Hawkes Fishing Team

Out with the old...

2008-11-01T15:15:00.001-05:00

Well this past summer was more like something out of Lemony Snickett... A series of unfortunate events. I won't even bother boring you with all the petty details, but it has all led to me returning back to sandy Sun Diego. With the return comes the positives and negatives. One of those negatives is the obvious loss of fishing opportunities. And most people who really know me, know that fishing is what I live for.
On the positive side, it affords me the opportunity to begin a more regular day-to-day type blog of all my happenings. So I'm still going to leave this blog running, but it will only be updated with fish tales every so often when I get the chance. I'll keep the two blogs seperate so you can decide what aspect you want to read about, especially if you don't care to hear about my fishing adventures. (But I hope you do!!)
So check out my new blog here
So to recap, old and new fishing adventures here, my life in general over there. Get it? Got it? Good!

The Pickwick/Wilson beatdown

2008-06-07T20:14:00.007-05:00

I can't tell you how glad I am to be out of the sun and (gasp) off the water. I never thought I'd ever say that. The heat was intense out there, nearly breaking decades old record high temps for this time of year.

Thankfully this event is finally over. I won't bore you with all the dreadful details, so I'll skip to the embarrassing point. I weighed a total of 7-02 and finished a shameful 158th. I know I am so much better than that. Chalk it up as a learning experience and prepare for the next one, I guess. Time to make like Trevor Hoffman after a blown save; forget about it and move. Theron finished much better, around the middle of the pack in 117th, weighing a total of 16-01.

My struggles on Days 1 and 2 could be credited to drawing so-so or downright awful partners. But day 3 was just a total lack of execution and performance on my part. My boater yesterday, Allen, was on schools of fish. None very big, but they were there. He probably caught about 12-15 keeper size bass. I on the other hand, landed one keeper size fish. That was it for the day. The bite for us was usually very subtle and I couldn't tell you how many bites I missed because I detected them too late and failed to react quick enough. I also lost two fish that I managed to hook, when they jumped and shook loose.
But possibly the most frustrating thing was how many times my line broke when I tried to set the hook. I respooled my reels with new line the day before the tourney started. So I don't know what was going on. I fished with a type of line I don't usually use, fluorocarbon. Fluoro line sinks faster and has less stretch than regular monofilament fishing line. Maybe because I was so used to fishing with mono, I had had my drag set too tight. I don't know what the reason exactly, but whatever it was, it was unbelievably frustrating breaking off so many fish. I easily could have, and should have had, a 5 fish limit. They probably wouldn't have been big, but would have significantly moved me up in the standings and out of the cellar.

The biggest heartbreaker of the day came when Allen hooked a giant bass, easily over 8 lbs, and it threw the hook about 15 ft from the boat. This fish was so fat that when she tried jump, she couldn't even get her whole body out of the water. For every day of the event, they award a "big bass" cash prize of $1000. If that fish ends up being the biggest fish caught over the 4 days, and landed with a Frabill net, there is an additional $2000 bonus. After that fish came unbottoned, Allen dropped to his knees and I just kept fishing, not saying a word. After a few minutes of agony, he turned to me and said, "That was a $3000 fish." Turns out he was right, as the big bass of the tournament ended up weighing only 6-07. Ouch!!!

My predicitons for co-angler weight were actually pretty far off. There were far more, and far bigger fish caught than I thought there would be. My prediction was 25 lbs to make the final cut, the leader would have 34 lbs heading into Saturday, and 40+ lbs to win. The actual results were: 30 lbs to make the top 10 cut, the leader had 37 lbs, and the eventual winner weighed over 50 lbs (50-08). I could argue that I did say 40+ would win, but that'd be too easy.

Picture of Wilson Lake Dam/Lock

2008-06-06T21:33:00.003-05:00

I found a picture of all the boats that decided to lock through to Wilson. This picture is from Friday morning when the lock was almost to the top. I am in the very back row, third boat from the wall on the right. Yes, that tiny little speck back there. That's it, see me?

Too bad I can't show you what it looks like on the inside before they start to fill it.

