While University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said he wasn’t interested in openings at Miami and Alabama Tuesday, the news wasn’t so good for a couple of former original USF assistants. Mike Canales resigned as Arizona’s offensive coordinator Tuesday, less than 48 hours after N.C. State assistant Rick Kravitz appears to be a casualty because of Chuck Amato’s firing at N.C. State.
Canales was USF’s offensive coordinator from 1997-2000. He had been at Arizona since 2004. “There’‘s never a good time to leave a situation where you feel there’s still work to do, but Arizona football will benefit in the long term,” Canales said. “I’ve had a good time here and think the program is ready to take off, and often some new leadership is the appropriate decision.”
Kravitz wasn’t even at N.C. State for a full year. He joined the Wolfpack in February. He was the first assistant hired at USF by Leavitt in 1996. It’s unknown who will be hired at N.C. State and whether he will retain Kravitz.
TAMPA - University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, speculated as a possible candidate for openings at Miami and Alabama, said Tuesday he is not interested in either position.
‘‘What’s happening behind the scenes I have no idea, but I have no interest in going anywhere,’’ Leavitt said.
Following Saturday’s upset of No. 7 West Virginia, Leavitt was mentioned by various national media outlets as a candidate for Miami and Alabama. Leavitt had not directly denied interest in those positions until his weekly news conference Tuesday.
‘‘I’m glad my name is mentioned, I hope my name is mentioned every year because that means we are winning,’’ Leavitt said. ‘‘If my name is not mentioned anywhere, I may not be anywhere. People know how much I love this place. I don’t have any interest in anything.’‘
Leavitt previously turned down offers from Kansas State last year (six years, $9 million) and Alabama in 2002 (five years, $6 million) to remain at USF. Each time, Leavitt received a new contract for staying with USF.
Leavitt just completed the first year of his seven-year, $7 million deal guiding the Bulls to an 8-4 record and a second consecutive bowl berth.
An official announcement won’t be made until Sunday, but USF will play East Carolina (7-5) in the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 23. The Pirates officially accepted a bid Tuesday.
‘‘I’ve always said from the beginning when I got here, that I hope I can retire from here and sit up in the stands and watch the Bulls win championships,’’ said Leavitt, 69-43 in 10 seasons at USF. ‘‘I don’t even think about all of that [other jobs]. I have the best job in the country, I do.
‘‘If I have the best job in the country why would I be interested in anything else? Ten years from now, they’ll probably have run me out of here by then because they will be worn out with me. I wear too many people out.’’
At first, Arizona was the leading contender from the Pac-10 to face FSU in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Francisco. The Wildcats then lost to rival Arizona State on Saturday, opening the door more for Oregon, which has in excess of 15,000 alumni in the San Francisco area according to Emerald Bowl Executive Director Gary Cavalli.
Now, it looks like UCLA is the preferred choice of the bowl’s committee. The Bruins close the regular season Saturday against heavy favorite USC. Barring a Bruins upset, the Emerald Bowl will offer UCLA (6-5) an official invitation on Sunday. FSU, which still has not received its official invitation because of BCS delays, has a conditional agreement already in place to make its first trip to California since opening the 1997 season at USC.
Dale Caparaso will not return as Pasco’s football coach next season, Caparaso said Tuesday.
Following a meeting with Pasco High Principal Patrick Reedy on Monday, it was decided that Caparaso would not be back, though the details of his exit were not yet official. That likely will not come until the end of the week when he chooses either to resign or be fired.
“I will no longer be the football coach at Pasco High School effective immediately,” Caparaso said. “I will not open the weight room or do any of the duties associated with that position at this time of year. I have until Monday to decide my future but I’ll land on my feet.”
In Caparaso’s four seasons with Pasco he had a 21-19 record and playoff appearances his first two seasons as the Pirates’ coach. The last two seasons, however, the Pirates finished 2-8 and 3-7.
This report about the Bucs making Chris Simms a two-year offer throws an interesting twist in the 2007 offseason speculation. It makes sense, but isn’t all that meaningful in terms of who starts. Simms is a low-mobility, stretch-the-field kind of player… exactly the opposite of what this offense calls for. Bruce Gradkowski, on the other hand, is a high-accuracy (or so I’ve heard) scrambler that Jon Gruden constantly defends, something he rarely did for Simms. Simms is the better athlete and quarterback, but I don’t think that matters. Ask yourself this: Will Gruden keep the player with the better arm and adjust his offensive scheme to accommodate his strengths and weaknesses? Or is it more likely that Gruden will keep the player that is already better suited to his offense and try to coach him up to perform better? See how easy this becomes when you break it down?
