MHX Rods

Well, since everyone else is making themselves youtube stars these days I figured I would join in as well. This video was shot to help the first time builder or the builder who is looking to build additional rods but might not know which blank to select for a certain type of fishing. Hopefully, this will help point you in the right direction and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. Hope you enjoy the video.

Recent Updates

After a busy trade show season with my day job, Trek International Safaris, Scott Williams and I made the trip to Lake Okeechobee to work the Z-Man Lures booth at the FLW Tour event. It was great seeing some behind the scenes action and all of the work that Wal-Mart puts in to make one of these things work, plus watching a few big bags from Okeechobee wasn't bad either.

Handing out a few baits

 The week after we had a Florida Pro Redfish event in my hometown of Jacksonville. Scott brought his Shearwater up to pre-fish as well as the day of the tournament. As fate would have it we caught a few nice reds during pre-fishing but failed to catch one in the slot on tournament day. Three redfish from 27.25in to 30in does not win tournaments.

Big red on topwater

 As February came to a close I signed with MHX Rod Blanks to become a member of their pro-staff team. The MHX blank is Mudhole's own signature blank and come in everything from Mag Bass to Fly and everything in between. I will be building a set with Fuji reel reel seats, EVA split grip and American Tackle Duralite guides.

MHX 7'3 MH

Fish on the first MHX

Next stop for Scott and I was the Bradford Co. 2nd annual Bass Tournament to benefit Relay for Life. Its always nice fishing these open events that lets so many people show up and since it was for a good cause everyone made a day of it. Sponsors came out, people cooked and plenty of prizes were handed out although fishing was a little tough. Last year, this was the event we took home big bass honors with an 11.6lb monster and although we didn't win it this year we came in second just behind a 7.4lb fish. The tournament overall was a success with 49 boats attending and we had a top 10 finish in a tough field where many local studs fished.

Two of our four fish for the day.

Although I have been busy, I still need to keep my head down and fish on... The Bassmaster Open event on Douglas Lake in Dandridge,TN starts April 4th and that is what has most of my attention right now. Stay posted as I am in the process of shooting some video and will post as they are finished.

2013 Jersey from E3 Sport Apparel

I wanted to give a quick shout out and thank you to Mike and everyone over at E3 Sports Apparel out in Guntersville, AL for a superior product and customer service. Over the past few years I have used a company, that will remain nameless, and they do a lot of jerseys, A LOT. Every jersey, I got from them I had the same complaints, the overall design was ok and the quality was good but the fit was terrible. After a few calls to multiple companies specializing in sub dye jerseys I settled on giving E-3 a shot, and I am glad I did. The owner actually spent some time with me on the phone discussing sizing and measuring a shirt I already owned that fit me so they could match it as close as possible. In addition to sizing we discussed logo placement and colors and they pretty much gave me a blank canvas to work with at no additional fees. I pick my exact size, had colors adjusted and matched to certain logos and even with all the work had a proof within 24 hours and the jersey in hand in less than a week. Needless to say when I received the jersey is was perfect from the color to sizing to the quality. I will never use anyone else and recommend then for your jersey. 

90% Mental and 50% Physical

You know, with all this talk from the Elite guys and their visits to Grand Lake for the Classic practice has got me thinkin’. How mental is fishing and how can I not get thrown into the common pitfalls of losing your head during a tournament or even before you hit the water. A wise MLB catcher once said “Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.” Fishing can be the same way, sometimes…

Am I a practice guy, well kind of… Great answer, right? My practice takes different shapes based on how far out the event is or what body of water. For example, I had fished a couple events on tidal waters where I do my best to practice during the same tidal conditions I will face on tournament day. Typically, every two weeks you will see the same tidal height so, say I pre-fish on day 1 when tournament day is on day 14. Will I still hit that body of water the week before? Yes, but I will have a different plan in my head on what I am trying to accomplish. Maybe it’s looking for similar structure I might have missed or coming up with a Plan X, which is something I never like to go to but it is one of those off the wall gambles that can pay off in an emergency. Sometimes on the water you just get that feeling you need a change and it needs to be something big, and 180 degrees from what you’re currently doing.  As I said it’s not something I really condone but it’s there if I choose to use it.

