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For Byron Velvick's blogs in 2009, click here.

Blog Entries: Dec. 29 | Dec. 12 | Dec. 8 | Dec. 2 | Nov. 24 | Nov. 11 | Oct. 30 | Oct. 23 | Oct. 14 | Oct. 6 | Sept. 29 | Sept. 18 | Sept. 10 | Aug. 25

Dec. 29, 2008
Dry ... But Just Barely

I've had a busy week. We went to Panama to film a couple of episodes of Going Coastal. I can honestly say it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life.

The most interesting part was fishing for amberjack with the Native Americans. I think they're Kuna Indians, but I'm not sure. They live by the beach near the border with Columbia and fish out of wooden boats called cayucas.

Their village was very interesting. They had about 100 residents living there, and they built their huts right alongside the ocean. They don't seem to have any fear whatsoever of storms or bad weather. They just accept whatever Mother Nature dishes out.

Cayucas are cut out of one big piece of wood. It takes them about a month of steady work to do that. And they're about as unstable as anything I've ever been in. For the Indians, it's not too bad. They start out with small ones when they're kids and then work their way up to the bigger models. They have years of experience to rely on when they go to sea.

But with me they started out full-size. It was tough. The guys on the shore were taking bets that I would roll it over before the show was done. Actually, it was kind of embarrassing. No one was betting I'd stay afloat. You'd think I'd have at least one supporter, wouldn't you?

In the end I got even, though. They lost their money. I stayed in the boat and kept dry — more or less — for the whole trip. Ha!

Anyway, we fished out of a cayuca for amberjack with handlines. I hooked four and landed one of them. It weighed between 30 and 40 pounds. I'll tell you, it's not easy to catch a fish that big without a rod and reel, much less a stable boat.

They fight hard and you can feel everything they do when they're not pulling against a rod. Every angler should try it at least once in their lifetime. But be careful if you do it. Get some instruction first. If you get the line wrapped around your finger the fish will cut it off. You need to know how to hold everything.

It's all on film. You guys should watch it. It's an interesting take on other people and other cultures. You know, if you're not careful, you start to think our way is the only way when it isn't.

That's all in the past, though. Now, I'm off to Nashville to pick up my boat from the wrap shop. I'll be fishing out of an Amistad Lake Resort wrap again this year. I figure I may as well advertise my own business rather than someone else's.

We'll talk next week.

Dec. 12, 2008
Giving Back
I went to the Red River over the weekend. The fishing was slow — water temperatures in the high 40-degree range. I wish I could say I whacked them, but I can't. Some days belong to the fish. Regardless, I learned some things that I'll need to know come February.

And I had a really great experience. Back in the fall, around Halloween, I received a call from Zach Messer's mother, Cindy, asking for an autographed hat or lure or something she could give her son, Zach, for his 16th birthday.

He's a serious bass angler and a huge fan of BASS professional fishing. Cindy said he reads my blog every week and is a huge fan. One thing led to another and I ended up inviting him to meet me in Shreveport to go fishing with me while I was practicing for the Classic.

Cindy agreed to bring him. (That's no small thing; they live in Aiken, S.C.) We scheduled the trip for Saturday, December 6. She said he was really excited, that the trip to the Red River was all he talked about.

Anyway, we met on Saturday morning and spent some time together on the water. We both had a good time. He's a pretty good angler and learns quickly. I was especially surprised at the quality of his questions. He wanted to know everything about what I was doing and why I was doing it.

I was especially impressed with his knowledge of bass fishing and the BASS pros. He knew more about our sport than most young men his age — more than most adults, really.

The water was cold and the bite slow. It was a really tough day. Nevertheless we had an opportunity to spend time together and look at some of the wildlife. We found a cottonmouth sitting in a stump. It was so cold it could hardly move. He got a big kick out of that. It's the first one he's ever seen.

Later, I introduced him to Mike Iaconelli and helped him arrange a fishing trip on Sunday with Boyd Duckett. It's an experience neither one of us will ever forget.

