I was introduced to the outdoors at a very young age by my father and my uncles. I started deer hunting at the age of thirteen and fished in my first bass tournament at the age of 15. After that first tournament I knew that I wanted to fish professionally. By the time I graduated high school I was fishing a buddy circuit and the Redman tournament trail. I was fortunate to meet Mark Menendez back then who mentored me in my tournament fishing. After years of fishing locally I decided it was time to enter the Bassmaster circuit in pursuit of my dream.. In 2005 Mark and I entered the Southern Opens together. The knowledge I learned in that one year was priceless. I fished all three events and up 57th overall for the year. This year I entered the Southern Opens again and have made the cut in the first two events. I currently sit in 12th place. I also was invited to fish the Toyota Texas Bass Classic through the PAA. I am hoping to make a career in professional fishing.
![]() |
Luke Estel
Sponsored by:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- World Shooting Complex Bass Fish Off
- ...
- Addicted to Fishing
- People get addicted to many things. My addiction just happens to be fishing. Whether I am competing in a bass tournament or catfishing in my own pond, I simply cannot get enough....
- Summertime Fishing
- Summertime Fishing When the temperatures are pushing 100 degrees and it is hard to be outside for an extended period of time, you might want to tough it up and head to the lake....
- The Guntersville Effect
- The Guntersville Effect Every year I look forward to going and fishing on beautiful Lake Guntersville in north east Alabama....
- Sight Fishing in July
- My early tournament days were spent on the Kaskaskia River fishing with my cousin. We fished just about every tournament there and had our fair share of success....
- BREAKING NEWS
- BREAKING NEWS- FIRST TOURNAMENT ON A NEW BODY OF WATER That’s right....
- The Reelfoot Lake Experience
- The Reelfoot Lake Experience In May I was invited by a couple of good friends of mine to go bluegill fishing down on Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee....
- Topwater Frenzy
- Topwater Frenzy My girls are slowly getting interested in fishing. They have always fished but it has been for bluegill and catfish....
- 12th Annual Strike King Bass Fish Off
- Clear blue skies met 74 boats Saturday morning on Kinkaid Lake for the 12th Annual Strike King Bass Fish Off....
- The Behind the Scenes Man of Strike King
- The Behind the Scenes Man at Strike King When you hear the words Strike King you automatically put a couple faces to it. Kevin Vandam and Denny Brauer....
- Never Give Up
- Never Give Up “Never give up!” Mike Iaconelli screamed as he boated the winning fish in the last minutes of the 2004 Bassmaster Classic....
- 12th Annual Strike King Tournament, Kinkaid Lake. May 22nd
- The 12th Annual Strike King Bass Fish Off on Kinkad lake in Murphysboro,IL. is rapidly approaching. The tournament is scheduled for May 22nd....
- Shaw Grigsby and the Post Spawn
- Shaw Grigsby and the Post Spawn Strike King Pro Shaw Grigsby is revered to be one of the best sight fisherman in the world. His vision is that of an eagle....
- The Versatile Jig
- The rubber skirted jig has been around for many years. Today it still remains one of the most popular baits among bass fishermen. It is also considered to be a big bass bait....
- Spring in the air
- Spring is approaching and fishermen all over the heartland are getting their gear ready and go hit the lake....- Red Eye Shad
- The ”HOT” Red Eye Shad Lipless rattling crankbaits have been around for many years. Just about every lure company makes their own version of one....
- 12th Annual Strike King Bass Fish Off
- New name, same great tournament. Kinkaid Lake May 22nd - I just wanted to let everyone know that obviously there are some changes this year from the 17th St. Tournament....
- The one that got away......
- Over the past 21 years I would say that I have probably fished somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 to 500 tournaments....
- Get off the couch and go fish!
- The cold arctic weather looks like it is going to hang around for a while. You can do one of two things, sit on the couch and watch fishing shows or get out on the lake and go fishing....
- Heidi's 9pt Buck
- Every year I look forward to the Illinois shotgun season for deer. I have been deer hunting since I was thirteen years old and every year I get just as excited as I did back then....
- 31st Annual Jacob Deer Rut
- 31st Annual Jacob Deer Rut This year 527 people signed up for the Jacob Deer Rut Contest. The contest is in its 31st year ....- Jacob Deer Rut helps disabled hunters
- Every deer hunter looks forward to the opening day of deer season. Every year hunters get ready to go out into the woods to chase after those elusive whitetails....
- Daughter's first deer hunt
- Most men want to have little boys when they get married and have kids. I was no exception....
- B.A.S.S. Southern Open
- B.A.S.S. SOUTHERN OPEN My last big tournament of the year was in South Carolina on Santee Copper Lake....
- Punching Grass Mats
- In 2005 I fished my first B.A.S.S. Open tournament. The last tournament of the year was held on Lake Kissimmee in Florida....- The Battle
- The Battle, Part 2 Fishermen are known for their fish stories. Every angler out there has several....- Frog Season
- Frog Season Fall is great for some good topwater action. Lakes and rivers that have grass in them require one of my favorite lures. The Strike King Rage Tail Toad....
