For those of you who read my last BassFancy blog, some of the info here is redundant, but I wrote an article for another social networking site and thought it would make a good blog for my own site.  I also wanted to share with everyone the latest ALA information, so here goes.  Apologies all around for any redundancies! 

We just got back from the Classic in Birmingham, where my husband, Rod and I went to support our friends, Pam and Steven (Martin-Wells and Wells).  Pam did great and I am ultra-proud of her! I took tons of picture to make her a “Classic Scrapbook” for her Rookie Classic Year.  Won money betting she would make the cut - which she did, and fished the final day, ending up in 22nd place overall.  I’m sure her first two days surprised a lot of people - she caught the first limit of the Classic both days- but it didn’t surprise anyone who knows Pam and has ever seen her fish.  Like I said, I got tons of terrific pictures, and am going to post some of them on my website, www.BassFancy.com and on Rod’s www.AmericanLadyAnglers.com.  I’m sure Pam will put some on her website, www.PamMartinWells.com. 

Speaking of Websites, Rod is the Founder and one of the Tournament Directors for the all-new American Lady Anglers.  The Web Master just got the site up and running the day before we left for Birmingham to go to the Classic, and when we got back, the ALA Website already had over 1300 hits, just from our word-of-mouth, “there’s a new ladies’ team tournament trail and it’s got a new website” that Rod did while on the road. If I slip and say “we”, I don’t mean “we” as in “I’m the American Lady Anglers”.  I mean “we” as in “I’m going to join the American Lady Anglers and fish the ALA team tournament trail with a partner”, and “we” is my husband Rod (the ALA’s founder and idea-person” and me - who is only a loyal ALA member and sometime-secretary since I type faster.  I don’t speak “for” the ALA, I am only speaking on behalf of getting people to hear about the ALA as an ALA member.

Check out the website if you want to find out about the ALA’s  mission - which is basically to get any lady who wants to fish in a boat and fishing ALA events.  Also, the ALA’s goals are to have lower entry fees, while getting bigger and better cash and prizes for payouts for the ladies, plus increased media exposure (of all kinds) for our lady anglers and their sponsors.  Rod and Lee (see Website for bios) are in the process of talking to some major sponsors, booking tournament venues, etc.  All of the basic paperwork stuff is getting done or has been done, the incorporation, accounting, contracts, insurance, etc., ad infinitum. 

Lots of cities all over the U.S. are interested in getting the lady anglers there to fish -  they are basically welcoming the ALA with open arms.  The ALA has a brand-new, 24-foot stage trailer which is in the process of being outfitted with top-of-the line equipment - digital scales (with computer-assisted angler entry and printouts), aerated livewell tanks for the fish, live release tanks, stage, computers and webcams for streaming video, etc. 

The main thing ALA staff is thinking about is how to make it fun and exciting for its lady anglers.  I’m sure the improved cash payouts and media attention will go a long way towards helping with that.  Lady-friendly companies are being strongly pursued for sponsorship, especially those either owned or run by women, and those that offer women’s products - it just makes sense to the ALA Directors.  Fishing industry companies that are already known to be interested in the lady anglers are also being looked at as potential sponsors.

Ladies, please bear with the ALA  during its growing process!  The Website has had a huge number of  hits, plus  emails and phone calls, and the Tournament Directors  want to give everyone the individual attention they deserve.  One of the assets of the ALA Website is its “Partner Finder” page, where  lady anglers are invited  to post their information to help them find a partner to fish with.  The ALA hopes that the team format, allowing the women to combine their  fish, and to be in the front, back, (or middle) of the boat as they so choose, will help the ladies to have a better sense of camaraderie and fun while they compete. Hopefully, ALA’s Web Master can get the “Partner Finder” function up and running soon, because the Directors  are already having ladies call and email  because they want to get a partner so they can get signed up as soon as the tournament schedule and host cities are posted.   

Since all of the former WBT  ladies and all other lady anglers are scattered all over the map in the different bass tournament trails this year, the ALA staff is working closely with another ladies’ tournament trail that is having the standard Co/Pro, or Boater/Non-boater format.  The ALA is  actually looking at having a multi-day tournament at whichever lake the tournaments are scheduled, fishing with the other ladies tour for a Pro/Co two or three-day event, followed by a one-day team event where anyone can fish together as a team for the ALA event. The ALA has no desire to “divide up the ladies”, and therefore have a smaller attendance or registration for any of the tournament trails.  The ALA’s intent is just to offer more options, and therefore get more ladies out to fish.  The ALA is not going to interfere with, or schedule against, any ladies’ tournament trail schedule.   This will allow all of the ladies be able to fish any and all of the ladies’ tournaments available.  That is why the ALA is having the lower entry fees and higher payouts - to help all of the ladies defray their tournament expenses and get them all out to fish ALA tournaments.

ALa staff are also talking to selected cities about not only having the standard flyers, radio, and television pre-tournament publicity, but also personal appearances.  ALA members will appear at city-wide school assemblies, where they will talk to teenagers and young ladies and interest them in fishing and actually have a drawing and allow a couple to be outfitted by local tackle shops, dress them up and let them fish with selected (volunteer) pro lady anglers.  The ALA members will also show off our wraps (maybe a boat/tow-vehicle parade also) and demonstrate some fishing techniques.  Additionally, there are ALA Sponsor events planned with autograph-signing personal appearances, sponsor sample give-aways, and even Sponsor-donated prizes for random anglers. 

By allowing random anglers to win cash and prizes at our tournament events, and also having “fun” prizes, such as “big fish, daintiest fish, first fish”, etc., it allows every lady angler participating in ALA events to anticipate that she could possibly win something at any and every venue, and that not just the top finishers will win money.  ALA’s founders are hoping that all of these extra prizes will attract more anglers to fish ALA events, and to want to fish at all of our events.  The American Lady Anglers team tournament fishing trail organizers are  well-aware that it takes the participation of every angler to make tournament fishing a success, for the ladies, their sponsors, and for the tournament trail organizers.  Every lady is integral to the success of American Lady Anglers.

So…Ladies - all of you - Come Fish With Us!  And bring your BFF!  Bear with ALA while they grow their tournament trail.  It takes awhile for the Website, Equipment, and Tournament Schedule to catch up with the organizers’ big ideas, but it will happen, and then it will be a success.  It will be a success that every lady will have had a part in helping to make it all happen - for all of our current lady anglers, and for our future lady anglers.

