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'!!
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