Day on Kentucky Lake ....

   Went down to Kentucky Lake yesterday with a friend of mine Ben Helmerich.  We had a geat time fishing, caught several fish and had over 20lb with our biggest 5.  It was just a good day to be on the water, wind wasn't howling and sun was out.  Here are a couple pics:

GOD Bless

Joel

Bassworldsports at Lake of Egypt ....

    Well  me and Doug fished the Bassworldsports tournament at Lake of Egypt this past Saturday and ended up finishing 2nd place.  We had practiced on Thursday and Friday and not had a whole lot of luck, but had caught some on jerkbaits and rigs.  So after Friday I had decided that I was going to throw a rig all day long and jerkbait some to.  We had a limit at 10:00 and caught about 9 lake keepers throughout the day and ended up with 13.62 lbs.   I was using a 735 frog rod and a 766 flippn stick, with 65lb braided line.


GOD BLESS

Joel

Vacation is over...

     Well I've been on vacation for a while and have been bowhunting and took a couple does.  I have had 2 opportunities at mature bucks and should be tagged out but had some people on 4 wheelers run one off and wind swirled on another for a split second.  So last night I went back to work, but will have a few more days off starting on Thursday.  Will be starting to fish a few tournaments this winter at Lake of Egypt.   Check back to see what happens.

GOD Bless

Joel

Bassworldsports at Lake Egypt ...

     Well went up to pactice for the tournament about 2 weeks before and 2 awesome days, had 15lb one day and 19lb the next fishing the same pattern.  So I was a little fired up about these results since I had not been on the Lake but one time since Feb and that was at night.  Thursday before the tournament I went up and caught some again out deep and also some schooling and felt good about our chances to at least get in the top 3.  After first stop I boated several fish and 3 keepers.  Then we moved aroud and several more fish, but could not getem to hold on the the bait and would pull off after setting the hook and fighting them for a min.  So we ended the day with only 4 keepers and not the start I wanted, but it happens and we will try again next time.  My next event is the regional at Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas.  I will be leaving for practice on Oct 29th.  Hopefully I can get into the top 6 !


GOD Bless

Joel

opening day tommorrow....

Tommorrow is opening day for Illinois bow season and I'm rady to go.  Hopefully I can get a shot at one of these big ole bucks.  Then Bassworldsports at Lake egypt on the 15th!


GOD Bless

Joel

Lake of Egypt....

    I have a buddy in from up by Plainfield, IL and he loves fishing just as much as I do so we decided to head to Lake of Egypt for a couple days of fishing on Thursday and Friday and we had a blast to say the least.  We caught several fish both days and had good limits each day we were there, Thursday was about 15.5lbs and Friday 19.5lb .  We caught those fish on jigs, worms and crankbaits, on Powell max series and Powell Endurance series rods, with Lews Reels.  A worm that caught some fish was a Go2Baits 10in paddle tail.  Me and Doug have a Bassworldsports tournament on Oct 15th to start out the winter division.  Here are a few pics from Friday:

GOD Bless

Joel

Last BFL of the year ...

     Well on Thursday me and my buddy Doug went down to Kentucky Lake to try and find some fish and we started out fishing shallow for the first 3 hours of the day and didn't have the luck I was hoping for.  So I decided to go out and look on some ledges and by the end of the day we had found 2 schools of fish but hadn't caught many keepers since we left after catching a couple from each spot.  Friday we went shallow again for about 1.5 hours and then went back out to ledges again and found another good school of fish in 17 to 24 feet of water.  So after practice I wasn't sure what I would be able to do during the tournament bnut thought I could catch some fish.  Saturday I went to ledges to start off and caught a few shorts , but no keepers.  Then I went shallow for a while but no luck either, so I just kept working my ledges and ended up catching 7 keepers on the ledge I found on Friday and ended up with 11lb 4oz and 10th for the day.  Sunday I went and just looked at a few new places and caught 2 keepers right off the bat and then moved to a ledge I had caught some on 2 weeks ago and caught another one.  Then I went to the ledge I caught them on the day before and culled.  So about 12:00pm I went to a ledge I broke one off in the morning and caught a couple more keepers and culled up to 10lb 4oz.  I just could not find those big ones out on the ledges, but I was blessed by the LORD to do this well and finish up in 5th for the tournament and 7th for the year.  The LORD has blessed me all year long this year and hopefully it wil continue on throughout the winter as me and Doug are fishing Bassworldsports winter division at Lake of Egypt. 

