2016-2017 Another Season

Closing out last season... It was an okay season, but nothing to get excited about, well except for going to each event.  I look forward to a more successful  season as we are nearing the beginning of season of tournaments.  My status is currently down for recovery of a needed surgery.  Looking forward to getting back on the water as soon as possible and to a great season.   I want to thank all of my sponsors for their support over the last 20+ years and I look for to their continued support and our successes in the coming season.

Back on Deck

It's been a long time coming.  But after 2 shortened seasons in a row because of health issues I finally got the doctors OK to get back on the water.  I have to thank God first for the healing and for having a great wife who has supported me through this all.  And of course all of my sponsors who understood and patiently waited for me to get healthy.  And of course my Team partner Chris Kremer who kept the Team spirit alive for us while I was down.

Thank you all and I look forward to a better season.....

2014 has been a wild ride!

I haven't posted for a while....2014 turned out so far to be a crazy year here.  Have spent very little time on the water this year so far.  Started out having to deal with a nagging back issue and ended up getting very sick from an bad reaction and hospitalized because of one of the medications the doctor prescribed.  I don't think I have been so sick like that in my whole life.
Well, just when I thought I'd slayed those Zombies....stuff hit the fan again.  Out trying to be a good husband on my Brides birthday....shopping for something special to cook her for dinner...I ended up blowing out my right shoulder....again.  Nearly ten years since it was repaired with no problems and just like that gone.  In a, seemingly easy thing...trying to move something it just went.  Having been there before I knew instantly what had happened. 
So, there I was, in the grocery store...a cart full of goodies...in  a lot of pain and no right arm.  Managing to get to the check-out was an experience...but then trying to put everything in my truck and then trying to figure out how I was going to get in was even more fun.
Well, I did manage to get home...walked in and told birthday girl the good news and grabbed an ice pack and became a couch potato.
A month later now and after the MRI I'm just waiting for the doctor to tell me how bad the damage is.  It will need repaired and I'm sure several months of rehab....will end my tournament season and take me into the start of the next season before I am ready to go.

I hope 2015 is a better year!

Good Bless America and remember to support and defend your Second Amendment Rights!

Well 2013 is going out with a blast!  Blast of cold air that is.  Looks like it got pretty nippy last night.  Happy New Year everyone!   Tight lines for all in 2014!

Well, the 2012-2013 tournament season is over for me.  The 2013-2014 season is right around the corner.  And what an end it was.  My Partner and I qualified for the Total Bass Addicts 2 day Championship at Roosevelt Lake.  Got up to the lake 2 days early for time to pre-fish and get ready.  My pre-fish didn't go as well as I had hoped but I have a lot of time on Roosevelt Lake so I was confident my partner and I would do well.

Knowing the bite was tough and having drawn boat 20 we knew we might have to go to Plan B for our first Stop.  Much to my surprise our first spot was open the taking.  Having a nice fish come unbuttoned on the way to the boat started our day off.......  But, soon we had two fish in the livewell.  Maybe things were looking better.... 

Well we fished the area and trolled around through a few neighboring coves and beat a lot of water.  About 9:15 a.m. we decided to make a move to another location.  That's when things got interesting.  I fired up the main motor and let it warm for a minute and took off!  I just love fast hold shots...and my Legend Boat is very fast out of the hole.  Having come to plain, several seconds later I heard a loud noise and came to a stop...then a very bad noise of a main motor running rough.  Bad thoughts!!! What the heck just happened.....wondering what just broke.....first I trimmed the motor up to see if the lower was broke...it all seemed to be there, no holes or cracks.. then we pulled the cowling off and I laid over the motor to see if I could find some sign of trouble.  OMG!  The motor shot one of the plugs clean out of the plug hole and there it was dangling from the plug wire.  WOW! what the * just happened!

While my partner kept fishing I attempted to reinstall the plug in the head.  Being Mr. organized, and having cleaned up my gear I forgot to put my tools back in the boat.  What now?  I did not want to run the motor with a loose plug and either blow it out again or run the cylinder to lean so I figured I had only one choice and that was to troll back to the dock and try to find someone who had a plug wrench. 

