The weather patterns have not changed in months. A quick look at the forecast—Hot with little chance of rain has been the script for the weathermen.  The second Professional Anglers Association (PAA) event was held in the Alabama at Lake Neely Henry. I knew the forecast before I left my home. I made adjustments on my tournament strategy.

Big water isn’t a requirement for catching trophy pike, not by a long shot. Smaller lakes and rivers will produce trophies every year. But, what I’m talking about is water with the potential of catching a trophy on EVERY cast.

Slop as it is referred to by anglers, is when vegetation forms a large blanket like coating over the water.  There are several forms of vegetation that can create these vast regions of slop fields.  Lily pads that were once scattered across the water have taken an area by storm and now have other forms of vegetation filling in the open water pockets that once existed.  Duck wart is another example of vegetation that can make up some prime areas for slop fishing.  These areas look like a sea of green floating a top the water.  Duck wart can either be very thin or thick, based on how much vegetation is bunched up below.  The other forms of slop are either grass lines that been folded over and are now lying across the top of the water and the last sloppy area are areas where the wind blows any form of debris into a secluded pocket or corner. 

Finally, I make it home to the family. My children have missed me most of the summer. It is a part of my job that I really don’t like. We spent a day having fun. The kids and I went to the Wickliffe Indian Burial Mounds State Park. We learned about Indian culture and how they lived. Max and Caroline were shocked to see ancient fish hooks. Caroline said, “Daddy there is no way the Indians had fish hooks! They look like some of yours.” I replied, “The Indians did make their own hooks. They were made out of bone.” The other feats of engineering were amazing too. Pottery, arrowheads, and drills took us back to those days. Max topped it all off with a perfect statement from a six year old, “Daddy, can we go back to the air condition now?” So we packed up and headed to Ya Ya’s Island. It is an indoor playhouse with club houses, blow-up slides, and tons of fun things for the kids to do.

It was 3 a.m. and I was tying up a batch of #6 Red Winged Polyfluffers. I was in a hurry because in just 5.762 hours I'd be in the middle of the largest Red-Winged Polyfluffer hatch anyone had ever seen. The problem was that every time I wanted to whip finish my fly, I had to pick up the whip finish tool. Now, I've never learned the hand-whip, so I need the tool - but the extra time spent picking it up and putting it down was a drag. Who has an extra 2.34 seconds out of each hour these days? Not me.

Sometimes, things just don't go your way. It happens to everyone and there's often little we can do about it other than try to adjust our plans and our attitudes. Take my friend Hal for example...

This was a 21 day road trip. It has been so intense that my wife reminded me that I was only home three days in the month of June. I worked hard, gambled on decisions, and ended up with the Bassmaster Classic in view! I had a successful turn of events and I am proud of the outcome.

The electronics that are on an angler’s boat today may look like a big screen TV when passing by boaters look at your fishing rig.  Some may even say that today’s electronics is like playing a video game with the amount of detail and information they relay back to an angler.

 Actually, crossing the Canadian border is a very simple process and well worth the effort to experience true wilderness and world-class fisheries. With that in mind, here are the basics of prohibited and restricted items entering Canada, see links below for a complete list.

It was a hot, early summer day in May and I was standing in the Davidson River near Brevard, North Carolina. I was trying my best to look like I knew what I was doing. I was casting over a pod of trout that you could easily call “monsters” by anyone's standards and in the clear, cold water I swear I could see the biggest one in the back of the pod smiling at me. He wore a sort of fishy smirk, like he knew I didn't have a shot at tempting him or any of his buddies into biting.