Keith Nighswonger's Brush Pile

Be sure to catch Keith Nighswonger each week, as he does his "On The Water" radio show.  The show is recorded at the AdrenalineRadio.com studios and then archived so that you can listen when you have time.  We have had requests to leave archived shows up for longer periods of time, (one week is the standard show posting,)  We would love to leave our shows up longer but would need a sponsor to do so.  If you would like to sponsor a show archive section, (you would be a hero to a lot of people,) please contact us by clicking here.

August 14th 2004 (8:00 AM CST)-Luke Clausen really hammered them this week.  His daily weights went 14-04/11-15/14-03/14/10.  He did a great job. He used a Reaction Innovation's finesse worm that is in the prototype stage, and it pitched underneath docks.  "I am overwhelmed, I don't know what to say or do.  Maybe I'm in shock."  Luke will be on an upcoming episode of "On The Water with Keith Nighswonger."  Be sure to listen.

News And Notes- Scott Martin, finished second, but used a very innovative method of reaching some big fish that helped get through the first round over Alvin Shaw. "I had a good pattern going during practice when the sun was out and it was hot.  We had a cold front come through during practice and that shut down my bite so I knew I would have to find something for cloudy days.  Way up lake I found a place that had shallow water, and kind of a water fall or rapids running above it.  I caught some fish there and then explored up beyond where the rapids were. I actually got out of my boat and walked above the rapid section, (during practice,) and found a pool of about a mile long that was deeper water.  I made a decision to get a jet boat up here and I used it during day two where I caught 15 pounds."  That's Innovation. John Crews struggled the whole tournament.  "It's actually remarkable that I was able to get through the first rounds.  I had a good deep cranking bite between 6 and 12 feet that absolutely shut down during the tournament.  I had to struggle each day, and I was able to survive, but I never really had anything going." Kevin Vida had a great tournament.  He did everything you are supposed to do to win.  He was swimming jigs around docks.  "Fishing a jig just like a spinner bait.   That is becoming a more and more effective technique.  I guess its sort of a Northern thing, but a lot of guys are doing it these days. Charlie Ingram is one pro who came from yesterday and is able to see today.  "I have been doing this for 22 years, I fished against Forrest Wood.  So many of the guys I started with never had the chance to compete for this kind of money.  I feel very blessed."   Shin Fukae was the FLW Tour's Angler Of The Year this season.  We had a chance to sit down with him and an interpreter.  Here are some of his comments: When asked about the difference between bass fishing in Japan vs the United States. "A bass is a bass, there is  no difference."  "Here the water is much bigger and it takes more time to learn the patterns.  In Japan, I can find fish usually in one or two days, in the United States I need a week to cover all of the water.  Fukae also went on to say that in the United States, anglers take bass fishing very seriously.  "Here, (USA,) bass fishing is a sport while in Japan, bass fishing is a hobby.  Fukae will be leaving the US soon to go back to Japan, but he expects to return stateside in November to begin getting ready for next year's tour. Jay Yelas did an interview with us today as part of our Bass Fishing Legends special.  We got Jay to talk about his early days on Lake Cachuma, (in California where he grew up.) Jay's road East is an interesting one and one that you will not want to miss. FLW put on an awesome show.  Final day weigh in is spectacular and lends a lot of credibility to where bass fishing is headed.  You hate to say that it takes money to make it legitimate, but that really is the key.  Sponsors can't pay guys in plastic worms or crank baits.  FLW seems to be poised to grow the sport. Say what you will about the differences between the BASS pros and FLW pros, (there are many who fish both circuits.)  I am very impressed by the FLW guys who are generally younger, but are equally hospitable, willing to sit for an interview and good ambassadors of our sport.

August 14th 2004 (8:00 AM CST) Good conditions with winds picking up this afternoon greeted pros this morning. There are a lot of boats on the lake, as you can certainly tell when one pro changes fishing spots.  Its usually the pro followed by about 15 or 20 boats-lots of boat wakes!