Last time everyone heard from me, it was the Bob Sandlin Tournament update for the Big Stringer/Screamer Bass whatever.  I’m so confused.  I had everything planned and bought for the year, from equipment, clothing, lures, maps. etc. I’d researched the WBT lakes for 2010, done my homework, and was ready to start fishing - all I needed to do was update the website and start fishing the WBT trail at Lake Wheeler in Decatur, Alabama in March, April at Sam Rayburn in Zapata, Texas, June at Lake Belton in Temple, Texas, followed by September back at the Ouachita River in West Monroe, Louisianna.  I was so excited to be going back to the Ouachita River - where I did the best of the season last year, that I called all of my friends and set everything up.  I was even hoping to be fishing on Sam Rayburn when the women had their championship in October.  So when my registration time came in November, I dutifully doled out the deposit for all four tournaments and was ready to go.

Imagine my surprise on January 6th when I got the email announcing that ESPN/BASS had cancelled the trail due to lack of participation.  It’s amazing how many ladies have been participating in starting up not one, not two, but THREE separate tournament trail entities for women, as of this date alone.  First Secret York and Cheryl Bowden came out and announced the Kentucky Lake tournament with all of the former WBT Anglers in May.  Then, Sabrina Thompson announced the IFBBA (International Federation of Black Bass Anglers) is having a WBD (Women’s Bass Division), fishing March at Lake Sandlin, April at the Arkansas River, May at Truman Lake,  and June at Lake Belton.  Today, the ALA (American Lady Anglers) announced the start of the all new, Ladies TEAM Tournament Trail, a five-fish stringer tournament where the front and the back of the boat work as a team to bring in the largest five-fish limit.  Tournament dates and lakes to be announced shortly! The WBD has a Co/Pro format, with a Buddy Tournament as their Diversity Tournament at Lake Truman. 

I’m so proud and excited I could burst.  Way to go ladies!  When lady anglers get kicked to the curb they certainly bounce back quickly!  Oh, by the way, did I mention that my own personal Bass Caddy (Rod) is, with a friend, running the team trail?  Way to go baby, thanks for the platform to get more women fishing.  Check out his website at www.AmericanLadyAnglers.com . As Rod says, “Ladies, Come Fish with Us!”

Rod and I were asked by Firetrol, one of our sponsors, to fish at Lake Bob Sandlin on October 3, 2009.  We were pleased to be asked to represent them in what was, in the past, a construction industry tournament.  The Associated Builders and Contractors had been having this tournament for 10+ years, averaging 40-50 teams per year.  This year, however, the Lake Bob Sandling tournament became the 1st Annual Big Stringer Screamer Bass Tournament, open to all entrants.  Since that was the case, we had some pretty heavy-hitting competition, including fishing guides!

The lake was closed to entrants for two weeks prior to the tournament.  After the off-limits, an optional pre-fishing day was scheduled on Friday, October 2, 2009.  We took advantage of this pre-fishing day to see the lake for the first time in person.  As per my usual pre-fishing researching routine, I had already obtained a lake map, studied it thoroughly, and gleaned any and all information that I could get off of the Internet.  I spoke with a couple of people who had fished Bob Sandlin in years past, but could find no one who had fished it in the last few years to gain any up-to-date knowledge.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Website, Lake Bob Sandlin is a 9004 acre lake near Mount Pleasant, Texas.  It is a moderately clear lake, with an average of 2-4 feet of visibility, with very little (approximately 3%) aquatic vegetation, mostly hydrilla.  Most of the cover is inundated timber, which was flooded by water when the lake was impounded in 1977.  In addition to the timber, there are a few fishing docks and piers.  Upon personal observation, however, in addition to the timber, there appeared to be a lot of grass and lily pads to fish around and through. There was a lot of that slimy grass that sticks to your hooks and lures, which some fishermen have dubbed “snot grass”, for obvious reasons.  I think that it is actually some kind of slimy algae growth.  At any rate, it is nasty to get off lures, and always seems to want to stick to your boat when you try to flick it off.  I’m sure every angler reading this knows what I’m talking about.  Anyway, ya’ll get the vegetation and fishing conditions background, I’m sure.

We launched Saturday, October 3rd at 6 am out of Barefoot Bay Marina near the dam at the east end of the lake.  Weigh-in was scheduled for 3 pm.  It was foggy and cold the morning of the launch, and Rod and I hung around the ramp until safe light when we could comfortably see to run.  As the day went by, it got very windy, and when the waves changed from white-caps to rolling waves, the ride got pretty bumpy.

Our fish came one at a time, on a sort of milk-run approach.  We fished the rip-rap near the rail-road bridge first, picking up several fish, but with only one weigher.  Onward toward the State Park, we fished around the timber along the main lake points, picking up a few more fish, adding one more weigher in the livewell.  Over at the radio tower we again fished along main lake points, and hooked into our biggest fish so far, who not-so-happily joined his buddies thumping around in the livewell.  Starting around noon, as the wind picked up the bite seemed to turn on, and we started hooking into more fish.  After culling through multiple fish, we finished out our limit in the radio tower area, and decided to call it a day and head to the weigh-in. 

Rod and I came in with a respectable five-fish limit and were one of the first ones in line at the weigh-in.  The creel limit was set at 14 inches, minimum, and we had a couple of pretty respectable fish, just no great kicker for big bass.  Our limit came in weighing just under 10 lbs, and we were pleased with our catch.  Unfortunately, we came in one place out of the money (the story of our lives).  We were proud to come in with a solid five-fish limit to represent our sponsors, especially Firetrol, who put forth a huge effort for this tournament!

Mr. David Ellis, representing Firetrol, attended the tournament.  Firetrol even donated all of the food and drinks for the festivities, including the huge barbecue rig on which the brisket was cooked.  The anglers and all of those attending the tournament were treated to a terrific barbecue meal, including drinks and beer!  All those in attendance sincerely enjoyed the nice spread.

As per usual, I would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support in making our fishing possible.  Thank you to Lake Fork Marina and Motel, Gamma line, Bayou Tackle Company, Steve’s Custom Props, Hawg Wild Custom Baits, Champion Boats, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Academy Sports and Outdoors, and Toyota Tundra.  Rod and I both would like to say a special thank-you Firetrol and Mr. David Ellis of Firetrol, for going above and beyond, especially in this tournament.  Check out our Sponsors page and links, and help us support our sponsors so that it is a two-way street.  Anyone who has any need for fire detection or suppression equipment should call David Ellis at 214-343-9200, or email him at dellis@firetrol.net.  Check out their website also at www.firetrol.net.  Before his life as a Professional Bass Caddy, Rod was in charge of many hospitals (67 at one time), and can tell you about David Ellis and Firetrol’s exceptional equipment and service.  I know that if Rod trusted them to take care of HIS hospital facilities and patients, they’re the best.  Please help us by supporting our Sponsors.  We only have sponsors that we really respect and believe in their products, so you can rest assured that if you patronize their services, you will be getting the best for your money.

