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2nd Place |
Conditions: Day started cool in the low 50's getting up to about 70 in the afternoon. I was sunny and had light to medium winds out of the W NW.
Blast off was at around a quarter to 7AM and we stuck around close to the launch but didn't get anything so we left after 20 minutes. We went around to the West side of Battle Point and started fishing the weedline. I immediately caught a pike on a red Spro Aruku Shad. Then my boater Roger landed the first small keeper of the day on a flat sided chartreuse DT shallow runner. I landed a couple dink bass and a northern. Roger got a couple more keepers before I got a 13.25" on the Aruku. Roger landed a couple more before I got my 2nd fish, a 12.75 on the Aruku. Roger was putting on a clinic with the DT. I slowly got a 15.25", a 13", and a 16.5" on the Blue Bruiser Lake Fork Craw Tube. We decided to run back to where we started so I could finish my limit. I got a 14" to finish my limit on a chartreuse Cordell Spot. I then started throwing a blue/black Strike King Pure Poison Chatterjig with blue/black Berkley Havoc Craw Fatty Trailer. I was just thinking I was going to quit throwing it when I got 17.75" bass. I culled my smallest got her in the well and immediately got a 17.5". Put her in the well, put a new Craw Fatty on and within a couple of casts had a 16.75" in the boat. Bing bang boom, now I had more weight than Roger. I got a 14.75" to cull out a 14" and then things got slow.
We were headed to Johnson Point but a boat was there so we started working up from West to East along the North side of Corey Point. It was slow for a while, but then I got a 16.5 on the Crawtube and I figured I had around 13lbs. I got a few more that didn't help and then I got a 15.25" that culled my previous 15.25" up towards the tip of Corey Point. That convinced Roger to fish there a little more and he got his best fish and another cull or two. We were both pretty happy with our bags at this point. I was now after 11AM and we fished off the SE tip of Malkerson Island. Just got a couple that didn't help.
We headed to the bar off the South side of Brighton Point and got nothing but rockies and a pike or two. For the last hour or so we headed back to our starting spot. I got a couple that didn't help and I don't think Roger got anything to help himself either, and the day was done.
When we weighed I was shocked to hear Rogers weight at 14/6.
I was even more shocked to hear my weight at 15/11 which put me in 2nd place where I stayed through the rest of the weigh-in. My big bass was 3/2. I didn't realize it at the time but I was only 2oz behind new Bass Snatcher member Jim Smith who got 1st. Roger got 3rd Place. Bay Lake was really on with 15 guys at just under 12lbs and up. 10lbs bags went down to 25th Place.
Analysis: Surprisingly we out fished our pre-fish day where we had about 13lbs a piece. I really thought I was in the 13lb range. Here were my two baits.
The huge key was that flurry I had in our 2nd pass off of Battle Point with the Pure Poison. I had my 3 biggest fish in like 7 casts. Not only was it my best Snatcher finish, but it was my best weight in a Snatcher Tournament by over a pound.
I counted 21 bass, 12 Pike and 5 Rock Bass