What a week!

This week was very hectic but fun!  I've been working on alot of stuff lately but due to timing I couldn't really announce any of it offically.  Finally the other pro-staffers and I were able to announce that we were sponsored and what was going on. 
A couple months ago I contacted Tallapoosa Paddling Company because of a pro-staff opportunity.  After an hour long conversation on the phone with Eric, the owner.  He told me I was what he was looking for.  I am truely honored to be able to help him out and he's given me alot of opportunities I would normally never have.  I will now be fishing alot more tournaments all over the southeast next year.  As well as several other tournaments in the next couple months.  On top of that, me and the other pro-staffers were able to custom order new matching Jackson Coosa kayaks.  These kayaks are AWESOME and the colors we picked out are drawing alot of looks!  Everyones talking about them! 
After I got with Tallapoosa Paddling Company me and the other pro-staffers went and met with Legend Outfitters owner Matt.  Luckily we came to an agreement pretty fast and are now sponsored by them as well.  I think this partnership will work out great.  This isn't just a random place thats sponsoring us.  It's a place all of the pro-staffers and other kayak fishermen love to go to and they're always willing to give advice or helpout whenever they can.  I was just in there friday and Matt talked with me for an hour about a new tecnique I have yet to try.  He suggested several different lures and even brought out his own personal tackle box to show me some of the lures he chooses to use!  You just can't get that kind of service at any other place and thats the reason we want to support him. 
Also, Tallapoosa Paddling Company is working with several other companies and people to create another tournament series that will hopefully be more competative than other series have been in the past.  It will be a dedicated BASS fishing tournament.  No catfish, no live bait, none of that stuff.  It will be a simple showup, go fishing for bass and the biggest 3 fish wins.  On top of that the prizes will be alot bigger.  I think it's a great idea because believe it or not, in Georgia there isnt really a format like it.  Usually there's a catch.  But not these tournament series!
Ok on to the day we finally got the kayaks!  What a day!  I wokeup at around 5am and drove to Stewarts place to pick him up, then we drove to Cartersville and met up with Eric.  From there we headed up to the Jackson factory in Sparta, Tenn.  We were lucky enough to be able to go on a tour of the factory and see how these kayaks are made.  All I can say is, WOW!  The Jackson staff goes through alot of inspections and time to make sure every kayak is built to their specifications.  Just looking at a kayak you kind of just think.  It's a plastic boat how hard can it be to make one?  The answer?  It's ALOT of work.  Even the molds for the kayaks look like something from an alien spaceship! 

Tallapoosa Pro-Staff sponsored by Legend Outfitters

After the tour Eric, Stewart and myself drove back to Kennesaw and showed Matt at Legend Outfitters our new boats and took a little photos.  Then it was on to the lake where more photos were taken and of course a little fishing was done!  : ) All of us caught fish within ten minutes.  Hopefully it's a sign of things to come in the future! 
After all of this I was exhausted.  I got home around 9pm and headed straight to sleep! 
On a side note me and Stewart met up on saturday and went fishing.  It was the first real time I had been fishing in my new kayak.  The wind was horrible and the fishing was tuff.  I tried out the technique I had been meaning to try and started catching fish off the lures Matt suggested to me!  By the end of the day I think me and Stewart had both caught around 7 or 8.  Including a nice 3 1/2 lber!  Thanks Matt! 
Also, if you have free time go check out a few of the sites that have helped me out! 









http://www.tallapoosapaddlingcompany.com/  (theres even some blurbs about the pro-staff here)
http://www.legendoutfitters.com/
and here's the tournament series for anyone interested!  Go enter and have some fun fishing! 
http://www.southernkayakanglers.proboards.com/

Tallapoosa Float!

I had a great day saturday!  A couple weeks ago Stewart planned a trip to go float down the Tallapoosa river with his girlfriend and her sister.  A few days later we found out that their trip just happened to be on Doug's birthday.  So it turned into a group trip with the guys fishing and the girls just going for a float. 





Packed up and headed out to the river!

