"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Mr. Bass of Arkansas
March 30th, 2008
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone (Amateur Division)
8th place - 4 bass - 10.92 pounds - $220.00
Pairing Meeting: Didn't have to wait long to get paired. I drew Eugene Moore from Little Rock and
we were boat #9. Eugene said we would be fishing in Illinois Bayou, which sounded good to me. I
knew the Bayou had cleared-up a little and is an excellent pre-spawn location. I was ready for the
tournament.
Tournament: As thunder clapped in the background, off we went. I could tell Eugene was headed
straight towards one of my favorite Creeks in the Bayou, so I was pumped! Going into this
tournament I had pretty much decided that I was going to throw a jig the majority of the time, and I
knew it was a good lure selection for this creek. It didn't take long to catch the first fish of the
morning - but it was short. So were the next 5. I also had two giant drum, and was starting to get
frustrated not yet having a keeper. Then Eugene broke the ice. He landed a solid keeper on a
wacky-rigged Senko, which set the tone for the next two hours. Eugene was a great partner and
fished slow, which made it easy for me to present my jig slow from the back of the boat. We both
started to catch fish, and I quickly caught my first keeper, a good 2.5-pounder. Then I lost 3
keepers in a short time frame. Like Charlie Hartley's Day-3 fish in the Classic, they just kind of came
unbuttoned. I was throwing a large flipping jig (not produced by Jewel) to present a bait with a big
profile. The big pre-spawn fish seem to like those big jigs in early spring. Maybe it was something
with the hook - I don't know. Kevin Short is currently designing a full size flipping jig for Jewel and I
know when he signs-off on it that the bait will be correct. Everything Jewel puts out is awesome, So I
can't wait. Anyway, I usually would have been very upset, but it was still early and they were biting
the jig. I was able to add two more small keepers before we left the Creek, and Eugene was able to
add one more he caught on a Jewel Eakins' Flipping Jig (Black/Blue; 3/8 oz.). We left the creek and
started to hit main lake grass in the Bayou. Eugene was fishing the grass extremely slow with his
Senko, and quickly added another keeper fish. That's when I caught a break. I pitched my jig to the
front edge of the grass and one hit it immediately and started running with the jig. It was a good fish
(4.58 pounder) and put me in position to get a check. It was early (11:00 AM), and the way they
were eating the jig I thought it would be no problem to "get 5". But it didn't happen. The fish shut off
for Eugene and I. We didn't put another keeper in the boat. We tried to hit the grass point where I
caught my big fish later in the day, but it didn't produced. Eugene and I had an enjoyable day on
the water and we headed back to the ramp.
Frank's Keeper Count: Revenge Flip Jig (1/2 oz. Black/Blue): 4 keepers
Final Thoughts: My lack of execution likely cost me three or four places. All of the anglers that fish
Mr. Bass of Arkansas are "stout" and you can't make mistakes because it will cost you money.
Besides the mistakes, I still had a good day on the water and enjoyed fishing with Eugene. Maybe I
will draw him again......
See ya' on the flip side,
Frank Leone
March 30th, 2008
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone (Amateur Division)
8th place - 4 bass - 10.92 pounds - $220.00
Pairing Meeting: Didn't have to wait long to get paired. I drew Eugene Moore from Little Rock and
we were boat #9. Eugene said we would be fishing in Illinois Bayou, which sounded good to me. I
knew the Bayou had cleared-up a little and is an excellent pre-spawn location. I was ready for the
tournament.
Tournament: As thunder clapped in the background, off we went. I could tell Eugene was headed
straight towards one of my favorite Creeks in the Bayou, so I was pumped! Going into this
tournament I had pretty much decided that I was going to throw a jig the majority of the time, and I
knew it was a good lure selection for this creek. It didn't take long to catch the first fish of the
morning - but it was short. So were the next 5. I also had two giant drum, and was starting to get
frustrated not yet having a keeper. Then Eugene broke the ice. He landed a solid keeper on a
wacky-rigged Senko, which set the tone for the next two hours. Eugene was a great partner and
fished slow, which made it easy for me to present my jig slow from the back of the boat. We both
started to catch fish, and I quickly caught my first keeper, a good 2.5-pounder. Then I lost 3
keepers in a short time frame. Like Charlie Hartley's Day-3 fish in the Classic, they just kind of came
unbuttoned. I was throwing a large flipping jig (not produced by Jewel) to present a bait with a big
profile. The big pre-spawn fish seem to like those big jigs in early spring. Maybe it was something
with the hook - I don't know. Kevin Short is currently designing a full size flipping jig for Jewel and I
know when he signs-off on it that the bait will be correct. Everything Jewel puts out is awesome, So I
can't wait. Anyway, I usually would have been very upset, but it was still early and they were biting
the jig. I was able to add two more small keepers before we left the Creek, and Eugene was able to
add one more he caught on a Jewel Eakins' Flipping Jig (Black/Blue; 3/8 oz.). We left the creek and
started to hit main lake grass in the Bayou. Eugene was fishing the grass extremely slow with his
Senko, and quickly added another keeper fish. That's when I caught a break. I pitched my jig to the
front edge of the grass and one hit it immediately and started running with the jig. It was a good fish
(4.58 pounder) and put me in position to get a check. It was early (11:00 AM), and the way they
were eating the jig I thought it would be no problem to "get 5". But it didn't happen. The fish shut off
for Eugene and I. We didn't put another keeper in the boat. We tried to hit the grass point where I
caught my big fish later in the day, but it didn't produced. Eugene and I had an enjoyable day on
the water and we headed back to the ramp.
Frank's Keeper Count: Revenge Flip Jig (1/2 oz. Black/Blue): 4 keepers
Final Thoughts: My lack of execution likely cost me three or four places. All of the anglers that fish
Mr. Bass of Arkansas are "stout" and you can't make mistakes because it will cost you money.
Besides the mistakes, I still had a good day on the water and enjoyed fishing with Eugene. Maybe I
will draw him again......
See ya' on the flip side,
Frank Leone