ABA kent lake OCT22

[fishon1219]

What a day it was. The weather man said we would have scattered showers on sunday. He negelected to say they would be scattered all day and never stop. We showed up at the ramp for check in and were greated with 40 degrees and rain. 13 brave fisherman showed up for the event and to see who could figure out this excellent southeast michigan fishery. I hadent been to the lake since this past summer so last sunday I decided to practise a little bit and see if I could catch a fish or 2 and that is exactly what I caught last week 2 fish. One was 5-2 and the other 5-12 and they both came within 20ft of each other so my plan tournament morning was to beat that weedline to death. I drew boat number 3 so I was happy that the odds were good that nobody was going to hit my weed line because it was so close to the launch and I was wrong. Boat number 1 went to 1 end of it so I figured I would start on the other end. You guessed it boat number 2 went to that end and dropped his anchor. I stopped to ask if he had trolling motor problems and if that was why he dropped anchor and he politly replied "No problems I just dont want you fishing here" It was an inside joke between the 2 of us. So my game plan is kinda shot in the hind end so I start in the very middle of the weed line and work to were boat 1 stopped. The guy in boat one fished the are for less than 10 minuets and was gone so I headed straight that way. I get lined up to were the weed edge dropps of into 10 ft of water and pitch my jig and was greated with a solid thump. I rared back with all i had and the fish prcedded to head out to the depths and just came off. At that instant I got that sick feeling in my stomach as to its going to be one of those days. I fished that area for 3 hours with nothing to show for it except wrinkeld and cold fingers from all of the scattered showers that hung on the lake all day. It was now 10:30 and I had zero in the box so I decided to break from my plan and just go fishing. I went to an area were I knew there were some scattered weed beds in 7ft of water and on my 2nd cast I landed a nice 3-1/2 lber on a crankbait and thought maybe I am on to something. About 40 yards later I have number 2 in the boat another solid 3 lber. I see PoorBoy fishing his favorite spot so I start to make my way towards him to see how many he has and offer him a red bull energy drink. (He is my little brother and I like to make sure he is O.K.) I am almost to him and I get number 3. I ask how PoorBoy is doing and his teeth are chattering and he cant open his hands. I throw him the Red Bull and a pinch of Kodiak and invite him to fish the area I was in and he declined because he had no crankbaits with him, and I was going to give him one of mine. On the way back to the sweet spot I fill my limit and proceed to start throwing back 2 pounders. It seemed like 3:30 was never going to get here so I head back to the ramp and fish spot number 1 for the rest of the day in hopes of hanging another pig. THis tournament had a unique big bass payout. 1/3 of the pot was going to big largemouth 1/3 to big smallmouth and 1/3 to biggest of the 2. I had a nice smallie just over 3, but my largemouth were all a solid 3lbs and I new somebody had one bigger. That is the only reason I left fish to try and find a bigger one. Well it never panned out. I get to the scales suprised that 6lbs was in the lead and it was PoorBoy. He was the only one that knew I had my limit so he was just waiting for me to weigh in. I ended the day with 14.92 and took big smallie with a 3-2 beauty. I was as suprised as every one else that I caught those fish. I owe it all to PorrBoy needing that red bull or I would probably never fished were I did. (I not sharing my winnings with you).?

[Langer]

Congrats on the Win!  It was a very cold and long day.

[McCarter]

What a disaster.  It never let up on us, not once.  I think that was the first time i have seen non stop rain for 8 hours in my life.  It didnt even stop for a couple seconds.  My pattern, along with almost everyone elses, was shot.

i fished the day before, hitting my main spot first thing in the morning, and did very well.  I shook off 4 bites in 15 minutes and Maize was kind enough to shake his 2 bites off as well.  I thought i was 'golden' for the tournament.

We hit several other spots that day and found the fish to be fairly active and willing to hit jigs, cranks, jerks, and traps.  Maize and I were both feeling pretty good about the tournament.

Well, needless to say, as it always happens, my fish were gone.  Maybe not gone, but would not bite.  I caught one after about an hour.  Smallmouth almost 3 lbs on a jig and chunk.  Then i floated around for a couple hours, casting frantically looking for another bite.  Then, once i was completly asleep, i get a hit.  But i set the hook to find nothing.  A couple onlookers ( skip aka castnblast and jeff aka jcox7 ) started pointing and laughing.  But then a second miracle, he came back and this time i didnt miss.  My second fish was a largemouth about 2.5 lbs.  It also came on the jig.

