"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Fruit Jar Tournament
February 23rd, 2008
Lake Wallace
Anglers: Jeremy Risley and Philip Starks
Place: 2nd - 5 bass - 9.70 pounds
Background:
Lake Wallace is a 300 acre oxbow lake off of Bayou Bartholomew. It is inundated with
cypress trees. During the high rain fall events in the spring, the bayou flows into the lake
making a large portion of the lake a chocolate milk color.
During the week before the tournament, I received a call from Cabel Lane about a fruit jar
tournament they were having at the lake. I debated it for several days because I have only
fished this lake for about 3 hours, so I had little to no experience on here. On Friday, I
received a call from Philip Starks wanting to know if I needed a partner to fish. Phillip is a
local fishing guru and had just won the Fishers of Men tournament with his son on Chicot the
weekend before with almost 22 pounds!! So I jumped on the chance to get to fish with him
and learn some more about fishing in this area.
February 23rd: I picked up Philip at Wal-Mart and we headed over to Lake Wallace, which is
about a 30 minute drive from Monticello. I was pumped because I was going to learn a bunch
on this day. We arrived to the lake and it was overcast. The overcast conditions would be a
problem because it wouldn’t help the lake warm up. During the last week, the water
temperature had dropped at least 4 to 5 degrees. There were a total of six boats that
showed up for this $40 entry fee tournament. So the learning experience begins at blast off.
In the background info I mentioned that the lake is inundated with cypress trees. So we idled
over to this open lane of cypress tress following three other boats and we take off through
this lane of trees. The lane is marked by handkerchiefs hanging in trees. It is only about 20
foot wide! So my heart was pumping because I grew up fishing large highland reservoirs
where you didn’t have to worry about hitting anything.
We stop at a stretch of bank before a big channel swing because we knew everyone else
ran to the end of the lake and it would be quite congested down there. I picked up an out of
production Jewel spinnerbait that had an Indiana and Colorado blade. Phillip was throwing a
War Eagle blue herring spinnerbait. Within 15 minutes, Philip hooked into our first keeper, a
14-inch largemouth on the spinnerbait next to flooded brush. We continue down this stretch
of bank with the spinnerbaits. Then I picked up a LuckyCraft BDS 2 which was custom
painted by Tim Hughes and threw it around the trees. We had no more luck on that stretch
and jumped across to the other side. I am getting antsy and picked up my jig rod with a black
and blue flash Jewel Eakins jig tipped with a Yamamoto trailer. Philip starts throwing a
junebug brushhog. Going down the bank, I am trolling motoring around a bush and Philip is
dragging the brushhog. He then hooks up on a 14- inch keeper. That was the last bite we
had down that stretch so we jumped back across to the other side. We then went for about
hour and half with no bites. We get up to this little creek that flows into the lake and it has a
little shallow point with trees on it. I fished a jig around it and Philip is throwing a watermelon
chartreuse lizard. We fished all around it and start moving down the bank. Philip is dragging
the lizard while we are moving over the point. He has a hit but the fish doesn’t get it so he
just shakes it in place. The fish comes back and gets it. It is solid 15-inch fish. Within 20
yards, Philip hooks into another 14-inch keeper next to some flooded brush. We work a way
down the bank. I am still throwing the jig but I changed to a paca chuck trailer. We get to
another little creek and it has a grouping of trees. I pitch into the middle of a group of three
trees and set the hook and boat flip a 13-inch fish all in one motion. We now have about a 7
pound limit. Philip then misses a fish on the lizard. We continue to go down this same bank. I
catch a short fish on the jig. I then miss one on the jig next to a laydown. We get to this little
stretch of brush which was placed in the water from where the shoreline had been cleared
because a powerline crossed the lake. I set the hook on a fish but the fish must have had
grabbed the craw on the chunk because it was missing. At the same time Philip missed one
on the lizard. We continued down the bank but noticed the water was going from stained to
chocolate milk color again. We fished on and Philip hooks a small 12-inch keeper on a
purple worm. We went on for an hour or so and we decided we needed to go back to the
areas that had stained water. We head back over to where the powerline crossed the lake.
