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« December 2013 | Main | February 2014 »

January 31, 2014

Crappie Madness event at Bass Pro Shops

Offers  two weekends of free seminars and activities

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Crappie Madness at Bass Pro Shops is the best time and place for novice and experienced anglers to learn how to consistently catch crappie. This free event will be held at 26 Bass Pro Shops locations across the U.S. Feb. 7 - 8 and Feb. 14 - 15. Bass Pro Shops Crappie Madness weekends will feature seminars led by local and national professionals, photo opportunities, giveaways, and a chance to win a 2014 Tracker boat. Families can also enjoy the catch and release ponds and free fried fish samplings.

Free Crappie Madness seminars will be held Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will cover topics such as:

  • Best live bait set ups
  • Fishing with jigs and other lures
  • Finding what cover crappie are using
  • Fishing at the right depth
  • What gear is needed

The first 25 people to attend a seminar will receive a free Bass Pro Shops mug.  Seminar attendees can also enter for a chance to win a Crappie Rigged 2014 Tracker Pro Team 175 TF boat.

Catch and release ponds will be on site Saturday, Feb. 8, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. so kids can have fun getting hands-on fishing experience.  Free fried fish samplings will be offered on Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

During the Crappie Madness event, customers can take home a free photo download of themselves as they would appear on Crappie Magazine. Free photo downloads are available Fridays 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 6 p.m.

For more information about Bass Pro Shops Crappie Madness including seminar schedules, appearances and participating locations visit http://www.basspro.com/madness.  Appearances, seminars and offering vary by location and are subject to change.

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January 30, 2014

Ranking Indiana's Tourney Bass Lakes

While there is probably no accurate way to compare all the lakes in the state where bass tourneys are held, you can have some fun playing with the numbers that are comparable - and obtainable. Thanks to the records kept by groups such as Angler's Choice, you can have a little fun. I took the records for all divisions with stats from 2007-2012 (6 years) and averaged across each years records. Categories were 'Average Winning Weight', 'Average Highest Seasonal Weight', and 'Average Highest Winning Weight'. Here's how the 9 lakes fared.

 

Average Yearly Big Bass: No surprises here. West Boggs is clearly the best big bass lake of the bunch, likely the best in the state. Following Boggs though was a very tight race between Lemon, Patoka, and Monroe, all averaging within a tenth of a pound of each other.

  • Boggs - 8.27
  • Lemon - 6.38
  • Patoka - 6.32
  • Monroe - 6.28
  • Brookville - 5.8
  • Sullivan - 5.53
  • Raccoon - 5.36
  • Waveland - 5.15
  • Hardy - 4.55

 

Average Highest Winning Weight: Again, no lake compares to Boggs (of the lakes looked at). That's a 25 pound average sack over a 6 year period - stout. Somebody always seems to pop a giant stringer from Boggs, frequently at one the earliest events of the season. Actually, the top 4 from the big bass comparison were the same top 4 in this category with just one flip. Of interest though is Waveland moving up into the #5 slot, showing that a good balanced fishery can still put out a quality sack regularly. The difference becomes being on a lake where you can count on getting one or two giant bass to go with your other quality fish.  

  • Boggs - 25.08
  • Patoka - 19.33
  • Lemon - 19.27
  • Monroe - 18.21
  • Waveland - 16.6
  • Raccoon - 16.4
  • Brookville - 15.76
  • Sullivan - 14.64
  • Hardy - 9.73

 

Average Highest Seasonal Weight: This one is pretty interesting - very close at the top. This stat is a better indicator of a lake that consistently produces solid sacks, unlike the previous stat which is a lake that might just produce one big sack a season. Waveland has certainly been a consistent producer, but good to see Lemon also right there after all these years.

  • Lemon - 63.88
  • Waveland - 63.40
  • Boggs - 62.15
  • Brookville - 57.61
  • Patoka - 54.94
  • Raccoon - 46.19
  • Monroe - 45.21
  • Sullivan - 43.43
  • Hardy - 27.50

One of the lakes I would liked to have seen in the stats was Geist. I'm guessing it would have been right up there in at least some of these categories. Unfortunately, for at least some of the years looked at, they split the tourneys in that division with Morse, so it really wouldn't have been a fair comparison. Anyway, don't read too much into this, but given the weather this winter, it makes for a good time waster.

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January 28, 2014

Louie Stout/Tom Hale - Kokomo Bass Anglers - 1971

Another reason why I love reading these old magazines - you never know what you'll come across next. Most everybody around here has heard of Louie Stout, Hall of Fame outdoor journalist from Indiana. Done a ton of stuff with Bassmaster where he holds the title of Senior Writer. Has also written two books with KVD, which if you're anything like me, you have at least one of them sitting in your office right now.

Anyway, I came across a story on Louie over at Great Lakes Bass by Andrew Buss titled "Louie Stout: A Deal in Hope." Here's a short excerpt from that story:

Louie grew up in Kokomo, IN, and was introduced to fishing by his grandfather. He recalls going cat fishing on the Eel River. But Louie credits Tom Hale for introducing him to bass fishing, “I was dating Tom’s daughter and he took me fishing on Lake Manitou.” Addiction was sure to set in as he caught a 5-pounder on his first trip.

Louie and Tom went on to start the fishing club, Kokomo Bass Anglers (still active today), in 1971. This was one of the first clubs ever in Indiana. Club fishing was also the beginning of his experience and interest in competitive fishing.

