Had Any Uninvited Guests Lately?

As a bass angler's wife slid her life jacket off, her hand brushed against "something that felt funny." When she turned, she saw the 4- or 5-foot snake pictured here.

"With one giant leap, I made it to the front deck, where I almost took out my husband," she subsequently wrote on her Facebook wall.

The husband, however, characterized her movements as more like "levitating to the front of the boat."

Anyone who has been spending time on the water as of late undoubtedly has noticed these creatures once again are starting to stir. And as the temps climb now, they only will become more prolific. The good news is that, of the 7,000 to 8,000 people bitten by venomous snakes in the U.S. each year, only 5 die--so says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In this case, the creature turned out to be non-venomous. That revelation was made possible by the husband who, once the wife's screaming and their dog's barking had stopped ringing in his ears, snapped some photos. He then emailed the pictures to a couple herpetologists who both identified the uninvited guest as a fox snake, which prefers coastal marshes and feeds on small rodents.

The family involved here were vacationing in the Great Lakes at the time. They'd just been fishing behind an island near Green Bay and pulled up after making a run down the shore when the snake incident occurred. The husband theorized the snake probably had hitched a ride on the splashwell by the motor before moving up on the rear deck.

It turns out this wasn't the husband's first run-in with a snake. He said many had tried to crawl onto his boat over the years, including a garter snake that found its way into his outboard motor and got sucked into the carburetor. His motor suddenly started running funny, so he took it in for repairs. Technicians found the snake strung around the inside.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm on the water, especially by myself, I try to remain on full alert for snakes--both in the water and in any stumps or bushes where I'm forced to dig out a lure. In similar fashion, anytime I hear a sound coming from the rear of the boat, I'm instantly looking for the source.

I don't need any surprises scaring me out of what time I otherwise might have left on this place we call earth.

An admonition to "watch your six" is as valid here as it is on the battlefield.

I invite your attention to the non-skid pad showing in the accompanying photo. I have to wonder if its presence is just a precaution or the result of someone having had an up-close-and-personal encounter with going overboard.

"Worst Day Fishing Is Better Than the Best Day at Work"

Is that old saying really true? I still hear it a lot, but I can't help wondering if the people who still use it really believe it, or maybe are just trying to sound positive for the benefit of everyone around them.

After all, bad days on the water can reach seemingly epic proportions--or, at least, that's my opinion, based on a lot of years of personal experience. If some good days are interspersed among all those bad ones, it's a lot easier to stomach the latter. Using the idea, however, of "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," I suggest to you that--just maybe--all bad fishing days, with no good ones mixed in, also might make Jack a little grumpy, if the truth be known.

Following is a story I recently found on the Internet. It involves a guy who just had gotten his first boat--a fish 'n' ski--and he and his buddy were fishing a summer night tournament. It started at 7 p.m., and weigh-in was scheduled for 11 p.m. In this case, the players didn't have a chance to get grumpy. They were too concerned about saving their hide for another day.

"It was cloudy when we left the ramp," said the boat owner. "As we made our way out onto the main body of the lake, the clouds thickened, and the wind picked up. The farther we ran up the lake, the bigger the waves got.

"Suddenly, we hit a large wave, which rushed over the bow of the boat, breaking one of the windshields and filling the boat with water. We scrambled around and headed for shore, with the bilge pump working for all it was worth and both of us bailing water with a coffee can. Then the rain came...and I'm talking heavy rain.

"As quickly as it arrived, though, it was gone. We finally got to start fishing and found it tough going. In the first half-hour, we caught two fish, but they were nothing to write home about.

"About 9:15 p.m., we had pulled up on a shallow-water marker and begun casting spinnerbaits up on the hump when I heard the strangest noise. It sounded like static from an a.m. radio. I figured out it was coming from my rod, and the higher I raised it, the louder it got. My partner said, 'Hey, look at this!' As if by magic, his fishing line was lifting out of the water.

"Once I figured out this phenomeon was caused by static electricity in the air, I hollered, 'Let's get out of here--NOW!'

"We cranked the big engine and ran across the lake for cover. We beached the boat on the sandy shore and, in one movement, we both left the boat for a covered picnic table on the shore. When the rain, thunder and lightning passed this time, we headed back down the lake to the ramp, dropped our fish back in the water, put the boat on the trailer, and left--thankful to still be alive. On the way home, we were listening to the radio and heard the news anchor say a tornado had passed near the lake.