My one warning on practice and it is something I am very careful of is letting past experiences play into the present one. Many of you know what I mean that fish local tournaments on waters you occasional fish but not week in and week out. I noticed Mike Iaconelli was discussing staying away from preconceived notions of a place that can affect not only your practice but tournament day. Even if you bombed the last time you fished Lake ____, you must keep an open mind and remember to keep a confidence bait close by and hell, somebody has to win, it might as well be you. 

While everyone was throwing an A-Rig I pulled out a drop shot with a Z-Man finesse WormZ. A possible check to Plan X...?

Club Classic

This past Saturday was the end of the year classic for a small local bass club in the Jacksonville, FL area. Our season was eight events ranging from Rodman to Drs. Lake and a few other notable bodies of water within an hour’s ride of the Jacksonville city limits.  The first year for this club went well and brought close to 20 active teams together throughout the year for Saturday events that were fun and had low entry fees and full paybacks. What is not to like? It reminded me of a Saturday card game where friends came together for some healthy competition and plenty of good natured trash talking. I was fortunate enough to win the first event of the year at Julington Creek fishing with Dad, which actually turned out to be the last day I would ever spend on the water with him. 

Dad and I from Julington Creek

At the next event after dads passing the club came together and presented me with a trophy to commemorate that day on the water with dad. I was touched as this was not standard procedure to present winners with trophies to keep but it was a gesture from a group of guys that I will forever cherish. 

Trophy from Julington Creek

As the year went on my buddy Scott Williams from S2H Fishing picked up the slack and fished as my partner to fishing the year out. We took top honors at the Santa Fe event and although I had to miss a few events due to work I sneaked into the top 10 classic for the end of the year which was held at Lake Santa Fe as chosen by a blind draw. I felt good about the pick as it’s a lake I have won at in the past plus I just flat out love to fish that lake, the only issue is I was going at it alone. Scott was traveling with his wife and little girl and partner subs were not allowed for the end of the year classic. 

Our winning bag from Santa Fe

The morning came and I was rigged and ready but so was Mother Nature. Hurricane Sandy churned off our coast of Jacksonville and brought 20-25 MPH winds with gusts to 30 from sun up until weigh in at 2pm. The wind for the day was out of the NNW and my morning started on the leeward side of the lake and letting the wind push me down the west bank as I burned a spinnerbait under the windblown docks and grass mats. In tournaments there is always time to second guess yourself so you just have to learn to make a decision and go with it. At first I was throttled up to head to the big lake and run the pass but once I could see the condition on the water and the wind direction I made a quick adjustment that would pay off, quickly. I dropped the trolling motor and had a frog and spinnerabait on the front deck. The grass lines are unique here as they create a small wind break that bass get in and behind and will slam a frog but if they are in front of the grass a spinnerbait running parallel will get smoked. The first patch of grass I came to I dropped two casts behind and the frog walked out unscathed. The first cast with the spinnerbait was a little off target but the one that followed worked. My chartreuse and white Terminator T-1 hit the water and with two cranks of my Revo SX 7.1 and she slammed it. Fifty feet off the bow she came out of the water instantly and my heart jumped into my throat. Call for the net?!?! Yea right, who will help? I fought her to the boat and she made one last leap which happened to be right into the waiting net and the first fish was in the boat in under 15 minutes and she was over 5lbs. The rest of the day was not nearly as exciting but I made a few different stops around the lake as the spinnerabait continued to produce but I couldn’t add another big one and was only able to add 3 limit fish to the bag. When weigh in came most of the guys had a rough time filling out their limits due to weather and my hopes were growing that my bag might go the distance or at least I would take big bass honors. My four fish limit was 9.10lbs anchored by the 5.14 big bass which brought home second place and big bass by 4 ounces. Although, the weather was tough and I had to fish alone it certainly made my day being able to do well and bring home a little change in my pocket. Congrats to winners Hendrix and Gifford. 