The new schedule is finally out for 2010, and I’m so excited. Two of the tournaments are going to be in Texas.  That’s especially great news in the current economy, since the people at ESPN/BASS who are in charge of our tournament trail tell me that the majority of women in the Academy Sports and Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Trail (our official team name) are from Texas.  Yes, you heard me, the majority of women fishing professionally are not just from the south, but from Texas itself.  I think that says a lot of good things about the women of Texas.

The schedule starts at Wheeler Lake, in Decatur Alabama in March 18-20.  Lake Wheeler is part of the Tennesse River system, like Lake Guntersville, and is second only to Guntersville in size in Alabama.  Second stop is Lufkin, Texas at Lake Sam Rayburn.  According to the people at BASS, Big Sam, as it is affectionately known here, is the site of more BASS tournaments than any other lake.  We will be fishing Lake Sam Rayburn April 22-24, the week following the Annual Big Bass Splash otherwise known as the McDonald’s or Sealy Tournament, so that should be interesting.  Hope they leave a few fish for us to catch! In June, we head up to Temple, Texas to Lake Belton on June 10-12.  Lake Belton is one of the few lakes in Texas to have any Smallmouth bass in it, so that should be an interesting tournament.  Lake Sam Rayburn is mostly largemouth bass, but Lake Belton has largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass, so the fishing could be very varied.  It is also the first time in ESPN/BASS history that they have had a tournament on that lake at all, so the Women’s Tour is paving the way to new ground.  The final stop of the regular season will be September 16-18 at West Monroe, Louisianna, where we will return to the Ouachita River for the second year in a row.  We will be fishing in the fall rather than the summer season that we fished this year.  After the regular season is over, we will return to Lake Sam Rayburn in Lufkin, Texas on October 15-17, for the Championship.  The woman who ends up in the Number One Position in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year Points Race after the Championship will again be going to the Bassmaster Classic in February 2011.  As in years past, the points from the lowest tournament will be dropped before determining which women are in the top 20 to fish the women’s championship in October.

Rod and I are both excited about next years’ schedule and looking forward to getting on the road again.  We are anxious to visit friends we made last year on the tour and make new ones this year.  It is both of our favorite thing about the Bassmaster Women’s Tour.

I need to update my website on my Sponsor’s page, with links and all that, but I wanted to write a brief blog about all of the new sponsors that I have gotten at the end of the year.  I say at the end, but more between the third (June) and fourth (September) tournaments, I seem to have acquired a number of new sponsors.  To be fair, I am going to introduce my new sponsors in the order in which I acquired them.

First off is Hawg Wild Custom Baits @ www.HawgWildCustomBassBaits.com.   Larry Rydach is responsible for the design and development of his “Larry the Lizard” bait, which I was first introduced to a couple of years ago.  I got a sample pack at an Emory/Lake Fork Area Chamber of Commerce function, and immediately took them out and fished with them.  As soon as I came back in, I went out and bought those lizards in every color and size available.  They are really unique - a rattle lizard that comes in a six-inch and 10-inch size, and catch huge bass.  He has also developed a frog that is new to the line, which also has rattles in the legs.  These baits are unique and work great to catch bass.

Next came Steve’s Custom Props @ www.stevescustomprops.com.  Steve is well-known in the Lake Fork area for his 17 years experience working on boat propellers.  After he worked on my boat and adjusted my prop (including grinding it, smoothing it, and adjusting the height), my boat performance changed dramatically.  I know get much better gas mileage, better hole shot (come up on plane faster), and my top speed went from about 60 mph to 74, and this was deep into the heat of summer.  I also burn much less oil than I used to.  I can’t say enough good things about what Steve can do for your boat performance, even without having to buy a new prop! If you need a new one, he’ll tell you, if you don’t, he’ll tune and adjust the one you have to give you optimal performance.  It would be definitely worth anyone’s time and money to consult with him and see if he can improve your boat’s performance.  With the cost of gas and oil today, consulting Steve will end up saving you money in the long run.

Next up is Dave of www.BayouTackle.com.  Bayou Tackle has a line of products that are very unique and highly fishable (meaning you’ll catch lots of fish using his products).  The first one I fell in love with was his special weighted hooks for wacky worm fishing.  No more sticking those stupid nose weights in the worm, just hang your worm on the specially weighted, weed-guarded hooks and go fish, weedlessly! In addition, he has a special VooDoo In-Line Buzzer that’s terrific.  He has tournament-fished for years, and his products aren’t the same-old ones that you see done and re-done again and again by tackle companies.  I am proud to be representing his products and helping place them in more tackle stores.  Until you can get them in stores, you can buy them on-line at his website.

Finally, for new Sponsors is Gamma fishing line.  I was persuaded by Pam Martin-Wells and Steven Wells to try the line because of its excellent properties.  I was sold on it after one use and strung it on all of my rods! With my disabilities, I can fish longer and easier using their special small-diameter, light-weight lines, with easier hook sets and better line strength and abrasion-resistance.  That translates to me being able to enjoy fishing more without pain.  That is one of the reasons Pam and Steven told me to try it, that it would make my fishing easier and more fun, and they were definitely right.  If you go to www.Gammafishing.com and enter TETX in the discount code section, you can get a 15% discount on all line you buy there.  I especially recommend that you read the recommended knots section for what type of knots you need to tie with this superior line.  I can’t tell you enough how great both the Co-Polymer and Flourocarbon line are, I’ve never seen anything like it.  I actually gave up using braided line in favor of their Flourocarbon, which is plenty strong to use for any fishing application, as long as you use the recommended knots.

Finally, I would like to thank my VERY SPECIAL Sponsors, who were with me for 2009 and will be continuing.  Thank you to Lake Fork Marina and Motel.  It’s a great place to stay and to shop, and the people are terrific to talk to if you just want to go into the marina and gab.  Firetrol Fire Protection Systems, thank you so much for your support and your commitment for another year.  If anyone has a business in need of fire alarms or fire suppression equipment, you couldn’t do better than to contact David Ellis at Firetrol www.firetrol.net.  I appreciate all of my sponsors and will update my website ASAP to reflect the new ones and link their URLs to mine. 