You can't make this stuff up....  Off we went with the trolling motor on high and my partner says. 'well at least we have a really good trolling battery!'  I responded.... and not a minute later the trolling motor shut down.  Now what?  Well we finally got some power back after finding a circuit breaker blown.....but we only bad 12 volts of power going to the 36 volt trolling motor.  So as you can imagine with the dial on high we were moving at turtle speed and we were still a mile away from the dock.  And!! its 105 degrees, humid and very sunny with almost no breeze.... brutal!

Well a long story short...we made it back.  We found a plug wrench and installed the plug...but my main battery was quite low and the trolling motor battery had been drained....cause unknown.  Not knowing if there was any internal damage to the big motor and in need of battery recharging...we weighed our 3 fish...oh and yes, as we were trolling back, my partner caught another fish as I was on the phone getting help...yep I netted it with my phone in one hand and the net in the other!  We were done... 4 hours into day one of a two day championship..... 

So far, no known damage other than pride.  So far all is well...trolling motor, battery and main motor all survived and boat will see the water this week for a test run.  And hey...we got a prize for the least amount of fish weighed on day one!  Who would have thunk!

Thanks to my Bride and all of my sponsors for your support and the opportunity to use and promote the best products available in the water!

Thanks Kevin for your hours of unconditional support over the phone!  You are a great guy, sponsor and friend!

Thanks Chris...was a great season bud!

Another tournament season in the books. Well, almost.  Just finished the Total Bass Addicts Summer night series tournaments.  Had a great time caught a lot of quality fish and finished the last tournament with a 6th place finish with a 20.71lb bag and a 5.05 big fish!  Qualified for the championship in September....looking forward to a great tourney!

Some great news this week for the 2013-2014 season... Joining IROD fishing poles and Picasso Lures Pro Staffs.  These are great products and I look forward to promoting and using them this coming season.

If you want quality lures and out of the park rods, please check them out!

www.irodfishing.com

 www.picassooutdoors.com

I am proud to announce my affiliation with two companies.  Lithium Pros - Lithium Batteries. http://lithiumpros.com/ and Danny Rogers of Stealth 1Charging  http://www.stealth1charging.com/ .

Lithium Pros:  http://lithiumpros.com
Kevin Bennett and his crew and the Lithium Batteries are top notch!  By far one of the most impressive products I have ever used.  I started looking at the option of using lithium batteries a few years ago when they were making their way into professional bass fishing.  After watching a few lithium battery companies and reading reports from some of the top Pros in the country I was convinced that changing to lithium was a smart move.  Researching once more I decided that Lithium Pros was the product I wanted to use and be involved with.

Reeling forward....  After recently installed my 36V Lithium Pros battery to power my MotorGuide Digital 109 trolling motor I can say that this battery is just amazing!  Having removed 3 Group 27 batteries weighing approximately 60lbs each and installing 1 Lithium Pros battery weighing slightly under 29lbs and just slightly bigger that 1 Group 27 battery.  It even fits into the same battery tray! Can you see where I'm going here?...just the weight saving alone is astronomical! A whopping 151lbs! GONE!

Having coming from a drag racing background...for those of you who understand horsepower vs. weight...in the racing world that is means added performance, faster times, faster WOT speeds and added fuel economy.  If you think that all....in bass fishing there are even more added benefits. But then add, faster charging cycle times, longer battery charge life, superior reliability and in a bass boat.....faster hole shots....and I do mean faster; increased WOT speeds, better trolling motor performance with increased time on the water with no worries after being on the water working the trolling motor hard all day of running out of power. And yes there is a charging system change you may have to make..

 Stealth 1 Charging System:   http://www.stealth1charging.com/
 Unless you have a of Stealth 1 Charging system as I do but then there is just a small upgrade required and you are good to go. I needed to make a charging system upgrade more than a year ago to my Legend bass boat.  My boat sponsor, Legend Boats, put me in contact with Danny Rogers of Stealth 1 Charging.  After doing some research again and talking with Stealth 1, I purchased and installed a Stealth 1 charging system.  Friends, this is not your run of the mill charging system.  This is the real deal!

