After the awesome time my partner and I had the week before during the day, we decided to do the first night tournament of the year. The results were just as amazing as the day. The carolina-rig bite once again was on fire all 8 hours of the tournament and it was just a matter of finding the right size fish.
We started in the same place we left off and the bites were instantaneous, unfortunately not the right size. We made a move and had out limit in a few minutes. We moved a few times before dark and upgraded every place we went. We proceeded to cull all night but only a few ounces at a time. It wasn't until we found a crankbait bite to make it a one-two punch. We caught a few key fish on the crankbait and kept culling with them as well as more coming off the brush hog. We caught fish until the very last cast which happened to be the difference as we caught out last cull of the night, which pushed us to our 10.1lb limit and a solid 3rd place finish. With the bite this good, 60-80 fish again, we are looking forward to more tournaments at Bartlett Lake this summer, especially once they raise the water.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Total Bass Addicts - Butch Nessline Memorial - May 7th - Bartlett Lake
Partner and I decided to fish the memorial tournament for a friend of ours that passed away few years ago. This tournament was an absolute blast. I do not remember the last time caught so many fish. We easily caught over 80 fish and we didn't want to come in. The carolina- rig was on fire!
We had no idea what to throw or where to go. We started in a summer time area and the fish just weren't having it. It took about 45 minutes to figure out that the fish were closer to the bottom and the Carolina-rigged baby brush hog was like candy to those fish. We proceeded to catch fish everywhere we went, and had to set the hook as early as possible because the fish were trying to swallow the bait. We caught them off the flats, the steep drop-offs, the ledges, rock piles etc.
We finished the tournament with 10.07lbs and finished 6th with 2nd place big fish. We couldn't wait to get back out and fish Bartlett some more.
We had no idea what to throw or where to go. We started in a summer time area and the fish just weren't having it. It took about 45 minutes to figure out that the fish were closer to the bottom and the Carolina-rigged baby brush hog was like candy to those fish. We proceeded to catch fish everywhere we went, and had to set the hook as early as possible because the fish were trying to swallow the bait. We caught them off the flats, the steep drop-offs, the ledges, rock piles etc.
We finished the tournament with 10.07lbs and finished 6th with 2nd place big fish. We couldn't wait to get back out and fish Bartlett some more.
Monday, May 16, 2016
JML Weekend Warriors - Central Arizona Teams - March 19th - Apache Lake
My friend and I decided to fish the JML tournament at Apache Lake since the fish were in all stages of the spawn, and that lake has some great largemouth and smallmouth fishing year round. Wow was it a fun day. We decided to run up river to see if a reaction bite was there or if the fish were still positioned in the channel. We found both but nothing of size and the channel fish just wouldn't eat. It was a great day. We were blind casting to dark spots which most seemed to hold quality smallmouth and also fan casting the deeper drops at same time, using dropshots. That 1-2 punch produced 40 fish or more and a mixed bag or largemouth and smallmouth. We never had a monster bite but we did weigh our 5 fish limit for 17.12lbs and a big fish of 3.88lbs. We took 9th place and a decent check, not bad for a last minute decision. I learned a ton from that trip from my friend and has an absolute blast while doing so.
Wild West Bass Trail Teams - Feb. 13th - Roosevelt Lake
Wild West Bass Trail is a new circuit this year and the production and backing is something the anglers have been looking for for years. My partner and I decided at the last minute to give it a shot since there is an off-limits of a weak prior to the tournament and we went through some major weather changes during the week and everyone will have to adjust on the day of.
First thing in the morning is was bone chilling, temps were in the 30's and ice was forming on the guides at times but the day would warm up to the 60's. We started close to the ramp on the Cholla side and through crankbaits and small swimbaits. The swimbait produced our first two keepers of the day. We decided to make a move and switch it up a little. We threw dropshots and carolina-rigged brush hogs. They produced our next two fish and we proceeded to throw them the rest of the day.
It was a tough day on the water but we missed the squarebill bite that people found in practice in the salt end, but we managed to figure a few things out and weighed 4 fish for 6.39lbs and finished 52nd out of 91.
First thing in the morning is was bone chilling, temps were in the 30's and ice was forming on the guides at times but the day would warm up to the 60's. We started close to the ramp on the Cholla side and through crankbaits and small swimbaits. The swimbait produced our first two keepers of the day. We decided to make a move and switch it up a little. We threw dropshots and carolina-rigged brush hogs. They produced our next two fish and we proceeded to throw them the rest of the day.
It was a tough day on the water but we missed the squarebill bite that people found in practice in the salt end, but we managed to figure a few things out and weighed 4 fish for 6.39lbs and finished 52nd out of 91.
MBC Super Teams - Feb. 6th - Bartlett Lake
Well I don't even want to relive this tournament. Bartlett is normally just a rat fest but can always catch a few fish but for some reason my partner and I left the lake wondering what went wrong.
The weather wasn't all that great to start, blowing 30-40+, and cold muddy rising water made the lake a little tougher but shouldn't have deterred us from a few fish. We fished all day with just about everything we owned in spots that have always produced and we only got one bite all day, which I proceeded to lose on way to the boat. I learned a very valuable lesson that day, never have anyone bring anything with banana as an ingredient, partner brought some awesome banana bread and it must have done us in that day! Never again!
The weather wasn't all that great to start, blowing 30-40+, and cold muddy rising water made the lake a little tougher but shouldn't have deterred us from a few fish. We fished all day with just about everything we owned in spots that have always produced and we only got one bite all day, which I proceeded to lose on way to the boat. I learned a very valuable lesson that day, never have anyone bring anything with banana as an ingredient, partner brought some awesome banana bread and it must have done us in that day! Never again!
MBC Seniors - January 16th - Saguaro Lake
My partner and I decided to go for broke in this one, and we ended up broke. We threw swimbaits all day hoping for the big bites we knew it would take to win. We had a few followers but none committed. We placed 24th out of 30 and are looking for a little redemption at the next one.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Germaine Marine - New Sponsor
I am happy to announce my new partnership with Germaine Marine. I have been doing business with this company since they opened their new location through my personal business, and they not only sell some top of the line boats, but their fiberglass shop is absolutely incredible and also have some of the best sprayed-in bed liners available. Also, if all things go right, there might be something new and exciting coming soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)