Thursday, December 28, 2017

Fish Monkey Gloves - New Sponsor

I had been in the market for some fishing gloves after this last summer. I was thankfully aving a great summer and caught tons of fish and my hands were always sore afterwards and still had work and other obligations to do as well. I did my research and the best gloves on the market are hands down the Fish Monkey Gloves. I ordered the "Half Finger Guide Glove" and the "Stubby" for summer time and the "Backcountry II Insulated Half Finger Glove" for the winter time her in AZ. The gloves are lightweight, have a second skin type feel, along with a gripping palm which has saved my hands some pain and wear from cranking all day. I am happy to be able to promote such a great company and product, which I will be using daily on the water!
 
 
 Fish Monkey is the marine industry's first brand to offer a complete line of fishing, boating and watersports gloves. From heavy-duty leader gloves inspired by world-renowned deckhand Capt. Charles Perry to models for sun protection, angling and even disposable brands for bait rigging, boat maintenance and other chores, Fish Monkey has you covered. Protect yourself and look good along the way. Reach for Fish Monkey.

Friday, December 22, 2017

JML Outdoors Weekend Warriors Bass Series - Dec. 9th - Bartlett Lake

Last time had fished Bartlett was 6 weeks prior and the water was 18 feet higher then. Usually this time of year the tournaments are won at the entrance to the river so being boat 4, that was where we were headed.
We got to our area first and within a few casts has a couple keepers, nothing of good size though. We fished the area for awhile and kept catching fish but none were keepers. We decided to run to main lake areas with some rock piles. They produced another keeper and a few smaller fish. After bouncing around to few areas, we went back to starting area to flip the bigger trees. It produced a few more small keepers and shorts. There was a point that stuck out so decided to throw out deeper with 6XD and first cast produced a 3.05 largemouth, our biggest keeper. We decided to run that bite the rest of the day but the time and areas were limited. We finished the day with 7.39lbs and finished 42nd place out of 53. It was a rough size day for us but new boat should be in soon, so some extra prefish should help figure them out.


Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Bass Junkyz Teams - Dec. 2nd - Roosevelt Lake

This was the third outing for the Bass Junkyz Team Series, and it drew another 92 boats! Its amazing to see such great turnouts. The weather and lack of prefish was the difference in this tournament for us. We went off of a few week prior pattern and with the massive cold front, wind, and clouds, our fish moved completely.
We started our day in the same area near the dam, and it produced two keepers early and a ton of small fish. Once we made a move the cold set in and so did the wind. We fought both for the next few hours and only caught one more keeper on a carolina-rig. We moved around all day, hitting some great spots and even spooned up a crappie, but could only manage 4 small fish. We made a move late and figured out where we went wrong but was way too late.
We weight 4 fish for 5.43 with a 2.18bf and finished in 58th spot. Most guys caught their fish in the river side in the dirtier water and had a good late bite as well. Lessons learned and looking forward to the next one at Bartlett.




Saturday, November 25, 2017

JML Outdoors Weekend Warriors Bass Series - Nov. 18th - Roosevelt Lake

We were able to get out the previous weekend to get some pre-fish in, as we hadn't been to the lake in the fall with the water up in years. We found a great pattern and solid fish and planned on working that throughout the day. Unfortunately, the weather changed to severely windy and our point bite was too tough to work, but we managed to figure a few secondary options as the day went on.
We started near the dam, hoping for a big bite, we were rewarded with two small keepers on crankbaits, but it was a start. We worked down lake to our primary area to find the wind pushed the fish off of it. We did find the fish scattered around the edges of the points, just not schooled up. We ran that pattern throwing crankbaits and ned rigged baits the rest of the day and culled up throughout the day.
We finished the day up with a 5 fish limit for 8.02lbs and finished 22nd out of 41 boats. We kept our heads down and fished all day even though out main pattern was gone, and kept working at figuring it out as the weather changed all day.

