I'm as busy as everyone this time of year, especially with a seven and a five year old but there is still a little time to spend outdoors. I've snuck in a few ice fishing trips and plan on heading to BPS soon. As far as gifts, I did open a few gift cards and one nice deep diving Lucky Craft crankbait which is always a good stocking stuffer. After the dust settles I'll start probing through the new Bass Pro master catalog and start working on the big order.
With all the family in town now, I can start planning out my summer and with the club schedule already done, it is even easier. It gets pretty busy during the warm months and good planning is a must at the Smith house. I travel to Minnesota, the UP, Burt Lake twice and throw in ten club events, you get the picture.
But as hectic as it gets during Christmas, I still love it and enjoy being home with the family. I tend to eat too much kielbasa and drink too many Miller Lites but isn't that what the Holidays are for? I start getting into cabin fever mode in early January and I've talked to fellow anglers who are already there so it won't be long. I'm already studying maps and researching new techniques so bass fishing is always on my mind. Hope to see everyone at the January meeting.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Club News
The fishing might be over but the behind the scenes club activity is in full gear. Our schedule has been set and the board recently held it's monthly meeting and several interesting topics were discussed.
The tournament payout schedule was one such topic and one that usually demands a lot of attention. With tournament entry fees not only going to the top finishers, but the Classic, the Scholarship Fund and the trophy fund also come from the same pot. Deciding how to divide up the entry fees can be a hotly debated topic and one that will most likely be decided on during the January meeting.
Also, the Spring Open was discussed at length and several interesting bits of information came from it. First off, tournament director Scott Hartman discussed his plans on moving the fund raising event to the Memorial Day weekend the way it used to be. He surmised that this is the premiere tournament weekend to hold a catch and keep tournament since it's the opening day of bass season and everyone is chomping at the bit.
Secondly, Scott is also entertaining thoughts of moving the event back to Michigan Center Lake where it was held a few years back. There was a decent sized tourney there in 2010 which was put together at the last minute and it drew 23 boats so Scott believes we can do at least that. I fished the event last year as did several other club members and I'm sure with a little effort we can make good on Scotts vision.
I was in contact with the Leoni Township office today and they informed me that the Carp Carnival would be the only other event that we would need to consider when scheduling an event that time of year. We ran into such a conflict a few years back but they assured me that Memorial Day weekend would be an unlikely target date for the Carnival. Actually, the Lions Club picks the date and Leoni approves it but my call to the Lions Club resulted in a lot of people who acted as if they'd never heard of the Carp Carnival so I don't know this for sure. I think it's safe and would be an awesome event if Scott could put it together. I'll keep everyone posted.
The tournament payout schedule was one such topic and one that usually demands a lot of attention. With tournament entry fees not only going to the top finishers, but the Classic, the Scholarship Fund and the trophy fund also come from the same pot. Deciding how to divide up the entry fees can be a hotly debated topic and one that will most likely be decided on during the January meeting.
Also, the Spring Open was discussed at length and several interesting bits of information came from it. First off, tournament director Scott Hartman discussed his plans on moving the fund raising event to the Memorial Day weekend the way it used to be. He surmised that this is the premiere tournament weekend to hold a catch and keep tournament since it's the opening day of bass season and everyone is chomping at the bit.
Secondly, Scott is also entertaining thoughts of moving the event back to Michigan Center Lake where it was held a few years back. There was a decent sized tourney there in 2010 which was put together at the last minute and it drew 23 boats so Scott believes we can do at least that. I fished the event last year as did several other club members and I'm sure with a little effort we can make good on Scotts vision.
I was in contact with the Leoni Township office today and they informed me that the Carp Carnival would be the only other event that we would need to consider when scheduling an event that time of year. We ran into such a conflict a few years back but they assured me that Memorial Day weekend would be an unlikely target date for the Carnival. Actually, the Lions Club picks the date and Leoni approves it but my call to the Lions Club resulted in a lot of people who acted as if they'd never heard of the Carp Carnival so I don't know this for sure. I think it's safe and would be an awesome event if Scott could put it together. I'll keep everyone posted.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Official Schedule
Barring any problems with launch locations the official schedule has been set for the SCMBC 2011 season. Scott did a great job of trying to make it as easy as possible by scheduling out of town events next to closer venues, reducing travel and expenditures. I like back to back events but it can be tough on the pocket book shelling out tons of gas money so close together. He did plan back to back events in June, Wixom and Devils, but he had no choice with his work schedule and the 4th of July to work around. With Devils being so close, hopefully it won't be a problem for anyone and I'm looking forward to getting out there so early in the year.
