steverowbotham

Thanks guys. I wish I had some more time to spend out there, hoping to go back out in the spring

Hey all, This is not a fishing report, but I think its about time I shared a non-fishing report. My brother accepted his 3rd professional MMA fight in Calgary on October 25th, so we made plans to attend. My girlfriend, Kelli and I decided to extend our vacation afterwards and go to Banff for a couple days. After planning this vacation, our roommate Cal decided to make a move to Banff for a few months, so he came with us. Our first day, we flew into Calgary, helped Mike cut weight before weigh-ins and attended the weigh-ins. Nothing exciting. Fight Night. The next night, we attended the fights. You can read the report here if you desire .... RAW COMBAT RESULTS The next morning, we got up early and headed to Banff... Our first view of the mountains coming up We finally entered the mountains and stopped for some photo ops When we arrived in Banff, we dropped Cal off with his step-brother, said our goodbyes and we were off on our own. Our first stop, the Banff Gondola The Gondola costs $26 each and is worth every penny. It is about a 10 minute ride up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, with amazing views and a skywalk located between two peaks, there are breathtaking views of Banff from up there. But beware, it was a chilly -10C compared to the actual city's temp of 1C When we got to our hotel, there was a deer laying under a tree, no fear at all. The next morning, we went to the Banff Hot Springs ... gorgeous views, hot water, awesome to check out. Banff Springs Hotel .... amazing! Saying my goodbyes to the mountains, wish I had more time!

Haha. Mike is a very experienced wrestler who has competed internationally. He made his pro debut last October with next to no training whatsoever, and although he went 6-0 as an amateur, once he stepped up in competition, his lack of knowledge showed. Although he outwrestled his opponent at will, he lost a SPLIT decision. His opponent worked very well off his back. Mike began taking it a lot more seriously after that loss and began training in every aspect of the sport. Being a gifted wrestler, he had a great base to work with, and jiu jitsu came very naturally to him, being a grappler. He showed this in his 2nd pro fight in June submitting his much larger opponent by armbar at 2:14 of the first round. For this fight, he fought well against a much larger opponent and fellow wrestler. Mike still has a long way to go in his striking, but with time, I believe it will come.

A lot more balls than I'd ever have thats for sure. I'm in Banff right now, but when I get home I'll upload the video. I never added in the "play-by-play" but when Mike was on his back for the last two minutes of the round, he was working for submissions the whole time. You'll see in the video he tries twice for an armbar, once for a triangle and at one point comes very close to locking up a kneebar. This guy at 185lbs I think was just too powerful.

My brother went into this fight with a fight record of 7-1, his professional record being 1-1. He accepted a fight against Keto Allen, an undefeated fighter in the 185lbs (middleweight) division. Mike cuts a lot of weight to make 185 lbs (usually from around 210-215), but he's not exactly ripped like most other fighters, so although he cuts more weight than most, he is usually substantially smaller than his opponent. Case in point. Both fighters weighed in at 185.5 pounds, and you can still see a significant size difference. Mike feeling good before the fight Final check before entering the cage. Some feeling out at the beginning Mike got caught with a big punch, followed by a flurry of strikes then caught in an arm-in guillotine against the cage which went to the mat. Mike was able to pass Keto's guard and eliminate all pressure from the guillotine, here he worked quickly before Keto got to his feet. Mike working for another takedown Mike got the takedown and immediately into side control Then into mount where he rained down some punishment Still in mount Mike went for an armbar from mount and missed it, where he ended up on his back. He remained here for the rest of the round taking a few shots on the ground. Round 2 begins and Mike is throwing leg kicks to start, then the tables turned, Mike took a solid kick to the liver where he crumpled to the mat, with Keto following and throwing punches to the liver and kidneys. After taking a bunch of shots on the ground, Mike tapped out due to strikes. Although we were all dissapointed, we were proud at the same time. Mike took a fight against a more experienced opponent, and at 19 years of age, his opponent was also 10 years his elder. The shot to the liver was ultimately the deciding factor in this fight, its unfortunate but as they say, fecal matter happens. Mike and our dad after his fight, face a bit sore. Mike's next step ... weight loss, and fighting at a lower weight class. Thanks guys.

Mike trained with Nate in Thunder Bay for a while, hes a phenominal fighter. Mike did really well in his fight, he had the guy mounted and was punishing him from the top, then went for an armbar and missed it, went for submissions from his back for the last 2 minutes of round 1. About 1:30 into round 2, he ate a kick to the liver that visually hurt him. He tried to continue but was forced to tap out due to strikes. When I talked to him after he said he tapped because he was too worried about covering his liver than covering his face. I'll add pics later, on my way to Banff now!!

Yeah he's a big guy, its upper body mass. Itty bitty legs on him haha. Mike has a good gameplan going into the fight and is very confident. Not that you can use previous fights to determine a fight. But both of their last fights were against the same opponent. Mike Rowbotham defeats Mike Zvonick by Submission (armbar) at 2:14 of Round 1 Keto Allen defeats Mike Zvonick by TKO at 2:40 of Round 3. It's a confidence thing knowing you finished the same guy 10 minutes sooner.

