Getting to know the BassResource Staff

[seyone]

I have never seen this thread, glad someone dug this up.

[bucky]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

[J Francho]

Name: John Franchot

Age: 39

City/State: Rochester, NY

Occupation: IT Consultant

Education: High School Diploma

Yrs Fishing: As far back as I can remember

Preferred Style (describe a typical, quality day):

I don't really have a preferred style, though some of my most memorable days have been on opposite ends of the spectrum. I can remember one day in May, with the weather being real snotty, and catching fish after fish on a spinnerbait. I think I had 4 or 5 fish over 5 lbs. that day. Another time would be in a tournament, on a particularly tough day. It was team format, and my boater had a limit, though only about 8 lbs. total. I didn't catch a fish until almost noon, but I ended catching four fish on a dinky little wacky jig and 4" worm, shaking the thing on top of the submerged weeds. All four fish were upgrades, and we went from last to 2nd place that day. Either way, power fishing or finesse - it's work.

Personal

Fav food: Hamburgers

Fav movie: No all time favorites, but I've been watching Dogtown and the Z-boys repeatedly lately.

Fav quote: "We're all in this together, and no one is getting out alive, so try and get along." - Mom

Fishing

Fav bait: Toss-up Jig or Swimbait

Fav set up (rod/reel):

Spinning: Avid 6'3" ML/XF, Shimano CI4 2500, 6 Lb. Invisx

Baitcaster: Legend Tournament Bass 7' M/F Teaser, Daiwa Zillion, 12 lb. CXX

Fav lake: Lake Erie

Fav river: Genny or Salmon

10 Questions from Members input

1. How do you find the time to work, spend time with your family, go

fishing, and still be logged onto the website and patrol all the posts?

It's not the huge burden some make it to be. I'm usually on in short stints of 20 minutes or so. Do that several times a day, and the time adds up.

2. What is your fishing background/experience?

I grew up spending summers on Port Bay, off of Lake Ontario. By the time I was 12, I had a rowboat to explore the bay. By 16 I used the 16' "Woody" to chase smallies in the big lake. At 20, I used deep-V walleye boat to continue my chase.

I took a break when my oldest son was born, but that only lasted a few years, and got back into it pretty seriously, fishing in opens/partners tournaments, and eventually joining a club. I also fished for myself in a kayak. This led to an opportunity to teach and guide people interested in kayak fishing. I continue to teach this to both kayakers interested in learning to fish, and anglers wanting to learn how to fish from a kayak.

I recently purchased a proper tournament bass boat, and will be competing as a boater this year. I've owned boats before, but it's more complicated now, with all the electronics, modern livewells, ethanol treatments, oil injection etc. I'm slowly figuring it all out.

3. What have been your best experiences when fishing?

When someone you're fishing with suddenly "gets it."

4. Give us a play by play of a typical, lets say, Tuesday for you?

What time do you get up? Work? Fishing? Family? How do you relax

at the end of a long day at work?

In summer, I'll get up around 6 AM, in work by 8:30 AM. My oldest is 12, so he may need a ride to some various baseball/bowling/kayak/day camp that he does all summer long. For lunch break, I'll hit "noontime pond" for about 45 minutes or so, unless fishing is really good, and then I'm working "remotely." Tuesdays happen to be one "my nights," since my wife works overnights, and I'm often at home with the kids while she works. So, I'll be on the water, or teaching a class, or at a club meeting. At night, I'll be in the man cave, working on my gear, watching a Yankees game.

Now do the same for a Saturday?

Saturday is either prefishing day, or fishing an open tournament. I'm up around 4 AM, and headed to the lake. Most of the day is spent fishing, and after the weigh in, I stop off for a bite, and usually get home around 5 PM. The evening is spent with my sons, and we might build a fire, or work in the yard, or (God forbid) clean up the house so it's nice when my wife gets home early Sunday morning.

5. What experience do you have fishing elsewhere other than home areas?

My club fishes 10 different lakes each year. A new lake is added to our schedule every year. Some of the lakes are a great distance away, like Black Lake, or Champlain, and I only really get to fish them during those 3-day club events. I travel to new waters out of state at least once a year. I love seeing new places, and meeting new people.

6. Is it still as much fun for you as it was in the beginning of your tenors?

Even better now.

7. Do you guys get free stuff? Lures, line, rods, reels, etc...?

Not through this website, though I have saved a ton scouring the Flea Market over the years.

