Inspiration - Ready for 2012

Inspiration - Ready for 2012

I can't think of a better video than this to start the 2012 Tournament Season off at Lake Amistad in the FLW Everstart Tournament next week.  It all comes down to this. All the preparation, dreams, and ambitions come down to this....seize this moment.  Capture and harness this energy.....let that energy build until it can't be stopped.  Last year is just that....it's history. It's now me versus the fish. The clock is ticking.  Time to see what I have got!

I'll be posting some reports and videos from Lake Amistad next week. Stay tuned!!

Alabama Rig - Making Waves and Breaking Records

So how often does a new lure take the tournament scene by storm?

Maybe once every few years?

Well last week at the FLW Tour Open event on Lake Guntersville, Paul Elias caught over 100lbs on it in four days.  Breaking RECORDS!

Okay….we might think….one guy got lucky.  Not entirely true….turns out most of the Top 10 guys were throwing it.  Apparently if you didn’t throw it you were left behind!

It just so happens several of the guys not using them had them in their tackle boxes.  Had they known…they too would have been cashing a check.

It turns out the inventor,  Andy Poss,  had made the rounds during the FLW Tour event at Lake Pickwick in May.  Several guys bought them wondering if they would ever get brave enough to throw that monster rig comprised of 5 wires, lead, an assortment of swivels and 5 assorted baits of your choice.  Now you are looking at throwing a $25 lure, plus the 5 lures you snap on.  This rig could be costly if lost. (They  advise people to throw this on 80lb braid to prevent loosing the whole rig.)

So fast forward just one week…..FLW Everstart Championship on Kentucky Lake.  You know this bait was on the minds of all the anglers.  It was blowing up all over the internet on forums and fishing articles.  I heard reports of these rigs going for $100 on BBC and EBay.  People were willing to pay!

Many of the Everstart angler got them directly from the Andy Poss, owner of the Alabama Rig, who made their way to the Championship tournament in hopes the results could be duplicated from the FLW Tour Open event the week before.  They helped the angler get the baits at the typical $25 selling price....instead of being gouged.  Many of the anglers appreciated their efforts and thanked them on stage.

It turns out 8 out of 10 guys in the Top 10 were using them….many of them using them for the first time that week.

Dan Morehead had received his first one back at the FLW Tour event at Pickwick.  He said he knew there would be a time and place for that lure.  He figured it out that week going over water he had fished his entire life……but now throwing a lure he never had used.

Many of the guys were rigging them with hollow body swimbaits and swimming fluke type baits on jig heads ranging from 3/16oz to a 1/2oz.  They said it’s the hardest strike they have ever had….often times catching two fish on one cast!

Within a week the company went into back order status.  Their website had over 40,000 hits in a matter of 4 days after the FLW Tour Open at Guntersville.  Currently you are looking at a 5 week lead time for the baits.  Yes, I ordered mine....hopefully I will have them in time for next tournament season!

Now what is next….the fishing season is wrapping up. 

Old Man Winter is starting to set in on the country...........

When will the next major event be won on this rig?  Only time will tell!

Trent Durst - Bass Bustin Texan

2012 Everstart Schedule is Released!

FLW released the 2012 Everstart schedule yesterday. 

Texas Division
Feb. 2-4 - Lake Amistad
April 12-14 - Same Rayburn
May 31-June 2 Toledo Bend
October 4-6 Lake o the Pines

Championship
Nov 1-4 Ouachita River Monroe, LA

All of a sudden my anticipation for next year is at an all time high!  I couldn't think of a better schedule myself.  Of course I will really enjoy the Lake o the Pines in October.  You can't beat fishing in your back yard and sleeping in your own bed! 

I like the spaced out schedule much more! 

I can't wait to get back to Amistad!  It has to be the most beautiful lake in Texas! Crystal blue waters! You can see 20' deep on a calm day!  Clearer than a swimming pool!

Sam Rayburn should be a post spawn dream!  The fish should be hungry and ready to bite!

Toledo Bend is perfectly timed!  It won't be so hot like the past late June tournaments, but the fish will be scattered between the shallows and the deep! 

Now Lake o the Pines in October....shall I say more?  This is the best time to load the boat with fish on Lake of the Pines.  Expect to see 50+ fish to a boat per day!  It should be unreal!

