Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Induction

I missed my 1st FLW Everstart tournament at Lake Roosevelt in Arizona in Feb. because I was invited back to the Bassmaster's Classic in Tulsa, OK for my induction into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.  This was the highlight of my waning career.  I am so humbled and proud to be on a list of inductees that have been my heros for years.

It was an awesome banquet with TV screens on the right and left of the stage showing pictures of me from my childhood to present.  It was awesome reuniting with a lot of old fishing friends such as Forrest Wood, Hank Parker, Kevin Vandam, Daryl Lowrance, Ray Scott, Sammy Lee, Paul Elias, Tommy Biffle,  Jimmy Houston, and many others. 

It was so special also because my wife Vicky, Allen Todd, Jeff & Christie Klicka, Steve Ashworth, Tami Curtis, Michelle Killburn, Forrest Wood, Jennifer Duff, Andrew Star, and Keith Daffron, all sat at my table during the banquet sharing the special moment with me.  MEMORIES FOREVER.

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.

WON Bass Western Classic at Nacimiento and San Antonio; Angler of the Year and Daiwa Cup

Mike Folkestad and Tami Curtis with Bill Liston (Daiwa)

What a great season!  I fish for the love of the sport and it has been so good to me.  I was able to earn angler of the year in the norther division and winning the Daiwa Cup overall angler of the year. It was an honor to have my sponsor Bill Liston with Daiwa come out to award me the Daiwa Cup. Photo by Angler Bill Snyder

I just finished the WON Bass Western Classic coming in 2nd place.  I fished  a 3/8 oz brown and purple Open Water Jig and Maverick jig for two days using a Yamamoto double tail green pumpkin and watermelon red flake.

The fish at both Nacimiento and San Antonia were in 10' to 35' depending on time of day.  My Lowrance HDs were a big key to locating the bass.

I used the 7' Steez medium heavy rod with a Steez baitcaster loaded with 10 lb Seaguar fluorocarbon.

I moved around alot and if my electronics showed there were no fish in the area, I moved on.

Making the right choices, I came in 2nd place.  Congrats to Darrin Bishop for winning the tournament on the Pro side and taking home a Nitro boat.  Congrats to Tom DiGiulio winning the on the AAA side and also taking home a Nitro boat.

Congrats to Southern AOY Pro John Morrow, Northern AOY (AAA) Dave Nelson, and Southern (AAA) Tami Curtis (the only lady to ever earn this award).  Well deserved all!  Great job!

- Mike

More photos:  by Angler Bill Snyder

Mike Folkestad and Bill Snyder

Mike Folkestad and Gary Freeman

Competitors that got a paycheck

My head-on collision with a BURRO, and a totaled truck!

Leaving Lake Havasu at 6:30 in the morning on highway 95, I was headed toward highway 40. About 5 miles out of the city, from out of nowhere the burro appeared in the middle of the road. I was going about 65 mph. I slammed on the breaks and screamed "OH SH**"! It stopped the truck in it's tracks and the airbag went off. I had to pry the doors open with my feet and squeeze out. Luckily, I didn't even have a bump, scratch or bruise!

To my surprise, I had hit 2 burros instead of 1! It was a sad sight. The highway patrol showed up and put the burros out of their misery.

My wife showed up in my sister-in-law's SUV, we loaded all my fishing tackle into it. Thank goodness, I wasn't towing my boat! My wife, sister-in-law, and I drove home. The truck was totaled so on the way home to Southern California, I purchased the same exact truck (2011 Silverado 1500 extra cab) from Selman Chevrolet for $800 less than I paid 10 months ago. What a great deal!

They now have flashing signs on 95 warning everyone about the burros! Please be cautious if you travel that road, there have been 4 fatalities along that stretch.

Clear Lake California is one of the best fisheries in the country! WON Bass and FLW back-to-back tournaments

Photos by Bill Mays: Courtesy of WON Bass
What an awesome day one at the WON Bass Clear Lake tournament. My 1st day draw was Chris Gilkison. Every fish we caught was 4 lbs or bigger. Anytime you can throw back 4 1/2 pounders makes for a great day on the water. Every fish we weighed in was 5 1/2 - 7 1/2 lbs. Our total for the day was 30.60 lbs!

We dropshotted 6-7" Roboworms, the Folkestad Special. We also fished 5" GYM Senkos, watermelon color, and a 6" swimbait.

Day 2 I drew Tom Ochoa, we had a great day. We caught a lot of 3-4 1/2 pounders. We just could not get the bigger bites. We wound up with almost 20 lbs. The fish came on the same baits as day 1. Clear Lake has got to be one of the best lakes in the US. When you catch 50 lbs of fish and can't win...that's some AWESOME fishing!

