With the Forrest Wood Cup fast approaching it is time to get all my "ducks in a row".  Baits to be ordered, rods and reels to be spooled and sorted, tackle to be organized, shirts and jerseys to be ordered, and the list goes on and on.  Not to mention lots of pre-fishing to be done.  Only 30 guys qualify for the Cup through the tour.  I am really looking forward to this tournament after a year of hard work and preperation.  Must prepare for a few more weeks!  ;)  This will be my first Cup appearance in only my first year on tour.  I hope it is one of many to come. 

Thanks to Rayjus Outdoors my 2010 Forrest Wood Cup jersey is being made as we speak.  This is a great way to showcase sponsors and products that I believe in and fish with.  I will be wearing this every day of the derby as well as in the family fun zone while talking to fans.  Looking forward to representing each and every sponsor that believed in me.  I will hold my head high and represent to the best of my ability.    

These are a few of the Lanier spots that decided they wanted to tango with Ray and I.  The fishing this past week was not very good by fishwithmatt standards but we did manage to catch a few decent fish.  The days have been hot and calm, which makes it hard to convince a spotted bass to bite anything.  Fooling these fish into biting a bait is like pulling teeth, as tough as any species of fish I have ever pursued. 

Am going to be back on the water for the next 6 days with National Guard Pro Justin Lucas.  We will be making videos and lots of memories that I will share here with all of you fishwithmatt readers.  Hopefully the fishing picks up and the lake starts to show some of it's power.  Then again it is the 100 degree days of summer right now, and I know by now that these are the toughest days of fishing of the entire year.  I am off in search of another crush!  Time to stretch the string.   

I had a year filled with lots of travel, hard work, and many emotional roller coasters; it all came to a pinnacle on my final day of the final event of 2010 FLW tour when I caught a 3 lber to give me a limit with 20 minutes to go in the event. Glenn Browne looked at me and said, "boy, you just punched your ticket to the forrest wood cup"....I was still very skeptical, and have had goose bumps for 72 hrs!  The top 30 get to go and I am 27th in points after the season finale! Here is the link to the final standings for 2010.

I can't thank everyone that has helped me along this journey enough.  Without all of your support, prayers, and all of my great sponsors I would not be able to do any of this.  I ask that you please support my sponsors because they are great products and companies.  They have all stood behind me, whether I was struggling or successful.  I know many of them could promote else where but believe in me, believe in my mission, and believe I am driven to represent them to the fullest.

This Forrest Wood Cup appearance will all be dedicated to my good friends the Stulc family.  I am going to fish in honor of my hero Brett Stulc.  He has been fighting cancer for the better part of two years and has given me so much inspiration.  I know he hasn't been able to fish for a bit now, but want him to know I am thinking about him every time I get on the water.  Soon enough he will get to enjoy some time on the water and fishwithmatt!  Brett you are a true hero and you will always push me to enjoy life to the fullest and never give up.  Brett you rock.  You define what a crush is.       

When you get all the gear you need in your cart and over to check out, make sure and use the code: FISHWITHMATT and you will receive a 15% discount on your entire tackle order.  This is extended to all you fishwithmatt.com fans.  This site is fairly new and has many additions coming daily.  You will continue to see more and more great products being put up.  Go over and get a few new things and check back often for your next hot bait. 

I am currently in Alabama pre-fishing for the final FLW Tour event of the season on Lake Guntersville.  I have been very fortunate to get to spend days on the water with some of the worlds best anglers.  The picture above is from pre-fishing today with Bryan Thrift.  Do you like his "Captain" pose?!  Bryan is leading the "Angler of the Year" race by almost 25 points.  Not an easy feat.  Bryan has taken me in and helped me out a lot this year.  To learn more about what makes this guy tick read this great article flw recently wrote. 

Another guy who has helped me a lot is Michael Bennett.  Michael has been nothing short of a crutch.  If I need anything, one of these two guys has my back.  Thank you to both of them for having patience with me.  Tomorrow Michael and I will be pre-fishing together and you can watch us on the water pre-fishing LIVE!  Otherwise visit www.basstacklesupply.com and click the "watch live practice" link and you will see Michael and I hard at it tomorrow.  Hopfully you even get to see us catch a few of these Guntersville donkeys.       

This is a picture from day one of pre-fishing with Thrift. 

This "derby" is probably the biggest event of my entire fishing career...lets just skip the probably.  This event will have the biggest impact of any one single event of my entire fishing career.  I am fishing for multiple things.  First, I am fishing for a berth to the FLW Cup at Lake Lanier in August.  Only the top 30 anglers(out of 150) in points get invites and I am 21st overall with just this event left on a great season that included two top 20's.  That in of itself is a huge accomplishment.  I set out at the beginning of this year with that goal on my mind.  5 days from now I will know if I have acomplished that goal.  Between now and then I have 3 days of tournament fishing on one of the best lakes in the country.  This lake is rich with bass, and many of them are grown...aka Donkeys(big bass)!  I also have a few other accomplishments I am pursuing.  A top 10 finish here could land me the "rookie of the year" award.  Not to mention I am going to go for the win here in the final flw tour event at Lake Guntersville.  This event is setting up pretty well for me.  Let's hope the fish are choking what I am throwing.  Updates, pictures, and videos from this entire week are coming soon.  Until then I am off to stretch the string and yell FISH ON!  Let the crush begin..... 

Lake Waconia fishing report.... it has been kicking out some great walleyes(gravel lizards) as of lately.  I have been guiding Waconia and Minnetonka every day and Waconia has been the better walleye bite.  We are catching lots of "nice" fish with a few bigger and smaller fish mixed in. 

The walleye seem to biting most all offerings.  A jig and minnow or jig and leech was working just fine, but we also caught a few fish on a bobber with a plain hook and a leech.  We have been focusing on the 15-20 foot range.  The bass are post spawn and are still a bit slow.  They will be moving to their summer haunts soon and should start biting in the next few weeks.