Spring Rains, Sore Back, Monkeys & Marlins

Warm temperatures and plentiful rain the forecast suggest that North Georgia trout should be chomping this week, and I've heard recent reports of a fair number of fish looking up and sipping dry flies. However, I need to be content to enjoy reading the reports and leave the fish-catching to someone else because my back has been out of whack.

The back trouble does seem to be diminishing, but I don't want to do anything that might cause the mending to "backtrack" because by this time next week, I'll be at Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica. The trip includes a day of offshore fishing, possibly for sailfish or marlin; a day of inshore fishing, possibly for brutally strong roosterfish; and a day of eco-touring, which will include a ropes course through the jungle. A good back is pretty important for all three days (and for two full days of travel).

One benefit for the back, travel-wise, is that the temperature is always between 70 and 90 degrees where I will be, so I can get by with a small, light duffel. Next week's blog should be full of cool images -- and hopefully some videos -- from Costa Rica, so be sure to check in regularly.

A Boat of his Own

Nathaniel had been hoping to find a johnboat that he could afford to buy, and his siblings had even been praying that he would find such a boat. Well, God did better than to provide a boat that Nathaniel could afford to buy. This week, Nathaniel was GIVEN a boat that is exactly what he was hoping to find. It's big enough be stable and to hold three people but small enough that it can still be carried in the back of my truck. He has replaced the seats an added rod holders and has a few other plans in mind for it, but we'll be fishing from Nathaniel's own boat very soon. God provides!

Congratulations Chris Lane, Bassmaster Classic Champion

2012 Bassmaster Classic Champion Chris Lane. Photo by Seigo Saito, courtesy of B.A.S.S.

Only one angler has earned qualification into the 2013 Bassmaster Classic -- and he's done it twice already. Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama first locked up next year's Classic spot in January when he won the season-opening B.A.S.S. Southern Open on the Harris Chain, but yesterday he secured the position of reigning Bassmaster Classic champion in next year's event. Lane's three-day Red River catch of 51 pounds 6 ounces put him more than 3 pounds ahead of second place finisher Greg Vinson and made him the new champion.

Lane, who bowed beside the trophy and prayed and pointed to God before lifting overhead in the traditional manner, was first greeted first with a big hug from his brother and fellow Classic competitor, Bobby. Soon after, his wife and children joined him onstage and the stepped into his boat for the traditional "Victory Lap."

Timmy Horton Goes Old School

Timmy Horton chose the "Old School" look over his modern tournament jersey for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic. Photo courtesy of Lurenet.com.

Plenty of big bags crossed the weigh-in stage on Day 2 of Bassmaster Classic, but the highlight for me was Timmy Horton's throwback uniform. Horton's wife Melanie found and old-style jumpsuit, and his sponsors jumped right in to help by sending him traditional patches. Horton, who attended many Bassmaster Classics as a boy and has always been a huge fan of the sport, wore the "old school" outfit as a tribute to the anglers who paved the way for him and his contemporaries in the sport of bass fishing.

There's something seriously cool about a lifelong fan of any sport ascending to become one of the sport's biggest stars and never forgetting what it was like to be a boy in the stands of a championship event. Just meeting those childhood heroes when Horton first became a pro must have been such a thrill. Now he is friends with many of them and has earned their respect. What a great way to say thank you on the sport's biggest stage.

Oh, and Horton also brought in a big bag. After struggling on Day 1 and finishing the day in the lower half of the field, he caught 17 pounds, 14 ounces yesterday and jumped to 12th place. He's 7 pounds behind the leader, Chris Lane, but found something that worked really well yesterday and seemed very confident on stage. "It could get interesting," Horton said with a big smile on stage.

Want to keep up with Horton? Follow him on Twitter @TimmyHortonBass

Vicarious Classic Day

Keith Poche leads after one day of fishing at the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. Seigo Saito photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

I won't bother spitting back the Day 1 Bassmaster Classic results. Plenty of fishing media sources are already doing a good job of that, and most are on-site and can be timely with the stories. That said, the Classic turned out to be a fairly big part of my day yesterday.

