MBC Seniors Championship - May 30th & 31st - Apache Lake

Well it was that time, championship weekend. with the tournament we had a few weeks prior my partner and I had high hopes the bite would stay similar and we would just need the size to come back. The weather changed to a week of serious heat so we were hoping the steep bite would be even better.
We launched out boat 20 and headed to the same area we had started on and within a few minutes we had our first keeper. We also had a few big fish follow and bump a swimbait but just not connect. With a few fish in the well we ran our other patterns and areas but the bite just wasnt the same. We caught a few small keepers and had our limit and ended our day where we started which produced a few more bites and a cull or two. We ended our day with a limit of 10.47lbs and needed a big second day, which we knew was possible.
Day 2 we ran to the same area as the previous day and once again had a fish in the boat within a few casts and then finally got another to eat a swimbait, which unfortunately was only a 3.38lb largemouth. After fishing down the same bank and having 10 or so fish follow the swimbait but not eat it we decided to run our steep & deep pattern. We fished throughout the day and our steep drop off bite was gone. We caught a few unders which just made it more frustrating knowing how hard it was in the 100+ heat. We once again finished where we started and caught another keep. We finished the day with 3 fish for 7.53lbs and ended up in 22nd place with a total of 18.00lbs.
Looking back I missed the keys to unlocking the correct pattern. The area we caught the majority of our fish in practice was on the steep cliff walls and points but with the heat the fish left those areas and buried themselves in the deep grass. The area we caught most of our keepers and missed a few bites had good drop offs and deep grass. I failed to connect the dots until it was too late and it cost us a chance at the championship. It is a lesson learned, these Florida strain laregemouth like the grass more than the previous breed we fished for and will be a main focus from now on. I also remembered what it was like to sleep at the Ranger Suite, was a first in a long while.

MBC Super Teams Championship - May 15th & 16th - Apache Lake

My partner and I went out to prefish the week before and the weather was beautiful, high 80s light winds off and on. I did have motor issues first things so we just covered water back to the ramp with the trolling motor for miles. We had an awesome day with over 17lbs in the boat and lost a few big fish that would have put us over 20lbs. It was practice so at least we knew what to do. We went into the championship with a solid pattern but the weather was going to play a major factor. A severe cold front with rain and massive winds were going to hit us both days. We decided to stick to our game plan and hope would pay off.
Day 1 we started at the same area as in practice and within a few minutes we had our first keeper. We kept working down the bank and had 2 in the boat and made our first move to another secondary point. First cast and another keeper. We worked just the inside and outside of each corner going into the coves and we were culling by 8am. We moved all across the lake culling up all day long throwing jigs, dropshots, wacky rigs, and shakey heads. We caught close to 40 fish during the day even in the 50+mph winds that we suffered through the last 3/4 of the day. We didn't have the big bite we needed but we were still close to the leaders who only had 6 bites all day.
Day 2 we went with the same game plan. With the rain and wind were knew had to make small adjustments so we downsized to keep the bites and once again we were culling before 8am. Again we caught fish after fish looking to upgrade. We had 5 solid 2 pound fish but we knew we were going to need 17-20lbs. We saw our friends who were leading it and they only had 3 fish with an hour to go. We knew we had a shot and we once again went through 40+ fish but never the ones we needed.
We weighed in 10 fish for 22.44lbs and finished in 15th place. Our friends followed our pattern and caught 2 big fish at the very last minutes of the day and won the championship. Congrats to them and looking forward to night tournaments coming up.

MBC Super Teams - April 18th - Roosevelt Lake

This was the last tournament of the regular season and of course another post frontal with 3 previously cold days dropping the water temps over 5 degrees. The forecast was a gorgeous morning with nasty winds later in the day. The lake is in a weird spawn post-spawn time due to the stained water and quick warming water. We decided to cover water early with topwaters and swimbaits hoping to find the shad spawn going on like it was during practice.
Within an hour I knew the morning bite was going to be tough, I could watch fish darting after the swimbait and following it and not committing and also the shad were gone. After awhile with nothing to show we made a run to the Tonto end of the lake where I hadn't fished in years. We found some fish on beds and had two in the boat rather quickly. We did find others that would have helped but they just weren't quite ready to go yet. We ran further down lake but the water was bloomed out and made it tough to see and water was surprisingly colder. We fished our way back on every drop off but without any luck. We moved to our pre-spawn area from prior months and thankfully it produced some fish. We filled out our limit within an hour and were culling even in the 20-30 mph wind while dragging Carolina-rigs.
We finished with a limit for 9.71 and a big fish of 3.23 and placed 12th. We once again never had the big bite but did find some quality fish going back to the basics. The championships are in May and a lake that can put out some big bags or humble you, hopefully we figure it out before its over.

