"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Mr. Bass of Arkansas Classic
October 23rd, 24th and 25th, 2009
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone
Place: 27th - 1 bass - 3.03 pounds
Practice: I took off Wednesday and Thursday for practice. I was pumped to get on with it. Reports
from previous tournaments seemed to be indicating that the lake might be turning on. If it was, I
sure didn't know it from my first day of practice. I started in Shoal Bay and quickly found out my
areas were not firing. In fact they almost seemed devoid of bass. I had one fish jump over my
buzzbait and that was it. I was getting disgusted and decided to head up river. I went to 6-mile
Creek to try my luck. I had two bites at the entrance and landed one short fish. Worked my way all
the way to the back of the creek without another lick. I decided to head back to Shoal. I was sure
that I could find a hot stretch of bank, but nothing panned out. Caught 1 more short fish, but that
was it. Day 2 was worse, even though it was windy and raining - Perfect conditions for Lake
Dardanelle. I launched out of Dardanelle Bay and started there. I went down a pretty good looking
stretch of grass with a buzzbait and didn't even get a look. I head to the Illinois Bayou and started
fishing grass banks, rocky banks, and the strip pits. I didn't get a bite. By this time I knew that I was
in serious trouble as far as the tournament went. I headed bank to Dardanelle Bay. On my way in I
stopped to fish the bluff and caught a short fish. So that's about 18 hours and three fish landed -
UGLY.
First Day: When I got to the gas station in Russellville the wind was whipping! I was thinking how
rough of a ride it was going to be for those going upriver. Anyway, when I got to the park I seen
everyone standing around on the ramp. I knew that Ronnie was probably contemplating cancelling
day 1. By this time the wind was blowing about 30 mph straight out of the west - Lake Dardanelle
gets wicked rough in these conditions. Sure enough, Day 1 was cancelled.
Second Day: The day dawned clear and cold. I hadn't found any fish so I decided to keep
practicing. I headed towards Mill Creek, a location that usually attracts shad in the fall. I started the
Classic chucking a red Jackall MC/60 towards the bank - No takers. I threw a jig, a chatterbait, a
swim jig, and a spinnerbait in there and never got a bite. By this time I was used to not getting any
bites, so I was not surprised. I decided to head towards Shoal Bay. On the way, I decided to try a
stretch of rocks on the main river that had a little bit of grass growing along the shoreline. Not too
far down the stretch and my no-boater catches a 15-inch line breaker on a crankbait. We hit this
stretch hard but did not have another bite - Time to head to Shoal Bay. My areas in Shoal were just
almost as dead as in practice. I actually caught 4 or 5 short fish on a crankbait, but nothing that
even went on the measuring board. Late in the day I decided to stop at the Piney Narrows and fish
the I-40 bridge. I noticed a couple of fish busting shad, So I started throwing the small Viven near
the pilings. To my surprise, an 11-inch Kentucky busts my bait. I thought I might be able to catch a
couple of small keepers this way, but went on to catch only a few more shorts.
Third Day: I drew Fred Wantland for day 3. He had caught 5.5 pounds on day 1 and was very
much in the hunt for the amateur crown. I asked him where he wanted to fish, and he said
Dardanelle Bay, so off we went. Since I ended the day catching several short fish on the small
Vixen, I decided to start off the day with Tommy Lee. Not ten minutes into the day a 3 pounder
snatches my bait off of the surface and I had finally caught my first keeper after about 28 hours of
fishing. That was my tournament. Fred went on to catch two keeps for 5 pounds and narrowly
missed getting a check.......
Keeper Count:
Reaction Innovations Vixen: 1 keeper
Final Thoughts: The long and the short of this event for me was that I stunk it up. I spent way too
much time around the grass and too much time trying to shove a jig down their throats. I usually like
to fish around the main river this time of year, but I was spooked off by the 100,000 cfs. Plenty of
guys caught them upriver, so shame on me. This was a really lame way to end a decent season. As
the new Alice in Chains' song goes "Somebody check my brain".........
