St. Viator H.S. Bass Fishing Team Enters 3rd Season!

With the month of March beginning and open water fishing now upon us, the St. Viator H.S. Bass Fishing Team (Arlington Heights, IL) has begun to prepare for the 2012 IHSA fishing season. Under the direction of Head Coach Ray Nowak, the team has grown from just two participants in 2010 to four team members in the fall of 2011. Currently six students are trying out for the 2012 team.

The students have come a long way in just a few short years of fishing in the IHSA tournaments. Year one at Busse Lake, (Cook Co, IL) saw a few missed opportunities, with one rod/reel combination lost overboard, and two hooked bass that didn't make it to the landing net.  The boat returned that afternoon to the weigh-in with an empty livewell. The two young anglers learned many lessons in that first IHSA tournament, but most of all they learned that they were both hooked on tournament fishing.

After a full year of practice, some new tackle, and a better understanding of the behavior of the large mouth bass, the team came back in the spring of 2011 with renewed confidence. Under extremely tough fishing conditions the St. Viator team placed in the sectional and qualified for the IHSA State Finals. Unfortunately due to major spring flooding last year, the tournament was rescheduled to a later date, causing some scheduling conflicts and they were unable to attend the State Finals.

A fall fishing tournament held on Bangs Lake (Wauconda, IL) gave the team another shot at competitive bass fishing. Weather conditions were picture perfect and so was the fishing. Two boats from St. Viator were entered in the single day event with one of the boats placing second overall. The biggest bass of day was caught by Daniel Cleary (Senior) and weighed in at 5lbs! With each and every tournament experience the team builds confidence in their abilities. 2012 looks to be another good season for St. Viator. We wish them well in their quest for the sectional title and another birth in the state finals to be held May 5th & 6th at Carlyle Lake (Carlyle, IL)

Thanks for taking the time to visit with us at Cappy's Pond and at the Fishing Headquarters. Our latest issue of the Fishing Headquarters Magazine is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 1st. Please share the link with anyone who lives to fish or fishes for a living. As always, remember that you can't catch any fish if your line isn't in the water.

Get Back Jack!

It's nice to just have a few minutes to catch up with all of you. This day off couldn't have come soon enough. The busy schedules we all  have sometimes makes it hard to blog as much as we would like. I find this morning's bright sunshine and a good cup of coffee a bit different from the hectic pace of the last week or so. I'm taking time today to enjoy it!  The Christmas season is filled with so much to do and so little time that we rarely stop for even a moment. Before we know it the New Year has come and gone and it soon becomes just another blur in our memories of Holidays past. My wish for all of you this Christmas is that you can pause for awhile, reflect on what Christmas is truly all  about, and share that very special gift with those who you hold deepest in your hearts. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and wishes for a safe and Happy New Year!

The last few winters around here in Illinois have been relatively cold with plenty of snow and ice. I was starting to really enjoy them. A new found commitment to ice fishing, my weekends and late afternoons were spent drilling holes, setting up the portable shelter, and jigging up a few gills, with an occasional bass and crappie thrown in for added excitement. What a way to spend a cold winters day. With my Coleman heater and a few good layers, I could sit out in the shanty for hours and be quite comfortable. Last year I purchased my first underwater camera (I returned it at the end of the season because it was shorting the battery out, and it wouldn't recharge.) Watching finicky pan fish take your ice jig and not even feeling them bite was a real lesson. All the times I had spent ice fishing before, that had ended in futility, with us wondering why we couldn't catch anything, were now completely explained. You have no idea of how excited I was for this season to begin. With a new underwater camera on the way and my friend Rich's new flasher we will have all the tools we need to have a successful winter of fishing...but we have no ice!

Yes, you heard me right. There is no ice at this point in Illinois and I am wondering what I am going to do without it. I would like to take a trip up north if time and money permits me to do so, but at this point it is very frustrating. So I sit here at my kitchen table, preparing to spend this day shopping with my son Bryan and getting ready for our Family Christmas, while waiting patiently for Jack Frost to get his lazy ass back to work so we can go ice fishing!



Thanks again to all of you who read and follow the Blogs at Fishing Headquarters and at Cappy's Pond.

Where Is Cappy?

Most of you have probably been wondering where the hell I ran off to, since you haven't seen any new posts from the pond. Well to tell you the truth I've been working! I know it is hard to believe that someone who enjoys fishing as much as I do would actually have a job, but I've got to pay the bills just like everyone else. The early mornings during the week are spent reading e-mails, checking on work related technical information and preparing my car for the long day in it. My position at Toshiba is going quite well but the days are long enough that I don't have much energy left during the evening hours. I'm lucky if I can stay awake past 9:00pm and I try to spend as much of it with Shirley and Bryan as is possible.

For the moment the blog at Cappy's Pond has taken a back seat on the weekends just so I can get out and fish a bit. The good news is that with each week I get a little more comfortable with the job and I'm sure that within a short time I'll be back strong with my writing. I really miss it, and I hope you do as well.

We did manage to get out this last weekend for a few hours at the pond and to my surprise I was able to wrangle up this catfish.

It was a collective effort. I reeled the fish in while using Bryan's rod and reel since he had to make his usual visit to the park. Tyler gave me a few catfish tips and pointers that I used to my advantage. His theory was that the catfish can smell the bait and will move into the general area but might not be able to find it. He suggested that I move it an inch or two to help trigger a strike from an interested onlooker. The boy was right! I moved the bait about an inch and it smacked it! My nephew and son are becoming quite the catfish kings. Sure was nice to feel a fish at the end of the line, even if I let the boys take all the credit with the pictures.

Well, it's off to bed for now, but I hope to be writing more posts soon. With the cold weather expected to hit later this week, ice fishing won't be far off. I'm looking forward to it!

Thanks again for visiting with us at The Fishing Headquarters & Cappy's Pond, and remember you can't catch any fish if your line isn't in the water.