A new bass season

A new bass season brings with it new promise. After a long winter in the north country, where only dreams of casting to smallmouth on the northern waters of Michigan will suffice, it’s good to be back on the water. Gone are the days where we struggled. Forgotten are the days when we got poured on. Instead, upon us are promises of great fishing, and getting to greet old customers, and meet new customers. Here are the days I live for. Continue reading

I’m a fanatic about pink!

I don’t know what it is about the color pink, but I love it. And the fish love it too. I’ve been lucky enough to travel around this wonderful country of ours, fishing gear in tow. It seems that no matter where I’ve gone—freshwater or saltwater, I’ve caught fish on pink lures. And most interestingly to me—all were in clear water environments. Continue reading

Respooling my reels

When I respool my reels, putting on fresh line, I only use a top shot of fresh line. A top shot, is, what saltwater anglers call it, a section of a specified line atop the normal spool of line. Using this technique of top shotting, I can make a new spool of line stretch quite a bit further than if I were to strip the entire reel’s worth of line off, putting fresh line on. Let’s break it down a bit. Continue reading

Coffee, customers and bass fishing

An interesting trend the past few years has been the inclusion of coffee scent and/or grounds into soft plastics. Strike King Lure Company first came up with this concept, and there are a couple of theories swirling about how it actually came about. Suffice it to say, however it happened, it’s here, and probably here to stay. Continue reading

Too Many Species!

April is such a great time to be alive, and is an equally exciting time to be an angler. There are so many species to fish for, it makes me dizzy. Freshwater species like walleyes are beginning to run in the rivers, looking for spawning habitat. Bass fishing is truly heating up, with big fish being caught on jerkbaits, blade baits and rattle baits like the lipless crankbait family. Bluegills and crappies are much more active, and steelhead are still running the rivers on their annual spring run. Big brown trout are being caught at pier heads and river mouths around the Great Lakes. Continue reading

AD Maddox

I’ve been a big fan of the artwork of AD Maddox for quite a few years now, and I’m lucky enough to be able to also call AD a friend. My wife and I have several of AD’s originals in our home, which we both absolutely love.

I am proud to announce that my coffee company, Deep Blue Coffee Company, has recently created a new coffee offering called The Angler’s Blend, and adorning our new blend is AD’s work. I cannot express how excited I am to be collaborating with AD on this, and I firmly believe that this coffee blend is as fantastic as the artwork represented on The Angler’s Blend label. Continue reading

Our Deep Blue Coffee Company

I love coffee. No doubt about it. And good thing too, since I own a coffee company, Deep Blue Coffee Company. One of the true joys of owning this company is being able to share what I feel are incredible coffee blends with other people. And many of these people are my fishing customers. I provide hot coffee for every fishing trip that both of my guide companies operate—Traverse City Bass Guide Service and Manistee River Salmon Guide Service. Not only does this allow customers to have a great cup of coffee to begin each fishing day, it provides crucial feedback to me in terms of possible blend refinements and new ways to grow.

Jose Wejebe

The fishing world tragically lost an icon a few days ago. Not only was he well-known in the fishing industry, Jose Wejebe was a true gentleman of the sport, having seemingly done it all. Equally skillful with conventional spinning and baitcasting gear, Jose could fly fish with the best of them, presenting a fly flawlessly time and again. Guide, accomplished tournament angler, celebrity/television personality, and all-around terrific champion for others, Jose had a knack for always bringing out the best in people. Always upbeat, Jose seemed to find the best in any situation. Continue reading