Taking that shot is bittersweet. On one hand, I was able to harvest a quality animal and can turn my focus back to fishing in time to pre-practice for the Bassmaster Classic in Shreveport. On the other hand the hunt is over for the year and I’ll have to wait until next year to get a bigger buck than my personal best.
This is my time of year to work with sponsors in preparation for next year. I feel good that I have my boat ordered and I have tied up all the loose ends from this year. Everything is in place order-wise and contract-wise with sponsors for next year.
A few weeks ago, my son Mason caught a giant crappie. (photo on left) It was a Sunday afternoon and the weather was getting ready to really cool down for the winter. I had a prior commitment that cancelled on me, which made it a perfect opportunity to take Mason and my dad fishing. You know, we got out there and caught a big mess of crappie and that one was definitely a bonus one for sure!
My only regret is, I wish we had weighed it. I’m guessing it was close to three pounds. We actually took it to Cabella’s and put it in their fish tank, we went and visited it already once since the day we put it in there. It was pretty cool, Mason was proud of that fish. Hopefully, the Crappie was happy with the result of ending up in the tank, instead of the alternative. I think it’s in the safest water it can possibly swim in.
I did finish my last FBI Citizens Academy Class a few weeks ago. When I went to college for a few semesters, law enforcement was what I was looking at majoring in. So it was probably a good thing I didn’t take this class when I was 19 or 20; who knows, maybe I’d be an FBI Agent today or instead of a professional angler.
Here is a quick rundown of what it was all about. It was 10 weeks long and we got to learn all about the FBI and the different departments of the FBI and the things that they do and don’t do. We also learned a lot about some of the kind of false rumors about what the FBI does.
I mentioned it in my last blog, but during the class there is a day called “range day.” On “range day” we were able to watch their SWAT Team do a demo. First, a shooting demo and then a second demo where they breached a house. That was really cool. Then, at the end of the day, we got to shoot a bunch of guns and anybody that knows me knows that I love to shoot guns. Needless to say, that was a blast.
I guess that leads into one other thing to discuss, something our family is really excited about. A few weeks ago we jumped into a retail gun business. The store is officially open for business and the grand opening went fantastic. (Photo of Grand Opening on Right) The website is soon to launch as well so stay tuned for more on that. The store is called UT Arms and online it can be found at
www.UTArms.com. If you are in Kansas City be sure to stop by and check it out at 3003 Power Drive and that is in Kansas City, Kansas 66106.
Next I am off to do some pre-practicing for the Bassmaster Classic in Shreveport on the Red River. I will be doing some video blogging and short video updates to what’s going on. You’ll be able to view those right here. I’ll be sure to include some fishing tips as well.
Also, make sure you like my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/BrentChapmanFishing. I will be doing a “Twelve days of Christmas” list on that page. It’s a Christmas gift suggestion for the angler on your Christmas list and if you are an angler, you can share my list with your friends and family on Facebook to make sure they get you something that you can actually use.
