Scheels Community

by Pat Schlapper, Scheels fishing expert

Growing up in northern Wisconsin I learned very quickly that one of the most effective techniques for catching bass is by fishing weedlines.

A weedline is best defined as the point at which weeds stop growing on a lake—which, most of the time, is very distinct. The depth at which weeds stop growing varies greatly from lake to lake depending mostly on water clarity and bottom composition. In a lot of lakes, bass will use weedlines as travel corridors and for feeding.

In most cases electronics are critical for finding weedlines, unless the water is clear enough that you can actually see where the weeds stop growing. In many lakes where weeds are prevalent, there will be weed growth around much—if not all of—the lake.

So the question is, where do you start? When fishing weedlines there are a few features to keep in mind, including: points, inside turns, transitions, and combinations of different types of weeds. Often times bass use weed points as ambush spots. Bass position themselves in a way that they have access to prey from multiple angles within the weed point. Start by casting jigs and soft plastics at the very tip of the point, then work your way down the sides of the point until you find where the fish are positioned.

Inside turns in the weedline can also be productive. Inside turns are best defined as the “pockets” created where a weed point meets the weedline. I like to sit parallel with the weed-line and cast directly into the turn, but I will also stay out and cast at the pocket from different angles.

Transitions, known as when the lake bottom changes composition, are another important factor when fishing weedlines. My favorite type of transition is when the bottom turns from weeds to rock, but other types of transitions can also be productive. When I find weed/rock transitions, I usually sit parallel with the weedline and cast football and Carolina rigs over the rocks, along the weeds.

It is also important to pay close attention to the type of weeds you’re fishing. In most lakes there will be one dominant weed type; however, there are generally different types of weeds that grow within a weedline. More times than not, when you find an area where there is a combination of weeds, fish will be there.

If you haven’t fished weedlines before, it can be a fun and action-packed technique to catch fish. This information can be applied while fishing weedlines nationwide, so keep this in mind the next time you head to the lake.

Scheels recently had the opportunity to speak with Minnesota Twins pitchers Nick Blackburn and Matt Guerrier about the art of pitching and what it takes to reach the big leagues.

The pair of hurlers certainly provide a wealth of knowledge.

Coming into the 2010 season, Blackburn had started 66 Major League games with a 22-24 record. He pitched Game 2 of the 2009 American League Division Series, giving up just one run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Guerrier has been one of the most dependable relievers for the Twins in recent memory. He led the American League in games pitched both in 2008 and 2009.

Guerrier and Blackburn emphasize staying consistent with practice schedules and routines, and always believing in your abilities…

Scheels: Talk about your progression as a pitcher and the drills and things you did that helped get you to the Major Leagues.

Blackburn: To be honest with you when I was young I had a live arm and could throw the ball hard. I didn’t really know where it was going too much, but as I’ve matured I’ve stopped trying to throw so hard I’ve realized that velocity isn’t everything and location and movement is by far a bigger deal than throwing hard. It’s hard to get over the stage where you do want to rear back and throw it as hard as you can. I still get in phases like that… But just changing speeds and mixing it up is how you become a successful pitcher, unless you can throw 105 (mph), which obviously is not the case for very many guys. So just learning how to pitch, it comes with experience and the more innings I get and the more batters I face, each time it just build up a little bit.

Guerrier: When I was a younger kid, all I liked to do was throw the ball as far as I could. So, my brother and I would go out and play long toss. That just builds up arm strength getting through your teenage years and through high school. That’s the biggest thing when you’re growing, you build some arm strength and that’ll take you in through college and you continue to do stuff like that. That’s the biggest thing that hasn’t changed since I was in high school, doing that stuff to build arm strength and keep arm strength and all that stuff goes not just before the game or a couple days a week, it’s pretty much every day. The big thing with baseball is it’s every day. For the 15-20 years I’ve done this… high school, college, the pros, it’s an everyday thing… working out. Obviously in high school and college it was going to class and being eligible and being able to be out on the field so you could have the opportunity to get drafted and you go on the road and you’re on your own and to balance being 20-21, on the road by yourself, and this is basically your job. You go out and it’s one of those things where it’s a grind. You get out of it what you put into it. The hard work will really take you a long way.

