Buggs Island – July Lake Report
Fish will be well into a summer pattern. Fish can be found anywhere between 8 to 20 feet.
VA Bass Federation Nation of VA – Youth Championship Results 6-24-12
The Bass Federation Nation of VA Youth Winners
CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS
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Tyler Maschal was the Winner of the Senior division with at total weight of 6.49lbs and will be joining the sate team in September. Take a listen to what all he had to say about the event..
[podcast]http://thebasscast.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/TYLER-MASCHAL-VA-State-Youth-Champion.mp3[/podcast]
CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS
______________________________________________________
Tyler Maschal was the Winner of the Senior division with at total weight of 6.49lbs and will be joining the sate team in September. Take a listen to what all he had to say about the event..
[podcast]http://thebasscast.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/TYLER-MASCHAL-VA-State-Youth-Champion.mp3[/podcast]
[podcast]http://thebasscast.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/TYLER-MASCHAL-VA-State-Youth-Champion.mp3[/podcast]
In a league of his own – Don Barone – Bass Master.com
In a league of his own
Don Barone
Jerry McKinnis played a game of catch with Mark Zona on McKinnis’ birthday.
By Don Barone
“Little boy in a baseball hat stands in the field with his ball and bat
says, “I am the greatest player of them all”
puts his bat in his shoulder and he tosses up his ball…”
Dateline: From The Bleachers
I want the last words I say to be, “…love you.”
I want the last thing I hold to be, the hands of my wife and children.
I want the last thing I taste to be, the rawhide strings of my little league baseball glove.
Peace on Earth for me can be found, in my wife’s embrace.
Peace on Earth for me can be found, with music in my ears and my fingers on the laptop keyboard.
Peace on Earth for me can be found, midway between 2nd and 3rd base, heels on the green carpet behind me, toes in the dirt, dust on my knees, gum stuck in my cheek.
Peace on Earth for me, has always been, and always will be, when the round scuffed white ball with red laces….is in the air.
And coming my way.
“…and the ball goes up and the ball comes down,
swings his bat all the way around
the world so still you can hear the sound, the baseball falls to the ground….”
Play catch with me.
Play catch with me…dad.
Play catch with me…son.
Let’s throw it around. You and me. Let’s pitch and catch, just you and me, you stand there, I’ll stand here…and the world will disappear, and it will only be the two of us.
Pitch…
Catch….
And the timeless game, is all about time.
Pitch…
Catch…
Back to a time when dad was a son.
Back to a time when the sky was higher and the backyards were bigger.
When fences could be climbed, and popsicles could be shared. When baseball cards rode the spokes of wheels and bats were made of wood.
Pitch…
Catch…
Back when you knew the smell of grass stains, back when you had cleats and a cowlick. Back when the world was b/w, and the radio on your nightstand let you watch the game play out in your mind.
Pitch…
Catch….
“…now the little boy doesn’t say a word, picks up his ball he is undeterred.
says, “I am the greatest that there has ever been”
and he grits his teeth and he tries again….”
“db…you have no idea how much that meant to me, for me to play catch with Mark Zona…it was Zona’s birthday present to me.”
Above the crowd.
Above the amplified speakers.
Above cars in the parking lot.
Above the sound of the music in my head…I heard it.
Pop.
Leather on leather.
Snap.
Of the glove being closed.
And when I turned…I saw a game of pitch…of catch…of let’s throw it around.
At first I only saw Mark Zona, crouched down like a catcher, and as I watched the arch of the ball as he threw it back…followed the white ball through the blue air, watched it being consumed by a black leather glove, that’s when I saw who was pitching.
Jerry McKinnis.
And I stood there and watched.
And I had to wipe my eyes before I could bring the camera up to shoot.
Because, with every pitch…
Because, with every catch…
I knew.
Jerry…was back.
“…and the ball goes up and the ball comes down,
swings his bat all the way around
the world so still you can hear the sound, the baseball falls to the ground….”
A while ago, Jerry McKinnis had triple bypass surgery, “I had a sore arm, but you know I thought it was because I was out working in the yard cutting the grass, chopping wood, thought I just did something to myself. Kept talking about it, never did nothing about it, though.”
