Greetings from Big Cedar and PB III Conv.



More later as things start up. Please keep this thread on topic.

JHAP: Absolutely beautiful location. We'll take tons of photos (some of which will be appropriate for public consumption, others may need some Brettski photochop work). It is going to be a spectular event. So far forum members that are present: Lusk, Otto, Greg Grimes, Natster and brothers, Theo, Cary Martin, and of course Ewest - who's computer I've termporarily hijacked). More to follow......

Have Ewest sticky to the top of the forum. Nice postcard!

Guess who won the fishing tourney...

Wish I was there...y'all better have fun!

Here are a few photos from this evening. Lynda and I left after JHAP got up from our table to get something -- next thing I knew, a real live skunk ran under my chair. I'm still not sure how he did that.


Bruce still had a couple of hours left on his fishing license, and didn't want it to go to waste. (Yes, his pants are wet from chasing a fish.)

Dang, Lusk is lookin' good!!

Sorry, is that off topic?

I will just have to say that the Big Cedar facility is just simply amazing! Unbelievable.

While the property is first class, the people here are pretty much the best of the best from all walks of life. Even my son and daughter made a new friend. They played with Grimes Sons Wyatt last night until 10:30 pm and as he was walking out the door Mae said, "I just really miss my new friend"!

A few early pics from the events , fishing , ice breaker and show

Note for James H.

Don't worry about a thing here in Southlake. Your lovely wife is in good hands. (wink-wink nod-nod).

You guys have fun. George S.

How about some tournament results and catch details for those of us living vicariously through you all? Sunil started but left us hangin.

I don't know all the names of the team members, but Condello and his partner won the tourney with about 9.5 lbs. or so.

(Note to self: When Shawn Banks produces a 12-pack of Keystone Light at 1:30 AM, run away.)

Note to All #1 ("Bill Cody's Law"): When arranging for a ride with Sunil from the airport, make sure he is flying into the same airport you are.


Note to All #2: When Sunil shows up to start the day at O-Dark-30 after staying up late with Shawn, leave him be until at least mid-morning.

Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, Bob Lusk, and Bruce Condello

9.5 pounds of what? Largemouth/smallmouth? Bluegill? Blue catfish? Details anxiously awaited by those of us poor slobs who couldn't make it...

Shawn Banks(white shirt) driving his electrofishing boat.



Justin Herman pulling a seine through the water.



A beautiful Longear that we caught in a Mini fyke trap net.

In addition to Chris' great photos, Bruce pulled an unfortunate catfish out of the seine and brought it to the lavage station. Mr. Catfish got his stomach pumped by Justin VanDeHey and Andy Jensen. Most embarrassing for the poor fish, his stomach was empty!

Keep up with the good pics. It's the only way that us poor unfortunate souls can attend!

If nobody's done so already, can someone show 2catmom how to post pictures to the forum?

Surely there are some tournament photos... Right? We know you guys are having a ball there without the rest of us but come on, give us deprived slobs a bone. More catch details!

The conference has been a blast! Fishing was tough for the folks in the tournament, few fish were caught by all but the Condello team.

At dinner last night TomG placed a bomb under my chair that "went off" during dinner. It was a classic act of terrorism that involved the plotting by a shady cast of characters including TomG, Sunil and yes JWHAP. Having cat like reflexes I noticed the bomb after it had been "going off" (alarm clock loudly ringing) a mere five or six minutes under my chair. Sunil says as pennance I must add to my signature line the nick name "Pinball Wizard" as I appeared to be "deaf, dumb and blind" to a bomb that was placed directly beneath my chair. I reject this name on the grounds that yes I apparantly am deaf to a potential bomb and admittedly I was blind to both the placement and detection of said bomb. Dumb I was not, since as at the time of the "explosion" I was chatting up a storm. Unless of course he meant dumb as in a lacking of a basic level of intelligence to allow for protection from improvised explosive devices and well then I guess I'm guilty as charged.

Photos and many more stories to follow....

Wow Bob really does looks good in that photo! Good for you Bob! Now if I could only get my wife to lose that kind of weight!

Live from inside the moderators booth. Otto and Mongo are currently involved in a presentation about building ponds. Condello is playing with his laptop, Theo and Commander Cody are plotting the demise of some third world country. (possibly Uruguay), Chis Steelman (Youngblood) would probably rather be fishing) and as for myself (being left unattended and undersupervised) have taken the opportunity to hijack Eric West's (aka Ewest) laptop to make a quick post.

The quality of the conference is over the top. Old friendships renewed, new friendships forged. I have taken lots of photos and will post a proper report when back in Southern California.

It was a Black Bass only tourney; most of the fish caught were Spotted Bass (I did NOT see any Smallies).

Biggest fish caught that I know of was a 10 pound Flathead that N8ly's Dad landed; he would have won on one fish if Cats had been legal!

Biggest fish that counted was a 3.65 pound Spot caught by Robert Potts (of TX, IIRC)- quite a specimen.

I may have a few far off pics of tourney fishers, if they came out I will post them in the next week. Photography from the party observation barge was somewhat handicapped by the expert boat handling of our captains (Captain JHAP and Captain Morgan), who 1) refused to get any closer than about 75 yards to any competitors and 2) turned the pontoon boat around and headed back to the dock every time it started raining, no doubt out of consideration for the ladies on board (Mrs. JHAP, Mrs. ewest, Mrs. Bing, and Sunil).

I'm at the conference, but nobody will talk to me.