Well we fished tournament #2 of the season at Lake Bridgeport. This was my first district tournament since the boat motor went kaput! Luckily I drew my good friend Mr Dean. The morning started off kinda bad, I left the house around 0445 for the hour and 15 minute drive. My neighbor fished the district and his wife was sick. I sent him a text message the night before asking him if he was staying home. He replied with a simple no. When I woke up in the morning I was sure that I had asked him if he was going and I remember his reply was a no. I got in the truck and started it up and took off for Lake Bridgeport. When I got there I was immediatley informed that I had left Chris at the house. I thought for sure he was staying home! About 15 minutes after I got there Chris pulled in and said that he heard me start the truck and leave, he was on his carport tying on some lures when I left him. Talk about feeling bad, I felt horrible that I left him and he had to waste his gas to drive there too.
Once we started fishing it was steady all day long. We caught a lot of fish all day and at any other lake it would have been a great day. I caught a huge catfish on the 2nd cast of the day. Not what I was looking for, but fun still. Even though we caught a boat load of fish, between the two of us only two fish were weighed at the weigh in and those belonged to Mr Dean. Lake Bridgeport has a slot limit from 14 to 18 inches for largemouth. Spots and Smallmouth have to be the Texas standard of 14 inches. Every single fish that I caught was in the slot limit and had to be released. When you have to release a 17 3/4 inch largemouth that weighs in around 3 or 4 pounds during a bass fishing tournament, it will frustrate you to no end. The only good thing about Lake Bridgeport is that you can weigh 12 inch to 14 inch fish. That tends to keep the weights down, in fact it was a 5 fish limit that weighed 7 pounds to win. 2nd place had the big bass that was 5 pounds and he had a 2 fish limit that went for 6 pounds.
Even with being able to weigh in 12 inch fish I couldn't manage to catch a 12 or 13 inch fish. All of my fish were in the slot or just under the 12 minimum. I really have a dislike for Lake Bridgeport, but it tends to draw a crowd, except this trip. We only had 12 anglers for this tournament due to some conflicting buddy tournaments.
The good thing about going as a non-boater on a lake that I really do not like, is the fact that I saw parts of the lake and was shown some things that I would have never known existed. So next time, when the boat is fixed or I get a new one, I have more spots available to check out. Mr Dean and I fish the same style and fish a lot of the same looking water. You never quit learning when you are fishing and he did some things that I would have never thought to try in certain situations.
Our next tournament is on Lake Graham on 7 Nov. I love to fish Graham and have two second place finishes in three tournaments there. Unfotunatley I will not be able to fish Graham unless we can find a babysitter. My oldest daughter has a Veterans Day parade to march in along with the wife. Last year it was so cold out that day, that this year we are not going to take my youngest out there and put her through that. So I will more than likely be staying home with my two year old playing with her. She loves cars and watching fishing and boats on TV and college football so I think that we will be OK. Ya'll have a great and Happy Halloween and Thanksgiving. Hopefully after the December tournament I can report some good news from Lake Amon Carter which is a lake that I have never fished before. Take it easy!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
2010 season underway and 2009 AOY/Nationals in the books
Wow, what a month September was. We fished our first tournament of the 2010 season and it was a day of ups and downs. We actually had a really good turnout for the first tournament of the season and we are hearing that with the new ABA format and no regional tournament that more folks are gonna fish this year. That is some really good news and if we can draw 15 to 20 folks each tournament we can compete (points wise) with the larger districts. We have to have 20 folk to receive max points for a tournament. We had 15 show up for the first one of the year. There were about 4 or 5 new folks fishing with us for the first time. That number of 15 is up about 5 from last years first tournament. We also had a few "regulars" who weren't there. I did ok for that tournament and finished 4th. I lost a really nice 4 pounder while trying to get the net. That turned out the be the difference between 4th and 2nd. With about an hour to go in the tournament I decided to make a move down the lake and hit a spot that should have reloaded. About half way into my run I noticed that the pitch in the motor sound changed and I started losing RPMs so I shut it down. About 10 minutes later I got the motor to re-fire and it was vibrating something fierce and would only run at 2200 RPM. It took me about 35 minutes to idle back across the lake to the launch site and load the boat. I took it into the repair shop and told them what was going on. I was leaving for the AOY tournament in 4 days and they put a rush on it. Monday morning rolls around and I got the dreaded call on what was wrong with the motor. It turns out that the motor burnt up a cylinder and needs a complete top to bottom overhaul. There was no way that they could get it done in the 3 days before I left for the nationals and the AOY tournament. Estimated cost of repair $3000 to $4000.
So now the boat is broken and I am without a boat for the AOY tournament. My assistant director for the division was going to the nationals and as an observer for the AOY tournament. He let me borrow his boat for the tournament but would not be able to get there in time for the practice day. So when the tournament rolled around I was flying blind and had no practice the day before like the other 52 folks had. We launched at safe light and I had a plan based off of the time of year and the map study that I had done. I made a 18 mile run to Wheeler dam and started fishing. It turns out that they guy that won the tournament camped out at Wheeler dam and hauled in 20 pounds of smallies to win. Now ususally my downfall is I stick with a spot too long and don't make an adjustment fast enough. This was not the case this time. The TVA was not pulling any water and the bite was slow to say the least. After an hour I decided to head to the feeder creeks where the baitfish should be and the bass shouldn't be far behind. I later found out that about 30 minutes after I left the TVA started pulling water through Wheeler dam and things heated up quickly. I figured that the time of year that the baitfish should be making their way to the backs of the creeks. I was right, there were spots where you could have gotten out of the boat and walked from the boat to the shore on the thousands of 2 inch shad in the creeks. Unfortunatley the bass had not yet followed the baitfish. It was a hard day and with no practice the day before I was fishing all new water. I zeroed on the day and wasn't the only one that found the fishing tough.
When nationals rolled around I practiced with Mr Dean and we located some fish on Pickwick but there was no size to them. The first day I drew a guy from Little Rock Arkansas and it was bad from the start. He was a super nice guy, but the kill switch on his boat would not work at first and it took about 30 minutes of tinkering with it to get it to work. His livewells were not working either! Due to the kill switch issue we almost didn't get to launch and were on the verge of being DQ'd for day 1. Finally the kill swith worked but the livewells were not pumping. We fished a few spots and finally moved to a spot that had a point that the current was breaking around about a mile below Wilson dam on Pickwick. The baitfish were stacking up around the point as the current swept them around it. I started throwing a shallow running bandit crankbait across the point and it got hammered. Unfortunatley it was about a 10 pound drum. My boater threw over there and caught a nice largemouth. In fact, when it was all said and done he caught 12 pounds of largemouth off of that single point. Now I do not think that he meant to do it, but he swung the boat around where I could not cast at the spot. When the boat finally turned and I could cast over there he would throw across my line and swing the boat back around. I did manage to pull a 4 pounder off of the point while he managed to pull 5 fish off of it. I ended the day with 2 fish for 6 pounds and some change. My boater ended day 1 in around 12th position.
