Fishing Fridays Radio

Hello everybody, and welcome to Dig IN Fishing Fridays.

I'm your host Mike Grady, and I'm excited today. Today we have Derek Hudnall here.

Derek is a Bass Masters league lead angler from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Derek is 38 years old, and was born and raised in Baton Rouge. His wife Anya, daughter Payton, who's three, and Braxton who's 15.

He actually grew up in a fishing family, and he's been fishing competitively in Louisiana since he was 16 years old. His first Bass Master Open was in 2016 and that's when Derek started fishing full time. He has fished all the divisions of the Bass Master Open's every year to increase his versatility, and his chances to qualify for the Bass Master Elite Series. He finished third overall in 2018, which qualified him for the 2019 Elite Series, and the 2019 Bass Master Classic. Welcome Derek.

Glad to be here.

So, Derek what are you up to today?

Man, I just got off the road. I left Baton Rouge, Louisiana about 5:00 A.M. Central time this morning and then I just arrived in Anderson, South Carolina at Lake Hartwell, which is our next Elite Series event in April, so I'm here to look around to ... To look around this place just before our cut off, to get familiar with it before we start practice here in April. And also I'll be heading from here to Knoxville, to start practice for the Bass Master Classic.

View Details

I'm excited today because today we have Bernie Schultz.

Bernie is a native Floridian with more than 30 years of experience competing at the highest level of tournament fishing.

With two US and two Canadian titles, he has won well over a million dollars in prize money.
In addition to competing on the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bernie Schultz serves as a consultant to many of the biggest brands in fishing, including Shimano, Rapala, Mercury Marine, Garmin, and others.
He also serves as a columnist for several major fishing publications, including Bassmaster, Florida Sportsman, Ontario's Just Fishing, and Inside Line.

Welcome, Bernie.

How you doing, Mike? Good to meet you.

All right, yeah. Great. Tell us, what are you up to today?

Oh, I got a few renovations going on at the house. I've got a little bit of a down period between tournaments, and we're doing a kitchen remod. That sounds pretty boring, I'm sure, to your listeners, but that's what's going on at our house today.

What's your next tournament?

Next tournament is on Lake Hartwell. It's on the Georgia-South Carolina border. It's right on the state line, and it's a fabulous fishery. That's in the first part of April. Then we leave directly from there to Winyah Bay, which is on the coast just north of South ... what is it? Charleston.

Okay, gotcha. How long have you been fishing?

Well, I've been fishing tournaments over 30 years. I've been fishing my entire life. Even as a really young kid I was on the water. My grandfather and my mother were kind of the inspiration for me. We lived on a lake in Sanford, Florida. That's where I learned to ... I mean, I learned the basics there.

Nice. So it was your grandfather and your mother?

Correct, yeah. My dad didn't fish, but dad always made sure there was water nearby and that I had a boat. My grandfather was a fisherman, and my mom was exposed to that early on. That's where I got it, was through them.

Wow. Tell us, how did you start fishing competitively? From when you were a kid and you were just doing it for fun, and then all of a sudden you decided to start fishing competitively?

Well, I kind of backed into it, Mike. I was a student at the University of Florida, and one of my instructors was in a bass club. We figured out pretty early on during the class that we both fished and that we had a common interest, and then we started fishing together. He encouraged me to come to a bass club meeting, and I did. As a guest, I was invited to fish in a tournament, and my first draw was Shaw Grigsby, of all people. That kind of hooked me at that point. I mean, I'd been fishing long before that, but that was my first exposure to competitive fishing.

Your first exposure to competitive fishing, and you get partnered up with Shaw Grigsby.

Michael Grady

Thanks for listening to Fishing Fridays Radio Podcast.

If you would like to be notified anytime we release a new episode just hit subscribe and like this episode.

You can subscribe over at https://www.fishingfridaysradio.com

In addition to that, we would love to send you a free gift.

You can find that free gift at https://giveaway.diginanchors.com

Thanks again for listening

View Details

Hello everybody, and welcome to dig in fishing. I'm your host, Mike Grady. I'm excited today because today we have drew bitten here, the Bassmaster elite series. Drew had one, two major wins and the first in a FLW tour, Lake Okeechobee, and the second bath master Toyota, Texas fast. Drew will also be fishing in a second Bassmaster classic in Knoxville, Tennessee, and a couple of weeks. Welcome drew.

