All posts by hellabass

Lowrance to Add Side-Viewing Sonar Option for HDS Models in 2009

February 25, 2009 hellabass

A sample image of an underwater channel as seen through Lowrance side-viewing sonar technology to be released in 2009.

Proving, once again, that HDS (High Definition System) is the most versatile and expandable consumer marine electronics choice, Lowrance announces an exciting new sonar technology for release later this year.
   In 2009, Lowrance will introduce a side-viewing sonar option, with wide-angle coverage to the sides of the boat and the best underwater field of vision ever achieved — an exclusive option for all HDS users.
   Presenting a new dimension in bottom and structure viewing, Lowrance side-viewing technology, Structure Scan, delivers the same legendary total sonar performance that anglers have come to expect from Lowrance. Plus, it can be displayed in tandem with existing high-definition 2D sonar images — powered by the built-in HDS Broadband Sounder.
   As a simple, cost-efficient add-on accessory module, the new sonar technology is easily networked using Lowrance ethernet connections – allowing anglers to enjoy this Lowrance sonar advantage on all HDS displays mounted on their boat. The side-viewing sonar technology can be added at any time after the HDS display is installed on a boat, and it will work with all HDS displays, including GPS chartplotter-only models.

Designed by the leader in recreational fishfinder innovations, the new Lowrance side-viewing sonar option for HDS is great news for serious and pro anglers, as well as those involved in underwater search and recovery, marine archeology and marine ecology sciences.

Further details on Lowrance side-viewing sonar technology will be released later this year. At this time, no additional information is available. For more information on Lowrance’s revolutionary HDS multi-function display systems, please contact Lowrance Sales Service at 1-800-324-0044.

This is truly some exciting news for dedicated Lowrance users not wanting to switch to Hummingbird just to get Side Imaging technology. Hopefully it is as good or better then what is out there. Sounds like you will be able to just add this feature on to any HD unit you have bought or will buy in the near future.

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

BASS Tour

2009 Bassmaster Classic First Glance

February 22, 2009 hellabass

I am going First Glance, because in a day or so, all the footage will be out, photos, articles on baits and presentation, the real nuts & bolts of how the anglers caught their fish. Right now we are going off the cuff, a little anyways.

Congrats to Skeet Reese, this with his AOY title validates his career if he never boats another bass in a tournament, not likely! I think several guys were on fish to win this event, but it seems that Skeet just made the right decisions and for the most part must have fished pretty clean and landed his bites. The early reports are he used two main baits, the new Crazy Legs Chigger craw and the Lucky Craft Redemption Spinnerbait. These baits seem very fitting, since a chigger craw was Skeet’s demise when Boyd Duckett used it to knock him to second on Lay Lake and Skeet designed the Redemption Spinnerbait for Lucky Craft and that is exactly what he got, REDEMPTION!!! It will also be interesting if other anglers start sporting Skeet’s new hair style…. Maybe since he could spend less time on his hair and more time preparing tackle or sleeping and that is what fueled his win…….

Iaconelli is a great angler, but I think our ear drums will appreciate him not winning As I review the final standings, the most interesting thing I noticed is that not a single angler was able to break 20lbs on more then one day. The weighs were really kind of up and down for all the anglers, I think that is just the nature of the Red RIver to some degree. I believe the guys weights who varied less were the ones that made the better adjustments in either area or presentation or both. COngrats to Federation Nation champ Brian Schmidt for his 6th place finish, awesome job!!!

Couple interesting things, Kelly Jordan left his primary area early today with a few small fish, later in the day Alton Jones slipped in and caught 20lbs, so if KJ would have stuck it out or came back earlier, it could have been a different story. Also Jami Fralick was sharing an area with Snowden, the first two days, Fralick caught the big bag, today Snowden had the big bag and would have won it for Fralick, tough to say what would have happened if they didn’t have to share.

Seemed like pad stems and wood were big keys. Soft plastics, Spinnerbaits, jigs and a few crankbait fish. Like Kenyon Hill said, it is very much Meat & Potato fishing.

Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com
I think my Fantasy team took a nose dive as all 3 of my remaining anglers fell in the standings. Better luck in 2 weeks at Amistad.

RichLindgren.com
Bass Fishing Today
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

BASS Tour

Skeet Wins Bassmaster Classic!

February 22, 2009 hellabass

Congratulations to Skeet Reese!!
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Man some big bags of fish were weighed in again today, I hope they give some better coverage to those 20lb plus bags tonight on TV. There were 5 monster bags outside of the Super Six. A couple of 6 & 7 pound fish weighed. Man I wish I had the ESPN360.com

More to come later!!!

BASS Tour

Reflection on Day 2 of 2009 Bassmaster Classic

February 22, 2009 hellabass

Moving day at the Classic lived up to the billing. Some guys stumbled like Boyd Duckett, but a bunch of the anglers really stepped on the gas on Day 2. On day 1, Boyd had the loan 20lb bag, on Saturday there was a 20lb bag and three 22lb bags. For the most part, you needed to catch them better today then on Friday just to keep pace. Even though the air & water temps cooled, the cloud cover made the bass easier to harvest for most of the anglers.

I am very impressed with Jami Fralick’s consistency, looks like he has found a stellar area and has also been managing his fish. I some what expected to see him fade away much like Charlie Hartley did last year, but now I believe he will be right there at the end with a few other anglers. Other anglers like Kelly Jordan have eluded to catching their bags early and the going to new water, so we will see what pros have managed their fish well on Day 3. The bite sounds to be tougher on Sunday, but guys that have left their fish early each day, may be able to really milk those areas on Sunday to push for the win. We have the top 7 guys all hunting for their first classic and three former classic champs right behind them. I would say that there is a 80-90% likelihood that we will have a first time champ this afternoon.
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Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com
The Federation Nation anglers are for the most part not in contention to win after today, but 3 of them made the cut, which is very respectable. There is a possibility for someone to make a big charge, because I get the feeling that the Red can very cruel, so a couple guys could stumble on top and someone could catch an 8lb bass and make a big threat. Alton Jones did tell a story about breaking off a 10lb bed fish twice at the end of the day. But I believe for all practical purposed, the Top 10 guys are ones with legitimate shots at taking home the $500k. Boyd & Ike are tied for 9th and sit just under 5lbs out of the lead.

Reports say most guys caught them on reaction baits yesterday, Skeet = Spinnerbait, Jordan = Magic Shad, Fralick = Swimming Jig, Davis = Crankbait, will those presentations work today with high skies or will they need to adjust? Will guys like Martens or Wolak who were finesse fishing soft plastics be able to keep their bite going better. One thought is that Kelly Jordan is fishing closest to the launch, so maybe he can get an early bite better with his reaction baits while his competitors are still running.

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Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com
My Fantasy Fishing team rebounded a bit on day 2, while I only got 3 guys fishing on day 3, all of my guys increased their weights and moved up in the standings. Right now my score is 1171, which bumps me to 11th out of 34 in my group, 9643 overall, 68.6 percentile. I still think my guy KJ will come through and anchor my Fantasy Fishing team to a solid finish!

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Below is the unnoficial leaderboard at the end of the day, again you can see the large variance & for the most part, the top part of the field were all a bunch of sandbaggers today when it comes to the BassTrakk.

