This was the last tournament of the year for me. I was looking for a good finish for the end of the year.
Practice: Jennie and I went here without Abbie, so she was able to practice with me. This was nice because it has been since she was pregnant that we were able to do this. The first day we went up the James arm, where I usually fish, to check it out. As we were going along, I saw some fish schooling and stop to check them out. After both of us catching several white bass, Jennie caught a nice spot. We move over closer to a point and we both catch bass. I never catch a keeper here but she ends up catching 4 keepers out of this area. I fish all day and catch some shorts but no keepers. The next day, we go further up the river to check some areas that I have done good in before. I was able to catch 4 keepers but no real pattern became evident.
Day 1: I fish the schooling places first and catch a couple of keepers on top water. The fish aren’t on these areas as well as they were though. It is a very tough day after the early morning bite. I catch some more short fish but only end with 2 small fish and puts me down the list pretty far.
Day 2: On the first stop I catch a 3 pound smallmouth that wrecks a 125 Sammy. This was the best bite of the trip. I fish some points with a Tabu OW Series Jig and catch a couple of keepers in about 25′ of water. I can’t get my fifth keeper and end with 4 fish and 8 pounds. I finish the tournament in 41st. This does move me to 11th in the points which qualifies me for the PAA All Star Event next year. I am looking for revenge when I get there!
Added Edge: About half of fish this week come on the Tabu Jig. It is the best open water jig available. When fishing deep water, the amount of fish missed and lost goes way down compared to standard jigs.