Packaging for the New Reaction Strike/Hoern Toad Tackle Shaky head!

Getting excited about the new tackle I've been working on.  Getting close to finishing everything.  Been working on the the packaging the last few weeks almost finished!  Should be out very soon!

Just finished a 3 day PAA work camp at Kentucky Lake near our PAA Headquarters.  Three straight days of work and no play.  We have a lot of exciting things for next year!  Can't wait!

As many of you know Hoern Toad Tackle was purchased by Reaction Strike earlier this year.  Several of our popular products are due out this spring in a Tackle Shop near you.  We'll let you know when they are available soon!

The Texas Toyota Bass Classic will air this Saturday Nov. 21st. at 1pm Central Time on CBS Network television.  This will be an exciting show with new producers this year.  Should be some exciting shots and good footage on Conroe.  Here are some pictures from the TTBC and the final day...

 

 

 

When I was 12 years old my father and I took a trip up to Silverton Colorado and rode our motorcycles all over the mountains.  Last week we went back for kind of a 20 year reunion of sorts.  My good friend Adam and I left Texas and headed that way.  The three of us had a great week of riding and sight seeing, it was a nice break from the Bass.  Not to mention it was nice to get out of the Houston heat for a few days.

Enough of the Bass for a few days....it's time to get back on two wheels!  Outside getting the Yamaha 450F ready to ride up in the mountains of Colorado for a week!  Going to meet my Dad up there and a few good friends for some fun! Only been on the bike once this year!  Not acceptable.

Not a good week for me at Dardanelle, I have a special place in my heart for this lake because I qualified for the last REDMAN All American here in the fall of 1999 when I was still in college at A&M.  I usually do very well at rivers but the last two Pittsburgh and the Arkansas my finishes weren't where I thought they should be.  I think it is a little focus and motivation issue since I've been going non stop since January.  Too many events this year on my plate but that is just what I have to do this year.  When you start cramming one event on top of the other for months on end you have to stay motivated and maintain confidence.  I had a little creek I found in practice that I felt pretty good about in practice.  Day 1 I started in there and stayed until 11 am with no bites.  There were 8 other boats in this little creek and I knew there were fish in there and I simply felt like it was obvious it was pounded during practice and was pretty beat up.  Usually when I'm fishing good I would be confident in my area and simply wait the others out till they left and pound them out.  I talked myself into thinking that it had been beat up and simply left the area knowing it had potential.  Day 2 I came back there thinking maybe there would be fewer boats but when I came in there there were three other boats still in there and I didn't know who they were.  I fished through the area and caught one small keeper and eventually left.  Bad move because 2nd and 3rd place of event ended up being the guys who were in there with me, they stayed everyday and pounded it out.  That makes me mad because I knew that they were in there but I didn't stay and figure them out like I would normally.  One word CONFIDENCE!  That was my mistake.  Those guys fished good and dialed into them and pounded them out.  That's why they finished on the top end.  It's nothing new to me I know this stuff well but when your not on top of the game that week you pay dearly for it.  Learn from it and go on, these situations only make you better because you learn to trust your inner feelings more every time you make these mistakes.  At this stage in my career I know these things well but sometimes you make mistakes....Lesson learned.

My boat and truck finally came home tonight after they were on the road since April.  I usually fly back home when I get a chance since most of our events are a long way from Houston.  Up in the morning and headed to my home Lake Conroe to start looking around in preparation for the upcoming Toyota Texas Bass Classic PAA Championship in October.  I don't get out there much even though it is only 15 minutes from the house.  It'll be the first time in my pro career I have ever been able to sleep in my own bed for a national event.  Looking forward to it!

Fishing has been tough this week on Dardanelle.  Shouldn't take much weight to do well here.  A little bit of a temperature change from last week's FLW Championship in Pittsburgh.  HOT!  HOT! HOT! down here!

Day 2 of practice over...practice going well.  Going to be be tough.  I like it when it's tough.