At first I have to say I was intimidated by the system.  It does not fit the stereotype picture of a black box charging system.  There are 2 boxes, one DC and one AC and then optional features like an emergency switch that can pull 12v from your trolling motor batteries should your main battery go down. Of course...I can't see that happening using a Lithium Pros battery for your main motor cranking battery.  If you have spent enough time on the water....we have all sat down and turned the key and felt the panic of no main motor start with minutes to go to weigh-in!  Fear no more with the turn of a switch!

Well having an aviation electronics background as well I jumped in and installed the system. After the install was all said and done....it was an easy installation. 

Stealth 1 has been working with Lithium Pros for a few years and has developed a compatible upgrade to the Stealth 1 that complements the Lithium Pros battery charging requirements.

If you are looking for optimal performance and reliable products among all the other benefits I urge you to give these two companies a call.  You can't go wrong.........

Just absolutely mind blowing performance!

Thanks for reading my post!

 

Tight lines..

   

2013

2013 is here, the world didn't end and holiday fun is over. Now its time to get back in gear and focus on the remainder of the tournament season.  With lots of local tourneys scheduled and the EverStart Western Division tournament at Roosevelt Lake in late February, its time to start preparing.  Time to get on the computer, pull out the maps and previous years notes and results, dig in hook up the boat and hit the water.  But first...don't forget to inspect and preform whatever maintenance is needed on the boat, motor, trailer and tires to ensure all are road and lake safe and ready!

Sound familiar?  Some events might be months away like the FLW EverStart and some may say that its to early... and whatever pattern/bite I might find now won't be there two months from now.  Well, while there is some truth to that statement, having not fished the Roosevelt Lake, or any lake for that matter in the last few months its time to start locating fish and following their movements over then next few months to monitor any changes they make.  However, I have found that, in some cases the fish don't always, at least all of the fish, make as much change as many anglers believe.  And just by spending time on the water can provide valuable information about their activities and how to plan your strategy for tournament day.

One of the biggest problems I see is anglers getting wrapped around the axle with what everyone is doing on the water and some who wait until the day before to pre-fish for a tournament.  While having some insight to what others are using for lures, etc., it doesn't mean it will work for you right out of the box.  We all have go to lures.  Why, because they work for us.  We have established a confidence in them for locating and catching fish.  Stick with them!  Getting into that wrapped up in the dock talk will almost always produce less than expected results, specially on tournament day.  On tournament day, stick to your plan, and blow all of the dock talk out of your head!

Remember, time of the year, weather and water conditions, just to mention a few variables, do play heavily in to the formula but, bass are predators and are creatures of habit thus making them highly predictable no matter where you're fishing. I have caught countless fish up shallow when all the typical signs tell me to fish deeper secondary areas and, just the opposite at other times. 

Time on the water is key!

Good Luck in 2013 and tight lines!

Fred

Saying Thank You and Good Bye to an Old Friend

Not knowing what the economy is going to do in the near future has slowed up some needed decisions that had to be made this year.  But the time had come to make a few that just could not wait any longer.  With another tournament season starting and countless miles of driving ahead I took a big change in faith and had to let go of my 2004 F-350 6.0 4x4 Diesel Crew Cab Dually that had served me well over the last 8 years or so.  From trips to Mexico for a few biker rallies to countless tournaments. 
There were of course some bad days when that 6.0 just drove me nuts with needed work to keep it running.  But after only 180,000 miles it was time to let her go as there was some needed work that I could not justify to keep her running another few years.  It still ran well, but it was time to make the move to something newer.  I kept my F350 clean so whoever gets her will get a good truck.

But thanks to Johnny Johnson and Toby from Hatch Toyota they had a truck there that fit my requirements.  Now, I like Toyota trucks but they just don't make a diesel truck.  But they had a super clean 2010 Dodge RAM 4x4 Big Horne Edition with a 6.7 diesel motor and only 28,00 miles. Hardly broke in and the price was right.

But the best part of the whole deal is that the folks at Hatch Toyota, sight unseen offered me more a fair trade for my Ford and a great price on the Dodge.  They secured me better financing and made the whole deal easy.  All I had to do was take an enjoyable trip to see them in Show Lo, AZ, some 215 miles from my home, but when we got there, there were no games.  The paperwork was ready and we were there and gone pretty quickly.  No hassle, no stress and no BS!

