A busy spring

The past couple of months have been go-go-go for us with plenty of fishing activities to keep us busy! My tournament season has been going a little better the past couple of events with solid finishes of 19th at Lake Chickamauga and 24th at Lake Fork. I'm on the right side of the line for qualifying for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic but I need to keep it going over the next few events...I'm nowhere near being comfortable yet! 

This 8-9 bass won big fish for me on day three of the Lake Fork event, caught it flipping a jig into a tree...no better way to catch a big one! (video of it in the link below)

Here is a recap video of my Lake Fork event with some of my fish catches.

Back in April we fished at Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee and I had a good event despite a tough bite. Caught fish there on a variety of baits and techniques.

There is the Chickamauga recap video, including some of my fish catches from that event. 

Back at the end of March we did an ice fishing trip up to Five Lakes Lodge in Red Lake, Ontario and had a great weekend catching some giant pike along with plenty of eater walleyes. If you want to experience the best ice fishing of your life you need to plan a trip to Five Lakes! 

If you know me, you know that I love shed hunting and because of the crazy snowfall we got this year I didn't get to go around home but I did get a weekend out in western Canada with some friends and we had a good time...along with finding a few sheds! 

A new season is underway

The 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series season started back up in early February down in Florida with back to back stops at the St. John's River and the Harris Chain. It wasn't my best start to the season with middle of the pack 51st and 47th place finishes to start the year. I caught fish at both venues but couldn't catch a big fish at either stop. Definitely need to start catching some bigger fish! 

Just before the season started, Shimano hosted us for a few days of fishing at Bienville Plantation in North Florida where we got to test and play with some of the new gear they have coming in 2022. I got my hands on one of the new Stella FK reels and it is incredible! Nicest reel that I've ever used! 

I'm lucky that I have great support in a lot of the places that we fish! The Russell's looked after Shelby and I when we were in Florida. Thanks guys! 

Before the Bassmaster Classic I got to spend a couple of days fishing at Lake Lanier in North Georgia...it is my favourite lake in the south and it was a blast. There aren't a lot of places where you can catch big spotted bass consistently, especially at a large, tournament lake. It was fun. Unfortunately when we got to Lake Hartwell a few days later for the Classic things were starting to change after we recieved a big warm-up in weather. 

As always, the Bassmaster Classic was a fun week. Again, mediocre fish landed me a 41st place finish. I caught a bunch of fish but was cursed on not being able to catch a big one. The crowds for the Classic were amazing, at the morning blast-offs, the afternoon weigh-ins and the expo. Never want to miss fishing in this tournament!

Getting to walk across that Classic stage is the biggest rush we have in our sport...big thank you to all of my friends and family who attended and all of the fans who supported the event. It's special! 
The Elite Series season resumes next week at Santee Cooper Lake in South Carolina. 

Fall was good!!!

After the Elite Series season wrapped up in July I was able to get home and enjoy the rest of the summer and fall doing a bunch of fishing around Sunset Country. It's a great place to live if you enjoy activities in the outdoors. In addition to a bunch of fun fishing, I fished several tournaments with friends and family over the past few months. 

Earlier in the summer I got the Humminbird Mega-Live forward facing sonar installed on my boat. This was the most significant piece of equipment I have ever had on a boat. It has literally changed the way I fish and has increased my catches on most bodies of water. It's incredible technology! Can't wait to continue learning with it in 2022! 

In August I fished the Kenora Bass International tournament with my long time buddy Chris Savage. We had a great weekend, landing 4th place. This tournametn is one of the originals in Canada, started way back in 1988 and still going strong today. Always one of the highlights of the summer for me!

In September I fished the Bassin' for Bucks tournament with Mike Reid. We've fished this event together since it started in 1996, it's another fun event with a full field of 120 boats every year. We took 3rd this year, three days of solid fishing on Lake of the Woods. Congratulations to Ashley and Jamie Bruce on the win!

The following weekend, Shelby and I fished the Crow Lake Classic and won it. We found a few good spots on this beautiful body of water and caught some nice smallmouths! We always have fun in the boat together, especially at this tournament put on by the Hanson family at their resort on the lake. Highly recommend this event for anyone looking for a good time...and again, the lake is beautiful with crystal clear water and pine covered shorelines. 

The Shoal Lake Last Chance tournament was next...have fished this one with my pal Dennis Favreau since the early 2000's. It's some of the best fishing we have in NW Ontario (for largemouth and smallmouth) and a great lake to fish tournaments on - it's big with lot's of options. We had a great weekend of fishing but didn't catch the big ones. Ended up 7th, I think.

In early October I fished the Whitefish Bay Fall Classic with my Dad. He started taking me in bass tournaments back in 1993 and gave me the bug...I'm grateful! We had fun but finished 12th after a tough first day. Second day went much better and he landed big largemouth of the day so we got our money back! 

