BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

OUTDOORS By Peter Ottesen March 21, 2012 12:00 AM

Grady Lee recalled a banner day at Lake Amador last winter when he landed 10 trout out of 20 hookups, the four largest weighing a total of 37 pounds.

Does he think history will repeat at this Mother Lode impoundment when he caught-and-released trophy-sized fish topped by four monsters in the 81/2- to 10-pound bracket?

“You bet,” said Lee, known as the Mississippi Kid, a moniker he gained as a Civil War and U.S. history teacher at East Union High. “History will repeat, you’ll see, especially at Lake Amador.”

Lake Amador

Location: About 40 miles east of Stockton near Ione.

Directions: Take Highway 88 east and turn right on Jackson Valley Road for four miles.

Fees: $9 vehicle, $8 fishing permit, $7 boat launch, $1 float tube. Discount for seniors.

Information: (209) 374-4739; lakeamador.com.

Now retired and a self-professed “float tube addict,” Lee spends a day or two a week at the 325-acre lake, glide fishing from a pontoon boat using a six-weight rod with intermediate line and a size 10 black wooly bugger. he regularly hooks trout weighing 3 to 5 pounds, but he keeps searching for the biggest fish that tip the scales at 14 pounds.

He just might catch one because concessionaires continue to release 800 to 1,000 pounds of trout each Monday through Friday, and as the season extends, the fish keep growing.

“We expect to stock trout every weekday until the lake reaches 70 degrees,” said Debbie Grayson at the marina. “Currently, the water temperature is in the low 50s, and this week’s rainfall and runoff raised the lake level 10 feet.

“We’ve got plenty of trout in our on-site hatchery, and I suspect we’ll be stocking well past Memorial Day. The lake is just three feet from spilling and in perfect condition for spring.”

Currently, trout are cruising in the top 10 feet and with five plants a week, anglers are showing up in increasing numbers, lining the bank and fishing from boats. they cast or troll with nightcrawlers, Power Bait, Kastmasters, Rapalas and even white crappie jigs.

“Trout are released in the middle of the lake so everyone has a excellent shot at them,” Grayson said. “People tell me this is the only place where they have a decent chance to hook a fish of a lifetime and every trip.”

As a bonus, the self-sustaining population of Florida-strain black bass is in a pre-spawn mode, and moving into the shallows. a 10-pounder was hooked in Carson Cove on a grub flung by a shoreline angler this week.

But Lee will continue to float around on his personal watercraft and concentrate on huge trout. he confirmed catching a couple in the 6- to 7-pound range, but “no real heavyweights recently.”

“There’s always tomorrow,” he said, with a chuckle. “I know they’re in there.”

Contact outdoors correspondent Peter Ottesen at pottesen@recordnet.com.

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Twenty Questions with two Rookie Pros

Every year there are new ?Rookie Pros? who choose it?s finally time to compete on the Pro side of the Professional Walleye Tournaments, and test their skills that they have learned over the years, by competing in local tournaments and as Co Anglers on the Professional level.

Walleye Central has always been an entity that likes to give the new guy a chance, and give them a small exposure. we are proud to announce two such ?Rookies? to the Pro ranks for the 2012 season, and have taken this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

This pre-chat interview or ?Twenty Questions? is with Justin Schneider and Robert Cardenas, and both will be sitting in on Monday Night?s Fireside Chat, January 16th, at 7pm Central Time, so you can question them both any questions you might have for them.we wish them the best of success in their professional fishing andventure!

Hope to see you all there!

Juls: who is Robert Cardenas / Justin Schneider?

Justin: I am a 27 year old family man that loves the outdoors. If I am not spending time with my lovely wife Miriah and amusing small girl Mallory I am mostly likely in a treestand, boat or on the hardwater.

Robert: Robert Cardenas is a kid at heart that is about to live his dream of fishing as a Professional Angler. I have a wonderful family. my wife, Mary and I, were blessed with a small girl Alexa in 2010, which has changed my life in a positive way. I am a very passionate guy; if I want something I am going to do everything in my power to achieve it. The word professional is a meaningful word that I take seriously and am passionate about.

Juls: How old were you when you went fishing for the first time? And, who was it with?

Justin:? I learned how to fish on Lost Lake in Northern, WI. I must have been 4 years old when we really started fishing there. my father Bill was great at having patience, or ?letting me win? the bass tournament on any particular weekend. I grew up in the outdoors whether it was hunting or fishing that?s just what my dad and I did. It was a great way to grow up and I do not plan to change it when raising my children.

Robert: I was probably 5 or 6 years old and with my Dad. but what I remember the most is going to my grandparent?s cabin in McGregor, MN and fishing off the docks by myself a lot. there was a reason I fished alone, I was addicted and didn?t want to do anything but fish. When someone from my family came down the hill from the cabin, it meant I could take the 12 foot aluminum out with the 2 ? horse Johnson. The gas tank had just enough in it to get across the lake and back and when my gas ran out I was back fishing on the dock. I continue to practice this addictive fishing behavior to this day.

Juls: As a child, what was it you wanted to be when you grew up? did you always want to be a professional fisherman?

Justin: Growing up only a mile away from Lake Winnebago, I always knew about the Parsons/Kavajecz of the world. I just never really thought about fishing competitively until I was probably in my senior year of high school. I guess as a child I wanted to be a pipefitter like my dad Bill.

Robert: I really wanted to be a professional tennis player. I have played tennis since the age of 5 many times playing up to 6 days a week with lessons and going to tournaments every weekend. Some tournaments my father would put me in older age brackets, his reasoning; ?to get better you have to play better kids?. I am going to use this advice in my fishing this year. I know I will get better fishing against the best of the best. I continue to be a member of the United State Tennis Association and compete against club Pro?s throughout the US.

