What went wrong...

I've been reflecting since I got back and I can see a few of the major mistakes I made. Even before I left, I felt like if I could find dirty water I would be able to find some quality fish. I went all the way up into the river just like Fletcher Shryock did and I actually fished a small inlet that sounds similar to the area he said he caught most of his fish from. I spent about an hour in there and I saw no signs of bass. Judging by what he was able to accomplish, my gut was right but I didnt trust it. If I would have spent a little more time up there I may have been able to make it pay off but it just didnt happen. I have very little experience fishing clear water and I should have just accepted it as a weakness and tried to avoid it but I didnt. Instead I stubbornly told myself that I will figure it out and again, I didnt. Everybody says, "fish your strengths" I havent done that in either of the first two tournaments and it shows. I absolutely have to figure something out at Douglas that is all my own and nobody elses or I'm gonna get kicked again.

Day 2

If you are a child, please earmuff yourself. &%$#& ,&#$@, $##!, &%$%, &#@#, balls, halalujah, wheres the tylenol? First off, I have many excuses I could lay on you but if I said that is what kept me from catching fish, I would be lying. Excuse numero uno...The trim went out on my motor at 1pm, I consulted with some people about a possible fix (thanks again Boat Boys, you guys are the shizzle) and after riding around aimlessly for what seemed like hours, I found a boat that had the right sort of tool that I needed to make the fix (I have tools, obviously not the right one, but I will from now on). Excuse numero dos... All week long, the fish I was catching were not up and moving until late afternoon, I'm talking 2, 3 o'clock, that was great for me on the first day because I was last flight leaving the launch ramp which meant I didnt have to be back at the dock until 5:15. Today, I was first flight, which meant I had to be back at the ramp at 3:00. I know it doesnt seem like much but yesterday, I culled 3 fish out after 3:00 and really only caught 1 fish before 1:00. Add to that the insane coldness that started our day and you get slowly activating fish. Excuse numero tres... The spinning reel that I use for all things shakyhead blew apart on me about the 3rd cast. I know, I know, I'm supposed to have ten of them, I agree, if your name is Gerald Swindle or Roland Martin but I just dont have the cash or the backing to be able to have 40 rod and reel combos in my boat.

All this said, none of it kept me from catching fish, I just couldnt figure them out, I waited and waited for them to turn on for me and it never happened. I have no idea what I would have done differently, I didnt panic, I fished all freaking day, I actually checked in at exactly 3pm, my co-angler made the comment that it was the closest he has ever came to being late and it almost paid off, I caught a 13.5 incher (14 inch is keeper at this lake)at 2:55 about 2 miles from the check in. Not that it would have made much difference but it paints a nice portrait.

All in all, I sucked, plain and simple but I cant wait to give it another shot in june at Douglas Lake in Tenessee. By the way, its painfully clear that I need a new boat, hopefully this time next year I will be rolling in a new 20I and I will no longer have to worry about mechanical failures on the water, that shit is for the birds!

Late, S.T.P.

Day 1

Well....??? Thats what everyone says to me, wife, father, brother and freinds. It started terrible, didnt even get a bite at my first two areas, I then proceeded to a cove where I thought I could get a few off of some docks when I spotted her. 4lbs, nice big fat female chillin on a nice new warm bed. I have no idea where the buck was, never did see him. I dropped a shaky head worm on to her nicely made bed and she sucked it in as soon as it hit the blanket. I set a mad hook on her and she darted here and there before she shot out of the water. Thats when disaster struck, a few head shakes and that was all she wrote. I went back to her bed 3 times and all three times she saw me and would bolt for deeper water. Im praying she is still there when I go back tomorrow. After that, I regrouped, went back to doing what i knew would work and started catching some nice spotted bass. Alltogether about 10 keepers and 4 culls. I ended the day with 9 lbs in 74th out of 179. Im only about a 2 lbs out of the money right now and if I had caught that fish I lost I would be in the top 25. Hopefully I can do a little better tomorrow and push myself into the top 40, I need a check.

S.T.P.

Its upon me...

First off, cant believe none of you bastards have responded to the "comments" post but thats neither here nor there. Ive been practicing for the Lake Norman tournament since last friday and all I can say is I'm about as ready as I'm gonna be. I've caught tons of spotted bass but the size is not always there. Ive caught some really nice largemouth but the numbers are lacking. Ive got a ton of different ways I can catch the spots but I'm going to have to run through an insane amount of short fish to get a limit of keepers (14''). So far during practice I've been able to do that every day but when game day rolls around its usually a little more difficult. For those of you who want to know, a shaky head worm is freakin deadly on spotted bass, especially around submerged rockpiles in 15' of water. I caught the biggest one I have ever seen today, I just hope its willing to cooperate 2 days from now. I threw it on the measuring bored just to see how long it was, it was longer then my boared by about 3" and my bored is 18". I have no idea what it weighed but it was a beast. Im guessing close to 4 but I'm really not sure, the North Carolina state record is only 6 and some change. I hope that chunk is still there on thursday.

later
S.T.P.

Lake Norman...

