The second day we had a 2 hour fog delay. I was in the second flight, and my already short day was getting shorter by the minute. I decided to run straight to where I caught the big one the first day. I ran down there and lost a good one in the first 10 casts. My co-angler caught a 2 pounder and then the bite turned off. I ran to the other spot that the guy had come in on me the day before in hopes that the school might come up again. I picked up a jerkbait and caught one about 2 pounds, but that was it. There was no schooling action, so I decided to make the run back up the lake to the bluffs. It was awesome! I realized that with the strong currents, my bait wasn't making it down far enough. I put a 5/16oz head on my hollowbelly and went to work. Unfortunately I didn't figure out the heavier weight thing until too late. I was able to catch 15 or 20 keeper smallies that weighed 12-4. When I weighed in I was in 6th, but I steadily dropped as the later flights came in. I knew I wouldn't make the cut so I started for home. My wife called me to let me know I finished in 16th place. Now, last year that would have won me $16,000; this year however with the economy the way it is and sponsors not giving as much I won a measly $4,000. I did make money on the trip, which is always a positive, but I was once again sooooo close. I missed the cut by just 2 pounds, and 10th place paid 16K. I think I could have done well that last day since I had figured out how to catch the bigger ones in the current. I'm pretty sure that if I had spent all day on those bluffs that second day I could have caught 15 or 16lbs. I read the articles about how the top 10 caught their fish, and the only one not fishing bluff walls was Mark Rose. I found the right pattern and fish to make the cut; it just didn't happen for me. It was a good learning experience though, and I feel like I'm getting better and better with every tournament. Leaving the season on a positive note feels good. If I don't get a team deal with FLW I won't be fishing the FLW Tour next year. If that happens, I'm hoping to find a sponsor that will pay for me to fish the FLW Eastern Series. At the least I'll be fishing the Stren Series again, and the Bass Opens. I think Berkley has reconsidered my sponsorship with them which is awesome. I should find out about that in a few weeks. I hope 2009 was a great season for everyone. It was a great learning experience for me and I'm looking forward to 2010.