Post by MadWags on Aug 12, 2005 8:58:56 GMT -5
BFL July 9th Detroit River
Pre-Fishing
This tournament came up against a busy work schedule. I was not able to get out and try to find fish, or as they say: “eliminate water”, in my usual manner.
One partial day of pre-fishing on Friday, prior to the tournament, is all I would get.
I made the decision to fish Lake Erie. This would prove to be my downfall. I am familiar with St. Clair and am confident that I can get a limit there, but Lake Erie has been troublesome for me. I know there are big fins there and I have been on them in the past, but it is really hit or miss for me. I did find some really nice fish and one was caught by a guest on my boat that was over 4lbs. The drop shot bite seemed to be working. I made the decision to fish Erie on Tournament day.
Tournament Day
Trouble awoke with me on tournament day. When I fired up my GPS I received a module not responding message that stayed with me the rest of the day. At that point I should have went to St. Clair and just fished. The spot in Erie that I was fishing gave up several nice Drum, but after several hours with no Smallies showing up I decided to make a move. Without a GPS in Erie you are very limited. I ran to the west shore and tried some spots that have worked for me in the past, with no luck. I went into panic mode and hit a familiar Largemouth hole to try and score a points fish. My co-angler caught three nice fish and I missed two. Several stops later I was out of time and ended the day with no fish and no points. The feeling of getting a zero is hard to get over. I went from 36th to 99th in the standings. The next tournament would be on a lake that I never fished. Can I make it back up the points ladder? Time will tell.
Pre-Fishing
This tournament came up against a busy work schedule. I was not able to get out and try to find fish, or as they say: “eliminate water”, in my usual manner.
One partial day of pre-fishing on Friday, prior to the tournament, is all I would get.
I made the decision to fish Lake Erie. This would prove to be my downfall. I am familiar with St. Clair and am confident that I can get a limit there, but Lake Erie has been troublesome for me. I know there are big fins there and I have been on them in the past, but it is really hit or miss for me. I did find some really nice fish and one was caught by a guest on my boat that was over 4lbs. The drop shot bite seemed to be working. I made the decision to fish Erie on Tournament day.
Tournament Day
Trouble awoke with me on tournament day. When I fired up my GPS I received a module not responding message that stayed with me the rest of the day. At that point I should have went to St. Clair and just fished. The spot in Erie that I was fishing gave up several nice Drum, but after several hours with no Smallies showing up I decided to make a move. Without a GPS in Erie you are very limited. I ran to the west shore and tried some spots that have worked for me in the past, with no luck. I went into panic mode and hit a familiar Largemouth hole to try and score a points fish. My co-angler caught three nice fish and I missed two. Several stops later I was out of time and ended the day with no fish and no points. The feeling of getting a zero is hard to get over. I went from 36th to 99th in the standings. The next tournament would be on a lake that I never fished. Can I make it back up the points ladder? Time will tell.