2 MONSTER Bass while filming for Fish'n 4 FUN TV Show at Lake Irvine

Phenomenal Fishing at Lake Irvine!

WON Bass editor Bradley Schweit with a 8+ lber!

Met up with WON Bass editor Bradley Schweit at Lake Irvine to film for an episode of Fish'n 4 FUN TV Show.

The weather was clear the water was really calm, we weren't to sure if the big ones would coperate but the morning  bite produced a 2 lber here and there, and it wasn't long until the the nice quite day turned out to be a phenomenal day with some hoot'n and holler'n!  

8 lber caught on a Folkestad Special

The day couldn't have gone any better.  We caught about 20 fish total and we each caught an 8-9 lber.  Both of the monsters were caught on the Folkestad Special fishing it on a drop shot around the grass.

The  fish I brought in was completely covered in grass, you couldn't even see the fish...we had to remove a lot of the grass just to get the picture! 

 FYI....If you ever make it over to southern California to fish Lake Irvine, make sure you stop by the restaurant there...they make the BEST hamburgers!

HOT bait; Rio Rico Klicka Shad

Photo by WON Bass editor Bradley Schweit

Once again, leading the WON Bass tournament at Lake Mead the 1st day with 12.31 lbs.  I was unable to get any big bites the 2nd day I would up weighing 7.5 lbs coming in 6th place.

I threw Rio Rico Klicka Shad color 75% of the time. I had big fish in the tournament 4.97 lbs on a Klicka Shad.  Caught a few drop shot fish on Folkestad Special during the middle of the day but they were small.  Rio Rico produced about 12 keepers a day.  Fishing was actually real good. You just need the big bites to win, but I was happy it was a great tournament and the weather was good.  Everything went smooth I didn't loose any fish.  Lake Mead is loaded with a lot of 8-11" fish.  Next year they should be keeper size...fishing should be really good.  Hopefully the stripers won't eat up all those juvenile bass.

Fish'n 4 FUN TV show, Jeff Klicka's boat wrap, practice and the tournament

Allen Todd and I once again had a great practice, not catching a lot of numbers but the quality was great!  3-8 lbers and all the fish were shallow, in front of the tulles.  The bass seemed to be in all stages, pre spawn, spawn, and post spawn.  We just knew we were going to have a great tournament but wouldn't you know it, here came a warming trend with temperatures up to 90 degrees.  We were almost at a full moon when the tournament started and we just knew there would be another wave of spawners coming, however; when the tournament started the fish just weren't there.  I don't know if they moved into the tulles or out into the grass.  Could not get the bite going again and struggled each day.  Winding up with 18 lbs the 1st day and 16 lbs the 2nd day.  All the fish were caught on 5-6" wacky rigged senkos, some with weight and some without.  Pitched the holes in the grass and way back into the tulles with sweet beavers and senkos to no avail.  Anyhow, had a great practice and a great time, just couldn't get it going. 

During practice we needed Tami Curtis there to put us on the fish with her finesse baits, but she was too busy sending the episodes for the TV show Fish'n 4 FUN TV show into the networks.  She was able to show up for the tournament though.  Also during this trip I was anxiously waiting for Jeff Klicka to show up...the wrap on his boat and truck were just completed and he picked it up along the way.  It turned out great...the fish jumping out of the water with the Ricco (Klicka Shad) in it's mouth, the Ricco logo, A&M Graphics, and Fish'n 4 FUN...they are look awesome!

Jeff's  boat and truck are the official rigs for Tami Curtis's new TV Show Fish'n 4 FUN.  Jeff was also made a co-host and Andy Manahl is the stand-in co-host.  I managed to hang on to my position as the TC Sports Report host for the show...I hope I don't get fired for announcing this before the press release goes out!   Behind the scenes, the other part of our traveling fishing group including Allen Todd and Steve Watte help us all with ideas wardrobe tips.  We have a great group and a very exciting year coming up, you don't want to miss any episodes. 

Keep checking the TC Sports Report website for TV show updates.  The channels days and times will be posted.

Please HELP...

A gentleman mailed me a trading card to sign, I misplaced his name, address, and card that he sent.  If anyone knows who this mystery person is, please tell him to contact me again. I feel horrible about misplacing it and I would like to make things right.

Sincerely,

Mike Folkestad

Red Hot Roosevelt...everyone had limits!

The fishing at Lake Roosevelt was off the hook for numbers of fish in the 1-2 lb range.  I caught them on GYM Senko (301 color) , Tami's 10" Rock'n Roller made by Maverick (Maverick Mangler color), 6" Roboworm (Folkestad Special & Morning Dawn color), and Fank's spinnerbait from the Tackle Box tackle store in Tonto Basin, AZ.  The hot topwater bait was the Rio Rico in the new Klicka Shad color.

I had 8 lbs the 1st day and lost a couple big ones...that hurt!  Second day I came in with 12.07...all on the Klicka Shad.

Congrats to the champions Pro Dean Kruezer and Co-Angler David Sellers. 

WON Bass ran another great tournament!

Revenge at the Delta...

Since my poor finish at the WON Bass tourney,  I decided to get off the couch...

