Open Tournament This Weekend

A reminder that Wayne has scheduled another open tournament for this Sunday, Dec. 3, at Pungo Ferry. Hours are from safe light (about 6:45 a.m.) to weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. Registration fees are $100 per boat (including $10 for big-fish pot) and an optional $20 per boat for the side pot. As usual, you can trailer your boat before weighing in. Please refer any questions to Wayne at 757-478-3387.

When Is It Too Cold to Catch Big Bass at Night?

More than likely, you would get a whole spectrum of answers to this question if you posed it to the general populace. To a couple of rosy-cheeked hardcore anglers I read about online the other day, though, the real question should be: Does it ever get too cold?

As this duo explained, the water temps had dropped from the high 50s to the low 40s, and the air temps had fallen from the 50s to the 20s, and yet, the big fish still were chomping the jigs these two guys had been throwing for more than four months. Granted, the fish had moved around some, but the baits had stayed the same.

Said the angler above, "Common knowledge suggests that there comes a point around December when the night bite ceases to exist until late spring. It also suggests that, if you are to catch fish, it should take place between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight (at least, that's what I was taught). Well, I'm here to say all that is totally bogus."

He went on to explain that on one February night...in the wind, rain and cold, no less...he and his buddy had caught a five-fish limit that weighed 38.1 pounds. His best five alone were well over 36 pounds. He subsequently came to the conclusion that "common knowledge is bull. It's limited by the minds of those who refuse to experiment. Why do most people get them between 10 p.m. and midnight? Because they're not crazy enough to be out there at 3:30 a.m. (while the ice is building up on the deck) to see if the big fish still are biting. If you want to stick big fish, I believe you need to be willing to do what others will not."

While in the middle of an eight-day rain pattern, this same fella decided to go to one of his favorite lakes and throw a swimbait for big largemouth. After making the 45-minute trip there, he launched his boat and ran 10-plus miles to his first spot and began throwing a large swimbait called a "baitsmith magnum." The waves were running 2 to 2.5 feet tall, which he described as "nothing you can't fish, but you don't want to try and run against them."

The wind was blowing a steady 10 to 15 mph when he hollered...to no one in particular because he had no partner..."fish on!" However, his 8-foot Dobyns rod didn't load up, so he shook his head, tweaked the bait a little, and started casting again.

Long story short, he had a few bites but didn't land a single fish. More importantly, though, in a matter of minutes, the lake went from fishable to out of control. He was dealing with one-quarter-inch hail coming down so hard he couldn't see through it. Huge waves were coming at him, and there was lightning everywhere. An hour and a half later, he was sitting at home, soaked, a little shaken, bruised from the hail that was hitting at 60-plus mph, while trying to dodge lightning. The main thing, though, was that he was still alive.

For a normal person, an experience like that would have been the end of that day's story, but not for this hardcore dude. No less than 10 minutes before getting a call that cancelled his evening plans, he called a buddy, and 15 minutes later, the two of them were starting a two-hour drive to this fella's favorite night lake...with a boat still full of water and batteries with only partial life.

The first two fish of the night weighed in at 5.6 and 8.2 pounds, respectively. Both came from their first spot: a sheer boulder/rock wall that drops into 30-plus feet of water, making it easy for the bass to move up and down to feed without expending much energy. These boulders serve as ambush points for the big females to feed on smaller baitfish and bluegill. Next came a 3- and 4-pounder, followed by his buddy landing a chunky 5.7-pounder.

While the buddy (right) was retying from that fish, he felt his swim jig settle, and as he picked up the slack, something just didn't feel right. Bottom line: A 9.6-pounder landed in the net a few seconds later. After taking some photos and making a clean release, the two fellas moved on to the next spot of the night.

On about the fifth cast, the fella was free-swimming his bait down the rocks there when he felt a "tick." He quickly engaged the spool, reeled down, and reared back on yet another hard-fighting fish. Yelling for the net, his buddy quickly jumped into action and slid the net under a healthy, chunky 8.9-pounder.

The duo continued fishing until about 2 a.m. but never had another bite. The moral of this story, according to these two hardcores, was that "even when it's cold, the big 'uns still are out there, and they have to eat. You just have to decide if it's worth the effort."

Been Down to the Pungo Ferry Launch Ramp Lately?

If not, you might like to know about what you see happening in the accompanying photo. These floating blocks have been at the mercy of the wind for about three weeks now. As anyone who uses this ramp knows, these blocks are designed to restrict entry into the area a short distance beyond the walkway on the right. 

My friend Skip was down there this past Wednesday and witnessed a policeman from the marine division taking pictures of the runaway blocks. It would appear, however, that fixing this problem isn't very high on the authority's "to do" list. Therefore, I would encourage anyone using this ramp to exercise due caution.

UPDATE

As of yesterday (11/30/2023), the city's Public Works crew had pulled this whole mess out of the water and stowed it on one of the grassy areas at Pungo Ferry.

A Tribute to the Late Lake Fork Guide Alvin Dean Stroman

After publishing the earlier article about night fishing in winter, I ran across some comments by a fella who once was blessed with some sage fishing advice from Mr. Stroman (right) without ever knowing whom he was talking to.

Seems this fella grew up in Carrollton, Tex., and had fished Lake Fork with his dad for the first time in 1991. Then, from 1996 to 2009, he brought a group of 10 to 12 police officers and Army soldiers to Lake Fork every March for a week of fishing and fellowship. His job each year was to find the prevailing fishing pattern for the group, so everyone could catch some fish and have a little fun.

On one such trip, the fella was, in his own words, "struggling." He went on to say, "It was super windy, and the water temps were in the low 50s. I got frustrated with the wind and went to hide in a cove. While fishing there, I noticed a man walking along the bank, picking up trash. As I passed near him, I said 'hello' and he said, 'Son, you need to get out there in the wind and throw a rig on the main-lake points...the windier the better."

Stroman went on to say, "If you don't get bit in 15 minutes, then move to the next point, but come back and fish the earlier point later. If you catch a small fish, move one point north or south, and you will find bigger ones."

The reader thanked the as-yet-nameless Stroman for his insight, took his advice, and headed back out to fight the wind, even though he wasn't excited about it.

"On the first point I stopped at," he said, "I caught back-to-back 8 pounders."

The rest is history. The whole group had a great trip due to that advice. Then, later the next week, the fella in charge of the group was in a tackle store when he learned the identity of the man who had given him that good advice. He recognized Stroman from a photo on the wall of the store. Subsequently, the fella started sending numerous clients to Stroman for a day of Lake Fork guide service.

Wusses Won't Go There...Night Fishing in Winter, That Is

However, as the late legendary Lake Fork guide Dean Stroman learned, there are some bravehearts...or perhaps nuts? (the answer is anybody's guess)...who will.

Late one January, Stroman had a client who had booked a night trip. The weather was very cold, with a chance for snow.

"That evening, everyone at the boat ramp thought we were crazy," he said, adding, "so did I."

Stroman tried to persuade them to cancel or switch to daytime, but they said they had to fish at night. Seems one or more of them had a skin problem, and they directed him "to bundle up and put them on a big fish."

"I told them we would be lucky if we caught a couple of dinks," he replied. "But around 1:30 a.m., I slid the net under a 13.04-pound bass."

While most people think night fishing is good only during summer, the truth is, as explained by Stroman, "It's good year-round for trophy bass. Even in the spring, when the daylight bite is excellent, the night bite also can be good. For this, I firmly believe that there are two different groups of feeding bass: one that feeds exclusively during day, and the other during the night.