We owe this to our sport. Whether we like it or not, we're role models to our fans, especially the young ones. It isn't enough to give interviews, appear on TV and pass out hats. We have to spend time — quality time — with them and keep them interested in what we're doing.

Frankly, I consider that an honor and a privilege, not a duty or an obligation. I got as much out of the weekend as he did, maybe more.

Dec. 8, 2008
All Work and No Play...
It's a good thing I had a chance to fish last week because after Thanksgiving my schedule took a turn for the worse, at least as far as my fishing is concerned. I haven't been on the water in a full week. That's unusual for me.

Mary and I got back to Del Rio and had to work hard on the resort. I didn't realize how much work there was to something like this. It seems like every day there's something different. It's killing me. The weather's great here — cool but not cold — and the water's up. The fish are biting.

Guys staying here are coming in talking about all the big bass they're catching and how much fun they're having. I wouldn't know. I'm working on the resort — can't go fishing. I'm telling you, it's killing me. And when I'm not working at the resort I'm working at the dealership.

I might not have mentioned that I own part interest in Amistad Lake Sports here in Del Rio. We're a Triton and Mercury dealership and have a complete maintenance center and angler's pro shop. I'm real proud of it, although it's sort of like the resort — a lot of hard work. But this is what I want to do.

Anyway, it's no secret that things are slow in the boat and motor business. I had to work there for a few days this week to make sure everything's OK and to do my part to help out. I did a little bit of everything — worked in sales, maintenance, paperwork and banking; whatever needed to be done. When things get tough everybody has to pitch in and do their part.

Because of all that I didn't get to go to the Red River. I hope to be there by sometime on Friday and fish over the weekend. I don't think I missed much, though. Boyd Duckett called and said that the weather was cold there and the wind was blowing 20-30 mph. That's nasty. It's hard to learn anything except how to control your boat in high winds under those conditions.

There's no sense beating yourself to death just so you can say you were there. If you're not going to accomplish something, it makes more sense to do something else. No one can afford to waste their time. We don't have enough of it as it is.

This weekend is supposed to be better in Shreveport. I should be able to practice. I'll update you next week on how things went and give you some details about how I'm preparing for the 2009 Bassmaster Classic.

Dec. 2, 2008
Family, Friends and Fun
I'm with Mary in Huntington Beach, Calif., at my mother's house. We're enjoying a few days of rest and relaxation — well deserved if I do say so myself. We've been working hard.

This could be disastrous for my diet, though. I was hoping to lose a few pounds before the Classic, but mom's cooking makes that difficult — almost impossible, really. All we'll do for three or four days is sit and eat or talk and eat or watch TV and eat. That doesn't help your waistline.

I filmed another TV show for "Going Coastal" before we came here. We were going to do two but the fish didn't cooperate so we had to settle for just one. I fished with three old friends — Steve Oliver, Brian Albert and Mike Gardner. I've known them since I was a kid. It was great to share some time with them.

We fished for spotted bay bass, calico bass, sand bass, halibut and bonito near the oil barracks and around some of the places I fished when I worked on the party boats years ago. The whole thing brought back a lot of memories.

When I look back on things I realize fishing is all I've ever done or wanted to do. It's strange. Maybe we're born to do certain things. As a kid I fished for anything that swam in the water. I still do that to a certain extent. I'm not sure I have a choice.

Regardless, we had a lot of fun catching fish and reliving old memories. Mike Gardner's mom and dad own a house on Catalina Island. We stayed there for a few days while we were filming. As you might expect, it's a really nice place.

The show should be very informative to those viewers who want to fish for something other than black bass. I love bass but there are other species of fish around that are a lot of fun to catch, too. It's important to keep that in mind. Unless you're a full-time professional you don't want to get stuck thinking there's only one fish out there.

After Thanksgiving I'll stop at my house in Las Vegas for a few things. (It's rented, but I still have a bunch of stuff stored there.) Then Mary and I will head back to Del Rio for a couple of days to work on the resort.

After that — maybe around the 3rd or 4th of December — I'll go to Shreveport and run around on the Red River for a week or so before it goes off-limits. This time I'll fish. The vegetation should be mostly dead by now, so the area will be more like what it'll be in February during the Classic. I'll let you know how it went in my next post.

