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AN ANGLERS DIARY...A YEAR IN
RETROSPECT
These
are excerpts from the diary of a "Mad Fisherman", me. It follows
the 2002 tournament season of Atlantic Bassmasters and highlights brief
thoughts, comments and other nonsense form a totally wacko tournament bass
fisherman.
APRIL 12 AND 13TH. Tournament #1 (SUSQUEHANNA FLATS). Due to a prior
engagement (my parents 60th Wedding Anniversary) I couldnt make this
tournament. My club record of 134 consecutive tournaments ended. This was the
clubs "Open Championship" as well. Great, now there is no chance at
winning the "Grand Slam". What a way to start the year. You think
my parents would have understood, but nooooo. Oh well, I can always drop this
one. Could have been an easy top five finish though.
APRIL 28TH. Tournament #2 (Bantam Lake) Cabin Fever.. I had a good pre-fish with "Hot Rod"
Brian Rodriguez. I have always done well here. The last five tournaments have
been 3 wins and 2 second place finishes. I love this lake though the rest of
the club hates it. Conditions are ideal for what I do. Hair jig and jig &
pig are my baits of choice. I am paired up with a rookie, Paul Barello. Pauls
brother Pete is a BASS pro and asked me as a favor to him to take Paul under
my wing, at least till he got his feet wet. This was Pauls first tournament.
I tell him what I tell all my partners. "just give me one three pounder
and I will do the rest" . The operative phrase of the day is "the
next fish is critical." We struggle, but manage to finish second with 8
pounds 1 ounce. Cunningham and Ritchie beat us by 4 ounces. They have been
trading info with the "Big Toe". Still, its a nice 23 points. Brian
Rodriguez had lunker a 5.08 largemouth that inhaled a Storm Wiggle Wart"
that I gave him before we left in the morning.
MAY 11th. Tournament #3 (Highland Lake) Team Qualifier #1. Another lake I like. I
have won 2 of the last three tournaments here and the prospects of winning
again appear to be good. I am fishing with my brother Dennis who was my
partner the last time we won here. The bass were just beginning to go up on
beds. I head towards my #1 spot and much to my chagrin there are two boats
form another club sitting right on the "sweet spot". We watch them
land three fish between them before we move on. SHIT!! Our second location
proves to be a good one. I hook up immediately on a 3 pound largemouth that
swallowed my jig. Two docks later, I hook and land another largemouth, this
time its a 3 pound 4 ounce beauty, once again a jig fish. Its only 8:30 and the day looks
bright with promise. WRONG...for us the bite dies. Try as we might, we never
land another fish. I spend two hours "working" over a bedding
largemouth of about 4 pounds. I hook her briefly, but cant get her to commit.
As it works out, that fish would have pushed us up into third if only.... We
finish 6th with 2 largemouth weighing 6 pounds 4 ounces. The Pepe brothers
win with 13 pounds, 1 ounce. Rumor has it they were fishing a Zoom Super
Fluke in 12 feet of water. I add 15 points to my total, giving me 38 overall.
I am mired in 15th place, but I know that will change, at least it better.
Paul Ritchie (Hooked Solid) had tx lunker a 5 pound largemouth that inhaled
his "Irish Jig"
JUNE 1ST. Tournament #4 (East Twin Lake) The Mug...Another lake I love. So does the rest of the club.
Plenty of fish and big fish to boot. I pair up with my brother again and feel
we should win if we execute. He does very well on this lake, and today would
be no exception. Spawn was basically over. Our plan was to "wacky the
balls" out of everything. We usually fish a 200 yard piece of shoreline
that has a beuitful underwater rock ledge that not everyone is privy to. My
brother puts four fish in the boat before I take off my PFD. We laugh as I
loose the first fish I hook up and seconds later are dancing and high-fiving
as I put the limit fish in the boat. ONLY 25 minutes in and we have a 13
pound limit. We commit to this area for the entire tx and land about 25 bass.
We loose two quality fish, one that would have gone over four pounds wrapped
itself around a dock chain and broke off. I hate when that happens.
Regardless, we are happy with the day, whatever the outcome. The lost fish is
still in our minds however. On the way to the scales it is obvious by all the
smiles that the day has been kind to everyone. All 15 boats have limits on
the day. We weighed in 14 pounds 4 ounces and finsihed 3rd. Cunningham and
Rodriguez won with 15.04 pounds...lizard...lizard...lizard... Mike Wiltshire
had the lunker, a 5.03 largemouth that ate his jig & pig in 20 feet of
water off the old tree in the south west corner. Third place isnt bad...21
points has moved me into 9th place overall with 59 points. Oooh that fish
hurt.. I have to pick the pace up if I want to make the Challenge Cup team.