"Most anglers prefer night during summer when days are warmer," he noted. "Pursuing trophy bass after dark definitely can tilt the odds in your favor from June to September. You consistently will catch more of the larger bass during night than you will during the 'dog days' of summer.

"Preparation is very important before you journey out after dark," said Stroman. "Make sure you have a good spotlight, flashlight, and bug repellent (Skin So Soft by Avon is great). Let someone know where you plan to fish and the approximate time of your return. Begin preparation before dark (e.g., get your rods, reels and lures ready).

"Make sure all equipment is working: batteries charged, life preservers and floating devices aboard, and running lights functioning," continued Stroman. "During daylight, scout out and familiarize yourself with the areas you plan to fish. Know the locations of brush lines, breaklines and grassy edges. During daylight, plan to go over your route and mark all hazards. If you have to move from one location to another, don't be in a hurry. If you're not familiar with the lake, fish near your launch site. On lakes with lots of timber, move from one location to another with caution. Also leave your running lights on when you are fishing or under power.

"The number one thing to remember in night fishing is safety. No fish is worth jeopardizing your own health and welfare, that of those around you, or others on the lake."

As laid out by Stroman, the best locations to night fish for trophy bass are basically the same from the end of May through summer.

"Start your night trip fishing shallow, two to six feet, close to deep water, off points, shallow breaklines and grassy edges," he advised. "On dark nights, the fishing may be best near lighted piers, boathouses and marinas. Concentrate on the piers that always are lighted, especially if they are on or near points, breaklines or grass. If shallow does not produce, have a deep pattern for backup. Deep at night is 15 to 20 feet.

"Fish the deeper, sloping main-lake points that extend farther into the lake and have sharp drops along the sides and at the ends," continued Stroman. "The most productive points will have deep grass or wood structure on or near the deeper breaklines.

"The primary lures I use for night fishing are those that consistently produce trophy bass, such as big plastics, jigs, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. By big plastics, I mean 10- to 15-inch worms and 8- to 9-inch lizards and Hawg Craws. Colors should be on the dark side, such as red shad, black and blue.

"Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits will produce some trophy fish, especially in May and June," said Stroman. "You need only two colors: black or black/blue. The recommended spinner size is the No. 4 to No. 6 Colorado blade because it is easier to feel the thumping of the blade. For buzzbaits, any large blade will do.

"A 1/2-ounce Penetrator Twin Skin jig in black and blue with a Gene Larew black/blue Hawg Craw is my No. 1 consistent producer of big fish at night on Lake Fork. Experienced night anglers know these baits are all you need to consistently catch trophy bass at night."

Although Stroman always preached that dark colors work best for night fishing, he also had a tip for those times when the bite was slow.

As he explained, "One night a few years ago, during a slow bite, a past client was fishing the same area we were fishing. He was in a one-man bass buggy, throwing a solid white crankbait. He was catching good bass about every other cast. After watching and hearing him catch 10 bass to our one, I started scouring my tacklebox for any crankbait in white. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, so I opted for a white jig and craw, and my clients caught bass the remainder of the night. White crankbaits and white jig-and-craws are now a major part of my night arsenal.

"When the bite is slow, experiment with different colors," he said. "It could pay off. The 13.04-pound bass I mentioned earlier came on a white jig and craw."

Bass Fishin': An All-Weather Sport

Some Like It Hot...

Some Like It Cold...

Some Like It Anytime,

Even If We're Old.

Regardless of how you like it, the fact of the matter is that water temperatures on the North Landing were hovering in the 50s last time I was on the water, and that, coupled with the calendar, tells me it's once again time to put away the shorts and flipflops for a spell. And, yes, I realize there are those who wear that summer attire year-round. When your skin gets as thin as mine, though, you opt for something warmer...or dearly wish you had.

All that aside, I plan to run some posts dedicated to cold-weather bassin', starting with the following article by MLF Pro Keith Poche (left), who shares how he catches fish this time of year.

"Winter is one of the toughest times of the year to catch fish," he said, "but you still can catch bass in winter weather with the right approach.

"These fish normally drop down in the water column to stay safe from drastic cold fronts that chill the surface water to near freezing at times. As these fish stage in the depths, they tend to bunch up together. They will suspend at a certain depth or gather around structure, if available. Even though these fish don't eat very often, they still are catchable."

Poche has two ways he likes to catch bass in winter weather: extremely slow or extremely fast.

As he explained, "You either drag a Carolina Rig painfully slow, with a Berkley Power Worm, or work a Berkley Cutter 110 Jerkbait so slow you might want to set your rod down between jerks. This presentation is to allow the bait to sit in the fish's face for a period of time to aggravate him or give him time to slowly swim to it and strike the bait."

This MLF pro's preferred method is extremely fast. He explained it this way.

"A bass has an aggressive instinct in their DNA that tells them to attack, no matter what, if something is moved by them quickly. I like to throw a spoon while sitting in my boat over the top of them and watching them on my Garmin depthfinder. I rip this spoon vertically in their face to get a reaction bite. Next, I like to yo-yo a lipless crankbait, called the Berkley Warpig. The constant jerking up and fluttering down will trigger a lot of strikes.

"Winter weather can be challenging," said Poche, "but if you put in a little time and patience, you will be surprised how good winter bass fishing can be."

Elite Series Pro Chris Lane Remembers His First Bass Tournament

Every angler who has fished a bass tournament surely remembers that first morning. You were nervous and anxious about the unknown that lay just around the bend--uncertain of the outcome but convinced that you were living in the moment.

Then, of course, there are the mistakes that were made that first time--the things that only can be appreciated in hindsight. One thing is certain: Lessons learned the hard way are never forgotten. Whether you are a tournament veteran or someone considering entering your first bass competition, you'll benefit from lessons to be learned from the experiences each Elite Series angler lives through in his first tournament.

For Chris Lane (top right), that first tournament still stands out as a memory worthy of total recall because of the lessons he learned.

"The very first tournament that I fished was a 200-boat Redman down on Lake Okechobee," said Lane. "I fished behind Gary Simpson, who was a big-time outdoor writer in Gainesville, Fla., so I was all nerves."

Nevertheless, he admitted to writer Brent Conway that he was stung by the tournament bug that first tournament.

"I had a blast," he said, "but I didn't like being in the back of the boat," he added.

"The next year, I signed up as a boater and qualified for the regional in my first year," continued Lane. "It was just an absolute thrill to go up there to weigh-in with a police escort, and it really got in my blood."

There were plenty of mistakes in that first event, everything from poor line management, resulting in multiple breakoffs, to poor choices in lure selection. But to Lane, it was nothing more than a part of the learning process.

"I make mistakes in every tournament I fish to this very day," he noted. "I'm still trying to key into the things that I can control and how to minimize bad decisions or costly mistakes."

As writer Conway explained, "Learning from your mistakes is a core element in successful bass fishing--be it for fun or for money. In either case, the key is to control the things that you can, so that at least the uncontrollable variables will be outpaced by preparation."

Said Lane, "I learned quickly that, when you're fishing for a payday, you have to have all your I's dotted and your T's crossed before you ever get in the boat.

"In a tournament day, there are so many things that are beyond your control--the weather, the traffic, and mechanical failures--so you have to control those things that you can in order to give yourself the best shot at being competitive."

Aside from learning from his mistakes, Lane credits those early tournaments with teaching him to use his nervousness as an ally.

