Future Pro Fisherman

2010.....the start of a new fishing season is here! I am writing this from a motel in Birmingham, Alabama as I am working for Secret Weapon Lures at the Bassmasters Classic. I am very excited about what this year is going to hold! Go2baits has really hit the map now and I am also their prostaff director. We work our butts off but its worth it to bring our valued customers a high quality product that they deserve. Secret Weapon has now teamed up with us to use Go2baits on their "Recoil rig" its an absolutely awesome combination! I will be fishing Lake Okeechobee a week from tomorrow it should be really fun! Me and Chris Nesbitt will be representing JSU on the FLW College Trail. I really Believe we have a great eam and believe we will do very well this year. Hats off to Cody Alford for getting the team started and Brad Self as well. I have a very busy year but as always it will be very much worth it!

     In closing I would like to say thanks to some very special people:

All my sponsors- Without you guys I could not be doing what I love, the free products, funds, and support help me represent you all and let me keep doing what I love.

My Grandparents- The provide me with loving support, a house, and full belief that I can accomplish my dreams even though at times it a little far out there. they put up with rods and reels in the house and me being gone all the time.

Tony V. and Big E- I can't say enough about you guy's when it come to people supporting me you guy's are at the very top of my list! We are about to "glue it together" and I really think we have the best plastic bait company on the market without a doubt.

Mary Lynn- Thank you for suffering through this. Your a real trooper putting up with me being gone all the time, hours on the water, and all the 'fish talk". I appreciate all the support you give me and believeing in my dreams, your awesome!

Last but not least...

God- Without out him nothing is possible. He gives me the ability to get up every morning and is guiding me down the trail as I head towards a pro career in fishing. I am so happy to know that he wants me to do this. I am priviledged to be able to live my dream.

     The fishing has been real good this year...the catching part...well...that needs to be worked on.

     That about sums up my year thus far. I have had a pretty difficult year this year, even through all the hard times I have managed to catch a limit in every tournament but 2. I have not had a top 3 finish this year but have finished 4th two times and been in the top 6 or so very consistant. The weather this year made fishing tough for me I never could really get on a solid pattern and mainly scrambled around all year during every tournament. I can't blame my preformance on "the one that got away" because I never had that one on the line haha.

     As most of you read in my previous post, my friend/adopted grandfather/ pactice fishing partner Lane passed away this year at the beginning of the season. Never once did I back my boat in for a tournament this year and him not cross my mind. His passing has affected me in more ways than one and I have become more determined in my career because I want to do good for him. 

     I have 2 more scheduled tournaments this year one this coming week on lake Guntersville(bass club classic), I have found some good quality fish during practice and hope the bite will last 2 days in a row. I am looking forward to getting back in that Skeeter and putting some keepers in the livewell. I also have one the week after on Neely Henry and will be practicing for it next week.

     Guide trip numbers increased this year from last year and I had a wonderful time taking some guy's out. We caught numbers and had very successful trips! Probly the best trip I had this year was with John and Tyler Lawson on New Years Eve. It was nasty cold and windy but we found a rattle trap bite that kept all three of us entertained for several hours, we caught a ton of fish and I had an absolute great time with these guys!

     Next year I am going to try and come up with the funds to fish the BASS Weekend Series ($1,000) and hopefully try to start fishing some bigger tournaments to get my name out in the public more. There comes a time in everybody's career or new business where you realize it's time to make a big jump and put it all on the line. I believe the time for me to take that chance is now. It will be very hard on me financially but the reward will overcome the suffering if everything pays off.  I am starting to do website design to support my fishing career right now, if you know anyone with a business, or needing a website for any reason they can contact me at Dkingfisher89@aol.com or my Cell# which is listed on the site under "Contact Info". I designed my site as well as go2biats.net and charge a significant amout less than most other designers.

     In closing I would like to thank all of you reading this, friends, family, and sponsors, without you all supporting me and encouraging me I could not do this. I greatly appreciate everything every one of you do!  If the world concentrated on the important things in life well...we would have a shortage of fishing poles.

