Trav's Plan

[Trav]

Alright…here is my plan. Bear with me fellas…this will be quite the read…..those of you accustomed to my writings shouldn’t be surprised. In fact, I am hoping to stir intrigue.

The plan is to put in more time on Ozark lakes than any other individual. Make every shoreline and gravel hump as familiar to me as the freckles on my arm. The idea is this…If you know the specifics of a body of water then the fish will eventually be the byproduct of the geographical knowledge. Then when I have it all mapped out…. share everything I have learned. Much like I did as I spent my childhood on Lower Taney but extended to every lake in the region.

When I first formulated this concept, I had initially thought it would be something to add a little purpose behind my passion, a personal mission so to speak, a lifelong trek to most but I want it in fast forward. Yet, the more I weighed it out, the more it became evident I can’t do it right by myself. I am a smart guy but a man has to know his limitations.

We all know about good intentions and to blame nothing other than life’s details, I have had this initiative sitting on the sidelines for a couple years as progress inches along. It has been a series of time consuming incidents littering my journey to the boat ramps. And finding the right “partner in crime” has eluded me. You know how hard it is to find a friend who has nothing better to do but fish all the time?

Haha….Just because I am a dork who makes fishing his main objective to live don’t mean anyone else has the same drive. I recruited a brother and my father into this process but it has been frustrating to establish reliable regularity. Am I the only one willing to risk careers and marriages for the cause?

OK.

Maybe I am a bit extreme. I have been told I have an addiction to feed. To this I say…screw it… “My name is Trav and I am a fishaholic. KVD!!! Pass me those Lucky Strikes!”

Jokes aside, I came to one conclusion. I will need to join forces with a group of like minded individuals to properly achieve my goals. It can be done if I form a coalition, a posse, a gang of Partners. Not only to lesson the burden of its expense but also to have more than one perspective toward the goal while not monopolizing more time than one individual can tolerate.

The old saying, “two minds are better than one” fits like a glove and several minds in collaboration can map every lake inch by inch, log by log, bush by bush, the old fashion way, no GPS, just landmarks and mile markers to describe territory. We buy maps and take notes. Then we fish together and cross reference our maps. Not just once a month but weekly or even daily to achieve rapid advancement to our higher education. I want to hit this like a full time job.

Is anyone hearing me here?

Trav is doing what he does best, rallying troops for the call to duty. This isn’t a cause for the timid either. I want a band of bass brothers willing to sacrifice. Time is money boys and this journey will take time. If you’re not able to commit, I don’t want you to take the trip. It is all good if you can’t. You can always sit on the sidelines and wait here to hear the news from my crew. I want a few (dozen?) good men who will take what we document and share it with the masses. That is the mission here. To gang bang a body of water to find and use every geographical advantage it has.

This concept is not focused on lures and tactics. It isn’t focused on fish behavior or even seasonal spawn cycles. It isn’t oriented on fish so much as it is about the lakes. The idea is based on the fact if we know the lakes then the fishing will naturally fall into place. For it is pattern fishing that gains success. And you can’t pattern fish without knowing the lakes.

It is a proven theory. I have done the playbook with the Lower Taney so I know it is half the game. It is what I used to my advantage to be one of the best guides on Lake Gatun in Panama for three years. Even if the fish kick you an unexpected onside kick at the start of the second half, you will be able to play the field better by knowing where the red zone is. It is this concept that gave Roland Martin nine AOL titles and it is exactly what pros like KVD do to this day.

Our mission is to collect this data and give the topography to establish a playbook for others who don’t have the time to dedicate their lives as we do to the sport.

Now I say “playbook” as if it is a blueprint to guaranteed success. This is far from the truth. We all know you still have to go out there and earn the fish. What we are providing to the Ozark public isn’t going to compromise our own games. Fishing is a skill set…not a map. I have fished all over and Ozark waters contain so much diversity it creates an exceptionally difficult terrain to understand. To collect this type of information will give us the little edge for establishing patterns. There is nothing less and nothing more important than geography.

Alright….there is my game plan in a nutshell. I have come out of the woodwork to see who is going to join my army. All we have to do is take this agenda off the internet and practice it with conviction.

Is anyone with me?

We can go from lake to lake. I have a plan. It isn’t a difficult. Just time consuming.

And Time is truly on my side. Is it on yours as well?

[ColdWaterFshr]

Paul Dallas is IN.

I'm not much of a cartographer, but I can keep the drinks flowing and I have reliable source for some killer blotter acid if things start to get a little stale.

When do we start?

[Trav]

Paul Dallas is IN.

I'm not much of a cartographer, but I can keep the drinks flowing and I have reliable source for some killer blotter acid if things start to get a little stale.

When do we start?

Thanks Paul. I have to get the hydraulic tilt fixed on my boat....then I will be up and running.

I say we start by choosing which lake to begin. I have already got a bit of a start on maps of the Rock and Pomme.

Then as the water temps start to climb we just go at it like we are killing rats. For the immediate future we will just scribble notations on a map of locations which may be of any interest. Then as our crew gets together to collaborate/fish we exchange scribbles. It is really that simple.

[fishinwrench]

I'm on board for L.O. Truman, and Pomme....providing we have a sizable petty cash fund to draw from, and I demand that it be kept separate from the PD 4-way blotter fund

[Trav]

I'm on board for L.O. Truman, and Pomme....providing we have a sizable petty cash fund to draw from, and I demand that it be kept separate from the PD 4-way blotter fund

Right on...as far as a petty cash fund....I am cool with gassing my boat if you tow it...wink