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By KR, Inc.

Russ'

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09/30/12

Well, the end of September and the end of tournaments for 2012.  I hate for it to be over, but at the same time, hunting season is right around the corner.  It was very interesting fishing Cadillac in the fall.  I spoke with a few teams that had never fished there at all, but all seemed to have a great time.  Scott and Bradley Stevens REALLY got it done!  Congratulations!!!!!  When we started this morning, I felt like I had pulled into a shooting gallery!  Did not stay long in Big Bay....To many shots going off!

I must say though, that it is GREAT staying at Pilgrims Village!  Steve and Sue ALWAYS makes us feel welcome!  Good rates and great cabins!  The next time you are in Cadillac looking for a place to stay, check them out!

I was surprised at how the results turned out.  Some of our best teams did not fair so well, and others found the fish that they needed.....Me, on the other hand, could not find them.  Tried everything I could think of and still came up pretty much empty.  I REALLY need to figure out how to tempt fish in different conditions!  Though I am a little biased, I must say that Russ puts on a pretty good show!  The NBAA affiliation has worked better than I thought it would and all in all, it was a pretty much GREAT year!

I hope to see all of you next year, and I will try to get some changes done to the web site over the winter months.  Whether at the BBT or NBAA or both, I am sure next year will be even better for all.  This year being kind of a trial thing, it sure seems everyone was happy with it!  See you in the spring for the early draw!

09/15/12

Well, just fun fishing for me and my partner today, but we did OK.....Did not catch a lot of fish, but still had a GREAT time!  Congrats to all who made the Classic!!!!!!  Even those with only a couple of fish got a paycheck as well as some GREAT prizes!  We did good up until about 10:30, but after that, everything turned off for us....By a little after one we got off the water to set up for all those that were fishing for prizes and $$$$.  I guess we will just have to wait and see what Cadillac does for us at the WMPPT Final tournament!  Actually have a chance there since I have been to everyone!  If I understand it correctly, you had to fish all the WMPPT tournaments to date to qualify.  I REALLY hope to see a lot of you there!  Have a GREAT 2 weeks, and I will see you in Cadillac!

09/01/12

Thought we did better than we did....Oh well, time to be a bit humble to those who did better!  Congrats to everyone who either won something or made it into one of the last 5 spots on the BBT Classic!  Strange thing did happen today, however.....Had a fish hit a frog....Broke me clean off!  Retied and threw in the same place and had him blow again on it!  Can only assume a Dog Fish.  I hope everyone had a great time today and I look forward to seeing many of you at the up coming Classic Tournaments!

Lost a trailer bearing today....Fortunately for me, my partner noticed the wheel was out of shape when we loaded the boat.  Ran home on one axle, just took our time.  Made it, but will be going through all 4 bearings this week!  Many offers to follow me home, and that was greatly appreciated, but figured if I did not make it, I had people I could call to help.  Thanks again for all who offered!

Talk to you all soon!  Will be posting more after each Classic Tournament.  Not qualified for the BBT, but will be there fishing anyway!  Look forward to seeing you!

08/18/12

WOW!!!  Great day!  I only caught about 4 or 5 fish all day, but my partner was on FIRE!  We had to stop at about 10:30 this morning because he caught number 10!  Had to take the time to stop and cull out fish because that brought up a State Law issue.  Since I only ran the big motor twice today, once to go to our starting point, and the second time to trailer the boat, it never became a rule issue.....FIRST TIME EVER we finished just 2 out of the money!  All in all, a GREAT day!  Congrats to all the Qualifiers for the Classic.  I still feel that my health issues earlier this year stopped my partner from getting there, but he has been good about it.  See you all soon!!!!

As a side note, I have talked with many of you who take the time to read my rantings on here.....THANK YOU!  Glad to know that so many of you take the time!

08/04/12

Wow...Nothing to biatch about today!  As those of you who know me, that is hard to believe!  Did not do great today.....Only 3 fish.  Missed hooking up with 3 others, but oh well.....That is just the way it goes sometimes.  The saddest part of the day is when I had to finally admit that my favorite frog died.....Have to get a new one, but it will be of the same breed....Love the way that frog works!  Today, we made a plan and stuck with it...Did not change mid day as we have in the past.  Glad we did.  Did not get the fish we wanted, but I still feel what we wanted to do worked for us.  If I had connected with the ones I missed, we would have had a GREAT day....Of course, not 19#, but still would have done well!  Anyway, see you all in 2 weeks on Muskegon!

07/21/12

Started out as a cool day...First two fish in the well before 7:30 this morning!  This afternoon, my live well starting giving me problems....Wound up with my big fish of the day being dead.......That cost us big time!  Still though, we had to cull out several fish today.  Several of which we did not even bump because we knew that they would not help.  Big fish came when the sun was out for a little while, but once the clouds came back, that bite was over.  I did catch several walls, trees, etc... today.......Well, like an old pro told me, if you are not snagging up now and again, you ain't fish'n!  He was not wrong.  See you all in a few weeks!  I am off to Alabama tomorrow for work, but will hopefully find some fishing time in there!

07/14/12

What can you say about the Grand River on a hot day?  Well, not what I would like to!  At least not here, but just 2 fish today.  All be it, good fish, but just not enough on them.  Over 550 pounds of fish brought in today!  Raises, once again, one hell of a question!  With all the big fish released here from Muskegon, White, and maybe Mac, where do they go?  Nobody ever seems to find them on the Grand!  At one point today, I REALLY thought I had something good!  Hit like a ton of bricks, fought like you would not believe, had my rod bent double, came out of less than 2 feet of water...All good signs!  Turns out to be a 12" small mouth......Damn they put up one hell of a fight!  What in the world was a smally doing in 85 degree water?  I tell you though, even though I do not catch fish like many of you, I SURE enjoy the sport!  I keep telling myself, one of these days it will be me cashing that big paycheck!  Well, dreams are a good thing most times!  One REALLY strange thing happened today......I was fishing along some docks, and this small bird came in, landed on my pole and jumped onto my hand....He sat there for quite some time....I was dumbfounded!  I am yelling back at my partner to check it out, and just after he looked my way, it flew off.  Really kind of cool!  One last note...Thanks to everyone for your well wishes with my health problems as of late.  There are many others of our "family" that are in much worse shape at this time, so I can only assume that they are getting the same kind of support.  Again, THANK YOU!  Till next week everyone!