Glenn Browne, has been catching a fast limit each day on an Alabama Rig, and then going to his trademark flipping technique.  He has been flipping a Gambler Ninja Jig to up grade his weight each day	Mickey Bruce, of Buford, Georgia has caught double digit weights each day and would seem to be a major threat to win today.  Um, spinning tackle, light line, perhaps skipping a bait under a dock, or maybe doing some deep water fishing.
This stuff is intense.  I had a chance to walk down the dock, taking a few pictures, you know, press guy and all, you get the sense that something spectacular is about to happen.	I interviewed Mike Rogan of Bagley Lures.  Bagley lures, best known for the wide wobble of their balsa wood crank baits are in the news these days.  Takahiro Omori used a Balsa B to catch those three crucial, tournament winning fish in the Bass Master Classic.

August 13th 2004 (11:00 PM CST) Day Three is in the books.  Here are news, notes and pictures:

Day Three News And Notes Jason Kilpatrick defeated David Walker today, but admits that he had to beat up his water pretty hard and may be out of fish. Watch out! Kevin Vida caught 12-06 today, eliminating Tracy Adams and claims that he didn't have to touch his main, productive waters.  Kevin is looking strong going into the final day. Luke Clausen-double digit weights each day, seems like the guy to beat. Clark Wendlandt is a seasoned pro, but today did just enough, (5-08) to squeak by Brent Chapman (4-07) "Local knowledge really hurt me today.  Logan Martin's conditions are very different from what they usually are, and being a local, today I fell into the trap of fishing what they should be doing instead of what they are doing.  The is much cooler than it normally is."  Quotes from Matt Heron, a local pro from Birmingham.

Interviews With A Legend-A project that I have wanted to do for a long time is to bring Bass Fishing's Legends together to trace the roots of bass fishing.  These are guys paid the dues and paved the road for today's anglers.  In part one of this project, I interviewed Mark Davis, Larry Nixon and Guido Hibdon.  Each legend has an interesting storyabout their contribution to the sport that we all love.  I feel like a "kid in a candy shop!"  I get to interview Guido Hibdon for crying out loud.Hang in there,  its going to take a few days in the editing room, but this will be priceless. When you build a house like Irwin Jacobs and FLW is building, does the roof know the hard wood under the carpet?  Today's pros all fish tube jigs but do today's young guns even know what a "Fat Gitzit" is?  They will now.

August 13th 2004 (8:00 AM CST) Day Three is off and running.  Here is some cool stuff from this morning's launch.

Boxer Dog Slobber-He swears its good luck, but Chris McCall, out of Jasper Texas, makes sure his dog, gets a good dose of dog slobber on the boat each day before he goes fishing.  Is there really such a thing as a lucky hat or lucky dog slobber in bass fishing?  Yes, at least it is the art of convincing yourself that you have an advantage by having your dog slobber all over the boat.  It a routine, just like sharpening hooks, that puts your mind at ease and helps you get to that special spot.  Advantage, real or imagined, is still advantage.

Nothing Like A Little Stress In The Morning When Your Fishing For $500,000.00.  As if the fishing wasn't enough, Pro Scott Martin had trouble transferring his GPS Way Points from his boat's electronics unit to the standard Garmin unit that all of the anglers are using.  If you look closely, Martin is holding the memory chip from his boat's unit.  What happened to remembering to bring the bait?  The Garmin crew jumped on Martin's problem and had him ready to go in just a couple of mouse clicks.  Umm, I wonder if this computer engineer ever figured he be out on a lake at 6:45 AM, fixing a, ah, er, computer problem?

This Is Intense! These folks may look like they are relaxing, but the adrenaline is pumping hard.  Last minute adjustments, fine tuning equipment, making sure all of the angles are covered...AND THAT'S JUST THE FLW STAFF GETTING THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!  Imagine what the anglers who are fishing for $500,000 must feel like!

Poise Of A Gunfighter, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La. got into the 2nd round by virtue of a tiebreaker.  He and first round opponent, Todd Ary of Birmingham, tied at 18-15 a piece.  During the dramatic weigh in last night, Hackney was asked if he was nervous.  Hackney, cool like a shark, replied, "Naw, I've been here before."  This guy makes me nervous!  Here, Hackney launches for today's version of the "Hack Attack."

August 12th 2004 (11:00 PM CST) Day Two is complete.  Below are some pictures, stories and general notes from our coverage.  There was triumph and heartbreak today.

