Keith Nighswonger's Brush Pile

 "the athletes in this sport have never been cohesive enough to pull off such a stunt." Am I the only one troubled by these comments made by BASS Senior Writer, Tim Tucker in response to a rumored angler boycott of the 1st BASS Tour event of the 2005 season at Lake Toho?  Well, the boycott never came, but what we have two years later is the PAA, That's Professional Angler's Association, and they are on the verge of  putting on the first event, ever put on entirely by pros for pros.  Their vision, their format, their equipment, and, their big chance.  Toyota, along with several other major sponsors has stepped up, told the anglers to put their vision where their mouth is and the result is the Toyota Texas BASS Classic at Lake Fork, Texas.

Sensing that this could be a historic week, I have ventured to East Texas where I will chronicle the week for you.  Stop by again and again as I will have updates, and live radio reports, assuming of course that US Airways, finds my bags along with my recording equipment.  

Do you have a question, or a comment?  Can I run down a pro and ask him a question for you?click here.

Hey, if you haven't been following this story from the "big inning," scroll down to the bottom and read up!

Check Out Our Live Updated Standings Starting At 12:00 PM cst Friday, Saturday and Sunday

04/15/07 4:37 PM cst And At The Finish Line It Is............TEAM SCROGGINS!-Team Scroggins lead after only one session this entire week, but it was the right session.  Team Scroggins caught a whopping 119-12 today, with all four members fishing both sessions.  Their final total for the week, an astounding 244-12!

Running out of gas in the last session, Team Jones brought only 21-04 to the scales and fell short by 15-12.

Team Walker, strong all week, brought 62-12 to the scales today but finishes a distant 3rd place with 198-80

04/15/07 11:10 AM cst Team Scroggins Closing-The Scroggins team caught over 50 pounds in today's first session and they have closed the gap to about 10 pounds.  Check our on line scoreboard.  

The anglers are meeting right now to discuss afternoon strategy. 

04/15/07 9:25 AM cst Team Jones Off To A Fast Start.....Again-The Jones Team, (180-12) has once again started quickly today with a total of 40-00.  It is important to remember that all four members of each team are on the water, in two boats.  The teams will be in at 11:00 AM.

Team Scroggins is still second with  164-00

04/14/07 10:04 PM cst Five Teams Left, Format Change-We saw the mighty Jones Team, (140-12,) stumble a bit this afternoon, if 21 pounds is a stumble.  When is 21 pounds a stumble?  When you have been averaging nearly 40 pounds per session, AND when the 6th place team, Team Scroggins, nails 40-04 and closes the gap between first and second to only 15 pounds.  Still, Team Jones has had a very strong morning on each of the first two days, and looks tough to beat entering tomorrow's final round.

Three teams that were on the outside of the top five after the AM session, came roaring back in the afternoon session to claim their places in the top 5.  The Scroggins team caught only 16 pounds in the first session to fall back to 6th place, however the afternoon team of Ippoliti and Niggemeyer pulled up to a wind blown point and proceeded to stroke over forty pounds fishing deep diving crank baits.  "It was a sweet spot that was loaded with quality fish," noted Niggemeyer.  Team Scroggins has 125-12 after four sessions of fishing.

The Walker Team, which had been battling with Team Jones in the earlier sessions,  suffered a set back today, bringing only 23-00 to the scales in the afternoon, and only 11-12 in the morning.  Team Walker is in third with 117-12.

Team Morganthaler, (112-04,) had a strong day, bringing 31-12 to the scales in the first session.  This team has been "Power Drop Shotting," pitching a drop shot on 17 lb line to trees on points in 4 to 7 feet.  In the afternoon however, the wind made it too difficult to hold on points, so the team threw spinner baits to bring 27-00 to the scales and to vault from 7th into 4th place.  It should be noted that this team suffered a dreadful first session when they brought only 3-08 to the scales.

Team Howell has put together three straight thirty pound plus sessions together and squeaks into the top five with 108-08

Sunday-On Sunday, all four anglers will go out in both sessions.  Two boats per team.  The anglers are required to return to the host marina at 11:00 AM for break out strategy sessions, then they go back out from 12:00 to 4:00.