"The next day, we learned that not one of the other 63 boats in the tournament had caught a fish before packing up and leaving the area themselves.

"If we just had weighed in those three fish..."

In conclusion, I want to get back to my earlier question about whether the old saying used as the title of this post is true or not. Please allow me to leave you with one friendly suggestion: I would pick and choose carefully with whom I discussed such matters. Otherwise, you might stir up a major dose of "grumpy"--need I say more?

I also found a couple of videos that describe some other folks who had bad days. View 'em at these links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S8Y0uizoLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtTL4BVGsbM

Incidentally, some of you may remember that I posted an item last year on best and/or worst fishing days. I assure you, however, this is not a duplicate of that earlier post.

When 8 Hours on the Water Aren't Enough

There seems to be no shortage of unintentional reminders popping up that one is--let's say--past the prime of their life. I got another one this past Saturday.

We just had completed another 8-hour event in the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney Series, and after being up since 2 a.m., I pretty much was "running on fumes" as I cleaned up my boat near the door to my storage building at the marina. Suddenly, I looked up to see two young Marines who had fished the tourney with us coming toward me in their pickup.

As they drew near, I could tell they wanted access to the tent next door, which houses their boat. So I backed my rig partly inside the storage building to give them the necessary clearance. Minutes later, they had finished hooking their boat to the pickup and was headed toward the ramp.

Later, while talking to a member of the marina staff, I asked him if those boys indeed had gone fishing again, and he quickly assured me they had. After running an errand off the marina premises, they had come back for Round 2.

All I could do was shake my head, but then I remembered another time several years ago when my role was reversed. The operative phrase that simultaneously sprang to mind Saturday was, "What goes around comes around."

My folks still were alive at the time, and I had made a trip home in the late fall to help them get ready for another Kansas winter. One of the things Dad had wanted done was to have me help him move and stack some wood closer to the house to keep Mom and him cozy all winter. We used Dad's ol' pickup for the operation, but even with that, I've never been able to forget how painstakingly slow the job became.

Dad would toss four or five pieces of wood in the bed of the pickup, then would want to rest for 5 or 10 minutes. And he wanted me to join him for that rest each time. "Come on, Son, sit a while, so you don't wear yourself out," he would say. So, we'd sit and jaw about old times, politics and you-name-it for a spell, which ultimately turned what should have been a two- or three-hour job into a two-day operation.

The thing I was having a hard time with was remembering the fact the dad I had known as a kid was a man who knew no limits on his energy levels. He would work sunup to sundown, and I only rarely ever saw him take a break, except for a drink of water or to grab a quick lunch, and then he was right back on the job. He constantly preached "an honest day's work for an honest day's wage," and he practiced what he preached.

Working with Dad on jobs during my summer breaks in high school was a lesson in toughness. He wouldn't tolerate slackers among those people who worked for him, and that included his sons. Of course, that upbringing served me well once I joined the Navy, and I many times thanked him in the years that followed.

The point here simply is that we all have our "day in the sun," and we'd best enjoy it while we can, because those hands of time eventually catch up to everyone. And even though the folks around us most times don't mean to be serving reminders that we're past our prime, that's the way some of us tend to interpret things.

It currently takes me about two days to recuperate from one of our tournaments, and here were two Marines who had the energy to fish the same tournament, run an errand, and then go back for a few more hours--just for the fun of it. I truly envy anyone with that kind of energy levels.

It's Time to Register for the 2016 Cancer Classic

Fishing tournament...picnic (with enough food to feed an army)...raffles...live music...kids' events--the 15th Annual Steve Gambill Cancer Classic at West Landing Marina promises all this and more. Mark your calendars now for Sunday, June 5th--the day when Chris Vitovich and his hard-working staff of volunteers put into motion those sundry plans they've so diligently been working on these past many months since last year's event.

Foremost on their minds at the moment is getting folks pre-registered for the annual fishing tournament, whether it be the Bass Only Division, or the Open and Junior Divisions. As usual, tournament hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Bass Only Division) and 6:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. (Open and Junior Divisions), with the family-style picnic kicking off at 2:30. As has been the case for several years now, Wayne Hayes will be serving as official weighmaster for the tournament.