Nov. 24, 2008
Sharks on the Fly
I'm out in California filming TV shows for Going Coastal. The fishing has been great, if difficult. We're catching sharks — makos and blues — on fly rods. It's fun but about as difficult as anything I've ever done on the water.

I say the fishing's been great, but the credit for that doesn't go to me. It goes to a guide out here by the name of Conway Bowman. This guy understands sharks and fly fishing. He's a real expert at it.

Bowman lives and fishes right here in the San Diego area. It's a pleasure to fish with someone like him. In fact, without his skill and expertise we'd have been in bad shape. I know about bass and thought I knew a fair amount about saltwater fish.

Now, however, I'm beginning to realize that I don't know as much as I thought I did. It doesn't matter how much you do something, there's always someone else who knows more and can do it better. There's always room to grow. That's good, though.

To attract the sharks we put out chum slicks. They smell the food and come in for dinner. Then, immediately after they arrive, we toss out exciter plugs. That works them into a frenzy. Once the water starts to boil and they're out of control, we offer them a fly.

After that, it's survival of the fittest. And the fittest isn't always us. These are big, tough fish. They don't come to the boat easily or without a fight, especially on fly fishing equipment.

Out tackle is relatively light. We're using 10 and 12 weight rods with reels and line to match. That might sound heavy to you bluegill and bass anglers, but remember, we're catching 100-pound sharks. They hit like a sledgehammer. I mean they'll rip the rod out of your hand if you aren't paying attention or sometimes even if you are.

And then, after you set the hook, they start stripping line. Now a fly reel isn't like a casting reel. It spins when the line comes off. I made the mistake of not getting my hand out of the way on the first mako I caught and have been paying for it all day. My knuckle is bruised and swelled all to heck. I'm exhausted.

But overall it's been a really good time. We'll finish another couple of shows this week — more about that in future blogs — and then Mary and I will head for my mother's house to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I can't wait for a few days of rest and relaxation and a few home cooked meals. You know, no matter how old you are or how many good restaurants you've eaten in, nothing compares to mom's cooking. It just doesn't.

Nov. 11, 2008
Weekend Angler
The last week or so has been really busy. I'm filming Weekend Angler for ESPN. It's a series of 12 short segments on how to get started tournament fishing for bass and how to have fun doing it.

I consider it an honor to do that series this year. It's really nice that ESPN and BASS think enough of me to make me their choice for host angler. I hope I can repay them by doing a good job. I'm going to try, anyway.

I got really lucky with the location, too. It's being filmed on Amistad. That means that no matter how long or how tough the days are I get to sleep in my own bed at night. That's a luxury we rarely have in this business. (It never hurts to be on your home water when you're trying to catch a fish on TV, either.)

The fishing's been a little tough, but I really love doing the TV shows. It's a chance to help other guys (and gals) get started on the right foot in the business I love. Maybe I can teach them a few things that I had to learn the hard way. If so, I can make their path easier and more fun.

And, speaking of getting started in this business, my friend from the old days, Steve Oliver, will be visiting tomorrow for a few days of fun fishing. He's a regional tournament angler and was my mentor when I was just starting out.

He taught me a lot, not just about how to catch fish but also about how to compete. I'm really looking forward to fishing with him and reliving some of our memories. A lot of our stories have been told over and over, but they never seem to get old ... not to us anyway.

The importance of having old friends like Steve can't be overstated. He was my friend when I didn't know anything about how to fish a tournament. He's also been my friend through thick and thin — I've had plenty of both over the years as you may know.

It seems like you have a lot of friends when things are going your way. But it's a different story when things are on the downslope. That's when you find out who's really with you and who just wants something.

I guess that's not a new thought, but it's true nonetheless. I appreciate that more and more as I get older. Maybe I'll have a chance this week to teach him a few things, repay some of the debt I owe him from the early years. That would be nice.

Well, enough nostalgia. It's time to go back to the water. I need to catch a few bass to keep the camera crew happy.

