WHIRLWIND!!!!!

WOW! What a busy, busy month! Over the past few weeks, it's been an exciting time. There's nothing better than
having the opportunity to combine your passion for something with your career. Some say it's getting paid to fish. It is, in a way, but for me personally, it's more than that. it's trying to show as many people as I can the great resource we have here in Ohio. Not just the fishing, but all of the outdoors.

Last week, it was the Ohio Game Fishing "Vermilion Hawgfest" open walleye tournament. I fished, took pictures, shot video, did interviews, called in wkyc.com/outdoors website updates. It was a 16 hour day last Saturday, but even though I was exhausted and sore by the end of the day, it was a "good" tired. 104 boats, hundreds of anglers and spectators, it was a real success. The best thing I saw were all the smiles. Folks were talking after the event, sharing stories of what worked, the big fish they caught, or in our team's case, the ones we didn't catch. The memories those events build are priceless. Vermilion is a great town, a wonderful fishery, and the fishing is only going to get better over the next few months, both perch and walleye.

Just as I was catching my breath after Vermilion, the FLW Tour came to Cleveland. Not a suprise or anything, as we at WKYC had plans to help promote the event, but once again, reality blew away any expectations I had in my mind. Tuesday, I had the opportunity to head out with a few FLW pros along with Cleveland Browns rookie left tackle Joe Thomas. What a great trip! Joe fished with FLW pros Julia Davis and Rick LaCourse and Dean Arnoldussen was my host on the camera boat. The pros found the perch just North of "The Crib" in 53 ft of water and we all hit them pretty good. Joe had a great time, as you can see in the picture in front of the "Gain" boat. I'm looking forward to getting Joe into some steelhead too, as they're starting run up the tribs.

It's really been a whirlwind, but it's been a great ride. Where it goes from here, who knows? As long as I'm able, I'll be out there trying to capture the enjoyment that spending time in the outdoors brings. The smiles, the memories, the great times. Mainstreaming outdoors news hasn't been easy, and there are still challenges. The folks at WKYC have been great in their support, and as long as that's there, I'll be here. I'll see you on the water or in the woods soon. I'm Carl "Big Daddy" Bachtel, thanks for stopping by.

Any comments, ideas you have are welcomed. Send "Big Daddy" an email at cbachtel@wkyc.com and he'll get back with you.