Great job Jess, bummer about the first day and driving 40 miles to find someone else there. i fished the same islands about 8yrs ago as a co angler in the bfl, and my boater ran flat out in a old ranger boat in 8' rollers to tear is boat apart, we made it back minus 1 trolling motor, 1 depth finder, 4-5 rods and a broken hydra foil. that was the worst ride i have ever experience. Good luck at Champlain.
FLW Tour Championship Three Rivers-Pittsburgh, PA Water Temp: 74 Post Spawn
I arrived in Pittsburgh, PA after a fairly easy 7 hour drive. I'm staying at the Ramada Inn along with most of the other competitors. The rooms are pretty nice, but unfortunately all the fridges and microwaves have been taken leaving me with fast food all week. I'm practicing with Dan Morehead again. We're fishing 3 Rivers, which includes the Monongahela, Alleghany, and the Ohio River. It's actually quite beautiful in Downtown Pittsburgh. From the water you can pass the city, the football stadium, and the baseball stadium.
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As everyone probably knows, this is where the worst Classic in BASS history took place a few years ago. I believe it took KVD a total of 12lbs over a four day period to win; that's just 3 lbs a day to win the classic. The biggest limit, of which there were only 6 in the whole tournament, was somewhere around 6 lbs. I think big fish for all days was 2-12. Needless to say, I wasn't really excited about 4 days of practice here. My attitude changed quickly however, when I landed a 13" smallie in the first 30 minutes we were there. By the end of the day we had boated 10 keepers, including a smallie that Dan caught, over 3lbs. I'm not sure if others are catching them as good, but if I can do that in the tournament, I'm sure to make the cut. There's really not that much to fish here other than bank. There are certain banks that seem to hold more fish than others, but as far as patterns go, I don't think there's much to it. I think the winner will just be covering allot of water. Steve at Stalker Baits had sent me some mini tubes at Champlain that I still had so I tried them and the fish were all over them. I'll be throwing them on either a Texas rig, or slider head. Berkley has a new 3" Gulp craw that is deadly on a dropshot, but I've found here that it works equally well on a jig head. I've also brought along my hair jig tying stuff, and that may be my secret bait for the tournament. I don't think many will be throwing it and that will really work to my advantage. These are the 3 baits that I will be fishing the majority of the time. I have caught a few keepers on a small swimbait that I will probably have on. Most every fish that we've caught has been throwing up crayfish, so a bottom bait seems to be the way to go.
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Today was the last day of practice. We ended the day early with a film crew from channel 3 news riding along with us. I stayed out of the camera most of the time, but I'm still going to watch tonight to see if I can see myself. I've caught at least 2 keepers every day of practice. I'm actually pretty excited about the fishing. I do much better when conditions are difficult. There will be many Co's in this tournament that will zero because they aren't good at finesse fishing. Hopefully I get a decent draw and I get all my bites to the boat. This will be the last tournament I fish as a Co-angler; hopefully I can go out in style.
Edited by Jess Caraballo (07/28/0907:21 PM)
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Jess, not to "butter your toast" but I have no doubt that you will do very well at being a professional angler. Your attitude continues to show us all that you have the mental part of the game licked. I look forward to the same types of posts when you are on the cover of Wheaties or Cheerios.
Mike
Someday I will get paid to fish, for now I have to work.
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www.joinrfa.com Contact Capt Mike Marro Bluefin Charters, Clinton Ct. 203-245-7742 www.bluefincharters.com As if the colassal middle finger hasn't been jammed up our asses far enough, the NMFS and ASMFC carry on with their daily masterpieces of saving species in peril..........We as recreational anglers serve thanks for all the fine "work" you do........ Fishin Factory III Middletown Ct 860-344-9139 www.fishinfactory3.com www.jigheadlures.com www.castlebaits.com
you do........ 
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