8. What part of being a Mod here do each of you enjoy most and least?

Most: I guess for it's a part of my teaching. the more ways you express yourself, the better you get at explaining how to do it.

Least: Spam. Drama. The impersonal nature of "The Web."

9. What is your favorite besides bass?

Steelhead.

10. Do you guys rotate as to who needs to be on line at any

given time? Or does everyone just look in whenever they get

time.

It's kind a loose thing. I'm on the east coast, so I wouldn't expect Glenn to be on at 7 AM EST (though he has been, LOL). With guys spread out, and a genuine interest in what has been posted, scheduling is unnecessary.

Fav hobbies other than fishing:

Vintage and modern Slot Cars. Vintage Lego. Gardening. Musician. Not finishing Projects, LOL.

10 People you respect and/or admire:

1. Dad
2. Mom
3. Papa
4. Uncle Jeff
5. My Wife
6. Through 10. would be other guys and gals you'll never know, but made me who I am.

Turn ons:

Float down, tap, thump, tick, tug, feels like mush and anything else that says, "FISH ON!"

Turn offs:

Traffic.

Aspirations:

Share fishing with as many people as I can, and raise two fine men.

Essay:

What are some of the major factors that have affected

your life. A brief history to help us understand the road

you traveled to become the person you are today. Please

include influences.

I guess one of the major influences in my life would be my grandfather, Papa. He was the son of German immigrants. He worked hard for very little for most of his life. From pushing a hot dog cart at the beach, to owning/running a chain of restaurants, his life is a success story - the American Dream. I always pay attention to the things he says, even the jokes, which very dry, cutting, and fast paced. "Do it right, or don't bother doing it at all!" was very common to hear from his mouth. "All I want to see are elbows and *******!" was another. He always wanted to be the best, and do everything right. Not in a perfectionist kind of way, though. If he or you made a mistake, that just fine, so long as you learned from it. Now you knew something that guys that never tried didn't. He worked hard, but after the Friday night dinner rush was over, he'd come to the cottage, on Port Bay. When I was very young, all I knew was that he worked constantly. I asked him once, "Are you going back to work on Saturday?" He said no. He went on to say that that was the problem with some guys. They never took a break, never relaxed as well as they should, and that made them miserable. He used laugh at our neighbors on the bay. He'd say, "Look at them, they take the day off to work!" But, come Monday morning he would be at the restaurant at 6 AM, getting ready for a week that wouldn't end until late Friday night.

Papa is 81 years old, and still works the grill, 5 days a week. The other two days are spent with his racehorses, watching SU basketball or Yankees games. "I'm still the best," he claims.

I'll never be as good as him, but I'll die trying.

[Jboquet]

I am new to this site and would like to thank all at Bass Resource for such a quality site. There is so much information on every subject of bass fishig and all of it is put together so beautifully. I will spread the word among all my fishing buddies. Thanks again, J.B.

[Nitrofreak]

That is just a handful of people doing a perfect job at giving ALL of us the most information available in one site, I for one have learned soooooooo much from the amazing people and their skills on this one site than I think I could reading 20 years of Bassmaster mag's.

Glenn and supporting staff, AWESOME JOB !!!

Amazing people = Amazing results and I just don't think you ALL get enough credit for what you have created and what you keep maintained.

I hope to someday get the chance to go to one of your trips and meet some of you...Smith Mountain Lake...Hint...Hint.

So I can say thank you in person.

Great job all!!!

[doug deike]

Thanks for creating this site, I've been looking for a good fishing website for a while now, this is by far the best!

[Mike Geiger]

Well, You all sound like a great group of people and I for one would like to thank all of you for the work and time you spend making this site GREAT. Keep it up..

[WDinarte]

WOW, NIce.

Thanks Glenn, and team.

You guys make posible that I can be part of this family, and learn one step at the time.

I see this place as a BIG book, I can come up here with any question and read ( I love to read ) for 1hr + and after that I know for sure that I lear a lot but " still don't know much " for me " life is a learning process " I only can say THANK YOU for all your hard work. To make it easy for Me "

[Swamp Girl]

Good bios. You seem like nice folks. Thanks for creating and maintaining this website.

[tbcop]

Awesome site for this great sport we call "Bass Fishing"

Keep up the great work Guys

Let's go cast a few without backlashes....

