It's been a while

As you can see it has been a while since I have had a chance to post anything on here. My fall fishing season was cut short due to a blown lower unit on my boat in October so I didn't have much to post about. I am not one who enjoys ice fishing so most of my winter is spent pouring baits and spending time with the family. I will be heading to the Ottawa Boat Cottage and Sportsman show next weekend and will be at the Hunter's Bay Marine booth for a day or 2 so stop by and say hello. I just about have my tournament schedule set for this year and I have decided to fish less events this year but to spend more time pre-fishing and preparing than previous years. I learned this past summer that you can never spend to much time preparing and practicing for a tournament. I realized this after my success at the FLW Lake Champlain event this past season. I spent more time pre-fishing for that event than any other event before and it gave me a ton of confidence. I spent a lot of time reading maps, organizing tackle and gear, reading articles about previous tournaments on the lake and it made a huge difference. I have yet to commit to an FLW event this year but I will be fishing the Berkley B1 on Lake St.Francis which is a new event for me. I have already began reading maps, using google earth to look at the lake, and we plan on pre-fishing for at least 5 day prior to the event. We will be taking 2 boats with us in order to cover as much water as possible and maximize our time on the water. In the next few days I will write about ways I have come up with to organize tackle and gear as well as tips to prepare your boat and tow vehicle to help you enjoy your days on the water for the coming season. 

Sept.19 Fun day with a new friend!!

On this great Sunday I had the chance to meet a fellow Fish-Hawk.net member and a member of our Canadian Military Marc Label aka Hotel Tango.It was a cool fall morning but we had high hopes we would find some fat fall Largies. It was barely above zero which made for a awful cold run approximately 3 miles from the launch. The morning bite was pretty slow with only a few small fish to show for our efforts. We decided to make the run to Campbell's Bay which was about another 12 miles down river. We were disappointed with that area as it seemed like the weeds had all died off and it made the water very murky. We then decided to fish our way back up river stopping at various spots consisting of lumber and weed edges which this stretch of river is known for. As the day warmed up we began to get a few more decent fish using Senkos, Texas rigged Sweet Beavers and flipping jigs. Marc suggested we stop at a spot he knew of near the launch on the way back and boy what a spot it was. We caught 5 good largemouth with the biggest being a solid 4 lber. which I caught on the old faithful Black/Blue Senko. All in all it was a good day with a few fish caught and I had a great opportunity to meet a new friend with whom I hope to spend more time on the water with in the future.