The breakdown of costs and rules are as follows for the Bass Only Division: 5 fish per boat, artificial baits only, 12-inch minimum size, $25 per adult, $15 per 15-year-old and younger, $5-per-boat launch fee.

For folks in the Open and Junior Divisions, the costs and rules are thus: 5 fish per participant; live or artificial baits; if fishing from boat, 12-inch minimum size (bass only), plus you can weigh crappie and catfish; if fishing from shore (marina only), you can weigh whatever you catch; $25 per adult, $15 per 15-year-old and younger, $5 launch fee per boat; juniors compete only against other juniors, with the first child paying but the second one free.

Here are a couple more requirements: All participants in the same boat must be competing in the same division, and all state regulations must be followed.

Trophies will be awarded to the 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place winners in each division.

To register, call Chris from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 512-6837 or 468-0972, or go online at www.cancerclassic.org. And remember, registration date and time will determine the order of blastoff, so pre-registration is in your best interests. Pre-registration ends June 1st, but you still can register and pay your fees as late as the day of the tournament, starting at 5 a..m. Be advised, though, that the cutoff date to receive a participant certificate is May 31st.

Make your plans now to attend this event and help Chris continue waging the battle against cancer in the name of his late best friend, Steve Gambill. The goal, of course, is to top last year's contributions to the American Cancer Society, which totaled a record-breaking $15,600. Grand total contributions since the 1st Annual Cancer Classic have amounted to $154,800.

All photos used here were taken during the 2014 and 2015 Cancer Classics.

Big Turnout; Lots of Fish Caught, Too

Despite a lower-than-normal water level and a biting northeast wind, anglers turned out in force to compete against one another today. A total of 23 anglers in 14 boats motored out of the basin this morning when I gave the "go" signal.

Those contestants who walked away with a money envelope today included the following:

1st Place, (from left) John Goodman and Mark London, five bass, 19.50 lbs. total weight, 5.59-lb. big fish.

2nd Place, (from left) Rob Peppers and Dave Anderson, five bass, 13.70 lbs. total weight, no big fish.

3rd Place, Paul Celentano, five bass, 13.03 lbs. total weight, 3.69-lb. big fish.

4th Place, Ronnie McLaughlin, five bass, 12.11 lbs. total weight, 4.94-lb. big fish.

Lunker Award, Mike Evans, three bass, 9.91 lbs. total weight, with his 5.84-lb. winning fish.

Mystery Weight, Ken Testorff, two bass, 3.33 lbs. total weight, no big fish. The weight drawn was 4.45 lbs.








Here is how all the other contestants finished the day:

     * The team of Zack Rhodes and Alec Wommack, five bass, 11.45 lbs. total weight, 3.02-lb. big fish.
     * Steve Bailey, five bass, 11.44 lbs. total weight, 3.23-lb. big fish.
     * The team of Nathan and Marjorie Gottsch, five bass, 10.56 lbs. total weight, 3.13-lb. big fish.
     * The team of Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall, five bass, 9.97 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Mitch Portervint and Skip Schaible, five bass, 8.65 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Mike Speedy and Docota Fox, five bass, 8.55 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Jake Milligan and Jack Rhodes, five bass, 6.83 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Randy Conkle and Bob Glass didn't weigh any fish.

Overall, today's anglers weighed a total of 60 bass for a combined total weight of 139.03 lbs. The average weight was 2.31 lbs.

To date, 14 anglers already have qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next scheduled tournament is Saturday, May 14, from safe light (probably about 5:45) to 2 p.m. I hope you can join us.

We've had anything but what I would consider good weather so far this 2016 season, but that fact in no way diminishes the reality that we're off to one of the best starts ever as far as numbers of fish caught, as well as total weight and average weight.

I only wish ol' Dewey was here to celebrate with us. He always got excited with the kind of numbers we've been putting up to this point in the current tourney season.

Only time will tell if our current success will continue for the long haul. I, for one, hope that it does. The way I see it, Dewey made this gig of ours possible in the first place, and any degree of success we achieve is a fitting tribute to this man who so loved the sport of bass fishing. I still can visualize that mile-wide grin that used to spread across his bewhiskered face anytime someone brought a big fish or a big sack of fish to the scales for weigh-in.