Because I've fished with many of the competitors and work with many other industry folks who are part of the event, it holds a lot of interest to me. I logged on to the Classic Live Blog early the day, and watched it on and off throughout the day. The Live Blog is an ongoing report from numerous writers who are out on the water, watching the competitors fish, and it paints a great picture of the river conditions, the bite, the crowding, the anglers' attitudes and much more. I also kept an eye on BassTrakk, which is a running "scorecard" based on observers' estimates and enjoyed watching the live weigh-in yesterday evening.

It was fun to see the humility of the Day 1 leader, Keith Poche, and his genuine thrill about simply getting to compete in his first Bassmaster Classic and getting to do so an hour or so from where he grew up.

I'll be busy in the yard and doing stuff around the house today, but I'll definitely have the same windows open on my computer and will be peeking at them through the day.

Georgia Spring Afternoon

OK. Maybe it's a stretch to call Feb. 23 spring. Still, with half a dozen different types of flowers blooming in the yard and the thermometer showing mid 70s, yesterday afternoon sure seemed springish. So much so that Nathaniel and I had to slip out and take a couple of laps around the pond.

With spring often comes wind, and yesterday's springlike ways fit the bill in that sense. Nathaniel, who normally controls the canoe, spend more time working his paddle blade than a crankbait or other lure. I got to keep casting and managed five bass and a bream, all on a Road Runner Pro Marabou 2.0. The fish were generally shallow, like they thought it was spring also.

Bassmaster Classic - 49 Bassmaster Classic competitors launch in a couple of hours. I've ridden along a couple times as a Classic observer, so I can kind of imagine the excitement as the competitors, media and B.A.S.S. officials gather in hotel for early-hours breakfast, migrate to the boatyard and then make the grand police-escorted procession through the darkness from the convention center area to the boat launch, where big crowds are likely gathering already.

Most competitors' minds are most likely racing with thoughts about where they'll begin, what they'll do if that area is too crowded, whether they'll guard a spot or move around, try to fill a limit or go straight for something larger... Some are likely quietly focused, wearing the full game face. Others are grinning and telling stories like it's any other fishing morning.

It's not any other fishing morning, though. It's the Bassmaster Classic. I didn't end up making the trip to Louisiana, but I'll be watching the blogs and other posts and will pass along anything interesting that I discover!

Meanwhile, Back on the Ice

The weatherman says we'll see 70s today, and I can count in my mind at least half a dozen plants in the yard that have flowers. Cold days may still be ahead, but spring is trying hard to happen in Georgia, and I'm thinking more about spring trout fishing than any kind of winter patterns.

That said, I was unable to accept an invitation that would have had me ice-fishing just this week, and I'm reminded that winter and hard-water fishing are still going strong in the north. In fact, my last ice trip of last year was late in March. Jeff Sundin, who I've gotten to ice-fish with twice this winter, posts daily reports about fishing in northern Minnesota. He does a great job of compiling input from a bunch of different fishermen, and I enjoy spending a bit of vicarious time on the ice through his reports.

Making a big jump from Northern Minnesota to Louisiana's Red River, today is "Media Day" at the Bassmaster Classic. The pros are off the water for interviews and receptions and final preparations before the competition begins tomorrow morning. Many of my industry friends will be busy today, either doing as they begin their coverage of the event or preparing booths for the giant sport show that is an important part of the Bassmaster Classic.

Last Practice Day

Anyone who pays much attention to professional bass fishing knows that Aaron Martens will be someone to watch this weekend. B.A.S.S. Photo.

Well, they're out there right now -- 49 of the nation's top B.A.S.S. pros, all vying for the title of "2012 Bassmaster Classic Champion." The competition itself does not begin until Friday, but today is the final practice day, and what the pros learn today will be critical for devising strategies. They also practiced three days over the weekend, but the Red River is a highly dynamic system and water conditions have changed even since then. It's a large system but is expected to "fish small" because much of the river is essentially unfishable due to current and water color

The local forecast calls for highs in the low 60s and lows in averaging around 40 for the three competition days. Friday's forecast high is 20 degrees lower than tomorrow's so it would appear that a cold front will usher in the actual competition.

