Heading to the Big Show...

I'm getting a few ducks in a row for an upcoming trip to the Bassmaster Classic.  No, I'm not fishing it, I'm headed down to work for fellow PAA fisherman and boat builder extraordinaire Gary Clouse and the Phoenix Boat company.  The classic is a great show, all the new gadgets are there.  All the latest stuff with all the bells and whistles right where you can put your hands on 'em.  Pretty cool actually.  If you ever get the chance to go, do it, it's worth the trip.  I'll let you know how it goes.
God Bless,
Duke

High School Bass Fishing

Yes, you read the title correctly, I said High School bass fishing.  Some of you may have heard about it, some of you maybe haven't.  The state of Illinois has sanctioned bass fishing as a sport, yes, I said sport.  This will actually be the 4th year for the IHSA state bass fishing tournaments.  For the record, I believe there were over 240 participating schools in last years events.  How's that for a program that doesn't "cater" to the masses?  Regardless, the number of participating schools has continued to grow each and every year which is encouraging.  It only leads to getting more folks involved in the outdoors.
We held our first team meeting last week, a meet and greet with new students and their parents, as well as a chance to talk to our returning students.  It looks like we are going to have a pretty good number of kids involved in the program this year.  We've got a lot of underclassmen involved this year, which is great, it leads to longevity of the program, as well as a chance to teach and hone an angler's skill for several years. 
If you happen to live in a state outside of Illinois, you too can still start a fishing club at your local high school, get involved and take a kid fishing!
God Bless,
Duke

Talking Fishing...

I spent some time the other evening with the local 4H club, talking a little fishing.  We discussed not only fishing in general, but professional fishing as well.  How the whole tournament process works, how you prepare, that sort of stuff.  We also talked about fun fishing, the lures and techniques that work very well when you just want to go out and catch a few fish.  All in all it was a great time, with a lot of great questions.  So I'd like to give a special thanks to the PC Panthers 4H club for allowing me to come and spend some time with them.  
One last note, if your not familiar with the Anglers Legacy, take a minute an go to www.takemefishing.org look it over, see what you can do.
God Bless,
Duke

 Here's a few pics from the other night....


Deep in thought...




Lots of youngsters, its never to early to introduce them to fishing



Where did the time go?

I'll start with acknowledging that I'm a little behind in blogging, I recognize that and apologize to those who regularly visit.  So how far behind you ask...about 60 days...for all practical purposes two months.  A fairly significant amount of time in most people's lives, 16.6% of a year or 1/6th if fractions are your deal.  Why all of the discussions about 60 days? It is the exact number of days a person in southern Illinois is allowed to duck hunt, for that matter it is the maximum number of days most states allow for their duck seasons.  And you ask again why does this matter?  In the last 60 days, I have spent 45 of them afield, doing what I love to do, guiding waterfowl hunters.  Instead of the normal 60 days afield like most years, I experienced a duck season ending spill in the field on December 30th, tore my MCL (ligament in the knee) and strained my ACL (yep, also a knee ligament) and consequently took myself outta the duck hunting game.  But, as I sit here and think about the last 60 days, what a pleasure it was to watch ducks, sometimes by the thousands swarm into our field of flooded corn, with no inhibition whatsoever.  Sharing that sight with fellow duck hunters who may have never seen such a thing is what makes a day guiding feel more like recreation that a job.  I'll add a side-note...at about the 40th straight 12-14 hour day, you sometimes forget that you're blessed to be afield for so many days, but by the end of season, but you start to remember how blessed you are when it's all coming to an end. 
It's a little tough to think that so much can happen in 60 days, but I watched my oldest lab Callie, show me that age does matter, as she can longer get in and out of the pit on a daily basis, its looking like a hip or leg issue.  She just turned eight years old on opening weekend, but at the end of last season she had eclipsed 2500 lifetime retrieves in the field, so I'm figuring the issue is related to high mileage.  Since I wasn't able to hunt Callie, I took my young dog Harley to the field and was able to put quite a few birds on him, which really turned him on, and with another 10 months of training between now and next season, he should be ready to go . 
All in all, despite a few set-backs there were some silver linings to the clouds, which makes me ready for next year.   So, to all the duck hunters I got to share a day in the field with, "Here's to ya!"   I hope to see ya next year, and if you didn't make it to the pit with me in 2011-2012, come back next season I believe it will be a great one!
God Bless,
D

And we're off...

If the opening three days of duck season are any indication of how season is going to go, then it's gonna be a wild one!  So far we have been covered up with ducks.  Watching a bunch of mallards wad up and fall into your decoys never ceases to amaze me, or the times when you hit 'em with a good five note call and they turn on their side to get back to you, that's the stuff duck hunters dream about.  So far it's been a dream come true.  I know tougher days in the field are likely ahead of me, it's just nice to relish in the not-so-tough ones.  If you like to duck hunt, come spend a day in the pit blind with me at Pike's Hunting Club, I promise it'll be a hoot.  I'll keep ya posted on how the season is going.
God Bless,
Duke

Twas the night before...