Scheels: Talk about overcoming barriers and getting past the moments of lack of confidence as you fought your way through the minor league system to get that first call to the majors…

Blackburn: It was definitely a grind and a long battle. I think I played almost six years of minor league ball. A lot of guys go through it though. I saw a lot of guys that couldn’t make it and are doing whatever they’re doing now. I just didn’t want to go back to that so I couldn’t give up. I never felt like it was out of the question for me to get there. Maybe there were times where I wasn’t pitching well enough to be at the level I was at, and there were times I was probably pretty closed to being released, but you can’t be thinking about that. I would just continue to go out and do what I could do, pitch to the best of my ability and hope for the best.

Guerrier: I think everybody goes through that. Whether it is when I was in high school, or college, the minor leagues, or the pros. That’s what makes it fun. You go through times when you really doubt yourself, and that’s when you say, “Listen, I know what got me here, and that’s what gets me through it.” I had a rough season in ’08 and I heard a lot of bad things from a lot of different people, saying I wasn’t as good as they thought and I just knew that what I had done in the past was going to get me to have another good season. I’ve worked hard in the winter of ’08 and ’09 and came out and had a great year last year. It’s one of things where you fight through it and get your own way to get through those hard times.

Scheels: What piece of advice would give to an aspiring young pitcher who’s trying to achieve his dreams in baseball?

Blackburn: Just keep working at it. You can’t go out and practice as much as you’d like to, but you can learn a lot about it and you’re never done learning how to pitch. I still have tons of learning. I’ve learned a lot in the past two years so don’t ever think you have it figured out. I promise you I don’t have it all figured out. Just keep trying, and stay focused.

Former American League MVP and Hall-of-Famer Rollie Fingers is considered one of the first true ‘closers’ to pitch in the Major Leagues.

Fingers' induction to the Hall-of-Fame has helped pave the way for closers to be routinely considered Hall-worthy, including Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, and Bruce Sutter.

In contrast to the arm-friendly approach most managers take today, pitchers used to pitch entire games much more often than they do now. The evolution began in the early 70s, when Fingers was a young pitcher trying to make his way into the majors as a starting pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Fingers, best known perhaps for the handlebar mustache he's sported since his playing days, shares the following story…

"I kinda fell into the relief pitching role. I enjoyed it. I was getting guys out. I was helping the ball clubs win. And so, I was a much better relief pitcher than I would have ever been a starter.

"The trials (as a starter) were the sitting around and waiting for four days when you weren’t getting anybody out and it got to the point where you get knocked out in the second inning three or four starts in a row. You get to the point where, 'I don’t know if I want to go back out there and start anymore.' That’s just the way it was and **** Williams (Oakland's manager) had seen enough in 1971. I was in the rotation and he took me out. He said, “You’re in the bullpen.” I was basically mop-up. I was on my way to the minor leagues. I had problems. I was cleaning up games that were out of hand just to finish. We had a game in New York where I came in and pitched a couple shutout innings because I was the only guy left and got a save, and the next day I pitched another three innings and got a save. He called me in my office… “You’re my closer.'"

Fingers took a few moments with us during a recent stop in Fargo to share more of his experiences as a pitcher, specifically his life as a door-slammer in the big leagues.

Scheels: Does there have to be something a little bit crazy in a pitcher to be able to come into a bases loaded situation late in a ballgame?

Fingers: First of all, you have to have an arm. You have to be able to go out and throw every day and I didn’t like the idea of being a starter, getting knocked out in the second inning and having to wait four days to get knocked out in the second inning again. I wanted be able to go the ballpark with the thought that I may be getting into a ballgame that night. That’s just the way my mindset was.

Scheels: Was there a different comfort level you felt coming in as a reliever?

Fingers: Yeah! I was always worried the night before a game. I couldn’t get to sleep. I was a mess, worrying about this and that. When I was a relief pitcher I didn’t have to worry about it until the (bullpen) phone rang. It was on you just like that. I liked it. I talked to Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, and they said the same thing.

Scheels: What went so right during your MVP season?

Fingers: Everything went right. When you win a Cy Young and an MVP, everything goes right. You come into a game with the bases loaded and you give up three line drives and they’re all at guys. It’s one of those years where, whenever I needed a double play ball, I got it. Whenever I needed strikeout, I got it. If I needed a pop-up, I got it. Sometimes you feel like you throw your glove out there and you’re going to get out of the inning. You have to be lucky, to win a Cy Young and MVP the same year, you have to be lucky.