Ways to Follow Classic Action

Defending Bassmaster Classic Champion Kevin VanDam

Even if you can't swing a weekend trip to Shreveport, you can follow the Bassmaster Classic action about as closely as you'd like -- and as your own time allows. For starters, there's Classic Live Blog, which I've already mentioned a couple of times. It's already going strong and will only pick up intensity as the competition draws nearer. Lots of voices; lots of locations; lots of perspectives...

If that's not enough, go Facebook and Twitter and do a little searching for your favorite pros, Bassmaster and for some of the media sources that cover professional bass fishing. Pros like Timmy Horton (@TimmyHortonBass) tweet from their phones and give you a sense of everything from weather conditions to how they feel about practice days... Meanwhile, Bassmaster and various fishing news sources provide a continual flow of information.

I won't say that following all the stuff online is better than being there. That's not true. But you legitimately can get a broader picture of everything going on from your living room than you can from walking around any given spot at the Classic. Of course, if you want the best of both worlds, hop in the truck and head for Shreveport and bring a smart phone that's set up for all the same cool stuff. Then while you're sitting in the auditorium waiting for each day's weigh-in to begin, you can catch up on all that other cool stuff!

More Questions Than Answers?

Eleven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Alabama reported that the Red River fish are healthy but that bites are hard to come by. For live updates throughout the Classic, follow him on Twitter, @TimmyHortonBass

With the first three days of Classic practice in the books, the general word coming from competitors is that a lot of questions remained unanswered. Cold, muddy water made bites somewhat scarce over the weekend, and when the fish are tight lipped it's tough to learn exactly where they are concentrated.

Of course the fishermen themselves are understandably tight lipped when they are fishing for half a million dollars and the title of Bassmaster Classic champion, so some probably learned a little bit more than they want to talk about with too many people.

That said, the Red River reportedly looks very different than it did the last time most pros fished it, and conditions are changing quickly. Most comments I've seen on facebook and twitter and the Bassmaster Classic Live Blog suggest that pros expect the river to "fish small," meaning that the limited amount of legitimately fishable areas will force a lot of anglers to fish close to one another. That means that finding the right lure and presentation and executing well might be the key to this Classic, more so than finding that magical "spot."

The 49 Classic qualifiers got three days of practice over the weekend and will be off the water for the next two days. The final practice day is Wednesday, two days before the competition begins.

My Favorite Fishing Gloves

Once your hands get cold, the rest of you typically isn't too far behind. Finding good gloves, therefore, is important to any fisherman who spends much time out during the winter. Gloves have been especially important to me for the past couple of years as I have been spending more time sitting on the ice!

I own thick, heavily insulated gloves that will keep my hands warm in any condition, and when the temperatures turn severe and I simply need hand protection, there is no substitute for these. Most of the time, though, I prefer more finger mobility for handling my fishing equipment. I've tried various gloves made of neoprene and other modern materials and a few different types of "glommits," which are glove/mitten hybrids with mitten-like coverings that can fold back; however, most either are cumbersome or they aren't sufficiently warm.

The best gloves I found, and the ones I have with me on every trip north, are Cabela's Ragg Wool 1/2-Finger Gloves. They provide natural insulation and break the wind nicely and are extremely comfortable. Most importantly, I don't have to take them off to fish.

If it's really cold, I usually open a pair of Grabber Mini Warmers, which are air-activated handwarmers that last all days, and stick them in the hand pockets of my coat. Then, if the fingertips get a little frigid, I can alternate my rod hand or take a short break from fishing and warm my fingertips a bit.

Win a Boat!

Time's running low. If you want to win the Rebel50 bass boat, you need to scurry on over to the lurenet facebook page, "like" the page and sing up for the drawing. The winner will be chosen a week from Sunday at the Bassmaster Classic.

Speaking of the Classic, be sure to bookmark the bassmaster.com Classic Blog. Lots of voices telling the whole story form live on the scene. It has started and already includes some cool stuff. If you can't attend, it's the next best thing, and in truth, I'd be watching it even if I were in Louisiana during Classic week, because the bloggers are spread out and bringing live coverage from multiple venues.

