Crappie in Monroe, Tom Bailey

Low water continues to play havoc with fishermen all over North Mississippi, with problems still being reported at the four major reservoirs.

The low water caused the state Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to place restrictions at Enid, Arkabutla and Sardis reservoirs. Beginning Aug. 6, it’s 12-inch crappie and five poles. Grenada has been three poles and 12 inches.

At Lake Tom Bailey, however, they are pulling in big ones. Lake Manager Charles Vaughn reported that a 4-pound white crappie was caught. It was over 17 inches long.

Crappie fishing has been excellent at the Lauderdale County lake. There’s been no word on how the drought has affected Tom Bailey, although Ross Barnett has been feeling its share of dry ground.

Lake Monroe in Monroe County has seen some good crappie lately, as evidenced by Larry Pugh’s photograph on the MDWFP forum. It’s a small, pretty lake that can be fished easily with a jon boat and a trolling motor.

At least, that’s what I’m aiming to do.

Good news with license sales

State license sales increased 6.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, meaning more federal dollars for Mississippi conservation.

The increase comes from more younger sportsmen. The new apprentice license is bringing more people outdoors to see if they like what they see.

Last year, anyone between 12 and 16 years old was required to complete a hunter education course before they could hunt by themselves in Mississippi. If they were supervised by a licensed or exempt resident hunter at least 21 years old, they did not have to have a hunter education certificate.

Under the apprentice hunter system, however, anyone older than 15 did not have to complete a hunter education course if they bought a one-time one-year apprentice license and hunted with a licensed or exempt resident hunter.

Last year, 462 people bought those licenses.

For more information, see today’s Daily Journal.

When DQ doesn’t mean Dairy Queen

In the biggest showcase for his profession, Gerald Swindle made a mistake.

That’s all it was — a mistake. Seen by millions of people around the world over and over.

 That’s what happens when the mistake occurs within range of boats carrying ESPN photographers. Those photographers were the ones who notified BASS tournament director Trip Weldon of Swindle’s boat maneuvers.

Randy Howell of Trussville, Ala., was the focus of the photographers, and Howell felt bad about the disqualification because he had waved Swindle through. And Howell didn’t worry about it until he found out from Swindle when they returned to the boat launch.

It didn’t seem like a big deal to the anglers involved. But they weren’t the only people involved, unfortunately.

 I’ve been in boats going 90 mph with professional anglers who are flying down a waterway trying to win a bass tournament. This was more than a tournament, so the split-second decision by Swindle got more than just a casual glance.

Swindle, whose photograph is plastered all over the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center because of his many sponsors, has been the anointed good guy at BASS. He is part of the cast on the ESPN show “Bass Cast.”

I spent an afternoon with Swindle before the 2003 Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans. He had a lovable wild streak and an engaging smile that he still shows today. And I’m sure that he’ll survive this incident if he can keep the support of his sponsors.

Missing the final day of the Classic may also strengthen his resolve to win more tournaments.

If that happens — and for Swindle’s sake, I hope it does — his career just may be seeing a new beginning.

Singing for the masses

One highlight of activities before the weigh-ins has been the 82nd Airborne Chorus, which performed Friday and today.

The first selection Friday, however, got mixed reviews from the Bassmaster Classic audience.

Whoever chose the song “Rocky Top” to sing before a predominantly Alabama crowd either had a sense of humor or wanted to create “a situation.” “Rocky Top” is the fight song for the Tennessee Volunteers, and most of the audience had Alabama or Auburn in their background.

 But these guys looked like they probably could have handled themselves in any kind of skirmish.

Pre-dawn warriors

Keeping the Bassmaster Classic on time takes an army of volunteers and some pretty early cups of coffee. Especially when the temperatures are in the mid-30s.

The 50 anglers — along with their designated volunteers, BASS officials, ESPN crews and cameras — took for Lay Lake at 5 a.m. Friday on the first day of competition. Breakfast started at 4 a.m.; coffee continued until the sun showed up.

Some anglers made last-minute checks before the BASS sponsor Toyota Tundra trucks pulled away from the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in the dark. Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, was unraveling a worm rod only moments before the parade down Interstate 59 kicked off.

Each angler had a separate truck pulling their boats. In the women’s tournament, which began its second day of competition on Friday at Lake Mitchell, the 12 anglers met their boats at the dock before launching.

Meeting the anglers

 The day before competition is usually reserved for media day. Each angler will sit at a table and media representatives will take turns asking each angler pretty much the same questions again and again.

“How’s the fishing?” “Who do you think has the best chance to win?” “What are you throwing and where are you going?”

The standard answers are “Depends on the weather.” “If it ain’t me, then it don’t matter.” And “No comment.”

 But it’s still a good time to make face-to-face contact with the best players in their own sport. The best 50 fishermen in the world.

Foreign influence: Although some Japanese anglers have migrated to the United States and become pro fishermen (e.g., Takahiro Omori), Shigeru Tsukiyama of Tokyo is fishing in his first Classic.

 He finished first in the Western Division, earning his spot in Birmingham. He had to bring his own interpreter to communicate with officials and the other anglers.

 She is probably the most important non-angler in Birmingham this weekend.

Getting ready to go

By the time Daily Journal readers get to this blog, I will be dodging speed traps on U.S. 78 on the way to Birmingham for the Classic.
I was fortunate enough to be in a position to cover the 2001 and 2003 Classics, which were both held in New Orleans. Kevin Van Dam finally broke through in 2001 to win the Classic, then in 2003, “BASS Bad Boy” Michael Iaconelli turned bass fishing on its ears with his victory.
Actually, he turned himself on his ears when he started break-dancing at the weigh-in stage. And the ESPN television coverage showed him whooping and hollering after every big bass. And he caught more than a few of them.
For ESPN, Ike was a godsend. He gave the network a different demographic for its outdoors shows. Watching bass fishing wasn’t limited to the Bill Dances or Roland Martins. Iaconelli elevated crickets and cane poles to the X-Games.