5/8/2012
James Niggemeyer - Rough Couple of Weeks


I just wanted to follow up on the last week or so – fished over at the Douglas Bassmaster Elite Series, event number four and had a really tough tournament.
After day one I was in 59th and like just under 10 ounces out of the cut.

I Really felt like I had chances on day two to get in there – to make it into the cut, but you know, I am not one to normally talk about fish that I have lost, or things that went wrong. We all lose fish in the course of an event, but I had opportunity for five different fish that I think really would have helped me to make the cut.

Seeing those fish that were better than what I had in the live well come off was really disheartening.

Either way, I hope we go back to Douglas. It is a really neat lake; it is obviously one of the Tennessee River impoundments. The guys really, really did well – congratulations to Jeremy Starks for a great job – as well as Britt Meyers; he really did a fantastic job there as well, two consecutive second place finishes for a fellow Bass Cat Team Member.

It has been a kind of tough, difficult couple of past weeks so we left the Douglas Lake tournament and actually took off and had a breakdown issue on the motor home. We lost an air spring and so my wife and the kids were en route to the PAA Tournament at Old Hickory. We got about halfway there and then we had this blowout and they are actually at a motor home repair place and waiting for the part.

The parts normally take about six weeks, but they say they will have it today; but I have been commuting from there to the lake. It's been a long week, but I am looking forward to Old Hickory; I did well last time we were here in the Bassmaster Elite Series.

It has been kind of a challenge though, I don’t like leaving my wife and kids somewhere unfamiliar typically they are at an RV Park or a state park – something like that. I hate leaving them so far away; but hopefully they will get repaired and meet me at the campground tonight.

So it has been a little bit of adversity here in the last couple of weeks – coming from Table Rock to here. But you know, a big part of our game is mental and that is the challenge right now is to stay mentally positive and definitely taking a stand – keeping a right frame of mind and going out and making the best of each day.

I will keep you posted on how everything works out.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

5/1/2012
James Niggemeyer - Catching up


The last couple of weeks have been pretty interesting; starting back at Bull Shoals I made the first cut; had a respectable tournament there. Then, I fished fished the second Central Open at Table Rock – a place that I rather like! It is a really neat fishery. Last year I finished fourth here – just really had a chance to win the event last year.

The Table Rock event turned out to be super tough for me. I say super tough – the reality is just getting quality bites was a pretty tough deal. It turned out to be a pretty tough tournament for me.

But it has been a pretty neat couple of weeks with the family. We stayed at White River State Park, there below the Bull Shoals Dam and I was able to do some trout fishing with Daniel one evening after weigh it – I guess it was Saturday after the third day and he loves to trout fish – it is how I got my start.

Really, my Mom and Dad got me started on trout fishing in the Eastern Sierras in the Mammoth Lake area and my son has just taken to it – it has really been neat to watch it and he loves to eat them as well, which is what I did all through my summers growing up with my parents.

So, it is kind of a neat deal to see him take after it, and to like to eat them as well. So, then, we had a great time and then we went up to Table Rock. Sandy was able to spend some time with one of the youngest Open Tournament Anglers, Kent Sellars’ parents, and she took the kids to a place called Butterfly Palace and it was a pretty neat time for them.

I was able to fish with Brent Chapman’s dad Ron, in practice, the second day of practice and we had a good time together and caught a bunch of fish and even had some quality bites.

It has been pretty neat; it’s been pretty enjoyable – got some new rods from St. Croix called the Rage Rod. I definitely want to talk with you more about that at a later date, but it is just a great rod -just the technology that they have used to put this rod together! It has modified micro guide system, and probably one of the most innovative, cutting edge reel handles you've ever seen. It is a neoprene skin which feels really nice on the hands, it tends to grip you back when your hands are clammy or wet; whether it is rainy or wet or you get a little bug spray on it; whatever it is, it is just a really neat, unique material for a rod handle.

It's one of the things that I think is really neat about the rod itself. It is probably one of my favorite innovations that St. Croix has done to that Rage Rod.

Thanks for checking in to my blog!

4/4/2012
James Niggemeyer - Florida Wrap Up


The last few weeks I fished the first Elite Series events of the season and we started out at Palatka. Last year, I had two good days going into it and then the last day, kinda had a rough start or a rough day and kind of fell out.

This year Palatka was not very kind to say the least; actually, it was really just a struggle. Some tournaments you come away with some ideas on how you can improve your game and lessons you learned. I learned a couple of those there.

While I learned some things, at the same time, the event left me scratching my head. I really, just had a tough event. Typically, the type of event that really would have just been right in my wheel house. Obviously, it was a kind of sight fishing deal and over the years I have won more money sight fishing than any other technique.

And so, really, to have a bad event at the St. Johns was really kind of a gut punch; not what I wanted to have for the first event, or any event for that matter. Either way, I really feel like I took a couple of things that I took away from Palatka that could have given me a lot better event or I could have done a lot better overall.

I probably didn’t cover enough water during practice and I probably put my eggs in a couple of baskets that things were really going to get better and even though they did get better to a degree; but not enough to where we really made a big, significant difference in the way that I finished.

So I feel like I wished I would have covered a whole lot more water; and diversified a little bit more. I had a couple of patterns going, but I really stayed in the sight fishing game and that, in the end just didn’t pan out like I would like. I had a swim jig bite going and a soft plastic deal and I probably should have leaned a little bit more.

On to Lake Okeechobee – day one was just really, really a tough one. I was able to catch some Flippin’ and Punchin’ and on mats on a frog. Day one, I had the bites to have a decent day and end up in the top 50; however, the bites that I did need – a five or six pounder came off at the top of a mat and a couple of other Flippin’ fish that just never made it to the boat. That left me with four fish on the third day.

On the first day I lost some key fish that I don’t think execution was really the issue. Sometimes, when you are fishing super heavy cover like that, fish don’t make it to the boat; unfortunately. Not all the time, but sometimes that happens.

I love Okeechobee, and to start the day out and start the event out in 85 – that was just a downer – a super downer. But you know, I kept my head in the game; went back out and knew I was around the right kind of fish. I executed well and had 19.3 on day two which catapulted me into 34th – making the day two cut.

So, I was really excited; fishing the way I want to fish; fishing cleaner; executing well. I felt I was fishing well the first day – it is just that sometimes things don’t happen right on the water and it is just things that are out of our control that change the way that our event goes.

But anyway, day two, catapulted into 34th place and made the cut – pretty excited about that! Went back out and you know, I never changed anything. I caught a couple of good ones on a Sexy Frog and flipped a six pounder at the end of the day and Flipped fish during the day and culled up to get my 19 pounds.

That Strike King Sexy Frog was the one that put some really good bites in the boat on day two; but on day three the fish just never wanted to go up top to get a top water; at least for me they did.

So, I Flipped and Flipped and Flipped and culled throughout the day and ended up with a little over 10 pounds. I fell nine places – still, I feel really positive about the way things went. I felt like I made some good decisions on the water.

After Okeechobee we’re headed in an upward progression and we’re climbing up the Angler of the Year standings. After the difficulties in Palatka, that is the direction I want to go obviously. W have finished have one quarter of the season; but we’ve still got six events – a lot of fishing to do – I am excited!

We Stopped by Douglas on the way home for a little free practice before it went off limits and now I am headed home for some guide trips and then some work with some sponsors.

We’ll talk with you later.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

3/1/2012
James Niggemeyer - Classic and Appearances


I just got back from the Bassmaster Classic a couple of nights ago. I Had a wonderful time; met a lot of great people, just overwhelming! Just a wonderful show that B.A.S.S. put on.

The EXPO was just jamming on Saturday and Sunday – lots of people. It was hard to get around at some points. That’s a good thing – everyone was out just seeing all the latest things in the fishing industry.

Everybody is excited about the new year and obviously; excited about the Bassmaster Classic.

You know, I want to first congratulate Chris Lane on a wonderful job that he did! He did an incredible job and congratulations on being our new Bassmaster Classic Champion! What an incredible honor – just want to congratulate you Chris.

A lot of great things coming up this week – I have a couple of events that I am going to be at – first, I will be at Shipp's Marine in Gladewater, Texas for their Spring Kickoff Event on March first and second. They have all kinds of great things going on with seminars and training on the latest electronics and fishing techniques. I'll be there representing Yamaha Motors both days; that is going to be a really neat event.

As well, on March third and fourth Cabela’s in Allen, Texas; I will be there for their Great Outdoors Days event. They have kid’s casting events and seminars and the 2012 Cabela’s Tackle Tour. Along with the events, they're going to have a big Door Buster Sale! This is the time to stock up and to get ready for a big, great year on the water and in the outdoors. I just want to invite everybody to that.

I am just happy to be home; I missed my family because they stayed here while I was out in Shreveport.

Shreveport is a wonderful town to have the Bassmaster Classic; really to have any tournament! First off, the Red River is a great fishery and the people are warm and they are just excited and happy; welcoming to have us there in their town and on the Red River. It was a great time and super and now I'm anxious to get the Elite Series kicked off!

I’ll be home here a couple of days before this great weekend of different events that I’ll be appearing and attending. I’ll just be working on tackle and try to sneak out for an afternoon and head out to the water.

Anyway, that’s it for now; I’ll check in with you next week for the next installment of the blog.

Talk with you later!

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

1/27/2012
James Niggemeyer - Falcon Toad and a Big Hookup


It’s early in the morning and I’m headed back to Van, Texas. I have been in Zapata at Lake Falcon doing some guiding down here and as soon as I got here I went out to do some fun fishing and also just checking to see where all the fish are to prepare for my guide trips.

