FLW Tour #2
Table Rock Lake - Branson, Missouri
Water Temp: 48
Pre-spawn

Ooooooh so close!
I was able to get out on the lake for the last day of practice. I called up Sam Newby and he said it was no problem. Sam was still feeling the high from his near win on Guntersville. He had just arrived 2 days before from the BASS Open down in Texas where he placed 8th after leading the first day. He had caught 0 keepers his first day of practice and didn't feel good about his chances going into this tournament. He ended up catching one keeper on a wiggle wart and I lost a keeper on a wart. That pretty much summed up my practice. From what I had heard rooming with Suggs and Morehead, people were crushing the bass. I felt very uncomfortable going into the tournament so unprepared. I drew out with Jack Wade for the first day. Jack seemed really nice and said we'd be around allot of fish. Still, I didn't feel confident not having had a good practice. We made a long, long run up the James River which seemed especially long being it was 22 degrees. It was miserably cold, and the 20 mph wind didn't really help. I caught a good keeper largemouth swimming a grub fairly early. I started to feel better having kicked the skunk out of the boat. Not to long after I boated another largie about 3 lbs on a wiggle wart. At about noon I threw my jerkbait out... jerk, jerk....pause..... jerk, je....wham! The fish came flying out of the water and made my heart about jump out of my throat. It dove back down and made a run straight at the boat. I couldn't stop the fish and it doubled my rod as it passed under the boat. Luckily I had set my drag perfectly and the Revo let just the right amount of line out. The fish gave up and was coming out from under the boat. I saw her head come out and it was huge. Jack said he didn't want to try and net the fish against the boat so I attempted to drag it away from the side and just then the jerkbait flew out of her mouth and she swam away. Jack apologized over and over for not trying to net her. He said the fish was over 5. I felt a sick feeling come over me; I knew what that fish meant. I cast out immediately and got slammed again, this time by a keeper spot. It didn't make me feel any better. That was the last bite I got that day. Jack ended up catching 6 keepers that day and I had my 3. I finished the day in the 38th I think. Even with the lost fish I was still in good shape to make the cut. I drew out with Keith Williams on day 2; he too was running way up the James River. Another long freezing cold ride ahead. Keith was a great guy and we had fun fishing together. The catching part was the problem. He only had one small area in the way back of a creek that he was fishing. He had caught 5 keepers and his co had caught 3 there the day before. It didn't look like the type of area that would be replenishing this time of year. We arrive half frost bitten and start fishing. I catch a nice keeper largemouth on a wiggle wart about 15 minutes into the day. If I can keep this up I can make the cut. We fish the area for 4 more hours with only 1 other bite; Keith caught a nice 4lb largie on stump with a jig. I switch from a wiggle wart to a Berkley hollow belly swim bait and get slammed on my first cast; visions of me making the cut spring into my head as I fight the fish. The fish streaks across the surface and Keith yells "it's a toad!". I fight it to the boat only to realize it's about a 6lb walleye. What the walleye was doing that far back in that shallow water this time of year I will never know; aside from ruining my day that is. He decides it's time to leave the area and start fishing back to the ramp. The fist place we stop I throw out my jerkbait and catch my second keeper largie of the day. If I could just catch 2 more like that I could make the cut. Time ran out and we had to head back. We fished one last spot before going in and Keith caught a keeper smallie. Weigh in for the co-anglers was dismal that day. I ended up in 28th place which isn't bad, but that one fish the first day cost me the cut; oooooh so close! It could have gone either way. Sometimes luck plays a part in how you do; I could just as easily have landed the fish, made the cut and won the tournament. It's crazy how one event like that can change the outcome. It could have been worse; I could have been sitting at home wishing I was there. I moved up to 13th place for the year. If I can keep it up I could have a shot at Co-angler of the year again. And how about my roommates; Suggs-2nd Morehead-4th. I hope some of you used my Fantasy Fishing picks for this one. Suggs and Ehrler both made it. My next tournament is the BASS Northern Open on the Chesapeake Bay. This will be the first BASS event I've fished as a Pro, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it's run. I leave there and go directly to the next FLW on Lake Norman. The ice is melting and spring is coming. I'll see you on Candlewood!

Good Luck Jess

ctfisherman open
Candlewood Lake
Water Temp: 42
Pre-Spawn

I am adding this post here as well as in the other thread. Fishing with friends is what life's all about. As always it was nice to see everyone from ctfisherman. I wish all tournaments were run as seamlessly as ctfisherman ones; they're a pleasure to fish. Congratulations to all who made a check yesterday. There were definitely some impressive bags weighed in. Art Rife and I weighed in just under 18lbs and someone (Dusty) said we finished around 10th. We finished in 6th; although with weights like that, I guess that 6th is pretty much like 10th. To quote the timeless words of great NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby "... always remember, if you ain't first, you're last ... “It was a tough day for us, catching only 7 keepers. Luckily we were able to cull out two, 2 pounders at the end of the day with a 3 and a 4. It made no difference in the end, but it felt good to catch a decent bag. We caught all our fish on a black, Andy's Jigs, 1/4oz rattling hair jig. I guess Art Singer is working with Andy on these jigs, so they're sure to be a smallie killer. Hopefully the weather is nice on Tuesday for the last day of open season. There were some places I didn't get to fish during the tournament that I'd like to go and fish for fun. I heard there were some giants caught there. Hey Dusty, maybe it's not the lake, but the Angler. Stick with me kid, I'll teach you a thing or two.

I feel as though it was a great injustice for the lake to go off limits after yesterday. The fishing right now on Candlewood is phenomenal. Dusty and I probably caught 20 smallies yesterday and 10 of them were over 4 lbs; our best 5 weighed about 24 lbs. Does anyone know what the fine is for fishing during the closed season? The fishing right now may be worth the penalty of getting caught. I'll write it now so Dusty doesn't have to later; he caught more and bigger fish than I did. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again.

And see, i wasnt even going to say anything...i was actually going to text you and say thank you for allowing me to win for once.


But anyway...like you said its unreal out there!!!