Howell: Alabama Rigs-Big Fish and College Fishing

One big thing that has happened since my last blog is the Alabama Rig. Out of nowhere, the Alabama rig craze has taken off. Earlier this week I had the pleasure of fishing Lake Guntersville with Pastor Chad Chandler. We caught ‘em good on the Alabama rig, I sure wish I had one of them for the event a few weeks ago. Chad makes a lot of custom baits for me throughout the year and he made us a few Alabama rigs. We fished them with the Netbait BK Swimmer and the Yamamoto swimbait. We caught over 25 fish in about four hours of fishing on the rigs. Many of the fish are over the five-pound range.

I caught two five pounders on one cast, that really was cool. I had one fish on and almost to the boat when the second fish ate one of the remaining baits. That’s the first time I’ve caught two fish that big on one cast.

Last week we had another beautiful weather day here in Alabama and our family had a fun fishing trip. We went out to a friend of ours’ private pond that we go to a few times a year. We all caught a lot of fish and Laker caught two over seven-pounds. Oakley caught a few over five-pounds and Robin and I both had some good fish as well. Laker took home the braggin’ rights for the trip with his seven and a half pound lunker. Fish or no fish, any chance to go fishing with the family is a special day.

We are continuing to push the King’s Home fundraiser. There is less than three weeks left before the boat giveaway. The odds are great for the people with tickets and those of you without them, the time is running out to get yours. Simply make a $100 donation to a fantastic place that does a lot of good for women and children from all over the country. For every $100 donation you’ll get an entry to win the $67,000 boat package. Win the bot or not, your $100 donation will do a ton of good and it’s a tax write-off. Don’t miss it, go over to KingsHome.com and make your donation right now. Then you can come back and read the rest of this blog.

Tonight I am headed to speak at a high school fishing team here in Hayden, Alabama. This team has 28 members and they recently competed in a big event out on Logan Martin. I am excited to hear how they did. It’s great to see all these high schools promoting our sport all over Alabama and really all over the country. It seems like kids who enjoy the outdoors (fishing and hunting) seem to keep out of trouble for the most part. With these high school programs really taking off I think it opens the doors for a lot of kids who might not have the opportunity to fish. These kids are the future of our sport and our country and giving them opportunities is the key to all of our futures.

Tomorrow I am headed out to emcee the Southern Collegiate regional fishing event. The event is on Logan Martin and there will be colleges from all over the south fishing it. I can’t forecast a winner, but I hear there is a “Martens” fishing it and I can tell you first hand that fishing against a ’Martens’ isn’t easy. The Martens I am referring to is Justin Martens, my good friend Aaron Martens’ nephew. Good luck to Justin and all the participants at the event and I look forward to seeing you all there.

The boys are starting basketball and that has us really busy. Robin and I are originally from the Tarheel state, so naturally we have a special love for basketball. The boys seem to have inherited that love and are excited about the new season. I’ll be coaching several days a week for the next few months and will keep you posted on the season.

Before I go, I hate to ask again, but KingsHome.com does so much good and they really need support that I will. Time is running out so please head over to KingsHome.com and make a donation that will help the lives of women and kids in need.

I’ll check back in a few weeks with some more updates to what’s going on. Until next time, catch a big fish and god bless!