EverStart Series pro Jimmy Reese discusses his latest Shasta experience
Well I have to say it’s been an interesting journey the past few years. I have been watching all of the industry changes, watching friends come and go, watching young guns step up and chase their dreams and watching leaders rise as well as fade. But the one element that seems consistent is change!

As I stated in my previous blog, I was a melting-pot of emotions heading into the event – anxious, excited, nervous, confident – the list could go on. After all, it was my last college fishing qualifier and I needed t have a good showing.

We all are familiar with the old saying that “you shouldn’t talk about religion or politics around a group of people.” For now, I’m going to break tradition a bit, and talk about politics, given the fact we are on the eve of another presidential election.

OK guys, it’s time to man up and talk about the real fire behind the fury. Why are some “pros” so dead set on banning Alabama Rigs from tournaments? The answer is simple. They are scared. They are scared that somebody else is going to cash the fat checks they’ve grown accustomed to. And I understand. I’m scared, too. But I’m a pro. I learn new techniques all the time, and I continually work on the old ones to make them more effective. It’s what we do as pros.

The 2012 FLW season has arrived! Every year, I study the schedule and plan how I am going to attack it. I work hard during the off-season developing and practicing new techniques and am faced with the same decision each year. I ask myself if it is a technique I can successfully employ to do my job and win tournaments. Some techniques I have become very proficient with but still choose not to add them to my arsenal. Others I have adopted. They have become a part of me and my fishing style and help me to achieve my goals as an angler. That is what makes this sport great and what distinguishes all the top anglers from one another.

The Alabama Rig is all the rage now in the sport of professional bass fishing. In my 23 years as a pro, I have never seen a new bait create such excitement – or catch as many bass. I believe the reason it has been so successful this past fall and winter is the fact that it is something new the bass haven’t seen before. I operate under the assumption that in heavily-fished public lakes, every bass has been caught before, at least once. However, every time it has been caught, it has always been on one lure.

Let me start by saying I don’t think either BASS or FLW has another reasonable option other than to prohibit multi-bait rigs from their tournaments.

Looking back at 2011, I am really thankful for Boone Pickens’ contributions to FLW, but also to the U.S. as a whole. Pickens is an amazing individual and I’m not just saying that because he is an FLW partner and I’ve been fortunate enough to represent the Pickens Plan for FLW. I say this because of what he is doing to set America up for greater economic prosperity, heightened national security, and long-term environmental protection and stability – that is what impresses me about Boone Pickens.

Kellogg’s team pro Dave Lefebre provides an inside look at the Oct. 20-23 FLW Tour Open on Lake Guntersville
Veteran bass pro Dave Lefebre has agreed to take time to share his insights into each FLW Tour event of the 2011 season. After every event, Lefebre will give his thoughts on tournament strategy, winning techniques and other behind-the-scenes stories/information that is compelling to our readers.

I just can’t wait. I just can’t wait. For practice that is. I am excited for the tournament, but I just can’t wait for practice alone. You see, practice is something that as an amateur I just do not get enough of. As an amateur before a weekend tournament I might get 8 or 10 hours of practice between work, the wife and the kids. So I just can’t wait.

Kellogg’s team pro Dave Lefebre provides an inside look at the Sept. 15-18 FLW Tour Open on Lake Champlain
When you ask FLW Tour pros what their favorite lake is most of them will say Champlain. And I’d probably have to agree with them. The lake is so full of fish it’s amazing.

Burghoff blogs about his experiences with the National Guard FLW College Fishing circuit
Competitive fishing has been my passion and a strong focus of mine since I was 12 years old, so when FLW Outdoors and the National Guard introduced College Fishing, it didn’t take long for me to jump on board.

Kellogg’s team pro Dave Lefebre provides an inside look at the Aug. 11-14 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita
The 2011 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita, Ark., was a huge success! I don’t know how many were in attendance, or how many actually visited the Expo over the weekend, but I know it was extremely crowded and that the Kellogg’s team signed thousands of autographs.

I have had the unequivocal honor of getting to know the finest group of people out there.

If you know David’s story, get ready for a good feeling all over. If you don’t then here’s a brief breakdown of what the guy’s been through. At 16 he was diagnosed with something I can’t even pronounce, Wegener's Granulomatosis. But I know what it does to him. Or at least I’ve heard. And seen. It puts him on his butt. Attacking his body. Making it hard for him to even breathe.

I watch through a half inch view finder as nostalgia is born. Visible in a set of misty eyes aimed at a flag. I can almost taste it in his unrealistic expectations. Self-inflicted naivety saturated in hope. The harsh reality that lies only a couple days away, the slipper hardly ever fits and even if it does their can only be one Cinderella.

Kellogg’s team pro Dave Lefebre provides an inside look at the latest FLW Tour event in Alabama
It was great to be back in Florence, Ala. This is one of my absolute favorite fisheries because it is perfectly set up for big tournaments and it’s full of big fish. Everything is so convenient and there are not better fishing fans anywhere that I know of.

In the 25 years I have been a full-time professional angler, I’ve had the opportunity to see, compete, and become friends with the best bass anglers in the world. During that time, I fished the BASS Tour for nearly 20 years, and the FLW Tour for 13.

Hello everyone, and I hope you are enjoying some fine summertime fishing. In a continuing effort to keep the FLW membership abreast on the progress of the Pickens Plan, I’d like to give everyone the following update.

Kellogg’s team pro Dave Lefebre provides an inside look at the latest FLW Tour event in the Bluegrass State
We all look forward to fishing on Kentucky Lake, and after a year absence from the FLW Tour schedule I think most of us were champing at the bit to get out there on those world famous deepwater ledges this year.

Hard knocks. Tough breaks. No fun. This year has been slap full of learning experiences. I learned that you can't jump my engine off with jumper cables. Takes too many cold cranking amps. Got to have a jumper box. Had to throw back 15 pounds. That cost me a couple thousand bucks and about 60 angler of the year points.

By now, most FLW members are somewhat familiar with the Pickens Plan. This is a big step from 2007, when Boone began promoting his agenda in national television advertisements, just prior to the 2008 presidential elections.