BrookfieldAngler.com

How To: Add H-Rails to a Hobie Outback

2017-03-25T18:08:00.001-05:00

How to Video: 2017 Hobie Outback Rudder Upgrade

2017-03-19T14:58:00.001-05:00

Now that the new kayak is home, it's time to start setting it up the way I like to rig my Hobie Outbacks!

I will be doing a number of how-to videos of everything that I like to do to my kayaks. The first things that I do before I even take the kayak on the water is to upgrade the rudder and change out the standard fins on the mirage drive to turbo fins!

This first video is all about the rudder swap which happens to be one of the easiest upgrades you can make!! Even sweeter is that this is only a $35 upgrade!!

If you would like to do any of the modifications you will see on my kayak, call Quest Watersports in Ottawa, IL!!

The next video will be for the turbo fins!!

Gander Mountain Bankruptcy

2017-03-14T12:33:00.001-05:00

Photo: Craig Lassig, Craig Lassig/Invision/AP

So Gander Mountain has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and they are closing 32 stores across the nation...

I had never paid much attention to them because it wasn't convenient for me to go there. I had a Bass Pro closer to me and, of course, there was always the internet. Still, I feel the need to buy something and have it in my hand at the exact same time. Even with so many online retailers offering next day shipping, there are times when I need and/or want something right now!

When my wife and I bought our new house a few years ago, I suddenly found myself within five minutes of a Gander Mountain and a half hour from my old "need now" store. Quite frankly, I was excited. The first time I went in to the store, I found myself a little confused. The outside of the building certainly had all the promise of a great store for people like me. You know the type...the outdoors lover. The person who loves to look at things that remind you of a rustic scene with water and animals all around. The person that wants to stroll through the aisles and day dream about leaving everything else behind one day and just live off the land. The outside had big rustic logs and that ever so classic green awning with the smatterings of rough rocks used to build very old structures. It felt great from the outside.

When I walked through the doors, I felt a bit betrayed. There was no fireplace or rustic log cabin feel. It was dull and...cheap feeling? It reminded me of Aldi on the inside. I like Aldi, honestly. The displays are utilitarian at best and many things are just stacked on the floors or left on the original shipping pallets until empty. I really don't mind that because it's cheap. Sure I can go to much fancier grocery store. I'll spend more but have a nicer experience. But the thing is, Aldi owns it. They don't pretend to be something they aren't. There is no facade that says, "Nice store" or "Feel good spending money here". The buildings are drab bricks and there are very few windows. They never trick you.

Rather than walking out, I gave it a shot. Maybe it was like Aldi? At least on the inside? Maybe I'd find a good selection but cheaper pricing? As I walked though the drab aisles and bargain bin feeling displays, I finally made it to the fishing section. I walked up and down the three whole aisles of stuff they had and could find no logical order in which things were merchandized. In one aisle, I found some football head jigs, a fly fishing net, and a selection of barbie fishing poles. In another aisle, I found some plastic worms, musky baits, and some spinners. If I wanted crank baits, the aisle caps seemed to be the place to go but then I found some more in the middle of the third aisle. The entire thing was just a giant jumbled mix of stuff. To make things worse, they weren't even cheap! As a matter of fact, they were notably more expensive!

I finally found some fishing line off in the corner but everything I wanted was locked up and I would have to call an associate over to actually get some. Not a problem. Call guy over, gets line (which was about $3 more expensive than other stores), and I say thanks - can I get that on this reel? He looks at me with an almost annoyed look. Then tells me that it's $5 to put that line on my reel. I was quite surprised so I just said, "Oh...OK. No problem. I'll just do it at home."

At that point, I was done with my first attempt at Gander. I bought the line just because I needed it, but I felt a little sick about it. I just wanted to leave so I didn't bother asking them to at least price match.

Since that time, I have been back in a few emergency situations. The one exception to that is boots. I did buy a pair of winter boots there that are stellar. They are house brand but I love those things. Each time I've been back, they always ask if I want to get the rewards card but I always decline because in my mind, this will be the last time I go there. While I do come back for the pure convenience of the location, I pretty much only buy the absolute minimum of what I need. There are no impulse buys there for me.

And let's not even discuss the dismal website...

What's the point, Nick?

The point is this...I am hoping that the restructuring opportunity provided by chapter 11 will be the injection of life that this store needs. I hope that they can find a way to create an environment that will make people like me wander the aisles and day dream. I hope that they figure out how to create an experience that will actually make me want to come back for no other reason than wanting to come back. I hope that they can actually figure out a way to organize a store in way that makes sense. I hope that I won't feel like I just got raked over the coals because I had no other choice.

If they don't take this opportunity to do the above, then this is going to be next Sears. A brand that absolutely can't reinvent themselves. Worse yet, a brand that can't even figure out how to appeal to the people it already attracts.

Of course, if they don't want to improve on any of those things, perhaps they can hold on to the Aldi type feeling that they portray on the inside but actually be cheaper! Crazy right?! Look cheap so be cheap...pretty novel idea.

Really, Gander Mountain...please do one of the above suggestions. I want to like you. I really do. I want to want to spend my money with you. Help me help you.

Anyone else have some suggestions?

New kayak for 2017 and a tour of Quest Watersports

2017-03-13T15:13:00.001-05:00

Well it took a bit longer than anticipated to pick up my 2017 Hobie Fishing Team kayak but I finally made it out to Quest Watersports in Ottawa Illinois to bring her home!!

Jeff, the owner, had a bunch of stuff ready for me so I can get the kayak set up the way I like it! Stay tuned for rigging vids and, of course, lots of fish porn!

While I was there, I figured I would show you all some of the awesome stuff they have there. Safe to say, if you are looking for a new kayak or any accessory like roof racks, Railblaza stuff, PFD's, and carts, they'll have it!

Mazonia Ice Fishing 2017 - Outing #1

2017-01-09T13:42:00.000-06:00

Read below for Mazonia Ice Fishing dates for 2017

Earlier in the week, I wasn't sure where I planned on drilling some holes but I did know that I was going to introduce Teddy (Lucidfishing.com) to ice fishing!

Around Thursday, Ed (FSA Custom Rods) asked if I wanted to head to Mazonia and fish some of the back pits in the North Unit. That took me all of about three seconds to say yes and the plan was set.

We were supposed to meet up at a lake in the North Unit at 7:00am before setting off on the grueling hike to pits we wanted to fish. As I pulled up, to the gate, I noticed a sign that made me say, "Uhmmmmmm"

So, I sent Ed a text...

Clearly, by Ed's response, the plan was still on...I just got there too early.

Or did I?

He called me a few minutes later while I drove to a different entrance for the North Unit (which was also closed with the same sign) and said that the gates won't open till 7:00am

OK - no sweat, I'll sit here for a few more minutes...

