As a guy who lives in a triplex style apartment building, I have to be really efficient with my gear. I have too many 8-9 foot rods and 9-10 foot surfboards to not have a garage. So, I’m super into little niche systems for storage and best use of space. One night I was looking at Amazon’s site and came across Du Bro, and noticed they had 2 systems that could work for me:
When I say reconnect with the Triple Trout, I mean, reconnect with Scott Whitmer. I had a chance to catch up with Scott recently. He walked me thru his latest baits. More importantly, we had a chance to sit and talk and get caught up. It’s funny how tide and time work. Scott and I are both getting our fishing game faces back on. Scott has a killer Fisher aluminum rig. Optimax, 36V Minn Kota….boom. He’s ready to rock. I’m getting ready to break my new used Champion in this summer. Scott has been making his baits bigger and more saltwater grade. He’s also been making 5″ baits and making the Nezumaa rat in production numbers. His business is good and he’s got focus and direction. He wants to make his business more profitable.
Here is the deal, he now has his own website. www.tripletrout.com You can buy stuff there you normally cannot buy. I was shocked to see his 5″ bait for sale there!?!?!?! The couple of 5″ Triple Trout that Scott made me, continue to be some of my most coveted baits. I had no idea the general public can go buy them for $60! The same price as a 6″ Triple Trout. Herring eaters? I held a 5″ Southern Blue Herring bait, and took a picture. It looks good. The size and profile. I’m cough cough cough asking Scott cough cough cough….if he will make me some sardine colored ones and allow me to pillage the Pacific Ocean too. Easy swimbait for your kids, your wife or girlfriend, or some one new to bigbaits…..you could fish it on a spinning rod even. It weights an ounce, but shoot, it’s a baby and totally manageable.
Scott continues to sell and provide baits thru Tackle Warehouse. Scott and I both enjoy and believe in our partnerships with Tackle Warehouse. Tackle Warehouse has a set of special colors that Scott’s been fulfilling for years. Scott (and all bigbait makers) have unique market opportunities. They can create very special baits, very special colors, special floating editions, fast sink/heavy editions…..the list is endless. I watch the surfboard shaping industry in awe….swimbait makers are even more hard core and specialized. Who doesn’t want a specialized bait that very few if any other people will be fishing???
Hence, it makes a lot of business sense for Scott to sell direct. He was an anomaly to not have a direct sales website, save eBay which pre-cluded the current tripletrout.com website, by only a couple months. Scott is such a nice, genuine guy. When you talk to Scott Whitmer, you are literally getting a history lesson in mid-late 70s, early 80s….crazy ass times of bass fishing. Then you mix in, this was the West where it is even more rare and crazy. We talked about guys like Larry Hopper, Dee Thomas, and Don Iovino. Scott’s Dad sounds like he must have been one heck of a guy. WWII Veteran, drinking and cussing type….Scott clearly has a desire to help perpetuate getting kids into fish. He loves supporting good causes, good people, youths, etc. Scott has been one of my finest business partners that I work with. I am super stoked to reconnect with him and see his latest baits, colors and business. I really believe in his baits, and I’m glad I can openly talk and share baits that are now generally available. The Nezumaa Rat was so hard to find for so long….and now you can get fur painted super sick XL 3 piece ones, that make conga drum style noise when clacked…off his website. He has a 3 pack of 5″ baits for $140 (vs $180…3 X $60). I would suggest you mosey on over there an invest some 5″ TTs.
Southern Trout Eaters is still is selling consistently, quarter over quarter, I’m pleased to share. I would estimate I’ve sold in the neighborhood of 3500 copies. June 2016 marks….drumroll please, 5 years since Southern Trout Eaters was released. Wow. That is hard to believe from where I sit. It is about time to do another DVD project. So me getting together with Whitmer, getting this Champion Boat thing going, getting back on the water…..it’s all full circle and really cool. I need to get some fishing in to finish up the second DVD, basically. I plan on fishing the 11 and 12 Inch Triple Trouts a lot. Not too many guys have these things yet, and they fish really well on the same gear as the SS250. The tail is bigger, it’s thicker, and they are gonna fish differently than the 10″.
