"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Monticello Bass Club Classic
October 25, 2008
Pool 2 of Arkansas River
Anglers: Jeremy Risley
Place: 7th place – 4 fish – 8.22 pounds
Practice: Since there was a lot of money on the line for this tournament, I decided to practice the
Thursday before the tournament to see if I could find any thing that would help me win. I called
Andy to see if he wanted to go with me. He hasn’t fished the actual river much, so this was an eye
opener for him. I was basically committed to the river for this tournament. So we head up river to
see if we could figure any thing out. Of course, it rained all day and was freakin cold!! We were able
to catch a few short and a couple good keepers on a rattletrap and lost a couple of good fish on a
jig in the backwaters up river. In the river, Andy busted a fish over 4 pounds and I caught a keeper
spot. By the end of the day, we had a plan for Saturday.
October 25: Derby day began with the coldest morning of the fall. Andy and I made our way up
river but we were met with fog. We were able to fish a couple of jetties while making our way up river
while it was still foggy. We had no luck on those jetties. The river had turned muddy since Thursday
and was very foamy, which was very odd!! The fog finally burned off and we were able to fish my
best jetty on the river. I told Andy from past experiences, this jetty always gauges our day. If we
caught a keeper, it is going to be a good day and if we lost one, we were in trouble. Well, Andy lost
a good spotted bass and I lost a fish just after hook-up so we knew we were in trouble. We fished a
couple more jetties with no luck. We finally made it to the backwater area where we had caught
them on Thursday. On Thursday, the water looked good and at normal level. On this day, it was
muddy and high. I told Andy that we were in trouble. We fished down a bank with a jig and didn’t
even get a bite. After about hour and half, we went to the rattletrap fish. The water in this area was
much clearer then everywhere else in the area. They were biting like crazy!!! But unfortunately, we
were almost too late. The bite started to die about 45 minutes after arrival. I probably caught over
20 bass, 10 white bass and two gar. I was able to get two keepers out of all those fish. I also lost or
missed close to 15 or 20 more. They would only bite rattletrap, which I had only one of. We were
just "wallering" the rattletrap in open water and the fish were hammering it. We then went back to
the jig bank. They finally started biting on that bank. I was able to get two more good keepers
before it was time to leave.
Keeper count:
5/16 Ounce Black and Blue Flash Jewel Eakins' Jig: 2 keepers
Yozuri Rattli'n Vibe Rattletrap: 2 Keepers
Final thoughts: Well, I was hoping to repeat as classic champion but it didn’t happen.
Unfortunately, I feel bad because Andy zeroed on this trip, which was his first of the year. If I could
change the day any, it would have been to go to the rattletrap fish earlier. I think we would have
been able to catch some better fish that morning in there but we came in there just a little too late.
Final thoughts for the year: Well, at the first of the year I said my goal for this year in the club is
to end the year in 10th place or better. Well, I placed 3rd overall, which I am very pleased with. I got
really lucky to even finish in this place because Adam didn’t fish the last tournament, which if he
had I wouldn’t have been able to catch him. Also, Philip would have fished with Adam and that pair
can catch them. So, I would have likely finished 5th but I am pleased with how it turned out. At first,
my goal was more of a hinder then a help. I was focused on the standings and not catching fish,
which really hurt me in the early tournaments. But, I can sit here and write all about all the excuses
why I didn’t do better but that wont make me a better angler in the long run. Every time I’m on the
water, I try to improve my skills as an angler to be able to compete with all this great anglers in the
area. Instead of making excuses, I need to look at the reason I wasn’t as successful and work on
this during the offseason. The two areas that really jump out at me are decision making and
execution. As for decision making, I need to work on when to stay on fish and when to go to fish. An
example is this tournament. I should have gone to the rattletrap much earlier. As for execution, I lost
WAY too many fish. Most of the time, I lost fish just a couple cranks after the hooks set. So look for
me on the water this winter, working to become a better angler. Until next year, catch a toad for me!!