Hey, thanks for having me. So drew, what are you up to today?

Well, as you know, I'm up here in the panhandle where Hurricane Michael, just this wrath a few months back and today I'm working around the house trying to get everything back in order. I'm in between events, so I'm kind of wearing two hats. The one pop right now

I, I'm in Daytona Beach, Florida and I can absolutely tell anybody listening if you haven't seen pictures of what a that hurricane did to the panhandle, like bomb went off up there. It really looked like a war zone and still does and a lot of, a lot of parts of my county is just a, I've lived through a bunch of hurricanes in Florida. We've never left and it's just, it still amazes me the amount of force that came along with Hurricane Michael.

Well, I'll tell you after being in Daytona for 25 years, I can absolutely tell you one thing is true. I'd rather the wind every once in a while blow sideways and throws a hurricane at us as opposed to a hundred inches of snow.

25 below zero. Yeah, that's right. I don't do that much cold. I lived down here in the south for a reason and I don't mind going up up north and fishing those small mouth fisheries in the summertime when we're escaping that a hundred under degrees and a hundred percent humidity down here. But you know, this time of year and, and on an early spring, the south of the place for me.

Yeah Buddy. I, let's talk fishing, man. How did you tell our listeners, how did you get started

fishing? Well, I mean my love for facial started fishing for Brandon and calf on math budge. My granddad as most kids, you know, and I really didn't start back until I got to high school age and start fishing around a little ponds and lakes around the house to my friends. And that's really how I got my start. Just Wade fishing, floating, floating down equal fine and a little repairs around the house and float tubes and, and just fishing for Bass.

Michael Grady:

Thanks for listening to Fishing Fridays Radio Podcast.

If you would like to be notified anytime we release a new episode just hit subscribe and like this episode.

You can subscribe over at https://www.fishingfridaysradio.com

In addition to that, we would love to send you a free gift.

You can find that free gift at https://giveaway.diginanchors.com

Thanks again for listening

View Details

Cliff Prince, a Bassmaster Elite Series angler from Palatka, Florida, joins us in this episode. He has fished in the Elite Series for eight years, in the Bassmaster Classic twice, and enjoys deer hunting when he’s not fishing.

Cliff says that his number-one challenge regarding tournaments is the lack of confidence that can arise from an unsuccessful practice session. He talks about the short amount of time that he is allowed to prepare on a new body of water prior to the tournament, but also speaks to how the worst practices can sometimes lead to the best performances.

We then hear more about how Cliff prepares a game plan and his belief that mother nature is the biggest factor in what anglers do. Mike asks Cliff if he likes to keep notes, with Cliff answering that he used to but now prefers mental ones. He then talks about lakes being different every time he returns to one, even if it’s during the same week. Cliff says that for this reason, he tries not to get caught up in the past.

Recently, Cliff learned a big lesson in Atlanta about the differences between warm-water and cold-water fishing which he reveals to us. He then shares his thoughts on what the hardest part about fishing in the Elite Series is and explains sponsorship commitments.

Something that has helped Cliff find success in the Elite Series is patience, so he explains why it’s so important to be mentally prepared for tournaments. After, we learn what Cliff’s top fishing secret and favorite bait are.

Michael Grady:

Thanks for listening to Fishing Fridays Radio Podcast.

If you would like to be notified anytime we release a new episode just hit subscribe and like this episode.

You can subscribe over at https://www.fishingfridaysradio.com

In addition to that, we would love to send you a free gift.

You can find that free gift at https://giveaway.diginanchors.com

Thanks again for listening

View Details

Today we’ve got Jeff Gustafson on the podcast, a Bassmaster Elite Series angler from Kenora, Ontario, Canada. He has fished the FLW Tour for six years, moved up to the Elite Series this year, and is a two-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier.

Jeff tells us about how entering tournaments independently qualified him for the FLW Tour, which he began in 2013. With a new structuring of Bassmaster tournaments recently, they needed some new people to fill some slots. Jeff and around ten other anglers from FLW were fortunate enough to be invited, with Jeff expressing that he jumped at the opportunity. He explains that his results haven’t been what he wants, but it’s been an awesome experience so far.

