On November 13th Sean will set his sights on challenging the rugged Mexico Baja terrain as part of a five man team on a motorcycle.  This year is the 40th anniversary of the historic running of the Baja 1000 with special festivities and one of the longest courses in the history of the event.  This year's event will span 2000km that will start in Ensenada and finish at the southernmost part of the peninsula in Cabo San Lucas.

Sean has spent his whole life around off-road racing and the Baja.  Sean's father actually raced the event five times and finished each time with a win in the Sportsman's Class in 1995.  So it is no surprise that Sean has a passion for the Baja, "I really enjoy just riding now for fun more than racing but there is one thing left that I want to accomplish on a motorcycle and that is to finish the Baja 1000.  When I saw that this year was the 40th anniversary and it was almost twice as long as the usual race I thought that is the one I want to race"!

The race will begin at 6:30 am on November 13th and will continue non-stop to Cabo San Lucas with an estimated finish time of around 32 hours.  Check the Images section of this website for pictures and to find out more. To check results on November 15th go to www.score-international.com or simply Google 2007 Baja 1000 results.  Sean will be competing in the Over 250cc Sportsman's Class.

I couldn't head back to Texas without fishing one more tournament before the season ended.  The Lake Wheeler Bassmaster Open was the next week after Pickwick so I headed up there for the week.  I've never fished Wheeler in the fall so I looked over my maps and started hitting the backs of creeks in a typical fall pattern.  I located a few creeks that were holding fish but nothing real exciting.  I fished the Decatur flats and river ledge for a few days and founds some fish out there but nothing better than I found in the backs of creeks.  So when the tournament came I committed to fishing the back of one creek and grinding all day for a limit.  I ended the first day in 20th place and climbed to 8th place to finish the tournament.  I caught almost of my fish on a Hoern Toad Tackle 5/8 ounce spinnerbait with colorado/Indiana blades and a chartreuse/white skirt.  I learned every inch of that creek over the three day event.  The key that the other anglers overlooked in that creek was the little flats in that creek.  Most of the time when you are fishing the back sections of the creeks there are mostly steep banks with wood and laydowns.  This creek was no different but I noticed the fish were only around the bend areas not the straight sections.  The fish also seemed to prefer the inside bends on the upper bend areas.  Once I figured that out I had them pegged.  I started only keying on those flat little areas, not big sections but flat spots that came off the bank about 5 feet or so and then dropped off.  Also little feeder drains that fed into the creek that formed flat spots on the bank.  Each one of those areas would hold a potential for a bite so it really saved tons of time not fishing miles of unproductive water.  I would just key on those areas and it seemed to work well.  The spinnerbait allowed me to cover a ton of water and put it in front of more fish than flipping.  If I did find a good log around those areas I would make a few flips with a small creature bait.  I did catch a few fish on the creature bait but the spinnerbait was the key.  It was a nice way to finish off the season.  I like to finish my last events each year with that positive vibe, for me it helps keep me motivated and looking forward to the next season.  I am going to take some time off now and pursue some of my other interests in the off season.  I going to spend some time riding my Yamaha WR450 motorcycle and hanging out in the woods pursuing Elk and Deer.  I cannot wait!

Pickwick in years past has been a tough lake.  The good news this year is the lake seems to be improving with a lot more fish and quality this tournament than in years past.  The winning patterns were dominated by football jigs in deeper 15 feet plus water.  It was still a late summer pattern more than fall.  I found my fish on riprap main river banks and bluff ends.  I caught all my fish over the three days on a Porky's Revenge Shakey Head with a 4 inch Green Pumpkin straight tail worm.  I did catch a few fish on a Hoern Toad Tackle football head jig but for me the worm was better for numbers and quality.  It was a real grind for me I only had a few stretches that were holding fish and I just kind of learned more about those areas each day to finish the tournament in 19th place.