Good Brown Dog

Good Brown Dog, originally uploaded by AngieT2007.

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Kevin VanDam wins Bassmaster Elite Series at Kissimmee [interview]

KVD does it again. The man is a machine. Here's how he got his first win in the state of Florida.

Casey Ashley "Fisherman" song lyrics

One of my favorite parts of the Bassmaster Classic this year was the debut of Casey Ashley's song "Fisherman." Casey gave an impromptu concert when Skeet won the Angler of the Year title last fall and all in attendance agreed.....this boy's go skills.

So Casey gets to know Rodney Clawson through Janet Bell who is director of Angler Relations at BASS and a mover and shaker in the industry. Rodney is an incredible songwriter, in fact he wrote "I Saw God Today" that George Strait (love him) is riding high in the charts with. (Rodney Clawson has a Myspace page that's worth a visit.)

You can download Casey Ashley's "Fisherman" at Outdoormusic.com. Nice to have on the Ipod for those early morning rides to the lake. Here are the lyrics.


Brother it’s a long road, from Amistad to Toho,
Doesn’t matter which way you go, the miles are all the same.
When you finally get there, and when you pul the cover off,
Then it’s time to get a little bit lost, out on the lake.

Gonna back this boat into the water,
Find a way to win a couple dollars,
The weather man says there’s a cold front coming down,
Bring it on, I’ve seen it all by now.

I can catch ‘em shallow, I can catch ‘em deep,
Open water or the back of a creek,
The wind, the rain, to me it’s all the same,
I make a living playing this game,
I thank the Lord above every time I can,
I get to be a fisherman.

Come Thursday morning, I’ll have me something figured out,
It’s not definite but just about, that I can make the cut,
I’m bettin’ on Sunday, that I’ll be fishing solo,
Just me and my cameraman Joe, And with a little bit of luck I’ll have just enough.

I can catch ‘em shallow, I can catch ‘em deep,
Open water or the back of a creek,
The wind, the rain, to me it’s all the same,
I make a living playing this game,
I thank the Lord above every time I can,
I get to be a fisherman.

GREAT SONG.

And speaking of songs and singing....I'll have to wait until later to tell you about the photo below(dang I gotta find more time for this blog!)
ps - the photo includes the melodious and multi-talented quartet of Gerald Swindle, Jason Williamson, Marty Robinson, and Casey Ashley and it is a grab from a video that I want to share.....these guys are gonna kill me!

Bassmaster Classic pre-production

A project that kept me and the Motion Graphics team at JM Associates busy in the first two months of the year was getting graphics pre-produced for the Classic. I have some more Classic video to share later (when I find time to put it together!) but here is one of the in-bumps I designed for the Classic broadcast. I think anone who has fished a tournament can relate....



More later......

Back to Bass fishing

It's been a while since I have been able to blog here. Lots of different things keeping me busy and not a lot happening in the bass fishing world during the off season. Then we started pre-production for the Bassmaster Classic and suddenly it got so busy there was no time to blog.

So I thought I'd post a few of the things I've been working on.



This is the opening title sequence for Skeet Reese's mini-show on ESPN Outdoors. The title of the series served as the inspirational jumping off point for the creative. I used a predominately yellow palette because that's Skeet's color. Of course, the subject matter produced a lot of great shots to work with! I hoped to convey the passion for the sport.

The Bass Fishing Bachelor (and his best girl)

So I admit it. I watch The Bachelor. Sometimes. I never watched any reality shows until Byron made his debut in the genre back in...when was that? Three years ago? Wow, hard to believe.

But since then the lovely woman that Byron chose (pictured above with her man and bass angler Chuck Economou) has become one of my best chicas. Mary Delgado is a gem.