Leaderboard-with a break down of session by session weights is available here.

Pictures-The afternoon strategy session held a lot of emotion.  High fives, and some intense map study, see pictures here.

04/14/07 12:04 PM cst The First Session Is Over, Can Any One Keep Up With The Jones?-The Jones team behind Russell Lane and Kyle Mabrey started fast again this morning.  Fishing within site of the launch, the team put 7 pounds in the boat within the first 5 minutes, en route to a 37-08 morning session.  Team Jones leads with 119-08.  

In 2nd place, Team Walker continues to hold on, however a weak morning, (11-12,) might put their position in jeporday.  

Big movers in the morning session included that Jordon Team, after a dreadful start yesterday, Team Jordon is making a move.  They are now in third place, with heavy hitter, Kelly Jordon on the lake right now.  Team Jordon brought 38-12 to the scales and currently have 88-00 at the intermission, (wow, did you ever think we would say that at a bass tournament?)

Team Rowland made a big move, from 22nd to 5th with a whopping 45-08 morning.  Mark Davis and Chris Bielert fished the morning round.

To see a break down of the individual weights, click here

04/14/07 9:00 AM cst What The?-I discovered today that people in East Texas BURN their BrushPiles.........After all the nice things I have said about you this week. (If Yerrrr new here, my column is called THE BRUSHPILE!)

The Jones Team-I have watched the Jones team in action this morning.  They are only about a quarter mile from the blast off and they are stroking them.  Lane and Mabrey are the two anglers out there, the team now has 107-12 and leads Team Walker who are not doing as well so far, with only 86-08, still, they are in second place.

04/14/07 7:23 AM cst More PAA?-It seems that more PAA events are in the works.  I have been doing a good bit of digging this week and have uncovered word that a major announcement is in the works for early next week.  This is a story, of course that I will continue work on.

By The By-The Jones team caught a seven pounder within five minutes of blast off this morning, their lead is about nine pounds as of now.

E-mail-I am checking my e-mail constantly, if you have a question you would like me to work on for you, shoot it over to me. Efforting

04/14/07 7:03 AM cstTwister-That was a gen-u-whine Texas Tornado that came through our region last night.  Thankfully it was not a direct hit.  Word is that it passed about 25 miles Northwest of here.  What we did get however was a spectacular light show, with lightning flashes that numbered 45 per minute there for a while, yes I counted.  Heavy rain and large hail pelted the area.  

Arriving at the tournament site this morning, the damage is minimal, which, I would say for the PAA is a god-send.  The first session has just blasted off with a majority of the field still on their way to their first spots.  

I will check back in later in the day.

04/13/07 10:30 PM cst Generations-There are what I would say are three generations of anglers who are at this event.  Every angler that is here understands the sting of politics in this sport.  Each angler has felt the tug of "either fish with us or fish with them."  First you have that generation of angler that is relatively new to this sport.  Since the PAA went back to 2005 season, it is possible for anglers with five or six years of professional experience to be here are there are some.  Next, there is a generation of angler who has been at this for 10 to 15 years.  These guys are survivors, they have been able to hang on this long.  Finally, you have that angler here who has been at this game for 20 to 25 years.  Denny Brauer, Gary Klein, Paul Elias, Larry Nixon and more.  

Then, there is 66 year old Guy Eaker, and 67 year old Tommy Martin.  Guys who have been there and back so many times, that there isn't a "slick, trick" that they haven't seen.  When anglers like Guy Eaker and Tommy Martin will look you in the eye and tell you that this is the biggest thing that has happened to the sport of professional bass fishing in thirty years, then I guess that means something.

Looking For Perspective-When I fish a team tournament, I pay my $100.00, knowing that the or-gan-ni-za-tion (that's Canadian for organization,) will take it's 35% or so, and those anglers that finish in the money will essentially split the remaining 65% of the entry fees.  It's what it is.

When an Elite Series Pro drops $5,000 on an event, he knows that he is fishing for part of $689,150.00, $540,000 of which, THE ANGLERS have paid IN to the pay OUT.  (BASS adds $149,150.00 to the pay out, presumably from the Open Series "Wind Fall," or maybe from some sponsor pay IN.) 