Thanks Toby and Chaz at Hatch Toyota in Show Low, AZ and Johnny Johnson for sending me there.   Give them a call then next time your looking for a new car or truck!  You'll be glad you did.

U2 Pro Formula Wrap

Well, it finally happened.  Got some sponsor assistance in wrapping my Legend and due to the fact that my spponsor liked my last wrap so well A&M got the call to do it again.  I presented the design concept and they made it come to life.  

Thank you to U2 Pro Formula and A&M Graphics for your support and a great wrap!

               Pleased to announcethat I am now part of the Power Team Lures Pro Staff Family!
                                                        www.powerteamlures.com

A Night At Canyon Lake to Remember

A Night to Remember

My fishing partner, my step-son Chris ,and I decided we wanted to go out for some full moon fishing.  Not having fished on Canyon Lake at night for a few years out we headed for some fun fishing.  We fished from 6 pm to 1am and had a blast. Canyon is known for producing hugh double digit Toads and we wanted to see if they were out playing.

The evening weather looked promising with no Summer storms, a slight breeze, no clouds and a full moon on the way.  Water temp was between 82 and 85 degrees, slightly stained with a 2 to 5 foot visability.

We started off in the first 5 minutes with a solid 3.5 lber LM, on a dropshot rig with a Robo Worm.  We worked the Canyon Walls and large boulders as we went. A few minutes later I flipped a Texas Rig with a 10" Red Shad Power Worm into a pocket along a canyon wall where I knew there was a shelf about 10 feet deep.  As I slowly dragged the worm over the shelf, I got another strike.  It was another 3.5lb LM.   As I was dropping into the water, my partner, who had flipped a Texas Rig with a small grub right back into the same pocket and he yelled FISH!, WOW, and what a fish, he blasted a 6.94lb LM from the same spot.  So, back to back fish from the same sopt in less than two minutes. 

At that point we felt sure this was going to be a good night of fishing.  Shortly thereafter, we hit another fish, which we thought to be another LM, that turned out to be a nice 16 inch Catfish. 

Then, as always, when the sun goes down fishing on Canyon Lake slows or comes to a dead stop for up to a few hours.  We pressed on leaving the river canyon walls and headed back to the main lake where we had several old spots we wanted to try our luck at.

It was hit and miss for a while but finally fishing picked back up and we found a pattern that stayed consistant.  Somewhat puzzled, a couple of my old spots just did not produced so we moved back to where I caught the first fish of the evening and my partner laned a nice 3+ lb LM on the same spot. 

Now, we pride ourselves on keeping our fish healthy and alive!  But our 6.94 suddenly went belly up.  I continued fishing while my partner tended to the troubled fish.  We couldn't figure out what happened' then we spotted it.  Somehow the livewell Oxygenation system and water circulation had somehow inadvertantly been turned off...for how long we didn't know.  So all sytems back on, U2 Pro Formula Livewell Treatment and some fresh water and 45 minutes of my partner and I switching places keeping the fish upright and near the circulating water nozzle, the fish finally recovered and stayed upright and seemed healthy again.

We headed to another spot  and started to work the boulders near the shore.  This spot was like  the others where we caught fish but, a strong breeze had come up.  We worked one direction through the area and would get to a spot where the wind would stop.  We'd fish it and move on and the wind would pick up blowing in the opposite direction.  Strange...  We would work back down until the wind stopped again and when we moved past that point the wind would pick back up again in the opposite direction....  I think you see where I'm going here.....  Each time in either direction the wind would stop at a particular point...for no reason as we were in the open.  So eventually after several passes in each direction we decided to just hang there in the calm zone for bit.  And then, it paid off.  My partner yelled FISH! and I grabbed the net.  He had not seen the fish yet and was looking down when the fish jumped at the back of the boat and I looked at him and said you have a Toad!...and the rodeo was on.  Needless to say this LM was his personal best of 10.11 lbs.  and she was a beauty. 