I have always liked the 10″. The bigger the Triple Trout, the easier it can be to wake/stall/burn at the surface. There’s a really cool S turn torpedo wake the 10″ TT can do….I cannot wait to try the 11 and 12″ flavors. I want to get a 14″ and fish that too. I need to invest in some more XXXL heavy gear. >10 oz rods. You should too. I have braided line, 7 and 8:1 Gear ratios on my mind, and summer time bigbait fishing. What are good baits in the summer? Rats and Triple Trouts! Boom Shaka boyeeeeeeee.
I haven’t been to Bass a Thon in years. Probably 9 years or so, since I been gone for at least 8 years down South. Anglers Marine hosts a killer event each Fall, and it’s usually the who’s who of the Southern California fishing scene, and definitely ground zero for the bigbait fishing scene. You get a lot of bait makers and industry folks in the same room for a weekend. Anglers Marine has guest speakers, usually a few big names from the East and South. Aaron Martens, Gerald Swindle, Jason Christie, Brent Ehrler….guys like that.
Highlights:
Products/Baits and Links to Buy them (if possible):
Persuader Buzz Baits – Clacker style, with a unique randomness in the clack, caused by the blade as a clacker. Head design is keeps the thing running dead true.
CL8 Bait Mighty Mouse – I think brown trout will kill the 1.5″ but the 2.25″ is just as sweet. Crazy little morsel. See above pictures. Pond and small bait bigbait approach.
TyLure Water Whipper and Buzz Bomber: Check out the Water Whipper and Buzz Bomber and there many other baits at the TyLures Webstore. There is a bait called the Whopper Plopper, you need to be throwing if you are anywhere a buzzbait gets bit, which is everywhere. These baits are a derivative of what Larry Dahlberg is doing with River2Seas on the Whopper Plopper.
Bank Buster — From There Here Is. Check out this big flapper craw bait. I am waiting to see what happens when craw and creature baits get bigger and badder. Check it: thereheis.us
Uptons Worms: Big bad straight tail worms.
Johnny Rats: I have seen a rat of this size and shape do some real damage. I haven’t fished it, but this thing looked good t me.
CL8 Possum Wake Bait: Big and bad. The full sized one is like 13″ long with the tail and weighs a wopping 7.5 ounces?!?!
Let’s put this in context. I put this resume together in Q4 1999. I graduated college in December of 1999, and I can remember staying up late at night, completely focused on getting this resume together. I remember having the dilemma of not quite having the computer skills to digitally do it all. My Windows computer was a clone knockoff of some kind, and I didn’t have my own scanner, and I sorta came up with a compromise of computer for the content/text and then manually glued pictures and newspaper clippings to paper! Funny to think about how far my skills with computers and technology have progressed.
A Fishing Resume?
I am not sure if you call this a resume or a portfolio. My intent was going to use this to get that dream job in the fishing industry where they’d just pay me to fish and I’d consult with them on ‘whatever’ and somehow I’d make money, keep fishing, and just go with it. I’m glad to have come across it, and now have it scanned in digitally. Now, it’s more of an archive and a history of my life and my fishing life. If you read the newspaper clippings (mostly from Western Outdoor News), you will recognize names like Brent Ehrler, Aaron Martens, John Murray, and Dean Rojas. Which of the 5 of us has had the least stellar career? Cough cough cough….! You have to laugh at your own humility sometimes. I have no regrets and love sharing information, ideas and content that helps put things into context. My support of College Fishing stems a ton from my own journey at Cal Poly, fishing my way thru school. This resume serves as a record of that journey. There was a time when Lake Havasu and I just were best friends. This was before Havasu was the smallmouth fishery it is today. This was Colorado River, desert style, largemouth fishing, and those were some of my funnest memories from my college fishing experience. Heck, I was young and there tends to be some crazy partying that happens around Lake Havasu. I couldn’t keep fish off my line, and then would go out and have some crazy fun nights with my fishing pals.
