Cancun and Spring State

Someone reminded me that I hadn't been blogging lately.....and they missed me.  I agreed so felt compelled to jump in with both feet and catch everyone up just a little.

Had a great early part of the Spring because of the weather.  Warm, fishing was awesome. Then April showed up and we were back to a somewhat normal weather pattern.  All that means in Iowa is:  Unpredictable!  One day it would be below normal, the next it was above.  Rainy, dry, cool, warm, and above all else.....WINDY!  I was pretty sure we were all going to blow away a few of those days.  Much of my time was consumed with finishing my final college classes....(yes, I'm finally done)...and that feels great!

Some of my other time was spent working on the yard, tilled the garden, working on rental properties and being very busy at work.  Kim is back on her weekly travel schedule, so, she's gone four days a week.  I miss her.  Fishing helps though.

We had a trip to Cancun planned for lateApril/early May for Tyler and Ashley Hamerlinck's wedding.  Of course, Tyler had a little fishing trip planned for the boys while down there.  The goal was Marlin, what we ended up catching was Barracuda, Bonita and Red Snapper.  Always a good time fishing with Tyler, really enjoyed it.  The wedding was awesome as well and Ashley was an absolutely beautiful bride.

Kim and I accomplished exactly what we set out to do in Cancun, and that was relax!

Relaxing allowed me to begin thinking about what was coming next:  The Iowa Bass Federation Spring Tournament.  I was already thinking about spending time with the guys, Brad Rockwood in particular.  Brad and I go way back....wish we would have spent more time together as kids!  We got home late Tuesday night and I spent Wednesday morning getting packed up and ready to roll.  Left Wednesday afternoon and arrived at the river late Wednesday afternoon.  Went right to where we were staying and settled in. Got a phone call from our club president asking if I still wanted to be a boater instead of a non-boater.  The answer was obviously yes!

Thursday morning, met Brent Roloff in Marquette and we waited out a thunderstorm and then hit the water in pool 10.  Fishing was............different.  It was not the normal spring bite I expected.  Part of the problem was the river was really low.  I hadn't seen it that low since the mid-90's.  I managed to catch 5 keepers from the back of Buzzy's boat, but one of them was a little questionable.  But I didn't have any of my questions answered.

Friday, I went out alone on pool 9, starting way up North. Apparently, that is where all the Northern were living, because that is really all I caught early.  Had a couple really nice ones though.  As I moved south through the pool, I began catching a few more bass, but nothing with too much size.  Couple nice ones, but wasn't cooking with fire just yet.  By the time I got off the water on Friday, I was probably more confused than I have felt in a long time.  The Spring tournament was going to start in the morning and I was in the front of my boat making the decisions for the first time and wasn't sure what I was going to do!  Got off the water a little after lunch, went and got cleaned up, then drove down to Prairie to check in, wait for the meeting, and think some more.

The meeting went quick, got a very good draw, boat #4, and got a good partner in Mark Sexton from Spirit Lake, Iowa.  Mark works for Berkley and I have fished against him for years.  Our little meeting was short and sweet, we are going North and locking through to pool 9.  We talked about a couple spots and settled on one.  Once that was over, I headed for the trailer and tied and re-tied, getting ready for my second state tournament and first as a boater.  To say I was anxious, well, that wouldn't come close to describing what I was feeling.  I had also decided how I was going to fish the spot we had chosen and it was a method I had NEVER used.  I mentally committed to it and there was no turning back. Time for bed, Saturday morning was coming early!

Saturday morning started off pretty well, arrived at the lock, got through, and made it to the spot we agreed to fish and hit it hard.  I looked at Mark and said, "I'm about to do something stupid", and I did.  I started throwing exactly what I decided I would throw the night before and had never thrown before.  It worked.  All day.  Felt great to catch fish after fish after fish.  Had my limit in the first 40 minutes or so and worked hard all day to improve on that catch.  I did, but only a tenth of an ounce at a time.  My culling beam got a work out.  My partner, however, was struggling.  I like Mark, and I remember how Steve Huegerich treated me when I was struggling last year on day two.  He did what he could to help me catch fish.  It was my turn to do the same.  I told Mark to hook up and start grabbing the baits I was throwing and see what happened.  He did.  We worked hard but could only get him two in that same area we had fished all morning.  We took off and fished one other spot in pool 9, where Mark got one more.  It was time to head south. We made it into the lock right in front of a North bound barge and locked back South.  I had another spot in pool 10 that I thought we could possibly get a couple out of.  It worked, they weren't huge, but Mark got his fourth and fifth fish and it was time to weigh in.  I thought I had 11 and a half, turned out it was only 11.02lbs.  I was happy to have my five fish and was ok with the weight.  Something to work on improving on Sunday.

