Troubles downloading Lowrance Electronics latest software updates using a Mac? In this video I will show you how.

Well ,stop number #3 on the Bass Pro Shop Open Series didn't go as planned. Typical Florida cold front came in late Thursday dropping temps in the cool 40's. I found some quality fish on Friday the day before knowing they may not be there. (second day after cold fronts are worse than the day after IMO). Going into Saturday with the mindset of just going fishing i ended up boating a 6lb first thing. Well the rest of the day lead to toothy critters and small fish. It was still a great day on the water , but a great reminder that fish move and cold fronts suck in Florida...haha

With ICAST2019 over to say there was a lot of great products would be an understatement. From the latest new baits, new rods from Duckett Fishing to new storage solutions there was definitely something new for everyone. One bait in particular that stood out to me was the new Kicknocker from Teckel. The Kicknocker being nicknamed the “The New Original “from some retailers, because it was originally licensed to another company to produce before being brought home to Teckel. Designed by world renown lure designer Hideki Maeda, the kicknocker is being made at the original factory, using the original mold and same type of plastic as before. The passion, finish and the attention to detail that went into this bait is exactly what to expect when Hideki designs a product. 

            I was lucky enough to spend some time on the water after ICAST with Hideki testing out the kicknocker and I can tell you quite a few things that makes this different than any other walking bait in your arsenal. First is the attention to detail, from the recessed eyes to the molded in gills that look super real, this bait is top quality and you can see the passion that went into its creation. It was very easy to walk with just the right amount of side to side and it produced a powerful different knock that fish can’t stand. Overall, I’m glad to see Teckel knocking it out of the park again and adding another great product to their list. Can’t wait to see what Hideki and Teckel is dropping next. The Kicknocker is available currently at www.thehookuptackle.com and should be coming soon to Tackle Warehouse.

This past weekend started off the 2019 season for me. The ABA Bass Pro Shops Open Series was held on Lake Toho launching from Kissimmee Lakefront park. I had a few great practice days running all over the lake fishing hydrilla, eel grass, pads and found this one place they seemed to school at first light and then late morning the big ones seemed to move in. I checked it the day before and caught a limit of 2-3 lbers and 2 fish over 5lbs so I decided to go there since that place had better quality fish than my other spots. Well, tournament day I pulled in my spot and we caught them almost all morning. However, most of them were under 2lbs except a few. My Co-angler and I ended up getting our limits and spent the rest of the day culling oz’s. Just not enough to make the cut for me. Ended up in 48^th place. My Co-angler did make the cut and ended up taking home a check which always makes you feel good. Caught most of my fish Carolina rigging through the hydrilla running a Yum dinger bama magic.  

All in all I felt like it was a great event and I ended up in 48^th out of 120 ish so that wasn’t bad. Could have been worse, but I feel confident I did the right thing and it just didn’t pan out. I also did have my cranking battery die, Thank goodness for my Nautic Start jump starter. Oh and I blew a tire out on the way home. So time to prep for next month.

Wow, what a year it’s been in the professional fishing world. With MLF coming out with their new exciting tour, B.A.S.S making some overdue changes and FLW changing a few things it’s been quite the interesting year in bass fishing. Some guys are leaving the organization they have been fishing with for many years and others staying put. Lots of new choices and much more stressful decisions all these pro anglers have had to make for the 2019 season.

It’s not just the tour level guys that have tough decisions to make for 2019. With competitive bass fishing growing more and more each year, there are lots of fishing options for everyone. Each organization offers so many different levels from FLW’s BFL divisions and Costa Series, B.A.S.S Opens format to the American Bass Anglers just to name a few. But, just like everything else there is cost involved with all. Each angler has to take time each preseason to decide what events to fish then make travel arrangements, pay deposits, finalize sponsor deals, schedule time off of work, tackle prep, and let’s not forget boat and tow vehicle maintenance. It’s a seasonal battle that most anglers must face and deal with every year.  Last year I decided to fish the B.A.S.S Eastern Opens, but at the last minute I lost a main sponsor which forced me to get my deposits back and not be able to fish them. It’s something that none of us want to do, but it happens more often than not.

As for me this year I decided to fish the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Bass Thugs Team Trail, Orlando Bass Club and some local/Regional events. I have spent a lot of time the past month bouncing back and forth on the FLW Costa and B.A.S.S Opens series, but with the expenses involved and time off work required it just wasn’t the right decision for me to make in 2019. This should also give me some extra time to do more events promoting all the great companies that I have the blessing of working with. I wish everyone well in making their decisions for the 2019 and hope to see you all on the water soon.

     I recently had the pleasure of receiving the new Maracker frog from Teckel a little early to test out and demo. All I can say is wow. The new Maracker, which was officially released at Icast 2018 is another slam dunk for famed Japanese lure maker and angler Hidecki Maeda. The main body itself is the same incredible collapsible hollow body with razor sharp Gamakatsu hooks just like its predecessor’s the Teckel Sprinker and Honker frog. This as most of know is the reason why the hookup ratio on Teckel’s line of frogs is nothing short of amazing. Where the real difference comes in is the tail itself. The tail features a rolling swivel and a Colorado style “LOOKING” tail that is thicker, super shiny and filled with rattles that are super loud and can wake the dead. (Just to clarify the comments on the internet this is NOT A BLADE it’s much thicker and it’s not made of metal)  

     This bait is designed to be able to fish slower and be used on heavy mats, be walked, or ripped on the surface very erratically. It can be reeled in fast also, but I think it’s better to walk it slower. I have found it’s a great bait to follow up with when you’re using the sprinker frog and the fish misses the bait or side swipes it. Over the past month this bait has definitely become my new favorite walking frog bait, there is no doubt. With its flashy erratic noisy movement this bait was designed to catch big bass. It’s currently available in 10 proven fish catching colors and is available for pre-order at Tackle Supply Depot.

