|
THE TEXAS TWO STEP March 2nd through March 5th Sam Rayburn Lake |
|
BassMeisters, Don't really know how to start this one. Doesn't really have any feel to it. Here goes, anyway ! Step One: The first tournament was the second stop on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail Southern Division segment. There are so many different tournaments we are able to fish; it takes a tote board to keep up with them. I drew a professional from Kentucky, Sam Greer for Thursday. He told me that we would be using the "rig" and spinnerbaits to catch our fish. The "rig" refers to Carolina rig, and is used with much success throughout the country. He had been prefishing for 11 days and knew that we would be on a big fish bite and that we should do well. We were boat 102 out and Sam said we would be driving about 8-11 minutes to our first location. I settled down in his Ranger Comanche Z21 with a 250 Optimax motor on the back. B-E-A-U-T-IFUL rig. Got to the first spot and I began looking for the creel of big bass that Sam had said were in the area. He said that he had limited out in 20 minutes one earlier practice day and be ready to start hauling them in. I was ready to do this all day, unfortunately the fish had turned off so bad that Sam was able to boat only one small keeper, and I zeroed for the day. The water was clear and I think that may have made matters even more difficult. I did have one exciting moment near the end of the day. I felt a small tug on the line, and set the hook. The fish on the other end of the line was a monster. I couldn't even turn her, and she took me down into a tree and worked her way off the hook. My one moment of glory, and I was not up to the pressure. "My bad" ! I had heard so much talk of big bass and Sam slaying them, and I was wondering if he was just another fisherman who told tall tales. Well, it did make me wonder. Sam had come down from Kentucky with a friend who was in the co-anger division. They had fished together for the 11 days, and Bill, his buddy, had said the same thing about all of the fish they had caught or shaken off. I wasn't quite sure until I checked Sam's website. He is a guide who guides on Dale Hollow Lake for Smallmouth bass. He bragged that he had caught, and released, at least three Smallmouth bass of over eight pounds this year alone ! I believe him now. I saw the pictures and I am a believer. He was apologetic about our misfortunes on Sam Rayburn, and said if I ever get a chance to come up to Dale Hollow, to look him up, and he would make up for the lack of fish that we caught. That was a wonderful gesture, and, he doesn't know it, but I might just take him up on that. I would love to catch a big bronzeback and get measurements and a fiberglass replica for my wall. He is a great guy, and about five years older than baseball, especially since I am two years older than baseball. We had a great time on the lake. I wish the fishing could have been better for us, but that's fishing and not catching. The second day I drew Steve Sennikoff who is from Texas and near Dallas. Regressing to the evening before the first day of the tournament, I had met Greg Vickers. He is a detective from the police force in Texacana and it was his first foray into the tournament trail. We went to the briefing meeting and he said he appreciated my help with telling him what to expect from the registration and the pairings later in the evening. He fished with Steve the first day, and had over 10 pounds of fish with him. Got all that ? Back to Steve and I fishing together the second day ! Do I get excited about the prospects of the new day ? Not after what I went through the first day ! We were boat 36 on Friday. We drove for about an hour up to the other end of the lake. We fished in shallow, stained, water all day. Hadn't been at the first stop a half hour when I caught the first two bass. One was a keeper. Steve says, "You're that much ahead of yesterday". I caught these fish on a spinnerbait. I very seldom fished with that bait here in Florida, but I will surely take advantage of my newfound confidence in it. A few minutes later I hear a spash, and dive for the net as Steve had a monster on. Actually I slowly went after the net. Diving is no longer in my repertoire. It's an old age thing with less than agile knees. I did get the fish by the lower jaw, and we weighed the 7 pound 9 ounce lunker. Forgot ! No net. That was in Sunday's tournament. This tournament there was a no net rule. We caught fish all day long. I caught 14 fish on equal parts of Spinnerbait and "flippin'". I caught 11 keepers. I was "culling" at about 11 AM. I culled three 2 