Had a great early part of the Spring because of the weather. Warm, fishing was awesome. Then April showed up and we were back to a somewhat normal weather pattern. All that means in Iowa is: Unpredictable! One day it would be below normal, the next it was above. Rainy, dry, cool, warm, and above all else.....WINDY! I was pretty sure we were all going to blow away a few of those days. Much of my time was consumed with finishing my final college classes....(yes, I'm finally done)...and that feels great!
Some of my other time was spent working on the yard, tilled the garden, working on rental properties and being very busy at work. Kim is back on her weekly travel schedule, so, she's gone four days a week. I miss her. Fishing helps though.
We had a trip to Cancun planned for lateApril/early May for Tyler and Ashley Hamerlinck's wedding. Of course, Tyler had a little fishing trip planned for the boys while down there. The goal was Marlin, what we ended up catching was Barracuda, Bonita and Red Snapper. Always a good time fishing with Tyler, really enjoyed it. The wedding was awesome as well and Ashley was an absolutely beautiful bride. Kim and I accomplished exactly what we set out to do in Cancun, and that was relax!
Relaxing allowed me to begin thinking about what was coming next: The Iowa Bass Federation Spring Tournament. I was already thinking about spending time with the guys, Brad Rockwood in particular. Brad and I go way back....wish we would have spent more time together as kids! We got home late Tuesday night and I spent Wednesday morning getting packed up and ready to roll. Left Wednesday afternoon and arrived at the river late Wednesday afternoon. Went right to where we were staying and settled in. Got a phone call from our club president asking if I still wanted to be a boater instead of a non-boater. The answer was obviously yes!
Thursday morning, met Brent Roloff in Marquette and we waited out a thunderstorm and then hit the water in pool 10. Fishing was............different. It was not the normal spring bite I expected. Part of the problem was the river was really low. I hadn't seen it that low since the mid-90's. I managed to catch 5 keepers from the back of Buzzy's boat, but one of them was a little questionable. But I didn't have any of my questions answered.
Friday, I went out alone on pool 9, starting way up North. Apparently, that is where all the Northern were living, because that is really all I caught early. Had a couple really nice ones though. As I moved south through the pool, I began catching a few more bass, but nothing with too much size. Couple nice ones, but wasn't cooking with fire just yet. By the time I got off the water on Friday, I was probably more confused than I have felt in a long time. The Spring tournament was going to start in the morning and I was in the front of my boat making the decisions for the first time and wasn't sure what I was going to do! Got off the water a little after lunch, went and got cleaned up, then drove down to Prairie to check in, wait for the meeting, and think some more.
The meeting went quick, got a very good draw, boat #4, and got a good partner in Mark Sexton from Spirit Lake, Iowa. Mark works for Berkley and I have fished against him for years. Our little meeting was short and sweet, we are going North and locking through to pool 9. We talked about a couple spots and settled on one. Once that was over, I headed for the trailer and tied and re-tied, getting ready for my second state tournament and first as a boater. To say I was anxious, well, that wouldn't come close to describing what I was feeling. I had also decided how I was going to fish the spot we had chosen and it was a method I had NEVER used. I mentally committed to it and there was no turning back. Time for bed, Saturday morning was coming early!
Saturday morning started off pretty well, arrived at the lock, got through, and made it to the spot we agreed to fish and hit it hard. I looked at Mark and said, "I'm about to do something stupid", and I did. I started throwing exactly what I decided I would throw the night before and had never thrown before. It worked. All day. Felt great to catch fish after fish after fish. Had my limit in the first 40 minutes or so and worked hard all day to improve on that catch. I did, but only a tenth of an ounce at a time. My culling beam got a work out. My partner, however, was struggling. I like Mark, and I remember how Steve Huegerich treated me when I was struggling last year on day two. He did what he could to help me catch fish. It was my turn to do the same. I told Mark to hook up and start grabbing the baits I was throwing and see what happened. He did. We worked hard but could only get him two in that same area we had fished all morning. We took off and fished one other spot in pool 9, where Mark got one more. It was time to head south. We made it into the lock right in front of a North bound barge and locked back South. I had another spot in pool 10 that I thought we could possibly get a couple out of. It worked, they weren't huge, but Mark got his fourth and fifth fish and it was time to weigh in. I thought I had 11 and a half, turned out it was only 11.02lbs. I was happy to have my five fish and was ok with the weight. Something to work on improving on Sunday.
Another short meeting, met another new partner for Sunday, had a short conversation with him (Darrin Corley).....and off to tie and re-tie. Spoke briefly with Brad, he asked what I was going to do....I said if I have learned anything, the one thing was never leave fish. I was going right back to where I had caught my limit the day before. He agreed.
Woke up at 2:30am Sunday morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Way too excited. Rolled down to Prairie, found my partner, got launched, helped Buzzy get in the water, went to the blast off area and it was another quick drive to the lock (last boat in on Sunday) and back to the same spot. I was not immediately catching fish on Sunday, Darrin was the one catching fish right away. He put two in the boat and then it was my turn. Same bait, same rig, four straight keepers in the live-well. Darrin caught another, then I caught three more and began culling. I had made the decision early that we weren't leaving that spot on Sunday, regardless of what was happening. It worked. I caught mine, Darrin actually caught a bigger bag. Weighed in 11.43 on Sunday, which put me in the top third at 41st, 2lbs out of the top ten.
Congratulations to a member of our club, the Cedar Valley Bass Masters, Greg Seitz, who was the Spring Tournament winner. The club had 6 members in the top 50, which was as good a showing as any other club. First Club tournament this coming weekend.......feel pretty good about the plan I already have in my mind. Guess we'll see.
Nice write-up Mike. I am very curious as to what method you have never used on the River to catch bass??? Probably just some "lake fishing" technique!
ReplyDeleteIt might have been.........but it worked! :)
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