Tournament #1
Harris Chain of Lakes

Well, this was my second fishing trip in Florida, perhaps the lakes and conditions always seem to be against me, but I must say I think Florida bass fishing is way over-rated. Yes, there are some bass over 10lbs, alluding to its reputation, but that is all Florida seems to have over the rest of the country.

The first day of practice was cold, lows in the 30's reaching only 50 degrees at its warmest point. A cold front bringing 15mph winds out of the north greeted us on this first practice day. I had heard cold fronts really turn the bass off in Florida, but I had no idea it would be this bad. First thing in the morning I took a ride around Lake Harris to see the cover available. Kissimmee grass, eelgrass and cypress trees lined the entire shoreline. There are also a few creeks and canals. I checked a few creeks and canals for spawning bass but with main lake temperature just below 60 and the creeks at 61 degrees there were no beds to be found. So the next place would be the grass or the wood. Well, after hours of flipping Kissimmee grass, I got my first hit about 4:30 pm on a black/blue tube, and missed the fish.

The second day of practice wasn't any better, same north wind and cold front conditions. The other competitors are just pounding the canals and creeks, fishing crankbaits and jerkbaits in the channels and flipping the shoreline cover. I'm not one who like to fish in the crowds, so I ruled out fishing the canals. Since I only had one bite in the Kissimmee grass yesterday, the bass must be in the cypress trees. There is no deepwater structure in this lake, no cover at all past 6 feet, so the bass must still be shallow I thought. First set of cypress trees I visited, I shook off a fish on a black/blue tube. Knowing the bite was tough; I didn't want to stick any fish I may need during the tournament. I spent the rest of the day fishing cypress trees trying to get on some kind of pattern, but I would not get another bite for the rest of the day.

Two days of fishing, two bites, in two completely different areas, on two different types of structure, this was not good. Talking with a few competitors I know, I started feeling a little better, some of them had yet to get a single bite in two days. Anglers are starting to say 5lbs for two days will probably cash a check. Things are not looking promising at all.

The third day of practice warmed a bit, but still cold with wind out of the north at 20mph. The number of boats practicing Lake Harris has diminished quite a bit. I guess everyone else is trying the other 3 lakes to see if they have better results. I on the other hand am going to take the statistical approach to this tournament. With the bite being tough, I feel the more time I spend fishing and the less time I spend running, the better my odds of catching a bass. With fewer boats, I decided to fish the canals. After about 2 hours I had yet to get a bite. When fishing in the back of one of the canals, where the water is much clearer then the main lake, about 4-5 foot visibility, I spotted three bass on what looked like the start of a bed. Two were small 1 1/4lb bass; the other was about 4 1/2 lbs. That big female, or so I thought, would probably get me a check, or go a long way towards getting one. When I cast to the bed, the two smaller bass disappeared, but the larger bass was guarding the nest. Strange I thought, a female guarding a nest that was not yet complete? No way that could be a 4 1/2lb male I thought? Either way I spent the last 6 hours of the last day of practice looking for beds, only to come away with finding the one.

With the first day of the tournament here, I have no pattern, no area holding bass, and no real game plan. The only thing I have is one good bass on a bed, but am I the only one who saw it? With being boat 57 I had a pretty good bet I would be the first one there. After idling 20minutes to the way back of the canal, my heart dropped as I rounded the corner only to see another competitor sitting right on top of the bed! That was all I had, so I decided to fish in the canal and hope he leaves without getting the bass. A few minutes later he left, and I thought he got the bass, why else would he leave so soon. Approaching the nest I saw the bass sitting in the lily pads just beside it. I guess the other angler didn't see it. An hour later, I had yet to get it to bite, or even get it interested or mad. That's when my day went from bad to worse. A homeowner's automatic sprinkler system went on, with water pouring right over the bed! Time to leave, so we went and flipped Kissimmee grass at the area were I had the one bite in practice. Three other competitors were there, not a good sign. After a few hours nothing, back to the bed. Now two other boats were in there trying for the bass, so I left again, seeing my chances of getting a check diminishing fast. Back to the Kissimmee grass, nothing. Back to the bed, now about 2pm, no one was around, did they get the bass? I creped up slowly, seeing him still sitting there. I know it's a male, as the nest went from a small light spot to a large crater in one day. First cast, perfect presentation, no ripple as the lure entered the water, and the bass high tailed it out of the there. He's been pressured too much today, he will not bite.