Day 2 I drew a great guy who is a former First Sergeant in the Army. Being an Air Force First Sergeant myself I figured the day would be pretty good. This gentleman was what a boater should be like. I know that when I draw a non-boater I judge my day on not what I can catch but what my non-boater can catch. This guy was the same way. He put us on fish and both of us managed a small limit. I was able to catch my first fish on a Carolina rig. I have thrown it for years off and on but had absolutley zero confidence with it. He taught me a few things and I pulled 4 fish off the the C-rig. My 5th came on a Texas rigged craw. I managed 8 pounds on day 2 and moved up from 191st to 115th on day 2.
Day 3 I drew a great guy as well. The weather conditions changed and a cold front moved through that made tough fishing for everyone. My boater only managed 4 fish and I was only able to boat 1 keeper, a 2 pound smallie. I finished the nationals dead in the middle. 184th out of about 394 people. I finished the year in 180th place in the nation. Not too bad for the 2nd year of competetive fishing and my first national tournament.
So now my boat is up for sale for what I owe on it. I don't have the 3-4G to get it fixed and it is a hard decision on whether or not to get it fixed. Part of me doesn't want to invest another 4 grand in a boat that is worth $7000. If I do invest the money to get the 15 year boat fixed then I will have $12000 in it and it just isn't worth that. On the other hand, I hate to get rid of it and fish as a non-boater until I find something else. I just don't like being at the mercy of another guy relying on them to get on fish. If a guy wants to go out and dropshot all day, then I need to do that as well. And let's say that finesse fishing and fishing deep are not my strong points. However, being forced to do those things will eventually make me a better fisherman. Lord knows that I would not go and try those things on my own on tournament day.
Well I guess that I have ranted and rambled for long enough. Our next tournament is Oct 18th on Lake Bridgeport. I hate that lake because of the slot limit. It just pains me to have to throw a 3 pounder back because he is in the slot. I will let you know how things go and if you know someone who wants to buy a broken boat for $4000 let me know. The hull is in good shape but the motor is busted and the trailer has a few cracks that need welded. Ya'll have a good one and thanks for listenin'!!
So now the boat is broken and I am without a boat for the AOY tournament. My assistant director for the division was going to the nationals and as an observer for the AOY tournament. He let me borrow his boat for the tournament but would not be able to get there in time for the practice day. So when the tournament rolled around I was flying blind and had no practice the day before like the other 52 folks had. We launched at safe light and I had a plan based off of the time of year and the map study that I had done. I made a 18 mile run to Wheeler dam and started fishing. It turns out that they guy that won the tournament camped out at Wheeler dam and hauled in 20 pounds of smallies to win. Now ususally my downfall is I stick with a spot too long and don't make an adjustment fast enough. This was not the case this time. The TVA was not pulling any water and the bite was slow to say the least. After an hour I decided to head to the feeder creeks where the baitfish should be and the bass shouldn't be far behind. I later found out that about 30 minutes after I left the TVA started pulling water through Wheeler dam and things heated up quickly. I figured that the time of year that the baitfish should be making their way to the backs of the creeks. I was right, there were spots where you could have gotten out of the boat and walked from the boat to the shore on the thousands of 2 inch shad in the creeks. Unfortunatley the bass had not yet followed the baitfish. It was a hard day and with no practice the day before I was fishing all new water. I zeroed on the day and wasn't the only one that found the fishing tough.
When nationals rolled around I practiced with Mr Dean and we located some fish on Pickwick but there was no size to them. The first day I drew a guy from Little Rock Arkansas and it was bad from the start. He was a super nice guy, but the kill switch on his boat would not work at first and it took about 30 minutes of tinkering with it to get it to work. His livewells were not working either! Due to the kill switch issue we almost didn't get to launch and were on the verge of being DQ'd for day 1. Finally the kill swith worked but the livewells were not pumping. We fished a few spots and finally moved to a spot that had a point that the current was breaking around about a mile below Wilson dam on Pickwick. The baitfish were stacking up around the point as the current swept them around it. I started throwing a shallow running bandit crankbait across the point and it got hammered. Unfortunatley it was about a 10 pound drum. My boater threw over there and caught a nice largemouth. In fact, when it was all said and done he caught 12 pounds of largemouth off of that single point. Now I do not think that he meant to do it, but he swung the boat around where I could not cast at the spot. When the boat finally turned and I could cast over there he would throw across my line and swing the boat back around. I did manage to pull a 4 pounder off of the point while he managed to pull 5 fish off of it. I ended the day with 2 fish for 6 pounds and some change. My boater ended day 1 in around 12th position.
Day 2 I drew a great guy who is a former First Sergeant in the Army. Being an Air Force First Sergeant myself I figured the day would be pretty good. This gentleman was what a boater should be like. I know that when I draw a non-boater I judge my day on not what I can catch but what my non-boater can catch. This guy was the same way. He put us on fish and both of us managed a small limit. I was able to catch my first fish on a Carolina rig. I have thrown it for years off and on but had absolutley zero confidence with it. He taught me a few things and I pulled 4 fish off the the C-rig. My 5th came on a Texas rigged craw. I managed 8 pounds on day 2 and moved up from 191st to 115th on day 2.
Day 3 I drew a great guy as well. The weather conditions changed and a cold front moved through that made tough fishing for everyone. My boater only managed 4 fish and I was only able to boat 1 keeper, a 2 pound smallie. I finished the nationals dead in the middle. 184th out of about 394 people. I finished the year in 180th place in the nation. Not too bad for the 2nd year of competetive fishing and my first national tournament.
So now my boat is up for sale for what I owe on it. I don't have the 3-4G to get it fixed and it is a hard decision on whether or not to get it fixed. Part of me doesn't want to invest another 4 grand in a boat that is worth $7000. If I do invest the money to get the 15 year boat fixed then I will have $12000 in it and it just isn't worth that. On the other hand, I hate to get rid of it and fish as a non-boater until I find something else. I just don't like being at the mercy of another guy relying on them to get on fish. If a guy wants to go out and dropshot all day, then I need to do that as well. And let's say that finesse fishing and fishing deep are not my strong points. However, being forced to do those things will eventually make me a better fisherman. Lord knows that I would not go and try those things on my own on tournament day.