Juls: What is your most memorable experience while fishing? (Either tournament or fun fishing…doesn’t matter)

Justin: for my bachelor party we went to Ontario Canada walleye fishing. we had a blow day and couldn?t get out. After a small research we found out about a river 2 hours away with great shore fishing. we were pitching jigs into small eddys and it was the best Walleye fishing I have ever seen. my brother who is not overly into fishing experienced it with me and that just made it even better.

Robert: something I have always remembered, is when my grandpa came up to Park Rapids, MN for a week of fishing on Potato Lake; I was probably 9 or 10 years old. I had always fished for crappies, sunnies, and northern pike, but this lake was known to have walleyes, so he brought his boat up and taught me how to Lindy Rig. I had never fished this way before. we caught stringers of walleyes. I still remember the white floater we used. Rigging to this day is one of my favorites, it just happens to be with bigger chubs.

Juls: How long have you been fishing tournaments and which event is/was your favorite?

Justin: I started fishing the smaller club tournaments on the east shore of Lake Winnebago back in 2004. I would have to say though, the tournament that has been the most fun for me every year is the Mercury Nationals in Fond du Lac, WI. Mercury puts on a great event and there is always a great crowd.

Robert: I reckon my first derby was in 2004. It was the Northern State Wolves on the Water on Lake Oahe out of Mobridge, SD. my favorite event was fishing on Green Bay for the 2011 FLW tour event (as much as I dislike the Green Bay Packers).

Juls: who are your sponsors?

Justin: Ferguson Enterprises, Schrage Brothers Ford of Mount Calvary, WI and Off-Shore tackle. I am actively seeking companies which have products or services I believe in and feel that I can generate return on their investment in me, as an angler. With that being said I would like to thank Schrages and Ferguson for believing in me from day 1.

Robert: my wife! Bonny Bay Resort, SAKS Sports Bar

Juls: You fished the Pro Circuits as Co Anglers before turning Pro this season. How vital do you reckon it is to take that route before jumping in?? What did you learn fishing the Co Angler side of the events?

Justin: I did fish 1 FLW as a pro at Winnebago 2 years ago. this made me realize that before I would be a touring pro I needed some polishing. Fishing as a co is by far the fastest learning curve I have ever experienced in my life. I was fortunate enough to travel with Joe Okada, Brett King, Jon Tennessen, and Robert Blosser this past summer. they are great guys and great ambassadors of the sport. Traveling with the eventual AOY and years prior AOY was really jaw dropping to a newbie like myself. What they taught me was that at this level it?s not about catching the fish. that is just a pre-requisite. What really makes the difference is the mental side of the game. I also had some great draws during the actual tournaments. I learned how to handline, find fish, and most of all work long hours all week.

Robert: Where do I start? The smartest go I made was fishing as a Co Angler and joining the NPAA. With my aspiration to someday compete as a professional, I wanted to get insight and gain experience and knowledge from the Pro?s who are known as the ?best in the business?. You can research and educate yourself about being a great angler, but when you really step into that boat with a Pro and experience how it is done in the real world, it is not something you can learn from a textbook or a website. who wouldn?t want to learn from Brett King, Pat Neu, Terry Filkins, Keith Kavajecz, Brian Brosdahl, Joe Okada, mark Keenan, or John Campbell? These are just some of the great anglers I fished with last season. It is hard to explain how much I learned.

Juls: What do you do for a living when you’re not fishing tournaments?

Justin: I hold the master plumbers license at our family business Schneider & Schneider Mechanical. I estimate and project manage various construction projects for the company.

Robert: I work at Regions Hospital in the Digestive Care Center as a Registered Nurse. I do conscious sedation for minor procedures and surgeries, also covering the ICU?s and ER for Emergency Procedures.

Juls: now that it’s the “off season” what do you do?

Justin: I really enjoy late season bow hunting, but I mostly try to spend as much time with my wife and daughter as possible. being away from them as much as I am in the summer is tough and I try to make up as much time as I can in the winter.

Robert: I spend a lot of time with my 18 month old daughter, Alexa, and my wife, Mary. I have been working hard on educating myself on the business part of the professional world; the NPAA has helped me with that tremendously.

Juls: When did you get your first boat? And, what boat/motor will you be running for 2012?

Justin: my first boat was a 16 foot Lakeland with an old mariner on it when I was 16. I reckon I really had a boat before I had the truck to pull it with. this year I will be running the Yarcraft TSC w/ Mercury 225 pro XS again.

Robert: I have always used my father?s boat. last year I bought a Ranger 621 with 250 Mercury Verado and plan to use this boat for 2012.

Juls: It is said, that “Versatility is Key to being successful in tournament fishing”. do you feel you are practiced in all the techniques used to catch Walleye on the different bodies of water the circuits might visit?

Justin: In all honesty, I feel that I have the tools to catch fish on all the bodies of water we may encounter. I am a Winnebago guy and fortunately we have the river, big lake and upper lakes. You can catch a walleye many different ways here and I hoping that experience helps me out. With that being said I certainly have some weaknesses and hope to improve on them through hard work.

Robert: I reckon growing up fishing on the river has made me versatile as I use many different techniques to catch walleyes. I have a lot of confidence in my techniques but I always know that I can improve.

Juls: What are your plans for the 2012 season?

Justin: we are nervously awaiting the release of the AIM schedule. Robert and I are going to fish all of their events. I really like the AIM format and the group of guys in that circuit. Depending on what they come out with we may through an FLW in there as well. MWC is coming to Winnebago this year too, so It would be tough not to take a excellent look at the one.

