Bassmasters Junior National Championship

First day of the Bassmasters Junior National Championship on Carroll County 1000 Acres Lake in Tennessee, was a foggy morning.  We were the 53rd out of 54 boats to takeoff. Not the best boat number, but it was going to be nice on day two when we are boat number two. Day 1, didn’t turn out like we wanted it to with catching only 4 keepers for 3lbs 3oz. We had to adjust to the conditions to catch what we did. One keeper was caught on schooling bass that came up on us. Nick was able to catch one on a spinnerbait and later in the day one on a senko, but it wasn’t a keeper. Most of the fish were caught on a tube on a windy shallow bar. Kyle did loose one 3 pounder that could have made a big difference. Being a very tight tournament, losing a quality fish was huge. It was the only decent bite we had during the event.

Day two we started on a hump with seven other boats. Using the Motorguide Ultex anchor was very handy. I anchored us down, and we stayed in the area for 5 hours catching 4 keepers and 5 non-keepers. Kyle was throwing big baits like Bullworm and 6″ Senko. While Nick was throwing smaller baits on a Carolina Rig like baby brush hog, Centipede and Finesse worm. We just couldn’t get a big bite.  There has been some huge bass caught off this hump during the practices days. So I figured if we fished it hard, maybe we could get one big bite and it would make a huge difference in the standing. Never could get the bite.  In the last hour, Kyle was able to catch one more small keeper to finish our limit. Nick andK Kyle finished the tournament in 34th place with 7lbs 13oz.

I was so proud of the twins for fishing offshore with a Carolina rig and big worms trying to catch a quality fish. It was their first time fishing a Carolina rig, and they caught most of their fish on it. They have learned so much from fishing this event and tournaments this year. The biggest lesson was how to be patient and not to worry about people around them catching fish. We had a boat right next to us in this tournament, and they never got upset.  They just kept fishing. We watched guys catch fish around us in this event, and they would just go on with their business. Thank you everyone for your support. Shout out to Kansas Bass Nation for all the support and making this possible. Carroll County and BASS for putting the event on for the kids. It was awesome to see so many kids with smiles.

Practices Day 1 on Carroll County 1000 Acres Recreational Lake

In May, the boys won the Kansas Youth Bass Nation Championship on Melvern. They earned the opportunity to represent Kansas at the BASS National Youth Championship in Tennessee on beautiful Carroll County 1000 Acres Recreational Lake. The first practice day was Saturday, June 28, but it was not an official practice day. The lake had been off limits for a month prior.

We decided to get to the lake early so we could fish anywhere on the lake before everyone else showed up. Our plan was to fish deep and to hit any spot the deep water is near the bank. It was a great first day.  We didn’t catch anything big, but we had a limit around 10lbs. We caught 7 fish over 15 inches. I figured this would work good in the tournament if you had 4 bass over 15 inches and one big fish. All the fish were on soft plastics rigged weightless or texas rigged. There was not one pattern working better then the other. The official practice day was on Sunday, June 29, and we hoped maybe would could find something more solid. We decided to try some different areas and expanded on something in the area we found fish. Being a small lake and being around 54 boats, it was going to be really hard to move around on 1000 acre lake. We fished a lot of 16 to 20 feet of water with a Carolina rig. It was the first time the boys had fished a Carolina rig.  They both caught about 6 fish in a hour off a couple of points. That is the best thing about going to this event; it makes you fish out of your comfort zone and try different techniques and baits. Sometimes when you fish the same lake and baits always, you don’t learn anything new. So, get out there and try a different lake or techniques. It will take a little time to catch fish, but you will become a better angler and catch more fish. If fishing was easy, everyone would be fishing. Next video and blog will be about how we did in the tournament.