Well I guess that I have ranted and rambled for long enough. Our next tournament is Oct 18th on Lake Bridgeport. I hate that lake because of the slot limit. It just pains me to have to throw a 3 pounder back because he is in the slot. I will let you know how things go and if you know someone who wants to buy a broken boat for $4000 let me know. The hull is in good shape but the motor is busted and the trailer has a few cracks that need welded. Ya'll have a good one and thanks for listenin'!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Getting Ready for Nationals
Well here I sit 2 weeks from the ABA nationals on Lake Pickwick in Florence Alabama. Just prior to the practice for the nationals I get to fish in the AOY tournament. The top angler from all of the ABA districts will be there for a one day practice and a one day winner take all tournament for a 2009 fully loaded Triton boat. At my last count there were 54 or so anglers qualified for the AOY tournament. I am really getting excited about it and can't wait to get out there. I think that smallmouth are going to be key on both of those tournaments. My last trip to Alabama when I went to the USAF First Sergeant Academy a few months ago the fishing was not so great. I did manage to catch a few fish but nothing with any size on it. I left my boat at home that trip and was fishing from the bank but still did not manage to do very well. Maybe this trip will be better.
I have been trying to do as much research as I can on Wilson and Pickwick. I can find some info on Pickwick, but information on Wilson is hard to come by. You would think that a lake that formerly held the world record smallmouth would have a little more info on it.
Prior to leaving for Alabama we have our first tournament of the 2010 season next Saturday. I am looking forward to that one as well. I did fish several of the local Wednesday night tournaments this year and did manage to boat a 7 1/2 pound largemouth one night, but other than that didn't do to well. It is a 3 hour tournament and sometimes the fishing can be tough. The one evening that we thought we would do decent, we didn't. We brought in 10 pounds or so but the winning stringer was 22 pounds and some change. All of that in 3 hours! They did it by dragging a C-rig in deep water. I have absolutley zero confidence when it comes to deep water. It is something that I am going to have to get over I guess. I have tried to make myself go out and fish deep and only fish deep. It seems that within 30 minutes or so I am back shallow doing what I feel the most confident in doing. Sometimes I catch 'em, sometimes I don't.
Well I hope that the next time I write I will have a brand new Triton bass boat. My fishing mentor tells me that I have a pretty good chance and he thinks that it will be won on about 15 pounds or so. I think that it will take 20 or better for the AOY and I think it will take a 15 pound average to win the three day national. Ya'll have a good one and I will talk to you soon!
I have been trying to do as much research as I can on Wilson and Pickwick. I can find some info on Pickwick, but information on Wilson is hard to come by. You would think that a lake that formerly held the world record smallmouth would have a little more info on it.
Prior to leaving for Alabama we have our first tournament of the 2010 season next Saturday. I am looking forward to that one as well. I did fish several of the local Wednesday night tournaments this year and did manage to boat a 7 1/2 pound largemouth one night, but other than that didn't do to well. It is a 3 hour tournament and sometimes the fishing can be tough. The one evening that we thought we would do decent, we didn't. We brought in 10 pounds or so but the winning stringer was 22 pounds and some change. All of that in 3 hours! They did it by dragging a C-rig in deep water. I have absolutley zero confidence when it comes to deep water. It is something that I am going to have to get over I guess. I have tried to make myself go out and fish deep and only fish deep. It seems that within 30 minutes or so I am back shallow doing what I feel the most confident in doing. Sometimes I catch 'em, sometimes I don't.
Well I hope that the next time I write I will have a brand new Triton bass boat. My fishing mentor tells me that I have a pretty good chance and he thinks that it will be won on about 15 pounds or so. I think that it will take 20 or better for the AOY and I think it will take a 15 pound average to win the three day national. Ya'll have a good one and I will talk to you soon!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
ABA District 112 AOY
Well we just finished up our districts 2 day championship. It was two days of ups and downs. The weather was great with the exception of the wind. The wind blew pretty good yesterday and today. We launched at first light on Saturday and the wind took out my first fishing spot. I ran to another spot and after a few sand bass I tied on a Storm swimbait. I got bit about a dozen times with that swimbait, largemouth, white bass, and drum. The white bass were absolutley eating it. That is fun and all but in a black bass tournament you don't want to waste your time with them. I hooked 6 largemouth keepers (over 14 inches in Texas) just to watch them either jump a ways off and throw the swimbait; or wait until they were right at the boat and jump and throw the swimbait. I was really getting frustrated. Not only about the bass tossing the swimbait, but also for the fact that this 2 day championship was goign to determine who is our districts AOY and who gets to go to Alabama and fish for that brand new Triton. I was tied going into this tournament with my good friend and fishing mentor Mr. Bob Dean. So each fish that I lost was taking those valuable position points from me. Finally with about 30 minutes to go i finally boated a keeper that weighed in just over 2 pounds. I headed to the scales just sick to my stomach. Mr Dean weighed in a limit and was leading day 1 with 11 pounds and change. I was sitting next to last with 2 pounds and change. The guy behind me didn't catch a fish on day 1. So I went home to the wife and kids and told her that i had taken myself out of competion by loosing all of those fish. Told her that the only way to have a chance is for me to bring in a 20 pound sack and Mr Dean had to slip and have a bad day.
Day 2 rolls around and I make the long drive to the lake thinking that Sunday had to go better than Saturday. We launched and i stayed close to the ramp not running too far because i didn't want to fight the wind and the waves. Around 7 or so i boated the first keeper on a crankbait. Ok, this is already better than yesterday. I had moved over to a few docks and was fishing around them when i got hung up on something. I moved the boat over and was trying to free it up when the wind pushed the bow of the boat into the dock piling and it sent me swimming. I dropped my rod trying to catch myself so now it is in the water. I climb back up on the boat and move the boat back over to try to fish my rod out with the net. So here i am dripping wet from the chest down and the wind strikes again and pushed the boat into that same piling sending me completly under the water this time. I did manage to grab my rod while i was in the water this time. So now i am completley soaked it is 8 AM and i am already ready to go to the house. Something told me to press on. I start throwing the Storm swimbait again since i got bit a lot with it the day before. I hook up with the first fish and wouldn't you know, he throws it back at me. Now I am really mad, so I cut it off and tied on a Strike King King Shad and started throwing it. On about the 3rd cast with it I hook up with a nice 5 pounder. I start thinking 3 or 4 of those and i am back in it. The very next cast I feel a little tick like i am hung on some grass and give it a sweep and felt the tick of a bite so i set the hook. As i get it close to the boat i realize that there are 2 fish hooked, one on the front treble and one on the back. I swing them into the boat and one comes off and lands on the carpet. Both were keepers both went into the box.
