It’s been a while since I checked in due to a really busy family summer, ICAST and a bunch of other business responsibilities, but we’re back in action after the summer break and the end of the season is sneaking up on us.
I had a good week at Chesapeake Bay and put myself in decent position to make it into the top five of the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) race. Of course the actual AOY title is always the goal, but I screwed that up with a couple of bombs earlier in the year and now I’ll just climb as high as I can.
Before I talk about the rest of the season, I gotta give props to Edwin Evers and Aaron Martens. What those guys have done this year has been incredible. Edwin wins two events back-to-back, and then Aaron wins Chesapeake and almost replaces the chatter of Edwin’s accomplishments. Edwin has had an amazing year, but Aaron has really stepped it up.
The way he won last week was amazing. For him to show the poise that he did on that final day was clutch. It showed how good he has become, and how strong he has become mentally. I bet he has become more and more comfortable in his head about his fishing with each win, and that just helps you fish more relaxed. I know that it happened in my head after an AOY and a Classic win; the ability to deal with the pressure just kind of happened.
Congratulations to Aaron for his big win last week, and to Edwin for his two wins too.
There is only one regular season event and the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship left in the season now. I’m in eighth place in the points, and would normally feel pretty good about my chances to move up, but we’ve got Detroit and Sturgeon Bay left, and I would not consider myself a smallmouth expert.
I’m learning about them the more we go there. I had a good event at Escanaba last year and then this year at the St. Lawrence River too, so I’m getting a little more confident about what moves to make when we’re fishing for brown bass.
Detroit has always been one of those events where I zig and the fish zag. I always seem to find myself on the opposite ends there. When the field catches ‘em at Erie, I’m on St. Clair, and when St. Clair is on, I’m in Erie, so hopefully we’ll get in a rhythm this year, and I can outsmart that place.
I’m spending some time this week at home strategizing for Detroit and Sturgeon Bay. The girls started school this week, and I’ll be leaving for Detroit soon, and we’ll find out how my thought process will help me develop a game plan. Two events left, it’s crunch time.
What have you caught lately?
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