Tackle used for the Lake of the Ozarks Tournament

Well, I'm only about a month behind on putting out the tackle and pattern information from the Lake of the Ozarks Stren Sereis Tournament, but better late than never, right?

I was fairly excited about this tournament, I had been to the lake several times over the last few years, and was looking forward to catching a lot of fish. My practice went well, but it was the last day of practice that I felt like I figured out exactly what the fish were doing. I started fishing the first few days of practice by flipping docks and fishing a top water bait, but on the last day of practice, I started fishing some deeper brushpiles in the creek arms on the lower third of the lake. And man, it was automatic! As I began to get more bites, I was able to dial in exactly what sections of teh creek arms the fish were in, and the exact depth range they were utilizing. The old saying that 90% the fish live in 10% of the water is very accurate, you just have to locate that 10% and you can call your shot on catching a fish.

It seemed that the fish were approximately half-way back in the creeks and using brush piles in the 15-18 foot range. Some of the fish in these areas would also pull up and suspend on the docks located near the brushpiles, but most stayed right in or near the brushpile.

I used the following baits to employ the pattern I had found:

When the I fished the docks, I flipped a Lunker Lure 3/8ths oz Ball Head Jig in Cumberland Craw, I tipped the jig with a Net Bait Paca Chunk. I fished the jig on a G Loomis 7'1" Model # BCR 854 rod and 12lb Maxima Fluorocarbon Line. I also used a Heddon Super Spook jr. around the docks as I was approaching them. Here's a picture of the jig:

If the fish weren't up on the docks, I fished the brushpiles surrounding the docks with a Zoom Ole' Monster 10.5" worm. I fished the worm with a G Loomis 7'1" Rod Model # BCR854, 15lb Maxima Fluorocarbon line and a Pentetrater 3/8ths ounce weight. Here's a photo of the worm:

When the tournament was over, I had finished in 43rd place, not too good really, but trust me when I tell you, I endured a bout of very strange events in this tournament, I feel very fortunate to have finished that well, regardless, I finished the season well enough to gain a berth into the Stren Series Championship on Pickwick Lake November 5th -7th

Here's a group photo of the baits, the Lunker Lure Jig can be purchased by contacting Lunker Lure on their website, or looking at a retailer near you that carries Lunker Lure Products.

Sorry for the delay in posting this info, 'til the next one...

God Bless,

D

Nothing like catching them a day early...

There was a pro-am event held on last Thursday, the day prior to the start of the TTBC. The general gist of the event was this: a pro angler was paired with two ameteur anglers, the pro could catch only two of the five fish limit each team was allowed. Well, we caught a few fish during this event, as a matter of fact, I managed to catch a 4lb 7oz bass and a 6lb 3oz bass my team mates also caught a few, no 6lbers, but some fish that helped us finish 3rd in the pro-am.

Hindsight says I could have used those two big ones during the second day of the tournament, ahh, who needs a quarter million anyway? All kidding aside I was paired with two guys from the Lamar Company, great guys, and we had a blast. Here's a picture of our team. I think these guys were Aggies fans, I think anyway, check out the picture and you decide...

The derby is complete...

Well, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic is over. What an incredible deal the Toyota group puts on. From a constant barrage of catered meals to full blown concerts from the likes of Pat Green, Julianne Hough and Josh Turner, and oh, I almost forgot, a first place prize of $250,000. Almost overwhelming.

As far as the tournament goes, I have got to learn how to put 2 good days together in a row. In the last three events that I have fished, I have been well inside the money line after day one, and well, not so far into the money line after day 2. Case in point, at the TTBC, I was in 12th place after day 1. 1lb 4oz off the cut, on day 2 I managed only 4 keepers for a total of 6lbs 8oz. My two day total was 21lbs even. It took 26lbs 12oz to make the top ten. I just needed a limit of 2.5 lb fish and I'm in. Long story short, I have to make better decisions about fishing areas, and pay a little more attnetion to how the fish are positioning each day. Lord willing I'll get better at that before it's too late.

All in all, the TTBC was a great event. I finished the points race in tenth place, and I finished in 27th place in the championship. So I can't say it was a bad year, I'm just a little bummed out to have been that close to the cut, and not get the job done on day 2. Regardless, the Lord has blessed me immensly this year, I'm grateful for the successes I've had this year, no complaints about that.

God Bless,
D

Practice is over...

Tomorrow is a pro-am event for the TTBC. Several of the am's have chosen not to compete so a few of us will not fish the event. We do have the option of practicing during the same hours of the event, if we so chose. I'm going to use the day to get my tackle ready and make a few last minute adjustments. The lake is pretty small, 18,000 acres I think, and three days of practice has given me several ideas about how to catch some fish. I don't think one more day will change that, so I'm going to sit tomorrow out.
It looks like if a person can catch one five pounder a day, they should make the top ten. There are a lot limits that will be caught, big fish seem a little elusive. Lord willing, I can manage to catch a few. Friday starts the show, we'll see how it pans out. To say the least it's been a blast.

For those of you cheering for me, thanks for the support. For those of you praying for me, I can't thank you enough.

God Bless,
D

Toyota Texas Bass Classic Practice...

Well, two days of practice are under my belt for the TTBC, and I believe I can catch a limit. The biggest issue is size. I managed to catch one giant in the las two days, I'd say 7 or 8 lbs, other than that it has been a long line of cookie cutter 15 inchers. Well, maybe not a long line, but several anyway. The off-shore bite has been predicted as the way to win it, but man, I fished from 9 am until dark off-shore yesterday and had four keeper bites, although one was a big fish, the others were not. Today I spent the day shallow and had 7 keepers, with one decent one, maybe 3 lbs.

I believe this tournament is going to come down to who gets that one big bite. I know these guys are the best in the business, but based on my practice so far, one 7lb + fish is going to move you a long way up the leader board. If you happen to get two 5 lb + bites, you will be doing great. Let's hope I can do that.

'Til then, God Bless,
D

Halfway home...headed to Conroe

Well, I've finished two of the four tournaments I have this fall. I finished 43rd at Lake of the Ozarks Stren Series Tournament. Not a great finish, but I ended the year in 20th place in the points standings, so it gives me a birth into the Stren Series Championship on Pickwick Lake in November.

I just left Hemphill, TX this morning. I fished the final event of the PAA Tour Tournament Series. This event was held at Toledo Bend. I have to say this lake is definitely an interesting body of water. It has some serious navigation hazards, the lake is full of Standing timber, and gets some big waves on it when the wind blows. I managed to finish 46th in this tournament, despite a lackluster performance on day 2. I finished the year in 10th place in the point standings and wrapped up a trip to the PAA Championship, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic. There will be 60 of the Nations best anglers in this event on Lake Conroe, in Conroe, TX. The total payout for this event is $500,000. With a cool quarter of a million going to the winner. Wow! How cool would that be?

Let's hope that I can shake the 40 something finishes for this one and get back to making top tens. Maybe even a "W". I can't imagine how humbling that would be to win this event.

I'll keep you posted on my practice, til then,
God Bless,
D