Personally, I would love to see Simms as the starter and have Gruden make some adjustments to his offense. Simms’s natural abilities can’t be taught and that second half against Carolina left me optimistic that if he only had a better offensive line and some plays suited to him that he could really be good. But Gruden is about as likely to embrace major changes to his playbook as he is to embrace the tuck rule. Getting Simms to sign a contract won’t change Gruden’s mind about who he wants as his starter, but it is a smart business move in that it provides some much needed depth to the quarterback position and gives Simms trade value.
If Gradkowski sucks so incredibly badly toward the end of the season, or if he suffers a major injury, the Bucs would like to have at least one guy on the roster who has taken some snaps under Gruden. If nothing else, Simms will push Gradkowski to perform better during camp. If Gradkowski shows marked improvement for the rest of the season, the Bucs can at least get some trade value for Simms with him under contract (assuming Simms’s ego won’t let him play backup to Gradkowski.) Chris has a lot going for him. He’s got a great arm, had some success and his teammates can’t say enough good things about him. But his value clearly diminished after his first three games where he only had about two quarters of decent play. I’m betting the offer doesn’t have to be too high for the Bucs to keep him on the roster, and that can only benefit the team.
The Quarterback Carousel is spinning. In Denver, Jake Plummer has been sent to the pine in favor of rookie Jay Cutler. Given that the Broncos are still deeply entrenched in the AFC Playoff mix, this move will either make Head Coach Mike Shanahan look like a genius… or a fool. We’ll know in a couple of weeks. Let me give you the real scoop: It’s all about Shanahan. The Broncos Coach has a bit of a Jerry Jones complex, ala ‘My system works with anyone’. He has prided himself on being able to turn any back into a 1000 yard performer, then kicking them to the curb for his next project. This is the same thing, but at QB. ‘Look, we’re back in the playoff hunt with the Arizona castoff… now let me show you that I can do it with a rookie’. Questions continue to abound around Rex Grossman in Chicago. When he’s good, he’s really good. When he’s bad, he’s worse than bad. What to do? Here’s a clue for you as you evaluate Rex: Who have his good games come against? Who have his bad games been against? Keep that in mind as Rex and the Bears ride this 2 game lead over the rest of the NFC towards the playoffs. Somebody warm up Brian Griese. In Atlanta, Michael Vick showed the fans some love as he left the field Sunday. That little move cost him a few thousand dollars for – get this: “Violating the Leagues Obscene Gesture Policy”. I find it hysterical that the NFL has an Obscene Gesture Policy in the first place. Be sure that this is not the biggest fine Michael faces. His endorsements with name brands will take a significant hit.
How about the Preacher telling you to watch Browns WR Braylon Edwards? By now you’ve seen his sideline T.O. impression Sunday. I give him a 10. Here’s what he said to the press yesterday as he was asked if the Browns might discipline him: “It’s not like I shot a bird at somebody in the stands or something.” Give the man a diamond studded earring!
Buc Bits: Reports have surfaced that the Bucs made a contract offer to QB Chris Simms. I applaud the move. People want to evaluate Chris on the first three games of this year, where he was woeful. Be reminded, the entire team was woeful in that stretch. If we’ve learned anything this season, the team we saw the first three weeks is the team we’ve seen since Chris has been gone. Remember that we had the game won in which Chris lost his spleen – and largely due to Chris’ grit. Remember that in 10 games last year he compiled a 61% completion percentage and hit on more than 20 completions of more than 20 yards. How would this season look had Chris not been hurt? Dare I say, far better.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: (Good) Cowboys QB Tony Romo. Not for his play, but because he has taken the spotlight completely off T.O. When’s the last time you heard from T.O.? The week Romo took over. You go, Tony! (Bad) Cowboys PK Mike Vanderjagt. So bad, in fact, that he’s gone. Martin Gramatica found a ride for the remainder of the year. (Ugly) The Giants’ giant collapse against the Titans Sunday. How do you give up 24 points in the final 9 minutes of a game? To Tennessee?
My Hero of the Week: Texans back-up QB Sage Rosenfels. Sage rumbled downfield to make a tackle on a missed field goal that was being returned.