Tony

[West Tennessee Bass. Man]

Great stuff guys. I look forward to meeting all of you some day.

[Skeeter Dan]

Great site. I'm on here every day except when I go fishing . I wish there was more info on the lakes west of the Tn River in West Tn. I want to thank you for putting this web site together I think its Great

[Bluebasser86]

Name: Clayton Westgate

Age: 34

City/State: Gardner, KS

Occupation: Deputy Sheriff

Education: High School grad with some college (Police Academy)

Yrs Fishing: My parents first took me a couple weeks before my first birthday. The picture of me sitting in my diaper holding a fishing pole is one of my favorite old pictures of myself. 

Preferred Style (describe a typical, quality day):

If I can get on a good jig bite it's a good day. I also love getting slack lined on my bladed jigs.

Personal

Fav food: There isn't really anything I don't like to eat other than fish oddly enough. BBQ, Italian, Mexican, and breakfast foods are my favorites. If I had to pick one thing it would be my mom's lasagna. 

Fav movies: Tommy Boy, Dumb and Dumber, Step Brothers, I love stupid comedies. 

Fav quote: "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwell

Fishing

Fav bait: Homemade jigs or bladed jigs
Fav set up (rod/reel):

Spinning: Daiwa Tatula 2500/ St. Croix LTB 6' 10" M/XF
Baitcaster: Daiwa Zillion SV TWS/St.Croix LTB 7' Mh/F
Fav lake: Table Rock or Melvern
Fav river: Elk River in Missouri is the only river I've ever fished for bass. The White River in Arkansas is one of my favorite fishing destinations, but for brown trout on jerkbaits.

10 Questions from Members input

1. How do you find the time to work, spend time with your family, go
fishing, and still be logged onto the website and patrol all the posts?

I work nights and have a lot of down time that I spend on the website while nothing is going on. Evenings are time spent with my wife and sons, Lake and Finn. I'll go for an hour or two after work in the mornings a couple times a week when the weather allows it.

2. What is your fishing background/experience? 

We were very poor when I was young, so fishing was a means of getting food without spending much money. I always felt good when I caught a good fish because I knew I was helping my family out. I loved being around the water and trying to catch the fish and anything else in it, and that has never changed. I started fishing tournaments when I turned 16 in a local bass club. My first year I won 2 tournaments, rookie of the year, backseater of the year, and 3rd place overall in the club. I had to stop tournament fishing when I got into law enforcement due to scheduling conflicts but I have been doing it long enough now that I can get the days off and I'm hoping to get back into it.
3. What have been your best experiences when fishing?

Any time I get to spend on the water with my dad is a good time. I've always enjoyed our trips together but now that I have sons of my own I think I realize that much more how special those trips are for both of us.
4. Give us a play by play of a typical, lets say, Tuesday for you?
What time do you get up? Work? Fishing? Family? How do you relax
at the end of a long day at work?

My Tuesday starts at 6PM Monday night. That's when I wake up and go say hi to my wife and boys. Take the dogs outside to run around. I make dinner and play with my kids until it's time for them to go to bed. I leave for work around 9:20 for my shift that starts at 10PM and goes until 6AM the next day unless I'm holding over and working until 10AM, which I normally do once or twice a week. Once I get home I usually build some baits or tinker with my fishing gear until 10AM which is when I try to be in bed.

Now do the same for a Saturday?

Saturdays I'm off most of the day so sometimes I'll get up and go fishing for a few hours in the morning, or I might sleep in a bit and spend the day with my family.

5. What experience do you have fishing elsewhere other than home areas?

I've been a bunch of different lakes fishing; Eagle Lake in Ontario, Grand Lake in Oklahoma, Beaver Lake, White River, and Bull Shoals in Arkansas, Gulf of Mexico, Minnetonka in Minnesota, and Hampton Lakes in South Carolina. Beaver, The White River, Grand, and Hampton Lakes were my favorites
6. Is it still as much fun for you as it was in the beginning of your tenors?

More so I would say. I've gotten to the point where I try to understand the fish more than just trying to go out and catch them. I like to come up with a game plan before I ever get to the lake and make adjustments as I see fit while on the water. I've also gotten to where catching a bunch of fish isn't as much the goal anymore as catching better quality fish.