Pickwick Days 1 and 2

2008-06-05T20:29:00.003-05:00

First things first. Damn is it HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My face isn't just red, it's almost purple. This despite 3 seperate sunscreen applications today. And tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter, reaching 98 degrees. Combine that direct sunlight with the reflection coming up off the water and there is no where to hide. When the wind really kicks up, it makes it harder to fish, but does at least provide some minor relief from the scorching heat. At this point, baring something miraculous, I won't be fishing Saturday. I don't think I could take another day out there at this rate.

Now to the heart of the matter. On Day 1 (Wed), I drew a guy named Rick from Clearwater, FL as my boater. We fished on Pickwick Lake and made the long, long run to the lower end of the lake, about 60 miles. It took a little over an hour just to reach the area he wanted to fish. He said, like many anglers, that he was on good fish until they dropped the lake level about 2 feet, and his fish moved out. He caught 5 small keeper bass (12" minimum length), and all I could manage was 2 keeper bass and a handfull of short fish. My "unofficial" weight for day 1 was 2 lb 5 oz. But I had a fish die before weigh-in and was assessed an 8 oz penalty for a total of 1-13. Needless to say, with that meager total, I started day 2 near the bottom of the standings. But hey, I was still 3 places ahead of Theron. He caught only 1 fish that weighed 1-09.

On Day 2, I drew a semi local guy named Craig, from Lawrenceburg, TN. I again caught only 2 bass, but they were slighty better quality. My weight today was 4-01 for a two day total of 5-14. I was really disappointed with my draw today. This guy really had no business fishing this tournament as a boater. He only decided to enter it last Sunday, and barely had time to prefish. He really didn't have a clue where the fish were and because gas is so expensive, he admitted he didn't want to run the motor much. I can appreciate that thought, but it is a tournament and you must consider gas as part of your expenses. We basically fished 2 spots all day and kind of lucked into the fish we did catch. As we approached one area, another boat pulled up close to us and I realized it was Theron and his partner. Kind of funny that we ran into each other out there and tried to fish the same spot. The fun ended though when Theron's boater caught a nice fish, and a few minutes later he catches one right under my nose. I was glad to see him catching some fish, but did he have to do it right in front of me with us struggling so badly? They soon took off after a few more casts without a bite. But at least we knew fish were in the area. I ended up catching a 3 lber out of that spot not long after they left, so it wasn't a total loss.

We fished on Wilson Lake today. Pickwick and Wilson (among a few other lakes) are actually part of the Tennessee River, seperated by extremely large dams. The lakes are tiered with one lake being much higher or lower than the lake on the other side of the dam. So in order to get from one lake to another you have to lock through the dam. I had never been through a lock before today, and I must tell you it is pretty incredible how they do it.
First all the boats enter the lock through these GIGANTIC doors (gate) that are more than 110 feet high, and 600 feet from gate to gate. The boats are lined up, and tied together in rows from one side to the other, about 15 boats fit in each row. When all the boats are in and secured, the gate closes behind you. All you see around you is sheer concrete walls on all four sides. A horn sounds and they start to fill the chamber with water. You slowly start to rise until you reach the top of the lock. This process takes more than 20 minutes. There is now 100 ft of water underneath you. The gates on the Wilson side open and all the boats exit.
To get back to Pickwick, they reverse the process. All the boats enter, tie up, the gate closes, but this time they pump the water out in order to drop it. A warning horn sounds and then the lock master begins to pump the water out. Just outside the damn there is this huge concrete circle. You can't see it happening from inside the lock, but as the water is being pumped out is shoots like a geyser out of the hole. It's fairly disconcerting, but strangely exiting being inside the lock as it operates. And I get to do it all over again tomorrow. My day 3 partner has already told me we're going to fish on Wilson.

Let's hope for better fortunes. It's gonna take a miracle to even get within sniffing distance of a check, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Stren Series - Pickwick Lake preview

2008-06-03T21:55:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow morning I head out to test my angling skills on the waters of Pickwick Lake right here in Florence. Since it's a tournament on local waters, we decided to move up a level of competition from our usual BFL schedule. This will be my first ever foray into the FLWoutdoors Stren Series events. The good thing about this series is that I am gauranteed to fish at least three days (Wed, Thur, Fri). And should I be good enough to make the top 10 cut after Friday, I'd advance to the finals on Saturday, and fish for the "Big Money."

