Good morning brothers.
I hope that all of you are having a great 2024! I’ve been quiet lately and wanted explain why…
Last year, one of my big goals was to get a few articles published on different websites. Believe it or not… this was actually way more difficult than I anticipated. There are many websites that focus on fishing… but most are completely inactive – or worse – filled to the absolute brim with crappy, spammy content and ads out the wazoo.
If you search the Googles, you’ll find yourself bouncing back and forth between sites with (sometimes really good) bass fishing tips from 2003, then the next will have “The All-Time Worldwide Best Baits for Largemouth Bass – You Won’t Believe #7!!!” – and the article will quite literally list every single bass fishing technique in existence, surrounded by so many affiliate ads it’s completely unreadable.
Frustrating.
I couldn’t find other sites worth contacting… so, I decided to start contacting some of the bigger names we all know around these parts (even though I didn’t think they would be interested in what I could contribute… see Dunning-Kruger Effect). In December, a little before Christmas, as I was sulking about feeling sorry for myself, being depressed (as is my norm during the winter months) I decided to reach out to a writer over at Midwest Outdoors named Dan Brozowski. He penned an article on Fall’s In-Between Fish, and we struck up a conversation about possibly using some Yamamoto Hula Grubs in my beloved clear water pits this coming season.
Well, one thing led to another and I managed to land an email in Dave Csanda’s inbox, and if that name sounds familiar it’s probably because you recognize him from The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. I sent him a few articles that have been published here, and he responded: “I read your stuff and would welcome your submissions. We need another article for January but the deadline is less than a week away…“
There it was.
An opening.
An opportunity.
Time to make hay.
A few days later I sent over an article with several pictures from the end of the season, along with tips for finding and catching bigger bass. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that they had accepted the article. I was even more surprised when I received the January issue in the mail, and saw they had decided to use my picture for the cover of the Illinois section!
Shortly after that, the article ended up in their monthly Midwest Outdoors Insider Newsletter. Sweet! I emailed Dan and Dave, along with Ann, Tina and Dena over at the MWO office to say thank you for the opportunity and for using some of my stuff – and with it, sent another article that got picked up and used for the March issue, along with the Iowa / Missouri cover:
Jerkin’ Cold-Water Bass ended up on their website, then an article titled “Go Small or Go Home: The Advantages of Fishing Small Water” was printed in the April issue, and my 4th article is currently on deck for May.
So, my friends, this is what I have been focusing on since December of last year. Holding a physical, printed article is something I have hoped for and worked towards since I started The Minimalist Fisherman in 2019. To see my picture alongside well known heavy-hitters and local hammers is just… it’s surreal.
When I was just a wee lad, my Dad had a box of In-Fisherman books that would come out at the beginning of every Manitowish fishing trip. They’d be sprawled across the bed, and I would hop up and flip through the pages written by Al, Ron and Jim Lindner, Dan Sura, Doug Stange, Steve Quinn, Larry Dahlberg, Ralph Manns and Dave Csanda. Dad and I didn’t didn’t talk much. We didn’t have to. He would tie spoons and jigs and plugs onto his many fishing poles while I looked at those books, and we both dreamed about catching big fish.
Fast forward 30 years.
To have a brief email discussion with one of these guys. To hold a printed article in my hands. To place something I wrote with pictures of my fish on the dining room table so my parents, wife and kids can see…
It means a lot.
I thank God for the opportunity, and I hope to continue sending articles and pictures that get put to use. Being in a position to help other anglers after so many have helped me is extremely rewarding!
But now… now, it’s time to get ready to get out into the field. My 2024 fishing season is only days away from starting. It will be cold. It will be wet. It will be rough… but it will feed my soul.
I’ll log all of it and share with you the changes I make, the techniques that work, and the fish I catch.
So brothers… here’s to 2024… let’s get bit!
Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.
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Oh Baby! That is fantastic AJ. So happy for you. It’s wonderful to see someone deserving actually make it! And you have!!! Keep up the great writing and keep all of us informed. Great job my man!!!
Ron
Thank you Brother Ron! I tell you what buddy, your emails and positive reinforcement have helped me want to keep pushing ahead when I get down in the dumps. We have had several conversations about “the good stuff,” family and all of the reasons that hunting and fishing REALLY matter. I’m very grateful for that – I mean it. Talk soon and go get them crappie!