 

I was throwing a Go2baits 10" paddle tail worm on a Powell Max 704 rod with a Lews 6:4:1 Reel, an ole monster on a 705 Powell max rod with a Lews 6:4:1 Reel, a homemade football jig with a Go2baits swimin craw as a trailer and also a strike rage tail jig trailer on a  Powell Endurance 764 rod with a Lews 6:4:1 reel, and a Strike King 6xd on a Powell Endurance 706 crankin rod witrh a Lews 6:4:1 reel.   

   GOD Bless

Joel

BFL Next weekend and motor is broke down....

     Well I went down to Kentucky Lake last  weekend to do some more prefishing for the BFL this weekend on Friday.  I put in at Paris and fished this area most of the day and about 130 I decided I was going to get close to the Paris area again and while running down the lake the motor cut out, so I slowed down some to 4000rpm and couldn't gain any power or speed and then the motor just shut down and lost all power.  I tried starting it but no luck it sounded like it was trying to lock up.  So it now sits at Jet a Marina in Calvert City to be fixed.    I have a boat of my buddies to use in case mine doesn't get fixed,  I'm in 12th in points and only about 65 to 70 points out of the angler of year points title.   Stay tuned for the rest of this week.

GOD Bless

Joel

Last BFL coming up ....

    I have my last BFL on Kentucky Lake on Sept 10th and 11th.  So hopefully I can get on some good quality fish, I was down there last Friday and had about 13.25 lbs . All caught on a Go2baits 10" worm.  Check back I will let everyone know how it goes.

GOD Bless

Joel

Everstart at Detroit river...

     Well me and my buddy Harold Buchmeier left for Detroit on Saturday, July 9th and got up there that afternoon.  We got about 3 hours on the water and I had a couple keepers and so did Harold.   Over the next 4 days we concentrated on St Clair and the Detroit River, throwing crankbaits, tubes, and dropshots.  Practice for me was pretty good overall I caught about 15lb a day and never stayed on one spot very long.  On Monday a Storm came through on the lake and needless to say it was the worst storm they have had in the last 10years !  70 to 80 mph winds were reported and Harold and I were in our own boats in the middle of the St Clair, I finally made it to a bay in Canada and took cover for about an hour and half , Harold had no where to go and just floated for that time until the storm passed.  Day 1 I went to an area I had found on Sunday that had a decent group of fish and I ended up with 12.5 and my Co had 16lb and lost 2 more about 4.5 there, so I decided to leave and fish my way back to the ramp and hit some other places where I had caught some 3lbers and cull out at least my 2 small ones, but I never got to.  Day 2 I went back to that area and only caught 1 keeper ! I guesss I should have stayed there on day 1 and just caught them, but I thought I would save them for Day 2 also.  So I moved around to some other areas and managed to get 2 more keepers and ended up in 116th.  It was very disappointing after my practice, but my buddy Harold done well he got another check and moved up to 7th in points.  Hopefully he will take the points title for the year.   I was throwing Powell Rods with 6 and 8lb line , with a Lews reels.


GOD Bless

Joel

Fisherman's Headquarters open...

   Me and my team partner Doug fished the 1st annual Fisherman's Headquarters Open on June 25th last weekend.  We went down to practice on Thursday and Friday, but we never really caught anything over 3.25lbs in practice so we were just hoping we could get 15 to 16 lb limit.  We did find two good schools of fish and we only caught a few keepers out of each one and left.  So on Saturday we went to our first hole and had a limit in just an hour and culled  several times and by 9oclock we had 19.17  lbs and went to Moors Marina to take cover from the storms.  We stayed in here for about an hour and half and then went back out and caught more fish but never could get rid of that 3.25lber.  We ended up 4th place and felt blessed to do that well.  We were throwing worms on a Powell Max 734 Rod with a Lews 6:4:1 Reel.  My event is the Everstart Series at Detroit River in July.

GOD Bless

Joel



Ronald Mc Donald House Charity Tournament....