7:00am came...gate still locked. No sweat, the ranger probably just opened the other gate first and is surely on his way to open this one.

7:03am - stilllll locked. Phone rings...it's Teddy. He's at the gate I first stopped at and it's locked.

So, I google the main office's phone number, call, and ask if the North Unit is open to fishing yet.

Nope - not till February 16th.

What?!

"OK...what about the South Unit?"

"That's still closed except for Monster Lake.

Well this stinks!!!

Ed had either heard from a reliable source or read that Mazonia opened up after December 31st for ice fishing. Apparently, dates changed a bit this year due to some different hunting seasons.

So, with no other viable choice, we caravanned it to Monster Lake and started making our way to the area we decided to fish.

To help carry get everything out there, I got to test my new ice fishing sled!!

I rigged that puppy up with the Hobie H-Crate and a couple of Railblaza II rod holders!! It absolutely made dragging two augers, three flashers, a bunch of rods, and some other various stuff a lot easier than having to carry it. For $35, you can't beat it!!

Once we made it to our target area, we drilled some holes...and some more...and some more

The ice was plenty thick...at least six inches. It was also building throughout the day. The cracks and pops, as it did, were like thunder racing across the lake. Some you heard...others you felt as the ripped under your feet...

It took a little while to find some fish but we did. I believe Ed started it off with some crazy micro gill. Seriously, I didn't think that a fish that small could actually get its mouth around a hook any bigger than a size 28 dry fly hook!

Nonetheless, it was a fish! We all proceeded to start catching and figured out a pattern. Dark jig...suspended about midway in the water column...spikes or waxies didn't seem to matter much. I did better on waxies while Ed did better with spikes. Teddy, I think, did OK on either.

Speaking of Teddy, here is he is with his first ice fishing catch ever!!

Good thing he had that FSA Custom Rod to handle that behemoth!!

All in all, I was able to bring home about eight eater gills. I don't typically keep fish but once a year, I don't mind a small amount for a good ole fashioned fish fry. And yes, the kitchen still smells like bluegill slime. HA!

As mentioned in the beginning, Dale Bowman - Chicago Suntimes Outdoor Columnist - released an updated schedule for fishing Mazonia this winter.
North Unit - is closed through February 15th due to rabbit hunting season
South Unit - closed through January 15th die to deer hunting season
Monster Lake remains open year round

A New Year - A New Thing

2017-01-03T09:41:00.002-06:00

Hello all!!

Truth be told, I have been neglecting the livin snot out of this thing!! Instagram has really been captivating me lately and is just so easy to share stuff there.

While I absolutely plan to continue with my Instagram page (link here), I have really been missing this blog. With that, my resolution this year is to get back in the saddle and start writing!!

Since it is a new year, I figured that a great place to start would be with my new way of feeling that tug that is so very much a drug...ICE FISHING!!

Yep, I've finally stopped fighting it and have gone all in on thing called ice fishing.

As of right now, I have three different rod/real combos - two of which are ultra lights and the other a light action. Ed over at FSA Custom Rods has a stick waiting for me as well!! In addition, I've purchased my first auger - a 6" Strikemaster Lazer, a sled, and even picked up a used Vexilar FL-8 flasher! Of course, I've picked up a handful of various ice jigs/lures as well.

So far, I have had about five outings and have been more and more drawn to it the more I do it. One of the the biggest, and absolute best, surprises so far has been how much my five year old (L1) loves it!

I told him about the whole idea a few weeks ago and he seemed strangely excited. I think that there was something really appealing to him about walking on the ice. As I started gathering enough stuff to actually get out there and try to catch a fish, an opportunity to get out presented itself so I took it - here's how it went down:

I didn't have an auger yet but as I was driving home from work one day, I saw a couple of guys ice fishing on the front yard pond. As soon as I walked in the door, I told L1 that when they leave, we can go use the holes that they had drilled. I don't think ten minutes had passed before I saw their car driving away. In record speed, we got all of our winter clothes on and we were off!

When we got to the pond, I walked out on the ice to make sure it was safe before letting L1 out there. As soon as I said that it was safe, and started walking back to get him, he took his first step on to the ice....and was on his butt just as quickly. I couldn't help but laugh which meant he laughed.

I helped him up and we shuffled our feet to the first hole that we wanted to try...we never left that hole. Over the course of the next half hour, we hooked and landed twenty seven little bluegills!! In all reality, he caught the majority of them and I had a blast watching him and the Vexilar. Without actually fishing, I got to coach him and feel the anticipation of the bite when we would see them show up on the finder. So much fun!!

Working it like a pro!

And there it is!! His first ice fish!!!

As we walked home from the pond, he couldn't wait to tell Mommy how many fish we caught! We opened the door, and he yelled, "Mommy! We caught like one trillion fish!!!" Pure pure excitement!!

After that outing, I hit the pond a couple more times (just for short little fixes) and even met up with a fishing buddy who has been into this ice fishing thing for waaaaay longer than I! We definitely put a whoopin on the fish that day as well including a few nicer ones!

On Saturday, my auger finally came! L1 and I were both really excited to give it a try so we headed back to the pond. We drilled a few holes and got a few fish but they just weren't nearly as active as they were the previous outing. With the sun being so bright instead of cloudy like the last time, I figured the fish were probably a bit deeper so I popped a hole in one of the deeper spots on the pond.

Within a minute, it was clear that this was the right move. After a number of bluegills, it slowed down a bit. I could see that there were still fish hugging the bottom but they just didn't want to come up. L1was bouncing the bottom as I was watching the flasher when, finally, a big red mark quickly made it's way on to the screen. L1 teased the fish up a bit higher in the water column and then just let the tiny jig sit still. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the rod tip indicator went down and he set the hook. Instantly, I knew it was a bigger fish than we had been catching. The little two foot long ultra light rod was bent over from tip to handle and the drag was making noise. I could see flashes of light through the ice and I had a feeling that he hooked a bass.

About a minute later, the fish came through the hole and L1's face was stunned, beyond excited, and told you every emotion he was feeling!!

I can't describe how excited I was watching him...

I have no clue why I put this off for so long...these times have been beyond words!

My latest interview on Kayak Fishing via Stray Casts Show!!

2016-09-09T09:14:00.002-05:00

Fellow Hobie Fishing Team member, Teddy Wozny, and I had a blast talking with the Stray Casts folks about kayak fishing and kayak tournaments!!!

It was an honor to do the show...a show that has featured huge names in the Bass Fishing World including Ish Monroe, Fred Roumbanis, and Mike Iaconelli!