Being boatless right now really sucks. We were stuck praticing from shore all week, but still managed to catch some good fish and build up confidence. Last week during one of our "practice sessions," I managed to catch this nice smallmouth bass. Easily a new personal best smallmouth.

Unfortunately we didn't have a scale, but she was about 18" long and we guestamated she weighed between 3.5-4 lbs. Now if only that class of fish will cooperate for the next three days, I'll be in mighty fine shape.
My brother and I were talking about it on the way home tonight, and I think that 9-10 lbs a day should be enough to make the top 10 cut. I predict the co-angler leader will have 34 lbs, and 25 lbs will be enough to advance to Day 4 on Saturday. The co-angler winner will probably need 40 lbs over 4 days to win.

I'll try to review my day and post results at the end of each day. So stay tuned and thanks for reading. Wish me tight lines and most importantly, no lost fish. I don't want to have to share any, "fish that got away" stories with you.

Wheeler Lake Preview

2008-04-17T23:18:00.002-05:00

Well, the time is here again. BFL Choo Choo division, stop #3 on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, AL. Last year on this lake, my brother and I both had top 25 finishes and each came home with a check. A repeat performance would be excedingly nice. Conditions have been good all week, with temps in the low 70's. But as always seems to be the case, a front is coming in Friday night and it's supposed to rain pretty hard overnight. Hopefully it doesn't muddy up the water too much or have that adverse an affect on the bass.

I've got a good feeling about this tournament. The last couple of weekends, I've been able to drive over and shore fish this lake a little bit. I caught good numbers of fish in just a couple hours of fishing, but the size wasn't there. But at least it gave me some confidence in what I need to throw. As a co-angler, a 5 bass limit weighing 8 or 9 pounds will almost certainly place in the money. Last year I weighed in 7 lbs 8 oz (on only 3 fish) and took 24th. I had 8 lbs even, but got penalized 8 oz because of a dead fish. That penalty cost me five places in the standings, and about $50-$60 in prize money.

Even though I finished in the money last year, I don't like this lake at all. It's just an ugly body of water. Deactur is an industrial city, so a lot of the shore line is spotted with factories and manufacturing plants. Because of all the factories and such, it smells pretty bad. There's a paper mill down river that just reeks. But the bass don't seem to mind as the fishing on this lake has been great the last couple of months.

As the water temp has gone up recently, the bass should be in the 3 various stages of spawning. Some still cruising around looking for a good bed, others on the bed, and the remaining bass in post spawn. I'll be looking to catch the active pre and post spawn fish. They're the ones looking to eat as much as possible in order to have enough energy to spawn, or trying to fatten back up after dropping all their eggs.

I need a good finish on this one. I've still got a long way to go in order to reach my goal of making the top 4o in year end points. And a good way to quickly jump up in the standings would be a repeat top 25 performance. That would also ensure I win back my entry fee at the very least. I predict it will take 18 lbs to win on the boater side, 14 lbs on the co-angler side, and at least 8 pounds to get a check.

I'll update everyone once I'm back home and the official results are posted. Until then, wish me good luck and tight lines.

Birthday weekend

2008-03-30T21:59:00.004-05:00

Well, Friday was my birthday, and I celebrated by driving to Decatur to watch the weigh-in for the FLW series event on Wheeler Lake. Truth be told, I didn't go just on my birthday. I had been to the weigh-ins the 2 previous days as well, and went again on Saturday for the final weigh-in of the Top 10 anglers.

I wish I had some decent photos to post, but of the many that I took, none were deemed suitable for posting, so I'm borrowing some from the FLW website. The eventual winner was Ramie Colson, Jr. He had a 4 day limit of 20 bass weighng 59-02, beating runner up Brad Hallman by a single ounce, to take home a 1st place check worth $125,000.

On the co-angler side, Derrick Snavely took 1st place with a 3 day total of 35-01, beating the 2nd place angler by nearly 5 lbs. He took home a check for $25,000 for his efforts.