"There's no way to handle them really--being anxious about the day ahead of you is just what bass fishing does to someone who is passionate about it," he said. "You have to have your nerves working when you're tournament fishing; otherwise, you're not excited enough about it. The thing is, though, you have to use them in a positive way and not let your nerves overshadow the importance of staying focused on what you're doing."

For all the lessons that earlier tournaments and time on the water have taught Lane about bass behavior and boat control, the single most important lesson learned has been the element of chance and how to ensure the odds are in his favor.

"It all starts with making sure that every single piece of your equipment and tackle is in good shape," he allowed. "Go through it three or four times if you have to before the tournament starts, so that you know it's just right. The absolute worst thing that can happen to you is for your equipment not to be ready when you need to depend on it most.

"A bass is not going to wait for you to restring a rod or fix the collar on a spinnerbait. It has to be right the first time you pick it up," he concluded.

My Sincere Wish for One and All...

 

A Stranger's Love Makes for a Family's Happy Thanksgiving

By Andrea Nannette Mejia

It was the day before Thanksgiving...the first one my three children and I would be spending without their father, who had left several months earlier. Now the two older children were very sick with the flu, and the eldest had just been prescribed bed rest for a week.

It was a cool, gray day outside, and a light rain was falling. I grew wearier as I scurried around, trying to care for each child: thermometers, juice, diapers. And I was fast running out of liquids for the children. When I checked my purse, though, all I found was about $2.50, and this was supposed to last me until the end of the month. That's when I heard the phone ring.

It was the secretary from our former church, and she told me that they had been thinking about us and had something to give us from the congregation. I told her that I was going out to pick up some more juice and soup for the children, and I would drop by the church on my way to the market.

I arrived at the church just before lunch. The church secretary met me at the door and handed me a special gift envelope. "We think of you and the kids often," she said, "and you are in our hearts and prayers. We love you." When I opened the envelope, I found two grocery certificates inside, each worth $20. I was so touched and moved, I broke down and cried.

"Thank you very much," I said, as we hugged each other. "Please give our love and thanks to the church." Then I drove to a store near our home and purchased some much-needed items for the children.

At the checkout counter, I had a little over $14 worth of groceries, and I handed the cashier one of the gift certificates. She took it, then turned her back for what seemed like a very long time. I thought something might be wrong. Finally I said, "This gift certificate is a real blessing. Our former church gave it to our family, knowing I'm a single parent, trying to make ends meet."

The cashier then turned around, with tears in her loving eyes, and replied, "Honey, that's wonderful! Do you have a turkey?" she then asked.

"No," I said. "It's OK because my children are sick anyway."

The cashier then asked, "Do you have anything else for Thanksgiving dinner?"

Again I replied, "No."

After handing me the change from the certificate, she looked at my face and said, "Honey, I can't tell you exactly why right now, but I want you to go back into the store and buy a turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, or anything else you need for a Thanksgiving dinner."

I was shocked and humbled to tears. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes! Get whatever you want...and get some Gatorade for the kids."

I felt awkward as I went back to do more shopping, but I selected a fresh turkey, a few yams and potatoes, and some juices for the children. Then I wheeled the shopping cart up to the same cashier as before. As I placed my groceries on the counter, she looked at me once more with giant tears in her kind eyes and began to speak.

"Now I can tell you: This morning I prayed that I could help someone today, and you walked through my line." She reached under the counter for her purse and took out a $20 bill. She paid for my groceries and then handed me the change. Once more I was moved to tears.

The sweet cashier then said, "I am a Christian. Here is my phone number if you ever need anything." She then took my head in her hands, kissed my cheek, and said, "God bless you, honey."

As I walked to my car, I was overwhelmed by this stranger's love and by the realization that God loves my family, too, and showed us His love through this stranger's and my church's kind deeds.

The children were supposed to have spent Thanksgiving with their father that year, but because of the flu, they were home with me for a very special Thanksgiving Day. They were feeling better, and we all ate the goodness of the Lord's bounty and our community's love. Our hearts were truly filled with thanks.

Focusing on Best Lure Choices for Each New Window of Seasonal Bass Behavior

Wired2Fish angler and writer Jason Sealock (right) spends some time each year in deep thought, contemplating the decisions he made on the water during the year.

"I think anglers need help focusing on their lure choices surrounding windows of seasonal bass behavior," he said. "Essentially, I'm talking about understanding when and what lures to throw in certain circumstances, so that you're able to catch bass consistently all year long."

As he went on to explain, "Every body of water has patterns that consistently happen every year, around the same time every year, because, much like us, fish are creatures of habit. Ironically enough, I find anglers are less students of bass habits as they are fishing tackle. In other words, they are quick to latch onto a favorite lure, rather than a favorite bass behavior."

Sealock has six tips to help you improve your bass fishing by understanding the windows around where you fish. His first tip is to document data, especially on good trips. Keep a record of the date, the water temperature, whether the water was clear or dirty, and what lures did and didn't work.

The second tip is to be a fish psychologist. Putting an area together with the best lure to catch them is developing a pattern, which is the key to the windows in bass fishing.

Said Sealock, "I've spent a lot of time learning where the bass are during a given season, even within the same season how they change, on the lake I fish the most. When you're able to do this, you can predict when the fish will be in certain places and when certain lures catch them the best, either because of where they are or what they are eating.

"The simplest way to pattern fish is to fish a lot of water with multiple baits that make sense for the season and location. As you start to catch bass, see if there are other ways to catch them in the same areas that are maybe a little more effective.

"It's generally easier to stick with seasonal trends, like looking deep for winter fish, or looking shallow for spring and fall fish and work out from there. The warmer the water, the faster and more you can move baits, while the colder the water, the slower and less you want to move them.

"Once you figure out a solid pattern at a specified time of year, take good notes on it."

Tip No. 3 is to test more when fish are biting. While Sealock will try several different lures in an area before moving on, because of the windows he's figured out on a lake, he knows when certain lures are going to produce and others aren't. When he really makes an exception is when fishing is good.

"When I'm catching a lot of fish, I experiment," he said. "If you're not on the fish, or the fishing is very tough because of environmental factors, it's usually better to bare down with one lure and technique and work through a lot of later. When you start catching a lot of fish, though, it's a good idea to see if there are more efficient or better ways to catch fish in the area with other lures or other techniques.

"For me, learning that I can catch them on five baits in a certain window always is better than only having one option."

The fourth tip is to hit your proven stuff, as well as unknown areas. Sealock makes a commitment to himself on every outing to hit several proven areas in the window he's fishing. However, he also wants to find at least one new good area, spot, interesting cover, or something that he feels will be a bass producer, either in the current window or a future one.

"If it's ledge season on Kentucky Lake," he said, "I try to hit a few proven ledges, but I also spend a lot of time looking for new stuff off the beaten path. If it's a shallow flipping window, I'll look for new creeks, pockets, maybe an isolated laydown or bush, and give the area a test.

"If you do this for just a few years, you'll be surprised how quickly you build a complete matrix of windows and proven patterns and areas that you can keep coming back to year after year."

Tip No. 5 is bait can be the biggest clue. According to Sealock, the key ingredient for most good areas and patterns from year to year is the presence of food. He's gotten to where he spends as much time learning about baitfish, crawfish and other things the bass might eat in given windows.

"While weather has a big influence on whether a bass will be in the same areas at the same times from year to year, the presence of bait probably has a bigger impact," said Sealock. "I've often argued that weather patterns don't change the fish we're after; they change the bait.

