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Monday
Apr032023

We Won the Bassmaster classic!!!

I still can't believe it happened but we won the Bassmaster Classic! For anyone who enjoys competitive bass fishing, this is the dream. It's the biggest event in out sport and a legendary event. I owe thanks to a lot of people who have supported me to be on this stage. 

The tournament was held on the Tennessee River, out of Knoxville, TN. For some reason, this body of water and I get along. We put all of our effort into looking for smallmouths and it paid off. The first two days went perfectly, but the third day was extremely tough and I was only able to catch two keepers. I didn't think I would have enough to hang on, but by some miracle, it was tough for everybody else as well. 

The smallmouths on this waterbody had to be 18" to keep so it was challenging to catch keepers. If you got them, they were all big ones however so I went to the tournment prepared to fish for smallmouths exclusively. Fortunately, things worked out. 

It was awesome to share the experience the winning moment with my wife Shelby. She is my best friend and is a big part of the team. 

A huge thank you to all of the friends, family and fans who came out to support us in Knoxville, at the morning blast-offs and the weigh-ins...the crowds were unbelieveable. You guys make the event so special! Huge thank you to Bassmaster for offering this incredible stage for all of the anglers! 

Monday
Oct242022

A good season in the Lund!!

Well guys, I have not kept up the blog portion of my website very good the past few months...been to busy in my boat! It was a good season, I probably spent more time in my Lund 2075 Pro-V Bass than I ever have, so no complaits there! Fished as many tournaments as I could, qualified for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic and had some fun catching a bunch of fish! 

We finished the Elite Series season up north at the St. Lawrence River, NY., Lake Oahe, SD., and the Mississippi River, WI. I ended up wit three finishes in the 20's in those, which was good. The last couple were a little disappointing because I had some great starts and then didn't finish as strong but my consistency has been getting better every year. The 2022 season was special because I had my highest Elite Series AOY finish (14th) and I actually managed to catch a limit every day of competition through the season. Only one other angler did that...it's a lot harder to do than it sounds!! 

Live in action on a rough Lake Oahe in August...I'm very lucky that I get to fish out my Lund. It is the most versatile bass boat I've ever been in...it can go shallow, it's great in big water, I can pull it up on the bank for a shore lunch, it's just a great rig. I have it set up with Minn Kota and Humminbird gear, it's a real fishing machine! 

I owe a huge thank you to all of my supporters, sponsors and friends who help me get on this Elite Series stage. It's the dream job for me and I'm grateful for it every day! 

Around home, it was a good season. The highlight was winning the Crow Lake Classic with my wife Shelby. It's always one of the weekends/tournaments that we look forward to most every year...she put a couple of the biggest fish in the boat for us in this one, like she usually does! 

My good friend John Peterson and I have fished the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship together since 2007 and we always have a good time there as well. It's one of the bigger open tournaments in Canada on beautiful Rainy Lake. We had a great tournament, ending up in 2nd place this year...we'll be back again next year! 

When I'm not tournament fishing, I'm still out there, happy to catch anything that will bite. I spend quite a bit of time catching walleye on Lake of the Woods and it's been as good as I've ever seen it the past couple of years...a lot of the walleyes are spending the summer much shallower than they used to, I think because of all the crayfish in the lake and we hammer them with Z-Man soft plastics rigged on a jig head. Lot's of eaters and lots of big ones. 

In addition to bass and walleye, we also have excellent fishing for lake trout, pike, musky and crappie. I spend some time catching them all! 

And crappies!! If you're interested in a guide trip...send me a message. I don't have a ton of free days but I can usually find a few here and there to get out fishing with people. 
Thanks again to everybody for all of the support!

 

Friday
May272022

A busy spring

The past couple of months have been go-go-go for us with plenty of fishing activities to keep us busy! My tournament season has been going a little better the past couple of events with solid finishes of 19th at Lake Chickamauga and 24th at Lake Fork. I'm on the right side of the line for qualifying for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic but I need to keep it going over the next few events...I'm nowhere near being comfortable yet! 

This 8-9 bass won big fish for me on day three of the Lake Fork event, caught it flipping a jig into a tree...no better way to catch a big one! (video of it in the link below)

Here is a recap video of my Lake Fork event with some of my fish catches.

Back in April we fished at Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee and I had a good event despite a tough bite. Caught fish there on a variety of baits and techniques.

There is the Chickamauga recap video, including some of my fish catches from that event. 

Back at the end of March we did an ice fishing trip up to Five Lakes Lodge in Red Lake, Ontario and had a great weekend catching some giant pike along with plenty of eater walleyes. If you want to experience the best ice fishing of your life you need to plan a trip to Five Lakes! 

If you know me, you know that I love shed hunting and because of the crazy snowfall we got this year I didn't get to go around home but I did get a weekend out in western Canada with some friends and we had a good time...along with finding a few sheds! 

