Casey Scanlon – About the Mississippi River

Last month,on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I finished 14th. I cashed a decent check and received some valuable points towards qualifying for the Classic. This year’s Mississippi river finish was much better than last year where I finished 69th.

These next two tournaments are going to be important in gaining points to make the Classic. I’ll need some high finishes but I’m confident going into them. I like the style of fishing and the lakes seem to set up to my preferences.

Last year I finished the Angler of the Year race in 84th place. Right now I’m sitting in 45th. Again, much better than last year but my goal is not only to finish better but to make the Classic.

These next two are important.

I’ve got some time off before the next event and it has been anything but slow. I think you would be amazed at how busy we are when not actually fishing a tournament. You are reorganizing your tackle and resupplying the boat for the next tournament, but also there is an endless stream of stuff to do.

For example, last week I was at ICAST working the Luck “E” Strike booth. This is the business side of fishing. Working for my sponsors who help keep me fishing.

I’ll also be fishing the Open on Oneida Lake in New York. I might even make a pit stop to go look at the Detroit River/ Lake St. Clair. That’s a lot of miles towing a boat.

I also would like to comment on what happened to Brandon Palaniuk on the Mississippi River.

I really feel bad for him. He was on some great fish and basically had that tournament won. His chance of making the Classic via Angler of the Year points is slim to none. His only chance to make the classic is to win an event. Also, being that close to winning $100,000 and then not making a check puts a pit in my stomach.
From the aspect of being so close to winning and then not, I understand how he feels. I was close to winning on Bull Shoals but at least I still had a good finish with a decent check. He ended up with nothing but a lesson learned.

A rule is a rule. We all fish by them and have to honor the consequences of breaking them. When fishing an event with a cull rule like that it’s always in the back or your mind. I think it was obvious at the time he had no idea he broke the rule.

I didn’t fish a couple of my best areas because I knew the rule and didn’t want to jeopardize my chances of making a mistake. If the law wasn’t in place could I have culled up a couple pounds and had a better finish, maybe.

Does the Minnesota cull law make sense or does it even have an effect on the fishing? I’m not the one to answer that, but if you don’t like it contact the fish and game department and make your voice heard. Give them your opinion and if enough people come together it can be changed.

Brandon is a great fisherman and he will rebound from this.

Casey Scanlon

Checkout Casey’s Facebook page and website: http://caseyscanlonfishing.com