Robert: I will be fishing all of the AIM events with Justin Schneider. The Catch, Release, and Record Format is something that I am very supportive of. I am also considering fishing an FLW, MWC, or Full Throttle derby. something that I am also looking forward to is fishing in the St. Croix Valley Walleye League on Tuesday nights with my wife.

Juls: do you also guide on your home waters? If so, how can people contact you?

Justin: I would love to guide someday, but right now there is just not enough time to start a tournament career, guide and raise a family.

Robert: I do not guide, but if there are parents out there that want to get their kids interested in fishing I will take them out for some fun fishing. my schedule is very busy, but I will be keeping a list. I can be reached at 651-295-3734 or by e-mail rbtcardenas@aol.com.

Juls: of all the waters you have fished in your lifetime, what are your top five favs? And, why?

Justin:

1 .Lake Winnebago- I just have so many excellent memories here. Whether we were fishing a derby, getting 2 hours of fishing in after work, or sturgeon spearing, this lake has just brought a lot of joy to my life. (Unfortunately it has absolutely puzzled me at times too!)

2. Lake Oahe- When I fished there this summer it was just alive. You could catch fish nearly anywhere. I also like how this body of water gives you versatility for different techniques.

3. Lake Kabetogama (MN)- this lake has gorgeous scenery and great fishing to match. I have never seen shoulders on a walleye like the walleyes at Lake Kab. there beefy!!

4. Green Bay- It?s a world class fishery and I live only an hour away. It?s a great place to go when the fishing on Winnebago slows down in mid to late summer.

5. Mississippi River- this is probably one of my weaker bodies of water, but I get jacked every time reckon I am going there. Maybe it?s the challenge?

Robert:

1. Pool 3 and 4 ? Grew up fishing on it.

2. LOTW ? Lots of fish and big Fish.

3.? Leech Lake ? Rigging and big Fish.

4. Lake Erie ? big Fish!!

5. Lake Wabigoon Canada ? I have been going to Bonny Bay Resort with my family for years to fish for trophy walleye, pike, musky, and small mouth. they also have crappies and jumbo perch which are some of my favorites to fish for.

Juls: who are some of your fishing idols? who did you look up to when you first got into tournament fishing?

Justin: outside of tournament fishing I would have to say Randy Freund from Mt. Calvary, WI. this guy has never fished tournaments but blows my mind. It?s been said that Randy could catch fish in a desert. As far as tournament fishing I have always thought Gary Parsons was Michael Jordan. King, Okada, Tennessen and Blosser are pretty tough competitors too. they might not have the mystique of a Parsons or Gofron yet, but man I know if I slip they will hand me my butt in a paper bag.

Robert: my Grandpa, he always knew how to catch the big fish. I look up to Gary Parsons and Brett King too.

Juls: do you do any kids events?

Justin: last year I did the Shawano area ?Walleyes for Tomorrow Kids Day? that John Schneider put on. It was a blast. I would like to do it again and hopefully more this summer as time allows.

Robert: one of my goals this year is to help with the ?Future Angler Foundation? and do an event for the kids.

Juls: What is your favorite presentation to use? What is the most fun for you?

Justin: I learned to troll before anything else, so that?s probably what I would say I am the best at. but I have been working on my jigging over the last 3 years and really enjoy pitching jigs to offshore humps more than anything.

Robert: I would have to say rigging with chubs, who doesn?t like it when a chub goes into distress? most fun for me would be pitching jigs.

Juls: How do you break down a body of water you’ve never fished before? How do you approach your prefishing?

Justin: a lot of my pre-fishing ideology was completely revamped traveling on the AIM tour. I learned things from each of the guys that I liked. I guess for me it?s probably use the electronics as much as I can, but I mostly just like to fish. If I see something that looks ?fishy? I fish it?right then and there. I learned this from Brett King. It?s a great time management tool he uses while pre-fishing.

Robert: I study maps and gather information through networking. I use my Lowrance and home computer to learn tournament waters with the map chips. Also I like to research any DNR data that is available.

Juls: What are you most proud of in your life?

Justin: I would have to say it?s my family. I love my wife and daughter and they are the reason I can do this. If I didn?t have them I would just have a boat, some gear, and fish. And walleyes don?t give very nice hugs.

Robert: being a Dad ? It?s incredible!

Juls: If you could only give ONE piece of advice to a new angler who wanted to start fishing tournaments professionally, what would that be?

Justin: It sounds like a clich?, because so many others have said it, but it?s really the truth; family, finances, then fishing. Without a supporting wife, like Miriah, this would be impossible. Without a work ethic and proper investment of that hard earned money this gig is pretty tough to afford. I really have picked up a lot of odd jobs too fund it.

Robert: Join the National Professional Anglers Association to learn what it takes to be a professional angler and fish as a co-angler in the AIM or the FLW tour. I fished both and the experience was very educational. Also, try to connect with a Pro and pre-fish a tournament, then you can really learn a lot about dissecting a body of water. Always remember family is #1 and remember why you are doing this. I am doing this because fishing is my passion!

Thanks for taking the time to do this Justin and Robert! And, for everyone else, don?t forget to mark your calendar for Monday night, January 16th, at 7pm Central Time, to sit down and chat with these two up and coming Pros. I?m sure it will be interesting.

Also, directly after the Fireside Chat, WC Member, FishinCrazy, has set up a chat for those of you who like to make your own crawler harnesses to fish with. this is a chat where all of you home tackle makers can sit and discuss different thoughts to help each other.

As always, there is no login or registration necessary to enter the chatsite.