Hey everyone. I'm in Calgary right now for my brother's fight. He fights tonight at the Stampede Corral. Wish him luck! Here's last nights weigh-in results and photos. Mike Rowbotham (185.5 lbs) vs. Keto Allen (185.5 lbs) Matt Bagshaw Vs. Wes Jaya - Both fighters failed to make weight and contract was renegotiated Nathan Gunn (170 lbs) vs. Jarett Evans (171 lbs) Bernie Antle (132 lbs) vs. Hardeep Singh (135.5 lbs) Myles Merola (156 lbs) vs. Brad Cardinal (155.5 lbs) Andrew Buckland (171 lbs) vs. Garett Davis (171 lbs) Trevor Stewardson (183 lbs) vs. Brandon Seguin (185 lbs) Ryan Ford (170 lbs) vs. Nabil Khatib (171 lbs) Miodrag Petkovic (242 lbs) vs Tim Hague (264.5 lbs) Len Tam (144.5 lbs) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (144 lbs) - Featherweight Title Fight Denis Kang (186 lbs) vs. Marvin Eastman (186 lbs)

it was supposed to be a couple weeks ago, so probably soon

Fight University. It's a new MMA gym operated by Gary Goodridge on Welham Road in the South End. My brother is the head wrestling coach

nice job

nice job rye!

I love Stanley spinnerbaits as well. They bend very easily, but are easily bent back into shape, and they catch a lot of fish

Taylor vs. Lytle was a war! Gotta love it!

Leben Vera Cane Taylor Davis Hardy Carwin Bielkeden Etim Miller Eklund

sweet. looks nice out there for erie

HAHA. My roommate is doing this one with me but my dad is looking for a partner with a boat, so anyone with a boat thats interested, let me know.

dry them before you store them ... any moisture and this will happen. I actuslly have spinnerbait blades that I purposely do this to. The gold/green tarnish makes a very nice perch imitation.

Hey everyone. Short notice but our club is holding our second annual "Kempenfelt Open" tomorrow. Launch is at the marina in downtown Barrie, blastoff is at 7:30am, weigh-in is at 3:00pm. $120.00 per team plus an optional $20.00 big fish pool. It is a 4 fish limit, and despite the name of the event, it is not restricted to the bay, the entire lake is open . Should be a good payout. Hope to see a few of you out there! More info can be found at www.barriebassmasters.org

That's right ... little Eva the Fishin' Diva She had big fish for the year too with a 5.48 largie out of Dalrymple.

Well another season has come to an end for our Bass Pro Shops Associate Series, and it ended with my partner Cal and I being crowned the Classic Champions. We qualified, along with 9 other teams, through our best total weight in 3 out of 4 qualifying tournaments (Gloucester Pool, Tri-Lakes, Dalrymple, Balsam). Our Classic was held on Lake Couchiching on October 15th. We started off the morning on a shoal that I know and I caught a 3 pounder on a jerkbait on my 3rd cast. Then it shut down, never even saw another fish. We had our club classic (Barrie Bassmasters) on Cooch just 2 weeks earlier, and I found a spot in the last 20 mins of the tournament that was full of 3 pounders. So we headed there ... over the next 3 hours we hooked and landed 4 nice smallies on tubes, we then proceeded to fish for largemouth and never hooked another fish the rest of the day. Slow day with only 5 fish caught, but we still managed 16.5 pounds, enough for the win! A BIG thanks goes out to Roger (BPSBassman) and the rest of the tournament commitee for making this series happen. Had a great time!

thats awesome!

When I first heard about it, it was mountain dew so thats all I ever tried. I always keep some on board, use it when i need it, drink it when i need it.

I forgot to add to my last post ... while keeping fish in the livewell, and this is a tip for anyone who wants to keep them alive and healhty. I have a continuous recirculation of fresh water, plus I use an additive called "Catch and Release": Calms Bass & Walleye With All Natural Sedative Stimulates And Protects Slime Coating Reduces Weight Loss By Preventing Stomach Regurgitation Prevents Shock And Restores Electrolyte Balance Instantly Removes Harmful Chlorine And Other Toxic Harmful Water Treatment Chemicals Boosts Oxygen Transer Protects Against Overall Post Release Infection All Around Stress Reducing Compound CATCH AND RELEASE® is the most advanced There's my little infomercial pitch, but the stuff works wonders. Also, in the summer, add some ice to cool the temperature of the livewell, but not too much, you dont want to shock them. Also, another tip while we're at it. If you hook a fish really deep and it is bleeding profusely, open a can of mountain dew and pour it on the wound, I swear to Jesus himself that it stops the bleeding and that fish will survive. It works, I've seen fish come out of their graves pretty much. Mountain Dew, keep some on board.

I do keep them in a livewell. Being a tournament angler, I keep a log on most fish that I catch, and total weight for my biggest five is usually one of them. During pre-fishing, you're not allowed to keep any in the livewell, but I try to not hook most of them anyways. In this case we had just over 16 pounds on the first day and about 17.5 on the second day. And as for the go to bait ... my lucky craft wasnt doin her thing this weekend. I got most of my fish on an XCalibur jerkbait that I got at Canadian Tire for 14.99, significantly cheaper than a lucky craft anyways. Kelli got most of hers on a white x-rap. Twitch, twitch, pause.... the pause was the key to triggering strikes.