Don't get much better than this in Ohio

4-18-09-
Otter and Marcus arranged a tour of some of madison counties finest hidden fishin holes. The weather was unbelievable for Columbus. 74 degrees, a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. We were thinking after 3 days of rain and 2 days of sun the fish would be active. We drive way out into the country and pull up on the side of the road to park. Directly across the street is an impromptu country biker bar with about 20 big bikers sitting on their bikes. I'm like uhh otter you sure we should park here? Marcus was good friends with the bikers tattooist, so we were good to go. A little unnerving that's for sure.

We walked under a bridge on Deer Creek and posted up in a spot that Otter had caught a big smallmouth the weekend before. Quickly I hooked up with a Rock Bass. I've never caught rock bass before but they were fun to catch and eatin up the live bait. Otter and I caught quite a few in the first hour.

otter with a rock bass

The weather was so awesome that we all tied up some live bait, put our poles on sticks and kicked back. All of the sudden my line took off. I jumped up and set the hook and it was a tank. After catching small rock bass all day i thought I had a monster smallmouth or a catfish. I got it up to the surface and it was a big ugly ass Carp. I was kinda let down, but it was a big fish and he put up a good fight. measured 19 inches. the nasty hooks otter had ripped that poor bastard up.

them's good eatin!

Deer Creek treated us pretty well. I was bummed to not get Smallmouth, but the fish were biting and I caught a good sized fish I had never caught before. We packed up and went to a private pond that Marcus's aunt owns. The fishing was slow, but we caught a few more largemouths on senko's and some blue gill.
All in all, we caught a gang of fish and the weather was perfect. It don't get much better than that. For the record, I caught the first fish, the most fish and the biggest fish. come get some marcus and otter

Not so much as a bite

4-16-09-

Hit a new pond off 670 and grandview ave that I've been wanting to fish for a long time. It had been raining and chilly for 3 days and today the sun was finally shining. You have to hike back about a half mile to get to the spot. There was great cover all over this lake for fish to be hiding. I worked the entire shoreline in a 2 hour span and didn't have a single bite. Don't know what I could have done differently, i tried every bit of gear i had. Guess you'll have that occasionally.

Schiffers first bass of 2009!

April 12th-

Spent Easter with Schiffer fishing the pond at Sports Ohio in Dublin. We fished there quite a few times last year back when Ryan's baby momma used to actually let him out of the house to fish. Caught some absolutely monster bluegill and some pretty nice bass. (Where da fish? Right under the willooooow treeeeee)

It was pretty sunny, but it was still in the low 50's with about a 20 mph wind. Too windy to throw a senko, but gave it a shot nonetheless. Schiffer was fishin a spinner bait all day and it finally paid off. His first bass off the season! it kinda startled me because we hadn't had a bite all day. Great way to start the season B!

Don't think you'll see Brian kissing a fish anytime soon...

April showers bring big bass?

April 14th-

Kughn had a burr up his ass today and was bound determined to wet a line, regardless of the fact that it was raining. Since I watched the movie "Yes Man" last night I figured what the hell. Let's roll some bass son.

By the time we got to the pond in Hilliard it had stopped raining and the sun was kinda shining. After a few casts the rain started coming down pretty hard. Kughn has all the mountain man gear and stayed comfortable and dry. Nice Galoshes dude. The thing i noticed quickly about Kughn is how many more casts he was able to make than i was...and how accurate he is with his casts. I guess if the baits not in the water you're not going to catch fish. Kughndog also made some *ahem "minor" adjustments to my gear.

I wasn't too happy to be out in the rain since the fish weren't biting. We moved to the other lake and I noticed there was a Crane stalking some prey next to a drainage pipe. We posted up over there and the rain started in even harder. Kughn was fishing a spinner bait and I was fishing "ol faithful," the Bill Cook specials.

I was standing on the concrete above the drainage pipe and was reeling in. I about had my bait out of the water when I saw the fish come up and SMASH the senko. Setting the hook about pulled him out of the water. nice bass!! I grabbed the line to lift him up and the line broke. The shore sloped steeply toward the water line and the bass was making a break for it! I practically dove on this fish snatched him firmly in my grip. YEEAAAAHHH BOY!!! It was the only fish of the day after 45 minutes of standing in the rain. Stupid April showers.

Gettin Skunked with Super

April 4th- Skunked with Super

Baneberry 2009. Arguably the best of the 5th annual Baneberry Classic which we hold in White Pine, Tennessee every Spring. 4 days of golfin, boozin, eatin and general tomfoolery. Since we spend so much time looking for our ball by and in the water, we decided it made sense to take a few fishing poles with us this year for some late night bass action.