 

Sunflower Team Series on Melvern

The fourth Sunflower Team Series event of the year was on Melvern. Nick was my partner for the event. The day before the tournament, we found a couple of spots, but one of the spots Nick lost a good keeper. We didn’t fish the spot very hard, so we were going to start there. It was about a 100 yard stretch one point to another. On the day of the tournament, we fished down the spot throwing topwater, and I hooked up with a good fish on a spook. Nick was able to scoop up the fish with the net. Great start!  We fished 15 minutes and already had one keeper. There was another spot the day before I had seen a huge smallmouth. With no one fishing the spot yet, I thought lets fish it fast and then go back through the spot that we started on. Nick caught one nonkeeper off the standing timber. Just then another boat pulled up on the spot we started. So I told Nick, “Let’s go back down to the other point since there is a boat on the opposite point.” We caught three non-keepers on soft plastics. Most of the fish were coming off of a laydown or stumps in the water. We started to fish the wood really slow. I would throw topwater a little while Nick threw plastics.  Then we would switch. I was getting a little worried about the weather as some really dark clouds had moved in. Getting the rain gear on, I was wondering if we need to go in. Then about 5 minute later, it was through. Nick was throwing a whopper popper around the laydown. I noticed a dark spot behind his bait. My soft plastic was just under Nick’s bait. Then the dark spot disappeared. Just then Nick had an explosion on his bait, but it missed. Then I noticed my line moving, I set the hook.  It was a good smallmouth.  We landed my fish, and it was keeper number two. A couple of casts later, Nick hooked up on the whopper popper.  It was probably about a 2 pound smallmouth. I told him to take his time.  Just then, it jumped and threw the bait back to the boat. Nick was very upset, but that is topwater or anything with treble hooks. After fishing another couple hours on the spot, we moved. I have learned that in big tournaments, if you find keepers at a spot, you better pick the spot apart before you leave because someone else will move in on the spot. We fished for about an hour around the lake without any luck. So, we headed back to the spot we started because there were two boats on the bank. There was a little bank further down that looked good. Right when we stopped to fish, Nick’s second cast, he hooked a smallmouth.  It jumped, and it was a keeper. Nick was so excited!  He took his time, and we landed the fish. Three keepers!  We need two more fish. Then, I hooked up with a big fish, and told Nick “Get the net.  This is a good fish.” It was a big fish, but it was the wrong species.  A walleye about 23 inches. First thing Nick said was “Mom would love to eat that.” I threw it back, and said I really didn’t want to mess with cleaning it today. I was watching the bank trying to see if the other boats would leave. After they left, we moved back to the laydown. Nick was able to catch two non-keepers before the tournament was over. We had 3 fish for 6.14 pounds, and good for 9th place out of 33 boats. It was awesome to get in the top 10, and with just one more fish we may have gotten a check. Next event is on El Dorado on July 14th. Kyle and I will fish Wilson on August 18. Hopefully we can catch some fish and maybe get another top 10 finish. It has been an awesome season fishing with the twins. We have learned so much on how to fish tournaments. It is totally different then just going fishing.

An Incredible Day on a New Lake

We decided to try a new lake we had never been to. We drove an hour and half to the lake. On the way it was raining a little, so I was hoping we would get lucky and not get too wet. When we arrived at the lake, it was windy and raining a little. By the time we got to our first spot it was down pouring. Kyle started with a fluke and Nick with a frog.  We decided to start on a deep bluff out of the wind and rain. We fished down the bank without any bites.  Then we decided to try the dam which the wind was blowing in on. When you go to a lake you have never been on, it is always a good idea to try the dam especially when the wind is blowing in on it. Both of the twins decided to try a crankbait on the dam. My choice was a spinnerbait. It did’t take long to hook up. On the first pass down the lake, we all hooked up. Being the first time on the lake, we decided to have another pass down the dam. For the next two hours, we caught some really nice fish with a couple being over 5 pounds. After you find fish with moving baits, it is always a good thing to go back through with a slower bait. All the big fish were caught on weightless Senkos. I felt bad the big fish kept hitting my baits. I even moved to the back of the boat, but it didn’t make a difference. The boys were throwing the same thing. For the last hour, I sat down and just watched the twins fish. It was an incredible day, and our best five were 19lbs.

