PAA Tournament Neely Henry - Day 2 Canceled due to weather

Lightning and driving rain was the weather at take-off this morning. With severe thunderstorms, large hail and tornadoes predicted for noon at Gadsden, AL the PAA Tournament staff decided to cancel day two and allow the whole field to compete on the third and final day..

I was very blessed to catch 17.25 lbs on Day one and be in 4th place heading into the final day. I'm .44 lbs out of second, and 4+ pounds out of first. Lord willing I'll catch a good bag tomorrow and finish in the top 5!!

PAA Tournament - Neely Henry

Well, practice is going ok, I caught a lot of small fish, only a few good ones. I had the chance to go to Birmingham, AL and be on the Rick and Bubba morning show Tuesday morning with Snickers Pro Greg Pugh, and Jasper Engines and Transmissions Pro Chad Morgenthaler. We had a blast!! These guys are a hoot! Any way here's a few pics of the event.

PAA Tour...round two

Well, it's been a month since I posted last, not much has been going on, until now. I've got a few days to get ready for the next PAA event in Gadsden, Alabama at Neely Henry Lake. The lake is high and muddy and with the full moon hitting on the second day of the event (April 10th) the fish are most likely going to be spawning, and impossible to see. It should make for a real fun time...or not so much. Hopefully the rain lets up for the next week and the water clears up some. We'll see. I'll try to post some progress of my practice and the event as the week goes on...

PAA Payday Program

If you haven't heard, the PAA Payday program is a great way to earn some extra money. The PAA has a large list of tournament trails that are sanctioned under their new Payday Program. In a nutshell, earn up to $250 dollars for a win in a regular season event or $500 dollars at an end of the year championship. All the details are listed at http://fishpaa.com/?page_id=1862 join today and don't miss out on some extra money, not to mention some great savings on tackle, hotels and more through the affinity program.

Runnin' across Toho

Here's a little video taken by one of my observers, we were running across Lake Toho when he took the video.

PAA Tour...now we're fishing!

The Professional Angler's Association (http://www.fishpaa.com/) is an organization ran by angler's for the betterment of competitive bass fishing. They currently have a nationwide tournament trail called the PAA Tour. I compete in this tournament series and recently finished the first event of the year in Kissimee, Florida on Lake Toho. All anglers fish two days and the top 50 return to compete a final third day. All anglers making the top fifty cut will get a check. I made the cut in 43rd place and finished the event in 39th place. I caught my fish the first day using an Excalibur Xr50 and a Dunn's big bite Trick Stick (junebug color), the second two days required slowing down, so I flipped heavy matted vegetation with a one and three quarter ounce (1.75) Penetrater Weight with65lb Spider Ultra Braid on a 7' 5" Gloomis Flipping Stick (Model # BCFR 894). My bait of choice was a 3" Dunn's Honey Bug in Black and Blue and Black Neon Colors.

On one final note, I travel with Jasper Engines and Transmissions Pro Chad Morenthaler, I like to thank his wife for some wonderful meals, and the free entertainment provided by their two cats, especially the black one. He is "special" to put it politely!!

It was a good start to the season, Lord willing I'll continue to be successful.

Here are a few pictures taken on the last day of prctice. The next event is at Neely Henry Lake in Alabama, in Mid-April.

Duck season is over...now what?

Well, Duck season is over and I'm left wondering...Now what do I do? No doubt the answer is go fishing..as soon as it warms up and the water thaws out! If you missed out on duck hunting this year, come see us at Pike's Hunting Club in Marion, IL. We had an incredible year!! Check out the latest pics.

Until next season, I'll see you on the water.

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

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...

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