New Web Site

Check out the new club website: http://southcentralmichiganbass.com/

Taking inventory

With the Bass Pro Spring Sale yearly trip tomorrow I needed to get organized and take inventory of what I needed. What a chore but luckily I'm not one of those guys with tons of tackle and I'm pretty organized so it wasn't as daunting a task as I thought. One thing I noticed though after making my wish list is how it seems like I buy less and less tackle every year.

A few years back I opened my tube box and counted 15 different colors. Who needs that many options? Not me so that's when I decided to buy just the few colors I always seem to have tied on and have used that philosophy with all my plastics. It's cheaper and I don't have to wonder what shade of green to throw, making me more efficient.

I have also found that when I enter Bass Pro I definitely need a list to follow. It's easy to get sidetracked and this method keeps me focused making my trip quicker and cheaper. I'll probably spend more money on terminal tackle and line then I will on baits. I've already purchased a few rods so I won't have that expense so I should get out of there for under $200. This is just installment number one though but it makes it much easier on the pocket book (and the wife) if I spread it out.

Club News: Tom Kiefer is a two time Federation State Team member and has represented Michigan in the Nationals back in 2008 and he will be speaking at our club meeting next week. Tom and I went to college together back in the 80's and I've been following his fishing success ever since. He is also the owner of a bait company called Pro Angler Plastics and he will speak about that as well as breaking down Lake St. Clair which is where he excels. Hope everyone turns out to talk to Tom and start talking fishing.

Classic lessons

I don't usually get much from watching fishing shows but the Bassmasters is regular viewing in the Smith house and especially during Classic Week. Usually the patterns and techniques used in big southern reservoirs don't translate to fishing around here but it's good viewing anyway.

But last weeks Classic in New Orleans was quite different and I took a lot of mental notes and believe a few lessons could be learned by watching how it was won. KVD is awesome and everyone already knew that but there were small subtle things he did that can definitely help me catch more fish, especially in early season events like Lake James.

The first thing I noticed was how the top few finishers found water that would be productive when a warming trend happened. They all mentioned finding areas where fish were coming to in preparation for the spawn and many hardly caught fish there in practice but knew they'd be productive under the right conditions. How many times have I found an area that looks "fishy" but doesn't produce? In the summer when everything is stable then it's probably not any good but in the spring when fish are always on the move, they could be absent one day and stacked the next. That's what VanDam found when he fished a large spawning flat loaded with old stumps. He knew a warming trend would send the fish flocking there and he was right. These could possibly be some of the conditions the club will face in the Mid-May event at James.

Another thing I noticed was the bait of choice for Kevin and all the top finishers. Early on they were catching fish on spinnerbaits as they were moving up and probably feeding. But as the weekend wore on and the fish were closer to making beds, they quit biting the blades and had to me coaxed with slower crankbaits that stayed in the strike zone a little longer. Heck if I caught them Friday on spinnerbaits then I'd throw that until my arm fell off the rest of the weekend. That's why I'm watching the Classic as opposed to fishing in it.

As far as lure selection goes VanDam said something interesting that I remember when he stated if the water was colder then the event would have been won on a rattling lipless bait. That is notoriously a good cold water bait and he won last years Classic throwing it in much brisker conditions. I also remember reading somewhere that an early season tournament was won on Lake James by guys throwing rattle traps in cold water. Maybe there's something to that.

Maybe I'm just eager to go out and fish a tournament, I'm not sure but hopefully these are a few lessons I'll file away when watching the replay this coming weekend. It sure beats watching Jimmy Houston kiss another bass on his show. Man I hate when he does that.

New tactics for 11'

Every year I have a few ideas for techniques I can incorporate into my fishing arsenal and 2011 is no different. Sometimes they are new baits, types of line or just philosopy in finding fish but I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Swim baits: There is a very small scenario when I will use these but I think it's something I should explore. Say I've been catching fish on spinnerbaits on a big weedy flat and they quit biting. This is when I can pull one out and possibly catch a few more fish or even a big "kicker" fish since this is a big fish bait. I can see me slow rolling one on St. Clair to imitate a goby or just using it as a big search bait.

