Hello everyone,
Well the BFL season finally came to an exciting end this weekend at the last stop: Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. This tournament was a two day event which cuts the field to only the top 20% for the 2nd day. I had been out practicing Thursday and Friday trying my best to assure a place in the top 40 going to the Division Regional’s at Clarks Hill, Georgia. Thursday's practice was pretty good as my Father came down for the day to help find a pattern. We had success on Crankbaits and Jigs, they produced two nice fish: a 5+ and a 4. We had 5 fish that would have put 14lbs on the board for the day. Friday's practice started out great for me as I went to a spot where I’ve done well in the past. I caught a 7 pounder first thing and was confident that there would be more fish there for Saturday's tournament.
Saturday I was boat #89 out of 117 and ran right to my "hot" spot. I fished for about an hour and had nothing. I went to the spot where I caught them with my Dad and my Co-Angler lost a 2 pounder right away. I ended up catching 3 fish in those spots and then bumped into my friend and competitor, Josh Rowsky. Josh and I shared information during practice to help quickly break down the lakes. He came into this tournament in 34th place in the points for the season and he had to catch a fish to make the top 40 for the Regional’s. So when I bumped into him at 11am he said he had no fish. I gave him my best area and told him to fish it hard so he could catch a fish. I had 3 fish at that time and I knew that I had enough to make it to the Regional’s.
I went back to where I caught that 7 pounder on Friday and saw a fish sitting on the bank so I tossed my crankbait by its face and it jumped all over it. It was 4 pounds and my 4th fish of the day. I lost 4 bites 2 of which I saw and both were keepers (12” minimum) so I didn’t get to weigh in a limit (which is 5). I weighed my fish in and my total weight was 8 pounds 14 oz. The cut off for day two settled in at 9.6 pounds. I finished in 29th and 23 boats fished on Sunday. Now I really know what they mean about the one that got away.
Josh ended up catching 2 fish and finishing the tournament in 72nd place which was good for 35th place for his season. I made the Regional’s and ended my season ranked 14th overall in points (just one fish away from my goal of 10th place or higher). In spite of the disappointment in coming so close and missing, I'm very happy with my placing in the face of competing against 200 tough anglers. I learned a lot this year and look forward to having fun and doing well at the Regional tournament. If I place in the top 6 at the Regional, then I will make it to the BFL All-American. That’s my next goal. Thank you all for cheering me on and also a big thanks to the great support from all my sponsors: Jerry at Gitem Baits, Randy and Lisa at Creek Critters, Robert at B&R Outlaw Rods, and Paul at Harris Chain Bait & Tackle.
For more details on the rest of the anglers, check out the Harris Tournament Results page and the BFL Gator Division Standings page.
January 22, 2007: The 2007 season is under way. I’m competing in two trials this year: the BFL Gator division, and the Courtesy Anglers Team Fishing Trial where I'll be fishing with Tom Burk. My goals list for the year are to defend my Angler of the Year title in Courtesy and make the BFL Regional’s in Georgia. I’m off to a great start with a 12th place finish at the first BFL tournament on Lake Toho, Jan. 20th. I cashed a check for $580.00 for my efforts with 4 fish weighing in at 12 pounds 11 oz -- just one keeper away from that ever-so-hard-to-get-limit of 5. The day started out great with my 5th cast landing a 5 pounder, which fell victim to the Gitem Shad. After catching two more keepers in the area, I wanted to make a run to Lake Kissimmee where I had found a few larger fish in practice. The long run was worth it as I landed another 5 pounder on the Gitem Shad which helped to move me up in to a top 20 finish. Not only did I do well, but so did some of my good buddies: Chip Dover , Tom Burk, and Josh Rowsky. Coming in right behind me in 13th place with 4 fish weighing 12 pounds 2 oz was Chip, and Tom finished the day in 18th weighing in a 5 fish limit of 11 pounds 2 oz. Both took home some gas money for their long day on the water. Josh only had 4 fish that weighed 8 pounds 12 oz which he didn’t get in the money, but finished in 49th place and still beat 151 tough Anglers. Next stop for the BFL is the Harris Chain of lakes Feb. 17th.
