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?

The Holidays

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lake Selections

Next Thursday the club will have it's December monthly meeting but as anyone who knows me realizes this is one of my yearly highlights. This is where we select the lakes that will comprise next years' schedule and I put a lot of thought into it. Most of us have a few lakes that we never do well on and a few that we do. I try and tailor my selections towards a schedule that would benefit my style of fishing the most. Most guys never give it a second thought until they are actually at the meeting but I think it gives me something to look forward to during the winter, especially if we've added a new lake to the schedule.

I have a few thoughts already as to lakes I'd like to see next year, a few new ones and several regulars that I think we don't take enough advantage of. I'm short on time and will elaborate on this topic as next Thursday approaches but here are a few early thoughts:

Pre-Season I love the fact that we fish two catch and release events a year, the bite is pretty good and the pleasure boaters aren't out yet. But I don't really enjoy the task of trying to put my partner on fish when I have a hard enough time catching my limit. One partner event is good but how do we eliminate the other? How about going out of state. There are several decent lakes just over the Indiana border where we can catch and keep year round and we could hold normal weigh-ins and eliminate the need for co-anglers. The club used to do this back in the day and the lakes are only about an hours drive. The only downfall would be the out-of-state license but a day pass is only a few bucks and could be purchased on the internet.

I love Hardy Dam as much as the next guy but a local catch and release event could be awesome if the right lake is picked. I would love to see us visit Devils Lake in mid-May when the smallies would be on beds and we wouldn't have to drive 2.5 hours to get to there. Everyone could easily practice and the turnout would be pretty good. We've been to Hardy the last two years and I wouldn't mind doing something different this year. And the largemouth fishing would be pretty good as an added bonus. I know of another club in Jackson that fished Devils and Michigan Center last May and both events took 16 pounds to win. I know last years' warm spring had a lot to do with the good fishing but it still sounds like a decent idea to me. I have a few other ideas that I'm working on as well and will pass them along shortly. Did I mention I really look forward to this meeting?

Dale Popp Award

I just wanted to comment briefly on winning the Dale Popp Jr sportsmanship award at the banquet a few weeks back. This award is given to the club member who displays exemplary sportsmanship qualities and conduct, adjectives that are not usually associated with my name, but I'll definitely take it. I was quite suprised but excited because it totally took me be suprise.

I don't consider myself as a great club member because I usually don't participate in many extracurricular activities and basically just fish the tournaments. I guess this blog was a big reason why I was chosen and that is great because it's something I love to do anyway. I'm just very grateful and would like to thank all that voted for me.

I know fishing is probably the last thing people are thinking about right now but the December meeting is two weeks away so this is a slight reminder. This is the meeting where the 2011 scheduled is voted on so start thinking about it. I have a few lakes in mind and a couple are new venues. I will comment on this topic in more detail next week and as usual will have a few suggestions for everyone to consider. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep an eye open for BPS and Cabelas sale flyers. There are great deals to be had this time of year.