I'm out in North Central Arkansas and I thought I'd report on the fishin'. The weather is cold, but locals tell me this is heaven for how cold it should be. I went out fishin' on Bull Shoals for the last two days. The water is down close to fifty feet! The bite was tough too! On the first day, I managed to get three fish. Two deep jig fish and one spinnerblade fish. I did however catch a cycle... one spot, one largemouth, and one smallie. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, yesterday I could hardly buy a bite. I caught one decent largemouth on a steep bank on a jig. The fishing could stand to be better, but my whole trip has been wonderful. <BR>I've had three interviews with Ranger Boats since I've been here. I spoke with Randy Hopper, Ranger's President, and Charlie Hoover, President of Operation Bass. They had excellent insight into the sport of bass fishing and guidance on where a young man wanting to make the most of his career should go and do. Randy said he promised he'd do all he could to help me with my career. <BR>Ranger Boats is the Chevy Trucks of the bass boat world. You wouldn't believe that in the area of Flippin, Mountain Home, and Midway, Arkansas, that Champion, Ranger, Bass Cat, and Viper Boats are all produced there. Everyone has a bass boat and a pick-up. I can only liken it to surfing in Southern California. Everybody surfs and knows who's who, and a lot about the sport and the best spots and the current conditions. Everywhere I went, people had on their Ranger Boats hats, or Champion jacket. Kind of fun. <BR>Today, I have a tour of Ranger boats with the guy who got me my interviews, Jack Kirsch. Jack is truly a gentleman and I owe him a huge thank you! I've got two more people to speek with today too, the VP of Sales, and the VP of Marketing at Ranger Boats! Ranger isn't hiring at the moment at the factory, but at least I've got my face in front of them. I've been passing out my resume and portfolio and hopefully I've made a positive impression on these boys. <BR>I went to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield on Friday. What a place!!! It's been years since I made it out here. I spent over $300 on cranks and even picked up a cheap rod! I've had a wonderful trip so far. I'm looking forward to making it home again. I love to live in the MidWest, but it'd sure be huge change. Making a living would be a serious challenge. There just isn't the cash flow that goes on like it does in Orange or LA county. I did come across a few sweet country girls out since I've been here. They're all over the place over there at Ranger. Nice, slow talkin', and friendly as heck.<BR>Anyways, Rob, I hope you're handlin' Cal Poly okay. I'll give a call when I get back and elaborate on my trip. I hope you aint working too much and have time to get out to Margarita. Talk to you soon!!!<P>Matt

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