IN RESPONSE TO SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONS REGARDING DURABILITY.

     I have had some comments through social media asking about the durability of the body and tail. Well, I myself have been using this bait for approx. a month. I can honestly say that I have probably caught lots of fish with it so far. I have gotten it stuck in thick mat, turned inside out by big fish, stuck in trees and have really put this thing to use. The body has some minor scratches and scrapes, but the tail looks exactly like it did the day I opened the package. It doesn’t surprise me though because the quality of  Teckel products are always superb.

Over the past month or so I have been thinking about and adding some emergency/safety protocols to my tournament fishing routine. We all have learned in recent events, what can take place within a second can change our lives forever.

The first thing I started doing right away was asking my Co-Anglers a few simple questions like if they can swim or if they had a PFD and if so  if they had checked the indicator window on it recently. The next thing I started doing was not just telling, but showing them where the coast guard kit (throw Cushion, Fire extinguisher, Flare gun, First aid kit, etc.) is located in my boat. I think it’s important for the other person fishing with you to know exactly where everything is should an emergency situation arise.

After the horrible accident at the first FLW event of the season, it made me think long and hard about EPIRBs and why they are such an essential tool. Here in Florida we have some very large lakes and chains of lakes. Some you can’t see across and some have tons of back water areas. It would be very easy for someone to miss you, if you happen to fall overboard or had a medical emergency. This is a no brainer for me to add to my safety plan.

There are many different types of locater beacons available.  Here a few smaller compact ones that are very reasonably priced that I have found. I mean we spend thousands of dollars on tackle, electronics, boats, trucks and fuel, what is another $250 that could save our life someday.

 Click the Photo for more information on these two units.

There are many other things you can do to make yourself a safer boater. Just but doing the few things above I feel much safer when going out on the water for an enjoyable day of fishing.  

As far as safety items to keep on hand. I’ll list the top few below some are required by law some not.

Extra Life Jacket        

Fire Extinguisher       

Throw Cushion     

 Whistle  

Locator Beacon

Flashlights       

First Aid     

Sun Block     

Extra Bilge W/clips      

Flashlights       

Jump starter or Jumper cables (Nautic Sport makes a great one. Click the photo)

I hope that after reading this short article it gives you some more insight on how to keep you and you fishing partner safer the next time you’re on the water.

TH MARINE HOLIDAY SPECIAL FROM PORTSIDE MARINE ORLANDO

TWO WAY BOAT ALARM JUST $99 SHIPPED. CALL PORTSIDE MARINE  TODAY 407-249-1124

TH MARINE TWO WAY BOAT ALARM.mp4

After spending a few horrible windy, rainy and chilly days on Lake Toho it finally paid off. Launching out of Lakefront Park on Lake Toho as boat number 8 my game plan was everything but dialed in. I had found a few spots that held numbers the weekend before, but nothing big maybe a tiny limit getter at best. I started at my first spot throwing topwater and was getting blow ups but no even limit size bass so we moved down south to my small numbers spot. After dozens of cast a caught a few small ones that didn't make a limit. I decided to move over towards the hydrilla line I found in the week prior and use a good ole prop bait over the submerged hydrilla. After a about 25min of moving towards the inside and out I got a massive blow up and landed a 4lb keeper. I quickly threw back and seemed to get a decent keeper every 45 min or so. 

As time dwindled down I really didn't thing I had a placeable bag yet alone a winning size bag. As I waited in line at the weigh in everyone was asking everyone else what they had and I said nothing much (I truly thought it was). As I approached the scales and handed over my fish I realized that I might actually have a  slight chance at this one. After the scale stop moving it dialed in at 13lbs and change and I took the leader board. I was in totally shocked, but happy at the same time.  Once the finally few anglers weighed in I realized that I had just won my 3rd event of the year and my second of the year on Lake Toho. Lake Toho have a love hate relationship. It seems I do really well there or terrible. Needless to say this season has been incredible for me as my come back season. I owe everything to my late father for him harassing me the past few years to get back on the tournament trail. Dad, this is another win for you!

This past weekend I was very fortunate to pull off a win on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida.  However, this win just wasn’t just any win, it was more than that. Almost a month ago my best friend, my mentor and most importantly my dad lost his long fought battle with brain cancer he was 59 years young. We fished a lot together during my younger years and I enjoy talking to him almost daily about life, family and fishing. We were just talking a few weeks back about him coming down after this set of treatments and doing a little bass fishing on my new boat.

You only get one chance in life sometimes, so make every second count. You have today, tomorrow isn’t always guaranteed. This tournament I vowed to win in honor of my dad. I’m was proud to call him MY dad and we will see each other soon enough in heaven. Dad this win is for you!  

As most of you know we just went through Hurricane Irma down here in the sunshine state. One piece of equipment that help get us through during the storm was the Nautic Sport Nautic Start II. It's a 18,000mAh reserve power source and jump starter.  It allowed us to charge our phones and devices many times through out the last few days.  I normally keep this in my truck and boat for emergency jump starting and we were so glad i had this with me during the storm. This is a must living in Florida for anyone not just for power but also for jump starting of your truck or car. So don't get stuck in the dark check them out online at Nautic Sport.