06/23/12

Don't get mad, just find a "polite" way to get even!  Was fishing on the far end of White today, and this non-tournament boat came in and sat down about 50 to 75 feet ahead of me, turns the same direction I am going and starts fishing......Rude as far as I am concerned.  Well, we decided then it was time to leave...And in such a way as to give them a VERY rough few minutes......Yea, I am guessing that they had a hard time standing in that boat while the wakes went by.  OH, and by the same token, I REALLY want to apologize to someone out there......Many boats were fishing the flat just outside of the no wake zone.  I came busting in, headed to the no wake zone, when I seen at the last minute a boat to my left.....I was going around the boat on my right with plenty of space, but did not see the boat on the left.  Had to thread the needle a little, so if I caused you ANY grief, I am truly sorry!  I just did not see the boat on my left until the last second.....In my mind though, way different that purposely stopping and fishing right in front of someone you can plainly see.  If I had known who was in either of the boats that I went through, I would have came up to you and apologized....I do not like being rude, even if it is accidental.

Anyway, this is when I am glad there is a couple of week break.  I have surgery on the old ticker Tuesday, so I should be in prime form before we fish again.  See you all soon back on the Grand, and am really looking forward to it!  Did better there this year so far than I did on White.  We only got 1 on White and it was only about 3 1/2 pounds.  Good fish IF we would have had more like him!  But, got that one just before heading in to set up for the weigh in.  Good fishing everyone, and you will hear from me again soon!

OK, one last comment....Just for Julie...Jerry tells me that the fish that got away was NOT quite that big!  :)

06/16/12

What a GREAT day!  Beautiful weather (right up until the weigh in), and a GREAT day for fishing for most of us!  Several things I have to say today.....First, this is the first time this year that I was able to have weather good enough to wear my new Jersey from Rayjus Outdoors.....This, thanks to an anonymous person or persons.....Somebody bought one for each me and my partner, and whoever you are, I can not thank you enough!  I had actually planned on buying these this year, but with my recent medical issues, many things have changed.  Again, THANK YOU!

Watched a young kid learning how to ski today.....Took him MANY attempts, but he finally got it!  We got so into watching him that I think we cheered louder than his parents when he finally got it!

Found an odd pattern today, but it worked for us.....Yep, both of us were catching fish!  For the first time in many tournaments, my partner out fished me!  It was GREAT!  I am so glad that he is over his dry spell and was able to catch some good quality fish today.  And, for the first time in many tournaments, we actually had to cull fish!  Like I said, for a lot of us, it was a GREAT day!  More to say, but it will have to wait until next week....The power keeps kicking in and out tonight!  Hope to see you all at White Lake next week!!!

Oh, one last note...The kid that I mentioned back April, Tyler, found a parnter and was fishing with us today!  This is a GREAT thing!!!!  Keeping the young ones interested and teaching them will keep this great sport going!  Have a GREAT one everybody!!!!!

06/03/12

Back safe and somewhat sound from Cadillac.  What a weekend!  I can deal with cold, I can deal with rain, and, I can deal with wind....But all three together?  Come on, this is not the weather we are supposed to have in Cadillac!  We found a few fish Thursday, and a few more on Friday, but that wind REALLY changed our plans.....And, we could not find fish where we wound up most of the day.  Oh well, time to move on.  Saturday turned out to be nothing but bad luck for us.....First the wind changes our fishing plans, then, we find no fish, and to REALLY top off a bad luck day, my partner dropped the only set of keys that we had with us into Lake Cadillac......Fortunately, we had another set about an hour away and someone willing to bring them to us......I will start carrying an extra key in the future, I can assure you of that!  Well, 2 weeks and we are on the Grand (out of Grand Haven this time!) so I will see all of you there!  I am hoping I have a day like I did a few weeks ago!  But, I never have 'those" kind of days when I need them!  Til then, have a great time!

05/29/12

OK, I am a day late with this one, but I was so tired when I got home I could barely get the results up!  I do have several things on my mind to share with you this week though and here they are....First and foremost, thank you to all of you that have commented about my current medical condition.  I really do appreciate it.  I know that we have a few of our fellow fishermen with problems, and we all try to look out for each other.

Though not the preferred way to return to the docks, thank you Muskegon County Sheriffs Department for bring one of our team members back in.  Also, I seen one team boat towing another, not once, but twice!  First to a fishing hole since it was to early to go in, then back to the dock.  Great Job There!!!!!

Was that wind cruel to everybody???  What a pain!  My first tournament of the year, and that is the weather we get.....No wonder I was so damn tired!  Good test for everyone's batteries though!  I know mine got a workout!

I know I want to find the kid that drew the number for the power pole and ..... LOL!  Not really....Just, after yesterday, wish it had been me!  Oh well, what can you do? 

I am really looking forward to this season and can hardly wait for Cadillac!  I hope to see all of you there.  I am heading up Thursday, as I always do, so maybe some of us will have time to visit.  I am in cabin 209 every year, so feel free to stop by for a while if you like!

Well, I am sure that there is more, but the brain can not come up with it a day later.....This getting old stuff is for the birds!  I remember when I was about 12 wishing I was older.....Yea, about that.....Now I want to go back to being 12!  See ya all soon!