Big Spinnerbaits: I can't wait to throw these early in the spring. They cover water and can be worked easily through weeds. I can't think of a better pre-spawn lure and that was evident last weekend in New Orleans when many of the top finishers at the Bassmaster Classic used this bait.

Swim jigs: I will throw spinnerbaits a lot this year and I think I can coax a few more bites with a swim jig when they stop biting the blades. A swim jig is essentially a spinnerbait without the blades so why won't they hit this bait? It is very weedless and can be fished finesse style over heavy weed flats.

Punching plastics: I've talked about this before and believe in a one day tournament that catching a big fish could win me lots of cash. This is a big fish bait and I will have one tied on everywhere but St. Clair. You can always find a pad field or holes in the weeds where this will work, especially on Ovid. Would you rather catch a couple small keepers weighing 3 pounds or one big one that goes over 4? I'm not a math major but that just makes sense to me.

Braided line: I have mastered a line to line knot and will throw braid a lot this year. All my spinning rods, my topwater rod and my flipping combos will all have the superline attached and I'll have a flurorcarbon leader tied on. This should save me a few bucks when buying line next week at the BPS sale and I've noticed that a lot of pros have gone to this philosophy as well.

Bringing a new baby home

After a LONG trip, Duane and I brought home my new (new to me at least) Triton Bass Boat. We're both very tired after a grueling road trip which saw us travel about 1300 miles in 24 hours which ended around noon Sunday. The boat was all it was cracked up to be and resting peacefully in my garage as we speak.

We made the transaction Saturday night around 11pm EST and headed home right after (I'll give all the travel details later). The boat is a 2004 Triton TR-186 with a 150 Mercury Optimax and although we couldn't drive it, it started right up and seemed to run really well in the garage.

Harold Mcfadded from Mcfadden Marine was a gracious host for the hour we spent in El Dorado Springs, Missouri and I would recommend his services to anyone. It was worth the drive but I will need a few days to recover since I only slept about 15 minutes on the trip. More details to follow.

Road Trip

This morning fellow fishing buddy and former club member Duane Mroczka and I are heading to Springfield, Missouri to pick up my first official bass boat. I have not seen the boat in person yet and will not consider myself a new owner until it's sitting in my driveway but I should be towing it home sometime tomorrow morning.

Springfield is about 11 hours away and we will not be stopping at Bass ProShops Headquarters or anywhere else for that matter. We'll check out the boat, if I like it I'll write a check and we'll turn around and drive right back. I'll detail the trip, boat or not, and post it sometime next week when I've caught up on my sleep.

New Boat?

I haven't posted lately due to the fact I've been searching so hard for a new boat and all my computer time has gone towards that. Just like anything else, once I get consumed with a project it takes up all my time and other things get neglected. Luckily there isn't any yard work to do but my driveway is still not clean. Hopefully I'll have a new boat to show for my dedication soon.

I've found a few things interesting while searching such as the differences in prices for the same style and years of boats. Different options such as electronics and engine styles make a huge difference in cost as do the actual make of the boat. Rangers seem to be the priciest and the Nitros seem to be the most plentiful, around here anyway. But after a while, you can tell which boats are over priced and ones that are a bargain.

I have had trouble finding a boat that suites what I want locally and have broadened my horizons. I think I might have found the perfect boat but unfortunately it's located in Western Missouri. I am currently scrambling to get my finances in order and may be taking off on a road trip this weekend. I won't divulge much until it is sitting in my driveway but it's starting to look as if it will happen. Anyone ready to ride shotgun and see the country?

I will detail my journey if it happens, I should know by Thursday or Friday. Luckily with the cold weather most of the early season boat sales are getting off to a slow start which is probably why I've found such a good deal already. Hope it works out.