Just fished the FLW Everstart tournament and the California Delta.  Had a great practice catching numbers of smaller fish, it was a lot of fun catching 1 or 2 fish a day 5 lbs or more.  I knew it would take at least 40 lbs per day to qualify for the top 10 cut.  During practice the fish wanted a 4 1/2" Folkestad Special, a 5" Senko and a few chatterbait fish.

Lesson #1 learned from practice:  In order to catch 20 lbs per day I decided to use a 6" Senko, wacky rigged and weightless when possible instead of nail rigged.  Consequently the number of bites I got per day were way down during the tournament, but the bites I got were quality allowing me to weigh in 40.05 oz for two days.  This allowed me to qualify for the cut and fish the 3rd day.  When I needed a keeper fish I would fish a 4 1/2" Folkestad Special which would give me a quick limit allowing me to comfortably fish the 6" Senko to get the quality bites I needed to make the top 10 cut.

Lesson #2:  The 3rd day fishing the cut, the winds were 25-35 mph out of the south.  With fighting the wind and rain all day, and getting cold, it's easy to have a tenancy to get a little lazy because every time I stop to do something the wind would blow me 100 yards away.  The big mistake I made was not checking and retying my line like normal throughout the day.  I got lazy and it cost me when I broke off two GIANTS!

Without these two mistakes, I had a chance at a FLW win. Lesson learned, don't get lazy regardless of the elements!

I ended up coming in 7th place winning $5,215

California Delta Loser...

WON Bass Tournament

I had a good pre fish locating a few large fish.  I felt I could weigh 20 lbs per day, but what do you know...I caught plenty of fish each day in the 2-3 lb range and did not get one big fish bite.  That's just the way it goes sometimes. 

All my fish were caught on Senkos, jigs, sweet beavers, and 6" Folkestad Special.

Part 4 of 4; Dropshot bass fishing video; How to fish the drop shot

Dropshot secrets and more.

Part 1 of 4 is an introduction to the drop shot.

Part 2 of 4 is Details include, leader length, the different weights, hooks, and more.

Part 3 of 4 deals with how to handle line twist. Drop shot worms; Maverick and Roboworms, Daiwa, Plano, and Rebarb hooks.

Part 4 of 4 Dropshot secrets and more.

Videos produced by TC Sports Report.

Part 3 of 4; Drop shot bass fishing video; how to fish a drop shot

How to handle line twist. Drop shot worms; Maverick and Roboworms, Daiwa, Plano, and Rebarb hooks.

Part 1 of 4 is an introduction to the drop shot.

Part 2 of 4 is Details include, leader length, the different weights, hooks, and more.

Part 3 of 4 deals with how to handle line twist. Drop shot worms; Maverick and Roboworms, Daiwa, Plano, and Rebarb hooks.

Part 4 of 4 Dropshot secrets and more.

Videos produced by TC Sports Report.

Part 2 of 4; Drop shot bass fishing video; how to fish a drop shot

Details include, leader length, the different weights, hooks, and more.

Part 1 of 4 is an introduction to the drop shot.

Part 2 of 4 is Details include, leader length, the different weights, hooks, and more.

Part 3 of 4 deals with how to handle line twist. Drop shot worms; Maverick and Roboworms, Daiwa, Plano, and Rebarb hooks.

Part 4 of 4 Dropshot secrets and more.

Videos produced by TC Sports Report.

Part 1 of 4; Drop shot bass fishing video; how to fish a drop shot

An introduction to the drop shot.

Part 1 of 4 is an introduction to the drop shot.

Part 2 of 4 is Details include, leader length, the different weights, hooks, and more.

Part 3 of 4 deals with how to handle line twist. Drop shot worms; Maverick and Roboworms, Daiwa, Plano, and Rebarb hooks.

Part 4 of 4 Dropshot secrets and more.

Videos produced by TC Sports Report.

Bass fishing with 50 fish days

Mike Folkestad and Craig Nelson (WON Bass photo by Jody Only)

Bass fishing using a 3/8 oz brown rubber jig with a Yamamoto double tail trailer, using 12 lb test Seaguar fluorocarbon line on a 7 foot medium heavy Steez rod and reel.  I got onto this bite in 25-45 foot of water on steep banks with a slow crawl and swimming the jig.  The key was SLOOOOW!!!

It was off-the-wall fishing at Lake Shasta in Northern California, catching 30 to 50 fish a day during practice and the tournament.  I had to go through numbers to come up with 10 1/2 lbs on day one and 9 1/2 lbs on day two.  Just never got a big bite.  The largest fish was a 2 1/2 pounder.

In practice when I stumbled onto the pattern, I caught several fish 3 to 4 lbs.  But you know how tournament fishing goes...in the tournament I never got a big bite.



Ryan Brewer and Mike Folkestad (WON Bass photo by Jody Only)

At the awards, I was given a check for 13th place and they presented me with a very nice engraved Reactor watch for winning overall Angler of the Year.

Anyway, what a great time and Billy Egan, Bill Cook and staff put on an awesome tournament with WON Bass, including the great payouts for pros and cos, things couldn't have been better.  I'm sooo HAPPY!  See you at the next one.