I did not get a job in the fishing industry, and ultimately a few months after graduating college, surrendered to the fact that there was no ‘entry’ level jobs in fishing for a guy with a marketing degree and no real world experience. I didn’t have the network, the skills and the Internet was no where near as mature as it is today as a means to be an ‘entrepreneur’ of sorts in fishing. Today, I don’t think a resume like this is at all necessary. You best have a YouTube channel, blog, and digital media if you want to attract sponsorship, business partners, or get yourself a job. So take this context, it was a different time, but it’s fun to see how I structured this and just read thru it.
I have been quietly transitioning back home to Southern California. In May, I was at a company event in Chicago, when I overheard a conversation about a new office for BeyondTrust in Aliso Viejo. Actually, it was moving the Irvine office back down to Aliso Viejo. That is a 15 mile move to the South, closer to my hometown Dana Point/San Clemente area, and a significant savings in commute time, toll road costs, and just hit me a time when I was already looking to relocate from West Palm Beach to a more beachy scene within S. Florida….Jupiter/Juno area to be exact. So, rather than move 15-20 miles within Florida, I made a quick assessment of things, and decided right then and there I was heading home. Florida is awesome. My decision to bail on Florida is complicated….understand Okeechobee, of all the years I’ve fished it now, 2013 was the worst for swimbait fishing I’ve encountered. The lake is overgrown, choked out and more a flip/punch thing than an open water swimmer thing. So, Okeechobee’s tough cycle, and the amount of rain we endured (and it was still raining when I left) told me it was gonna be a harsh year on the Big O for a guy that likes to swim bigbaits.
Getting Gone
I essentially closed down my apartment in West Palm Beach within a week, downsized my stuff for the 50th time, and headed for Georgia. Getting back to California, from S. Florida, wasn’t going to be easy. Thankfully, I have good people, a good career now so finances aren’t so rough, and I’m really good at just packing up and getting gone. So, this was the itinerary: FL>GA>AR>CA. I had to get from Florida, back to Georgia and the Atlanta area and shut down things in Atlanta first. So, I was able to touch bases with my tenant, in my Roswell home, get some things squared away and focus on getting all my stuff out of my phenomenal friend, Rodger Ray, Social Circle home. Social Circle has been my Atlanta base of operations on and off for the last 4.5 years since renting out my apartment, and of course, meeting Rodger, as my co-angler partner, Day 1, Lake Eufaula, FLW Series 2009. Rodger has been so hospitable, professional, fun, interesting and wise—-I cannot thank him enough for his friendship.
Of boats and men
I own 2 boats. I have a Ranger Z520, and a 16 Grizzly Tracker aluminum rig (I loaned it to Team 85 for the filming of Southern Trout Eaters, because they needed some help getting on the water with current states of affairs with their lives at the time). I literally cleaned out my Ranger, and left a pile of paperwork and stuff that will be needed to sell the boat (if that is the route I take), and just left it parked up in Social Circle. I have learned, when you don’t know what to do, no decision is the best decision. I needed to take a U Haul trailer full of stuff from Georgia, and onto Arkansas, where I’d fill it up and cull thru stuff from Arkansas, next. The problem: You cannot simultaneously tow a 20′ fiberglass boat and a dual axle U Haul trailer! So, the Ranger sits in Atlanta, paying for insurance and the 14 months of warranty my Yamaha still enjoys ticks away toward expiration. On one hand it makes a ton of sense to sell the boat: I have equity in the boat, the engine is still under warranty, and truthfully, I’m not worried about fishing tournaments where a Z520 is required anytime super soon. I love my Ranger Boat, don’t get me wrong, but to me, boats are tools, and usually very expensive tools. I am now living <10 miles from the Dana Point Harbor, where I can out throwing swimbaits at calico bass within minutes. I’m sorta re-tooling if you will, and the transition time will be longer than anything I can predict–that’s just how things go. An inshore series boat, deeper v, and better able to handle ocean type conditions is in my future. Something that I can still tow and hit the San Diego lakes and such of course. There is a compromise in there somewhere with the right boat….ie, the great lakes/walleye style of Ranger Boat…the Fisherman Series. Or perhaps a Whaler type boat, center console style. I’m not sure yet. Trolling motor mandatory of course.