Another short meeting, met another new partner for Sunday, had a short conversation with him (Darrin Corley).....and off to tie and re-tie.  Spoke briefly with Brad, he asked what I was going to do....I said if I have learned anything, the one thing was never leave fish.  I was going right back to where I had caught my limit the day before.  He agreed. 

Woke up at 2:30am Sunday morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  Way too excited.  Rolled down to Prairie, found my partner, got launched, helped Buzzy get in the water, went to the blast off area and it was another quick drive to the lock (last boat in on Sunday) and back to the same spot.  I was not immediately catching fish on Sunday, Darrin was the one catching fish right away.  He put two in the boat and then it was my turn.  Same bait, same rig, four straight keepers in the live-well.  Darrin caught another, then I caught three more and began culling.  I had made the decision early that we weren't leaving that spot on Sunday, regardless of what was happening.  It worked.  I caught mine, Darrin actually caught a bigger bag.  Weighed in 11.43 on Sunday, which put me in the top third at 41st, 2lbs out of the top ten.

Congratulations to a member of our club, the Cedar Valley Bass Masters, Greg Seitz, who was the Spring Tournament winner.  The club had 6 members in the top 50, which was as good a showing as any other club.   First Club tournament this coming weekend.......feel pretty good about the plan I already have in my mind.  Guess we'll see.

On the Board

     There comes a time, every year, when the desire to fish wins out over everything else.  The last week or so has been that way for me.  A week ago today is when it started for me.  I went down to a local park and caught a couple little walleye and a small sauger.  They all went back in to fight another day, just like the bass I catch.  Later that day, I went looking for Mr. Small Mouth and Mr. Large Mouth, but was unable to get either.

The next day, I went to a different spot on the Cedar River, and got skunked again looking for the suddenly elusive Smallmouth bass.  My luck got better early yesterday morning when on the second cast, I hooked a nice little keeper smallie.

That was it though.  Threw for them for a couple hours, and nothing.  All that smallmouth did was get the competitive juices flowing even harder, so, I devised a plan.

I knew of a small pond that I've been meaning to fish for some time.  To get in there, I was going to need permission.  I left the river on a mission to get permission and that's exactly what I did.  I was excited to finally have the opportunity, but it wouldn't come until later on Sunday afternoon because of prior committments we had on Sunday.

As Sunday wore on, I was getting more and more excited about what "might" happen later that day. I was fairly confident that I'd have the opportunity to put some fish on the end of my line, but what was I going to use?  I asked my wife, who knew I was getting antsy, "what should I use to catch the monster bass I'm going to catch later"?  Her answer was one word....Chartreuse!  I looked at her and said, Okay, sounds good!  Right then, I knew I was throwing a spinnerbait today.  I also knew that with 30mph winds, gusting higher, that I would need to be strategically located in order to take full advantage of it.  The time came and I was off and running. 

I arrived at the semi-private pond and headed for the near corner.  After a few casts, had a pretty little large mouth grab the spinnerbait and game was on! Among bass fisherman, this next picture is the sign of a good day on the water.  When your thumb is all tore up from taking fish off the end of your line, its a very satisfying feeling.

The following are the pictures of the the bigger fish that I started catching shortly after I started fishing this afternoon.  It was, without a doubt, the best afternoon of fishing I've ever had, and it all came from fishing off the bank! Hard to imagine what it might have been like pitching plastics from a boat!

I know most of you have heard of "cookie cutter" fish, meaning, that every fish is identical, but what you are about to see is borders on ridiculous:

Fish#1, I knew I was going to need my scale!  Conservatively estimating the weight of this fish over 5 lbs.                                                      

Fish#2 - a little smaller, but not a lot.  Pushed 5 lbs pretty hard.

Fish#3, Which, by the way, is likely the biggest largemouth I've ever caught and I've caught a LOT of largemouth.  This fish was an estimated 23+ inches.  My best guess, again on the conservative side, would be a light 7 lbs. This fish almost never got caught, one more jump and she would have been free.  I picked her up and the spinnerbait fell out of her lip! 

Fish #4 - again, this fish is over 5 lbs.  This, literally, had me wondering what the heck was happening!  The bass gods had aligned every bass planet perfectly.  Maybe the Mayans are right and the bass were being kind because they know this is the last year I'll be able to fish for them!

And then fish #5 decided it was her turn to eat! She was a spunky little 2.5 lb fish that rounded out the first 5 keepers, but we weren't quite done........

