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.

My brain was analyzing the situation. Perch and pickerel were all I found and it was saying this isn’t right, you need to change. My gut kept telling me I’m doing the right thing. I just needed to land on the right little patch and it wouldn’t be a school of perch, but a school of bass.

I showed up to the launch just after it was getting light out. It was going to be a chilly day with a chance of rain coming through so I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get going.

I woke up Monday morning in Kissimmee still feeling good about my performance at the TENvitational. Riding that high, I took my time packing up and loading the truck for the next leg of my journey. It was on to Lake Seminole for the first Hobie BOS event of the season. This was going to … Continue reading Florida Roadtrip 3: Lake Seminole →

Tournament day was finally here and I couldn’t wait to put that first fish on the board! Launch time came and I took off towards my first waypoint.

I chose to start my trip off on Lake Gentry. The idea was simple, stay off the big lakes. I preferred smaller lakes anyway, and felt they would be less pressured.

It was my 8th cast of Sunday morning, not even three minutes after lines in and she smoked the chatterbait. Not a giant, but a 15.75-inch smallmouth on the board that early was a good sign and I was pumped. A feeling that would quickly fade as the day went on. Maybe I should back … Continue reading Day Two Struggles in Maine →