Our segment comes in around the 9 minute mark

Frogs - It's What They Like

2016-06-01T15:57:00.001-05:00

Well, we welcomed our third baby boy to the world and have been busy loving him and adjusting as a family of 5. I have been loving every minute of it but have to admit that I have been going stir crazy!

Sure, I've been sneaking out to the front yard pond and having some fun for 15 minutes here and there. I have been skipping lunch and hitting some local lakes from shore as well but I reallllly needed to get back in the yak in a bad way.

Luckily, the wife ~~was nice enough~~ got sick of me being so irritable so she kicked me out and made go fishing. Man am I happy she did!

Getting out was great as it was but the fishing just so happened to be stellar! I was only out on the water for a couple of hours but managed to put seven bass on the yak. To make it even better, they all came on one of my favorite ways of catching bass...

The frog!

I only had one camera with me and of course my memory card was just about full so I only got about 20 minutes worth of footage but it was enough to stitch together a small glimpse of an awesome session.

Mazonia - 5/1/2016 - Post Frontal Grind

2016-05-02T15:25:00.001-05:00

Back to Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Center...

If you haven't guessed, you'll be hearing a lot about this place from me this year. It's close to home, a new type of fishing to me, and it has the potential for some massive bass (by Illinois standards at least).

On top of that, I have teamed up with Hobie and Quest Watersports on a program called First Cast. The program allows someone to get out with myself, or another local Hobie Fishing Team member, and spend a good chunk of the day on the water in a Hobie kayak to get a real life feel and understanding of what the Hobie life is all about. The money spent on the outing can be directly applied to a Hobie kayak of their choice if they ultimately end up buying one. It's a very cool program that has taken a lot of the country by storm - we're just bringing it a bit closer!

Since I really want to get people on fish, I am really trying to understand these lakes as much as possible. With over 200 lakes to choose from in the park, I have been trying to find two or three that offer easy access and some reliable fishing. That brings us back around to my original point that I will be spending quite a bit of time this year.

On to Sunday's results...

A nasty cold front that brought quite a bit of rain, and some cold temps, to the area had me scrambling in terms of my game plan. I was thinking that the water would be in the low 60's since it was in the upper 50's a week ago. I quickly realized that I was absolutely wrong. As a matter of fact, the highest temps that I recorded on two different lakes was 56.

The first lake I tried out was a little no name lake/pond that I have been wanting to check out. It has pretty easy access and I was able to pull out a bass from shore on a previous scouting day. Once we - I had friend and fellow Hobie Fishing team member, Teddy, with me - launched, I was stunned at how clear the water was. At the very minimum, there was seven feet of visibility.

Clearly he was excited to get his first kayak bass of the year - caught on a swim jig with Fishing Physics Swimbait trailer

It only took us a couple of hours to work the entire lake and while we put some fish in the boat, the size was minimal and we simply didn't see a lot of life. My theory is that there just aren't enough nutrients in the water to support a decent base of fish. Of course, the possibility that I just suck at clear water bass fishing hasn't completely escaped me so shhhhhhh!

Rather than spending any more time at this lake, we moved down the road a bit to another lake that has a little feeder creek running into it. With the rains and wind, visibility was less than a foot but I know that there are good numbers of bass in here - and the potential for some real size. The water temps were the same on this much larger and much muddier lake (55 to 56 degrees).

Since the water was so dirty, I knew I wanted a presentation that would give off some good vibrations and have a good sized profile. I debated for a minute between a chatter bait or a spinner before settling on a 1/2 oz Biovex Stangun with a Fishing Physics Grub as a trailer. Once that decision was made, I contemplated between black (which seemed like the obvious choice) or white/chartreuse. Not being someone who always chooses the most obvious options, I went with white.

I pushed off from the little gravel boat ramp and immediately saw a nice opening in some reeds and put my lure right in the middle of it. As I started my retrieve, I let the lure fall down the steep slope and as it bounced off of various rocks and pieces of wood, I lost feeling with the bait sooner than I had anticipated so I set the hook. Wouldn't you know it, first fish on the first cast!

She had a plump belly on her which has me even more excited for the spawn!

We continued working this area of the lake and I was able to put a couple of smaller males on the board as well before moving towards the creek in flow. Water here was even dirtier but I stuck with the same presentation that has been working - 8 to 12 feet of water and bounce that noisy spinner off the bottom really slowly. By the way, I think that this is when the Fishing Physics Stuff really shines...the natural water based scent lingers in the same area for so long, instead of floating to the surface like oil baits, that it adds a bit of a scent trail. That's my theory at least.

I had another couple of fish come off before getting them on board but the action was consistent. As I started moving to the other side of the lake, I felt a great thump after the bait hit a log and as soon as I set the hook, I knew it was a decent fish. I played her a bit more carefully than usual but patience paid off as she hit the net.

After snapping this picture for me, Teddy realized that he didn't have an spinners with him - it was first outing of the year so he wasn't fully organized yet - so I gave him one of mine. I know...I'm such a nice friend.

He stuck to the same approach and it wasn't long until I heard him from across the lake, "Fish on!!"

It's hard to tell from the above pic, but that was the biggest fish of the day. Look at the belly on her!

I, on the other hand, decided to switch things up a bit and play with the Ned Rig. In case you haven't heard of it, it's a finesse technique that is known to put numbers in the boat. If you want to learn more about it, you can click here.

I have been kind of excited to give this a shot; so excited in fact that I had Ed from FSA Custom Rods build me a rod specifically for the technique. As the "how to's" out there will tell you to do, I made a cast and let the bait sloooooowwwllllllllllyyyyyyy fall to the bottom on completely slack line. With the wind, this was a bit painful for my impatient mind but I did what I was supposed to. After I was kind of sure that it had hit the bottom, I started reeling in my slack and just as I started to feel something, the line got heavy so I started reeling faster instead of setting the hook - talk about a hard thing to accomplish! To my disbelief, there was actually a fish on the end of the line.

That plastic was a StankX Stix that I ripped in half

I spent the next 15 minutes or so playing around with it and while I had a few more bites, I wasn't able to refrain from snap setting the hook so I didn't land any of them. Why I was able to do it right the first time but not again after that is beyond me, but with some practice, I can actually see this technique paying off (the ned rig part...not the power hook set part).

After that, it was time to call it a day. The wind had picked up and the temps were dropping even faster which meant that the weathermen were right for a change...storms were coming.

Till next time...

The Recent Cheating Scandal - Bad for the Kayak Fishing World or the Tournament World

2016-04-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

If you are a kayak angler, I am pretty sure you have heard about the cheating scandal that has rocked our little world. If you haven't, here's a link to get you up to speed on the cheater and how he was caught by the folks at the Kayak Bass Series.