On the FLW Tour, a Pro kicks in $3,500.00 on an event, he knows he is fishing for part of $820,000.00, $700,000.00 of which, THE ANGLERS have paid IN to the pay OUT, leaving $120,000.00 to be paid in by FLW.

The bottom line, I know, the Elite Series Pro knows and the FLW Tour Pro knows that for the most part, we are fishing for OUR OWN money.  In my case, money that I routinely donate.

At all of the above events, sponsors pay the organization money, for signage, wraps, and more time on the weigh in stand for those anglers who are sponsored by the sponsor, (oooooppppppps, that doesn't happen, does it?)  Here is where there is a problem with the above scenario.  When I fish a team tournament, NOBODY comes to see me, and nobody watches ME on television.  At the FLW events and the BASS events, without those pros, the events don't happen.

Here is another reason why the Toyota Texas Bass Classic is special.  All of the payout comes from sponsors who understand that the people who come out for this event or watch it on television, are doing so for one reason:  The anglers, who are now reaching "hero status," just as they have in NASCAR, and just as they have in golf.

That sort of puts this in perspective.

Correction-"I yaint never been in no tor-nay-do," and today is about as close as I want to.  We had to "get the hail outathere" as hail was the least of everyone's concerns, "hell" was on it's way.  The media center closed early in the weigh in today, as the hatches needed to be battened down.  Anyway, as a result, the finally tally of weights shows that the Jones Team in fact IS in the lead.  I have corrected our leader board. 

04/13/07 4:18 PM cst Team Walker!-A second session weight of 36-04 has pushed the team of Walker, Morehead, Thomas and Johnny Lesesne.  Big weights of the second session include Gary Klein's team, (44-08,) Chad Morganthaler's team (49-00,) Kelly Jordon's team (45-12) and the Dean Rojas Team, (42-00.) 

04/13/07 11:45 AM cst Ten Fish!-Before you melt down and get too excited about a boat with 48-04 in it, (Alton Jones Team, anglers, Russell Lane and Kyle Maybre) let's remember that ten fish here at Fork SHOULD weigh in the 30 pound range.  Now, not everybody was able to catch ten fish in today's first session which is now off the water.  So when you do look at the leader board, understand that it is very tough today.

Weather is still a big factor, hail storms are said to be on the way, but they have just told the second flight that they will fish, and they are now moving to their boats.  Just minutes ago, the two anglers who fished this morning met with their two teammates who will now go out to fish.  As you might imagine, results were mixed.

Here are pictures of the break out sessions that have just concluded.  Click here

The results for the first weigh in are now posted, click here

If I'm not fast enough for you, go to the PAA web site for up to the second results.

04/13/07 7:59 AMm cst ALTON JONES TEAM!-The weather here has changed.  30 mph winds, with possible gusts into the 50's are pounding Lake Fork this morning, and while it isn't raining yet, it wants to.

The buzz here early this morning is that the Alton Jones team has over 44 pounds, only one hour into fishing.  The independent observer in Jones' boat is reporting that he has two fish over eight pounds.  Don't get all excited, while these numbers are impressive, each pro can catch five, so the Jones' Team 44 pounds may very well be for ten fish.  Word is that that Russell Lane and Kyle Maybre are in the boat for the Jones Team.  

Also, the word is that four fish over 9 pounds were caught within the first 15 minutes!  I will be updating our leader board, and these are official about once an hour, so check back with us. To look at our on line leader board. click here. 

04/12/07 8:30 pm cst PAA Pro-AM-No big surprise here, Kelly, "The Mayor Of Minneola" Jordon's team won the Pro-AM today.  Kelly's team had five fish for 32.08 pounds.  That team figures to be tough, as Ben Matsubu is also a local on Lake Fork Ray Scheide is a big stick on the FLW Tour and Woo Daves is a former Classic Winner.  If you are a gambler, I'd look closely at team #32.