Fish #6, keeping in mind that these are only the "keeper" fish I was catching, was again well over 5 lbs!

I actually lost track of how many total fish I caught out of this pond today, but it was somewhere close to 50 fish and I only made one trip around it and didn't fish the north side too hard because of the wind. The first five fish would have made for a really solid tournament bag.  Throw in the kicker fish at the end, and my six keeper fish would have been over 30lbs!  Seriously stupid. 

I wasn't done.  I ran to another spot I had been wanting to fish.  When I got there, I discovered that the water level was really very low.  I know this is a problem in many locations, but the "Lake" was nearly empty.  I made a few throws, walked around a bit, and gave up.  One more place to try before the sun went down.

The last thing I did was go down to the Cedar River across from my house.  I wanted a smallie to cap the day.  I parked just off the hwy and climbed down the West bank under the bridge.  I had never fished here before, even though it is just a 1/4 mile from my driveway.  I tied on a jig and made a couple casts and BAM!  My line got smoked hard!  I fought the fish for about 10 seconds before it turned and broke my line.  I stood there dumbfounded. I thought, "well, that sucked, now what?" I decided to go back after the smallmouth with the spinnerbait that I had been using earlier.  Made a cast to the back side of the bridge piling......nothing.  Made a cast to the front side of the bridge piling...........FISH ON!  Here is the last fish I caught today, a chunky little small mouth that would have been my seventh keeper of the day!  As you can see, the chartreuse and white spinner bait is still in the smallies lip, just for proof.  It has a little something else that you might be able to distinguish, but not going to tell you what that is.  You can probably figure it out!  Can't wait for my next fishing adventure.  Probably won't be as exciting as the one I had today, but it will have it's own memories, I'm sure.

Remember to always get permission to fish the waters you would like to fish that are on private or semi-private land.  Whether its a small farm pond, a quarry or access to a larger lake that requires you to trek through private property, ASK.  

Fishing Obsession!

I've often wondered at what point something you like to do becomes an obsession. I think I've figured it out.

Does it start when you realize you don't have a rod for flipping, and HAVE to have one? Or maybe when you buy a brand new boat?  Or how about when you buy all new storage boxes for your baits, many of which you rarely use, and put permanent labels on them so you know what they are for? Regardless, when the thing you like to do becomes the first thought on your mind at some point of every day, it has officially become an obsession. Period. Fishing has done this to me. And lets clarify it a little more....Bass Fishing.  Tournament Fishing.  Winning tournaments, which isn't something I can say I've done a lot of, but I've had a taste.  And let me tell you this, it gets in your blood!

Of course, it helps to understand why.  I don't, but I know this;  I'm highly competitive.  Even during tournaments, we would have competition between partners on who landed the biggest fish, who caught the most fish, who caught the first fish, who caught the majority of the fish we took to the scale.  It doesn't stop there.  Who caught the first Smallmouth?  Who caught the first Largemouth?  When you spend 8-10 hours a day, in a boat, on the water, with the same guy, you need to figure something out that keeps the competitive drive flowing. 

Then there are the bets against other teams.  We really only have one and we just call it or "Sammich" bet, or, lunch.  $10 bucks per guy on who does better.  A tournament within the tournament if you will. I have to admit, we lose more often than we win, but it's still fun!

There is the trash talk that takes place as well.  It isn't meant to hurt anyones feelings or anything, just get under their skin a little.  Anything to gain the competitive advantage.  Most times, keeping your mouth shut is the best idea!

I have a lot of friends who fish.  Saw a Facebook post the other day from one of them who hasn't fished competitively for two years, all related to work.  I applauded his decision at the time with a bit of a golf clap.  He wasn't wrong to stop.  I applaud him now for jumping back in with both feet with a fist pump, a high five, a very long whistle!  Good for you Scotty Grapp, and good luck buddy!  It may only be one tournament, but I can tell you are excited.  I have another friend, who refuses to sponsor me even though I'm pretty much throwing his hand poured, made with all the fishing love in the world, baits.  He's getting excited too, I can tell.  Itching to get back into the competition that many of us haven't seen since, well, probably last October, or longer.

Speaking of sponsorships, I've tried a couple times to get local companies to sponsor my obsession.  No luck.  Not good enough yet?  I don't know.  I know that I'm better now than I was five years ago and I'll be better in five years than I am today. Not even going to look this year, but St. Croix, MinnKota, Nitro, Daiwa, Yum, Hot Rod, Strike King, Rebel and and other local companies that want opportunities to advertise their products on my boat or tow vehicle should sit up and take notice. That's all I'm going to say about it, but, the opportunity is there for anyone that might want to take advantage of it.

