Nalod

A beauty! Great way to finish the trip.

Chad's 41". Third Place Jeff's 41.5". Second Place Larry's 39". 43". Nobody can photobomb a fish pic better than Chad! It has been a tradition to take a group photo at the awards ceremony. Not only do you get a great trophy, framed picture of your catch, and $$$...but Zach Baker also donated a specially made Baker Bait to the first place prize! There was a new tradition that was started this year. The hat I am wearing in this picture was Mark Troy's top-5 NMA hat. Every year they will get a picture of the tournament winner wearing the hat...an absolute honor! --Joe

Hey Guys. Thanks for the congratulatory cheers. As always, the tournament was an absolute blast. I have been saying it since I started fishing this tournament...and will continue to say it for years to come -- this is my favorite event of the year! Ed Cragg, Jim Reynolds, and Bob Saucke really do a great job. How many other tournaments do they serve you chili on the water??? I have sent an email to Ed asking for some of the photos he took while measuring the fish and at the awards. I will make sure to post them once I have received them. --Joe

Congrats....very addicting indeed!

The joke will be on Ronix when he shows up to the wedding and Nikki isn't there because she is fishing the tourney!!!!

Here ya go, Brent...

Now that is what it is all about! Memories for the rest of their (and yours of course) lives

An absolute beauty...congrats!

I cannot believe how quickly it is melting! If it wasn't for the huge snow banks from the plows, nobody would ever guess we had all this snow fall on us last week. I have not heard of any major flooding issues yet, but today is the day that they are closely watching. Also, roofs that were not cleaned off are still a big concern. Some schools have closed through Dec 1 just to guarantee that the schools are safe and structure-ly sound.

Wow Yellowpike. That is one mean overhang on your roof. What town are you in?

For you, Ray...not a problem! I made the piles 6ft x 6ft x 20ft.

Did your road get plowed out yet, lineman? I have a friend that lives off of walden that saw the plow for the first time since the start of the storm this afternoon.

I totally agree, Fish Hunter. I have friends that live up that way. Buffalo has been labeled the "snowiest city", but we pale in comparison to the Northern areas of NY (east of Lake O)! My method of snow blowing was to drive into the snow pile, let it blow to the side, back up to let the top of that bank fall down and then snow blow it again. It worked, but took forever! A good amount of people have not even started to snow blow yet!!!

We get some good snow storms every year that will usually shut down the town for a day, but nothing like this! I have heard many people comparing it to the blizzard of '77 for what it has done to the city. They are saying the worst hit areas should see close to 100" of snow. I think Buffalo's average snowfall for the year is only about 93". It is tempting! I am going stir-crazy being stuck in the house. I just want them to lift the travel ban so I can run for a cup of Tim Hortons (ha. my priorities are not straight). You actually do see a few snowmobiles driving up and down the road.

I hate that it may come to this, but I am thinking I may need to try to siphon gas from my boat to fill the snow blower later today. I have gone through all of my reserves and the gas station near me is completely out of gas. As for moving, it is very tempting until I start thinking about how great we all have it for fishing resources. Where else can I go an hour north for great trout and salmon (ontario), a 15 minute drive down the street for walleye and small mouth bass (erie), inland (chautauqua) or the upper niagara for awesome musky, and still be close to drive to the St. Lawrence for potential world record musky...I just can't leave that!

Here are some pics...

Looking for snow? I have as much as your heart desires. It is free to anyone that comes to pick it up. I am sure my neighbors will be happy to offer theirs if I run out. Hurry up, because it may start melting with the weekend warmup (and then I will be giving away flooding waters)! Location: Orchard Park, NY (southern suburb of Buffalo) --Joe

I knew I was missing a color in my tackle box...small buffalo! --Joe

Absolutely love the pics! Congrats on your 50.

Great one, Adam! Hopefully the bite will continue through the day/weekend for you. --Joe