- The Battle
- In the middle of June a heat wave swept over much of the heartland. The temperatures were topping into the one hundred degree mark and it was just downright miserable to be outside....
- SWIMMING A WORM AT LAKE GUNTERSVILLE
- There is no place like it. That is Lake Guntersville in Alabama of course. I have never seen so many four and five pound fish in my life. It is truly a bass fishermen’s paradise....- 11th Annual 17th St. Bar & Grill Bass Tournament
- 11th Annual 17th St. Bar & Grill Bass Tournament 91 boats showed up on Saturday at Kinkaid Lake for the 11th Annual 17th St. Bar & Grill Bass Tournament....- GO DEEP THIS SUMMER
- GO DEEP THIS SUMMER The weather here in Southern Illinois is almost unforgiving. It goes from the 40’s to the 80’s in about a two week period. Or so it seems that way....
- The Night Before
- I look up at the clock and time seems like time is standing still. It is Friday and I have a big bass tournament this weekend. Work is the last thing on my mind....
- The Spawn
- The Spawn As the water temperature rises on lakes and rivers, largemouth bass instinctively migrate to shallow water to begin their annual spawning ritual....- Fishing in late winter/early spring
- Fishing in late winter/early spring can sometimes be very challenging. That was the case for Mark Menendez and I on Kentucky Lake during a filming of Fishpaa TV....- B.A.S.S. Southern Open - #1
- B.A.S.S. Southern Open Every once and a while I get this gut feeling about something and it usually ends up working out....- Power Tackle Lands Elite Series Angler
- January 9, 2009 Power Tackle is pleased to announce a sponsor partnership with Bassmaster Elite Series angler Mark Menendez. Power Tackle, is based in Del Rio, TX on the shores of Lake Amistad....
- Jacob Deer Rut Contest
- The fall and and early winter months begin yet another year for the Jacob Deer Rut....
- Sexy Spoon
- There are several new baits that were introduced in the 2008 season and the one I have personally fallen in love with is the new Strike King Sexy Spoon....
- Mark's secret weapon
- ...
- Fish Care
- As the heat of the summer beats down on our lakes and rivers, it also heats up the bass fishing. Summertime fishing can be some of the most exciting and rewarding fishing....
- Crankbait Season, Part 1
- CRANKBAIT SEASON, PART 1 ...- The Square Bill Crankbait
- When the bass move shallow in late spring one of the most reliable baits to throw is a square lipped crankbait....
- The New Superbass Team Trail
- Tournament fishing has been around for decades. I grew up fishing team tournaments and still fish as many events with my cousin or brother as I can....
- Go Lipless during the Spring
- One of the best baits to throw in early spring is a lipless crankbait. These rattling, fish like lures simply catch fish....
- 17th St Entry Form - Kinkaid Lake, Illinois
- Get your 17th St. Bar & Grill Entry form now. Mailed copies will be sent out this week but you can click on upcoming tournaments, Fishing Scene, Illinois, Kinkaid, and download it now....
- Stike King Rage Tail
- WHAT’S ALL THE RAGE Strike King Lure Company has the worlds most Elite Pro Team of any other lure company....
- Strike King and Sports Medicine
- Injuries happen in every major sport. From basketball to golf, athletes get hurt. When one of these athletes gets injured, there is a sports medicine team that helps them recover....- Sexy Shad
- THE BEST CRANKBAIT EVER? In 2007 we saw several new and innovative lure designs come out on the market....- Denny Brauer-Deer Hunter
- When people say the word jig, it is usually followed up with the name, Denny Brauer....
- Buck of a Lifetime
- ...
- The Right Attitude
- THE RIGHT ATTITUDE I believe that a person can accomplish any goal they set for themselves if they use this three step process....
- CATCH AND RELEASE
- CATCH AND RELEASE Bass tournament fishing has come a long way since the late 60’s where fishermen kept their fish on a stringer and kept them after they were weighed in....
- Crankbaits for Beginners
- CRANKBAITING FOR BEGINNERS I love throwing crankbaits. It really does not matter if it is a shallow runner or a deep diver. I love to throw them....
- 125 lb Spoonbill Catfish caught in local farm pond in Jackson County, Illinois
- 125 lb, 6'5" Spoonbill Catfish caught in Jackson County, Illinois on 08/18/07....
- 125 pound Spoobill caught in local pond
- Keith Lingle, Carbondale, Illinois catches a 125 lb, 6'5" Spoonbill catfish in a local farm pond in Jackson County, Illinois on 08/18/07! It produced more than 43 lbs of meat....
- Pressure Release
- Sometime during last years fishing season, I had a revelation. Not in a religious way or anything crazy that happened to me. Something just changed. That is in my fishing....
- The Weekend Warrior
- ...
- Finding the New Stuff
- Ahh!!! There is nothing like a day off work. What better way to spend it than going fishing on your home lake. Yu set your alarm way too early for the next day....
- Big Baits = Big Bass
- BIG BAITS = BIG BASS Every bass angler loves wrestling giant largemouths....


