Post by MadWags on Jul 13, 2004 4:22:24 GMT -5
BFL Detroit River
Pre-fishing.
Yes that’s right, just one day of pre-fishing for this tournament. I was confident that I could still catch fish on the south shore of St. Clair so I decided to spend most of my day on the Detroit River and Lake Erie looking for bigger fish. I arrived at Elizabeth Park at 8am. My nephew, Jason Madigan, fishes as a co-angler and he had the day off work as well. We met at the ramp, launched and headed into lake Erie. The lake was calm and the winds were light and variable. Picture perfect day for pleasure boating. Bad day for fishing. Tried several spots south on Erie. Tried several spots North on Erie. Tried several spots in the Detroit River. After running and gunning for hours on end with no real results, I decided to head back to St. Clair and check on some spots near the river. Before leaving for Clair I was able to consult with Dan Kimmel himself via phone. Dan would not be fishing the tournament, so he offered to help. We found fish, but not the size needed for a respectable tournament finish. I ended the day rather frustrated yet in good spirits. I would be staying at my sisters house on Grosse Isle once again and I was looking forward to the hot tub and the Walleye dinner my nephew was going to make. During the course of the evening, my brother in-law asked me repeatedly about my fishing plans for the next days tournament. I continually stated that I had not a clue what I would be doing the next day. At the pre-tournament meeting I was paired with a local co-angler from Gibraltar. Another good draw with a great guy. I told him we would be fishing Lake St. Clair and left it at that. We were boat number 140.
That night I watched the weather repeatedly. I heard three conflicting forecasts for the wind direction, SSE, NNE, E and one forecast called for threatening thunderstorms. Either way the wind would be light and the Temperature would be mild. What to do, what to do.
Tournament Day
Sleep did not come easy the night before and coffee just didn’t seem to help the morning of the tournament. In my morning haze I decided to change all my plans and head for Pelee Island in Lake Erie. I had not pre-fished it, but I figured I might as well go for it and have fun. One advantage to staying on Grosse Isle is you never wait in line for the ramp. Just make a right turn into Elizabeth Park. I met my co-angler at the gate and we prepped the boat for launch. It was then that I told him we were going to Pelee Island.
Now keep in mind that I have never made the trip to Pelee and had no idea what I would find other than what was on my map. I thought I would start at Winter Reef on the North West side. Approximately half way to Pelee is Colchester Reef. As we were passing it I decided to stop and try it out. There were several boats there and I pulled right up on the south side of the light in 12ft of water. The structure is all rock and it drops to 30 ft all around the light. The tower has a large air cannon to scare birds off of the helo pad. The first time that went off I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was having some luck in pre-fishing throwing a Carolina Rig with a 3” Yum Wooly Hawgtail in green pumpkin. The rig was ready to go, so I picked it up and started fishing. Within 5 minutes I boated a 4lb 1oz smallmouth. I commented to my co-angler that we would not be going to Pelee if we boated more fish like that one. By 9:30am I had 3 quality smallies in the tank. My co-angler was doing a great job of catching Gobies on tubes and even caught a Sheephead on a Drop Shot. By 11:30 am I had my 4th fish in the boat. I started to feel concerned about my co-angler not catching any bass. I asked him if he had any Carolina Rigs. He did not, so I offered to set him up. He rigged one up with a tube. I finally caught a Sheephead. We started working the rocks deeper and further east of the tower. My co-angler hooked up. I started to reel in to grab the net. I felt the tell-tale tug, set the hook, missed it! Darn. Netted my co-anglers 3.5lb smally. The bite started to slow and the next couple hours went by without me getting my fifth fish. I started to panic.
Do I die here or run and gun for that last keeper. Surely I can find a fish somewhere. I decided to head back and make stops on the way. I headed for the marina at Colchester. I have caught good fish off those rocks in the past. I pulled 3 largemouth on a tube, all short. Ran back to the river. Hit 4 different spots in the last hour of fishing. Nothing. Time was up and once again, I was coming in with 4 fish. That makes 3 tournaments in a row. My co-angler would weigh one fish. I used Bass-Medics Rejuvenade in my live well. My fish were amped by the time I reached the line for weigh-in. I was soaking wet from being splashed, as was the angler behind me, …sorry. I weighed 12-14 with 4 fish. That 5th fish would of made for a nice sack. I was asked to weigh my big fish, so I pulled it out and put it in the basket. The scale locked on, the weight was read, 4lb 1oz, and the fish launched itself from the table. I grabbed for it in mid air and was spined in my left hand. OUCH! The fish fell into the sound equipment and took out the sound. The whole show was shut down for 5 minutes. I had to cut the spine out of my hand with a knife. Anyway, I finished 38th and I have now moved up to 29th in the points standings.
In retrospect. (2020 hindsight) (Monday morning quarterback)
I am now convinced that I have the 4 fish virus. Although I did not get that 5th fish, which would have put me in the money, I feel good about my decisions and results for this tournament. I just need to put this behind me and keep concentrating on my goals.
