OFF SEASON

We are now in the beginning of March here in Michigan. The snow is almost thirty inches deep outside my door and the majority of the lakes are encased with over a foot of ice. These are the day's I find myself being a dad and cherishing the time I get to spend with my family. I also find myself prepping for the upcoming season.  

In the "OFF SEASON" there is plenty to do. There are several outdoor shows to attend, lots of tournament schedules to look at and plenty of tackle to go thru. I look forward to the Outdoor shows every year.  You meet folks from all walks of life that share a passion for the outdoors. There is always a story about the one that got away, or the biggest one they have ever caught. Seeing a persons face light up with excitement when they are reliving that moment never gets old. I have been fortunate to see guest of Northern Adventures Fishing catch the biggest smallmouth of there life and I look forward to watching more of that this year.

There is always a tough decision to make every year, what tournaments do you fish. Trying to look at all of the various tournament organizations, schedules and run a guide business can be a little tricky to say the least. Hopefully this season, I will be able to fish a few more local events. My main focus this year will be the B.A.S.S. Northern Open schedule. I'm looking forward to heading back to the James River in Richmond, VA, Oneida Lake in Syracuse, NY and Lake Erie out of Sandusky OH. This is a good schedule and should be a great time!

This season I am looking forward to being more organized than ever. I am using all Plano tackle organizers this year. Plano has a number of different styles and sizes of organizers for every type of angler. The Plano Elite boxes will carry the bulk of my hard baits. There are also several waterproof options for your soft bait selections. Organization is definitely a key to success on the water. Be sure to check out there selections at www.planomolding.com.

The CastAway Rods and Shimano reels have been sitting idol since October. I am looking forward to stripping the line, tuning up the reels and prepping them for Battle! The season opener cannot get here quick enough......patience grasshopper!

I am really looking forward to the 2013 season. I would like to say thank you to CastAway Rods, Vicious Fishing, ARC Outdoor Gear, Shooters Indoor Range, Christy Johnson Allstate, 180 Outdoors, D&R Sports Center, Economical Bass Baits, Trokar Hooks and Plano for your support!  I hope to see you on the water this season.

Good Luck out there!

Capt Chris

SPRING FORWARD

What a crazy start to the spring of 2012! It has been a busy schedule with several Outdoor shows, traveling with the family on vacation and preparing for the upcoming fishing season. Oh, did I forget to mention the weather??? Traverse City hit 86 degrees in March and as I write this, it is snowing on the 10th of April. I'm not exactly sure how this will affect the bass fishing season, but I guess we will all have to wait and see.

The show season this year was a busy one and a lot of fun. I alway's enjoy meeting new people and seeing old friends as well. One of the highlights, is seeing the new products that people come up with. You never know what you will find and then you say "wish I would have thought of that"! Some products are great and others go back to the drawing board. Two products that I found very interesting this year are both made by Michigan companies. The first I'm sharing with you is an eyewear retainer from ARC Outdoors. This is the best eyewear retainer I have seen in my fishing career. They are made in the USA and come with a LIFETIME WARRANTY! Be sure to check them out at www.ausableriverco.com The next product that I am sharing with you is from Luna Sea. They have a product called the "Cush It". This is a unique item that helps cushion the butt of the rod while fighting fish or setting the hook. The "Cush It" comes in a few different sizes and will work for everything from bass fishing to hard core saltwater fishing. Be sure to check these out at www.lunaseasports.com .

Vacation this year was a two part fun fest for the family and I. We headed East to Virginia and then to Washington DC. I wanted to get some more time on the James River to hopefully help out with this years tournament there. The kids enjoyed the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg and I went fishing. I learned a lot, caught a few fish and I'm looking forward to the tournament this year. This was definitely time well spent on the water!! The second part was heading to Washington DC. I had never been there and really wanted to see our Nations Capitol. We did the whirlwind tour hitting several of the sights. We are definitely going back! Washington DC is an amazing place. It is hard to say what the best part was, but the most humbling was Arlington National Cemetery. If you have never seen this place, make it a point to go. Pictures and words from books cannot describe the actual feeling or sights.