Where Is The Bite? The consensus among the teams here is that the bite is off shore, on outside cover.  Fork seems to be in that magic mode where fish that have spawned are located on off shore cover, and fish that are moving up to spawn are staging on that same cover.  You get them coming and going.  There are a lot of bed fish, but they are getting pounded unmercifully, and given that each team only has four hours to fish, getting tied up on a three pounder for 45 minutes would be foolish, especially when there seem to be plenty of good fish outside.

Conneticut Pro Chris Bielert endured this author today.  Chris is a smooth, savy, pro who earned his way in to this event when the PAA looked at angler performance over the previous two years.  Chris did well on the 2005 BASS Tour before deciding not to do the Elite Series in 2006.  To see pictures from todays "On The Water" session, click here.

04/12/07 11:34 am cst HE Wants To Interview ME-He got into town last night, and immediately started ordering people around, as though his time is more important that everybody else's.  I'm telling you if he steps on my foot, there is going to be a fight.  Anyway, here it is..........Click

04/11/07 10:44 pm cst What to do?-Question:  Four anglers per team, 2 anglers per boat, what if the two pros are both Elite Series anglers, looking to provide exposure for their wrapped boat/vehicle sponsors?  How do you decide whose boat to use?  Simple, you do what Kevin Wirth and Frank Scalish have done.  On the first day of the event, you hook up Scalish's OSI/BOOYAH Legend bass boat to Kevin Wirth's "EARLY TIMES" Whiskey wrapped truck, and you get exposure for each guy.  On day two, you flip it around.

note-this picture was taken at 10:30 PM cst, light was an issue, but how rare is this?

Pro-AM-Thursday is the Pro-Am day as many of the Pros will essentially take representatives from the various sponsoring companies fishing.   At stake, a $500.00 gift certificate from BPS.  Pros were drawn with the various company reps and they will fish tomorrow from 8:00 AM until 1:00 PM.

Question-If I'm one of the pro contestants and I come across and anxious eight pounder locked on a bed, do I let the Am catch that fish?

Connecticut Pro, Chris Bielert has agreed to let me spend the morning in his boat as he finishes his practice period.  He doesn't know it yet, but he will have a hard act to follow, being that I already caught my "12" earlier in the week.

Oh, So Now The "Big Boys" Have Decided To Show Up-"You know who," just flew into Dallas tonight.  Yes, it seems that the word has gotten out, and suddenly HE is interested.  Why just last week, not a mention was made about this event.  Now, all of a sudden, HE has to be here.  Truthfully, I don't think that East Texas is big enough for both of us, and I expect some kind of show down at some point.

He wants to interview ME in the morning.  WOW, I can't believe HE wants to interview ME!  Be sure to check in, tomorrow, when HE interviews ME.  I can hardly wait.

04/11/07 11:04 am cst The Grand Tour-I didn't go out on the water today, I wanted to remember yesterday's "12" without stacking any fishing memories on top of it, plus, I don't think it would be responsible for me to go out and have fun when their is big news to report.

This morning I headed up to the tournament headquarters, as PAA Executive Director, Gene Ellison invited me up for a tour of the 37 acres that I am referring to as "BassStock," that is a take off on the word, "Woodstock," which by the way, this festival, might just be as important to our sport, as that festival was to the culture that supported it.

I am at a loss to describe what is happening here, and for me to be speechless, is rare, so I will give it a try, but I assure you, that whatever I am able to say, the event is far bigger than that.  Historic is a term that I keep hearing, and it is appropriate.

This event is going to put fans of fishing in touch with their heroes.  Fans will be able to stand next to live breakout sessions in which these pros discuss their strategies with their teammates, yes, this is a team event.  There are 40-4 man teams, and each angler is out on the water today and yesterday with their own boat, pre fishing.  I caught up with a few of the teams as they were in the middle of planned mid morning meetings.  The pictures tell all the stories.  Click here to see the pictorial, (WOW! I have always wanted to do a pictorial!)

This Week's Format-The 160 contestants, all members of the PAA will compete as four man teams.  

They will compete on Friday and Saturday and from that group, five teams will qualify to fish in the finals on Sunday.  The show will be broadcast on CBS, Sunday, May 13th, Mother's Day, and is also being televised on Versus, with that time to be announced, I will work on that part for you.