Outlook overall is good...mistakes so far have been minimal. I cant afford to
make any more however. I need to focus and remember a few "key
words".
JUNE 9TH. Tournament #5 (Lake Lilinonah) Team Qualifier 2...I hate this lake. Most of the club
feels the same though I must admit its a beautiful lake and an interesting
one as well. Word has it the lake has been "cold as ice" the past
few weeks as the fish begin to move into summer patterns. Brian Rodriguez and
I partner up for this tournament. I tell him we are fishing only a few areas
and a few baits. Jigs, grubs and Yammy twin tails on the breaks close to the
dam. Brian listens to what I tell him. It allows me to go for a big bite
while he hopefully fills out the limit. I turn a nice 2 plus largemouth under
a floating dock, but he doesnt take the bait. I watch as a 3 pounder makes a
20 foot run at my buzzbait but gaze in horror as she misses the
bait....twice. They are not on the jig and Brian bags all three of the fish
we bring to the scales on the Yammy twin tail grub, green pumpkin. I notice a
lot of heads hanging low and realize that this might not be as bad as it
looks. We weigh in 3 pounds, 14 ounces and lock up 5th place....Ill take it. Out of 15
boats, 4 have blanked and 3 others weigh in just a single fish. Boy I hate
this lake. Lamanno & Heller win the tournament with 4 fish weighing 5
pounds, 10 ounces. Its their second win of the year and they move into 2nd
and 3nd place respectivley. I now have 76 points and have moved into 7th
place overall...look out here I come. Wiltshire has lunker again with a 3.08
largemouth he caught on a jig in 20 feet of water...on what else...wood. Man
I HATE this lake.
JUNE 21 & 22ND. Tournament #6 (Thousand Islands) The Masters....I cant
believe we are going. Due to the fact that I was a guide (Pike) in the early
70s and probably spent over 300 days on this georgeous body of water, I have
been against the club holding a tournament here. I feel I have an unfair
advantage. They want to go so..... This is the second leg of the "Grand
Slam". I pair up with Brian Rodriguez to pre-fish and will pair up with
Mike Greico as my partner during the tournament. The fish are in all phases
of the spawn, depending on what cove/area you are in. To catch fish wont be
difficult. They are everywhere and more than eager to take a bait. With what
I know, feel I stand a great chance of winning. I narrow it down to three
"go to" spots that I believe will produce 15 plus pounds without
much effort. Day one the weather is beautiful. I have spot #2, a marina all
to myself. I saved my primary spot for day two because I dont feel anyone
else is going to find it, but the Marina I am told is a community hole. Fingers are
crossed...decisions...decisions.
The Marina pays off
immediately. On the first dock, a 3 pound smallmouth "slams" the
jig and on the very next dock, a 3 pound largemouth joins the tour as well.
It takes less than one hour to put 14 pounds in the live well mixing the jig
with a Texas rigged Senko. A
home owner staired in amazement as we caught four fish from under his dock.
The Marina was a good choice.
We decide to hold spot # 2 for day 2. Spot #3 produces plenty of fish, but
the three plus fish we found in practice wont bite. At the end of the day we
weigh-in 14 pounds, 15 ounces and have a 2 pound plus lead going into day
two. The weight is off our shoulders so to speak. Our best spot awaits us in
the morning.
Day two....once again the weather is beautiful. Its a 20 minute run to our
spot and half way there the boat begins to feel slugish, slow to respond to
the throttle. The engine while still running, begins to emit a high pitch
whine...Oh noooooooooooo. I slow down to 10 miles per hour and after what
seems like an eternity we get to the "spot marked X". When I shut
the engine off, a cloud of smoke billows out from beneath the cowling. I want
to cry. Turning to Mike I say. We get 5 partner, and we are out of here. He
agrees. The first flip with the jig I catch a 4.02 largemouth...all right.
Before Mike can put her in the box I hook another one about 3 and a half, and
in quick order, another thats pushing three as well. Mike does his part
hooking a pair of 2 plus largemouth that fall victim to a well placed senko
fished out over the weed break. Thats five, about 15 pounds.....Yesssss...Lets
boogie.... Holding my breath and crossing my fingers I "sweet talk"
the motor into starting. After a brief touch and go, it finally turns over. I
decide to idle back and not take any unneccessary chances. It takes us about
2 hours to make it back to the launch area. We still have a few hours to kill
before the end of the tournament. I spot the TX director Bob Casella. I waive
him over to tell him about the engine. He tells me about a four pound smallie
he has in his livewell. He is fishing this tournament with his son, the very
first time they have fished together and they are in 2nd place heading into
the day. Its then that I hook the tournament lunker, a 4.08 largemouth and my
partner Mike hooks and lands a 3.02 largemouth. RIGHT in front of Bob who
threw up his hands in disbeleif. We weighed in a total of 17 pounds for the
day and a two day total of 31 pounds, 15 ounces. That was my 45 career club
tournament victory and my 13th Major. The 26 points gave me a total of 102
points and moved me up to 4th place in the standings. I love the Thousand Islands. I was in a no win cituation...If
I win, big deal I was expected to. If I loose....its see....he guides there
and didnt win. I credit this victory in part to a talk I had with one of my
"protoges", Paul Ritchie who chastised me for just going through
the motions the past year and a half. Thanks brother, I needed it. Blue is
back. Yeehhaaaa!