Oct. 30, 2008
Mangia, Mangia!
Last week I said we'd talk this week about our newest project, an Italian restaurant. It's officially called Avanti Italian Restaurant. We just call it Avanti's. Here's the story behind it.

Avanti's was in Del Rio and considered to be one of the best Italian restaurants in Texas — high-class and romantic. The fellow who owned it died suddenly and unexpectedly. He got sick on a Thursday and died on Sunday. It was horrible. The restaurant shut down and everyone who worked there was unemployed.

We (my business partner Mike Bonnee and my life-partner Mary Delgado) decided to buy it and move it to our resort. We purchased everything from the furniture to the recipes. We even brought the employees over, including the chefs.

The Avanti Italian Restaurant is now a part of the Amistad Lake Resort. A lot of people are coming here just to eat. It's really cool. The food's great and so is the atmosphere. You can sit down, have a fine Italian dinner and watch the sun set over Mexico. It's a gorgeous, romantic experience.

Mike and Mary are really good at that kind of stuff. Mike has a flair for business, and Mary's a really good decorator. She has a knack for it. I think it's her feminine touch. I don't have much of that. I'm better with a rod and reel than with color schemes, tablecloths and silverware. I appreciate them, though.

If you want to come early, or spend a couple of days with us, you can take in some of the area's cave art. Some of it was made two thousand years before the birth of Christ. It still looks like it did back then. Surprisingly, there's been very little deterioration in quality.

And there are few, if any, controls over what you can do with it. You can spend time photographing it or, if you prefer, just sit under it and imagine what life was like for the artist. You can get right up next to it and take it all in. It's not like some places where you have to look through glass or from behind a rope.

I don't mean to go on about this area, but I can't help myself. I'm from California and have lived in Nevada. Beautiful places and drop-dead gorgeous scenery are nothing new to me. But Del Rio and Lake Amistad beat them all. It's not even close.

We have everything about ready for Rick Clunn and his students. They'll arrive in a couple of days. The fishing's good. I hope it stays that way. We want everyone to have a good time.

After the school's over, I'll head back to the Red River and practice for the Classic some more. I know I'm repeating myself, but I can't tell you how excited about it I am and how much I want to make a good showing.

Oct. 23, 2008
Back to School
The last week or so has been a bear. I told you I was going home to work on the resort and do a little fishing. It's been more work for Mary and me than fishing, I can tell you that.

We're hosting Rick Clunn's Advanced Angling School, November 2-6. We're really excited about it, but it's been a lot of work. We upgraded the septic and water systems to make sure they're ready when everyone arrives. Of course, the work needed to be done anyway, so I can't lay it all on Rick.

His school is a real experience for anyone who's serious about their bass fishing. It's all classroom stuff — no official fishing. He gets everyone together in an academic setting and talks about when, where, what, why and how.

Topics like how to break a lake into quadrants and determine which one will produce the best considering the season and the weather is what it's all about. He's an encyclopedia of that kind of knowledge. Best of all, he doesn't hold anything back. What he knows about something is what you'll know when the school is over.

Of course, knowing and doing are two different things. I know lots of stuff about bass and bass fishing but I still can't fish like he does, especially if you look at his record over the years. Nevertheless, this school is a good place to start upgrading your fishing.

The school is popular with the Elite Series guys, too. Several of them have attended and as far as I know they all say good things about it. The best part of it is his teaching method. He goes with the Socratic Method.

It's basically a big question and answer session. When it's over you suddenly realize that some of the things you thought were true may not be true at all. And some of the things you thought were wrong may be dead-on. Either way, your knowledge of how to catch largemouth bass will have tripled.

Note I said earlier that there was no "official" fishing. That doesn't mean we don't fish. The classroom lets out in the afternoon. Most of the guys go fishing for a few hours before they eat dinner and go to bed.

And speaking of fishing, it's been pretty good lately. The bass are scattered around but, when you find them, they're big. It's not unusual to check several spots without a bite and then catch 30 pounds or so in a 200 yard stretch of water.

Anyway, I highly recommend Rick's school to anyone who's serious about becoming a better bass angler. There are a few spots still open. You can read about it and sign-up if you want from Rick's Web site, RickClunn.com.