pound 11 ounce fish, and ended up with a total of nine pounds four ounces with the three fish I could keep. Boater gets five fish and the non-boater gets three. Rules ! Steve had over 16 pounds. I thought I might have a chance of getting into the top 50 so I could fish Saturday. Didn't work out ! I ended up 93rd out of 130 co-anglers. Steve was in 14th and made the finals. Greg, the guy I met from Texacana, also made the top 50 on the co-anglers side. I was happy for him as it was his first tournament and he made some money. There's a story even in his making the top 50. I mentioned before that Steve was his first day's partner. Steve gave Greg some GPS coordinates where they were fishing, and they came in handy during the second day. Greg drew a professional (?) from Florida. It was the guys first time in Texas and he didn't get to practice much, so he didn't really have a plan of attack. Greg gave him the coordinates, and even had to show him how to catch fish at those coordinates. If Greg hadn't gotten those numbers, then he wouldn't have caught fish, and he would have been outside the minimum of 12 pounds 8 ounces needed for the top 50 co-anglers. These are the little things that keep me coming back again and again. Lots of nice people doing nice things to make their partners more successful ! Step Two: Phil had just won a BFL tournament on the lake, and had pocketed $5,000.00, which included big bass of eight pounds two ounces, and a total weight of 22 pounds. I had visions of a trophy and $2,200.00, the first place prize for co-angler. Was I ever going to clean up in Texas on Sunday ! We were the 41st boat out, and we were heading up the lake to somewhere in the area where I had done so well with Steve two days before. I know that Phil was licking his chops too as he had done his job on Saturday. About 40 miles up the lake the number two cylinder took a dump. That was it. We both knew we were out of it. We made the most of a bad situation, and fished all day. He called home, and his team tournament buddy and another friend came down, got Phil's truck and trailer, and met us at the closest marina to where we stopped. Phil also called the tournament director to let her know we were fine, but not to expect us at the weigh-in. I think if we had really had a big sack of fish, we would have been able to get a ride back with another of Phil's friends who was fishing in the area, but, because we only had three fish between us, we didn't need to burden anyone else with our troubles. Phil is a sales manager for "Port-A-Cool" which is home based out of Center, Texas, and is a worldwide distributor for their product. You've all seen the portable fans on the sidelines at football games, haven't you ? That is the product I'm talking about. Great guy ! Taught me a few new tricks with a "Fluke" type (Reaction brand U 99) bait that I now have confidence in, and, most assuredly, will be using in my future local tournaments. Watch out ! Are ya trembling yet ? Me either ! We got a chance to talk about many subjects. He and his wife and son are buying a new house, and the $5,000.00 is going into that fund. Phil gets to keep the trophies. That's what Marty Stone said when he won the tournament that I fished with him in, "My wife gets the money and I get the hardware". Fair enough ! We talked about deer hunting and compared, "mine's bigger than yours" ! You know, macho male bullhockey. The deer we had shot were very similar in size and were trophies to be proud of. Phil was in contact with his wife and son, who was playing in a baseball tournament at the time. Phil bragged that he was a really good pitcher, and had hit several home runs. I could tell Phil was a man proud of his family. In closing, I want to say that I had a great time out in the great state of Texas. I said I want to, but it ended a little short of my expectations. No, not Texas ! Texas was great. My performance, on the other hand was not what I was expecting. I was all pumped up from the local tournaments that I had done well in, and was expecting it to carry over into the "Texas Two Step" ! It didn't happen, but I had a safe journey, and I thank the Good Lord for that. I keep trying to thank Him for every fish that I catch, but am more thankful just to be blessed enough to get to do what I do. It is a great ride I'm on, and I hope it continues. Keep your lures wet, your families foremost in your minds, and God bless and keep each of you as you travel through the lakes, ponds, and rivers of life.
|
|
|
|
Copyright © |
Clearwater Bass Club, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are owned by Clearwater Bass Club, Inc.