Hurry up and wait

My boat — which was supposed to be wrapped and ready for me to pick up Monday — is still in the shop. When I got there, they had printed one of the logos in a terribly wrong color.

My boat — which was supposed to be wrapped and ready for me to pick up Monday — is still in the shop. When I got there, they had printed one of the logos in a terribly wrong color. The bottom half of the wrap had to be completely redone.

Anyway, this brings up an interesting point. We, as fishermen, get too antsy too fast. We're so passionate about fishing; we want to get out and start doing our thing — so much so that sometimes things get overlooked. This is how drain plugs are forgotten and straps are left off trailered boats. In most cases, it's better to get things done right instead of fast, especially when rigging a new boat. There are always small details you have to iron out in the wrap, rigging and tackle. This is why it's important to start early.

One thing I'm happy about is the fact that we're still a ways away from the Classic, and I have the time now for things like this to happen. There's nothing worse than breaking in a new rig on tournament day. When you've got a hot new rig, it's tough to wait for it to be done. I wanted to get it on the water last Monday and start breaking in the new engine and have fun driving the new beast. But I'm still waiting. And that's OK in this instance.

Little Alton is fishing his first tournament this week down at Lake Amistad. It's a team tournament he's fishing with his buddy, and the first real tournament he's entering on his own. It's also the first time he's taking his new boat, my old one, out for real. In the past he has always fished with me. With school and all, he won't have any time to prefish or prepare like he'd like to, but it should be a good experience. He's getting his feet wet.

After church this Sunday, I'm heading down to Falcon again. I have a feeling it's going to fish much differently than the last time I was there. That nasty cold front made it all the way down there. I heard Laredo, Texas, posted a new record temperature low recently. I think it was 19 degrees. There should be several days of warming up before I get there, but it still may be really tough. I plan on fishing a spawn-type bite to see if there are any fish moving up. I'll report back on Little A's tournament and Falcon next week, hopefully with pictures. Oh, by the way, go Cowboys!