I talked with Cordova resident Kent Driscoll just a little bit ago.

He’s the pro-staff manager for B’n'M Poles and a member of the pro staff for War Eagle Boats. He was on his way back from the War Eagle plant in Monticello, Ark., with a brand new camouflage Predator.

He’ll be fishing the Crappie Masters tournament this weekend at Reelfoot Lake, and he’s worried he might need some arctic clothing to keep from freezing to death.

It seems to me that crappie tournaments are starting earlier every year.

This weekend’s event on Reelfoot will be the seventh - yes SEVENTH - Crappie Masters event of 2008.

Last week, they were on Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham, Ala., where local angler Harold Rich won with seven crappie that weighed 14.14 pounds. That’s better than 2 pounds per fish, and most crappie fishermen know that’s pretty strong.

Rich, who fished by himself, says he won the event by jigging brush piles with red and yellow homemade jigs. But he’s been known to play loosely with the truth when it comes to crappie fishing (doesn’t everybody?). So I wouldn’t be shocked if he used another method.

This Saturday, Crappie Masters moves to Reelfoot where Kent and most of the B’n'M crew will battle it out for a bigtime payday.

Meanwhile, I’ll be on Logan Martin, fishing the Crappie USA tournament - and hoping Harold Rich doesn’t show up.

I may get smacked on Logan Martin. But I’ll take my chances there instead of Reelfoot because I grew up near Logan Martin and I know the lake pretty well. I know for a fact I would get smacked on Reelfoot because I don’t know that lake well enough to compete with people like Kent Driscoll, Billy Blakely and Jackie VanCleave.

I’ll be practicing most of the day Friday on Logan Martin and fishing the tournament on Saturday, so hopefully I’ll have something to blog about.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Just got this reminder from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Thought I woud pass it along to the folks who hunt on the western side of the river.

From the AGFC:

LITTLE ROCK – The 2007-2008 Arkansas deer seasons close Feb. 29, and some die-hard hunters are still out there trying to fill their remaining tags.

A few of those die-hards are trying for the final segment of their Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Triple Trophy Award requirement by taking a deer with stick-and-string. Hunters who qualify for the Triple Trophy Award must, within a single annual deer season framework, take at least one deer by each of the three legal hunting methods – modern firearms, muzzle-loading rifle or pistol, and archery/crossbow tackle.

Certificates suitable for framing are given to qualifying hunters.

The Triple Trophy Award program has been popular with Arkansas hunters from its inception, and the number of qualifiers has slowly risen each year.

Triple Trophy Award applications can be downloaded on the agency’s website.

Applications are also available from the AGFC’s Communications office at (501) 223-6331.

Remember, the application deadline is April 10.