His son, Mike did…took him to the hospital. “The docs ran all these tests, but said as soon as he heard me talk about my arm and point to the spot where it hurt, he knew. So he comes back in and says I need a bypass and I tell him OK, but I’m really busy can we put it off for a month? And the doc looks at me and says, yeah we can put it off…until tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.”
We are alone, talking, in a trailer. Jerry is sitting on a crate, I’m standing using a workbench as a writing table.
Both of us still show bruises on our arms from where the nurses put the needles into our arms.
A few weeks back Jerry wrote his column…about me. Here’s what he wrote.
Now, it’s my turn.
Payback.
I’m going to be honest with you, me and bosses don’t much get along, been like that forever…it is a mutual putting up with each other.
Jerry McKinnis is my boss.
And I love him.
Whether I work another day in my life for B.A.S.S. or not, I’m not brown-nosing here. Even if I go somewhere else, I will still love Jerry McKinnis.
I love him, for one reason…I have walked with the greats in sports, in all types of sports, but in all these years of doing this, I have only walked with one Sportsman…only one personification of Sportsmanship.
And that would be Jerry.
To be honest, Jerry and I have had our boss to the-guy-driving-the-boss-crazy talks. I have driven him nuts, and he has made me whacked at times, but he is the only boss I have ever had that I would do anything for. He is only one of two bosses I have ever had that I respect.
For all of you other bosses I’ve had out there who read this, sorry…deal with it.
Yesterday, in the trailer, our talk wasn’t about B.A.S.S., wasn’t about the event going on outside, it was what was going on inside.
Inside us.
“db it scared the (blank) out of me. It took me so low in my life. I had no real signs, just the soreness in my arm. They caught it before it could have become real serious.”
I shake my head yes, I know, there were no signs that I had cancer growing within my prostate.
“db…we guys…we need to do a better job of taking care of ourselves, we need to be making regular trips to our docs.”
We both look at each other, say nothing, but in the silence of the unsaid words between us, the whisper in our heads says this:
We damn near killed ourselves.
Stubborn, kills.
“…he makes no excuses he shows no fear
he just closes his eyes and listens to the cheers.
little boy he adjusts his hat, picks up his ball, stares at his bat
says “I am the greatest when the game is on the line…”
“I was lying in the hospital bed, and Shaw Grigsby called and he finally talked Angie into letting him talk to me, and when she handed me the phone Shaw said ….”
“….I told him that the next three months were going to be the worst three months of his life….”
“…Shaw was so great he predicted exactly what was going to happen when he told me…”
“…that one day it will get better, and then it will start getting better every day and that finally…”
“….one day I will be back, better than new, and darned if Shaw wasn’t right. He had been through the same stuff a few years back and his prediction was right on the money, really helped me.”
They tell me in their soft voice.
They tell me in their inside voice.
They tell me in whispers.
About their cancer.
Every event, I’m told…of pain.
Every event, I’m told…of struggle.
Every event, I’m told…of the gift,
we call life. And the fight we wage, to hold onto it.
And with every whisper.
And with every gentle touch on my arm.
And with every shared tear,
I get better.
“…and he gives his all one last time.
and the ball goes up and the moon so bright
swings his bat with all his might
the world’s as still as still can be, the baseball falls
and that’s strike three….”
Alone, in the trailer, both Jerry and I know, we are very lucky guys.
We took a full count, and got a walk.
Strike three, for us, never came.
“db…something stopped me, something stopped me and showed me, made me realize that I needed to let go of stuff…things that I thought mattered so much…turns out to be the small stuff…family…”
And there is silence in the trailer, as we both, in our minds, kiss our loved ones.
And to my loved ones, I apologized…stubborn kills, and it could have killed me.
“db…it is strange…but I feel like I have been given a second chance…I feel good…I now know…I can make this, I can reach the things I want to reach with all of this…”
And with a sweep of his hand, he shows me that “all this,” is what’s going on outside the trailer.
“…now it’s suppertime and his momma calls,
little boy starts home with his bat and ball.
says, “I am the greatest, that is a fact…”
Pitch…
Catch…
Throw to me.
Let’s toss it around.