     Well I have been doing a little farming lately, since the rain has slacked up, but did get to fish the Ronald McDonald House Charity Tournament at Kentucky Lake on 6/4.  This tournament was a real good time as we had a dinner the night before and got lunch prepared for us the day of tournament.  Last  year they raised over $38,000 for the Ronald Mc Donald House.  Hopefully they done it again.  My partners were twin brothers Dave and Dale from Dexter, Mo and we had a blast all day long.  Caught fish most of the day, and had a limit that weighed 13lb 09oz and ended up 6th.  Should have won but I had a 6 to 7lber at the boat and didn't get it in.  We were throwing crankbaits on Powell endurance 706cb and Powell max series753cb rods and Lews Tournament Speed Spool reels.  If you get the chance to fish this event I would recommend it ! 


GOD Bless

Joel

BFL on Kentucky....

     Well my good fishing continued this week again, I ended up finishing 7th in the LBL Divivsion BFL on Saturday, with 18lb 2oz.   And this moved me into 12 place in points for the season.  I started practice on Thursday and found that some areas were still holding fish from the previous weekend.  And also found a couple others as well and then on Friday I went to a different area of the lake and found about 5 more places with some fish on them.  So on Saturday I went to my starting spot and ended up catching 7 keepers here and had a limit by 646am ! I then just kept hitting my other areas throughout the day and caught at least 10 keepers but, could not get a big bite (6 or 7lb) to push me on up over 20lb, but hey I had an incredible day, I probably caught at least 100 fish. I was throwing crankbaits on a Powell Endurance 706cb, 804cb, and a Powell Max 804cb, with Lews Tournament Speed Spool Series reels in 6:4:1 and 5:4:1 gear ratio.  I just thank the Lord for Blessing me once again with another good finish, without him I couldn't have done it !

GOD Bless

Joel

Bass Weekend Series....

I fished a Bass Weekend Series event on Kentucky Lake this weekend and ended up finishing 6th place with 17.61 pounds.  I went down on Thursday and found that one school of fish me and Doug had  in the Jet A Marina Tournament were still there.   So I went looking for some other fish and had some luck.  So on Friday my buddy Doug came down with me and we started out the day with a good run to check an area we thought would be good ,but didn't have much luck.  So we worked our way back to the ramp and ended up catching some more fish, but no big schools in any of these areas.  We did catch a good 4.5 to 5lber off one spot, where we had a boat a little close to us so we didn't fish this long and just unhooked this fish in the water.  So on Saturday I got to my starting spot and a boat was a little to close for me to pull in there, so we waited and they finally moved and I got on it, but the school wasn't there or not biting so we left.  The next stop was where we unhooked the fish and me and my co angler ended up catching 7 keepers here and I had my biggest 3 fish from here.  We kept moving around and I decided to go back to my starting spot and we ended up both culling up here.  I was throwing crankbaits on a Powell endurance 706cb, 804cb, and a Powell max series 804cb, with Lews Tournament speed spool series reels  I just thank the Lord for blessing me once again with a good bag of fish. 

GOD Bless

Joel

Another Good Tourney....

     Me and my partner Doug fished the Jet A Marine Classic yesterday on Kentucky Lake and ended up 4th place out of 312 boats.  We had a limit that weighed 20lb 14 oz and had a smallmouth that was 4lb 6 oz.  We just had an awesome day of fishing, we caught  at least 15 keepers and probably at least 80 fish.  We went down on Thursday and Friday to practice and found some more areas like I had the week before in the BFL.  So we thought we might have a chance to catch a decent bag.  At our first stop we caught a limit and culled several times and had about 17lb here.  We then moved to some other areas we had and ended up culling up to our final weight.  We threw crankbaits on Powell Endurance 706cb rods with Lews Tournament Speed spool series reels in a 6:4:1 ratio.     

 

I would like to thank the Lord for blessing us again this weekend and keeping us safe as there were several storms coming through.

GOD Bless

Joel

Unbelievable....

    The title says it all,  I was Blessed by the Lord yesterday and WON the BFL on Kentucky Lake !  I had 18lb 3oz , but I did not think that would hold out, I mean this is Kentucky Lake and usually 20lbs is what is needed to win any event on this lake.  I started practice on Wednesday with my buddy Doug and I had decided I was not going to fish for these lil green monsters in the back, as it had burned me for the past 3 years .  So we started farther out and got on some fish in 8 to 12 foot.  Thursday we found 3 more places that had some schools of fish on them.  So I had about 5 schools found and on Friday we had some bad weather coming in and didnt get to get out until about 10am and decided to fish a different area to see if we could anything else going and we ended up finding 1 place that had some fish.  So Saturday I was boat 22 and we went to the first place and no fish.  So I went to my areas I found on Wednesday and Thursday.  On the first one I caught a 4.5 lb largemouth.  Next stop I  filled out my limit and it was only 830 !  I culled up to my 18 3 at 915 and that was all I could do.  So I went looking for a 5 to 6lber for a kicker the rest of the day but could not find one.  I was throwing crankbaits on a Powell Endurance Series 706cb, Powell Max Series 753cb, Lews tournament speed spool 6:4:1 ratio.  I thank the Lord for blessing me yesterday and my good friend Duke Jenkel on the last event, where he won.

