The BASS CAST

Well I keep working on that list and just when I start getting it smaller I add a bunch more to it.  Today I found the manuals to the Triton and put them in the mail to Josh at David Fritts Outdoors.  I also fixed a leaky outside spigot on the house ( really just replaced it).

I have been keeping up with my workouts and did my routine this morning.  Since I want to be able to do this year round I am not doing any weight training just simple isometric exercises.  That way when I go back on the road I can still keep it up.  My morning ritual also includes a short Tai Chi program that I do in the driveway.  I may look a little silly but I really enjoy the fluid movements and I think it helps so much with balance and flow.

I finally figured out a good dish setup for the camper also.  I am using the rods from my cement bull float.  It is sturdy aluminum construction and I made a bracket to set under the jacks so it should be a good set up for the dish.

I have also been working on my resume and cover letters and the first one is ready to go out tomorrow to a prospective client.  With this really starting to get complicated I developed a spread sheet to keep track of all the details. 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I hit the water at 6:00 this morning with Dave (son-in-law).  I had one full tank and I needed to put on the last hour of 4000 RPM on her.  I did not travel far and just started fishing.  I worked about 100 yards of docks and was re-tying when Dave set the hook and pulled in a 4.06#.  That was the first fish in the new boat.

There were a few busting shad nearby but most of them were stripers.  My first fish came on a Cache Custom Lures Trigger Shad off a laydown.  The next three all came on a shakey head.  I was just about empty and the wife, grandson and daughter were heading out with us in their boat and ours.  So we ate lunch and then loaded up the boats and they headed up to Sandy Beach and I tied up a drop shot.

Right around the corner I have a really good spot and we headed over there and I graphed a bunch of good fish and just started fishing when thunder smacked so we headed back and loaded everyone up and went back to the ramp.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Today was the inaugural TBf Junior State Championship being held at Lake Monticello (the same venue that the kids will fish for the FLW Cup).  Each club must bring enough boats to support their team so my boat was not needed for the kids.  So I did not arrive at the lake until 11:00 or so.  I helped set up the facility and then I put my new boat in the water for the fun of engine break in.

The first hour you need to keep it under 3000 RPM so I just put her at 3 grand and drove around the lake occasionally nudging it up and down.  That hour went by pretty slowly and finally I hit it and was able to get her up to 4000.  This is for the next 2 hours with full throttle for 1 minute.  I managed to get 1 hour in before the kids came in. 

The weigh in went very smoothly and I was asked to speak just before the  awards ceremony.  I gave a quick talk about all the benefits these kids have and to make certain they stay involved and take full advantage of everything that the TBF and FLW has to offer.

One youth had 5 fish and pretty much walked away with the tourny.  The winner DJ, was from the youth club I started when I was in the St Andrews Bassmasters club.  So it was really fulfilling to see some of that work come to fruition.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

We drove up to David Fritts Outdoors this morning, well we got there around 11:30 anyways.  My boat was sitting out front and I dropped my old girl off right beside her.  We went in and did paperwork and did all that fun stuff.  Then we went out and Josh did the walk through with me.  Everything was exactly as I wanted it to be and we hooked her up and headed to Bass Pro Shop in Charlotte.

I was sent a letter from BPS that gave me 250 points on the BPS card but I needed to turn it in by the 30th.  So I grabbed a new motor toter and a few shakey heads just to fill some empty spots in the tackle box.

We made it home and put it in the garage and then the hard job started.  Putting all my tackle in the new boat and organizing it so it is easy to get at.  You could say I am a plastic freak I throw a ton of it and I have these tupperware boxes that I hold them in so I had to do a little shuffling to get it just right.

But everything was set up and I am taking her out tomorrow to watch the kids in the TBF Jr State Championship at Lake Monticello.  I will be taking a few photos of the kids and the state team is supposed to show up for the kids.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I had to run to the bank this morning and sign the papers for my new boat.  We got all the paperwork done and I also picked up the titles for the old boat.

The wife was at a meeting for FunFest this morning so I stopped by Home Depot and picked up an orbital polisher so I could finish detailing my old boat and make her look as good as possible.  While I was in there I got a call from her and she said one of the insurance companies wanted to ask me a question.  The question was if I wanted to pull my boat in the FunFest parade with her banner on the side of the truck.  I would be in my boat as the 2008 TBF National Champion and we were also going to get the rest of the state team in a few other boats behind me.  That is pretty cool.

When I got home I started detailing the boat and boy does she shine now.  I should get a good price for her.  Then it started raining hard.  It stormed for about 2 hours and the rain just poured down.  Being Thursday, the Lexington Chronicle comes in the mail so when the rain let up a little I ran out to the box and grabbed the paper.  My story was on the front page of the sports section.  You can see most of the article here, but you need a subscription to read the rest of the article.

Craig Fredrychowski holding his prize winning bass.

Craig Fredrychowski of Lexington earned his spot to compete at the 2009 TBF National Championship for the second year in a row by securing a second place finish at the 2008 Southern Division held on Lake Norman June, 11th – 13th, 2008.

We are all set to run up to Lexington, NC tomorrow and pick up my new boat, can't wait. 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I had to run into town for a few errands today.  I had to mail my Mom her big head and a breakdown of the circuits I fish.  I also had to fax an insurance claim in and an insurance application.   I accomplished all of this at the UPS store.

Next was a stop at Home Depot to pick up a few items to fix a leaky hose bib on the house.