7. Do you guys get free stuff? Lures, line, rods, reels, etc...?

Yes we do occasionally from some of our sponsors. I've been fortunate to get to try out some great gear from several different companies during my time as a Moderator here. 

8. What part of being a Mod here do each of you enjoy most and least?

Most: I like getting to help out with helping to keep this forum as great as it is.
Least: Any time someone wants to argue is never a good time. I get plenty of confrontation at work. I try to avoid it here but it kind of comes with the territory. 

9. What is your favorite besides bass?

I'm an avid multispecies angler with bass being first on my list. It's impossible for me to pick a second favorite. I love fishing for big flathead and blue catfish. I spend several days each winter after wipers and white bass. I wish I had muskie and stripers closer as they're both a blast. Same goes for brown trout, I don't think I could ever get tired of chasing them.

10. Do you guys rotate as to who needs to be on line at any
given time? Or does everyone just look in whenever they get
time.

I'm mostly on at night but also occasionally during the day. 

Fav hobbies other than fishing: 

Lure building, bow hunting, and bow fishing. I love going camping with my wife and kids.


Turn ons:

Fishing in the dark, Spring, sunrises on the water, getting to be a dad and husband.

Turn offs:

Liars, negative people, know-it-alls, anyone who is abusive to someone who is different/weaker/smaller or to animals. 


Aspirations: 

To be the best father and husband I can be while continuing to grow in and enjoy this sport that is such a major part of my life and hopefully pass my passion for it on to my kids.

 

 

 

[Siebert Outdoors]

Awesome.  Congrats!!

[J Francho]

Glad to have you on the team, Clayton.

[buzzed bait]

nice addition Clayton!  who better to police the forums than the police....  nice fish pics

[Chris S]

Congrats Buddy!!! See you Saturday at Melvern! 

[Doc-Drew]

Congrats Buddy!!! See you Saturday at Melvern!

Congrats Clayton! That picture of you kneeling holding that flathead looks like it should have been on the show River Monsters.

[Robeng]

Thx.  Great reading n gettin to know you all a lil more.  

[.ghoti.]

Name: Gary Kilmartin

Age: 63

City/State: Pana, Illinois

Occupation: retired professor, part time consultant

Education: Not enough

Yrs Fishing: since age 5

Preferred Style: I don't have a preferred style. About the only fish I don't regularly pursue is catfish. I fish for bass, trout, crappie, bluegill, walleye, pike and striper on a regular basis. I love salt water flats fishing; bonefish, permit, grouper, snapper, snook, etc. Truth of the matter is; any day on the water is a good day. I have casting rods, spinning rods and fly rods. I use them all.

Personal

Fav food: depends on what day it is. Favorites, in no particular order are; Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Greek, Sushi, Tapas, burgers and brats on the grill, any seafood. I like food, and I love to cook.

Fav movie: Tombstone, The Godfather, Casablanca

Fav quote: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. Abe Lincoln


Fishing

Fav bait: Plastics

Fav set up (rod/reel): I like all of my combos, casting, spinning and fly. If I don't like them, I get rid of them.

Fav lake: Pickwick, Kentucky, Table Rock, Tennessee River, White River, Taneycomo

10 Questions from Members input

1. How do you find the time to work, spend time with your family, go fishing, and still be logged onto the website trying to keep the peace? The sad truth of the matter is sometimes I can’t. I've recently retired from teaching, but I'm still working as a consultant / programmer in industry. That is a part-time job. My kids are all grown up, out of the house and off the payroll. My wife works a lot. I should have lots of free time, but I don't. Strange how that works. I started building custom fishing rods last year, and that has become a black hole, into which flows time and money. I spent more time on that than I did fishing last year. More money as well. I have vowed to correct that imbalance this year.

2. What is your fishing background/experience? The same experiences I suspect most of us older guys have. I grew up fishing with older family members, my Dad, granddads, uncles, older cousins, etc. Anybody who would take me fishing was on my good guys list. We were all live bait, meat fishermen. We gathered our own bait, and any fish we caught went in the skillet. I like to think I’ve evolved since those days, but I’m not totally sure I can really call it progress. I got to start fishing with the “big guys” when I was big enough to carry all of my own stuff. If I had to follow that rule now, I’d never get to go fishing.

3. What have been your best experiences when fishing? How much time do you have? There have been so many prime experiences. I’ve been doing this a long time.

 

Here’s one of the best.