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THREE RIVERS AREA — My wife and I love to fish. She’s OK with the hunting thing, too, but she is not as enthused about sitting on a deer stand or in a duck blind if it means getting up in the middle of the night, trudging out of our home and into a skeeter-filled or frost-covered morning, then sitting for hours in the hopes of bagging some bucks or ducks.

That does not mean, but, that she is not willing to make those latter trips with me to sample the table fare, the satellite TV offerings and the camaraderie of whatever hunting camp I may be visiting.

Through the course of our shared journeys, we have many times had conversations about the lay of the land here in Arkansas. As we both have uttered, “You can get in the truck (or in the car or on the motorcycle) and travel for about an hour or an hour and a half in any direction and find something different.”

That’s because while Arkansas is one state, it comprises six major natural regions.

There are the Ozark Plateaus in the northern and western portions of the state and the Ouachita Mountains in about the southwestern fourth. In between, a ribbon of fertile lowlands known as the Arkansas River Valley separates the highlands.

On the opposite side of the Interstate 30 and U.S. 67/167 corridors, the land drops into the Arkansas Delta, otherwise known as the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Then, sandwiched between the flatland and the hills in southern Arkansas is the Gulf Coastal Plain.

Finally, rising from the Delta in the northeast, we find an area known as Crowley’s Ridge. this is one of the most intriguing geographical features in The Natural State. The ridge is composed of wind-blown soil and likely was once an island between the ancient channels of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

The intrigue does not end there. Because of this huge variance in the state’s geography, we outdoorsmen here in Arkansas are able to experience a similarly mixed bag of outdoor opportunities.

Take, for instance, our coldwater streams that are filled, and continually stocked, with trout. The North Fork, the little Red and the upper stretches of the White rivers have proven to be record-trout waters since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fashioned dams to impound our highland reservoirs roughly a half-century ago.

The world-record brown trout was a product of the little Red River, with the story of Heber Springs resident Howard “Rip” Collins’ 40-pound, 4-ounce catch being retold time and again. Also, our trout waters have given up a state-record, 5-pound brook trout from the North Fork and a pair of record setters from the White: a 9-pound, 9-ounce cutthroat and a 19-pound, 1-ounce rainbow.

Making this a win-win situation, those lakes – Greers Ferry, Norfork, Bull Shoals and more – above those trout waters are playgrounds for boating, water skiing and scuba diving. Plus, they each hold plentiful populations of game fish, with spotted bass, hybrid striped bass, striped bass and other species high on local anglers’ wish lists.

Greers Ferry holds two world records with a 27-pound, 5-ounce hybrid striped bass taken in 1997 and a 22-pound, 11-ounce walleye snared 15 years earlier. farther north, Bull Shoals boasts the state-record smallmouth bass, a7-pound, 5-ounce specimen that was caught in the year I was born, 1969.

Where the mountain streams are filled with cool water, instead of cold, fishermen can find a plenitude of blue-ribbon smallmouth-bass opportunities. Bonus fish in waters like the Buffalo National River and crooked Creek include sunfish such as rock bass, Ozark bass, green sunfish and more.

Because of a blue catfish trade the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission made back in the 1960s with their sister agency in South Carolina, Lake Ouachita and Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs are waters where you can catch some of the largest freshwater fish in North America. No, not the blue cats, although they are also found in these lakes. we sent blue catfish to South Carolina. I’m talking about striped bass topping 40, 50, 60 pounds or more that are now common catches each year in these deep, clear-water impoundments. You can also catch giant stripers in Norfork, Greeson and Beaver lakes.

While the hybrids and stripers are huge fish, we can catch some even bigger ones in the larger river systems like the Mississippi River along Arkansas’ eastern border or the Arkansas River that roughly bisects the state from around Fort Smith to Arkansas Post.

Bullheads and channel catfish are common skillet-sized catches, but blue and flathead cats can become giants.

The largest of the large catfish in our area is the blue catfish. right now, a 116-pound, 12-ounce fish pulled from the Mississippi River a decade ago is the state record holder. not far behind, the Arkansas River gave up an 80-pound flathead to one lucky angler in 1989.

If largemouth bass are your target species, consider southern Arkansas lakes such as Millwood or Monticello. Because of stocking programs by the commission, one of these two bodies of water is likely to be the home of the next Arkansas state-record largemouth. The commission places thousands of Floridastrain largemouths in each of these lakes annually.

Both waters have boasted double-digit fish in the range of 10 to 12 or more pounds. But those fish are still dwarfed by comparison to the current state record, a 16-pound, 4-ounce bass taken from northeast Arkansas’ Lake Mallard way back in 1974.

Meanwhile, in eastern Arkansas, the White River National Wildlife Refuge encompasses more than 300 lakes, bayous, chutes and sloughs. this 160,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods is the place to go each summer for those wanting just about any kind of panfish, including some chunky spotted bass that are more common in the lakes closer to the river.

Seasonal flooding, which refertilizes the water and restocks fish populations, creates high fish densities here. Plus, late flooding like we are experiencing this summer can mean live water and lively fishing action now, when everything else is dead during summer’s dog days.

Not satisfied? Well, there are also many, many other waters. In fact, The Natural State boasts approximately 600,000 acres of lakes and roughly 9,700 miles of streams and rivers.

Included in those figures are pasture ponds, farm reservoirs, creeks, smaller lakes, bayous and more bodies of water available for people wanting to wet a hook. Some are public, and some are private. So, remember to make sure you’ve got permission for fishing.

And, because of The Natural State’s geography, fishing of many kinds is only a small drive away from anywhere in the state. That about covers it – hook, line and sinker, but what about the hunting opportunities? Well, let’s save those for another day.

Staff writer James Joslin can be reached at (501) 399-3693 or .

this article was published August 21, 2011 at 4:19 a.m.