Next week we'll talk about my newest project — a really good Italian restaurant.

Oct. 14, 2008
Hundred Pound Largemouth
Things have been hectic with me for the last week or so. I filmed three shows for "Going Coastal" last week in Florida. We wanted to get ahead of things before the first of the year when the television season starts.

The first one we did was in the Tampa Bay area with Capt. Rob Gorta (www.captainrobgorta.com). He's a local guide and really knows his stuff. We didn't hook any giants but we did catch a ton of good ones.

Then we went to Jensen Beach and fished for snook and tarpon with Capt. George Gozdz (www.flatlinedcharters.com). He's another first-class guide. I caught a 30 pound snook which I understand is the snook of a lifetime. (I'm a California guy and don't really know much about them.)

While we were fishing for snook we caught a lot of 5 pound jacks. Every time I'd pull one into the boat Capt. Gozdz would yell "bait!" and put it in the livewell. That didn't make sense to me; they weighed 5 pounds, some of them were bigger than that.

They were way too big for bait — or so I thought at the time. Little did I know that we would be fishing for giant grouper before the day was over. A 5 pound jack is no more than a snack for those beasts.

Anyway, after we had enough snook footage, we motored over to this pier. It was sitting in water between 12 and 13 feet deep. Capt. Gozdz rigged the jacks for us, and we flipped them under the pilings on the pier.

Let me tell you that's no easy task. It took everything I have — skill and strength — to do it. The rods had tips on them as heavy as most cue sticks and the reels were almost as big as water buckets. Our line was 300-pound-test braid with a hook to match.

But what was really amazing was the fish. Capt. Gozdz said the ones I hooked probably weighed well over 100 pounds. I don't know because I never got one to the boat except for a minnow that weighed around 30 pounds. Every time I set the hook they just turned and ran under the pier. There was nothing I could do to turn them or get them moving toward our boat.

From what I saw, they look like a largemouth bass. Maybe we could start a tournament circuit and fish professionally for them! That'd be something special — a largemouth that weighs several hundred pounds. I'd have to figure how to get them into the boat, though. Otherwise I wouldn't last long on the tour.

Next time will be different. I'll figure something out. After all, I can't go to my grave knowing that a fish was tougher than me. That's something I'm not prepared to accept.

Speaking of tough, I'm getting ready to fight the traffic on my way to a Tampa Bay Bucs game. Mary is a big fan. She's had season tickets for over 10 years now, ever since she was a cheerleader for them. I decided I'd have to start going to the games with her or be content to stay a home with the other football widows and talk about home decorating. I can't decorate so &.

After the game we'll head to the resort on Amistad. I have work to do there. And the water's up so the bass are shallow. I want to take advantage of that this week, too. Then I'll probably head back to the Red River and work on my Classic preparation. I want to be ready when the time comes.

It's time to leave for the game. I'll bring everyone up to date next week.

Oct. 6, 2008
Unlocking the Classic Site
I spent the early part of last week on the Red River getting ready for the Classic. It was my first scouting trip. I call it a scouting trip rather than a prefishing or practice trip because I went there to learn the water and see what's available. I didn't go there to fish or learn about them.

As a matter of fact, I never took a rod out of the box. Fishing is a distraction when you're trying to learn a body of water. At this time — October — I don't care where the fish are or what they're biting. I do care about shallow and deep water, structure and cover and distances (with running times) between places. I'll worry about the fish later.

Fortunately, I have friends in the area that helped me. That saved me a lot of time. One of the first things we did was examine the locks and the Red River locking system. I needed to know how to approach a lock, enter it and exit it.

In case you're wondering I've locked hundreds of times in my career. I know the drill. That's not the point. What I didn't know was the details, the little things that make a difference.

I now know what side to enter and exit from. I know where the idle speed buoys are located and how long it takes to motor from the buoy to the lock or from the lock to the buoy. And, I know where the pull-chain is located inside the lock and how it pulls. (Yes, I pulled it myself. I don't want any surprises in February.)

