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2001 Bassmasters Classic
Classic Journal
Day 3 Report
8/5/2001 - DAY 3
I ran new water today and struck out. My hats off to Kevin for an outstanding performance. I fished the same general area he did in Bayou Black(we were about 5 miles apart). The bite was tough and he was barely catching a limit each day, but he figured them out and is very deserving of the World Championship. He is a fine champion.
I was not at all satisfied with my lousy performance. I will take an inventory of my thought processes throughout this tournament, find my errors, and learn from them. I will apply them to my future tournaments, making myself a better fisherman.
DAY 2
The wheels came off today as I weighed 1 pound and dropped out of contention. I felt compelled to fish the same water that I fished yesterday as it had put me in 7th place after day 1. As I mentioned last night, I really didn't have much going even though I was in 7th. I only had 3 bites the first day, and only had 2 bites today. There just are not many fish in the area I have been fishing.
Tomorrow brings a new day with new hope. I will fish new water all day, that is for sure.
God is good, and He is still on His throne! Romans 8:28 says that "in all things, God works for the good of those that love Him..." He is in control. I know that His timing is perfect, and that one day my day will come.
DAY 1
My 2001 Classic started out with a bang, as I started in the canal where I caught the 3 1/2 in practice, and I flipped up a
4-11 just 20 minutes into the day! What a start. Unfortunately, the rest of my day was like a balloon with a slow leak. I was left pretty deflated by weigh-in time with only 3 keepers. They weighed 9-11 and I am in 7th place after day 1.
After catching the 4-11(big bass of the day), I flipped my Berkley jig in matted water hyacinth for another 2 hours without another sniff. I then changed canals and caught a 13 incher on a buzzbait around 10 a.m. on a subtle secondary point. I then changed canals again, and at 11 a.m I caught a 3 3/4 pound bass on a shallow crankbait off some wood. I then spent a good bit of time throwing a worm just trying to fill my limit, but I could not get another bite. I returned to where I caught the big one around noon, but nothing doing. It was a very frustrating final 2 hours of the day.
As you can tell, I don't have a whole lot going. I am not getting enough bites. One thing that hurt was I had a couple of bites in the current on Tuesday, but that water got really muddy and it turned those fish off.
We had strong NE winds today due to the tropical depression in the Gulf, and the wind caused the tide to run in all day. We
had rising water all day. On Tuesday we had falling water all day. This weather/wind pattern is supposed to continue.
This really changes the patterns as the bass relocate when the current changes directions. Dead end canals are good because those fish don't rely on current to feed. There are also some shallow grass flats and marshes where spinnerbaits and buzzbaits work. My experience down here has shown that there distinct places that are good on falling water, and others that are best on rising water. Bass change so fast in tidal waters, it's unbelievable.
The leader, David Walker is the only guy to catch a limit in Venice today out of about 15 boats that went down there. 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th are in Bayou Black.
Gotta run....
PRACTICE DAY, JULY 31, 2001
Our one day of practice was a short one, about 8 hours. I spent about 4 hours of my day running, so I didn't do too much fishing. I just wanted to sample my best areas, mostly to check their current conditions.
I had one spot down on the Atchafalya River (a 1 hour 40 minute run), but I just caught a couple of fish there and wont be returning. There are some fish there, but not enough to warrant that kind of a run.
My next stop was in Bayou Black. The water in my best area in Bayou Black had been recently sprayed with herbicide to kill the water hyacynth. A major bummer, as the fishing usually dies along with the plants after a fresh dose of chemicals. I decided to fish it anyway, and was glad I did. I caught a 3 1/2 pounder and a 12 incher, and shook off a couple other that felt like 2 1/2 pound fish. I really don't know what to think about this area. The fish were in there in fair numbers in June, and it has some of the best hydrilla around , so they have to still be there. A friend caught a six back in mid June in the same canal where I caught the 3 1/2 today, so that is a confidence builder. It is so tough to get a good bite right now I feel good to have one canal that has been holding good ones all summer. I saw some bass busting bait in the middle of this canal too.
I had time to look at one other canal in the Bayou Black area, and the grass and hyacynth looked good in there. It hadn't been sprayed. I didn't have time to fish it.
Looks like I will be starting in that one area where I caught the good fish. I just wish it hadn't been sprayed!! All the hyacynth were dead and floating on top, but the hydrilla underneath was still quite green. I have never seen good fishing in an area that had been recently sprayed, but there is always a first for everything....
It is a pure flipping bite: jigs and tubes
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