Decisions, decisions: Following Short and Rook

Doing well in bass tournaments is all about making good decisions. That's like Bass Fishing 101.

Decisions can make you a hero or a zero. It's not much different when it comes to covering events.

We do our best to try and get on the difference makers so we can bring as accurate a portrayal of how these events take shape.

After coordinating our blogging teams on most of the leaders, I decided my team needed to cover Scott Rook and Kevin Short. They are both fishing south and as the crow flies not that far from each other, or so it seemed.

We flipped a coin this morning on which to follow. Yesterday we saw Rook for a time in one of the creeks. Realizing we could get on him quick, we decided to start on Short.

Both anglers have been real consistent and knowing them and riverine type events, I figured one or both will factor heavily in this event.

We just had no idea how far Short really was. After spending a few minutes lodged on a sandbar at the mouth of the creek we started making our way in.

We've gone about 25 miles now, most of it idling, since we don't know where it's safe to run. Currently we are stuck at a log jam. BASSTrakk shows Short about a half mile above us. And we can see his scrap marks over the brush, but we have three folks in our boat, no push pole, etc.

We have nothing to do but wait for a few more inches of tide so we can get back there or hope he comes out.

Now to the decision-making thing: I just got word from former Elite angler Travis Manson, who is following Rook, that he has a limit in the 9-pound-plus neighborhood.

That would put Rook in second at the moment.

I still think Short will catch his. I just don't know if we will get to him.

Meanwhile, my team is on the sidelines singing "watching the tide roll away."