One the first cast, I break one off on the hook set that felt like a good fish. At the same time,
Philip sets the hook but misses it. We work up the bank and Philip catches a 14-inch keeper
on plum lizard. I finally put down the jig and tie on a lizard. We come up on to some more
brush and I set the hook on another 14-inch keeper and Philip catches a short fish. We work
up to another little creek. I pitch to a laydown on one end and Philip pitches to the other end.
I hook another 14-inch keeper and Philip loses a small keeper. We fish for a while and turn
around fish down the stretch that was on fire. We never caught another fish down this
stretch. It is 2:15 and weigh-in is at 3 pm. Since you have to idle most of the lake, we take off
back to the ramp. We decided on the way we still have about 10 minutes to fish so we stop at
a stretch of bank loaded with brush and laydowns. I pitch my lizard next to a laydown and I
catch a solid 15-keeper. We then head back to the ramp and see how our day turned out.
Adam Starks, Philip’s son, and his partner won with almost 12 pounds. They won $170
dollars. Congrats to Adam and his partner for the win. We ended up second with 9.70 and
took home $60.
Adam and his partner caught all their fish on Missouri Craw Jewel jigs in the cypress trees in
the middle of the lake. They thought that was where the better fish where suspended in the
trees because most of the fish were caught on the fall.
Keeper count:
Jewel Eakins' Jig (5/16 oz. – Black and Blue Flash) with paca chuck: 1 keeper
War Eagle Blue Herring Spinnerbait: 1 keeper
Junebug Zoom Brushhog Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 1 keeper
Watermelon-Chartreuse Zoom Lizard Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 5 keepers
Plum Zoom Lizard Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 1 keeper
Purple Zoom worm Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 1 keeper
Final thoughts: Not a horrible day given the hand we were dealt. We just never got a big bite.
It appeared we should have spent more time fishing the flooded cypress trees in the middle
of the lake instead of the flooded brush along the shoreline. We also should have spent
more time in the stained water instead of the muddy water. However, they really liked the
lizard dragged along the bottom. I think we could have caught some more if we would have
had a little more time (Don't all tournament fishermen say that) because the sun came out in
the last 30 minutes and you could tell the fish were getting more active. Anyway, I learned a
lot about Lake Wallace and from Philip that I can use in future tournaments
See ya’ at the next tournament,
Jeremy Risley
February 23rd, 2008
Lake Wallace
Anglers: Jeremy Risley and Philip Starks
Place: 2nd - 5 bass - 9.70 pounds
Background:
Lake Wallace is a 300 acre oxbow lake off of Bayou Bartholomew. It is inundated with
cypress trees. During the high rain fall events in the spring, the bayou flows into the lake
making a large portion of the lake a chocolate milk color.
During the week before the tournament, I received a call from Cabel Lane about a fruit jar
tournament they were having at the lake. I debated it for several days because I have only
fished this lake for about 3 hours, so I had little to no experience on here. On Friday, I
received a call from Philip Starks wanting to know if I needed a partner to fish. Phillip is a
local fishing guru and had just won the Fishers of Men tournament with his son on Chicot the
weekend before with almost 22 pounds!! So I jumped on the chance to get to fish with him
and learn some more about fishing in this area.
February 23rd: I picked up Philip at Wal-Mart and we headed over to Lake Wallace, which is
about a 30 minute drive from Monticello. I was pumped because I was going to learn a bunch
on this day. We arrived to the lake and it was overcast. The overcast conditions would be a
problem because it wouldn’t help the lake warm up. During the last week, the water
temperature had dropped at least 4 to 5 degrees. There were a total of six boats that
showed up for this $40 entry fee tournament. So the learning experience begins at blast off.
In the background info I mentioned that the lake is inundated with cypress trees. So we idled
over to this open lane of cypress tress following three other boats and we take off through
this lane of trees. The lane is marked by handkerchiefs hanging in trees. It is only about 20
foot wide! So my heart was pumping because I grew up fishing large highland reservoirs
where you didn’t have to worry about hitting anything.
