What a surprise! Stacey brought in the mail and a big envelope addressed to me from Mepps. A nice letter from “The Mepps Man” T. Layton Shepherd mentioning that my rainbow trout photo is featured on page 9 in the 2022 Mepps Master Catalog. Mepps rules!

Well that’s a wrap to the 2021 open water fishing season. Many memorable fish catches and fun moments. My favorite was watching JT pull his first big 5 pound bass on opener and his big northern later in the summer. He’s growing up to be quite the fisherman. A rare bonus 25” walleye too over Labor Day weekend. Some good pike caught and released throughout the season, and discovered a few new lakes in the process. Overall a good fishing season!

Cold wind, freezing fingers, runny nose and BIG PIKE!!

Getting pike slimed with my cousin, Binh Nguyen. Started the morning twitching jerkbaits with long pauses and burning chatterbaits as it got warmer. The fish were on fire yesterday from 10 to noon!

Squeezed in a quick couple hours of bass fishing with my cousin Binh before my niece’s birthday party. With the cold front, fishing was slow, mostly a jig and spinnerbait bite. Fun times!

Old school style. Rented a basic boat with no trolling motor or depth finder. Did some homework to see areas of potential. Dropped in and jigged an ACME Tackle Company Hyper-Rattle and BINGO! Farm Island Lake 25” brute of a walleye! #fishouflage #acmetackle #hyperrattle

While observing JT working a small swimbait last night I couldn’t help but reminisce the days I was fishing the same exact spot using the same exact lure over 35 years ago. Seeing his passion, laser focus, jigging and getting that swimbait tail kickin’ I can’t be more happier. He caught his first northern pike and an even bigger one a short time later. Way to go kiddo!

Y’all remember the old vintage Lazy Ike?! I had a couple sitting in my tacklebox and decided to pull them out yesterday. Boy talk about being pike slimed!

Bright, clear blue skies, no wind, but the fish were mighty active yesterday. My cousin and I caught and released over 30 bass all between 14″ to 18.5″. All on a jig & craw, wacky worm, topwater frog, and an inline spinner. Enjoy the video!

Back to my roots! Working the shoreline last night on one of my favorite childhood lakes and this one grabbed my piranha swim jig. Some things never change. Fun times!