“I called Zona up and said to him, ‘You know, Mark, we haven’t played catch in several years. For my birthday this year, all I want to from you is to play catch. That would be the greatest…”
“…gift, I’ll tell you db, playing catch with Jerry, I think that was the greatest gift FOR ME…when he called and asked me if I would like to do it I was having a bad week, and his asking to play catch just swung that week around…I can’t tell you how much playing catch…”
“…with Zona today meant to me.” (See photos here.)
Making Heaven.
I told Jerry I didn’t want to get spiritual, but he looked up at me and said, “It is spiritual, db. I have no problem making it spiritual. What happened to me, and how I feel now, is spiritual.”
Making Heaven.
I believe, we are standing on, heaven.
And that it is up to all of us, to make it heaven.
Heaven, being however you want to take that. Wherever your beliefs take you.
To almost lose this place, and all those who stand with you on this place, is a gift.
Yeah, I said a gift.
Because only when I felt it running through my fingers, only when I started losing my grasp of it, did I see how precious it is.
Making Heaven.
We were given, and Jerry agreed, a second chance.
Not to become, richer.
Not to become, famous.
But to become, kinder.
But to become, patience.
But to become, benevolent.
Pitch…
Catch…
Come throw with me.
Take the time to do what you love, with those you love.
Let’s toss the ball.
Take the time, to give yourself to others.
Make heaven,
here on earth.
Pitch…
Catch…
Love.
“…says, “I am the greatest, that is understood,
but even I didn’t know I could pitch that good!”
The Greatest
Kenny Rogers
Faircloth takes Mississippi River Rumble – Bass Master.com
Faircloth takes Mississippi River Rumble
James Overstreet
By Deb Johnson
LA CROSSE, Wis. — Time was running out. About 15 minutes to go before he had to call it a day, Todd Faircloth hooked into a solid 3-pounder. And even though he had led for two days, only then did he feel that maybe, just maybe, he had nailed the Mississippi River Rumble. Photos | Video | Leaderboard
Faircloth was right. He closed on his third Bassmaster Elite Series win Sunday by 1 pound, 4 ounces. It was a big margin compared to every other day of the Rumble, when only ounces separated leaders from the pack, and each place from another.
Faircloth’s 62-pound, 4-ounce total was enough to finish ahead of Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who had 61-0.
Pace ended with his second consecutive runner-up spot of the month. For Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, the win was his first since 2008.
““I feel like a brick’s off my shoulder now,” he said. “It was a pretty nerve-racking day.”
His prize was $100,000 and an instant qualification for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake out of Tulsa, Okla.
The money, he said, “definitely means a lot.” The Classic berth also, but in a different way.
He likely would have qualified for the Classic through the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race at the end of the season — he was sixth in points going into the La Crosse event — but he still smiled wide when he was reminded he’d bagged his 11th Classic trip by winning an Elite event. Yet he’s got something else on his mind.
“My focus now is the AOY title. If guys say they aren’t thinking about it, that’s fine and dandy with me, but I’m thinking about it.”
Sunday’s win boosted Faircloth from sixth to second in the AOY race, 18 points behind Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan., who held his previous lead.
Faircloth said he had 12 pounds in his livewell early on Sunday, the final of four days of competition. Then he went to his second area and upgraded several times to 13 to 14 pounds.
“And then I really struggled the rest of the day,” he said. “I felt like the flipping bite would have turned on when the sun got up, but I couldn’t get anything going. I couldn’t catch them on topwaters, and I flipped and flipped and couldn’t get bit.”
Then he made a decision. He moved. Thirty minutes before he had to start the run back to the dock, he went to what had been one of his best spots. He flipped out a Yamamoto creature bait and brought back a 3 1/2-pounder.
“That’s probably what won the tournament for me,” he said.
Faircloth said he’d never before competed in the Rumble’s section of the Mississippi, Pools 7 through 9. But the first day of practice showed him the potential of the grassy flats of Pool 8.
Early in the morning, he keyed on a shallow spot on the point of an island. There was a hole in the grass and a cut through the grass. He eased his bait through the cut, quietly, with a frog, All-Terrain swim jig in green pumpkin, or Yamamoto D Shad, a fluke-shaped plastic.