Today

Overall

Rank	Angler	Weight	# of fish	Rank	Weight
1	Skeet Reese	21-00	5	1	36-08
2	Kelly Jordon	19-10	5	2	35-04
4	Dave Wolak	17-00	5	3	34-06
15	Jami Fralick	14-08	5	4	33-11
13	Aaron Martens	15-00	5	5	33-01
9	Edwin Evers	15-10	5	6	32-10
29	Boyd Duckett	10-10	5	7	30-13
5	Greg Pugh	16-10	5	8	30-10
5	Bobby Lane	16-10	5	9	29-12
17	Brian Snowden	14-02	5	10	29-11
8	Mike McClelland	15-12	5	11	29-10
18	Bill Lowen	13-09	5	12	28-05
20	Michael Iaconelli	13-00	4	12	28-05
22	Kevin Wirth	12-08	5	14	27-11
7	Mark Davis	16-00	5	14	27-11
34	Terry Fitzpatrick	9-10	5	16	27-10
25	Dean Rojas	11-08	5	17	27-05
32	Randy Howell	10-02	5	18	26-05
28	Bryan Schmidt	10-12	5	19	26-01
10	Terry Scroggins	15-04	5	20	25-12
23	Alton Jones	11-14	5	21	25-03
27	Brent Chapman	11-02	5	22	24-05
16	Casey Ashley	14-05	5	23	24-02
14	Shaw Grigsby	14-11	5	24	23-06
43	Fred Roumbanis	5-00	3	25	23-04
41	Scott Rook	5-08	3	26	23-03
31	Greg Hackney	10-08	5	27	23-01
19	Jay Evans	13-05	5	27	23-01
3	Kevin VanDam	18-04	5	29	22-08
21	Kenyon Hill	12-09	5	30	21-09
43	Mike Burns	5-00	3	31	20-07
29	Todd Faircloth	10-10	5	32	19-12
23	Waine Pittman	11-14	5	33	19-07
11	Gary Klein	15-02	5	34	17-15
38	Bernie Schultz	6-00	5	35	17-03
26	Peter Thliveros	11-03	5	35	17-03
40	Rick Clunn	5-13	2	37	16-08
42	Steve Kennedy	5-04	3	38	16-02
36	Rick Morris	8-10	3	39	15-04
11	Dustin Wilks	15-02	5	40	15-02
–	Matt Herren	0	0	41	14-04
47	Davy Hite	3-02	2	42	13-14
49	David Williams	2-00	1	43	13-06
48	Scott Parker	2-08	2	44	12-15
35	Kim Bain-Moore	9-03	5	45	12-09
38	Ish Monroe	6-00	3	46	12-08
33	Bryan Hudgins	10-00	4	47	11-05
46	Ken Baumgardner	3-08	2	48	10-02
37	Byron Velvick	8-05	4	49	9-05
–	Timmy Horton	0	0	50	7-11
45	Kotaro Kiriyama	4-08	3	51	6-02

BASS Tour

Can’t watch the Bassmaster Classic?

February 21, 2009 hellabass

I don’t have access to ESPN360 either, but right now they are showing pictures of the monitors on the Expo Cam, so I can now see a mini-screen of the weigh-in with audio. And can kind of see it, if I watch it in full screen.

Also, another Bassmaster Classic content source was found today. Check out Dave Mercer’s Video Blog at his Facts of Fishing site.

I hope a few of you can watch this as well.

Rich

BASS Tour, Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner

My Day 1 Bassmaster Classic Notes & Comments

February 21, 2009 hellabass

I would have to say it was an eventful and exciting Day # 1 from the Bassmaster Classic. During the day, the online coverage was very good between Bassmaster.com & BassZone.com. Seems to me Bassmaster.com really dropped the ball by not streaming the weigh-in, I wonder how few people have access to ESPN360.com, how am I supposed to switch cable providers in time? It would have been better if it was something I could buy. It was very frustrating to listen to Aaron Martens weigh in a 7lb bush panda and not be able to see it. If someone wants to give me a username and password on their Verizon account, that would be really cool!

The TV coverage was about what I expected, it was positioned for the masses instead of the hard core fans, not sure why they do that. Maybe they can really pull new fans in…. I just hope they do not replay all those Lowen, Bain, & non-fishing pieces all 3 days of TV coverage.

I am a little surprised that Boyd Duckett is leading, but I guess I shouldn’t be, I think we have learned that he shows up for the big events. Maybe during the Day 2 coverage we will see if he is really throwing that Laser Lure crankbait. The biggest surprise of the day has to be KVD’s poor weight, it will be interesting to see if he turns it around. Aaron Martens is in great position to be another bridesmaid, we will see. That is if he does not melt down in the crowds like he did on Falcon & Eerie this past year.
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Photo Courtesty of ESPN.com
Looks like a lot of the leaders are catching their fish on soft plastics, see lots of guys fishing Beavers on texas rigs. What beautiful cover they are fishing, makes me want to back the boat & truck and drive to the Red River to do some fishing! Major props to Jami Fralick and Northern Division Federation Angler Terry Fitzpatrick, he is from IA and actually moved on from the same Northern Divisional event that I fished on Winnebago this past summer. This is the 2nd time an angler from Northern Division that I fished with has made noise in the Classic, I also fished against Terry McWilliams the year he qualified for Lay Lake. It makes watching the coverage more interesting and convinces me that I can make the Classic and compete when I get there.