04/09/12

OK guys/Girls, check out this kid!  You can contact me for the phone number if you like, as I will not post phone numbers due to potential security issues these days!  This letter is direct from him to Russ and sounds like a very promising young fisherman!  (Other than the phone #, no edits have been made.)

Hi my name is Tyler Lemmen from Zeeland, Michigan and i'm 15 years old.  I go to Zeeland West High School and I would like to do bbt tournaments this year.  Currently I am sponsored by Mangler Custom Baits.   This is a bait company out of Montana that I have worked with

for awhile now.  Lets start off with some places I have fished a lot over the years Mona lake is one. I have fished it a lot also I have done a lot of dock fishing there, deep drop off fishing, bridge fishing, spring bass on the beds, and a lot more.  Another great lake I have fished a lot is Hess lake.  Hess lake is special because the average fish there is bigger then most lakes in Michigan.  We have caught 4 pounders out of there with no problems at all.  Its a great fishery.  One other place I have fished is the Grand River.  The Grand river can be tough but great at times.  I have pulled 4 pounders out of there also.  Some other lakes I have fished but dont ever see tournaments are Pickerel, Kimball, Emerald, and Sylvan lakes.  I do not have a  boat to do tournaments in.  I am looking for a partner to do tournaments with this year and I am willing to pay for myself thats a givin.  Please anyone thats interested contact me by email or phone you can email me at 20081034@stu.zps.org or call me anytime after 3p.m at 616-836-XXXX.

Thank You everyone and tight lines.

09/17/11

What a day!  Never fished this lake before!  Tried up river first...Nothing....Went down the lake a bit...Nothing....Tried a bit farther....Had one on but lost it quickly.  From there, it was 2 shorts and getting broke off by a big Sheephead!  A BIG congrats to team Harrison and Colgrove!  They are the only ones that weighed a limit today and won it easily because of that.

Wow does that lake have a lot of scary places!  20' of water one minute, and 2 the next!  I found very few places out of the channel with much more than 2 feet of water.  With today's cold weather pattern, that really hurt my "normal" fishing pattern!

I hope to have time to redesign the web site before next spring, so until then...HAVE A GREAT WINTER AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN THE SPRING!

09/10/11

Thought this was going to be a GREAT day by the way it started!  First fish (big fish of the day) was in the well by 7:15 this morning.....Next fish did not come until after 10.....Did manage to catch a VERY large Silver Cat Fish though!  It must have been at least 30"!  Hit a soft plastic in about 6"of water!  Hit like a brick, and at first I had big bass in mind!  As it got closer to the boat though.....I knew I was wrong on that one!  Short dock rod, large fish, BIG battle!  My partner showed me up on this one though....He actually caught a bass on a POP-R that was not even big enough to pull it under the water!  It might have been 3", but I am not sure because my bump stick does not go that low!  Strange day...for some (like us) it was a real struggle out there....For others, they had limits by 10 am!  Anyway, on to the Classic next week.  I will be out there fishing, but sadly I missed Qualifying by 3/10's of a pound!  Not all bad though....Have only fished Mac once, and that was about 25 years ago!  Those of you that I do not see Saturday, I will look forward to seeing you next year!

08/20/11

First off, I want to thank ALL of you that offered prayers or words of caring for my Sister-In-Law.  My whole family really appreciates it!  She is going to be paralyzed from the breast bone down, but with God willing, she will be able to resume as normal of life as possible after therapy.  They will be moving her to Grand Rapids with-in the next 2 weeks.  Mary Free Bed is one of the best rehabilitation places that I know of.  GREAT people there!!!!

Now, on to today!  And what a day it was.  Weird weather pattern, Monsoon in Michigan (albeit short lived!), wind, no wind, wind, no wind......and ALOT less fish brought to the scale than I expected to see!  Caught a lot of short fish today, but that is nothing unusual!  Once again, we could not get it done, but my partner did actually catch a VERY nice keep!....Hopeful for when we are back at Muskegon for the open....

Congratulations to all those that made the Classic!  I hope to join you after the next Tournament!  Worked for me a few years ago, and I am hoping for it once again.  Tough year this year, and after White Lake, it REALLY did not help.  So happy that today did not go anything like that!  I don't think at this point I can take any more stress!

Off to the races at the end of the week, then continuing on to see my Grand Children!!!  Can't wait!  Only scary part is that the kids here will be in charge while I am gone!  Good kids all in all, but you just never know sometimes!  Gotta love a good adventure!  See you all in Muskegon on September 10th!!!!

08/10/11

On top of everything else, my computer crashed....Lost all my passwords.  (Idiot computer geek that I am, I let Windows save them instead of writing them down!)  Did not lose any files though, so that part is good.  Sister-In-Law will be awake by Friday this week.  It is then that we will know if it is total paralysis or only partial.  We are already assured that it is done from the waist down.  38 years old with 9 and 13 year old sons.  Going to be a tough time for them.  I never ask much from my fellow fishermen, but at this time, I will ask for any prayers that you are willing to offer to help them through what is going to be a very hard time.  She has always been a very active woman and had just got a new motorcycle that she had yet to ride.  Arrived the same day as the accident.  Life can be so cruel sometimes, but I know with prayers and support, everyone can make it.  For those who contacted me and left me messages, thank you!  I do have my phone back (just not the contacts!) so feel free anytime to call if you need anything or if you notice that I missed something at either the White Lake Tournament or the upcoming Muskegon Tournament.  I will be at Muskegon, but will be leaving as soon as possible to head to Saginaw.  Some things MAY be delayed one more time, but I am going to do my best to ensure that everything is updated prior to my departure.  Good luck everyone and I will see you soon.