Each day of the tournament, the four-angler teams will split into pairs, with two members of each team fishing in the morning and the other two members of the teams fishing in the afternoon session.

In between the two sessions, the public will be able to observe the angler breakout sessions via the Jumbo-Tron, (you know this is big when there is a Jumbo Tron.)

The Stars Of The Show-the fish will be treated better at this event then they have ever been treated before.  Each boat will have an independent judge who will record and weigh each fish that is caught, and will then automatically release the fish.  Only fish that are bigger than 24" will be brought to the weigh in, where they will be placed in the care of the Texas Parks and Wildlife management.  I believe that this will turn a corner in the way tournaments handle fish.  Again, the way the fish will be handled here will have as big an effect as the livewell had when it was first introduced.  It is probably about time that we advance in that area of the sport, protecting our resource

Be Sure To Catch my interview with Gene Ellison, you can access the pod cast here.

04/10/07 9:58 pm cst A Little Taste Of Americana-Tonight was a fellowship night in the town of Lindale, where I am staying.  "Meet The Anglers," along with a barbeque that was held at a local church.  There was music and some fiery testimony by Alton Jones and Mark Davis.  I find that I study people whenever I am in an environment that is foreign, and to me, Texas is foreign.  As I sat there and watched people watching the various speakers it occurred to me that this kind of "get together" happens easier in a small town than it might in the big city.  In the big city we tend to always be "too busy," and I am mocking myself when I say this.  Moms, dads, children, grandparents, they all turned out for this event, and you could see the pride and the grace stretched from ear to ear on each of these locals.  I know that politicians can become jaded when they go to Washington DC, I know that sometimes our soldiers overseas may question what they are doing there.  I know that big time professional athletes can become disconnected from reality.  To all of these people, Politicians who must cast important votes, soldiers who put their lives on the line, professional athletes who feel beat down by negative press:  Take a drive North on Texas Highway, 69.  Start out in Tyler and drive all the way to Sulfur Springs.  The things you will see, the people you will meet, will ground you.  You will remember what it is all about.

I think this is part of what makes professional anglers special.  They drive these back roads, not just in East Texas, but Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and elsewhere.  These pro anglers rarely fly, "mostly," they just drive, so they develop the appreciation that many of us who live in bigger, faster towns forget.  I find myself looking forward to my daily drive North, on Texas Highway 69.

Debbie Clem is the General Manager at the Hampton Inn in Lindale.  I am so impressed by the way I have been treated, and you might say, of course Keith, you are the client.  Those of you who know me, know that I am anything but "the client."  I am needy.  Clem is just one more example of how the people in Lindale make you feel at home.  Lake Fork is about 20 minutes up the road from where I am staying, and there are clearly "other places" you can stay that are closer to the lake.  However,  if you require reliable wireless internet, (which I do,) if you require good cell phone service, (which I do,) if you need a room with an ironing board, micro wave, refrigerator, and comfortable bey-yeds, (which I do,) and if you need a room with a hair dryer, (which I DON'T,) then Clem's Hampton Inn is the place for you.  Her contact number is 903-882-1002.

Be Careful-I attended tonight's meeting with fellow Westerner, (that means we can talk to each other without an interpreter,) Darryl Burkhardt and his roommate, Frank Ippoliti.  Ippoliti told me a story that reminds me to remind all of you how quickly we can get into trouble on the water, something that I know I, and I'm pretty sure you, take for granted.  Ippoliti was running on high 36, (which means he had his trolling motor set at high speed,) as he motored down the bank looking for spawning beds.  "Fork," (as Texans call this place,) is known for its tree stumps, and as you might guess, Ippoliti hit a tree stump, "square on."  Frank's boat stopped, he didn't.  Right over the front of the boat, luckily, Frank was able to grab the side "gunnel" on his way over the side.

"I had full rain gear and boots on because today was cold, windy and wet.  That rain suit got heavy in a hurry, if I a hadn't grabbed the  side going over, I might have been in some serious trouble."