My Goat of the Week: Texans back-up QB Sage Rosenfels. He was injured on that play and is gone for the season. Silly quarterback, special teams is for real football players.
See ya Thursday!
You’ve already read enough on the Thanksgiving Day game from everyone else, so I’ll try to keep this short.
Once again, the defensive line failed to get any kind of pressure on the opposing quarterback. Without that pressure, the whole concept of the Cover 2 falls apart. The Bucs found this out yet again as Tony Romo picked apart the Tampa defense. Romo is the kind of quarterback that Simeon Rice used to salivate over. Dewayne White, heir apparent to the starting defensive end position, did his best Simeon Rice circa 2006 impression by notching one QB hurry and one tackle. On the opposite side, Greg Spires did not make the stat sheet. Chris Hovan played the most consistently on the line, but must have felt guilty for showing up the rest of the front four, so he incurred a personal foul at the worst possible time.
Barrett Ruud continued his development while standing in for Shelton Quarles and was really the only bright spot on the defense. Still, allowing Marion Barber, a running back, to score two receiving touchdowns is all on the linebackers… Ruud among them. Not that Quarles would have been able to stop him, either.
And then we have the secondary. Oh dear God, the secondary. Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn are good enough when the coverage is there. When they’re wide open, forget about it. Absolutely no one showed up in the defensive backfield on Thursday, not even the normally dependable Ronde Barber. Specifically, I will call out Will Allen for staying in when he was so obviously hurt that even Joe Buck noticed, Jermaine Phillips for sliding face first into the backfield on a blitz that should have thrown Julius Jones for a loss (instead he gained 14 yards) and Torrie Cox for being outmatched for the entire game.
Ok, so that’s how you let Dallas score 38 points. How did the offense manage to peak in the first quarter and only score 3 for the rest of the game? The defense is partially to blame for that as well, allowing Dallas to stay on the field for over 37 minutes and run 67 offensive plays (compared with 45 Bucs plays.) But the offensive players certainly did their part, specifically the line and the quarterback.
The offensive line did all right in the running game but came up short again in pass protection. Jeremy Trueblood will be a very good offensive tackle one day, but right now he’s letting high-motor defensive ends/linebackers (like DeMarcus Ware, for example) run all over him. In some games this year, the offensive line has imploded and given up ground that they didn’t have to. In this case, though, there were no big, glaring mistakes. They were just outplayed by a better team.
When Bruce Gradkowski wasn’t getting hurried, he was underthrowing receivers or overlooking them altogether. After he underthrew Galloway once and overthrew him a second time, Gradkowski seemed to give up on him and dump off his passes to whomever was handy or just tuck the ball and start running. I’m chalking all this up to rookie sixth round pick mistakes right now and will take another big swig of the Gradkowski-brand Kool-Aid, hoping that some progress will be evident by the end of the season.
Everyone else on offense did pretty well with what they were given. Cadillac Williams is starting to show signs of life again. All 78 of his yards were well-earned and he’s showing a lot of determination. Joey Galloway came up big a couple times, but with only ten receptions total for the Bucs, there just wasn’t much to go around. Again, only 45 plays total.
I honestly didn’t think Tony Romo would have the kind of effect he has had on the Cowboys. They are a completely different team with him at quarterback, and if Owens wasn’t on the roster I might have rooted for them during the playoffs. Bucs fans should take notice that an undrafted free agent from Eastern Illinois is 4-1 as a starter with two of those wins coming against actual contenders (Carolina and Indianapolis.) All of the anti-Gradkowski nonsense like “this is why he was a sixth round pick” should be stifled until he has had some more time in the system and some veteran leadership to lean on. This is Romo’s third year in Bill Parcells’ system and Romo has had guys like Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe to learn from during that time. It seems to be working out for him and there’s no reason why the same couldn’t happen for Gradkowski.
GAINESVILLE — Google’s purchase of YouTube.com and the immediate flurry of copyright infringement lawsuits haven’t eliminated the fantastic college football clips floating around on the site. Here are a few of the best.
Florida fans who can’t get enough of seeing Jarvis Moss block South Carolina’s last-second field goal attempt should check out this clip. The author has spliced together several different cell phone videos captured by fans sitting in different sections of Florida Field. If you didn’t have a ticket, this will give you an idea of the roar that followed the block.