By now my hands are completly numb.  I cant even properly palm my reel becuase my pinky finger wont move.  I literally had to use my other hand to open my pinky enough to fit the  trigger on my rod between it and my ring finger.  Another couple hours go by and i still havent caught #3.  Kev came over to say hi and give me a redbull.  He informed me of his luck so far.  3 fish, all in the 3 lb range.  I was happy to see someone was catching them.  I had talked to 4 or 5 other guys at this point, and it looked like i was leading the pack with 2 fish until kev showed up.  So that was good.  I knew it was tough but Kev seemed to be on a pattern that was holding up.

After Kev left, i downsized my presentation.  I thought i might pick up an extra bite or two by using something smaller and working it very slow.  So i tied up a 1/8 oz screwball and attatched a 4" Yamamoto Hula grub in green pumpkin.  After a few casts, something picked me up.  I set the hook and fought this sucker long enough to get two good head shakes out of him, i knew it was a bigger fish.  But then it popped free.  I am now on my knees on the front deck of the boat, staring to the sky.  If i was a turkey, i would surley be doomed to drown.  Luckily for me, im not a turkey.

Realizing that my pattern, the pattern i had spent weeks perfecting, was shot i opted to play around with some other stuff.  I knew where some other fish were, but every spot i looked to had a boat on it.  So, i tried to start thinking like a fish, taking into consideration the current conditions.  I got to thinking how much i would like to be on the couch wrapped up in a blanket watching some TV.  Then i started thinking, since fish dont have blankets, they will probably be in the weeds.  So i went to find some weeds.  But first i stopped to pitch some goodies.

So, here i am under the bridge.  Pitching every support and weed clump i can.  Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, snag, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, bite.  Set the hook and flip in a 15" smallie.  #3 in the boat and i am starting to think i have a chance.  Its 11 am and i still have 4.5 hours.  So, i continue flipping the structure around the bridge and i get another hit.  or so i thought, i set the hook and feel nothing.  But notice that my line is now dancing above my head in the wind.  Must have been a rock, cuz my jig was not attatched.

I tied on another jig, and make my way down the rock laden shoreline.  Not 3 pitched to the shoreline, and i am snagged again.  I give it the ol shake shake shake but im still hung up, so i try the bow and arrow trick, and break my line.  Time to take a little break from the jig.

Remembering a trick i learned last fall, i tie on a Lucky craft Pointer 78 and start jerking the channel edge.  Soon after, i get a good strike on the jerkbait, but as reel down on it, it comes free.  But i have hope.  Hope to catch #4.  And i know from experience that this spot holds good fish.  So i keep at it for about 40 minutes with no success.  Im really starting to get worried now.  Its almost like its my first time on the lake and i dont know where to go.  I had spent so much time figuring out the bigger fish that i hadnt taken a lot of time to come up with a backup plan.  Plus, the other areas i know are holing fish are already being fished.

I decide to go back to the jig since that is the only thing i am actually 'catching' fish on.  I start working the bushes on the shoreline as i make my way back towards the bridge.  Right away i get a hit and boat a 13.5" largie.  Toss him back and make another pitch.  Another hit, and another short largemouth.  then another and one more.  4 short fish in 5 minutes.  I decide to work the trees and bushes a little better, but to no avail.

By now, its 12:30 pm and i only have 3 hours left.  Usually 3 hours seems like plenty of time, but since i am averaging about 1 keeper  per every 2 hours, its doesnt seem like enough.  I return to my starting spot and make the decision that i will not leave it again.  I know there are fish here, i just have to slow down and execute well.  The wind is really blowing now, so i just start dragging, using my trolling motor to control my speed and direction but letting the wind do most of the work.  After about 30 minutes, i get a good thump but feel nothing on the other end.  Just for the heck of it, perhaps out of boredom, i set the hook and confirm my suspicions, nothing there.

Time is winding down and i am done.  I dont even care anymore.  I cant for the life of me figure out why i cant make it happen on this lake.  I can go out there almost any day of the week, any time of the year, and weather conditions and put together 5 respectable fish when there is no money on the line.  Why cant i do it in a tournament.  Something always happens and i bomb.  I debated on whether or not to even weigh my fish in.  I had about 45 minutes left and honestly, i just wanted to pack up and leave.  I talked to a few other guys passing by and no one really had any fish.  A couple guys had one, and i heard one guy had 2.  I heard Kev had a limit and had been culling all day.  I started thinking, if i can just get one more fish i might be able to sneak into second place and cash a check.