If Only the Walls of My Garage Could Talk...

Maybe then I'd have better luck remembering all the many different long-buried fishing treasures I have stored out there. As it is, however, it usually takes someone or something to jog my memory.

Case in point: Last Saturday, I was talking to an old friend who suggested I should be throwing a lizard at this point in the season. At that moment, I remembered I have a fair-sized stash of lizards in the garage that I haven't used in probably 10 or 15 years, or maybe longer.

I originally got hooked on fishing lizards for springtime bass, thanks to a couple of young military fellas with whom I became friends at West Neck Marina. They made a believer of me when they started showing me photos of some bass they were catching on those soft plastics. It wasn't long before I began finding some success of my own with the same baits.

Lizards or salamanders are natural predators of bass. They will ransack a nest, eating both eggs and fry before the guardian has a chance to react. As a result, bass won't think twice about attacking a plastic lizard dragged into their nest. For best results, the experts suggest that you slowly shake your rod tip once the bait is in the nest, which will get the attention of the adult fish guarding the nest.

The most common techniques for fishing plastic lizards are flipping, pitching and Carolina-rigging. Targeting various wood and rock cover are favorites of anglers. Slowly dragging lizards along humps, ledges and points also can be productive. The ideal retrieves are nearly identical to what you use when fishing plastic worms, e.g., dragging, hopping, crawling, shaking, or swimming the baits. Experiment with different speeds and retrieves until you find what the fish want for that particular day or time-frame.

Swimming lizards is a simple but often overlooked tactic. With this method, simply make your cast and allow the bait to sink to the bottom before starting a slow retrieve. To add a little motion, move your rod tip up and down ever so slightly. Anglers generally agree that bass will take a lizard just as quickly as they will a crankbait.

According to experts, the drop-shot rig is another good presentation for lizards. After you have set up the rig, nose-hook the bait. Now you can cast the lure, put it in the strike zone, and leave it there for as long as you want--all of this while adding considerable movement. Quickly shaking the rod tip and slowly raising the lizard will cause it to dance so tantalizingly that bass can't resist it. The experts contend this setup can and will dominate during the spawn, as well as produce nice limits throughout the fishing season.

Lizards long have been a staple of bass diets and angler tackleboxes everywhere. Why? Because the key to catching bass is to appeal to their biological instincts, and nothing says "attack me" more than a lure designed to imitate a natural predator of fish eggs and fry. If you've never tried one, now might be a good time to do so. The first time you toss one out there, drag it across a bed, and feel that often vicious strike, both you and the fish will be hooked.

Other soft plastics touted as good picks for spawning bass include worms, grubs, crayfish, frogs, and insects. Spinnerbaits, jigs and crankbaits, especially those crankin' models with rattles, also are recommended. Whatever lure you decide on, make sure the hooks are sharp because a bedding bass likely will try to spit the bait out almost immediately.

Raindrops Were Falling When We Launched This Morning

Fortunately, however, they pretty much had ended by the time those 18 of us in 12 boats blasted off from West Neck Marina about 6:15 a.m.

I figured the fishing today would produce some big bags, and I was correct. The top three winning teams and individuals were in a league of their own, so to speak, as evidenced in the following statistics:

Finishing in 1st place was the team of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers, who weighed five bass with a total weight of 17.69 lbs. Their big fish was a 5.23-pounder.

Capturing 2nd place was Al Napier, who weighed five bass with a total weight of 17.47 lbs. His big fish, a 5.43-pounder, secured the day's lunker prize.

In 3rd place at the end of the day was the team of John Goodman and Mark London, whose 14.95-pound bag was more than 5 lbs. ahead of the next nearest competitor. Their big bass weighed 3.29 lbs.

The mystery-weight award went to Mike Evans, who weighed three bass with a total weight of 7.38 lbs. That weight was closest to the 7.25 tab that was drawn.








Here is how all the other competitors ended up at the 2:30 weigh-in:

     * Ronnie McLaughlin, five bass, 9.37 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall, five bass, 8.38 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Steve Bailey, five bass, 5.66 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Ken Testorff, three bass, 4.78 lbs. total weight, no big fisih.
     * Jim Wilder, two bass, 3.70 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Mitch Portervint and Skip Schaible, two bass, 3.10 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Neither the team of Nathan and Marjorie Gottsch nor the team of Nelson Anderson and David Dozier weighed any fish.