Doing that is more important than many anglers realize. At some point during the tournament I may have to make a time decision based on minutes. I can't do that without a detailed knowledge of their system. The only way to get that detail is to physically lock through a couple of times.

I also spent some time marking danger areas. The water was down so I could see things that may be covered over with high water in February. It's critical to know what's there before a tournament starts, especially one as important as a Classic.

A damaged prop or lower unit can be a disaster by wasting time and throwing you off your game plan. And if you have to slow down to avoid a wreck when one isn't likely you're wasting time, too. Those things can be avoided — or at least minimized — by knowing the fishery.

Running distances between various places in the river are important as well. Again, it's a matter of time management. Come February I'll know how much nonfishing time I have to invest to get some fishing time on a particular spot. I'll be able to answer the question, "Is it worth the run?"

I want to wrap this up by talking a little more about why I didn't fish. One big reason is the state of the river. It's full of vegetation. There are weeds and pads everywhere. They position the fish by giving them cover, baitfish and oxygen.

The problem is the weeds and pads won't be there when we fish the Classic. Their influence will be diminished or maybe nonexistant. There's no point in learning bad information. All that does is set you up for problems later on. I'd rather not know where the big bass are at this time of year. That way I can't waste time looking for them in the same places come February.

Well, so much for the Red River. I've got to pack and get ready to go to Florida to film a couple of episodes of Going Coastal with Byron Velvick. I'll give you a full report next week.

Sept. 29, 2008
Lessons Learned
Kentucky Lake is in my rearview mirror. As you no doubt know by now, it was a disaster for both of us. I had a good first day and a horrible second day. Mary got seduced by the experience of catching fish and ended up weighing in one bass for two days of hard fishing.

Let's talk about my performance and my mistake first. Then we'll talk about Mary and the lesson learned from her mistake.

I ran from Paris upstream about 50 miles to find keepers. They were isolated in bays and cuts holding on individual cover. I call them alpha bass. They're the bigger ones that claim the best places to live. It's a good tournament pattern.

On the second day the wind turned nasty. I had trouble making the long run and, when I did get there, my water was destroyed. It was so muddy it looked like YooHoo Chocolate Drink. I caught one keeper bass — disappointing to say the least.

That said, there's a lesson in it for me and other anglers. I know that wind can be a problem on Kentucky Lake — everybody knows that. I should have had places to fish that were closer to the ramp and that were protected from the wind. I didn't do that and paid the price. I'm a professional and should have known better.

Mary's problem was different and serves as a lesson to every angler fishing tournaments at every level of competition on every lake in the country.

She was catching 50-60 bass a day. They were all short, but only by a half-inch or so. You know how it works. Every bass is just a little short, and you keep thinking that the next one will measure.

Without years of experience fishing tournaments, it's almost impossible to leave those bass and go looking for better ones. But that's what you have to do. Tournament fishing is not about catching bass. It's about catching bigger bass than the other guy. Short fish are worthless.

Unfortunately, Mary fell into the trap of catching short bass and thinking they'll somehow get bigger as the day goes along. They don't. When that happens, you must pick up your trolling motor and move somewhere else. I know it's tough, but it's what you must do. You have no options.

I want to be fair to Mary, however. It's easy to say what I'm saying, but hard to do. As I said, it takes years of experience to move. When every fish only needs a quarter-inch to be legal, you keep thinking they'll grow. I've done it more than once and paid the price for it every time.

We all know the drill. Things look different on the water. The fish are coming fast and furious. Why stop? Surely if you catch 50 fish in one day, five of them will measure. That's only 10 percent, right? Well, they won't.

Sometimes the only way to truly know and appreciate the truth of that is to stay put and catch a boatload of short bass. You won't get a check that way but, you will get an advanced degree from the University of Hard Knocks.

But, like I said, I'm not being hard on Mary. Every angler goes through this. It's a part of the learning process. We all make judgments and decisions we regret. Someone once said that hindsight is better than foresight by a damn sight. That's true. Some lessons we all have to learn for ourselves.