The Other Boat/Arkansas
My 16 foot Grizzly (that I bought from Triton Mike Bucca, btw) has had a wild journey itself. I got a 25HP 4 Stroke Yamaha, and a 82# thrust Motorguide up front. The rig frickin charges. I got the boat back to Arkansas last year, right about this time, as I was trying to make Arkansas work as ‘home’ and figure out a way to make a living thru fishing, sans tournament fishing. Well, things in Arkansas didn’t go as I’d hoped, and then opportunity came knocking with getting my software career back in action. This boat I will keep. I am flat addicted to the idea of hunting big brown trout with swimbaits on the mighty White River. I spent 2 weeks in Social Circle/Atlanta (first half of June) and spent the second half of June in Arkansas. Understand, end of June is end of fiscal quarter, end of Q2, in the business world. I stalled and timed everything to travel on the weekends, work on my move after hours, and just be in a position to sell enterprise vulnerability and risk management solutions to new customers. I had more like 10 days in Arkansas, but man, was it great to be back there. I have some really good friends and family there. My friends are friends thru fishing, and they are as ate up with it as us. I had some really close calls and learned a lot in that short window I was in Arkansas about the White River. I had more action in approx. 7 outings, than I did the ENTIRE 7 months I spent there last year. I did NOT put any fish in the boat, and had “the one” on, but she came unglued. Doh. Still haunted by that one. So, I put the cover back on the boat, parked her up and just left her. I foresee visiting Arkansas often, to spend time with my parents and Grandmother (who lives with my parents now too), and of course, to fish the Ozarks. There is an airport in Branson, MO about an hour from my parents house. It’s a no brainer, easy, and financially feasible for me. I will be able to work during the day, and fish after hours/on weekends, and spend a couple weeks at a time there, with a boat that can fish the river or the surrounding lakes. And the wade fishing around the Ozarks is sick. Canoes are probably the best boat at times too. My buddies there are blowing it up and I’m excited to get back there. It’s a different deal though. It’s not tournament fishing blowing things up…it’s fly fishing, guiding, outfitting, and getting their world’s right with relationships, marriages, finances, real estate, etc. Which I’m learning is the key to fishing and pretty much everything!
4th of July 2013
I arrived in Dana Point on the 3rd of July. I have a good friend that lives at home with his Mom (don’t laugh, this is how we all roll at times in our lives!) and they were awesome enough to have me stay with them until I got settled. I was able to use the first week of July, after the End of Quarter crunch, to drive from Arkansas to California. So, I had loaded up all my stuff from Atlanta, loaded up all my stuff from Arkansas, and towed a full UHaul trailer all the way back to California, pretty much backtracking the journey I started in January 2005. I have had more fun in the last 2 months being here! Oh my goodness, my liver hates me. Truthfully, I haven’t made a cast since I left Arkansas. I am taking some time to allow myself to settle in over here. I love to fish, I love throwing bigbaits, but honestly, I’ve made a conscious decision to just sorta put that stuff on the back burner a couple months and just let myself get settled in. Summer time in Southern California is awesome. I have been surfing like crazy. I have a lot of catching up to do. My surfing has progressed a ton the last couple months, I got my arms and shoulders back to compete from a paddling standpoint, and I walk around with my shirt off and woman generally hoot, holler and whistle at me! Hahahahahahahah. Okay, forget the last part of that sentence, but there is a profound difference in healthy life and lifestyle for me lately.