The last tournament of the year took place north of Kenora on the English River/One Man Lake system. The Whitedog Kick'n Bass derby was a great way to end the season. My brother Ben and I teamed up and we had a great weekend, winning the tournament. Benny also caught his biggest smallmouth, a 5.13 pounder on day one. I spent three days prefishing for this event and they were some of the most enjoyable days I had all year. I had never fished this water before but it was incredible, not only for bass but for walleye and pike as well. It's a factory! Can't wait to go back next year! 

Following the tournament season, Shelby and I paired up to shoot an episode of the Lund Ultimate Fishing Experience TV show, which we did on Lake of the Woods. Had a great day, catching pike, walleye and smallmouth. It will air in early spring 2022. You can check out past episodes of the show at the link above. 

In addition to the fishing, we get out and do a little bit of hunting in the fall. Deer and moose but my favourite thing to do is get after the ruffed grouse that are plentiful around the region. They are great eating little birds and getting out to chase them around with friends is always a good time. 

2022 Bassmaster Classic bound!!!

It's been a busy 2021 and again, I apologize for not keeping up with everything on my website here! With all of the inconvenience crossing the border over the past year, Shelby and I ended up spending a good chunk of the year in the US and we made the most of our time down there in between tournaments.

It was a good season in the end. We won a tournament in February and despite a few tough events, we made the 2022 Bassmaster Classic, which was the goal at the start of the season. Going into the last two events out in New York I was outside the line for the Classic so there was some pressure to catch fish and make sure I got in there. With finished of 14th and 18th at Champlain and the St. Lawrence River, we got the job done. 

Big congratulations to my pal and travel buddy Seth Feider on winning the 2021 Bassmaster Angler of the Year! It's the most prestigous title in our sport and Seth had an amazing season to win in dominant fashion. He really didn't have a bad day all season! Proud of you man! 

I really enjoy fishing for spotted bass and we didn't have to many opportunities to fish for them this season. At Neely Henry Lake in Alabama in May I was able to catch a few during that event, which made me happy and they earned me a few bucks in that event! They are a beautiful bass, which we don't have up in Canada. 

I'm back home now for the rest of the year and it's been really nice. I've been fishing on Lake of the Woods a bunch, fishing a few tournaments, guiding a few days here and there, just really enjoying the last bit of summer that we have left. Our weather this time of year is so perfect, I love it! Throughout the season my boat, motor and equipment all worked great, thankful for that! My boat is my office so it's important that everything works properly! 

In June I got to fish my second Bassmaster Classic. It is the biggest event in our sport and its an amazing accomplishment in my World to get to fish in this tournament. The longtime tournament director of the Elite Series, Trip Weldon, came out of retirement to be the weighmaster one last time, so I was really excited to get a photo with him and Dave Mercer. We were in Texas so I had to rock the cowboy hat! 

One of the biggest pieces of news over the past few months was the release of the new G. Loomis NRX+ fishing rods. These are some of the finest fishing rods you can buy, and yes they are expensive and not for everybody but if you want the best, the lightest and the most sensitive rod, you should check them out! Lake of the Woods Sports Headquarters has a full line-up of them...click the link to check them out. 

The rest of the year you'll be able to find me around home, fishing a bunch! We have tournaments most weekends into October so I'm going to be fishing a bunch of those and keeping busy during the doing a few guide trips and getting out with my buddies. If you want to get out on the water, send me a message!

A Blue Trophy Comes back to Canada

After several years on fishing professional bass tournaments I finally earned my first win! It felt amazing! 
In late February at the Tennessee River, fishing out of Knoxville, Tennessee, I found an area with a large school of smallmouths that ended up being the winning fish.

I was fortunate to find the fish that I did. Heading into the event I didn't know what I really had but after I took the lead on day one, I knew that I had something special. It was pretty cool to do it in downtown Knoxville...one of my favorite cities in the U.S.

I ended up weighing twenty smallmouths over the course of the tournament. Smallmouths had to be 18" to keep at this event and it wasn't expected that limits would be caught so I was fortunate to find the fish that I did. I didn't plan to fish for smallmouths heading into this tournament, I just got lucky and found a few! 

I caught all of my fish on a Z-Man 4" Jerk ShadZ rigged on a 3/8 oz Smeltinator jig head from Lake of the Woods Sports Headquarters in Kenora. It's a bait that we all use a lot around home on Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake, so it was something I was really comfortable fishing with. 

I caught all of my fish "moping" or Damiki rig fishing...hanging it under the boat, watching it on my electronics. I watched all but one fish that I weighed come up and bite my bait. My Humminbird Helix 10 2D sonar was the deal! I also found a lot of the rocks that I caught fish from on my MEGA 360 unit.

It was some fun fishing!
 

This is a video that Bassmaster put together with most of my fish catches from the event. THANK YOU to them for putting this together! 

It's been a decent start to the season! I put together a decent 24th place finish at the first event on the St. John's River in Florida, thanks to a few big largemouths.
After Knoxville I had a tough event at Pickwick Lake, Alabama, finishing 89th...including a zero on day one, my first goose egg. It's a crazy sport with all the highs and lows but I'm ready to keep this going this week in Texas!