 

My wife started fishing with me a few years ago. I’d always give her a light spinning rod, and fish for crappie when she came with me. Crappie are usually easy to find and catch, and she would enjoy the trip. One day the crappie were nowhere to be found. I gave her my best bass-spinning combo with a 4” red shad Senko, on a 2/0 EWG hook, and showed her how to work it. About four casts into the experience she said, “I don’t like this”. About 10 seconds after she said that, she got her first tap. I coached her how to watch the line, and feel for the fish. She missed that one. She must have cast thirty times right back into the same spot until she caught her first bass. It was a nice fat two pounder that put up a lot more fight than she was accustomed to. She was as excited as I’ve ever seen her. When I unhooked it her Senko was gone. She looked at me and in no uncertain terms said, “where’s my worm? Go get me another one. I want to do that again”. She’s been dedicated to bass fishing since then. By the way, that rod and reel have been “hers” ever since.

 

4. Give us a play by play of a typical, lets say, Tuesday for you?  What time do you get up? Work? Fishing? Family?  How do you relax at the end of a long day at work?  Well, how about yesterday? I got out of bed around 5:00AM, had a shower and shave, made coffee and breakfast, ate, got dressed, and was out the door by about 5:45. Drove an hour to Caterpillar. I’ll skip what I did there. Left around 4:00, went to my cabin to work on a rod. Left there about 6:30. Grabbed a sandwich on the way home. Watched a boxing match I had recorded, and was in bed by about 11:00PM.

 

Now do that same for a Saturday? I work Thursday and Friday every week. My weekends are Saturday through Wednesday. I'm new to this retirement thing, so I don't quite have a routine in place. I go to my cabin workshop most days, and have a honey-do project, or two, most days. Need to figure out how to fit more fishing into this when the weather gets better and the lakes thaw.

 

5. What experience do you have fishing elsewhere other than home areas? We like to travel, and when possible, the fishing gear goes along for the trip. Besides Illinois, I’ve fished in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Florida, Nevada, Ontario, both coasts of Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. I plan to add to the list as long as I am able.

 

 

7. Do you guys get free stuff? Lures, line, rods, reels, etc...? Only in my dreams.

 

8. What part of being a staff member here do each of you enjoy most and least?

What I like the least is the feeling of not doing what I’m supposed to be doing when I get too busy. I do not like not doing what I said I would do, and that does happen. The family and the jobs come first, and if I run out of day, I run out of day.

 

I like being able to say that I’m part of something this great, and every now and then, somebody says thanks.

 

9. What is your favorite besides bass? Pike, bonefish, panfish on the fly rod, barracuda ( pike on steroids ), 
   
   Fav hobbies other than fishing: reading & cooking
   
   10 People you respect and/or admire: You know, I thought this would be an easy question to answer. It’s not.

My wife

Mark Twain

Stephen Hawking

Sam Walton

Peyton Manning

Turn ons: You really don’t want me to answer that on a family oriented forum, do you?

Turn offs: ignorance, bigots, drunks

[Robeng]

Wow.  I have never read your bios until now in early 2017.  What a wonderful group of mods and members.  I can tell you I left another "forum" here in Michigan because of the spam, and fighting, and the moderator just gave up.  There was more posts under Politics than the Water.

Glenn, God bless you for your efforts.  You are a sincere and genuine gentleman.  

I started looking at Bass Resource years ago but did not join until a little while back.  I am glad I did.  I love your videos and the members here are great.  

 

Thank you for this wonderful site and I hope a TV show is near.

Bob

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

Folks:

 

You young pups have done an absolutely amazing job with this site. As I said in my somewhat windy intro, I got away from bass fishing around 1983 and back into it when I retired. Was totally overwhelmed by the new gear, new techniques, and wealth of knowledge now available. Thank you so much for helping me as I ease back into the greatest outdoor sport in the world.

 

Regards,

Art

[MichaelCopeland]

Great bios everyone. Thank you Glenn and all who make this site possible. I've only been bass fishing since late March early April 2017. I've only caught 2 largemouths, each weighed between 1-2lbs. Nothing special, but it's a start. So thanks again for having a place I can come to to learn how to get better at my new favorite hobby.

[ntagger57]

I have gone through all the bios and I must say I'm truly grateful and honoured to be part of BR. ?

[TheBasslayer]

Nice bios everyone! I'm also wondering: How does anyone get to 20,000-30,000 posts???????