A New Start...

It has been one wild ride over the past year or so... My reports from the water have been few and far between. I can say, with confidence, that I am back and will try and keep up with weekly reports from the outdoor world.

The "real" job at WKYC in Cleveland has been going OK, even with seemingly unending changes. I've been given the opportunity to do some on air work, shooting, writing, editing, and voicing news stories. It's really fun to do, even with the added pressure. I sort of thrive on that though, so we'll see what the future holds.

I can now call myself a "former" owner of Ohio Game Fishing (http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/). It's still a great website with a ton of outdoor information, and I'm going to continue to post information there, trying to help others as hundreds of folks helped me over the last eight years. I still think it's the best outdoors information resource on the Internet and wish the new ownership all the success in the World.

Even though I have removed that hat, I still wear several others. As you can see from the picture above, the ProStaff position with Bass Pro is going well. Just last Saturday, I was in the Rossford,Ohio store, conducting seminars on Lake Erie nightbite walleye fishing. I really enjoy talking to folks about fishing and the outdoors, and more seminars will be scheduled. The next will hopefully be something on ice fishing. My favorite.

The Microspoons (http://www.microspoons.com/) Pro Staff position with Nick is as storng as ever too. It's Fall and the crappie are on fire, whacking those #4 microspoons... Chartruse is the ticket... Get them. They work! Thanks Keith and Jessica. You make a great product that catches fish and I recommend them to everyone I talk fishing with.

Inside the Great Outdoors radio is going well too. I like calling in and helping with fishing reports, but I REALLY like co-hosting. Like has been said, it's the fastest two hours in radio... So much information, so little time. Thanks Reno for the opportunities.

Finally, what lies ahead. The sky is the limit, actually. I have everything I need to lay the groundwork for an outdoors-related video production enterprise... Just going to take a little time. You have to walk before you can run and I sort of feel like I just stood up for the first time. The new camera I have is an amazing tool and I'm looking forward to using it to produce relevant outdoors education materials. There are so many out there who need educated about the outdoors and what it has to offer. Boggles the mind, actually.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough. The perch are on fire, the crappies are in a frenzy, and it rained for a day and a half so the steelhead are moving upstream... What a great time to be an outdoorsman.

More to come... MUCH MUCH more!

I'm Carl "Big Daddy" Bachtel and I'll see you "out there".