As a kayak tournament angler myself, and as a past tournament director, I have read and discussed so many thoughts and opinions on this and how it affects the kayak community. A friend of mine had mentioned how crappy it is because of his view of the kayak angler community's welcoming, honest, and humble nature. When he talks with random strangers about kayak fishing, this is the point he drives home the most. Like so many of us, we don't care what kind of kayak you have...we just dig kayak fishing and enjoy talking to people about it.

I think that Chris Payne (awesome kayak fisherman and even better writer that has an opinion on everything about the sport and isn't afraid to share it) really summed it up perfectly in his post about this unfortunate event. Before continuing reading this post, I highly suggest giving his a read.

Now that you are back, I'd like to echo his sentiments. I do not believe that this incident is limited to the kayak community nor will it tarnish our reputation. At the most, this will be a tiny black speck on an otherwise clean blanket.

What really concerns me is how this might hurt the growing movement of catch, photo, release tournaments in all types of fishing. There are shore based tournaments, online tournaments, boat tournaments, and I'm sure there's other kinds that I haven't even heard of that use a system that so largely relies on the honesty of the participants. The bigger the stakes/prizes/money are, the more that I feel like people are going to cheat.

These types of tournaments - outside of the ease of cheating - are a tremendous step in the right direction for the tournament fishing world. There is no doubt that getting a fish back into the water as quickly as possible is best for the health of the fish. Even with today's modern live-wells on boats and even kayaks, there is no substitute for the fish's home body of water.

Don't get me wrong...there have been plenty of cheaters caught in the boat based world of tournament angling as well but having a fish right there for all the judges to see makes it a lot easier to catch someone trying to cheat. Many of these events require an inspection of the boat's live-wells before they launch just to make sure that the angler doesn't already have a fish or five in the boat. I just feel that it's a bit harder to get away with it in these tournaments.

With that, my concern with this latest scandal is how potential sponsors and future "paper tournament" anglers will react to this. Will this slow the momentum of bigger sponsors who are ponying up huge dollar figures that, up until extremely recently, were unheard of in all but the largest fishing tournament stages out there? Will it give them pause when they hear about stuff like this?

As an example, the cheater had used his cheating method to win the November portion of the Angler Combat Series and won $1,000. The organizers of that series, in light of recent news, stripped the cheater of his title and gave the prize money to the rightful winner. The problem with that is that $1,000 had already been paid out to the cheater. I am guessing it will be a long long time - if ever - before they recoup that money so they are in the red for a decent chunk of change. Now imagine if this happened at the KBF open where the winner was awarded a staggering amount of money (over $30,000). If I am a potential sponsor for one of these CPR based tournaments, I'm not going to be too upset over a few hundred dollars in cash or gear. What about $1,000....$5,000....$20,000?? The folks at Angler Combat absolutely did the right thing but at what point does it simply get too expensive to do the right thing?

How do you make it harder to cheat in these things and how does the CPR tournament world of planners ensure major sponsors that a potential cheater won't get caught?

What do you think? Does this hurt the future of CPR based tournaments or will it take more than one bad person to slow the momentum of our growing sport?

More than 20 years - Father and Son Fishing

2016-03-29T13:43:00.002-05:00

Earlier last week, I sent a text to my Dad, "Wanna go kayak fishing with me on Saturday?"

Until this point, it had been more than twenty years since we had been fishing together. It wasn't a point that I had even considered until Friday night as I was getting the kayaks and gear ready.

There isn't really one reason why it had been so long. I suppose it's a long and varying list of reasons that I won't really get into but I was excited when he - despite some nervousness on his part about kayaking for the first time ever in pretty cold water - said yes. I have grown a ton as a son, a person, and an angler since the last time we were fishing together and I was looking forward to the student showing the teacher what I've become.

That morning, we met at my house, loaded the truck and were on the road by about 7:30. I wanted to check out a lake that I have had on my mind for a while. There were no boat ramps and it was going to be a little but of a hike before we could launch. In hind sight, I suppose it probably wasn't the best idea to tackle an unknown path with a first timer but after a few breather breaks, we made it to the water's edge.

After a bit of an instructional on the Hobie Pro Angler 14, he had the hang of pedaling and steering. We set course for the N/W corner of the lake that I really wanted to focus on.

On his lines, I set him up with a mid-sized inline spinner and a small plastic worm on the other. I started off fishing some jigs without a ton of success. Seeing a fair amount of bait and fish within 10' of the bottom, I decided to switch over to a 1/2oz Biovex Stangun Spinner with a Fishing Physics White Grub trailer. It wasn't long before the first fish was in the boat. A short while later, fish number two was in the boat.

Soon after, I looked ahead and saw the old man's rod bent over. The pressure was off as he landed his first. While not his first bass he ever caught, it was the first one that I had seen him catch in a long time. It was also the first time he had caught a fish from a kayak. And it was the first of what I hope will be many.

Not much later, he had another one on the line. I had just about turned the camera on and was about to head closer to catch the action when I felt a slight tick. This was out first double header.

At the end of the day, we caught eleven bass. Most were small with a couple of decent ones mixed in. I had switched up lures to play with a few presentations but the white spinner and a white chatter with various trailers including the grub and a StankX Damsel were the top producers. Everything on my line hit close to the bottom as I slow rolled the bait along the bottom. Pops stuck with the inline spinner and put four in the boat.

Aside from the double header, the highlight of the fishing end of things came when he asked me, "Do you have three of four?" Just as I was about to answer, I got thumped and said "Four!" It was just one of those perfect fishing moments.

Fishing aside, the absolute highlight of the day was breaking that twenty year plus slump. It was great teaching my Dad something when he was the one that taught me how to fish in the first place. I got a text from my sister later that night saying how he had called her all excited and how great of a time he had. He summed it up to her as one of the best days of his life.

That's friggin money!

Here's the video from the day's action and some more pics!

Square Hatch Install on the 2016 Hobie Outback

2016-03-22T11:36:00.000-05:00

I've finally figured out how I want to set up my 2016 Hobie Outback!

Last year, I fished exclusively out of the 2015 Hobie Pro Angler 14 and while I absolutely loved that kayak, there were many times that I missed the speedier and lighter Outback. When it came time to pick my Hobie Fishing Team boat this year, I made the choice to get what I had missed.

The challenge came in rigging. Rather than just jumping in and throwing a ton of stuff on there, I took a bit of time to figure out exactly what was going to work best for me. With the Pro Angler, rigging was easy as could be thanks to the H-Rail system that comes on them. I could easily swap, add, remove, and move any of my Railblaza rod holders, camera mounts, visibility kits, and electronics with a simple flip of a lever.

