"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Vince Miller's Arkansas Couples
June 1st, 2008
Anglers: Frank and Erin Leone
14th place - 5 bass - 10.37 pounds
Practice: May 31st: I had to borrow Vince's (Vince Miller) boat to fish this tournament and got to
test it out on Saturday. It's a 1990 BassCat Pantera that looks brand new!!! Anyway, my game plan
was to go out and see if the main river was fishable, and if so see if quality fish were there and
chompin'. I spent a couple of hours out there and caught two channel catfish and a drum. Right
then I knew I would be swimming a jig all day during the tournament........
Tournament: Erin woke up not feeling well, so I had to go this one alone. Clouds were rolling in as
we launched at 6:00 AM. I knew I had good conditions for a "swimming" bite and was ready to go. I
made a short run into the Illinois Bayou and started swimming a white jig around water willow grass.
It took about 15 minutes for one to jump on my jig. The first keeper was in the boat!!! I kept getting
sporadic bites and at 8:00 AM I had 4 keepers. I had also lost 2 that I thought were keepers, so my
execution was far from perfect. Anyway, after 8:00 the sun came out and the breeze died. So did
the swimming jig bite. I kind of got hard headed and kept throwing it all day.. I probably should have
started pitching soft plastics into the grass, but I just knew that I could get that 5th keeper to react
to my jig on any given cast. It was around 1:00 PM and I was still throwing the swim jig when a
wicked thunderstorm rolled in. Lots of lightning and rain to start with. I took cover in a vacant boat
dock with several of the other couples. Then the wind and waves came. The wind was howling
about 50 to 60 mph and blowing waves into the dock. I had the slip on the end and couldn't hold my
position. I blew out of the dock and started taking waves over Vince's BassCat. At that point, I knew
I had to do something different. The other couples probably thought I was nuts, but I headed across
the lake on a line for Mill Creek. I figured If I got there, that I would be out of the wind. So off I went
threw the three foot rollers. Good thing I have some experience out on Lake Erie!!! Anyway, I made
it to the train bridge at Mill Creek and hung on to a rope. Much cozier!!!! As I sat there alone, I
contemplated the meaning of life and why I couldn't get that 5th keeper in the boat. The lightning
finally stopped at about 2:15 and I started throwing my jig along the railroad grass and riprap.
Bang!!! Keeper number 5!!!! About 5 casts later and bang!!! Keeper number 6!!! It culled one of
my smaller fish. About 2:35 I decided to call it a day and head to the dock a little early.........
Keeper Count: All Terrain Swim Jig (1/2 oz. White): 6 keepers
Final Thoughts: Not a horrible day given the lack of practice time - But not a good day either. I got
my butt kicked again in another Couples Tournament. Time to regroup and look forward to the
Super Team Tournament on Pine Bluff Pool.........
See ya' on the flip side....
Frank Leone
June 1st, 2008
Anglers: Frank and Erin Leone
14th place - 5 bass - 10.37 pounds
Practice: May 31st: I had to borrow Vince's (Vince Miller) boat to fish this tournament and got to
test it out on Saturday. It's a 1990 BassCat Pantera that looks brand new!!! Anyway, my game plan
was to go out and see if the main river was fishable, and if so see if quality fish were there and
chompin'. I spent a couple of hours out there and caught two channel catfish and a drum. Right
then I knew I would be swimming a jig all day during the tournament........
Tournament: Erin woke up not feeling well, so I had to go this one alone. Clouds were rolling in as
we launched at 6:00 AM. I knew I had good conditions for a "swimming" bite and was ready to go. I
made a short run into the Illinois Bayou and started swimming a white jig around water willow grass.
It took about 15 minutes for one to jump on my jig. The first keeper was in the boat!!! I kept getting
sporadic bites and at 8:00 AM I had 4 keepers. I had also lost 2 that I thought were keepers, so my
execution was far from perfect. Anyway, after 8:00 the sun came out and the breeze died. So did
the swimming jig bite. I kind of got hard headed and kept throwing it all day.. I probably should have
started pitching soft plastics into the grass, but I just knew that I could get that 5th keeper to react
to my jig on any given cast. It was around 1:00 PM and I was still throwing the swim jig when a
wicked thunderstorm rolled in. Lots of lightning and rain to start with. I took cover in a vacant boat
dock with several of the other couples. Then the wind and waves came. The wind was howling
about 50 to 60 mph and blowing waves into the dock. I had the slip on the end and couldn't hold my
position. I blew out of the dock and started taking waves over Vince's BassCat. At that point, I knew
I had to do something different. The other couples probably thought I was nuts, but I headed across
the lake on a line for Mill Creek. I figured If I got there, that I would be out of the wind. So off I went
threw the three foot rollers. Good thing I have some experience out on Lake Erie!!! Anyway, I made
it to the train bridge at Mill Creek and hung on to a rope. Much cozier!!!! As I sat there alone, I
contemplated the meaning of life and why I couldn't get that 5th keeper in the boat. The lightning
finally stopped at about 2:15 and I started throwing my jig along the railroad grass and riprap.
Bang!!! Keeper number 5!!!! About 5 casts later and bang!!! Keeper number 6!!! It culled one of
my smaller fish. About 2:35 I decided to call it a day and head to the dock a little early.........
Keeper Count: All Terrain Swim Jig (1/2 oz. White): 6 keepers
Final Thoughts: Not a horrible day given the lack of practice time - But not a good day either. I got
my butt kicked again in another Couples Tournament. Time to regroup and look forward to the
Super Team Tournament on Pine Bluff Pool.........
See ya' on the flip side....
Frank Leone