Guys from the Club

Bassmaster Southern Open

Although, a couple weeks have passed since the Bassmaster Southern Open #3 on Smith Lake in Jasper, Alabama the memories made there that week still cross my mind to and from the work commute and during a daydream.  My tournament partner Scott Williams, a.k.a. S2H, made the trip out there with me to fish, split the costs and keep my confidence up as he has been there done that in an Open. Scott, had a great event during the first Open of the year on Harris Chain where he took home 10 place in a strong field of 198 co-anglers. I knew this week going in was going to be something different for both of us as Smith Lake is everything that our “home lakes” are not. Smith is a HUGE body of water with limited cover, when the water is down, clear and depths reaching over 200 feet in many places. We joked about the conditions and how when our sonar reads anything over 20ft we know it’s an error, not here at Smith. Loading up the week before we packed our bags with spinning rods, light fluorocarbon lines, drop-shot rigs and other finesse type baits. Needless to say we left our eight foot flippin rods with 65lb Power Pro at the house. In any event that forces you out of your comfort zone there are always baits and techniques you want to have at your disposal to ease the nerves if the new stuff ain’t working or to just adapt your strength to the body of water you are fishing. My security blanket baits were square bill crankbaits, spinnerbait, casting/pitchin jig and texas rigged soft plastic. Whether it is a false sense of security or not you have to have confidence in what you are throwing or success is much harder to achieve. Also, I received some great advice from a fellow angler and try to keep this in mind on every body of water I fish. “Listen to what the fish are telling you, sometimes they will tell you exactly what they want but you just have to listen, its kinda like being married. There are mysteries never to be solved but don’t miss the golden ticket just because you aint listening”. 

Copyright James Overstreet Bassmaster

 

 

 

So there, I was packed up and had somewhat of a game plan. Due to work I wasn’t able to arrive until Tuesday night before the event and Scott was already in town, pre-fished and learned a little about this giant clear Smith Lake we have been reading so much about. The weather report was looking good with clear days and steady temps, well until the last day but you had to make the cut to worry about fishing Saturday so that was out of my mind for the time being. We spent Wednesday doing a little research and getting necessities and a decent night sleep as gameday was coming quick and 4am Thursday was fast approaching.

My first day draw was Elite Angler Cliff Crochet from Louisiana. I knew I was in for a bit of a struggle when he gave me the game plan for the day. “Parallel the bank with a white buzzbait and run the trolling motor on 80 covering water”. I am sure my face turned white as I imagined being hung out to dry all day in the back of the boat. Well, during our 45 minute run up the lake to look for Largemouth I gave myself a bit of a pep talk. I thought about that I was happy to be here and just have fun and keep an open mind. I thought about my dad always making the best of situations and could hear him saying “hey babe I am just happy to be here”, so that’s how I was going to approach it.  We dropped the trolling motor and I was not farther than 15 feet from the bank for the following eight hours. I tried throwing a buzzbait a little then tried a shaky head some but I couldn’t keep my bait wet long enough to feel comfortable. I noticed we are winding around creeks that had small coves with short points I could see on his HDS. I picked up the Squarebill crankbait and started ripping it from the bank and down the rocky points. In less than 15 minutes I had two small keepers in the livewell and was able to shake the initial jitters. Then, one of those moments happened that I could have easily overlooked but it was so obvious I couldn’t ignore it if I wanted too. I boat flipped my third fish for my co-angler limit and while I was getting him situated the fish coughed up two perfectly intact crawfish claws. They had perfect color detail and lying right on the rear deck for further inspection. That was what I needed to target larger fish. I kept throwing the Bandit Crankbait but when we would pause in a cover and power-pole down I grabbed a small finesse jig and added a Z-Man Punch CrawZ as a trailer. Now, I felt I had a one-two punch to get me a decent limit. As the day went on, it was a grind from the back of the boat fishing in the footsteps of someone but I tried to stay positive and knew if I could be in the top 1/3 of the board at the end of the day I would have a shot on day two. As we ran back to the weigh in all you can think about is how everyone else did and if the three fish you have are good for first or last, you just never know. When the smoke cleared I sat in 51^st place after day one in a 149 boat field but only had 14 ounces between me and 20^th.

As it happens in the Bassmaster Opens, the top 40 places after two days of fishing cash a check and for the final third day of fishing they cut the field to 12. So, of course my goal was to make it to the final day but a secondary goal was just to cash a check and at least get my entry fee back. After weigh in is when you meet your random boater draw for day two and set up a game plan. I got a good draw in Peyton Mcginnis, a young 20yr old local kid who lives 4 miles from the lake and to add to that he was sitting in 20^th place with a good limit of fish after day one. He felt pretty confident that we were going to catch fish and we would be out on points, drop shotting and looking for Spotted Bass in open water. That was music to my ears after being pinned in the back of the boat all day. 

