a bunch of puppies in a mock up football stadium and films the hijinks with running commentary and some goofy special features. The Puppy Bowl is complete with a Bissell Kitty Half-Time show, which is a segment with frolicking kittens. Animal Planet has a year by year history of the Puppy Bowl.
This particular cutie is Chamomile a Boxer mix. See the puppy starting line-up here... From my understanding all of the puppies are rescues or shelter dogs.

Last years BP Puppy Bowl blogging here and here.
BP Puppy Bowl IV Blogging here.

FLW Fantasy Fishing Hot Tip

It's getting close, only 3 more days until Fantasy Fishing rosters are due for the FLW season opener at the Red River. Now I really should keep this one to myself, but I am going be the Bass Pundit and spill the beans on a Fantasy Bass Fishing blog called Fantasy Fishing Hub. I am impressed with the info this site is serving up. I changed up a couple of my picks based on their info.

3 Topwater Slop Frogs the Bait Monkey Wants

These frogs may have been released in 2009, but I wasn't really aware of them. If I see these in my local stores I'm sure I will pick em' up.

This is the Snagproof Ish's Phat Frog. Apparently this frog doesn't drink water and sink. Here is the Tackle Tour Preview. I can't seem to find a weight for this product, I'm guessing a 1/2oz or more.


The Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye King Daddy is obviously a super sized version of the Rojas Spro Bronzeye. It weighs in at 1 full ounce and is 30% bigger than a normal Bronzeye. It has a 6/0 Gamakatsu Superline Double EWG Hook. Apparently it comes in quite a few less colors than the regular size and Jr. Bronzeye's. I don't know if the bait monkey will get one of these because of the sticker price of $11.99.

The Mad Maxx is a slop frog made by Tru-Tungsten that weighs in at 2/3oz. To me it's body shape looks similar to a River2Sead Bully Wa, which I would consider a good thing. From reading reviews over at Bass Pro Shops, it sounds like this frog walks the dog fairly easy, which is something I think that isn't really true about Spro and Snagproof frogs.

If anybody has used these frogs, I would love to hear what you think of them in the comments.

The Bogus Bassmaster College Classic

BASS, just like FLW, has come to the conclusion that a good way to promote tournament bass fishing is to make tournament bass fishing a legitimate collegiate sport. Generally I applaud their efforts and think it's a good thing, but that is not the case with the upcoming "Bassmaster College Classic."

This "Classic" is nothing but a 2 school event in which the 2 schools involved did nothing to qualify but were invited. I think Alabama and Auburn were picked because the Bassmasters Classic this year happens to be in Alabama, bass tournament fishing is very popular in Alabama, and Alabama vs. Auburn is a great college rivalry that BASS is trying leverage to it's own benefit. So basically this "Classic" is predicated upon populist political considerations. I think this is totally bogus!

In the BASS article promoting the event it says 220 colleges and universities have tournament bass fishing programs. I see nothing "Classic" about a tournament that excludes more than 99% of fishing schools based on considerations that have almost nothing to do with bass fishing. Also from the article announcing the event we learn that BASS plans to make this an annual event with the winning school fishing against a school based out of the State hosting the next Bassmaster Classic. So for this "Classic" all schools far enough North to have cold winters that restrict bass fishing need not apply. Once again bogus!

FLW Red River Season Opener Primer

Bass blogger BassFishingDem of I am a bass fisherman blog lives in the Shreveport/Bossier City area of Louisiana where the 1st FLW Tour tournament of the year is taking place. Today he wrote a bit of a primer and will be reporting on his blog once the event starts.

2 Bass Fishing Blogs I Should Read More Often

Big Indiana Bass I have a very high opinion of this bass fishing blog, yet I don't check it often even though Brian Waldman posts on a regular basis.

Kramer Gone Fishing- Is a blog I just recently discovered that is very well written with frequent new articles. The sites author George Kramer is well connected in Professional Bass Fishing circles, especially out West.

Bassing Blogger Note: On Facebook today FLW Co-Angler blogger Sondra Rankin was talking about getting active with her blog again soon. Her blogs are not dated so I am unsure exactly when her last entry was published.

The Frog Nation

Thanks to bass blog TBrinksFishing.com I was alerted to the website The Frog Nation, which you might guess is all about fishing topwater frogs. It looks like the site is fairly new, but it is off to a good start. If you are a frog fanatic like me, than I recommend signing up.

Josh Douglas Blogs About Swim Jigs

Tricks of the Trade - Swim Jigs 101 by Josh Douglas

Note- Josh wrote this article on 1/30/2010, his blog does not have permalinking so eventually this article will not be visible first and center.