"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Vince Miller's Arkansas Couples
August 2nd, 2009
Lake Dardanelle
Anglers: Frank Leone
11th place - 1 bass - 2.77 pounds
Practice: I waited out the storms on Saturday morning, so practice was brief. Checked out a couple
of things and knew it was going to be a tough tournament. Caught a keeper and short out on the
main river, so I felt like the main river bite may be the ticket. I was hoping for a mixed bag of
largemouth and spotted bass and estimated it would take 8-pounds to get a check......
Tournament: Although I had decided that most of my day would be spent fishing the main river, I
started out swimming a jig around some grass in the Bayou. Within 10 minutes, I had boated a solid
keeper and thought that this might be my day. I was dead wrong. It turned out to be the longest 9
hours I have spent on the water. The rest of the day was spent throwing a frog around main river
pondweed, Tommy Lee around bridge pilings, a Jewel Eakins' Jig around main river rock, a Strike
King Series 5 Crankbait around offshore brush, and a 10" Power Worm around brush. I did not get
a single keeper bite the rest of the day. Caught 10 shorts but no keepers.
Keeper Count:
All Terrain Swim Jig (1/2 oz. ; White): 1 keeper
Final Thoughts: A day that I would like to forget. Nothing I did worked. I really felt that although I
tried several different things, that I gave each technique/pattern enough time to work. It was just
brutal tough. Most of my decisions have been good this year, but I definitely failed on this day. I just
couldn't make it happen. I hate to see the Arkansas River system this way, but that is what 3 years
of high water will due to a "run of the river" reservoir. My next two weekends will be spent fishing
Mr. Bass and Super Team tournaments on the Arkansas River out of Little Rock....Oh Joy........
See Ya' on the Flip Side,
Frank Leone
August 2nd, 2009
Lake Dardanelle
Anglers: Frank Leone
11th place - 1 bass - 2.77 pounds
Practice: I waited out the storms on Saturday morning, so practice was brief. Checked out a couple
of things and knew it was going to be a tough tournament. Caught a keeper and short out on the
main river, so I felt like the main river bite may be the ticket. I was hoping for a mixed bag of
largemouth and spotted bass and estimated it would take 8-pounds to get a check......
Tournament: Although I had decided that most of my day would be spent fishing the main river, I
started out swimming a jig around some grass in the Bayou. Within 10 minutes, I had boated a solid
keeper and thought that this might be my day. I was dead wrong. It turned out to be the longest 9
hours I have spent on the water. The rest of the day was spent throwing a frog around main river
pondweed, Tommy Lee around bridge pilings, a Jewel Eakins' Jig around main river rock, a Strike
King Series 5 Crankbait around offshore brush, and a 10" Power Worm around brush. I did not get
a single keeper bite the rest of the day. Caught 10 shorts but no keepers.
Keeper Count:
All Terrain Swim Jig (1/2 oz. ; White): 1 keeper
Final Thoughts: A day that I would like to forget. Nothing I did worked. I really felt that although I
tried several different things, that I gave each technique/pattern enough time to work. It was just
brutal tough. Most of my decisions have been good this year, but I definitely failed on this day. I just
couldn't make it happen. I hate to see the Arkansas River system this way, but that is what 3 years
of high water will due to a "run of the river" reservoir. My next two weekends will be spent fishing
Mr. Bass and Super Team tournaments on the Arkansas River out of Little Rock....Oh Joy........
See Ya' on the Flip Side,
Frank Leone