Classic Practice Period Approaching Quickly

The clock probably can't move fast enough for Bassmaster Classic competitors. The official practice period begins in a few hours. Four days to gauge river conditions, find the right fish and figure out the best strategy for three days of competition that begin a week from today.

Someone will go home with a check for half a million dollars. That's a big chunk of money for a 49-boat tournament, but it's merely a shadow of what's at stake. More so, it's the title of Bassmaster Classic Champion -- a title that forever elevates a angler's place in the bass fishing world. Points don't matter. It's an all-or-nothing championship tournament against the best of the best, and every angler's strategy is all about winning.

Today also jump-starts a week and a half of tremendous sponsor, media and fan hype. It's undoubtedly one of the greatest experiences a professional bass fisherman can go through, but it also must be distracting and exhausting. Endurance and focus could be almost as important as picking the right area and color of lure.

For many competitors, this is familiar ground; something they've done several times before. For others, virtually everything about the next 10 days will be new territory. For every competitor it's a very big deal -- and it begins very soon.

Little Texas Lake Producing Huge Fish

ShareLunker #528; 13.03 pounds; caught by Landon Glass of Jarrell, Texas; Lake Austin; Photo courtesy of TPWD

A bass must weigh at least 13 pounds to qualify for the Texas' unique Toyota ShareLunker program. Only five bass have qualified during the 2011-2012 season (season runs from Oct. 1 through April 30), and three of those five --the most recent three, in fact -- have come from Lake Austin, a 1,600-acre riverine impoundment that's been around since 1939. The most recent ShareLunker, which was caught on Tuesday by Ryan Glass, was also caught and registered as a ShareLunker in February of 2010.

Classic Contenders Converging

Josh Polfer traveled 2,000 miles from Idaho to Louisiana's Re River to compete in the Bassmaster Classic Feb. 24-26. Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

For most Bassmaster Classic qualifiers, preparations began long ago, possibly with some pre-cutoff scouting at the Red River. In recent weeks most competitors have picked up, broken in and wrapped new boats and have been busy doing last-minute research while gathering and preparing tackle.

The intensity has risen a big step, though, as contenders are now beginning to arrive in Shreveport. Some didn't have far to travel. Others, like Brandon Palaniuk and Josh Polfer of Idaho, have traveled across the country. Palaniuk and Polfer each had about 2,000 miles to travel, so both left home well ahead of time and did other things in the South, "touring" their way toward the Classic venue.

The competition remains more than a week away, but he official practice begins in less than two days, and all the competitors' schedules will be filled from the time they arrive in Shreveport until the afternoon of Feb. 26, when the 2012 Bassmaster Classic Champion is crowned.

Double Trouble

A double-up approach was the key to success for me during my last day of ice-fishing in South Dakota. More often than not, I wouldn't seeing anything when I first started fishing a hole, and if I used a silent approach, nothing would show up. I could call in the fish by working a Lindy Rattl'n Flyer Spoon pretty aggressively, but most fish weren't quite aggressive enough to take the spoon. Eventually I figured out that if I started with the spoon and could get some fish in the area, I could then pull it up and drop a Fuzz-E Grub in the same hole and usually catch the fish. Neither on it's own was quite doing the job. Together, they worked wonderfully.

Strong Season Start for Roland & Scott Martin

Photos Courtesy of FLW Outdoors

Bass fishing legend Roland Martin came out of retirement from tour-level events this year to fish the FLW Tour in large part for the opportunity to fish with his son, Scott Martin. Scott is the current Forrest Wood Cup champion, and one of the most successful anglers on the FLW Tour , with five tour wins and nearly 2 million dollars in career earnings.

Both Martins got to begin the season on their home waters of Lake Okeechobee, and both got off to a good start in last weekend's FLW Tour Open on the Big O. The Martins finished 7th and 8th in the event, with Roland outfishing his son by 3 pounds, 3 ounces and landing one place ahead of him in the final standings.

Randall Tharp of Alabama won the tournament decisively, with a 101-pound 12-ounce four-day catch that was more than 23 pounds heavier than any other competitor's total weight.

Next stop for the FLW Tour is Lake Hartwell, March 8-11. Hartwell impounds the Savannah River and straddles the Georgia/South Carolina border.