Overall, today's anglers weighed a total of 40 bass for a total weight of 92.48 lbs, The average weight was 2.31 lbs.

As part of today's presentation of money envelopes, anglers (from left) Skip Schaible and Rob Chatham received small plaques from the tournament director for their recent man overboards--the real deal, not drills. Fortunately, there were no injuries to either angler.




Congrats to all the winners and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next event is scheduled for next Saturday, April 30, from safe light (about 6:15) to 2:30 p.m. I hope you can join us.

It's that time of year when you often will get a bunch of strikes, but more times than not, the fish will come unbuttoned before you get a chance to touch them. Such was my lot today. I think I probably had a total of about 20 strikes on my topwater, with about 15 of them being hooked so poorly they got off long before I could bring them to the boat. With one leap, they would be gone.

I'm fairly certain I buried the hooks of my topwater in the jaws of a big ol' gar this afternoon, and he made very quick work of my 30-pound braid. In the next couple of minutes, he splashed the water silly, evidently trying to dislodge those hooks. I never went back and checked, though, so I don't know if he was successful or not.

Kept Pepe at Bay Today

Had put two fish in the boat by 10:30 this morning and missed one strike--all on topwater plugs. In order, they weighed 1-2 and 2-2 (pictured below), and the last proved to be the most fun of all.

I tossed my Pop R just past a wind-blown point, popped it once, and had a fish snatch it, but he came unbuttoned almost immediately. I went back a second, third and fourth consecutive time, all with the same results. Finally, though, on the fifth consecutive cast, he got enough of the hooks to stay buttoned. Can't remember the last time I've had that much fun with one fish.

Unfortunately, on one of the hooksets, I had nicked a gill plate, and the fish was bleeding like a stuck pig when I brought him aboard. I immediately put him in a livewell, though, and 30 minutes later, he was as full of himself as ever, so I released him, and he took off for parts unknown.

I spent my day in Albright's. When I came out of the cut-through, I turned left, cut the gas motor, and started fishing my way to the mouth. Once I got there, I fished the entire outside perimeter of the oxbow. I had decided I had enough of West Neck on Tuesday, and figured, too, that the water in Albright's would be cleaner. In areas, it was, but there were stretches of not-so-good-looking water there, too. I just stayed on the trolling motor all day.

Once I got home this evening, I had received another note from Ron Ameika, telling me that he had launched at Old Pungo Ferry Road earlier this evening and went to Spitzle Creek. He tried a variety of lures but only had action with a couple of them.

According to Ron's report, he had a few bumps on a Zoom fluke and lost something rather large that he suspects was a gar. He also landed a few surprise catches, including a channel catfish and this small striper, but no largemouth. The catfish took a fluke; the striper nailed the XTS.

Said Ron, "At least, I didn't get skunked."

Last but not least, I found a note in my inbox from my tourney partner, Rob Chatham, letting me know he had made a trip north today and picked up his new Phoenix bass boat. He included the accompanying photo.

I understand the plan is to start break-in of the outboard this Sunday. He tells me the old 50-hour break-in is a thing of the past--lucky him. I didn't think I'd ever complete those 50 hours I had to log with my SX-170. 'Tis a nice looking rig, my good man.

I'd Be Lyin' If I Said It Was a Surprise

Having read Charlie's fishing report last evening, I knew there was a better than average chance ol' Pepe would show his face today, and my instincts were right. Charlie said West Neck was muddy and filled with all kinds of floating debris yesterday, and those same conditions still were prevalent today--both above and below the bridge. Without sounding too gross, you might say the creek was "butt ugly."

Even so, Charlie managed to catch a few bass yesterday, and while I came up empty-handed today, some fared better. I twice talked to a couple guys fishing together, and during the second conversation this afternoon, I learned they had boated a couple of nice bass earlier on topwater baits. The man on the front seat told me they had caught a 5-14 and one over 3. He and his buddy both were throwing buzzbaits as they relayed this information to me.

I also ran across Steve Bailey and Rob Peppers in the creek today, but I didn't get a report from either one--just exchanged greetings, instead.