One interesting thing is that we will not have any paper tournaments this year, having only one pre-season event located in Indiana. And the season finale will be a local event on Michigan Center which should result in a good turnout. One other venue I can't wait to fish is the Detroit River which the club has not visited for several years. But the cool thing about it is that we'll launch out of St. Jeans which is located near the mouth of St. Clair so familiar water will be close by if the river doesn't sound appealing. I've always wanted to fish the south shore in a tournament but it was always too long of a boat ride in the Crestliner. And the mile roads are just as close to St. Jeans as they are to Harley Ensign for those that frequent that area. So enough of the commentary, here is the schedule:
May 15 Lake James
June 12 Devils
June 18, 19 Wixom
July 10 St. Clair
July 23, 24 Ovid
Aug 7 Grand River
Aug 21 Detroit River
Sept 18 Michigan Center
Oct 1 Classic (unofficial)
The alternate lake for the pre-season is Hardy Dam, the alternate for the out of towner is Hamlin and Michigan Center will be the backup local lake. If the summer seems a little crowded that's because it is. There are ten tournaments and with only one pre-season that leaves us with a little less time to work with. September is very hectic around the Smith house and I think that's what Scott was thinking as well so only one September event shows up on the schedule. I believe the fall open will also fall near the end of that month so everything is spaced out pretty evenly. Again, great job to all who showed up at the meeting (20 members) and start thinking about the tournament rules meeting which is coming up in January.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The picks are in
After much thought and discussion the club finally settled on a schedule for the 2011 season. There is a format change and a few new lakes and I think everyone did a great job putting it all together. The dates should be selected within a week but for now here are the lakes:
Pre-season: Lake James (Indiana)
Out of towner: Lake ovid, Wixom Lake
Local lakes: Michigan Center, Lake St Clair, Detroit River, Devils, Grand River (Lansing)
There will be more evaluation done over the weekend but overall I personally am pretty happy with the results. The Grand River is new and will be a different challenge as will Lake James, both of which I have never been on. I love Center and St. Clair and am looking forward to another shot at Ovid.
The launch site for the Detroit River is going to be St. Jeans which is located at the mouth of St. Clair making the south shore, Peche Island, the mile roads and the river all accessable. I was really hoping this would make it in and I think the club will really enjoy it.
I need a few days to digest everything but overall I am pleased and think newly elected tourney director Scott Hartman did a great job with everything. I'll post the dates when they are announced.
Pre-season: Lake James (Indiana)
Out of towner: Lake ovid, Wixom Lake
Local lakes: Michigan Center, Lake St Clair, Detroit River, Devils, Grand River (Lansing)
There will be more evaluation done over the weekend but overall I personally am pretty happy with the results. The Grand River is new and will be a different challenge as will Lake James, both of which I have never been on. I love Center and St. Clair and am looking forward to another shot at Ovid.
The launch site for the Detroit River is going to be St. Jeans which is located at the mouth of St. Clair making the south shore, Peche Island, the mile roads and the river all accessable. I was really hoping this would make it in and I think the club will really enjoy it.
I need a few days to digest everything but overall I am pleased and think newly elected tourney director Scott Hartman did a great job with everything. I'll post the dates when they are announced.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Lake Selections (part 2)
I've got so many ideas I don't know where to start but with the December club meeting only two days away I need to get focused. I started thinking the other day how the club used to do things and for years it seemed like we went twice for out of towners ( two seperate tournaments) which would take up four of the clubs' events. I didn't like that format but have recently heard a few members may want to revisit it which is the beauty of this meeting, you never know what will happen. I've gone several years and thought I know how it would shake out but I was usually way off.
As I stated before, I like lakes that suit my fishing style and that I have confidence on. I like running and gunning and catching alot of fish and don't consider finesse fishing a strength of mine and plan on voting accordingly. Here are a few of my ideas on "local lakes" I'd like to see?
Michigan Center (twice): It's close, everyone knows it well and it fished really well last year. I can't tell you how many times we've gone to a lake during the "dog days" of summer and thought that it made more sense fishing closer to home and struggling as opposed to traveling and having the same tough bite. We always seem to draw a good crowd there as well so I will nominate it two times, hopefully once early in the season and then again late in the year.