I don't know what happened, but it just seems like we had a little help....  If you know

We fished until 1:00 am pulled out our scale to see what we had.  What a night.  We took our best three and hammered a 21.30 lb bag!  (10.11, 6.94 & 4.25lbs.)  Then we added the two others for a five fish weight.  (3.5 & 4.0) for another 7.5 lbs totalling 28.8lbs for a 5 fish limit! 

A great night!!! With all the fish safely back in the water we headed home.  A persnoal best for my partner, twice in one night, a Team personal best and great teamwork saving a fish. 

I don't know about what happened, but it just seemed like we had a little help here... if you know what I mean. 

Canyon Lake, East of Phoenix, AZ is one of four lakes in a chain of lakes.  From Saguaro Lake, the closest to the valley, to Canyon Lake with its beautiful canyon walls and abundant wild life and majestic Big Horn Sheep to Apache Lake which follows the old Apache Trail and once Ppony Express U.S. Mail Station in Tortilla Flats ending at the Roosevelt Dam and Lake Roosevelt, each separated by man-made dams, each with its own beautiful desert landscape and great fishing.

What a great night!  One I am sure we will both remember and talk about for a lifetime.

WOW!  What a great event.  Last Saturday June 9, 2012 I participated in the first 'Our Warriors on the Water' event.  Twenty 24 local Pros took 24 veterans from the Korean War to current conflicts for a day of fishing on Roosevelt Lake as our way of thanking them for their service and comittment to keeping America free.

It was a great day on the water with the veterans competing againt each other for top honors from each war campaign.  We fished from 5:00AM until 10:00AM then assembled and headed for Roosevelt Resort for lunch and awards.

Shake Rattle & Troll Radio Show,1100AM host Don McDowell organized the event and pulled some great sponsors, Bill Luke Jeep, Dodge, RAM, Sportsman's Wearhouse, Rim Country Rods, Payson Round Up, Fast-Tech Designs, just to name a few, together to help make this a day to remember.

What a great day and a great way to thank our Warriors, past and present, for their service to our country!
 A special thanks to the folks at Legend Boats for providing some special tactical gear for my Warrior and I for the event!  Be sure to check out the 2012 Alpha 211 Tactical boat @
http://legendmarine.com/boats/tactical/

I know I'll be looking forward to the 2nd annual event next year!

I am excited about being invited as one of the local Pros to take out a veteran on June 9, 2012 for a 'Warriors on the Water' event.  We have twenty-four local Pro's who have agreed to take part and veterans from as far back ad the Korean War who will be joining us in celebrating their service to our country.  Hosted by Don McDowell of Radio Show 'Shake Rattle and Troll' and Bill Luke Dodge, this has all the right stuff to be a successful event.  We'll take the veterans out for approximately a five hour mini tournament on Roosevelt Lake, then bring them in for a weigh-in, prizes and a good lunch at the Roosevelt Resort in Roosevelt, AZ.  It should be a great time for all.  I will post the results after the event.

Hey, I almost forgot.........Well Actually I did forget.  Sorry Shane!  But, WOW if you want any of your taclke or lures custom painted, chack out my friend Shane's website www.kaostackle.com.  He is amazing!  I recently received back some lures I left with Shane to do for me.  They are amazing!  They are done so well I'm not sure I want to use them.  But really, check KAOS Tackle out.  Great Stuff.

And thanks Shane for a great job and for serving out Country!

Well I finally received my Power-Pole for my Legend. Thanksto Curt with JL Marine (Power-Pole) for helping me with my order.  Also, thanks to my friend Ken from Holiday Marine who installed the mounting bracket for me.  The rest of the installation has gone very well.  It is pretty straight forward.  I have been doing a little each evening this week after getting home form the office. Today I will be finishing up today with adding the Green hydraulic fluid and hooking up the power.  Can' wait to test it out!  I will post pictures later.

I am excited to announce that I have just been selected as a member of the Power-Pole Pro Team.  For my boat I have selected the new 8ft Blade model.  (www.power-pole.com)

Wield the power of a Blade.

