Introducing Josh Giran, from the NE

Hello, my name is Josh Giran and just like you all I am addicted to bass fishing. First I’d like to thank the people at BASS 2.0 for giving me this opportunity to share my experiences and ideas with you. A little about myself, I live in a rural area south west of Pittsburgh, PA. Yes that’s right, I have the privilege of fishing for small fish on the Three Rivers. You know, the location of the 2005 BASSMASTER Classic(lowest total, ever) and the 2009 FLW Forrest Wood Cup. Okay, so I don’t get to fish for five pounders all the time, but as the old saying goes “a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work”.

I have been fishing all of my life, my farther started taking me fishing at a very young age. But it wasn’t until a strange turn of events that I got into tournament bass fishing. At the time I thought my world was coming apart. But a co-worker and friend, Mike Noel, steered me in the direction of tournament fishing. He had been fishing BASS events for years and took me under his wing. It started with convincing me that I needed a boat. So I went and bought a brand new aluminum boat. Then I joined a federation club. That first year I fished mainly as a co-angler. I read every article I could, watched every fishing show imaginable, and really paid attention to the people I fished with. I was like a sponge trying to absorb everything I could. My friend use to tell me that in a few years I would want to step up to a big boat. That few years ended up being less than two.

So now I’m looking for a big boat. Wow, what a jump in price from the aluminum's. I did a ton of research on all the major brands. I had it narrowed down to three brands. One of my main concerns was having a dealer near by that could fix any problems that would arise. It was February 2008 and I’m at an outdoor show in Harrisburg, PA. I was sitting in the boats, trying to imagine myself running down the lake in it. That is when I meet a rep from Triton Boats, Jerry Johnson. Jerry and I hit it off and before I know it I’m on the Triton Pro-Staff. I chalk it up to being in the right place at the right time. So I order a 2008 Triton 21X2 with a Mercury 225 Pro-XS. I add a Motorguide 36 volt trolling motor and finish it off with Lowrance electronics. So here I go, into the world of professional bass fishing. Okay, before I go any further, I’m not gonna say that my boat rig is better than yours. Everybody has there favorites. In the coming weeks I’ll let you know what I like and don’t like about my boat. That will be the case for everything. I’m just going to give you my experience with it, whether it be a tow vehicle, rod, reel, line, bait, etc. You make up your own mind if you like the product or not.

So I decide to start off slow and fish a few ABA Weekend series. My best finish in that series was a second place on Lake Erie(my second favorite place to fish). I ended up qualifying for the two day championship, but due to money issues I chose not to fish it. At that point I realized how expensive this sport is. In February 2009 I attended the BASSMASTER Classic in Shreveport, LA. A good friend and fishing mentor of mine, Ken Baumgardner (Bummy) had qualified for it through the Federation. All I have to say is WOW! What an experience!

In 2009 I fished the Northern Opens on the Pro side. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I learned that first year. Bummy (Pro) and Tom Landish (co-angler) were my travel partners. Traveling with someone makes things a little easier on the road and also leads to plenty of laughs. Oh, and I’m the “camp cook”, we ate better on the road than we do at home. I also made allot of friends, Koto, Bill, Jonathan, Jason, Ray, Chris, Jake, Monty, Jamie, and too many more to list. This is how I came to meet J Todd Tucker. It was the final Open on Lake Erie out of Sandusky. I was somewhere near Chick Island drifting and throwing a drop shot. J Todd happens to be about 3 miles away and starts heading in my direction. When he gets about 10 yards away he shuts down and says are you ok. I tell him I’m fine. I had my big motor trimmed up out of the water to get a straighter drift along the shoal I was fishing. “Apparently” that is a warning signal to other anglers that you need help. Anyways, that was something I’ll never forget, he went out of his way to check on me and make sure I was okay. I was also fishing Federation tournaments that year and was able to Qualify for the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Divisional.

I again fished the Opens in 2010, but didn’t have the success I had the previous year. That lack of success also carried over to my Federation Tournaments. But again, it seemed as though every tournament I went to, I made another friend or two or three. It has all been a great time and a learning experience and that’s what I hope to share with you in the future. I plan on discussing just about everything that a tournament angler deals with on a daily basis. Sometimes it might just end up being a quick little blurb on how my practice is going, a video from on the water, or a new bait/technique. Who knows what you will see or read? Well now that my little intro is out of the way we can get to the bass stuff in the coming post. Until next time, be safe!