Three Rivers, Pages 114 on 08/21/2011

I am a fisherman who likes more rural areas. I do delight in bass fishing but I will do anything. Hows the Mississippi River fishing there?

Savannah, TN (PRWEB) August 17, 2011

Darryl Worley’s Tennessee River run volunteers are working on last-minute details to host the largest celebration yet for the festival’s tenth anniversary. Montgomery Gentry, Kansas and Worley headline concerts that are part of a full slate of activities that culminate in a weekend celebration on Sept. 15-17. Bumpus Harley-Davidson sponsors the 2011 Tennessee River run.

The Friday night, Sept. 16, concert in downtown Savannah, Tenn., will bring rock legends to the stage when Kansas, Derek St. Holmes (lead singer of the Ted Nugent band) and mark Slaughter (lead singer of Slaughter) perform. The Saturday night, Sept. 17, concert at Pickwick Landing State Park features Montgomery Gentry and Worley with Jesse Keith Whitley, the Tony Bridges Band (from American Idol Season Five) and the 2011 Battle of the Bands winner.

Tickets are available at the Darryl Worley Foundation Office at 325 Main St. in Downtown Savannah and by searching Tennessee River run at ticketfly.com. Admission for Friday night’s concert is $15 in advance or $20 at the gate. Tickets for Saturday night’s concert are $35 in advance at $40 at the gate. Saturday night admission for children ages seven to 12 is $15, and children six and younger enter free with a paying adult. A weekend concert pass is available for $45 in advance and $50 at the gate. Golden Circle Seating is $100 and is available in advance only.

On Saturday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m., winners from competitions in Jackson, Tenn (Ben Mathis and the Sidekicks), Memphis, Tenn. (Nick Garrison with Hammer Down), and Florence, Ala. (The Ben Parker Project) will compete in the 2011 Battle of the Bands finals at Bumpus Harley-Davidson of Jackson. The band selected will receive six hours of studio time with mixing and editing at Jaxon Records, along with a CD and the opportunity to perform when Montgomery Gentry and Worley perform at Pickwick Landing State Park on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The 10th Anniversary Gala Darryl Worley and Friends Songwriters in the Round: Black Ties and Blue Jeans will be held Thursday, Sept. 15, on the lawn of the historic home of Savannah Mayor and Mrs. Bob Shutt. Dinner will be at 6:30 p.m., with music beginning at 7 p.m. Sponsorship tables for 10 are available for $5,000, $2,500 and $1,500. Individual tickets are $100 per person.

The TRR Golf Tournament will be Friday, Sept. 16, at Ross Creek Landing Golf course in Clifton, Tenn. The bass tournament also begins on Friday, and the Slaughter/St. Holmes/Kansas concert in downtown Savannah will conclude Friday’s celebration.

The second day of the bass tournament is planned for Saturday, Sept. 17. A 5K run, motorcycle poker run, youth fishing tournament, and an arts and crafts honest will welcome participants on Saturday, also. The final event of the Tennessee River run will be the country concert with 2011 Battle of the Bands winner, the Tony Bridges Band, Whitley, Worley and Montgomery Gentry at Pickwick Landing State Park that evening. Updates on all events can be found at facebook.com/TennesseeRiverRun, darrylworley.com and tnriverrun.org.

Proceeds from the Tennessee River run fund the Darryl Worley Foundation. The foundation, a 501c3 public benefit corporation, has existed since 2001 to serve special needs for people in West Tennessee, Northwestern Alabama and Northeastern Mississippi. Additionally, it supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center. more information is available at darrylworleyfoundation.org.

Read the full tale at prweb.com/releases/Darryl_Worleys/Tennessee_River_Run/prweb8727174.htm

I live in southern mississippi and have a 15 acre pond. I caught a 6 pounder the other day and am getting him mounted but i was in my boat paddling when i saw a HUGE bass he was no lie at least 10 pounds and i threw everything at him and he just came up to it and turned around… I have used red shad powerbait, crankbaits jitterbugs and spinnerbaits. Any advice?

Many things you can try to experiment with exaggerated retrieves like really twitch the retrieve and stop and let it pause and than do the exaggerated twitching again just a thought i have tried many things like this when i have seen huge fish like Northern pike just sit there and look at the hook and swim away e.t.c. and i always experiment with these things like twitch and pause and twitch and let it sink on pause and i have made some of these huge fish strike when the normal ancient things don't work so i say just experiment when you encounter this again one day you could get the fish of a lifetime like that one you said ten pounds or bigger.

Fisher's right. more deep south trophies are gotten on shiners than most other baits. but never overlook a 10 inch plastic worm for huge floridas. most of them are also released after pics and measurements, especially if trophy size.
yeah, l know. you're in mississippi. but your bass are still floridas.
if you could see him, he (or she) could most certainly see you. that may make it a bit more hard to get it to hit. huge bass are homebodies, so come back tomorrow to the same spot, but not so close, and toss that huge worm or shiner past his hiding spot and slowly work it up to the fish without giving yourself away.

after you catch it, take pictures and careful measurements and release it, getting a more durable, less expensive fibreglass reproduction. just as good looking or better.

First find out what kind of bait fish live in the lake. then make your bait look like the bait fish. for example: In my lake we have a lot of blue gill and that is usually what the bass are eating. so I bought a bluegill swim bait and sure enough I caught a nice 5 pounder on the first day of using it.