Beds in Florida

It's depressing this time of year for fishermen but I guess it doesn't have to be. During last weeks BASS Southern Open, many of the competitors reported catching bedding bass and lots of 20+ pound stringers were brought to the scales on Okechobee. I swear when I retire I will be there in January to get in on that action.

Last year the Smith family made it to Florida for spring break and I fished then but that was the first week of April and we had open water in Michigan by then. I have never done a southern trip to fish when it was still cold here but I may look into that next year. Five months not fishing is too long and you can only clean your reels so many times.

Club News: I talked to tournament director Scott Hartman recently and he is working diligently on putting the flyer together for the Spring Open. He is starting to work on sponsors and hopefully will have the flyer together and mailed by early April if not earlier.

The goal for the Open is 30 teams and Scott believes that is obtainable, especially since the tournament will be held on opening day. I have already been in contact with another organization which held an opening day event on Michigan Center last year and they are no longer in existence so we should have the lake to ourselves. Scott has a mailing list for the flyers that is probably 20 names long and we will expand it to hopefully 40. Scott is working hard to make this a viable fund raiser for the club once again and he's well on his way to doing so

Other club news

Other than the schedule change there were a few other significant changes to our tournament rules for 2011. The first being how the tournament payouts are calculated which will now be a paycheck for every four entries. This will pay more places per event and will spread the money out a little more than in the past. The exact payout schedule will be determined at the February meeting but the one place for every four entries is set in stone.

Secondly, there will be less hardware given out at the banquet this year. We will now only award one trophy for first place for each tournament. I was quite suprised at this change because we routinely give out four or five per tournament but a motion was put on the floor and it was voted in so 10 plaques will be given out this year.

And lastly, the club will have the right to shorten tournaments due to launch or other unforseen factors by a majority vote the morning of an event. Last year the tournament director had the right to change the start time due to launch problems, weather, ect, but the rules stated that all tournaments had to be 8 hours so a late start meant a late finish. Now, a late start could result in a shortened tournament if the majority votes for it under the new format. It may not come into play this year but if for some reason we can't launch say until 9am, then we may fish a six hour tournament. I like the rule and think it gives the club some flexibility.

This might not be the most exciting time of year for the club but some good groundwork has been laid for 2011 and now we can start to think about just fishing again. The rules are set and so is the schedule so hopefully we'll talk fishing from now on. I'm working on a few guest speakers for the upcoming meetings and hopefully that will add a little excitement into our winter meetings. Don't look now but the Bass Pro Shops spring sale is about a month away.

Schedule Change

We had quite a meeting last thursday when the club gathered for it's monthly get together and some very big changes came about. The most important being a schedule change for the 2011 season which moved the two day Wixom events to June 11th and 12th and the Devils lake tournament was rescheduled for June 19th. Basically we just swapped weekends for the two so hopefully it won't change anyones plans too much.

Fathers day is June 19th and some club members thought it might put a strain on family get-togethers if we were out of town on fathers day. This way will will still be fishing but just on Sunday and it will be close to home. I know we usually have a cook-out at the Smith house on Saturday and Sunday is left for dad to do his thing so I really think the club did a good job in looking out for everyone.

There were several other important changes but I'm going ice fishing now and will have to post that information at a later time. Hope the fish are biting.

Cost Saver #1

Being kind of a tight-wad, I like to save money whenever I can and buying fishing tackle is no different. I tend to use the higher end stuff so it can get pricey, especially when buying fishing line. I use fluorocarbon about 80% of the time and I've found myself dropping $80 on line in the spring which puts my fishing expenditures in a bind quickly. Here are a few things I do to combat that high price tag.

First off I only buy my line when it's on sale. I use BPS xps fluoro and they always have it for about $10-$12 per spool in the spring. I save my old sale flyers and that gives me a good indication of what will be on sale this year, which their line always seems to be.