When asked about the biggest problem he has encountered at this level, Jeff reflects on a recent tournament that saw him on top of the leaderboard after the first day. He fell far down the standings the next day, and remarks that though he has been fishing for a long time, the pressure might have gotten to him that day. Jeff shares some other things that he has learned the hard way over the years and a story about getting a deal on accommodation.

Jeff discusses his process for scouting out lakes before a tournament, including his use of technology to mark waypoints on a map. The hardest aspect of Jeff’s preparation is making sure to let go of past success and accepting that the hotspots of last year may no longer be worth fishing this year. We then learn about the different baits that Jeff has found continued success with.

The biggest secret Jeff has that contributes to his fishing success is revealed, and it relates back to his preference to use technology while fishing. We finish by being informed of Jeff’s favorite bait, which he guarantees will catch fish anywhere in America.

Michael Grady:

Thanks for listening to Fishing Fridays Radio Podcast.

If you would like to be notified anytime we release a new episode just hit subscribe and like this episode.

You can subscribe over at https://www.fishingfridaysradio.com

In addition to that, we would love to send you a free gift.

You can find that free gift at https://giveaway.diginanchors.com

Thanks again for listening

View Details

This week, Matt Becker is welcomed to the podcast.

He is an FLW Series angler from Finleyville, Pennsylvania.

Matt is a Forest Wood Cup qualifier, the 2017 Costa FLW Series champion, and the 2018 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year.

Matt never really had the finances to be able to fish at the higher levels, so at around age twenty-one, he jumped into the FLW BFLs. There, he made enough money to pay his Costa Series entry fee and ended up winning an event. This gave him enough money and points to enter the FLW Tour.

When asked about the biggest challenge he has found fishing at this level, Matt answers that it’s the pure skill of other anglers. He says that there’s a huge learning curve to catch up to the people that have been fishing professionally for a long time. He also tells us about adjustments he has made fishing in the south compared to in the north.

Before starting a tournament, Matt spends a lot of time doing research, ranging from past results to looking at Google Earth. Despite this, he remarks that you really need to see the water in-person before you can figure much out. We then learn about Matt’s favorite smartphone app to use when preparing while on the water.

Matt says he goes into each tournament trying to soak up as much information as possible. During this process, he voices that hanging around with other professionals is the method of learning that he enjoys the most. Matt ends by speaking to the importance of being positive.

Michael Grady:

Thanks for listening to Fishing Fridays Radio Podcast.

If you would like to be notified anytime we release a new episode just hit subscribe and like this episode.

You can subscribe over at https://www.fishingfridaysradio.com

In addition to that, we would love to send you a free gift.

You can find that free gift at https://giveaway.diginanchors.com

Thanks again for listening

View Details

In this episode we’ve got Tyler Rivet with us.

He is a Bassmaster Elite Series angler from Raceland, Louisiana who has been going after his dream of being a pro fisherman since he was in college at Nicholls State. He even founded the Nicholls State Fishing Team.

In Tyler’s childhood, there was a lake behind his old house, and he’d be out fishing on it every day. As Tyler started growing up, it hit him how much he really did love the outdoors. He says that he fishes competitively because he loves the adrenaline rush and still gets butterflies before tournaments.

We learn that the biggest challenge Tyler has experienced in high-level competitive fishing is that you must realize that you’re going to have more losses than wins. Tyler then talks about the mindset that he is sure to stay in when fishing, no matter if it’s a good day or a bad one.

Consistency is what Tyler believes has made him succeed where others may have failed. He relates this to the importance of determining fishing patterns which is part of the plan he has when entering competitions. Tyler marks every spot in the lake that he’d like to fish on to get his game plan together. However, it doesn’t always work out and we get to hear how Tyler deals with this adversity. He has also learned that it’s good to go with your gut, not your mind.

The biggest secret that Tyler shares with us is just doing what you like. Our confidence goes higher when we do what we love, and this is certainly true for when Tyler does his favorite fishing technique. This mindset helps him to power through tournaments and never give up.

Michael Grady:

Thanks for listening to Fishing Fridays Radio Podcast.

If you would like to be notified anytime we release a new episode just hit subscribe and like this episode.

You can subscribe over at https://www.fishingfridaysradio.com

In addition to that, we would love to send you a free gift.

You can find that free gift at https://giveaway.diginanchors.com

Thanks again for listening

Fishing Fridays Radio: Recent Episodes

Michael Grady