See ya’ at the next tournament,
Jeremy Risley
October 25, 2008
Pool 2 of Arkansas River
Anglers: Jeremy Risley
Place: 7th place – 4 fish – 8.22 pounds
Practice: Since there was a lot of money on the line for this tournament, I decided to practice the
Thursday before the tournament to see if I could find any thing that would help me win. I called
Andy to see if he wanted to go with me. He hasn’t fished the actual river much, so this was an eye
opener for him. I was basically committed to the river for this tournament. So we head up river to
see if we could figure any thing out. Of course, it rained all day and was freakin cold!! We were able
to catch a few short and a couple good keepers on a rattletrap and lost a couple of good fish on a
jig in the backwaters up river. In the river, Andy busted a fish over 4 pounds and I caught a keeper
spot. By the end of the day, we had a plan for Saturday.
October 25: Derby day began with the coldest morning of the fall. Andy and I made our way up
river but we were met with fog. We were able to fish a couple of jetties while making our way up river
while it was still foggy. We had no luck on those jetties. The river had turned muddy since Thursday
and was very foamy, which was very odd!! The fog finally burned off and we were able to fish my
best jetty on the river. I told Andy from past experiences, this jetty always gauges our day. If we
caught a keeper, it is going to be a good day and if we lost one, we were in trouble. Well, Andy lost
a good spotted bass and I lost a fish just after hook-up so we knew we were in trouble. We fished a
couple more jetties with no luck. We finally made it to the backwater area where we had caught
them on Thursday. On Thursday, the water looked good and at normal level. On this day, it was
muddy and high. I told Andy that we were in trouble. We fished down a bank with a jig and didn’t
even get a bite. After about hour and half, we went to the rattletrap fish. The water in this area was
much clearer then everywhere else in the area. They were biting like crazy!!! But unfortunately, we
were almost too late. The bite started to die about 45 minutes after arrival. I probably caught over
20 bass, 10 white bass and two gar. I was able to get two keepers out of all those fish. I also lost or
missed close to 15 or 20 more. They would only bite rattletrap, which I had only one of. We were
just "wallering" the rattletrap in open water and the fish were hammering it. We then went back to
the jig bank. They finally started biting on that bank. I was able to get two more good keepers
before it was time to leave.
Keeper count:
5/16 Ounce Black and Blue Flash Jewel Eakins' Jig: 2 keepers
Yozuri Rattli'n Vibe Rattletrap: 2 Keepers
Final thoughts: Well, I was hoping to repeat as classic champion but it didn’t happen.
Unfortunately, I feel bad because Andy zeroed on this trip, which was his first of the year. If I could
change the day any, it would have been to go to the rattletrap fish earlier. I think we would have
been able to catch some better fish that morning in there but we came in there just a little too late.
Final thoughts for the year: Well, at the first of the year I said my goal for this year in the club is
to end the year in 10th place or better. Well, I placed 3rd overall, which I am very pleased with. I got
really lucky to even finish in this place because Adam didn’t fish the last tournament, which if he
had I wouldn’t have been able to catch him. Also, Philip would have fished with Adam and that pair
can catch them. So, I would have likely finished 5th but I am pleased with how it turned out. At first,
my goal was more of a hinder then a help. I was focused on the standings and not catching fish,
which really hurt me in the early tournaments. But, I can sit here and write all about all the excuses
why I didn’t do better but that wont make me a better angler in the long run. Every time I’m on the
water, I try to improve my skills as an angler to be able to compete with all this great anglers in the
area. Instead of making excuses, I need to look at the reason I wasn’t as successful and work on
this during the offseason. The two areas that really jump out at me are decision making and
execution. As for decision making, I need to work on when to stay on fish and when to go to fish. An
example is this tournament. I should have gone to the rattletrap much earlier. As for execution, I lost
WAY too many fish. Most of the time, I lost fish just a couple cranks after the hooks set. So look for
me on the water this winter, working to become a better angler. Until next year, catch a toad for me!!
See ya’ at the next tournament,
Jeremy Risley