08/08/11

Ok, this has been a hellish couple of months.....2 very close friends died, work has been a more than unusual bitch, I got a call as I am going by the take off boat at White Lake.....My brother called and told me that his wife had a VERY severe swimming accident and broke her neck.  At this time, we are not sure if it is total paralysis, or only partial....Only time will tell at this point.  In the process of notifying other family members, I dropped my phone.....It is now at the bottom of White Lake.  All of my contacts are lost, so if I had you programmed in, please send my your number again via email.  (I have not had to remember a number in years!)  I am going to be very tied up over the next few weeks with my brother and his family (we are VERY close!), but do not hesitate to contact me if you need something....email at jsibley@chartermi.net, phone is 616-218-5231.  If I do not answer, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.  Hopefully all will be good, but for at least the next week we will know nothing....Thank you all for your understanding.

07/23/11

What a bizarre day!  First the weather this morning....Not that much of a shock considering it is Muskegon, but then to a VERY strange bite for me.  If you would have told me to go out into 10 to 15 feet of water and throw a Popper, I would have told you you were nuts!  But, that was the bite that put four of our 5 fish in the well.  The only one I caught on a soft plastic I did not even know he was there until I was nearly to the boat!  I must say though, I am impressed....My partner actually caught 1 fish big enough for the live well!  He caught a few shorts as well, and actually finally hooked up with one on his new frog.  I also found out today that the air line to my live well was plugged....Wound up with one dead fish.  That sucked, but it was an easy fix.  A little compressed air, and problem solved.  Something to check every now and again I guess!

Well folks, see you in 2 weeks on White Lake!  Till then, HAVE A GREAT TIME!

07/16/11

Well, today was fun for me!  Too many story's to tell, so I will relate a few of what I think are the best.  It started this morning...First time the GirlFriend went for a ride with me.  Ran to the channel...After 1 or 2 wakes, she was holding on because she thought the boat would tip over!  Could not help but to laugh at that, but hey, how would she know otherwise....Good thing she trusts me!  Hung out at the Lake Express Dock so she could see that come in and unload....Then, off to some serious fishing.  Put a nice 3 pounder in the boat in one spot, and then was broke off by another...Even the novice that was with me could see that this was a MUCH bigger fish!  Came out of the water tail dancing trying to choke up the hook.....Not to be though.  Hope it came loose for him.....Would have loved to bring that one to the scales!  Once back to the dock to get set up for the weigh-in, I had a 10 year old checking out the boat.  Talked him into getting into with some help from his dad, but once I asked him if he wanted to take a ride, he was out of there!  Scared to death of it.  Asked me where the seat belts were!

Congratulations to today's winners, and hope to see you all next week in Muskegon.

As a parting note, something that I do not usually put here, several in our group of Family and Friends are having serious health issues....Please keep them in your prayers.  I know Russ' brother Loren is very ill, and I just hear today that both Junior Geertman and his wife Sandy each have health issues as well.  There are others as well.  Please think of them in your prayers.

06/25/11

MY PARTNER CAUGHT A KEEPER TODAY! OK, that is not fair, but I just can not help myself sometimes!  BUT, he told me that the other day when he was talking to his Mother, even SHE commented that he may need lessons!  It was a tough day today.  Fish came slow for us, but we did get 4 to take to the scales.  Could not score number 5, but I talked with a few other teams that were totally blanked.  After last week, we needed that!  The next tournament for us is the Super Bass.  I hope to see many of you in Muskegon that day!  From the way that lake has been fishing, it should be a GREAT weigh in!  I am really hoping that there is no big weather changes just ahead of this one as there have been that last few!  Have a great time everyone, and I look forward to seeing you real soon!

06/18/11

What a day!  Looks like we were one of the VERY few teams that could not catch a keep!  Well, that is not entirely true....Good size rock bass, a cat fish, etc..."Could have" kept them, but no good at the scales!

The Cotton Wood trees are sure spewing there stuff though!  Must have peeled 9 lbs. of white fuzz off my lines today!  Well that and about 15 small Bass!  I could find the little ones with no problems!  I sure hope White Lake brings better things for us!

Well, just a short comment tonight....VERY tired (of not catching fish!) and off to M.I.S. in the morning.  A GREAT Fathers Day gift from the Girlfriend and my kids!  Pit passes and all.  Am going to be glad I took Monday off!!!!  See you all next week at White Lake!

06/05/11

I'M BAAAACK!!!!!  OK, so several people commented that I did not put any thing here last week.....After a long season off, I was a little bit off on my updates.  THAT is over!  What can I say about Cadillac???  I can ALWAYS find fish on Friday, but something will always change (the weather), and I struggle of Saturday.  Only 4 this week.  I was, however, taught a new way to find fish!  I pulled into Cadillac lake, and just outside the channel was a boat to the right, so I went left onto the flat.  We were there about 5 minutes I and catch a nice 2 1/2 lb fish.  Seconds later, the boat that was sitting on the other side of the channel kicked the trolling motor on high (a red Tracker) and came with-in about 15 feet of me and went on by, the guy up front on the trolling motor was busy on his Nextel, and the guy in the back busy casting if front of me.  Yep, they caught the fish that would have given me a limit.  Oh well, at least I learned a few things!  Watch others, then impede on their fishing so that you can actually catch something!  I also have figured out what "Double D" means, but I will let you make up your own mind on that one.

Outside of that though, I LOVE going to Cadillac!  A few days away from the hustle and bustle that makes up the day to day lives we live, and great people all around.  Thanks again to Sue and Steve at Pilgrim Village!  GREAT people who always support us and help us out.  See you all in 2 weeks on the Grand River!!!!