Second since your lake is 15 acres, it might not be that simple finding the bass. look for abrupt dropoffs and floating algea. Bass like to hide in thick cover. also look for schools of the bait fish. Many bass will most likely be following it picking off the stragglers.

bring all your fishing poles and put a different type of lure on each one. casting each one out by tht monster about 10 time i guess. or try some gulp alive. or try getting some of that stuff that you spray on lures to make fish bite 'em.

the bigger the bait the bigger the fish.the bigger the fish the bigger the pot.

a chartreuse worm , broke back minow, a chartreuse topwater frog,and even junebug salmanders work

super size the bait, super size the fish, then super size your belly.

Why are you gtting a six pounder mounted in the first place???

use a 14 foot cast net its not leagal but youll get him

Live bait will eventually pull up some decently huge fish but a better bet by far is going to be artificial stuff.

Im an all out bass guy and have pulled out several 7+ pound bass on baits like jigs, plastic worms, and spinnerbaits. for the bigger bass you want to throw bigger bulkier baits and generally fish them pretty deep. if I had to catch a huge bass my number 1 choice woud be a half ounce jig and pig combo. a bait like this wont pull out numerous fish like a jerkbait or a small spinnerbait would but you will eventually hook on to a few huge bass.

If you're not familia with fishing jigs ill give you some pointers.

– On cloudy overcast days throw darker colors like pumpkinseed, black, and dark blues. Fish will be in more open water so fish a small further and a small deeper than you normally would.
– On brighter sunnier days throw brighter colors like white, shad, and chartruese. a lot of fish will pile up in cover when the sun is beating down on the water, especially durring the summer months. Don't be worried to throw into heavy cover, a lot of bass will be getting a break from the heat hiding in areas like this. also fish slow.
– as for how to fish it you just want to throw the jig out until it hits bottom and twitch and raise your rod tip from about a 9 o clock position to a 12 o clock position. Don't reel up the bait itself but the slack in your line after twitching and raising your rod tip.
– always get a jig with a rattle and buy some chunk trailers to put on the back of the bait. Zoom has some good jig trailers. try to match the color of the trailer to the color of the jig as closely as possible.

I posted this answer a while back for another question.

Some 60 paddlers took to the St. Croix River last week with a threefold plan:

1. Paddle the length of the river, from Solon Springs to Prescott, Wis., where it empties into the Mississippi River.

2. Bring awareness to the river, which straddles Minnesota and Wisconsin and is listed as a National Wild and Scenic River by the National Park Service.

3. have fun.

The 17-day, 180-mile “expedition” was organized by the St. Croix River Association to mark the group’s 100th anniversary. the St. Croix Falls, Wis.-based nonprofit bills itself as “the oldest citizen-based, conservation-oriented organization in Wisconsin and Minnesota.”

No. 1, of course, will take some time to accomplish, but no. 3 is sure to take care of itself.

As for no. 2, the association believes far too many outdoors enthusiasts overlook the opportunities of the St. Croix, especially in the pristine upper reaches. although the Lower St. Croix is well-known for motorized boat action, the upper part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway boasts riverbank wilderness campsites and a host of outfitting and shuttle services.

Paddling difficulty is generally nothing to fear – but potentially fun with riffles and standing waves in some stretches. more experienced canoeists and kayakers can check flow levels and seek out Class II and III rapids in high water.

Fishing ranges from solid to outstanding, with smallmouth bass the star attraction in the middle portion of the river. Walleye, sturgeon and muskie are among the species to target downstream.

Advance registration was required to camp with the entire SCRA flotilla during the July 5-22 journey, but day-trippers are welcome to tag along, as long as they’re self-sufficient and know there won’t be space for them to camp with the rest of the gang.

Organizers had to alter plans in anticipation of a possible Minnesota state government shutdown affecting state park campsites and because water levels on the Upper St. Croix were too low. the latter problem meant paddling a portion of the Namekagon River, which is running high, for two days until its confluence with the St. Croix.

More information on the trip can be found at StCroixRiverAssociation.org and SCRApaddle.org.

EDITOR’S NOTE: through Father’s Day, CBSSports.com writers will present a series of articles portraying fatherhood and sporting figures.

Homer Drew isn’t burnt out, isn’t in need of a break from the game. At the end of last season, after nearly 40 years coaching basketball, the 66-year-ancient merely decided it was time to step down — and to let his youngest son take over for him.

So when Valparaiso begins its 2011-12 campaign in November, Bryce Drew — yes, THAT Bryce Drew, the man who hit the biggest shot in Valpo history and one of the most dramatic shots in NCAA tournament history, upsetting Mississippi at the buzzer in the first round of the 1998 tournament — will start his tenure as head coach of the Crusaders.

“If he had decided to coach two, three more years, I wouldn’t have been surprised,” Bryce said. “I just thought he felt after this season it was a good time for him.”

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Bryce will have his father close by as his era at Valpo begins. Homer isn’t going anywhere, except occasionally to Waco, Texas, where he’ll catch more of his other son’s games; Scott Drew has coached at, and helped revive, the Baylor program since 2003. What Bryce will go through next season is what Scott did nine years ago, when he coached Valpo for one year. That 20-11 record in ’02-03 led to Scott’s hiring at Baylor, a program on the brink of destruction and one in need of a squeaky-clean youngster to take it over.

they are two sons now in the huge-time college coaching business led by a father who’s considered, rightfully, one of the nicest men in the game. Homer was born to coach. That wasn’t always necessarily thought to be the case with Scott, and certainly not with Bryce.

“We always thought Scott was going to go to law school,” Bryce said. “[Dad] told Scott they’d talk about him coaching after he got his law degree.”

Father to three and grandfather to seven, Homer never imposed his beliefs about coaching to his sons or daughter, Dana. He loved his life and was thrilled he got to spend more time with his children by way of coaching to and with them at Valpo in the ’90s and into the new millennium.