 When I arrived Stewart and the girls were running a little late so me and Doug helped out around the shop a little bit.  I also got a chance to talk to Eric about the Jackson kayaks and he helped me out with some questions that weren't answered on the internet.  That guy really knows his stuff when it comes to kayaks, and rightfully so.  Its his job! 
A little while later on Stewart showed up and we got loaded up and headed down to the river.  When we arrived the water was crystal clear and looked great!  It didnt take the girls long at all to takeoff and leave us which seemed fine because we were already trying to catch fish!  We got a couple little bites but didnt land anything untill the first good pool of water. 
Once we got to the first pool we started reeling them in pretty fast.  Everything from Brim and Crappy to Redeye and Spotted bass.  After Doug and Stewart started catching fish I finally had a fish hit my line like a freight train!  I had honestly forgotten how much river fish fight!  As soon as it hit, it jumped straight out of the water and I realized I had a good size bass on.  But this fish wasn't phazed at all by what was going on, it headed straight up the river jumping two more times as it swam right by my kayak and under a tree breaking my line.  Usually when I lose a big fish I am pretty stunned and it takes me a little while to get back into the swing of things.  But I genuinely had so much fun just fighting it that I was pumped and looking forward to catching another one! 
Shortly after we started back down the river and I caught a nice spot.  From that point on the day just got better and better!  We caught alot of fish and Doug and Stewart were great company.  I couldnt ask for a better day of fishing!  Well, I wouldn't mind if I had caught that big fish in the very beginning but thats what happens when you take light line out on a river!  Also, we went so slow that apparently we missed most of the 2nd half of the river trying to hurry to meet up with Eric on time.  So another trip is already in the works!  I also feel like I should appologize to my friends who didnt go.  I've been talking about this trip for the last three days and i'm sure they're getting sick of hearing about it! 
Maybe after a couple more trips to the river I can calm down a little!  I just can't get over how much fun it was catching those river bass!  

        





Stewart with a nice spot





Another nice spot from the river





Headed down the river



Lanier.

Last week I had the pleasure of going out for the first time with my new pro-staff team to pre-fish a tournament at Lake Lanier.  Not only were they great company but we worked great together to come up with a game plan and figure out what was going on with the lake. 
When you fish a lake a lot you kind of get in tune to whats going on with it.  You know with alot of confidence where the fish are and what they are doing.  You can figure out where they're going fast and it's just one of those instances where everything just clicks.  It's a great feeling. 
Last saturday I had that feeling after fishing a lake one time.  Thanks to all the help and input from the other pro-staffers I was able to figure out what I thought was a winning pattern.  I had a great week leading up to the tournament and was really looking forward to hopefully being competative at the tournament. 
After a week of anticipation the time had finally arrived.  Tournament day!  I wokeup at 4am and headed straight for the lake.  I was so excited I got to the ramp at 5:15.  Over an hour before I could start fishing!  Not to waste time I loaded up the kayak and headed out in the dark to one of the spots I wanted to fish.  When the time finally came I was able to stay calm and not go into overdrive mode like I did at my one and only previous tournament.  I slowed my fishing way down and after about 30 minutes I was able to land a pretty small fish.  (7 1/2 inches)  I was happy I had one of my three fish needed but kind of bummed to start off with such a dink fish.  I wanted to get at least 50 inches out of my three biggest fish to be confident in my day.  Never the less, I was happy I had caught a fish and was hoping it was a sign of things to come!  After about 20 more minutes I landed another fish.  Another dink, but this one was 9 1/2 inches.  Not huge but a step in the right direction!  Unfortunately, after I landed it the fish flopped out of my hands and went back into the water before I could take a picture for the tournament!  After I landed (and lost) this fish I fished for a little bit longer in my spot and decided two things. 
1) there were fish in this spot but they were small
2) I needed to get to another spot and see if I could find bigger fish. 
The whole time I spent worrying about how much the lost fish could cost me if I couldnt land some bigger ones.  I needed three fish total and I was only at 1!  I kept trying to ignore the tiny voice in the back of my head yelling "I CAN'T BELIVE YOU LOST THAT FISH!  THAT COULD COST YOU!"  So I pressed on to another spot I thought could be productive.  When I arrived I was able to make my first cast right where I wanted it and sure enough, I had a fish on!  When I landed it, it measured 10 1/2 inches.  GREAT!  Now all I needed was one more fish and I could start culling (in tournaments you only count your three biggest fish.  When you get rid of a smaller fish for a bigger one to count it's called a cull)  After fishing this spot for another 20 minutes I decided to move across to another bank.  I felt like the fish had moved slightly and gone to another bank since the last time I had fished in this spot.  Everything was starting to click for me.  Sure enough, after a few minutes of fishing the other bank my line starts swimming.  ANOTHER BITE!  I was almost positive it was a dink but happy I had a fish on.  So I set my hook and to my disbelif a HUGE fish came up from the water.  As soon as I saw it I started praying I could land it.  I KNEW this fish could possibly win me the tournament.  I took alot of time to land it and once I did it took everything I could not to jump out of my kayak and start screaming!  I was SO PUMPED!  I put it on the measuring board and took some pictures, it was 18 inches!!  I was so ecstatic I even took some pics of myself holding it and I weighed it as well.  It was 3 1/2 lbs.  Not a huge fish on an average day.  But for a tournament at this particular lake, it was a game changer! 
I was now up to 36 inches total and culling and it was only around 9am.  I had only been fishing for 2 1/2 hours and I had 3 more hours to fish!  Let the culling begin!   My very next cast after the big fish I caught another fish.  This one was 13 1/2 inches!  That put me up to 42 inches with plenty of time left!  I continued fishing for a couple more hours and caught a few more fish but nothing bigger than my three biggest.  A few minutes before I had to go back for the ""weigh in" I decided to hit one last spot.  Low and behold I was able to catch a 14 1/2 incher!  This put me at 46 inches total.  Close to my goal. 



