Episode 10: Clark Reehm

Clark Reehm

In this month’s episode we visit with BASS Elite Series Pro Clark Reehm, Greg Huff and Rich Lindgren from the Twin City Limits Podcast (again), and we share with you how to get a copy of our secret “underground” episode.  Oh, and we also talk about Gerald Swindle’s hat (see below).

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Episode 9: Russ Lane

Elite Series Pro Russ Lane (Photo: BASS / Seigo Saito)

Better late than never!– Podcast Episode 9 is finally here. In this episode we chat with Ramada Trophy Chase winner Russ Lane [Alabama native of course], we challenge another fishing podcast to an (un)friendly wager, and we announce a new Tackle Experts contest for our listeners.

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––CLICK HERE TO LISTEN ON iTUNES–

Other notes of interest in this episode:

• Be sure to listen for our surprise guests sprinkled throughout.
• The Saints–Vikings game is on THURSDAY, September 9 (Clint and I both get it wrong).
• This episode almost breaks our record for the longest episode yet (not something we are proud of).

Episode 8: Don Logan

Don Logan discusses the purchase of BASS

Last week ESPN announced that it has agreed to sell BASS to a group of investors, namely: Don Logan, Jerry McKinnis, and Jim Copeland.  In Episode 8 of The Armchair Anglers Podcast, we sit down one-on-one with famous media executive Don Logan to discuss the pending BASS sale.

Also included in this episode are live phone lines, comments on the 2010 AOY race, and Clint reacts to Episode 7 being labeled an “Obama love fest”.

—–CLICK HERE TO LISTEN—-

Mike Tidwell visits The Armchair Anglers Podcast

In this month’s episode we are joined by Bayou Farewell author and Gulf Coast expert Mike Tidwell.  Mike gives us his first-hand account of how the oil spill is threatening America’s wetlands.  Later, Bo and Clint discuss BASS happenings while in “Casual Friday” mode.

—CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 7, JUNE 2010–

More experts agree–Oil leak much larger than 5,000 barrels a day

NPR reports that the leak might be 70,000 barrels a day--more than 10 times higher than the amount reported by BP. (Photo: BP)

NPR is reporting that the oil spill could be much worse than believed, with up to 70,000 barrels of oil per day leaking into the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.

Experts discuss Oil Spill in May 2010 Podcast

Andy Crawford from LouisianaSportsman.com

Roland Martin — Legendary Fisherman

Legendary fisherman Roland Martin joins Andy Crawford from LouisianaSportsman.com and LSU environmental scientist Ed Overton on The Armchair Anglers Podcast this month to discuss the Gulf of Mexico oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.

To gain an understanding of the pre-existing coastal erosion problems plaguing the Louisiana coast, I suggest watching this seven minute Swish presentation prior to listening to the podcast.

—–CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST—-

Two notes for bass fisherman listening to the podcast:

• Every inch of marsh destroyed on front end (the coast) pushes the saltwater line further back into the marsh, destroying bass habitat on the back end.
• Marsh bass will eat the heck out of brown shrimp.  Destroying the bottom of the food chain hurts both saltwater and freshwater fish.

Lake Guntersville Predictions

I asked two local big sticks what it would take to win at Lake Guntersville.

Troy Jens of Angling Alabama said, “I hope I am wrong, but I think the weights will be down a little this year.  Our local events have been down substantially.  I expect a 23 pound average to win, and probably 18 a day to get a check”.

Alex Davis, aka “The Spinnerbait Kid“, said, “The fishing is a lot tougher this year compared to last year when the Elites came.  I believe there will still be big bags…it will take 83-87 lbs to win and 36 lbs to get a check”.

I find it interesting that both these guys think that it will take 36 lbs to get a check (Top 47 after 2 days).  Their consensus is that the winning weight will be high 80s to low 90s…meaning my early prediction of Pickwick outfishing Guntersville will prove to be false.

If you want to improve your fishing skills, so that you can enjoy a lifetime of improved fishing success, I suggest you invest a day and fish with these gentlemen.

Gulf Oil Spill Live Blog – #3

The oil spill is expected the accelerate the already dramatic land loss in the Louisiana Delta. (Image courtesy of Times Picayune)

05/06/2010 2:44 PM CST:  Here is a video with Dr. Ed Overton, the expert who joined us on this month’s podcast.  He is also featured in a Rachel Maddow video that is being emailed around, but I did not want to subject our readers to that.

05/06/2010 2:08 PM CST: We have released a preliminary episode of our podcast discussing the oil leak.