"Wind might push the bait into a shallow feeding area, and the bass move in to trap and eat. The influx of mud might push the bait to cleaner water, and now the areas of grass I was flipping are replaced with cleaner areas. A warm influx of rain from a runoff could bring the bait up shallow on the bank and cause the bass to follow. Sunny days could position the bait in the shade pockets, and gamefish will follow."

The sixth and final tip is become a student of the weather. When Sealock goes to the lake, he likes to know what the conditions have been and are going to be and hypothesize about what impacts that will have on the typical windows during the year. If the lake has been warming for several days in the winter, he knows the fish are going to get a little more active. The bait might move a little bit. If warm rain has come into the lake, it can change things. Water getting muddy can change windows. Wind also can change the windows. So he tries to track all that stuff around his fishing.

"It might be confusing to some," said Sealock, "so I figured I might jot down my matrix of windows (see below). Obviously, other windows might develop. And this list of windows may not work on every lake or any of the lakes you fish. That's sort of the thing. You have to put in the time to figure out the windows of fishing on your body of water. Hopefully, though, this example drives home the point of finding great fishing year-round where you fish.

"As you read through it, keep in mind I constantly pay attention to when one window is closing. It generally means the next one is opening. Sure, they sometimes overlap. Sometimes they don't materialize, or maybe they go from being four weeks long one year to one week long the following year. However, I find these windows open and close nearly the same time every year, and I get to where I look forward to the next window every year."

Not Many Fishermen But Some Nice Bags

That...and a whole bunch of wind...describes the setting for the open tournament Wayne held at the Pungo Ferry ramp on Saturday, Nov. 18. A field of five boats and seven anglers accounted for a total of 24 bass, weighing a combined 59.31 pounds, with an average weight per fish of 2.47 pounds.

Walking away with all the marbles at day's end was Wayne Hayes (right), whose limit of five bass weighed 14.86 pounds. He also claimed big-fish honors with a kicker weighing 5.71 pounds. He further won the side pot.

All the other competitors finished as follows:
     * Don Carter had five fish, for a total weight of 13.62 pounds. His big fish weighed 4.95 pounds.
     * Russell Daman had five fish, for a total weight of 12.90 pounds. He didn't weigh a big fish.
     * The team of Gary Coderre and Dave Anderson had five fish, for a total weight of 12.15 pounds. Their big fish weighed 3.33 pounds.
     * The father-son team of Randall and Roger Clark had four fish, for a total weight of 5.78 pounds. They didn't weigh a big fish.

For planning purposes, Wayne has scheduled another open tournament out of Pungo Ferry on Sunday, Dec. 3rd. Hours will be from safe light (or about 6:30) until weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. As usual, entry fees will be $100 per boat (including a $10 big-fish pot), with an optional $20-per-boat fee for the side pot. And finally, remember that you're allowed to trailer your boats prior to weigh-in.

If you have any questions, please call Wayne at 757-478-3387.

I Said It Right Before...

Back on Nov. 9, I published a post with this headline: "First One Thing, Then Another...There's Just No End." Little did I know then, though, what lay ahead of me.

On Friday morning, Nov. 17, I was getting ready to take my wife to the beauty salon when I got a pain in the middle of my chest that took my breath away. In a matter of only minutes, however, the pain went away, so I went ahead with what I planned to do. Five hours later, I got another pain like the first one, and it never left. I stayed home the rest of that day and all night long, trying to rid myself of it but with no success.

Come Saturday morning, Nov. 18, I asked the wife to take me to Sentara Princess Anne. We had just walked through the front door of the ER, and I said I had a pain in my chest, when nearby workers stopped everything they were doing and rushed me into a little room for an EKG. When that proved I hadn't had a heart attack, I was whisked away for an ultrasound, which revealed that I had problems with my gall bladder.

I subsequently was scheduled for an MRI, which didn't happen until shortly after noon today. This process was necessary to nail down whether the tunnel from the gall bladder to my liver was still blocked by a gall stone, which had created my problem in the beginning. After two days of regular blood draws, I finally was ready for the MRI. All my readings had returned to regular, which signaled I likely had passed the stuck gall stone. The MRI proved I indeed had, which means I now will be scheduled for outpatient surgery to remove my gall bladder no earlier than Dec. 4, the date after our next open tournament. I don't want to miss two of those in a row...one is more than enough.

Unfortunately, that surgery won't be the end of the line for me. As luck would have it, today's MRI turned up the fact I also have cysts on both my kidneys...and, moreover, I've had them since at least 2009, even though the doctor back then never mentioned a word to me about them. So...long story short...I've been told to come back to Sentara Princess Anne in six months and get those cysts checked out for any increase in size, etc., with, I suppose, the possibility of another surgery down the road.

It's always seemed a bit strange to me how bad luck always tends to run in groups...of usually three or more things. It would be nice if I could be the exception to this rule, but it's beginning to look as though that's not going to happen. Reckon I'd better get used to just rolling with the punches and make the most of 'em. Don't really see that I have any other choice in the matter.

Incidentally, after having had three of 'em now in recent years, I'm here to tell you...unequivocally...that the sound effects in one of those MRI chambers are as bad as ever. That's why I took one of my headache pills before going into that chamber today. The first time around, I had a giant headache before all those pounding sounds started, and I simply wasn't able to complete the procedure. These latter two times, I have gone the whole route...but not without many moments of doubt during the process.

Always-Changing Water Levels Make for Some Tough Fishing

Anyone who fishes the North Landing River is more than a little familiar with fluctuating water levels, but we're not alone, either.

Saw an article from a pro here recently whose home lake is notorious for ruining what you might falsely believe to be a productive, fail-safe pattern. Turns out this fella also writes about fishing for a living.

As he noted, human nature gets the best of any angler once in a while.

"We'll poke out our chests after a few memorable days on the water," he said, "only to have it suddenly come to an end, which is true of all good things. The fish will move, and we'll fail to adjust. When that happens, we have two choices: Pout, kick and scream, or suck it up and take it on the chin."

After one particularly bad outing, the pro first spent a few days at home and left the boat in the driveway. Following a lot of thought, however, he realized that, although he was keeping his emotions and feelings completely internal to maintain a poised demeanor, his thoughts nevertheless were childish.

"I took my proverbial ball and went home because I wasn't getting my way," he said. "I vowed never to let it happen again.

"When you get beat, take it as a learning opportunity," he continued. "A black eye never hurt anyone, so don't go home and kick yourself all evening. Get on the water the next day and figure out what you did wrong. Remember, calm heads always prevail, both on and off the water. Suck it up, smile and get after it."

The pro went on to explain that it's easy to get ahead of yourself in this sport.

"You'll catch a good bass, take your photos, and post 'em to your bragging board, and before you know it, you've made your next cast without even checking your line for rough spots...a big no-no. Actually, it's a really big no-no."

The pro admitted this very thing happened to him in his first tournament of the year, when he was relatively rusty. And he admitted he really wanted to be in a deer stand instead of fishing some rocky bluff walls at daylight. As a result, he didn't check his line.

"I set the hook, and it sounded like a gunshot," he said. "Without speaking a word, I just reeled in my slack line, sat down on the rod locker and retied. As I was standing up to make my next cast, a 4-pounder came jumping on the surface, with my disconnected bait thrashing in its mouth. I would have rather taken a pitching wedge to the groin than to be subjected to that cruelty.

"The moral of this story is simple. Check your line religiously, and don't be lazy about retying. Whether you catch a 10-incher or a 10-pounder, take a few seconds to retie your knot. If you don't, I promise it will come back to haunt you sooner or later."

