1st Tournament is in the books

[carolina-rig-01]

We had our first club tournament this weekend and although it didn't exactly go as I would have liked, it still went better than I expected after pre-fishing Friday. Friday my dad and I prefished (my wife is my partner and dad fishes the club with my cousin), and pre-fishing was less than encouraging. I caught one good fish on a Rogue in about 5 feet of water on some riprap, had one fish crush a jig on a hump in about 9 feet of water and that was it for the day. There were a few places that I didn't fish Friday because I knew that I was going to hit them Saturday regardless of what I found there Friday so pre-fishing would only do me harm on those spots. Saturday Britney and I hit one of the points that I left alone on Friday and not a bite. So we pulled the ears back on the Triton and made a fairly long, cold, and exciting run across some big water to the under water hump that I got the jig bite on Friday, but nothing. It's worth noting that the places I got bit on Friday muddied up a little overnight and the water temp dropped about 2 degrees which is a big deal this time of year. So we hit a few other places I saved and left alone on Friday and still hadn't caught a fish, or for that matter had a bite. I knew a few guys in the club jacked them pretty good on Friday so I was hoping that either they wore their spots out or maybe things changed on them from the fronts rolling through. We finally figured something out but it was too late in the day. I caught a good 3.5lber on a Rogue on a secondary point in the wind that was at the mouth of two spawning coves, a few casts later I caught another keeper. We beat that are to death trying to squeeze all we could out of it but that was all she was giving us. I knew of several secondary points that were similiar in the area so we started running them. Britney lost a good solid keeper at the boat on a Powerworm. I really thought that a Powerworm this early in the year was a waste of time but that is Britney favorite bait so I thought if that's what she wants to through then let her have at it, you could imagine my suprise when she had that fish on lol. The thing we ran into was that we needed secondary points that were small chunk rock with spawning areas behind them. These points needed wind on them, needed the water be at least fairly clear, and at least 52 degrees. The problem was that the water color would change 10 times in a quarter of a mile and there was no rhyme or reason to water temp, one spot would be 48 degrees and the next cove down would be 53 degrees. Anyways if I would have figured this out on Friday then we could have spend all day Friday and also Saturday running and looking for areas that fit the bill. But we figured it out too late and ended up with our two fish. However all the guys that jacked them on Friday struggled a little more on Saturday. We missed 2nd place by 10oz, missed 3rd place by 6oz, and missed Big Bass by 4oz. Britney felt horrible about losing that fish at the boat and I kept telling her "it was fine, don't let it get you down" and "that it was all part of fishing". "It could have easily been me that lost it", and anything else I could think of telling her to make her feel better but honestly that keeper she lost hurt us bad. But that's how it goes sometimes and we still had fun, and at the end of the day I still got to spend a great day on the water with my wife. This is what I like about fishing club events, they are more geared towards having a good time and that is a nice change of pace from the big money events I fish.

[MIbasser]

C-rig, I give you a lot of credit to be able to tournament fish with your wife. That's a sign of a strong marriage.

As for the secondary points, with the muddy/temp change does the body of water you fish have a river or creek that winds through it?

Well, go get 'em at the next one (only 8 weeks until my first tournament).

[bamabassman]

man.....been waiting on a FULL report of this. thanks kory. you tell britney she did WONDERFUL job from me ok? but i got to say this kory...if LISA was in the boat, her and britney would've won it all man, lol. kidding ok? i love reading aobut you 2 going out and having a great time. we went saturday afternoon too. lisa caught her first bass of the year while i laid a big ol goose egg, hahaha. but like oyu said and this is how i feel.......a bad day fishing is better than a great day at work. especially if it is spent with your wife. and among friends too.

[Jrob78]

Sounds like a tough day on the water but there will be plenty more fishing days to make up for it. At least you figured out a pattern and had some luck.

I hope you know how lucky you are to have the relationship you do with your wife. A lot of guys use fishing as an excuse to get away from their wives. It's awesome to see that in this day in age.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

C-rig, I give you a lot of credit to be able to tournament fish with your wife. That's a sign of a strong marriage.

As for the secondary points, with the muddy/temp change does the body of water you fish have a river or creek that winds through it?

Well, go get 'em at the next one (only 8 weeks until my first tournament).

It actually has 2 main rivers that feed it and then several bigger creeks as well as tons of feeder creeks. The problem with being able to guess what the water would look like or what the temp would be in a cove a few miles away is that you can't account for all the feeder creeks and what ones would be running water and what ones wouldn't be. It was just a matter of covering lots of water to find what you were looking for. Possibly we spent too much time in the area that I caught our 2 keepers in (Britney did catch a short fish on a Rogue in there as well) but with not being able to get anything going anywhere else I thought if we spent enough time grinding it out the area might give up a few more fish because I was graphing a lot of fish suspended off the point. The suspended fish wouldn't bite but with the sun trying to pop out once in a while I thought that if the sun did come out the suspended fish may move up for us, it just never happened.

A few interesting notes though. The tournament was won by a team that was throwing Jackall crankbaits behind docks. This is a good pattern on this lake but it usually doesn't come into play until the water starts crowding 60 degrees and I just overlooked it as a possibility.........lesson learned.

Also leading up to the pre-fishing day I was kinda hoping for some dirty water because I knew the fish would be fairly shallow and I was thinking that if the water had some color it might give us a flipping and pitching bite, which is one of my favorite ways to fish. Pre conceived notions can kill you because we couldn't find any kind of bite in the dirtier water, even though it was a little warmer in most places.

Oh well we are in 4th in Angler Of The Year after one event so it's not all that bad. And we are heading into my favorite time of the year so I am still pleased to be where we are in points because I figured we would take a beating in this tournament.

[dave0943]

Hey, at least you had a good time and went fishing. We've got a foot of ice yet! My first tourney here is in May. About a power worm, I've found that they do work in cold water.
I've nailed smallies on them in April. Your wife seems pretty savy! Thanks for the post.