The Courtesy Anglers trail started out good for Tom Burk and I as we took 5th place out of 38 boats on Lake Conway with a 5 fish limit that weighed 7.54 lbs. In practice I found some fish by throwing deep diving crankbaits and C-Rigging Gitem Warlocks in the same areas. The fish were in a pre-spawn-spawn mode and we concentrated on that pattern all day which paid off in the end. Our next stop is the Winter Heaven Chain of Lakes which is one of my favorite lakes in Florida, and we should also do very well there this time of year.
A brand-spankin-new Triton boat is headed to Josh Rowsky's home in Margate after his victory in the non-boater division at Lake Toho on Nov 17-19, at the Citgo Southern Open. Josh is also a member of the Central Florida Bass Anglers club out of Orlando. The club now boasts 3 boat winners in the last 2 years! Nate won his in 2003. Terry Bloom won 2 boats on separate tournaments in 2004. And now Josh joins that exclusive list.
Click the bass to send Nate a message.
Mar 5, 2004 - Spring is here, and it's looking like fishing weather for all you sports fans. So clean up your gear, change out that old line, and sharpen them hooks 'cause this could be the year you land the BIGGEST one of your life. I just took my buddy Brad out fishing last weekend, and he hooked and landed the biggest fish of his life. I got to share the moment with him, which is why I think all of us enjoy this Great Sport.
Apr 6, 2004 - Winter Park Chain Night Tour: We had 5 boats show up to fish and all did well. Fishing wasn't too bad getting bites most of the time, but the fish turned on late. Chip Dover and I fished together and had a great night. The sight fishing was great in certain areas! We caught our fish later and missed a couple, but still ended up with 4 keepers at 10.5 lbs. We landed a nice 5 lb fish with a 1/2 hour to go that helped the sack. Mickey and Larry showed up after 4 months of not fishing there and creamed us with 14.9 lbs and their Big Bass a 6 lber. Nice Job! Most fish were caught on big Worms and some Spinnerbaits due to the windy start. The weather was wonderful and looks like the fishing is get better, so come out and join the fun.
Friday, Mar 27, 2004 - Three boats showed up to fish for some fun and money. So we made it interesting with a 6 fish 12-inch limit 7pm til 1am and $40 per boat, winner take all. We had 5 fish that weren't too bad, but we missed two that hurt. My buddy Brad and his partner Luis did good by taking the money with 6 fish at 11.14 lbs beating Dave and Matt and Robbie and myself by ounces. The fish were hitting pretty good and Brad and Luis also had BIG Bass at 5.3 lbs.
We fish a Night Tournament every Tuesday from 7:00pm til 11:00pm 5 fish 14 inch limit $20 a boat. Come out and join the fun. For any info please contact me via e-mail.
Mar 2, 2004 - Tuesday's night fishing was slow. I fished the tournament (7 til 11pm) with my good friend Chip Dover. Chip and I thought we had some type of idea were the fish might be (shallow), but we were wrong. Chip did a fine job with the only two bites that we got all night by landing both. They were both keepers, but no size. The water temp now is up to 65-67 degress, but the fish are still deep. My new boat was giving me major motor problems due to me hitting something at my last tour on Lake Monroe, so it kept us from moving around the water. With the next couple of weeks bringing much warmer weather we should start having some better action. My buddy Dave C. won Tues. with a whopping 5 1/2lbs 3 fish. We did have 3 1/2lbs so one more keeper might have done it for us. Thats fishin! Well remember have fun, keep the hooks wet, and Please be Safe.
Nate ><(((*>"
Dec 19, 2003 - Water temp is in the 60-63 degree range, and I've caught fish flippin the grass or off shore on the edges of drops. The bite isn't too bad for this time of year. When you locate fish, pick it apart. There's usually more than 2 or 3 in the area. It took 15+lbs on Tuesday night's tournament to win. Some fish have been showing up at the scales loaded with roe, so look for them to spawn early this year.
Dec 19, 2003 - Water temp is in the low 60's, and you can catch fish flippin shallow or jiggin spoons in the deep holes. Keys to locating bass in the deep water is finding the pods of shad and then trying to catch a bass not a spec. If you catch a spec, you might want to move (unless you're into that kinda thing) to another pod of shad. Keep trying until you locate bass. Once you find them "HOLD ON" tight.
