Sam

When I arrived at the lake the air temps were in the 40s and the water in the high 40s low 50s, that was two days ago, today I will see mid 80s air temps and mid to high 60s for water.  So the first thing I did when I got here was try and pare out my 'test' area again and then went to work trying to find those little transitional areas which should hold fish in migration to the shallows.  Since I did not know the status of the seasonal pattern I also looked shallow for cruisers, studs guarding fry or vacant or occupied beds and saw NONE of the above, thats a bit confusing.  I had heard on good authority that there were indeed fish on beds as early as 3 to 4 weeks ago...., but I have to believe my eyes in my area and I do not think many fish have spawned in my area so I may be looking at the initial push of fish with this warming trend.  The moon phase is not exactly in tune so this may test that theory but none the less I should be looking at fish, on the move, with one thing in mind, gettin their groove on.  Lets go and see......

Rayburn

So to start I will reiterate my feelings on Falcon, simple, if you get half a chance to go, you have to go.  That fishery never ceases to amaze me and well, I may be an addict.  Seems well worth the 21 hr trip from Nashville just to spend a few days out there.  

I got to Jasper day before yesterday and got out on the water early yesterday am.  low 40s all day and some wind.  Great.  I have never been out on this lake before but it seems to be pretty straight forward.  God why did I just say that, will probably come back to bite me.  I caught fish yesterday on points leading into or out of the main lake on major points on both inside and outside hydrilla lines on slowly presented shad imitation reaction baits and a variety of them.  All the rain in the area has effected the backs of creeks some. Color is darker and temps are cooler but i did manage to find some cleaner warmer water again on the main lake.  Lots and lots of boats out there, not sure what to make of that but it is a big lake with plenty of bass or so I am told.  So today I am going to try and decide my 'test' area and go and pick it apart.  I will probably try and pick two areas which would be protected from either of the prevailing wind profiles here as a contingent.  Well, back to work.

The Bend III

So the bend turned out to be quite a learning experience for me.  I know it did not show in the standings but none the less I learned a lot about how quickly fish can make a move to the shallows given just a couple of days, actually several hours of favorable conditions.  The week started with a mid to deep bite with fish scattered all over the place and a cold front lingering around keeping them off balance.  Well all it took is about 18 hours of consistent warming trend and boom, they all and I mean all grouped up into the funneling spots adjacent to the spawning flats.  Over all the weights were down for the event and I think that speaks of how big this lake is and how conditions can vary greatly on 180000+ acres, simply some folks did not figure them out as well as expected and I being one of those lol.  In my specific test area the fish did what they were supposed to do on day two, across the lake or way up or down river, it was a slightly different situation.  

So to lick my wounds I have spent the last few days on Falcon.  What a way to re coop.  I am down here with a close friend of mine from CA, Scott Whelton and we are having fun to say the least.  What have we learned down here, keep an open mind, fish the entire water column, and be prepared to decorate a few huisache trees, hey thats Falcon.  Oh and don't bother to eat at El Paraiso, their 'world famous chicken fried steak' is NOT that world famous, it may just keep you off the water for a day if you get my drift.  

The Bend II

So a big donut for me today.  I have to admit I have abit of a confidence issue right now, the last 3 tournament days I have caught a total 4 fish.  Thats pretty sad.  I have to say I did stick to my plan of staying in one area and soaking  it.  It simply did not pan out for me.  I have no one to blame but myself for not being dynamic enough in my 'study' area to come up with 5 keepers.  Alot of people struggled today but that does not really make me feel any better as I have been here a couple of extra days for practice and really should have figured sooomething out, cmon.  I always try and take something positive from every event no matter the outcome but this one, I really am not sure what I took away from it.  Toledo Bend is an awesome fishery, it offers everything you could want and I found out as I am writing this entry that there is even mat up north,... that I did not expect.  Deep hydrilla, rock,ledges, abundant structure and cover, lots of wood, channel swings, weed topped humps, all of it, the bend has it.  I look forward to my day tomorrow simply because I am fortunate enough to be able to spend the day on such a fishery, and who knows, maybe the fish gods will look down on me and smile.  

The Bend

So Toledo Bend is quite a place.  Big, windy and full of wood and supposedly full of big bass but I have not found them.  The week before the official practice the water was up into the mid 60s and since we have had lows in the low 30s dropping the water temps into the mid fifties.  We had heard that a wave of fish had moved shallow but apparently moved off with the cool weather.   I have found some suspended fish scattered in transitional areas but scattered and inconsistent is an understatement.  The main lake deep fish will not be affected as much by this cold spell and wind but 25+ mph winds makes it hard to fish for them.  

Day one was cancelled due to high wind advisory and I give us a 50 50 chance of fishing tomorrow.  I have made myself stick to my plan of staying in a fixed area and figuring it out and I feel pretty good about staying with that but the fish have not exactly been cooperating with the gameplan by scattering out.  We will see what happens.

March

So I am packing for two more events this March, Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn.  I have never fished either, kinda seems like a pattern but I need the experience.  I think it is very important to get some tournament experience on lakes which I have little or no experience.   My strategy going in to these two big lakes is to try and identify the seasonal pattern currently underway and then pick apart a specific region of the lakes and STAY THERE.  I really have to try and refine my pregame strategies.  I find myself trying to see the majority of a lake if I have never been on it before and maybe that is a mistake.  Defining the seasonal pattern had some value to me in the past but I believe I need to put more emphasis on that over all else and try and keep it simple stupid.   If I can get it through my fat head to fish my strengths and not try and re invent the wheel I believe I can do better.   So with those two ideas in my mind (not sure how long they will stay there) I go into these two events.  I am getting sick of giving my entry fee away.  I need to get my ass in the game with the rest of the folks and figure this thing out.  Fishing competitively is such a mind game, I am not saying you do not need a certain skill set but I truly believe that to win or do well, your mind needs to be tuned properly and lately mine is not.  All I can do is try and change my mental attitude leading up to and during the event and keep focused.  Easier to say than to do once your trolling motor is down and the first cast is off the spool on the opening day of any event.    

long drive home

So I am set to get on 75 north headed towards Nashville.  It will give me ample time to think about the last month and my shortcomings.  I had some major mechanical issues here in Fla, lower unit, fouled plugs from the excessive idling through all the canals and my deep cycles decided to take a dump on me but through all that I should have landed more than 2 fish in competition and 9  in practice.  Gotta work on my contingency strategies more for sure.  Has anyone ever heard of AGM technology for batteries, if so do tell.  My wife and I shared a couple of days in Tampa, we went to the game and that was very nice.  Any time I get to spend time with my lovely wife is a huge bonus to my mental health and it is very nice to have a sounding board though I am fairly sure she is sick of hearing about bass fishing.  March is another month and I have two big events coming up Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn, both lakes I have not fished before but I am sooooo looking forward to them and the chance to improve my skill set which seems kinda nonexistent right now.