"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Vince Miller's Super Team
July 11th, 2010
Arkansas River (Pine Bluff)
Anglers: Frank Leone and Jeremy Risley
29th place - 1 bass - 2.87 pounds
Practice: No practice for this one. We both didn't make it to Pine Bluff until 6:00 PM Saturday
evening. I packed for the tournament thinking that we probably wouldn't leave the harbor. However,
Jeremy talked me in to going to Pool 3. His argument was convincing. I decided he was right......
Tournament: There have been many duos who's adventures turned into misadventures. Bill and
Ted and Harold and Kumar are just a couple that come to my mind. The theme for the rest of this
column is "Frank and Jeremy go to Swan Lake". Instead of seeking the gratification that comes
after a delicious meal of hamburgers at White Castle, Jeremy and I were after bass. The
misadventure started shortly after take-off. As we headed to the lock, there sits a barge. It probably
only cost us 20 minutes, but in July the early more bite is of the utmost importance. Anyway, we got
through the lock and headed into Pool 3. We raced to the location where we wanted to start and
there sits a boat. Rats, time for plan B. We headed to the opening of a backwater and started
plugging away. Strike one! Our efforts here were futile, so we headed back to the area where we
wanted to start. The boat had left and we figured we might have a shot at catching some fish. Strike
two! Man, things were not looking good at this point. That's when Jeremy looks at me and says
"Why don't we try to get into Swan Lake"? We had both heard rumors about anglers pulling 20
pound sacks out of this place, so I thought it would be worth a try. From the outside, it looked great.
Cypress Trees, Lily pads, I mean c'mon, we were going to stroke them, right? Well the first thing we
found out is that this place is shallow. I don't think my depth finder registered over three feet of
water the entire time. The second thing we noticed is that the water color was chocolate brown. We
both expected to find clear water back in Swan Lake, but it was muddy all the way to the back. The
third thing we expected to find was bass. Strike three! We didn't even get a bite. Not even a short
fish! Amazed and disappointed, we headed back to the Pine Bluff Pool with our tails between our
legs. By the time we got back to the Harbor it was 10:30 AM. We had enough time to rebound, but it
just didn't happen for us. All we could muster was 4 or 5 short fish and 1 keeper..............
Keeper Count:
10" Plastic Worm (Plum): 1 keeper
Final Thoughts: Bummer! We swung for the fences and struck out at this one! Lots of fish were
caught by the other competitors and we were left holding a light bag. This season is quickly turning
into a grind for us. Maybe we will get them at the next one...........
See ya' on the flip side,
Frank Leone
July 11th, 2010
Arkansas River (Pine Bluff)
Anglers: Frank Leone and Jeremy Risley
29th place - 1 bass - 2.87 pounds
Practice: No practice for this one. We both didn't make it to Pine Bluff until 6:00 PM Saturday
evening. I packed for the tournament thinking that we probably wouldn't leave the harbor. However,
Jeremy talked me in to going to Pool 3. His argument was convincing. I decided he was right......
Tournament: There have been many duos who's adventures turned into misadventures. Bill and
Ted and Harold and Kumar are just a couple that come to my mind. The theme for the rest of this
column is "Frank and Jeremy go to Swan Lake". Instead of seeking the gratification that comes
after a delicious meal of hamburgers at White Castle, Jeremy and I were after bass. The
misadventure started shortly after take-off. As we headed to the lock, there sits a barge. It probably
only cost us 20 minutes, but in July the early more bite is of the utmost importance. Anyway, we got
through the lock and headed into Pool 3. We raced to the location where we wanted to start and
there sits a boat. Rats, time for plan B. We headed to the opening of a backwater and started
plugging away. Strike one! Our efforts here were futile, so we headed back to the area where we
wanted to start. The boat had left and we figured we might have a shot at catching some fish. Strike
two! Man, things were not looking good at this point. That's when Jeremy looks at me and says
"Why don't we try to get into Swan Lake"? We had both heard rumors about anglers pulling 20
pound sacks out of this place, so I thought it would be worth a try. From the outside, it looked great.
Cypress Trees, Lily pads, I mean c'mon, we were going to stroke them, right? Well the first thing we
found out is that this place is shallow. I don't think my depth finder registered over three feet of
water the entire time. The second thing we noticed is that the water color was chocolate brown. We
both expected to find clear water back in Swan Lake, but it was muddy all the way to the back. The
third thing we expected to find was bass. Strike three! We didn't even get a bite. Not even a short
fish! Amazed and disappointed, we headed back to the Pine Bluff Pool with our tails between our
legs. By the time we got back to the Harbor it was 10:30 AM. We had enough time to rebound, but it
just didn't happen for us. All we could muster was 4 or 5 short fish and 1 keeper..............
Keeper Count:
10" Plastic Worm (Plum): 1 keeper
Final Thoughts: Bummer! We swung for the fences and struck out at this one! Lots of fish were
caught by the other competitors and we were left holding a light bag. This season is quickly turning
into a grind for us. Maybe we will get them at the next one...........
See ya' on the flip side,
Frank Leone