I will leave you with a final comment.  I don’t take a discount from any company, or agree to represent them, until I have evaluated their products at full price.  That is, I pay full price for whatever they are selling, and then only if I strongly believe in a company will I at sometime contact them and let them know how much I like their product.  That means I am a loyal customer more than anything.  It is only an additional benefit if I make some kind of financial arrangement to represent their company or its products - in truth, I would happily be a full-price loyal customer for any of my sponsors - I don’t do it for the discount, and I won’t take an up-front discount on anything, so that I am not biased or influenced in any way in the products that I use.  Just to let you know.  Some people do it differently, and I’m not saying that that’s wrong, I’m just clarifying that that’s not what I do.

Loudest Lake in Tennessee

I’ll bet none of you thought I would lead with the simple fact that Old Hickory Lake is the loudest lake in Tennessee, in fact probably the loudest lake I could ever imagine fishing in!  I could do what everyone else does and say that Old Hickory is a beautiful lake full of beautiful scenery, gorgeous lakeside mansions, and a great place to fish, all of which are  true, but one of the biggest impressions left on me by from my time spent at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville Tennessee, is that of a really loud lake.  I used to associate fishing with peace and quiet, but no more.  First of all, the lake is in the take-off and landing pattern of the airport, so you have low-flying airplanes to contend with.  Add in the noise of all of the mowing, edging, and weed-eating going on all around the lake non-stop, and the seemingly non-stop construction and re-modeling being done on lake-side lots and houses, and the picture gets even louder.  Now add boats.  Lots of boats.  Bass boats are the least of it.  Pleasure boats rule, including jet boats, and boy are they loud.  The grand finale of this 1812 Overture (remember the symphony as a kid? the one with the cannons?) is that Geese and Duck season opened while we were there.  At one time I actually thought that all of the people in Tennessee, to celebrate opening day of Duck Season, were required to take out their shotguns, and fire rounds continually starting at 7 am.  It was an amazing sound! I thought a war had broken out!  After awhile, it got to be too much trouble to even try to talk to anyone while on the boat.  I kept thinking “just shut up and fish”!

Pre-fishing

I actually had a good time pre-fishing, and was really on fish.  I learned a lot about the lake from Ranger Dave Watson, who I met while he was fishing with his mother.  He grew up fishing Old Hickory, and knew a lot about it.  He actually made me a custom-made jig that he called the “Fleeing Frenzy Jig” and taught me a “quick-frenzy” retreive that worked great during the pre-fishing.  I averaged about three to five good fish every day, especially once I started using that jig.  He has a website, www.rangerdavebaits.com, which probably shows some pictures.

Tournament time

When the tournament rolled around, I had Bonnie Ward the first day and Kim Martin the second.  We caught fish both days, but only Bonnie caught any weighable fish on either day.  Kim and I had a lot of fun though, she’s a hoot.  I’ll fish with her anytime.  We were all business during the tournament, but while we were waiting in line to pull the boat out of the water on Day 2, she told me stories from her time in Bass n Gals fishing days, and boy were they interesting.  She was one of the women really “in the trenches” fighting for womens’ rights to fish in tournaments.  I really admire all of the women who paved the way and made it possible for us to fish today.  I want to say “thank you” here and now to all of the women who did all of the work that makes women’s angling possible in the form that it is in today.  You are all very much appreciated.

Squirrels

If one thing made an impression on me at Old Hickory, I’d have to say it was the squirrels.  They really had it in for me.  In one area where I pre-fished one day, a squirrel started throwing nuts on my head everytime I went beneath a certain tree.  I know that sounds paranoid, but it’s true! It happened on more than one day in that area, so I know it wasn’t an isolated event.  It also happened during the tournament, so I have multiple witnesses. 

To sum up my four tournaments for my rookie year I can say this.  I tried hard.  I learned a lot.  I had a lot of really interesting (some funny, some not-s0-funny) experiences.  I met a lot of really great people.  I made a lot of new friends, both on the road and on Facebook.  I wish I could have finished higher in the standings, but for my limitations I think I did great.  I was worried at the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t be able to persevere, but I made it through all four tournaments.  I am really proud of myself.  I am really proud of my husband (who learned a lot too).  I am hoping to do better next year, that is, finish higher in the standings, but I am in no way ashamed of how I did this year.  I was a good sport throughout, kind and ladylike to everyone I met.  My parents were proud of me.  My husband was and is proud of me.  My children are proud of me.  That’s all I can ask.  I did my best, and I’ll be back next year for more.

From the Beginning

It is difficult to know where to start for this tour stop blog, so I guess I’ll start at the beginning - where the venue changed.  Actually, that wasn’t really the beginning.  Many of my fellow WBT Anglers had already been fishing our alternate site when it was announced that, due to the conditions on the Arkansas River, the site for the third tour stop for the WBT for 2009 would be changed to Lake Maumelle.  During my research for the third tour stop, while researching the Arkansas River, I, like many of my WBT colleagues, noticed that the river flows were consistently high and that daily Small Craft Advisories were being given, meaning that conditions were not safe for small craft to be on the river.  Of note is that many days there weren’t ANY craft, including the large barges, on the river.  This condition made many of us stop and think, “What if these conditions continue and we aren’t able to fish the Arkansas River when it comes time to practice and fish the tournament there?”  After asking that question, I started to research for alternate lakes, and felt that Lake Maumelle would be the closest alternate.  Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, BASS came out and announced that, if we weren’t able to fish on the Arkansas River, Lake Maumelle would be the alternate.

Pre-Fishing and Gnat-Eating

As tournament-time started to get closer and closer, it became time to commit - i.e. decide where to start pre-fishing.  After researching conditions on the Internet and asking all of the local fishermen that I could find in the Little Rock, Arkansas area, I came to the conclusion that the tournament was going to end up being on Lake Maumelle, so it was time to bag all of my Arkansas River fishing plans and baits and start concentrating on Lake Maumelle.