I was extremely interested in the results of this event, and what the conditions were like. I have my next tournament on this same lake on April 19th. I picked up a lot of great information after talking with many of the pros every day. They said that they caught tons of fish as they moved up shallower throughout the day, but hadn't yet started to spawn. But it should be a full blown spawn by the time my tournament comes around. There were quite a few big fish caught this week, but overall fish were on the small side. Jigs and shakey head worms seemed to be the primary weapons of choice. Some pros reported catching over 100 bass a day!!! I can only hope that the bass are still biting like that a couple of weeks from now!

Weiss Lake Results

2008-03-24T16:11:00.003-05:00

Well, the tournament is over, the results are in, and this fishing season just keeps getting better (insert huge amount of sarcasm here). We arrived at Weiss Lake on Friday afternoon, meet up with some friends we were sharing a room with, headed off to dinner, and then to the Pre-tourney meeting. I got paired with my boater, a guy named David Oxford.

I met David at 4:30 am Saturday, and went straight to the launch ramp. He wanted to beat the line at the marina, so we spent the next two hours just bobbing around in the middle of the cove. The official start was scheduled for 6:15, but it was still to dark so we didn't launch until just after 6:30. Our scheduled check-in time was 2:45 pm.

David caught a few short bass early on, and had one barely legal fish in the boat around 8 o'clock. With the warm weather from previous days and the forcasted wind, we concentrated on shallow water, 2-5 ft., on points around the creek mouths. Everything indicated that the fish should have been there, but they just didn't cooperate. It should have been textbook conditions for them to move shallow and begin staging for the spawn. I guess the bass didn't read the same textbook we did. The water was very, very muddy in most areas, and we found out that state officials had been pulling water to generate power the night before, so the water level dropped about 1.5 ft overnight. The muddy water combined with the changing levels moved the fish.

We just never found the fish. I threw just about everything I could think of at them and couldn't buy a bite. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, worms, Carolina rig, Drop shot, all for nothing. Then around 2:30 we moved to a large, shallow, clay bottom area not far from the launch ramp. I was grinding my crankbait in 4 feet of water, making sure the bill was deflecting hard off the soft clay. I was just about to stop reeling when a bass hit my crankbait directly under the boat. I only had about 6 feet of line out. My partner grabbed the net and scooped up a chunky 12" bass. My only fish of the day, and with little more than 10 minutes to spare before check-in.

Just remember back to how my season started off, add to it the events of the next few minutes, and you'll see where the huge amount of sarcasm I mentioned comes in. We are just a short one minute run to the check-in area. After getting my fish unhooked and put in the livewell, I gathered up my rods and preparred to head in. My boater sits downs, tries to crank the motor and... nothing. What the...? Tries again, nothing. He goes to the back, switches connections on to another battery to start up the engine. Vrooom, we're in luck. Put the motor in gear and... it stalls. Again, we have to switch connections and jump start the motor. This time it sticks. David puts the hammer down and we race toward the check-in boat. I hand him our boat number, and he says, "You're 10 seconds late."

What?!?!? 10 seconds, are you serious? Being late means a one pound penalty for every minute you're late. All that trouble with the battery cost me a full pound because we were 10 seconds late. And that 1 lb. penalty ended up being huge. My little fish weighed a paltry 1 lb. 4 oz. So do the math, 1-04 minus 1 lb. penalty = 4 ounces. Yeah, that's my official total, 4 ounces. Bad enough for 116th place (out of 170). But at least I caught a fish and earned some valuable points. That's more than 54 other people can say, they all zeroed on the day. My brother didn't fare much better than I did, he caught 1 fish that weighed 1-06. Unofficially 2 oz. more than me.

It was tough for nearly everyone out there. I was close on my predictions; 16-08 won and 4-09 was good enough for the last check (34th place). You can find the entire results here.

My next tournament is April 19th, on Wheeler Lake, in Decatur, AL.

Weiss Lake Pre-Tournament

2008-03-21T00:10:00.002-05:00

So, in a handful of hours we hit the road bound for Cedar Bluff, AL and Lake Weiss. Stop #2 on the Wal-Mart BFL Choo Choo division. Of the 4 lakes we fish this year, this is the one lake that I haven't fished yet so I'm not entirely sure what to expect. What little I know about this lake comes mostly from what my brother told me from his experience last year: 1) Largemouth bass can be found, but it's loaded with smaller spotted bass, and 2) that it's known as "the Crappie Capital of the World."

