"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Mr. Bass of Arkansas
March 14th, 2010
DeGray Lake
Anglers: Frank Leone
20th place - 5 bass - 10.48 pounds
Practice: I made it to Arlie Moore at 8:30 AM and hit the lake with Andy Case. Andy is fishing his
first season on the MBOA trail as an amateur and this was the first time he had been on the lake.
We headed up to the area where Jeremy and I caught them last weekend and it was like combat
fishing. Boats were everywhere - every point and pocket had boats all over it. It was like the center
of the bass fishing universe was revolving around the upper end of DeGray Lake. Anyway, we went
to work and started catching fish. Caught a nice 3.5 pound black right off the bat on the Yozuri
Rattlin' Vibe, so I was feeling pretty good. Found a pretty good back-up pattern too - the Kentuckies
were all over the wiggle wart. It was basically "Call your shot" easy. We headed down the lake later
in the day and caught a couple of keepers on a Jackall TN/70 lipless crankbait, so I thought I had
several areas lined up for Sunday............
Tournament: I don't remember being more anxious for a tournament to start. The main question in
my mind was would the fish from last weekend still be sitting in that one little spot. I was boat 64 and
had plenty of time to think about it. When 64 was called I headed up to last week's "Glory Hole". I
got there and nobody's sitting on it - YES! As I approached the spot I started chucking the Rattlin'
Vibe. No takers. I got to THE SPOT and within 5 minutes landed my first keeper of the morning. It
felt good, but I could tell they weren't stacked in there like "cord wood". A couple of minutes later, I
connected again. It felt like a good one, but I only got six or seven cranks of the reel and it came
off. I shook it off, confident that they were about to fire. Another 10 minutes passes and I'm getting
antsy. I decided to toss a Jewel jig in there. First cast and one nails it. I boat flipped my second
keeper of the morning and I thought I had them pegged. I felt they would be on the jig, but I didn't
get another hit from that spot. I threw the "kitchen sink" at them, but at 9:30 AM I decided to bail. I
went to some channel swing banks and filled out my limit by 10:30 AM on the Wiggle Wart. The
Kentuckies were once again on it, but I couldn't get the blacks to take it. I laid down the Wart and
started chucking the Rattlin Vibe. I caught a short or two, but no keepers. I decided to go back to
the jig and caught a keeper black in short time. I fished the next hour or so with the jig but no more
takers. I then made a decision to pursue a bigger bite. I headed down the lake and started throwing
a Carolina-rigged Big Bite Kriet Kreature, but I think its just a tad early for the rig bite and I didn't
get any takers. From there I tossed the vibe around and zippo. I decided to end my day throwing a
jerkbait down by the dam and nothing..............
Keeper Count:
Vintage Wiggle Wart - 3 keepers
Jewel Eakins' Jig (7/16 oz.; Missouri Craw) - 1 keeper
3/8 oz. Black/Blue Flipping Jig - 1 keeper
Yozuri Rattlin' Vibe - 1 keeper
Equipment:
Wiggle Wart Rod: Dobyns 704 CB Glass
Jig Rod: Dobyns DX 704 C
Rattlin' Vibe Rod: Dobyns 705 CB
Final Thoughts: Another MBOA tournament and another let down. This is two years in a row that
we were on a good bite at Super Team and had a let down the very next week at Mr. Bass. It was
frustrating knowing the quality of fish we released last week would have gotten a check this week.
At least I got a top 20 finish.............
See Ya' on the Flip Side,
Frank Leone
March 14th, 2010
DeGray Lake
Anglers: Frank Leone
20th place - 5 bass - 10.48 pounds
Practice: I made it to Arlie Moore at 8:30 AM and hit the lake with Andy Case. Andy is fishing his
first season on the MBOA trail as an amateur and this was the first time he had been on the lake.
We headed up to the area where Jeremy and I caught them last weekend and it was like combat
fishing. Boats were everywhere - every point and pocket had boats all over it. It was like the center
of the bass fishing universe was revolving around the upper end of DeGray Lake. Anyway, we went
to work and started catching fish. Caught a nice 3.5 pound black right off the bat on the Yozuri
Rattlin' Vibe, so I was feeling pretty good. Found a pretty good back-up pattern too - the Kentuckies
were all over the wiggle wart. It was basically "Call your shot" easy. We headed down the lake later
in the day and caught a couple of keepers on a Jackall TN/70 lipless crankbait, so I thought I had
several areas lined up for Sunday............
Tournament: I don't remember being more anxious for a tournament to start. The main question in
my mind was would the fish from last weekend still be sitting in that one little spot. I was boat 64 and
had plenty of time to think about it. When 64 was called I headed up to last week's "Glory Hole". I
got there and nobody's sitting on it - YES! As I approached the spot I started chucking the Rattlin'
Vibe. No takers. I got to THE SPOT and within 5 minutes landed my first keeper of the morning. It
felt good, but I could tell they weren't stacked in there like "cord wood". A couple of minutes later, I
connected again. It felt like a good one, but I only got six or seven cranks of the reel and it came
off. I shook it off, confident that they were about to fire. Another 10 minutes passes and I'm getting
antsy. I decided to toss a Jewel jig in there. First cast and one nails it. I boat flipped my second
keeper of the morning and I thought I had them pegged. I felt they would be on the jig, but I didn't
get another hit from that spot. I threw the "kitchen sink" at them, but at 9:30 AM I decided to bail. I
went to some channel swing banks and filled out my limit by 10:30 AM on the Wiggle Wart. The
Kentuckies were once again on it, but I couldn't get the blacks to take it. I laid down the Wart and
started chucking the Rattlin Vibe. I caught a short or two, but no keepers. I decided to go back to
the jig and caught a keeper black in short time. I fished the next hour or so with the jig but no more
takers. I then made a decision to pursue a bigger bite. I headed down the lake and started throwing
a Carolina-rigged Big Bite Kriet Kreature, but I think its just a tad early for the rig bite and I didn't
get any takers. From there I tossed the vibe around and zippo. I decided to end my day throwing a
jerkbait down by the dam and nothing..............
Keeper Count:
Vintage Wiggle Wart - 3 keepers
Jewel Eakins' Jig (7/16 oz.; Missouri Craw) - 1 keeper
3/8 oz. Black/Blue Flipping Jig - 1 keeper
Yozuri Rattlin' Vibe - 1 keeper
Equipment:
Wiggle Wart Rod: Dobyns 704 CB Glass
Jig Rod: Dobyns DX 704 C
Rattlin' Vibe Rod: Dobyns 705 CB
Final Thoughts: Another MBOA tournament and another let down. This is two years in a row that
we were on a good bite at Super Team and had a let down the very next week at Mr. Bass. It was
frustrating knowing the quality of fish we released last week would have gotten a check this week.
At least I got a top 20 finish.............
See Ya' on the Flip Side,
Frank Leone