fender66
Well-known member
Well, after 2 or three nights of very restless sleep (like a kid waiting for Christmas)....we fished our first tournament of the year yesterday. (first ever for me)
Ron, (freetofish) and I both headed out at 4:30 south about 165 miles to hit the water on Clearwater lake in Southern Missouri. I fished this lake for a few hours last year at the beginning of August and caught one little crappie and that's it. This is a tough lake, and deeper than I'm used to fishing.
We both did extensive homework and studied our topographic maps and kept our eyes and ears open for anything that might help us find fish. There were 20 boats in the tournament and we placed 10th. Not too bad for a "first time" on this lake (for the most part). Hours fished were 9-3 and we didn't catch anything until 11:45 or so when I had my first bite on a green pumpkin 5/8 oz w/craw trailer jig. One hard thump and nothing else. When I felt it, I said, "OOh..that was a bite". I slowed my retrieve to see if it would hit again, but he was already hooked without me knowing until I started my slow retrieve again and saw the line take off. Nice fish coming in a 2.64lb. We eventually put 2 more in the boat totaling at weigh in at 4.94 lb..
The big bass of the day weighed in at 5.59 lb and that boat actually won with 6 fish weighing 11.87 lb. Two boats caught their limit of 10 fish (5 per person) and there were a total of 90 fish weighed in.
We had a great day and although I'd love to have placed better....I'm quite happy with 10th. Here's a pic of me with our big fish from our boat. Although this isn't a huge HAWG....it is the biggest "first fish of the year" for me. We really had a great time.....thanks Ron for being my partner!
Ron, (freetofish) and I both headed out at 4:30 south about 165 miles to hit the water on Clearwater lake in Southern Missouri. I fished this lake for a few hours last year at the beginning of August and caught one little crappie and that's it. This is a tough lake, and deeper than I'm used to fishing.
We both did extensive homework and studied our topographic maps and kept our eyes and ears open for anything that might help us find fish. There were 20 boats in the tournament and we placed 10th. Not too bad for a "first time" on this lake (for the most part). Hours fished were 9-3 and we didn't catch anything until 11:45 or so when I had my first bite on a green pumpkin 5/8 oz w/craw trailer jig. One hard thump and nothing else. When I felt it, I said, "OOh..that was a bite". I slowed my retrieve to see if it would hit again, but he was already hooked without me knowing until I started my slow retrieve again and saw the line take off. Nice fish coming in a 2.64lb. We eventually put 2 more in the boat totaling at weigh in at 4.94 lb..
The big bass of the day weighed in at 5.59 lb and that boat actually won with 6 fish weighing 11.87 lb. Two boats caught their limit of 10 fish (5 per person) and there were a total of 90 fish weighed in.
We had a great day and although I'd love to have placed better....I'm quite happy with 10th. Here's a pic of me with our big fish from our boat. Although this isn't a huge HAWG....it is the biggest "first fish of the year" for me. We really had a great time.....thanks Ron for being my partner!
