Christmas is all about the gifts. Some are big; some are small. The best gifts always seem to be the little gifts. Little gifts change our attitudes, beliefs, and hearts. Today, I went out fishing. From my first cast to my last cast it was one of those days where you catch fish everywhere you go even though it rained for most of the day. I didn’t care; I had my rain suit on and it was keeping me dry. The rain suit was a Christmas gift last year. On August 14, 2011, at 1:07 a.m., Laken Reil Hines was born. He weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 18-inches long. He was a keeper. Laken’s parents, Chris and Debra Hines, couldn’t have asked for a better gift than a child. They couldn’t be more proud; however, Laken was born with some serious health issues.
I have got a feelin’. That everyone who attended Meet the Pro’s Night 2011 at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, Arkansas, had a good night. A feeling tonight was a good night where everyone in attendance won. No matter if they went home with a new bass boat or any of the other prize giveaways. No it was a time to live it up with buddies or family while learning fishing techniques and tips from 6 of the top FLW Tour professional anglers and hear Mark Rose give his testimony.
I just found this out about FLW Professional Angler Ray Scheide. He loves frogs. Yep, that’s right. He loves frogs. He loves frogs so much that you will always find one on the deck of his bass boat and if you dig around you would find them stashed away in his rod locker or other storage compartments. Now Scheide isn’t keeping them around as lucky charms. No, Scheide is using them as lures for catching bass, big bass!
As American’s, we take for granted so many privileges including the right to keep and bear arms, freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly. We can walk down the streets at night knowing that we’re safe. On this 4th of July, American’s everywhere will shoot off fireworks and express our joy of freedom. We pay tribute to the soldiers that protect us and to the ones that have sacrificed their lives. One group of soldiers that protect us is the National Guard. These soldiers are fellow co-workers, friends, and neighbors. Some we work beside while others we fish beside in bass tournaments. These are citizen soldiers and bass fishing weekend warriors that love to compete against other anglers to decide who the best angler is. Jodie Haralson is one of these bass fishing weekend warriors and a soldier in the National Guard. He loves to fish; he loves the competition and challenge of competing in bass tournaments and devoted to protecting our country.
Haralson joined the Marines right out of high school and has been in the Arkansas Air National Guard for 14 years. He has volunteered six times to be on active duty. The last tour of duty was 186 days. The E7 Master Sergeant from Fort Smith, Arkansas, is a career soldier and plans to stay in the service until he retires. Until then, Haralson will continue to sacrifice one weekend a month and two consecutive weeks when not called into active duty.
It could be that the hundreds of anglers and hunters showed up just to win one of the fantastic prize giveaways or just to grab a quick meal provided by Chick-fil-A, but I highly doubt it. The event, Bucks & Boats 2010, put on by the Men’s Ministry of First Baptist Church Bentonville brings sons, fathers, grandfathers, daughters, mothers, and even grandmothers together to share more than just a meal, but fellowship with other outdoor enthusiasts. The guest speakers were fishing legend Hank Parker and singing, song writer Russ Lee. It’s was an awe-inspiring event where everyone who attended left a winner and touched in some way by the event and speakers.
When I was growing up fishing tackle was sold in gas stations and hardware stores. The first spincast rod and reel combo I got was from the Holiday gas station. It was suppose to be simple to use and refill with fishing line when I messed it up which happened often. These infallible spincast reels were great for young, inexperienced anglers who had not mastered the art of casting with a baitcaster. Like most young kids we were only allowed to go fishing at the pond or river with a parent so that often meant waiting around and that’s where this story begins. I suppose my dad would have more hair on his head had I not insisted on casting that fishing rod every opportunity. Of course sometimes that meant casting it in the backyard. Now, we had a large lawn next to our house with large windows that normally in the summer would be open since we didn’t have air conditioning.
Do you love smallmouth bass fishing? You should join the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance. They are a group of anglers that not only love to fish for smallmouth bass, but also a conservative oriented organization working to improve the quality of smallmouth fishing and look after Missouri smallmouth streams. You don’t even have to live in Missouri to be a member of this organization; only a desire to be part of a solution to improve the quality of smallmouth fishing and learn more about fishing for smallmouth bass.
