Hey Jess, I have a question for you if you don't mind, and have the time.

Don't take this negatively, but I find it difficult to understand why you even spend the time and money to pre-fish since you can't share any info with the pro and just go where the pro goes? It seems like 95% of the time the pro goes some where else and fishes a different pattern than what you found.

Just curious what your reasoning is.

Thanks, Barn.

I sometimes wonder that myself. Mostly, I practice to get better. It's a learning experience, just like fishing as a Co-angler. As much as I want to do well and win as a Co, it's really just a stepping stone. The things I learn during practice not only help me in that tournament, but also as a fisherman in general. Each lake is different, but fish are pretty much the same no matter where you go. The time I spent practicing at Champlain for the tour event helped me figure out what the fish at Thousand Islands would be doing. I didn't do well at Champlain because of a technicality, but I did do well at the Stren the next week. It isn't always exactly the same, but there are defifnitely similarities. I'm always learning, even if it's what not to do.

When I woke up and went out to the boat, I checked my batteries and to my dismay, they weren't fully charged. I hope this doesn't continue to be a problem. The third day of practice was windy once again. I decided to stay in the river and find some more humps like I had found the first 2 days. Kevin had gotten his Canadian license the evening before, so we weren't limited to NY waters anymore. We fished both U.S. and Canadian waters. By the end of the day we had pinpointed the bigger fish, with both of us having close to 18 lbs. The first day of practice, it was cloudy and the bigger fish were up on top of the humps. Today we found that once the sun came out, the bigger ones had dropped off the sides of the humps where the rock ledge dropped from 15 to 25 feet deep.

Dusty decided to finally show up today. He would be practicing with me for the final 2 days. The wind was supposed to blow 10-20 again, so Dusty decided to take me down the river and show me some of his largemouth areas. We drove about 30 minutes and launched out of a small ramp in Chippewa bay. We fished Dusty's best largemouth spot with just a few blow ups. He said he had never seen the area so void of life. The water was colder than normal, and the grass just hadn't grown in yet. After no luck fishing for largemouth I decided to run my hump pattern up in this section of the river. We ran a little ways from the bay and started fishing. It didn't take long. My first smallie was a hefty 4+. Once we figured out how the fish were positioned on the humps it was on. We smashed them! Dusty ended up with close to 18lbs, and I was up around 20. I was starting to feel excited and worried all at the same time. My incredible practice at Potomac ended in a very disappointing finish, and I was concerned I was heading down the same road.

My batteries were actually charged this morning and I was excited. Not only were my batteries charged, but the wind was only supposed to blow 10-15 today. I was finally going to get a chance to get out on the lake. We ran out about 25mi into Lake Ontario to an area known as the Ducks. The seas weren't too bad, and it only took about 35 minutes to get out there. We started out fishing some of the deeper reefs without success. I realized that the water temp was only 61 one degrees out here. I looked at Dusty and said "the water temps only 61, there's fish on beds somewhere out here". We went in shallower to throw a jerkbait and do some looking. I had a big smallie follow my jerkbait right by a rock. I reeled in and realized that the bass was on a bed. We looked around a little more and found 5 or 6 more locked on. It was my little slice of heaven. I was pretty sure no one else had found these fish. We went around the whole Island and ended up finding quite a few. After seeing what was out there, I was certain I could catch 18-20lbs if I could get out there during the tournament. To boot, Dusty had caught about 18 lbs just throwing a dropshot around while I was looking.

kick some asss boys!!!!!

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!