09/18/10

It was a great day!  Just wish we would have qualified as well.  Decided I was glad I was not fishing at about 7:30 this morning though!  One hell of a storm.  The weather turned around though, and it was a great weigh-in.  The Pizza was good and ready right on time.  It never ceases to amaze me how much different the baskets can be in this tournament.  Seems like a few always find the good ones, while others struggle for a single fish.  The upshot of this one though, is that EVERYONE takes something home.  Have a great and SAFE winter (hate that word!) and we will see you all in the spring.  Check back through the cold winter months, as there will be updates from time to time!

09/11/10

Well, as usual, we crashed and burned today....Could NOT find the fish!  Congratulations to all those who did though!  And for those in the top 5 that made the Classic, I will see you there.....Just not in the capacity that I had hoped for!  I guess there is always next year.....I just do not seem to have enough time (or money for that matter) to get out there often enough to practice.  Oh well, such is life.  I did get to see a couple of really cool things today (and NO, I do not mean the endless rain!).  Shortly after that beautiful sunrise, there was a rainbow off to the west.  A few fishless hours later, we were fishing along a steel wall in about 18 feet of water, and we seen a bass, about 12 or 13" long jump straight up out of the water right against the wall....It seemed to me he was being chased by something.....But as it goes with us, we could not even catch him....A little while later, we came out of one of the cuts, and there in front of me it looked like a submarine periscope coming up out of the water.  It turned out to be a good size Loon that was diving for his breakfast.  Well folks, for me the tournament season is over, but I will have more up here next week after the Classic, and check back through out the long cold winter for updates for next year....We never stop trying to bring you the best tournament experience that we can!

08/21/10

What a day!  Started with rain, ended VERY warm.  Many (including us!) had a tough bite today....Others, not so much!  Still better than having to go to work though!  Got to see the tall ships and a barge do a turn around before going into Consumers Power plant today.  That was rather cool.  When you are not catching fish, that is about the best there is!  Had some docks to fish today, but the rain stopped....According to the DJ at the Fox last week, when it is raining, you want to fish around the docks because the fish head there to get out of the rain.....We all know they hate getting wet!

See you all in a few weeks!!!

08/14/10

I just LOVE this tournament!  A LOT of rookies, but several of them got a good bite and took home money.  VERY busy day for me, but then again it is every year.  Congratulations to our big bass winner!  He remembered to pay the extra $20.00 this morning!  He would have won it last year, but decided not to get into it!  That one fish was worth over $1300.00!!!

Every year, the staff makes a small side wager on the number of boats that we will have....I must say that I am pleased!  Rich Berry, not so much.  He was in the running for at least half of it, right up to the last minute when one more team signed up!  THANKS RICH!!!

Have a safe week, and we will see you next week at Muskegon!!!!

08/07/10

What a tough day!  Caught a boat load of fish, but all small.  My partner was the fisherman today!  Both of the fish we got were caught by him.  From the looks of the results, almost EVERYONE struggled!

On the lighter side, I have to share a story of my own "problems".  Took Friday off work to go out and pre-fish a little.  Ran into several others that did the same thing.  Five minutes out, I catch a nice 2 pounder.  OK, this is looking good.  Move to another spot....Nothing.  OK, cross the river and try there instead.  Get to the other side of the river and start fishing.  I hear something go "pop" down by the foot pedal for the trolling motor.  Then, no trolling motor....This sucks!  I play with it for a few minutes, but the current was getting the best of me.  Pick it up and head back to the trailer, and racking my brain for who MIGHT have an extra trolling motor that I could use today.  Through all the no wake zones, I am up there messing with it and zero luck.  OK, time to trailer it up, take it home and see what I can figure out.  I get home, go into the house for a screwdriver, come back out and am about to start pulling things apart when I notice a switch.......You can probably guess the rest from here, but apparently I kicked one of the rods I had on the deck and it hit the switch and turned it off.  I had no idea that the switch even existed, even though I have had that boat for over 5 years!  Talk about feeling "stupid", and "relieved" at the same time!  No problems with that today, I assure you!

Hope to see all of you at the Fox tournament next week!

07/24/10

OK, so from the sounds of it, you had to be in the right place at the right time when the weather changed to catch fish today!  As usual, I was not.  What I did run into today though, was what I considered the first un-sportsmen like team.  Take off at hi speed (on the trolling motor) and cut in 15 to 20 feet ahead of me.  If you drive a Silver and Green Champ, you know who you are.  I always try to give everyone room, but maybe that is why I don't catch as many fish.  I just can not see me going to this level to "better" myself.  I am not sure who they are, but I guess it does not really matter.  I just hope they did well by doing that.  I would not have wound up where they went anyway, but I do know that I did not see any 5 lb fish at the scale today.

I got to chat for a few minutes with a young lady while her dad was cleaning Salmon....."How many did you catch?"  I asked her, and she responds, "None, I got sick!"  I just hate when that happens!  I sure hope Dad takes her out again on a better day so she sees what it is like to catch a big fish!  I am sure he will though.

Well, a week off and then the Grand, and that is followed by the Fox 101 tournament!  Hope to see you all at both of them!!!!!

07/17/10

This was just a fun day for me and my partner!  We were not participants in the tournament, so of course we caught fish!  A LOT of fish, and of very good quality.  All be though, we would not have had most of those if we had participated as we caught them in the off limits area of the Fisherman's Landing channel.  We did relocate all of those so that the shore fishermen would not have them before the next tournament there.  All told, we had between 14 and 16 pounds!  (IF we had only kept our 5 biggest!)  Not all of those were from the channel, but several were.  See you all at White Lake next week!

06/26/10

Seen a lot of cool stuff today.  Just to bad I could not catch a fish, as that was the main objective today!  Oh well.  I have learned that I can not catch fish anywhere I want to!  Had one other team in the same area as us, doing about the same thing, but the biggest difference is that they were catching fish doing it and we were not.  On the way to the tournament this morning, there were 2 or 3 small kittens in the road that we did not see until we were about to run them over.  They must not have moved any, because we missed them by straddling them as we went.  They were not there on the way back.  BTW, if you happened to find a motor toter on your way this morning, I LOST MINE!  I could sure use it back!  Hope to see you all at the Super Bass Tournament on the 17th!  Make sure your entries are in by the first to make the early draw!