Catch List to 13

Three days on the South Dakota ice allowed me to expand my 2012 Catch List by five species, bringing the tally for the year to 13. Four of the five were types of trout. (Well, a lake trout is technically, a char, I guess.) The other was a rock bass that was almost too small to count!

Here's the updated list in the order that each was added: blue catfish, black crappie, largemouth bass, yellow perch, walleye, northern pike, bluegill, hybrid, lake trout, rock bass, rainbow trout, cutbow trout, brown trout.

Waters in five states -- South Carolina, Georgia, North Dakota, Florida and South Dakota -- have contributed to this year's list. Next month's travel takes me to Costa Rica. I'll bet I'll add a few new species there!

Black Hills Ice Fishing Wonderland

Having returned from South Dakota's Black Hills yesterday, I'm only now beginning to digest the vastness and rugged beauty of the region and the tremendous ice fishing opportunity found in the lakes that are scattered through the region. We fished five different lakes in three days and only scratched the surface. Each was unique in its appearance, character and species mix. All were beautiful, and all yielded fish.

Fishing with Tyler and Alex of Dakota Dream Outdoors, I caught seven different kinds of fish. The big laker that bit on the first morning ramains my favorite catch, but the brilliantly colored cutbow that came from a tiny little forest service lake on our final day of fishing stands as a close second.

Day 3's fishing plan also put us close to Mount Rushmore, so I got the opportunity to visit this treasured national landmark and see it with my own eyes. How they carved such detail out of granite in such large scale and so high on the mountain 70 years ago is beyond my comprehension. We fished three small mountain lakes that day, and the drives from lake to lake were almost as fun as the fishing itself.

We spotted wild turkeys, mule deer, whitetails and coyotes along the way. Other big game species that make heavy use of the same mountains include pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and mountain lions. Virtually every gas station, motel lobby or eating place in the area has mounts ranging from bison to pronghorns on the walls, and the bighorn crossing signs stretch almost into the town limits of Hill City.

Of course, staying in Historic Deadwood only added to the Wild West feel of the trip. Walking snow-covered streets with steep mountain rising on both sides, I really felt like a gun-slinging cowboy could come riding up on his horse at any time!

Lake Trout Success

Day 1 on the Black Hills ice definitely goes in the books as a success. My first-ever South Dakota fish was a 10-pound lake trout that took about 20 minutes to land. It took a Lindy Whatsit Grub just off the bottom in 70 feet of water. We fished Lake Pactola, a spectacular mounted shouted lake, and landed about 15 lakers, plus one brown trout.

The day started with big breakfast burrito at the Howlin' Hawg Diner in snowy downtown Deadwood, which is just footsteps from the Branch House, where I stayed last night. After fishing, we tried to go see Mount Rushmore, but it was fogged in. We'll try again tomorrow afternoon if the skies are clear.

Ready for the South Dakota Ice

The Deadwood forecast calls for a bit of snow Tuesday, the first fishing day of my upcoming trip. That would be nice for photos, but one day of falling snow would be enough. The outlook actually looks pretty comfortable, with a lowest low of 17, but as Nathaniel and I were reminded last year in Colorado, that can change quickly.

Our first morning of fishing is scheduled for Deerfield Lake, where brook trout, splake and yellow perch are the main attractions. I'm looking forward to introducing the fish to Lindy Whatsit Grubs. Bernie Keefe in Colorado has been making good use of these for lakers this winter, and I have a feeling they might work well for Deerfield's fish. Of course, I'm also bringing stuff that was designed for ice-fishing.

The duffel is packed with lots of warm clothes. Camera, netbook and a bag of cords and chargers are likewise waiting by the door. I'm driving to an airport-area hotel this afternoon and will stay there tonight to avoid beginning tomorrow's travel in the teeth of Atlanta's Monday rush hour. Instead, I'll start with a short shuttle ride. By tomorrow night, I'll be settled at the Branch House in Deadwood, resting up for three days of ice fishing!

Destination Deadwood

The snowy slopes of the Black Hills form the backdrop to the Wild West town of Deadwood, the base camp for my next ice-fishing adventure. From Deadwood, we'll wind up into the mountains, where ice-covered high country lakes hold bounties of brook trout, lake trout, splake, pike and more.

