Ouachita Fun Zone!!

FrogTape booth at the Fun Zone

Well my Ouachita Tournament wasn’t a big success but the FrogTape® booth at the Fun Zone was.  This was the first Fun Zone we worked this year and the response from the fans was awesome. 

 

The FrogTape boat was one of the biggest  hits with the kids.  They loved the Frogs.  Adults loved it too but of course they were more inquisitive.  It was great getting to spread the word about the best painter’s tape out there, FrogTape®.  I actually got to talk to several folks who had already used FrogTape®.   The best thing is that I haven’t met a person yet that has tried it and not loved it.   FrogTape® is one product that does exactly what it says it does. “Keeps Paint Out. Keeps Lines Sharp.™” 

FrogTape demo

We will be doing  the Fun Zone at lake Guntersville in AL.  If you are in the area stop by and see us.  If you have tried FrogTape® tell us about it.  Go to FrogTape.com and tell us about your experience.

Ouachita day 3, What to do?

Day 2 was much better for me. Unfortunately my weight was the same but I caught more fish. I continued to beat the banks today.  I actually had my limit by 11 this morning. That made me feel pretty good.  I decided after getting my limit I needed to run the banks looking for that big fish.  I have one small area that has some really good fish swimming around. I fished it twice today and it never paid off for me.  My co-angler caught a 5 pounder off of it. That hurt a little, that fish would have given me  14 pounds and moved me way up the board.  Right now I’m sitting in 64 and have a serious decision to make.  Do I try to catch limit or do I go for the big bag. I am pretty sure I need at least 10 pounds tomorrow to make a check. 

A lot of the guys struggled today. It seems the shallow bight is going away or getting really tough.  The  leaders are catching their fish deep and have found schools of fish. Most are using swim baits to get that bite.  I might try to go deep some tomorrow and see if I can get a few.  It’s just not that easy to find that sweet spot out there.  The biggest thing for me is I’ve got to have 10 pounds, which right now isn’t easy.  I know where 20 plus pounds of fish are, but getting them to bite is the problem. These Bass are sitting in shallow bushes and around bream beds.  I’m going to try to hit these areas first thing in the morning and hope their hungry.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and say a little prayer for me.

Ouachita Day 1

Day 1 on Ouachita started off with an hour and half fog delay.  So instead of getting to start at 6:30 we blasted off at 8.  Needless to say my plans got changed quite a bit.   I was able to start the day off with a 3 pounder.  After that my day was pretty slow.  I basically went looking for the big ones.  I did find some, just getting them to bite was the problem.  At 12 I went into a place and found some HAWGS.  I caught one 5 pounder and lost 2.  A school of about 25 came up schooling and I just couldn’t get them to bite.  I definitely had my chances.  I missed three big ones that would have put me in the top 5.  I did manage to weigh in 3 for 9.2 pounds.  With the three I lost I should have had around 17.  There’s always tomorrow.  I just hope I can put them in the boat.  

18 pounds is leading after day one and from what I am hearing they are coming deep.  I think the guys are deep cranking but thats hearsay.  I do know one guy in the top 5 caught all his fish on a top water early.  I don’t think I will be doing any deep cranking  but I do have a few top waters tied on. 

Sorry if  I sound I a little frustrated, honestly I am.  As an angler it’s very tough when you just miss fish. When you have them hooked and they just come off its hard  to swallow.  It seems this year I have kinda been plagued by that problem.  Thats where the mental game comes into play. You really just have to make yourself move on and not dwell on the past. Sometimes that’s a hard thing to do. Especially when it keeps you from getting a 10,000 dollar check.  But you have to move on and not let it eat at you.   I will be trying to put today behind me and follow my own advice.  I’m still in striking distance and tomorrow will be a  better day.

Check back tomorrow and see how things go.

Ouachita: Shallow or Deep?

It’s the final day of practice and now decision time.   After three days of on the water it’s hard for me to say what the pattern is going to be. The water here is up about 5 feet and its flooded bushes everywhere.   There is also an abundance of deep grass on the lower end of the lake.  I have tried to fish both and the results were not too good. I fished  deep for most of the day today and just never found that magical spot.  The local guys here should do well out deep. The key here is to find that sweet spot on the spot.  Meaning, there are hundreds of humps out there and hundreds of ledges. Each of these will have a little sweet spot.  The  problem for me is only having three days to find them, that’s a tough task. 

 I did go shallow this afternoon and the first day as well.  The bass are keying on bream and getting them to bite is sometimes a timing deal.  I will say this, I found enough  fish today shallow to win this tournament, but realistically I just don’t think they will bite. I did catch a 5+ today and I saw 4 or five over 6 pounds one pushing 8.  I was really amazed they were there and so many.  So needless to say I have to go after them in the tournament. If I can get lucky and figure out how to catch them it could be a great week.   The way I see it, I’m here to win so I might as well go for the big ones.   Check back in on Wednesday and I will post how Day 1 of the Tournament went.