 

GOD Bless

Joel

BFL and Everstart....

     Just got home from basically fishing for 2 weeks straight.  Started prefishing for the BFL on 3/23/11, my buddy Paul went with me and we ended up the day with about 16 lb.  The next 2 days Doug went with me and we managed to catch some more fish, but not really much of a pattern to anything.  Tournament day I went to areas where I had some fish, but all those ares were dried up, so we ran some other things and managed to catch 1 keeper and ended up in 84th place. 

On Monday the 28th started practicing for the everstart and had a pretty decent day caught 16lb with my best 5 fish.  Then Tuesday was not very productive, couldn't get anything going today like we did the day before, as we thought we had  something figured out late in the day on Monday ,but it didn't pay off.  So Wednesday we went to Barkley Lake to see what was going on over there, and by 11am had 4 keepers and somewhat of a pattern going and had 2 bays where there were groups of fish, but as my luck had been going it didn't work out on day one I only had 1 3lber and a lot of ground to make up on day 2.  Day 2 I stayed on Kentucky and just started over and by 8am I had 1 keeper and had caught several fish, so I kept moving around and ended up with 2 keepers and lost a big one and 2 other good keepers on a crankbait.  So I just had some bad luck all around for the last 2 weeks.  I was throwing the crankbaits on Powell 703cb and 753cb rods and the jerkbaits were on a 686cb rod.  The reels were Lews Tournament speed spool series 6:4:1 gear ratio.,


GOD Bless

Joel

Murray Rotary Club Tournament at Kentucky......

     Well me and my buddy Doug decided yesterday about noon to fish this event after we had caught about 20lbs and had a little something going, thanks to a good friend of ours.  So we started off this morning on our first spot and we boated a keeper in the first 5 casts and we ended up catching another keeper and some more shorties here.  Our next spot we caught several keepers and shorties, it was here we caught a couple key fish a 5lb14oz and a 4.5lber.  Then our next spot we caught another 5.5lber and some other keepers that would not help, so we ended up with 21 lb 7 oz and 4th place.  I was using Powell Rods and Lews reels.  As far as patterns and baits I am not at liberty to say as I have events coming up the next 2 weekends and I was asked not to say how I was catching them. 

 

GOD Bless

Joel

1st Everstart at Lake of The Ozarks....

  Got to Lake of The Ozark's (LOZ) on Sunday the 6th about noon and began fishing and had a keeper in the first 1/2 hour !  So I moved to another point and caught another keeper and thought this might hold up and ran some more points with some luck, but also bluff 's in between points with a good drop on the and caught fish here to and had 7 keepers on Sunday and about 16lb with 5, so not a bad start.  The next 3 days I tried running the same deal and caught some but not that consistent.  I ran to the Niaguga arm 1 day and it was just muddy!  Got out of there and found some clear water and caught a couple keepers pretty quick on jerk baits on transition banks.  Day 1 I had an area where I caught 5 keepers down a 250 yard stretch and started here,  no keepers so we kept moving around my ares and by the end of the day I had 2 keepers and my co-angler had a limit of 12lbs !  It was just his day to catch them, I would throw up to the spot and catch a shortie and he would catch a keeper !  This happened all day long.  Day 2 I went back to those same areas and caught a 4lber in the first hour n half and was hoping I was gonna get them today but it was another struggle for me.  I managed 2 keepers for 5lb 11 oz and lost a mule on the jerk bait that would have moved me up about 20 to 25 places.  I was throwing Lew's speed spool reels (6:4:1) and Powell rods 684cb,  686cb, 703cb, 753cb on 10 and 12 lb fluorocarbon line.  Also a 705 jig rod, with a War Eagle Heavy cover finesse jig with a Go2baits trailer and a Lew's Speed Spool 6:4:1, with 15lb fluorocarbon line.  I ended up in 97th place and got some points toward the championship at Kentucky Lake.  Below are pictures of the baits and Rods used :

