After a successful day of filming with the TLC and American Chopper gang yesterday, our budding bass star, Big Fred Contaoi had a tough time keeping the bass hooked on Thursday’s opening round of the FLW Wal-Mart Tour’s stop at Tennessee’s Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes.
“I caught a ton of fish today but they were all dinks,” said Fred. “I had some good ones on but I just couldn’t keep ‘em hooked for some reason. It was a rough day…”
Currently in 188th place, Big Boy has a lot of ground to make up and will have to post a pretty good sack to make the cut on Friday, but we’ve got faith in him.
We wish him the best and we’ll keep you posted on his progress.
The fishing world lost a legend and a friend on Tuesday, when Willie Illingworth, 64, founder of Willie Boats passed on. He touched the lives of countless people and will be sorely missed.
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In case you’ve been wondering what our man, Big Fred Contaoi’s been up to lately…take a look at the photo. He’s been prepping diligently for the second stop on the FLW Tour at Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes on the eastern Tennessee River, which starts Thursday. First place is worth $125,000!
Big Boy’s been working hard for a couple weeks now, trying to figure out some of the local patterns and he says he’s feeling pretty confident about the upcoming tourney.
Today, he starts filming with the TLC film crew as Paulie Jr. from Orange County Choppers is also in town to fish in the event.
Stay tuned…this should be an interesting week!
Finally…something that can out-run a bass boat.
I’ve always lived by the mantra that goes something like: If you have to chop a hole in a lake to go fishing, it’s too cold to, well, go fishing. However, after seeing this ice “shack,” my tune may change a wee bit…check out the interior photos on the next page, this place is amazing (and perhaps suggests that people who live in cold climates may have a little too much time on their hands). You be the judge.
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Redfish (red drum) are an extremely popular gamefish along the Gulf Coast but most folks are unaware that these awesome battlers can also be found in many freshwater lakes across the southern U.S.
Freshwater reds? Yep…and they are extremely cool! How can you beat a fish that can reach 40 pounds, fights like a crazed devil dog and tastes incredible?
So, how the heck does a saltwater fish survive in freshwater? Well, that’s a good question and I won’t totally bore you with the details. In short, reds are tough bastards and can be raised in salt and then, after being slowly acclimated to freshwater, live happily in a lake (though they cannot reproduce in freshwater).
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Alaska’s Nushagak River plays host the the world’s largest king salmon run and it’s not uncommon to hook 30, 40 or even 50+ kings a day up there. The fish are incredibly prolific but they don’t get as big as they do in places like the Kenai. On the ‘Nush, a 40 pounder is a trophy…that’s why this 51 pounder, caught by a client of guide Mike Perusse (pictured) is such a big story.
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Okay, this one comes from the “Gotta have it — impulse buy” category. I saw one of these in the store the other day…Lucky Craft’s new California Preimum Swimbait, and though I don’t have an immediate use for it, just seemed like I needed one. In fact, I haven’t even put it in the water yet…
Our bass dude, Big Fred Contaoi, however, has fished it and says that it makes a great clear water “finesse” bait.
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