Here’s a cool clip of the Ohio State-Michigan game from a camera mounted across the street from Ohio Stadium. The author used a frame per minute from a public Webcam, and the time lapse runs from the Friday afternoon to the final whistle. It takes a little more than three minutes. Notice the camera shaking every time the Buckeyes make a big play.
If you didn’t see the final play of last weekend’s Utah-Brigham Young game, check out this clip from the mtn, the official television network of the Mountain West Conference. Does one of the announcers sound familiar? He should. That’s former Gators linebacker James Bates.
Boys Soccer
By MIKE TOMPKINS
Tribune correspondent
DADE CITY —Pasco High coach Barry Grayling ingested something other than just turkey and stuffing over the holiday break, as he fell ill and was forced to miss Monday night’s game against Ridgewood. In his place was junior varsity coach Warren Lowery.
Fortunately for Lowery, the players felt just fine.
Ramon Rodriguez and Joe Montelongo combined for five goals and two assists, as the Pirates (6-0-2) cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Rams. Rodriguez had three goals and an assist – running his total to a team high 11 – while Montelongo added two goals and an assist. Well rested, neither team had played since last Tuesday.
James Sumner added a goal and an assist, while Roberto Cervantes had one of each.
Montelongo’s second goal – the Pirates’ seventh – came with 17:49 left in the contest. For the remainder of the game, Pasco toyed with the notion of ending the game via the mercy rule. The majority of their 28 shots were near misses on an open net. The Pirates defense turned in another stout effort, holding the Rams (1-5) to two shots.
It was Pasco’s second 7-0 game in their last three contests.
Ridgewood 0 0—0
Pasco 3 4—7
Goals – Rodriguez 3, Montelongo 2, Cervantes, J. Sumner; Assists – J. Sumner 2, Rodriguez, Montelongo, Cervantes, P. Sumner, Carrillo; Shots – Pasco 28, Ridgewood 2; Saves – Pasco 1 (Hernandez), Ridgewood 10 (DePaolis). Records – Ridgewood 1-5; Pasco 6-0-2.
TAMPA – Alabama may not have just ridded itself of football coach Mike Shula, however, the Tide may have also ridded themselves of Plant senior quarterback Robert Marve and Middleton senior defensive back Sherod Murdock.
Shula was recently fired as Alabama’s head coach, leaving Murdock and Marve in limbo. Both verbally committed to Alabama over the summer, but neither is positive they will ever wear a Tide uniform now.
“I was shocked when I found out this morning. I got on the Alabama website and saw he was fired and couldn’t believe it. Coach Shula was supposed to come to my house this Friday and have dinner with my family,” Murdock said. “Him being a gone does play a big part in my decision because he was the main reason I was going there.”
Murdock said he was unsure what his next move would be, but said he might finally listen to the University of South Carolina, which has steadily been recruiting him.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Everything is so sudden for me. I got to weight everything out and see what’s out there. I also have to talk with Marve and see what he wants to do because we’re really close and we looking forward to playing together,” Murdock said.
Marve’s team is focused on hosting Miami Booker T. Washington in the Class 4A region semifinals this Friday, but Panthers coach Robert Weiner said Shula’s departure will affect his quarterback’s college decision.
“Not only did he have a good relationship with Coach Shula, but he learned they were good people. There have been people in the college recruiting game that haven’t been honest, and there is always double-dealing going on, but everything with Alabama was up front, genuine, and honest,” Weiner said. “The only thing he’s thinking about right now is beating Booker T. Washington. We will listen to other possibilities and see who else is out there, but one thing he now has is a chance to enjoy being recruiting and taking trips, so that could be a good thing.
“Robert’s stock is in a much different place now than he was over the summer, and there is no double-dealing on his part. He just won’t have any interest in hearing anything until Dec. 10 [day after the Class 4A state championship game].
As of this week, Plant quarterback Robert Marve has 3,795 yards passing which places him third behind Ponte Vedra Nease’s Tim Tebow (4,286 in 2004) and Tallahassee Leon’s Jimmy Jordan (4,098, in 1975) for passing yards in a season.
Marve’s 43 touchdowns in a season also places him in second in the state behind Tebow (46 in 2004).
His 233 completions has him sitting just behind Tallahassee Leon quarterback Wally Woodham (248 in 1974), Tebow (257 in 2004) and Jordan (263 in 1975).
Combining his passing yards (3,795) and his rushing yards (712) and his receiving yards (23) gives him a total of 4,530 in total offense. That would place him second behind Tebow (5,552 in 2004).
