One of my favorite fishing stories, or at least a story about the games anglers play, comes from the Ticonderoga.
I mentioned earlier the lock Timmy Horton had on the 2007 event. He found a rock pile that was loaded, so much so that he showed up early to weigh in on the final day and ordered a pizza while he waited for everyone else.
When he found the fish he obviously worried someone else would find them too. So he played defense in practice. While guarding the rock pile, he noticed another competitor getting closer, graphing the area.
Instead of sitting on the spot and drawing attention to it he devised another plan. He quickly went to the bank.
His plan was to pitch a jig in a bush and immediately set the hook as if he had a bite and missed.
It was a good plan. He tossed his jig in the bush with eyes on the approaching angler and set the hook.
Instead of hanging up on a limb or coming out clean he was surprised to find he had hooked a 5-pounder. The fish was a nice surprise. Although it wasn’t what he was planning on it had the desired impact.
The approaching angler settled in and started flipping, and worked right by the rock pile that would have likely shown up on his graph.
Horton’s plan was perfect and as the saying goes “It was just meant to be.”
Wondering if we will see one those “meant to be” starts today.