"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Vince Miller's Super Team
April 11th, 2010
Lake Dardanelle
Anglers: Frank Leone and Jeremy Risley
5th place - 13.43 pounds - $400
Practice: Saturday morning dawned clear and cold. We headed out to an area in the mid-lake area
of Dardanelle and started pitching the Big Bite Cane Stick around. We got bites everywhere. It was
apparent that they were definitely on the Cane Stick. As Jeremy put it, we pretty much "fiddle farted"
around most of the day, but we managed to boat about 12 keepers and a bunch of shorts on Cane
Sticks, Jewel Jigs, and Netbait Mad Pacas. In the afternoon, we ended up going down to the lower
end of the lake and found some areas that looked pretty reliable. All in all, it was an excellent
practice and we went into the tournament fairly confident.
Tournament: We had a good draw (boat #9) and when our number was called made the run to our
starting location. It was clear and calm, another beautiful spring day. We got to our first bank and it
just didn't feel right. It took a while to get a hit, but finally I set the hook on a small one. It turned out
to be a 13-inch Kentucky. I was almost disappointed when I put him in the livewell, but I wasn't going
to throw him back either. Anyway, I caught one more keeper black on our first bank. It was a slow
start, but I wasn't worried yet. We hit our second bank and I caught fire. I quickly boated 4 good
keeper largemouth and we were culling by 8:45 AM. We then hit a little lull in the action. We boated
a few keepers but they didn't help. About 10:30, we went to another stretch. Jeremy quickly got in
on the action, boating a good 2.5-pounder that culled our smallest fish. It was a good cull and he
was pumped to get one in the livewell. As the day went on, it was apparent that we needed a quality
bite. We decided to head down the lake to Delaware Bay. We had a couple of 3-pound bites there
during practice, so we decided to make the run. In short time, I caught a good keeper that almost
culled and Jeremy added one that gave us a quarter pound cull. We got out of Delaware and
headed to Dardanelle Bay. We had some good bites in there and felt good about our chances for
an upgrade. But something had changed. We had an hour and a half to fish the bay and didn't
even land a fish. Disappointed, we headed to the ramp believing that we would probably finish just
short of check range...........
Keeper count: Big Bite Baits Cane Stick (5-inch; Green pumpkin/Watermelon Red Laminate): 12 keepers
NetBait Mad Paca (Green Pumpkin Red): 2 keepers
Equipment: Big Bite Cane Stick: Dobyns Champion 704 C Rod
Final Thoughts: Well, it was another great day on the water. We boated a lot of fish and ended up
getting a check. You've gotta' love Spring..........
See ya' on the flip side....
Frank Leone
April 11th, 2010
Lake Dardanelle
Anglers: Frank Leone and Jeremy Risley
5th place - 13.43 pounds - $400
Practice: Saturday morning dawned clear and cold. We headed out to an area in the mid-lake area
of Dardanelle and started pitching the Big Bite Cane Stick around. We got bites everywhere. It was
apparent that they were definitely on the Cane Stick. As Jeremy put it, we pretty much "fiddle farted"
around most of the day, but we managed to boat about 12 keepers and a bunch of shorts on Cane
Sticks, Jewel Jigs, and Netbait Mad Pacas. In the afternoon, we ended up going down to the lower
end of the lake and found some areas that looked pretty reliable. All in all, it was an excellent
practice and we went into the tournament fairly confident.
Tournament: We had a good draw (boat #9) and when our number was called made the run to our
starting location. It was clear and calm, another beautiful spring day. We got to our first bank and it
just didn't feel right. It took a while to get a hit, but finally I set the hook on a small one. It turned out
to be a 13-inch Kentucky. I was almost disappointed when I put him in the livewell, but I wasn't going
to throw him back either. Anyway, I caught one more keeper black on our first bank. It was a slow
start, but I wasn't worried yet. We hit our second bank and I caught fire. I quickly boated 4 good
keeper largemouth and we were culling by 8:45 AM. We then hit a little lull in the action. We boated
a few keepers but they didn't help. About 10:30, we went to another stretch. Jeremy quickly got in
on the action, boating a good 2.5-pounder that culled our smallest fish. It was a good cull and he
was pumped to get one in the livewell. As the day went on, it was apparent that we needed a quality
bite. We decided to head down the lake to Delaware Bay. We had a couple of 3-pound bites there
during practice, so we decided to make the run. In short time, I caught a good keeper that almost
culled and Jeremy added one that gave us a quarter pound cull. We got out of Delaware and
headed to Dardanelle Bay. We had some good bites in there and felt good about our chances for
an upgrade. But something had changed. We had an hour and a half to fish the bay and didn't
even land a fish. Disappointed, we headed to the ramp believing that we would probably finish just
short of check range...........
Keeper count: Big Bite Baits Cane Stick (5-inch; Green pumpkin/Watermelon Red Laminate): 12 keepers
NetBait Mad Paca (Green Pumpkin Red): 2 keepers
Equipment: Big Bite Cane Stick: Dobyns Champion 704 C Rod
Final Thoughts: Well, it was another great day on the water. We boated a lot of fish and ended up
getting a check. You've gotta' love Spring..........
See ya' on the flip side....
Frank Leone