So I'm going into this tourney planning to fish my strengths: spinnerbaits and plastic worms (Texas rigged and shakey head). The weather has been great most of this week and is supposed to be fantastic for Saturday, although a little windy. That should warm up the water enough to move fish up on the banks for the spawn, if they're not already there. But all that depends on the partner that I draw. It's his boat, so we fish where he wants. All I can do is make good decisions and adjustments while on the water.

Looking back at last years results, the tournamnet was held the same time of year with about the same weather conditions. It took a little over 14 lbs. to win, and 4-13 to get a check on the Co-angler side. My prediction varies little, it will take 15+ lbs to win and as little as 5 lbs. to get a check. With all the small spotted bass this lake has, and only a 12" length limit, it's entirely possible for someone to weigh a full 5 fish limit that just barely weighs 5 lbs. And getting a check is always a goal for every tournament. After getting bumped out of the first event of the year, the quest for the Top 40 and a place in the regionals begins tomorrow.

First Tournament Fiasco

2008-03-14T14:27:00.003-05:00

For those astute readers, you may have noticed the dates on my last blog and realized that the Tournament on Lake Guntersville has already passed. For reasons out of my control, I was bumped out of that tourney. I didn't want to post about it a couple of weeks because I was so steaming mad. Now, I've had time to cool off, and examine the situation.

A couple of months ago, I registered for the Guntersville tournament, and soon after recieved my confirmation letter. The Tuesday before the tournament (2/26), I recieved a one sentence letter from FLW outdoors saying that I had been moved to the waiting list. That's it, no other explanation as to why anywhere on it. The next day I called their main office to get an explanation, but the secretary that answered couldn't tell me why I had been bumped, so she transfered me to a supervisor. The supervisor was out of the office, so all I could do was leave a voice mail. Next day, same thing. I call the office, attempt to speak to supervisor and all I get is voice mail. My messages were never returned either day. So now it's Friday and we have to go to the mandatory pre-tourney meeting for briefing and meet our partner for the next day.

Finally there at the meeting tent, someone tells me why I was moved to the waiting list. The guy I had initially signed up with, had at some point dropped out of the tournament due to illness. Because we signed up together, I lost my priority placement and others jumped ahead of me. I tried to plead my case, but the tourney director basicallly did his best to ignore me, only telling me he'd have to wait and see if there were any no-shows. The meeting went forward, pairings were announced, and I wasn't among them.

Back up to the stage I go. Not so pleasant this time. I again tried to get an explanation of their rules, and how this could happen. I knew that there was no way I was getting in, so I vented my frustration about thier notification process. I was upset about not getting in, but more pissed off because I had to make a 3 hour drive, spend the gas money to get there, had hotel reservations already made (too late to cancel at this point), and no one from their headquaters had bothered to notify me in advance with anything more than a one sentence letter saying I was on a wait-list. The director tried to tell me, "I know of at least 18 people that got a call." I told him I wasn't one of them, he said he could prove it because they record every phone call. I told him about the messages I had left on Wed & Thurs, and even then no one called me back. He went back to the trailer, talked to someone in the little mobile office there, then came back and all he had to say was, "Sorry Mr. Hawkes, nothing I can do for you. If you want to sign up for the next event, we can credit this entry fee if you call me Monday morning."

If you can imaging I was steaming at this point, I yelled and screamed and generally made a scene and gave him a piece of my mind. Repeating again most of my frustrations and told him to have his "proof" ready when I talked to him on Monday.

What do you know? The following Monday comes and he confirms that they failed to call me, and appologized for the inconvenience, blah blah blah. Still little consolation as far as I'm concerned. Just writting this blog and remembering the events of that weekend still get me going.

So with one tournament down, I find myself securely behind the 8 ball in my attempt to make the top 40 year end cut. Only 4 more tourneys to go and already a lot of points to make up. The only way I have a shot at the top 40 now is to make sure I catch at least one bass in each remaining event, and have a high finish or two included in there as well.

