"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Mr. Bass of Arkansas
May 17th, 2009
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone
25th place - 5 bass - 9.25 pounds
Practice: Friday, May 15th and Saturday, May 16th: Friday's practice was brutal. I fished the
lower end from Illinois Bayou to Piney Bay and failed to catch a single keeper. I caught a few shorts
and missed a couple of good fish, but it was definitely a discouraging day. Saturday was much
better. I practiced in Cabin Creek and Shoal Bay. I caught keepers in both places and thought I had
found a hot area in Cabin Creek Slough. I decided that I would start on that stretch.....
Tournament: The morning dawned chilly and it felt more like March than May. I was kind of
wondering what the bite would be like given the cold front conditions and bright blue skies. I got a
bad draw, but when 54 was called we (Amateur Partner: Charles Gassaway) made the 18-mile run
to Cabin Creek Slough. When we arrived it was dead calm and the sun was shining bright. I felt like
the swimming jig bite was going to be short lived under these conditions and was hoping that the
wind forecast for later in the day would arrive early. Probably 15 minutes after arriving I boated my
first keeper on a swim jig. Things were looking up - we hadn't hit the best stretch yet! When we got
there, I could see that the water had fallen about 6 inches and the flooded point where I whacked
them on Saturday just didn't look the same. Anyway, Charles caught a keeper on a white
spinnerbait and I caught short fish - but that was it. It was about 9:00 AM when I pulled the plug on
the slough and headed to Shoal Bay. We hit several areas in Shoal that usually produce a good
swim jig bite, but they only produced a couple of shorts. I decided to slow down. I tied a Black/Blue
Jig on and started fishing slow. Within a couple of minutes one thumped it. I set the hook hard with
my Dobyns rod and boat flipped a 2-pounder. I thought the slow jig might be the ticket, but I didn't
get another bite down a very productive stretch of bank. We were almost to the end of the bank
when we came to a stretch of water willow that I fished on Saturday. I had one jump off out of it on
Saturday so I flung my swim jig towards the clump. Wham! Number 3 jumped all over it. Fished in
Shoal until noon and decided to head to the Bayou. I didn't know if I was making the right decision,
but we just went. I started fishing grass in front of the State Park with a swim jig but couldn't get the
fish to take it. I started to get dejected but decided to fish some channel swing banks up the Bayou
with the black/blue jig. It seemed to be a good move as I put 2 more keepers in the boat. I was
happy to get 5 - but I really had to work for them..................
Keeper Count:
Black/Blue Jig: 3 keepers
All Terrain Swim Jig (White; 1/2 oz.): 2 keepers
Final Thoughts: This one was a grind. I put 5 keeper blacks in the boat and they weighed a total
of 9.25 pounds. It's hard to catch a limit (of largemouth) on Dardanelle that weigh that little. I was
hoping for a top 20 finish, but as usual the MBOA anglers caught them. I was 18th in the points,
finished 25th in the tournament, and fell 2 places to 20th - Those guys are good!!!
Product Review: This was the first tournament that I fished with a full set of Dobyns Rods and
what can I say - they are awesome!!!! I threw the Champion Series 734 C FH with my swim jig and
man was it sweet. The rod is 7 foot 3 inches and flung that 1/2 oz. Swim Jig with ease and control.
The best thing about it was that lack of fatigue that I felt at the end of the day. For my flipping jig, I
used the Champion Extreme DX 704 C. This stick is light as a feather and as sensitive as a second
degree burn - you feel everything. If your unfamiliar with Dobyns Rods, they are the product of
years of hard work by maybe the best angler on the Western tournament scene - Gary Dobyns.
Gary has won 39 boats and knows bass fishing. He designed each rod for specific techniques and
man does it show. To learn more about Dobyns Rods, Click here to visit their website.
See ya' on the flip side.......
Frank Leone
May 17th, 2009
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone
25th place - 5 bass - 9.25 pounds
Practice: Friday, May 15th and Saturday, May 16th: Friday's practice was brutal. I fished the
lower end from Illinois Bayou to Piney Bay and failed to catch a single keeper. I caught a few shorts
and missed a couple of good fish, but it was definitely a discouraging day. Saturday was much
better. I practiced in Cabin Creek and Shoal Bay. I caught keepers in both places and thought I had
found a hot area in Cabin Creek Slough. I decided that I would start on that stretch.....
Tournament: The morning dawned chilly and it felt more like March than May. I was kind of
wondering what the bite would be like given the cold front conditions and bright blue skies. I got a
bad draw, but when 54 was called we (Amateur Partner: Charles Gassaway) made the 18-mile run
to Cabin Creek Slough. When we arrived it was dead calm and the sun was shining bright. I felt like
the swimming jig bite was going to be short lived under these conditions and was hoping that the
wind forecast for later in the day would arrive early. Probably 15 minutes after arriving I boated my
first keeper on a swim jig. Things were looking up - we hadn't hit the best stretch yet! When we got
there, I could see that the water had fallen about 6 inches and the flooded point where I whacked
them on Saturday just didn't look the same. Anyway, Charles caught a keeper on a white
spinnerbait and I caught short fish - but that was it. It was about 9:00 AM when I pulled the plug on
the slough and headed to Shoal Bay. We hit several areas in Shoal that usually produce a good
swim jig bite, but they only produced a couple of shorts. I decided to slow down. I tied a Black/Blue
Jig on and started fishing slow. Within a couple of minutes one thumped it. I set the hook hard with
my Dobyns rod and boat flipped a 2-pounder. I thought the slow jig might be the ticket, but I didn't
get another bite down a very productive stretch of bank. We were almost to the end of the bank
when we came to a stretch of water willow that I fished on Saturday. I had one jump off out of it on
Saturday so I flung my swim jig towards the clump. Wham! Number 3 jumped all over it. Fished in
Shoal until noon and decided to head to the Bayou. I didn't know if I was making the right decision,
but we just went. I started fishing grass in front of the State Park with a swim jig but couldn't get the
fish to take it. I started to get dejected but decided to fish some channel swing banks up the Bayou
with the black/blue jig. It seemed to be a good move as I put 2 more keepers in the boat. I was
happy to get 5 - but I really had to work for them..................
Keeper Count:
Black/Blue Jig: 3 keepers
All Terrain Swim Jig (White; 1/2 oz.): 2 keepers
Final Thoughts: This one was a grind. I put 5 keeper blacks in the boat and they weighed a total
of 9.25 pounds. It's hard to catch a limit (of largemouth) on Dardanelle that weigh that little. I was
hoping for a top 20 finish, but as usual the MBOA anglers caught them. I was 18th in the points,
finished 25th in the tournament, and fell 2 places to 20th - Those guys are good!!!
Product Review: This was the first tournament that I fished with a full set of Dobyns Rods and
what can I say - they are awesome!!!! I threw the Champion Series 734 C FH with my swim jig and
man was it sweet. The rod is 7 foot 3 inches and flung that 1/2 oz. Swim Jig with ease and control.
The best thing about it was that lack of fatigue that I felt at the end of the day. For my flipping jig, I
used the Champion Extreme DX 704 C. This stick is light as a feather and as sensitive as a second
degree burn - you feel everything. If your unfamiliar with Dobyns Rods, they are the product of
years of hard work by maybe the best angler on the Western tournament scene - Gary Dobyns.
Gary has won 39 boats and knows bass fishing. He designed each rod for specific techniques and
man does it show. To learn more about Dobyns Rods, Click here to visit their website.
See ya' on the flip side.......
Frank Leone