Good First Day On Ouachita

Great way to end the day

My morning  started off  by catching a few good ones right off.  I found this really neat little spot that seems to be holding some fish.  I caught a limit there in just  a few minutes. The best part is I didn’t fish it hard either.  I really think I could have worked that area and caught some more.  After that I just ran looking for more areas like that but never found any. I did manage to find a few more places this afternoon that produced a few good fish.  All in all I had a productive day.  I’m  happy for my first day on Ouachita. 

Tomorrow? Well, I’m just going fishing again. I am heading to a different area of the lake to see what happens.

Sherwin Williams Pro Show

Sherwin Williams pro show in Greensboro

This was a fun week. I was able to attend two Sherwin Williams Pro Shows and help out with the FrogTape® booth.  It’s nice to see the  excitement that FrogTape has brought to the painting world.  We spoke to a ton of painters and everyone that has used FrogTape will tell you it is the best painter’s tape out there.   It does exactly what it says it will do.  “Keeps Paint Out. Keeps Lines Sharp.™”  We did the PaintBlock® demo for the guys and it blows them away. If you’re curious about seeing the demo and want to learn more about Frogtape, just log onto www.FrogTape.com and check it out.   

Winston Salem Sherwin Williams Pro Show

Doing the FrogTape PaintBlock demo

Sherwin Williams Pro Show

We are at the halfway point in the FLW season. There are  5 more events including the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier.  I have had a couple of weeks off and took a week’s vacation at Myrtle Beach.  It was a good break for the Half way point in the season.  I am refreshed and looking forward for second half of the season. 

Today was the Sherwin Williams Pro Show in Charlotte.  I had the FrogTape® boat  and truck  there and as always it was a big hit.  It was a fun day. We held a drawing for a fishing trip with me in the FrogTape boat.  There were a lot of entries and the winner will be announced soon. There are two more shows next week in Winston and Greensboro.  So if you’re a contractor or painter drop by and check out the FrogTape booth.

Day two on Loudoun

Man what a day. I bet I caught 30 today. That makes for a fun day, just frustrating when you can’t catch a keeper.  I am sitting in 92 place with 13 pounds.  I need another 14 to 15 pounds tomorrow to get into check range.  So my game plan is to flip and pitch tomorrow. I have 5 rods rigged up. Two with a jig and 3 with a texas rig.  I guess you could say I’m going for broke.  I have nothing to lose so might as well go for a big bag.

Looks like I will be heading home tomorrow after the weigh in. There is a local tournament on Lake Hickory so I’m going to fish it with my girlfriend.  It ought to be fun.

blessed with 5

Today was a pretty good day for me.  Yeah im only in 65th but im happy with that.  My practice was very slow and my goal today was just to get a limit.  I ended up catching 7 keepers today for 8-6.  Never had any good ones on but I did find a few on the bed for tomorrow.   There just keepers, but I will be happy with another 8 pounds.  I know the guys that are leading are catching there’s off the bed. So they are out there, I just need a few of those and im back in the game. 

Had another pro stop me this morning telling me his experience with FrogTape®.  He used it on a house he remodeled.    He said “man that stuff works great!”  He actually told his local hardware store and Home Depot that they needed to start carrying it because it’s going to be the next big thing. 

I’m telling you guys, if you havent tried FrogTape, you’re missing out.

Day 3 Promoting FrogTape

Today I covered  a lot of water.  My idea was to go and look for bedding bass and it was a pretty fun day.  I actually did more advertising for FrogTape® than catching fish, which is not a bad thing.  Ft Loudoun and Tellico is a booming lake and has a lot of construction going on.  When you’re looking for bedding fish you  are constantly running right along the banks and it’s easy for people to talk to you. I had two different contractors approach me today.  Of course I had to stop and give them the scoop on FrogTape. They were pretty excited about it, no touch ups will save them time and money.  I also ran into a paint company repainting a huge dock.  Talk about the perfect opportunity.  Glad I had a roll of FrogTape in the boat.  These guys were super happy.  They were still using the old Blue tape. I’m pretty sure they are going GREEN now.   It’s amazing how many people on a Monday asked me  what FrogTape was.  It was a great day to promote the Frog.

Fishing on day three was ok. I did find one bank that had some good fish  on the beds. The only bad thing is that there are a dozen other people who found them as well. I looked for the majority of the day and I just couldn’t find any good ones.  I love bed fishing and I consider myself pretty good at it.  Usually I can find them if they are there, but this week with the water being dirty and all the pollen its been tough.  Personally, I don’t see bed fishing being the winning pattern here. I do think one or two a day may boost your creel but doing it 4 days I don’t think so. 

My rods are rigged up and I HATE to say it but I’ve got 2 shaky heads tied on.  UGHHHH!!!   Its going to rain on our off day so things might change up, but for now I’m going with the Carolina rig, shaky head, and a few other little tricks.