Not Sure How Much of Today's Dock Talk I Can Believe

I say that because of the wide differences in the numbers of fish "allegedly" caught by some of the competitors today. While Wayne and I openly admitted we had a total of five bites for five keeper bass, other anglers expressed that they had a far better day. One team reportedly said they easily had boated a total of 75 or more bass on the day. I think you get the picture...and an example of why my partner says he never believes a thing you hear during dock talk.

In reality, I know this much to be true: Of the 10 boats with 17 total anglers that fished today, 9 of the 10 boats weighed limits of five bass each. The 45 total bass brought to the scales weighed in at 94.29 lbs., for an average weight per fish of 2.09 lbs.

And one of the best aspects of the whole day was the fact that none of us got soaked by rain, which I would have bet never would have happened this morning when we shoved off from the marina. Local forecasters were calling for the possibility of some rain, especially during the afternoon hours. Dark clouds rolled around all day, but nary a drop fell...as far as I know.

Here is how the winners' circle looked at day's end:

In 1st place was the team of (from left) Fred Crawford and Gabe Himmelwright, with a total weight of 17.29 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.90 lbs., which also made them the recipients of the lunker award.

Finishing in 2nd place was the team of (from left) Rob Peppers and Mike McCluskey, with a total weight of 14.47 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.77 lbs. They also took home one part of the side pot.

And walking away with the 3rd place prize money was the team of (from left) Gary Coderre and Dave Anderson, with a total weight of 12.99 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.62 lbs. They further won the other part of the side pot.

The remainder of the competitive field ended the day in the following order:

     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff, with a total weight of 9.48 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.68 lbs.

     * The team of Stan Krason and Andrew Gonzalez, with a total weight of 9.38 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.30 lbs.

     * Chris Fretard, with a total weight of 8.60 lbs., and no big fish.

     * Andy Morath, with a total weight of 7.98 lbs., and no big fish.

     * The team of Kevin Howerin and Matt Underwood, with a total weight of 7.10 lbs., and no big fish.

     * James Calhoun, with a total weight of 7.00 lbs., and no big fish.

     * The team of Steve Bailey and Dennis Dean didn't weigh any fish.

Congratulations to all of today's winners, and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next scheduled event is Saturday, May 21st, starting at safe light or about 6 o'clock, with weigh-in at 2 p.m.

One Last Cast

Bass fishermen the world over know that what works one day, or, for that matter, one hour earlier suddenly may stop working without any forewarning. That lesson came back to me in spades today.

As a result of my trip to West Neck this past Thursday, I felt that, if nothing else, I had established a reasonable starting point for my partner and me this morning, once the tournament got underway. Nothing could have been farther from the truth, though. The locations...the baits...everything about Thursday's successes suddenly were null and void.

Only through a process of trial and error did we finally manage to put together a limit. Since returning home this afternoon, I've had an opportunity to do some online research that uncovered an old item written by Pete Robbins, a senior writer for Bassmaster Magazine. He was interviewing Elite Series pro Jeff Connella.

As explained in that article, there's a generally accepted truth that what separates a pro bass angler from a truly successful pro is an ability to relocate fish, especially in the spring, when fish looking to spawn or coming off the spawn may move, not just daily but hourly. And that scenario is further complicated by the fact that intermittent but often heavy rains (and/or as in our local case, the winds) may cause a body's water level to fluctuate greatly. When that happens, Connella believes that you typically shouldn't waste time fishing the old shoreline.

"They'll move quickly," he said. "Typically, when the water comes up real fast, the fish go to the bank. Worms come up out of the ground, and the bream go up there to feed, so the bass move up there to feed as well. You start off looking in those same pockets where they had been before.

"There's no universal rule as to whether the fish will stay put, move out or move farther back into a pocket," noted Connella. "A lot of that depends on what type of pocket, if you have a feeder creek in the back of the pocket. It also depends on whether you have a warm rain or a cold rain.

"One of the things you need to watch out for in the spring is that you'll get into one of the creeks and go so far back that the water actually will get colder," he continued. "You can have 60-degree water in the front and 54-degree water way in the back. When that happens, start working your way out. You want to find the warmest water around.

"The most important thing of all, though, is to keep an open mind. If the cover or structure that was ultra-productive a few days ago is no longer producing bass, you have to figure out where they went, or else risk a trip to the weigh-in with empty livewells."

According to Connella, "A lot of guys fish memories. They think, 'We caught them here last year or last week--or literally two days ago.' It's OK to start there, but you have to keep moving if they're not biting. The bass will tell you where they are. When you get a bite, you've got a piece of the puzzle. The more bites you get, the more pieces you get, and you'll finally put it all together."

Current Overall Statistics