Apr 5, 2004 - My good Buds, Ronnie Hicks and Mike Laws, have been kicking BASS, I mean butt, doing very well in their Fishers-of-Men Bass Club. They recently won on the River with 15.88 lbs saying that the fishing was good but their 6 lb kicker helped seal the deal. I'll be going out this week to see if they left any to be caught with the Big fish man we LOVE to hate: Chip Dover. I'll post an update.
Mar 5, 2004 - We recently fished our end-of-the-year Classic Tournament here on Feb. 21-22nd out of Monroe marina. Practice seemed to be pretty good for my partner (Paul Brieg) and me and also for most of the guys. We found out like most others that the fish were very shallow. We had some deeper water fish in practice on Spinnerbaits. We caught 12 or 13 keepers one practice day and had about 15 lbs. Then came Tournament Day: conditions changed some, but for the most part not too bad. We threw Spinnerbaits for about 6 hrs and not a bite. That killed us. We managed to bring in two keepers at 3.92 lbs. My friends, Chip Dover and John Rickettson, were in 1st place with a whopping 21.86 lbs! Their big fish of the bag was 6 lbs. I knew we didn't have much of a chance at the win, but we did give everyone else a run for the money. We caught some bedding fish on Sunday that started moving up due to the water temp going from 63 to 70 degress, so this helped. The only bad thing about this was four fish over 7 lbs that we could see, but they wouldn't bite. They would have helped! We ended up with 12 lbs - not too bad - for 9th place. My friends Chip and John held their spot by bringing in another limit at 11 lbs for a two-day total of 32+ lbs to take a good check of $1300 dollars home to the bosses. Great Job! My other friends, Troy Agee and his partner John Cox, did great as well with two limits at 15 lbs apiece for 2nd place. They might have won this if they wouldn't have missed some the first day, or if they would have filled out their limit the second day. Still, very respectable! Everyone seemed to be fishing shallow and flippin' seemed to play a major part of this event. Due to the low water conditions, I hit something and damaged my motor, which sucked. So be careful and safe when water conditions are low.
Feb 1, 2004 - The FLW Tour Pros showed us Floridians why we have the one of the best Bass fisheries in the Country. Ray Scheide blew the hinges off at Okeechobee. After qualifying in seventh place with 16 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 pounds even, respectively, the first two days, he took a slim day-three lead with 14 pounds, 8 ounces. On the final day, however, he toted 21 pounds, 9 ounces to the stage to win with a 13-pound margin. He had dialed into the right area with the right technique.
Unlike years past, Okeechobee tempted pros with a host of fishing options. With the lake’s stable conditions and mild weather, bass could be caught a number of different ways. Sight-fishing, casting Kinami Flashes and Senkos in spawning areas, flipping plastic craws into thick mats, spinnerbaits, top-waters and lipless crankbaits were all viable fishing techniques on Okeechobee. The number of choices threw some pros off kilter. Just about the time they would commit to one pattern, they would get distracted by another. “It’s hard to flip mats all day, catch nothing but 12-inchers, look on the other side of the boat, see a 6-pounder on bed, and then keep on flipping,” commented Energizer pro J.T. Kenney.
For Scheide, there was never any doubt about what he would be doing. “I was committed to flipping from day one,” said Scheide. “I know it’s a winning technique on Okeechobee, especially in January when cold fronts are a constant threat. Plus, it’s my favorite way to catch bass.”
Amid all the dock talk about warming water, bedding bass and other techniques during the event, Scheide never veered from his 7-foot flipping stick, 65-pound-test Power Pro braided line and 1 1/2-ounce flipping weight. But it was not as easy as just punching a craw through mats all day. Other pros that remained steadfast to the big stick did not fare as well. Last year’s champion, Snickers pro Pat Fisher, searched high and low for the big-fish flipping bite on Okeechobee.
“I found the big ones a couple of days during practice, but they wouldn’t stay put,” said Fisher. “When the water temperature reaches that 65-degree range, these fish get spawning on the brain, and they roam around much more than when it’s 55 to 60 degrees.”
“A lot of it is being in the right area,” said Castrol pro Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla., who loves flipping on Okeechobee. “Scheide was in a place where big ones were moving up.”
