Radar and Tomi

Paul and Anna

Doc and Gwen

I did take videos but my SD card corrupted again. I bought a new one so hopefully next tournament you can see the weighin, anyhow Walk in Water was very windy Saturday morning as we headed for the bulrush weed line in the Northeast corner. Anna and I started tossing #7 silver black back shad raps along the edge and I managed to hang up very quickly. As I ventured to remove my bait from the reed Anna stuck a nice 1.5 pound fish and we quickly put it in the boat while my shad rap was still dangling on the reed. So I again motored to get my bait when Anna yelled that she had another one. I netted it and another 1.25 fish made it to the livewell. OK, maybe I’ll be able to get my bait after that fish as I looked back at her casting out her lure. I did get my lure and we fished some more. We caught our limit by 7:45 am but no big uns. A couple came on the Junebug trickworm and some more on the shadrap but we culled by tenths of an ounce at a time.

We took off to the mouth of the creek on the north end but the wind was way too strong and I don’t have a power pole. Hmmm, maybe time to look for one. We then ventured to the south and fished the small reed islands. I had a nice hit on the trickworm and it pulled me under the boat. I must have caught a small bit of skin on the fish as it became unbuttoned without even a peak at her size. It felt nice and I was pretty disappointed. We did catch a few small ones but nothing bigger than what we had.

At 1:30 pm we ventured out to a brush pile just outside the ramp. My trolling motor batteries were dead (I just bought some new ones after this tournament) and we drifted toward the marker. I tossed a #9 shadrap and managed to hook up with a nice one. The battle was on as it jumped and Anna netted her nicely. The fish ws almost 5 and 1/2 pounds. We motored and drifted about 5 more times without another fish then it was time to go.

Congrats to Radar and Tomi with 13+ pounds for the win. We managed 2nd at 11 + pounds and Doc and Gwen took 3rd. Next month it will be off to Lake Rousseau!

ABA Couple March 2012 Lake Kissimmee Weigh In

We were anxious to fish on lake Kissimmee out of Camp Mack. Anna and I elected to stay in Lake Kissimmee vs. the other lakes as we located some fish in the reed/pad mix. Come tournament day we managed one fish in the mix so we ventured to a Kissimmee grass line. The wind was howling so we fished the calm side of the grass line and let the wind drift us down. We did manage to get a nice 5 pounder but the winners Cary and Mary slayed ‘em in Hatchineha and edged out Bob and Lorene who were on some big fish as well. Cloudy and windy turned out well for those fishing some faster swim baits and spinnerbaits. I hope we do better on Walk in Water at the end of March!

Mr. B’s Weigh In Feb 2012

Anna and I had a tough time finding fish. We found one monster bass on a bed but it was too spooky. We managed on keeper. At weigh in we found that the fish were located in the mouth of the river as Randy and George took 1st and David and Randy were 2nd with a couple of nice sacks in the 14 and 13 pound range. Hope to do better next month at Shell Creek.

1st Terry and Sue (Upper Left), 2nd John and Vicky (Upper Right), 3rd Paul and Anna (Lower Right)

 ABA Couples Bass Tournament Florida Division held their Feb. 4th event on Lake Panasoffkee near Wildwood, Florida. Anna and I prefished the Friday before the tournament starting late as a trailer tire let go on the interstate just south of Brooksville. I elected to get a new tire and give up a few hours of prefishing for the peace of mind knowing I had a spare. We arrived on the lake about 11 am and fished several areas that we were familiar with from the ABA tournament in 2011.

Toward the later hours of the afternoon we “locked” in what we deemed as the best bait a Junebug 6″ Zoom lizard using a 3/16 oz weight Texas rigged. We left around 5 pm and headed north on I75 to Wildwood to stay in the Wildwood RV park cabin. The cabin was a one room building with a full size bed and a bunk bed, one small table and seat with electric. No linens so we brought our sleeping bag and pillows. The price was right in the mid $40 range including tax and we could park the boat next to the cabin to charge the trolling batteries. A little noisy though since a truck stop was right next store, but once asleep no issues.

The next morning we packed up and got to the lake around 5:30 am. Anna drew boat 5 and when Cary called our number it was off to the races for a 1/2 mile ride. We started fishing the scattered eel grass, coontail weedline, Anna started with the lizard while I experimented with a Chrome Cotton Cordell Boy Howdy. I hooked up quickly putting a 15 inch fish into the livewell. We moved down the line and I saw a swirl and cast the Boy Howdy to it. This fish took it and I set the hook only to end up with a limp lureless line. I figured it was a pickerel as it was an instantaneous slice through my line. Sure enough, that jackfish jump within 2 minutes after swallowing my bait trying to shake the lure out of it’s mouth. So much for my brand new Boy Howdy!

I then switched over to my lizard rig as Anna and continued to work the weedline and scattered stuff. The 2nd fish hit my lizard and from the pull I knew it was a larger one. Anna quickly netted it and we estimated it close to 4 pounds. We continued down the line a little further north and we limited by 8:30 am. 4 small ones and one decent fish. From mid morning until around 12 it was Anna’s rod that saw the action. We culled about an ounce a fish and couldn’t get a bigger fish in the 2 to 3 pound class like we needed. We ended up with 10 or eleven fish culling down to our 5 keepers.

At weigh in two teams visiting from the North Carolina ABA division took top honors. Terry and Sue Wein weighed in 15+ pounds for 1st while John and Vicky English took 2nd and big bass (Vicky’s fish) at 10.71 pounds. Vicky’s fish was a hefty 7.41 pounds. Anna and I took 3rd at 9.98 pounds. Congrats to the North Carolina teams and welcome to the Sunshine State! Next month it’s Kissimmee and Walk in Water which are two awesome lakes (knock on wood). Tight Lines Everyone.

Lake Manatee Weigh In Jan. 2012

The tournament started on the chilly side as we took off using my 8 hp kicker (the lake is restricted to 20 hp max). We ventured just east of Gilley’s creek where Anna and I caught some decent fish prefishing. It was slow but we managed a couple of 1.5 to 2 pound fish on a Carolina rigged blueberry Zoom worm and a producto black blue glitter worm.

The bite slowed and we caught a couple shorts then ventured back east near the ramp. In one of our tried and true spots we caught a nice 3 pound plus fish on the Producto worm on a Carolina rig in about 18 foot of water. The fish was hardly noticeable as it must of swam towards the boat when it choked on the worm.

At weigh in a couple of 4 fish bags were brought to the scales by Billy and Tony as well as Randy and George but no limits. Well guess what, our 3 fish bag took 1st place and big fish. I guess luck was on our side again or Randy and George were feeling a little sorry for the trail and threw back some fish so someone else could win . Anyhow, slow fishing for sure but it sures feels nice when “You’re in the Money”! Thanks Penny and Tom for continuing the trail and if your on the west coast of Florida give ‘em a shout and come join in. Until next month, Tight Lines.