OK, this should kill a little time for all you guys bored out there. My travel partner Ben Felton and I drove down on Fri night.We would be staying at Big Bear resort with Randy Ramsey and Brian Clark. We hit the water Sunrise on Sat for 5 days of practice. Ben was very prepared with a thick notebook of notes from research.
The first day we got thru about a third of the stuff he wanted to check. With only 3 keepers and maybe 8 to 10 bass total. Fishing was very TOUGH. The next two days was more of the same, 8 to 10 fish with only 1 or 2 keepers. We were catching most of our fish on Cranks,Jigs and topwater.
Tues we got tired of Ky lake so at 10:30 we loaded up and went to Barkley. In the 4 hrs we were there we caught 6 fish with 2 keepers. One was a 4lber caught off some riprap on a spinnerbait. So that gave Ben a backup area.
Day one of the tourny I was paired with an old Mi division BFL angler some of you may know, Ed Moravec. After a 35 min run to the Blood River we pulled up to a rocky bank with a rocky point on each end. Ed said the fish had the shad pinned on the bank and were feeding in practice. We went down the bank throwing cranks and got to the end with no fish. We turned around and started back down the bank and Ed pulled a shakey head out of the rodbox. After a few minutes he hooks up with a short which has me reaching for mine. We procede to catch a couple more shorts each.
We turn around again and start back down. When we get to the middle section the has a steeper slope to it I pull out the Beaver. A couple casts later and I loose contact with my bait. I set the hook into a good fish. Ed gets the net and I have a keeper in the boat. I know every keeper will be like gold in this event and that many co- anglers will zero both days.
When we get to the end this time we jump across the cove to the next point. We catch a couple more shorts and make our way back. Again in the steeper section I am hopping my beaver down the bank and get a solid thump. I set up into a better fish and after a short tussle get it in the net. I am really happy to have two keepers but I know three will be fantastic. When we reach the point on the end Ed sets up with his Texas rigged tube into a good fish that ends up weighing 3lb 10 oz.
Again in the steeper section I get a good thump Here it is that important 3rd fish. I get a solid hookset, darn it's a Drum. We try some spots on the LBL side and on our way back to the launch but can't get any more keepers. I end the day with 4lbs 7 oz and 16th place.
Day 2 I am paired with Randy Ramsey Jr. No relation to my cabin mate. He and his co each caught 3 the first day which is a good thing. Randy is fishing three small coves and a rocky bank a couple miles down the lake. We get to his starting spot which they caught 3 keepers out of late in the day on day 1. He expects it to be better later when the shad get active but hopes to get a bonus fish early. I do hook up but it ends up being a catfish I snagged in the back.
The second cove Randy catches a couple shorts on a chatterbait. I snag another catfish what the f. The third cove he catches a keeper and a short. We start rotating thru the spots with only a couple shorts to show for it. We do notice that if we are near a fish that blows up on a shad if we get a bait in the area quickly we can get it to hit.
We decide to change it up and fish a nearby point he caught a keeper on in practice. Randy is throwing a shakey head and sets into a solid fish that pulls off after a couple cranks. He casts back and the same thing happens again. We rotate thru all the spots again, nothing. He decides to fish the point again. I throw a shakey head to the point and stop to take off my sweatshirt.
When I get the rod back in my hands there is a fish on there. It is a short but in hindsight it seemed to stir things up. The shad get very active and bass start blowing up on them. We catch a few more shorts by random casting and by throwing to blowups. We are catching them now on Rattletraps, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and swimbaits.
One fish that seemed to be a little better has blown up three times in the same vicinity near the point. I start throwing my spinnerbait in the area over and over and over. After about 30 casts, its on. We get it in the net, I unhook it and put it on the board. YES it's 16 inches. I know that that is enough for a check and one more I could make the top 12 cut.
Randy needs another one for a check and 2 more to have a chance at the cut. The fish activity has slowed way down with no more blowups and the shad settling down. We fish hard till the end but catch no more keepers. I end up with a 6lb 12 oz total good for 17th place but I miss the cut by 1lb 1oz. So close, but I realize I was lucky to catch what I did. It was a very good week. During the week we saw many deer,wild turkeys,bald eagles,fox,coyotes and even an otter. Already looking forward to next years.