I think we will learn more about the patterns and lures today. I missed the BassCast feature on Basssmaster.com yesterday, not quite sure what to make of it…. BassFan.com has a very complete breakdown of anglers day, must read!

My Fantasy team got off to a dismal start, I am in the 40th percentile with 1099 points, overall rank of 18255 and my group rank is 27 of 34, not very good But Jordan seems to be off to a great start today and is going to have a big day, plus Hack should move up today and KVD can’t have that bad a day again. I think at this point, I need to hope 4 of my guys make the cut and continue to move up the board and that KJ wins!

I copied down the day unofficial standing, so that you could compare to the final day 1 standings. You can then see who had big eyes, who was sand bagging, who’s observers made mistakes, etc. I think this shows, that you will have to tune into the final weigh in, not matter what you read online all day.

Here is the unofficial standings from the online coverage

Rank	Angler	Weight	# of fish
1	Scott Rook	20-05	5
2	Boyd Duckett	17-10	5
2	Jami Fralick	17-10	5
4	Aaron Martens	16-01	5
5	Michael Iaconelli	15-14	5
6	Randy Howell	15-12	5
7	Fred Roumbanis	15-00	5
8	Kelly Jordon	14-13	5
9	Bobby Lane	14-05	5
9	Edwin Evers	14-05	5
11	Mike McClelland	14-01	5
12	Bill Lowen	14-00	5
12	Dave Wolak	14-00	5
14	Brian Snowden	13-10	5
15	Dean Rojas	13-08	5
16	Alton Jones	13-06	5
17	Skeet Reese	12-15	5
18	Greg Pugh	12-14	5
19	Bryan Schmidt	12-00	5
19	Mike Burns	12-00	5
21	Davy Hite	11-00	4
21	Greg Hackney	11-00	5
21	Steve Kennedy	11-00	5
24	Brent Chapman	10-14	5
25	Rick Clunn	10-06	5
26	Kevin Wirth	10-04	5
27	Jay Evans	10-02	5
28	David Williams	10-00	5
29	Mark Davis	9-08	5
29	Matt Herren	9-08	4
31	Todd Faircloth	9-03	4
32	Casey Ashley	8-15	5
32	Terry Scroggins	8-15	5
34	Kenyon Hill	8-04	5
35	Waine Pittman	7-10	4
36	Ish Monroe	7-09	3
37	Shaw Grigsby	7-08	5
38	Bernie Schultz	7-02	3
39	Timmy Horton	7-00	4
40	Ken Baumgardner	6-09	4
40	Terry Fitzpatrick	6-09	3
42	Peter Thliveros	6-00	3
43	Kevin VanDam	4-00	4
44	Kim Bain-Moore	3-13	3
45	Gary Klein	3-06	2
46	Kotaro Kiriyama	1-05	1
47	Byron Velvick	1-00	1
–	Bryan Hudgins	0	0
–	Dustin Wilks	0	0
–	Rick Morris	0	0
–	Scott Parker	0	0

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

BASS Tour, Multimedia

How to Follow the Bassmasters Classic Online this Weekend

February 20, 2009 hellabass

First off and foremost, BassZone.com is doing some unprecedented live coverage right now. The biggest thing they have going is LIve Video updates at the top of every hour and a Feedback area here – http://www.basszone.com/2009webcast/main.htm

I am not kidding this BassZONE.com stuff is awesome, they have really stepped it up for this year’s Classic!!!!