This weekend, I came across the 1971 Fishing Facts magazine that published a couple pictures that Tom Hale had sent, along with a short note about the several 5 pound bass he had caught in Lake Manitou. It also included a picture of Louie and his 5lb. bass, the exact one mentioned in Andrew's piece (pics below).

 

TOP PICTURE:

"For a young club member such as Louie Stout, he sure is given a great start. This he obtained thru the help and guidance of his fishing club and older and more experienced bass anglers willing to help out a new member such as Tom Hale."

- Fishing Facts; Nov. 1971

 

BOTTOM PICTURE:

"Here is Tom Hale, the vice-president of Kokomo Bass Anglers with two big Lake Manitou largemouths, a 4 lb. 8 oz. and 5 lb. 8 oz. respectively. These were taken on an 8" Creme Lure serpy black eel at night. Tom finds late evening bass hit better and are usually larger."

- Fishing Facts; Nov. 1971

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January 27, 2014

Charlie Brewer (Do Nothing) Wisdom

I've been having a blast all winter reading through old fishing magazines I've picked up. There is so much history, and the aspect that I really enjoy the most is seeing the beginnings of everything we largely take for granted fall into place, right before my eyes. As I read from one issue to the next, all the founding concepts of our sport are on display at the moment they were first put into print.

One such piece I just finished reading was Charlie Brewer's first contributing article to Fishing Facts magazine back in 1971 titled, "The Art of 'Do Nothing' Fishing." Most people will recognize the name 'Charlie Brewer' as well as the method of finesse fishing he coined, though he even states that he can't necessarily claim sole credit for it. Regardless, I thought this little excerpt from the story was particularly interesting and worth sharing. Read it carefully and then think about it. There's some profound information in it that is every bit as relevant today as it was over 30 years ago. The physics of fishing haven't changed a bit.

 

"When it comes to playing a fish, many do not realize the strength of a light line on the end of a fairly flexible rod. I just completed an experiment for your information if you care to listen. Using the Whirly Bee, equipped with a light wire #2 (Aberdeen type) gold Eagle Claw hook and a set of accurate scales, placing the hook at its strongest point (the curve of the hook) using my fingers, I pulled 12 lbs. on the hook before straightening it out. However, placing the hook at its weakest point (the point) I was able to pull almost 5 lbs. before it straightened out. After bending this hook back to its original  position, I tried the same lure on the end of one of my light rods and reels equipped with a well used 4 lb. line. Again, hooking the lure to the scales, and pulling as hard as I possibly could against the bend, or action, of the rod (as you would do in playing a fish), I was only able to pull approximately 1-1/2 lbs.

As you can see, one does not exert near the pressure to a fish he thinks he does. Likewise, light hooks and light lines will whip down any size bass if everything goes right."

-Charlie Brewer

 


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January 26, 2014

Gander Mountain - Avon - Update

Drove by the new Gander Mountain store being built in Avon yesterday. Making good progress. Sign says they're opening in April.

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January 25, 2014

ANGLERS CHOICE LAKE MONROE FLIER



  • Download ENTRYFORMMONROE[1]

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January 23, 2014

2014 Pro Team Journal by Strike King Episode 4

Droppin on Kentucky Lake - Strike King Pros Billy McDonald and Mark Menendez drop shot Kentucky Lake bass on a Strike King Thumper worm. Mark it down, we are back on the Outdoor Channel!

 

 

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January 22, 2014

Waveland: A Bad Year, or Headed Downhill?

USA Bassin' now has schedules up for most divisions, so feel free to drop in on their site and jot down the ones you might be interested in. One of the things I checked out while there were the summary stats from several divisions. In particular, I noticed a decent drop in all stats tracked for Waveland this past year. While it could have been an off year, combined with a slightly different tourney calendar schedule, the fact that every category was down makes me wonder. For comparison sake, I also looked at perennial big sack lakes Lemon and West Boggs. They both stayed pretty consistent compared to recent past. Check out all three division stats below and decide for yourself.

 

 

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January 21, 2014

Westport Fishing Expo Updates

A couple quick show updates to pass along. Due to a scheduling conflict, Mark Dove will be unable to attend this event. However, we were able to secure Chris Myers and Ken Bortlein as special guests, and both have graciously agreed to speak at the event.  Most of your readers will be familiar with Ken and Chris as they are both dominant fishermen in various Indiana tournament trails, each having won numerous events on several of Indiana's most popular bodies of water.

Chris Myers is a former Bassmaster Classic qualifier and has over $250,000 in tournament winnings.  Chris will be speaking at 11:00 AM and his topic will be "Fishing Focus".

Kenny Bortlein is a five time Indiana Bass Federation Angler of the Year as well as a FLW BFL Ohio River Regional Champion.  Ken will be speaking at 1:00 PM.

Also, other vendors which have recently committed to the event are Red Dirt Baits, River Rat Tackle, and Accent Fishing Products.  The Hoosier Tree Dog Alliance will be on hand as well.

The updated show flyer is attached below.

  • Download Fishing_Expo_flier_2014

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January 20, 2014

One Million Bassin' Eyeballs

Proud to announce that today the site will hit and then exceed the one millionth PageView, likely within the hour - quite a milestone! One lucky Facebook reader will win the tackle pack for guessing closest to the exact date and time after I calculate that time point later this evening. A big thanks to all who visit the site - I plan to keep chugging along for another year. Lots of shows beginning this coming weekend and running for the next month or so, so if you see me out and about, feel free to say hi and introduce yourself. Also, comments and suggestions on ways I can improve the site or stuff you'd like to see covered are always welcome. Otherwise, look for me out on the water this year as soon as the ice leaves the lakes, whenever that may be...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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