At this point I have 4 fish with a 5 pound kicker int he box. 2 casts later, another 5 pounder hits and i land him. About 30 minutes after that, another 5 pounder hits and i get him in the box. In a matter of 45 minutes I went from 1 little 1 1/2 pound dink to about 16 or 17 pounds. Before the day was done, I was able to cull a couple of times to end the day with 18 pounds and change. I had lost another 3-5 pounder just before i came in also. I am thinking that my 18 today and my 2 yesterday is going to land me around 3rd or 4th for the tournament. I just needed Mr Dean to come in with less than 9 pounds to have a shot. It was down to me and him for AOY and we were tied with 756 points each. Whoever finished ahead of the other would win the AOY title. He looks at my bag and asked what i had yesterday and told me enjoy fishing for that boat in Sept and good luck with it. He had brought 2 fish to the scales that weighed 4 pounds and he finished the tournament in 3rd place with 15 pounds and change. I finished in 2nd with 20 and change and the district director finished with 27 and change. I managed to take AOY honors by 2 points.
It was my goal to qualify for nationals this year, I never dreamed that I would do this well this year so far. I managed to catch fish at every tournament I fished. Last year I blanked in 2 of the 3 tournaments that i fished so i improved. It is fun to do and the guys are great. I look forward to doing it again next year. But for now i need to learn what i can about Wilson Lake in Alabama (AOY tournament) and Pickwick Lake (Nationals). Look out Alabama here i come again!!
Day 2 rolls around and I make the long drive to the lake thinking that Sunday had to go better than Saturday. We launched and i stayed close to the ramp not running too far because i didn't want to fight the wind and the waves. Around 7 or so i boated the first keeper on a crankbait. Ok, this is already better than yesterday. I had moved over to a few docks and was fishing around them when i got hung up on something. I moved the boat over and was trying to free it up when the wind pushed the bow of the boat into the dock piling and it sent me swimming. I dropped my rod trying to catch myself so now it is in the water. I climb back up on the boat and move the boat back over to try to fish my rod out with the net. So here i am dripping wet from the chest down and the wind strikes again and pushed the boat into that same piling sending me completly under the water this time. I did manage to grab my rod while i was in the water this time. So now i am completley soaked it is 8 AM and i am already ready to go to the house. Something told me to press on. I start throwing the Storm swimbait again since i got bit a lot with it the day before. I hook up with the first fish and wouldn't you know, he throws it back at me. Now I am really mad, so I cut it off and tied on a Strike King King Shad and started throwing it. On about the 3rd cast with it I hook up with a nice 5 pounder. I start thinking 3 or 4 of those and i am back in it. The very next cast I feel a little tick like i am hung on some grass and give it a sweep and felt the tick of a bite so i set the hook. As i get it close to the boat i realize that there are 2 fish hooked, one on the front treble and one on the back. I swing them into the boat and one comes off and lands on the carpet. Both were keepers both went into the box.
At this point I have 4 fish with a 5 pound kicker int he box. 2 casts later, another 5 pounder hits and i land him. About 30 minutes after that, another 5 pounder hits and i get him in the box. In a matter of 45 minutes I went from 1 little 1 1/2 pound dink to about 16 or 17 pounds. Before the day was done, I was able to cull a couple of times to end the day with 18 pounds and change. I had lost another 3-5 pounder just before i came in also. I am thinking that my 18 today and my 2 yesterday is going to land me around 3rd or 4th for the tournament. I just needed Mr Dean to come in with less than 9 pounds to have a shot. It was down to me and him for AOY and we were tied with 756 points each. Whoever finished ahead of the other would win the AOY title. He looks at my bag and asked what i had yesterday and told me enjoy fishing for that boat in Sept and good luck with it. He had brought 2 fish to the scales that weighed 4 pounds and he finished the tournament in 3rd place with 15 pounds and change. I finished in 2nd with 20 and change and the district director finished with 27 and change. I managed to take AOY honors by 2 points.
It was my goal to qualify for nationals this year, I never dreamed that I would do this well this year so far. I managed to catch fish at every tournament I fished. Last year I blanked in 2 of the 3 tournaments that i fished so i improved. It is fun to do and the guys are great. I look forward to doing it again next year. But for now i need to learn what i can about Wilson Lake in Alabama (AOY tournament) and Pickwick Lake (Nationals). Look out Alabama here i come again!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Fianlly got that "W" in the district
Whew....I am glad to finally get that monkey off of my back. Finally got that first win in an ABA tournament this weekend. And it couldn't have came at a better time. We only have 2 more one day tournaments on this season before we have the district championship 2 day. I am leaving for Montgomery Alabama to attend the USAF First Sergeant Academy and would have missed both of those. This was my last chance to try to add to the 1 point points lead that I have over my good friend Mr Dean. I was able to cushion that lead to 6 points now with a first place finish at Arrowhead this weekend. Mr Dean was a little under the weather and did not fish this weekend. If I know him, when I get back from Alabama he would have passed me up and it will come down to the 2 day.
I am really hoping that this year is my year. I have decided that I am going to nationals. I just hope that I can go to Pickwick and fish at Lake Wilson for the Angler of the Year. If Mr Dean or Rob Eckle or any of the guys win lead the division I will be happy for them too, as long as they go to nationals. Only the 1st place angler gets to fish the AOY tournament and we can't send a sub if the 1st place guy decides not to go. Our director Mr Rob Eckle was awesome in the fact that he moved the division 2 day for me when I found out that I was going to be in class and would have missed it. He didn't have to move it, but he did. So for that Rob I thank you very very much.
Hopefully the fish are startign to bite all over the place by now. I know that the weather has really been tough here in North Texas. One day it is 90 degrees outside and the next it barely gets past 40. The other morning I woke up and it was 74 degrees at 6 am. The next morning it was 33. Between the unstable temps and the 20-60 MPH winds fishing has been tough and it has been a workout too! Ya'll take it easy and until next time!!!!
I am really hoping that this year is my year. I have decided that I am going to nationals. I just hope that I can go to Pickwick and fish at Lake Wilson for the Angler of the Year. If Mr Dean or Rob Eckle or any of the guys win lead the division I will be happy for them too, as long as they go to nationals. Only the 1st place angler gets to fish the AOY tournament and we can't send a sub if the 1st place guy decides not to go. Our director Mr Rob Eckle was awesome in the fact that he moved the division 2 day for me when I found out that I was going to be in class and would have missed it. He didn't have to move it, but he did. So for that Rob I thank you very very much.
