Lews Press Camp 2015

Article by Paul and Vonna Pauls
Photos by Paul

Slab’s hectic schedule allowed me the great pleasure of officially representing crappie.com at a Lew’s Press Camp this week on Kentucky Lake at FishTale Lodge. I arrived on Tuesday afternoon just as many of the pros were coming off the lake. Imagine how cool it was to see such well known anglers as Jay Yelas, Denny Brauer, Kevin VanDam, David Fritts, Mark Menendez, Mark Rose and of course, Wally Marshall, just to name a few.

Tuesday evening kicked off with a meet, greet and eat and pairings for the next morning on the water. Never having been to an event like this, I was just soaking it all up and happy to be part of the fellowship that evening. I happened to be sitting across from Brad Knight, an FLW pro for 7 years, who had just come off his first tournament win ($500,000). Jay Yelas came over to congratulate Brad and sat down next to me. Jay is a Bassmaster Classic champion and has been a pro fisherman for 28 years with over $2 million in winnings. He asked me some questions about crappie fishing and shared salmon fishing pictures from his home in Oregon. As I sat listening to their stories about the lakes they’ve fished, it hit me that no matter if you’re a “pro” or a recreational fisherman, no matter how long you’ve been fishing or how much money you’ve won, there’s always camaraderie among fisherman . . . . . even green carp guys.

I was paired with Wally Marshall for the first outing on Wednesday morning. As y’all know, he’s a dock shooting pro and I was happy to get a lesson from him. He was using his new Pro Series IM 8 rod with the split grip cork handle paired with his WSP 100 spinning reel for dock shooting. Later, he was single poling a sausage head jig on a Solo Series crappie rod with a Solo reel.




Even though I’m not a bass fisherman, I got to go out with Stephen Browning, B.A.S.S. pro, as well. He showed me an area that was full of grass beds that I didn’t even know existed in that part of the lake. We talked about how he balances his home life with being on the road so much. He said that without the support of his wife and family, he wouldn’t be able to do what he does. He also enjoys bow hunting and we talked about his hunts with his 13 year old son, who shares his love of the outdoors.



I spent just a short time on the water with Mark Rose. For those that don’t know, he’s an FLW pro who enjoys crappie fishing. He made sure we got at least a little bit of time on the water before he had to leave, which was a great gesture. He had some mechanical issues to address on his outboard before heading on to Georgia for the Major League fishing tournament.



Lew’s has some really cool stuff coming out for 2016 and we got to check out the products. Their new Custom Lite Speed Stick really is super light and the grip is comfortable. The new Laser MG Speed Spool reel with 8 ball bearings, zero reverse and graphite frame is quite smooth and light as well. Lew’s President, Gary Remensnyder, talked about the extensive product testing that the new reels went through to insure a quality product.





Also, I wanted to let y’all know about the Lew’s American Hero Program. They have an American Hero product line that supports our veterans through sales of the American Hero Products. If you’d like to learn more, go to www.Lews.com/AmericanHero

And, last but not least, pics of me and the pros!