Most guys who work for a living like their weekends off. Not me. I had this past weekend off, and it was horrible. Finishing 66th is not my idea of a good time. I can try to tell you what happened, but it’s not real clear even to me.
My practice was OK. What I mean is that I was catching quality fish and getting good bites, but I wasn’t real comfortable with why. That’s a problem in the Elite Series. I caught most of my practice fish on a crankbait. That might have been my problem.
I sort of locked onto that pattern. In retrospect, however, it might not have been the bait I was using as much as where I was fishing. If that doesn’t sound real clear to you, all I can say is join the club. I don’t understand it either.
Fishing is a tough business. We (humans) are a lot smarter then they are (bass) but we still can’t figure them out. I can’t, anyway. They do what they do, and just about the time I think I know what’s going on, they show me that I don’t. I’ve heard they have a brain the size of a pea. I wonder about that.
But all that’s in the past. I’m headed out to pattern them on Murray. In fact, I’ll be on the water when you’re reading this. About all I can do at this point is try to salvage what’s left of the season.
It hasn’t been exactly terrible, but it hasn’t been all that great, either. I’m sitting in 16th place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Most guys would be happy with that, but not me. I really wanted to make a better showing this year. It looks like that’s going to be tough, however.
We only have three tournaments left, and the guys ahead of me are still catching fish. That means it’s getting harder and harder to move up. That’s the way it is, though. If I was up there, near the top, I wouldn’t care about it being hard for the other guys to catch me.
On the positive side, it’s getting later in the year. That means the fish will be moving out towards deeper water. As many of you know, I’d much rather fish with my back to the bank than be able to look up and count the leaves on the trees along the shoreline.
Once the season is over, and I have a chance to put my thoughts together, we’ll do some hard-core fishing stuff. I’ve discovered a few things this year that I think you’ll find interesting — things I’m more than willing to share with you.
Becky and I hope everyone is dry and that you haven’t been hurt by the rains and the tornadoes. Remember to help those who have. There’s more to life than fishing.