Hopefully the fish are startign to bite all over the place by now. I know that the weather has really been tough here in North Texas. One day it is 90 degrees outside and the next it barely gets past 40. The other morning I woke up and it was 74 degrees at 6 am. The next morning it was 33. Between the unstable temps and the 20-60 MPH winds fishing has been tough and it has been a workout too! Ya'll take it easy and until next time!!!!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Been A While
Wow it has been a while. The past few weeks have been really crazy and haven't had much time for fishing. The wife and kids went to New Mexico for spring break and I stayed behind to work on the house. I did manage to get one day of fishing in the week they were gone. Caught a couple but nothing to write home about.
After they got back we had about 2 weeks before my mom and sister came out for a visit. It was really nice to see them again. I haven't seen my sister in about 2 years or more so it was nice to see them. The kids had a blast and got to see aunt missy and mawmaw and spend some quality time.
I was suposed to fish the 5th tournament of the year a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunatly I was sick and throwing up all day Saturday and did not even attempt to drive down there and fish it. They had 6 folks show up and 5 pounds won it thanks to the cold front that came through and dropped temps into the upper 20's lower 30's overnight. The weather has been up and down here lately. The winds have been up and blowing in the 30 MPH range with gusts into the 50 range. The temps have been up and down also. It is 80 degrees one day and the next it will be into the 40s. The water temp has been so up and down the fish probably don't know what to do. About a month ago the water temp was in the 64 degree range. I was at the lake Friday and it was between 57-61 degrees. I did manage to catch a couple of fish friday on an Xcalibur one knocker. Both fish that I caught absolutly destroyed it! I had a few more take a swipe at it and they thumped it pretty good too, but i couldn't hook up. I tossed a Carolina rig around for a little bit, but I have absolutly zero confidence in a C-rig. I have yet to catch a fish on it, but try to make myself toss it so I can get a little more comfortable with it. I did the same with a jig last year, and even though my confidence with a jig is no where where I want it to be, it is better than it once was. Maybe one day I will catch something on a C-rig and will start to build that confidence with it.
Well I have to try to finish some things on the house. We are going to try to sell it before I go off to the First Sergeant Academy. Yall have a good one!
After they got back we had about 2 weeks before my mom and sister came out for a visit. It was really nice to see them again. I haven't seen my sister in about 2 years or more so it was nice to see them. The kids had a blast and got to see aunt missy and mawmaw and spend some quality time.
I was suposed to fish the 5th tournament of the year a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunatly I was sick and throwing up all day Saturday and did not even attempt to drive down there and fish it. They had 6 folks show up and 5 pounds won it thanks to the cold front that came through and dropped temps into the upper 20's lower 30's overnight. The weather has been up and down here lately. The winds have been up and blowing in the 30 MPH range with gusts into the 50 range. The temps have been up and down also. It is 80 degrees one day and the next it will be into the 40s. The water temp has been so up and down the fish probably don't know what to do. About a month ago the water temp was in the 64 degree range. I was at the lake Friday and it was between 57-61 degrees. I did manage to catch a couple of fish friday on an Xcalibur one knocker. Both fish that I caught absolutly destroyed it! I had a few more take a swipe at it and they thumped it pretty good too, but i couldn't hook up. I tossed a Carolina rig around for a little bit, but I have absolutly zero confidence in a C-rig. I have yet to catch a fish on it, but try to make myself toss it so I can get a little more comfortable with it. I did the same with a jig last year, and even though my confidence with a jig is no where where I want it to be, it is better than it once was. Maybe one day I will catch something on a C-rig and will start to build that confidence with it.
Well I have to try to finish some things on the house. We are going to try to sell it before I go off to the First Sergeant Academy. Yall have a good one!
Monday, March 9, 2009
#4 is in the books
Well Tournament #4 is over and done with. We had a poor turn out again. 5 boats and 3 non-boaters. It is not the payout that bugs me about that, it is the fact that we can't get max points. Guys can fish in a district that has 20 people show up every time and it is a max point tournament. We have 8 show up and the winner gets 187 points instead of the 200 for max turn out. You could win every tournament in your district and not be anywhere close to the top 10 in the nation. They only take your best 4 one day tourneys and the 2 day. But enough about that.
Well I got to the ramp and there was a line of boats 8-10 deep to get on the ramp. Turns out that there was two tournaments going on that day. I was the 8th boat in line to put in the water. It took me a while to find an open spot to beach the boat. We had our briefing and I drew boat #1 and also drew one of the three non-boaters. We headed out and the weather was just terrible. At 6 am the winds were all ready pretty steady at 15-18 MPH and gusting to about 20MPH. We made a quick run across the lake to a spot that I knew would just have fish stacked up on it. Well it turns out that I was wrong. The water temp was a nice 58 degrees, but as the sun came up I realized that the water was all churned up and it looked like Cholate milk. Well about 1 hour into fishing we decided to move and I guess the wiring from the GPS had fallen down and I kicked it loose. No GPS and couldn't get it fixed on the spot so went without it. As we moved to another spot I noticed that the trolling motor just didn't look right. Turns out that it wasn't right at all.
My co-angler caught a nice 2.8 pounder about 1030 and things were starting to look up. I caught a 10 pound drum on a brush hog a little later on. Finally about 1130 I caught a 3 pounder on a Red Eye Shad and dropped it into the livewell. The wind at this point was blowing about 25MPH and gusting to about 30 at times so I went to move the boat and kicked the trolling motor hard right to keep us out of the rocks. Well the trolling motor at this poin thought that it would be a good idea to try to swan dive off of the bow. Luckily I can still move pretty quick when I need to and kept it from going into the water. About a month ago I replace the bolt, washer, lockwasher, and nut combo that I had been using on the trolling motor with actual trolling motor shock mounts. Those things suck and I will never buy them again. The nut was still on it but the rubber that bunches up had broken and there was basically nothing holding the motor in place. So we went back to the dock and I put my trolling motor in the back seat of the truck and we were trolling motorless for the next 4 hours. I would drop the anchor but the wind would still drag me across the lake at 8 MPH it seemed. I did manage to catch 1 more short fish and James caught a huge white bass and a nice Blue catfish, but that was it.
It was a rough day for everyone. Every spot that you pulled up on had 4 boats on it and the fish were tucked up tight to the cover. Unfortunatley I had no trolling motor and couldn't fish that way. First place was 3 fish at 8 pounds and big bass was 5 something. I finished 5th and Mr Dean shaved 3 points off the lead I had built for AOY. It is now back to 1 point with 3 one day tournaments and the 2 day to go. I felt really bad that James had drawn me for that day, I felt like I hampered him more than helped him. He was a good sport about it and didn't seem bitter at all. Hopefully I can draw him again sometime and make it up to him.