Been packing all day, getting all the essentials rounded up and situated, got me a nice new mohawk haircut (B.A.S.S. might not like it so much) and I'm ready to hit the road tomorrow morning. My gear has been ready for weeks but I went ahead and checked everything over. Picked up a few swimbaits from Warrior baits, hoping they turn out to be my secret weapon (thanks Brandon Estep at Warrior). Also got a chance to talk with Larry Nixon last week at the Knox Marine open house (I was there representing Warrior). Larry is a legend, 2 angler of the year titles and a Classic Championship, one of the all time greats. He has a great track record on Norman and he gave me a few key spots that he says has quality fish, I plan on being all over those spots but I also have some ideas of my own. This lake is loaded full of boat docks and riprap, two things I feel suit my strengths. My traveling buddy from the last tournament has decided not to make the trip from Texas to North Carolina so I'm all by my lonesome again, gas prices are killing America. I wish I could get a truck that got about 35mpgs and still be able to tow my Skeeter. Completely rambling at this point, hopefully this time tomorrow I will be laying into some big spots and largemouths.

later
S.T.P.

Comments!

If you are reading this, comment! I want some feedback, I want to hear your opinions of what I am writing. I want suggestions, I want questions, I want anything. The first person that responds to this post gets a free fishing trip when I get back from North Carolina. Not that that is much of a prize, fishing with an unknown borderline wanna be pro bass fisherman but thats the best I can do and if for some reason you dont want to go fishing with me, give me your address and I will send you an autographed picture, lmfao!

Fishing the Flood...

Sarcastic fishing report: Target bass in the following areas during high water events. Largemouth bass can be had by fan casting a lipless crankbait through  parking lots with special attention being paid to the parking curbs (spot within the spot). Try flipping a jig to any steps leading up to peoples houses and apartments as well as steps leading up to businesses and restuarants. Carolina rigs can be ultra effective this time of the season as well, try dragging a lizzard down bike paths and flooded roads with special attention being payed to the bases of street signs and street light poles. Try slow rolling spinnerbaits (black is effective in high muddy water) around submerged cars and busses. Striped bass also seem to congregate near heavy traffic areas such as crosswalks and sidewalks. Crankbaits are great around bus stops and buss stations. Try plastic worms near floating debris.  Make sure to keep your trolling motor on high so you can cover alot of water using search baits to find fish fast, then slow down once you get on them. Happy fishing.

Boating on the EDGE!

In Ohio, we have to deal with lots of nonsense when it comes to boating. Standing timber, rocks, stumps, points and idiots on jet skis are among the many problems we deal with as bass fisherman and all that is magnified due to the minimal size of our lakes. When I arrived in Florida, one of the bits of advice I got from more then a few people was "dont be afraid to run in shallow water". Fair enough I thought, I can handle that, but it got driven into my brain even after I had accepted the fact that I have to be on plane no matter how shallow the water. Everyone that I talked to said "if you can see water, then you can run it", there is very little "no wake" zones down there and if you are idling around because the water is only a foot deep then your going to waste alot of fishing time. Again, you try this in Ohio and your lower unit is going to get confiscated by a stump at some point.

The place that I was heading to on the first day of the tournament is called Tiger Lake, its about 35 miles from the launch ramp and you can only get to it by running through a shallow creek that is about 20 feet wide but its about 2 miles long. If I were going to fish in Tiger Lake then I would have to run the creek on plane because if I didnt, I was going to lose about an hour of fishing time (30 mins in 30 mins out). I tried to explain to people what it was like and I really couldnt put it into words. Then my brother called me, he said "you got to watch this video of this jet boat".  This was me in Tiger creek on the first day of the Lake Toho B.A.S.S. southern open.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg0-Oq1F2qY

For all you musky hunters out there...

I am by no means a musky fisherman, I would never claim to be an expert at it, I would never claim to know what I am talking about when it comes to this particular species of fish. Having said that, I do enjoy when I happen to come accross one, or two, or six. A local lake near Columbus Ohio is infested with them, I personally think the musky population has hurt the smallmouth population in this lake but none the less, they rarely get removed from the lake and in fact, ODNR strives to protect these fish. I have no problem with that as, like I said, I do enjoy catching them. The reason I am writing this post is to let everyone reading know that if you want to hook into some of these beasts, Alumcreek is a great place to do it, especially this spring. Not to sound too much like a fishing report, because it isnt, I can however let you know what you need to catch these monsters. All you have to do is GO BASS FISHING! When the water temps get above 45 in the coves, go bass fishing. Throw stuff you would throw for bass, I promise you will catch them. Rattle Traps are my personal favorite but spinnerbaits, jigs and the such will work as well. Dont do anything special, dont use any special gear, just go bass fishing and when you see some guy out there with an ocean rod and a Mepps spinner the size of your leg tied on, try not to laugh so hard that he hears you. What fun is it hooking a big fish like that if all you do is winch it to the boat? You're normal baitcasters will handle them just fine and if you dont believe me.... that fish was caught on a medium action topwater rod with a black warrior baits buzzbait on 12lb mono.  JUST GO BASS FISHING!