JML Outdoors Weekend Warriors Bass Series - Oct. 21st - Bartlett Lake

This was the second stop of the season for JML WWBS, but my step-father and I missed the first one due to a conflict in schedules. We decided to play off of my previous tournament as well as our pre-fish, which yielded 50+ fish but lacked size. We were boat 3 in launch order out of 64 boats.
We went all the way up river to where we pre-fished and through crankbaits all morning. We worked hard and filled out our limit, weeding through multiple short fish. As the crankbait bite slowed we found a rick pile in the area and proceeded to catch multiple fish on dropshot rigs and culled a few times as well. At the end of the day we made one last stop with 15 minutes to go and caught two more keepers that did up our total.
We caught over 70 fish, and our 5 fish limit weighed 8.77lbs and put us in 25th place. We fished hard for every fish and caught them consistently, we figured out another pattern throughout the day but didn't have the extra time to capitalize on it.

Bass Junkyz Teams - Oct. 7th - Bartlett Lake

This was the first tournament of the season for the Bass Junkyz Team Tournament, and wow was it insane. There were 97 boats that showed up, most I have seen in years. The weather was gorgeous with a major wind in the main lake and and hardly any up river.
Our tournament started on a summer area and a crankbait produced immediately but only one keeper off the area. We made a move and unfortunately lost both of the better fish on chatterbaits. We moved our way up river and proceeded to catch 30-40 fish on carolina-rigged baby brush hogs. We fished numerous spots and finally came back to where we started with about 10 minutes left in the day and culled twice, unfortunately we needed way more size to do well.
We finished with a small 5 fish limit that weighed 7.41lbs, which put us in 61st for the tournament. Not sure what we would have done different, as we caught more fish that most of the other teams, we just never had the bigger bites.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

JML Outdoors Century Marine Saguaro Friday Nights - July 28th - Bartlett Lake

With the suspension on the lakes still, a friend called me up wanting to got to Bartlett Lake to fish the tournament. He knew my game plan of throwing crankbaits most the night and staying on whichever one of my areas that didn't have someone on them. I noticed the water had cleared up and it was going to be a windy night as it was blowing 20-30mph to start the tournament.
We made a short run to my area and missed two fish early which wasn't a good sign. The fish were biting but getting a good look at the bait and weren't eating it. The wind made it tough to fish but the first keeper was a great one. He was trying to slow down and throw a plastic but it was producing smaller fish that wouldn't keep. Once the wind was to strong for the guy on my primary area we went there to fish it, I noticed a current break from the wind and decided to try it and it produced another solid keeper. We moved all around the two areas and had 3 fish with a few minutes to go. My partner caught a solid keeper with 10 minutes left and we fished hard until the last second, he missed a bit and we ended up with 4 keepers. We weighed 8.52lbs and finished 12th and were ounces out of a check. Only regret is not having him throw the plastics behind me to make sure we got that 5th keeper. Was still a fun tournament but happy to be moving back to day tournaments.

JML Outdoors Century Marine Saguaro Friday Nights - July 7th - Bartlett Lake

With the Golden Algae bloom all tournaments were suspended at the Salt River Chain lakes but they were allowed to move them to Bartlett Lake. My stepdad and I had boat issue the last time out, but we decided do this one for my birthday celebration. It was his first tournament in the new Phoenix. We planned on hitting the same area as I had fished previously and with the stained water I knew the fish should eat the bait instead of slap at it.
We were only of the first few boats out but someone had seen me on the area I had done so well on for the last month and was boat 1 out and beat us there. I tried to make a second rock pile work but with the rising water from recent storms they weren't pushed out to it yet. Once I gained my composure we made a move to another rock pile point that I did well on previously. It turned out to be the right move. It didn't take long for us to put a limit in the boat and proceeded to cull relatively quick until a massive monsoon storm hit. We couldn't fish for nearly an hour until the winds got below 30mph. Once they did the bigger fish started to eat and we proceeded to cull again on the same area. We never moved all night and weighed a 5 fish limit for 10.64lbs with a 3.07 big fish. It was good enough for a 5th place finish, which was great for my stepdad's first tournament back in the last few years.