I managed to get the GPS and the trolling motor fixed in about an hour or so on Sunday. It won't come loose on me again I can guarantee that. And if it does I have about 250 different size washers to re-mount it! Our next tourney is at the end on March at Graham and then we have one 7 April back at Arrowhead. My mom and sister are coming down for my promotion ceremony just before the Graham tournament. My wife wants me to sit it out, but my mom told me to go and have fun. God I love mom! Yall have a good one and take it easy! Until next time!
Well I got to the ramp and there was a line of boats 8-10 deep to get on the ramp. Turns out that there was two tournaments going on that day. I was the 8th boat in line to put in the water. It took me a while to find an open spot to beach the boat. We had our briefing and I drew boat #1 and also drew one of the three non-boaters. We headed out and the weather was just terrible. At 6 am the winds were all ready pretty steady at 15-18 MPH and gusting to about 20MPH. We made a quick run across the lake to a spot that I knew would just have fish stacked up on it. Well it turns out that I was wrong. The water temp was a nice 58 degrees, but as the sun came up I realized that the water was all churned up and it looked like Cholate milk. Well about 1 hour into fishing we decided to move and I guess the wiring from the GPS had fallen down and I kicked it loose. No GPS and couldn't get it fixed on the spot so went without it. As we moved to another spot I noticed that the trolling motor just didn't look right. Turns out that it wasn't right at all.
My co-angler caught a nice 2.8 pounder about 1030 and things were starting to look up. I caught a 10 pound drum on a brush hog a little later on. Finally about 1130 I caught a 3 pounder on a Red Eye Shad and dropped it into the livewell. The wind at this point was blowing about 25MPH and gusting to about 30 at times so I went to move the boat and kicked the trolling motor hard right to keep us out of the rocks. Well the trolling motor at this poin thought that it would be a good idea to try to swan dive off of the bow. Luckily I can still move pretty quick when I need to and kept it from going into the water. About a month ago I replace the bolt, washer, lockwasher, and nut combo that I had been using on the trolling motor with actual trolling motor shock mounts. Those things suck and I will never buy them again. The nut was still on it but the rubber that bunches up had broken and there was basically nothing holding the motor in place. So we went back to the dock and I put my trolling motor in the back seat of the truck and we were trolling motorless for the next 4 hours. I would drop the anchor but the wind would still drag me across the lake at 8 MPH it seemed. I did manage to catch 1 more short fish and James caught a huge white bass and a nice Blue catfish, but that was it.
It was a rough day for everyone. Every spot that you pulled up on had 4 boats on it and the fish were tucked up tight to the cover. Unfortunatley I had no trolling motor and couldn't fish that way. First place was 3 fish at 8 pounds and big bass was 5 something. I finished 5th and Mr Dean shaved 3 points off the lead I had built for AOY. It is now back to 1 point with 3 one day tournaments and the 2 day to go. I felt really bad that James had drawn me for that day, I felt like I hampered him more than helped him. He was a good sport about it and didn't seem bitter at all. Hopefully I can draw him again sometime and make it up to him.
I managed to get the GPS and the trolling motor fixed in about an hour or so on Sunday. It won't come loose on me again I can guarantee that. And if it does I have about 250 different size washers to re-mount it! Our next tourney is at the end on March at Graham and then we have one 7 April back at Arrowhead. My mom and sister are coming down for my promotion ceremony just before the Graham tournament. My wife wants me to sit it out, but my mom told me to go and have fun. God I love mom! Yall have a good one and take it easy! Until next time!
Monday, February 23, 2009
2nd at Graham
Well our 3rd tournament of the year is in the books. I will get to that in a minute. Unfortunatley the economy or something has hurt our turn out. Some folks that I have talked to that fish our deal pretty regularly have decided to start fishing a team tournament. I do understand why, our entry fees for an individual draw format both boaters and non-boaters is $70 per person. A lot of the team tournaments here are $70-100 per team. Each team member splits the cost and its cheaper. They also tend to have a larger turnout due to the split entry fees and the payout is larger. I understand that also. However you also must split any winnings with your partner. If those same individuals would fish with us, we too would have a larger turnout and the payout would be larger also, that you wouldn't have to split with a partner. Now ABA sets our entry fees, and there is no indication that they will be lowered. But.....and I do mean but, while fishing the ABA tournaments there is a very unique and a larger payout farther down the line. This year the top angler from each district via points has the chance to fish against the other top anglers in the national districts for a chance to win a brand new Triton boat valued at over $50,000. Plus you can fish in the national championship for a first prize of again a brand new Triton boat valued at over $55,000. There are no local team tournaments around here that allow you to get to that point here. But enough about that lets gget to the fishing at Lake Graham.
We had a big cold front move through on Saturday that brought colder temps and high winds. We were post frontal conditions come Sunday morning with a launch air temp of about 24 degrees. The water temps were in the upper forties in the morning and moved into the 52 degree range by noon. It was a beautiful day once the sun started to come out. It ended up around 66 degrees. The fishing was rough for almost everyone, there were no limits brought in and 6 pounds won. The fish were spread out and the keepers were hard to come by. I managed to catch my first keeper around 8AM. I thought that it was going to be a good day. My next bite came at noon. It was a nice 2 1/2 pounder that felt like a snag when he hit. I almost didn't know that there was a fish there, I thought I was hung up. I did manage to catch about 9 or 10 fish total on the day but managed only 3 keepers. In Texas that is a 14 inch minimum. The rest of the fish I caught were in the 13 1/2 inch range, but nothing very big. Big bass on the day was 3.60, the big bite just was not there. I did manage a 2nd place finish. Hopefully the next one on Lake Arrowhead on 7 March will get me that first ABA win.
It was a pretty good day none the less even with the small turnout. I think that our next tournament may have a larger turnout. We have a few folks come out for that one any time we are on Lake Arrowhead and they won't fish any of the other ones. This year we are fishing Lake Arrowhead 3 times and the 2 day championship is there as well. I like fishing Arrowhead mainly because it is only like 8 miles from my house so I get to sleep in for an extra hour. Well I hope that everyone is doing well and having some good fishing trips. It won't be long now and things will really pick up. Yall have a good one! Until next time!!
We had a big cold front move through on Saturday that brought colder temps and high winds. We were post frontal conditions come Sunday morning with a launch air temp of about 24 degrees. The water temps were in the upper forties in the morning and moved into the 52 degree range by noon. It was a beautiful day once the sun started to come out. It ended up around 66 degrees. The fishing was rough for almost everyone, there were no limits brought in and 6 pounds won. The fish were spread out and the keepers were hard to come by. I managed to catch my first keeper around 8AM. I thought that it was going to be a good day. My next bite came at noon. It was a nice 2 1/2 pounder that felt like a snag when he hit. I almost didn't know that there was a fish there, I thought I was hung up. I did manage to catch about 9 or 10 fish total on the day but managed only 3 keepers. In Texas that is a 14 inch minimum. The rest of the fish I caught were in the 13 1/2 inch range, but nothing very big. Big bass on the day was 3.60, the big bite just was not there. I did manage a 2nd place finish. Hopefully the next one on Lake Arrowhead on 7 March will get me that first ABA win.
