A day on the water beats a day in the office, especially when the fishing is as hot as it is right now. My dad and I set off in search of chinook salmon earlier this week, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. We didn’t have to wait long for the action to start and within an hour had hooked our first big fish of the day. Unfortunately I lost it at the boat when it threw its head around and popped the hook before we could net it. “It was a small one anyway,” we told ourselves as we rebaited and put the lines back in the water.

We didn’t have to wait long before we hooked our next one and we only had to wait five minutes before I lost that one at the boat too. I will admit, I was getting a bit frustrated at this point. My dad however was very supportive and assured me that it had been a smaller one too. So back into the water went the lines again as we continued our pursuit for that trophy salmon.

Then all of a sudden one of the rods started hammering and the line started screaming off the reel. This had to be a big one! It almost emptied the reel of line before we were able to get our other lines up and start chasing after him. Sheer panic set in when my fingers somehow got caught in the line coming off the reel. The first thought was about losing my fingers as the loop around them tightened and the fish continued to peel the line out, and the second thought was about losing the fish if the line broke around my fingers. I quickly managed to free my fingers only to see the line catch on the knobs on the reel. “No!” I screamed as I worked furiously to free the line. Then I felt slack line and got a sickening feeling in my stomach. I started reeling so fast that my arm and wrist started to cramp up. Finally I felt some good tension in the line again and breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn’t yet lost this one too. As the minutes ticked by and both fisherman and fish started to tire out, my dad got the net ready and I started easing the fish towards the boat. I did a little jump for joy when we finally netted the fish and pulled it into the boat - this really was a big Chinook, tipping the scales at 29lbs!

Re-energized, we threw the lines back out and hooked another one near my favorite spot that weighed in at 18lbs. It was an amazing day with clear skies, calm water, no wind and lots of fish, and I returned back to work the next day with plans for my next fishing trip already in place.

Some of you might know Mustang Survival is the official PFD of BASS ESPN. As part of our sponsorship we attended the four day Bassmaster Memorial competition where about 50 anglers battle it out for the winning prize of $250,000 and Top 25 win at least 10,000 dollars.

This memorial was dedicated to Don Butler, who was the first person to join BASS. When Ray Scott was starting the organization in the late 1960s, he gave Ray a $100 bill so that he could be a life member. When Scott was short of funds to send BASS membership applications to fishermen, it was Butler who saved the day with $10,000 to help pay for tournament costs. He was a fishing innovator and designed the first aeration system for a bass boat, making catch and release a reality for millions of anglers.

A full field of 51 qualifying anglers fished during the first 2 days of competition on New York’s Oneida Lake. The field was cut to the Top 12 anglers after day 2. The final two days were held on Onondaga Lake on a rotating six-hole course set up by BASS officials.

Florida’s Peter Thliveros defended his Bassmaster Memorial Title, holding off his nearest competitor, Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., by just 2 ounces. With the victory and the top prize of $250,000, he has amassed more than $1.5 million in BASS career earnings.

Moving up one spot to third was John Murray of Phoenix. In fourth was Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu. Day 3 leader Dave Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., slipped to fifth. Finishing sixth was Jared Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif. Mike McClelland, who is sponsored by Mustang Survival, had an excellent first day, but just missed the cut for the 3rd and 4th day, and finished 17th.

The next Bassmaster Major, the Legends will be held August 23 – 26 at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Ark. and honors BASS founder Ray Scott.

Fishing fans can catch all the action at 9 a.m. ET Saturday, on ESPN2.

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It was a very intense few days that seemed to just fly by. There was lots of action around the Mustang Survival booth catching up with old friends, making new acquaintances and find new ways to show off our products. It was hard to believe the show was over when the announcement came over the PA system.

In a case of saving the best for last, two of the final visitors of the show were Darla Bardelli and JoDee Bucki of the FisherGirl International Fishing Team. We surprised them with a special edition PINK inflatable PFD. I think they like them.

Now its back to the office Monday to build on the momentum of a great show!

Today we officially welcomed Mike McClelland, a Top 20 angler in the BassMaster Elite Series to the Mustang Team. We wish he could have been with us here at the ICAST show in Las Vegas but he’s out doing what he does best - fishing a tournament. This week Mike is at the Champion’s Choice event in Plattsburg, NY. If you pick up the newest issue of BassTimes magazine you’ll see him featured in our latest ad!

The ICAST sports fishing show officially opened today. Its been a really busy day talking to lots of our dealers, distributors and media outlets. There’s lots of things going on. One of the first visitors to our booth was none other than BASS founder and Mustang evangelist Ray Scott.