What a day…? Not sure it taught me a lot, but… I think… once I dry out I will have a better idea.
I ran into TBF of Michigan Pres Dennis Beltz on the way out this morning and spent some time going over plans – what was working and what needed to be changed – for the actual logistics of this event. Michigan team mate Jon Jezierski came by for a few minutes too.
Follow up:
After some reconnoitering and discussion of schedules, I was off. I did not get gas in the boat last night. I should know better, but I was tired. So a whole bunch of gas in the boat first because I plan on a run a ways south first.
I should have saved the gas. Only some dinks to the south for me. I hate drifting and dragging. It may hurt me at times, but I makes me want to nap! So I was spot-casting several presentations to specific pieces of structure.
I wonder if there is anywhere in this system Lake St Clair where you can’t catch dink smallies? I caught 1 or more everywhere I stopped. But no big ones. So back up the lake closer to the channels. I make a few more stops on some old lake spots, but only 1 small keeper and a few small bass to show.
I talk to one boat from another team and let them know they fishing Canadian water (off limits for this event). I don’t think they believe me. I find many people can’t read a map correctly (or don’t want to?). I guess that is the deal with these anglers. I’ll pass that on to the tournament director and the presidents that they need to let their team members know where the border is.
It started out this morning with a building breeze in a southerly direction. Waves started to build, but it was a good run down the lake. Then the wind actually died out quite a bit and it was a very easy run most of the way back up the shipping channel. Now, the clouds are moving in and I think it will rain. Plus, the wind is building against the current. This makes for some ugly larger troughed, choppy waves that are not fun to run in the current.
It also changes the current, so based on the conditions, I make the change that has worked in the past. Trying a new, interesting spot, I have on a toad! It gets off, which is okay today, but it was definitely over 4! That’s what we need. Can’t provide more details at the moment, but shortly after, I have another 4-pound class bass take another lure in an old spot that has been good mostly under today’s conditions. I lost the bass almost immediately. Too much concentration aimed in the wrong direction, but I saw this bass too! It was a good ‘un!!
All I catch otherwise are more small bass with 1 or maybe 2 barely keepers (smallies) and a few small largemouths. I have one small musky try to steal a tube too, but he fails!!
By this time, the rain is here and slowly building. Plus the wind has kicked up again. I already went to the sweatshirt (Michigan, of course) a little earlier. Now I put on my rubbers and new rain suit. Pretty much rains off and on from that point on. Sometimes hard enough (when I got back) to knock out the satellite here at the hotel. Running in, I take my ‘protected’ route so it is only pretty rough the last 2 or 3 miles.
I stayed out too late and it is now dark. The boat and everything not in a compartment is soaked! Driving wet on a dark, rainy night is not my normal idea of big fun. I make the mistake of returning some calls to friends about various topics and miss my turn. Then I’m somewhere in one of the many small, constantly changing burgs over here.
Luckily, I somehow end up on Gratiot, but still drive right by the hotel. Jon has called though and given me good directions to a restaurant that he, Jeff Cox and Rick Roberts have just sat down to eat at. So I go there instead. Decent food and good to have in my belly, because I’m still wet and starting to warm up again. Throw some stuff in the back so Jon can ride back with me to the hotel.
Jon helps me jocky the boat into a slightly tricky spot so I can plug. I almost don’t cover the boat. It’s already soaked… but I hate to just leave the old girl out in the open like I don’t care anymore Glad I covered it – I poured so hard a little later (took out the satellite) I could hear it pounding on the roof of the hotel.
Supposed to be WINDY tomorrow. So I’m sticking to the channel areas and hoping I can find a few more spots that big bass are using at least part of the day. Shallow early. Deep later. We’ll see what happens. We have to be off the water by 2 PM and registered by 3 I think. So a quick day with a not-working livewell pump (worked last weekend) to look at too. It hope to do short report tomorrow. I must love this stuff… there’s no other explanation for why a sane(?) person would do this to himself!?!