i do look sooo forward to these, like the BIGTURD said,..thanks for taking the time to post.!!! Can't wait to see it!

FLW Tour #2
Lewis Smith Lake, AL
Water Temp: 60
Largemouth/spawn
Spots/pre-spawn

Sorry about the lack of posting. We were staying at a house out on the lake where I was lucky to get cell phone reception. If the wind blew from the west and the planets aligned just right, I would get half a bar on my cell phone and be able to call home. I was supposed to meet Gabe at 6am, but got lost on my way to the launch in the morning. It may have been that I was still asleep as I was trying to find the launch. Whatever the reason, it took me 45 minutes to find the launch. When I got there I didn't see Gabes' truck so I started working on my tackle. Not long after, I hear someone yelling at me from the water. It was Gabe and he was pretty unhappy. I carried my stuff over in a big tangled mess and threw it in the boat. I locked the truck with the remote and we were off. Soon after leaving the boat launch I realized I had forgotten my sun glasses; it was supposed to be cloudy all day so it didn't really matter. Gabe had been out on the lake with a local prior to the cutoff, so he was familiar with the lake. The first point we pull up on Gabe fires his spook out and catches a keeper spotted bass. The size limit on this lake is 15". We fish the area for another 15min without a bite. We move to another area where Gabe breaks out the ugliest looking jig you've ever seen; it's a 3/4oz neon green flipping jig with chartreuse dipped green trailer. He makes long casts out over a brush covered flat with the jig. He sets the hook and brings in 3+ spotted bass. I couldn't believe the spotted bass would eat the jig. Gabe calls it the "Shocker Jig"; it's so ugly it shocks them into biting. We don't catch much else, but while fishing the back of a cove we start finding bass on beds.

Bed fishing and breakdowns.
The first day of the tournament didn't go so well. I talked to Art Rife after the first day and he informed me that he saw my partner for the next day weigh in and that he'd be heading straight for a bed fish the next day. I drew out Scott Martin for the second day. True to his word, he headed straight for a 4+ he had found on a bed the day before. He fished it for 2hrs without success. He decided to leave and go for another one on a bed. On our way to his next fish he decided to stop on a deep point he caught a good one on the day before. We pull up and fish for maybe 15 minutes and Scott hooks into a nice spot, probably 3 1/2lbs. We fish for another 15 minutes without a bite. We leave there and head for the bed fish. He catches it after about an hour. On our way to his next bed fish the motor has some technical difficulties. We're 20 miles from the launch and Scott is afraid we won't be able to make it back. He calls the support team and they come out and fix the motor while the boat is sitting in the water. That whole ordeal took about 2 1/2 hrs. While waiting for the support people to show up we fished around a bridge with Scott catching a small keeper. Gabe and I had fished this area in practice and I caught my 2 best fish within yards of where we were fishing. I didn't know that Gabe had been there the fist day and his Co-angler caught 11lbs; so I kept casting in hopes that the fish I had in practice were still there; little did I know that they had already been carted off. The motor gets fixed and we're on our way again. We arrive at the next bed and he catches this one in about 15 minutes. He decides to go hit the deep point again where he caught the nice spot. I was feeling like this would be my only chance at a fish. We fished the area again for about 15 minutes and he decided he needed to spend the rest of the day fishing for the big one he had fished for earlier. So that's what we did. And so ends my awesome Alabama experience. I couldn't get out of that state fast enough. As soon as the Fun Zone ended on Sunday afternoon, I hopped in my truck and drove straight home through the night; 16 hrs stopping only for gas. Man it feels good to be home!

I left the house at 5am on Friday morning to drive down to Lake Norman. I arrived at the house we were renting at about 3 in the afternoon. I made pretty good time and it was a great day for driving; it was sunny and warm and almost no traffic. The house looked like it should have been featured in one of the Austin Powers movies; it was straight out of the 70's. It had plenty of room though and would do the job. Suggs, Moorehead and I went to Wal-mart to do the grocery shopping that night. We cook every night so we don't have to spend allot on take out or expensive restaurants. I met Gabe at the house where he was staying at 5am. Everyone was excited about the thought of catching fish. This year has been terrible as far as numbers of fish being caught. We got to the lake before it was light out, so Gabe decided we should just put down the trolling motor and go. My 3rd cast I had a giant on my hollow belly swim bait. It got off, but this was a good sign, I was excited. We caught about 30 fish in the next few hours; lots of small fish, but a few good keepers in between. Unfortunately the day took a turn for the worse. About 11am I got a call from my cousin who was hysterical crying. My Grandfather had collapsed in the kitchen and was unresponsive. The ambulance had come and they were on the way to the hospital. My wife and kids got to the hospital as soon as they could, but he had already passed. My parents got divorced when I was 2 and I lived with my Grandparents for most of my life; my Grandfather was like a father to me. I learned to fish in the Reservoir in their back yard. I know my Grandfather would have wanted me to stay and make some money, but I knew I had to go home and be with my family. Gabe dropped me off at the dock and I headed back to the house to pack up. I left the house around 3pm and rolled into my driveway about 12:30 in the morning. This will be the first tournament I've missed since I started. I didn't think things could get any worse, but somehow they have. At least I'm home spending time with family; that's the most important thing. I do wish I could have said goodbye though.

Sorry to hear about your loss Jess.