06/19/10

Wow what a screw up today!  We had one fish, that on our bump stick, JUST made it, but by the official bump stick it did not.  Cost us over 4.5 pounds on the day.  Even being staff, we do not get special treatment!  Can't blame them, it was our own fault for not using the one near the scale first.  Very depressing.  What would have been a limit turned into 3 fish just that fast.  I can guarantee you that it will not happen twice!  We tried all day to get rid of that one because we knew it was close, but it did not happen.  Oh well.  On to the Grand River next week.  Hope to see all of you there!

06/06/10

I JUST LOVE CADILLAC!!!  As it turned out, the weather for the tournament was great!  Although the storm the night before changed things up for a lot of people, everyone was still able to find fish.  And even though we did not get a paycheck, it is the best finish my partner and I have had in a tournament!  His time of being a net man only is finally over.  We both did well, and even had a couple of doubles through the day.  The best was when we were in the channel, and both caught a couple of shorts at the same time.  The kids (and several adults) on shore just loved it!  Nothing I like more than to make the kids happy, especially with fishing!  (Remember the kid from last week?)

On to Muskegon in a couple of weeks.  Really looking forward to it.  This is the first year in many that I have been able to get out in the days and weeks ahead and practice, so I have much more confidence in what I am doing.  Many take that for granted, and many do not understand how that makes a difference, but for me it really does.  Even if the fish are not where we found them before, we are quickly learning how to change up and hit different water and use different baits as it is dictated by the conditions.  Not by ANY means an expert, but still not to old to learn.  Good luck to all and I will see you in 2 weeks at Fisherman's Landing!

05/31/10

WOW what a day! Seems every tournament has a story, but this one had a few!  Had a young lad that saved all winter to be able to fish this tournament, and as it turns out, he did quite well!  One of the happiest kids I have seen in a VERY long time!  I have a feeling we will see him and his dad back again!  Well, for us, only 4 fish.  EVERYONE else got 5, but I was not really disappointed.  My partner and I each caught 2, and it has been a REALLY long time since my partner put a keep in the boat.  It just somehow feels better when you are both catching fish.  One (according to my partner) funny story today....He had a fish hit in some weeds, got what he thought was a good hook set....It wasn't!  I grabbed the net, got back there, and the next thing I knew, his soft plastic bait hit my right in the mouth!  The fish never (thankfully) got the hook through the plastic, so no real issues....Other than the lost fish!  That bloody thing held on to the tail of that lure all the way to the boat...Once it saw the boat, it was see ya later, bye!  Oh well.  See you all next week at Cadillac!  Just remember that the updates to this site will not be until Sunday!!!!

02/27/10

Howdy all!  Well, spring is just around the corner (I hope!) and I am getting ready to go fishing!  Was in Texas for 2 weeks, and did not take a pole along.  Big mistake!  Tons of great places to fish down there this time of year.  Although, it was warmer here in Michigan than it was there most of the time!  Anyway, check out the new and long standing sponsors!  Be sure to thank them for all they do.  And. if you have any comments about anything, scroll to the bottom of this page and pass them on to me!  See you all soon.

09/12/09

Well, like I said last week...Several bad choices kept me out of today.  It was great to see that everyone caught fish though.  Have seen several Classics where that was not the case.  Hard to believe how close today's guess was to win the Deka batteries though!  .02 lbs.  It don't get any closer than that!!!!  Congratulations to all who made it to today's tournament (to actually fish in it, anyway!).  For the others who showed up to show your support, THANKS!!!  It was great to see many of you.

Well, short and sweet this week....Check back through the winter, as there will be more updates.  Until then, have a great winter season and we will see you in the spring!

09/05/09

Several bad choices for me today!  First, decided to go down to Mona Lake this morning....Been sprayed, and where I found fish before (4 years ago or so.....) there was nothing.  Well, check that....My partner did catch what I think was the same Pike I caught on Muskegon a few weeks ago!  It was a big bugger!  I did manage to get one in the boat, and then had a rat broken off my braided line by a VERY nice bass!  Back to Muskegon we go.  Get up into some slop, and I had the big one hit!  Had $$ in my mind with this one!  It turned and I saw green, so I was happy!  That is, until my partner netted it......About a 6 to 7 pound dog fish....That stupid thing never even got a hook into it!  It was just to stupid to let go!  Get it in the boat, pry it's mouth open, and the rat falls out.  Had a few more blow ups on the rat, but no connections.....  Lo and behold though!  My partner actually caught a keeper fish!  Now we are up to 2 and that is as far as we are gonna go.  We weighed them on the pretense that we would get the small sack prize, but then there was not one of them today!  Can not win for losing!  The only up shot was that the big lake was so flat that running full out was a GREAT ride!

Congratulations to the 5 teams that are moving on to the Classic!  Was hopeful today that I would be one of them, but I guess there is always next year!  Good luck to all of you who qualified, and I will see you there!

08/15/09

What a day!  This day started bad for me and just went straight down hill!  OK, here is this weeks drama....First, I had all I could do to wake up.....Then remember, after I get to Muskegon, I forgot the computer files that I needed....Then, was reminded that my life vests were still at the house (I took them into dry after the last tournament)......This is soon followed by the fact that I have a partner who can not catch a fish.  I tell him that it is his turn.....He does not seem to catch on, so I catch a couple just to show him how.....But to no avail....He STILL could not catch a fish!  Somewhere through the morning, I have a bad pitch with a rat.....So I am zipping it in as fast as I can so I can re-pitch it, and just as I am pulling out of the water at the boat, a Pike of about 25 to 28" decides if found it's breakfast....That was a battle!