BeyondTrust
Please visit my companies website sometime: beyondtrust.com We have very talented security and research thought leaders in the world of internet security. We have ‘productized’ or otherwise make software tools that emulate the skills and expertise of the white hat style ‘hacker’. At the end of the day, we make tools that help companies manage and assess risk. On a scale of 1-10, are we a 7 or a 5 when it comes to overall ‘security’ across the 10,000 assets that make up our computing environment? Are we compliant to do business with the Department of Defense because we make parts that go into missles or SUVs, and in order to do business with the DoD, you better be compliant to various standards. Or HIPAA, are hospitals doing the right thing to make sure your medical records are being sold on the black market. You could be blackmailed if someone knew you had HIV or something gnarly and private, and hadn’t publicly disclosed. Think Fortune 2000 account that need to assess the overall security posture of their entire network, across multiple locations, mobile devices, virtual devices, etc., It’s a cool space, and I’m enjoying being back in the game. Sales is no walk in the park career and you are on a cycle much like fishing, where you are on ’em and life is good, then …. the droughts and the doldrums come and you have to be prepared to endure and make adjustments to break the cycle. I work in Aliso Viejo, in a a wonderful little tech corridor. There are companies like Buy.com, Dell/Qwest, and Micro Semi in the same building/neighborhood. I haven’t met the ‘her’ yet….but like fishing, you gotta get around ’em before you can catch ’em. Catch the right one! I’m not saying I’m going to find “her” in Aliso Viejo, I’m just saying Orange County is full of young educated professionals who are doing great things with their lives. Conversations about welfare, DUI, child custody, social issues, etc don’t exist. Education, sophistication and opportunity abounds and I just am stoked to be around it. Finally got ‘around ’em’ again!
So you quit fishing?
NO, I haven’t quit fishing. I have taken a womping 2 months off in the last 30+ years. Forgive me! I see myself re-tooling and getting myself in a position to charge bigbaits/bigfish around San Diego, OC, LA…..and slip the same boat in the Dana Point Harbor and slip slide thru the massive kelp beds and do my best Kevin Mattson impressions! But these things will take some time. I am super stoked and flattered to have so many invites to come fish with guys. Until recently, I literally haven’t had all my possessions in one location in >5 years when I lived in Roswell, GA.
The irony of all this is new clarity and focus. My life, especially my fishing life, since Southern Trout Eaters, has really been a rocky road. Not horrible and I don’t regret any of it, just saying, not a certain path or one that has been easily felt out and gone with. I haven’t really found one thing that has really worked and stuck. Florida was hot then got cold. Arkansas, same thing…hot and cold. Finances dwindling….. All the sudden, I have 8 years of pictures, video and story, and have gone full circle from Southern California to the South and now back. I’ve got a story to tell and I hope to see it thru, because I think I can provide perspective, wisdom and insights beyond catching more and bigger fish. Fishing is our lives, and it’s an addiction. Making a living from fishing is a crazy wild endeavor that is like chasing the rodeo. A bunch of young (and not so young) men mostly all chasing their dreams, from all sorts of backgrounds. And some ARE that good. You have to be ‘exceptional’ not just good. The young people today have more opportunity than ever. It’s the age of the cloud, the age of Facebook, the age of GoPro, and the “i” everything.
Now What?
Everything is a work in progress. I’m by no means back on my feet career wise like I was when I hung it up to go fishing. However, I’m back on that path and track. It takes money to make money and grow things. I have plans and intentions, but like most things, they tend to take way longer than originally expected. And since I’m not able to focus 100% of my time towards fishing with a full time job in software, I’m even more challenged with tide and time. However, I am in the best mood and general flow I’ve been in years and super stoked, and sorta just re-charging/refreshing. To me, it’s really healthy to take a break from fishing a bit and just allow myself to get West and get settled. I am looking forward to missions to San Diego jumping in other guys’ boats, missions with this one guy name Kevin Mattson who charges harder than anyone I know, and random saltwater and Sierra Mountain trips.
I would be lying to tell you I’ve been in a ‘good’ mood or state of mind the last few months. I have been struggling with what to do with my life, where to live, having a social life, making money, and finding motivation. So, let me share some news. I recently landed on Lake Okeechobee, for the 5th season. I’m signed up for the 2103 Everstart on Okeechobee, and that is my only tournament for the 2013 season it appears. I would love to fish the 2013 FLW Tour, but it just isn’t in the cards for me. This time, when I packed up my truck and boat in the freezing rain of the Ozarks, I was packing not just for Okeechobee, I was packing up to relocate and move my life to Florida.