Bassmaster.com has interesting stuff. The best thing they have going is a LIVE Blog update powered by BassTrakk. Keep refreshing the Blog all day – http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/news/story?id=3916699Also they have a webcams here, the RiverCam is up all the time, not much happening and kind of fuzzy this morning – http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/live/index

Also, check the ESPN photo gallery pages, as they will get updated throughout the day. Also jump on Bassmaster.com at 4pm Central every day for Live Leaderboards, Audio & Video of the weigh-ins. Plus the will have live web updates under their Hooked Up series:
Hooked Up

Live updates from the ExpoCam (all times Eastern):

Friday, 2/20: 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m, 3:15 p.m., 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, 2/21: 12:15 p.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, 2/22: 11:45 p.m., 12:15 p.m., 12:30 p.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:15 p.m.

Sounds like Kelly Jordan registered the first limit of the tournament at about 9lbs at about 10am EST. Below is an excerpt from the Live Classic Blog:

10:05 a.m. ET
Bryan Schmidt didn’t last long on top of the leaderboard. That’s not to say he won’t jump back in there, but Kelly Jordon is the new official leader.

Jordon has five fish that weigh around 8 pounds, 13 ounces. And he’s currently fishing within sight of the take-off in Port Lake. He’s not alone, either. Bernie Schultz, Waine Pittman and Fred Roumbanis are in sight as well.

I followed Jordon on the official practice day, and he promised me he would be able to catch a limit in the area, possibly some bigger ones before moving on.

At the time, he was planning on casting a small crankbait around shallow cover and then every once in a while casting a drop bait way back and over log jams. It’s an exciting way to fish. Right now it looks like it’s working for him.

He has the first limit and he’s not burned a tea cup of gas. Maybe a recession-style pattern could win this thing.

Clunn, who started the morning in Port Lake, has moved down river to the Clark’s Marina area. Across the river there are about 12 anglers stacked up in what is known as Bobo’s Hole. That name comes from Dalton Bobo’s win in the Federation Nation Championship several years ago.

You may recall, Bobo almost won the Classic that year as a Federation Nation angler, losing by a few ounces to Dion Hibdon. Bobo would have won if not for a dead-fish penalty.

Regardless, that Federation Nation championship was one of the first big tourneys in this area. The spot he won has become a community hole and several of these guys are trying to take advantage of it, including Wirth, Aaron Martens and Randy Howell, who are in the top 10 at the moment.

Unofficial standings are:

Kelly Jordon: 8-13

Aaron Martens: 6-5

Bryan Schmidt: 6-0

Kevin Wirth: 4-12

Mike McClelland: 4-5

Skeet Reese: 4-0

Randy Howell: 3-14

Terry Scroggins: 3-8

Edwin Evers: 3-0

Timmy Horton: 3-0

I will stayed tunes in as best i can, if something really exciting happens, I will likely blog about it, bonus blog entries, usually one a day is my limit, but heck it’s Classic week!

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

BASS Tour, Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner

Last Minute Bassmaster Classic Updates

February 19, 2009 hellabass

Here are a few things that have recently been released and others I just found. Take it as fun prep for you to read for the Classic weekend or maybe a couple nuggets to help you finalize or tweak your Fantasy Fishing Roster.

Mark Menendez Classic Picks – The Turtle, KJ & Faircloth
BassFan Scouting Report – Report on Final Practice Days from the Pros
Classic Photo Galleries – See them on the water during practice
Randy Howell’s Classic Secret Weapon – Here the audio!

Finally a cool pics I borrowed from the Classic galleries at Bassmaster.com that I thought were either cool or interesting:
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Will Steve Kennedy fish from this boat?

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Kelly Jordan fishing some cool looking water

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KVD gets Zona as an observer, “Bad Draw”

There is still time to join my Fantasy Fishing Group. Get your rosters locked by Friday at 8am Central.

