We were fooled the first tournament we fished out of Harpers Ferry, Iowa. We went out, had no idea where we were or where we were going and managed to catch five fish pretty easily. It put us in the middle of the pack as far as results, but we felt pretty good about what we had done and how we had accomplished it. It wasn't long before we realized we were taking on water quick and we would soon be over our heads.
The difference between fishing a river and a lake are actually quite vast. The concept is the same, it is all about HOW different baits are fished and WHEN different baits are fished. The factor that plays the largest roll in whether or not you are successful or a complete failure is understanding the weather, flow/current and changing water levels. All three of these things will cause variables that will change the HOW and WHEN. Those three things are also going to play a key role each and every single time out. When the flow is high, the current is stronger and the river is dropping quick. When the flow is low, the river is lower and the current will still be a big a factor, but for different reasons. While this affects your fishing differently, its what it does to the fish that causes that affect. They can, and will, survive and they determine their actions by what the water is doing or not doing. Temp, level, flow, sun, wind, rain, clouds, it all affects how those fish respond.
We aren't going to get into the details, but lets just say this: Every river tournament angler should keep a diary or log. Really, every angler, tournament or not, should keep a log. Track what the day was like, the air temp, the water temp, what your lake or river was doing (high vs. low, etc.), the atmosphere conditions (sunny/cloudy), whether or not a cold front had just come or gone.....it will all help you and will give you something to look back at and compare notes.
This past weekend, we had two tournaments on the river. We thought we had it licked on Saturday, till we got to "our spot" and discovered the river was really down 3 feet and not the 18 inches NOAA was telling us it was. That makes a huge difference. When the water is dropping that fast, the fish pull out. They find water that is more suitable, deeper, which will keep them from being trapped in an area they don't want to be in. If all of us knew where they went to, our weekends would become much easier, but we don't. So, we look, and try and keep track of what happened when and surmise why it happened. I can tell you this, the tournament on Saturday was different from Sunday and it all came back to conditions: Weather, flow and level!
Saturday morning, we had a Bass World Sports Tournament that launched from Harpers Ferry, Iowa. We were sitting in 4th place overall after three events, which really wasn't too bad....if we were only concerned about points. I was ready for a win. We locked through to pool 9 and went up to the first spot we had designated as our starting spot. Vastly different from the Weekend before, as previouisly mentioned. We gave it a shot, struggled through the shallow water, and came up with a couple keepers. Nothing to write home about. The weekend before, that same spot had been producing some high quality 3+ pound fish. We got out of there quickly and headed to spot numbers 2, 3, 4 and finally 5. We had a limit, but it was definitely a job on Saturday. We headed south, locked back down to pool 10 and went to spot #6. We quickly culled two of our keeper fish and upgraded a little. Thank goodness for cull beams...cause every ounce counts! We ended up in 5th on Saturday with 11.07. Pretty disappointing, considering the expectations we had going in. After the tournament, we talked to some of the other anglers and everyone agreed, almost unanimously, that the drop in water affected their fishing as well. Still caught fish, but those bigger fish had left the area in search of deeper waters.
Sunday arrived and we showed up for the Hot Rod Baits series final. Todd Reed is the tournament director and he did a nice job with the three events he put on this year, even with the seriously inclement weather in April and May. Lets just say, I'm very glad it wasn't April and we were fishing on the river this time. We definitely couldn't "win" team of the year after our dismal lake performances, but we were looking for a little redemption.
We launched out of the very same setting we had launched from on Saturday. Being boat #2, we were pretty confident we would have our spot to ourselves. It wasn't going to happen! Boat #1 had the very same idea and beat us to our location. We decided to fish a secondary spot just south of where we had hoped to fish. I quickly put a fish in the live well, than nothing. After an hour and another very short discussion, we headed north and locked through to pool 9 again and systematically started going through the five locations we had up there. Slowly but surely, we were putting fish in the boat. The bite wasn't anywhere near as good as it had been the previous day, which had been overcast with a bit of a breeze. Sunday was just the opposite, with Bluebird skies, plenty of sun and not a ripple on the water. Big difference in how those fish see baits. I'd prefer the overcast day to a sunny day any time! Ultimately, we scratched out a tie for 4th place.....not bad, not good, wanted better. I will say this though, couple years ago, we were getting humbled every single event. Now we are disappointed with a 5th and a 4th on any weekend because we feel like it should be a 1st every time. We're close, and getting closer. Too bad my days on the river are number.
I would like to thank my sponsors, BW Contractors from Cedar Falls, Iowa and Roling Ford from Shell Rock, Iowa. They make more things possible. I really appreciate the opportunities you both have given me and thanks for sticking with me after a very disappointing 2012!
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