St. Clair/Detroit River: LSC is a mainstay but since it's considered the best lake in the state, why only once? Double Digit limits are common even during the heat of the summer and everyone loves smallmouth so I will nominate this two times as well. But I think instead of launching from Harly both times, why not launch closer to the south shore or in the mouth of the Detroit River for one event. This would make the south shore accessable to everyone as well as the river. A lot of club guys ran down there anyway during last years event so it makes good sense. The lake has a lot more gravel and current closer to the river making it a great late summer destination and the St. Jean launch is located just inside the river, making this an ideal location.
Lake Ovid: I know weights were down last year but Matt showed us what swims in this body of water. The fishing was pretty crappy that time of year everywhere so I think this would be an ideal mid-summer locale, maybe even an "out of towner". I'ts close but has a great launch and an adjoining state park for camping. I believe this could be a great summer event and not having to deal with recreational boat traffic was awesome. I think the flipping bite and the frog bite could be on earlier in the year and it just fishes differently than most other lakes around here making it intriguing.
I also love fishing new bodies of water and I have one targeted in 2011 that's not too far and will offer a different challenge than we're used to. The Grand River will be my new lake I vote for this year and I've got several reasons to do so. Tourney Director Scott Hartman and Matt Zelienka have fished it several times and it sounds very interesting. It covers about 8 miles of shoreline and runs from Diamondale to Lansing. It has current, rip-rap, points, coves, wood and rock, just about everything possible to fish. You can also get out of the current in small backwater areas so you can fish anyway you probably want to. This venue is also fairly close, it's located just west of 127 off of 496 so we should draw a pretty decent crowd. I love fishing crankbaits and feel I could do this on the river but Scott says senko, frogs, grubs and jigs also do well up there. I hope this one gets voted in.
I may change a few things up between now and Thursday and the way things go I may not get any of these voted in but it's worth discussing hopefully a few get on the schedule. This cold weather has not deterred my enthusiasm for this meeting and hopefully we'll get a good turnout. Hope to see everyone Thursday at 7.
As I stated before, I like lakes that suit my fishing style and that I have confidence on. I like running and gunning and catching alot of fish and don't consider finesse fishing a strength of mine and plan on voting accordingly. Here are a few of my ideas on "local lakes" I'd like to see?
Michigan Center (twice): It's close, everyone knows it well and it fished really well last year. I can't tell you how many times we've gone to a lake during the "dog days" of summer and thought that it made more sense fishing closer to home and struggling as opposed to traveling and having the same tough bite. We always seem to draw a good crowd there as well so I will nominate it two times, hopefully once early in the season and then again late in the year.
St. Clair/Detroit River: LSC is a mainstay but since it's considered the best lake in the state, why only once? Double Digit limits are common even during the heat of the summer and everyone loves smallmouth so I will nominate this two times as well. But I think instead of launching from Harly both times, why not launch closer to the south shore or in the mouth of the Detroit River for one event. This would make the south shore accessable to everyone as well as the river. A lot of club guys ran down there anyway during last years event so it makes good sense. The lake has a lot more gravel and current closer to the river making it a great late summer destination and the St. Jean launch is located just inside the river, making this an ideal location.
Lake Ovid: I know weights were down last year but Matt showed us what swims in this body of water. The fishing was pretty crappy that time of year everywhere so I think this would be an ideal mid-summer locale, maybe even an "out of towner". I'ts close but has a great launch and an adjoining state park for camping. I believe this could be a great summer event and not having to deal with recreational boat traffic was awesome. I think the flipping bite and the frog bite could be on earlier in the year and it just fishes differently than most other lakes around here making it intriguing.
I also love fishing new bodies of water and I have one targeted in 2011 that's not too far and will offer a different challenge than we're used to. The Grand River will be my new lake I vote for this year and I've got several reasons to do so. Tourney Director Scott Hartman and Matt Zelienka have fished it several times and it sounds very interesting. It covers about 8 miles of shoreline and runs from Diamondale to Lansing. It has current, rip-rap, points, coves, wood and rock, just about everything possible to fish. You can also get out of the current in small backwater areas so you can fish anyway you probably want to. This venue is also fairly close, it's located just west of 127 off of 496 so we should draw a pretty decent crowd. I love fishing crankbaits and feel I could do this on the river but Scott says senko, frogs, grubs and jigs also do well up there. I hope this one gets voted in.
I may change a few things up between now and Thursday and the way things go I may not get any of these voted in but it's worth discussing hopefully a few get on the schedule. This cold weather has not deterred my enthusiasm for this meeting and hopefully we'll get a good turnout. Hope to see everyone Thursday at 7.
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