Scheide’s “right area” was quarter-mile-long stretch of matted hydrilla near the Belle Glade portion of Okeechobee. Scheide described his winning spot as buffer between a large eelgrass bed on the main lake and a big spawning bay closer to shore.
“Scattered about in the hydrilla bed were about 20 small mats of hyacinths that ranged in size from a car hood to a boat and truck hooked together,” he explained. “Those hyacinths clumps had been locked in that hydrilla bed a long time because they had shaded out the hydrilla underneath, creating big caverns.”
Scheide figured that Okeechobee bass used the protected caverns as staging spots, the same way bass in other lakes use deep water to stage up before the spawn.
Dec 22, 2003 - The lake's official level is 15.82 feet above sea level, falling slowly. Fishing is fair to good over most of the lake at this time. A couple of cold fronts that arrived this week are making for some tougher conditions, especially on exposed waters, as it will dirty the water. Moonshine Bay, Monkey Box, North Shore are good areas to fish on northern winds as the water will stay cleaner there.
Water temperatures are hovering around 55-62 degrees, depending on the time of day and wind. Wind has been a big factor in fishing locations recently as it dirties the water and moves fish to areas of cleaner water. The fish are in fall transition patterns and are moving into pre-spawn mode. Look for the bait in the area you are fishing for help in locating bass. Bait and clean water are the most important keys in finding fish right now. Rattle Traps should help you cover water to locate them.
November, 2005My buddy, Sean, and I took third place and big bass at a bass tournament on West Lake Toho by flipping a new line of plastic baits that I recently discovered from Creek Critters out of Brevard, North Carolina. These custom-poured baits offer new shapes and colors that are real winners. Our big bass fell victim to a 4-inch Stump Knocker.
Apr 5, 2004 - Spring Fling Bass Tournament-Fishing was good Saturday even if I did lose the one that would have taken the whole pot. That's fishin! But I did land the big fish of the Tournament at 4.63lbs flippin a Craw. That boosted my partner Dave Gazdak and I a great deal the rest of the day since Dave had 2 in the boat prior to that. With that fish it put us at 7.6 lbs total at 11am, and we needed 2 more to fill out our limit. We flipped 90% of the day, and we felt that we were doing the right thing after the big fish. So we kept pounding the grass. Then I pitched it in the grass and it didn't fall 6 inches before something swallowed it whole, and I hammered her. "POW!!!". Like a 22 rifle going off. "That's going to hurt". It sure did. We found one more decent fish flippin on the West side of East Lake before weigh-in.
Our August 13th tournament with Central Florida Bass Anglers kicked off with high hopes and Big bags. My partner for this one was Big Sean Heyer, a sub. for my annual angler John Bazzell. He and I didn't make it out on the water for any practice, but that might have helped us out. We launched out of the downtown ramp on Toho and made the run South through the Locks into Lake Cypress. We began fishing the North end with buzzbaits and flukes and caught 15 fish in this area, but only 2 kept - a 3.5 lb and a 1.6 pounder. My buddy Sean missed a Huge Bass on a frog; it would have been over 7 lbs for sure. After fishing a while longer we started away toward Lake Kissimmee and fished a area on the Northeast side and started catching fish right away on frogs. Sean boated 2 more keepers in the pound an a half range then I caught my first keeper which was 2 pounds as well. I saw some mats floating and figured they would be great to flip and try out my new baits from Creek Critters. My 6th flip in and BAM a 2 pounder. (Cull) Then 3 flips after that BAM another fish. This was starting to look like a pattern. 5 minutes after that fish I hook into a Hog 5.54 lber and Big Sean scooped up the fish and the mat in the net. It was very exciting. Sean ended up catching our last good fish that culled out a pound. We ended up taking 3rd place and Big Bass honors with 15.24 lbs total. First place was a little over 16.lbs, so that big fish we lost sure did hurt. Thats fishin! There were alot of nice fish caught by the other teams, but fishing was pretty tough for most.
Not bad for not practicing, and I have to say the biggest fish we caught came on my new baits by Creek Critters. Check out their great styles and colors and you won't be disappointed.
Mar 5, 2004 - I haven't been there recently or heard much, so if anyone has info, please e-mail me, and I'll post it.
For more pictures, see the Photo Gallery.
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