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

Fantasy Bass Fishing Corner

Setting a Fantasy Fishing Line-up for Bassmasters Classic

February 19, 2009 hellabass

As you read articles and info about this year’s Bassmaster Classic on the Red River, there are many factors that can play, like the weather, changing water levels and spectator crowds. So here are a list of good articles and fantasy picks, with my highlighted takeaways, I have found that I think will be helpful for you to make your picks:
Skeeter Anglers Red River Report – Kelly Jordan says this is my backyard
Bassmaster Classic Pundit Picks – All eyes on Greg Hackney
5 Classic ‘X’ Factors – Bet on Power Techniques
Bassmaster Practice Report – Ike reports finding “Magic Area”
BassFan Practice Report – Ish not on right fish?
Former Classic Angler Picks – Don’t bet on Bain
6 under the Radar – BassZone’s Dark Horses

Well enough of that, you can go batty reading all that info. Here are 10 guys that I like:
KVD – He is a favorite any where, Top 5 in last 5 Classics, 2nd place FLW Tour event on Red River 2001
Greg Hackney – Hungry for Signature Classic victory, love rivers, local angler
Kelly Jordan – Catches big fish, 90 minutes from home, 2nd place on Red River 2000
Scott Rook – Won a Major on a tough river system, lives close, Red River has been a cash cow for him in other events
Randy Howell – Shallow water junk fisherman, think he could do damage swimming a jig like when he won Dardanelle Elite 50, might run an Aluminum boat
Brent Chapman – Won a Red River Invitational, I think he needs the $$$, lots of dropped sponsors, might go Aluminum as well
Bill Lowen – The quintessential River RAT
Ike – Can grind it out with the best of them, says he has a “Magic Area”
Davy Hite – Won an event in November 2001 at this very site
Ricky Morris – He is my Dark Horse, he took 2nd at the Bassmaster Classic on Toho and I think he may get his chatterbait going here

If you are looking for some bargain picks, look at Matt Herren & Greg Pugh, both very accomplished FLW anglers, plus you may keep Herren on your roster for a value pick all year on the Elite Series.

So here is my near final lineup:

Rich’s Roster
Angler 1	Angler 2	Angler 3	Angler 4	Angler 5

Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI	Kelly Jordon Mineola, TX	Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA	Bill Lowen North Bend, OH	Rick Morris Virginia Beach, VA
MKT: $25.0 LKD: $25.0	MKT: $21.0 LKD: $21.0	MKT: $19.6 LKD: $19.6	MKT: $17.3 LKD: $17.3	MKT: $15.9 LKD: $15.9

Balance Sheet

Salary Cap

Team Value

Remaining Salary

$100.0

$98.8

$1.2

I am still wrestling with whether to go with KJ or Rook at that $20-21 price tag, they both fit, both seem like good choices. Right now I lean KJ for his knack at catching big fish. Plus KJ would be a better keeper for the season, so that is one thing to consider, these salaries adjust throughout the season, so if you see good value, get them now! Either way, I feel like I am wasting and leaving $1.2 on the table

Get your rosters locked by Friday at 8am Central.

There is still time to join my Fantasy Fishing Group.

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog

BASS Tour

It’s Classic Week!

February 18, 2009 hellabass

Bassmaster Classic contenders have just finished up their official practice, now some media days and the big show starts on Friday. See some practice reports here. The great thing about the Bassmaster Classic, is the increased media coverage of this event. ESPN2 will show hours and hours of coverage this weekend along with highlights on SportCenter.

Probably some of the best live info and detailed info will be found on sites like Bassmaster.com, BassZone.com & BassFan.com, oh yeah, my blog too! Seriously though, if you have never been to BassZone.com, check them out this week.
THE LEGEND, HAROLD ALLEN AND THE BZ’S MARK JEFFREYS BRING THE BZ VIEWER DAILY WEB VIDEO, STORIES, PHOTOS AND LIVE CHAT FROM THE WATER.

There has been some gripe about the new ESPN360 system for online coverage of the Classic on ESPN.com. I will check that out soon. Something about being compatible with certain internet providers…

It really is great coverage, do check it out!

Check back tomorrow and I will break down some good info for setting your fantasy fishing lineup and reveal my lineup! There is still time to join my Fantasy Fishing Group.

RichLindgren.com
Rich’s Bassin’ Forum
Bass Fishing Tackle Blog