In this world of fast food, drive-thru windows, microwaves, instant rice, and ATMs, faster is better right? Everyone wants something right now. It’s a hectic world, where customer service is almost none existent. When you go to buy something, they want you in and out fast. More customers equal more money for the business. No one customer is more selective than an angler. Anglers like to kick the tires, sit in the boat, open every compartment, find out what all the specification are, hear what the pros say about it, and finally go for a test ride. For a number of anglers, buying their boat, motor, and trailer is one of the most important decisions they make. While the cost of purchasing a new boat may be out of their budget with some ranging up to $70,000. Many anglers will instead decide to purchase a new engine for their current boat; however, this is an important decision too with the cost of outboard engines. Anglers are also looking for customer service after the sale. If their boat or motor breaks down, they need to know that where they purchased it has the service crew to fit it.
My dad gave me all kinds of gifts growing up. The love of fishing was one of them. No one could catch more fish than Dad in my family, but Dad also knew when it was time to stop fishing and go skipping rocks across the lake or go searching for buried treasure. Having 5 children meant less fishing for dad and more playing most the time. Dad was always big into having live bait for catching fish, no matter if it was minnows for crappie, suckers for northern pike, or night crawlers for bluegill, bass, and carp. I guess that’s why we always caught fish; we had lively, fresh bait.
This is going to be our little secret. Professional angler and FLW Tour Pro Kyle Mabrey from McCalla, Alabama, told me that this time of year, most of the time he ends up fishing with jerks. Yep, that is what he told me. Straight out jerks. You would think that he would leave the jerks next oor, in the driveway, at the gas station, at the ramp, anywhere but in his boat but no way. “I don’t know what it is about this time of year,” Mabrey continued, “They just seem to come out of the woodwork. I will leave some jerks that get in the driveway at home; stop at a bait shop and 'bang!' I will have three or four jerks in my boat before I get to the ramp. I even tried fishing out of someone else’s boat and the jerks still show up.” Early springtime seems to be the worst reported Mabrey; they just seem to hang around,suspended, waiting. “Hey, you do know I am talking about jerkbaits don’t you?” Mabrey asked.
Bass Professionals 
Christmas is all about the gifts. Some are big; some are small. The best gifts always seem to be the little gifts. Little gifts change our attitudes, beliefs, and hearts. Today, I went out fishing. From my first cast to my last cast it was one of those days where you catch fish everywhere you go even though it rained for most of the day. I didn’t care; I had my rain suit on and it was keeping me dry. The rain suit was a Christmas gift last year. On August 14, 2011, at 1:07 a.m., Laken Reil Hines was born. He weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 18-inches long. He was a keeper. Laken’s parents, Chris and Debra Hines, couldn’t have asked for a better gift than a child. They couldn’t be more proud; however, Laken was born with some serious health issues. 
It could be that the hundreds of anglers and hunters showed up just to win one of the fantastic prize giveaways or just to grab a quick meal provided by Chick-fil-A, but I highly doubt it. The event, Bucks & Boats 2010, put on by the Men’s Ministry of First Baptist Church Bentonville brings sons, fathers, grandfathers, daughters, mothers, and even grandmothers together to share more than just a meal, but fellowship with other outdoor enthusiasts. The guest speakers were fishing legend Hank Parker and singing, song writer Russ Lee. It’s was an awe-inspiring event where everyone who attended left a winner and touched in some way by the event and speakers.
oor, in the driveway, at the gas station, at the ramp, anywhere but in his boat but no way. “I don’t know what it is about this time of year,” Mabrey continued, “They just seem to come out of the woodwork. I will leave some jerks that get in the driveway at home; stop at a bait shop and 'bang!' I will have three or four jerks in my boat before I get to the ramp. I even tried fishing out of someone else’s boat and the jerks still show up.” Early springtime seems to be the worst reported Mabrey; they just seem to hang around,suspended, waiting. “Hey, you do know I am talking about jerkbaits don’t you?” Mabrey asked.