BASS Northern Open
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2002 5:34 pm
I had an OK season this year competing in the BASS Northern OPens. I finished in 68th on the Potomac, only 1 lb 10oz out of the money (repeat of the April BASS tournament there and a few other this season) Hopefuly I do not have the Potomac jinx 
. The second event was at the Thousand Islands, where I made a big mistake in not adjusting on day one, costing me a chance at making the Pro Tour in January. I tried to force my shallow bass into biting instead of locating some new deeper bass as I did on day two. I ended up in 97th place. A 37th place finish or higher at that event would have qualified me for the Pro Tour this season. It just goes to show how important it is not to have a bad day, as just one will ruin a season.
I just returned home from the Hudson River event, the last of the season, and am happy to say I finished in 18th place, only 1 lb 8oz out of tenth, and alittle under 7lbs out of fifth. It was tough fishing, but that's the way I like it. My plan for the tournament was to get a quick limit of SMB as they were active and schooling and then go to a spot I found a pile of LMB that were in transition from their summer locations to their winter homes. The LMB were very inactive so I wanted to have 5 to 6lbs of SMB just in cause, as I new it would only take about 12lbs after two days to make the cut for day three.
Day one worked just as planned. I had a limit of SMB in the first 30 minutes, althought they were small. I culled a few times until I had about 6lbs then headed toward my LMB catching 4, but only 3 were put in the livewell giving me 8lb 11oz and puttting me in 19th place on day one, only four pounds out of 5th. Neeedless to say I didn't get much sleep from that point on.
I had some unfortunate luck on day 2 which cost me a few thousand dollars. To start I lost a 2lb bass, which would have put me in the top ten at the end of the event. I didn't bother me at first because I already had 4 bass for 8lb 13oz in the well at 9am, and the tide was still not perfect for the larger bass to bite. But by 9;30 my batteries were dead, and so was I. I couldn't fish in 25mph winds with no trolling motor, especially since I was fishing one specific area for my largemouths. The "spot" was only about 12ft long and 3ft wide. I was making repeated cast to the spot for hours, getting a bass about every 60-75 casts. I really felt I could have come in with 12lbs that day as it was the best day, evident by the 10 bags that were over 10lbs brought to the scales that day. I ended the day in 15th place, moving up with only having 4 bass.
On day 3, the weather man predicted 30-40mph winds out of the south, and it was blowing when we launched in the morning. The SMB I were catching in the area I fished on day 1 and 2 seemed to be thinning out, so day three I ran further south to some SMB I found in practice but had never went to during the first two days. When I arrived, it was flat calm, no wind at all, which was not a good thing as the current was not coming in as fast as I needed it. The SMB were using the faster current to feed, and I didnt want to wait for that to happen because I would not be at my LMB spot in time, and they were larger. I left the area after 20min. and headed to the one I fished the previous days again with no avail. The current was not moving, and there was no bait as the prior days. Leaving there I checked another area for SMB, again with no avail. I had to abandon the SMB and go to my LMB, knowing that may mean I might not get a limit. Arriving at my LMB area still not that much current. I really needed that south wind to blow as predicted, but the leaves were not even moving. After 45 min., now 11:30 I new I needed to adjust. With no current to trigger the bass to feed, I knew I could not catch them on the plastics I had been using for two days, I needed to get a reaction bite. First cast with a crankbait produced a small keeper, second cast another small keeper. Finally, about 40 minutes later, at prime tide I caught a 2 1/2lb LMB. I thought alright I'm going to catch em now. Unfortunatley that was the last fish. I'm not sure if I fished out the spot, or if the bass were moving as they were in transition or if the slow tide limited the bites, or a combination of the three. The last hour of the tournament, slack high, I ran to every spot on the way back to weigh-in making 10-15 casts and then moving, just hoping to get lucky and get a fourth fish. I ended the day with 3 bass for 4lb 13oz, dropping me to 18th place for the event. Day three was much tougher, I believe only 2 limits were weighed in out of 50pros. Most anlgers had only 1 or 2 bass due to the high pressure.
I was dissapointing but at the same time was not. Dissapointed about my batteries, but I fished well, had a game plan, stuck to it, until conditions changed, and adjusted at about the right time. The best thing is it gave me the confidence i need to compete at this level. I can't wait till next season, hopefully I can qualify for the Tour now that I realize how important it is not to have even one bad day. I finished the season in 35th place in points out of 200 pros, not to shabby.