Another piece of advice from the pro was that just because the bass may be relating to a certain type of cover, structure or depth in one area of your favorite fishery doesn't mean that's the case everywhere else. If you're preparing for a tournament, or just fishing for fun, make an effort to find different patterns in various areas of the lake.

"Water temperature and clarity largely dictate how the bass position and react to lures," he said. "For instance, common knowledge usually tells us to seek warmer water in cold conditions this time of the year. So if you're catching shallow fish in the lower end of your fishery, they may not be as shallow up the river arms due to fresh runoff and cooler water temperatures.

"It's also important to consider how water clarity may change throughout a lake," he continued. "For example, I was catching fish during a tournament in clear, deep water when the pattern suddenly shut down. I was toast because I had failed to develop any back-up plans in practice. I should have explored muddier water in the upper end of the lake in hopes of finding a solid shallow pattern."

The pro also urged anglers to  stick with their confidence techniques when it's tough fishing.

"Now, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try new baits and techniques," he said. "You'll never get better if you don't venture outside your comfort zone from time to time. But when the bite gets tough and you're having trouble putting something together, rely on the technique with which you're most comfortable."

A final piece of advice from the pro was to develop a reliable gut instinct.

"Be patient," he said, "because there's absolutely no substitute for time on the water. With that being said, don't ignore those tiny voices in your head throughout the day. You're not crazy. We all have 'em. That's your 'gut' talking to you."

The pro went on to offer the example of a tournament he had fished recently, in which he didn't take his own advice.

"I had about 13 pounds in my livewells," he said. "Based on the recent weather patterns, I knew I needed more weight to have any hope of a respectable finish. It was windy, we had some intermittent cloud cover in the area, and a voice in my head kept saying, 'Go throw a blade, you dummy. This is a spinnerbait lake, and you're going to get spanked by one if you don't throw it.'

"I didn't listen, and wouldn't you know that my buddy weighed in just shy of 25 pounds on a spinnerbait. To make matters worse, he caught 'em just a few hundred yards from my primary area.

"Trusting your gut also involves developing an instinct in regards to a fishery's output on a given date. Are the winning weights usually in the low teens in January? Are 20-pound bags common in March? Using this knowledge to your advantage can help you decide when to take calculated risks and gambles and avoid bombing a tournament that could've been won with a simple limit of 2-pounders. And again, this can only come from spending a lot of hours on the water."

Open Tournament This Saturday, Nov. 18th

Wayne asked me to remind everyone that there's an open tournament scheduled to launch from Pungo Ferry at 6:30 a.m., Saturday, with weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. The fees are $100 per boat (including $10 for the big-fish pot). As usual, there's also an optional side pot, which is $20 per boat. Remember that you're allowed to trailer your boat before weighing your fish at these opens.

After 46 Years, This Legend Is Calling It Quits

Bassmaster's first "Million Dollar Man," Larry Nixon, of Bee Branch, Arkansas, is stepping away from the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2024. He decided at the end of the 2023 season that his health would not allow him to compete at his usual high standard.

"The Elite Series grind is more than most people ever could imagine," said Nixon. "The elements of professional bass fishing are some of the toughest things in all of sports. Over the course of my career, I've worn out two thumbs, a shoulder, a heart, a knee, and an elbow due to competitive repetition.

"My health is OK, but, believe me, everything is just worn out. It's become really difficult to just do normal things, like tying knots and other little things."

Nixon's return to the Bassmaster stage in 2023 was much anticipated by the fans of the sport, the anglers, and Nixon himself.

"Coming back to B.A.S.S. was one of the highest points of my career," he said. "Year 46--or whatever year this is--was absolutely fantastic. The fans are unlike anything else in the sport. It honestly was like I never left.

"The camaraderie, the kids, and the other Elite competitors all made me smile a lot this year because of the reception I got all year."

With 14 B.A.S.S. wins and more than $1.66 million in career earnings, Nixon cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats in professional bass fishing.

His consistency on the trail has been unmatched. For 12 seasons between 1977 and 1988, Nixon never ranked lower than eighth in the Angler of the Year points standings. For nine consecutive years--1979 thru 1987--he was in the Top 5, with AOY titles coming in 1980 and 1982. In addition to winning the 1983 Bassmaster Classic on the Ohio River, the 25-time Classic qualifier finished in the Top 10 an astounding eight times.

In any sport, the athletes who walk away on their own terms are the most fortunate, and they are even more fortunate when they have accomplished as much as Nixon has over his legendary career.

"There is absolutely nothing in this world that I would trade for my career in professional tournament fishing," said Nixon. "This entire journey--from being in Bassmaster Magazine for exposure, to being on television on TNN, to where the sport is today--has been truly amazing.

"I've had the chance to educate fans and anglers across every state in the United States, except for one, in my time, and also have been to Japan three times, which is really cool to say."

While this may be the end of Nixon's career fishing the Bassmaster Elite Series, he plans to take this time to relax and fish more with friends.

Why Do I Have Bad Luck?

People have been asking themselves that question since the beginning of time. Various cultures use shamrocks, rabbit's feet, horseshoes, and jade to ward it off. Some avoid the number 13 (I once had a boss who always took a day's leave when Friday fell on the 13th day of the month).

Other folks also participate in odd superstitions. Tiger Woods, for example, always wore red shirts on the last day of a major golf tournament. Retired tennis star Serena Williams always bounced the ball exactly five times before her first serve. And actress, producer and businesswoman Jennifer Aniston always taps the outside of the plane before a flight.

Even with all of humankind's stunning advances in science and technology, the idea of bad luck sticks around. It's deeply ingrained in the human psyche as a way to make sense of the world. Our brains crave explanations, and sometimes "bad luck" is the only one that seems to fit. But if you're wondering, "Why do I have such bad luck?," it might be time to reexamine your own decisions and shift your mindset to a more empowering perspective, because, according to American author, coach and speaker Tony Robbins, that appears to be the only thing standing between you and good luck.

So, to all you crabby ol' bass anglers out there, I would say this: The next time you suffer a skunk, get your butt handed to you by all the other tournament competitors, lose an expensive rod over the side of the boat, or end a cold day on the water by having your outboard fail to start (miles away from the dock), just calm down and change your mindset. And if it's not too much bother, please let me know how that works for you.

OK, please excuse my sarcasm here. I just couldn't help myself this time.

All kidding aside, now sit back and check out some of the bad-luck episodes other anglers have experienced. The Internet was rife with responses to my Google search.

Oh the woes of braided line and a beginning baitcast user. After spending countless hours working on his baitcasting skills, a fella decided to put himself through the acid test. He went to a fairly wide local creek with his Abu Garcia Silver Max reel, spooled up with some old braid from a friend's broken baitcaster that he hardly had used. It wasn't a lot of line but more than the fella ever had needed thus far in practice. Little could he have known how his day would end. Surprisingly, when that time came, he found the strength to label it as nothing more than "an interesting day," which perhaps goes back to that earlier "mindset" thingy.

This angler had a goal at the start of his day, which was to cast a frog as close to the other side as possible to where it was shaded. When first having reached the far side, he initially was proud, but the fact his frog now was snagged in a tree took some of the shine off the moment. He tried to pull the frog clear of the tree, but the old braid broke, creating a massive knot in what line was left on his rod and reel. He spent an hour sitting on the dock, trying to untangle it all, but with no luck. He finally decided just to cut off the tangled portion...'cause he was going to buy new braid anyway.