I had an incredible surprise! I was slow rolling a 3/4-ounce chartreuse and white Strike King spinnerbait through some buck brush and I had an 11-pound, 12-ounce largemouth just crush it!

It was just incredible! At first I thought it was a six or seven pounder – when it jumped it just kind of wallowed on the surface; and as it got to the side of the boat the water was just kind of dirty so I couldn't get a real good look at her. So, as it got to the side of the boat I realized "I’ve got a donkey here!"

She put up an incredible fight and was really pulling! I caught that fish on a St. Croix rod and Ardent reel and 20 pound fluorocarbon. I lifted her into the boat and realized that this is just an absolute giant! Definitely one of the best fish I have caught; not my personal best, but really, really close.

Overall, the trip was pretty exciting and we really caught quite a few fish every day and fishing was pretty good! Conditions made it tough, especially on the last day with the wind gusting more than 30 miles an hour. It was really kind of difficult to get on the things we wanted, but other than that, we were catching quite a few fish each day; some good quality ones and having some fun with my clients; it was really a blast.

We caught some on spinnerbaits; but, we caught them on mainly KVD 1.5 and 2.5 crankbaits and then we caught some flipping trees with Strike King Rage Hogs on the 1/2-ounce Tour Grade Tungsten weight.

After I get home I’ve got another guide trip booked at Lake Fork this weekend, so things are pretty busy.

I forgot to mention something that happened at Falcon. We were cranking 6XD’s and catching some good ones there and one of my clients got their line hung up on some really heavy mono that was under the water. The wind was blowing really hard, so it made it hard for us to work together on the snag. He went down there to cut it free, it shot back and drilled that size 2 treble hook right back into the palm of my hand, right there in the thick part at the base of my thumb. I mean it buried it clean into the bend; it was all the way in there.

It was kind of crazy because the wind is blowing; and I'm trying to keep the boat off the rocks; I’m bleeding everywhere and I'm having kind of a hard time trying to get everything under control.

One of my clients pulled the boat off the rocks, so I didn’t hit them. He pulled us out into the main lake and the boat is rocking with some pretty good waves out there. It was pretty difficult – we had to ruin the bait because we had to cut the hook hanger off. Finally, we did the line trick and that thing popped clean like my hand was a wet paper bag.

That line trick is something that every angler should learn how to do. It is just incredible how easy it is to get a big hook, any kind of hook – I’ve had a 4/0 hook in my hand and gotten it out with that trick I've only ever been hooked past the barb twice, but both times the line trick was just the deal to get the hook out of there with no problem! Sometimes you can do it by yourself; sometimes you need the assistance of another person.

So, anyway, Falcon is an incredible fishery – definitely in my top three picks for favorite bass fisheries on the whole planet. I think number one is still Lake Fork for me and two and three is a toss-up for me between the Delta and Falcon and you know, Clear Lake runs a high third and Guntersville probably fourth, yes, there is five in there anyway, with a couple of ties.

Great time at Falcon, then a couple days back to Lake Fork and then it's time for me to be getting ready for the Lake Lewisville Central Open.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

1/14/2012
James Niggemeyer - Holiday Wrapping


It was a really fun and relaxing couple of weeks around the holidays. After I finished up guiding at Falcon Lake, I was able to take the family and head home and visit my Mom, Sister and all my family that still lives in California for Christmas and New Year’s. We had a wonderful time visiting everybody; you know, visiting people that I don’t get to see very often. It was really nice.

My Mom and her sisters put on a big spread like they always do for Christmas; which was just wonderful! My Mom made a deep fried turkey and a rib roast and all my aunts made their specialty desserts, so it was kind of a potluck. There was just about everything you can want and a huge spread.

I ate too much and was able to spend a lot of time with family that I don’t get to throughout the course of the year and even spend some time with just Sandy and the kids. that was good, it was a nice relaxing time and so much of the year we are in the groove so much. It's nice to come out of that rut for a moment and really spend that quality time that you really want to most of the year, but a lot of times don’t get to because of the travel and the busy schedule.

So, that was a huge blessing and to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – a wonderful time of the year, and the kids were blessed with gifts from my Mom and everybody.

My Mom lives in Southern California we were able to take a short drive and hit the beach a couple of times. We made some sand castles, ran around, splashed in the waves a little bit, but that didn't last long because the water is still super cold. Even with the cold water, the kids really enjoyed that, they always love to get out and go to the beach.


Along with the Christmas gifts, Mom really blessed us with a trip to Disneyland. It was Daniel and Abigail’s first trip to Disney and we had a great time. We didn’t stay very long; the kids don’t have the stamina probably to stay at it all day. So, we were able to just spend some time there and really have a great time.

I got my 2012 boat wrap put on the Bass Cat and I think it's the nicest wrap I've ever had. It's an all new wrap and a new design that features Strike King and St. Croix Rods on it. I'm really happy with it, and would love to hear what everyone thinks.

What else can I say – Happy belated New Year to everybody – I'm looking forward to a great year, and hope you are too!

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

12/19/2011
James Niggemeyer - Guiding on Falcon


Hello, I'm checking in from Falcon Lake in South Texas. I got to spend a couple of days here with a good friend of mine, Chris Rodino from Southern California, and I put him on a plane and now I am going to do a little bit of fishing down here.

I also had some people coming in and I did a little bit of guiding on Falcon last week to make a little extra Christmas money.

So you know, I really like South Texas; I really like Amistad and Falcon and all of this area down here. I’m really kind of a fan of that desert landscape, it makes me feel like I’m back on the West Coast fishing Lake Mead and the Colorado River lakes whether it is Havasu, Mead or Powell.

These types of lakes really are different kind of landscape, but just the same kind of arid climate that I like and just that desert-scape that is so pretty to me and it has its own kind of beauty there. It is a kind of special way that God has created it.


Anyways, I am having a good time. After Chris left I went out a little bit by myself; I was just looking for some stuff for the guide trips and getting ready for really high forecasted winds and some rain again in the latter part of the weekend.

Overall, the fishing has been kind of hit and miss; I mean, it is not what you would expect from Falcon. But it is; the water temperatures have dropped in the last month – probably 15 degrees, and that has cooled the school bite as well. We really haven’t been getting the numbers we usually see; but on the good side, the quality is still there. I caught two in that last few days that were approaching nine pounds; I don’t know if they quite hit the 10-pound mark because I didn’t really weigh them.

I’ve been catching them on a couple of different baits; the Strike King Series 6XD is just really strong. Putting it on that 7’4” St. Croix Mojo Bass Crankster and that Ardent XS 1000 and cranking it with 10 and 12 pound test Sunline Shooter.

That setup really helps get that bait down pretty deep and I can hit some stuff in that 17 to 20 foot range and the other baits that are working really well is the Strike King Football Jig that is really good with a Rage Craw on the back.
I’ve really been trying a couple of different things and having a good time. I wish the weather would kind of stabilize a little. I think that would really make things better, but it’s been; a front will come rolling through with north winds and it will cool things down; then we’ll get the south winds again and warm things back up.

The more I think about it though, it is kind of a funny thing – these lakes in Texas will spoil you, especially a lake like Falcon or Lake Fork where I guide a lot. You can go out on these lakes and have an outstanding day by any other lake’s standard and it is kind of ho- hum by this lake’s standards.

You know, it is just a false sense of reality, but it is good to be out and playing in kind of fantasy land down here in South Texas on Lake Falcon.

So, anyways, just a good time and looking forward to getting home. The kids are missing me a bunch and I am missing them a bunch too and missing my little lady and looking forward to seeing them pretty soon here.

Hopefully I’ll have some new announcements coming up and I am excited about 2012 and a new season coming around the corner here.

Talk to you in a week or so.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

12/4/2011
James Niggemeyer - Thanksgiving Illness and B-Day


It's the week after Thanksgiving here; Wednesday the 30th. It has been a pretty uneventful week or so.

Going back a week or so ago, I was able to get out on the water with a buddy of mine on Lake Fork; the fishing is actually pretty good. The fish – when you get around them it’s not great, but when you get around them caught one on a buzzbait; a crankbait – we got it pretty well scouted out – a little pattern there. The fish – you know you can catch them on a half ounce Hack Attack jig with a Rage Craw on the back. That bite is pretty predictable; pretty solid pattern up there on Lake Fork right now.

So, that was a whole lot of fun; caught some really good ones. Nothing really giant; probably about 6 pounds was the biggest. But that was a whole lot of fun. That was the day before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving, my daughter and my son had 104 and 102 temps, so, I took one for the team and my wife headed over to my in-laws and spent the day with them and I hung out with the kids. No sense in us both missing out on Thanksgiving, so she ran out there and had a good time with her folks and friends and brought us back some turkey dinner and then later on, some pie. So, they just live right down the road from us and so really close so that it wasn’t a big deal at all.

And so, that was good; I hung out with the kids. It was just fun spending some time with them getting that one on one time with Daddy – Daddy time that is so important to them – and me as well.

So that was good and then on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving I figured out that I had come down with something – I just wasn’t feeling right. And, I just kind of hung low on Friday; post turkey kind of tryptophan kind of deal.

Then on Saturday I thought, man, I feel pretty good, so I got to working in the garage. I like to do a lot of tinkering; not necessarily building a new mouse trap, just making the ones that I do have a little bit better; a little more – just change them – give them a facelift. Just do some different little things that the fish don’t get to see traditionally.

Along the way I'm cleaning up the garage and getting that in order and straightened out. I’m pretty excited about the way it turned out.

So then, I was just doing that, but unfortunately the cold or whatever it was,
I took a turn for the worse on Sunday, Monday and yesterday, Tuesday; I’ve just been having it out with it. I have just been laying around and, really, it was just a crusher!