2008 schedule

2008-03-14T13:42:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been far too long since my last update. The perils of trying to find winter fishing opportunities, I suppose.

This year we decided to fish the Choo Choo division of the FLW Outdoors Bass Fishing League (BFL). We will fish 5 tournaments on 4 different lakes throughout the course of the year. Here's the schedule:
3/1 - Lake Guntersville, Scottsboro, AL
3/22 - Weiss Lake, Cedar Bluff, AL
4/19 - Lake Wheeler, Decatur, AL
6/21 - Neely Henry Lake, Gadsden, AL
9/20 - 9/21 - Lake Guntersville, Scottsboro, AL

Following the same format as last year, the top 40 anglers will move on to the Regional tournament to be held on 10/16 - 10/18 on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, GA.

FLW outdoors has 3 basic levels of competitive fishing: The Wal-Mart FLW Tour & Series (Elite level pros), the Stren Series (a mix of Elite pros and amatuer anglers), and what I fish, the BFL's (mostly amatuer weekend anglers).

As an extra challange this year, my brother and I decided to move up one level of tournament fishing competiton and sign up for a Stren Series tournament. We are going to fish the Stren Series event, 6/4 - 6/7 on Lake Pickwick, right here in Florence. We decided on this tourney because it was a chance to possibly fish with a pro, and it is right in our back yard, so we won't have to pay any travel expenses or hotel bills.

I expect to have updates far more often now as tournament season is in full swing. Should be a good summer, even though I am already starting off behind the 8 ball.

Come see the lights

2007-12-14T22:54:00.000-06:00

Come see the lights. Approx. 25,000 lights to be exact. Every year my bro-in-law turns his house into the biggest Christmas light display in all of Fallbrook. He adds more and more every year, sparing no expense. This year he bought some software and rigged the lights to synchronize with music. Visitors are welcome to cruise through the driveway and take a look. So if you're gonna be in the Fallbrook area, please stop by (Just cruise down Reche Rd, you won't be able to miss it!!!). And if you're so inclined, bring a non-perishable food item to donate, and help those SD residents that have lost their homes, or are otherwise in need this Holiday Season.

Just to give you a little taste, check out the video they put up on their blog. http://schreiberland.blogspot.com/

This has become such a yearly event , that they have become mini-celebrities among Fallbrook locals. They even made two local papers this year. To read a little more background, head on over to NCTimes: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/29/news/inland/3_02_1611_28_07.txt
or the Fallbrook Village News: http://www.thevillagenews.com/story.php?story_id=26992

Stay safe, stay warm, and have a very Merry Christmas!

Our New Project, Day 1

2007-11-30T21:10:00.000-06:00

With winter closing in and my brother, Theron, still having another week off from work, we decided to put in some much needed and long overdue work on his old boat. The combustion motor went out about 2 years ago, and we never had it fixed because it would have cost more to fix it than the motor was worth. So he ran it on the trolling motor, until that broke beyond repair at the beginning of last year. As a result we have been without a boat and pretty much confined to the shore since then.

His boat is an old, 16 foot aluminum boat from the mid 60's I believe. We have talked about ripping out the old flooring and decks for months and today we finally got around to doing it. But before we could get started, there was a little matter of cleaning out some trash. Now remember, this boat hadn't been used in almost two years, and it is well into fall here in Florence. The boat had been sitting in the back yard and was full of leaves and other debris. We proceeded to get to work by scooping out as much as we could with our hands. In the middle of the boat there is a live well/storage compartment. I flipped open the lid and found about 8 bottles of water we had evidently left from our last trip out. I reached in and started throwing out the old bottles. It was then that I almost had a heart attack. Much to my surprise, and probably his, I found this little guy. He was partially wrapped around the blue lid on one of the bottles and I just about grabbed him.Luckily my brother had one of those long handled grabbers for picking up trash. The water was really cold and he was pretty sluggish, so we plucked him out and let him go on the lawn, but not before having a little fun with him. Once on the lawn he warmed up a bit and got a little fiesty, striking at us many times. I think he is a juvenile grey rat snake.

