Mike McClelland – Pit Stop in Bella Vista On to Toledo Bend

After missing $10,000 paychecks in back to back tournaments by less than two pounds total, I got a little fired up and left Pickwick that night.

Instead of driving to Toledo Bend, I decided it was time for a little regrouping, so I went home for a couple of days instead. I got home Friday morning at about 2:00AM

I’m glad I did, because I’d been on the road for three weeks, and not only was it time to reorganize the Hefty Bag storage system in my Tundra, but I just flat missed my family.

Noah, my youngest is in the middle of baseball season, and he had a game scheduled for Saturday, so I’ll get to go to that. We took him to the batting cages Friday night for a little tune up before the game.

I had lunch with my Mom and Dad on Friday, and unloaded a Hefty Jumbo sized bag full of dirty laundry into the washing machine to get caught up on that, and I’ll spend some time taking some of my early season baits out of the truck too.

I had this 2.5 gallon Hefty One Zip that I was storing extra SPRO McStick jerkbaits and Little Fat John crankbaits in that I’ve been moving in and out of my Stratos Elite 210 and Tundra since the Classic. I’ve also got extra Jewel Jigs and Zoom Plastics and bulk storage of Sunline that I’ll be able to lighten up and organize a little bit now. Stacy is going to a Charity event, and I’ll use that time to do that task.

We’ll get a date night together while I’m home; and the extra, unplanned family time; as short as it will be is special.

I got up and went to the early service on Sunday with the boat in tow and headed to Toledo Bend from there.

I’m ready to put these tournaments behind me and move into a time of the year that more suits my style. This is when I can hunt groups of fish offshore instead of individual fish; I’m looking forward to starting fresh.

For more on Mike McClelland, visit www.mikemcclellandfishing.com.