Last fish of the day and she culled!

 I was happy but filled with anticipation.  I kept telling myself.  I did a great job and I did the best I could do.  Now all I could do was give it to God and hope for the best.  But reguardless, I was happy with my performance! 
When I arrived at the meeting place I was immediately greeted by several people asking me how I did.  When I told them I had a limit they seemed surprised.  I guess others were having a hard time catching limits.  when I turned in my pictures I was informed I was currently 1st.  All I could do now was wait untill all the other anglers got there before the time limit was up. 
To make a long story somewhat short.  I won it.  Everything was clicking, and after I had a decent limit I was having alot of fun!  I wanted redemption for a bad showing at the Acworth tournament and I got it!! 
Hopefully this is a sign of great things to come and I hope me and my other pro-staffers can keep this going.  (Another pro-staff team member won the previous tournament at lake acworth)  This makes 2 in a row for us! 
Right now I am still super pumped (guess you couldn't tell by the use of all the caps) and I can't WAIT to see what the future holds for me and my other teammates. 
For now, I'll keep fishing and practicing and take care of some other obligations that I have. 
Take care everyone! 



18inches!  I love this fish! 



Acworth tourney

Hi!  Jason here!!  I guess I should explain a little about myself before I get started on this whole venture huh?  Well... to start, I grew up with an avid fisherman for a father and consequently, I was exposed to fishing since I was very very young.  In fact, I've honestly been fishing longer than I can remember.  When I was around 5 my family moved into a nice house and I was lucky enough to have a lake right across the street from us!  So from that day on I was across the street playing with friends in the lake, going out in little jon boats, and (of course) fishing.  As I grew up, fishing was always around me.  Granted, sometimes I focused more on other things more.  But I always enjoyed being on the water. 
Fast forward to last December.  I had been looking at a good way of getting onto a body of water realatively inexpensively and I was researching fishing kayaks.  I also noticed they had fishing tournaments and even a kayak fishing tour!  I was sold!  So I saved some money and went out and bought my first kayak! 
Now If you're not farmiliar with fishing kayaks look them up.  They're almost completely different than white water kayaks (which is what everyone seems to think of when I say I fish from a kayak).  These kayaks are built with fishing in mind.  They are very stable and capable of holding lots of fishing gear.  Not to mention you can get into areas of water that normal boats cant.  Which can be a big benefit! 
After a few months of fishing in my new kayak I was notified about a tournament at Lake Acworth.  I had never fished there before and had no idea what to expect but I decided to go for it!  I didnt even pre fish the lake.  I paddled around it for an hour the day before and decided what spot "looked good".  I had no idea what the fish were doing, what they were biting, how they were acting, or even where they were!!  I just had to assume the place I was going to go had fish and that they would bite. 