As it was, Ippoliti couldn't pull himself out of the water, he maneuvered to the back of the boat, straddled his Mercury, and used the rear trim switch to raise his motor, and himself out of the water.  Fishing by yourself, we all do it.  We have all heard about guys running down a lake, hitting a rock or tree and being thrown from their boat, hey, that's why we wear our PFD's, but this is the first time I have ever even considered that I could be thrown from my boat just by being on the trolling motor.  If that water had been 48-50 degrees, a person could get in trouble really quickly.  Be careful folks.

This Is A Big Event-Mark Jeffreys asked me on HIS radio show the other night if I thought this was the biggest event to come along in the sport over the last 30 years.  At the time, I really didn't have an answer, but at this point I now believe that I can answer that question.  Yes it is.  

Yes it is because 160 of our country's best professional anglers are here to compete on the same playing field for the first time 4 years.  

Yes it is because the PAA has hired Octagon to run this event.   Octagon runs PGA events, these guys know how to party.  

Yes it is because every angler that I see walking around this place looks like a kid that just got into Willy Wonka's Factory.  

Yes it is because billboards from Dallas to Quitman appear every several miles in both directions.  If you live in the Dallas Metroplex, (awesome, I have always wanted to say, er, write that word!) then you are well aware that that this event is going on.  

Yes, it is because what is going on here is not just a bass tournament.  It is a charity event of tremendous magnitude, it is a family event with all kinds of activities for children and non fishing fans, (who doesn't like a Country concert?) It is, well,........ Woodstock, make that "Bassstock."

One more reason why this event is the biggest thing to come along in this sport over the last 30 years is the fact that sponsors of this event have spent a lot of money on this.  I don't know if it is responsible for me to report this, but then heck, when has being responsible ever been my M.O. (cows say "MOO!")  I have heard numbers that at least one sponsor of this event kicked in six million dollars, if you come up here, you will know what I am talking about.

Finally, of the sponsors for this event, only Bass Pro Shops/Nitro are from the fishing industry.  There are no plastic worm companies, no rod and reel companies, and no fishing line companies listed as the official sponsors of the event.  What this means then is that there are no industry politics involved here.  All of the anglers can use and display all of their own equipment, without having to put masking tape over patches or caps.  The anglers are the stars of this show.  The sponsors of the 160 anglers in this event should immediately send each pro a check of some sort, as these companies will be getting significant play this week, that I am sure wasn't part of the bargaining agreement that they signed with their pro.

We sat with Paul Elias tonight, he's seen a few events in his day.  

Paul's comment, "this is for real, this is historic, this is going to make a lot of people sit up and take notice."

Yes, this is biggest moment for this sport in the last 30 years.

04/10/07 3:25 pm cst Yee-Ha, I Got Me A 12!-That's right America, one of Lake Fork's finest!  Bradley Stringer and I launched out of Ken an Dana Donahue's Lake Fork Marina this morning.  The Donahue's have an impressive Marina and hotel complex that had an ample supply of rooms to rent, (only not right now because they are sold out,) as well as RV camp sites, and a cool little tackle shop with all of the right tackle.

Bradley caught a 30 pound limit while he was filming "A day on the water" for ESPN last February, and naturally wanted to visit the arm of the lake where he had such great success.  It was overcast and a little breezy when we launched this morning, thunder showers and hard driving rain pelted the area at about 5:30 am, but that all seemed to have passed.

Timber, that is my impression of this great fishery.  I have never seen so much standing timber in a lake before, much of it sawed off, just below the water line making a high speed run quite dangerous, at least where we were fishing.   Thankfully, Bradley values his life as much as I value mine.  Not a lot going on for the two of us today, we fished rattle traps, spinner baits, senkos, carolina rigged, and flipped, what pros call, "eliminating water."  Come to think of it, that is pretty much what I do every time I go fishing.

Bradley had to be off the water by one o'clock so that he could attend a photo session requirement at tournament headquarters, and I needed to get back and see if my clothes arrived.  We decided to "punch some mats" before we left the area.  On one of my pitches, I got nailed big time, cranked down and set hard on the 20 lb test mono-filament line I was using.  I was immediately tugged right back, and the battle was on.  I tugged, it tugged, an epic battle that would have Ernest Hemingway yawning in his grave.  Finally the mighty fish tore out of the grass, and I landed the beast, if it was an inch more than 12, then it would have been a 13!