Secondly, I try and only buy a few sizes which will eliminate purchasing a whole spool of say #14 line which I only use for spinnerbaits. Instead I buy #12 which I can use with spinners as well as senkos and lighter flipping applications. It might not be the exact size line I need but it works well enough and saves me from buying an extra spool.

I also change line very often so my next trick involves line conservation. I fill all my reels with a cheap filler line and then put a piece of electrical tape on the spool. I leave enough room for another 50 yards or so which I fill with the good line. This is all that ever sees the water anyways and makes it easier to re-spool and pick out backlashes.

Spinning reels are no different and I've used a new setup the last few years which saves even more money. I have three spinning reels I use and like to use #8 fluoro on each. I also love braid but went away from it a few years back due to it's high visibility under water. But recently I've mastered a line to line knot which allows me to use braid and then tie a fluorocarbon leader to the business end. This setup allows me the sensitivity of braid with the invisibility of fluoro and I've not had a break off yet. I can buy one spool of braid and one spool of the flouro and be set for the year.

Of course I use my line savings and just spend it on other tackle anyway so I'm not saving much money overall but I feel I'm spending my money more wisely now.

January Meeting

The January meeting is this coming Thursday night at 7pm, located at Art Moehn on Seymour Rd in Jackson. We will be discussing the club constitution which should remain unchanged but the tournament rules will also be reviewed and several changes are sure to come. I've heard through the grapevine that the payout schedule will be revisited and possibly the plaque situation. Last year the trophy fund was a little inadequate and some tweaking may have to be done.

I am also concerned with a small loophole which was discovered last year and I think should be addressed. That is when the tournament director needs to change the start time of an event due to ramp or weather conditions, the end time cannot be adjusted. Right now we must fish an eight hour tournament per the rules so if the start time is changed to 9am then it must finish at 5pm. I think the director should have the right to change the end time even though it might mean fishing a seven or six hour tournament. I might be in the minority on this subject but that's why it is so important for everyone to show up Thursday. Hope to see everyone there.

Year in Review

Well just like anything this time of year, it's a good time to look back at 2010 and it's no different with me and fishing. I've evaluated as much as possible and tried to process everything I learned last year and hope to parlay that info into a much better 2011. Here is a sampling of what I learned last year and how most of it came from other fishermen beating my brains in.

Lesson #1: Always have a senko tied on no matter what. I usually do but even during the pre-spawn event at Baw Beese where I never thought it would come into play, it did. Jim and Trish Rice both caught good limits that day and a lot of our club events were won with the same lure.

Lesson #2: Rely on my instincts. I fished several tournaments in 2010 and pre-fished all but three of them. Guess which three I did the best in? That's right. I can catch fish pretty good but need to quit being stubborn and doing what I did in practice even though they're not biting and just go out and fish. I bet I'd do better with this attitude in 2011 and there's only one way to find out.

Lesson #3: Learn St Clair a little better. I've always wondered why tournament guys always head to Canada and to the southern end of the lake rather than head north? Well Randy Peck showed my why this may be a good option when he hammered 21 pounds in Anchor Bay during our club event. I always thought this would be a decent area during the hot summer months but never practiced up there. I will now.

Lesson #4: You can be on the fish and still not catch them. This was never truer than at Ovid when Matt Morgan and I shared water and he caught 16 pounds while I caught 2. Matt and I were doing basically the same thing but his presentation was slightly different which made all the difference in the world. Afterward he explained to me why he caught them and I didn't and it made perfect sense, albeit too late. I did listen to him though and used that same technique to catch the second biggest bass at the Classic a few weeks later.

All in all it was a decent year for me, I made the Classic after fishing only 7 tournaments and had several decent finishes throughout the year. I didn't win a tourney but felt I was close and am excited about next years' venues and think they fit my style of fishing. And one more thing I learned is that I need a new boat, but don't we all?