Final Post at This Address

This the last post on this blog. I’ve decide not be a cheap ass anymore and Rattletrap Ramblings now has it’s own hosting and domain name. The web address is what else, http://www.rattletrapramblings.com

The new blog is up and running but I’m working out a few kinks. Thanks for checking out this blog and I promise the content on the new blog will be much more dynamic. Hope you like the new look.

Chad Morgenthaler Reflects on His 5th Place Showing on Toho

FLW pro Chad Morgenthaler has been on quite a run on Toho. He won the most recent Toho Pro Am with partner Matt Herren, and just got a 5th at the PAA tournament there. Here’s his recount of the tournament on Toho this past week:

 

To say that practice was tough is an understatement and the chatter among the anglers was fairly consistent, where is the big bite?   This time of year Toho should be a flipping or sight fishing slug fest.  Not this year.  With warm weather and a full moon the giants should be on the beds or staging up for the spawn, but they were nowhere in sight.     To make conditions even tougher a cold front settled over Florida bringing in 40-year lows.   Florida bass are very sensitive to cold weather and tend to shutdown and not bite.

Just like the majority of anglers I did not have a stellar practice and could not lock down a big bite pattern.   The fish were roaming in deeper water and were extreamly hard to locate and depend upon.   I had one small area that I knew would produce 8 to 11-pounds a day, but that was not going to win the tournament.  To win, I needed several kicker fish to add to my total weight.  

On Day 1 my luck held out and I was able produce a good sack along with an 8.3-pound Toho giant.   This one took a plunge into my livewell with just minutes to spare. Believe me; I was ecstatic to have her.    I caught most of my bass fishing my comfort zone, flipping mats and heavy vegetation using a Reaction Innovations Beaver, or Berkley’s Chigger Craw.  The piece of information that I held really tight during the tournament was the bait I used to catch the majority of my fish – Lunker Lure ½-ounce black and blue Grass Monster Jig.   At the end of the day with an 18.98-pound stringer I was in 4^th place going into Day 2.

I had an early launch on Day 2 and was able to make it to my sweet spot first thing.  I secured the majority of my weight in about 3 hours then headed back to Toho to try and catch another giant.  I had a major disappointment when the only big bite I had on that day made it about 6-inches from my hand before disappearing.  That one still stings.   Overall for the day the bite was tough and the majority of anglers struggled, and the weights definitely reflected it.    With the addition of 10.93-pounds to my surprise I only dropped one place and qualified for the Day 3 cut.

Going into Day 3 I knew my “sweet spot” would not produced the size of fish I needed.   I chose to go for the win, stay on Lake Toho and grind on the areas that I felt confident were the only places I could secure a large stringer.  In typical high drama fashion, by early morning I had caught 2 fish for about 7-pounds and then hit a very long dry spell.  Fortunately for me, in the last 45 minutes I found the “Mother Load” and capitalized on it.   My 15.5-pound stringer was not good enough to take over the lead, but it did retain my 5^th place finish and was very proud to have it.   

As Vice President of the PAA the Tournament Series was my pet project, and one that I have devoted an enormous amount of time to in the last 8 months.  I am very proud of what we have accomplished in such a short period of time, the support from our members, and the new partnerships that we have forged.  We have some fine tuning and tweaking to do, but overall the Toho event was a huge success and an overwhelming milestone for the PAA.   Right now, members are fired up and looking forward to future events.

All of the Carrot Stix PAA Tournament Series events presented by Phoenix boats will be televised on WFN and Verses.    The Toho show should air in February.  Stay tuned to my website for additional information.

Here’s his interview about Toho on Bassfan Radio: Chad Morgenthaler Interview

2009 PAA Schedule

The PAA recently announced it’s 2009 schedule. If you haven’t heard, the Bassmaster Elites will not have co-anglers next year so the only way you can fish with these guys is to fish this tour. Both BASS and FLW pros are fishing this tour so you should get paired with someone good one of the days. 

I wish I wasn’t fishing the Bassmaster Weekend Series on the 17th or I’d definitely fish as a co angler on Toho.

2009 Schedule:
January 15-17; Lake Toho, Kissimmee, FL
April 9-11; Neely hentry, Gadsden, AL
October 8-10 Toledo Bend, Hemphill, TX
October 16-18 Toyota Texas Bass Classic World Championship, Lake Conroe, Montgomery, TX

The Beginning of My Bass Career, I hope

This is the first post on this blog about my quest to become a bass pro. It recently occurred to me that I’d rather be fishing than doing most anything else so I’ve decided to give it a shot. I have no idea how to become a pro but it seems like the Bassmaster Weekend Series and the FLW tour are good places to start. The entry fees aren’t too expensive and it seems like there’s some good anglers.

I just bought my first bass boat, a Triton 18×2 with a 150 Mercury Optimax and lovin it. I take it out every chance I get. The big bass tournaments in my area takes place on the Kissimmee Chain, Toho, Harris Chain, and Palatka, so I plan on spending quite a bit of time learning the waters on these lakes. I’ve spent much of my fishing time on the Butler Chain and John’s Lake, so it’s gonna take some time to figure it out.

The first tournament I ever fished was a Bassmaster Weekend Series event on the Kissimmee Chain a few months ago. I entered as a co angler and finished 20th. I caught 3 bass and about 8 mudfish. Good god I hate those things. The boater I got paired up with named Walt has become a good fishing buddy and he’s still giving me hell about all the mudfish I caught that day. The only thing I can say is he caught his share of trash fish that day as well.

I just entered a FLW event in September as a co angler in Palatka. I hope I get paired up with someone that will show me some good spots out there. At the very least, I hope to catch more bass than mudfish. We’ll see.

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