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Lessons learned from Lake Murray In September, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League’s (BFL) South Carolina division season ending, two day event was moved to Lake Murray from Lake Wylie as the result of low water and ramp closures. I was sitting 6th in points and needed a good showing to move up. I ended up 19th in the tournament and moved up to 5th in the final points standings.
I went to Murray with an open mind, searching for the conditions that best suited my preference/style of fishing. Fortunately, I found fish and some dirty water in a couple of different areas. I was catching fish by pitching a worm to the edges of the “sticks” that were close to creek or river channel edges. I also found an area with patches of thick shoreline grass that produced a couple of quality bites on a frog. That’s where the good news ends.
During the registration meeting I was talking with a fellow competitor and friend; in the course of our conversation I discovered that he too had found fish in the same grass. While I was already assured a spot at the regional tournament, he needed a good finish at Murray in order to move up enough in the points to qualify for the regional. Because of that, I relinquished the spot and the fish to him. He fished the area during the tournament, caught enough fish, and qualified for the regional.
After the meeting I told another friend who had struggled through practice of my pattern and a specific area where I knew that he could catch a few fish. He caught a couple fish, maintained his points standings and qualified for the regional as well.
The first day of the tournament I went to a ¼ mile stretch of river channel with “sticks” right on the edge. I fished this small area the entire day, catching fish, and culling throughout the day. The second day, I started in another area with a buzzbait looking for one or two big bites but ended up with only one small fish. I ran back to the area I had pounded the day before and only caught one more small fish.
The lessons learned:
Don’t give away any areas that you plan to fish or even think that you may fish. Helping others by sharing a pattern is one thing but limiting yourself by giving away specific areas you plan to fish just isn’t smart!
Anticipate that clearing skies and changing weather conditions are going to have an impact on the fish. Throughout practice and the tournament, the weather and skies cleared.
Catching multiple limits of fish from a small area in a one day tournament but in a multiple day event it will likely reduce the yield of that area on following days.
All in all this wasn’t a bad tournament for me. I made the cut and got a check but it could have been better, which is why I go through this thought process. I hope that my mental review will help you and remind me not make the same mistakes again.
There is NO substitute for time on the water!
2007-11-14 06:19:18
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