"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Fisher’s of Men Arkansas South
May 15, 2010
Arkansas River- Pendleton
Anglers: Adam Starks and Philip Starks
Place: 1st Place- 5 fish- 20.40lbs
Practice:
I actually got to fish a little before this tournament. I fished a Thursday night tourney and located
some fish in the river and felt confident that getting 5 would be easy. The river had been steady
and holding at 27 with little to no current. So I thought this would be a good back up plan. What
you are about to read you have probably heard time and time again but it is very true. Stay
focused and fish in the moment. Never give up!!
May 15:
We drew out boat 4 at the meeting. I had a game plan and I was sticking to my guns. When our
number was called, Dad and I ran to Merrisach. I thought I had a spot down there where we would
could catch them on top water….one thing I forgot to mention, the River rose a foot pretty much
overnight and the current was rocking. When we pulled up, the water color looked awesome. One
problem, no activity. We fish around for a little bit and dad catches our first keeper of the day on a
chug bug, a thin squeaker. I miss one on the chug bug that probably would have kept. After a little
while of no activity, I told dad that I wanted to run upriver, hitting the 10 or so spots where I had
located fish Thursday. Stop one…nothing and the current is rocking. Stop two….nothing! The
rest of the stops were the same way with the exception of stop 7 or so where I managed to hang a
keeper spot on a crankbait but it pulled off due to the current. So with my back up plan trashed,
Dad and I run to Coal Pile. I start cranking out deep and within a few minutes hang a three pounder
that struck right at the boat and it jumps off. Then I catch a short. Then the bite just dies. We
make a quick move and run into Annex but there are boats sitting on the three spots I wanted to
fish so we made the run back to Merrisach. We pull up on a grass flat and the fish are chasing
shad. Dad catches three shorts and I miss a keeper on a chug bug. Then the sun comes out and
the bite dies. We make a move to another bank and I manage to catch a short fish on a jig and
miss a decent fish. After a few hours of fishing unproductive water I told dad let’s go to the fish I
was on in Post Lake a month ago and try them. At this point, it is 12:30 and we have one keeper in
the box…I am not in the game mentally. I have all but given up. We pull in Post and start fishing.
Nothing…..so I am starting to eye these mats that have a slight breeze blowing on them. I take a
break, pull out my rod that has my braid on it and rig it up to punch mats. I start punching mats and
for the first 10-15 min…nothing. I am just about to tell dad our chances our down the drain and that’
s when it all changed. I flipped in this mat and about get the rod ripped out of my hand. We land
the fish and she weighs close to 7 according to my dad’s estimate so I discount it 2lbs and call her 5
since he was so excited. A few min later….the rod just about gets ripped out of my hands again….I
fight the fish in and she is bigger than the one I just caught. Dad said she was 7 easy so I discount
it 1 lb because we were both excited and I call her 6. A few more min go by and I see one blow up
in a mat and pitch in there and catch it…keeper number 4 in the box. A few casts later I land
another solid keeper out of a mat and we finally shut the lid on number 5! Then a thunderstorm
rolls in and it rains for a min, then stops and the sun comes out and the wind dies. We fish this little
magic stretch a little while longer and can’t get another bite. So with about an hour left we run into
Moore’s and punch mats in there and dad catches a short fish but that was all we could manage.
We run back and hit one little spot in the river but no luck. Back to ramp amazed at what happened
in the last few hours of the day!
Keeper Count: 5 keepers
Storm Chug Bug: 1 Keeper
Strike King Rodent: 4 Keepers
Final Thoughts:
This tournament was about as mentally draining on me as any tournament I have fished this year.
Our goal at the beginning of every season is Angler of the Year. It has been such a grind this year
and the way my day was going, I though for sure our chances of moving up in standings were out
the door, but paying attention to the conditions, sitting down and refocusing changed my attitude
and my game plan. I truly fished the moment and was able to regain my focus. By the way, the big
one weighed a little over 7 and her twin sister was just a few ounces below her. Two 7’s in a
tourney! I am still sitting here in amazement as I write this. One tourney left….moved up to second
in points and the race is tight. Focus, grind and hopefully come out on top! Until next time….