Then, it gets even worse yet!....And I blame the Jennings boys....They did NOT draw my number for the wild card slot!  LOL!!!!!

At least we had good weather on Muskegon for a change....Boy did I get sunburned today!  Gonna feel this in the morning!

I have one more chance this year to teach my partner how to catch a fish.....Lost cause????  I guess we will see!  You all have a good few weeks off, and I will see you in September!  Sad to say the season is coming to a close soon......

08/08/09

This tournament is always so much fun!  But, with this mornings weather, I was VERY glad to NOT be fishing it!  That was ugly for a while!  Glad the weigh in went well though!  I know many teams took cover any where they could, and I am glad for that!  No sense standing out in the middle of the water with a 6 to 8 foot lightning rod in your hand!  Could make for a really bad day!  Some of that stuff was way to close for comfort!

Payouts were down a bit this year....Not as many boats.  We really need to get our friends that don't fish much involved in this tournament.  Odds are, they are the ones that will catch the big fish!

Well, it is almost an annual event....The one that caught the biggest fish of the day did not get into the optional big bass pot.....Very expensive mistake!  In the mornings, every time someone tells me no, I tell them that this has happened before, but they still opt out......Bad move!  This tournament is all about the big fish!

Pretty much a whole new Fox staff this year!  But I still get luck enough to work with some beautiful girls!  Becca was great this morning and caught on very quickly!  That can be a difficult job at times, be she had no problems picking up on it.

Anyway, see you next week at Muskegon for the last qualifier of the year......Summer has gone by WAY to fast!

08/01/09

Boy what a day!  Some hit it well, and others, such as myself, did not.  At about 8:00, I thought we were on it.  Had 4 fish on in about 10 minutes, but only two of those made it into the boat...Lost a really good one (not big enough for big bass, but still a good one!) on a rat, and that really got me!  But after that, we only found about a dozen fish that were about 10".  I still beat my partner (barely!), but Russ got me on this one.....For where we stand right now, the Muskegon Qualifier will be a practice session for the Muskegon Open.....That will be my last chance to qualify for the Classic....Oh well, another year.....

I knew it would be tough today, but with the plan we had and the fish that started, I thought sure we would at least get a limit.  Well, we would have if I had not lost 2 and my partner 1.  But that is fishing!  I was really hopeful with being ahead of the front and all, and was pleased to see it worked for some of you!  Those that were brave enough to run......Well, not many made it back for the weigh in.  A few did, but that had to have been a really rough ride!

Well, good luck, and I hope to see you all at the Kickin' Bass Tourny next week!  A LOT of money will be given away there!!!!!

07/26/09

Back from a tour of Germany and Austria!  What a great time....Was a little let down by the results when I returned, but what can a guy do?  My partner only needed another 12 pounds for my premonition to be true, but alas, he had all he could do to handle the boat!  LOL!!!!  But, he does have a whole new respect to the person on the trolling motor!  If you are on Face Book or MySpace, send me a friend request and you can see the pictures from that little tour.  I must say, it was well worth missing one of my favorite tournaments!  I still have a knot on my head from falling over after several biers (yes, that is how it is spelled over there!), 2 bottles of wine, and two shots of schnapps!  All of it made in the B&B I stayed in while in Austria!  What a cool country that is!  From there, on to Germany and the town of Marburg.  Work was in Lindstrom, but they are really cool there, and for me, not so much work.  More sight seeing than anything!  Great people, great food, and of course, great sites!  If you ever get the chance to go there, GO!!!!  It is well worth it!  See you all in a week, and from here on out, the updates WILL be on time!

07/11/09

It was a great day out there after a rocky start!  Thought the storms were gonna take us away for a while!  Even though I did not fish the tournament, I did catch bigger fish than Russ.....Didn't count though since they came from an off limits area, and I was not in the tournament.

OK, some important news.  I will be overseas for the White Lake tournament, so I took the liberty of putting partner and sub down for 19 lbs, with a 5.5 lb big bass.....Oops, that wasn't it.  I WILL be overseas (company paid trip to Germany and Vienna, Austria!), so the web posting for the tournament will most likely be late....I am going to try to do it from there, but from what I hear, where I am staying has limited web access.  So I am not sure.  I will be back on July 25th, so the updates will get done then if they are not done before that.  Sorry for this inconvenience and delay, but hey, what can I say?  A trip like this does not come along everyday with all expenses paid!  So, tight lines and catch a ton so I see some great results when I return!!!!

Oh, and just for the record, I would have weighed between 13 and 15 lbs today had I been able to use those fish!  Caught them all in the first 45 minutes after everyone left.  Sun came out, fish shut down.  Great eye candy this afternoon though!!!  Have a great one, and I will see you at the Grand River!

BE EARLY FOR THE WHITE LAKE TOURNAMENT!!!!!  TEAM MEETING AT 6:00 RATHER THAN 6:30!!!!  THIS WILL GIVE MORE TIME TO GET THE BOATS IN THE WATER SO FISHING CAN START ON TIME!!!!!!

06/20/09

Well, Russ was rather pleased with me today!  One of the first things he told me at the weigh in was that since I didn't fish, he beat me for the first time this year!!!  You gotta love it!  My partner was flooded at his house, so he could not make it.  I decided that with the heavy current and all, aside from being tired, I just would not fish today.  Did not want something to come up in the current where you would need 2 people.  Chances are it wouldn't, but sometimes you just never know.  Had this been a qualifier, I would have been there.  I did hear that Earl had a tough day though...Fish jumping off the hook (in the boat) and then bouncing right back into the water....Who hasn't been there.  I know I have had it happen!  I just hate days like that, but sometimes we all have them.