Rod and I arrived in Little Rock a week ahead of the tournament, as usual, and, after checking into our hotel went straight to Lake Maumelle to check it out.  It was beautiful!  There is one particular spot on Highway 10 where you come over a rise, and through a break in the trees see the lake down in the valley below.  It is just such a scenic place it is unbelievable.  I knew it was too good to be true when I first saw it.  Beautiful surroundings, beautiful lake, killer gnats.  Yes, I said killer gnats.  Here, they have a “special” species of gnats called “Buffalo Gnats”, probably due to either their size or their herding instincts, I wasn’t sure which.  One of the best things I learned at Lake Maumelle was a hint given to me by a local, Eugene Ethridge (more about him later).  He actually told me to use vanilla extract to repel the gnats.  Yes, you heard me.  You just apply it liberally, and when you quit craving chocolate chip cookies and milk, you know it’s time to re-apply.  It works great.  All of those things with real “bug-repellant” are just “bug-attractants”.  I’m not kidding, things with DEET actually seem to attract gnats and other bugs.  Those gnats bite and I’ve heard that some anglers are actually allergic and have had to go to the Emergency Room from attacks, so they’re nothing to laugh about.  If you don’t learn anything else from this post, the take-home lesson is this:  USE VANILLA EXTRACT TO REPEL GNATS WHENEVER YOU’RE FISHING!  Okay, enough on this subject

Tough Pre-fishing/Tough Tournament fishing

I would like to thank Darryl Thacker and Eugene Ethridge, both local firefighters, for their help.   Darryl was helpful in leading us to Gene, and Gene helped us with pre-fishing.  I can’t say enough good things about Gene.  He is actually an important guy at the Little Rock Fire Department, where he is some kind of Fire Chief, and appeared to be a very important and busy guy whenever we visited him at the Fire Department.   Whatever his official title is, he’s a great fisherman, and has lots of experience at Lake Maumelle.  He is not only an avid angler, but a very nice person, and Rod and I feel we’ve made a great friend in the Little Rock area.  Any failures I had in the tournament cannot be dropped at his doorstep, for he showed me lots of great spots and techniques.

When the tournament rolled around, it was almost like a comedy of errors.  I’ve had great experience with this type of tournament, and am beginning to feel comfortable in the “head comedienne” role.  I guess my non-boaters just get to play the “straight guy”.  First day, I fished with Kim Mendoza, a really nice young lady fishing her first year on the trail.  Right away, I knew I was in trouble when I wrapped up line in the trolling motor and had to remove the prop to unwind it, all the while with the wind blowing and the choppy waves making me seasick as I tried not to drop the little pin into the water.  I suppose everyone could have days like that,  but this one got better.  While going to the back of the boat to help my non-boater with a gut-hooked fish (those poor fish at Lake Maumelle hit the hook like they were all starving - it wasn’t her fault!), I somehow managed to kick one of my expensive, borrowed rigs overboard in about 25 feet of water.  I was sick about it, but managed to mark the spot on my GPS, for the possibility of later retrieval, and just kept on fishing.  We were on fish, but I couldn’t seem to bring in any weighers.  Kim did, though, and I was proud and happy for her.  The second day, I had Jennifer Rice, another really nice boater.  Whatever we did, we couldn’t seem to manage any weighers between us that day either.  We both caught a bunch of little fish.  So…two days of tournament fishing, zero fish weighed in.  It didn’t matter that I had caught a bunch of fish, and I think I’ll be happy if I never weigh another fish that is just 1/8 or 1/4 inch short.  It just is too disappointing to do it time after time. 

The good news is that my husband and Gene (with our tournament director’s permission), were able to go out and dredge up the rod and reel that I had knocked overboard.  I have to say, though, that my proudest moment of this whole tournament was that I talked Caprice Cherry, my co-angler from Day 2 of the Ouachita River Tournament, into bringing her own boat and fishing as a pro in this tournament.  She did well, weighed fish, and I was very happy that she came to fish with us, and proud that she came at my invitation.  I would love it if more women would bring their boats and come out and fish with us!

There’s a ton to get caught up on that happened during the Ouachita River stop, so I’ll jump right in and get everyone up to speed.

Prefishing Week (The Week Before the Tournament)

We got to West Monroe on Saturday, April 12, and immediately found out we had booked a hotel a long way from the tournament site.  We were lucky enough to get a room at the Jameson Inn, where Manager Karee Sketoe went out of her way to welcome us.  She even went so far as to have her husband bring her personal long extension cords from home, in case we needed them to hook up the boat.  I met another guest, Christy Hovious, who kept me company every day while I was doing my physical therapy.  She was really nice and from Tennessee, and I am going to look forward to seeing her again at the Old Hickory Tournament in September.  The staff at the hotel even made a “Good Luck” sign and guests and management alike came to the weigh-ins.  Their support was awesome and I really appreciate everyone at the Jameson Inn - I definitely recommend staying there if you are in West Monroe or any city that has one!

Monroe Fire Department - Firemen/Fishermen!

Easter Sunday was the first day that Rod and I had to scout out the river, so we went downtown in Monroe, and were at an old pump station downtown that overlooks the river when we saw a uniformed District Fire Chief.  It turned out that it was District Chief Mike Finkbeiner of Fire Station No. 4.  We asked him if he ever fished the river, and he said that it had been a long time since he had done so, but if we wanted to follow him back to the station, there were guys there who fished and might have some ideas for me of where to start. 

Back at the station we met the whole crew and found that there were several fishermen in the group.  We had a lively discussion about bass fishing and got a lot of good information and ideas about places to go on the river.  At that point, I noticed that the table was set for lunch and decided that it was time to go, so that the men at the station could have their lunch.  The guys then invited Rod and I to stay for dinner, and it was a sincere invitation, not the just polite kind that sometimes is offered.  They said they had plenty to share, and they weren’t kidding! It was the best Easter Sunday dinner that I have had in ages - Baked ham, sweet potato casserole, black-eyed peas, a cornbread/corn casserole and sweet tea! I was so full that I didn’t have room for the lemon ice-box pie offered for dessert.  I would like to thank all of the guys at Monroe Fire Station Number Four for a terrific meal and a great time.  Thank you to District Chief Mike Finkbeiner, Captain Jim Solley, Lieutenant Jon Green, Lieutenant Robert Pearson, Private Daniel Ezell, Private Carlos Wilkins, and Private Jason Fontana for an excellent meal, the terrific fishing advice, and just an overall fun time spent with everyone.  I would love to invite everyone to visit us at Lake Fork and go fishing with us here.  Lieutenant Jon Green was especially helpful, and quite the fisherman himself.  He was about to leave to go fish the McDonald’s Big Bass Splash at Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas, and also invited us to his Crawfish Boil at his house, which we were sorry to have to miss since we had to be back on the road on our way home. 

