If not for the fish, it would have been a terrible day!

[cassidyta]

After a few flight delays, I finally got home from a work trip around midnight Saturday morning. I had a tournament starting at 0500 so I quickly got my gear ready and drifted up to sleep. It is never good on tourney day to see sun light when you wake up! A quick look at the phone showed me that my alarm was going off in silent mode and it was 0545. I contemplated going back to sleep but strted the day in 3rd place for AOY. I jumped up and loaded the boat and began the 30 minute drive to the lake. It was then that I realized I needed gas. Whether it was the fact that I was tired or too much in a hurry, I took the corner to the gas pump to sharply and managed to make solid contact with the concrete barrier protecting the gas pumps. I ended up denting the fender and shattering the whell bearing cover. A couple of swings with a sledge hammer had me back on the road. I launched at 0715 and made my way out to some spots. Of course, being 2 hours late meant that there were boats in most of the places I fish. The only good thing is that it forced me to really put some thought into where and presentation. We had a noon check in, so the clock was not my friend.
I decided to focus on the rock cliffs with jigs. This became the only productive bait of the day. I managed two solid fish between 0730-0900. I brought in 2 shorts and lost one possible keeper. I had just worked a bank and was turning th eboat around for a second pass when I noticed that my trolling motor didn't sound quite right. It is down right upsetting to pull up a motor and only see a propless shaft spinning.
Needless to say, this changed my plans for the final three hours. I tried running the main up to spots and drifting but this was a futile effort. I ended up having to find places I could tie off to trees. It didn't really matter since the first 2 keepers were the only ones I was able to weigh in.
So I ended up with 2 fish combining for a little under 7 lbs and a second place finish. I will be purchasing 2 TM props this week as well as a wheel bearing cover.