On top of that, the Pro Angler has a large, water tight, square hatch on the deck that holds a couple of tackle bins. I use these for terminal tackle and little tools that I use almost every time I am out. The Outback on the other hand comes with a round hatch and while it does have a little drop in tray, the amount of space I had for this stuff was greatly reduced.

I was definitely going to miss that versatility of the H-Rails and that extra room in the hatch!!

Then it hit me...

Why miss it when I could simply replicate it?!

So that's what I set out to do and I started off by calling my local sponsoring Hobie Dealer, Quest Watersports, and ordered some parts including a square (rectangle) hatch with the tackle management system and two lengths of H-Rail bars and mounts.

The first part to go on was the square hatch and I thought I'd do a little video of that install incase anyone else wanted to do the same thing to their Hobie Outback!

The video is a bit shaky and grainy as I had to record everything with my phone thanks to some cameras not working (still not sure what's going on there). The entire project took me about 30 minutes and I did a lot of it with one hand while the other hand help the camera/phone. With two hands, the install should be a breeze!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the kayak all set up! I'll be working on another video showing how to install the H Rails on the Outback soon!!

I will also be adding two different anchors on this kayak - the Anchor Wizard and the Power Pole Micro Anchor with the help of some new gear tracks from Lucid Fishing called the On Track System.

Nikon KeyMission 360 - A new action camera on the market!

2016-01-22T11:23:00.002-06:00

I had a chance to see the new Nikon stuff at CES this year and was pretty excited to see that they are going to be releasing a new action camera to the market called the KeyMission 360.

As the name suggests, it's a 360 degree camera and the viewer can actually pan the videos on their phone or computer to see everything that the camera sees. For an example, see the video below

If you are watching from your smartphone, simply move the phone to change your view. If you are watching from the computer, there is a little toggle in the upper right corner that will allow you to pan.

Here are a few pics I took of the camera itself.

They also have quite a few mounts and accessories for the camera as well!

I'm not sure what the MSRP is yet or exactly when it will be available.

With the new 360 cam from Nikon, there are now two 360 camera options that I am aware of - the other being from Kodak called the SP360.

The Kodak one can be purchased now and is somewhere around $250 depending on where you buy it.

I haven't added either to my arsenal yet but surely will be soon!

Musky action!

2015-12-03T11:32:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday, my good friend Randy with Predator-Pursuit.com, sent me the greatest report he's ever given me. Him and his clients put 9 muskies in the boat on a single day! It was crazy! Occasionally there are those 2 and 3 fish days...maybe even 4, but this is musky fishing we are talking about...you know...the "fish of ten thousand casts"?

So when he showed me 9 muskies caught on Saturday, I told him to keep the boat gassed up - I'll see you in the morning!

More often than not, however, a stellar day on Saturday means dead seas on Sunday. Still, hopes were high that the pattern would hold up for two days in a row.

Randy started out throwing some shallow jerk baits since that what they were hitting on Saturday. The baits would dive and suspend about 4 feet below the surface. I really wanted to get a musky over 40" on the new Biovex Joint Bait 142 but it's a surface lure. To overcome this, I removed the stock hooks and split rings. I replaced them with big Gamakatsu 5/0 trebles and heavy split rings. This was enough to get the bait down to about 4' with a 10 count. While it worked out just how I hoped, the muskies didn't seem to be rising that high in the water column. The bait balls were also quite a bit lower in the water as well.

Getting tired of waiting for the fish to come to me, I decided to go to the fish. In order to accomplish this, I pulled the hooks and split rings from the joint bait and added them to the Biovex Amp Deep Runner. By itself, it normally dives to about 10' to 12' of water but then floats to the surface on the pause.

Since I needed the bait to suspend right in the musky's face, the heavy hooks and split rings were the trick to keeping it where it stopped. The only other modification I made was adding a couple of dots on each side of the bait since they were keying in on shad.

It couldn't have been more than my 10th cast with this trial presentation when I went to jerk the lure forward after a short pause and felt it get nicked by a toothy critter. Had I waited a half a second more, it would have been fish on.

Still, it gave me hope that the presentation would actually work. Targeting big muskies with some modified bass crank bait didn't seem like it would be feasible at first but signs were looking up.

About ten minutes later, I had slowed my pause down a bit to give the fish a chance to bite down when I felt the slightest tick resonate through the rod tip. I went to set the hook and it was game on.

Since I was casting a bass crankbait, I was using a bass rod - not the giant xxx heavy power rods that one would normally use. Because of this, the battle was intense. Drag was running, the fish was going in every direction, and the head shakes were incredible.

It took a few minutes but we got the fish in to the net. It was going to be close but I may have just hit my 40" musky goal on a Biovex crankbait.

After getting the hooks out, we put it on the bump board and sure enough...we nailed it! 40.25"

After we watched her swim away, we both duplicated the same presentation. Over the next 6 hours, we put 5 more muskies in the boat. Randy definitely had the hot hand for a while and put 4 in the net including a pig 46" musky.

I, on the other hand, got the last hurrah with a stellar 41 incher right at the very end!

The day was cold and windy but still a blast. It also turns out that we actually beat Randy's and mine record when we fish together. Until this day, the most we had put in the boat in a single day was 5 muskies - that was with 3 of us fishing. On this day, we did 6 between the 2 of us!

We also missed one on a sucker and had 3 other follows.

I absolutely love these fish!

Video: Lake Michigan King Salmon from the Kayak

2015-11-06T13:31:00.003-06:00

Well I finally got a new system for video editing and have just finished my first video with it.

The video is from September and features a full battle - from the strike to the hero shot - with a 36" chinook salmon.

If you look in the middle left right when I grab the rod from the rod holder, you can see the salmon going crazy on the surface.

She was a fighter that didn't give up!!

Hope you enjoy!!

Dear Venturing Angler - Let me post a counter argument...

2015-10-27T11:03:00.003-05:00

Perusing through Facebook, I saw a post from my long time blogging friend, Mr Windknots and Tangled Lines, that said "Every fisherman needs to read this" - and so I did.

The article was written by the Venturing Angler and it was about the things that he feels fly fisherman need to stop doing...immediately.

Now, maybe it's just because I hate being told what to do or not to, but this one really irked me. Maybe I'm just kind of crabby today, but it irked me so much so that I am writing this. I think he is on point with a couple of things but incredibly off point on others - So Mr. Venturing Angler, let's dive in to everything I disagree with you about.

Above this section, he has a picture of a fly fisherman holding up a nice trout that he just caught with a caption of "Let's move away from this. The author in the early 2000s looks for praise from a fake fish."

Instantly, I disagree. I suppose I am guilty of these "hero shots" because I love pictures of me holding a fish I caught. I am proud of the fish I caught and by golly, I like to share them everywhere I can. Based off of my analytics, other people like to look at them as well.