AZ Head to Head Bracket Tournament - Championship - June 25th - Lake Pleasant

I was looking forward to this final for few weeks. I was a little nervous and both the other two guys had fished this lake and very regularly and I hadn't fished it in almost 7 months. I had a game plan of running islands and points and was going to throw topwater then mostly a dropshot the rest of the day.  Made the first run and didn't take long to have a fish explode on the topwater but it never hooked up. Not long later made a move to an island and hooked first keeper only to have it come off at the boat. I thought it was over at that point, but I took a minute and regrouped and calmed down and put my head down and fished hard. I moved all around the lake hitting areas that I have down well in the past and kept rotating around them. I could only manage 3 keepers. When we came to weigh I felt a little defeated but I was shocked to hear that both guys had blanked. I was shocked but pumped at the same time, it was a definite confidence booster and proved my hard work was paying off.
 It was hard earned, but I want to take the time and thank the sponsors that helped back this and make it what it is. Thank you Dave Davis and DD26 Fishing Rods, Josh Bertrand and Berkley Baits and NINES Optics, Ryan Chambers Chambers, Perks Custom Baits, RCI Cooling and Heating, BL Hagerty, and also Jeff Mabry for organizing everything. Thank you guys for everything, looking forward to trying to defend next year.


Roostertales Bass Clup Open Tournament - June 10th - Bartlett Lake

After the success I had the previous week on Sunday, decided to do this Open. My partner cancelled last minute but I went up anyways hoping my bite was still there. I was one of the last boats to launch and pulled up to my area and sure enough a friend of mine is sitting on my spot, but gave me some room so could share it. It wasn't long and already had 4 keepers in the boat but was having a hard time keeping them hooked up. I noticed that the water had cleared up and the fish were slapping at the bait. I filled out my limit but I knew I needed to change it up from the crankbait, and also move out the the next rock pile but unfortunately my friend was all over it. I worked the area over all night and unfortunately lost the fish that would have put into the top on a carolina-rig. I caught 40-50 fish easy and finished the night in 17th place with a 5 fish limit for 9.54lbs and a big of 2.29. My buddy took 3rd and second big fish. Lesson learned don't tell friends where caught them!

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

AZ Head to Head Bracket - Round 4 - June 4th - Bartlett Lake

After 2 hours sleep and a horrible Saturday night showing at Bartlett it was time to do it all over for round 4 at the same lake I struggled at. I covered one end of the the lake to the other and  threw a crankbait all morning. I found a pattern about 7am, throwing a crankbait on the inside of small points. I noticed that they were mouthing the bait and had to give them a second to eat it then set hard. It produced 4 keepers on the points and a few shorts. After I talked to the guy I was competing against and knew he had a limit, I decided to crank some rocky shoreline near the ramp area. That was the ticket for me, I caught my 5th fish and found a spot on a spot and proceeded to catch 70-80 fish on the area and had a limit that went well over 11lbs and they just kept biting. We weighed at 11am and I took the win with a little over 11lbs with a 3.79 kicker to his limit of just under 7lbs. The fishing was so good I went back out to see if could cull up to 12lbs, it took about 15 minutes and 4 fish later and easily had over 12. It was one of my best days on Bartlett Lake, and a huge turnaround from the previous night. Now only have the finals left, looking forward to wherever it will be.