I can't tell you how many times over the years I've seen West Neck and other creeks along the North Landing during low water, but I still am amazed at some of the stuff you see that's usually completely underwater. It's an education I would urge all to get but only when the conditions are safe.

I bring up the matter of safety because of something Charlie shared with me in his email last evening. He told me there were a couple of guys launching boats at the ramp when he came in yesterday, even though their trailers were at the end of the ramp, with no water touching any part of the boat. Both parties somehow managed to get their boats in the water, but I don't need to have been there to tell you that whatever they did was, in no way, safe.

We all were given a brain--the problem is that it's up to us as to when, or if, we use it. I love to fish as much as the next man or woman, but I can assure you I will not, under any circumstances, ever try to launch my boat when it won't float off my trailer. That's just asking for trouble, and even though those gents yesterday dodged a bullet, there's no guarantee they'll be successful the next time.

My email inbox this morning (Wednesday, April 20th) had a note from Ron Ameika, giving me details of the Tuesday evening trip he and his son, Alex, had taken to Tecumseh.

Ron scored this 1-12 bass on a Pop R, as well as his first gar of the season on an XTS Minnow.

Meanwhile, Alex used a jig with craw trailer to boat the 1-15 bass at right.

Said Ron, "It was nice to be out in the warm and windless weather. He also noted they had spotted a few snakes and many birds of prey that "were catching many more than us."

I didn't mention it in my post above, but I watched the birds in West Neck yesterday also put on a clinic in how to catch fish. And, near the end of my day, I saw a moccasin all curled up in the hollow of an old cypress. Don't reckon I need to tell you that I just kept on keeping on in the direction I was headed.

The Challenge: Finding Enough Water to Launch a Boat

When was the last time you heard low water was responsible for a vehicle backing off the end of the boat ramp at Munden Point Park? Yet, that's exactly what happened earlier today, according to a duty park employee I spoke to this afternoon.

I already had checked the NOAA water-level chart, so I knew the water was low (and has been for days now), but that didn't prevent me from wanting to get a firsthand look.

My first stop was at West Neck Marina, where I took a measurement at the extreme end of the ramp (pictured left) and learned the depth was 17 3/4 inches--just shy of knee level on me. As one would expect, given those conditions, the parking lot was empty, except for some sightseers and a lone bank fisherman.

From there, it was on to Munden Point, where there were a fair number of people enjoying the day without the benefit of having access to the boat ramp (pictured right). After touring the grounds with my wife, it was back to the van and headed home.

I'm chafing to be able to get back on the water, but for the moment, I'll just have to settle for living vicariously through the fishing report I got from Ron last evening and the one I'll probably get from Charlie tomorrow evening.

Kayaker Ron fished Lake Smith yesterday morning with a friend, who caught a bunch of crappie, while Ron picked up a few dinks and a 2-9 on a craw.

He spent the afternoon on Crystal Lake with his son, Alex, who also caught a 2-9. Ron's biggest, though, was this 3-15 (see left) bedding bass--his personal best to date this season and the first time in a good spell that he's bested Alex. Said Ron, "She wouldn't touch the craw, but I switched to a chatterbait with a fluke trailer, and she nailed it."

In today's email, kayaker Charlie indicated he'll likely try West Neck tomorrow. If today was any indication, he should have the whole place to himself--just the way he likes it.

No More Paddling the "JennyB"

From now on, Will and Jenny Bauer will be going first class when it comes to taking their boat out for a day's fishing trip.

You may well remember the Blue Fin V-bottom in this photo from the first blog post I did on it back on July 11, 2014. In case you don't remember, the boat originally had belonged to Will's granddad and had been in the possession of his dad, Jim Bauer, since the passing of his granddad many years earlier.

Will completely gutted the original boat and rebuilt it in his free time. The re-do also included getting the boat's Evinrude outboard running in tip-top shape. As I learned just this week, though, additional work on the "JennyB" has been completed here recently.

Among the improvements are brand new pedestal seats fore and aft and a new foot-controlled trolling motor. "No more paddling for me," said Will, who, as I understand it, also has installed a new fuse panel.

Until this point in time, Will and Jenny have pretty well limited their fishing trips to minnow dunking, but as Will told his dad the other day, "Reckon now I'll have to show Jenny how to use some crankbaits and worms."

