I made the cut and placed 38th at SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain, but overall, it was really a terrible finish. I actually had a good practice. Nothing outstanding, but I definitely expected to have a shot at a top 20. It just didn’t turn out that way at all.
I started out pretty good with 18-12 on Day 1 and placed 20th, but after that it started to fall apart. I caught 16-13 the second day and slipped to 41st, then I finished with 16-11 on Day 3.
I don’t know what happened to my fish. I was fishing for largemouth, so they were consistent with where they were located. I didn’t have any boats in my area, and I didn’t see any in practice, so it was very disheartening compared to what I expected out of the tournament.
We had some rain in practice, but I was far enough from the backs of those bays that it didn’t affect the water clarity. Also, the fish I had were a little deeper, 5 to 7 feet of water, which I consider deep for how I was fishing.
I really thought those fish would stay. To me, having fish that deep in grass, it’s a pretty safe bet they would bite. I caught some fish out of there, but not the quality I found in practice.
I had a couple of areas in the lake’s midsection I had dialed in, but I had one grass bed I was really counting on. I thought it was going to be one of those special places because it was by itself and it held very good quality — 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-pound fish.
The first two days, that grass bed was good for three fish — no more. I don’t know if I depleted the population out of it, but the final day, they were not in there.
I was flipping a YUM Mother Bug and a tube, and we had ideal flat calm conditions for that the first two days. I would have been able to understand the fish shutting off if I’d had more pressure in there, but I was by myself.
After that big Day 1, I really thought I would have a chance at a 20-pound bag. That would have gone a long way to getting me back where I need to be in the points, but like I said, this was really disheartening.
This puts a lot of pressure on me for the final event of the season. I love fishing the St. Lawrence River, but it’s gonna be a different mindset this time.
It’s gonna be a go-for-broke, strictly do-or-die scenario. I need to catch 26 pounds a day and at least get myself into the top five if I’m gonna have a shot at making the Classic cut.
This is a place where you can get it done quickly if you find the right area, but I have to make every cast count.
I don’t need a check; I need a win.