I'd like to congratulate Pro Ron Tobey and congrats to my good friend Co-angler Allen Todd for their win at Clear Lake. Great job guys! Also, congrats to Co-angler Dave Nelson who achieved the Angler of the Year title for the North Division. I feel fortunate I was able to secure the Angler of the Year in the North. It's really special to me coming out on top in the North when fishing against the great northern anglers.


FLW...what a loser tournament for me! Wound up fishing swimbaits the whole tournament. Just couldn't get it going. Bad choices. Catching 7 fish, weight about 24 lbs.

Congrats to my good friends Pro Mike Tuck for his 1st place win and to Pro Joe Uribe for 2nd place, and Pro Richard Dobyns for wrapping up the prestigious Anlger of the Year Title. Also, congrats to Co-angler champion Chad Leblanc and my good friend Lester Albury for the prestigious Co-angler Angler of the Year Title.

How quickly the fish can change....

When I rolled into Lake Roosevelt, I went fishing the 1st day. There was a high of 38 degrees and ice cycles hanging on all the brush and it was still there when I left the lake at 5 pm. The picture to the left is the water coming out of the bilge pump freezing as it hits the cold air. Water temp was 48 degrees, it was a cold miserable day. I caught 3 fish.

Water continued to warm during practice to where it got up to 53 degrees during the tournament when you could catch about 17 fish a day. Fish were in about 20-25' staging on breaks and points. With the cold water it was real important that the retrieve was really slow, a lot of "dead sticking" giving them a lot of time to find the bait. Drop shot, senko, and jigs worked. The reaction bite was nonexistent for me.

On the 2nd day of the WON Bass tournament, I drew Tami Curtis which made for a great day. Tami caught 7 fis.h before I got a bite. At the end of the day she had caught 12 and I had caught 5, but I managed to get some of our bigger bites, raising the limit to 11 1/2 lbs and good enough for 11th place. Thanks Tami!

The following week was the FLW tournament and the water continued to warm. Reaching 55 degrees int the morning. It was noticeable that the fish were moving shallower. We were having a full moon and the bucks were moving into the shallows, coming up out of the deeper water and staging at the edges of the brush. By the end of the 2nd day, they were back in the brush. It seemed that everyone was fishing back in the brush. I had a poor tournament catching small limits each day. Fishing was still good catching 17 fish a day.

If I had to buy the tournament back, I would have gone in the brush and pitched jigs, but that is hind sight.

Mike's Tackle:

Spinning: Fuege Rods and Reels with 10 lb test Seaguar line
Bait Casters: Steez Rods and Reels & Zillion Rod and Reels with 10-15 lb Seaguar line
Lures: GYM Senkos, Maverick Jigs with GYM trailers, Roboworms

2 tourneys back to back; WON Bass & FLW at Lake Shasta, CA...and it RAINED A LOT!!!!

When reaching Shasta, water was higher than normal and rising. The weather was cold like normal there, with the intermittent rain showers and snow with the days high of 38 degrees. Fishing was slower than normal. The main body was really tough. You had to go up the rivers to find any concentration of fish.

Most the time the fish were deep in the 40-60' range. To use a drop shot, darthead, or senkos, you would need to use a very slow retrieve. The fish were very inactive. Then we had a weather change to bright sunny skies with a high in the 50's. I assumed that this would bring the fish shallower and more active, especially in the afternoons, but the fish did not change. They remained deep, however they did come up just a little bit in the afternoons.

In the WON Bass tournament I managed to place 3rd, with a weight of 19.65. Day 1 my partner was Rick Kendrick, and Day 2 I fished with Aaron Leon. They were both great fishermen, we all caught our share of fish, and Leon caught one of the "big fish" weighing 2.55. They both place high, good job Rick and Aaron!

In the FLW tournament I placed 38th. The last day was a struggle, with only a limit of 5 lbs 10 oz.

Photo by Bill Mays with WON Bass

The fish were caught on:
(all on 6 lb test)

• Dropshot - 6" Roboworm Prism Shad
• Darthead - 6" Roboworm Prism Shad
• Senko - Green Pumpkin
• Steez trigger stick rods and reels and Fuego spinning rod and reel

BTW: We found a great place to stay in Redding....The Oxford Suites. If you ever get up there, give Sandra Sims a call. She's the Sales Manager and a great host.
Be sure to call her. (530) 321 . 2287
They are totally fisherman friendly. They have a great breakfast and evening appetizers that are included with your room. After battling the weather each day it's nice to come back to warm cooked food at the hotel.

Bass Fishing Videos

Part 1 of 4; Bass Fishing How to fish a dropshot	Part 2 of 4; Bass Fishing How to fish a dropshot
Part 3 of 4; Bass Fishing How to fish a dropshot	Part 4 of 4; Bass Fishing How to fish a dropshot