Now with the snake problem out of the way, we could get back to work. We broke out the drills and screwdrivers and proceeded to rip out all the interior of the boat. So much crap had fallen, and somehow or another found its way underneath the flooring over the years, that it was nasty. We hooked up the hose and gave it as close to a good pressure wash as we could.

Now that we have her stripped bare, we can start the rebuilding process and choose a floor and deck layout that will better fit what we want to do. I am so excited to get this project underway. We hope to get quite a bit of work done next week, then turn it into a good winter weekend project. The floor and decks should be easy. The biggest expense will be finding a used motor to put on her. I can't wait until we finish.

Out of Commission

2007-11-20T12:50:00.000-06:00

Some months ago, my fishing partner (aka my brother Theron) hurt his knee. The likely cause was over exertion while playing tennis. He was told he could live with pain in his knee, or they could perform arthoscopic surgery and repair what they could. He opted for the surgery.

So as of yesterday, he is on the disabled list. I know exactly what he feels like right now as I underwent nearly the exact same right knee arthroscopy when I was a freshman in high school. One day later he is already starting physical therapy and walking around the house without crutches. My injury was slightly more severe, however. I was laid up for a few days after, required to wear a knee brace to immobilize my knee, and use crutches for at least a week or so. My how surgical procedures have changed and become so much less invasive in 16 years.

While surgery means he'll be less mobile and on pain meds throughout Thanksgiving, one "fortunate" side effect means he won't have to work retail this weekend for the post-Turkey-Day shopping blitz. Nice planning bro!

On the fishing front, the BFL tournament season starts up in February, and we are inching closer to making a decision on which division to fish. One thing we know for sure. We are going to try and step up a level in competition from the BFL's, and fish the FLW Outdoors Stren Divison tournament on Pickwick Lake here in Florence next June. Might as well give it a shot against some of the bigger guns, since it's a local lake just a few minutes from the house, and we won't have to pay any additional travel expenses.

Stren series entry fees are more than the BFL, but the payout is much larger as well. 1st place on the co-angler side is $5,000, plus a new Ranger Bass boat and trailer, worth approx. $25,000. For a grand total of $30,000 (based on a full field of 200 boats).

While I miss my family and friends back home, man am I enjoying the outdoors life that North Alabama has to offer.

2007 BFL season in review

2007-11-07T18:29:00.000-06:00

Here is the long and short of my first full season of bass fishing. I fished the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL), Bama Division as a co-angler (out of the back of the boat). Our season consisted of 5 tournaments. Here is the breakdown:

Lake, Date, # of fish and total weight, Finish

1. Guntersville Lake, Feb 07, 1 fish -- 3 lb 2 oz, 83rd
2. Weiss Lake, Mar 07, Did not Fish
3. Wheeler Lake, May 07, 3 fish -- 8 lbs, 24th
4. Neely Henry, June 07, 2 fish -- 3 lbs, 82nd
5. Guntersville Lake, Sep 07, 0 fish -- 0, 93rd(t)

Going into the season I had three goals: Finish in the top 40 in point standings, finish higher in the standings than my brother, and win back enough money to cover my entry fees. Sadly, I fell short of all three goals. I ended the season 88th in points with 414, my brother finished 77th, and I won a total of $132! At least it's a start. Unfortunately, I missed one tournament and zeroed in another. Even missing one tournament, I still had a shot at making regionals. Looking back at the final standings, had I caught just one fish in the last tournament and finished as low as 3rd to last, it would have given me enough points to move up to exactly 40th overall and jump ahead of my brother. All I needed was 15 ounces. 15 ounces!!! I was that close to completing two of my 2007 goals.

The BFL season starts up again next Feb. There are at least 3 divisions that we can choose to fish next year: Bama, Choo Choo, or Music City. As soon as we decide which division to fish, I'll post the schedule on here. But keep checking in from time to time, to read my reports, and offer moral support.

Follow my "career."

2007-11-07T17:41:00.000-06:00

I decided to start this blog to recap all of my fishing trips and tournaments. Check back here every now and then to see the results of my most recent tournament, for pictures from my latest creek wading expedition, and all stops in-between.