"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Vince Miller's Super Team
February 7th, 2010
Lake Ouachita
Anglers: Jeremy Risley and Frank Leone
16th Place - 4 bass - 7.91 pounds
Practice:
February 6th: Met Jeremy at 8:00 AM at the ramp. It was cold, overcast, and breezy - It
looked perfect for a jerkbait. We started out chucking Jackall Squadminnows and
Megabass 110s on channel swing banks where the fish were stacked up last year. We
didn't even get a sniff. We did see a lot of shad dying - It's hard to compete with the real
thing. We kept bouncing around the South Fork, but still hadn't caught a keeper by noon.
After sitting down and contemplating the meaning of life and why we couldn't get bit,
Jeremy decided that we needed to try another location. Within 5-minutes, he nailed our
first fish on the jerkbait. It was nice to see a fish, but that would be the last and only
strike of the day on the jerkbait. About 20 minutes after Jeremy's fish, I finally connected
with a fish on a Jewel Eakins' Jig. At that point, we knew we had to slow down. We finally
figured out a deep jig pattern and were able to catch a couple more including one close
to 5-pounds. We knew that we were in for a long day on Sunday, but figured that if we
slowed down, we could get 5.................
Tournament:
February 7th: As we headed out of Crystal, conditions appeared eerily similar to practice.
We decided to start with the jerkbait, hoping there would be an early bite. It didn't
happen. About 8:00 AM, we decided we needed to slow down and fish the jig. "We need
to make no mistakes today - no wiggle room" Jeremy said. I knew he was right. Time to be
mistake free. About 9:00 AM, Jeremy sets the hook. "Good Fish, good fish" he kept
saying as he was reeling the fish to the boat. Right about when we were about to get our
first look at the fish, his line breaks for no reason. "It's just not going to be our day", I
said. "I think it was a drum or a catfish - It was fighting weird" Jeremy said as he was tying
on another jig. I was thinking "yeah right", but I wasn't upset. About 10-minutes later,
Jeremy sets the hook again. "Feels just like the last one, I think its a drum" Jeremy said.
Sure enough, that's what it was - About a 4-pound drum. Anyway, we continued to
struggle. Finally at 9:45 AM, Jeremy catches our first keeper. Felt good to have a fish in
the box, but neither of us thought it was going to be this tough. We kept picking one up
here and there, and by noon had 4 fish in the box. I was just finished eating my lunch
when I feel dull weight at the end of my line. I did a "reel set" and ended up losing the
fish. I don't think it was a giant, but it felt like a keeper for sure. I shook it off - It was early
yet. About 1:15, We were approaching a secondary point where we had caught fish in the
past and Jeremy gets hung up. He breaks his jig off and I jump up to the front. I feel dead
weight again. Apparently, I did not get a good hook set again and I lost the fish. We didn't
have a another bite the rest of the day and ended up short of getting 5........
Keeper Count:
Jewel Football Jig (5/8 oz.; Missouri Craw): 3 keepers
Jewel Eakins' Jig (5/16 oz.; Missouri Craw): 1 keeper
Equipment: Dobyns 735 C and 704 C rods
Final Thoughts: A tough bite on Ouachita. High rising dirty water and cold water
temperatures made for a tough weekend on the big pond. I felt like Favre throwing a pic
after losing those two fish late in the day. I flat dropped the ball..............
See Ya' on the Flip Side,
Frank Leone
February 7th, 2010
Lake Ouachita
Anglers: Jeremy Risley and Frank Leone
16th Place - 4 bass - 7.91 pounds
Practice:
February 6th: Met Jeremy at 8:00 AM at the ramp. It was cold, overcast, and breezy - It
looked perfect for a jerkbait. We started out chucking Jackall Squadminnows and
Megabass 110s on channel swing banks where the fish were stacked up last year. We
didn't even get a sniff. We did see a lot of shad dying - It's hard to compete with the real
thing. We kept bouncing around the South Fork, but still hadn't caught a keeper by noon.
After sitting down and contemplating the meaning of life and why we couldn't get bit,
Jeremy decided that we needed to try another location. Within 5-minutes, he nailed our
first fish on the jerkbait. It was nice to see a fish, but that would be the last and only
strike of the day on the jerkbait. About 20 minutes after Jeremy's fish, I finally connected
with a fish on a Jewel Eakins' Jig. At that point, we knew we had to slow down. We finally
figured out a deep jig pattern and were able to catch a couple more including one close
to 5-pounds. We knew that we were in for a long day on Sunday, but figured that if we
slowed down, we could get 5.................
Tournament:
February 7th: As we headed out of Crystal, conditions appeared eerily similar to practice.
We decided to start with the jerkbait, hoping there would be an early bite. It didn't
happen. About 8:00 AM, we decided we needed to slow down and fish the jig. "We need
to make no mistakes today - no wiggle room" Jeremy said. I knew he was right. Time to be
mistake free. About 9:00 AM, Jeremy sets the hook. "Good Fish, good fish" he kept
saying as he was reeling the fish to the boat. Right about when we were about to get our
first look at the fish, his line breaks for no reason. "It's just not going to be our day", I
said. "I think it was a drum or a catfish - It was fighting weird" Jeremy said as he was tying
on another jig. I was thinking "yeah right", but I wasn't upset. About 10-minutes later,
Jeremy sets the hook again. "Feels just like the last one, I think its a drum" Jeremy said.
Sure enough, that's what it was - About a 4-pound drum. Anyway, we continued to
struggle. Finally at 9:45 AM, Jeremy catches our first keeper. Felt good to have a fish in
the box, but neither of us thought it was going to be this tough. We kept picking one up
here and there, and by noon had 4 fish in the box. I was just finished eating my lunch
when I feel dull weight at the end of my line. I did a "reel set" and ended up losing the
fish. I don't think it was a giant, but it felt like a keeper for sure. I shook it off - It was early
yet. About 1:15, We were approaching a secondary point where we had caught fish in the
past and Jeremy gets hung up. He breaks his jig off and I jump up to the front. I feel dead
weight again. Apparently, I did not get a good hook set again and I lost the fish. We didn't
have a another bite the rest of the day and ended up short of getting 5........
Keeper Count:
Jewel Football Jig (5/8 oz.; Missouri Craw): 3 keepers
Jewel Eakins' Jig (5/16 oz.; Missouri Craw): 1 keeper
Equipment: Dobyns 735 C and 704 C rods
Final Thoughts: A tough bite on Ouachita. High rising dirty water and cold water
temperatures made for a tough weekend on the big pond. I felt like Favre throwing a pic
after losing those two fish late in the day. I flat dropped the ball..............
See Ya' on the Flip Side,
Frank Leone