"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Mr. Bass of Arkansas
February 28th, 2010
Greers Ferry Lake
Angler: Frank Leone (Boater)
Place: 28th - 2 bass - 1.96 pounds
Practice: I hit the lake on Saturday, Feb. 20th in hopes of finding some bass. I was optimistic until I
hit my first stop. I lowered the trolling motor down and the water temp. was only 39 degrees!!! Fish
get awful lethargic when the water is colder than 43, so I knew it was going to be tough. Caught 1
spotted bass on a Jewel Jig pretty quickly, but it would be the only bite I had all day. Fast forward 1
week. Again I was optimistic, but again by the end of the day I was pretty disappointed. I caught 2
bass all day, but 1 of them was a spotted bass on the same bank I fished on my first practice day. I
started thinking that maybe I could squeak out a limit of spots from this bank, but it turns out that I
was a little too optimistic........
Tournament: Cold Morning!!! I drew Jacob Smith at the pairing meeting and we were ready to hit
the lake. Our number was called and we took off on a 15-mile run to our starting location. We no
sooner start fishing and I notice Jacob has a crankbait the same color that Scott Boatwright
whacked them on last year out of the back of my boat. Moments later, Jacob hooks up with a
keeper black!!! I was happy for him, but I would have liked to have hit the scoreboard first. Anyway,
we continued fishing cranks down the bank and I hook up with a keeper spot. It was only a dink, but
as tough as it's been I was happy to have one in the box. After going up and down our first bank,
we hit another bank nearby. On about my third or fourth cast, I hook up with a 13-inch black. Short
largemouth don't play on Greers, so I chucked him back in the lake. Moments later, Jacob hooks up
with another short largemouth. I was starting to get excited thinking that the fish were about to fire,
but the excitement was short lived. Alternating between crankbaits, jerkbaits, and Jewel Jigs, we
went about 5 hours without a bite. I decided to end our day in the Middle Fork. We had fished about
a half-mile down the bank, when suddenly a 12-inch largemouth eats my jig as I'm reeling it in to the
boat. It was hard to figure why that fish hit, because they usually only do that when they are really
biting! Anyway, we went a little further and a keeper spot hits my jig. Finally, another keeper! It was
too little, too late........
Keeper Count:
Jewel Eakins' Jig (7/16 oz; Missouri Craw): 1 keeper
Vintage Wiggle Wart: 1 keeper
Equipment: Crankbait: Dobyns 704 CB Glass
Jig: Dobyns DX 704 C
Final Thoughts: Not the way I wanted to start the MBOA season! Fishing this year has been a real
grind. Can't wait to get on a good bite!
February 28th, 2010
Greers Ferry Lake
Angler: Frank Leone (Boater)
Place: 28th - 2 bass - 1.96 pounds
Practice: I hit the lake on Saturday, Feb. 20th in hopes of finding some bass. I was optimistic until I
hit my first stop. I lowered the trolling motor down and the water temp. was only 39 degrees!!! Fish
get awful lethargic when the water is colder than 43, so I knew it was going to be tough. Caught 1
spotted bass on a Jewel Jig pretty quickly, but it would be the only bite I had all day. Fast forward 1
week. Again I was optimistic, but again by the end of the day I was pretty disappointed. I caught 2
bass all day, but 1 of them was a spotted bass on the same bank I fished on my first practice day. I
started thinking that maybe I could squeak out a limit of spots from this bank, but it turns out that I
was a little too optimistic........
Tournament: Cold Morning!!! I drew Jacob Smith at the pairing meeting and we were ready to hit
the lake. Our number was called and we took off on a 15-mile run to our starting location. We no
sooner start fishing and I notice Jacob has a crankbait the same color that Scott Boatwright
whacked them on last year out of the back of my boat. Moments later, Jacob hooks up with a
keeper black!!! I was happy for him, but I would have liked to have hit the scoreboard first. Anyway,
we continued fishing cranks down the bank and I hook up with a keeper spot. It was only a dink, but
as tough as it's been I was happy to have one in the box. After going up and down our first bank,
we hit another bank nearby. On about my third or fourth cast, I hook up with a 13-inch black. Short
largemouth don't play on Greers, so I chucked him back in the lake. Moments later, Jacob hooks up
with another short largemouth. I was starting to get excited thinking that the fish were about to fire,
but the excitement was short lived. Alternating between crankbaits, jerkbaits, and Jewel Jigs, we
went about 5 hours without a bite. I decided to end our day in the Middle Fork. We had fished about
a half-mile down the bank, when suddenly a 12-inch largemouth eats my jig as I'm reeling it in to the
boat. It was hard to figure why that fish hit, because they usually only do that when they are really
biting! Anyway, we went a little further and a keeper spot hits my jig. Finally, another keeper! It was
too little, too late........
Keeper Count:
Jewel Eakins' Jig (7/16 oz; Missouri Craw): 1 keeper
Vintage Wiggle Wart: 1 keeper
Equipment: Crankbait: Dobyns 704 CB Glass
Jig: Dobyns DX 704 C
Final Thoughts: Not the way I wanted to start the MBOA season! Fishing this year has been a real
grind. Can't wait to get on a good bite!