Monday, December 29, 2008

Season is half-way over!!

We

Season is half-way over and we are doing well!! As of today we have harvested 1010 ducks and 203 geese. We've had migrating geese for the last 10 days and it has been great! The ducks have just been coming in waves. The first month has been fantastic! If you'd like to come join in the mix contact Terry Pike at 618.997.1124

Until then,I'll see ya in the pit,
Duke

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The night before season...











Well, it's the night before duck season starts, and as if on cue, here comes the adrenaline induced insomnia. Well, I know tomorrow night after a good dose of Thaksgiving turkey, I'll sleep like a log! Here's a few pictures from last season...
























Wednesday, November 5, 2008

After the season...

To say the least I'm a "little" behind on my blogging. The season is over, I managed to make two of the three end of the year championships, I was attempting to qualify for. The Forrest Wood Cup and the Illinois Bass Federation Open Trail Classic. The first circuit you should recognize as the championship for the FLW Tour, the second circuit (The IBF Open Trail) is pro-am style tournament, with five events across the state of Illinois and an end of the year championship that awards the pro side winner with a brand new ranger boat. With all of that said, apparently this year wasn't my year to do well in championship type tournaments. I finished a dismal 49th in the FLW Cup and 14th in the IBF Classic. Although this year wasn't as profitable as I had hoped, it looks like I'll have enough money to pursue this dream one more year, Lord willing I'll see a little more success in 2009.

Now that the season is over, it's time to shift my attention to my second "job" guiding waterfowl hunts at Pike's hunting Club in Marion, IL. If you're interested in waterfowl hunting, Pike's is the place to go. Owner Terry Pike provdes a family environment along with some excellent waterfowling. He can be reached at 618.997.1124, day hunts are $125 which includes lunch (and alot of the time some home-baked browines for dessert, made by Terry's wife)

Thanks for stopping by, look for more updates about waterfowl season and the upcoming tournament season.

Thanks again,
Duke

Friday, May 23, 2008

Lake Norman and Beaver Lake FLW Tournaments

Well, as good as the year started, the last two events have been brutal. I waited on the net for a fish at Norman, and should have just lifted it into the boat. The fish got away, and I missed a check by 7oz. Beaver lake on the other hand, I just plain fished terrible! I've got to learn to catch fish behind people, even when I'm dealt a little adversity. At Norman, I used light line (6lb Maxima Fluorocarbon) and a G-Loomis spinning rod. At Beaver it was 20lb Maxima Fluorocarbon on my G-Loomis flipping sticks, what a difference between the two! Either way, I've got to finish in the top 50 of the next two tournaments to make the championship. I've definitely got some work to do!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Smith Lake FLW Tour Tournament

Well if anything will diminish the sting of a bad tournament, it's having a decent one. I finished 43rd at the Smith Lake event last week, coupled with my 32nd place finish at the Lake Toho FLW Tour event, puts me in 13th place overall in the points race. The top 40 co-anglers in the tour get to go to the FLW Cup (previously named the FLW Championship). There's four more tournaments to go, but at least we're off to a good start.

Lake Wheeler FLW Series Tournament

Well, Wheeler is over, I missed getting a check by 14 oz. What a bummer. As expected a person needed to have at least one 3lb fish with a limit of 2lbers each day to cash a good check. I finished 77th. I;m going to have to get better at this game QUICK!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Wheeler Lake Practice

Practice has been very interesting. It seems that you can get a bite on several different baits, but catching a bass over 2.5 lbs is quite a bit more difficult. This is definitely going to be a tournament, that whether or not you get a check will be decided by which anglers can catch one or two kicker fish per day. Obviously, when you fish at this level, somebody is always going to catch them and catch them well. Having only caught two fish over 3 lbs, I am going to have to get better dialed in to that bite. Well, the proof is in the pudding so to say, so we'll see what happens after the first day.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

FLW Series Lake Wheeler

I've been gettin' stuff ready for the FLW Series at Lake Wheeler in Decatur Alabama. This tournament should be a good one, the Tennessee river impoundments seem to be at their best in late March / early April. I really believe the fish should be up and very suceptable to flipping bite, but it's all going to depend on the lake level. Regardless, I'm going to be armed with my Gloomis Flipping sticks, Maxima 20lb flourocarbon and my Lunker Lure Ultimate Rattling Jigs. Let's hope they went shallow, Lord willing they have!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Kentucky Lake BFL March 15th

Wow, the guy's at Kentucky Lake just keep catching them. This lake undoubtedly is one of the best lake's in the country when it comes to pre-spawn bass fishing. I recently competed in the first Walmart BFL tournament of the season at Kentucky Lake and was fortunate enough to finish in 7th place, with a total weight of 18lbs and 13oz. Tommy Williams won the event with 23lbs and 10 oz. Despite the good weight, I had a pretty tough time getting bit until late in the afternoon. I was able to boat 6 of the nine keepers I caught in the last hour and a half. I caught the majority of my fish on a rattle trap, which I fished on 12lb Maxima monofilament line, Gloomis Crankbait Rod Model # CBR844 and a Shimano Chronarch reel 6.2:1 retreive ratio. The fish are really setting up to move shallow, the water just needs to warm up about 6-8 degrees and these fish will be going gangbusters in the shallows. It seems that a lot of the better fish are still set-up on main lake areas and secondary points, with a little hunting, it doesn't take long to find them. Well, that's all for now, good luck and good fishin'...
Duke