Wednesday
Mar092022

A new season is underway

The 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series season started back up in early February down in Florida with back to back stops at the St. John's River and the Harris Chain. It wasn't my best start to the season with middle of the pack 51st and 47th place finishes to start the year. I caught fish at both venues but couldn't catch a big fish at either stop. Definitely need to start catching some bigger fish! 

Just before the season started, Shimano hosted us for a few days of fishing at Bienville Plantation in North Florida where we got to test and play with some of the new gear they have coming in 2022. I got my hands on one of the new Stella FK reels and it is incredible! Nicest reel that I've ever used! 

I'm lucky that I have great support in a lot of the places that we fish! The Russell's looked after Shelby and I when we were in Florida. Thanks guys! 

Before the Bassmaster Classic I got to spend a couple of days fishing at Lake Lanier in North Georgia...it is my favourite lake in the south and it was a blast. There aren't a lot of places where you can catch big spotted bass consistently, especially at a large, tournament lake. It was fun. Unfortunately when we got to Lake Hartwell a few days later for the Classic things were starting to change after we recieved a big warm-up in weather. 


As always, the Bassmaster Classic was a fun week. Again, mediocre fish landed me a 41st place finish. I caught a bunch of fish but was cursed on not being able to catch a big one. The crowds for the Classic were amazing, at the morning blast-offs, the afternoon weigh-ins and the expo. Never want to miss fishing in this tournament!

Getting to walk across that Classic stage is the biggest rush we have in our sport...big thank you to all of my friends and family who attended and all of the fans who supported the event. It's special! 
The Elite Series season resumes next week at Santee Cooper Lake in South Carolina. 

Wednesday
Nov172021

Fall was good!!!

After the Elite Series season wrapped up in July I was able to get home and enjoy the rest of the summer and fall doing a bunch of fishing around Sunset Country. It's a great place to live if you enjoy activities in the outdoors. In addition to a bunch of fun fishing, I fished several tournaments with friends and family over the past few months. 

Earlier in the summer I got the Humminbird Mega-Live forward facing sonar installed on my boat. This was the most significant piece of equipment I have ever had on a boat. It has literally changed the way I fish and has increased my catches on most bodies of water. It's incredible technology! Can't wait to continue learning with it in 2022! 

In August I fished the Kenora Bass International tournament with my long time buddy Chris Savage. We had a great weekend, landing 4th place. This tournametn is one of the originals in Canada, started way back in 1988 and still going strong today. Always one of the highlights of the summer for me!

In September I fished the Bassin' for Bucks tournament with Mike Reid. We've fished this event together since it started in 1996, it's another fun event with a full field of 120 boats every year. We took 3rd this year, three days of solid fishing on Lake of the Woods. Congratulations to Ashley and Jamie Bruce on the win!

The following weekend, Shelby and I fished the Crow Lake Classic and won it. We found a few good spots on this beautiful body of water and caught some nice smallmouths! We always have fun in the boat together, especially at this tournament put on by the Hanson family at their resort on the lake. Highly recommend this event for anyone looking for a good time...and again, the lake is beautiful with crystal clear water and pine covered shorelines. 

The Shoal Lake Last Chance tournament was next...have fished this one with my pal Dennis Favreau since the early 2000's. It's some of the best fishing we have in NW Ontario (for largemouth and smallmouth) and a great lake to fish tournaments on - it's big with lot's of options. We had a great weekend of fishing but didn't catch the big ones. Ended up 7th, I think.

In early October I fished the Whitefish Bay Fall Classic with my Dad. He started taking me in bass tournaments back in 1993 and gave me the bug...I'm grateful! We had fun but finished 12th after a tough first day. Second day went much better and he landed big largemouth of the day so we got our money back! 

The last tournament of the year took place north of Kenora on the English River/One Man Lake system. The Whitedog Kick'n Bass derby was a great way to end the season. My brother Ben and I teamed up and we had a great weekend, winning the tournament. Benny also caught his biggest smallmouth, a 5.13 pounder on day one. I spent three days prefishing for this event and they were some of the most enjoyable days I had all year. I had never fished this water before but it was incredible, not only for bass but for walleye and pike as well. It's a factory! Can't wait to go back next year! 

Following the tournament season, Shelby and I paired up to shoot an episode of the Lund Ultimate Fishing Experience TV show, which we did on Lake of the Woods. Had a great day, catching pike, walleye and smallmouth. It will air in early spring 2022. You can check out past episodes of the show at the link above. 

In addition to the fishing, we get out and do a little bit of hunting in the fall. Deer and moose but my favourite thing to do is get after the ruffed grouse that are plentiful around the region. They are great eating little birds and getting out to chase them around with friends is always a good time.