As soon as we left the fire station, we called our local contact with whom we were to fish the next day, only to be informed that he had made other plans since he had last spoken with us.  In a panic, since I needed some guidance on the 119.5 miles of river where we were going to fish, I called Jon Green and asked for some help.  He gave me the name of a fellow fire-fighter, Brandon Dunn, who he said was a very accomplished local fisherman who knew the area very well.  I had a great couple of days fishing with Brandon, and very much appreciated his guidance and advice.  He happens to have won the Bassmaster Opens Division on the Ouachita River and is about to go to Kentucky Lake to compete in the Bassmaster Opens Championship.  Good luck on Kentucky Lake Brandon!

After the loss of our local guide, I also called Steve Streeter, who owns two local baitshops called Toledo Tackle and is also the President of the Louisiana BASS Federation.  He was very helpful and recommended Mike Baker to help show us around.  We spent a fun couple of days with Mike, who even took it in stride when I hooked him in the mouth with a fish hook!  Since my husband’s name is Rod Baker, they took to each other and called each other “cuz” and we had great fun fishing and laughing.  Mike was also nice enough to man the “Rescue Boat” during the WBT tournament and was much appreciated for all of his input.

Day One WBT Competition

After my week prior to the tournament in preparation and study, and spending one day of the official practice by myself out on the water, I felt well-prepared to face this tough tournament environment.  Day one dawned windy but pretty and I was excited to set out with my Day one partner - Liz Sanders, a pro who has been on the trail for quite some time.  Interestingly, Liz and I had been corresponding by email and by phone ever since I had joined the trail this year and sent out an email to everyone in the WBT.  She is an embryologist, and I obviously have a lot in common with her from my prior career as an Ob/Gyn physician.  I was really pumped to have drawn my closest friend on the WBT circuit on only my second pro tournament.  Liz has a very caring nature and is “everyone’s Mom” on the WBT trail.  She has nothing but good things to say about everyone, and I love people who have such a positive, upbeat attitude.  We both caught fish the first day, but, unfortunately, Liz wasn’t able to weigh any of hers.  Like so many river fish, hers were just a hair short of the 12 inch mark needed to make them official.  I loved Liz’s attitude of knowing that she was a good angler, regardless of whether she had fish to weigh that day or not.  We had so much fun talking and fishing that the day passed by much too quickly.  Liz is the best co-angler you could ever wish to fish with, and I loved fishing as a team with her.  We were truly a team on the water, working together towards the goal of catching fish and being safe on the water.  I weighed three fish the first day and was thrilled to be able to go across the stage.  I finished the day in 23rd place, which meant I was in reaching distance of the top 20!  I was so excited I could hardly get through my physical therapy and get to sleep.  At the weigh-in, I was surprised to see so many fans, including guests and employees at the Jameson Inn where I was staying, firefighters, and as a final surprise, my Mom and Dad came for the tournament!  I told them they must be my good luck charm, since I really came up in the world after my shaky start at Neely Henry with all of my boat problems.  It was great to see my parents at the weigh-in!

Day Two WBT Competition

For Day Two of the competition, I had a local angler, Caprice Cherry, as my partner.  This was her first WBT competition, and I hope that she will decide to be in more, as she is very enthusiastic about bass fishing, and a very skilled angler also.   She also caught short fish, so was unable to weigh any of her fish, but I told her not to be disappointed.  In fact, I think that I was more disappointed than she was because I really would have liked for her to be able to weigh fish and walk across the stage in her first tournament.  She was very nice to talk to and I got to know her very well during the day.  She has a great sense of humor and because of the very gusty winds, we ended up with a lot of crankbaits up in trees, which we collected as we would leave a spot.  I went through a lot of crankbaits that day and even gave Caprice some of mine to use, as the bass seemed to be hitting on a particular color that she didn’t have.  Caprice was so nice that I found two crankbaits and a measuring stick in my boat when I went to pack it up that night - replacements for ones that had been lost and gone overboard - which I told her weren’t her fault - it was just what happened during a days’ fishing.  It was so sweet of her to replace the crankbaits and the measuring stick.  I will never forget her sweetness and look forward to seeing her in other tournaments.

One funny thing did happen during the day - I was getting frustrated at the wind blowing all of my crankbaits into a particular tree, so when it happened for the umpteenth time I jerked really hard at my line, hoping to free up the bait and not lose another.  What happened next I should have seen coming! I jerked on the line and freed up my bait, which flew through the air and embedded itself into my right calf.  Caprice tried to cut the slip-ring so that we could just leave the hook in my leg - it was embedded all the way up to the curve and I didn’t want to waste fishing time removing it.  After calling the tournament director for permission, a passerby with a sharp pair of pliers was able to cut off the hook and leave it in my leg, while another fan watched.  He just reached across from his boat while I stuck out my leg and snipped it free from the bait.  I taped the hook down to stabilize it in my leg and fished the last 2 1/2 hours of the tournament with a treble hook stuck in my leg.  I would like to thank Pam Martin-Wells for the use of her husband Steven Wells, who removed the hook from my leg after the tournament.  He is now my primary physician along the trail.  After the Bass Bite and the Treble Hook, who knows what will be next?  It’s a good thing I had just had a tetanus shot and been on antibiotics, though, so all was fine.

Interestingly, I caught three weighable fish and three short fish both days of the tournament, to finish with a total weight of 7 lbs and 3 oz and finished in 25th place overall for this tournament, which I felt was pretty respectable. 

Thank-yous to Everyone

I would like to end this with heartfelt thank-yous to everyone who helped me in this very difficult tournament.  The river was tough, but beautiful, and the people were terrific.  I visited all of the local tackle shops at one time or other, and want to thank them especially for their help.  At the Spotted Dog Sporting Goods in Columbia, Louisiana, I met a lot of nice people and want to thank Brandon Dunn especially, for taking us there, and Bob and Lori Wallace, the owners, for all of the great stuff I bought there, and for the terrific t-shirt you gave me.  Steve Streeter and Chuckie at Toledo Tackle are at the top of my thank-you list also, both for both of their tackle shops that I went to and also for helping me find Mike Baker to fish with.  Finally, David Owen at HoneyHole Tackle, thank you for your help and merchandise also.  I want to say a special thank-you to everyone at EK’s Marine in West Monroe, who worked on my boat several times.  Thank-you to E.K, Charlie, Misty and Glynn and everyone else there.  If you ever have any boat problems, EK’s is the place to take your boat.  Thanks to Karee and everyone at Jameson Inn, for your hospitality and support.  I want to say a special thanks to all of the guys at the Monroe Fire Dept, Station No. 4 for your hospitality and support.  Finally, thanks to all of my sponsors, Academy and BASS, of course, and my personal sponsors, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Lake Fork Marina and Motel, Firetrol Protection Systems, and Caves Jewelery and Champion Boats, for all of their support and help.

