ME and Z at D and R

[joshimoto son]

I just got back from the D and R Sports Fishing show, and I had the opportunity to talk to Mark Zona a little bit. I asked him if he got to do any fishing down at Santee Cooper, and he said, "OH YES!!!"
From there we had a lot in common to talk about. I asked if I could get a picture while I plugged Dan's website and asked if it would be okay if I put it up. No problems!!!

I also thought it would be a good opportunity to try and make some contacts and maybe even get a sponsorship or two.

I got lucky!!! I talked to Ross with Quatum, I met him there two years ago and he remembered me believe it or not. I didn't get on the pro-staff, but I did score a free Quantum mock Tee, hat and VIF form. The VIF form allows me to buy ten pieces of Quantum stuff at a discount.

What a great day!!!

Lt. Dan... if you read this before you get there tomorrow, I told Ross to go talk to you about the site, I told him just how popular it's getting and that it gets about 700 hits a day. That perked his eyes up, he was impressed.

Have fun tomorrow and everybody have a happy Easter!!!

[fiker]

Man, Josh you've had a heck of a couple of weeks.

[djkimmel]

Wow! It's like looking at lost twins!

Thanks for the plugs josh - you da man! I know you are having fun now!

Actually, the site is averaging 738 visits per day this month so far - that's the number of times people come into a page on the web site either for the first time, or after an elapsed period from their last visit.

Average hits per day are 30,285. (April so far)

More important is page views - averaging 11,906 page views per day (April so far) - the number of different times the ads and each different web page are viewed by someone - so I really appreciate that on average, people are viewing 16 pages per visit. Not bad stats-wise.

That's why Flint Sign is offering a discount to people who visit here an tell them they are from GreatLakesBass.com; and why companies like Wonderland Marine West and Worldwide Marine Underwriters want to be involved - because of each of you, and your enthusiasm and participation. Mention GreatLakesBass.com and you will be treated well.

I'll keep looking for other opportunities as they come along. Eventually, I expect to have a real budget for prizes and benefits. We are still at the early growth stages, but all of your great stories and pictures are what keep people coming here and reading. Eventually, they decide this is a fun and friendly place, and they join up. You've won over a few converts that I know had quit participating online for a while.

Thank you all for coming here and doing what you do. I do have plans to make it more worth your while. As sponsors get more excited about the site, there will be opportunities for more fun. First, I need to get the DK Open nailed down. I'm only coughing a couple hundred times a day now, so I'm getting my energy back. I should make some good progress this weekend.

Here are stats for the months of February and March:
Mar 2006  Visits: 16,696   Page views: 343,496   Hits: 852,728 (page redesigns lower hits)
Feb 2006   Visits: 13,597   Page views: 207,003   Hits: 885,757