God Bless,

Dustin King

Sunday morning around 5am I lost a GREAT friend! Lane Payne passed away with a heart attack. He was one of the best fishermen/adopted grandfathers/friend I could ever ask for. Lane and my grandfather grew up together fishing and hunting anytime they could. Many times when people seen Lane and my grandfather signing up for tournaments they would ask to have their money back and go back home. This REALLY did happen more than once. Lane won many big bass tournaments 1 of them he won a brand new bass boat and when I came along and started fishing Lane started fishing with me. He taught me a ton about fishing and I owe several tournament's to places he showed me to fish and what lures to use. This is probly the toughest loss I have ever had and I couldn't fish the rest of the year without dedicating the rest of this season to him. Lane had a "will" and he will be getting cremated and he want's me to place his ashes in the water at our favorite fishing hole. He told me several times "Now boy, your the youngest friend I have, when I die, the other people that know this may have already gone but I know you will be here, I want my ashes out there on Palmetto Creek in our fishing spot. Some of the best times in my life have been in that place and you make sure that's where I'm at". This spot is only about 35yards wide and I know exactly the place he was talking about. Not many people even know this place exist, it's way out in the middle of the lake. It will be very hard for me to do this, but it is also an honor that he wanted me to do this for him. This week or next I will be doing this. My next tournament is Saturday on Lake Guntersville I am going out there in memory of Lane and the rest of my season is dedicated to him as well.
Wish me luck!

Lane Payne....Family We Were...2009 Fishing Season is for you my friend!!!

     Well...the story starts a year ago, little did I know it would lead to something absolutely amazing and something I would never forget in my life. Maybe it coincidence, or maybe it was just meant to be? Whatever it was, it happened. The WBT came to Neely Henry which most of you know is my home lake in 2008. This was the first year that I really started trying to chase down the pro dream I have wanted since I was a kid. So, I decided to ride to the weigh-in, and meet some of the girls and just see what all the fuss was about. I get there and meet some really nice girls and then I talked to her...Stacy Zhelesnik a.k.a. Lunker Girl. She was different, wore converse shoes, dressed kinda hip, not your average fisherman or fisherwoman by no means, a lot like me. So we talk for a while while her husband was videoing the other girls as they weigh-in. Well, I go home, get on myspace, and find some of the girls I met, Stacy being one of them. She finished that tournament in second place just ounces out of the lead. Me and Stacy soon became very good myspace friends often talking about our fishing trips and our careers as we advanced through the ranks.
     This year, the WBT decided to come back to Neely Henry. Little did I know what was about to happen. Stacy Z calls up her sponsor Secret Weapon Lures and they tell her to contact a local guide and prostaff member on the lake Dustin King, little did she know we were already friends! She soon contacted me with the big news, she would be coming to fish with me! So, we line up a date and here they come from New York. I met her and her husband Lou, at the city boat launch Sunday and we drive to my house where we backed my boat in the water. The fishing was slow to start off with but we eventually got on a pattern that I hoped would help her win. We had a great evening fishing and took the boat out at dark.
     The first day of the tournament, I went to the weigh-in and Stacy came in with a nice sack of fish and finished the first day in 10th place I believe. Day two "cut day", Stacy only brought in 4 fish to the scales and we were worried how this might affect her going into the final day of competition. Luckily she finished the day in 6th place, and made the cut....one problem....she was a big 5pounds out of 1st place which we all know is very hard to make up. The last day of competition, I again go to see how she does. As she walks through the weigh line slowly making her way to the stage she sees me and gives me a big 2 thumbs up. I about have a heart attack haha. Me and Lou could not wait to see her weigh-in! But, we both knew the 5pound deficit would be hard to make up. Finally it was her time, she places the fish on the scales, I felt like I was fishing the tournament myself, all 3 of us were nervous. We wait....STACY Z TAKES THE LEAD ON THE CO-ANGLER SIDE!!!! The crowd went crazy and so did  I !!! She proceeds to pull out a couple of really big Neely Henry spotted bass! I do not know who was more happy, me or her, that was the best moment of my tournament fishing career to date but, we still had several more ladies to weigh.
     As the ladies slowely made their way through the weigh line one-by-one it seemed as if it took hours as Stacy sat nervously in the "Hot Seat". Then came the moment of truth, the last co-angler. As she made her way onto the stage and placed her fish on the scales the crowd held their breath, everybody was silent....and we waited....STACY Z WINS THE WBT ON NEELY HENRY!!!! I do not think I have ever been so happy in my life! As she made her way to thank all of her sponsors I know she would have thanked the wonderfull guide that took her out but she was so happy she could barely speak haha. It was an awesome experiance!
     I say all of this to congradulate Stacy on her first big WBT win! That is an awesome accomplishment! I know without a doubt I have made two life long friends this weekend and honestly could not be more happy had I won the tournament myself. I know that Stacy, Lou, and I will have more fishing trips together in the future and today honestly was the best day of my fishing career to date! Congradulations Stacy and thanks to you and Lou for letting me share the experiance with you guy's! I will never forget it and I know you will not as well.
Friends Forever,
Dustin King