It was a pretty good day none the less even with the small turnout. I think that our next tournament may have a larger turnout. We have a few folks come out for that one any time we are on Lake Arrowhead and they won't fish any of the other ones. This year we are fishing Lake Arrowhead 3 times and the 2 day championship is there as well. I like fishing Arrowhead mainly because it is only like 8 miles from my house so I get to sleep in for an extra hour. Well I hope that everyone is doing well and having some good fishing trips. It won't be long now and things will really pick up. Yall have a good one! Until next time!!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Boat is fixed
First I want to start out by thanking Progressive insurance. Even though the repair on my boat didn't cost what I thought it may cost, those guys made the whole process simple. Even when I cancelled the claim, they siad if it still aint right just let em know and they will open it back up. Thanks progressive.
Secondly I want to give a shout out to Larry's Marine (www.larrysmarine.com) particularly to Rodney the service manager. Not only were they quick in diagnosing the problem, but in getting it fixed and doing it for less than what was quoted. Including the day I dropped the boat off, it was fixed and back at my house within 5 working days. You guys over there rock!
So, since I had the boat fixed it only made sense to get it back out on the water. Plus I wanted to make sure it was all working before the Graham tournament next week. Well the weather here has been awesome the past few days. We have had highs in the mid to upper 70s. A guy I work with was out on the lake last weekend and said that in about 45 minutes he caught 20 fish that averaged about 4-5 pounds. Well the day I picked the boat up we had a huge rain storm come through. It was the same storm that spawned those tornadoes up in Oklahoma City. Well the next couple of days were pretty nice so on Thursday I went to the lake to run the boat. Well the boat shifts and runs like a champ. The surface temp on the water is sitting right around 54 degrees or so. The water was churned up a little bit from the heavy rain that we had. The wife had only given me like an hour or so to go run the boat so I didn't get to do much fishing (darn backlash) since I only had a rod or two in the boat. But I was really happy to see that the motor worked great.
Now I have the boat fully loaded and ready to go. So of course a cold front moves through last night. The temp is only about 33 degrees or so out right now. My wife and kids went to visit friends in Missouri this weekend and we have nasty cold weather come through. I am planning to head down to Lake Graham on Monday weather its cold or not to check it out. I haven't been there in about a year and the last time I was i goose egged. I am taking a buddy of mine down there for the first time. My usual fishing partner has moved on to do his year in Korea. When he rotates back stateside he will be in SOuth Carolina. In the mean time I need to find a new partner for the Wednesday night tournaments coming up in a couple of months.
Well yall take it easy and talk to you soon. I will let you know how the Graham tournament turns out. I hope to come out of there still hanging on to that slight lead in AOY points. It is currently at a 1 point lead, but Bob grew up on Graham so he may school me! Talk to you later.
Ren
Secondly I want to give a shout out to Larry's Marine (www.larrysmarine.com) particularly to Rodney the service manager. Not only were they quick in diagnosing the problem, but in getting it fixed and doing it for less than what was quoted. Including the day I dropped the boat off, it was fixed and back at my house within 5 working days. You guys over there rock!
So, since I had the boat fixed it only made sense to get it back out on the water. Plus I wanted to make sure it was all working before the Graham tournament next week. Well the weather here has been awesome the past few days. We have had highs in the mid to upper 70s. A guy I work with was out on the lake last weekend and said that in about 45 minutes he caught 20 fish that averaged about 4-5 pounds. Well the day I picked the boat up we had a huge rain storm come through. It was the same storm that spawned those tornadoes up in Oklahoma City. Well the next couple of days were pretty nice so on Thursday I went to the lake to run the boat. Well the boat shifts and runs like a champ. The surface temp on the water is sitting right around 54 degrees or so. The water was churned up a little bit from the heavy rain that we had. The wife had only given me like an hour or so to go run the boat so I didn't get to do much fishing (darn backlash) since I only had a rod or two in the boat. But I was really happy to see that the motor worked great.
Now I have the boat fully loaded and ready to go. So of course a cold front moves through last night. The temp is only about 33 degrees or so out right now. My wife and kids went to visit friends in Missouri this weekend and we have nasty cold weather come through. I am planning to head down to Lake Graham on Monday weather its cold or not to check it out. I haven't been there in about a year and the last time I was i goose egged. I am taking a buddy of mine down there for the first time. My usual fishing partner has moved on to do his year in Korea. When he rotates back stateside he will be in SOuth Carolina. In the mean time I need to find a new partner for the Wednesday night tournaments coming up in a couple of months.
Well yall take it easy and talk to you soon. I will let you know how the Graham tournament turns out. I hope to come out of there still hanging on to that slight lead in AOY points. It is currently at a 1 point lead, but Bob grew up on Graham so he may school me! Talk to you later.
Ren
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
I am sooo glad that I have full coverage insurance
Wow, what a weekend I had this past weekend. It was really nice weather, so I decided that I would take the boat out on Sunday for a little bit. I had fished for a couple of hours and was going to move from one spot over to another across the lake. I fired the big motor up and off I went. All of a sudden I felt a jolt and heard a big thum and the motor dies. I had hit something submurged in the water and killed the motor. I hit the key and the motor fired right back up but would not go into forward gear. Great!! I am about a 5 minute run at 50 MPH from the ramp. If I had to troll back I would still probably be making my way across the lake. I kept messing with it and finally got it to go into gear, so I ran back to the ramp and parked it and went to get the truck. When I got the trailer back down the ramp, the boat would not go into gear, so I had to ratchet it up onto the trailer. Got it up and looked at the prop and one of the blades on the stainless prop is bent.
I got back home and started researching lower units and realized that it was going to cost me between 700 and 2000 bucks for a rebuilt or a new lower unit. So now I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to cut some cost and do some of the work myself. I got to work and asked a guy that I consider my fishing mentor if he had ever removed a lower unit. He asked what happened and I told him and he said, "Reney, have you talked to your insurance about it yet?" Then it dawned on me, I have full coverage on the boat, they may cover that. So I called up Progressive and told them what happened and they told me it was covered and asked me when and where I was going to take it. I took the boat to Larry's Marine here in Wichita Falls and dropped it off.
I talked to the guys at Larry's today and they told me that they talked to the adjustor and he wants them to tear it down before they will work up the estimate. I have been told that I should have the boat back in time for the next tournament on February 22nd at Lake Graham. I really hope to have it back by the weekend before so I can get a little practice in first. I haven't been to Graham in about a year.
