It’s tougher than it was the last time we were here. Needless to say, I didn’t do that well the last time so it’s kind of frustrating. The water’s up quite a bit and you’d think there’d be quite a lot of fish up shallow with it. It just doesn’t appear to be that way. I would guess (most of the fish have spawned), but I feel like if most of the fish have spawned, there’d be more fry around or fish guarding fry. I’m really just scratching my head at this point.

I’m going to go to a different area (tomorrow). I’m still trying to find an area that I can feel halfway comfortable with. Hopefully, I can find a creek or something that had a decent amount of fish in it, I could just settle down and go fishing.

A 3-pounder is like gold here, or at least it was (in 2011) and I at least had some bites the last time we were here. It just seems like it’s a lot tougher now. The weather was actually beautiful. I thought we were going to be in for a nasty day from the rain we had Sunday, but it was actually pretty nice.

I saw (water temperatures) in the low 60s up in the rivers so I think it’s all relative to where you’re at on the lake. That’s how it was last time we were here. We couldn’t have picked a worse time to be here because it’s in that transition period. The water’s come up about 2 feet in the last few days. Had we been here 2 or 3 weeks ago, the fish were probably more in that spawning stage and now we’re at the tail end of it. It should be an interesting one.

All proceed’s from Randy Howell’s jersey in the colors of the St. Louis Rams will go to the King’s Home, in Alabama. Howell stated, “Timmy Horton came up with the idea for many of us to wear green jersey’s at Falcon lake for the Sandy Hook Elementary school and that was a great idea. We thought it would be nice to extend that to other fantastic charities and have some fun with local team colors, as well. All the proceeds from this one of a kind, tournament worn jersey will go to the great people of King’s Home.”

Brent Chapman, who’s jersey is in the colors of the Kansas State Wildcats, will also add a Facebook poll that will allow his fans to pick the charity the will receive the proceeds. Chapman explained, “There are so many charities out there doing great things for people, and they all need financial assistance. If we can help one of them even a little bit, its worth it. I hope the Kansas based fans of mine get on eBay and bid this jersey up for a great cause. The best part is, they can also pick the charity it will help on my Facebook page.

Aaron Martens will be wearing the colors of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Like Chapman will be holding a Facebook poll to choose the charity that will receive the money raised from the eBay auction. Martens stated, “Lesley and I try to help as many charities as possible each year. We know every dollar matters to these charities and if wearing a local team color on the first day of the event can help, we are all for it.”

All three anglers wanted to extend a thank you to Valley Fashions, for getting their shirts altered and ready for this fundraiser. Valley Fashions is the custom sublimated shirt company that makes all three anglers official tournament jerseys.

You can visit the following Facebook pages for links to the eBay auction starting on Thursday, April 18th at about noon. That’s when the voting for the charities will also begin.

Aaron Martens – https://www.facebook.com/AMartFishing

Randy Howell – https://www.facebook.com/RandyHowellFishing

Brent Chapman – https://www.facebook.com/BrentChapmanFishing

For Aaron ——

Aaron’s Charities

Tackle The Storm

The Neuropathy Association

American Red Cross – Eastern Massachusetts Chapter

Brent’s Charities

TBA

Her father, who happens to be 2012 Bassmaster Angler of the Year, had the answer that would make the most sense to a youngster who has lived a fishing family’s life from day one. “It’s the Bassmaster Classic of football.”

“It made perfect sense to her,” Chapman said. “People call the Classic the Super Bowl of bass fishing, but we are an outdoors family.”

Chapman, of Lake Quivira, Kan., is approaching the 2013 Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa and Grand Lake as a potential exclamation point on a stellar 2012 season. The man was on a roll in 2012, will it continue into 2013? “I see it, the Classic, as kind of a finale, a pinnacle for 2012, as good as it was, I could hopefully end on the best note of all,” he said.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20130217_25_BC19_CUTLIN122327

Reigning B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year Brent Chapman has moved to the top of the BassFan World Rankings for the first time in his career. Both Chapman and former No. 1 Bryan Thrift have moved past previous leader David Dudley in the first new edition of 2013, which follows last week’s FLW Tour opener at Lake Okeechobee.

“That’s really exciting,” Chapman said when informed of his ascension. “What a cool way to start the season for me. Other than (Kevin) VanDam, the guys who’ve gotten there have found it hard to stay for very long, so a good goal for me will be to try to stay there the whole year.”

For the full list, click here.

What was the inspiration behind the new look? A new stronger partnership with Lazer TroKar, makers of the sharpest fishing hooks ever made. Chapman explains, “After last season, the great people at Lazer Trokar and Wright & McGill Co. were excited about making our relationship stronger. I agreed because I know their products had a big part of my success on the water last year. For me to have a season like that, all of my equipment had to work flawlessly and that starts with the Lazer Trokar hooks and the Wright & McGill Co. rods and reels. Any failure, on even a single fish, could have been the difference between Angler of the Year, runner up or worse.”

Chapman will be debuting his new boat wrap in late February at the 2013 Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “I loved my green and purple wrap, and TightLines UV is still a major sponsor, but I am excited about the new look for 2013. I can’t wait to pull this wrap through the BOK center in a few weeks,” Chapman stated.

Lazer Trokar Marketing Director Chris Russell is proud to take on a more instrumental role in supporting Chapman’s career. “Brent has been part of TroKar since the beginning in 2009, and he has been an important part of the design and development of the hooks styles and shapes.Watching Brent excel last season and the confidence he has going into this season, we just can’t wait for Tulsa. After last year, we knew that Brent would have lots of opportunities from many companies and we wanted to solidify our partnership. Brent’s a valuable asset to the Lazer Trokar and Wright & McGill Co. and even more importantly he’s part of our family. As proud as we are of his 2012 season, we know he’s still just getting started, and we are looking forward to being a part of it.”

Lazer Trokar is the manufacturer of the world’s only surgically sharpened fishing hooks. They are the strongest, sharpest, baddest hooks ever made. In addition to making hooks for every bass fishing application, Lazer Trokar has recently started their production of saltwater hooks. Russell explains, “We make a unique hook, we believe a better hook. The consumers are taking notice and the feedback has been tremendously positive over the first few years. What we like most is that even the professional anglers we don’t sponsor are using our hooks. That’s when you know you are doing something right.”

For more information on Lazer Trokar hooks, please visit LazerTrokar.com

For more information on Wright & McGill Co. rods and reels, please visit Wright-McGill.com.