LBL BFL #4 JULY 21

I found a new school in practice that I didn't think anyone had found. I caught a 4lber and a 6lber there the day I found them but it was a small school.  I stopped there this morning and they were nowhere to be found.  I headed on south and stopped on my only other school no one has been on and fished for over an hour and scrounged up two small keepers.  I finally got on another school after watching a boat fish them for an hour and a half but the fish were sitting about 50 yards from where that guy had been fishing.  I quickly caught a limit of 2.5lbers and decided to fish shallow bars and humps for a big bite the rest of the day.  I managed a 3lber off of one place and at 12:30 I popped a 6lber.  I ran back north to my starting spot in hopes they would be there and they were.  I knew with each big bite I'd move way up in the standings and I knew there were big fish in this school.  The fish were on the bottom in 21ft of water and I immediately caught a 2.5lber on a Strike King Bottom Dweller. I just knew I was about to be on but I never caught anything that would cull.  I weighed in 16lbs 4oz and finished 9th and my 6lber was good enough for big fish of the day.  This also moved me up ot 4th in the points so it looks like I'll be going to Pickwick in October for the regional.

Lady Bass Anglers Association KY Lake

I'm well past the half way point of my tournament season and it's unfortunately been a dismal 7 months.  It's been plagued by lost fish, close calls, people beating me to places I need to fish, equipment malfunctions, weather malfunctions and not one but TWO tooth aches that hindered my performance!  While some of these are uncontrollable variables that we all have to deal with, it's gotten me in such a funk mentally that I've reached a point where I know I'm not going to win because something is sure to go wrong.  We know how important confidence is in fishing and mine is all but gone!  The number of boats on the water and the amount of tournaments going on every weekend have made it nearly impossible to put a solid game plan together and I've had to make decisions on the fly and so far I've zigged when I should've zagged. 

I've managed 8 top 10's and 10 checks out of 18 tournaments but a large part of my income is based on tournament winnings and with all of the contingency money (Triton Gold, Boat U.S., Power Pole Captain's Cash, etc.) riding on a 1st place finish, the difference in 1st and 2nd is 10 grand or more.  Unfortunately the WIN has evaded me all season and my overwhelming desire to win has all but taken the "FUN" out of tournament fishing for me and I've considered taking a break from it.  I love the guiding part of my business, watching people get excited over catching fish has been the only thing keeping me going.

I'm not one of those people that just loves to be on the water, I just love to fish.  When the opportunity arose to drive the camera boat in the Lady Bass Anglers Association event on KY Lake I was a little hesitant.  If I'm not casting, catching or searching for fish, I'd rather be doing something else, so I wasn't real enthused about watching other people fish for 2 days but it was a chance to make a little money so I decided to do it. 

It ended up being just what the Dr. ordered and one of the few good decisions I've made this season!  It started with my being introduced to the "camera man" Larry Morris.  Larry is an outdoor writer, photographer, bait maker (River Runner Baits) and fisherman from Virginia who does the photography and PR for the LBAA .  Larry and I  got to know each other quite well the past 2 days.  Every once in awhile you meet someone who has a lot of the same views, beliefs and interests as you and Larry was one of those people.  We really hit it off and have already talked about working together in the future.

When we hit the water Thursday morning I was trying to get mentally prepared to spend a day on the lake without a fishing rod my hand which is something I've never experienced.  A couple of the lady's stopped close to the launch and we shot some pics of them and saw a few fish being caught which was pretty cool.  I kept my distance from the first two so we didn't bother them while they were working.

Our 3rd stop was the legendary Emily Shaffer.  When we pulled up to Emily she started trolling towards us and casting at my boat.  I was afraid I'd gotten too close and interfered but she was actually wanting us to come closer so we could get some pics of a couple of nice smallmouth she'd just caught! It surprised me that she would take the time to do that and it was very gracious of her.  I've known of Emily forever but had never met her and after just 20 minutes with her we were cutting up like we'd known each other for years.  She was very personable and I learned quickly why she's been as successful in the industry as she has. 

The 4th stop was Lisa Johnson and her co-angler Kim Giddens.  We actually ran into them twice that day and Lisa had a smile on her face the entire time.  Lisa had one rod on the deck and said she was going to do what she liked to do, have fun and that's all that mattered. She was cool, calm and collected and I was truly inspired by her attitude and the way she handled herself.  She rode that  attitude to the day 1 lead with 16lbs.

I can't break down every single angler we watched, but long story short, they were all great in every way.  Not only in their fishing ability but more importantly their attitudes.  They were out there working hard, catching fish and every one of them taught me how to do something I've somehow forgotten.....to  HAVE FUN! 

I would've never dreamed I would've gotten so much out of 2 days on the water not making a cast or turning my electronics on.  I'd like to thank my new friend Larry Morris just for being the kind of person he his, the LBAA for the opportunity to help them out and most of all the lady anglers for treating me like I was one of the family and especially their outlook on the sport.  It was refreshing, inspiring and it couldn't have come at a better time!

THANKS!


LISA JOHNSON, "THE INSPIRATION" Photo courtesy of Larry Morris

KY LAKE JULY 10, 2012 SCOTT AND DAVID

I had an awesome trip today with my friend Scott Thompson and his dad David.  Scott wanted to give his dad a ledge fishing trip for Fathers Day because he had never had chance to fish offshore and we worked hard to make it a trip David would remember.  It was a slow go for the most part as the cloudy skies,while comfortable for us, had the deep water fish scattered and on the move chasing shad most of the day.  We did manage a head on collision with a few river ledge schools and made the most of what we had to work with.  We ended up with about 30 keepers including a 4.5lber and a couple handfuls of 3 to 3.5lbers.  Scott's dad popped a nice 6lb largemouth just to remind us who this trip was about! Nice job David! 

The fish were as picky as I've seen them in a while and it seemed like every school had a different bait preference.  One school wouldn't flinch unless you slow rolled a 3/4oz. Strike King Pro Model Spinnerbait, another school would smoke a 4" Sexy Spoon but wouldn't touch the 5" and the next school was just the opposite.  We hit another school that were on a Shadalicious diet and of course the football jig/ Rage craw did it's share of damage throughout the day.

Great day on the water with two great guys! Enjoyed it guys, thanks!

BASSMASTER WEEKEND SERIES #3

I spent some time in the grass on south KY in practice and it was horrible for me.  I decided to stay with the schools and shallow stump fish in the tournament.  The stump fish didn't cooperate but I managed 14.77lbs out of the schools and finished 12th.  I only had one good bite all day and it was a 5lber that ate a Strike King Shadalicious on my first cast on my last stop of the day.  I've got to figure out a way to catch the bigger fish.  I thought the grass would be the answer but it's so inconsistent, there has to be a better way.  I've got some ideas and some time before my next BFL July 21st so maybe I can come up with something.