I am really glad that I had full coverage insurance on the boat. if there is anyone out there that is not sure on whether to have insurance or not, it is worth it when you need it. So just like your car, keep that boat insured!! Well until next time ya'll have a good one! GO DALE JR!!!
I got back home and started researching lower units and realized that it was going to cost me between 700 and 2000 bucks for a rebuilt or a new lower unit. So now I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to cut some cost and do some of the work myself. I got to work and asked a guy that I consider my fishing mentor if he had ever removed a lower unit. He asked what happened and I told him and he said, "Reney, have you talked to your insurance about it yet?" Then it dawned on me, I have full coverage on the boat, they may cover that. So I called up Progressive and told them what happened and they told me it was covered and asked me when and where I was going to take it. I took the boat to Larry's Marine here in Wichita Falls and dropped it off.
I talked to the guys at Larry's today and they told me that they talked to the adjustor and he wants them to tear it down before they will work up the estimate. I have been told that I should have the boat back in time for the next tournament on February 22nd at Lake Graham. I really hope to have it back by the weekend before so I can get a little practice in first. I haven't been to Graham in about a year.
I am really glad that I had full coverage insurance on the boat. if there is anyone out there that is not sure on whether to have insurance or not, it is worth it when you need it. So just like your car, keep that boat insured!! Well until next time ya'll have a good one! GO DALE JR!!!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Fianlly Got back on the water
Well last week I finally got back on the water for the first time in about 2 months. I played hooky from work after lunch last Friday and headed to the lake. My best friend is leaving for a year in Korea next week so we went fishing before he has to leave.
The weather was beautiful, it was sunny and air temp was about 68 degrees. The water was murky and the surface temp was about 45 degrees. The wind was out of the south at about 15MPH sustained with gusts up to 25 MPH at times. All in all it wasn't too bad. The boat fired right up and we took off across the water to one of the many spots on Arrowhead that has held fish in the past. We had the entire lake to ourselves as there was not another boat on the water that day.
The first few casts were rough. It seems that if you take a couple of months off of fishing you get a little rusty. We started out throwing Rattle Traps in about 8 feet of water. Now that 8 feet of water is normally about 15 or 16 feet of water. The lake is way down and I think it is only about 65% capacity right now. After throwing the Trap for a little bit and getting nothing I tied on a jig and started dreagging a jig for a little bit. That got me nothing, so we moved.
We moved to another spot that I haven't fished in a while and started dragging the jig with nothing taking. I went back to the rattle trap and almost immediatley got bit. Now I haven't set the hook on anything in about 2 months so naturally I missed him. Well I kept throwing the Rattle trap and got a few more bites. Even was hooked up with a decent bass and never got to set the hook on him. I had just ripped the bait up out of some grass and my rod tip was at about 11 or 12 oclock when he hit it and i started realing. He darted back for the brush before decideing that he didn't want that in his mouth anymore and spitting it out.
Long story short, we spent a few hours on the water, got a few bites, but didn't catch anything and still had a blast!! Well, yall have a good one and I will talk to you soon.
The weather was beautiful, it was sunny and air temp was about 68 degrees. The water was murky and the surface temp was about 45 degrees. The wind was out of the south at about 15MPH sustained with gusts up to 25 MPH at times. All in all it wasn't too bad. The boat fired right up and we took off across the water to one of the many spots on Arrowhead that has held fish in the past. We had the entire lake to ourselves as there was not another boat on the water that day.
The first few casts were rough. It seems that if you take a couple of months off of fishing you get a little rusty. We started out throwing Rattle Traps in about 8 feet of water. Now that 8 feet of water is normally about 15 or 16 feet of water. The lake is way down and I think it is only about 65% capacity right now. After throwing the Trap for a little bit and getting nothing I tied on a jig and started dreagging a jig for a little bit. That got me nothing, so we moved.
We moved to another spot that I haven't fished in a while and started dragging the jig with nothing taking. I went back to the rattle trap and almost immediatley got bit. Now I haven't set the hook on anything in about 2 months so naturally I missed him. Well I kept throwing the Rattle trap and got a few more bites. Even was hooked up with a decent bass and never got to set the hook on him. I had just ripped the bait up out of some grass and my rod tip was at about 11 or 12 oclock when he hit it and i started realing. He darted back for the brush before decideing that he didn't want that in his mouth anymore and spitting it out.
Long story short, we spent a few hours on the water, got a few bites, but didn't catch anything and still had a blast!! Well, yall have a good one and I will talk to you soon.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Holliday season over
Well now that the holiday season is over it is finally time to relax a little bit. My life has been pretty crazy since about mid October. I am currently in Phoenix visiting my wifes family. We just returned from a 5 day cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada Mexico. Unfortunatly I didn't get the chance to go fishing in Cabo like I had wanted too. But it was fun anyway. Now I am just waiting on my flight back to Texas and a day to relax before I go back to work on Monday. I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I am hoping that the weather in Texas will cooperate with me and allow me to do a little fishing here pretty soon. I haven't had my boat in the water in about a month and a half and it is killing me! I have ordered a few things from Cabela's and Bass Pro shops and my wife just can't understand why I keep buying fishing equipment even though I haven't been fishing. I told her it is like her shoes. She keeps buying shoes even though she can only wear one pair at a time. I think that may have helped her understand.
Well, hopefully I can get back home and do some fishing tomorrow. Our district's next tournament is at Lake Graham on February 22nd. Yall should come out and fish it if you can! Hopefully I won't get skunked out there. Graham and the winter time and me do not go well together. Last year I went down and practiced in the winter and caught some nice fish. But when tournament time rolled around the next week, i didn't even get a bite! We shall see what happens and I will let you know.
Here is to hoping that you all have a great start to 2009. Have a good one!
I am hoping that the weather in Texas will cooperate with me and allow me to do a little fishing here pretty soon. I haven't had my boat in the water in about a month and a half and it is killing me! I have ordered a few things from Cabela's and Bass Pro shops and my wife just can't understand why I keep buying fishing equipment even though I haven't been fishing. I told her it is like her shoes. She keeps buying shoes even though she can only wear one pair at a time. I think that may have helped her understand.
Well, hopefully I can get back home and do some fishing tomorrow. Our district's next tournament is at Lake Graham on February 22nd. Yall should come out and fish it if you can! Hopefully I won't get skunked out there. Graham and the winter time and me do not go well together. Last year I went down and practiced in the winter and caught some nice fish. But when tournament time rolled around the next week, i didn't even get a bite! We shall see what happens and I will let you know.
Here is to hoping that you all have a great start to 2009. Have a good one!
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