Gearing up for another tournament, headed to another river...

It's the second river system I've been on this month, of course the last was the mighty Mississippi, this time it was the Tennessee.  I'm getting ready for another tournament that takes place the first part of August, it launches upstream of the Tennessee river, on the Ohio.  To get to the Tenn. river, I'll have to lock one time, not too bad, but locking always introduces the chance of not being able to return to weigh-in on time if the locks are busy with commercial boat traffic (barges to be exact).  The commercial boats get priority over pleasure boats, so it can be gamble.  I got to spend an entire day on the Tennessee a few days ago and it turned out to be ok, not great, not terrible, just ok.  I managed to catch quite a few keepers, but couldn't really catch anything of any size.  So my next scouting trip will be to the Cumberland river, you see, when you lock down one time from Golconda, IL (that's where the tournament is taking off from), you enter the pool of the Ohio where Paducah, KY is located, this too is the area where the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers dump into the Ohio.  So as an angler you have a choice to run up either the Tennessee or the Cumberland, both can offer some excellent fishing.  Normally I don't practice this far in advance of a tournament, but I haven't been on the Tennessee or Cumberland in several years, so I wanted to give myself an opportunity to get re-familiarized with the rivers, before I make a judgement about where I am going to fish on tournament day.  The good thing is it is summer, and fish habits shouldn't change a whole lot between now and the tournament, so most of what I find in these early trips should remain as a viable option come tourney day.
Stay tuned, I'll continue to post how its going.  I will say it's been fun just getting back to some of the waters I fished early in my career, Lord willing I'll get to experience some of the same great results.
God Bless,
Duke

All the latest gadgets and goodies...

ICAST, it's the fishing worlds biggest new product showcase in existence.  I've never been, want to, just haven't, but the good folks at Wired2Fish go every year, and they always deliver, in a big way.  take a minute and check 'em out, then you can see what we all would like to have seen in person...ICAST, I definitely gotta get there one of these days.
God Bless,
Duke

Lunker Lure fires up it's blog

Check out the blog at one of my sponsors  http://www.lunkerlure.com/ .  They have got their blog going, and from what I understand they will be providing tips, product reviews and some comments from their pro-staff, swing by and check it out.

God Bless,
Duke

The river was a little high and a little tough...

The Ol' Mississippi river was a little tough on me.  I only managed three keepers for yet another middle of the pack finish.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not terribly upset with my finish, I can't expect much on only 6 hours practice, I still don't like getting beat though.  Anyway, I managed to catch the few keepers I caught flipping wood cover in the back of some oxbows off of the main river.  I also caught a few fish on a spinnerbait.  On a good note, I'm up to 33rd in the points standings, after missing the first event of the season, so that's a good deal.  I am going to have to kick it up a notch to ensure that I stay in the top 40 and qualify for the regional tournament.  I do have a couple of neat things to share.  Check back as I'll post them when I get the pictures ready.
God bless,
Duke

Re-group and Re-focus

It's time to shake off the funk that Table Rock put on me and focus on the next event.  Lord willing Friday I will be headed to Ft. Madison, IA for a FLW Outdoors BFL.  This year the Illini division scheduled an event at Ft. Madison, on the Mississippi River.  I'm looking forward to getting back on the river, I haven't fished there since August of 2009 when I competed in a Stren Series event.  I was blessed to have finished well in that event, and am hoping my good relationship with the river continues.  One issue that has me somewhat concerned is the high water levels.  The areas around FT. Madison, and many areas up stream have been inundated with rain, large quantities of rain and it has the river up in a big way.  Hopefully I'll be able to pulll a rabbit out of my hat and catch a few, or more accurately stated, Lord willing, I'll have a good finish and leave Ft. Madison in good shape in the points race.  I'll keep ya posted on how it goes.
God Bless,
Duke

An old fashioned hind-end kickin'...

That sums up my experience at the PAA Tour event on Table Rock lake.  Apparently my timing was off, but truly, my best answer as to why is...I do not know.  Practice was good, I had a solid gameplan, result: Terrible!  I know I was doing the right things, by that I mean fishing a good solid pattern, I believe the area of the lake I stayed in just got over-pressured.  When I called an audible (started running new water), I never connected with a good school of fish.  How do I know I was on the right track, and that it was my timing?  My good friend and sometimes travel partner Chad Morgenthaler made the day three cut doing exactly what I did for the first two days, he just fished a different area of the lake.  Live and learn I guess.  I'm going to have to get a lot smarter in a hurry!
God Bless,
Duke

I'm here...

Made it into Table Rock last night, got up this morning and had a flat tire.  That's a great way to start practice.  So I'm sitting at the local Walmart getting my tire fixed.  Who needs an early morning bite anyway?  Lol.  Stay tuned, I'll eventually get out on the lake

PAA Tour Heads to Table Rock Lake

The second stop of the PAA Tour will take place next week at Table Rock Lake.  Currently the lake is eleven feet high (roughly).  Which, should make for a good shallow bite (I'm stoked about that).  If it doesn't, I'll be sure to check out a few deep places to keep em honest.  I'll be picking up a little care package of baits from my friends at Lunker Lure (http://www.lunkerlure.com/) on Friday.  I'll shoot some pics and try to load them prior to leaving.  Good Lluck and Good Fishing.
God Bless,
Duke

Passing it on...

I remember as a young boy, digging worms around the barn, putting them in an old coffee can with some dirt, all in an effort to go fishing.  Well, I dug a few worms the other day, not for me but for my four year old nephew, he went on his first fishing trip with me.  And wouldn't you know it...

He caught his first fish.  So maybe he's not ready for the FLW Tour  just yet, but it's a start.  I think we actually waded and threw rocks in the water more than we fished, but the end result was a fun couple of hours in the afternoon.  Fulfill your angler's legacy, I've got one so far for 2011.
God Bless,
Duke

Angler's Legacy...Have you heard of it?

If you haven't heard of Angler's Legacy, and you enjoy fishing, then you need to follow the link below.  Angler's Legacy is a great organization with an even better goal.  So take a minute, click on the link and by all means, take the pledge.  You'll see what I mean.
God Bless,
Duke


http://www.takemefishing.org/community/anglers-legacy/home