"Tight Lines!" to both of you this season.

The Three Rs of K-Pink

By Kevin Short

(Reprinted from the most recent issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster)

Over the course of this wild and sometimes wacky journey we call life, I've learned a couple of things. Some have come from Hard Knock U, and others have come just from keeping my mouth shut at the right time and observing.

Several of the most important lessons I've learned, especially with respect to derby fishing, are what I call the Three Rs of the Bass World, aka The Three Rs of Life. Not unlike the Three Rs of Education (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic), these three Rs have certain undeniable truths and very specific conditions they exist within. Then again, they sometimes can be pretty flexible and nowhere near static.

My Three Rs are Respect, Responsibility and Righteousness.

Respect

The first and possibly most important R is respect.

The dictionary defines respect as "esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered a manifestation of a personal quality or ability." And "deference to a right, privilege, privileged person, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment."

Respect is a two-way street--you have to give it to receive it. We all know people who have little or no respect for others around them. It's no surprise these same people are not highly regarded: They don't respect anyone or anything around them, so why should anyone respect them?

I was told about an incident that occurred during a recent jackpot derby on Lake Dardanelle that is a perfect example of a complete lack of respect. In addition to the jackpot, there also was a college derby out of the other end of the lake. A couple of the jackpot anglers were fishing a shallow backwater area when one of the college teams sat down 20 feet in front of them, dropped the Power-Poles, and informed Bobby Joe and his partner they had to leave since they were anchored. I wish I'd been a frog on a lily pad to witness 75-year-old Bobby Joe blow a gasket. I'm surprised he didn't get in the boat with the college kids and give them an old-fashioned Johnson County butt-whippin'.

Self-Respect

Not only do we need to respect others around us, but we also need to respect ourselves. There's no way in the world you can succeed in life if you don't respect yourself--no way.

The person with no self-respect is on a short trip to Nowheresville. Respect for yourself is the root of confidence, and you MUST have confidence in yourself and your abilities to succeed in anything.

Tournaments are not won by anglers with no self-respect. Doesn't happen. Can't happen. I guess that someone could just get bat-poop-crazy lucky, but the odds of that happening are miniscule.

Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that fish can feel negative energy coming down the line. I honestly believe they can feel bad vibes coming into the water via your line. I know, I know...sounds goofy, but there's a whole lot to be said for having a positive attitude as opposed to negative. People with positive vibes get things done. Negative vibes create negative results. Respect yourself--you'll go a lot further in life, I promise.

Respect is such a simple thing, yet it seems to be in short supply at times. When it comes to ego or money, respect is sometimes easily forgotten. It doesn't have to be like that, either. That's the sad part. A little more respect in the world would go a long way to solving a bunch of issues.

As derby anglers, we have to respect other anglers and their space, as well as other people using the waterways. Just because you paid more for your entry fee, your boat, truck, rods, reels, or whatever doesn't mean Jack Crap. It's a small world, and we all have to get along. That fancy boat could have issues, and you might need the man on the flatbottom to tow your disrespectful butt back to the ramp. Ya never know.

Respect the Game

Not only do we have to respect one another on the water, but we also have to respect the game. This thing we all get so enthralled with, this derby-fishing thing, isn't finding a cure for cancer. We're not solving world hunger here. We're just going fishing.

The overwhelming majority of time, we're not even putting food on the table--we let the things go!

It's nothing more than a game to pass the time and recreate. Nothing more. Nothing less. Get over yourself and show the game some respect. If you fish derbies, read and follow the dang rules. There's nothing more disrespectful to the sport of bassin' than people who either break the rules because they don't know them, or worse, break them because they know them and ignore them.

There are enough people who don't derby-fish who think we're all a bunch of beer-swilling cheaters, as it is; we don't need any more help with this ill-conceived notion.

Responsibility

Responsibility is a heavy burden, my brothers and sisters: "the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management." My definition is pretty simple: You do what you're supposed to do.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we're all responsible and answerable to someone. Even the 1-percenters in the world have someone to answer to at some point in time. To some degree, we're all responsible to our boss, our spouse, our family, friends, and myriad other people. As derby anglers with sponsors, we're responsible to those sponsors who represent them in a positive manner at all times. That's what we do. We're also responsible to tournament organizations, as well as our fellow anglers.