The Florida records are based on research by the Orlando Sentinel’s Buddy Collings.
Of course, Marve and the Panthers will play in the Class 4A state semifinal Friday against visiting Miami Booker T. Washington at 7:30 p.m.
I’ll get to my review of the Thanksgiving game (for which I willnot give thanks) on Monday. But first I wanted to address some of the responses to the Where Would He Rather Be entry.
There seems to be a big Fire Gruden contingent here. Which is fine, I suppose. Whenever a team is losing, the head coach has to expect that he’ll be put on the hot seat. But let’s look at why you want him gone. Some of you want him axed because of his playcalling. But for the last several games, the plays have been there. In fact, I think Gruden has done some of his best playcalling over the last month. He hasn’t been afraid to take shots down the field, he hasn’t abandoned the run and he has called the right plays for the defense that was presented. Several plays have been available and he has gotten some excellent looks. It’s the execution that has fallen short, not the calls. Poor passes and poor pass protection, more times than not, have been the reasons for the lack of offensive yards. The Bucs have simply been outplayed, not outcoached.
I also hear a lot of “the head coach is responsible for the performance of the team”. I guess that’s valid, but if that’s your argument, you should also be calling for Monte Kiffin‘s head. It’s well known that Kiffin has total autonomy over the defense, and the defense looks considerably worse than the offense these days. So, you fire Gruden and Kiffin at the end of the year, you’ve got a second year quarterback that hasn’t won too many games, a young offense overall and an aged defense that has only really worked under the Cover 2 scheme. Scrap the defensive players, too? Fine. Now everyone is brand new. Does that really sound like a recipe for winning? Of course not. And if you’re willing to give new coaches some time to win with their players, why aren’t you equally as willing to give Gruden/Kiffin time to get new players (remember, lots of cap cash next year) and start winning with them? This season is really the first that Gruden and Bruce Allen won’t be stuck with Rich McKay‘s cap ineptitude and will also have a full compliment of picks. Why would you change leadership without having given him every opportunity to succeed?
Trust me, I understand the frustration. Watching games like the one against the Cowboys is tantamount to Chinese water torture with Nickelback playing in the background. At this point, though, wins and losses are meaningless. If the team doesn’t win again this year, it won’t affect my opinion of Gruden. The best thing he can do is to use the games to gain valuable information about the players he currently has and where his needs are in 2007. Then he’ll have everything he needs to rebuild, and I still think he’s the best man for that particular job.
Those weren’t couches burning in Morgantown, WVa. Saturday, but West Virginia’s BCS bowl hopes going up in flames. While USF’s upset of No. 7 West Virginia knocked the Mountaineers out of the BCS bowl picture, it did not improve USF’s bowl positioning. To quote an unidentified USF official: “That’s f——d up.” Pardon his French, but that’s actually a pretty good description of the bowl system – and the BCS system. So with USF’s official announcement to the Papajohns.com Bowl not expected to be made until Sunday, Dec. 3, why should you have to wait for the scoop on USF’s bowl situation. That’s right, you shouldn’t.
Q: How many Big East bowl berths are there this year?
A: There were six, but Navy struck a deal with the Meineke Car Care Bowl, leaving only five. By the way, that was only a one-year deal, so a Big East team will go to Meineke next season.
Q: What is the Big East’s current pecking order?
A: The Big East champion receives an automatic bid to a BCS bowl. The second selection (if not chosen as an at-large BCS team) from the Big East goes to either the Sun or Gator Bowl (a Big 12 team will go where Big East doesn’t). The third selection from Big East goes to the Texas Bowl. The final two Big East selections are mutually agreed upon by the Papajohns.com and International bowls. Notice these bowl berths are not based on conference finish, but “selections” by the bowls. The only requirement is a bowl’s Big East selection must be within one conference win of an available bowl team.
Q: OK great, so who’s going where?
A: If Louisville defeats UConn and West Virginia defeats Rutgers, Louisville (6-1 Big East) earns the automatic BCS berth. The Sun/Gator then selects either Rutgers (5-2) and West Virginia (5-2). Whoever isn’t selected would be selected by Texas. USF (4-3) would then go to Papajohns.com and Cincinnati (4-3) to International. If Rutgers and Louisville win, Rutgers (6-1) gets BCS berth, then Sun/Gator has to select Louisville (6-1) because it has two more league wins than the remaining eligible teams - West Virginia 4-3, USF 4-3, Cincinnati 4-3. Texas would select nationally-ranked WVU over USF and Cincinnati, leaving USF to Papajohns.com and Cincinnati to International.
