It was now mid June and I looked at my tournament calendar. There, staring back at me was the Hobie BOS tournament on Cayuga Lake. I hadn’t registered yet, and wasn’t sure if I wanted to. This was a big national trail event only 2 hours down the road from my house so it was an obvious opportunity to get out and compete against the top anglers around. The two things giving me pause were the tournament trail, and the lake (which we have already discussed my ugly history with).

Most anglers have a favorite lake. As for me? I can never come up with a good answer to that question; but in the spring when I look at the tournament calendar and see Champlain listed, I get a little excited.

Driving up to Maine, a lot of things were on my mind. The biggest of which was my mental state for the season. I had my first major victory ever and I got good points in the Trail and Pro series. Was this just a fluke? Did I just get lucky? Could I back it up and keep the season moving in the right direction?

The Brat was producing bites, but they weren’t the right ones. I made two small culls right at low tide, but I knew culling up in 0.5-inch intervals was not going to be the way to do it. I put that rod back, put the 2.5 back in my hand, and locked it there for the next 3 hours. It was 8:30.

The week of the tournament was a blur. Monday evening I finished my battery box, and got the kayak wired up. Tuesday after work was my first time actually in the kayak since the fall. I didn’t bother to bring any rods or tackle, I just wanted to make sure the motor ran and the kayak didn’t sink or flip. The test was a success, so it was right back home to finish packing tackle.