My cousin Nate, who we affectionately refer to as "Super" (short for supervisor) and I fished all 4 lakes on the front 9 while we enjoyed some Captain and cokes. The only thing we caught was a buzz.

Of course it's to be blamed on the cold front that was coming through. It certainly wasn't from lack of skill, or lack of drinkin...

First catch of the year!

March 22nd, 2009-

Hello Spring!!! Went out this morning to see if i could catch that first bass of the season. It's been a loooong painful winter, and the weather is just starting to break. I went to a pond behind some apartments I used to live at in Hilliard. We caught alot of nice fish there last season, but I'm bound and determined to step up my game in 09. And that first bass is oh, so crutial to get the season open. I only had an hour or so to fish before I had to go to washington courthouse with the yak. (I call the wife the yak for some reason)
After trying unsuccessfully with crankbaits and swimbaits i switched to a dark colored swimming senko. I was just thinking in my mind "man it's been so long since I've caught a fish I almost forget what it feels like to have a fish on."

Just then, I felt my line take off. heyyyyy i know that feelin!! then you yank that rod and start the tug of war. The fish was a pretty small largemouth. That didn't matter. It was the first fish of the season. I took a picture of me makin out with it. I'd like to give a shout out to Bill for hookin me up with the custom color swimming senko from San Diego California!!

After the exhilerating birthday party for our 3 year old Nephew, i came back in the afternoon and continued fishing the senko. I switched spots to a pond closer to the apartments I'd ever fished before. On the second cast I caught a good sized largemouth and was grinnin ear to ear. the bite was on.

A few casts later I thought my hook was caught on a rock and jerked it sharply to get it freed. The sucker took off and it was a monster. my drag was screaming. i got the big boy close and swung him up and out of the water onto the bank. it was a tank!!! YAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! i couldnt believe the girth on this thing. im goin apeshit at this point...people were looking out their windows at my dumbass yelling over this fish. The girl was obviously pregnant as hell and I didn't want to stress her out much. So I just grabbed a quick picture with my cell phone. It's by far the biggest bass I've ever caught, and an unbelievable way to start the fishing season.

You don't feel bad tellin your buddies you hooked up with a cow over the weekend when she looks like this!!

Tryin to step up my game

My technique last year was pretty basic: Pole, hook, bobber, weight and a dozen nightcrawlers.


We caught a decent amount of fish with the live bait, but nothing really over 3lbs. Caught way more bluegill than bass. While it's fun to catch bluegills, it's the bass you're really after. My mentality last year was "as long as i'm catching something i'm fine with that." Bluegill served its purpose. The mindframe changed late last year on one memorable trips with Schiffer to Waldrens house in Marysville. Brian and I used Senko's for the first time and caught a gang of bass all day long. Too bad it was late fall and one of the last fishing trips of 08. It left a taste in my mouth as powerful as a 3 aut hook.


I've gotten great guidance from 2 coworkers whom I consider master anglers. Bill Cook from Bakersfield California was in my seller onboarding class this winter. Bill runs professional bass tournements in California and is an accomplished angler. During our second week of training, Bill brought me a case full of all kinds of lures and senko's. I was like a little kid at Christmas looking at all this gear. This was exactly what i needed to kickstart my game.

Another coworker Jim "atomic trouser trout" Kughn is a "fish hunter." This guy sits out in a bellyboat fighting off turtles to catch monster bass. If you see a sasquatch fishing in an innertube and wearing a Mcain/Palin hat, it's gotta be Jim Kughn. Jim's one of the most knowledgable guys I've ever met when it comes to bass fishing. He's eager to share anything he knows about fishing. In fact, he's been calling me "grasshopper" lately. Can't wait to get out with "Troutman."

Welcome to my blog!!

After a long, torturous winter, the 2009 fishing season is underway. The DVR needs a break from the copious amounts of fishing shows I DVR'd over the winter trying like hell to get some tips for catching monster bass. And of course, as soon as I get out to the pond I can't remember a damn one of them. "Hmm what did they say I should do in cold water, windy conditions, weed cover and stained water?"

I've had some great times so far, so I figured I'd start a blog and share some of the ups and downs that inevitably come with hunting fish. I've been meeting some very interesting charactors which I'm excited to share with you as well.

As a coworker and fellow fisherman told me recently, any idiot with a snoopy pole and a worm can catch a fish. It takes a hell of alot more to become an Angler. This is my journey into the world of fishing. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for tuning in!