Homer and Bryce said they didn’t plan for things to happen like this, but with more responsibility coming Bryce’s way in the past few years, the flow and transition soon became natural. it felt right. And in that Valparaiso community, the support, familiarity and trust with the Drews made the move an simple one.

• • •

Bryce, Homer and Valparaiso’s legacy has been made based off one play. after Bryce’s shot in 1998 that knocked off Mississippi, he found himself at the bottom of a scrum, his body being lovingly trampled on after he hit a 3-pointer on a play called “Pacer.” if you’re a college hoops fan, or even just a fan of March basketball, you can instantly call into your mind the vision of Bryce gleefully belly-flopping onto the floor after hitting the shot, the young man knowing all too well what he and his team had just done.

Bryce, 36, remembers the hug with Homer on the court in the aftermath. with how chaotic the NCAA tournament is, the two never got one-on-one time alone amid that Sweet 16 appearance. but once the team’s run ended, the school and the Drews still received messages from around the world about what the moment meant to folks in far-off lands. Bryce said as many of them had to do with the team’s accomplishment as the praise and appreciation for a father and son acting as coach and player to achieve a goal. it was then that he, Scott (who was an assistant on the team) and dad let sink in the enormity of what one huge shot and two huge wins did for the community, the program and their relationship.

That was Bryce’s senior year, and he ended up being drafted 16th overall in the NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. the school’s all-time leader in points (2,142), assists (626) and 3-pointers made (364), Bryce is still the only Valpo player to ever be selected in the first round. He had a six-year career in the NBA, playing for Houston, Chicago and new Orleans before spending one year in Italy and Spain.

 Homer Drew piled up 640 wins in his time at Valparaiso and brought patience and something positive to the program.(Getty Images)  When injuries impacted his professional career, he came home to find his dad had an opening on his staff. He said his father’s effect on him came three or four years into his career, when he realized he wouldn’t be playing professionally into his late 30s.

He realized he wanted to be a coach. without ever suggesting it, his father had led him to the next step in his life. the logical one. the one he couldn’t see himself doing when he was 15, 20, 25 years ancient.

“You don’t realize stuff when you’re growing up,” Bryce said, “you don’t realize it until you’re older. I think my dad could coach anything and be successful. my dad can coach, teach and make people feel important. I learned that. whatever we migrated to is what he pushed us toward. He never pushed kids into anything.”

That’s how Homer led. That’s the kind of man, the kind of father Homer is. He likes activities, likes movement and youth and being around energetic young minds. He tried to be an encourager to anyone he was around him.

“I feel very blessed that I was able to have and work with sons longer than most dads get to be with their sons,” Homer said.

Bryce was full of that energy when he was young. it was neverending. Originally, he played baseball, tennis, ran cross country. Homer never pushed basketball on him, Scott or Dana, who became an All-American basketball player at Toledo.

“To treat me as a son and then to treat me as a player and then as a coworker, as an assistant coach, I get to see stuff he preaches at home at the workplace,” Bryce said. “I’ve gotten to see the good deeds he does, and to see him do it, it’s a whole other deal.”

• • •

“Now, my wife and I are learning from our kids,” Homer said by phone this week.

That’s where dad will get one of his very few arguments from his sons. He’s still teaching and guiding as much as ever. Bryce knows it’s happening because he can hear his father’s voice in his own, less than one month into the job. Imagine the effect once the season starts.

the bonding between Bryce, Scott and their father was always reinforced every summer on the trio’s annual fishing trip. This wasn’t something that started once the boys were out of college — this started when Bryce was about 5, and the weekend exodus to some secluded lake happened every June. there was no sacred spot; the boys released their lures into lakes in Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Alaska, Kentucky and Canada. a lot of it was bass fishing.

This year the three of them set off to Falcon Reservoir, a body of water that is almost equally distributed between the Texas and Mexico border, tucked in the lower left part of the state.

“That’s the quality time. the fishing and all the talking,” Homer said with tremendous amounts of delight in his voice, only a few weeks removed from the trip. It’s as if you’re talking to him on the other end of the line, and you can picture him with a rod and reel in the other hand, happily enjoying an afternoon on the water.

the fishing trips are critical to getting back to basics for the Drews. Bryce said it was one of the things he cherished most about the relationship with his father. Used to be that dad picked the spot, but that’s no longer the case. Now the sons are doing the research and looking for new lakes to jettison off to each June.

“We’ve always found a few days each year and go fishing together … just delight in God’s creation,” Bryce said. “To say we’re just a basketball family is certainly incorrect.”

their identity lies in basketball — and if Bryce and Scott become successful over a long period of time, the Drews will become a flagship family name in college coaching — but the relationships go beyond that. Bryce’s biggest challenge ahead in replacing his father is to be true to himself, to honor the way his dad coached the game but put his new approach into action.

“You have to be yourself. You can’t copy someone else,” Homer said. “Growing up I wanted to be John Wooden, running the 2-2-1 full-court presses. but I learned you take traits from other people but you have to be yourself. they have to do things that suit their personality. Scott has done that and Bryce will too. I know he will.”

Homer believes Bryce is a similar coach, though no one could be nicer than Homer. they share the same offensive and defensive philosophies. Patience is one of the greatest treats Homer brought to Valpo. from that patience, everything bloomed into something positive at the program, where Homer tallied 640 wins and put more than 70 former players into the coaching or teaching profession.

