Big News and a hunting report

After six years fishing the FLW Tour I am making the switch to the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2019.  It wasn't an easy decision because I love everybody at FLW and am leaving a lot of my good friends but I'm looking forward to fishing the Elite Series and trying to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic!  
The new season starts in early Februrary at the St. John's River in Florida.   For everybody who enjoys following these events...don't worry.  Bassmaster has a great website and does an excellent job with their live coverage during the events! 

It was a quiet fall around here.  I chased deer around some but not as much as I normally do.  The hunting is still tough compared to what it was like prior to 2012 but the good news is there are good numbers of smaller bucks so hopefully we'll get a nice winter and things will continue in the right direction.  This was a nice one that I had some nocturnal photos of back in October.  A nice buck, hopefully he dodges the wolves this winter and he'll be a really beauty in 2019!

A lot of my hunting is done by water, mostly out on Lake of the Woods and I have a lot of fun running around out there in the fall.  

My boat for running around in the fall is a 20 foot Lund Alaskan.  I've had this boat since 2012 and it's been a serious workhorse for me.  I've had five adults and two big bucks in the boat at one time and it had no problem.  A great utility boat that I use quite a bit in the summer for walleye fishing/guiding. 

The grouse hunting this season was good as it has been for the past several years but we missed out on a couple weeks of prime hunting in mid-October when we were hit with a bunch of snow...grouse hunting is not good in the snow but we still had quite a few grouse dinners.  They are one of my favourite things on this planet to eat! 

Back in October I was invited down to Brainerd, Minnesota by my friend Troy Lindner to speak at the Fishing Careers Workshop that was going on there.  It was a great all-day event that I was proud to be a part of.  I got to see my old pals Al and Ron Lindner - some of my most favourite people that I have ever met in the fishing industry!  These guys are legends! 

As we approach the New Year I can't wait to get out on the ice and catch some fish...it's been a while! The ice fishing is so good around the Kenora area, we're lucky!  And I'm pumped to get the new tournament season started!  I'm planning to get on the road for Florida in mid-January, I can't wait!