As I prepare for the upcoming season, several thoughts have been running through my head. Will this season be as good as last? Are we going to catch any 7 pounders? What will be the hot bait this year? How many trips will I run? With all of these questions running through my head, I realize that they will be answered as we spring forward into the season and there is no need to rush the answers. However, I can't help but remember the trip to DC. These thoughts and memories are still running nonstop in my head. Seeing all of the graves at Arlington, the World War II memorial, the Iwo Jima memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Wall, leaves me with a greater understanding of the sacrifices made to insure the freedom we have here in the United States of America. The ultimate sacrifice that was paid by the men and women on these memorials is breathtaking to say the least. I will never forget this trip! I will alway's remember the sacrifices made by the names and faces of the people on those memorials. I would like to say thank you to all of the past, present and future people who will put there life on the line to protect our FREEDOM!

Have a Great Day!

Capt Chris

Looking Back at 2011

It is the day after Christmas and what a year it has been! I have had the chance today to sit back, relax and reflect on the past year. There were highs and lows, as there is with any fishing season, but for the most part we were on cloud nine all year long. The fishing and catching was the best that I can remember in quite some time. We had several "Fish of A Lifetime" caught this year. I would like to say Thank You to the some of the sponsors that helped put these TROPHY fish into several peoples hands. They are Vicious Fishing, Castaway Rods, WaveSpin Reels & D and R Sports Center. Once again Thank You!

It all started the first week of May when I started putting the miles on after the season opener to find fish for some up coming trips. Fortunately, I found the little bronze buggers right away and they were hungry. It was on from there and I never looked back. We had our day's that were tough early, but the quality was out of this world!

The month of June was great as it always is. We caught fish almost every place that we went. The size was great and the numbers were great as well. Again, there were a couple of tough day's, but that's fishing. A highlight in June was the opportunity that I had to film a show with Shaw Grigsby. The show will air sometime between now and March. Keep your eyes open on the Sportsman's Channel for "One More Cast" with Shaw Grigsby. It was a great time and we even caught some fish.

July started with me being out in Richmond, VA fishing the first of three Northern Opens. What a learning experience that was. Take a person from Michigan that has fished clear water all of his life and go fish the James River. It was an awesome time, but I was not ready for fishing tidal chocolate milk. I learned alot and with any luck I'll be back this June to fish the Open again! Once back home though, I was extremely happy to get back on the smallies.

The end of July and beginning of August, I bounced back and forth between smallmouth and salmon fishing. We had really good fishing all the way around and before I knew it Northern Open number two was here. I found myself fishing good ole Lake Erie again and I really love this body of water. I didn't have the finish that I hoped for, but that is motivation to keep fishing until you get where you want to be.

When September arrived there was a definite slow down with the fishing. I started to get geared up for heading out to Kansas and preparing for the last Northern Open on Oneida Lake in New York. A quick trip out to Kansas to get set up for hunting season and then it was back on the road to Oneida Lake. I was really surprised with Oneida! This is an awesome fishery, but can be a little tough to figure out. After several day's of pre fishing, I had the walleye bite figured out, but wait, we're supposed to be fishing smallmouth!! I didn't have a bad finish compared to the start, but once again my motivation increases!

The month of October was very unique this year. The smallie fishing was good when you found them, but finding them proved to be difficult from time to time! We finished strong on the inland lakes, but Grand Traverse Bay threw a few curve balls to say the least. Lake Michigan however, had some of the best late season salmon fishing that I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of!! I hope it is that good again this coming year.

With the fishing all done for me, it was time to head to Kansas and begin chasing monster whitetails. I had the opportunity to help 180 Outdoors (www.hunt180.com) an outfitter in SE Kansas. What an awesome season it was. The quality of the deer killed was actually making dreams become reality! The biggest deer that hit the ground was a giant 177" deer that weighed in right at 300 pounds!!! I am really looking forward to next year!

