Anytime I fish a lake with smallmouth and largemouth, I’ll go with the smallmouth. They’re just a fun little fish to catch – but there’s definitely a downside to this deal.
As exciting as those smallmouth can be, they’re here today, gone tomorrow. I love catching them, but man they really have a tendency to move around.
That’s what hurt me last week in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) Championship at Sturgeon Bay. I got on something good, but those fish moved.
Backing up a few steps, I had a pretty poor practice. It was really bad. I expected it to be pretty good, but it was tough to get a bite.
When the tournament started, I really didn’t have much, so I went to an area where I had caught three fish in practice. I didn’t think the spot was all that good, but then I go to catching them on a tube and a dropshot with a YUM Warning Shot.
I caught a limit of nearly 21 pounds, and I quit fishing at 10 o’clock. I had a group of anglers about 100 yards away and everyone else watched me catching fish. I didn’t think I could go look anywhere else and find some more fish, so I stayed there and guarded my spot.
I felt like there was enough fish there to win, so I just meandered back and forth trying to find more groups of fish.
On Day 2, I caught three and lost two, but they all were big ones. I kind of wrote it off as, “Okay, they’re still there; it was just a tougher day.”
It was tougher, as far as fishing. The sky was darker, which usually is not conducive for smallmouth. But weighing three big ones and having had two other big ones on, I figured the fish were still there.
Then the last day was pretty much a train wreck. I went back to my spot convinced that the fish were still there. I stayed until about 10:30 and finally I said, “I gotta go somewhere else.”
I left and was gone about an hour, but the whole time I felt like I was doing the wrong thing. I thought I should have stayed and looked around because I knew there was a big school of fish there.
I went back, but I never had a bite. By 1 o’clock, I said, “I’m done with this place,” and I just went to the bank. That didn’t work out either, and I ended my day with no fish.
Of course, that’s never an easy thing to live with, but I’m glad I had that kind of day at the AOY Championship. That might sound a little odd, but I went into this event with my Classic spot secured, so I didn’t have that big goal on the line.
Sure, I wish I would have caught them better and, of course it hurts to lose some of that AOY money. But it’s a lot easier to deal with this kind of disappointment at the last event of the season than it would’ve been at an earlier event that might have cost me my spot in the Classic.
As far as tournament strategy goes, I have a rule for regular-season events: I’ll burn all the fish I have to make it to the final day. You can’t win if you don’t get there, so I’ll do whatever I have to do to make that final cut.
But this tournament was a little different. Everyone fished all three days, so I did have to consider managing my fish. The biggest thing I didn’t want to do on Day 1 was spook that school and make them scatter.
On Day 2, I fished hard and tried to catch every one, but it just didn’t happen. Day 3 – well, that’s just the nature of the smallmouth. They like to move on you.
I had a bad day to end the season, but compared to all the days we fish, it’s one day. It’s important to keep it all in perspective.
I’ll mark this down as an above average season. I made some money and made some Top 12 cuts. I wish I could’ve finished higher in the AOY points, but ending the season with that Classic berth – that’s the saving grace.
I’ll admit, on the drive home, I was aggravated, but it didn’t take long for me to mentally start preparing for the Classic – and to start getting excited about deer season.
I walk in the door and it’s my daughter Ana’s 15th birthday and the first thing out of her mouth is: “Nine days ‘til deer season.”
It’s been a long year and with our tournament schedule, I’ve been away from home a lot. My clothes have been in my truck for most of the year, and I finally unpacked everything and hung my clothes in the closet.
My kids are like, “He’s going to be around for a while.”
Yes, I am.