“I’m grounded like how he’s grounded, just spiritually, discipline-wise, being positive,” Bryce said. “I think I’ve been able to observe him at practice for the past six years at practice and how to interact with players. I think I’ll have some of the same stuff in me.”

being so recently removed from the game, Bryce said he can relate to players more directly. He’ll have more audible passion, more to identify with the players he’s had hands-on recruiting with for the past four years. That’s where the biggest difference will come from. but Valpo wanted Bryce because they desire to keep the Drew identity around. It’s an Indiana basketball town that has always had the patience, love and adoration for the game that Homer injected into the program.

Snapping turtles and I go along way back.

When I was a kid, we would have family gatherings at my grandfather’s farm outside Hamilton in Marion County, where one of the main attractions for me, my brothers, cousins and uncles was the small fishing pond out in the cow pasture.

Periodically, the fishing hole would get infested with snappers, which anyone will tell you is not excellent for the bream and bass population.

So my dad and three uncles would get shotguns and when the snappers (as opposed to the more mundane sliders and mud turtles) would stick their distinctive triangular heads up from the water, they would blast away.

They made quick work of each infestation, but more vital to me and my male cousins was the game inspired by the snappers: Giant Turtles, we called it.

We would get in one of the larger rooms of the farm house near the Mississippi state line, turn over all the furniture, push the chairs and small tables to the walls and cover them with sheets and blankets, making five or six hiding places.

The bare center of the room was the pond, of course, and the game would begin by the “Giant Turtles” venturing out (you had to crawl around on your hands and knees; no standing allowed) and engaging in combat.

Of course it was just an excuse for the larger cousins to beat up on the younger ones, but since I was the oldest of all the cousins, it seemed like a fine game to me.

Now I have a more refined game: feeding the turtles in Bee Branch hard dog food (the fish will devour anything soft, like bread, before the turtles have a chance), which I toss to them from the deck.

More than a dozen turtles of all sizes and the occasional catfish, which can handle the hard food in one distinctive gulp, have been coaxed into the feeding frenzy at times.

In recent years the various varieties of sliders that make the creek their home have been joined periodically by snapping turtles, the most notable of which had a hole in its neck below its sharp beak, making it look as if it had two mouths.

It would occasionally make a gurgling sound from the hole in its neck and would even blow bubbles from it when only its real mouth protruded from the cool, spring-fed waters. we called the turtle “old Snappy,” but I have not seen him in the creek this year.

But what I did see last Wednesday was unique in my more than half century of turtle-watching.

When I went to the deck that warm morning, it appeared there were two snappers near the bank waiting for me side by side, their heads sticking up uncommonly close to each other.

As I went around to see below the surface through the dancing reflections of sunlight, I realized that what I was witnessing was actually mating turtles, the larger male on top and the female, which was sticking her long neck out around his to break the water with her own mouth.

And I have to report that the lure of food is apparently greater for snapping turtles than the allure of love, since they quickly parted to fight the fish for the dog food when it hit the water.

I would suspect, but, that they returned to each others’ reptilian embrace after things calmed down in Bee Branch, and I won’t be surprised if I see a few baby snappers in the creek next year.

Another memorable encounter with snapping turtles occurred on Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans outside the famed Tipitina’s night club during Jazz Fest a few years back.

Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers were playing that night and Tip’s had let it be known that Kermit, a trumpet man who plays himself on the HBO New Orleans-centered “Treme” television series, would be barbecuing wings before taking the stage that night.

Since I was staying only a couple of blocks away, I wandered down to the club late that afternoon, where I found Ruffins had already worked up a excellent sweat under his Panama hat as he turned and basted a huge amount of wings on the large grill he pulls around behind his truck.

A long line had already formed and I chose I didn’t want to wait. but as I turned to walk back up Napoleon after chatting with Kermit for a few minutes, I happened to notice that he had two live, medium-sized snapping turtles in the bed of his truck.

He had obviously picked them up at the store where he had gotten the wings (you can do that in The Huge Simple) and I knew it would not be long before Ruffins would have them stewing in a pot of turtle soup, a local favorite.

Being the southern boy that I am, I naturally picked up the nearest long stick and started poking at the critters in an attempt to get them to, well, snap.

It didn’t take too long for a couple of music lovers who had gone through the line to wander over to see what I was up to.

“oh,” said a woman with an ample amount barbecue sauce circling her mouth, “don’t be torturing those poor little creatures!”

“Yeah, man,” said her companion as he sucked on a chicken bone, “not cool.”

I could tell by their accents they were not from these parts and had probably flown in for the festival from the northeast. Probably didn’t know much about snapping turtles, either.

“Okay,” I said, dropping the stick in the truck for the snappers to have at. “go ahead and pet them if you want to. I’m through.”

As I ambled down the sidewalk back up Napoleon I didn’t hear any screams, so I an only assume they didn’t take my invitation.

Reach Tommy Stevenson at tommy.stevenson@tuscaloosa

news.com or 205-722-0194.

I have been fishing for many years now so I am not a fishing newbie but I am not sure about lure colors and how water clarity and weather conditions effect what would be the best choices. I like fishing spinners and crank baits and am asking for tips on color selection in specific conditions. I fish the mississippi river backwaters so the water is usually pretty murky and dark.

Thanks.

I think the best lures to use out there is the senko worm by Gary Yamammoto. You want to use a darker worm (black or watermelon with red speckles) in the case of the mississippi. You want to use an off-set hook that is a 3/0 or a 2/0. the worm itself should be about 5 or 6 inches long. You want to rig it up texas style (weedless) without any weights. look online for that set-up. it will give you a more natural presentation. Make your cast near some structure or weed beds and let the lure sink all the way to the bottom, wait a second, and then lift your rod tip to 12 o'clock and let it drop down. Repeat one more time and then slowly retrieve back to the boat or shore (repeat the same process a few more times). Hope this helps. Best of luck.

u want a whiteand a black buzz bait