Fished as a co-angler on Lay Lake this weekend in the BASS Weekend Series Regionals. Day 1 I was paired with a nice guy who fished very heavy, thick matted grass all day. Pitched a 1 oz pegged weight and a sweet beaver. Not my thing. I tried and had no success with that or a jig. He had 5 bites all day which turned to 4 fish and missed one. I weighed 1 fish for 1.68 lb that I caught on a senko on the edge of the grass. I thru everything down the grass line and couldn't get anything. I also broke my favorite rod trying to get my jig unstuck. It was not a good day for me. In my mind, I was done tournament fishing.
Had a reality check with myself in my hotel room. A friend of mine from the women's series died in her sleep Oct 13. She had made her regional too and was super excited about it but she died the week of the tournament. She didn't even get to fish so I should feel blessed to even be fishing. Got my attitude in check and just wanted to "go fishing".
Day 2 I was paired with a great guy. Really enjoyed fishing with him. We pulled up to his spot after running thru serious fog. 1st time I've ever been nervous in a boat cuz you couldn't see past the front of the boat and these guys are still going 50mph, 75 mph if there is a remote clear spot. Anyway, when I saw we would be fishing shallow timber all day, I felt confident I would catch fish, much more my style. He caught the first keeper on a shakey head with finesse worm. I had a shakey worm texas rigged and made a slight adjustment. Put on the lightest weight I had (1/8) for a slower fall with no wind and wanted a bit more tail action on my worm. For the 1st time, I felt like an adjustment I made was crucial. I caught my first keeper right away. He saw what I switched to and said, "what is that stupid little thing you are fishing with?" and laughed. I ripped off 2 more keepers so I had my limit of 3 within the 1st hour. That NEVER happens to me. He said, "ok you have 3 and I have 1, give me one of those!". Not so stupid anymore are they. Ha! I gave him some and he had his limit pretty quick. There were 2 other boats in this area and we were the only ones catching fish. Later, I switched to a brush hog to try to upgrade my spotted bass. I caught 2 largemouths on that and culled. We left that spot with an hour to go and went to flip grass. Neither of us caught anything.
Fishing was tougher on Day 2 for people. I ended up weighing 3 fish for 5.56 which was enough for me to make the cut for the Nationals on Guntersville the 1st week of November. I am soooo excited and proud of myself for my accomplishment and not giving up!
Now, I have to go tomorrow and ask my boss for a week off.....
Had a reality check with myself in my hotel room. A friend of mine from the women's series died in her sleep Oct 13. She had made her regional too and was super excited about it but she died the week of the tournament. She didn't even get to fish so I should feel blessed to even be fishing. Got my attitude in check and just wanted to "go fishing".
Day 2 I was paired with a great guy. Really enjoyed fishing with him. We pulled up to his spot after running thru serious fog. 1st time I've ever been nervous in a boat cuz you couldn't see past the front of the boat and these guys are still going 50mph, 75 mph if there is a remote clear spot. Anyway, when I saw we would be fishing shallow timber all day, I felt confident I would catch fish, much more my style. He caught the first keeper on a shakey head with finesse worm. I had a shakey worm texas rigged and made a slight adjustment. Put on the lightest weight I had (1/8) for a slower fall with no wind and wanted a bit more tail action on my worm. For the 1st time, I felt like an adjustment I made was crucial. I caught my first keeper right away. He saw what I switched to and said, "what is that stupid little thing you are fishing with?" and laughed. I ripped off 2 more keepers so I had my limit of 3 within the 1st hour. That NEVER happens to me. He said, "ok you have 3 and I have 1, give me one of those!". Not so stupid anymore are they. Ha! I gave him some and he had his limit pretty quick. There were 2 other boats in this area and we were the only ones catching fish. Later, I switched to a brush hog to try to upgrade my spotted bass. I caught 2 largemouths on that and culled. We left that spot with an hour to go and went to flip grass. Neither of us caught anything.
Fishing was tougher on Day 2 for people. I ended up weighing 3 fish for 5.56 which was enough for me to make the cut for the Nationals on Guntersville the 1st week of November. I am soooo excited and proud of myself for my accomplishment and not giving up!
Now, I have to go tomorrow and ask my boss for a week off.....