So, it’s been a pretty rough deal; it’s been like a flu or a cold with flu symptoms. I had NO energy and just go through periods of being really cold and then feeling hot; just really uncomfortable. It is probably the worst thing I have had in over a year. So, it has been pretty rough.

So, I rode that out and I am back up and kinda getting my bearings about myself; starting to do some different things; getting some work done and you know, that is kinda it.

I forgot to mention that I had my birthday on Monday the 28th and that was probably the worst I felt, so didn’t do anything. I pretty much Just laid around and Sandy made some cupcakes. We’re saving a cake for a little bit of a party; some friends are coming over this weekend. I’ll be up more; better able to receive some time with friends that way.

So, it was just a small little birthday cupcake for me and back to the rack! But, doing much better; voice is coming back and I'm starting to clear all of the nasty stuff out of my chest = not that you wanted to know that.

Talk to you next week

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

11/16/2011
James Niggemeyer - All Over; Everywhere


Hey, it’s James Niggemeyer here, just catching up with you guys since I got home from my last Central Open. And then also, I went up north and looked around at some lakes or a lake that might be on the venue – a lake that is on the list for the Elite Series for next year.

It was great to get home; you know, I was pretty tired and wiped out; just kind of relaxed for a day or so. Then I got my bearings and hung out with my family; did some fishing with my son; that’s always a blast! We went to a church picnic – a church campout – a men’s campout.

I brought my son and we didn’t sleep in my Lance Camper, what we did this time is we just slept in the bed of my pickup truck without the camper in it and obviously, it was pretty cold, probably in about the forties that night. We got in our own separate sleeping bags; side by side in the bed of the truck – of course he passed out before it was even eight o’clock while everyone was still up and runnin’ so…I crashed out after nine.

First thing he said in the morning was that he wanted to go fishing and man, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! There was a little pond there on the acreage that we were camping at so we headed out and caught a couple of fish and came back and had some breakfast. Daniel just choked down some breakfast burritos the guys made and just had a big time; he didn’t want to leave when it was time to go home. It was a really good time; we got to hear from a guest speaker on friendship and the value of having good friends in your life. It really hit home how much I appreciate the friends that I do have.

Anyway, I got some brand new St. Croix rods last week; the 2012 Edition of the Legend Tournament Series. Just excited about these rods; really really nice! They’ve got the new Micro Guide System. I can’t wait to put those through the motions; I’m probably going to get out there in the next few days and just fish around with them and really get the feel of them. The handles are incredible and the actions look great. Fit and Finish, St. Croix makes the greatest rod on the market. Just a beautiful handcrafted rod that they always put out there at St. Croix.

So, that is kind of what we’ve got going. I had a couple of guide trips once I got back – Friday and Saturday. The fishing on Lake Fork has been hit or miss. One day we caught them on top water and the next day we caught them on drop shot and spoons. I also caught them on that Strike King Sexy Spoon and just kind of mixed it up.

I am planning to get together and take a trip with a friend of mine out on Lake Falcon in December so I’m looking forward to that and then I am doing some guide trips down there as well, so it’ll be a blast. I’m looking forward to getting down there.

I also attended the third annual Texas Bass Cat owner’s event tournament. This year it was a two day event. Last year I was not able to fish it and this year I did. It was on my home lake; Lake Fork I was able to make the second day weigh in. I brought up my 2012 Bass Cat Cougar FTD for everybody to see; powered by my Yamaha 250 SHO and it was a good time.

They have just continued to grow the number of participants every year. I think they had 72 boats this year and for it being the hunting season in East Texas; that is really good. They draw them from all over and it was a really good time. I enjoyed visiting with all the Bass Cat people; all the people from Bass Cat as well as Jason was there from Bass Cat. He is one of the guys from the plant

Anyway, it was a good time – always great to meet people that run the same boat that I do and enjoy the same product.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

11/1/2011
James Niggemeyer - A Busy Three Weeks


I have been on the road for just a day over three weeks. I’m a little bit tired, it’s good to be home, but It has been a really good three weeks.

Last time I talked to you guys I went to Bass Cat to pick up my brand new Bass Cat Cougar FTD powered by a Yamaha SHO 250 horse power. It’s got dual Power Poles on there; Humminbird electronics; fully outfitted – that’s the Tour Boat for 2012. So, I am really excited about my new boat.

I met with the folks from Strike King and Ardent at the Kentucky Lake Strike King Writer’s Conference and had a good time meeting with those folks.

From there, I went back to Bass Cat and had my Power Poles mounted up and from there I moved on to the Table Rock Central Open; the final tournament of 2011 for the Central Open BASS Division there and had a really good tournament. I really felt like I was on the kind of fish to win and unfortunately, it just got tougher and tougher for me. I was in second place after the first day and

I was behind a local guy who had won an EverStart Tournament two weeks prior, but I had a big bass; a 5-12 that really anchored my weight that first day. The second day the bite really fell off; I ended up with three keeper fish until the third and final day the fishing was super tough – I only had one keeper bite. I was able to boat that fish and I fell to fourth.

I caught most of my fish shallow, the way I like to catch them; and on a jig. I scaled down; I was throwing lighter line. I was throwing 12-pound-test Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon on a seven foot Legend Extreme St. Croix rod medium heavy and I coupled that with an Ardent XS 1000 casting reel and was able to fish a lot of shallow cover as well as some boat docks, and it ended up being a good event.

Overall, it was a really good tournament; especially for my first time fishing an event at Table Rock. I felt like I fished really well; I feel like the fish I found were really the right kind of fish.

Kevin Short really blew the whole tournament out! I just want to congratulate him; he’s a good friend and a strong competitor on both the Elite Series and the Opens.

You know, that event, finishing fourth there put me in second place for the points division in the Central Open overall. So, it turned out to be a really good year for the Central Open; normally, that would have qualified me for the Bassmaster Classic, but the recent change on the Classic qualifiers only goes to the anglers that win individual events. Mark Tucker was only guy to win a Central Division Open and go to the Classic.

Yeah, just the same, it was a really good year in the opens for me; finishing second in the points overall.

Hats off to Chris Zaldain from California; a strong competitor from there this year and looking forward to seeing him out there on the Elite Series next year as he has made his intent to fish the Elite Series well known.

As you know, that was a really tough event and nobody caught a limit every day and not a single person got a limit every day. The only person that caught two limits was Tommy Martin and he finished, I believe, second in the event.

I was able to stop in Kansas City on the way home and visit a place called The International House of Prayer, It is a really incredible place where they have 24-7 prayer and worship. It was a place that I have been hearing about, and have really wanted to go and worship there. I was able to do that. It is a missions organization as well, that is really doing great things for the Lord.
I didn’t get to spend that much time there, but I had a really good time; I felt like I was ministered to in a really great way.

Because I'm on the road so much, I don't get to go to church as much as I'd like. Being able to go to IHOP was really refreshing and I'm glad I got to do that.

I went to the Texas Bass Cat Owners Tournament here on Lake Fork. I won’t be fishing it this year, but I plan to attend it and at least I will be there for final day weigh in.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

10/7/2011
James Niggemeyer - BDay and New Boat


Been a couple of busy weeks here, my wife; my mom came in last week for my son’s birthday, so I was able to spend a little bit of time with my mom; she still lives in California, so it was nice to have her over and celebrate my son Daniel’s birthday.

It was his sixth birthday; he had a shark piñata that my wife Sandy made; she’s kinda of “crafty,” and got a little artistic thing going on. It came out really neat, looked like a great white shark, so the kids had a blast with that. A bunch of kids came over; from school and some other friends we have. So they had a big time; Sandy made a homemade cake and so we were really able to celebrate that together and it was just a good time for everybody.

This week here, I have been guiding on Lake Fork; the bite has been – been catching some fish, but the bite is not red hot – but catching some fish on a Strike King Series3 and also a KVD 1.5 and also flippin’ a green pumpkin Rage Craw around some stump root systems and some stuff like that along the creek channel.

So, it has been a little bit of a busy kind of stretch here and now I am actually on my way to Bass Cat to go pick up my tour rig for 2012. Kind of excited about that; got the new Yamaha SHO on there; dual Power Poles; Atlas Jack Plate, Hummingbird Electronics.

Pretty excited! Going to be a pretty neat rig to run. It is the new Cougar FTD that Bass Cat makes and it has got some new detailing on the cap and some different things that they have done to it. Perhaps I can shoot a couple of different photos and get that out to you guys as well, but just a really neat boat, really excited about it; really excited about running the Yamaha 250 SHO again. So we are on the way to pick that up, and then immediately after that I will head to the Strike King Writer’s Conference on Kentucky Lake.

So it is going to be a go-go-go deal, and after that is done I will head straight over to Table Rock for the Bassmaster Open in Branson, Missouri.
That’s kind of it for right now; I’ll talk with you soon and I appreciate you guys checking in!

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

9/14/2011
James Niggemeyer - Cover Boy


It’s been a big week or I guess almost two weeks here. It started out with; I don’t know if I mentioned it last week, I made the cover of Bassmaster Magazine! What a huge blessing that is! I was able to do an article and work with Louis Stout last fall on the Strike King Pure Poison Bladed Jigs; which is a bait that I really like to throw a lot.

We worked on an article and we were trying to get some photos of it and one of them just happened to be one that was of “cover quality” as Louis said, and with that, I was able to have one of the goals or dreams of mine coming to reality by Louis publishing this article in Bassmaster Magazine and making the cover.