The new Signature Series Blade is in a class all by itself. Extreme performance and stopping power are delivered by a brushless motor and high flow pump, making this the fastest, strongest and deepest anchor available. The Blade is thinner, more aerodynamic and the Everflex spike folds neatly into the new pocket design. The Blade comes with C-Monster, advanced wireless dash switch and standard remote control so you’re ready to fish from anywhere on your boat right out of the box.

SWIFT

Nothing stops your boat faster and safer than Power-Pole anchors. The unbelievably fast action means you can stop as soon as you see a fish or hook on without any concern for stress on your transom, the only stress you’ll feel will be on the other end of your line.

SILENT

Nothing stops your boat quieter than Power-Pole anchors. The Power-Pole deployment system is virtually silent, allowing the anchor to quickly slip into the water undetected with no disturbance below the surface. The only sound will be the splash of all the fish you land.

SECURE

Nothing holds your boat stronger than Power-Pole anchors. Precisely tuned hydraulics provide maximum force to keep your boat pinned down in all water and current conditions, as well as all bottom types including hard sand, rock, mud and grass, so you can stand and fish with confidence.

A CHANGE IS COMING!

Well, I can now say I am please to announce that I am part of the Legend Boat Family.  I picked up my Legend boat last weekend and started setting it up.  I want to thank Allen, the Legend Boats Western Regional Rep and Dean at Legend boats for all of their help and support!

The Bass College

Folks, if you haven't heard of this site or you haven't taken the time to visit The Bass College, take a moment and visit this site.  It doesn't matter whether you are a beginner or an seasoned Pro this site has something for all levels.  There is a Forum to get you connected with member anglers from across the Nation as well as TBC Pro Staff Team that are available answer your all of your bass fishing questions.

There as a Tackle Store tab with links to sponsor sites such as The Bass College Store, Bass Pro Shops, Tackle Warehouse and more where you can shop for all your tackle needs.  And be sure to check out the Videos section for topics such as the hottest lure on the water 'The Alabama Rig', and more.

The Articles section hooks you up with some great articles from their Featured Writers and, before you head to the lake be sure to check the Fishing Reports section for local fishing reports from across the Nation.

TBC even has a link to a Bass Fishing Radio Show link where you can hear Pro anglers talk about the latest fishing topics and fishing techniques, etc.  How cool is that.......and you can listen to it from your computer.

If you are looking for sponsorship be sure to check out the Fishing Sponsors link.  As a Fishing Sponsors Elite Pro Staff Member I can assure you that this place can help you get sponsors! You can find their link on the 'Friends and Sponsors' section in my site.  So, along with the great advise and help you also receive from TBC and Fishing Sponsors...this is a great way to get your foot in the door with potential sponsors. 

Best of all is that Steve Von Brandt, the Owner & CEO of TBC, has put together a great site here for everyone at every level and Registration and Membership is FREE!  So take a minute and get connected at   www.thebasscollege.com or visit my 'Best Forums' or 'Friends and Sponsors' section in my site and select the link to The Bass College.

This site is a must do if you want to get connected and learn to be a better angler or even just share your knowledge and adventures with other anglers. 

So please check it out and tell them where you heard about TBC....You won't be disappointed!

Thank you and tight lines!

Tires and Summer Time

WOW, I guess I have been lucky all these years hauling to and from the various lakes I have fished and have never blown a tire.  I have a routine of making sure all is well before I leave the drive-way.  Friday I was all loaded up, hooked up and ready to go....headed for Roosevelt.   I took my walk around to make sure I was good to go and hummm.  that looks funny.  Upon a closer look I had a front tire on my tandem that looked like a cord had let loose under the tread surface.  I jacked it up and soun the tire and it looked like a pringle going around.  When I took it off where I couldn't see when it was mounted was a 12" spot where the tread had seperated and all I could see was cord.  WOW.  Must have happened the week before coming home from Roosevelt. 
Of course my local dealer did not have one in stock and I didn't get it fixed until Late Saturday afternoon.
Its that time of year.  Always, always check your tire air pressure before each trip and look at your tires.  Specially on tandem trailers.  If you have a flat on one side you can bet that the other tire will be stressed from carrying the load and can potentially fail soon after in this heat.
I dodged this bullet...could have been a real mess and a lot more costly.