With all that off my chest I'm on my way to the Red River. This is a scouting mission. I'm going to run the water and try to learn my way around the place. I've only fished it once before in an Open. I need to learn everything I can — hazards, places with current, places without current, drops and holes, running distances and times as well as anything else there is to know — before it goes off-limits in December.

I'll give you the details next week.

Sept. 18, 2008
TV and Dead Heads
I filmed my new TV show last week. I'm allowed to talk about it now. It's called Going Coastal with Byron Velvick. It's being produced by Fischer Productions and will be aired on ESPN2 starting in January.

We're going to cover inshore saltwater topics. We'll have a guest each week and cover what he or she does to make their inshore fishing successful — tackle, lures and bait as well as techniques and locations.

I'm real excited about it. I like to do TV work, and the saltwater thing is great. It's a kind of homecoming for me. I feel like I'm back where I started. The first money I ever made fishing was in saltwater. I was a kid — maybe 13- or 14-years-old — in California working as a Dead Head on the party boats along the coast.

Here's how it worked. The party boats would take anywhere from 20 to 60 people out for a day of fishing off the coast. All the guests would throw a few bucks into a pot on the boat. The man or woman with the biggest fish at the end of the day would get all the money.

I would go out on the boats and fish in the jackpot. But the thing was, I was a ringer. The crew would give me the best bait, and I'd get the best spot on the boat. They knew where the fish were, what they were eating and how deep I should be fishing. Sometimes the captain went so far as to turn the boat so I had the best spot and the other guests had the worst spot.

I usually won. We were really good at it. I don't think anybody ever suspected a thing. They all thought I was just some doofus kid who got lucky. Then, when we came in and everyone else was off the boat the crew would divide up the money. They'd give me $20 or so for my efforts.

It was great. I got to go out on the boat for free each day, fish, hang out with the crew and make a few bucks at the same time.

The crew was the best part. I was young. They were in their late teens or early twenties, and had the best job I could ever dream of having. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. That's all I wanted to do when I grew up — work on a party boat as a Dead Head or as a deck hand.

In fairness to me, however, I earned my status as a Dead Head. I could fish, even back then. The crew actually recruited me for the position. They saw me hanging around the beach and the boats fishing all the time. I usually caught fish, so they figured I could do the job. They approached me; I didn't approach them.

After three or four years of Dead Heading I was old enough for a real job. I went to work as a deck hand on the boats. It was OK, but I soon realized that the future of fishing — for me anyway — was with freshwater bass. I switched gears and here I am.

So now you know the sordid truth. I was once a Dead Head on a party boat.

I need to go back to work now. Mary and I are packing for the Kentucky Lake Open. I'm really looking forward to this one. The pressure's off — I've made the Classic and will be back with the Elites next year, so I'm just going to help Mary and have a good time.

We're going to be fishing against each other as boaters. She gets the wrapped boat — mine — and I'll help her with tackle, lures and technique. I want her to do really well. That's important to me. Otherwise, I'm just going to relax and fish my heart out. I'll let you know how it's going next week after a few days of practice.

Sept. 10, 2008
Paradise Found and Classic Bound
The 2008 U.S. Open is history. I was in 13th place going into the final day. I went for the win — left my fish and looked for a really big sack — and came up short. But I'm not complaining. It's the kind of tournament you fish to win. Second place is a loss.

Now I'm back at my place on Amistad. My partner Mike Bonnee and I are doing some much needed remodeling, trying to get everything ready for the fall. We're going to host a lot of local tournaments as well as several regional events this year.

Mike and I have been friends since high school. He doesn't understand fishing, and I don't understand the hospitality industry — he worked for The Ritz-Carlton — so it should work out well for us. We each have something to offer the partnership. That's important.

There's more to owning a place like Amistad Lake Resort (www.amistadlakeresort.com) than just hanging out, catching fish and collecting the money. We're redoing almost everything — rooms, restaurant and bar. It'll be first-class when we're done.

And, we've got something really neat planned. We're going to have a cantina, sort of a Hard Rock of Fishing. I'll get my friends to loan me some of their stuff to display. We'll have old photos, tournament jerseys, tackle, lure collections and hopefully a few trophies from major events. Our guests can sit around, have something to eat or drink, and admire everything. It'll be one of a kind when we're done.