It is a HUGE blessing and one that I truly appreciate. I’m thankful to have had that happen to me! That is the September/October issue of Bassmaster Magazine – it is pretty neat and surreal looking at my face; my mug on the cover of Bassmaster Magazine. I have read that magazine since I was a kid, well in my early teens I guess, just to say that I’ve been on the cover is quite an honor, I feel honored to be a part of the long legacy that Bassmasters has had. It has a history of being the number one magazine in bass fishing, it has really been neat.

I then went over to the Central Open at the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Okla. you know we have been in this long standing heat wave in East Texas. We typically have seven days of over 100 degrees; we’ve had, I believe somebody said it was seventy days over 100 this year, and counting, as we speak.

So I got up there and needless to say it was pretty warm up there in Oklahoma. The bite was really, really tough. It was late summer; hot water temperatures; very little current, fishing on the Arkansas River there in Oklahoma near Muskogee and Three Rivers area. I love river fishing because I can power fish and fish to my strengths and I can stay shallow which is something I really enjoy and was able to do, I was able to catch all my fish in less than two to three feet of water; around vegetation and water willow, that kind of line, many of them out of the water. I caught them all on Strike King Lures and St. Croix rods with Ardent Reels and heavy Sunline fluorocarbon.

I was able to catch five fish the first day and wound up in 24th place, and I was just trying to get bites. I only had six keeper bites and I boated them all; I was able to cull one time and had enough weight to end up in 24th place. So the second day I only came in with four fish. I only had four keeper bites, I had some other small ones that I caught as well, but they weren’t keepers. I weighed those four fish and dropped two places to 26th, but I still ended up making a check.

They pay the top 40 places in the Bassmaster Central Opens and I want to congratulate Tommy Biffle on a wire to wire win and just a fantastic job there on some of his home water once again in Oklahoma.

So, I missed the top twelve cut by just under four pounds which is quite a bit on the river, but I felt like I did the best I could with what I found. I didn’t find much, I had a really tough practice; struggled; was able to find one little area that I was able to jump around; work around and catch enough fish to cash a check there.

That’s it for now; got a slew of guide trips lined up; it’s the middle of September and I’m looking forward to some serious fall fishing! The fish on Lake Fork are feeding up and you can catch them on topwaters, jigs, soft plastics and even crank baits. It’s a great time to be on the water,

I’m looking forward to getting out with some of my clients and do a bunch of guide trips this fall.

For more information about James, or to find out how to book him for a guide trip; visit, www.jamesniggemeyer.com

9/9/2011
James Niggemeyer - Getting Ready to Go


It has been a busy couple of weeks running around, doing some fishing here in Texas. I was able to be part of a program; it’s called Bass Life, out of Louisiana. They raise money and do different projects and really put back into the outdoors.

A couple of gentlemen had bid on a fundraiser for a fishing trip with me. We went to a private pond and just had a blast. Bass Life is kind of the organization that does that and Synergy Technologies had actually volunteered me as a guide for the fundraiser so the guided fishing trip was their contribution to the event. Anyway, I took a couple of guys out from Louisiana, actually from the Toledo Bend area and we had a blast.

We caught a bunch of fish from two private ponds east of here about an hour. Just been doing a lot of stuff, went out and did some fun fishing, was able to get out and flip some grass around and caught a bunch on a Strike King Rodent and the Hack Attack Jig, and caught some nice ones on top water as well.

So, fishing has been good despite this heat and gearing up to get ready for some fall guide trips; also getting my 2011 Bass Cat ready to sell, which I delivered last week. So, just been doing a lot of things; taking all my tackle out, taking the wrap off which is a long arduous process. But, I’ve been getting it all done and it has just been busy; been go, go, go and then I’ve got my new order in for my 2012 Bass Cat powered by a Yamaha SHO with

Humminbird electronics and an Atlas jackplate; just fully loaded.
I’m really getting primed up and ready to go, that’s about it for now.

8/19/2011
James Niggemeyer - August


It’s the middle of August and it seems like the last month has just flown by.
I went to ICAST – lots of exciting things at the show!

Worked with Strike King and Ardent Reels; Ardent introduced the new Edge Reel which is going to be just an incredible, revolutionary reel with a Drag Tracking Technology on it. Strike King came up with a lot of really neat new baits; along with a lot of great new colors on existing products there; a lot of really neat new stuff there as well.

The whole industry is just thriving and everybody’s really excited about 2012. It was great to see a lot of people that I don’t get a chance to see because I’m on the road a lot every year.

We were able to celebrate my daughter’s birthday with my Mom and my Sister. We had a neat time there at my Mom’s house in Southern California and my Abigail just ate it up – she just loved it; birthday cake and everything!

After that we headed home and I kinda hit the ground running. We went over to Bass Pro Shops and I spoke to the Denton County Bass Club. They have their meeting once a month there at the Bass Pro Shop at Grapevine in Dallas.

I have a great time talking with guys bass clubs; it’s always wonderful to get around those guys, they are just so passionate about the sport and so excited to get out there and go bass fishing. They share that same thing - being around like-minded people that just love the sport and fishing tournaments.

They’ve got twelve events a year, so they fish in tournaments more than I do. They are a club that gets out there and fishes HARD. I met a great bunch of guys and had a super time there.

Along with business appearances, I’ve been guiding on Lake Fork. Last week while I was guiding, we came in for lunch; which I typically do on a guide trip, and was able to speak at a Boy’s Camp that they have, it is out of Lake Fork and they had kids from all over - all the way from Colorado – it’s a kids fishing camp for ages 11 to 17. Some of them are state or regional champions, guys that have done really well at that level for their division or age level.

This is a camp that is really growing; getting bigger and bigger. There were 28 of them; their parents were in attendance. Yesterday was the final day and there were a bunch of guides that took kids out every day and it just looked like a wonderful thing; I was glad that I could play a little part in it.

I spoke to them about the sport and just staying out there and about never giving up; that there will be ups and downs: these are kids that want a professional career in bass fishing; there’s going to be ups and downs, so if they just keep getting back up they will never fail. So that was kinda what I talked to them about.

It’s a really a neat deal with the collegiate programs that are available today and these kids are pre high school and high school age and to see things like this coming around are just incredible and to be part of it was really a treat. They were all just passionate about the sport as well and it looks like, with the way collegiate things are going there are just so many things that are light years ahead of me, from where I was at that age, and just really a neat deal.

Well, on the guide scene, fishing has been actually good, but the fish are moving a bunch. The shad have been suspending on Lake Fork, but we were able to track them down and catch them a couple of different ways. One of them, which was probably the most fun, was catching ‘em on a Strike King Series 6XD and cranking like 15 – 20 feet of water, and we got them on this one spot and just blitzed them; I mean, it was just incredible.

We’ve been able catch some fish that are schooling as well on a Caffeine Shad and a Wacky Worm style bait, but that Strike King Caffeine Shad was the deal. I still have a great time; you know still just love to guide, get out there and stay sharp while learning on the water, which I don’t think we ever quit doing that.

jamesniggemeyer.com

6/23/2011
James Niggemeyer - Wheeler Wrap up
Learning Again

Wheeler was on the heels the Arkansas River where I had an okay finish, made the cut and fished Saturday; I finished 43rd. I knew at Wheeler that I basically had to win to make the Classic and so really what I focused on was just moving up the standings as far as I could and some AOY money and move into the top fifty, that really wasn’t too far off for me, I think I was in 53rd.

Wheeler has been one of those lakes for me that’s really been challenging over the past three times that we’ve been there on the Elite Series. I typically don’t have a problem catching fish there; it seems getting the right kind of bites, the quality bites have eluded me.

I spent the first day Carolina riggin’ a Strike King Game Hog; caught ‘em crankin’ a Series Five Sexy Shad crankbait, and I even caught them two keepers at a time. I really caught them a bunch of different ways, flippin’ and a football jig. You know, catching them wasn’t the issue; just catching quality was the deal.

I knew that for the early summer pattern that we had it was going to be an offshore deal and I really spent almost all of my practice offshore and I kind of skipped the time honored rule – I learned another lesson, harder than I wanted to, again, but I did not fish my strengths in practice. I spent a little bit of time doing it, but I didn’t really exhaust it, I spent more time exhausting my offshore bite fishing where I was fishing, off the bank.

Really, looking back, that was part of the biggest mistake in coming off of Wheeler’s that I had to re-learn a lesson that I thought I’d learned many times in the past and didn’t do. That is to fish your strengths and eliminate or establish it.

Because of past experience I really just put all my eggs in one basket and I really tried to get that offshore bite to go and I did; I found fish doing it and even found some of the areas that some of the other guys that made the cut were, however the quality of fish didn’t seem to appear and they seemed to just elude me for whatever reason.

I should have fished to my strengths, I should have at least eliminated or established it. And the thing that made it really frustrating or even more frustrating for me is that three or four of the guys in the top twelve were fishing shallow; power fishing, flipping, throwing soft plastics and frogs in the shallows and that would have been the thing for me. I would have been able to fish the way I like to fish, the way I am most confident, the way I feel that I am most effective.

You hate learning these lessons over again. Sometimes you get so caught up in what you know, the particular pattern for a body of water and you forego what you know is one of the Golden Rules and that is at least try to fish your strengths at some point during practice. So that was probably the hardest thing about the Wheeler event.

Right now I am at home getting the camper unloaded; I’ve got guide trips lined up for the next week or so, I’ll be working out on Lake Fork. I’m looking forward to that, it’s a lot of fun and there will be an offshore bite there and typically we’ll catch ‘em on a Strike King Tour Grade football jig or a Thumper worm, a Sexy Spoon and even a 6XD crank bait. I am looking forward to that and I’m going to be fishing again day after day in the hot sun; just like I was at Wheeler. Anyway, that’s it for now. The family is home and healthy and we are thankful.