“One of the biggest things about that spot was there was current coming through it,” he said. “That was a key.”
A variety of grasses with duckweed on top — the anglers call it “slop” — on a hard bottom was another key, he added. If he missed a strike on top, he’d punch through the weeds and manage to catch the fish that way.
He also had a deeper spot of 3 to 5 feet on a flat with a few key areas that held largemouths. There he worked a shad walking bait he’d modified with frog hooks to reduce the amount of vegetation that would cling to his bait.
“I made good decisions on where to start and where to finish the day,” he said.
Pace finished in second after hanging at sixth place for two days. He threw the dice Sunday by locking through to a spot he hadn’t been to since practice. He stayed for two hours, got two fish, then gave up on it. Back in Pool 8 where he’d been all week, he went back to the working current breaks along the main river. He culled the first two to amass 16-1, the day’s largest bag of 16-1.
“I took every risk I could take to win this deal,” Pace said, who had taken second on Toledo Bend on June 10 to Brent Chapman.
“I could have won either one, and eventually I will. All of us go into each one to win. Sometimes you finish 90th. Second’s a whole lot better.”
Terry Butcher of Talala, Okla., after hovering in the Top 6 all week, finished third with 60-11. Fourth was rookie Jamie Horton of Centreville, Ala., with 59-11. Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., in second place going into the final day, finished fifth with 58-1.
Several anglers earned bonuses at the Mississippi River Rumble:
* Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament, which paid $750, plus another $750 if the angler was wearing Carhartt clothing: A split between Terry Butcher and winner Faircloth, who both weighed a 5-3 on Day 2.
* Berkley Heavyweight Award of $500 for the best five-fish limit: Jamie Horton’s 18-4 of Day 2.
* Power-Pole Captain’s Cash of $1,000 if the winner has Power-Poles installed on his boat: Faircloth
* Toyota $1,000 bonus to the leader in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Brent Chapman with 494 points, 18 points in front of Faircloth with 476
* Luck “E” Strike Comeback Award of $500 to the most-improved pro in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., from 58th place to 41st place
Next up for the Bassmaster Elite Series is the second half of a Wisconsin double-header: the June 28-July 1 Green Bay Challenge out of the city of Green Bay.
July 2012 Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report
SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
July 2012
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.com
Picture: Thomas Bowyer & son Alex from Big Island,Va. with stripers caught 6/21/12 while fishing with Captain Dale Wilson.
OVERVIEW: Fishing will be fair. Most fish will be found in deep water this month. Water temperature will be in the upper 70s to low 80s. Early morning and late night will be the best times to try your luck.
Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be Texas rigged plastic worms, Carolina rigs, shaky heads, and deep diving crank baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught around rock piles, ledges and brush piles near deep water. Deep docks will also be productive as they provide lots of shade. Best depths will be from the surface to 20 feet deep. Night fishing will be good. Some bait fish will continue to come to the shoreline late at night.
Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be on ledges, deep rocky banks, humps and long flats. Best lures will be deep diving crank baits, top water lures, drop shot rigs and shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy days and at night are the best times to try your luck.
Striped Bass- Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught mostly in the mid to lower sections of the lake.. Best lures will be top water lures, swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with 3/8 to 1/2 oz. lead heads. Live bait and trolling will also be productive. The best depths will be from the surface to 40 feet deep. Stripers will continue to feed some at night. Best time to try your luck will be early mornings.
Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be fair. They will be found 10 to 18 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around deep docks, fallen trees, and brush piles in the mid to upper sections of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ inch tubes fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.
Tip of the month: Try using fluorocarbon fishing line when fishing during the day time. Fish can’t see this line as easily as monofilament line. Wear your life jacket and always keep your running lights on when fishing after dark. Take a kid fishing.
BIG BITES NEWS LETTER JUNE 2012
BIG BITES NEWS LETTER JUNE 2012
Coontail Options
By: Scott M. Petersen
Every now and then you get a new product that comes along and you look at it and it just seems to grab you in a way that you think this is going to be something special. That is just what most of the guys that fish the new Big Bite Coontail have been saying. There is something about this bait that is special and I can tell you flat out the Coontail can catch bass.