Bradley and I had a lot of fun.  We saw quite a few fish on beds, if we could find the right kind of bank, which I won't describe, because Tommy Biffle has a lap top and is known to cruise web sites like this one looking for bass catching information.  I did see some impressive fish, including one about six that did want to eat.

One interesting aspect of this tournament is the fact that these anglers are working as a team.  Bradley's teammates, Andy Morgan, Danny Correia and Mark Burgess were in three other boats, and constantly relayed information.  Burgess apparently had three fish early on a "gurgler," fishing near the "day-am," and Correia had one bite when he reported in.  This format should make for some interesting strategy sessions during event.

Since there will be two pros in each boat, some of these guys are going to get a nice reminder of what it feels like to be a co-angler in a "single console boat."  Perhaps there will be some discussions about boat driving etiquette during this event.

Texan Update-After being reprimanded in this public forum yesterday for making "fun" of the way Texans talk, I still feel that it is my duty to bring you words from the native vernacular, along with explanations of how to use them.

• "Day-yam"-n. That thing that keeps the water in the lake.  

• "She-it"-A single word that exclaims, "I have hit another confounded stump with my lower unit."

• "Paradox"-A potentially good place to catch bass, consisting of two docks built closely to each other.  Interesting to consider.  What if bass fishing's paradox was a pair of docks?

Pure Fishing To Buy BASS?-Apparently this will not happen, since Pure Fishing has, itself been purchased by The Jarden Corporation.  Big fish eat the little fish, and bigger ones eat them.

04/09/07 8:30 pm cst Angler Meeting-It has arrived.  I am finally starting to understand this road grid system in Eastern Texas.  The odd numbered roads go North and South in counties that begin with a vowel, where as, ("Where-as") that is actually the name of a boarder town in Texas, (Juarez.)  Anyway, the even numbered roads run East and West in counties that have consonants at the beginning and end of their names, Wood County. 

Tonight, I got "less lost" than I did today, and I managed to find my way to Mary and Chuck's Lake Fork, Lake View Lodge, which is where the official angler meeting was held.  Arriving at the meeting, my first impression was "look at all of these wrapped boats!"  As I  was Looking into the sea of red hats, (PAA red hats,) it was difficult to pick out any of the players.  Dinner was being served, and eating was the top priority.  After the meal, a meeting was held in which all of the week's official rules were explained.   When the rule meeting ended, that is when the magnitude of this event began to set in.  160 or so anglers all moved to various areas of the meeting area to discuss the strategy for Tuesday's practice days.  Each team has four boats that can be used to scout.  Out came the maps, and the four man groups got down to business.

As I walked around, I began to see it, anglers together for the first time in many years.  On one fence post, Larry Nixon and Paul Elias talked strategy with their four man team.  Over there was Shaw Grigsby and Luke Clausen and their team.  Kevin VanDam, Matt Reed and Dave Lefebre, everywhere you looked, you saw groupings of this sport's top pros.  Tommy Biffle, David Fritts AND Clark Wendalendt?  All of these guys are going to compete on the same playing field for the first time in at least three years.

"This is so awesome, I haven't seen some of these guys for four or five years."-Shaw Grigsby

"This is a big deal!"  I told Mark Jeffreys on his radio show tonight, "No it's not, IT"S A HUGE DEAL!" shouted Dave Lefebre as he walked by, interrupting the interview.

On The Water-Bradley Stringer offered to take me on the water Tuesday.  He even told me he would bring some extra clothes for me, nice of him, since my things won't arrive until 10:30 AM!

Lake Fork, Lake View Lodge-I met Mary Sellers and her "significant other," Chuck, tonight.  They are the owners of the Lake Fork, Lake View Lodge, where the angler meeting was held.  Two fixtures of Americana, my life is richer for the experience.  The Lake View Lodge was built with more parking, facilities for camping, as well as cabins for those of us who like to stay inside.  The vision behind the lodge was to create a facility that could accommodate Corporate America, when the "boys in the board room," needed to get out and play.