Q: What if Rutgers and Louisville both win. Can’t Louisville receive an at-large BCS bid?
A: Realistically, no. Even in that scenario and based on every team in front of Louisville (No. 2 USC and No. 4 Florida) both losing, the Cardinals, ranked No. 6, can’t get higher than fourth in the final BCS rankings behind Ohio State, Michigan and LSU, which is currently fifth. You’re only guaranteed a BCS berth by finishing among the top three – this was changed from last year when it was top four – so Louisville would have to be chosen over LSU or the SEC runner-up. Hey, I’m all for the Big East getting as many big money bowls as possible, but that won’t happen.
Q: So why can’t USF go to International and Cincinnati go to Papajohns.com?
A: You really want to be in Toronto? In January? When it’s 10 below? Well, fortunately – or unfortunately – depending on your view point, International Bowl chairman Ken Hoffman told me his bowl wants a team whose fans can drive to the inaugural bowl. Yeah I guess USF fans could drive to Toronto, but they would have to leave today to make the Jan. 6 kickoff, so Cincinnati is the logical choice.
Q: What about Pittsburgh?
A: Hear that thud? That’s the Panthers’ finally hitting rock bottom. By losing their final five games, Pitt (6-6) can not be chosen for a Big East bowl over USF and Cincinnati. So unless the Big East gets a BCS at-large bid (which it won’t), Pitt remains at home for a second consecutive season. Also, the new NCAA rule prohibits another conference that can’t fill its allotment from selecting any 6-6 team as long as there are available 7-5 teams. In other words: Hello 7-5 MAC and Sun Belt teams. Goodbye 6-6 Pitt.
Q: So you’re telling me USF is headed to Birmingham, should I book my airline tickets?
A: That’s your call. But if you can find a refundable flight, why not? Or wait for the official word on Sunday. At worst, you should be able to hold some hotel rooms.
Q: When is the game? When will the team arrive in Birmingham?
A: Kickoff is Dec. 23 at noon local time (1 p.m EST) at beautiful Legion Field (OK, I made up the beautiful part). USF will arrive in Birmingham either Dec. 19 or Dec. 20. USF’s will play East Carolina of Conference USA.
Q: So what is there to do in Birmingham for three or four days?
A: Other than eating barbeque round the clock, I give up. But if you think of something, please let me know. I beg you, please let me know.
The national recognition for the University of South Florida continues to come in after the Bulls’ upset at No. 7 West Virginia. Sunday, USF freshman DE George Selvie was named the Walter Camp Foundation’s National Defensive Player of the Week for his play in Saturday’s upset against West Virginia. Selvie had a team-high eight tackles (7 solo), including 3.5 tackles for losses, and recovered a fumble, returning it for a 9-yard touchdown in the Bulls’ win. Selvie helped the Bulls’ defense limit the high-scoring Mountaineers to 19 points (22 below their average) and 310 yards of total offense. BYU QB John Beck was the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week.
By MARK COOK
After a windy cold Thanksgiving weekend, the freshwater fishing outlook for the upcoming week has locals excited. A rapid warm-up with temperatures in the low 80s is expected until the next front arrives late Thursday and fishing should really take off.
It was a tough week for most anglers, with the wind and cold being the biggest factor in low catch rates. One way to combat this is to fish slower and throw smaller baits. Instead of a 10-inch plastic worm for bass, use a tube bait or jig. When bass fishing early in the morning during cold months, work the northeast sides of the lake as it receives the first sun as it rises. Water temperatures may be 5 degrees warmer and this time of the year that can make a huge difference. Speckled perch are the exception to the cold weather rule. Although they may not bite any better they will school up in tighter bunches and usually if you catch one there are more waiting.
Friday I took a trip over to the east coast for some saltwater fishing with Johnny Myers on the Banana River. With the winds coming out of the north at 20 mph we stayed on the residential canals throwing everything in the tackle box for four hours with little cooperation from the fish. My 6-year-old son fished with us and trolled a small jig behind the boat. At the end of the day he had caught two trout while the adults were skunked. A Zebco 33 reel with a small speck rig out-fished the G. Loomis rods, Shimano reels, and $6 bag baits.
For more information, contact Mark Cook at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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