JML Outdoors Jet Renu North Valley Nights - June 3rd - Bartlett Lake

This was the first night tournament of the season for my partner and I. Last year we smashed them this time of year, so we had high hopes for this tournament. Without any prefish we decided to head down lake and see what we could crank up. First cast caught a short and proceeded to catch a few other shorts. We hit a steep wall with some rocks and my buddy got short lines by a fish over 4lbs that got off right at the boat. We fished down the bank and proceed to catch two keepers and a few more short fish. We had heard once it got dark the fish shutoff, but we had heard that before and caught them. At the end of the night we could have left at 8pm when it got dark, not a single bite. Was brutal tough for us, we weighed 2 fish for 2.8lbs and took 29th of 50 boats. The fish we lost would have put us in the top 10 with over 6lbs. That lake rarely fishes that tough but the water clarify was 1-3 inches and lime green, it should get better as it clears up.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Personal Best - May 26th - Canyon Lake

With the success I have had at Canyon Lake lately I wanted to take my stepdad out to get him on some of the fish I found. I went out May 24th before work and absolutely smashed them, had over 20lbs in 3 hours, all bed fishing. He needed to break in the new Phoenix 921 with a big bag. We went to the area I had found and it was a little slow to start with the sun not fully up yet, but still had a few 2-3lb fish in the boat. After a 4lb largemouth, I noticed a massive fish near a rock, and about a 4lb fish with it. I made a long cast to them and it nosed down immediately. I had my stepdad throw into the bed area and within a few seconds it was game on. We thought he hooked the male until we saw the mouth open on the head-shake. She took him for a ride across the cut and into the reeds, I jumped on the trolling motor and as was going in to get her she came out. When we finally got her in the boat I knew it was his personal best. I figured she would be close to 10lbs but she came in at 9.12lbs!!! It was an awesome moment, he took me out when I caught my personal best, and to take him out and get him his, was perfect. It is a day I will never forget.






AZ Head to Head Bracket Tournament - Round 3 - May 18th - Canyon Lake

With as great as the previous round went, I was looking forward to another great day of topwater. Unfortunately it was a little slow, the fish just weren't committing to the bait. I had 3 small keepers and decided to try to fill out a limit on a Carolina-rig. A few casts later I had a small limit but knew it would take way more than I had. I did notice a few fish were shallow even though 75-78 degree water temps. I flipped up to them and found out there were still guarding beds! I figured out that to catch the females, had to take the males off the bed and within a few minutes the females would lock down the nest. I ran that pattern the rest of the day and wow the results were amazing. My big fish was pushing 7lbs and I culled up over 22lbs, and had a shot at over 30lbs, but ran out of time with the wind on a massive fish. I pulled off the win with 22.06lbs to 19.89lbs. Turned out to be an awesome day, now into the final 6!


Tuesday, May 16, 2017

AZ Head to Head Bracket Tournament - Round 2 - May 11th - Canyon Lake

Having not fished Canyon Lake much in the last 10 years, I went into the day completely blind. I decided to start throwing a dropshot in old areas but after a few minutes I gave up on it and decided to throw a topwater. It was the best decision I ever made fishing. A few minutes later I had my first fish, a 7lb largemouth and 2 other blowups. I went back down the bank and hooked into a 5lb largemouth. I ran with that bait all morning fishing similar banks and had 4 fish for 20lbs by 7am, and a limit for 24.5lbs by 8am. I was able to cull once and moved my limit over 25lbs. I continued to catch fish after fish all morning and throughout the day. I had fish chasing the bait, blowing up on it, and choking it, was just a perfect storm for me. I even caught a few I saw on beds as was covering water. It was hands down the best day for average size, and bites that I have had. The weigh-in was interesting as my competitor caught over 21lbs late in the day, but I took the W.





AZ Head to Head Bracket Tournament - Round 1 - April 23rd - Roosevelt Lake

With a decent tournament the day before at Apache Lake, it was time for my first round of head to head bracket style tournament. My competitor and I decided to fish Roosevelt Lake since was so close to Apache, and we were both there. I had heard the bite was extremely tough but a sporadic shad spawn bite was out there. It was a breezy morning to start and got insanely windier as the day went on. I missed a few on topwater early but got on the board throwing a small swimbait. That was my only bite until almost 11am. The winds picked up, 20-35mph, and fighting 3-6ft waves, I made a move to wind blown bank that wasn't getting as pounded as hard as other. Grabbed a jerkbait and proceeded to catch 3 keepers and a few shorts. They were enough to get the win, and move me into the second round.