I also like to look at pictures of others who caught a fish they are proud of. Instagram has quickly become one of my favorite social media platforms and my feed is stuffed with a ton of pictures of people holding up a fish they caught and are proud of.
P.S. Here's a link to my Instagram page!

Now maybe you are someone who actually only gets magazine for the articles, but I happen to like the pictures. I find pronounced elitism in your proclamation that taking a picture like so many of my own needs to stop. Ironically, you touches on how elitism has to stop a few sections down - we'll get to that.

Once again, because someone is proud or pumped up about catching a fish they feel is big, we need to belittle them for feeling so? What does being a "beast" mean? If someone goes out in pursuit of catching a fish once a day or once a month is completely irrelevant in my mind. However often you can and do, going out there with sheer determination, focus, persistence, and excitement is what I would consider "beast mode" and I DO find value in that. If that makes me or anyone else a poser in your eyes - oh well. And when I drive 24 straight hours to go chase some saltwater fish on the southern tip of Florida one time a year; it's beast mode. Is it standard for you or someone else? Maybe but when I do it, I am leaving behind a wife and 2 kids all in hopes of having something big hit the end of my line. I do it with no less passion than someone who does it every day. Quantity is not the measure of being hardcore - passion when you do it is.

I agree that human suffering and pollution suck but what are you really getting at here? Are you mad that company xyz chooses to make something in a place where the cost of labor is cheaper and then sells it here for a larger profit? Are you mad that a worker in some other country is being paid some wage that seems inconceivably low to us here in the U.S? While these can be debated until we're all dead, it is what it is. Companies try to make profit at our expense. If they don't make profit then they don't stay in business. If they don't stay in business then we don't have a product. It's a vicious circle. Also, I am not sure if you have traveled outside of the country but things in other places don't cost the same as what they do here. Not all countries share our same values in what is important. Making $10 a day in one country may actually be a good wage to them. A gallon of milk might not actually cost $3 or more like it does here.

More to the point, I don't see how this really relates to connecting to nature. Is that what fly fishing is? Is that all it's allowed to be? Since it seems like such a pure endeavor to you, then why aren't you cutting a branch from a tree, making your line from something nature provides, and carving a hook from the bone of some naturally fallen prey?

Oh yeah....where is that Kraken reel that you have actually made?

So I can only assume that you are against the programs where local DNR's stock random ponds, lakes, and creeks with catchable trout for the sake of introducing young anglers to the sport or allowing others a chance to catch a fish that isn't normally available to them?

Or are you against the hatcheries working to restore a species that has been over harvested by commercial boats or fell victim to some terrible man made disaster like an oil spill or fracking accident? Would you prefer that we just let the species die so generations of future anglers have no chance at catching a species of fish you had the gift of being able to catch?

The bare minimum is doing nothing at all. By joining organizations like the TU, you are enabling them to continue their mission - a mission which those who join believe in as well. If someone did nothing else but go catch a fish, take a hero shot, and share it with their friends and family, they would be helping the cause. How so? Simple. They are creating interest and awareness. If only 10 people in the world are interesting in catch a steelhead, then the tremendous resources that go into growing and preserving the species wouldn't exist. If a million people are excited about fishing for them, then it becomes a cause that has warrior groups like the TU making sure we can all have the opportunity to pursue them. This once again is another case where just because someone doesn't do as much or the same as you; it doesn't make them less than you.

I feel like we've covered this already....Oh yeah! Why aren't you making your gear from only the things that nature has provided, again? How's that super non materialistic CNC'ed aluminum fly reel and those Redington fly rods working out for you in the simplicity and authenticity department?

While I don't completely disagree with you here, I don't completely agree. If I see a picture of some girl in a skimpy bikini with a fly rod in one hand and a sweet hero shot fish in the other, I'm gonna think of something sexual. I am man who is attracted to women. To me, it's just natural but if that makes me a perve, then...well...I guess I'm a pervert. Those type of pictures are done intentionally and those women that posed for the shot aren't ignorant to the purpose either.

On the other hand, there are incredible female anglers out there - many of whom just consider themselves anglers - like Christina Weber and April Vokey who wish not to portray a combined image of sexuality and fishing but rather an image of being stellar anglers. They are two examples of women who do it very well. They should be extremely proud of having a vision of what they want to be and portray and then accomplishing it. They work extremely hard at doing it and get even more credit in the eyes of many - I believe you would be one of those.

As for the others who wish to portray and flaunt their perceived "sexiness"...well good for them. They have something that they are proud of and want to share with the world. Is showing off a body they are proud to have and portraying an image of sex disrespectful to fishing? I don't think so. I just think it's different than what I personally value. Aren't different passions, motives, goals, and opinions what makes the world great?

I sure do! I love fly tying! I don't think fly tying in itself is going to save the local fly shop though. What will save the local fly shop is a combination of increased interest in fly fishing/fishing and lessening the cost savings of shopping online (or the local fly shops learning how to become an online presence as well). Cheaper real estate and lower taxes might help as well but that's another debate. I agree that ancillary things like clothing and other accessories sales will be an income generator but I thought that we were supposed to stop worrying about material things? So which is it?? Buy more stuff or don't buy more stuff??

As for the increased interest part, how do we get back to that?? Hero shots, cool gear, and recognition. Make it look like something fun that everyone can do and guess what...people will want to do it.

Really?! Did you read everything you had written before you wrote this paragraph?? Almost the entire article reeked of elitism! Even worse was the stench of hypocrisy. Fake fish, this gear instead of that gear, only certain kind of pictures, etc...the entire article was elitist to the core.

This is basically redundancy of pretty much everything else you said like hero shots and beast mode so I'll just be redundant in my response...

So someone is proud of something they did - who cares? Maybe it's their first time. Maybe only a handful of people in the grand scheme of the world have actually done it. If someone is proud of what they did, where they went, or what they had to do get there, who is anyone to belittle them for it? I guess every one after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay should stop being proud of making making it to the top of Mount Everest and safely back down?

Sorry this bothers you but again - who are you to judge? The "pro" in prostaff doesn't always mean professional. It can and often does mean promotional. By being a prostaff, you help to promote and spread the word of a certain brand, shop, or product and in exchange you are given discounts, free, or actually paid with money. The best prostaffers out there are the ones who only make agreements with brands, shops, and products that they genuinely believe in and use. They are part of the many parts that help drive interest, innovation, and interest in their respective sport/activity. Does it mean that they know everything? Absolutely not.

As a "prostaffer" for several companies, I am the first to admit that I am not the best fisherman out there. Hell, if I only looked at this past year, I would say I'm a terrible fisherman. Ha Ha. But the thing is that when I am at an event for whatever company I am there with/for, I talk with people who want to know what I know. I love passing on the limited knowledge that I have with people that don't have it but want it. As a prostaffer, I am afforded more opportunities to do so.

