Some random thoughts as we head into the holidays and the new year.

Survival TV

As I've said here many times, I'm not a big TV watcher. I like the occasional "nature show," the occasional fishing show, but that's about it. Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed in the "same ol'" fare of most outdoor programming on ESPN, FOX, the Outdoor Channel and OLN (or whatever it's called now).

Gradually, however, I've noticed that the Discovery Channel and its sister channels are airing some stuff I really like. I guess you could call it "survival TV."

Two shows I record and watch are "Man vs. Wild" and "Everest: Beyond the Limit."

You never know how much funny business goes on with TV, but if Man vs. Wild is legit, it's pretty cool. This British ex-special forces guy Bear Grylls is dumped into various tough-to-survive areas with a knife, water bottle and little else but the clothes on his back, and has to make it out.

As all outdoorsmen know, that's a whale-load harder than it sounds. Especially if you're in Kenya. Eating the live water snake in California was awesome ("good meal," he said), but Kenya had to be the best show yet.

Dropped onto an African plain without a real weapon; on-the-ground encounters with elephants, white rhinos, lions and a puff adder (one of the world's deadliest snakes); drinking water squeezed from "fresh elephant dung," as he described it, just to stay hydrated; and sawing off meat from a lion-killed zebra and wolfing it down raw.

Yeah! In my book, that's great outdoors TV.

In terms of credentials, they definitely got the right guy. Grylls has climbed Mt. Everest, crossed the North Atlantic in a small, open boat, and climbed a Himalayan peak described by Sir Edmund Hillary as 'unclimbable,' according to Discovery. In other words, this guy is a bad...uh, dude.

Kind of makes me feel like an outdoors wuss in comparison, but also makes me want to get out there and do all those things (except maybe the Kenya stuff).

Speaking of which, ever since I read the book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, I've wanted to climb Everest. Sure, the book was an account of an Everest disaster where a bunch of people died. But apart from that, it sounded like a ton of fun.

So maybe it's no surprise I like the show, Everest: Beyond the Limit. They have cameras chronicling the climbs of a group of guys, and because of the lack of oxygen and the ultra-low temperatures, it's literally like watching people explore another planet. Bear in mind that these guys are climbing way higher than commercial jets fly.

It also taught me a valuable lesson, which is: If I could ever afford to go all the way to Everest and spend 30 days there getting acclimatized, I probably wouldn't do it. Because that place is a huge cluster. You could be physically and psychologically ready, and have everything in your favor, only to get stuck behind someone who shouldn't be there at 24,000 feet in minus 40 temps, and have your one and only chance to summit ruined, not to mention lose a few fingers or toes.

No thanks. But it's good TV.

Ike and His Boat

A lot of people are talking about this – which at first surprised me. What's the big deal? But then again, Mike Iaconelli is the most visible, and still the most polarizing, fisherman in this sport.

In my opinion, purely from an exposure basis, any company would be nuts not to put Ike on their team, assuming they can afford him. He gets more exposure than any pro fisherman in the country, and has a ton of fans.

Looking at the results of a recent BassFan Poll, it looks like most of you agree with that, since more of you wanted him in a specific brand of boat than wanted him to buy his own ride.

I actually would like to see him buy his own boat. Why? Because I'd like to see someone be a trend-setter in that way.

In my opinion, boat companies can at times have a little too much power over pros in this sport. What would happen if that went away? How liberating would it be to the pros? I'd be curious to find out. And we'd also see what boats these guys really want to run.

Most probably would keep the boats they have because most run the boats they want to. But not all. And in any case, that probably would be just a minor part of what happens when guys buy their own rides.

Things I Wish For

What am I, a little kid? I guess so because I am wishing for a few things for Christmas and for 2007. Here they are, in order:

> I hope you and your families have a great holiday, and a happy, healthy, fun and bass-filled 2007.

> I hope Abu Garcia comes out with that Revo reel in a left-hand retrieve soon. Even though I won't fish (much) until the spring, I still "gotta have one," if you know what I mean.

> I hope BASS starts to get its act back together. A weak, hurt, rudderless (put your favorite adjective here) BASS doesn't do this industry any good.

Hangin' With the Boys

Last but not least: As we all know, it's always a privilege, and a whole lot of fun, to hang out with bass fishermen. Recently I got to do that with a bunch of guys in southern New Jersey to celebrate recent wins by a couple of Jersey boys, and generally celebrate the fact that New Jersey fishermen have come into their own nationally. Who woulda thunk it?

Some of the guys were famous, some not so much but still great fishermen. Bob Soley comes to mind. How about qualifying for and fishing the BASS Federation Championship (first time), the Bassmaster Classic (second time) and the BFL All-American (first year fishing the BFLs) – all this year?

This guy is a bass-fishing monster, and you'll be reading more about him on BassFan.com soon. He might fish the FLW Tour next year. Look out.

As you know, that whole state pride thing is a big deal, so it was a good time. Thanks to everyone for having me there.