When he was done cutting, there still was enough line left to do a little jigging around the dock, so he tied on a jig and was about to get going again when he saw a fish blow up about halfway across the creek. On the spur of the moment, he decided to try and make a cast that far. In the process, he watched what braid was left on the reel run out the end of the rod, followed by every bit of the backing, which was some old mono.

Dumfounded, he just stood there for a few minutes, holding only his rod and empty reel and trying to understand how the day that had started with so much hope had turned into such an unbelievable disappointment. Finally, he just walked back to his car and went home.

Another frog and braided-line story. An angler was using his favorite frog on 65-lb. braid when he, like the earlier fella, snagged the lure. This angler figured he would be able to straighten the frog's hooks with the braid, so he picked up a stubby branch, wrapped the line around it a few times, and started pulling.

The braid subsequently snapped, and the branch flew backward, striking the angler's thumb and shattering in the process...but not before burying splinters under his thumb nail. First aid included removing part of the nail and most of the splinters, followed by application of a bandage.

The angler tried to go back to fishing, but the pain was too much for him to really enjoy himself, so he packed it all in and went home, where he removed more splinters and bandaged his thumb properly. Lesson Learned: Before using braid and a stick to bend hooks, make sure the stick isn't rotten...with a green one being preferable.

Watch where you're going, especially at night. An angler night-fishing on a reservoir left the launch ramp and soon had the tiller on his 9.9 outboard at full speed (about 18 to 20 mph). He was headed to open water, with no other boats in sight or any other vehicles in the parking lot but his own. Suddenly, however, he noticed that his fish finder wasn't working. He momentarily took his eyes off where he was headed to check the fish-finder's battery connection.

After a few moments, he looked up just in time to see something strange just ahead of him and closing fast. It turned out to be the shoreline. He took his hand off the tiller, covered his head, and braced for impact. Hitting the shore at nearly full speed, he was pitched face down on the floor. A quick check revealed he was OK, but what about the boat? Luckily, it had hit a gently sloping section of a gravel bar. The boat and motor, too, appeared to be OK, but getting them back into the water proved to be challenging.

During his inspection of the surrounding shoreline, the angler learned that 50 yards to the right of where he landed was a concrete dam. Fifty yards to the left was a boulder field. He had landed in the only possible spot to have avoided total disaster.

In his own words, the angler said, "I've never since taken my eyes off the water again while driving the boat."

A newbie fisherman falls for a weedless-wonder bait (see right). An angler was just getting into freshwater fishing when he made the mistake of walking into a used gear store, owned and operated by his friend,  an old fishing captain. The captain allegedly had obtained all the leftover stock of a secret weedless-wonder bait that he was willing to sell the newbie for just $5 each.

The key to this lure's "weedlessness" was that the hooks were held captive in the body by spring tension and, at least theoretically, popped out when the trigger plate was activated by a fish closing its jaws around the bait. The first clue to how bad this bait was that it had absolutely no action whatsoever. It simply came straight through the water like a painted stick. You couldn't jig it or jerk it; however, it did sink. Simply stated, it was a piece of gimmicky junk, only designed to catch the fisherman, not the fish.

What a gator wants, a gator takes. An angler and his friend who got hooked up with a gator on heavy-action 80-pound braid reportedly was "having fun" for about 30 minutes. It ended when the 5- or 6-foot gator decided he had had enough and took off, ripping drag off the reel. In an act of desperation, the angler grabbed the line with his thumb and palm. The pole became a cheese grater, and blood was shed. The angler also lost his favorite Baby Torpedo.

Mama always tells all the guys in a family to make sure their pockets are empty before putting clothes in the laundry. There's a problem, though, when mama isn't the one doing the laundry. A young fisherman was doing the laundry when his wife suddenly came into the room asking, "Why does the house smell so badly?" Turns out the fisherman had left a Spike-It marker in his pocket, and it opened while going through the wash cycle. Suffice it to say the fisherman was mighty tired by the time he finished running enough cycles to clear all of the smell he had caused.

I can't imagine this ever really happening, but it supposedly did. The front-seater in a club tournament was fishing with a back-seater he didn't know. The latter had joined the club to learn about fishing.

The front-seater understood that everyone has to start somewhere, and he always was willing to help those willing to learn. From the beginning, though, he could tell this new guy wasn't organized and acted somewhat childish from the beginning.

About 20 minutes into their morning, the front-seater had a blow-up on his topwater bait. As he was making a few more cranks on the reel, this back-seat dude ran up onto the front deck, snatched the front-seater's Loomis IMX with MGX reel, and rifled off a cast in the direction of the blow-up, which ended with a whole spool of Tatsu backlashed. Just as quickly, the back-seater dropped the rod and reel back onto the deck and returned to his seat...without ever uttering the first word.

I have back-seated with many good friends over the years, but never would I have been bold enough to grab one of their rods (much less that of a total stranger) and then have the audacity to return it to them in backlashed condition...without even some kind of apology. That's simply a no-brainer.

There Are Times When John Q. Angler Realizes Risks Outweigh Benefits...

Take this morning, for example. Wayne and I had a 4- or 5-hour trip planned to the water to see if we could duplicate some boasts we've recently been hearing from others. When Wayne checked the water level at 6 a.m., though, it stood at 0.94 feet, with north winds at 5-to-10 mph predicted to continue throughout the day. That, coupled with the fact that safe launching at our chosen site cuts off at 0.50 feet, made it abundantly clear that we should...and did...cancel our planned trip today.

However, there also are times when John Q. Angler acts like nothing short of a bloomin' idiot...some to a bigger degree than others.

Consider the following story I found online yesterday, in which a hard-headed angler threw caution to the wind and ultimately paid a hefty price for it.

This story began with an angler who lived out West having just pulled his boat off a big lake after getting beat up in 5-footers for most of the day. He and some buddies were standing around his boat afterward, enjoying an adult beverage and discussing the day, when an argument broke out at the ramp. Seems a guy was teaching his wife to back the trailer down the ramp to launch, with those same 5-foot waves pounding the ramp straight on. The man and woman were each losing patience with the other.

After a few exchanges of less-than-loving words between the two of them, he told her to get out, and he would back the boat in for her. Unfortunately, he neglected to unhook the winch strap beforehand, so he had to get into the boat, with those big waves shoving ever more water over the transom, then bend over the trolling motor to unhook the winch. The boat was half-full of water by now, and as soon as he unhooked the winch, another large wave picked the boat up and deposited it sideways on the trailer...but this wasn't the worst part of what ultimately happened.

With some help from another angler, the guy straightened out the boat (after getting soaked up to the waist) and pulled the trailer forward enough to catch his breath. One would have thought the guy now would have given up and gone home...but not this "nut case." He decided to take another stab at it. Seems he had just bought the boat the week before and simply HAD to try it out.

The four other fellas standing around, watching this whole "train wreck" evolution up close tried to talk to this guy, noting that the 25-to-35 mph winds were not getting any calmer, but he not-so-politely told them to mind their own business, then had his wife get back behind the wheel and start backing him in again.

This time, he left the winch unhooked and had decided to use the boat's trolling motor to get turned around and tied up to the dock before starting the outboard. She backed him into the water and stopped, but instead of shooting the now-extra-heavy boat backward off the trailer, it simply hovered just above the trailer, all the while dancing in the big waves. This guy now jumped up and threw over the trolling motor.

