Cody Malone

I thought I would blog about TIME. It is always ticking away. In a professional anglers world we are nothing but a clock. We have to manage our time wisely.  Pre- fishing has to be done carefully always watching our time not to spend too much of it in one place. On tournaments we watch our clocks not be late to weigh ins. In the middle we are driving, making phone calls, talking to  sponsors and planning what tournament we will fish next. Our time is consumed by this wonderful sport.

This weekend I made time to fish a team tournament with my only partner, my dad. I had not fished with him in  a long time due to my schedule. It felt really good to be on the water all day with him.

We fished a Bass Champs Team Tournament, on Choke Caynon . We placed 17th. The old team tournament brought two team members together for some time sharing.

 Time passes. We need to spread it around to the people who are important in our lives. I know I am. As a matter of fact, we will  fish again  on Lake Fork at the end of March. I am looking forward to it not just to spend the time but to cull his fish again.:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE0erF5K9Ns

I said in the very first blog that I would bring you the true story of a professional angler. Well this is it.

I want you to get a feel for the real pro bass angler experience. So you will need only one thing: a freezer. Stick your head in it and leave for about two hours.

That is how Lake Norfolk in Henderson, Arkansas welcomed me. FLW Central Stren visited there March 5-8. I was so excited until the first cold front hit and I stood on my boat for 6 hours pre-fishing ( I swear my nose turned black).

I have never been this cold in my life.  The second day the snow came in. I am from Texas. I have seen ice and what we call snow, but in the Arkansas Mountains they have real snow. The kind that covers your truck and the roads have to be shoveled. In Texas we don’t shovel roads we just stay home for the couple of hours it takes for the stuff to melt.

The first day of the tournament was cancelled because no one could get there. I have to say I did say a small prayer for them to call the whole thing off. I know you might think “Fair Weather Fisherman” but really I have never been in that kind of cold.The thought of standing in snow all day just did not thrill me.

I think all bass fisherman have a kind of ingenuity about them. We re-paint baits, fuse baits together, we take off skirts and re-place them with our own colors. We are always trying new things. We analyze the problem and fix it. That’s why we have  all those one -time ”made by us baits” thrown in the cup holder of our boats.

The problem was clear. I was going to be very cold. I thought about this long and hard but then it dawned on me: I needed something to keep me warm. ”BONG” (sound of bells going off in my head)  A HEATER!

I went to Wal-mart and bought a propane heater. Looked good to me. I will say it was a (little smaller):) than I would of liked, but is was a  plan.  Bungee corded it to the handles of my boat lockers and off I went. Now if the fish would just bite, I was good to go.

The snow spit all day, the heater was great. If you were my co-angler it was a dream. My side half-worked, but hey, in 27 degrees (which felt like 14 degrees) it was good enough.

I caught a fish and I do mean a fish. A great start. Normally, this lake is clear. But with all the rain and run off from the snow, it was mud.

I fished this trail for the first time this year, with one thing in mind: learning and being able to fish water I have never fished before. I believe that you have to challenge yourself every year with something and this trail was what I picked.

I tip my hat to the guys who caught the 6-10 lbs bags for that tournament. I caught 2lbs and thought I had done something, I survived the cold. For some reason I could not focus except for the cold. It happens to us all sometimes we lose our focus.

My plan worked. I was challenged and now I have a better understanding why tournament season is not in the north through the winter months. On the bright side,  I might of invented the first boat heater. (click on the pic above for larger view)

This Blog is about relationships. In a fisherman’s world there are many. Today I am talking about your boat dealer.

I bought my first Basscat in 2006 from a Waco, Texas dealer: Central Texas Marine.

I grew up fishing the Wednesday night tournaments on Lake Waco. That is how I met Chris Smith owner of Central Texas Marine.

As a Professional Angler, this is where you need to put your effort and gratitude because if the boat don’t run, you can’t fish. Its that plain and simple. You will need this relationship with a boat dealer.

Trust in their mechanics is essential. I have the cell phone # for mine on speed dial. I know I can call him from anywhere, anytime. With a cell phone and a digital camera I take pictures and send them to Stan for him to see what I was seeing.

Central Texas Marine has been good to me. They are like family. I can count on them. I have built this relationship, but more importantly they have taken time to build one with me.

If  you own a boat, please take the time to find a dealer who will treat you like family. Remember it takes your effort too.

Hats off to Central Texas Marine for all you do!

I started 2008 on Lake Falcon, in Zapata Texas. What a lake! It is full of fish, large fish. Pre-tournament fishing was good for me. Like always I had a plan and then a plan on top of another plan. Youknow how that goes if you have ever tournament fished. We fisherman are all about plans.

For Christmas every year I get those fisherman things, you know the line picks, flashlights that fold and can be stored, first aid kits (I think I might have twelve of those by now, maybe they are trying to tell me something). This Christmas I got the  one thing I never thought of, a flare gun. My mother is always thinking of my safety and just knew I needed this.

I smiled and gave her that you shouldn’t have look.  Don’t know how it wound up in my boat but it did.

Now back to Lake Falcon. First day of tournament I caught my 5 fish limit before 8am. Happy was not the word for me at about 8:15 am! 

But if you catch fish you have to turn on the live wells.  Live wells need power, battery power.  If they run for a good 8 hours…well, you might know how this story goes. The batteries go dead.

So see this is the way that the day turned out. I was fishing with 23.3 lbs of fish in the live well and no power to turn the motor over. Yep, welcome to the roller coaster. Here I sat and it dawned on me I had an emergency kit. On top lay that wonderful flare gun, the same one I got for Christmas. I fired it. Anglers who were on their way in saw the flare and carried us.

The 2nd day there were no problems but of course the bite for me was slower. I weighed in 25.06. I felt good on that day.

On day three I caught fish early again. Same story with the live well.  I reached for the old flare gun and  realized my mom, who thinks of everything, didn’t buy but three flares. I had used up two the first day. I shot it and no one saw. I finally had to call the tournament director to get someone to pick us up. I was late and it cost me a penalty. I did finish 21st.

So what we learn is that we should all have a flare gun and lots of flares, but a jump box would have been better. I didn’t wait for Christmas on that one (after I told all my angling buddies the story, jump box sales tripled).

I have a whole new attitude towards those strange Christmas Gifts I get every year. 

Congratulations Alton Jones, winner of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. Alton is from my home town of Waco,Texas.

I am proud to be from a town that has produced one of the finest anglers of all time. Alton fished an extraordinary tournament. It was a well deserved win. As a tournament fisherman, being from the same home town as Alton is something to brag about.

He is an inspiration to me by always keeping his faith and family first.

Way to go Alton and once again Congratulations!

Now this post is truly about an organization that is well worth your time. I knew nothing about it until a good friend of mine Tony Chashere told me about.

It is exactly what the title reads. A professional organization run by professional fishermen. Its marquee tournament is The Texas Bass Classic.

This tournament is on the one and only Lake Fork in Emory, Texas. To fish this unique tournament you have go through a Qualifier. This year it was set on Choke Canyon, in Three Rivers Texas.

The top 25 anglers of the Qualifier will be the 4th member of the 25 teams to fish the Texas classic.

I had a good tournament and a lot of fun. I came in 27th, close but not there. Next year I will try again.

I hope that you will check out their web site and take a look.

If your a professional, it is great to have this organization in the field working on our behalf. Their format is different than anything I am use to seeing but if you’re like me, a little variety and keep things interesting.