Lake Seminole was a big one for me. Not just because it was a combined event with the Florida Bass Nation and the Georgia Bass Nation Kayak Series, but because it tested me mentally more than any tournament so far in my rookie season. Going into the week, I honestly thought this would be the most prepared I’d feel for a tournament all year. I had plenty of practice time, and I assumed that would equal confidence. That wasn’t the case at all.
It was also my first time ever fishing Seminole, and a big cold front rolled through and made things even harder. Practice was tough. I struggled all week moving around the lake and trying different areas, but I just couldn’t get anything going. The few bites I did get were small bass and nothing consistent enough to build a plan around. Every day felt different, and by the end of practice, I felt like I had tried everything with nothing to show for it.
A few days before the tournament, things started to warm back up, and that forced me to make a decision. Instead of trying to force what I learned in practice, I decided at the last minute to throw it all out and just fish how I like to fish. I figured with the warming trend, bass might start pulling back up shallow, so I committed to targeting 2-4 feet of water with good grass and picked up my confidence bait.
I was throwing a Z-Man Baby JackHammer with a Z-Man ChatterShad trailer. I love this bait because it still has the action of a traditional bladed jig, but the smaller blade gives me way more flexibility. It activates with less movement, so I can slow it down when conditions call for it or speed it up and fish it more erratically when I need to cover water.
Tournament day was windy, but the plan held. I caught a limit in the first hour and a half and kept upgrading until about noon. After that, I couldn’t find another cull. In my head, I was convinced other anglers were upgrading late and that I was sliding down the leaderboard.
I was bummed I couldn’t find one more upgrade, but I was still genuinely happy. It was the best tournament bag I’ve ever had, and considering how rough practice was, it felt like a win in itself.
When it came time for awards, I was expecting to land somewhere around sixth place and figured it might be enough to still cash a check. Finding out I finished in second place honestly shocked me, and I could not be more grateful for the experience.
Fishing has a way of making you feel defeated really fast, especially when things don’t go the way you expect. Seminole taught me that learning how to mentally reset is just as important as any technique or bait choice. Looking back, it’s easy to second-guess everything I did in practice and feel defeated. But if I’ve learned anything from fishing, it’s that all time spent on the water is a learning experience. You learn from every fish, and you learn from every miss. This was a reminder that trusting your instincts and fishing your strengths matters, even when it feels risky.