Now that the year is almost up, I can't help but look forward to 2012. Be sure to keep up to date on all of the new happenings as I update Facebook and Twitter. Hope to see you on the water or in the woods. Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Legends of the Fall

Wow! What a season it has been. I know it has been quite some time since my last post, but that happens when you are busy! So let's try and get caught up from the beginning of August and we will work our way through this past week.

I was finishing up salmon fishing and getting ready to head to Sandusky, OH for the second stop on the B.A.S.S. Northern Open tour. Arriving at Sandusky was great! The last time I fished here it was a great tournament and I finished 11th. I really enjoy chasing smallies in big water. I had a great first day, but couldn't get the job done on the second day. I ended up falling instead of climbing the leader board. I ended up 38th. It was a little disappointing, but you learn something new at every tournament and you just have to continue to build on what you learn.

After Sandusky I headed home to continue guiding on Grand Traverse Bay. Man it felt good to be back on home water! The fishing was great and then for no apparent reason it slowed to a slow crawl. We were still catching fish, just not the size or numbers I was hoping to see. We caught several 1-3pound fish and had the occasional lunker that would show up. Most of the fish were being caught on a dropshot in deep water.

As September arrived, I had a few day's off and headed to Kansas to prepare for the upcoming deer season out there. After I returned for Kansas it was back on the water and the fishing had improved dramatically. We were catching quantity and quality. We finally broke the six pound mark after quite a dry spell for big fish. I was bummed that I had to leave for Oneida Lake for the last B.A.S.S. Northern Open. I hated to leave good fishing.

Once I arrived in New York at Oneida, I quickly realized that this was a different fishery than I was used to. Practice was brutal for all but two day's. The wind blew out of the Northeast for what seemed like an eternity! I figured out the walleye bite in short order, but struggled with the smallies. I finally put it together and had a solid plan going into the tournament. The best plan however doesn't always work. Day one was dismal at best and I didn't even catch a limit. I picked myself up on Day two however and had a great second day climbing from 125th to 68th. I know we hear this a lot, but I never give up!!

On the ride home, I was getting excited to return to the land of giant smallmouth. You always here stories of giant fish being caught in the fall. The last couple weeks of September and all of October can be some of the best fishing of the year. The scenery with all of the fall colors a blaze is breathtaking in itself, not to mention a five pound plus smallie pulling on your string. Some of the biggest fish of the year will be caught in the next few weeks. I am looking forward to chasing the Legends of the Fall! Until next time, Good luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Catching Up

What a season it has been so far. Not only has the fishing been great, but the weather for the most part has been great as well. That is until the last couple day's. So with this opportunity, I am catching up on the report and giving an update on the products used over the last couple months.

The fishing has been rock solid all season. From pre-spawn to the spawn and now we are fishing post spawn fish that have moved deep. The drop shot seems to be the ticket right now. We are catching several fish in the 2-3lb range with a few bigger ones mixed in. These fish are eating Gulp and finesse style baits on a regular basis. Some day's they are a little finicky, but they are eating once you find what they want.

I wanted to report on a couple items that were new to me this year. Being on the water almost everyday in all types of conditions puts products to the test and this is what I have observed.

First is the Frabil FXE storm suit. This rain gear has worked great when it needed to. I have been in some extreme down pours with lots of wind and this suit kept me dry. This suit is also easy to put on and take off in a hurry when needed, also, the suit is very comfortable to wear. I would recommend this rain gear to anyone for sure.

Another item that I credit for several big fish being caught this year were my sunglasses. I purchased Costa's this year with the 580 lens in a blue mirror and a copper lens. The clarity of these lenses allowed me to see fish that others couldn't see. What a great lens!! If you sight fish, be sure to check out Costa's line of sunglasses. They have several different frames and lens combinations to fit you and get you seeing more fish!!