At this point, the four buddies knew what likely was going to happen but kept their mouths shut...just as the guy earlier had told 'em to do. As the trolling motor went down, the guy's wife started to pull forward, and POW!!! the shaft of the trolling motor caught the back of the trailer...jerking the trolling motor completely off the front of the boat. Along with the trolling motor went half the boat's front top cap, the light mount, and most of the wires. Turned out that the boat's previous owner had, for some unknown reason, hard-mounted the motor to the bow with huge washers on the back of the mounting bolts.

If any of the four buddies never had seen it happen before, they got to watch a grown man cry that day.

First One Thing, Then Another...There's Just No End

After about three weeks of struggling with some "new" pain in my right hand, wrist and extending up my arm to the elbow, I talked to my family doctor about it, and he gave me a referral to a hand specialist. When I contacted the office of that specialist, the earliest appointment I could get was in early December but was told they would put me on a list to call in case of a cancellation as well.

Received a phone call yesterday morning, telling me they could see me at 2:15 in the afternoon, so told them they could count on my being there.

As luck would have it, my wife has a friend who some time ago had some problems with her hand, too, so I knew what basically to expect when I showed up for my appointment. Turns out the lady doctor was thorough in her examination. Asked lots of questions, tested my strength with some instruments, and then went to work with the usual regimen of asking me if what she was doing to my fingers and other parts of my hand hurt or not, and if so, how bad. She frankly didn't have to wait for my verbal responses, 'cause she had plenty of facial expressions and grunts to tell her what she needed to know.

After about 30 minutes of that, I was ushered into an X-ray lab, where the technician took a series of pictures, before escorting me back to the doctor's office. The doc wasted no time in pulling up a photo of my whole hand and pointing out that I had generous amounts of arthritis and carpal tunnel, with a little gout thrown in for good measure.

I said "OK, can you do something to help the situation?" knowing full well what her answer likely would be, given what my wife had told me about her friend.

She said, "Yes, my assistant will be in shortly to get you ready."

As if on cue, the assistant showed up with some iodine and some kind of sea-shell solution, asking if I was allergic to either, and once I said "no," she quickly got busy readying me for the return of the doctor to administer whatever was in the syringe I now saw laying on the desk. The doc warned about the "pinch" that was coming, and immediately sunk the needle into the area around my thumb.

I had to make another appointment for six weeks down the road, at which point the doctor will monitor how much good this shot has done me and likely will follow up with additional shots until I'm pretty much back to normal. It's my understanding it may take several months for that to happen, and I also may have to keep repeating the process. However, I can hope I'm as lucky as one of the good doctor's old patients, whom she said she saw in a store the other day. He hasn't required any more shots in years now but still is pain-free.

My problem first started rearing its head when I would be working at the computer but then began waking me up in the middle of the night, while just sitting in a chair, or any other time. It wasn't until I started having trouble sometimes just raising a glass of water to my lips for a drink that I got concerned enough to get a medical referral. Figured there would come a time when I wouldn't be able to use a fishing rod (without maybe dropping it overboard), which really would have gotten my attention.

P.S. Readying this item for the blog is the first time in weeks I have not felt any pain while working at the computer. Wouldn't go so far as to say I feel like a new man...'cause we all know that would be a lie. However, it's oh so good to be pain-free...if maybe only for a while. I'll gladly take what I can get.

Help Someone Smile...You'll Feel Better for It

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He was holding a sign that said: "I am blind. Please help." There were only a few coins and a bill or two in the hat.

A man who was walking by took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, wrote some words on it, and put the sign back, so that everyone walking by would see the new words.

Soon, the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon, the man who had changed the wording came by to see how things were going.

The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. The second sign, however, told people they were lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1,000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith, and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Author Unknown

An Ever-Changing Sport, But With One Constant

Fishing is a complicated sport, what with its choice of lures, areas, water clarity, seasonal habits, and movements of the fish. However, there is one thing about the sport that never changes: the mental aspect.

The human mind is complex, and everyone is programmed differently. There are times when great fishermen are beat mentally before they even put their boats in the water and make their first cast in a tournament. Other times, average fishermen get on a roll where they seemingly can do no wrong and win back-to-back events, simply because they believed strongly in their chosen technique or the lure they were using. In the end, it's all about an individual's mindset.

It was legendary bass fisherman Bill Dance, who once said, "Confidence, without a doubt, is the most important lure in your tacklebox."

Writer and bass angler Kenny Covington found that an interesting observation.

"It wasn't until I started studying and following the career of Rick Clunn," he noted, "that I became totally aware and immersed in the human mindset and its power while fishing. While I don't profess to have all the answers when it comes to developing a strong mental outlook on the water, I do have a few things I'd like to share, in hopes they work for you as well as they have for me.

"For example," he continued, "I have learned to control my own mindset and not concern myself with the way my competition thinks. This allows me to block out distractions and focus on what I'm trying to do on the water.

"First of all, I don't believe in luck. Many years ago, I learned I couldn't allow 'luck' to determine my success or failures. I put too much time and effort into this sport to leave my fate up to the luck factor. With this mindset, I always have believed the more I prepare, the luckier I get, and I've proven to myself that this is no coincidence.

"At tournament weigh-ins, I always hear things like, 'well, we lost a lot of fish today,' or 'my partner lost a 5-pounder at the boat,' or 'I had two fish break me off.' Upon hearing these things, I automatically start wondering: 'Were you using the right rod and reel for the technique you were using? Were you using the correct hooks for the lure and technique? When was the last time you changed your line? Were you using the correct line for the technique you were using, and did you tie a good knot?' Was it bad luck? Maybe, but I'm willing to bet it was more due to human error than the fishing gods not being on your side.

"Good or bad, you create your own luck."

Covington also doesn't listen to dock talk.

"Unless you totally trust the person providing the information, be careful about believing what you are told," he said. "My being skeptical of people is a trait I've had since childhood, and it has come in quite handy. For some fishermen, three pounders always are five pounders in conversation. And it they tell you 'we must have caught 40 today,' half that number likely will be closer to the truth. Too much specific information is not a good thing.

"Instead of asking about particular lures and specific areas on a body of water, I'm more intererested in what the fish are doing. If someone tells me they are catching 'em on a spinnerbait, then I can determine the fish are actively feeding in shallow water. If someone says they are catching their fish on a jig, chances are they are fishing cypress trees or are in a situation where they can flip or pitch.

"Building a plan off general information you have gathered is what wins tournaments. Relying on specific information another angler has shared will get you beat."

As anyone who's ever fished a bass tournament knows, regardless of the conditions encountered, someone always wins. Covington loves bad-weather tournaments.

"They are the easiest to win," he said. "When I hear my competitors talk about how miserable the weather is, I know I already have an advantage. I have fished in sleet, snow, rain, high wind...you name it, I have fished in it. I also have been successful in each scenario. I never have fished a tournament when no fish were caught. Someone always catches them, so why can't that someone be me?

"I allow the conditions, regardless of how bad they are, to help determine what I can or can't do to be successful. As a rule, if it's windy, I probably need to use a lure like a Rat-L-Trap, spinnerbait or crankbait...something I can feel in the wind and doesn't require me to work the lure. If it's raining, I like to slow down and flip or pitch jigs and soft plastics, which is contrary to what you see in a lot of fishing magazines. On cold days, when it's cloudy, with bits of sleet or even snow, I have done exceptionally well throwing a big spinnerbait. The higher the weather pressure system, the deeper and slower I usually fish."

Covington further has learned the worse the weather scenario, the more patience he must have as an angler.