Other than that, I’m looking forward to a couple of the Central Open Events coming up this fall.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

6/9/2011
James Niggemeyer - In Arkansas
Michelle Short Fundraiser and Elites on the River

The last week was pretty eventful; my son got sick, had some kind of a virus with throwing up and anyway through a series of bloody noses and it’s just been kind of an eventful week.

Just before I left to come to Arkansas I had a flat tire just, all kinds of different things and setbacks but we finally hit the road though and we headed up the road to Lake Dardanelle for the Michelle Short Scholarship Fund Benefit Tournament that Kevin and Kerry Short put on.

I believe this is the 6th Annual and just an incredible event. It is the first time for me to participate. I really enjoyed it, and would love to do it again sometime. I fished with my son Daniel; you know, he’s five years old. He’s just really getting to the place where he's catching fish on his own; casting out, and getting a bite, knowing what it feels like. So it's pretty neat, for him to fish his first event; we just had a great time.

It was super, super hot it was like 100 and something heat index. It's super humid and he only made it ‘til about 1 o'clock, I had to take him to the bank and Mom picked him up. But what a trooper! You know we have 2:20 weigh in and he finally waved the white flag at about 1 o'clock.

We went “duck hunting” Kevin and Terry put out these rubber ducks on the lake and they are good for various prizes like a Power Pole and I believe a Big Green Egg Barbeque and just all kinds of different stuff. I've never been to an event where they just had so many great prizes and the pay back was incredible and they had different divisions like adult/youth and adult/adult different things like that where a person could win in one and not in the other; it was pretty neat.

Now Daniel, they did give all the youth a brand new St Croix rod and reel spooled up with line and ready to go, so Daniel got his very first bait casting rod and we got a Strike King jig on there and he is practicing with that and he’s lovin’ it!

So it’s been a pretty eventful week and today is the first day for the Elite Series event on the Arkansas River and I am looking forward to these next two weeks. Really hoping to make a big charge up in the standings and really would love to squeak into the Classic.

I’m just really looking forward to fishing well and putting forth my best effort to try to do the best that I can in the last two events. I still have two Opens in the fall and looking at some other different events to fish as well and there is a bunch of stuff around the house and only a few that I am allowed to fish, but looking at some different events there.

So, really excited for this week, it’s been super smokin’ hot and river fishing is my style, I love it and it’s shallow dirty water and power fishing, so it should be neat, I’m looking forward to it.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

5/17/2011
James Niggemeyer - Catching Up


I’m trying to remember where I left off last time…I believe it was somewhere around heading from Table Rock in Branson, Missouri that got cancelled and then headed to West Point Lake in LaGrange, Georgia. We blew a hose on my truck, got that fixed, it really was a timing deal that there was was a Ford dealership on our way we pulled in there on a Friday afternoon and they were able to fix it for us so it was a really, really good. So we were able to spend some time with Team Pearson from Strike King and his kids played with ours at a Chick-Fil-A playground and it kind of broke up the trip.

We were running with Don Barone and that is where he parted and headed over to Cullman, Alabama and we drove from there on down to LaGrange and made it there by late that night.

Well, LaGrange was a tough event but in a strange sorta way I kinda like those events like that where fishing is tougher, where you are on the edge of your seat all the time. I learned a lot about myself as an angler. I did really well there. I caught some key fish on a KVD 1.5 that really made a big difference in my overall weight and getting those big bites was key and that bait really did it for me in the clutch. One of the other things that then we headed off from LaGrange and so I finished off at 36th overall; I felt like it was survival.

But, one of the neat deals over at West Point was we took the training wheels off Daniel’s bicycle. Sandy took them off and he was off to the races, he went speeding down the campground road. So it was really a neat deal, I wasn’t actually there for it, but I was there when it was new and fresh, it was kinda neat to see those things, sometimes you miss that stuff on the road, but you kinda get to experience the newness of it, so it was really neat.

Since I was at Table Rock with Don Barone, he’s been talking with me about the three c’s of sports; consistency, courage and confidence. I think some of those things; I’m trying to see how I line up with of those things as an angler and learning more about myself as well. The mental approach is super important; obviously, I think it is paramount to any sport as well as it coming into play in professional fishing.

From there we went on to Lake Murray over there in Prosperity, South Carolina, on our way there, we had problems with the truck again when we got some water in the fuel. We must have gotten some bad diesel on the way, my wife; the gem that she is, oh and the guys on the service truck really helped her because we didn’t know how to get the water out of there and to drain the water separator and so the guys on the service truck really came in and were just gems to help Sandy out and she took care of that. We ended up needing a fuel filter… Dan from Yamaha and Happy from Nitro Bass Pro really helped her out, but what I needed was a fuel sensor and a fuel filter. My wife did that on one of my days on the water.

Murray was a tough event, it Murray was another tough one and while like I said I like those types it didn't turn out quite the same as West Point. The Blueback Herring lakes are something that represents a kind of different challenge, because the bass actually take on striper-like characteristics. Those events tend to be hit or miss for me. It seemed like the first day practice things were working really well with top water and swim baits. That changed more and more, so by the time tournament rolled around I was still catching a bite or two on top water but by the end of it there I was throwing a drop shot and just really struggling to get quality bites. Which was something that I wasn’t throwing in practice it was just changing daily and I ended up with a tough event there with two more to go.



During day one of the tournament at Lake Murray, my marshal and I came upon a man that was stranded out in the middle of the lake with his three year old boy on his back. His boy fell in and he just jumped in after him leaving the boat running so it naturally began its spiraling sequence and it really looked like it was heading for them. He didn’t have a life jacket on, but his son did h is son looked to be about two or three years old crying hysterically. He had two dogs, and was trolling for stripers, he had way too much on his plate.

I don’t know how long he was struggling in the water but we were able to come in and deflect his boat from their path and my marshal was able to jump in the boat and kill the ignition and fished them out of the water; he looked pretty shocked and they were absolutely really tired.

It was one of those things that anyone would have done had the opportunity presented itself to them, but we were the first people on the scene and we were able to fish them out. It was quite the situation, and it really rattled me because I’ve got two kids; just the idea that they might not have made it if we didn’t come by, if somebody hadn’t have pulled them out of the water, it might not have ended well if somebody hadn’t come along.

On our way home we stopped off at Jelly Stone Park which is a campground and a kind of theme park thing. We have been running on the road for almost four weeks this coming Thursday and we just needed a little break, R and R and down time and the kids just loved it and we did too. We actually fished on the little private lake that they had there and it was good.

We’re going to the Michelle Short Charity Event on Lake Dardanelle that Kevin and Kerry Short put on, so we are looking forward to that. It will be a family event and Daniel’s first tournament with me.

www.jamesniggemeyer.com

5/5/2011
James Niggemeyer - An Eventful Week


It's been a pretty eventful week! I started out a little bit ahead of schedule and headed up to Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri for the Second Central Open. We're really excited about that event. I've never seen water come up so high in all the years I have been fishing and so fast, like I did there in Branson. It's terrible; there is a lot of tragedy going on there a lot of flooded houses and water coming right in the front door. It's just terrible like it is in many parts of the country, Alabama and parts of Mississippi, with a lot of tornadoes. It's been a real stormy week!

It started out celebrating Easter with my family there at the campground at Table Rock State Park. We had a little egg hunt inside the camper and just had a good time and we didn't give them a bunch of candy, but we got them some treats for Easter and we got some puddle boots.

I mean it rained, literally, just rained with lightning and thunder continuously for four days, and then, if it quit, it started back up soon after that. It was so much that we were pretty much confined to the camper. I didn't go out practicing because there was so much lightning that it seemed like I was a little foolish to get out there and take my chances.

The tournament got called off on the morning of the second day of practice. The water level went from about 915 feet elevation when I got there and it rose to 933 feet, which is a record high for Table Rock; it was incredible. They ended up sending it over the spillway and down to Lake Taneycomo which is where there are a bunch of houses down there and so much of the flooding was an issue. That is also the area where the new Bass Pro Shops is in Branson, and a lot of those areas where little restaurants had to be closed down because of propane issues. You always read about those areas that are getting hit by extreme weather, but it was different to actually be in one of those areas where it's coming through.

On another note, at home, my mother in law told me that there was a tornado that touched down real close to where I live. It just seems like all over the country or this part of the country has been hammered by a lot of extreme weather.

We were able to celebrate Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday with my family and we just kinda hung out and and hunkered down there in the camper with all the lightning. It's a real special time for us as a Christian family. It's nice to just be able to hang out with the family, typically I don't get to have them with me during holidays, but it was great that I didn't get to miss out spending this time with them.

On the way to West Point; we visited the guys at Strike King and then just continue to move on. I'm looking forward to this next event at West Point; I'm looking forward to a better second half in the Elite Series. Hey, it is exciting and I am looking forward like I said to having a great second half and doing well.

We were trying to meet up with some friends of ours at a church there in Tuscaloosa, which was really badly hit. We were planning on dropping off some supplies like diapers and things like that, so that they could distribute to some places that were really badly hit by the tornado between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.

But, my truck busted a hose on the radiator and after dumping seven bottles of water into it, we finally limped it 22 miles into a Ford dealership where they fixed it up on a Friday afternoon. I wish we could have been some help in Alabama; the destruction from the tornado was terrible. Really the first time I have ever seen anything like that; we felt SO bad for the people and with Marshall law and National Guard being deployed it was really surreal.

4/24/2011
James Niggemeyer - Frustrations and Moving Forward


We’re back from Toledo Bend and getting ready for the second stop on the Bassmaster Central Open schedule at table Rock Lake, and the thought that keeps running through my head about Toledo Bend is how close I was to having a great tournament.