Today's small turn out, I am guessing, has a lot to do with the weather.  That was a lot of rain.  Someone told me that Zeeland had over 7 inches, and if I understood correctly, Holland and points south had even more!  One guy was saying this morning that 96th Avenue south of the BL-196 almost floated his truck and boat!  Everything over there was flooded.  Can't wait to see what the rivers look like in a few days!

Well, you all have a great time, and a safe time out there, and I will see you at the Super Bass tournament on July 11!  Up to $10,000 up for grabs if enough boats show!  Big pay out no matter what!  Sign up early!!!!!

06/06/09

I must say that the Cadillac tournament is my favorite.  Yea, it makes me late on the web update, but that is no matter.  One day a year, stuff happens.  As usual, there was both good and bad.  Harv and Tom had boat problems, along with someone else (that I can not remember the name, SORRY), but there was also teams who finished WAY better than they thought they would....Mine was not one of them......Oh well.  My partner and I have only two goals....Out fish each other, and out fish Russ and Duane....So far this on the qualifiers, both have been successful me.  Half of that for my partner!  For quite a while there, I thought that my partner was going to finally out fish me.....Showed him though!  15 minutes to go and I get to pull in our biggest fish of the day....I know this will turn around sometime, but I am going to keep it up until it does!  I am sure grateful for a partner like him though!  Takes it as it is intended....Just a joke.  Two years ago, it was the other way around and I take it as good as I give it.

Small turn out this year....I was VERY surprised at that!  We did not even draw local teams this year!  I can only assume this is due to the economy and people being out of work.

OK, I told myself when I started this that I would not talk about what baits are used, but this one time I must make an exception.  We had a big winner this week that was using Gareau baits.  They are one of our sponsors as you well know.  At the same time, so far this year, all of my fish have come on a Snack Daddy bait.  On the Muskegon open, I could not get bit on anything I was throwing....I dug through the WIDE variety of baits on my boat and found a sample pack of baits that Bill Smalldon had gave me a few years ago, and on the very first, second, and third cast, I had fish in the boat!  Another fine sponsor!  I will not tell you which baits, because that would sound too much like a commercial, but just suffice it to say that our sponsors are putting out some great products!

Well folks, that is all for today....I hope to see you all at the Firecracker 100 in 2 weeks!

05/30/09

It just wouldn't be Muskegon if the wind was not blowing!  I was surprised at the number of 12 to 13 pound baskets!  After Monday, I was counting on bigger fish being brought in.  The weather can be a cruel thing!  I must say though, one thing absolutely amazed me today...My partner actually put some keepers in the boat!  He has had a struggle this year so far that is been a carry over from last year.  Now, if we could actually find some bigger ones!  The limit we caught today was not the smallest weighed in, but it was WAY down there!  Oh well, we got a limit and were happy about that!  By the way, did I mention how windy Muskegon gets every time we are there?

Off to Cadillac next week!!!!  I can't wait!  If I catch fish or not, I just love staying up there for the weekend.  Hopefully we have good weather this year.  Will see you all there and remember, the web will not be updated until late Sunday next week due to the fact I am not gonna drag my butt outta there any earlier than I have too!!!!  Have a great week and I will see ya all then!

05/25/09

OK, I am finally back in business.  Been a long stressful winter, and I am glad it is over!  Summer time means fishing, and right now I really need that break from the day to day stuff!

Strange bite for me today.....Might have weighed fish, IF my partner would have helped (lol), but I doubt it. What we did find was not much for weight, and being an open we really did not see the sense in it.  By the time we found out that we probably lost more fish than we caught with out even knowing it, it was too late in the day.  I did not have a singe "hit", just the fish picking it up and taking off right at me.  In that wind, you REALLY had to watch close for that!  Drop offs seemed to be the key.  And a new bait that I have NO clue where I got it from!  I will have to check with Russ and see if he can identify it so I can get more!

Back to Muskegon next week, then off to Cadillac.....Always enjoy Cadillac!  BTW, I have an extra Queen size bed in the cottage I rent if anyone is interested in splitting expenses and having a place until Sunday morning!  Send me an email if interested!  triplejenterprises@hotmail.com

BTW, you may have noticed that Loren and I released the boats today.  You will most likely see that on the opens.  I find it a lot easier if the wind cooperates though!  It made it tough this morning, especially by the time we got to the second flight!  But even with 74 boats in the field, we still started where we wanted to with out having to worry about others being there.....I think MANY ran to White!  Have a great week, and we will see you soon!

02/18/09

What a long and trying winter this has been so far!  I am WAY behind on this update, but finally got it out here for you.  I am just getting back online with my email, so send me your comments and requests!  Too much going on for me to update it here, but soon spring will be here and we will be on for another season!  See ya all real soon!

2/27/10

The new year is here and away we go!  Won't be long now and we will be hitting the lakes again...I can't wait.  Hope everybody enjoyed the holidays and Santa brought you what you wanted.  A lot of updates to the website today.  News, new sponsors, the 2010 entry forms, updated rules, and just enough to keep me busy for a few hours.  Other than that, not much to say yet this year, but check back often as there will be many more updates before the snow melts!

Remember that you can scroll to the bottom of this page and send me "anything" that you would like to see posted here!  Just make sure you read the "rules" just above the form!

Okay, now for your part.  If you have something to add to this page let me know.  There is a form below for you to fill out.  There are a few rules here as well though.  (Since this is my page, I can make the rules!)

First, if it is negative or if it is about a specific person, I am going to contact that party and get their side of the story before publishing it here.

Second, this has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOURNAMENT as a whole.  We have a feedback page for that.

Third, if I don't get a legitimate name and email (or phone number) from the sender it will not be posted.

And forth, keep it clean.  My grandkids help me with this.  (Sucks getting old!)

Send mail to triplejenterprises@hotmail.com with questions or comments about this web site.
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