Ok, now its go time.  I was letting the elements get to me, which i usually dont do.  I like to fish in tough conditions because i know it gets to a lot of people, so i feel like i am at a little bit of an advantage when it is nasty out.  So, i throw everything else aside, the coldness, the numbness, the missed opportunities, its time to turn it on.  I am almost pumped now.  I start making precise casts to rock piles, and work my jig very slowly, letting it sit motionless for long periods.  After the first 10 casts, i am extremely confident that i am going to get bit.  I am hitting the key spots of the structure almost everytime.  Another 5 casts and still no hits.  I troll over to a bend in the channel that is riddle with rock.  Again, i am flawless in my presentation, but again no bites.

My phone rings, its Anthony.  He lets me know that they are opening the scales early for anyone who wants to weigh there fish.  By now, i am totally defeated.  I opt to head in a little early.  We still have about 30 minutes left.  I zip my life vest up and start the motor.  Then it hits me, i might be able to call up a big smallie on a jerkbait
out in the channel.  Its worth a shot.  So i turn the boat and head out to the middle of the lake. 

The wind was really howling out there, and i couldnt keep the boat in one spot.  I should mention that i borrowed a boat from a friend since mine is out of commision.  So i am out there in a 18 ft low modified v with a 36 lb thrust motor guide.  After about 10 minutes, i figured it was no use.  the wind was blowing me so fast that i could cast out, jerk the bait down, and let it pause for about 20 seconds, and be right on top of it by the time i was ready to jerk it again.

In a last ditch effort, i went back to my starting spot.  this time i parked right on the shore and casted along the break hoping to find one willing participant.  But as it goes, there would be no more bites for me.

On the way back in, i stopped and talked to Maize.  He said he also had 3 fish.  I figured i was doomed, but he said that all 3 were barely keepers.  We headed back to weigh in together.  I was thinking i might be able to get in the top 5, which would mean some ok points, but since we only had 12 people fish the points wouldnt be that great.  But hey, its a start. 

Once we were in, i noticed everyone was complaining about how tough it was.  I started to pay attention to how many fish people said they had.  I heard mostly ones, and a couple twos.  I knew i had Maize beat with my 3 and i knew that i wasnt beating kev with his 5, so 2nd place started to seem like a reality. 

I grabbed a bag and went to get my fish.  As more people were weighing in, my confidence grew.  Some of the guys i hadnt talked to and had no idea how they did weighed there fish and only had 1 or 2.  I brought my 3 to the scales and took the lead.  Only a couple more bags to go.  Maize weighed but couldnt catch me, a few more guys brought one to the scale.  Then the only person left was Kev.  I did it.  I ended up second.  I have never been so happy to not win it all in my life.  An hour ago i wanted to get off the water and run home with my tail tucked between my legs.

I wasnt so happy to take 2nd because of the money, it wasnt much.  Or the points, cuz they wont add up to crap with only 12 guys.  I was happy becuase i needed to see results from my time spent on the water.  It was tough for everyone, but i made it work for me, even though i only caught 3, they were good enough to cash.  I had been telling myself all day that i have no business spending all that time and money on fishing when i cant even catch them on my home lake.  I was already trying to figure out how to sell my boat and all my gear.  Thats what i do when i bomb, i convince myself to quit.  But it turned out that i didnt do too bad, i guess.  So that means i dont have sell all my stuff.  And that makes me happy.

Kev blew us all away.  He had got onto a pattern that held up all day and ended up catching over 10 keepers for the day.  He beat me by over 8 lbs.  It was quite awesome really, especially since he is my partner for the Chiller Thriller next saturday.

1st Kevin Barrows  14.92

2nd Brian McCarter 6.76

3rd Dan   5.80  maybe

4th Grant Shively  5.72 lbs

Kev also won the biggest smallmouth side pot with a 3.2 lb beauty.

[dartag]

nice report from you and kev.  i read kev's to Lola and she just sighed.  he is her Big Dog.

glad you found the fish,  me and jeff will be drafting behind you guys like a car at Daytona. 