Big Hill Tournament

We had our first Flint Hills Bass Club tournament of the year on Big Hill. My partner Thomas and I pre-fished the evening before the tournament. I already had an idea of a couple of spots to fish, but it is always nice to try a couple of other spots to see if you could find a backup. We ran up the lake, and we fished pass the bridge. I was pitching texas-rig plastics around the tree, and was getting a couple of bites. I figured that they were bluegills. Thomas did catch one small bass on a buzzbait. We decided to run out to the main lake and try some points. I found some grass along the bank. I was swimming a jig and hooked up right away with a good bass. So, we both started throwing swimming jigs on any grass we could find on the main lake. Thomas was able to catch two good bass. I told him lets see if there are any bass on the dam. Right away we both started catching bass on the dam with plastics. I told him we should leave since we had a couple of things going for us. Thomas was not listening; he was having too much fun so we kept fishing. We caught a couple of good keepers. Finally it got too dark to fish anymore.

Tournament Day, I was relaxed and just needed to catch five keepers. I decided to start on the dam. After running to the dam, we both started throwing plastics. I asked Thomas to adjust the GoPro, and just as he touched it, a fish took his bait. Being off balance, he missed him. I felt bad; I told him to hang in there and we will make it up. We both were able to catch one keeper each off the dam. The day before the fish were very shallow. Today, I saw more fish out deep suspended on the graph not feeding. So, we decided to move to the grass. It would be a great decision. I was throwing a weightless stickbait up along the grass. I saw my line moving, and I set the hook. It jumped right away out of the water; it was a big fish. Thomas jumped to the front of the boat getting the net out of the locker. We were both excited with my second fish being over 19 inches. Great start!  We both caught two more fish out of the area. Thomas was able to catch a good 17 inch fish on a swim jig around the grass. I was able to add one more small fish to my bag. Then the bites stopped, and after a hour I needed to go try something different. We decided to go up pass the bridge for a hour and see if we could catch another good fish. Thomas wasn’t happy with the decision; he really doesn’t want to be pitching plastics around trees. He really enjoys fishing finesse around riprap. I needed a change just for a little bit. Thomas hooked up with a fish right away, but it jumped off next to the boat. Then after 30 minute without a bite and boats were everywhere, I told him “Lets move.” Not sure where we were going, lets just go. We went driving down the lake looking for a spot to fish that didn’t have a boat on it. We noticed some wind blowing good on a bank with grass, and saw some fish moving around chasing bait. I picked up my soft plastic bait, and threw it right next to the grass close to the fish chasing bait. Right away, I felt a tick and slammed the hook. It jumped right away out of the water, and it was another big fish. I fought it next to the boat, taking my time. It jumped right next to the boat throwing the plastic bait up the line. Thomas thought it threw the hook, so he dug the net into the water hoping to catch the fish. I knew it was still hooked, and I was yelling at him “Don’t do that your hitting the line.” Then it rolled next to the boat, Thomas netted it. It was a 20 inch long bass. While I was trying to get the fish out of the net, Thomas had cast up to the same spot and hooked up right away with another fish over 17 inches. I was holding a big fish in one hand and netting Thomas’s bass in another. I would say every boat in the area heard us. We both had limits, and were pumped. I was able to creel one more fish just before we had to go in. I was able to take first place with 13.39lbs, big bass of the tournament and also won the team side with 2365 points. Great start to the season.

Family Day on Banner Creek

Flint Hills Bass Club had family day on Banner Creek on June 2. The twins and I would start the day without Trey and Melissa because Trey had a tee-ball game in the morning. A nice rain storm came through in the morning before the fishing derby started. We had about 4 good spots to fish. I knew our first spot would be gone. So, I planned on fishing our second spot, which just before we took off, I noticed some bank fishermen on the spot. We had to start on a spot that was similar to the other spots, but just doesn’t usually have the quality or quanity. But on the first casts, both boys hooked up with 15 inches. A great start! We would catch our limit in 30 minutes and started culling. Most of the fish were caught on soft plastics, and a couple of smaller fish where caught on crankbaits. Kyle was able to catch two fish on a frog. Melissa and Trey showed up with a hour to fish, and we only caught a couple of small fish in the last hour. We ended up with 11.88 lb for second place. It wasn’t a bad day for fishing. Anytime you fish with your family is a great day.