05/05/2010 8:31 PM CST: Will the oil slick effect bass fishermen?  It already has–at least economically.  What a trip to see Serigne’s marina in the WSJ.  Many a bass has been caught in that area.  On a separate note, it is a amazing how lucky we have been with this thing not coming ashore yet.  The NOAA 48 hour forecast shows it heading to the West of the Mississippi River mouth.

05/05/2010 8:11 PM CST: Are frantic shrimpers killing endangered turtles?  The theory sounds extremely plausible to me…

05/05/2010 8:07 PM CST: It would not surprise me if the pogy kills are a result of the dispersant–the effects of which are largely untested from what is reported.

05/05/2010 3:23 PM CST:  As mentioned earlier, Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell, was originally scheduled to appear on our podcast to discuss the oil spill, but he basically dumped us for Katie Couric.  (Which is totally understandable–and yes, we were able to find a different big-named guest to fill in.)  Here is the interview Mike did with Katie:

05/05/2010 2:58 PM CST:  This is a very interesting idea.  By diverting fresh water into Lake Pontchartrain, the oil contaminates could hopefully be kept out of the lake.  The most infuriating part of this article is the concern over the freshwater diversion killing oyster beds.  Oyster beds can grow back for goodness sake!  But diverting water into Lake Pontchartrain keeps less water from flowing down to the mouth of the Mississippi River–which is the area that needs all the current they can get since it is the part of the coast closest to the “ground zero”, aka the leak.

05/03/2010 10:04 PM CST: This is an interesting article on the dispersants being used on the oil.  It is basically trading one form of pollution for another.  But what is interesting to me is the lengths they are having to go to to get enough of the actual chemical.

05/03/2010 10:18 AM CST: Famous author Mike Tidwell postponed our podcast recording today so that he could be interviewed by Katie Couric on CBS news instead.  I assume Mike’s people have not explained to him what a high-powered media power The Armchair Anglers Podcast has become–he should have told Katie that he had a more important obligation!

Seriously, we understand Mike’s reasons for rescheduling and look forward to having him on in the near future.  We are working on a “plan b”…

05/03/2010 10:16 AM CST: This geologist at SkyTruth says that this oil spill has already eclipsed the Valdez spill.

05/03/2010 10:44 PM CST: Click to see  NOAA Oil Slick Forecast (1899_TMF24-2010-05-03-1130)

05/03/2010 2:35 PM CST: More good news.

05/03/2010 2:33 PM CST: Our disaster preparedness shines again.

05/03/2010 11:18 AM CST: We have been so fortunate that the oil sheen has not hit the Biloxi marsh so far, at least according to this USA Today map and forecast.   Good news, the wind forecast is favorable so that they will have a chance of actually cleaning some up for the next few days.

05/03/2010 8:58 AM CST:  This article in the WSJ talks about the expected long-term affects on wildlife.  Keep in mind that the WSJ is hardly the Sierra Club’s favorite publication…

05/02/2010 11:34 AM CST: Many are pointing out the the oil spill isn’t really a spill at all–it is a leak.  I concede this point, but am not going to edit previous post to correct.

05/02/2010 11:22 AM CST:  We will be recording our podcast this week.  Please email us questions to ask our panel of experts about the oil spill.  If your email is read on air you will win prizes from Culprit Fishing Products–the new sponsor of our backlash segment.

05/02/2010 11:21 AM CST:  Don’t forget to vote in our poll, which ask if this will be the worst eco-disaster in American history.

05/02/2010 10:47 AM CST:  The Louisiana coast is dying because Mississippi River fresh water and sediment is being leveed all the way to the continental shelf, where it is dumped and wasted.  The marsh is dying because it is not built for a salt water only environment.  The Louisiana coast would have a chance of surviving the oil spill if only we would let fresh water mix with salt, so that the area is returned to it’s natural state.   Be you a left wing tree hugger or a right wing blood thirsty hunter, or anyone in between, you should want to preserve the Louisiana coast.

That is why it is so confusing to me why we can’t fund a solution to this mess and give mother nature a chance to fight this oil spill.

This article talks about projects that would give mother nature that fighting chance.

The price tag for the coastal restoration project is 4 Billion dollars.  It was funded with 35.6 million dollars.

Money is flying out the door from Washington at an insane pace, and we can’t pay the bill to save our own land?

I don’t get it.  Consider this:

• 2010 Federal Budget = 3,552,000,000,000
• Requested funds = 4,000,000,000

4 billion sounds like a lot of money–and it is.  But you mean the federal government can’t spend .11% (yes, notice the decimal–one tenth of one percent) to fix a problem that the Corps of Engineers caused in the first place?

