Well here goes, my first blog on WFN! My first year as a full-time guide, Extreme Angler co-host, tournament angler and tackle designer/manufacturer! I am very excited about my venture, while its my first year full-time, there's nothing new about it! For the past few years I've been working a full-time job, a part-time business which grew faster than I could have imagined, fishing between ten to twenty plus tournaments each season and being a husband and father to two young boys. It's a lot of hard work and dedication but I have the love and support of my family and I love what I do!

In my first season I am really looking forward to sharing my experiences. Spring is finally here, and while I now spend the most of my winter in Ecuador, S. America, I really look forward to getting out on the water here in Ontario and wherever my travels lead me in my role with Extreme Angler. My tackle business Strike-Zone Tournament Baits, has been keeping me very busy during the spring and especially summer months, I have been trying to keep up with the demand the best I can, during a slow-time I am always designing and making new types of baits. My signature bait is called a Slammer, it looks kind-of like a goby, but will mimic many other food sources, it is right now my best seller, but I have also come up with beefer versions as well as a three inch version that I tested on Lake Simcoe in November. While I originally intended this mini-Slammer to target large panfish, the big smallmouth took a real a shine to it, my first three fish caught were in excess of five pounds each.

A Strike-Zone Slammer on a dropshot rig.

I constantly play around with different color schemes, I believe colour makes a difference on tough days especially. One color I've played with is called Roadkill Perch, it was tested on Lake Champlain last summer and it worked great, my pro-staffer and up and coming young-gun Mike Morson took 3rd in the co-angler division of the BASS Northern Open on Champlain!

My good freind and fellow WFN blogger Curtis Richardson also placed 2nd on the BASS Northerrn Trail on Chesapeke Bay last year using mainly slammers. I really get a lot of pride and satisfaction from others accomplishments on my creation!

On Extreme Angler TV (EATV) this year we have some great shows in the works and I look forward to giving my readers a first-hand look at filming a fishing show. This will be season nine. One of the reasons Karl and I pride ourselves on EATV, is the fact that we film the majority of our shows on public water where everyday people can fish, we also have a camera rolling policy which can be frustrating at times with sunlight, angles etc.. But the end result we feel is well worth it! We feel this makes our viewers feel like they are there with us, with 26 episodes all on WFN we are going to be really busy!

Filming a show can be a tough experience - there are so many factors that can affect our day! Weather is probably number one on the list but also, we are pursuing fish, underwater creatures that are affected by so much around them. There is however a certain satisfaction when you fish through a tough day and end up with a killer show in the can!

I also have a pretty full tournament schedule this season; Muskoka Pike, CSFL Western Series, and the big one the Kingston Open. Every year I get so busy that I tell myself I wont fish many tournaments, but the bug is usually too strong. It's like the Al Pacino line from the Godfather movie, "Every time I try to get out they pull me back in." Well this year will probably be the same!

What do I do when I get a day off? What else I going fishing! I feel so blessed living so close to so many awesome lakes! Pike, crappie and walleye are usually my 1st species in the springtime, but I try to get out and film at least one steelhead episode. I enjoy fishing for everything, but river-trout fishing gives me that flashback of my younger days, driving to a different river every week and catching hard-fighting steelhead and brown trout!

This year I have decided to guide a lot more, I feel well suited to this as I love to spend time on the water and I always get that special feeling when a client hooks that fish of a lifetime! I specialize in instructional trips as most of my clients want to better themselves as anglers or learn better technique.

Right now I am in the process of preparing my boat and fishing equipment for the up-coming season. I always start the spring with a visit to Top-Gun Marine in Innisfil to ensure everything is running smoothly, nothing worse than engine failure during a day on the water! I am very excited about my season and am really looking forward to sharing it with you! I get many e-mail questions every week, so feel free to contact me. I enjoy sharing information with other anglers!

Contact info:

mark@strikezonetournamentbaits.com
416-848-1773