Copyright James Overstreet Bassmaster

Day two opened with a bang for Peyton and he had 2 nice Spots in the boat right away. I adjusted my color and got bit right away by a nice spot. Fishing in 25 foot of water over a point we drop shotted with 8lb fluorocarbon so each fish was nerve wracking as you would work him to the surface just to see him peel drag back down into the depths of the point. I cannot remember being more nervous on a fish than that first big spot. The fight seemed to last an eternity back and forth with light line and small size 1 Owner Mosquito hooks. That is much of how the whole day went. We moved from point to point and caught plenty of fish all day and culling up to nice limits. The move of the day for me was 30 minutes before weigh-in when I pulled out a spook on a windy point. All I heard about Smith Lake was to throw a spook for schooling Spots, yet I had not caught one fish on a spook in 16 hours of fishing. Well as someone was looking out for me I had a nice fish blow up on it 40 yards from the boat, I had him. Cue the second most nervous part of the fishing. Finally, he was netted and I made a great cull that added almost a pound to my bag for the day. I was jacked up and then my mind started racing on what the other anglers were doing. Since its blind draws each day, you can have a banner day on day one then get blanked on day two. I was hoping since I had a hard day on day one and was able to hang around that maybe some anglers ahead of me would falter. Well, we had an early flight time so our weigh-in was 2.5 hours before the close and that made the anxiety much worse. I stepped to the scales and weighed 6.13lbs and sat in 4^th place overall, but it was way too early to get excited. The longest 2.5 hours of my fishing career seemed to creep by and as we would check every 30 minutes or so I hadn’t moved much but didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment so I tried not to think about fishing on the final day. Well, as it turns out I hung in and was sitting in 9^th place after day two and was going to have a shot on the final day. I couldn’t believe it.

Day three came quickly with little sleep that night. My draw was Elite Angler Greg Vinson of Alabama and felt good about his knowledge of the lake. Only issue now is what we talked about earlier, the weather. The sunny 80 degree weather has now turned into a high of 59 and raining. We planned on hitting both open points and backwater creeks to look for spots as well as largemouth. With the weather change we were hoping for a better bite out of the largemouth while keeping in mind trying to get a few chunky spots for the livewell. Our first stop yielded us both a nice spot that got us off on the right foot. We moved around a few other times but couldn’t drum up good fish. Working back into creeks where Greg found largemouth in the days before I switched gear to a 4X4 Bass Jig with a Z-Man punch crawz, a Terminator Spinnerbait and a Texas Rigged Z-Man FattyZ. We pressed on as the cold rain tried to dampen our game but we held on strong. As the weather got worse I was thankful for my three fish limit I had and thought if I can just add a little weight and some of the angler would stumble in front of me I could climb the board. Just like on day two I was left to throwing a bait I knew I could catch a good fish on but had yet to seal the deal. I was soaking a Chartreuse and White 3/8 once Terminator Spinnerbait with a white Z-Man split tail trailer. I had made my decision that I was going to throw this till the end. I had one hour to add weight and this was the bait that was going to come through for me. Finally, with 20 minutes before we had to fly I pitched the spinnerbait next to a lone log that Greg had already hit and with two turns of the reel a largemouth slammed it. I boated the fish barely hooked with the trailer hook and added a nice chunk of weight to my bag. That was it, now I had to hope a few guys dropped the ball but if not the worst I could do was 12^th and that was a good plan B. 

Copyright James Overstreet Bassmaster

 The 12 anglers trailered down to the Bass Pro Shops in Birmingham, AL and they had a stage and live music all set up for the final weigh in. I stepped on stage and weighed 6-14lbs and felt good about my progress and the tournament in general. I sat in 2^nd place but six guys behind me still had to weigh in. As the weigh in progressed I only fell a few spots and claimed 5^th when it was all said and done. It was a great week with excitement and sorrow at the same time. As many of you know I unexpectedly lost my Dad on his 59^th birthday in July. He was the one who taught me how to fish, hunt and pretty much everything else I hold dear.  Although, it would have made the top five finish sweeter if he could have been there or celebrated when I got home but I will say over the course of the three days fishing, some things happened that I know without a doubt he was right there, just as he always had been.