See ya' on the flip side,
Frank Leone
October 23rd, 24th and 25th, 2009
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone
Place: 27th - 1 bass - 3.03 pounds
Practice: I took off Wednesday and Thursday for practice. I was pumped to get on with it. Reports
from previous tournaments seemed to be indicating that the lake might be turning on. If it was, I
sure didn't know it from my first day of practice. I started in Shoal Bay and quickly found out my
areas were not firing. In fact they almost seemed devoid of bass. I had one fish jump over my
buzzbait and that was it. I was getting disgusted and decided to head up river. I went to 6-mile
Creek to try my luck. I had two bites at the entrance and landed one short fish. Worked my way all
the way to the back of the creek without another lick. I decided to head back to Shoal. I was sure
that I could find a hot stretch of bank, but nothing panned out. Caught 1 more short fish, but that
was it. Day 2 was worse, even though it was windy and raining - Perfect conditions for Lake
Dardanelle. I launched out of Dardanelle Bay and started there. I went down a pretty good looking
stretch of grass with a buzzbait and didn't even get a look. I head to the Illinois Bayou and started
fishing grass banks, rocky banks, and the strip pits. I didn't get a bite. By this time I knew that I was
in serious trouble as far as the tournament went. I headed bank to Dardanelle Bay. On my way in I
stopped to fish the bluff and caught a short fish. So that's about 18 hours and three fish landed -
UGLY.
First Day: When I got to the gas station in Russellville the wind was whipping! I was thinking how
rough of a ride it was going to be for those going upriver. Anyway, when I got to the park I seen
everyone standing around on the ramp. I knew that Ronnie was probably contemplating cancelling
day 1. By this time the wind was blowing about 30 mph straight out of the west - Lake Dardanelle
gets wicked rough in these conditions. Sure enough, Day 1 was cancelled.
Second Day: The day dawned clear and cold. I hadn't found any fish so I decided to keep
practicing. I headed towards Mill Creek, a location that usually attracts shad in the fall. I started the
Classic chucking a red Jackall MC/60 towards the bank - No takers. I threw a jig, a chatterbait, a
swim jig, and a spinnerbait in there and never got a bite. By this time I was used to not getting any
bites, so I was not surprised. I decided to head towards Shoal Bay. On the way, I decided to try a
stretch of rocks on the main river that had a little bit of grass growing along the shoreline. Not too
far down the stretch and my no-boater catches a 15-inch line breaker on a crankbait. We hit this
stretch hard but did not have another bite - Time to head to Shoal Bay. My areas in Shoal were just
almost as dead as in practice. I actually caught 4 or 5 short fish on a crankbait, but nothing that
even went on the measuring board. Late in the day I decided to stop at the Piney Narrows and fish
the I-40 bridge. I noticed a couple of fish busting shad, So I started throwing the small Viven near
the pilings. To my surprise, an 11-inch Kentucky busts my bait. I thought I might be able to catch a
couple of small keepers this way, but went on to catch only a few more shorts.
Third Day: I drew Fred Wantland for day 3. He had caught 5.5 pounds on day 1 and was very
much in the hunt for the amateur crown. I asked him where he wanted to fish, and he said
Dardanelle Bay, so off we went. Since I ended the day catching several short fish on the small
Vixen, I decided to start off the day with Tommy Lee. Not ten minutes into the day a 3 pounder
snatches my bait off of the surface and I had finally caught my first keeper after about 28 hours of
fishing. That was my tournament. Fred went on to catch two keeps for 5 pounds and narrowly
missed getting a check.......
Keeper Count:
Reaction Innovations Vixen: 1 keeper
Final Thoughts: The long and the short of this event for me was that I stunk it up. I spent way too
much time around the grass and too much time trying to shove a jig down their throats. I usually like
to fish around the main river this time of year, but I was spooked off by the 100,000 cfs. Plenty of
guys caught them upriver, so shame on me. This was a really lame way to end a decent season. As
the new Alice in Chains' song goes "Somebody check my brain".........
See ya' on the flip side,
Frank Leone