In between all that I've got to get our guides lined up and make sure everything's ready to go with them. Amistad has a lot of unlicensed guides. Mike and I only use licensed guides — no exceptions. We want our anglers to have a good time, catch lots of big bass and be protected by true professionals at all times.

The fishing has been great so far this fall. We've had some rain and the fish are shallow. They'll probably stay that way into November or December, depending. Guys are bringing sacks of 20 to 30 pounds in every day. Five pound bass are ordinary here. It takes one in double digits to turn heads at the dock.

Mary and I will be heading for Kentucky in a few days to fish the Central Open there, Sept. 25-27. We're both fishing as boaters — against each other. You know she won't cut me any slack if we're both in the running, or even if we're not. She's really competitive!

Speaking of Mary, she has a few decisions to make. With the co-angler program being cancelled at the Elite level, she needs to find somewhere to fish. She might fish the Opens or maybe the WBT. She wouldn't last very long as an Elite observer. She did it once and thought it was great ... once. Watching is not her style. She wants to participate.

I need to close this down now. I've got a new saltwater TV show to film tomorrow — more about that later — and then I need to get ready for Kentucky and after that for a trip to the Red River. I want to get all the time I can on it before it goes off-limits in December.

I can't get the Classic out of my mind. I've been to several as a commentator and behind the scenes operator. But now I'm going as a competitor. The more I think about it, the more it gets to me. I'm really going to fish a Bassmaster Classic! That's no small thing.

Sept. 4, 2008
Baching It
I got a call the other day from BASS. They want me to do this blog every week. That's great. I'm really excited and looking forward to bringing everyone into my world. I can't say I know much about it, though. Maybe it's like fishing — cast long enough and you'll catch something. I hope so anyway.

I had a great season. I finally qualified for the Bassmaster Classic. It's been a long time coming. You know, it's funny, you work all your life for something, finally achieve it, and then realize it's just another beginning. Making the Classic is great, but now I want to perform and bring credit to myself, my family, Mary and my sponsors.

The Classic is really something special. You hear that all the time, but that's because it's true. There's no other tournament that has the prestige and class of a Bassmaster Classic. It's not just the money. It's the event, the championship, the atmosphere. Nothing else compares to it. Qualifying means you've arrived in professional fishing. Having the words "Bassmaster Classic qualifier" after your name makes a statement.

We'll talk more about that later.

I recently returned from Mexico. I was fishing a small Triton owner's tournament, only about 20 boats. My partner and I won it, but it was a crazy deal, something I'm not used to. The lake we fished is being developed as a trophy lake so we had to weigh in bass from 0 to 15 inches — nothing over 15!

I don't know if I've ever fished for the little ones before. Usually, I'm trying to get away from those size bass and catch big ones. You have to completely change your outlook and strategy to target little bass. It was a different experience. But I learned some things doing it — things I'll know not to do when I'm in an Elite event!

Anyway, I got back and only had one day to change clothes, repack and head for the U.S. Open on Lake Mead. That's a pretty big deal. I'm excited. I've won it a couple of times in the past — 1990 and 1996 — and think I may be able to make a strong run on it this year.

Last year I finished fourth — I think, if I remember right. Aaron (Martens) and I arrived on Sunday evening and had to fish with no practice whatsoever. That's bad, but not as bad as it sounds. I grew up fishing Colorado River impoundments and pretty much know what I'm doing on those waters.

My partner in the back of the boat was having a breakdown, though. First I told him I hadn't practiced and then I went to several places that were dry. I thought it was funny. He was concerned. He calmed down, though, after he caught a few fish later in the morning. Sometimes it's a matter of having faith, of believing.

I'll give you the fishing details from this year's tournament as soon as it's over.

After that, I've got to start preparing for the Classic. I'm going to spend a lot of time in Shreveport-Bossier getting ready. I'll update you every week as it gets closer. I'm excited about it. So is Mary. I'm sure she'll have some things to say, too.

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