"Keep your mind in the game," he reminded. "I always have believed most tournaments are won or lost in the final two hours of the event. It's during this time, regardless of the time of year or weather conditions, when your mental focus tends to lack the most. You haven't had a bite in a while; your back is hurting from standing all day; and you're hot, tired, hungry, or whatever else may be going through your mind. Now is when you'll get the one bite that can make or break your tournament day...and more times than not, it's the latter."

At 12 o'clock each tournament day, Covington tells himself, "Let's refocus and get this thing done," noting that during the day, "I make sure I take a minute to drink something or eat a snack. I also may think about relocating to another part of the lake, or maybe refresh my thoughts on what I've been doing until this point of the day. Everything or anything I can do to make sure I am just as fresh at 2 o'clock as I was when I started at 6 a.m. is the goal. It's your job to keep your mind sharp and make good decisions.

"The lost lunker, like the worst-tasting pill, sometimes is the best medicine."

Covington also cautions against falling prey to the mind games some fishermen play. Anything that is within the rules to gain a competitive advantage is fair game, especially for older fishermen. Once anglers see they can get under your skin, the mind games will continue...not just from other fishermen, but you probably will do it to yourself, too.

Another no-no for Covington while on the water is taking a cellphone call. For the most part, he doesn't read or respond to text messages, either.

"Control the controllable variables, and prepare for the ones you can't," he said. "A lot of non-fishing things that mentally destroy anglers on the water are things that easily could have been avoided. Not preparing for the current weather is the most common culprit. Not having enough clothes to stay warm is another, along with not having the proper rain gear to stay dry. Don't overlook these things; they will come back to bite you.

"When you are tired, wet, cold, hot, hungry, thirsty, or any combination thereof, you will have a hard time being successful on the water."

The One That Got Away

That's the title which angler Ken Harper gave a poem he wrote while laid up and couldn't fish. As noted in the introduction, he said it seems like "the ones that get away always are big and get even bigger as we think about them."

I was out bass fishin' on a beautiful summer day,

I knew today I'd catch her, and she wouldn't get away.

I was on the casting deck in a warm southern breeze,

The sun was turning pink and shining through the trees.

If I hook a big one, I hope she doesn't get away.

I raised my rod, thumbed the spool, and tossed my lure against the bank,

I turned the crank a couple of times, then felt a solid yank.

I said, "There she is," that's what we always say,

I had her now, and I was pretty sure she wouldn't get away.

I held my breath and kept my cool, I learned that from the pros.

I tightened the line and pointed my rod, then rocked back on my toes.

I felt the hookset solid and knew this was my day,

I turned the crank and fought her...she just couldn't get away.

Now the fight was on, between this 3-pound fish and me,

We need this fish bad, my partner and I agreed.

She made a run and took some line against a hefty drag,

I wanted to see that fish inside a weigh-in bag.

I begged and sweated in the early-morning gray,

That this 4-pound fish wouldn't get away.

I held my rod tip low to keep her in the lake,

She blew out anyway, oh for heaven's sake!

That fish weighs 5 pounds if she's an ounce,

Just get her in the boat now, that's all that really counts.

I knew I'd put her in the livewell, my confidence wouldn't sway,

That fish is mighty purty, she wouldn't get away.

As she got closer to the boat, my knees began to shake,

And I'm staring down her throat.

She made a run and leaped right up into the air,

She danced and tail-walked, then she shook her big ol' head.

My lure came flying from somewhere, I ducked it just in time and hung it in a tree,

We have unfinished business, this 8-pound fish and me.

Later, as I pondered, I figured it this way,

To have a chance to win today, I needed that 10-pounder, the one that got away.

A Writer Recalls Some of His Early Works

As one of the first BASS writers, Don Wirth (left) got to rub elbows with a lot of pros. Those contacts provided the fodder for many stories over the years.

For example, there's the time when Wirth shared a boat with Tom Mann, who had designed a wicked new crankbait called the Razorback, which he wanted Wirth to write about. On one of his casts that day, Mann accidentally popped Wirth upside the head with the plug, burying both trebles in his scalp. Wirth subsequently had to make a quick trip to the emergency room at Eufala General Hospital to get the barbs cut out. Afterward, he gave the hookless plug an honored spot on his office wall.

Then there was the time Wirth was shooting a magazine spread on how a BASS pro practices for a major tournament. The pro he was with, who remained nameless, was explaining how he liked to cruise the lake while watching his paper graph for ledges, humps and dropoffs. Just as Wirth went to shoot a close-up of the pro adjusting the gain on his sonar unit, a gust of wind blew off his hat...then his toupee. Neither one said a word as the pro stopped to retrieve his soggy rug, which had ended up in the boat's splash well.

Wirth was a press observer at many of the early Bassmaster Classics, back when the location of the event was kept a closely guarded secret until the last minute. Here's how things went down back then: Classic contenders and the press corps would convene at a central location, where they were wined and dined at a lavish banquet. Pros were limited to 10 pounds of tackle, and tournament director Harold Sharp would weigh each possum-belly tacklebox on scales, then remove lures until any excess weight was eliminated. Bill Dance was known to sneak a brick into some of the contestants' tackleboxes from time to time. The next morning, all would board a chartered plane, and after it was airborne, Scott would reveal the Classic lake.

Those early Classics were memorable affairs. At the 1975 event at Currituck Sound in North Carolina, a monster storm raged along the Outer Banks, busting up Classic boats like Tinker Toys and stranding many contenders miles from the weigh-in site. At the 1980 event on the St. Lawrence River in New York, the weather was positively balmy when the tournament began but suddenly plunged below freezing as a massive nor'easter blew through. Wirth recalled the decks and floor of the boat he was riding in being slick with ice. Back then, it could be argued that at the Classic, safety was secondary to spectacle. Because it looked so impressive, Ray Scott had all 40-something Classic boats blast off at the same time, which wasn't so dangerous if the event were being held on a sprawling reservoir, but pretty darn scary on a narrow river.

Wirth cited the blastoff at the 1982 event on the Alabama River, when the boat he was riding in got forced to the outside of the pack, which meant he and his pro were running 60 mph right against the river bank...in maybe a foot of water. Said Wirth, "I looked down, saw all those submerged logs and stumps whizzing past, then shut my eyes and braced myself for the impact that miraculously never came."

Wirth then asked, "How many of you remember Bo Dowden?" He was the BASS pro from the unpronounceable town of Natchitoches, LA, who became a crowd favorite, both for his angling prowess and his unbelievably s-l-o-o-o-w speaking style. Scott, always one to poke fun at any idiosyncrasy he could spot in a pro, would introduce Dowden at weigh-ins as "an Olympic runner."

Said Wirth, "Bo won the 1980 Class, then I was paired with him the following year when he defended his crown on the Alabama River. Here, he tanked miserably, and to add insult to injury, lost all his rods and reels on the final day of competition when his boat hit a wake, and they flew out into the drink. As his tackle and his dreams of winning another Classic crown sank to the bottom of the river, Dowden didn't go ballistic and throw a hissy fit the way some pros might today. Instead, he just shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and drawled, 'O-h-h-h, w-e-l-l-l."

Those glory days are part of history, quaint footnotes in the annals of bass fishing. Today, pro bass fishing is bigger, faster and slicker than ever. Now pros succeed not on angling ability alone, but on how well they promote their sponsors' wares, which, as noted by Wirth, "I fear would bode ill for many of those old-time BASS heroes if they were competing today. After all, can you envision Bo Dowden trying to read through a 30-second television commercial for some lure or sonar manufacturer? It would take him five minutes!"