Wednesday February 5, 2009
Today was a day of mixed emotions. My family laid my Uncle Hovis to rest, and though I will miss him greatly, I know he is now in heaven rejoicing with the Lord and he is home with his parents, brothers, sister, and other family members. Hey Unc, go find my granddaddy. I'm sure he has found a good crappie hole or trout stream.
After I got home I started buckling down and began to organize my tackle for the Classic. Holy cow!!! what a process! I have less than a week left to get it all together and I haven't even started with my clothing!!
Check back over the next few days to see what's going on next. I will be leaving GA next Thursday to start my journey for the 2009 Classic.
Waine
Sunday February 8, 2009
This afternoon I completed organizing all my tackle. I may just open up my own tackle store after realizing I have enough for at least most of the fishing population in West Georgia!! I also finished greasing and oiling all my reels so they will be in ship-shape condition.
On Tuesday of this week I will be at Bailey's Grill in Kennesaw from 6:30pm until ?? for a good luck send-off sponsored by TritonMike and Nature's Tackle Box. Come hang out with us and have some fun and good food.
Waine.
Monday February 16, 2009
Well, I'm in Shreveport!!!!! The pre-practice days are behind me now and I am pretty confident I have started figuring some things out. Friday, I had a slow to ok day with my best 5 being between 10 and 11lbs. These fish are NOT eating a spinnerbait, trap or crankbait like they should be!! Saturday, maybe just a little better with more bites but the same kinda weight. Then came Sunday!! What a day. I switched to a more pre pre-spawn pattern and ended up with somewhere around 19lbs. All the big guys that are talking are saying between 15 and 17lbs a day........so who knows?? You know how fisherman stretch things or give you some bull hockey!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Well, I'm home and settled back in and back to the real world of working every day. The Classic was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Big thanks to BASS and all the anglers for the great experience. The following is a recap of my experience.
Day 1: I was hyped up so much a few of my buddies there at the launch thought I was on drugs or something because all I could do was bounce around (dance) on the front deck of my boat waiting for blast off. Then when I got to my first stop of the morning, my casting was off and I was working my bait too fast for the conditions. A fish swirled to my left as I was about to make another cast and with a roll cast, I proceeded to wrap my bait around my trolling motor cable, and had one of the worst backlashes EVER!!! I finally settled down a bit and got my first fish in the boat about 8:15 (a 12-1/4" squeaker). I left by 8:45 to go to my primary area in White House and upon arriving I noticed the water clarity had changed severely from the past Sunday. I fished it hard for 2 hours without a single bite and let the stain scare me away. I left in search of some cleaner water and found it in an oxbow. Within 15 minutes I landed a 3-1/2lbr. and thought I had made the right decision at the time, (only later on Sunday to find out that another angler fished the same area in White House catching 18+ lbs an hour after I had left). I continued fishing hard and could only put 2 more keepers in the boat for a total of 7lbs - 9oz.
Day 2: I decided to go and stay in White House all day and by 10:00am thought I had made the wrong decision again. The rains picked up, the wind started laying down and the fish started biting. Within 30 min., the wind had went calm, and then changed direction 180 deg. That's when the bite really picked up. By 11:30 I had my limit and began to cull. For the rest of the day, all I could do was cull up by ounces. I never could get the two big bites I needed, but that's how fishing is!! I ended up catching around 20 or so fish, only not to execute one bite all day. What a great day on the water with less than ideal conditions. Ended up weighing in 11lbs - 3oz for a two day total of 18lbs - 12oz. All my fish were caught on my home made jigs swimming them around wood and trash.
Day 3: Did not make the cut and finished up 37th overall. Somewhat disappointed, but pleased I was able to bounce back alittle on day two. Spent the day at the expo working the Tracker Marine booth where I met a bunch of great folks, signed a bunch of autographs and had a great time sharing my experiences with the fans. Thank you to all who supported me and I have already set me goals to be back to the Classic in the very near future. God bless you all and hope your lines stay tight.
Waine.