[Skip Johnson]

Didnt know thats where you wanted to start kev but since you won Im glad I got under your skin, even if it was only for a little bit

In practise I decided Id spend the day on that point if I got a good draw and slowly pic at it so I decided anchoring would give me several advantages including giving me 50 yard priveliges at such a great point on a small lake, well buddy it looks like I did you a favor, there wasnt jack there, what a waste of draw #1 and putting a stupid anchor in my boat.

congrats kevin

What a long miserable day, I hate to end my season like that!
I planned on parking my boat after this tourney, now Im thinking something warm like peacock bass in sunny miami, who wants to split the cost and take a ride, I know where to go and theyre crushing topwater right now.

http://www.hawghunterguideservice.com/fishing_reports.htm

EDIT...
Ok seriousley Im thinking of going south in mid november, miami peacocks for a couple days and stick marsh/farm 13 for a couple days! need 1 or 2 non boaters to help with expenses! let me know if anyone is interested...

[MaizeNBlue]

Old Man Winter came early my friends, and he wasn't very happy! What a miserable day on the water. Normally I would say there is no such thing as a bad day on the water, wrong! and this is coming from a guy who sat next to Kev on the Erie rollercoaster ride from hell! The day started bad, as it was raining, cold and the wind a blowing. I still wasn't real confident on where I was going to fish, in fact I really had no idea. PB and I had been out there several times, and found some nice fish, spots where he was going to fish the tx, so I wasn't feeling all that great. One spot I wanted to fish, I found out, had been also spotted by other anglers. So I figured a lot would depend on the draw. Told PB the night before, watch I'll draw the starter boat, yep sure did.

I get the boats going, and start thinking of where I am going to start. I head over to a point, and as I get closer, through the rain, I see a boat already there, OK that one was gone, so up the lake I go, I see PB heading to his honey hole, and think to myself, I better find somewhere fast, cause PB will have the box filled pretty quickly. I missed a nice 3.5 LM the day before on my hump, figured that was as good as place as any. I watch the boats in front of me peel of to fish there spots, except for a couple that keep on heading up the lake. As I get closer I watch one pull up on my hump, he saw me miss that one the day before, your welcome for that spot! So I have no clue on what I am going to do on this side of the lake! As I get around the corner, I see that well known? point open, and felt pretty lucky. I pull up, try to talk my heart down so I can concentrate and make a few casts, and a few more, and a few more, I look to the sky, through the rain and ask the man above for a little help. My mind starts to try and remember where I have done well on this side of the lake, and as I start to pick up my line to bring it in i feel some weight, I get ready to to set the hook, and the thing starts to run at me, I reel as fast as I can to catch up, feel him start to turn and then pop, gone! Look to the sky, give a rye smile, and say"that's a good one".

I went over to a little sand point, not to far away, and pick up a keeper LG, not big, but hey it's in the box, I circle the island only to see a boat pull up on the point I had just left, so no going back there.  I start making my way back down the lake stoped to fish another sand point, and get a short, troll over to another point, and get another short. I make way back to main lake, hit a few spots, but nothing. I figured I might as well head over to a place PB and I fished the day before and got a few keepers. I see PB on my way, have some small talk, guy looked like a drowned rat, wish each well and on I go. Pull up on a flat, find the drop and start throwing a Trap, figured if they don't want to bite, I'll make em. Land 2 smallies, lost 2 at the boat, and had another spit it on a jump, such is life with a Trap. Completly soaked and defeated I head in and weigh my 3 little fish, finish forth, not what I was hoping for, but not as bad as I thought. Congrats to Kev and PB, way to survive the day and catch some fish!

[jcox7]

well my day was great started off by not getting bit then at mid day I didnt get bit but luckly a great fisherman like my self never gives up and with just a few minutes remaining I pulled through and didnt get bit. LOL must of been my boaters fault!!

The best thing is that with the new ABA rules nothing matters I am just going to pay 3 more entry fees and go to  my 2- day not fish at all pay and go tubeing and watching the cuties collect my 50points times 4 and then my 100 points which will give me 300 total points and I should make regionals.

The new format is going to allow the best of the best fish the big tournys.

[Skip Johnson]

Id blame the boater too, bringing an anchor what an idiot...

[McCarter]

Way to stick to the game plan Jeff.  I do feel bad for you tho, i mean 9 boats and you get paired with the guy who brought an anchor.  I guess thats how they bass fish in Cali.    

The Chiller Thriller promises to be just as fun.  weather looks to be the same, only this time there will be more people to share in our joy. 

PB himself