A great example of this is a fellow we'll call John. He had seen my site and I believe I talked with him at some event about fishing some local waters around here. He had been trying but not having much luck so I shared my knowledge and received a follow up email from him last week thanking me for sharing what I know and with it was a picture of his first musky.

THAT is what being a prostaffer is all about to ME.

So short of being April Vokey, should the rest of us not share what we know? Is there really anybody out there that truly thinks they know all there is to know? I'm sure there are a couple but I hardly think it's more than that.

If you don't like someone's advice or care to hear it, then don't listen to it or read it but don't chastise those who want to share it. Sharing knowledge helps others grow and learn. Maybe not you...but there are indeed others that appreciate it.

In conclusion...

Personal Best Bass and Channel Cat - Proud Dad

2015-10-05T11:15:00.002-05:00

So my oldest boy Landon - who is 4 years old now - has really been getting excited about fishing this year. At least once or twice a week, we'll head across the street to the local pond for a little bit. He has progressed quite quickly! He casts by himself, fights the fish, and reels them in by himself.

Up until now, the catch has been mostly bluegill with the occasional small bass for him.

A few weeks back, there was another neighborhood kid fishing and he landed a shockingly huge catfish with a hot dog. Since then Landon had been wanting to catch one. We bought multiple packs of hot dogs and have tried to catch one almost every time we've been out but the bait usually gets nipped off by little bluegill. The last time out, it dawned on me that these cats are getting so big in this pond because they are eating the highly over populated gills.

Yesterday, with that in mind, we set off to the pond with his super hero fishing rod in one hand and the big rod for catfish. It took him all of two minutes to catch our bait - a little four inch gill.

We rigged it up to a big circle hook, cast the whole set up into a hole in the weeds, and let it sit while we wrangled some more bluegill. A little while later, I caught the slip bobber shooting beneath the surface so Landon dropped his little rod and we ran over the big pole. I set the hook and handed it over to Landon so he could reel it in. He was so excited and so was I! The plan to use the gills workout perfectly. He was struggling to get the fish through all the weeds so I helped him hold the rod while he feverishly reeled it in.

I was stunned when I saw what it was and was instantly more excited about our tiny little pond.

Now, I can pull out some bass at will from that little pond but the biggest I have seen so far are some run of the mill twelve to fourteen inchers. They are fun for those times when I have a few minutes to kill or for Landon to catch with his little fishing pole.

Leave it to my little buddy to show me that there is at least one five pounder in there!!

The amazing thing about this catch - besides its size - is that the hook never pierced the fish. The bass had the bluegill half swallowed and refused to let go of it during the entire fight. I worked carefully to remove the hook from bluegill only and we sent the big girl away with her well deserved meal!

Still hoping for one of the giant catfish, we immediately set out to catch another bluegill for bait and had one very quickly.

We got it rigged up, cast it the same spot, and went back to...Well Landon was pretty excited still. He was fascinated with the pliers and the Lucid Fishing Grips so we were playing with those and picking everything that he found up with them.

A few minutes had gone by when I heard a splash behind me. As I turned around, our fishing pole was gone and there was a big ripple in the water. We ran over there and I reached my hands in the water to get the pole. I handed it Landon and it was everything he could do not to let go. I grabbed the foregrip to help him hold on and he started reeling. It didn't take long for me to realize that Landon finally got his giant catfish.

We stayed for little while longer but dinner was calling. My heart was tickled when Landon begged and begged to stay just a little while longer. As a person who almost always wants to stay out longer, who was I to say no?

Just some fish porn

2015-09-18T09:29:00.001-05:00

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Please help in anyway you can!!
http://www.lucidfishing.com/max-memorial.html

New Instagram Pic!

2015-09-06T03:45:00.001-05:00

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New Instagram Pic!

2015-09-05T15:38:00.001-05:00

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Smallmouth are thriving in the Des Plaines River

2015-08-27T11:40:00.001-05:00

Man it's been a long time since I've hit the Des Plaines with a set of waders!! For whatever reason, I had the urge to suit up and see how the smallmouth were doing and I was not disappointed.

Time was short but I had some goals I wanted to make happen including some good video and some product testing. Most importantly, I wanted to catch a few fish!!

After I was done, I felt great because everything had gone exactly how I thought. It's been a while since I have been able to pull that off in terms of fishing.

My first fish came on a white swim jig with a chartreuse Fishing Physics Grub in their minnow soak. The fish came right off the slow side of a seam and hit hard. I was extremely happy to see a 16" smallmouth at the end of the line. I took a few pictures and then a release video.

After I released her, I moved down stream a bit as the sun was going down pretty fast and I had a certain spot I wanted to be in for my quest of a few topwater smallies.

As I walked downstream, it dawned on me that my camera might still be set up on timelapse mode for a different video project. Sure enough it was - which meant I didn't get my release shot. Oh well.

As I approached my target area, I could see the smallies starting to pop the surface so I quickly tied on the Biovex Joint Bait 110 and started casting.

It took all of three casts when I saw a fish rise but miss, then come back at it hard for another miss. (When you watch the video, you'll see me miss a fish and then look back at the camera to say, "That thing came at it twice!!")

I only had another half hour to make it back to the truck before the gates to the access spot were closed so I got back to casting.

A few minutes later, I made a cast just past a shallow ridge in the middle of the river and started bringing it over to the deeper channel when I got slammed! The fish tail walked a couple of times and I was trying to reel as fast as I could to get pressure on the fish and keep it low in the water. I really didn't think it was a very big fish at first but once I got it closer, it finally started pulling pretty hard.

I was using my Phenix X-10 Crankbait rod that FSA Customs had built for me earlier this year and I love how soft the tip is while having a really nice backbone to control a fish. In the video below, you can see exactly where that backbone comes in!

I got the fish landed and while it certainly wasn't the biggest smallie I've caught, it was a great 15" river fish with a ton of power. These fish really never stop fighting - they are warriors.

After I got that fish released, I checked the time and had to start making my way back to the truck. I was walking and casting at any spot that looked like it might hold a fish or two when I saw a nice boulder in a couple feet of water. It was smack dab in the middle of some strong current with a nice little slack water spot right behind it and sure enough, I pulled one right out of there. Sure he was the smallest of the day but made for a nice end to the evening.

As, I started going through the footage, I realized that everything didn't turn out as I had hoped and I am a bit bummed about that. Apparently, the mic was turned off so none of my audio came out!! I had a ton of footage that I wanted to send to Fishing Physics, Biovex, and BugBam explaining the products and reviews. Unfortunately, all I have is muted video.