Well, the title pretty much say's it all, I have had a rough start! This season so far is not going as me and my partner Jason had planned but hopefully we will get back on track and start getting the bites we need. Our 1st tournament it was about 20 degrees at blast off, we made a 30min run down river which we about froze to death haha. We actually were on some good fish but they were on a jig and we knew going into the tournament we needed to catch whatever hit because we would only get a few hits but they would be good fish. We ended up breaking off 3 times because the ice in our rod guides were cutting our line, talk about disappointment! We had only 1 small keeper at the end of the day but, I do think both of us managed to catch a cold The next weekend we headed to Lake Wedowee without even going to practice fish, at launch, we had severe lightning and some killer thunderstorms. The tournament director let us go because it was safer than all of us being piled up right next to each other. It stormed MOST of the day but we had a fairly decent tournament and ended up finishing 6th...just 1 place out of the money . This Saturday we head to Weiss Lake, again we did not practice fish because it is supposed to rain the next 2 days and be raining for our tournament as well. Actually we have a chance of tornadoes which should make things exciting and the lake levels have dropped approx. 8ft because of the mass amount of rain we are to receive. I figure this will make the fishing very hard and probly will not be many limits brought in. As always I appreciate the prayers and all the support through my fishing career! Please check out my sponsor page, I am very luck to have a great group of guy's that support me through thick and thin! God Bless and Tight Lines!

Ready or not here it comes! Fishing season 2009 heading my way in 2 weeks! To say the least I am very excited. 2008 is a season that will be in my heart forever, I got my first sponsorships and finished 8 straight tournaments in the money. Last  year was the first year I actually felt myself heading towards the pro level, the Lord really blessed me beyond all belief! This year I have approx. 20+ scheduled tournaments to fish which include my bass club, Fishers of Men (Alabama N.E. Division), local benefit tournaments and hopefully Jim Austin Buddy Trail. I will be fishing all over North Alabama and maybe a tournament on Lake Seminole! I am really excited to see what my partner and I with the help of the Lord can achieve this year. As I say, with God all things are possible!  I would like to thank the guys from Turboset, Go2Baits, Secret Weapon Lures, and Tightline jigs, here we go guys!

Well, I had a chance to go practice fish for my last tournament on Lake Guntersville and it was a blast! Me and my partner started practice on a roadbed where he caught a largemouth about 5pounds and I caught a pretty good spotted bass. We then moved to a point nearby and we caught a couple more keeper fish there. We then loaded up the boat and drove to the waterfront boat ramp where we spent the rest of the evening. We could not find our big bites like we needed so I decided we should move shallow and try it and we wacked em? from then on, it was great! We ended up taking ?Kermit? away from a few so that we could save them for tournament day but if we would have caught every fish I would estimate our best 5 being around 25 pounds. We had success with blue, 13 inch, Go2Bait paddle tail worms and frogs.

 Also, one last comment before I go. We were fishing at certain location, which will be given after the tournament, before dark, when all the sudden in the grass directly under the boat a HUGE fish chased a shad out of the grass. It was very close to the boat and we both had a very good look at the fish. This fish had a tail that looked like a bass and definitely was not a gar or grass carp. We both agree that it was a bass but this fish was well OVER 25 pounds?.if anybody has a clue what this fish may be I would appreciate you telling me because until I figure out what it is we both will assume it is a bass but I think that is almost impossible seeing how the world record is 24 pounds I believe. Although Lake Guntersville is know for having big bass I just can not imagine something this big coming from here. Thanks for reading and as always, thank God for every sunrise and sunset that you get to see. See you on the water!

     Well first I would like to thank you for visiting my site! This is my first blog on here and I just wanted to give everyone a little update on how things are going this year and whats coming up. I have had a great season so far I hit a 8 straight tournaments in the money streak which was awsome! It was like everything I threw in the water caugt a fish for 8 tournaments. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to enjoy that, it is someting I may never do again. Also, this was the first year I tried to acquire sponsorships and I really got lucky and gained some very good sponsorships. Mr. Clemons from Tightline Jigs, Joseph from Anglersresource.org, Tony from Go2baits, and Thomas from Turboset, you guys are great and thanks for helping me out this fishing season. I am looking foward to promoting your products for many years to come.

    I am currently 4th in points in my bass club out of 64 members. I have only won 1 tournament this year but have been very consistant...slow and steady wins the race. I have my bass club classic on lake Guntersville the last Saturday and Sunday of the month and I am really looking foward to that I have done very well on Guntersville this year and I hope I can do well again.

     Please check back for more updates on practice fishing and tournaments! Thanks for stopping by.

Dustin King