What was an enjoyable pass time for me has become, without question, an obsession.  A quest for the next big fish, the first fish, the last fish, the next tournament win, club angler of the year, club co-angler of the year, state tournament team member, and whatever is beyond.  My boat is organized, my thoughts are clear, I'm getting my body into the kind of shape it will take to withstand the rigors of an aggressive schedule, and I'm ready to get this thing started all over again.

Man, there aren't a lot of things better than a day or two on the water!

Every Day is Love

Valentine's Day comes once a year.  It's a day of love, expressions of love and a lot of "I love you" statements that seem innately appropriate.

Most Valentine's Day, I don't have the opportunity to send my significant other flowers, chocolates or a card, simply because she isn't available. Like many working people today, she is a traveler.  Her job is in the land of make believe, far, far away (Los Angeles).  Of course, I realize that I could send my token sentiments of love to her office there, but that isn't anything we've ever really done. Heck, I don't even know the address!  This year, she happened to be on an airplane, or in an airport, most of the day, so it really wouldn't have done much good.

I used to feel bad about not doing something for her.  And while I still feel a little pang of guilt, it quickly passes because I know our love is something much bigger and better than a boquet of flowers.

At some point, and I can't tell you exactly when this happened, my wife became more important to me than, well, anything else in my life.  I love my kids, and I'd defintely do anything to protect them, but it isn't the same feeling I have towards Kim.  She's my everything, my true love, my eternal light, my lover, my partner and my best friend.

We both have other interests.  I fish, she lets me.  I love football, a lot.  Have been an Iowa season ticket holder for a very long time (23 years).  She puts up with everything associated with it. She likes to be very social, entertain, visit our new grand-daughter and would like to travel more.  We do a lot of things that mean we aren't always together, and I guess that's the point I'm making.

We are both secure enough in our relationship to understand that we don't always have to be together to know each of us loves the other more and more each passing year. We don't need to worry about what the other is doing, who they are with or where they are going.  Jealousy doesn't exist in our relationship and either does drama. It took us a lot of rocky roads and a long time to get to this point, but it sure was worth it. If I had one wish for everyone, it is simply this: 

I hope all of you can find the same type of love in your relationships that Punky and I have.  It's pretty special and the feeling is, well, better than landing a 5 lb bass or a game winning touchdown.  Besides, if you don't have someone to share those experiences with, what good are they?

Changed my URL - Sears Still Sucks

I've decided I kind of like writing this blog, so realize that the URL searsstillsucks probably isn't an appropriate website.   Not that they have gotten any better in my mind, and I may remind all of you on occasion, BUT, I've changed the URL to my name.....

So, mikezierath@blogspot.com is alive and well.  We are going to keep tinkering with this Blog and will have additional updates as I think of blog worthy material.

The Value of Education

Does that little piece of paper really mean anything? That is something that has been asked by many, many people over the years and this is just my opinion......

I'm sure, that over a person's normal life time, if you get a college education in the traditional sense right out of high school, it likely will pay for itself.  The individual still has to utilize the skills and knowledge they have obtained in the choosen field of study and aggressively pursue opportunities with greater responsibility.  Pretty simple concept.

But, what about those of us who receive our degrees later in life? 

Take me for example.  I'll be 49 when I graduate from college.  That is about 27 years later than many, 26 if you factor in a 5th year.  I worked at one job nearly that long before making a switch almost two years ago.  The money I've spent in order to obtain this degree has been on the level of, well.....let's just suffice to say that college is expensive, no matter when you go. So, am I going to suddenly start earning more money because I have a diploma to hang on the wall?  Probably not.  I'm going to have to follow my own advice and try and make it pay off well before my current employer can make it worth the effort it took to get it.  Will that happen overnight?  No, probably not.  I like my job.  I like the area we live in.  I like my house.  So why bother at all?

I've asked myself that many times the last few years. It became personal at some point.  I've had a very supporting wife and family who have encouraged me along the way.  I'm anxious to frame the diploma and put it right next to my wife's undergrad and masters diplomas. I want the sense of accomplishment that comes with it and I want to be able to answer that damn question about education with "college graduate" instead of "some college".  You all know the one.  (Like it matters).

Will I ever get the money back that I've invested?  I hope so.  It isn't every day that you have a nearly 50 year old college graduate, but I can tell you this.....its more common now than many of you think. Had a guy been able to purchase stock in the field of education 25 years ago, that money would be worth a lot more today.  Since you  can't, the value is an investment in self. That alone has to be worth something.  What you do with it isn't necessarily where all the value lies.......