Scott Martin caught the tournament's biggest limit today (15-02) to leap ahead of Alvin Shaw. "I rained about three inches last night and the water came up just enough that I could get into some back water that I couldn't get into yesterday.  If that water doesn't come up, I couldn't have gotten in there.  I doubt if I will be able to get in there tomorrow.  If the water drops inches, I won't be able to get in."-Needless to say, last night's heavy down pour helped Martin.	John Crews dodged a major bullet.  Only managing one fish (1-09) he held off Buford, Georgia Pro, Tom Mann Jr. by a weight of 14-08 to 13-03.  "I caught 15 non keepers today.  I think my timing was off today.  I believe it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Tomorrow I am going to fish new water, and hit some of my spots that I did poorly in today at different times.  I still feel my areas are solid.	Chad Grigsby saw Number One Seed, Shinichi Fukae come from behind to eliminate him.  "I had so many good fish boil on my buzz bait today.  I can't tell you how many good ones flat out just didn't eat the bait.  Yesterday I caught a four pounder on the Buzz Bait, today they just boiled.  I really though with the overcast sky it (Buzz Bait,) would have paid off for me."  Grigsby played the correct rule of thumb.  His limit weighed 5-02
Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa, won his bracket with a strong catch today of 13-09, (23-03) Dave has a "mystery pattern" that was very solid in practice and today resulted in two lost fish 3 and 5 pounds respectively. "I thought I had blown it.  It took a long time to calm down." The mystery pattern still hasn't produced a keeper for Dave.  You get the feeling that the longer Dave can keep in the game, at some point the fish that produced 17-18 pounds a day during practice, could turn on.	Great Come Backs On Day Two: Number one seed, Shinichi Fukae showed why he was Number One this season. Greg Hackney, although he only trailed by ounces on day one, his solid limit (11-10) broke Todd Ary's heart, (11-04) Mark Hardin, made sure he got the job done today (11-06) Kevin Vida, very strong today (13-03) Anthony Gagliardi turned the tables on Randy Blauket. Scott Martin, the tournament's biggest stringer. Charlie Ingram big second day (11-06)	Fast Facts: Lowest qualifying weight-13-03 (Matt Herron) Highest non-qualifying weight-20-11 (Aaron Martens) Limits caught today 37 Biggest 2nd day comeback-Scott Martin 6-10 to 15-02 Biggest 2nd day fall back-John Crews 12-15 to 1-09 Biggest combine bracket (46-05) Mickey Bruce and Aaron Martins Heaviest two day weight-Luke Clausen (26-03) Biggest Heartbreak-Todd Ary, who lost to Greg Hackney on a tiebreaker, based on Hackney's higher seeding (#2 vs #47) Ary, from Birmingham, failed to weigh in a limit on day one, and had the fifth keeper on several times on day one.

August 12th, 2004 Day two is under way, but wow!  We had an amazing thunder and lightening storm last night.  While I don't have rain fall measurements, I will say that the rain had to have brought lake levels up, (depending on how much water they release at the dam,) and it had to have muddied up the creeks and perhaps the main lake.  It rained hard from about 11:30 PM to after 2:00 AM.  

August 11th, 2004 Here we are in Birmingham, (me, myself and I,-actually it's, Nick-show producer, Steve-show engineer, and Keith-the talent, (trying not to laugh.)  There is a guy standing here in the lobby of the hotel, its where the free internet hot spot is,  telling me where I should be eating dinner.  I'm sure he means well.

Awesome first day of the tournament.  As you might expect with the bracket format, there is a lot of intrigue.  You can check out the brackets after you finish reading this.  As always, with FLW's bracket format, there is excitement.  The pros I have talked to generally welcome the brackets as a fresh approach to bass tournaments.  Instead of a full field, each pro is paired against another, and since they fish out of their own boats, nobody has any idea of how the other is doing until the weigh in.  

That said, you might expect that some of the brackets seem a little unbalanced.  Some are.  Consider this:

• Luke Clausen (14-04) and Shad Schenick (13-14) have the two biggest stringers of the day.  You guessed it, they are both in the same bracket, which means after tomorrow, one of those two heavy hitters will be out of the tournament. 