So we started out at 6am the next day and I paddled as hard as I could to my spot and started fishing.  Now, on a normal day you get a nibble here or a bite there and you can figure out what the fish are doing. Where they are or what kind of lure to use.  But this day was horrible.  One of the worst on the water days I've had.  I sat there for hours casting franticly at spots just waiting, hoping for a bite, a tick, a bump on my line.  Anything that could point me in the right direction!  But nothing!  It was the worst feeling in the world.  Here I am in the first tournament of my life and I cant even get A BITE!!  I was questioning everything.  Why was I fishing?  Did I even know what I was doing!?  All my senses were telling me I made the wrong decisions.  I felt like a jerk.  Here I am thinking I'm a decent fisherman and I have nothing!!! 



Franticly tying on another lure after over 3hrs without even a bite!



Finally by 9:30am (and with only 2 1/2 hours left) I decided I'd had enough of this spot.  So I surpressed the horrible feeling and thoughts in my head and took off!  I wanted to get as far away as possible from the spot I was at.  ANYWHERE other than where I was fishing!  Along the way I made frantic casts and reeled like a mad man.  Then finally, in the middle of the lake of all places.  It happened.  At first I thought I was hallucinating but as I kept reeling and the slack in my line got tighter and tighter and my rod tip bent over I realized.  I HAD A FISH ON!!  At that point, that very moment.  I felt like I was on top of the world!  I didnt care that I was probably still waaay out of contention and I didnt care that it was not a big fish.  That fish absolutely made my day!  As soon as I had it and took it's picture on the scale I cast right back into the same spot.  I knew with the tempurature the way it was that the fish might be schooling and there might just be another one in the same spot.  (remember, once you start getting bites you can start putting together what the fish are doing!)  As soon as my lure hit the water.  BAM!  Another fish on!  At this point I was beside myself.  I was still shaking from catching my first fish!  I landed the fish and took another picture.  At this point I realized I was back in the tournament.  I knew I had a shot but only if I could land a big fish. 

So I kept casting and casting.  Finally another bite.  Except this one was big.  The only problem was I had so much adrenaline going through me I didnt realize it.  I was reeling too fast, not fighting the fish like I should have.  After a couple of very long minutes I managed to get the fish to my kayak.  It was at this point I realized I even had onlookers.  People passing by in other kayaks had stopped to watch me land this fish!  And as the fish started to come up from the deep water I saw her outline in the water.  It was big.  This was it.  This was the big fish I needed!!  She started to get closer and closer!!  As I reached down awkwardly to get my hands on her she made one final run.  Only this time she tookoff under my boat!  I was freaked out and didnt have a clue what to do!  I stuck my rod in the water to let her take some line but BAM!  Slack line.  She was gone. 
And that was the rest of my day.  Not another bite.  Nothing. 
At the "weigh in" they took lenghts of the fish and I managed a 6th place.  Not too bad considering how my day could have gone.  And what really made me wonder was, how big was the fish that I lost?!  It could have definately put me in contention for a 1st or 2nd place finish!  I wont lie, that fish haunted me in my dreams for weeks.  I wanted to get out and fish another tournament the next day just to prove to myself it wasn't a fluke and that I could be competative.  Only problem?  There weren't any tournaments coming up in the near future!  So I've been sitting back, practicing and waiting for a chance to redeem myself.  It'll come soon though!