Fish Hard,
Adam Starks
May 15, 2010
Arkansas River- Pendleton
Anglers: Adam Starks and Philip Starks
Place: 1st Place- 5 fish- 20.40lbs
Practice:
I actually got to fish a little before this tournament. I fished a Thursday night tourney and located
some fish in the river and felt confident that getting 5 would be easy. The river had been steady
and holding at 27 with little to no current. So I thought this would be a good back up plan. What
you are about to read you have probably heard time and time again but it is very true. Stay
focused and fish in the moment. Never give up!!
May 15:
We drew out boat 4 at the meeting. I had a game plan and I was sticking to my guns. When our
number was called, Dad and I ran to Merrisach. I thought I had a spot down there where we would
could catch them on top water….one thing I forgot to mention, the River rose a foot pretty much
overnight and the current was rocking. When we pulled up, the water color looked awesome. One
problem, no activity. We fish around for a little bit and dad catches our first keeper of the day on a
chug bug, a thin squeaker. I miss one on the chug bug that probably would have kept. After a little
while of no activity, I told dad that I wanted to run upriver, hitting the 10 or so spots where I had
located fish Thursday. Stop one…nothing and the current is rocking. Stop two….nothing! The
rest of the stops were the same way with the exception of stop 7 or so where I managed to hang a
keeper spot on a crankbait but it pulled off due to the current. So with my back up plan trashed,
Dad and I run to Coal Pile. I start cranking out deep and within a few minutes hang a three pounder
that struck right at the boat and it jumps off. Then I catch a short. Then the bite just dies. We
make a quick move and run into Annex but there are boats sitting on the three spots I wanted to
fish so we made the run back to Merrisach. We pull up on a grass flat and the fish are chasing
shad. Dad catches three shorts and I miss a keeper on a chug bug. Then the sun comes out and
the bite dies. We make a move to another bank and I manage to catch a short fish on a jig and
miss a decent fish. After a few hours of fishing unproductive water I told dad let’s go to the fish I
was on in Post Lake a month ago and try them. At this point, it is 12:30 and we have one keeper in
the box…I am not in the game mentally. I have all but given up. We pull in Post and start fishing.
Nothing…..so I am starting to eye these mats that have a slight breeze blowing on them. I take a
break, pull out my rod that has my braid on it and rig it up to punch mats. I start punching mats and
for the first 10-15 min…nothing. I am just about to tell dad our chances our down the drain and that’
s when it all changed. I flipped in this mat and about get the rod ripped out of my hand. We land
the fish and she weighs close to 7 according to my dad’s estimate so I discount it 2lbs and call her 5
since he was so excited. A few min later….the rod just about gets ripped out of my hands again….I
fight the fish in and she is bigger than the one I just caught. Dad said she was 7 easy so I discount
it 1 lb because we were both excited and I call her 6. A few more min go by and I see one blow up
in a mat and pitch in there and catch it…keeper number 4 in the box. A few casts later I land
another solid keeper out of a mat and we finally shut the lid on number 5! Then a thunderstorm
rolls in and it rains for a min, then stops and the sun comes out and the wind dies. We fish this little
magic stretch a little while longer and can’t get another bite. So with about an hour left we run into
Moore’s and punch mats in there and dad catches a short fish but that was all we could manage.
We run back and hit one little spot in the river but no luck. Back to ramp amazed at what happened
in the last few hours of the day!
Keeper Count: 5 keepers
Storm Chug Bug: 1 Keeper
Strike King Rodent: 4 Keepers
Final Thoughts:
This tournament was about as mentally draining on me as any tournament I have fished this year.
Our goal at the beginning of every season is Angler of the Year. It has been such a grind this year
and the way my day was going, I though for sure our chances of moving up in standings were out
the door, but paying attention to the conditions, sitting down and refocusing changed my attitude
and my game plan. I truly fished the moment and was able to regain my focus. By the way, the big
one weighed a little over 7 and her twin sister was just a few ounces below her. Two 7’s in a
tourney! I am still sitting here in amazement as I write this. One tourney left….moved up to second
in points and the race is tight. Focus, grind and hopefully come out on top! Until next time….
Fish Hard,
Adam Starks