MBC Seniors - March 7th - Bartlett Lake

Once again another post front tournament with seriously rising water. The water rose close to 3 vertical feet while we were fishing during the tournament. We started in the clean water near the dam and I just couldn't get a bite to hookup early. The fish were just slamming the bait on the drop-off we were fishing but not holding onto it very well. We did catch one off the area but was hard to stay with the strong early winds. Once it slowed a little we moved repeatedly covering water with reefs and drop-offs. We caught a few more fish but most were short. We decided to move back to where we started and fish inside to cove instead of the break line, it was a great move. We caught out 5th keeper and proceeded to cull by "video-game" fishing. We just paid attention to the graph and could tell when a school moved in deep which produced some nice fish. We culled up to 8.68lbs with another cookie cutter bag. We never got the big bite we needed and with ounces mattering we finished 25th. Thankfully there are no more tournaments at Bartlett Lake until summer time, the lake needs time to stabilize from the water and mud influx.

MBC Super Teams - Feb. 21st - Roosevelt Lake

Well with the last tournament behind us at Roosevelt, we had some hope with the lake clearing up some, but we knew to avoid that muddy water. The weather was another post frontal sunny day so we decided to start shallow early and deeper as the day went on.
We started in the area we finished weeks before which yielded one small keeper. We made a move which then produced within a few minutes. From that point on, the bite was fairly consistent. We got onto a Carolina-rig bite that was just a blast. My partner tried throwing a deep crankbait hoping for a kicker for most of the day it just never happened. We covered a few spots in a couple hundred yard stretch that produced 20-25 fish, and a few misses, on baby brush hogs. The fish were nearly ripping the rod out of our hands. We culled most of the day and culled up to a cookie cutter bag of 9.98 for 5 fish with the smallest at just under 2lbs and the biggest barely over 2lbs.
We never got that kicker pre-spawn female but wasn't from a lack of trying. We finished in 11th place and had an absolute blast fishing.

MBC Seniors - Feb 7th - Roosevelt Lake

With the recent heavy rains and muddy rising water, we knew the tournament would fish tough for us. The weather was post frontal and all sun, which didn't make it much better. We made a run to an early spot that produced two bites but neither hooked up. That was the majority of our action until the last hour of the day. We made a move near the ramp and threw deep crankbaits and Carolina-rigs which produced 6 fish for us, only three keepers, the biggest weighing 2.96. We weighed in at 5.44 for 3 fish and finished a lowly 27th. It was a learning experience dealing with rising, cold, muddy water, not a normal occurrence here in AZ.

MBC Super Teams - January 24th - Bartlett Lake

I was looking forward to a little redemption with the poor showing from last tournament, so the game plan was to sit at the mouth of the river with a few other boats and try to get a decent finish. We were fishing post frontal conditions and blue bird skies so we knew going into it we were going to have to keep our heads down and grind all day to get it done, especially with the water temp at 51 degrees.
We got into the river and fell in line with the other few boats that were there, it didn't take long to get first bite, but being a little over anxious, I set the hook a little to hard and snapped it off. It wasa little discouraging but at the same time we knew the fish were there. We fished the next few hours with a few bites and a few fish but only one keeper to show for it. The wind was picking up and we made a move to some deeper points and reefs. Once again we started getting bites but no size. The day was fun but we struggled to find those bigger bites again.
We weighed in one fish for 1.56lbs but were still able to finish 30th, it was a struggle for a few teams it seems. After being so dialed in on Bartlett for weeks, this new year has me struggling without knowing why. Just have to keep at it, and things will come together. At least it was agreat day on the water and another learning experience.