I’ve heard tournament anglers talk in the past about how one or two little changes; a bit here or there was the difference between a good tournament, and bad one, and that was my event at Toledo Bend. I love that lake; it’s one of my favorites in the whole country, and things just kind of happened that turned it into one of my worst events.

I’ve also heard for years that the line between finishing in the top of the standings and out of the money can be a fine one, and that was more vivid to me last week than ever before.

But, despite the fact that it didn’t end the way I wanted it to; there are some good things that I can take away from it. I had a great practice and found a lot of good quality spawning fish that gave me some really high expectations. I won a Central Open at Toledo Bend in 2009 by sightfishing and knowing that was a possibility for me here had me excited. The high expectations are what led to the frustrations afterward, because I had a good practice.

But, those fish were completely gone once the tournament started; all that were left were little males and I had to make an adjustment. I completely changed my game plan midstream on the second day and after getting a little limit, I went fishing. I was cranking a Strike King KVD 1.5, a swimbait and a Premier Pro Model spinnerbait in the high winds and was able to catch 13-2; which was an improvement.

What really felt good was being able to make those adjustments and make a positive move and make the event a little bit better than it first appeared. I ran out of time when I was really starting to put everything together, but that’s just fishing sometimes. Part of fishing is decision making and time management, and that’s what got me on day two; I made a great decision and just ran out of time.

Sandy and I are preparing for our trip to Table Rock; and although I’ve never been there before I understand it’s going to feel a lot like my West Coast roots at Lake Oroville and Shasta with big spotted bass, and a good population of smallies and largemouth to go with it.

This week is about moving forward, and I’m going to do that; the adjustments I made on day two and the positive gains I made are really helpful in changing my focus on the event. Now we’re off to Table Rock I’m looking forward to a great tournament up there.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

4/8/2011
James Niggemeyer - Blessings in Disappointment
Learning at Pickwick, On to Toledo Bend

I’m kind of licking my wounds a little bit after Pickwick. The truth is, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened.

I fished my strengths here at Pickwick; I had my St. Croix Pitchin’ Stick and Ardent F500 in my hands most of the day, and I couldn’t get the big ones to bite. From a fishing perspective, I fished a really clean tournament; I caught a lot of fish and never lost anything that would have helped me. I just wasn’t able to string together enough big bites to have the 15 to 16 pound sacks I needed.

I fished a Strike King Rodent and a Hack Attack Jig around cover, then threw a Strike King Spinnerbait and Pure Poison while I was moving in between the targets I was flipping. I mean, I was doing the same things as the guys in my area that were doing really well. I fished around Denny Brauer, Bobby Lane, Kelly Jordon, and a few other guys who were at the upper end of the leaderboard, but the bigger bites never materialized.

Thursday was a little better than Wednesday. I caught a four pounder and a couple of really solid three pounders, but still had a couple of smaller two pounders in my bag that I couldn’t cull out. If I had been able to catch one more three pounder, I would have made the cut. That’s a frustrating thing, to know you’re in the right areas and not be able to get the right results. Oh well, that’s the way it goes sometimes, you just try to learn what you can from the situation and move on.

I’m working the Yamaha booth during Friday’s weigh-in, and I get to tell people what an amazing machine I have on the back of my Bass Cat. It really impresses me more each day I’m on the water, and I look forward to sharing the stories with people.

Daniel has had an absolute ball here playing with Laker and Oakley Howell. They’ve been running around fishing in a creek, playing at the campground riding bikes, and just having a good time of it overall. Sandy and Abigail are doing really well, and really enjoying themselves too.

McFarland Park has been amazing for a campground. The campsite is only about a quarter mile from the weigh-in, so they can walk there. With everything so close, it was a perfect setup for our week here. It truly is an amazing blessing to have Sandy and the kids out here on the road with me; I really love it.

Well, Pickwick’s over and we’ll pack it up and head to Toledo Bend in the morning. While I’m ready to leave the lake, I think leaving Pickwick is going to be a little bittersweet for the family. The good thing is that I got some points from Pickwick and now we’re headed to Toledo Bend where I won a B.A.S.S. Central Open in 2009.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

3/25/2011
James Niggemeyer – Tex-Posed 3/25/2011


Wrapping up Florida

Well, the St. John’s didn’t end like I had hoped, I mean I’m super blessed to have made the top 50 cut in 28th place after day two, but really struggled on Saturday, and finished 50th.

One thing about looking at events after they’re over is I have the benefit of hindsight; which, as the say is always 20 / 20. In retrospect, I could have done things a little bit different on day three and had a better showing; but overall, a 50th place showing at the Citrus Slam’s not bad, and I finished in the money; which is always good.

Looking back after the Florida swing, I’m in 21st place in the overall standings so other than that final day at the St. John’s, I’m happy with a decent start.

We packed up the camper after the St. John’s and headed up the road to Georgia and West Point Lake; the fifth stop on the Elite Series schedule. I’d never been there before and didn’t know a whole lot about it. I spent a half a day on the lake on Monday and then another half of Tuesday driving around before we decided to get on the road and start heading for home.

This was a real milestone for me too because it was the first time that Sandy and the kids have come with me for a full time trip. They’d gone with me before to a few tournaments here and there, but this was the start of our first full season together on the road.

It was absolutely wonderful to have them with me on the trip, and it was an absolute blessing to see them each day. It takes a little longer to get places with the family, but it is so worth the extra time to spend so much time together while we’re driving and in camp after the work day is over.

Sandy went the extra mile for me by getting up and making me breakfast and packing my lunch for the day and driving me to the ramp in the morning with the kids, who were just Super Troopers the whole time, and I can’t say enough about what a blessing they are in my life.

I am so appreciative of Sandy’s support and it was really neat to see the kids smiling faces at the weigh-ins each day; I wasn’t used to that, and I really liked it.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

3/18/2011
James Niggemeyer - Florida Blessings


I can’t say anything about the Harris Chain, other than it was a huge blessing.

The week started out tough but late on the second day of practice I found two key bed fish that would set me up for the rest of the week.

I spent most of the week with my St. Croix Pitchin’ Stick in my hand and an Ardent F700 Flip and Pitch Reel flipping a Strike King Finesse Worm or a Rodent into bedding areas. Most of my fish came on the Finesse Worm, which is kind of a Florida go to.

It was a huge blessing to finish 9th in the first tournament of the year, especially when you consider that I had to keep moving and finding new water so much. On day three, I was really struggling, and I decided to go to a new stretch in the area that I had been fishing in. I hadn’t even looked in that area before the third day, and I was fortunate to find a five pounder that I got to eat, and that was the fish that put me into the cut for the Elite 12.

It has been so great to have Sandy and the kids here with me. It’s been a little tight in the camper, but we are really enjoying being all together while I’m out here working.

Sandy has been spoiling us with cooking here in the camper; in fact, we’ve only eaten out once the whole time we’ve been on the road; which has been really nice. Daniel and Abigail have been running and playing as hard as they can all day, so at night, they sleep really hard at night.

We were really tired by the time we got to Palatka after making the Elite 12 cut at Harris Chain, so I slept in a little on Monday; which isn’t like me at all, but I needed the rest.

At first the tournament looked like it was going to be right in my wheelhouse, but things have been changing rapidly, and I’m just having to keep adjusting and following my instincts and trying to stay ahead of the game.

I caught 12 pounds on day one, and was able to move up into 28th place today after catching 13-1; so, I get to fish another day, and see what happens.

I’ve been blessed with a good start here in Florida, now we’ll see if we can keep it going.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

3/10/2011
James Niggemeyer - In Tavares
Prepping - Gear, Mind and Soul

Getting ready to come to Florida was a challenge. It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get all of my tournament stuff, all of Sandy’s, Daniel’s and Abigail’s stuff into the camper for our trip to Florida.

It also took a little longer to get here than I thought it would have. It took us two full days of driving; mainly because we met a bunch of really bad rainstorms through Louisiana and Mississippi that really slowed us down. We pulled into our campsite at about 10:00Pm on Saturday night, and went to sleep.

We got up Sunday morning and set up camp, and then I got together with Alton Jones, Brent Chapman, Mark Davis and Randy Howell for a Bible study in the afternoon. It’s hard to be on the road so much and miss worship on Sundays, so Alton came up with this idea for us all to do together. Of course if the Lord blesses us with Elite 12 finishes, we’ll still miss, but it’s nice to have us all together for some study and prayer.

Daniel and Abigail are having a great time, playing with the other kids and being outside here. Sandy is adjusting to having our stuff is small places but it’s going pretty well. It’s just really nice to come home from a day of fishing and see my family; I’m really super blessed to have them here.

The fishing has been tough; it’s my second time here on the Elite Series, and there is a lot of ground to cover in the three days of practice, but we’ll make do. I’m really super excited about the season kicking off; it’s the first one of the year, and I’m ready to get started.

I went to the FOCAS Meeting tonight to hear Mark Davis speak. He was filling in for our Chaplain Chris Wells, who couldn’t make it until after the tournament starts. Then it was off to registration and check-in; back to the camper to have dinner and work on tackle; then to bed for the morning.

I have to say that I am more and more impressed by my Yamaha SHO Four Stroke every day. I was able to get it up to 77.1 miles an hour on my Humminbird GPS during practice. My Bass Cat Puma FTD is really responding to it, and I’m excited about it.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

3/2/2011
James Niggemeyer - Congratulations are in Order
Classic, Lake Lewisville and Going Swimming

First of all, let me say congratulations to two people for their recent wins.