Nope, not Christmas, Duck season!  That's right, my annual pilgrimage to the Waterfowl hunting club takes place in the morning.  We put the final touches on the club yesterday and as of right now we have got a lot of ducks in the field.  It looks like we're going to have one whale of an opening weekend.  I'm sure I'll make the trip home a few times for sure, so check back to see how the season is going.  You can also see how season is going by following me on Twitter @Duke_Jenkel  or if you'd like swing by Pike's Hunting Club in Marion, IL and hunt a few ducks with me.   I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!  Remember to be thankful for the many blessings we're given each day, that all too often we take for granted.  Check back, and I should have a report on opening weekend of waterfowl season.
God Bless,
Duke

Second chance at some late season doves

Southern Illinois' late season dove season came in yesterday.  So this afternoon, I'm going to give them one more shot, thanks to the fact the cornfield next to my house has been harvested.  Since then, the late migrating doves have flocked into the field pretty good.  The only issue with late season hunting is the fact the doves won't take much hunting pressure, but hopefully we'll get a few before they move to the next harvested field to avoid hunting pressure.  I'll let you know how we do.
God Bless,
Duke

Barren River Lake BFL Regional...Patterns and baits

Here is a quick recap of the baits and pattern I used for the Barren River Lake BFL regional last week.  I started the week of practice fishing shallow in the backs of the creeks, and had a pretty decent day doing that, a rough estimate on weight would have been around 12 lbs. 
I started day two of practice looking for some deeper fish, as they were dropping the lake approx 6-8 inches per day (the winter drawdown had begun).  I spent 6 or 7 hours fishing deep and managed only a few bites, no decent keepers, so with a few hours of daylight left I went shallow and caught 3 nice keepers on a trap. 
Day 3 began still trying to force the deep bite, after a few hours of fishing and only two bites, I began to fish shallow again and immediately caught two keepers.  It was at this point I ran into my travel partner and we discussed the shallow bite and agreed that everytime we went up shallow we caught better fish.  We then decided to work together and we ran the upper half of the lake looking for specific areas that matched the type of areas we were catching them in shallow.  In the next few hours we had approximately ten keeper bites between us, which only solidified our decision to stay shallow during the tournament.
I fished the entire tournament running flat shallow pockets on the main lake, upriver and in Skaggs creek.  I abandoned fishing in the backs of the pockets, there was too much fishing pressure in these areas.  You could run the lake and identify the areas by sight that matched the pattern I was running, which in turn allowed me to run and gun all day, never fishing anything twice, trying to cover as much water as possible each day.  My day one weight was four fish for 8lbs 5oz, I lost a three pounder on a buzzbait that would've given me my limit.  My co-angler had a limit weighing 13lbs 2 oz.  I was in 30th, he was in 2nd. 
Day two of the tournament switched from cloudy skies and wind to high blue skies, little to no wind.  I believe that fishing pressure and weather conditions combined to change the fish I was catching.  It seemed that the fish pulled up tighter to cover on day 2.  I switched from topwater baits to a squarebill crankbait, a lipless crankbait and a tube to catch a limit weighing 9lbs 8oz, which moved me up eighteen places into 12th, the last man in the cut.
Day three started with a two hour fog delay, I was about two pounds out of 6th place (the top 6 anglers qualify for the All-American), so I knew I needed to have a decent day.  I again caught my fish early on a squarebill and a tube, but late in the day I began to run shady pockets throwing my spook, with 25 minutes to go I caught a 2.75lb fish on my spook.  I ended the day with 5lbs 13oz and moved up 7 spots to 5th place, qualifying for the BFL All-American next May on the Potomac River. 
Despite the falling water levels this week, I caught all of my fish this week in water that was less than 3 feet deep, and often in less than a foot of water.  I found the majority of my good fish, and I identified the pattern I ran by throwing a Zara Super Spook jr and a Lunker Lure buzzbait.  When weather conditions changed I had to adjust, the topwater baits found them, on day two the squarebill caught them, but ultimately it was one last bight on the Spook that put me in the All-American.  Below are some pictures of the rod/bait combos I threw this week.
I'd like to take the opportunity to praise my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for providing exactly what it took to to qualify, despite what seemed like not enough weight to make the All-American.


God Bless,
Duke

Powell 704CB rod - Super Spook jr  on 30lb Power Pro Braid

Powell 705cex rod - 1/2 oz Lunker Lure Original Buzzbait on 20lb Fluorocarbon

Powell 703CB glass rod - 1/4oz Lucky Craft LVR mini on 10lb Maxima Monofilament

Powell 766 Flipping Stick - 3/16oz weight, Gamakatsu Heavy cover Flipping hook - 20lb Fluorocarbon



Powell 703CB Glass - Lucky Craft 1.5 - Maxima 15lb monofilament



My 2011 BFL Regional is in the books...

It's done, it's over, and miraculously enough, I did well.  At what? The Barren River Lake BFL Regional last week.  I managed to finish in 5th place and qualify for the 2012 BFL All-American, and I'm absolutely stoked!   I had a decent practice and an ok tournament.  I never really whacked them any of the three days, but I just managed to stay somewhat consistent and on a tough fishery that'll do ya real well.  I owe a thanks to my roommate Aaron McManaway, who I worked together with to figure out what these fish were doing.  He also made the final day cut, but fell just two pounds short of making the All-American.  It would have been pretty awesome if both of us would have made it!  I'll post more info about the baits and patterns shortly, right now I'm a little tired and a nap sounds like a good idea.
God Bless,
Duke

BFL Regional is right around the corner

Other than a few local events, my last out of town tournament will take place next week at Barren River Lake in Glasgow, KY.  I spent two days there late last week, prior to the off-limits period, and it seems to be a pretty decent little lake.  It's not a real big lake, you can travel from one end to the other in less than 30 minutes, but I think it will fish fairly big, I'm hoping anyway.  Regardless, I feel like a couple of days there riding around and fishing a little have been a big help.  I did manage to catch a few fish, even a couple nice ones, we'll see if I can expand on what I learned when I get there later this week, Lord willing I will be able to that. Here's a pic of one of the nicer ones I caught.
God Bless,
Duke




Five of these a day would be SWEET!!!