"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Warren Bass Club Open
September 1, 2008
Lake Wallace
Anglers: Jeremy Risley and Andy Case
Place: 2nd place – 5 fish – 13 pounds 15 ounces - $320
Practice: Dad and I were able to practice the Sunday before the tournament to see if we could put
something together before I decided if I was going to fish this tournament. We only boated one nice
largemouth but jumped off three more nice fish in the north end of the lake on a Paca Craw. So I
called Andy Case and asked if he wanted to fish with me.
September 1: For this tournament, they allowed you to go to your starting spot before the
tournament started and then you could start fishing at 6:30. We idled all the way to the north end of
the lake and waited till 6:30. We fished a spot for about 15 minutes and it just didn’t feel right so we
went to the area were Andy and I had caught them in another tournament. Our goal was to catch
five keepers near shore and then go out in the deep trees to try and upgrade. Within 30 minutes, I
boated a couple of short fish and our first keeper on a Paca Craw. We fished a little farther down
and Andy boats a keeper on a Brush Hog. Then I boat two more keepers before a dry spell hits. All
the fish we had were in the 13 – 15 inch range and we knew we were going to have to upgrade.
Then I boated our fifth keeper which was barely 12 inches long. We named it Pinky and we ought to
get rid of Pinky!!! We then went through another dry spell. We weren’t even getting any bites. So
we started fishing some deeper trees. While surfing down a tree line, I threw my Paca Craw out by a
cypress tree. While reeling my lure in because we had already past the tree, a nice keeper nailed it.
That made me think the fish were suspended beside the trees. So we started throwing crankbaits
and spinnerbaits for a while to see if we could catch any more fish along this tree line. We didn’t get
any more takers, so we moved to an area with thick clumps of trees to see if we could get a larger
fish to bite. Within a couple minutes, I busted a 3 pounder on the Paca Craw. Not to much longer, a
really funny situation happened. Andy started to dig around for some crackers and was going to
take a break. He asked me if I would like a cracker, I jokingly said I will take one after I catch a 5
pounder next to this tree. I pitch my Paca Craw next to the tree and I got a hit. I set it hook and at
first it didn’t feel big but then it started stripping drag. I hollered for the net!!! Andy nets the 5
pounder and I look at him and said I will have that cracker, NOW!!!! Then I started thinking I should
have said I was going to catch a 10 pounder. Anyways, we started to notice they were on the points
of the tree clumps. We fished every point we could find and we managed to catch two more nice
keepers. Then right before time to leave, I caught a keeper on 10 inch worm.
Keeper count:
Black Neon Paca Craw: 8 keepers
Zoom Brush Hog: 1 Keeper
10 inch Berkley Power Worm: 1 keeper
Final thoughts: What a day!! The bites were few and far between but we were able to maximize
the bites we got. I believe the key to our success was figuring out the better fish were holding on
the points of thick tree clumps. This lake is loaded with cypress trees and we had to find those little
keys area to maximize our time and effort to be able to compete.
See ya’ at the next tournament,
Jeremy Risley
September 1, 2008
Lake Wallace
Anglers: Jeremy Risley and Andy Case
Place: 2nd place – 5 fish – 13 pounds 15 ounces - $320
Practice: Dad and I were able to practice the Sunday before the tournament to see if we could put
something together before I decided if I was going to fish this tournament. We only boated one nice
largemouth but jumped off three more nice fish in the north end of the lake on a Paca Craw. So I
called Andy Case and asked if he wanted to fish with me.
September 1: For this tournament, they allowed you to go to your starting spot before the
tournament started and then you could start fishing at 6:30. We idled all the way to the north end of
the lake and waited till 6:30. We fished a spot for about 15 minutes and it just didn’t feel right so we
went to the area were Andy and I had caught them in another tournament. Our goal was to catch
five keepers near shore and then go out in the deep trees to try and upgrade. Within 30 minutes, I
boated a couple of short fish and our first keeper on a Paca Craw. We fished a little farther down
and Andy boats a keeper on a Brush Hog. Then I boat two more keepers before a dry spell hits. All
the fish we had were in the 13 – 15 inch range and we knew we were going to have to upgrade.
Then I boated our fifth keeper which was barely 12 inches long. We named it Pinky and we ought to
get rid of Pinky!!! We then went through another dry spell. We weren’t even getting any bites. So
we started fishing some deeper trees. While surfing down a tree line, I threw my Paca Craw out by a
cypress tree. While reeling my lure in because we had already past the tree, a nice keeper nailed it.
That made me think the fish were suspended beside the trees. So we started throwing crankbaits
and spinnerbaits for a while to see if we could catch any more fish along this tree line. We didn’t get
any more takers, so we moved to an area with thick clumps of trees to see if we could get a larger
fish to bite. Within a couple minutes, I busted a 3 pounder on the Paca Craw. Not to much longer, a
really funny situation happened. Andy started to dig around for some crackers and was going to
take a break. He asked me if I would like a cracker, I jokingly said I will take one after I catch a 5
pounder next to this tree. I pitch my Paca Craw next to the tree and I got a hit. I set it hook and at
first it didn’t feel big but then it started stripping drag. I hollered for the net!!! Andy nets the 5
pounder and I look at him and said I will have that cracker, NOW!!!! Then I started thinking I should
have said I was going to catch a 10 pounder. Anyways, we started to notice they were on the points
of the tree clumps. We fished every point we could find and we managed to catch two more nice
keepers. Then right before time to leave, I caught a keeper on 10 inch worm.
Keeper count:
Black Neon Paca Craw: 8 keepers
Zoom Brush Hog: 1 Keeper
10 inch Berkley Power Worm: 1 keeper
Final thoughts: What a day!! The bites were few and far between but we were able to maximize
the bites we got. I believe the key to our success was figuring out the better fish were holding on
the points of thick tree clumps. This lake is loaded with cypress trees and we had to find those little
keys area to maximize our time and effort to be able to compete.
See ya’ at the next tournament,
Jeremy Risley