There are a lot of factors in life that make a person more marketable.  A college education is only one of them and my personal feelings are that the education portion is over-rated and over priced.  I will be no better or different when I finish in April than I was when I started.  Having lived life and experienced some of the things life offers.......I can tell you without reservation that college has been  much easier the second time around because of the those experiences.  My feelings are those things are more valuable than showing a future employer that I had the fortitude and perseverance to finish college. Maybe that's too simplistic. It just seems, now having done it, to be seriously over-rated. And don't get me wrong, I certainly see the other side, obviously, and could argue the finer points of having an education and what it does for you.  I'll save that for conversations with my grand-daughter. Hopefully, she travels the more traditional route in obtaining her higher education and takes a little friendly advice from grandpa in that regard.

I will tell her that education opens doors that otherwise might not open.  That alone might be the greatest value of all.  Is it right? Nope. But it is what it is. So educate yourself.  Answer that question with "College Graduate".  I am.

WASABI.......

WAAAAASSSSSSAAAAABBBBIIIII!  Remember those commercials?  Never understood them until I started eating Sushi. That's when I discovered wasabi.   Man, I love that burn!  I can't wait to spread a bit of wasabi on a roll or piece of sushi and start chewing.  My eyes get big, my head gets hot, my sinus' clear......super good feeling.  Love the taste too! My wife is entertained by it every single time I do it.

I like most hot foods, but at 48 years of age, there are some (NOT VERY MANY) that I just can't eat anymore.  Call it, well, educated if you will.  I've gotten smarter over time.

So, wasabi......I walked into work this morning and one of the guys that always brings in home-made meats, jerky, sticks, etc.....walks up and tells me he brought some deer sticks in.  He had my immediate attention.  "Are they hot?" He says no, but, I brought some Wasabi paste to put on them.  Now he really has my attention.  I don't even make it to my desk to take my jacket off, I just head down to his work area cause I gotta try this stuff.  One of the guys that works for me was tagging along saying how good that wasabi was and how good the sticks were.

We get there, and the guy that brought it in tells me the wasabi is the real deal....straight from China!  One of our sales guys brought it back for him on his last visit.  I'm like, "cool", and proceed to grab a deer stick and the tube of wasabi.  He again tells me that it's the real stuff..........and I'm thinking, "Ok, wasabi is wasabi, right?" Not even close.

I squeeze some out of the tube, probably as wide as a pencil and maybe an inch long. The guy that works for me says, "Have fun with that hot stick", and starts walking away.  The guy that brought them in is looking at me a little wide eyed, yet, I'm totally oblivious to what is about to take place!

I take a bite.

I get two chews into this and my whole world turns up-side-down! I can no longer breath.  Literally!  Can't catch a breath at all.  My mouth is on fire....not like a burning sensation, but just the same, on fire!  I don't know what to do......every time I try and breath, I'm sucking this wasabi stuff directly into my lungs!  It begins to rain........from my eyeballs!  The snot, that wasn't in my head prior to taking that bite, begins to run from my nose!  I'm choking and no one is trying to help!  I realize I have to get that stuff out of my mouth, so I do what any normal person would do.......I spit it out! 

I'm thinking that this should solve the problem, right?  WRONG!  The choking feeling gets worse! I never felt like I would vomit, but I never realized how much saliva the human body could generate!  I bent over and just started spitting it on the floor.  At some point, I wondered how long this was going to last.  All day? 

Just as quickly as it started, it ended........ok, almost. I finally caught some air, was able to stand up and realized that everyone had left the area!  Bastards.  I'm sure it was like watching someone fall down.....as funny as it is, you always ask them if they are okay before you start laughing at them.  My two co-workers had laughed their way to the other end of the shop.  They couldn't breathe either, but for an entirely different reason.  Apparently, they thought I was fairly entertaining as well!

As I'm standing there looking at them, through blurry, tear clouded eyes, I realize I have to prove a point.  So I grab another deer stick and that tube of wasabi and I go about it a little different this time, knowing "a little dab will do ya."  I walk back down to where they are, share a little laugh with them over the whole thing, then show them that I can handle the wasabi and take a bite. 

Much better.  No gagging, no choking, no tears, no runny nose, no spitting, can still breathe and I get the full bodied taste of the deer stick with the wasabi spread.  Much, much better the second time around.  

Of course, everyone in the entire office and production area knows that I tried to commit wasabi suicide this morning and are getting a bit of a laugh at my expense, but that's okay.  Anything I can do to make their days better!