I have a new rod for drop shoting this year and it is from Castaway. The rod that I am using is a SKMDSM7. This has the new Microwave guides and has performed flawlessly!!!!! The sensitivity is great and the rod cast light weight tackle better than any rod I have used to date. These rods have done battle with over a thousand smallmouth this year and have held up to the daily abuse! Definitely a great rod and gets a 5 star vote from me.

It will be back to smallmouth smashing and salmon fishing as soon as the wind let's up. I can't wait to get back after em!! Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris

Happy Face-Sad Face

Today is the day before Father's Day. As I wright this, I am reminded of the two greatest things in life, my daughter and my son. So many great times have been had with them out on the water and at home. This is the Happy Face.

I have been on the water more this year than I ever have in the past and haven't spent the time with my children that I normally do. Make no mistake, I am not complaining, I'm just proud of these two great kids and cherish the moments that I do get to spend with them on or off the water. Happy Face again.

There are many things in life you try to teach your children as they grow. One thing that I have tried to teach them on the water is the catch and release side of conservation. Ray Scott, the founder of B.A.S.S., started the catch and release mentality years ago on the tournament trail. This is more important here in Northern Michigan than other places in the country. The growing season here is shorter and the fish do not grow nearly as fast as they do in the south.

My children have asked me several questions about keeping fish. The main question is why do we keep walleye and salmon, but we don't keep bass. My explanation is simple. Our state plants walleye and salmon, but bass are not planted. Our bass population depends on natural reproduction. They seem to understand that some fish need to be harvested for eating, while others are just more fun to catch over and over.

In this state, there are several species of fish that are not planted and depend on natural reproduction as well. The perch is a prime example. There has seemed to be an endless supply until 10 years ago when over harvesting finally took it's toll. Do we still catch perch? The answer is yes, but not like it used to be.

Why am I rambling on this subject? The answer is simple. Over the last two weeks the fishing has been great to say the least. Unfortunately, I have witnessed the bass come onto there beds and be harvested relentlessly. I watched one boat keep 14 fish off of bed's in one morning. Here is the Sad Face. If these fish on there beds are continued to be harvested, we may not see the effect right away, but we will in the future.

I understand that all fish species need to be harvested, including bass, but if harvesting fish off beds continues the World Class fishery that we have here will be decimated in no time at all. Sad Face again. I would like to see trophy fish for generations to come.

I have been blessed to be able to get my kids out and enjoy both harvesting fish to eat and catch and release for fun. I hope this will continue until my children are able to teach there children the same things. Catch and release is the way to ensure our World Class smallmouth fishery will stay intact for generations to come. Until next time, Good Luck and Happy Fishing!

QUANTITY & QUALITY

Since my last post ten day's ago, I have been on a terror in the land of the smallmouth! The fishing on the inland lakes has been absolutely fantastic to say the least. The quality and quantity of fish that have been caught is absolutely amazing.

Quality has been the most consistent. Most fish that have been caught are in the three to five pound plus range. Several fish have been over six pounds. The biggest smallmouth of the year so far was caught just the other day and it came in at 7lbs 4oz!! What a giant fish!!!!

Quantity has not been an issue other than wearing a guy out. The best day of my fishing life was just the other day. We boated 201 smallmouth with over 100 of these fish over four pounds!!!!! That is no fish story. My arms are still rehabilitating themselves. The average day has bee 20-50 fish with the occasional 100 fish plus day in there. What a great start to the year.

The lakes are still extremely cold for this time of year. Almost all of the inland lakes are still in the low to mid fifties for temps as of today. I was on Grand Traverse Bay looking for fish and the water was 41 degrees!! Holy coldness!!! Back to the inland lakes I went and it has been great. Most fish are responding well to jerk baits and starting to eat lipless cranks fairly well.

I'm looking forward to being on the water for the next few weeks straight! Until next time Good Luck and Happy Fishing.

Capt Chris