I don’t get it.

05/02/2010 10:21 AM CST: “So this is going to kill the land that is already dying”, my wife said last night–pretty much summing up the exact situation we are in.  I highly recommend spending seven minutes to view this swish presentation developed by Dan Swenson of the Times Picayune.  That presentation will give you an understanding of the already bad situation before the oil spill made it much worse.  I will post images later but I am having technical difficulties.

This is going to kill the land that is already dying. –Mrs. Crawford

05/02/1010 10:15 AM CST: I use a WordPress plug-in that automatically generates links to “possibly related post” around WordPress.com.  You will notice that since the oil spill there are many post floating around the blogosphere cleverly titled “Spill Baby Spill”, which smugly criticize those of us (yes, this includes me) that ever uttered “drill baby drill”.  I call BS on these bloggers.  I didn’t sign up for this, nor did anyone else who dislikes $4 a gallon gas.  Even America’s Wetland–a non-profit organization working to save the Louisiana Delta–recognizes that we need fuel in the modern world.  They reiterated this in a recent statement.

05/02/2010 10:10 AM CST:  The Gulf oil spill is going to be a long-lasting event that we will be watching for months to come.  I will post comments, analysis and links in live-blog format, starting fresh each week.  This marks the third calendar week of the oil spill.   I am going to change the format of the live-blogs so that it reads newest to oldest, the opposite of how I did this during week 2.

VOTE!–Will the oil spill be the worst eco-disaster in history?

Louisiana Oil Spill Coverage – Live Blog #2

We will do our best to keep our readers informed about Transocean oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  Some of the coverage from major networks leads me to believe that they do not fully realize the damaging scope of this event, or the serious environmental impact this is going to have.

• Here is a brief post I made yesterday that links to a WSJ article, and mentions that the impacted area is where Mike Iaconelli won the 2003 Bassmaster Classic.
• The Louisiana Sportsmen posted an excellent summary of the “Major Impact” that will result from the spill.

Clint and I are changing plans for the May podcast episode so that we can give this topic the attention it deserves.  It looks like the May podcast will exclusively cover this topic.  Tentative guest include Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell, Andy Crawford of the LouisianaSportsman.com, and an oil and gas expert from LSU geo engineering dept.

Stay tuned as I will attempt provide interesting links.  I invite our readers to submit links about the topic in the comments section below.

04/30/2010 1:12 PM CST

• The Louisiana Audubon Society is helping to coordinate volunteers for the expected coastal impact.
• This article correctly summarizes our concerns about the Louisiana marsh–the news cameras at the beaches are missing the point!

4/30/2010 3:30 PM CST

• A fair summary in the WSJ.

I have made several phone calls to biologists to try to ascertain the effect the crude oil will have on the marsh vegetation holding the Louisiana coastline together.  It depends on so many factors none can say for certain…it depends on how diluted the oil is.   The truth is no one knows for certain what the long term damages will be.  If they can’t plug the leak it is going to be very bad.  The WSJ says that the leak might be 25,000 barrels a day…5X higher than the 5,000 barrels originally reported.

4/30/2010 5:27 PM

• The phrase, “worst environmental disaster in American history” is being used more and more frequently.  Click here for example.
• Anyone who ever uttered “drill baby drill” is getting hammered by the  Huffington Post and similar news outlets.
• The LA Times actually has some good coverage of this.  I refused to post a link earlier because I thought they had Greenpeace ads all over their site, turns out it says “Greenspace“–a special section of their paper.

04/30/2010 7:04 PM CST

• This is the first report I have read about plans to actually stop the leaking.   Two weeks is the best case scenario to stop the leaking.  That means this will trump Valdez by a long shot.

04/30/2010 9:39 PM CST

New Poll — Will this be the worst eco-disaster in history?

4/30/2010 10:46 PM CST

Nola.com reports that the State of Louisiana has closed fishing from the Mississippi River mouth to the Mississippi state line.

05/01/2010 10:30 AM CST

Times Picayune Video: “We will lose miles of grass around the shoreline”

05/01/2010 10:40 AM CST

This Times Picayune reporter is the first I have heard that gets the big picture.  All the images of sick and dying birds, otters and raccoons are going to be heart breaking…but ultimately they could reproduce and repopulate.  If they have habitat that is…It is the permanent damage to the habitat (marsh grass), and unsexy organisms a the bottom of the food chain, that is going to cause irreparable damage to the entire eco system.  I don’t think it will ever be the same, which is why I voted “yes” in our oil spill poll.  Click here to see the Times Picayune video.

THIS LIVE BLOG IS CONTINUED HERE