The Big Bite Coontail is the newest bait to come in the Russ Lane signature line of baits. I was introduced to it at the writer’s conference that we had in April on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri and after seeing it catch bass there I could not wait to get home and put it to work on my home waters. I have been able to fish this new bait for a couple of months now and played with rigging it a few different ways; here is just a start in how you can fish this bait on your waters.
Shaky Head
One of the very first ways that I saw the Coontail fished was when Jeff Kreit had one rigged on a Shaky Head. Jeff has been playing with this bait for a few months before we even got to Table Rock and explained about how the Coontail with all its rings will trap air and as the bait falls, the air bubbles would come off the bait even when it is just sitting on the bottom. He also was impressed with how the bait looked and how it caught fish. To see Jeff talk about the Coontail and how to fishing it click here.
Getting the bait home I started fishing the Coontail rigged on a Shaky Head and headed to a small rock point that was holding a few post spawn bass. I liked how the bait felt as I dragged it along the bottom. When I would get the Coontail up to a rock I would give it a few shakes to free some of the trapped air bubbles and it worked to trigger a few strikes. I also fished the Coontail on the Shaky Head with a drag-n-hopping retrieve: in both cases of retrieves I was able to trigger strikes.
For this method I fished my Coontail, Shaky Head combo on a 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching spinning reel that was spooled with either Sunline 7lb Sniper Fluorocarbon line or Sunline’s new SX-1 20lb braided line with a 10lb fluorocarbon leader. Leader length was about 5ft.
Worm Hook / Weighted Hook
One of the ways that I experimented in fishing the Coontail was to fish it rigged on a EWG worm hook texas rigged or I fished it wacky style rigged on a Gamakatsu Weedless Wacky Hook. Because of the weight of this offering I mainly fished it on a spinning setup when fishing it in the shallows, but in the times that I wanted to fish this setup in deeper water or in heavier cover I would take and use a weighted EWG hook. This adjustment allowed me to switch and use a baitcaster setup when I was fishing around cover and needed the extra back bone to be able to get the bass out and to the boat. It also allowed me to fish the bait in deeper water conditions like open pockets on the weed flats or on the outside weedlines.
Fished either way if I had to put a category on this presentation I would say that this is a finesse tactic to fish when the bass would not touch a Trick Stick presentation. Part of this came from how the Coontail would fall; the rings of the Coontail would trap bubbles and have a unique action as it falls on an un-weighted hook.
For my spinning options I would fish this rigging on a 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching spinning reel that was spooled with either 8lb to 10lb Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon line. For my baitcaster option I would use a 7ft medium action baitcaster, teamed with a matching reel, spooled with 16lb Sunline Shooter.
Jig Coontail
If I had to pick one way to finesse bass I will most times hands down pick to rig my Coontail offering on a Mushroom or a Ball Head Jig. The differences between the two jigs are the Mushroom Jig has a tendency to stand up on the bottom better than a Ball Head. But when it comes down to it either jig system will work.
I will fish this presentation on the weed flats, inside or outside weedlines or open rock areas. The key here is to go on the light side of picking jig size for the conditions you are fishing. The most popular size that I fish is 1/8oz. If I am fishing my Coontail on the weed flats I will use a 3/32oz. I want my offering to stay on top of the weeds when it falls, I do not want the Coontail to fall into the weeds, resulting in a wasted cast. The majority of the strikes you will get when fishing this tactic will come when the bait is falling or sitting on top of the weeds.
For weedlines and rocks I will generally use a 1/8oz to 3/16oz jig. This is enough to get the bait into the bass zone most days; on the days when I am faced with fishing in windy conditions I will up my jig weight to a 1/4oz.
When fishing this Coontail Jig option I generally fish this on a spinning setup. I fish a 7ft medium action spinning setup, teamed with a matching reel, spooled with Sunline 6lb or 8lb Sniper fluorocarbon line.