Again, back to the Kissimmee grass. This time I thought, during practice, the wind was blowing out of the north the whole time, keeping most anglers from fishing the southern part of the lake. Perhaps there would be less anglers on the southern end, less fishing pressure, and perhaps better odds of getting bit. With winds out of the southwest today, those areas would be protected. After hitting the second patch I put a bass of 2lbs. 11oz. in the boat, again on a black/blue tube. Now I thought all I had to do was hit Kissimmee grass that had yet to be fished by another competitor today. Well, nice thought, but it didn't work, that was my only bass for the day, putting me in 78th place, only four ounces out of a check!

Now I knew I had to get that bass off the bed, but being boat 126, someone would probably beat me to it. The bass was least spooky in the morning, and with the bed fully made, that would be my best chance of catching him. Well, I was right, I idled back there only to see a boat on it. So back to the Kissimmee grass where I caught the bass yesterday, if one bass was in that area, there must be another. Also, I knew at 8am, that sprinkler would go on, causing the other angler to leave the bed. I guessed it went on for an hour, so I planned on returning to him at 9am. When I got there, the angler was gone, and so was my bass.

Idling out of the canal I thought real hard about the bass I caught yesterday and the bite I had during practice. It's hard to try to put together a pattern with just two bites. But both bass were caught on little points in the grass, some as small as just two or three strands of grass sticking out further then the rest. I got both bites by sweeping the tube. Letting it fall straight to the bottom on a slack line, with the line draped over a blade of grass, so I could swiftly sweep the tube off the bottom, let if fall back down and repeated it four or five times before pitching to another spot. That caused the tube to dart erratically in the same spot, generating a reaction bite. Off to the grass where I caught the bass yesterday, as bass usually school according to size, and I felt it was my best chance of getting a check. After 30 minutes in the grass, I put a bass about 3lbs. in the boat. That's a check! I decided to stay all day. The sun disappeared as clouds moved into the area. Back home the approaching of another front would trigger the bass to bite, and I thought the same about Florida, but again I was wrong. It actually turned the bass off even more, if there is such a thing. I worked about 40 yards of grass all day long, making sure I pitched to each point several times. I knew when one was ready to feed that would be were they would go. A few hours later the sun came out again for only a few minutes, enough time for me to put another 3lb bass in the livewell. Then it was time to weigh in.

I had 6lbs. 9oz. for day two, giving me a total of 3 bass for 9lbs. 4oz. putting me in 45th place for my first Pro Tour event, earning me $2,500, and putting me in good position for qualifying for the Bassmasters Classic.

Looking back, I feel I wasted too much time on that bedding bass, over 4 hours on day one between travel and fishing time. However, if I would've gotten him, it would have been worth it. Over the summer at the Bassmaster New York Open I learned a valuable lesson, that pre fishing during a tournament could pay off, and that's what I did here. I threw out my game plan and started over halfway through the first day of the tournament, and it paid off. Bass change daily, learning to adapt to the changes, and being willing to change mid-stream took time to realize when I started competitive fishing, but it is a lesson I will not soon forget.

During the tournament I used a Strike King Pro Model tube, black/blue, with a 5/16oz weight pegged, allowing the lure to pull through the grass and reach the bottom. The key though, was a 3/0 Texposer hook, made by Lunker City. The hook features a 80 degree bend, allowing it to be rigged tex-posed, with the hook completely outside the plastic, but laying flush against it so it was weedless, with out kinking the lure, as an ordinary hook would. The bite was subtle, and the bass didn't hold it long, so getting a good hookset was key to catching and landing the bass.

Well, now its time for me to pack-up my campsite and head to Lake Okeechobee, as practice starts there in a two days. Hopefully, fishing there will change my opinion of Florida bass fishing.