                

GOD Bless

Joel

BFL 3/5/2011

Well in practice we found 2 good schools of fish on the main river that were holding on 2 points. We also found some other points with fish, but did not have the schools.  All the fish were caught on jerkbaits and crankbaits, but the better ones were on the jerkbait.  So I got on my first spot and there was a boat there , so we went behind them and nothing but short fish, then to second stop and we caught some short fish and then I caught 2 keepers here.  We moved around the rest of the day and it was a struggle to stay out on main points with a 30mph wind so we had to abandon that and I went to a place where I have caught some just inside a bay and I caught 1 more keeper and that gave me 10lb 1 oz with 3 fish and 27th place so not a bad start to the year.  I was throwing the jerkbait on a Powell spinning rod with 10lb flourocarbon line.


GOD Bless

Joel

First BFL at Kentucky Lake....

Well just got done fishing the first BFL on Kentucky Lake and it was a tough tournament , but I did end up in 27th place so not a bad start to the year.  We had a strong front blow through yesterday during the tournament and it was rough out on the water !  I had 3 keepers and 10lb 1oz, one was a 5lb 11oz, but big bass was 8lb 8oz !I caught most of my fish on jerkbaits.  I am heading out to Lake of the Ozarks for the first Everstart in about an hour so hopefully I will be blessed with a good start in them also.  I will post patterns when I return from Lake of The Ozarks for both events.

GOD Bless

Joel

Kentucky Lake practice day 1.....

Wow what a day we had !  We caught 26 keepers and had about 18lbs with our biggest 5.  We caught well over 50 fish and left 2 schools biting that were just on fire   !Hopefullly this will hold up for us, but we are going a little farther south today to try some other things and see if we can find those 20 to 30 lb bags! It should take 25 to 30lb to win this event.  What a blessed day we had !

          

GOD Bless


Joel

Season starting this week ....

Will be heading to Kentucky Lake this week to get ready for the BFL on saturday and then will be leaving for Lake of the Ozarks on Sunday morning for the Everstart.  Check back to see how practice goes for each !

GOD Bless

Joel

2011 Season getting ready to start...

     Well this year I will fishing the Everstart Central Division and our first event is coming up at Lake of The Ozark's on 3/10-3/12 , then Kentucky Lake 3/31 - 4-2 , Detroit River 7/14 -7/16, Table Rock 10/6 - 10/8 and the Championship 10/27- 10/30 at Kentucky Lake.  I will also be fishing the BFL LBL Division and it starts on 3/5 , then 3/26, 4/16, 5/14 and 9/10- 9/11.  March is going to be a very busy month to say the least, but hopefully I will get a good start to the year.  In the Everstarts I will be teaming up with Harold Buchmeier a good friend of mine and we will be working together for the year in the Everstarts, just as we have in years past for the BFL's.  I have also picked up a new sponsor for the year LEWS Reels.  If you haven't tried out any of their new reels you owe it to yourself to put them in your hands and give them a shot.  3 more weeks before the BFL so I will try to keep you all updated on practice.

GOD Bless

Joel

First fishing trip of 2011...

     Me and my buddy Doug went down to Kentucky Lake today to explore more places in the area of the lake we know the best.  While we did not catch a bunch of fish I did manage to catch one that was well worth the trip, an 8lber and this was off a new place we haven't fished.  We ended the day with 2 keepers and some other short ones.  I was throwing the jerkbait on a Powell 703glass rod, with 10lb flourocarbon line. 

GOD BLESS !

Joel

Last Day of the Year...

     Well me and my Buddy Harold (Bucky) got out on the 31st to Kentucky Lake for one last day of fishing for the year.  It was supposed to be windy on Friday 10-20mph out of the south so we figured it would be rough on the main river, so we fished in a creek for a while and of course we had no luck.  So we went toward the mouth of the creek and it was not as rough as we thought it would be, so we went out on the main lake and on our first stop boated a fish.  It was still rough enough that the waves were coming over the bow of the boat occassionally, while fishing.  After a few more stops we got on another point and caught 8 fish off here, with only 2 being lake keepers.  So we got to hit 2 more points and ran out of time for the day.  I was using 6:2:1 reels and a Powell 684 and 686 rods with 10 and 12 lb Flourocarbon line.

GOD BLESS

Joel