Here is the recap of my three practice days and four tournament days that lead to my fifth place finish in the BassMasters weekend Series National Championship. Before practice started I planned to find a shallow grass pattern focusing on the backs of creeks with baitfish or grass with the tell tell sound of bream popping/sucking mainly throwing frogs, swimbaits or wakebaits/shallow running crankbaits. I knew the bite was tough so I decided to shake off as many bites as possible, after catching one fish.
Practice Day 1: I started in the back of Browns Creek before the fog came up fishing in less than three feet of water. There was scattered grass and a lot of small to mid sized shad, Perfect. Ten minutes into chunking and winding a full sized Mann’s minus 1 in TN shad pattern I nailed a solid 2 1/2lber. So I decided it was time to cut the hooks the fish had the bait sideways in it’s mouth so I knew I had the right color. After fishing as far back as I could, without another bite, I started my way out following a small drop from 1 ½ ft to 2 ½-3 ft. Then I had three quick bites around a small rise bordered by 3 ½ ft of water, all of these bites were solid but the clipped hooks did their job. The time was around nine o’clock and I put the trolling motor up to 60% to cover water while I got out of the creek. I spotted a big stump and burned the wakebait past it and a 5-6lber inhaled it I had to let the fish jump four times before it was able to shake the hook less bait. After that I just marked stumps and thicker grass beds until I got out of the back of the creek. I came across a shallow flat that still had short grass and switched to a Strike King Wake Shad in Tn Shad to see if there were any fish active enough to chase and hit a bigger surface bait had four more bass 2-4lb smash it. I quickly moved to the milfoil beds looking for bigger fish and immediately had a 4 1/2 lber hit a 5.5 Strike King Shadalicous in Green gizzard hard enough to hook it’s self. I had two more bass grab the swimbait in another twenty minutes, shook them off. By now it is around eleven o’clock and it is time to vacate the area but not the creek I checked two shallow areas but the water was too clear making the bass too spooky too catch, my line laying on the water would spook’ em. By one o’clock I was in Honeycomb Creek and the fish did not cooperate. There were some good schooling fish but I didn’t want to chase them around, I had done that in the N.alabama BWS divisional and knew it wasn’t a solid pattern for me. At the end of the day I felt I had a one day pattern fishing shallow that could put up a solid 16-19lb limit. But I knew there was a cold front on it’s way and that the wind change and drop in water temperature could ruin that bite.
Practice day 2: I trailered up to Mink Creek Started out with the swimbait and immediately had one inhale it, I knew it was a big fish and shook it off. I spent the next three hours fishing scattered grass with the swimbait and matted grass with a frog, not a BITE. There wasn’t the slightest sound of bream in the thicker grass so I headed up to north Saughty. I started in the back in a huge lily pad field but after forty minutes I saw that the water had been dropped out and the fish with it. On my way out the bream were popping slightly in the grass lining the creek channel and I flipped up a 2lber on a Yum mighty bug. I shook off eight more bites before I got to the middle part of the creek, between the two bridges. I spent two hours fishing the milfoil in the middle of N. saughty to no avail. So I made a move up river to check some of the main lake flats and grass. I started punching thick hydrilla on the main river and came up with 2-3lb bass scattered along the line, I shook off six bites stuck two. I headed back down river to the grass slew across from water front only to find heavy slime on all the grass so a frog was the only logical lure to throw, but there wasn’t a peep out of those bream and no bass. That was the end of day two. At the best I had a 15-16lb limit but plenty of keepers who knows the size of the fish that I shook off. I did notice the I didn’t get many bites after I switched to throwing the swimbait on braid instead of fluorocarbon. This would lead to my undoing, I think, come tournament time.
Practice day 3: I ran over to Seibold Creek and started with the wind blown grass in the back of the creek after twenty minutes things didn’t feel right so I moves out the edge of the grass and started flipping and throwing the swimbait. I then remembered something I was told after North Alabama Bws divisional that a c-rig in Seibold was catching some good schoolies. I then rigged up the ole c-rig with a brushhog and moved out to the middle of the creek and started throwing to the submerged points and quick drops. I immediately caught a 3 ½ lb bass and my partner shook off three fish on a texas rig. I moved to the next point shortened my leader to 16in and started shaking fish off every cast. I checked six spots and shook off many bites. Despite my efforts a few bass still got hooked they ranged from 2-4lbs. By ten o’clock I had caught three bass and shook off more than a dozen bites and every spot I went had fish. I called it an early day and Knew there was a solid pattern.
DAY 1: After an eight minute run I came down off pad in Seibold creek and got my rods on deck, c-rig in hand. While moving into position I hand to laugh when my co-angler made a comment about how short of a run we made. I laughed again when I boated my first bass a 2 ¾ lber and the rest of the field was still taking off. The next three hours was spent catching and culling keepers, all on the brushhog. I had 16lb and change by ten o’clock and had only fish three points my co-angler had caught two keepers and a few shorts. I checked a couple of other points and caught two keepers but they did me no good so I headed for the grass to see if I could get that kicker. I started on a grass point with a quick drop throwing the 5.5in swimbait not five minutes into it a 6-7lber follows my bait out of the grass and I see it 10ft away from the boat after a couple of twitches the bass inhales and spits the bait twice before I can react. Now the bait is right beside the boat and I just let it drop with the pig following it down, I see my line jump. I set the hook fast and the bass jumps once beside the boat I holler NET!!!! The bass is now just laying on it’s side right beside the boat and as my co-angler jumps form the back deck to the front, net in hand, the bass makes a small jerk and comes loose. I hurts now just recalling it. I shake off the loss and get back to work. The wind changes form ne to nw so I reposition to fish the next point my co-angler has a big explosion on a buzzbait but the bass misses. A few casts later I lose contact with my bait and see a huge boil where it last was. I lead the fish till my line is tight and swing away my rod bows under the weight and then my bait flies through the air . After inspecting my bait I see the hook point never even came through the thin layer of plastic. SHIT. That two donkeys in thirty minutes I’m a little mad but get back to swinging. Three or four casts later a 3 or 4lber crushes my swimbait I swing like a pro baller after a tear on roids and break it off. We watch it go berserk underwater trying to shake out the hook and just laugh I think I was trying to kill it, that fish is going to have a souvenir for a while. Not wanting to beat up my point anymore we fish the grass the rest of the day with no more action. After the short run back and weigh in I happy to see that I’m tied with ninth place with 16.36,I think, but a little p.o.ed that I miss the chance to have 25lb. That night I switched to braid instead of 20lb fluorocarbon.