JULY 7TH. Tournament #7 (Greenwood Lake) Team Qualifier #4. 17 boats show up, the
best turnout of the year. Two spots are still up for grabs for the 6 man
C-Cup team, and if I fall down, it could be three spots. My brother Dennis is
once again my partner and he starts us off with a small keeper on his first
cast of the morning. In quick succession I hook and land three small largemouth
on the jig and Dennis applies the "copu de grace" by catching our
largest fish of the day, a 2.10 largemouth from under a pontoon boat. That is
the last bite we have until a little 11 oclock. We tried everything in our
bag of tricks to no avail. The creek, which has been so good to us during the
late morning hours, produces not a sniff, most of the lilly pads are gone due
to the cleanup.. A flurry of activity centered around an old rock sea wall
allows us to upgrade our small limit. We catch 11 bass on the day and have
converted all of our bites. There will be no self recrimination or psyche
bashing on the ride home. We performed well, no excuses. DeStefano &
Rodriguez win the tournament with 10.07 pounds. My brother and I finsih 5th
with 9.08 pounds. 15 out of the 17 boats weigh in limits and a mere 1 pound
14 ounces seperates 1st from 10th place. Larry Miller catches the tournament lunker,
a 3.09 smallmouth on a Cavitron Buzzbait. I now have 119 total points and
maintained my hold on 4th place overall in the club standings. I made the
C-Cup, but for the second year in a row was not the team Captain. That Honor
was reserved for Hollis Griffith who was enjoying the best year of his career
to this point. Paul Ritchie misses the cut by 1 point. Its a blow to him and
the team...We will miss his competitivness and savy.
JULY 19th (Candlewood Lake) THE CHALLENGE CUP....the best of the best, 8 clubs sending
their top 6 man team. I fish with Hollis Griffith, the team Captain, but we
are on my boat. We flipp our way to the number three spot for "Top
Gun" honors with a 5 fish limit weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces. A tedious
day of flipping a heavy jig into pockets in the weeds was our primary
pattern. Unfortunately the club finished in third place with 24 pounds 8
ounces. Westchester Rod & Reel are the C-Cup Champions for the second
year in a row. These guys are tough to beat here, or anywhere else for that
matter. It brings out the best in us all. Its been 6 years since the club won
the Cup....its a damn curse. We will win next year....well maybe if its on
Mahopac.
JULY 28th Tournament #8 (Lake Mahopac) Midnite Madness. This is without a doubt the clubs favorite
event. You begin at 6 on Saturday night and then weigh-in at midnite.
Then....you go back out an fish till 7 am and then weigh-in again. Man...thats
grueling fishing, but a real blast...sometimes. I usually do well, and have
faith that I will do well again. I pair off with "Ira the Terrible"
(Ira Friedland), one of the best worm fisherman I know and tonight he shows
what hes made of. By 7:30 we have a 16 pound limit in the well. They are all over my jig
and his black worm. The fishing is easy. Everyone is into fish. We weigh-in
16 pounds 15 ounces and are in 2nd place behind Sullivan and Reiley who
weigh-in a beauitful sack...18 pounds 11 ounces. These guys are rookies and
believe it or not this was the first time fishing Mahopac. No matter, we are
in great shape. We cant wait to start the 2nd half.
The second half of Midnite Madness did not go according to plan. After boating
a 3.08 largemouth on a jig just minutes into the morning, we go fishless for
the next five hours. I dont put the jig down and die with it. Denny Brauer
once said one of the hardest decisions to make when they are on the jig, is
to put it down. I finally catch a 2 pound smallmouth, but we have "spit
the bit". Its over. We come to the scales with 5 plus pounds and our
total of 22.06 leaves us far back in the pack in 9th place. Mark (River Rat)
Watkins, fishing with his son are the winners with a total weight of 29.12
pounds. Kenny Sullivan has the tx lunker weighing 4.15 pounds and there are 3
four pound smallmouth caught including a 4.04, the present Mr. Smallmouth. I
gain a measley 12 points...pathetic on this my home lake. I maintain my 4th
place in the overall standings with 131 points. What the hell is going on....I
havent a clue. I chalk it up to the law of averages...why not thats a fair
excuse.