Righteousness

The final R in K-Pink's world is righteousness. I'm not talking about good ol' Southern Baptist hellfire and brimstone righteousness. I'm talking about doing the right thing. I'm talking about doing the right thing, even when no one is looking, because it's the right thing to do.

Righteousness is stopping to pick up the dude who respects no one when his boat is disabled, even though it would have been easier to keep on going down the river to weigh-in.

Righteousness is returning a dude's box of Bagley crankbaits that fell out of his boat in the middle of Sam Rayburn.

Righteousness is turning yourself in for a rule infraction, even though you didn't have a marshal in the boat that day, and no one else in the world would have known what you did.

Righteousness is doing the right thing every time.

So there you have it: K-Pink's simple Rules of Life, the Three Rs. The bassin' world and this whole planet would be a better place if we all followed 'em.

The 54-year-old Kevin Short is a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Mayflower, Ark.

Superstition for Some Spurs Old-Timer to Action

As a species, fishermen are a fairly superstitious lot. Traditions and folklore often are passed down among generations on the banks of rivers and lakes, while a fire gently crackles and Coleman lanterns hiss their lives away.

Over gentle conversations between grandfolks and grandkids, the lore of decades is imparted in the minds of eager young kids. Some becomes vital years later in the pursuit of fish, while some provides fodder for superstitions.

We all see superstitions for what they really are: beliefs based on irrational assumptions. Within a sport or hobby, though, these superstitions help to link generations that have few, if any, other connections. For many families, it is the superstitions that are the best remembered and the last forgotten.

In any family that fishes, the superstitions of fishing often play a central role in the connection of family members, even if the lore is not readily remembered. Dad's favorite fishing hat, for example, ratty as it may be, can bring about nostalgia for the carefree days of a youth spent at the family cabin. It may not be remembered immediately that the reason the hat was favored was because Dad was wearing it the day he caught the biggest bass of his life and had considered it lucky forever afterward. In that way, superstitions also play a role in capturing a moment, preserving it forever, without the need for camera or words.

Another popular fishing superstition is the "first-cast curse," or the belief that, if you catch a fish on the first cast, you are doomed not to catch another one for the rest of the day. For this reason, a lot of anglers use a "throwaway" cast the moment they get to the water, in order to purposely avoid hooking a fish at the start of the day.

However, I also read about an old-timer who saw the matter of a day's first cast in an altogether different light. He once asked a fishing buddy, "Have you ever wondered why, when you catch a fish on the first cast, you never get another bite on that lure?" The buddy acknowledged this phenomenon had happened to him several times over the years but that he never had thought anything about it.

The old-timer said he had a theory about why it happens. "Because the lure is laying on the deck, it gets very hot," he explained. "Bass are cold-blooded, just like a rattlesnake, and are constantly seeking prey that has a different body temperature than their own. A worm or spinnerbait, for example, thrown in the shallows is several degrees warmer than the water and represents a critter that has been in a bush or on a rock sunning before it enters the water. More often than not, it gets eaten immediately as it enters the water.

"For my first 20 years of fishing," continued the old-timer, "I threw spinnerbaits exclusively without ever winning a tournament. I changed my presentation, though, and won two tournaments in a row one early spring, when the water still was cold.

"I had noticed that the blades were hot from laying in the sun, and if I was on fish, I usually could catch a fish on the first cast. But then I wouldn't catch another fish until I picked up a different spinnerbait. I subsequently developed a 6-cell flashlight that could be plugged into a cigarette-lighter receptacle. I lined the inside with cork and aluminum foil to hold the heat and used the tail light of an old car flipped over and shining inside to heat up the blades of the baits.

"I kept a dozen spinnerbaits tied on and hanging inside this homemade 'hot box.' It was somewhat time-consuming to unscrew the lens cover, take one out, and replace the one just used, but it worked. It produced 12 keeper fish on 12 consecutive casts to win both tournaments. I did this at the beginning of February on one lake and at the end of February on the other lake, which gave me the confidence to know my theory was working.

The only downfall, noted the old-timer, was that the blades always were cold by the time he retrieved a spinnerbait back to the boat after only one cast. "If I wasn't on fish, I worked my azz off and lost interest pretty quickly," he said.