We stop at a stretch of bank before a big channel swing because we knew everyone else
ran to the end of the lake and it would be quite congested down there. I picked up an out of
production Jewel spinnerbait that had an Indiana and Colorado blade. Phillip was throwing a
War Eagle blue herring spinnerbait. Within 15 minutes, Philip hooked into our first keeper, a
14-inch largemouth on the spinnerbait next to flooded brush. We continue down this stretch
of bank with the spinnerbaits. Then I picked up a LuckyCraft BDS 2 which was custom
painted by Tim Hughes and threw it around the trees. We had no more luck on that stretch
and jumped across to the other side. I am getting antsy and picked up my jig rod with a black
and blue flash Jewel Eakins jig tipped with a Yamamoto trailer. Philip starts throwing a
junebug brushhog. Going down the bank, I am trolling motoring around a bush and Philip is
dragging the brushhog. He then hooks up on a 14- inch keeper. That was the last bite we
had down that stretch so we jumped back across to the other side. We then went for about
hour and half with no bites. We get up to this little creek that flows into the lake and it has a
little shallow point with trees on it. I fished a jig around it and Philip is throwing a watermelon
chartreuse lizard. We fished all around it and start moving down the bank. Philip is dragging
the lizard while we are moving over the point. He has a hit but the fish doesn’t get it so he
just shakes it in place. The fish comes back and gets it. It is solid 15-inch fish. Within 20
yards, Philip hooks into another 14-inch keeper next to some flooded brush. We work a way
down the bank. I am still throwing the jig but I changed to a paca chuck trailer. We get to
another little creek and it has a grouping of trees. I pitch into the middle of a group of three
trees and set the hook and boat flip a 13-inch fish all in one motion. We now have about a 7
pound limit. Philip then misses a fish on the lizard. We continue to go down this same bank. I
catch a short fish on the jig. I then miss one on the jig next to a laydown. We get to this little
stretch of brush which was placed in the water from where the shoreline had been cleared
because a powerline crossed the lake. I set the hook on a fish but the fish must have had
grabbed the craw on the chunk because it was missing. At the same time Philip missed one
on the lizard. We continued down the bank but noticed the water was going from stained to
chocolate milk color again. We fished on and Philip hooks a small 12-inch keeper on a
purple worm. We went on for an hour or so and we decided we needed to go back to the
areas that had stained water. We head back over to where the powerline crossed the lake.
One the first cast, I break one off on the hook set that felt like a good fish. At the same time,
Philip sets the hook but misses it. We work up the bank and Philip catches a 14-inch keeper
on plum lizard. I finally put down the jig and tie on a lizard. We come up on to some more
brush and I set the hook on another 14-inch keeper and Philip catches a short fish. We work
up to another little creek. I pitch to a laydown on one end and Philip pitches to the other end.
I hook another 14-inch keeper and Philip loses a small keeper. We fish for a while and turn
around fish down the stretch that was on fire. We never caught another fish down this
stretch. It is 2:15 and weigh-in is at 3 pm. Since you have to idle most of the lake, we take off
back to the ramp. We decided on the way we still have about 10 minutes to fish so we stop at
a stretch of bank loaded with brush and laydowns. I pitch my lizard next to a laydown and I
catch a solid 15-keeper. We then head back to the ramp and see how our day turned out.
Adam Starks, Philip’s son, and his partner won with almost 12 pounds. They won $170
dollars. Congrats to Adam and his partner for the win. We ended up second with 9.70 and
took home $60.
Adam and his partner caught all their fish on Missouri Craw Jewel jigs in the cypress trees in
the middle of the lake. They thought that was where the better fish where suspended in the
trees because most of the fish were caught on the fall.
Keeper count:
Jewel Eakins' Jig (5/16 oz. – Black and Blue Flash) with paca chuck: 1 keeper
War Eagle Blue Herring Spinnerbait: 1 keeper
Junebug Zoom Brushhog Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 1 keeper
Watermelon-Chartreuse Zoom Lizard Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 5 keepers
Plum Zoom Lizard Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 1 keeper
Purple Zoom worm Texas rigged with a 3/16 bullet weight: 1 keeper
Final thoughts: Not a horrible day given the hand we were dealt. We just never got a big bite.
It appeared we should have spent more time fishing the flooded cypress trees in the middle
of the lake instead of the flooded brush along the shoreline. We also should have spent
more time in the stained water instead of the muddy water. However, they really liked the
lizard dragged along the bottom. I think we could have caught some more if we would have
had a little more time (Don't all tournament fishermen say that) because the sun came out in
the last 30 minutes and you could tell the fish were getting more active. Anyway, I learned a
lot about Lake Wallace and from Philip that I can use in future tournaments
See ya’ at the next tournament,
Jeremy Risley