What a Difference a Day Makes - Part II
Apr 18, 2016 16:44:38 GMT -5
jb4sml, seajay, and 3 more like this
Post by R22 on Apr 18, 2016 16:44:38 GMT -5
First, I want to give a big thanks to Mike and Tyler for their work on The Striper Mafia Tournaments. From the outside looking in, it seems pretty simple but I cannot imagine the time and preparation it took to pull off such a nice series or tournaments, and you did it on the first try.
It goes back a week but my buddy and I skunked on the day of the tournament. Leading up to the tournament, I didn't expect to win but I was hopeful. I am competitive and I know it takes preparation and practice. It was a humbling experience but I enjoyed it. Like others have said, weather wise it was a rough day. I congratulate all of you that had a successful day and series. Watching many of the same people perform well with each tournament just makes me better understand that I need to practice a little more. Still, the best part of the entire tournament was when young Mr. Lawrence gave his new rod and reel to young Mr. Baumgardner. I will tell that story to my grandchildren.
Sunday, April 10th
I slept in but wanted to fish. Skunking in the tournament was no fun. I headed out sometime around 9 am. Bait was fairly easy. I didn't plan to fish long, I had seven baits to start the day. I ended up with six fish ranging from 29 to 38 inches and everywhere in between. The 38 incher, sort of guessing at the length as my measuring device only went to 36 inches, was my personal best. Fishing today seemed easy, busy from start to finish. I think I quit around 1 pm.
Saturday, April 16th
I didn't fish - Yard work. I did go out around 5 pm on a bait run. My structure scan is out - I felt lost. I spent a couple of hours looking for flips and throwing blindly in areas that I knew had recently been holding bait but came up with nothing. I didn't see any flipping the entire time. I was able to find what seemed to be small bait with sonar but even it was very deep. I had no idea that how much I relied on my electronics until I didn't have it. I placed my light out at my dock and was able to catch some decent ales around 3:30 - 5 am.
Sunday, April 17th
SeaJay texted me on Saturday evening and wanted to go along. He is such a great guy. If I am going, he is always welcome to go along. We headed out about 6:15 and fished a creek that was very productive the past weekend. Early on, we broke one off on a knot. I have had this happen several times recently. I have got to be better and more deliberate with my knots. We found a decent number of fish but only got what SeaJay called a "Bucket Mouth" in the boat.
Mid-morning, we went to the back of that creek and were able to gather about a dozen moneymakers in 5-15 feet of water. I wish I could tell you the bigger bait made a difference but it didn't.
We ended up calling it and heading in mid-afternoon. It was a beautiful day. Boat traffic really picked up this weekend and will only get worse.
It goes back a week but my buddy and I skunked on the day of the tournament. Leading up to the tournament, I didn't expect to win but I was hopeful. I am competitive and I know it takes preparation and practice. It was a humbling experience but I enjoyed it. Like others have said, weather wise it was a rough day. I congratulate all of you that had a successful day and series. Watching many of the same people perform well with each tournament just makes me better understand that I need to practice a little more. Still, the best part of the entire tournament was when young Mr. Lawrence gave his new rod and reel to young Mr. Baumgardner. I will tell that story to my grandchildren.
Sunday, April 10th
I slept in but wanted to fish. Skunking in the tournament was no fun. I headed out sometime around 9 am. Bait was fairly easy. I didn't plan to fish long, I had seven baits to start the day. I ended up with six fish ranging from 29 to 38 inches and everywhere in between. The 38 incher, sort of guessing at the length as my measuring device only went to 36 inches, was my personal best. Fishing today seemed easy, busy from start to finish. I think I quit around 1 pm.
Saturday, April 16th
I didn't fish - Yard work. I did go out around 5 pm on a bait run. My structure scan is out - I felt lost. I spent a couple of hours looking for flips and throwing blindly in areas that I knew had recently been holding bait but came up with nothing. I didn't see any flipping the entire time. I was able to find what seemed to be small bait with sonar but even it was very deep. I had no idea that how much I relied on my electronics until I didn't have it. I placed my light out at my dock and was able to catch some decent ales around 3:30 - 5 am.
Sunday, April 17th
SeaJay texted me on Saturday evening and wanted to go along. He is such a great guy. If I am going, he is always welcome to go along. We headed out about 6:15 and fished a creek that was very productive the past weekend. Early on, we broke one off on a knot. I have had this happen several times recently. I have got to be better and more deliberate with my knots. We found a decent number of fish but only got what SeaJay called a "Bucket Mouth" in the boat.
Mid-morning, we went to the back of that creek and were able to gather about a dozen moneymakers in 5-15 feet of water. I wish I could tell you the bigger bait made a difference but it didn't.
We ended up calling it and heading in mid-afternoon. It was a beautiful day. Boat traffic really picked up this weekend and will only get worse.
