Bad News!

Appreciate the hospitality Ricky Taylor it was fun.. wish the fishing was better .. good job on keeping your composure while fishing with me.. you are the best culler there is!! And a damn fine netter.. we did good for two country boys who never left the boat ramp creek lol..

I’ve been fishing a lot lately. I can’t wait to get in the app tomorrow and catch up on ask BLAT. I finished 10th today at Hartwell with 16lbs today. I had so much fun this week catching them on a jerkbait and a Carolina rig. I caught some slipping docks. (Shallow ones) I also caught a big one on a shakey head today. Lake Hartwell owes me nothing. I was worried about this one more than any other on the schedule. As good as it is sometimes it’s easy to top out at 12lbs.

First Tournament in the Books!

Mack and I hit the Chickahominy River today for a local tournament with 16 boats. Mack was on fire, landing around 8 bass, while I put my netting skills to work assisting with his catches and brought in 3 of my own. The storm cut our day short, but we made the most of the 4-5 hours we had on the water!

What I learned:

✅ Slow down the retrieve.

✅ Get a limit first, then go for bigger fish.

✅ When that doesn’t work—go back to what does!

The Straight Up Fishing School is more than just learning techniques—it’s about building confidence, friendships, and growing as an angler. Mack drove hours to help me with my first tournament, sharing his knowledge on water clarity, lure selection, and even how to properly fish a Ned rig. That support gave me the confidence to jump in and compete.

A huge thank you to Brian Latimer for creating this incredible program and for his support through the SUF Sponsorship Program. His passion for the sport and dedication to helping anglers grow is what makes this community so special. Proud to be part of it—this is just the beginning!

Tenth place!!! Add that notch to your stats for another Top Ten finish!

Hey y’all…I have a campsite reservation at Calhoun Falls for Thurs-Sun that I need to cancel today to keep from forfeiting the entire cost of the reservation. I’m getting ready to cancel it so be at the ready to snap it up…let me know in the next few minutes if you want it and we can probably do a transfer…

Love it, our man is on the stage with his family!! Great to see your success and energy

16-2! 48-15, 3 day total! Awesome job B!

Hey just wanted to introduce myself and say Hi! I’m new member of the school and have enjoyed watching the content so far . Looking forward to meeting you all and more future live events !

I live in Western North Carolina and fish these higher elevation lakes , but would like to get down to hartwell, keowee , even lake Russell as well .

Something I’m hoping to learn is how to find fish, or more specifically where to start fishing on a lake. Also what depth water to target during each of the seasonal patterns .

My most success is catching spotted bass schooling on blue back herring out in the middle of 100 ft of water early in the morning . But when that dies down I’m lost .

Thanks for having me !