Back to Work
I recently accepted a job, with Beyond Trust, the company that acquired the company (eEye Digital Security) I used to work for. What that means is, yes, I’m going back to work—Territory Manager, South East. I am actually quite looking forward to getting back to business. I enjoy the stimulation of the business world, the sharp people, and the opportunity to make money. I need to get myself financially back on track, and I need to have my own place, and have a home base and settle down where I might actually be able to line up a girlfriend! I have been blessed with some great partnerships with guys like Scott Whitmer, Ken Huddleston, and Mickey Ellis and others, and I plan to keep the train rolling. My new job allows me the freedom to work from wherever I choose. After 6 months living in Cotter, Arkansas, a lovely small town in the Ozarks, I’ve realized some things, and for sure I’ve realized that I wasn’t cut out for small town living, at least not yet! So, after the Everstart on Okeechobee, I’m going to be finding a place to live in Florida, and start ‘back to work’.
Why Florida?
I could be wrong, but Florida suits me and my style. I like the general flow of Florida, it’s a good mix of town and country, it’s a good mix of liberal and conservative ideas and thoughts, there is surfing in Florida, and I love fishing in Florida. I’m definitely leaning toward S. Florida, but I’m totally up in the air about where exactly. Orlando area has my eye too. I will have the flexibility to travel and work from various regions and plan on continuing the search for the Southern Trout Eaters, but trout eaters are the low hanging fruit, their is no doubt about it, if you have trout, you are going to have a killer swimbait bite. Non trout fed lakes are the next thing for me. Cracking the code, utilizing the tools and lessons of the trout eaters, and applying the things you learn from tournament fishing—-that is where my head is at. I have been working on finding the bigbait bite on lakes without trout for years now, and I still have a lot of learning and progressing to do. The fish and the bite is there, it’s just going to take time and commitment to put it all together.
southernswimbait.com Going Forward
I have terabytes of film and photos I’ve never shared. I have 3-4 projects ongoing with film that might turn into DVDs or they might be extended YouTube clips. That is the thing with filming, you just don’t always know how things will play out, how the fish will respond, or how exactly to package it all up. I want to assure you, you can expect ‘business as usual’ at southernswimbait.com. I am pretty confident I could not make a single cast in 2013, and keep this blog rolling as though I fished full time with the footage and content I have on my hard drive(s) and brain. However, I do plan on fishing in 2013, just not as much as I have the last 4 years. That is why I’m choosing Florida to settle down. I have been bitten by the braided line + bigbait bug, and given the amount of water and big fish in Florida, to me it’s the most sensible decision all things considered. So, you’ll be seeing a lot more braided line (and I’d recommend braid even is super clear water, just add a 50-65# floro leader!), dark colored bass from the grass, sun, surf and some social life from me in 2013.
It takes money to make money. I have short, mid, and long term goals for southernswimbait.com. I have all kinds of things I need to pour money into. My truck has 175K miles on it. My boat has 1000s of hours on her. My computer, my video and camera gear—–they could all use an upgrade. SSB Customs, the Southern Trout Eaters DVD, our affiliate partnership with Tackle Warehouse, are all a work in progress, and thanks to you, are working and going in the right direction. However, it’s just not enough. I am not satisfied with the lifestyle and the amount of time it will take to get to where I want to go, with the status quo. I believe taking a step back and regrouping, will in the short, mid and long term be a much wiser and well executed plan. For example, I would like to have $ to sponsor a few FLW Tour or BASS Elite guys, like my friend Casey Martin. I need real $ to grow southernswimbait.com to where I want it. I have ideas and models that I think will be positive/healthy and better enable anglers to monetize their fishing, be accountable to sponsors, quantify returns on investments, be marketable, be real, and push the sport in the right directions. It will take time and capital to pull it off.