Congratulations to my Strike King teammate Kevin VanDam for his fourth Bassmaster Classic win; an amazing accomplishment. Also, congratulations to Mark Tucker, a former Elite Series colleague who won the first Central Open at Lake Lewisville. Nice job to both of you.

I worked the Classic Expo for my sponsors, and it was a good show. Of course I would have rather been fishing, but New Orleans is a true city of celebration and they make people feel warm and invited, so it was really cool to get to interact with the bass fishing fans of The Big Easy.

Speaking of Lake Lewisville, it had to be one of the toughest tournaments in a Bassmaster Open. Now, I don’t know that for sure, but next to the Havasu Invitational in the 90’s, this the toughest I’ve ever fished. I finished in 20th place after having caught seven fish for a little over 12 pounds and it surprised me to have moved up four places in the standings that day.

I caught most of my fish on while flipping a Strike King Rodent on our new Tour Grade Tungsten. But, I did catch some while throwing a discontinued Strike King balsa Flat Shad crankbait. Of course I felt right at home with my St. Croix Pitchin’ Rod and an Ardent F700 with Sunline Super PE braid in my hands.

It may sound surprising because I’m known as a flipper, but throwing a crankbait is in my top three of my favorite things to throw. When I figured out they were on the crankbait bite; even in that cold water, I was more than happy to go with it.

I did lose two fish on the crankbait that I think cost me. One of them I set the hook on, and got four or five turns of the reel handle on, and it just pulled off. It felt like a really good fish, and I’m sure it could have moved me up into the top 12.

Okay, I’m going to tell one on myself now; I fell in the water while trying to retrieve a snagged lure. I had really cleaned the cap of my Bass Cat Puma FTD really well with spray wax / cleaner and with the carpet being wet from the earlier rain, my feet were wet, and I slipped on the glass.

My Co-angler for the day said he turned around and didn’t see me anymore. I caught myself by the trolling motor bracket with one hand to keep from going completely under, then shimmied around the back of the boat and used my Yamaha outboard, my Power Poles and the safety ladder that Bass Cat installs to get back in the boat.

Once I got in, I had to strip out of my clothes, and change into a new set of rain gear to keep from freezing, but I managed okay, outside of a slightly cut up hand from the trolling motor bracket. I did get my lure back though, so that’s good.

Anyway, it was the first time I got to use my Yamaha 250 SHO in competition, and I am more than impressed. My Puma FTD pops up on plane like an 18 foot boat and has so much power, it’s unbelievable. After I broke it in, I opened it up by myself, and got it up to 76 miles per hour, and probably could have gone faster; this new technology is absolutely amazing.

We’re packing up the camper and heading to Florida for the first Elite Series event, and I’m ready to get started. We’ll talk to you from the road.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

2/12/2011
James Niggemeyer - Cold Weather - Again
Getting Busy as the Season Approaches

We’ve had unusually cold weather for East Texas again lately. Ice and snow have been on the ground, and with the exception of the kids going outside for short periods to play in the snow, but we’ve all been pretty much stuck in the house.

I’ve been avoiding the colds that Sandy and the kids have been trading back and forth most of the winter, but it finally got me last week. I spent most of my time inside recuperating and lounging. I worked on tackle in the house a little bit, but I mainly tried to get healthy.

I’m going up to the Rockwall Marine promotion this weekend. They’re having an in house promotion and it will be fun to hang around with everyone and talk fishing, boats and maybe a little breakfast while we’re at it.

It warmed up a little and I got to go out for a little while Friday and do some of the break in work on my Yamaha 250 SHO Four Stroke. I can’t believe the technology that Yamaha has put into this outboard, it really performs well on my Bass Cat Puma FTD; and it’s not even broken in yet.

I’m excited to announce a new sponsor for 2011; Torklift International. Torklift is a company that specializes in RV and Towing products. I’ve used some of their products for a while now, and they really make a huge difference in the way that my truck performs under the heavy loads I pull.

I’ve been a camper on tour for quite a while now, and I’ve always used a cab over camper. The camper adds a heavy load to the truck, and it creates dynamics that need to be corrected. One of the products that I’m really looking forward to using is called Stable Load. It is a product that goes between the frame and leaf springs to support the weight better. I have been using Stable Loads for a while now and once they were installed I could feel the difference once I drove onto the road.

I’ll also be using the Super Hitch and Super Truss for towing the boat behind the rig. These two products really support the weight and help keep the frame from becoming damaged under really heavy loads. The Fast Gun is cool, because it’s a turnbuckle system for the camper that will save me a lot of time getting on to the next event.

Other than that, I’m getting ready to go to Lake Lewisville for the first Central Open for the year. I’ll be practicing over there this week, and the weather is supposed to be warm. I’ll leave practice for a couple of days to head to the Classic for my sponsors, and I hope to see you there.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

2/4/2011
James Niggemeyer - Sunshine
New Synergy Wrap

The boat is back from the graphics company, and I really like it. The Synergy Technologies wrap is totally different than anything I’ve ever done before, it’s been pretty much gray and neutral colors in the past; well I changed it up this year.

The wrap company told me it looked like a sunrise, and when I got there to pick it up; it certainly did. It’s bright, yellows and oranges all over, and we did it so that we could try to show off the sponsors a little bit better than it has before, and I think we did that.



This is my first time to run the Bass Cat Puma FTD. I've had a Puma and I've run the Cougar FTD for the last two years and this one is kind of a blend of the two. I really like the new console and how I can flush mount my Humminbird 1198 right in. It really looks clean and everything is right in front of me.

I’m preparing my boat for the year, and I can be pretty particular about having things just so. I re-run the transducer wire on my MotorGuide and tape it up then zip tie it in place, that way there’s nothing to get caught on stumps, branches, etc. I also finished dropping four group 31 batteries in the back and zip tied things together to keep it orderly.

As far as the inside storage, I’m starting to remember how I stored things in the Puma. I don't want to find myself, hunt for anything and this boat has a handy little tool holder for just that. I also like to add the Gator Grip Tackle Rac to every boat I use to help keep things at my finger tips.

We’ve been hit hard with the cold weather here lately like so much of the country, so I’m still waiting to get out and start breaking in my new Yamaha SHO. I always try to break in the motor responsibly, but I think I’ll wait a little longer to try and get some warmer weather before heading to the lake for a drive.

I got my year’s supply of Sunline in yesterday, as well as my new supply of reels from Ardent. I’m a big fan of the XS1000 and F500 reels, but I did order a new C400 in the new Fishouflage pattern as well as the F500, to give those a try. I’ll fill them with Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon and the new FX2 Froggin’ and Flippin’ braid, then match them to their respective St. Croix rods.

I also just found a new product that will help me keep the screens on my Humminbirds clean called Wave Away. I spend a lot of time Flippin’ in the grass and my screens get really dirty, so this stuff is pretty good to keep handy. It comes with a microfiber cloth, and I can use it on my sunglasses and helmet windscreens too.

Other than that, things are getting super busy really fast. I’m going to work a show at Rockwall Marine in Rockwall, Tex. on the 12th and I’m going to spend a little time at Lake Lewisville pre-practicing for the Central Open after that. Tommy Yetts is the owner of Rockwall; he’s a good guy and tournament angler himself, so he knows what we need, and takes care of us really well.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

1/29/2011
James Niggemeyer - New Boat and Fishing
Instructional Trip and Fishing with the Family

I’m on my way home from picking up my new Puma FTD at Bass Cat and dropping it off to have the wrap installed. I’m really excited about the new boat with my Yamaha 250 SHO Four Stroke motor. I really like the fresh new look of the Yamaha in the mirror while I was towing it to the graphics shop; I really like it.

The boat and motor package really look good together, the boat is black, silver and red with a white lightning bolt stripe, and it looks good with the dark blue, silver and red on the Yamaha. It was also a little different to see two Power Poles in the mirror driving down the road, but I’m looking forward to how much more efficient they will make me.



My Synergy Technologies wrap is going to be totally different this year too. It looks a lot like a sunrise, with some yellows and oranges in it; I’m really excited about how it turned out and can’t wait to see it on my boat. I’ll share it with you when I get pictures of it.

I stopped and visited with Kevin and Kerry Short on my way home. Kevin is my Bass Cat and St. Croix Rods teammate, and because we both camp on tour, I’ve gotten to spend quite a bit of time with them. They’ve also been great to Sandy and the kids when they’ve come with me in the past; it’s always nice to have good friends like them.

Before I left for Mountain Home, Ark. I did an instructional guide trip with an angler on Lake Fork. It was a really cool session because the first priority is learning; it’s about helping the angler better understand all aspects of fishing.

Our trip started in the parking lot with a map spread out on the boat going over seasonal patterns without the distractions of fishing. My instructional trips are five hour, intense sessions where we go over patterns, lure choices and color selection for the conditions, electronics and how to duplicate a pattern all over a lake. They are really in depth, and we get into a lot in that time.

I’ve gone fishing a couple of times around that trip. One was a trout fishing expedition with Sandy and the kids, and the other was a trip to Fork. The fish at Lake Fork are still biting; I caught them on Strike King Red Eye Shads and Hack Attack Jigs with KVD Chunk really well.



The trout fishing was fun, even though we only caught two. Sandy and Abigail caught one as a team. Sandy would cast it out and hold the rod, while Abigail reeled it in. They caught one on a spinner, it was really cool. Daniel and I caught the other one, then he ate both of them all by himself; he really loves fish, especially salmon and trout, so he gobbled them up.