Final Thoughts

I knew from the first time I went through West Monroe and stopped at the Monroe/West Monroe Convention and Visitor’s Bureau that it was a friendly place.  The friendly and gracious women I met there were so friendly, especially Norma LeMoine, who sent me her husband Keith’s personal maps so that I could have some idea of the river system.  I was glad to see Norma at the PreTournament meeting and thank her again for her help and hospitality.  The Ouachita River System was a tough, but beautiful place to fish.  As I have told my sponsors repeatedly, the people I meet along the way are what makes the WBT Trail so great for me.  It’s so exciting meeting and making new friends along the way.  I’m really looking forward to the Arkansas River for that reason - it’s another chance to get out and fish and mix with people who have interests similar to mine in a fun atmosphere.  See you all at Arkansas!

Well, I never thought it would happen - I actually never thought about it at all, but the bass have now officially gotten revenge for all of their brothers and sisters that I have hooked in the past.  In my defense, I want to point out that every bass that I have ever caught was safely released live back into his or her watery environment, but I guess fish can hold grudges just for hooking them and taking them out of the water.  Apparently the humiliation of being held up for picture-taking has caused the less-photogenic members of this class of fish to seek retribution. 

It all started on Sunday, when my daughter Jenny was visiting me at my place at Lake Fork, where my husband Rod and I have been getting ready for the second WBT event at West Monroe, Louisiana.  Those of you who read my previous blog about how the first WBT event went will know that we have had quite a bit of work to do on our boat to ready it for the next round of river adventures.  Anyway, Jenny, Rod and I were bank fishing at Lake Fork Marina when Jenny suddenly got a bite!  Even though she is nineteen and actually likes to fish, Jenny doesn’t like to actually touch the fish.  Being the good mother that I am, I went to take the fish off the hook for her.  The fish had gotten the hook a little deep into its mouth, and being without a pair of needle-nose pliers on my person, I reached my hand down into the fish’s mouth in an attempt to remove the hook.  Since I worry about fish conservation, I was trying to remove the hook quickly, with as little trauma to the fish as possible.  The trauma came to the back of my hand.  I already knew that bass have those sharp little “teeth” that can scratch your hands, and I got a little puncture wound on the back of my middle knuckle on my left hand.  After appropriate pictures were taken and the fish was returned safely into the water, I noticed that my hand was itching terribly.  I looked down to see that the back of my hand was red and covered in raised, white welts.  It itched and burned so I did what any good angler would do in the presence of cool lake water - I stuck my hands in the lake and rinsed them off until the itching and burning subsided.  I thought no more about the event and went about my normal business.

On Tuesday night - I awakened with my left hand hurting, and noticed a blister on the back of my hand.  I had forgotten about the fish event, and assumed that I had gotten bitten by an insect.  After being awake and uncomfortable for awhile, I got an ice-pack and managed to go back to sleep.  Wednesday dawned with my hand red and swollen, with the blister expanding.  I used ice packs and alternately soaked my hand in Epsom salts, promising my husband that if I continued to have problems I would actually see a doctor in the morning.  Today is Thursday, and the hand was worse than ever this morning.  I broke down and went to the doctor, who drained and de-brided my wound (which made it burn like fire and hurt worse than ever!), gave me a tetanus shot and prescribed antibiotics.

I am now attempting to type with my hand red and swollen, wrapped copiously in gauze.  It is 1 am and I am still awake, primarily because my hand is hurting.  Hopefully, it will get better in time for me to fish the WBT tournament in West Monroe, because I have really been looking forward to it.  I have had to tell everyone that a fish actually bit me.  Many of my “friends” have laughed and said that I am always wanting to get bit by bass, so I should be happy.  Ha, Ha, I get it.  It actually is pretty funny when you think about it.  I can see the headlines now - “Bass Get Revenge by Biting Female Professional Angler”.   So far, my Professional Bass Fishing Career hasn’t broken any fishing records, but it has sure been filled with danger and adventure!   I can’t wait to see what happens next.

If any of you have ever seen the movie “The World According to Garp”, do you remember the part where the main character is looking at a house to buy and a small plane crashes into it?  As the Real Estate Agent starts to walk away, just knowing that the sale has been ruined, Garp exclaims, “I’ll take it!”  When his wife and the agent ask why he would want a damaged house, he blithely quips, “It’s perfect! It’s pre-disastered! Nothing bad could ever happen in this house now!”  The purpose of this little story is to let you know how my year with the WBT started.  I feel that everything that could go wrong already has, so I just know it’s going to be smooth sailing from here.

Immediately upon arriving in Alabama, we hooked up with Larry Estvanko, the Georgia BASS Federation President that we had met at the Classic.  Larry and his friend came all the way from Georgia and had dinner with us, and told us a lot about the local conditions on Neely Henry, and a lot of information about fishing on rivers, as I had never fished a river before.  I cannot tell you how much help Larry was, and he was to be more help in the week to come. 

My husband and I arrived the week before the tournament to find that we had some expensive boat problems to fix.  We called our friend Larry, who hooked us up with the nice people at Buck’s Marine, who worked on our boat several times during our stay in Gadsden, Alabama.  After our trolling motor battery charger was replaced our livewell pumpout  was also fixed by Buck’s.  We could not get ahold of anybody about our Lowrance problems, but after talking to Larry about it, he called someone he knew at Lowrance and called me with the free fix!  Thanks primarily to Larry Estvanko, we were ready to put the boat on the water for the first time in Alabama. 

A local friend, Gene Ward, was kind enough to show us a lot of shallow fishing spots, and with water temperature in the 60’s, we were really putting them in the boat!  On my last day of practice, I was culling fish with 10 lbs in the boat in only two hours!  I felt confident going into the tournament.  In addition, many nice local people helped us along the way, including Chief, who fixed my favorite Loomis rod that had broken a guide. 