AUGUST 10TH Tournament #9 (Candlewood Lake) Team Qualifier #4. Candlewood has been a
royal pain in my butt for the past 5 years. Since they drew it down 20 feet
in 97 and my favorite weed lines disappeared, my name has virtually
disappeared form the top of the standings. Earlier in the year I made a
decision to flip pockets in the launch cove all day long. It worked well in
the Alliance Spring Open where I finished 5th and then in the Challenge Cup,
a 3rd place finish was my reward. Joe Pido was my partner. Joe loves the jig
and it was easy to convince him we would do well with this pattern of
flipping the pockets. We boated 8 fish on the day, and Joe had the "hot
hand" as four of his fish made it to the dance, including a 3.08
largemouth that he caught on a Texas rigged senko. We finish in 2nd place with
11 pounds 11 ounces and it takes a record setting performance by Krygowski
& Keegan to beat us. They weighed in 17.01 pounds a new club record for
Candlewood. Jpe Pepe had tx lunker, a 5.02 largemouth that he caught on....a senko,
what a surprise. The 23 points brings my total to 155 points and I move into
1st place in the standings by one point. I cant believe it, but the leaders
above me strugled mightly. If I can just hold serve through the Hudson, I know I can take
the Crown... I know it.
AUGUST 17Th Tournament #10 (Hudson River) Team Qualifier #5 . This river is very
difficult to fish and very unforgiving. You better convert every bite you get
here, beacuse bites are at a premium. There-in lies this tale of woe. I was paired
with Greg Keegan, one of the clubs outstanding anglers...when he fishes. Both
of us are power fisherman with the tools to win every time we take to the
water. A win here on the Hudson should put me in the drivers seat and give Greg a
better than average shot at the T.O.C. Well, we didnt catch a damn thing. We
hooked three, and put none in the box. WE suck...period. Our bite lasted 30
minutes, a time span that coincided with the winners window of oportunity...the
last hour of incoming. Cunningham & Rodriguez were the winners with 11.11
pounds and the tx lunker of 4.02 pounds. No points and I drop to 3rd place,
with no shot of winning my 10th Angler of The Year Crown, unless Cunningham
drives off a cliff in the three weeks leading up to the Classic. He looks
unbeatable with a 15 point lead, but anythings possible I guess. In
retrospect I should have run the suck-holes just trying to protect the lead,
or stay close. Thats not the way I fish however, but I guess this time it
would have been the smart move.
Theres no crying in fishing.....
SEPTEMBER 20TH & 21ST THE CLASSIC (Sandy Pond)... My brother Dennis and I
are primed for this tournament. We feel confident and while our pre-fish
could have been beter, we feel we should be able to win. We locate some smallmouth
out in Lake Ontario. They are small 2 pounders,
but if we can get out we can be back in the pond with 10 pounds in less than
an hour. Then we pick up a jig and flip the hell out of everything looking
for a slob or two. We believed 13 pounds a day will be enough to take it, but
its just a guess based on our pre-fish info. Day one, the wind blows 25 out
of the south west. No way we get out on the big lake, though we tried. Our
back up spinnerbait pattern produces 10.12 pounds. Not too bad, but it is totally
overshadowed by Lamanno and Hellers first day weight of 18.12 pounds
including first day lunker of 5.10 pounds. Where are they fishing? Things
looked grim indeed. Our chances on day 2 look slim and we are right.... Thank
the Lord the night time festivities take the sting out of our lesser than
stellar performance.
Day 2..we strugle the entire day. The spinnerbait bite is non-existant and
the jig bite is just a memory as well. We dont put the limit fish in the well
until 30 minutes prior to the tournament ending. A far cry from what we
expected some five days ago. Our two day weight of 20.08 pounds leaves us
flat on our backs in 8th place out of the 12 teams. What could we have done
differently.....everything I suppose. Lamanno & Heller win the Classic
with 31 pounds 14 ounces, a new Classic record. Its Lamannos second Classic
Championship. Kevin Cunningham held off Dominic Lamannos last second heroics
to win his third Angler of The Year Crown and I...I slipped down to 5th
place, the lowest finsih I have had in my 14 years in the club. I am faced
with the possibility that I will never reclaim the Crown....and as much as I
hate to admit it, I can live with it. Sure I can.. To quote Arnold Scwatzeneger...."I'll
be back".....lol
In Hind-sight...I did not execute. I lost a few fish that cost me valuable
position points. I lost 5 fish this year that should have been in the boat,
except for a mistake or poor judgment on my part. My decisions were sound, I
thought. There were no equipment failures that cost me, although the engine
problem on the Thousand Islands could have ruined what turned out to be a
wonderful time. It turned out to be a blown lower-unit. I learned a few
things and had a lot of fun as well. In fact, I wish the season started
tomorrow...well next Saturday anyway.
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