My practice for the Pasquotank River Elite was pretty tough. I was getting more bites than I did last year, but it was mostly smaller fish. It was hard to catch a quality.
I was able to catch lots of fish but many of them were non-keepers. If I did catch a keeper, it was a really small keeper. That was frustrating, because last year’s Elite tournament showed us that this fishery definitely has some big fish.
During that 2025 event, a lot of big ones were up shallow, but now it seems that only the smaller males are still hanging around. During last year’s mid-April event, the fish were still in their spawning mode, but this year’s tournament is two months later in the season. It seems like most of the big ones have left the shallows.
I think some of the areas these fish spawn in have more brackish water, so once they spawn, the big ones leave. I think the smaller males can tolerate the brackish areas a little better, but the big ones pull out of there and leave quicker.
Last year, I was not able to capitalize on the big fish, and I finished 98th. I can’t afford to do that again this year, so I’m gonna have to find a way to get those bigger bites.
I was optimistic coming into this week, but after practice, I still have a lot of question marks. I was able to find some groups of fish where I was able to catch keepers, but one area is an hour one way from takeoff and the other ones are an hour the other way from takeoff. I have some decisions to make on which way to go, or if I’m going to stay close.
The weather will play a big role in those decisions. In practice we saw various levels of windy conditions, and it’s supposed to be windy during the tournament.
I think that’s the biggest factor — trying to get to where you want to go fishing. It’s so big out here that it takes a long time, or sometimes it’s not even possible to get where you want to go because it’s so windy.
Last year, I tried to make a big run and when I was driving, I got probably a quarter of the way, and I realized that with the windy conditions, it was going to take me way too long to get there. I wouldn’t have had enough time to properly fish where I wanted to go.
I ended up turning around, coming back and staying closer to takeoff. I fished in an area I hadn’t been in before and that kinda wrecked my first day. The second day, I made my long run because I wanted to catch the fish I knew were there. It wasn’t pretty, but at least I caught some fish.
This year, I’m actually going to fish some places I fished before and hopefully my fish are still around. Where I go will still depend on how bad the weather becomes. One of my areas that’s father away, I can probably get there, depending on which way the wind blows, but with my other long-distance area, it’s tough to get there regardless of wind direction.
I’d rather stay close and have longer to fish, but if I can’t find anything close, I’m gonna have to make a run.