DAY 2: Before the start of day two I see on radar that there will be a break in the overcast sky this worries me because post frontal conditions usually mean trouble. I started the day on the same grass where I lost the toad the day before and on my 5th or 6th cast a large boil opened up just behind my swimbait but the fish wouldn’t strike, guess the braid kept her away. There was one other boat that showed up around one of the points but thankfully he was targeting the grass not the shell beds, he latter told me he saw what I was fishing and wasn’t going to encroach upon it and it he meant the whole pattern. So I moved to my most productive stretch that has three points and a sharp drop with a couple of scattered stumps and shell beds. The wind is blown 15-20mph out of the NW keeping me in bad position to fish my spots thoroughly I have to keep the nose into the wind with the back of the boat facing the structure. After a quick pass I have two keepers over 2lb and my co-angler has a 4lber and 1 keeper I decide it is time to throw the switch up a 1/2oz Picasso ft.ball shakeyhead with a Zoom mag trickworm in green pumpkin. This produces three quick keepers and fills out my limit by 10 o’clock. I decide it is time to tap a few of the other areas and lay off my primary spots it was a good move I broke out the trusty c-rig and made my way to a submerged point off an island that had the wind blowing across it. After working the whole length of the point I had a bite off the very end but it wouldn’t eat so I cover the brushhog with Fish Formula XXX Garlic scent and swung it out this time the bass tapped it once and then inhaled it. After landing the bass, which upgraded my weight a little more than 1lb, I threw a marker buoy then culled my fish. After re tying and moving back into position I caught another bass that culled again. I felt great making good decisions and having them produce not just fish but culling. I hopped I was on my way to another 15-16lb limit. I continued running my pattern and catching keepers culling my last 15incher off a stump on a grassy point but not hitting any 3+lbers. By late afternoon the bite had subsided and we strained water, my co-angler picked up his third and final keeper. I decided to go looking for another grass bite up in Seibold and came across the only grass that I had found with bream in it popping occasionally but to no avail ending my day with a little over 14lb. I was a little worried until I saw that I had moved up to 7th place and knew it was time to hit more of the untouched spots. I could barely sleep and the tension in my back and shoulders felt like a vise, a six pack didn’t do the job.
Day 3: It got cold, cold enough for me to put on shoes, and get ready for a slow grinding day but at least the skies clouded over, I felt good. I started back in Seibold on a point that I hadn’t made a single cast on and pulled up a 4+lber early in the morning and my co-angler caught two smaller keepers but the area died fast. I did a little searching with the c-rig until I got to my primary spot and the graph lit up with fish but we didn’t get a strike I tried the green pumpkin trickworm and nothing. I decided to change to a black mag trickworm and noticed my co-angler jigging his c-rig right behind the boat while commenting on all the fish on the graph. I got back on deck cast the blk worm out and started to reposition the boat slowly and saw a perfect thick arch on the graph right on the bottom, I said it looked like a 3 1/2lber. I moved forward keeping the big shakeyhead slowly dragging bottom and BAM I caught my second fish a 3 1/2lber!! After weighing and tagging it I fired a cast parallel to the drop and Pow another 3 1/2lber I thought it was on. After several non keepers I finally caught my next keeper just over 2lb. By then it was past noon and I went to try for a swimbait fish, get that kicker but ended up catching two non-keepers. We struggled the rest of the day to get bites my co-angler got his limit but I failed to put that fifth fish in the boat. I ended up having 14.01lb with 4 fish but I stayed in 7th place. Not bad not great.
Day 4: I was so ready for this tournament to end, the pressure was a living thing in my head. The only change I made was to put a redbug mag trickworm on. I started on an obscure point that had a large 13ft. deep flat before dropping into the creek channel and nailed a 3 ¾ lber on the c-rig I dropped a buoy and kept swinging for twenty minutes, nothing. I move to my primary point but started on the front side instead of the back and pulled a 3lber up on the redbug mag trickworm, feelin’ good. Made my way around the point and caught one more 3 1/2lber on the shakeyhead then it was time to strugglefor a hour or so. There was one more spot that I had ignored the whole time in the back of the creek a long grassy point that tapered off into 14ft. of water. I dragged the rig till I found some shell and THUMP a bass nailed the brushhog and was on the move ended up to be another 3 1/2lber. I got it in the live well and prayed for another got into position and got the fish I prayed for. I spent some more time there hopping my co-angler could finish off his limit there also but the bite was done. We moved to the grass one final time looking for that elusive pig that sow that might put me over the top, it didn’t happen. I caught a couple small fish and had one good fish swirl at the big swimbait but no good takers. I ended up weighing my best limit that day just under 16 ½ lb and moving me up to 5th. I did get to knock a good buddy of mine off the hot seat and stay there for two more anglers but was knocked off myself.
All in all it was a great tournament and a great finish sometimes they bite sometimes they don’t and when all else fails just do what you feel is the right thing, go with your gut. Best of luck.
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