Now let's just hope and pray we get some much needed rain before next year.  Toledo Bend is over 10' low and Rayburn is getting to be near the 10' low mark. 

As long as I can get a spot in the tournament, I will be a happy camper! 

Come on 2012! I'm waiting!

Welcome - Introduction of Myself!

Welcome to my blog.  My name is Trent Durst.  I wanted to tell you a little about myself to start with.  I will be giving more details about my life as we continue. 

I'm 33 years old and I have grown up in the same town since being born.  How many people can say that now days?  I LOVE East Texas.  I've been all over this country and I have never felt more at home than I do here.  East Texas is centrally located in the BEST bass fishing the country has to offer.  We have probably a dozen or more lakes within a one hour drive. 

As a kid my family spent all of our vacations located around lakes, rivers, and streams.  A camping family!  As a young kid I woke up on Saturday mornings excited about the weekend.  Unlike most kids running for cereal and cartoons I was running to watch Bill Dance, Hank Parker, and the Bassmasters on TNN.  I would often spend the rest of the day hopping from pond to pond, forest to forest in search of the next big adventure.  Unlike most kids who wanted to be a cop, fireman, ect I DREAMED of being like Bill Dance.  He started out fishing tournaments and later became a tv personality known for his flat bottom boat fishing show and funny antics.  Talk about a LIFE! 

So here we go.....my life continues much like any other kid.  The one thing that I knew for sure...was the dream I had.  I never have let that dream go....they say if you want something in life....go get it!  I've since sowed the ground and paved my way to where I am today.  I chose the marketing degree because it fit the world of bass fishing and my dream.  After getting out of school I thought a job would be waiting on me.  Oh, so un true.  Luckily I had worked at my families Office Supply Company since I was 15.  I chose to become a delivery driver (again) to make some money after being broke in college all those years.  About 6 months later a salesmen left.  With a little hesitation I took the position in sales.  Looking back that was the best, and most uncomfortable experience I have had in years.  Now I couldn't imagine my life with out sales!  So let's continue....I landed a job, what is next?  BOAT!  It was time to upgrade out of the 18' Monark with 55Hp Johnson!  It was time to start the pursuit of a tournament angler. 

After one or two years of getting my sales in order I was ready for the tournament trail.  A group of us guys all chipped in to take my old RV down to Toledo Bend and get a yearly lease at a RV Park.  A good friend of mine and I started out fishing BassChamps East Division.  After two "okay" tournaments I found a solo tournament on Toledo Bend.  I had found a nice group of fish the weeks before.  I had a feeling I could make it happen.  So here I go...I sign up for my first solo boater tournament on the biggest lake in the state of Texas (after only fishing the lake for 3 months).  I ended up tied for 4th place in the FLW BFL Cowboy Division.  The next tournament was on Sam Rayburn a month later.  I started putting my time and effort into that big lake!  I ended up catching 4 fish (2-5lbers) and getting 8th place! What a start!  After two tournaments I was ranked #1 in the state of Texas! AMAZING!  I had some rough finishes to end the season.  I finished 3rd for the year in points.  I was HOOKED!

For the next 7 years I have fished the BFL Cowboy Division, Texas Tournement Trail, FLW Everstart and BASS Central Opens.  I have yet to get another year like I had that first year.  I have learned so much about fishing multiple day tournaments over the last few years.  It's another game compared to a one day event.  Consistency becomes the GAME!  The last two years I have felt like I am just steps away from getting my chance....I'm always close to the winners or on the same pattern.  As the old timers tell me DON'T GIVE UP!  You can't win if you aren't in it to WIN!

The sport has gotten so expensive lately. The cost of tournaments is getting so high.  I guess I realized a couple years ago making and paying for the BASS Elites or the FLW Tour is out of my reach.  I personally think I could qualify, but there is no way this Poor Boy could afford a year on the tour.  A years entries into the Elites costing you around 55K without travel expenses.  I still have that dream....that you never know what could happen.  I keep the burning desire in my gut to make it!  It never goes away....call me a DREAMER!

Now you know a little about me....let's get going!

Formost I will be taking you along with me on my bass fishing tournaments as I fish the FLW Everstarts.  I will be updating my efforts, what is happening on the water, and what is working for the other competitors. 

I will be discussing many different topics in the world of bass fishing, from the latest news, products, and more HOT topics.  

I hope that you will check back from time to time and see the developments as we get closer to a new tournament season!