With that said, we can see that the Biovex and Fishing Physics stuff worked great!! What you can't see/hear is the BugBam review. If you look at my right wrist, you will see a black band - that is the BugBam mosquito repellent band. I'll post a full review on it in the near future but the short version is that I was extremely happy at how well it kept the blood suckers off of me!

Fishing combos for kids

2015-07-22T13:33:00.002-05:00

His first bass caught with Daddy's fishing rod

My oldest little guy is turning the big 4 in a few weeks and I am definitely getting him a new fishing rod and reel combo. The problem is what kind...

Last night, while we were fishing at the pond, I asked if he wanted his own rod. He enthusiastically replied that he wants another one that lights up. (He was referring to his Spiderman fishing pole that broke and stopped working after a short while.)

I then mentioned that I thought he was ready for a "real" fishing rod like mine and while he said "yeah", I wonder if that's what he really wants.

My plan was to pair up an Ugly Stick with a classic Zebco spincast reel but I'm not sure if that's what he really wants.

Would he be happy and excited about it when he got it? Probably. Would he immediately ask if we could go fishing with it? Almost certainly.

But - and this is where my real dilemma comes in - would he be more excited about a new fishing pole that lights up? Is function over form something to consider yet or is it still all about how fun and cool something looks?

The "serious angler" part of me says one thing while the "Dad who loves to see the biggest smile ever on my little man's face" part of me says Spiderman fishing pole.

Has anyone crossed this bridge yet? What avenue did you take?

Giveaway time!!!

2015-07-14T09:09:00.003-05:00

I'll be doing two small giveaways this week!

The first is happening right now on the BrookFieldAngler Facebook Page so head over there, like and tag, and you are entered to win!

The winner will be announced this Thursday at 8am CST

River Bassin Tournament - Regional Stop -Aurora, IL - results

2015-07-13T09:53:00.003-05:00

In a last minute decision, I decided to fish the River Bassin Trail in Aurora, IL this past weekend. I entered the team event with Lucid Fishing founder, Teddy Wozny. I was a bit surprised he was able to fish considering the birth of his new baby, but he was, so I said why not.

The ridiculous amount of rain we have had this year - along with some terrible brown algae blooms on the Fox River - had me a bit stumped on where to go. I had one area of the Des Plains River in mind where I have typically done pretty well numbers wise but not so much size wise soTeddy and I reached out to a few friends to see where they have been doing OK at and ended up choosing a river neither one of us had ever fished - the Cal Sag.

I spent a bit of time looking at my Navionics app (awesome app by the way) to get somewhat familiar with the river but aside from that, we were pretty much going in blind.

We launched right about 5am and were to the section of the river we wanted to work by 5:20. We sat around until the official start time of 5:25am and then we started fishing. It only took a couple of minutes for Teddy to get the first fish. It wasn't a big fish but we were on the board. A short while later, he had fish number two on the board.

About ten minutes later, I hooked up and landed my first fish - our teams third fish - which was a 14.5" smallmouth. By 6:20 in the morning we had three on the board and we had visions of having to do a lot of culling. So far, we were extremely happy with our choice to fish this new to us water.

Then out of the blue, everything pretty much shut down. We were both getting a few bites but nothing was sticking. I am guessing there might have been some rock bass or something else down there that was just nipping the trailer on our jigs. Teddy pretty much stuck to the jig with a StankX Damsel trailer all day while I played around with various things.

Stankx Damsel with Tight Rope Jig

I had two more good hits over the next few hours but just couldn't get the hooks in them. One of the hits came on the "about to be released" Biovex Joint Bait 110. I had swapped out the stock hooks with some super sharp Gamakatsu round bend treble hooks which added a tiny bit of weight to it. With just that little change, I was able to bomb that thing on a cast. As I was bulging the surface, I had a great blow up that had the fish completely out of the water. I'm not sure if the fish just missed or if it grabbed it and spit it one fluid motion but it was a nice nice fish.

Biovex Joint Bait 110

The sun started popping out from behind the clouds a short time later so I switched back to the jig and damsel. I skipped the jig underneath a tree that was hanging over the bank and it got hit on the drop, but I was a tad late on the hook set. I quickly reeled back in, skipped it under there again and got hit on the drop again. This time I nailed the hook set and got her in for our fourth fish of the day.

I worked that section for another twenty minutes and aside from those little nips, I didn't get anything else, but Teddy did where he was fishing!

The goofball calls me up and says something along the lines of "Dude - I'm shaking" "Tank" "Holy Cow". Naturally, I ask "How big?" His response made me laugh and then hang up on him.

"I don't know - I'm shaking too much to measure it."

So I laugh at him, called him Francis, and told him to call me back when he measures it. Now Teddy and I have both caught 20" class smallmouth before so I'm thinking this thing has to be pushing state record status.

A few minutes later he texts me. The fact that he texted me instead of calling was the first sign that he over estimated the size of this fish. I read the text (which had a picture attached) and it said "16.75"

Don't get me wrong, that's a nice nice smallmouth but I still had to laugh at him for getting so excited about a sub 17" smallie. I will admit that the fish was a football. Massive massive shoulders on that thing. More importantly, it was fish number five for us and we still had three hours left to catch more and cull out some our smaller fish!!

OK....two more hours to get our sixth and start culling.

Fine - another hour to go to get that sixth.

Dude we have five minutes to get that last fish!!

Son of a! How did we not get our sixth fish?!?!?

Driving to the weigh in, we're checking out the live leader board and were sitting in third in teams. It wasn't terrible but I was disappointed that I couldn't pull in my third fish (our sixth) fish. We had a bit farther of a drive than a lot of the other teams so we knew that some of them were on the water which meant we fully expected to be bumped from the top three.

Amazingly, as registration ended and all the fish were checked-in, we held our third place finish by a tiny margin of 3/4". To take 2nd, I would have needed a 16.25" fish and to take first, I would have needed a 20.5" fish or a smaller one with some culling of our smaller fish.

Overall, we were pretty happy with our finish but we could have done better. I will have to say that I was extremely impressed with the live weigh-in system that the River Bassin event used. It was easy to navigate, updated every 30 seconds, and ran extremely smooth.

We picked up some decent stuff for our 3rd place finish so I will be doing a giveaway or two in the next couple days so stay tuned!!

Reading the results of a boater tournament that took place on the same river that we fished that day, I felt even better with our results. The winner of that tournament landed two fish that weighed in at a combined 4.85lbs. Crazy!

Plastic welding - how to repair cracks and holes in your kayak

2015-07-02T10:15:00.001-05:00

GREAT video from my guy Anthony at Venture Tube detailing the process to fix holes and cracks in your kayak or any other plastic thing you have.