Pre-fishing.
Yes that’s right, just one day of pre-fishing for this tournament. I was confident that I could still catch fish on the south shore of St. Clair so I decided to spend most of my day on the Detroit River and Lake Erie looking for bigger fish. I arrived at Elizabeth Park at 8am. My nephew, Jason Madigan, fishes as a co-angler and he had the day off work as well. We met at the ramp, launched and headed into lake Erie. The lake was calm and the winds were light and variable. Picture perfect day for pleasure boating. Bad day for fishing. Tried several spots south on Erie. Tried several spots North on Erie. Tried several spots in the Detroit River. After running and gunning for hours on end with no real results, I decided to head back to St. Clair and check on some spots near the river. Before leaving for Clair I was able to consult with Dan Kimmel himself via phone. Dan would not be fishing the tournament, so he offered to help. We found fish, but not the size needed for a respectable tournament finish. I ended the day rather frustrated yet in good spirits. I would be staying at my sisters house on Grosse Isle once again and I was looking forward to the hot tub and the Walleye dinner my nephew was going to make. During the course of the evening, my brother in-law asked me repeatedly about my fishing plans for the next days tournament. I continually stated that I had not a clue what I would be doing the next day. At the pre-tournament meeting I was paired with a local co-angler from Gibraltar. Another good draw with a great guy. I told him we would be fishing Lake St. Clair and left it at that. We were boat number 140.
That night I watched the weather repeatedly. I heard three conflicting forecasts for the wind direction, SSE, NNE, E and one forecast called for threatening thunderstorms. Either way the wind would be light and the Temperature would be mild. What to do, what to do.
Tournament Day
Sleep did not come easy the night before and coffee just didn’t seem to help the morning of the tournament. In my morning haze I decided to change all my plans and head for Pelee Island in Lake Erie. I had not pre-fished it, but I figured I might as well go for it and have fun. One advantage to staying on Grosse Isle is you never wait in line for the ramp. Just make a right turn into Elizabeth Park. I met my co-angler at the gate and we prepped the boat for launch. It was then that I told him we were going to Pelee Island.
Now keep in mind that I have never made the trip to Pelee and had no idea what I would find other than what was on my map. I thought I would start at Winter Reef on the North West side. Approximately half way to Pelee is Colchester Reef. As we were passing it I decided to stop and try it out. There were several boats there and I pulled right up on the south side of the light in 12ft of water. The structure is all rock and it drops to 30 ft all around the light. The tower has a large air cannon to scare birds off of the helo pad. The first time that went off I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was having some luck in pre-fishing throwing a Carolina Rig with a 3” Yum Wooly Hawgtail in green pumpkin. The rig was ready to go, so I picked it up and started fishing. Within 5 minutes I boated a 4lb 1oz smallmouth. I commented to my co-angler that we would not be going to Pelee if we boated more fish like that one. By 9:30am I had 3 quality smallies in the tank. My co-angler was doing a great job of catching Gobies on tubes and even caught a Sheephead on a Drop Shot. By 11:30 am I had my 4th fish in the boat. I started to feel concerned about my co-angler not catching any bass. I asked him if he had any Carolina Rigs. He did not, so I offered to set him up. He rigged one up with a tube. I finally caught a Sheephead. We started working the rocks deeper and further east of the tower. My co-angler hooked up. I started to reel in to grab the net. I felt the tell-tale tug, set the hook, missed it! Darn. Netted my co-anglers 3.5lb smally. The bite started to slow and the next couple hours went by without me getting my fifth fish. I started to panic.
Do I die here or run and gun for that last keeper. Surely I can find a fish somewhere. I decided to head back and make stops on the way. I headed for the marina at Colchester. I have caught good fish off those rocks in the past. I pulled 3 largemouth on a tube, all short. Ran back to the river. Hit 4 different spots in the last hour of fishing. Nothing. Time was up and once again, I was coming in with 4 fish. That makes 3 tournaments in a row. My co-angler would weigh one fish. I used Bass-Medics Rejuvenade in my live well. My fish were amped by the time I reached the line for weigh-in. I was soaking wet from being splashed, as was the angler behind me, …sorry. I weighed 12-14 with 4 fish. That 5th fish would of made for a nice sack. I was asked to weigh my big fish, so I pulled it out and put it in the basket. The scale locked on, the weight was read, 4lb 1oz, and the fish launched itself from the table. I grabbed for it in mid air and was spined in my left hand. OUCH! The fish fell into the sound equipment and took out the sound. The whole show was shut down for 5 minutes. I had to cut the spine out of my hand with a knife. Anyway, I finished 38th and I have now moved up to 29th in the points standings.
In retrospect. (2020 hindsight) (Monday morning quarterback)
I am now convinced that I have the 4 fish virus. Although I did not get that 5th fish, which would have put me in the money, I feel good about my decisions and results for this tournament. I just need to put this behind me and keep concentrating on my goals.