So as you can see we have just started to scratch the surface of how to rig and fish Russ Lane’s newest signature bait the Coontail. Head to your local Big Bite dealer and ask for the Coontail in your favorite color, oh by the way grab a couple packs as you will like what you see. To see all the baits that Big Bite has to offer log onto www.bigbitebaits.com
Brandon Card – 2012 Elite Series Mississippi River Rumble – Podcast
We had the opportunity tonight to catch up with Elite Angler Brandon Card before the even on the Mississippi River to see what it was going to take for him to win this event.
[podcast]http://thebasscast.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Brandon-Card-Mississiooi-River-.mp3[/podcast]
[podcast]http://thebasscast.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Brandon-Card-Mississiooi-River-.mp3[/podcast]
Even Elite pros had to start somewhere – Don Barone – Story
Don Barone
Ever wonder why Timmy Horton is so comfortable on stage? It’s because his first job was as an on-air radio disc jockey when he was just 16 and still in high school.
By Don Barone
“These are the days now that we must savour…”
Dateline: The Endless Summer
I woke up one day, only to find me as old.
I woke up one day, only to find my eyes in a wrinkled face.
I woke up one day, only to find a stranger in my mirror.
I woke up one day, only to find, my endless summer turning to fall.
A couple of days ago, I turned 60…the big 6-OH. Spent the day, spent the weekend before coming here to the Elite event in La Crosse, Wis., spent as much time as possible at home with my family.
Spent as much time as possible, holding on.
Hugged and snuck a kiss onto the cheek of my 23-year-old son…planted it before he knew what was coming.
Told me daughter in Austin on the phone and via text messages how much I loved and missed her.
Walked with my wife of 38 years through a mall, and held her hand.
Holding on, in the autumn of my life,
to the endless summer of the moments that brought me to now.
Now, when I have become my father, and my children, are the young me.
Now, where wrinkles filled in where dimples used to be.
Now, where hair grows in my nose and ears, but not on the top of my head.
Now, when endless, ends.
“…and we must enjoy as we can…”
Welcome to coming out of turn three of the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series season.
We are coming into the high banks…the next three events will determine who wins the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, who wins a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.
All the anglers are focused, deeply focused on now, next, then.
Now, La Crosse.
Next, Green Bay.
Then, Oneida Lake.
Endless possibilities for the man, in the boat.
Endless Summer…mine was the summer of 1968.
The summer of the “Y.”
The Delaware YMCA in Buffalo, N.Y., and my very first part time job.
I was 16.
And it was the summer where a child started the path that would lead to the adult, me.
The summer of Mark, Don, Switek, Helman, Mike, BG, and Mr. Manuel. People I don’t talk to much any more, don’t see much, but people who have never for a minute in my life, left me.
These are the people who started my turn from a punk, to a person. Who showed me respect, when I offered none. Who brought me to music, every song I listen to today I can still hear the scratches and the pops of the vinyl played in the Delaware YMCA.
Mr. Manuel, a towering, soft-spoken black man who didn’t bother to talk to me about Equality, but who just quietly SHOWED me what equality means.
I never think of dignity without seeing Mr. Manuel’s face.
And then the guys…guys of peace, not battle, guys who talked of a future bright, instead of the darkness from where I stood.
And the reason, for me, why my Endless Summer was the one of 1968…is because it was in that summer where I was shown that we are put on this planet, to care for each other.
I learned that because my job was to be a lifeguard, and I could barely swim.
I learned that because my job was to be a camp counselor, and I didn’t like kids.
I learned, about, me.
“…these are the days that will last forever…”
To know of where the man in the boat is going, you have to know where it is he has come from.
And it is his past, which is his fuel.
These Elite weren’t born as the best in the world, they were born, as the rest of the world.
Denny Brauer, Bassmaster Classic winner…first job…riding a bicycle through Seward, Neb., delivering the local newspaper.
I asked him if he did it wearing a hat and knickers…and ducked. “Nope, but used to ride the bike even in the winter, people had to get their paper, no matter what.”
Wonder where his determination comes from…look no further than a newspaper route in Seward, Neb.
Timmy Horton, an on-again, off-again roommate with me and Shaw Grigsby and Paul Elias…first job…AM920 in Russellville, Ala., “My mother ran the station, so I got the 6 a.m. morning gig, I played Country Music and tried to have a radio voice.”