I remember the first time I ever saw Mary (in person). We were at the competitor meeting for the first BASS event of the 2005 season and she was there with Byron. I was looking forward to meeting her, but I have to admit that I was a little incredulous that this glamourpuss would really want to hang in the bass fishing world. Since then I've gotten to know MaryDiva (as I call her) and she is the real deal. She only LOOKS like a glamourpuss. In reality (and I mean the real reality, not the "reality" you see on primetime) she can hang with the best of the bass fishing crowd and is as genuine as the day is long.

So tonight I'm watching the After the Final Rose episode of this season's Bachelor and was so pleasantly surprised to see Byron and Mary make a guest appearance. And my girl was representing. I was so proud to hear her say "I've fallen in love with the sport of fishing." In fact, both of them talked about fishing for most of thier time on air.

After they left the stage and the high drama of the show continued, I was amused when I saw another familiar face in a crowd reaction shot.

First, you gotta know that the ratio of men to women in that audience was about 1 to 10,000. And most of the women there looked gorgeous.

So who is in the audience but Ish Monroe! I have to wonder if he was there auditioning for the next cycle of the show, or to check out all the pretty girls. Nah, not Ishama...I'm sure he was just there to support Byron and Mary. (right)

Bass, money, Clunn, et al

Speaking of Bass Times, this month they ran an article called “Green concentrated at the top.” It’s all about how the top anglers in the Elite Series brought home some serious cake this year. For instance, Skeet headed west with $429,250 in his change jar and Kevin VanDam deposited $404,050 in Sherry’s account. Steady Freddie Roumbanis gathered a nest egg of $381,650 and get this – Peter T has made $735,000 in the past two years.

Now remember these numbers are Bassmaster Elite Series winnings only…no sponsor ching factored in.

There were a few eyebrow raising facts in the article as well. Like “Longest In-The-Money Streaks.” Of course, KVD leads that gang with 10 consecutive money finishes, but lurking back in the 6th position is Cliff Pace with a streak of 6. You have to watch out for those guys that tend to stay below the radar. Pace had a good year and that can position an angler for a great season next year.

But the thing about all those facts, figures and dollar signs that stayed with me for the rest of the day after I read the story was this. On the BASS All Time Money List Rick Clunn is still holding his third place spot behind KVD and Denny.

BASS ALL TIME MONEY LIST
1. Kevin VanDam   $2,604,000
2. Denny Brauer    $2,218,000
3. Rick Clunn        $1,856,000

Now think about that. Both KVD and Denny have won major events in the era of the sport of Bass fishing where purses are popping. Clunn on the other hand made most of his mark over a period of the sport when a win might get you a $28K and the Classic (which he won 4 times) paid $40,000.

Note that the Boyd Duckett took home over $500,000 in the 2007 Bassmaster Classic and his career earnings are just $30,000 short of a cool million. After one year of fishing at the Elite level!

So I think Rick’s accomplishments stand in a league of their own. I mean a "Whew! How'd He DO That?" league. Of course, most fans of the sport would agree with me. What would he have earned if the purses he won back in the day had been of the gigantic proportions they are today?

BASS Times musings

Got my BASS Times for the month. I love the day when BASS Times comes in. I’m excited to pour over it and see the stories that the gang down in Celebration have been working on.

I have a method for going through the pub. I scan through first for the big photographs. BASS Times usually comes to me at work, so I rarely ever have the time to read it right away. Still I love to flip through and see the pictures, before I put it away to read later.

When I get the time (eating a sandwich at my desk, etc) to read it I am almost always delighted to read of some regular, All-American angler out there going about his life, doing his best to provide three squares for his kids but at the same time doing something good for this sport. I love the stories about the Federation Nation and what they do for their communities and fisheries. And I also like to look through the Federation and Weekend Series results in the back of the mag….I’m just interested in how many fish people are catching in different parts of the country.

I tell you all of this because I consume most of my news media on the internet. I love the speed at which I can find an answer to a question about fishing online. I enjoy the vibrant online communities where anglers from all over the country discuss what’s going on in their neck of the woods.

