Hi, I'm Carey Miller.

Those of us who like fishing start out with a curiosity for a mysterious world under the water. All we see is a scenic view of the open water. Life is hidden under the surface. We have no idea of where to start.

As kids from the city, our first experience may be at a friend's cottage where we used bread, pieces of bacon or a hotdog for bait.

Like Salmon there is a life cycle for fishermen. If fishing is part of your DNA, you start to read and study magazines to learn. You grow and develop into a knowledgeable angler, but you lack experience. You start with renting a small boat from a local marina. No matter what size of fish you catch, you are thrilled to be fishing.

Eventually you start to watch fishing shows and you see tournament anglers holding up huge fish. Hopefully one day you are lucky enough to meet a tournament angler and he takes you fishing. This is when you are hooked. People who compete in bass tournaments speak of it as if it were something that is injected intravenously, administered by shaky hands in some local tackle shop. There’s no rehab for there passion to be the best on tournament day.

Experience on the water is the best way to learn and equally important is fishing with other passionate anglers that will help you sharpen your skills. Competing helps you hone your skills.

This story is exactly how I progressed to fishing tournaments. The skill I developed through tournaments is locating fish in that underwater world. Most importantly I have discovered how to find the big trophy fish. I have learned to take luck out of the equation.

This summer has been great for fishing. I like to target large bass that weigh between 4 to 5 pounds. I am thankful that I have experience fishing tournaments, because it has forced me to fish smarter and harder. The bigger the fish are, the more challenging they are to find consistently.

Through spending time on the water every year I continue to learn. My goal is to be the first one on the water and the last one off every day. I also want to keep fishing right up until the water freezes. This means there is plenty of time still left to fish.

One of my favorite times to go fishing is during the fall. Two of my favorite lakes during this time are Lake Simcoe and Rice Lake. For big smallmouth bass Lake Simcoe is my number one choice. I also like Rice for big bass and it is also great for trophy walleye, even as big as 7lbs. If you are thinking of going out in the fall, make sure you wear some warm clothes for those cold mornings. There are many days in the fall I’m glad I wore my fleece lined Dickies pants. Check out my awesome fishing season and more pics and tips at careymiller.com.