Tis the Season

My favorite time of year is fast approaching. Most would assume that my tournament fishing in the summer is a great time, and it is, but nothing like the next couple months.  Tournament fishing can be stressful at times as you are required to make critical decisions daily and factor in the risk-reward of each decision you make.  As I roll into the next couple months it is really my time to relax and unwind as the only real critical decision I need to make revolve around deer stand placement and which stand to hunt with the prevailing winds.  These decisions for me are easy, and really, how can you go wrong, you are still hunting.

Before I get into hunting I should back up and talk about the tournament season though.  This year my was my first year running the Ranger 621 powered by the Evinrude E-TEC 250 HO.  The boat and motor combination performed flawlessly over the year.  Is is nice to get in your boat each morning and turn the key and you know everything is going to work.  I had that feeling all year and I knew no matter how far of a run I had to make, I would be coming back also.

While I am on the topic of equipment, I have to thank Minn Kota and Humminbird for the technology they continue to add to their Sonar/GPS combo's as well as their trolling motors.   This was my first full season running the Terrova with the i-Pilot and I have to say this was probably the biggest improvement I have ever made to my boat in one year.  The new control options I have with my boat while rigging, jigging or trolling are hard to explain but lets just say the i-pilot is a new "must have" for this guy.

A close second to the i-pilot however is Humminbird's side imaging.  I continue to be amazed by this technology.  I have been working diligently over the last two years to become familiar with the technology and to make sure I am getting the maximum benefit from it.  I now feel that side imaging is just as important as regular sonar and when paired together is  really the only way to get a feel for exactly what is going on around you.

Lastly I have to thank Northern Beer for their support over the last year.  I had a great time spreading the word about a new product on the market and got to enjoy a lot of positive  feedback from people who had never heard of the beer before.  With the new Brew House under  construction I am looking forward to bigger and better things for 2012.

So, before I roll into hunting season I want to say thanks to all my sponsors and hopefully we can work together again for another year.  With that, it is officially hunting season for this guy so I am putting the pheasants of SD on warning as well as that giant buck in Northern MN I am after.  Oh, almost forgot I have the Stillwater Harvest Festival pumpkin weigh off this weekend and THEN it will be all hunting....Tis the season!