The first day of the tournament the wind was barely even moving the trees. I made up my mind I was going to run out into Ontario and go for the bed fish. I was boat 19, the earliest draw I’ve had in a long time, so I knew I had a good chance I would get out there first. The river was slick calm and I headed full out for the lake. I made it to the mouth of the river and we started hitting some pretty big rollers. The waves started building, and off in the distance I saw a giant thunderstorm. I hit a wave and my trolling motor strap ripped apart. I knew there was no way I would make it another 20 miles out into the lake without my motor strapped down. I turned around and headed back down the river to the humps that Dusty and I had found those good fish on. It was 13 miles to the mouth of the river plus the 13 miles back and then 28 miles down the river. By the time I stopped on my first spot, 2 hours of the day had gone by. The fishing was a little bit tougher, but the fish were still there. Unfortunately, the wind had really picked up and it was blowing with the current, so my batteries were fading fast. I ran a milk run on the humps that I had found in practice and caught a decent limit, but unfortunately lost some key fish. I jumped off a 3+ on a drop shot, broke another big one off, and had an absolute giant pull off on a tube. By noon my trolling motor batteries were completely drained and I could no longer hold on the humps. I tried drifting them, but between the 20mph wind and the strong current, it was a losing battle. I was able to catch 14-6 before my batteries quit; I was disappointed, but at least I was still in the hunt.

The second day wind seemed to be even lighter than the morning before. I strapped my motor down securely and made the decision to run out onto the lake…..no matter what. I hit the mouth of the river and started hitting some bigger waves. This time I kept on it, and was able to drive 40 mph almost the whole way. I ran straight to my sweet spot and went to set down off pad when a pretty big wave hit me on the front left side. I didn't think it hit that hard, but when the pieces of aluminun flew off the trolling motor, I knew it was just hard enough. My trolling motor mount had shattered, and pieces of aluminum were laying all over the deck. Great! I was able to rig some ropes and a bungee strap that I had so I could still use it. It wasn't the greatest, but it got the job done. I trolled(more like limped) to my sweet spot and had three big ones in the first 15 minutes. I went to another little spot and caught a 4. I had one I tried to catch for 15 minutes but couldn’t get it to bite. I decided to leave it and look around for some more. We went around the other side of the island to see if one of the fish Dusty had caught was still there. As I’m getting closer to the waypoint I see a boat pretty close. I pull up and ask if they’re in the tournament; they are. I pull in directly behind them and fish. He’s about 10 feet from my mark going down the bank throwing a tube. Unfortunately for me he must have casted right on the fish. I see him rear back and set the hook. He pulls in the giant that Dusty had caught 2 days before. Unbelievable! I drive almost 40 miles and somebody blind casts one of my fish right in front of me. Fortunately he wasn’t looking and missed the other 10 that were there. I went down the shore line picking them off like they were ripe raspberries. I love bed fishing! I upgraded a few times and decided at noon to run back into the river. I had enough to make a good check and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get back. I t was a fairly easy drive on the way back. I had to go about 20 mph the whole way to avoid stuffing any waves. I spent the rest of the day taking my Co to humps I knew held decent fish. He ended up catching almost 15 lbs and was happy with his day. My 17-12 for the day brought me all the way up to 10th place where I stayed for quite awhile; I almost made it in. I ended up finishing in 11th. The fish I lost the first day had really cost me. I think I could have caught 18 lbs again the 3rd day and moved up into the top 5. Oh well, I learned allot about decision making, equipment prep, and time management. Not only did I get a good check, but I also made a big leap in the points, all the way up to 32nd. Dusty had an alright tournament finishing in 24th I think. Kevin, who practiced with me the first 2 days, had a good tournament as well, finishing in 12th. Now it’s on to Pittsburgh for the FLW Championship!