• Mike Surman (four fish 4-03) and Mark Hardin (two fish 3-15) are in the same bracket, which means that one of those two will advance.

Of course these guys all know what they are getting into, so we are not sounding any alarms, just pointing out the differences.  Here are a few other things of note:

• FLW runs an awesome show.  If days two, three and four are as good as day one, this will be a very exciting event.

• Chad Grigsby, the 48th angler to qualify for this event leads FLW Angler of The Year and number one seed, Shin Fukae 10-12 to 8-01.  The difference being that Fukae said he lost a big fish today.

• The Mickey Bruce (four fish 12-01)-Aaron Martens (10-03) match up will be a fun duel to watch tomorrow.

• A very dejected David Dudley (last year's champion,) weighed in 3-12 today for four fish and told of a six pounder that got away.  Lost fish are part of the game, but Dudley sounded like his puppy ran away.  Angler after angler today, told the audience about the demon-possessed Coosa River Spotted Bass.  They live in the deeper water of Logan Martin and they broke their fair share of hearts today.  The spotted bass in Logan Martin are the hardest fighting bass anywhere, "you get a bite, battle that sucker all the way to the boat and then find out its just a 13 inch keeper," noted Florida pro, Mike Surman.

• John Crews is on them today.  His match up with noted spotted bass expert, Tom Mann jr is one to watch closely tomorrow.

• Watch out for Tungsten.  Ricky Shumpert had his day disrupted today when he set the hook on a bass and had the tungsten weight come flying back in his face.  The weight hit him in the mouth and broke a tooth.  Who says there aren't injuries in bass fishing?

• Dean Rojas gets the good guy award today.  Matt Herron who weighed in five solid keepers (9-05) had boat trouble and wouldn't have made weigh in if not for Rojas, taking him and his fish to the weigh in.  How many times have we heard stories like these.  ProBassAnglers are some of the best people I know. -Way to go Dean.

• David Walker had a good day, (10-08) he leads his bracket comfortably, but he netted 16 pounds of bass for his co-angler.  Watch out, it sounds like Walker is at least on some good fish.

• Be sure to check out the brackets.  click here

August 11th, 2004 Well here goes.  Its time to pick.  The FLW bracket format makes choosing a winner kind of like your NCAA basketball office pool.  Taking a look at the various groupings of four.  I think Aaron Martens will win his bracket, out dueling FLW Angler of The Year Shinichi Fukae.  Scott Martin will win his group of four, which includes Alton Jones. Tom Mann Jr will win this year's "bracket of death" defeating John Crews, Chris McCall and last year's champion, David Dudley,  and Ray Scheide will win out in his group of 4.  I also expect Andy Morgan and Florida's Glenn Browne to make the final 12.

From the right side of the bracket, I expect Greg Hackney, to win his group, and Randy Blauket to also advance.  Both of these anglers have had amazing years, qualifying for both the BassMaster Classic as well as the FLW Tour Championship.  Look for Dave Lefebre to squeak one out over local Greg Pugh and then to go on to the finals.  I expect Dan Morehead to survive his brutal bracket, (Clark Wendlendt, Brent Chapman and Dennis Magoto.)  David Walker and Jimmy Millsaps will round out the 6 qualifiers from the right side of the bracket.

Based on what I have gathered from talking to anglers this week.  I am getting a very confident vibe from Dave Lefebre.  Dave Lefebre will win out!  Hey, its only a pundant pick, don't hold me accountable, of course unless Dave wins.  Stay Tuned!

August 10th, 2004 -The word on the street is that the folks in charge of pulling water at Logan Martin, AREN'T!  What does this mean?  The current caused by power generation on the Coosa River typically gets the big fish that live on off shore structure to bite.  The off shore structure bite would surely favor locals in the tournament.  Anglers who have spent time on the water and know the spots where the big ones live would benefit from their local knowledge in the structure bite was happening.  As of now, it doesn't seem to be.  That means that the most consistent bite would be on the bank around the many docks and brush piles that Logan Martin is known for.  Stay Tuned.

August 9th, 2004-FLW Tour Championship Week- We are going, we will have updates, news and notes.  Stay Tuned.  We will have Pro Tour Journals from Mike Surman, Glenn Browne,  and Dave Lefebre.