You wonder why he is so good on camera, on stage, comfortable with a microphone, it’s because his first job was as a Radio Disc Jockey…he was 16, and still in high school…and on air.
You wonder about Gerald Swindle…and trust me, I do, love him but I wonder, his first job, “I was a peanut picker.”
I don’t have a follow up question because I don’t even know what a Peanut Picker is, or does.
“After the peanut harvest, I would sit in the bottom of the barn and take the peanut plants that were brought in and pick the peanuts off of them one peanut at a time…and db…I worked for my father who paid me peanuts.”
Again, I have no follow-up since I have no idea where peanuts really come from…plants…peanut shrubs or peanut trees…you got me, I just know they come from the snack aisle in Piggly Wiggly.
“I also, db, used to be a chicken chaser.”
Basically speechless at this point.
“I would go into the large chicken coops and chase and catch chickens, 100s of chickens a night.”
And now chasing bass.
“But I ain’t getting paid peanuts no more.”
Keith Poche…cleaned, CLEANED chicken coops.
“It was horrible.”
“Did you want to be a chicken coop cleaner?”
Keith just looks at me.
“No. But I had to do it.”
I believe we learn more, are more prepared for real life, from the things we HAVE to do, as opposed to the things we LIKE to do.
I had a job once, a “had to” job, I sat on an assembly line eight hours a day, and put shoe laces into shoes.
I was a shoe lacer guy.
45 shoes an hour.
And with every lace of every shoe, came a dream, to do what ever it takes to not lace shoes.
45 an hour.
8 hours a day.
“db…I raised maggots.”
My roommate, Shaw Grigsby.
“Used to raise them to be biological pest control, raised 40 pounds a day, about 40,000 maggots to a pound…something like 1.6 million maggots a day.”
Okay.
“I was one of just 3 maggoteers.”
Okay.
I didn’t write much of this down, stunned like I was, but it has something to do with a tiny wasp that stings the maggot while placing a soon to be baby wasp inside the maggot, which then hatches and looks for other maggots to sting and kill. They would sell the maggots with the lurking wasp missiles inside to farms to help them get rid of all the flies around, because dead maggots lead to no flies, and no flies/maggots lead to dead tiny wasp things.
“Perfect non-chemical way to get rid of flies.”
Perfect except for the maggot part.
For the past several tournaments I have roomed with Shaw and Paul Elias.
Paul Ga-lias, as we call him, told us that he once lived in a commune in Michigan, so nothing much surprise us when he says things, but once again, yesterday, he got us.
“I sell Christmas trees.”
Huh.
“Christmas trees, I sell them in Laurel, Miss., my hometown.”
This blurb from Paul came about because as we were driving around La Crosse, Wis., Paul kept mentioning how nice the trees looked.
“db, did you see the shape of that Blue Spruce?”
Huh.
“Paul, dude, where I come from these things are called…TREES, just trees, we don’t name each and every tree. Each and every tree is called…a tree. Do you name rocks, too?”
“I used to work in a tree farm…I owned a tree farm, was a tree farmer.”
Which is why this Bassmaster Classic winner sees the trees, in the forest around him.
From chicken coops to newspaper routes, from picking peanuts to growing maggots, from knowing the names of trees, comes the Elites.
We bring the dust of chicken coops, to every take-off.
We bring our almost radio voice, to every stage.
We deliver, no matter what.
Through all the season of our lives, we bring, our Endless Summer.
The time in our life, when we became who we are.
To know where the man in the boat is going,
is to know where it is he has come from.
And what it is, that he brings with him.
“…and you’ve got to hold them, in your heart.”
These Are The Days
Van Morrison
BassMaster.com
BOBCATS & ANGERL'S CHOICE BASS TEAM TRAIL – Results 6-17-12
Jason Houchins/Danny Houchins won this past weekends event with a total weight of 13.87Lbs and took home a check for $1,145.76. Congratulations to them on this great victory…
CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS
CLICK HERE TO SEE CURRENT POINTS STANDINGS
CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS
CLICK HERE TO SEE CURRENT POINTS STANDINGS
BOBCATS & ANGERL’S CHOICE BASS TEAM TRAIL – Results 6-17-12