While we were with Gene eating lunch on the Thursday the week before the tournment, the Vet’s office where my two Chocolate Labs Milly and Mudslide were being boarded called.  Milly was in renal failure.  She was not quite four years old and my pride and joy.  Despite every effort, we lost her the Monday of the tournament.  Mudslide was pining so much they put him with other dogs.  My daughter Jenny went and picked him up so he could go to live with his sister, Dora.   I loved those dogs so much.  I can’t tell you how much I miss them both.

Overnight, with rain predicted, Alabama Power drained out the shallows on Lake Neely Henry, and all of the spots that I was fishing in practice became sandbars or mudbars.  The docks were actually sitting on dry land and the rock rip-rap along the banks was actually several feet above the waterline.  Unless the fish had started breathing air, they wouldn’t be where I had pre-fished when I went looking for them on tournament days!

The first day of the tournament, I was up at 2:30 am, driving up and down looking at all of my fishing spots.  They were easy to see since they were all on dry land.  I had gone to bed studying the map and making a new plan to fish the main river, which was pretty much what was left.  My Day 1 Non-Boater was Nancy Oliver, a seasoned veteran who was so experienced that she could even read the boat’s electronics.  We fished one likely area without any fish, got stuck briefly, and managed to get out.  We went to a point I had pre-fished and Nancy caught a nice-sized bass.  I was actually happy that my non-boater had caught the first fish, because I was very concerned about that in practice.  It made me relax a little to get a fish in the boat.  Did I mention that it was steadily raining all morning and that my Goretex and boots soaked through?  I was shivering so much that when I stopped, I wasn’t sure if I was getting warmer or getting dehydrated.  Nancy and I later went downriver aways and caught some small fish, and I caught a keeper.  Nancy was the first to notice that the dash electronics had gone out.  Then the trolling motor stopped responding.  Following that, the front electronics failed, and then the trolling motor failed completely.  We motored to a boat ramp and tied off to a tree and fished it for awhile.  When I went to start the boat, guess what?  You guessed it! The battery was totally dead!  I kept telling myself all day that with the new battery and new chargers, surely the battery couldn’t be the problem.  I was wrong.  With all three turbines running full-blast downstream all day, my batteries couldn’t take the strain.  I waved to another WBT angler and Pam Bolton in her Yamaha boat was kind enough to tow us back to the ramp in time for our 2:40 pm weigh-in and for her 2:50 pm weigh-in.  I was really embarrassed being towed in, but at least I got in, and with fish, no less!  I really felt like I had had my trial by fire for my first pro tournament, and told the emcee that I was really proud of my first fish!

We had to leave immediately from the weigh-in to go to Brown’s Marine (since it was an electrical issue, Buck’s referred us to Brown’s).  I have to say that, once again, the people of Gadsden came through.  Several guys on the dock muscled my boat onto the trailer, without the help of any type of motor.  At least three separate people offered me the use of their boats the next day if I couldn’t get mine up and running.  After my husband got back from Brown’s, he reported that the boat was “good to go” for the next day.

That night, as I did my daily physical therapy (several hours on the treadmill actually felt pretty good after the cold, freezing hours sitting or standing getting stiff on the boat), I reflected on my game plan for the next day.  I studied my map again and made my plan - I was going to start Day 2 with a whole new attitude and forget all of the previous problems!

Day 2, my Non-Boater was Dawn Dudak from Chicago, Illinois.  She is younger and has three small children, and I really admire her for coming and fishing the trail.  We started in the area Nancy and I had caught our first fish the day before, and Dawn boated a fish.  I was so excited!  It was a beautiful fish, over two pounds and healthy.  We went south and fished where we had caught fish the day before, and both boated several smaller fish.  I kept noticing that the current kept getting stronger, and thought it was the combination of the three turbines running like the day before, plus high winds and floodgates also being open.  I started my trolling motor on 3-4, then kicked it up to 5, then 7, then was running full out at 10 (Max!), and noticed that I was losing ground.  Surely I wasn’t losing power again, after having had the thing serviced the night before!  I was wrong.  The trolling motor conked out and we were left to fish by pulling unto sandbars and dropping the PowerPole to anchor us and fishing around the boat.  I caught a nice keeper that I called “Deuce”, since he was my second weighable fish caught in the WBT Pro tournament trail.  That turned out to be a pretty good name, since he also weighed exactly two pounds. 

Throughout the second day, wet and shivering as we were, Dawn and I put on a good show for the people of Gadsden who had come to watch.  We spoke with fans along the banks as we fished.  At one point, I caught a big fish that I had to let go.  It was on braid and I made the mistake (with gloves on) of trying to pull us over to it using the line.  After tearing up my hands quite a bit and to the fans’ disappointment, I finally had to cut the line and let the fish go since I couldn’t get the boat to the fish to get it loose.  It was disappointing to me also, but I just smiled and said we’d just have to catch another big one. 

When Dawn and I were beached and fishing, we kept seeing the rescue boat going by.  We just kept fishing and smiling and waving.  We must have been pretty convincing that we were just out there having a great old time and not a care in the world, because my husband said that the fans that the rescue boat were riding around were reporting that we were having a good time and just steadily fishing.  No one could tell that we were having boat problems.  Once again, I only had one weighable fish by weigh-in time, but I was very proud of that fish!

Overall, I had a great time in my first WBT tournament.  I have had a trial by fire, and survived.  I have met many Boaters and Non-Boaters in the WBT, and they are a terrific bunch of ladies.  I have also met many of the WBT fans, and they are a great bunch of people also.  I want to say a special thanks to the incredible people that I met in Gadsden, Alabama.  These people turned out to watch us in not-so-great weather, were cheerful and helpful, and very proud of their town.  I would go back there in a minute, just to see the people of Gadsden again.  Thanks also to my Guardian Angel of this tournament Larry Estvanko.  I don’t know what I would have done without him.  Thanks, too, to Gene Ward, a terrific gentleman.  To all the guys at Coosa Landing - you’re a great bunch and I hope to see you soon.

Finally, I would like to thank all of my sponsors: Lake Fork Marina and Motel, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Firetrol Protections Systems, Caves Jewelry, and Champion Boats.  I did my best to represent each and every one of you and make you proud.  I discussed all of my sponsors’ products with the many fans that I met, and got a lot of very positive feedback for all of my sponsors’ products.  I am honored to be representing these great people and their terrific products.  Thanks for the opportunity.  I’m doing all of my pre-tournament research for West Monroe, Louisiana now.  I have high hopes for a better finish for my next tournament, but the excitement and people that I met in Alabama couldn’t be improved on.  Thanks again, Gadsden, and I hope to see you next year!