Yet, I still love fishing magazines. There’s something about holding the paper in your hand and being able to bring an incredible photograph closer to your face to examine some detail. It’s just different when you’re not looking at an image filtered through electronics.

I even like to look at the ads. Let’s face it – when you see an ad on the internet your mind might register what you are seeing and then, if you’re really interested, you might click through to find more information. Which is a great and wonderful thing about the internet. But when you see an ad in a print publication that really grabs your attention you tend to study it. Again, maybe you bring the magazine closer to get a better look.

I really did that with an ad in BASS Times for the Plano Flipsider tacklet box ad that KVD in which KVD is featured. Then the magazine sat on my desk, open to that page, and I glanced over at it once in while. It made me wish I was spending that gorgeous fall day out on the water instead of sitting behingf a desk.

So I tell you all this because even though I am in internet fiend, I still think magazines and newspapers are important.

Do you? I would be really interested to hear your (honest and candid) thoughts.

Angler of the Year celebration

LATER THAT SAME NIGHT....

Kim Reese threw a party for her husband to celebrate his angler of the year win. It was a great gathering of Skeet's friends honoring him. Skeet spoke to the crowd about how much this season meant to him, and there was a lot of love in the room.

The highlight of the evening was when Bassmaster Elite Series pro Casey Ashley gave a concert for Skeet and the crowd. Casey definitely has skills. Look for him to go far...in fishing and in music.
Casey sang a Kid Rock song called "Only God Knows Why." If you've never heard this song, you should check it out. The lyrics say a lot. Especially about people who spend the majority of their time on the road. There were many wet eyes in the crowd. This blogger among them.

Skeet Reese Angler of the Year

Skeet finally did it. He clinched the Angler of the Year title today at Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Florida. I spoke to Skeet not long ago and he was ready to bring the trophy home. Today he did it.

I promised pictures of the ladies in Skeet's life. I think you can see how proud Kim is of her husband.


And the photo here says everything about how Skeet feels about his daughters.

Congratulations, Skeeter. You did it.

Steve Kennedy's Heavyweight titles

Steve Kennedy took home two BASS Heavyweight belts last night at the year end banquet for the Bassmaster Elite Series. Heavyweight belts are given to all anglers who caught over 100 lbs of fish in a tournament during the season. Steve also got a belt in the '06 season, so he holds the most titles on tour.

His wife, Julia couldn't be prouder.

Angler of the Year production

We interviewed Jared Lintner for the Angler of the Year show (which will air after this weekend's event on Toho. We also interviewed Skeet Reese and Kevin VanDam....it was interesting to say the least.

Here are three guys at very different places in their careers. KVD talked about how winning a title in no way diminishes his desire to win again. He won the AOY title in his first year on tour - 1992. Then again in 1996 and 1999. But I can tell you from firsthand experience, the guy wants to win it again. He's got quite a task in front of him to take home the trophy this year. Skeet would have to stub a major toe. I have spoken before about what a positive attitude KVD has and that attitude was in evidence today. He absolutely beleives he can win AOY. It inspires me to listen his tenacity. And it makes me want to work harder at what I do.

Skeet, on the hand, is Manwich hungry to win this title. I talked to him a week or so ago while he was still at home in Cali, and I knew his resolce was firm. After interviewing him today, I can tell you nothing has changed. He put it all on the line when he said, "This isn't about sponsors, or fans, or even my family. This is about me achieving a dream I have had since I first became aware of professional fishing. I have always wanted to win Angler of the Year."

Then there's Jared Lintner, who sits in third going into this event. It's his second year on the Elite Series and he's a California boy who has never set foot on a Florida lake. In fact, he's never seen most of the lakes on the Elite Series. Yet here he sits. The former milkman. Humble, a little uncomfortable with where he's at, a lot nervous about doing a television interview....but confident that his versatity as an angler has been proven.

It's going to be a great event.