First tournament in the Lowe Stinger is in the books. Boat performed perfectly in extremely shallow waters of Lake Garcia FL. The fishery is a hydrilla farm. We had a ton of success and my co-angler pulled in a 9.52 largie. I caught my limit early and upgraded 4 after. Nothing gigantic and that’s fine. I placed in the top 30% without any practice or prep due to real life situations. I had a great experience and learned a few thing to build on the skill stack and bridge of confidence.

Finally I can say I’ve passed the USCG OUPV course today. This is a 50 Ton Captains license which will allow me to legally run a Charter (bass guide) business and opens up other opportunities. I’ll probably go for Master in the future.With the vast amount of information required to pass, as time consuming as it was, I can say that the extreme volume of info is priceless as a boater of all levels. #DoingThingsWithIntention

I’ve been quiet lately. It’s not for a lack of interest. Between Captain’s school and a tragedy we had at the house, I haven’t been that active in the app or on the water. I recently had to make the ultimate decision and say goodbye to one of our dogs after only 7 years for his benefit and his quality of life. A prescription change for flea and ticks from the vet went bad and caused him multiple grand seizures. There was no chance of recovery. I will forever miss my best buddy, Mr Linus. At least he left us in my arms with lots of kisses as he quietly crossed over. His littermate sister, Lucy is having a tough time understanding. We are staying as strong as we can for her. Thanks for listening.

Hey Brooks, I got one for you to throw back! 22 1/4” (uploaded the wrong pic first, whoops)

Trash Panda came through! Thanks Mack Toon for the recommendations. Dog toy for fun! The ockapuss toy is a legal 12”

Pushing forward with my plans. I just joined 2 clubs based in the South Florida area. One is actually National with a BASS presence, and the other is a true local. Also signed up for a handful of virtual tournaments. I was invited to fish a tournament this Saturday up at Lake Okeechobee. Time to get to work!

Boat is in the shop getting power poles installed. Came back to my roots on the bank. I love fishing in the rain.

First catch on the inaugural run in Florida. Everything worked flawlessly. Of course I had to do it with the SMH, it wouldn’t be right any other way. Thanks B!

Brother in law asked me how I use a 9 foot diving Jerkbait in 6 foot of water. I threw this up on YouTube. Most important part is that rather than twitching the rod downward as traditional mechanic, I’ll use an almost horizontal and an occasional uptick of the tip. Other points are that I typically throw to an angle from the canal bank to maximize coverage and I purposely don’t lock the rod to my forearm so my wrist can aid in the shock absorption. https://youtu.be/i9yaigJ76T0