I’m still trying to get myself ready for the first practice day of the Central Opens at Lake Lewisville. I feel a little behind the gun, but I’ll get it done. I’m going to the Classic to work a couple of days at the show for my sponsors, then I come home and practice begins on Monday for Lewisville. Things are getting closer.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

1/13/2011
James Niggemeyer - Snowman in Texas
Fun with the Kids and Getting Ready for Bass Cat

I don’t really have any major news to report because things have been really slow, mainly because of the unusual weather we’ve been having here in East Texas. It snowed, quite a bit for our area, and it stayed on the ground for three days at least.

It gave us an opportunity to take the kids outside and play in the snow for a while; we had a blast. We built a snowman in our yard, and when I thought he looked a little too cold, I put one of my Yamaha beanies on him; Sandy just looked at me and rolled her eyes. There was enough snow left on the ground to have a little snowball fight yesterday too.



I just got word from Bass Cat that my boat will be done at the end of the month, and I can’t wait to get it in, wrapped with the Synergy Technologies graphics, and loaded for the season. I went with the Puma FTD again this year. It’s a 20'4" boat that is the flagship boat of the Bass Cat line. It’s got tons of storage and gives me the best of both worlds; fast, cuts rough water real well and maneuverable in shallow water.

I went with two Power Poles this year for the first time. For the last two years, I’d only put one on my boat, but there were times I wished I had two. Having one is excellent, but two of them really helps lock the boat into position in just about anything.



I still hear people think they’re only a tool for sight fishing, but they’re good for so much more. I use them a lot in water that’s eight feet deep or shallower for anchoring the boat when I’m retying a bait, culling or even when I’m fighting a fish and don’t want to lose my line on the spot. They’ve been really helpful, and I’m excited about the dual set up.

Well, I can’t think of much else going on, other than I’m still organizing my tackle to be ready to throw in the boat when it gets here. The season’s getting closer.

To learn more about James, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

1/7/2011
James Niggemeyer - Dialing it In
Practice Makes Perfect and Renewed Sponsors

It’s been a good week here, one of preparation and planning for the season.

I’ve been spending more time fishing up on Lake Fork, working on tightening up the way I do things on the water. They say that practice makes perfect, and I’m certainly spending a lot of time working on my game.

I’ve been trying to get back to my strengths as an angler, and working on reducing distractions on the water. I’ve also been playing with how I present my baits to cover, and really fine tuning everything. I talked last time about really tailoring my equipment to get the most out of each lure.

For example, I’ve been fine tuning which St. Croix rod to use with specific Tour Grade Tungsten sizes, and which of my Ardent reels works best for that kind of presentation. I’ve also been playing with different rod actions for line type, be it flipping with Sunline Shooter or the new FX2 braid.



I do this now because I don’t want to think about it on the water during a tournament. I’m trying to make what my equipment feels like an extension of me. At the same time, I’m working on perfecting my presentations on the water. It’s easy to get ahead of myself, and not make the perfect presentation, or hit the target in the best way to get the strike; I’m trying to use this time to make it all second nature.

I have an example of how getting in a hurry can make a difference in outcomes. I’d spent two days playing with the Strike King Hack Attack Jig, and I’d caught several bass over an afternoon, and the next morning, on the same setup, without re-tying. Part of why I was doing this was to know the precise limits of my gear, and I wouldn’t normally do this in competition, but I hadn’t retied once in more than five hours of fishing.

I’d caught several bass, and had flipped that jig into untold thousands of pieces of cover when I came to a nasty stump that looked really good. I flipped in there and got bit. I loaded up the line and set the hook, and just as the fish; a really good one, came to the surface, the line broke. All I saw was a big swirl as she took my jig away.

On one hand, I was really impressed with how long my setup lasted, but on the other hand, it was an illustration of what can happen; even with the premium tackle that my sponsors bless me with, if I don’t take care of my end of the bargain with due diligence.

I’ve also been working with my wife Sandy on how I eat and care for myself. I’ve started doing some exercising over the offseason with light weights to strengthen the muscles and ligaments in my body, and we’ve really changed our diet. I feel great, almost like I am in my 20’s again. I’ve got a lot of energy, and I feel like it’s going to make a difference for me this year.

Speaking of this year, I’ve been working with Synergy Technologies on finalizing plans for the season, and I’m thrilled to be working with them again for 2011. Their products are great. I keep bottles of their Safe-T-Clenz, a hand sanitizer product that I keep in the boat and the truck. It’s great for washing my hands when I want to eat after putting BioEdge scents on plastics, or I spill diesel on my hands while filling my truck.

To learn more about James, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

12/31/2010
James Niggemeyer - Time to Prepare
Experimenting for Success

It’s the week after Christmas, and we had a funny story to share.

My mom out did herself and bought my daughter Abigail a great big kitchen. The box said it was a toy, but I bet if we plumbed it and wired it, we could cook with it. As you can imagine, the other thing the box said was “Assembly Required;” boy did it ever.

We had it about a third of the way to completion when I looked around the corner and my son was crouched under the side table between the couches sneaking a peek at what we were doing. I said Daniel, what are you doing? And Sandy turned around to see him trying to hide even more.

Sandy told him that he was lucky that it wasn’t his present because it would have been taken away. He just said, “But, I couldn’t sleep Mommy,” and went back to trying to see what we were up to. He keeps it interesting around here, that’s for sure.

Well, the offseason for me is a time for fine tuning things; I use the time to do some experimenting with rod, reel and line for the perfect combination for a given technique I’ll use for the upcoming tournament season. I also use this time to go over maps of lakes we’ll visit in the Opens and the Elites.

I use this time to get more familiar with my sponsors new products. One of them has been Strike King’s new Tour Grade Tungsten weights, and I like them a lot. I’ve never been one for insert free tungsten weights; I have always added inserts, which can be a time consuming task that can actually reduce sensitivity.

These have changed my opinion on that topic. There’s something about the manufacturing and polishing process won't fray or break my line. I’ve played with them for several weeks now, and have been very impressed; in 2011 I will be insert free!


I’ve been trying some new rod models from St Croix, and finding how they balance with my Ardent Reels, and I’m getting really comfortable with Sunline’s new FX2 Braid; that stuff is right. It’s different than Super PE, which I will continue to use in other applications. It was designed for flipping and frogging and I am really happy with it.

I also use this time to go through tackle and get it ready for loading into my Bass Cat when it gets here. I change out crankbait hooks, putting on new Daichii trebles, and bulk up my X-Point hook selections as well. I’m a bit of a tinkerer, so it takes a little while to get it ready.

The other thing I’ve done this past week was get a crash course on my new SHO 250 Pro Four Stroke from my Yamaha teammate Takahiro Omori. T.O. has been giving me the inside scoop on maintenance, prop I’ll need and the advantages of everything from on the water performance to storage benefits because won't have to carry cases of outboard oil anymore.

I’m really excited about getting my boat and getting it set up. Until next week – Happy New Year.

To learn more about James, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com

12/22/2010
James Niggemeyer - Love Where I Live
Fishing and Family

One of the things I love about where I live in East Texas is that I can fish, a lot.

I love fishing on tour with all of the different lakes we get to go to, and living here has given me opportunity to fish for a lot of different species and a lot of different lakes. I can fish for bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife even have a trout stocking program.

The fishing opportunities around here give me the opportunity to introduce my kids to fishing the way that my dad did for me. I learned to fish for bluegill under a bobber, then graduated to trout, and on to bass. I’m teaching my five-year-old son Daniel the same way. My daughter Abigail is still a little too young, but I’ll introduce her the same way.

I love that Daniel loves to fish with me, and he’s already identified with it. He likes to watch Bob the Builder videos, and after watching one the other day he said; “Dad, I’m never going to build anything.” When I asked him “why, big guy?” he responded with, “Because I’m a fisherman;” that made me smile, and also made me realize he wants to build something, so we’ll work on that too with my Father-in-Law.


I’m using times like this to re-start my guide service, I used to guide here full time, and I shut it down when I went on tour, but now that the season ends early in the year, I can spend some time on the offseason teaching clients the sport I love.

I also like the fact that so many people hunt around here, because it means I have many of the lakes to myself in the fall and winter. While I can hear guns going off in deer stands over the hill, I’ll be on Lake Fork fishing anyway I want.

I went out yesterday and caught fish on several different things. I caught them on a Strike King Rodent punching in the vines, I caught them on a Premier Plus spinnerbait, and I caught them on a KVD 1.5 Square Bill crankbait.

None of them were giants, but I did pull one five pounder out of the vines on the new Sunline FX2 braid. I was using the 80-pound-test, which has the diameter of other brands’ 65. I really liked the way it handled, and I love that its smaller diameter, it could be a real advantage for me through the year.

As far as season plans, I’m Really looking forward to getting my new Yamaha Four stroke SHO that will power my 2011 BassCat Puma FTD.. It’s going to be an awesome set up, and of course, it will be setup for shallow water with dual Power Pole’s and everything I need for living in the grass.

I’m really excited about it being Christmas time, mainly because it means I’m home with my family. When Sandy and I got married, we didn’t really go out of our way to decorate too much, but it’s different with kids. We put up all of the decorations and see the excitement in the kid’s eyes and it makes it more fun for me too.

I was driving the other day with Daniel and we were talking about what he wanted for Christmas. He told me he wanted a pair of binoculars and “one of those instruments you play with your mouth,” which I clarified was a harmonica. But he said something that really choked me up, he also asked if I knew what he wanted to give God for Christmas, I asked what it was, and he said, “Me.” I almost lost it.

I’m glad he’s seeing that there’s more to this season than it appears, and that his heart has a spirit of giving.

I feel truly blessed in my life, and the Christmas season reminds me even more; I wish all of you a Merry Christmas.

To learn more about James, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com