After my running around I picked up the PC to catch up on my blogging.  I left off on the last day of practice for the Southern Divisional so I had about 15 days to make up.  The pictures and videos of the event take the longest.

I also received a call from my banker Tim Langfort at First Community Bank and said that the papers were ready for my new boat and I will stop by tomorrow to sign them.

Then we were invited to John and Lori Moroz of Pine Press Printing for dinner and we had a good time catching up and just relaxing.  They had a surprise for me a box of victory cigars for my win at the Nationals.  It's been a while since I had a good cigar and boy did I enjoy that one.   

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I am still working on my "To Do" list and I had a few items ear marked for today.  I was going to detail my old boat to get her ready to sell change out the trolling motor to her original and things like that, but Laura (my daughter) called and asked if we could watch Travis (grandson) for a while while they went to David's (her husband) sisters birthing.

This is great but you can pretty much cross your list off when he is around because we just play and do all the things a 4 year old wants to do.  He has a battery operated John Deere tractor that he rides around on and he is learning how to use reverse in stead of getting off and pulling it around.  So he kept me busy picking up pine needles and dumping them in a pile and then we got out the water and started playing with the hose.

We always have a good time with him and I would not pass a second up even if it means changing up my "To Do" list a little.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

We were out of town on Travis' real birthday so Laura decide to hold his party today.  He wanted to go to Edventure Museum.  This is a kids museum with tons of fun stuff to do and things to play with.  This was my first time here and I had a blast.  There are tunnels to crawl through and Travis would crawl in one and holler out "Come on Poppy" so I would crawl through also.  No mind you these are meant for little kids and a few of the spaces were kind of tight but we had a lot of fun.

Except for one thing in the center of the museum there is a 3 story tall  boy that sits i nthe center of the museum.  He is petrified of him and no matter what we tried he did not want to go anywhere near him.  But other than that little issue every one had a blast.

Then we went to their house and had the regular party.  He wanted a guitar from the JC Penney catalog so we got him that and he got a cool Play-Doh pack that we played with.

That is the hardest thing about being on the road is missing Travis he is so much fun and he really loves his Grandma and Poppy. 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Wife and I headed up to Lexington, NC to look at some boats.  It only took about an 2.5 hours to get there.  I started in the used section.  I am looking for a Yamaha powered Ranger and there was a 2004 Z20 with around 143 hours on her.  The boat was in good condition but I still think the new boat is the smarter move.

We wandered into the show room and met Josh I told him what I was looking for and he showed me this boat.

She is a 2008 Ranger 198VX with the Comanche package.  She has a Yamaha 200 HPDI pushing her.  The list of features and upgrades includes:

• Minn Kota Max Pro 80 with built in transducer
• Hamby's Keel Guard
• Hot Foot
• Ranger Cover
• Recessed Trolling motor pedal
• 8" Manual Jackplate
• Lowrance 520C at the bow
• Lowrance 28C on gimbal mount at dash

So we told Josh we would stop in at the bank Monday and see what they would say.  Lexington is close to Old Salem so the Wife and I so we spent the rest of the day doing a little sight seeing.  The town is a step back in time with tours of old houses and stores.  We had a nice afternoon just spending time together.

Oh just a side note my old Triton 19 X with a 200 Optimax is for sale and can be seen at David Fritts Outdoors.  She is a great boat, fast and very fishable. Let them know if you want to take a look at her. 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

After you spend 6 months in an RV there are a few items that you want to change and make more to your liking.  We have Dish Network in the house so of course we take one of the receivers and a spare dish with us on the road and the hook up was a mess cables and cords every where.  At night I would connect the box to the TV in the bedroom and change it back every morning.

So this was unsightly and the Wife had this item on the list.  So I took apart the TV area solid wired everything in hid all the cables and cords and made a mount for the box so it was not on the ground.  I also figured out the wiring in the camper so we could use the 2 system box for both TV's without having to change connections.  The box does not fit perfectly on the shelf but I fashioned a shelf support and now the set up passes The Wife's inspection.

You may notice I never call my wife by her name, Tracy, it is because I never use it.  I use more personal names like Honey or Honey Bunches.  So when I call her the Wife it is for that reason.

The next RV project was to get some power to the slide side of the camper.  Our camper has a 13 foot slide on the one side that holds the table and couch/bed.  But it does not have any electric outlets.  So I cut in a new box and ran an electric cord out that can be plugged directly into the site's box to power her PC and Printer, that she uses on the table during the day.

She also redecorated the interior a little to make it feel more homey, added a few pictures and personal touches.  I did give the RV a good cleaning and scrubbed 5 months worth of travel of her shell.

The shower was next on the list and I pretty much re-caulked the whole tub surround to make it water tight.  This is about the only thing on the camper that was not really done too well.

I have been looking really hard for a good Ranger deal on the internet.  I know I can find a good deal on a used boat but with the number of hours I put on a boat and the extra contingency for being the original owner we decided to look for a new one.

I found some of the best numbers at David Fritts Outdoors in Lexington NC.  Most people would not think to travel to NC and would head to Marshall's Marine in Lake City SC but it is actually quicker to David Fritts than Marshall's.

I sent a couple of emails with some questions and talked to Josh Aukes and decided to head up that way and look at what they had to offer.  Right now price is a major concern for me and even though I want to be in a 520Z I know that is not going to happen right now.  But they had a few nice 198VX's on the lot I wanted to look at.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!