. The second event was at the Thousand Islands, where I made a big mistake in not adjusting on day one, costing me a chance at making the Pro Tour in January. I tried to force my shallow bass into biting instead of locating some new deeper bass as I did on day two. I ended up in 97th place. A 37th place finish or higher at that event would have qualified me for the Pro Tour this season. It just goes to show how important it is not to have a bad day, as just one will ruin a season. I just returned home from the Hudson River event, the last of the season, and am happy to say I finished in 18th place, only 1 lb 8oz out of tenth, and alittle under 7lbs out of fifth. It was tough fishing, but that's the way I like it. My plan for the tournament was to get a quick limit of SMB as they were active and schooling and then go to a spot I found a pile of LMB that were in transition from their summer locations to their winter homes. The LMB were very inactive so I wanted to have 5 to 6lbs of SMB just in cause, as I new it would only take about 12lbs after two days to make the cut for day three.
Day one worked just as planned. I had a limit of SMB in the first 30 minutes, althought they were small. I culled a few times until I had about 6lbs then headed toward my LMB catching 4, but only 3 were put in the livewell giving me 8lb 11oz and puttting me in 19th place on day one, only four pounds out of 5th. Neeedless to say I didn't get much sleep from that point on
. I had some unfortunate luck on day 2 which cost me a few thousand dollars. To start I lost a 2lb bass, which would have put me in the top ten at the end of the event. I didn't bother me at first because I already had 4 bass for 8lb 13oz in the well at 9am, and the tide was still not perfect for the larger bass to bite. But by 9;30 my batteries were dead, and so was I. I couldn't fish in 25mph winds with no trolling motor, especially since I was fishing one specific area for my largemouths. The "spot" was only about 12ft long and 3ft wide. I was making repeated cast to the spot for hours, getting a bass about every 60-75 casts. I really felt I could have come in with 12lbs that day as it was the best day, evident by the 10 bags that were over 10lbs brought to the scales that day. I ended the day in 15th place, moving up with only having 4 bass.
On day 3, the weather man predicted 30-40mph winds out of the south, and it was blowing when we launched in the morning. The SMB I were catching in the area I fished on day 1 and 2 seemed to be thinning out, so day three I ran further south to some SMB I found in practice but had never went to during the first two days. When I arrived, it was flat calm, no wind at all, which was not a good thing as the current was not coming in as fast as I needed it. The SMB were using the faster current to feed, and I didnt want to wait for that to happen because I would not be at my LMB spot in time, and they were larger. I left the area after 20min. and headed to the one I fished the previous days again with no avail. The current was not moving, and there was no bait as the prior days. Leaving there I checked another area for SMB, again with no avail. I had to abandon the SMB and go to my LMB, knowing that may mean I might not get a limit. Arriving at my LMB area still not that much current. I really needed that south wind to blow as predicted, but the leaves were not even moving. After 45 min., now 11:30 I new I needed to adjust. With no current to trigger the bass to feed, I knew I could not catch them on the plastics I had been using for two days, I needed to get a reaction bite. First cast with a crankbait produced a small keeper, second cast another small keeper. Finally, about 40 minutes later, at prime tide I caught a 2 1/2lb LMB. I thought alright I'm going to catch em now. Unfortunatley that was the last fish. I'm not sure if I fished out the spot, or if the bass were moving as they were in transition or if the slow tide limited the bites, or a combination of the three. The last hour of the tournament, slack high, I ran to every spot on the way back to weigh-in making 10-15 casts and then moving, just hoping to get lucky and get a fourth fish. I ended the day with 3 bass for 4lb 13oz, dropping me to 18th place for the event. Day three was much tougher, I believe only 2 limits were weighed in out of 50pros. Most anlgers had only 1 or 2 bass due to the high pressure.
I was dissapointing but at the same time was not. Dissapointed about my batteries, but I fished well, had a game plan, stuck to it, until conditions changed, and adjusted at about the right time. The best thing is it gave me the confidence i need to compete at this level. I can't wait till next season, hopefully I can qualify for the Tour now that I realize how important it is not to have even one bad day. I finished the season in 35th place in points out of 200 pros, not to shabby.