I've never caught brook trout through the ice, and I've never even seen a splake, so I suppose I'm probably the most excited about the fishing itself. However, I'm also really forward to visiting the American frontier in Historic Deadwood, the entire town of which is a Registered National Historic Landmark, and to exploring the Black Hills.

Warm clothes and ice gear are packed and ready. Black Hills trout, here I come.

Looking At 'Em

Tim Mann does what it takes to put bass in the boat, but given the option, this Florida tournament angler would rather look at them. Mann, who considers Lake George on the St. Johns River his home waters, loves the game of finding big bedding fish and convincing them to take a bait.

And it really is a game. The game begins with finding the beds and the bedding fish, but it also includes gauging their size and likeliness to bite and then doing what it takes to convince those fish to bite. That might mean finding the "sweet spot" in a bed, catching the male that's guarding the bed at the right time (catch it too soon and it will often spook the female), backing up and "sight-fishing" from out of seeing distance, popping the bait up into the fish' face at the right time... The list could go on and on. Every fish is unique, which is part of what makes sight-fishing fun.

Some fish will bite immediately. Others require coaxing and serious patience. That's a big part of the game -- especially in a tournament setting. Mann must gauge the size of the bass he's looking at and that fish's likeliness to bite and then determine whether that amount of time would be justified by the amount of weight he could add to his catch. Of course, the answer also depends on how many fish Mann is seeing on beds and what sort of weights he expect other anglers to bring to the scales.

Mann , who typically targets bedding fish with a YUM Craw Papi or Vibra King Finesse Tube, plays the game well. He and his tournament partners have won a lot of sight-fishing-dominated tournaments over the years, and he's considered a serious threat to win any event this time of year.

The appeal of sight-fishing goes beyond the game, though. It's also the best opportunity of the year to catch really big Florida largemouth bass, which just happens to be something that Tim Mann really likes to do!

Yo-Yos, Rattles & River Bass

Cliff Prince rarely swims a Rattle Bait when he targets offshore bass during the cool months. Instead, he lets the bait sink all the way to the bottom and then yo-yos it back, continually lifting and dropping it but keeping it close to the bottom. The bass may hit it on the lift or the drop. When they do hit, Prince knows he must be ready, because they'll often hit it quickly but not get hooked if he doesn't react with a prompt hook set.

Prince's No. 1 bait for this technique, which is more like working a worm or a jig than a typical hard bait, is an XCalibur Xrk75 One-Knocker. However, he also likes the Xrk50, which is a slightly smaller ounce version of the same lure, and the rattling models of both sizes.

The bass congregate on or near bottom structure during the cool months and feed on winter-slowed or dying shad. The yo-yo presentation of a One Knocker matches the hatch perfectly and delivers big winter catches for Prince, a B.A.S.S. Elite Series rookie from Palatka, Florida, who gets to gets to begin his career of competing at the highest level on his home waters (St. John's River) in about a month and a half.

The Donkey Delivers Big Bass

If Terry "Big Show" Scroggins is fishing in Florida, you can bet he has the "Donkey" tied on at least one rod -- and chances are fairly good that it's the one that's in his hand. The Donkey refers to a Smithwick Devil's Horse. Scroggins dubs it a donkey because of the way you have to work it, "Slow and steady, like a donkey."

Last weekend it was actually the " Swamp Donkey" because Big Show and Gerald Swindle were fishing Devil's Horses together on Toho, and Swindle decided to add more Florida flavor the name. The biggest fish the two of them weighed attacked a Swamp Donkey.

The Devil's Horse has been a favorite of Florida fishermen for decades. They especially like it because you can create a lot of commotion with the blades without moving the bait very far. It tantalizes big bass that are holding near cover, and they can't resist attacking. Old timers throw it year-round and in all conditions.

Scroggins contends that you really only need one color, which is chrome/black back/orange belly, and when he finds a specific bait that rests exactly how he wants in the water and makes just the right sound, he'll fish that one bait till he loses it or until the bass wear every bit of paint off it.