2006 Bassmasters Series - Southern Tour #5

     This was the last stop on the Bassmaster Southern Tour at Lake Lanier in Georgia. I had been waiting for four months to fish this final tour event. I was in 21st place coming into the last stop and knew I had to keep fishing well to stay in the top 30 non-boater division and qualify for the Elite Wild Card tournament in November on the Harris Chain in Leesburg, Florida.

     I drove up to Gainesville, Georgia on Tuesday evening to get set up with my license and the motel room and such. I really came up because I asked Lee Hartley, a pro I met at Santee-Cooper, and who lives about 12 miles for Lake Lanier, to show me around the lake during the last practice day so I could get some confidence catching a fish or two.

     Lee Hartley took time out of his busy schedule to take me to the lake and fish for about four hours on Tuesday morning. He brought another friend of his, Jr., who came up unexpectedly. The three of us had a great time on the lake and had a couple of bites to boot. Lee has been such a great friend to help me do well at Santee-Cooper, and, unknown to him at the time has been a big help here at Lanier. I'll explain shortly !

     I went to the meeting on Wednesday to have my new Georgia license checked, as they always do at the registration, and to get paired with my first day partner. We were fed some great vittles between the registration and the pairing session at 6:30 PM.

     My first day partner was James Conrad, and we met at his motel at 5:15 AM and drove to the lake for our day on the water. He was a really great angler and partner in the boat. He was on fish and we were going to fill our creels early. I was hoping that would be the case, but alas and alack, it did not happen as planned, but, then again, what does when fishing for bass.

     I was throwing the top water bait that my partner had said was a good bait, and that he had done well with in practice. He had one on early and lost it as he was fighting it back to the boat. I used the top water for a while, but for some reason, the fish didn't like that presentation. I had a buzz bait tied on because I had observed Lee Hartley the day before using it for a search bait. He never got a bite on it while I was out with him, but I had a hunch. This one paid off for both me and my partner.

     I switched over to the buzz bait, a Strike King Mini King single buzz blade, and proceeded to get 12 strikes over the course of the day. I did not execute well or I would have had a three fish limit for the first time on the first day of any of the Southern Tour Tournaments.

     This was the first time I had caught fish on the first day. I caught one keeper on the buzz bait. My partner, after watching my 11th strike finally tied one on and promptly caught his one keeper for the day. I don't think I'd have waited that long to change baits, but I understand the confidence he had in staying with the patterns that had worked in practice. It was good to get to go up on stage and talk to Chris and Lurch about my lone fish.

     I had to wait and meet my second day partner after the first day weigh-in. I drew David Few and waited to meet him. He finally came up, and I introduced myself to him. He apologized for being late and pointed to the reason. He had a hook sticking out of his leg between his knee and ankle and it was in past the barb.

     I didn't want to try my first shot at hook removal with mono and pressing down on the eye of the hook and popping it out with a quick jerk. There was no eye on this hook as it had been a jig head hook with a piece of lead by the eye. David had cut that off when the hook became embedded in his leg. He finally got someone braver than I to get hook out. The procedure worked just like advertised.

     David was fishing towards the other end of the lake and said that maybe a Rat-L-Trap would work where he was fishing. I tied one on, but thought the buzz bait might work as it had the day before. NOT !

     We got to his first spot and began with buzz bait and top water. Neither was working and, since I love to throw the Rat-L-Trap, I did so. I had one on within five minutes, and did catch two keepers on it. I actually caught fish all day on it. My partner changed over after my second fish, and used one of my Traps to catch his lone keeper. I was really rooting for him to do well as he we just outside the top 50 spots. Unfortunately that was all the keepers either one of us caught. I got into the top 50 with my two fish on this day.

     After the second day weigh-in, anybody who made the top 50 or who thought he had stayed and waited about an hour for the final results to see who made the top 50. The results were announced and the pairing began. They pair the top 50 pros starting with number one on down to 50.

     I was paired with the first place angler, and was I excited. Ryan Coleman was leading after two days, and I really was excited about the type of fishing he was doing. He was "drop-shotting" in anywhere from 30 to 60 feet of water. This was really new to me, but I had heard about it and saw Bassmaster shows on TV using the technique. Ryan told me his second day partner had 11 pounds of fish in the first hour of the second day, and didn't fish the rest of the day so Ryan would have access to all of the available fish. This really got my heart pumping.

     Ryan is a very popular local angler as is Lee Hartley. We had 16 boats trailing us as we went from spot to spot. They cheered every time he caught a fish and just cheered for him all day. He missed a large fish early and thought he was out of it (winning) because there were some other locals in the top ten who would give him a ride for his money. Trent Gober in particular was on his mind. He and Trent are friends, and Ryan knew that Trent was on good fish.

     I had a bite after Ryan had put two fish in his live well. I brought it to the surface and Ryan said that I should take care of that one. It was a two-foot stick. I was embarrassed ! I fought that thing from 40 feet of water. Ryan came down off the front deck, and offered me the measuring board so I could check to see if it was a legal length.

     Please keep in mind that this guy is fishing for $73,000.00. He still had time to enjoy the moment and keep a calmness about him that would serve him well during the rest of the day. He is truly a great partner to have in the front of the boat, and I would gladly fish with him again. I did manage to catch one keeper and finished 32 in the tournament. Ryan caught his limit, and a couple more that he upgraded his creel by a pound or two.

     We went in to weigh in our fish, and I found out that, because Ryan was in the top five at the beginning of the day, he AND his partner (me) had to stay and weigh our fish after all the other anglers had weighed theirs. That took about an hour.

     To make a long story a bit shorter, Trent Gober had lost two big fish (broke off) early and that cost him the win. Ryan Coleman won the tournament. I was really happy for him. A very deserving win ! I'm also glad I got to witness his day on the lake and all the excitement of his entourage who prevented me from going to the bathroom while we were on the lake. Worked out great anyway !

     I finished up 32nd and found out later that I ended up in 15th place on the non-boater side of the Southern Tour. I am now qualified for a FREE tournament in November on the Harris Chain. It has been a good year for me in 2006, and I owe most of my success to Lee Hartley and his encouragement beginning on Santee-Cooper.

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