ABA Central Arizona Teams - April 22nd - Apache Lake

This was the last ABA day time tournament of the season. With the weather we have had the bed fish were hard to find so we just decided to hit some of our normal areas and see how it played out. We had a rough morning throwing jerkbaits, carolina rigs, dropshots, topwaters, etc. and just couldn't get them to go. Our first fish didnt come until around 10:30 and happened to be a solid fish. We decided to move to a spot that produced earlier in the year and it once again paid off with our biggest fish of the day, a spawned out female that weighed 5.49lbs. We finished our day there and filled out our limit and culled a few times throwing carolina rigs. We finished in 8th place with a total of 14.12lbs.
With the season over, now comes night tournaments which are always a blast. Looking forward to them and the championship at Lake Havasu at the end of the year.


Wednesday, April 12, 2017

ABA Central Arizona Teams - March 18th - Roosevelt Lake

Was really looking forward to this tournament. For the first time in years the water level was up at Roosevelt Lake and was a spawn time tournament. The bad news came a week before the tournament, we had a massive storm come in and further dirty the rising water. With clarify of .5-1ft, bed fishing was out but prefish went well and had a few ideas to get a few fish.
We started in the main lake throwing topwater, crankbaits, and flipping into the brush and trees. We went about an hour before we found a shallow point that the fish were pushing shad onto to feed. We proceeded to catch 4 keepers and numerous shorts off the area, mainly smaller smallmouth. We continued throughout the day throwing crankbaits and soft plastics. We culled throughout the day and got on a great flip bite later in the afternoon. We culled up to 9.17lbs for our 5 fish and caught 35-40 fish for the day. We finished in 14th but had an absolute blast, they were all cookie cutter size fish, just never had a kicker fish.


Tuesday, April 11, 2017

ABA Central Arizona Teams - Feb. 18th - Apache Lake

This is our third tournament of the season, fifth overall, after missing the first two due conflicting schedules. The weather has been crazy as of late, but the fish should be moving shallow. My partner and I prefished the week before and decided to start where we got a decent fish the week prior. The short run was welcomed on the cold morning.
We started the day off right away with a good fish, and then another, and another. We caught our forth fish a 6.37 largemouth a few minutes later in the same area. A few casts later my partner broke off, on the hookset, one even bigger, we unfortunately got to see it roll a few times. After that lost fish the area went cold. We fished it off and on for a little while longer trying to give it time to rest. With 4 fish in the livewell we had a great start but should have been well into the 20lb range. We moved down lake and as we did the wind and rain started. The wind was blowing 25-30+ and was hard to stick to any open area, so we went back by the backside of the marina, which produced our fifth keeper. We hit a few more areas and culled once or twice and caught a few short fish.
We finished the day with 15.33lbs, 6.37 kicker, and finished in 7th place. Three tournaments and three top 10's, looking forward to the last two tournaments of the season before the night series start.





Saturday, February 25, 2017

Amphibia Performance Floating Eyegear - New Sponsor

I proud to announce my newest sponsor for the 2016/2017 season, Amphibia Performance Floating Eyegear. I have been using these sunglasses for awhile now and have loved them and to be working with them is amazing. These sunglasses are incredibly comfortable, extremely lightweight, crystal clear, ANSI rated, and they float!!! The different frame and lens options allow me to customize for the conditions at the lake, plus they are perfect for my everyday use at work. They have incredible pricing and a build-your-own option to make and match different frame colors to lens combination.
Check them out at - https://amphibiaeyegear.com/