"This is an amazing event," remarked Mary, "it is just what Lake Fork needs."  If you are planning a trip to East Texas give them a call 800-473-5110.  If you need an endorsement, how about this, "Denny Brauer always stays with us, so does Gary Klein."  I think that about does it.

Feed Back-I should have known that Texas would fight back.  To read David Taylor's response to my language barrier issues, click here.

04/09/07 4:14 pm cst East Texas-You have to understand where I am coming from.  I am coming from Los Angeles.  East Texas is nothing like Los Angeles and I bet, East Texas is nothing like where you come from, unless you come from a little town, that has about 1500 or so people.    Today I have driven back country road after back country road, in part, because I got seriously lost, but also because I am the kind of person who loves the scenic routes, (one man's "lost" is another man's "scenic route.)  In East Texas, they call them "Farm Roads," and there are tons of them.  What's more, is that these roads do not have names, they have numbers, I bet if I grew up in East Texas, I would be better with math.

"Rustic" is how I would describe the places I saw today.  "Quaint, tons of personality and personalities."  Lindale, Minneola, Quitman, Emory and Grand Saline.  Two things I noticed, there are a lot of "Brookshires," the local chain grocery store.  I ran into Denny Brauer at a Brookshire's in Emory today.  The other thing that East Texas has is churches.  I know, I know, YOUR community has a lot of churches.  Please, this little stretch of East Texas, Highway 69, has at least 250 churches.  They are not all "big chappeled, Tabernacles.  Many are just a single room, still more occupy part of a strip mall, (no, not a topless place,) heck, I even saw one that I am sure said it was a "Church and Deli."  Either way, this is some holy ground, here in East Texas.

I surveyed the tournament weigh in site as well as the sponsor / outdoor show area.  I have covered Bassmaster Classics and FLW Tour Championships and I will just tell you that this is going to be an amazing extravaganza.  25,000-30,000 people are expected to attend over the course of the weekend.

Something like 37 acres has been dedicated to this event.  I wasn't at Woodstock, but that is the feeling I get, as I walked the event's display area, watched them building the weigh in stage, and saw the Toyota "Sky Boxes" being assembled.  Yes, there's something happening here...

More Texan Words-In my efforts to teach you, and me, the official lingo of Texas, I have come up with a few new entries:

• "They'er"-where I should lay my coat down in the restaurant that I had lunch, or was it dinner at today.

• "fee'yu"-as in how many more miles to the lake?"

• I am discovering that "Texan" might just be the most efficient language in that land.  Only the most important syllables are pronounced, the rest are simply discarded.  Silent vowels?  What purp-us?

04/09/07 8:23 am cst Hello Texas-Well here I am.  I arrived in Texas this morning at 3:45 AM local time, and already I have learned a lesson.  Don't try to save money on air flights by going to multiple stops along the way.   Yes, I bet I saved $80.00 by flying from LA to Las Vegas first, before flying into Dallas-Fort Worth.  However, here is the lesson part.  We were delayed in LA a bit, (15 minutes,) so when I arrived in Las Vegas, I had to hustle my way to the connecting flight.  Result:  I am faster than my bags.  It is a lonely feeling to be the last one waiting at the baggage check.  When they turn off the lights, and shut down the conveyor belt, it is even more lonely.  The good news, I will have my bags by Tuesday at 10:30 AM.

Arriving in Texas, I immediately realized that I don't speak the language here.  Everything is bigger in Texas, especially the words.  Here are some examples of the Texan that I have learned so far today:

• "Spi-yen"-What that rental car attendant wanted me to take out the mini van for, that I had just rented.

• "Tu-day-yey"-Apparently when I will not get my bags from US Airways.

• Taco-Bueno-Something I probably should not try while I am here.

• "Y'all"-not just part of me, but ALL of me.  I have heard this several times, and each time I do, I have to look behind me just in case I have picked up some riders.  Just because there are two beds in my room, doesn't mean I want guests.  Y'all can just stay down stairs.

• By the way, nobody says "howdy" here.  That apparently is an urban legend.  In fact, I am the only one saying "howdy" and I am getting some strange looks.

I will share more new words with you later, as I learn them.  I will also post pictures, oh, that's right, my camera is in that bag that won't be in "Tu-day-yey."