"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Monticello Bass Club
May 1, 2010
Arkansas River- Pendleton
Angler: Adam Starks
Place: 1st Place- 5 fish- 14lbs 7oz
Practice:
None….told Dad I hope he was ready for Junk Fishing 101
May 1:
I had high hopes for today. Between building a house, baseball, and work, fishing has taken
somewhat of a backburner this year. I haven’t spent the time on the water that I normally do
because of the above mentioned things but hey let’s go fishing. Dad fished out of the back of the
boat with me on this one. I started in a very small cut off the river. As I am fishing down this lily pad
flat adjacent to deeper water I notice fry flickering on the edge of the pads. I pick up my chug bug
and toss it down the edge and start retrieving it back. Bloop-bloop….pause…..then my bait just
gets sucked under the water quietly. I set the hook and reel the fish in with hardly any fight. In the
boat keeper number one…..a 5lbs 14oz toad!!! Post spawn and weak is my guess. I am working
along and catch another fish; put it on the board….15 inches….then I do the Jim Bitter release. Ok
I guess I didn’t need that keeper. I catch a few more shorts then make a run to Post Lake. Once in
Post I catch one more keeper and several shorts on the chug bug….then the torrential rains set in.
Dad and I make a move up river and hit Coal Pile. I catch two shorts and a keeper on a jig. I wasn’t
feeling it in Coal Pile so we ran and hit a rock dike up river adequately named Drop Shot Point by
one of my friends due to the whacking we put on them there on drop shots one time. I catch two
shorts. Then I make a move to another little spot I know in the river that usually holds fish. I throw
my jig up on the rocks and drag it off. After I get the backlash picked out of my reel, I reel the line
up and hey there is a fish on there. In the boat, keeper number 4!! As I work my way down I catch
keeper number 5, a chunky spotted bass. We make a short run to Annex…nothing in there. It is
about 11 and the weather is getting bad so we decided to go fish around the ramp and stay under
the bridge. After the storm passes we run down and hit the area I caught the big one first
thing…nothing. Then we run to Merrisach. I find a concentration of fish and we start to smash
them on top water. I cull three times and dad finally gets in the action and catches a keeper. Just
about the time it was getting good, we had to run back to the weigh in.
Keeper Count:
Storm Chug Bug- 6 keepers
3/8 oz Jewel Eakins' Finesse Flipping Jig (Black/Blue)- 3 Keepers
Final Thoughts:
What a day on the water. It felt good to finally take home a win this year. It has been such a
struggle. I have been pretty consistent in catching 5 here lately but not consistent in catching the
right 5. I love fishing top water and it’s a blast when they are eating it. Hope I can keep the
momentum going. Until next time…..
Fish Hard,
Adam Starks
May 1, 2010
Arkansas River- Pendleton
Angler: Adam Starks
Place: 1st Place- 5 fish- 14lbs 7oz
Practice:
None….told Dad I hope he was ready for Junk Fishing 101
May 1:
I had high hopes for today. Between building a house, baseball, and work, fishing has taken
somewhat of a backburner this year. I haven’t spent the time on the water that I normally do
because of the above mentioned things but hey let’s go fishing. Dad fished out of the back of the
boat with me on this one. I started in a very small cut off the river. As I am fishing down this lily pad
flat adjacent to deeper water I notice fry flickering on the edge of the pads. I pick up my chug bug
and toss it down the edge and start retrieving it back. Bloop-bloop….pause…..then my bait just
gets sucked under the water quietly. I set the hook and reel the fish in with hardly any fight. In the
boat keeper number one…..a 5lbs 14oz toad!!! Post spawn and weak is my guess. I am working
along and catch another fish; put it on the board….15 inches….then I do the Jim Bitter release. Ok
I guess I didn’t need that keeper. I catch a few more shorts then make a run to Post Lake. Once in
Post I catch one more keeper and several shorts on the chug bug….then the torrential rains set in.
Dad and I make a move up river and hit Coal Pile. I catch two shorts and a keeper on a jig. I wasn’t
feeling it in Coal Pile so we ran and hit a rock dike up river adequately named Drop Shot Point by
one of my friends due to the whacking we put on them there on drop shots one time. I catch two
shorts. Then I make a move to another little spot I know in the river that usually holds fish. I throw
my jig up on the rocks and drag it off. After I get the backlash picked out of my reel, I reel the line
up and hey there is a fish on there. In the boat, keeper number 4!! As I work my way down I catch
keeper number 5, a chunky spotted bass. We make a short run to Annex…nothing in there. It is
about 11 and the weather is getting bad so we decided to go fish around the ramp and stay under
the bridge. After the storm passes we run down and hit the area I caught the big one first
thing…nothing. Then we run to Merrisach. I find a concentration of fish and we start to smash
them on top water. I cull three times and dad finally gets in the action and catches a keeper. Just
about the time it was getting good, we had to run back to the weigh in.
Keeper Count:
Storm Chug Bug- 6 keepers
3/8 oz Jewel Eakins' Finesse Flipping Jig (Black/Blue)- 3 Keepers
Final Thoughts:
What a day on the water. It felt good to finally take home a win this year. It has been such a
struggle. I have been pretty consistent in catching 5 here lately but not consistent in catching the
right 5. I love fishing top water and it’s a blast when they are eating it. Hope I can keep the
momentum going. Until next time…..
Fish Hard,
Adam Starks