"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Tournament: Fisher’s of Men- Arkansas South
June 19, 2010
Arkansas River- Pendleton
Anglers: Adam Starks and Philip Starks
Place: 2nd Place- 5 fish- 15.59lbs
Practice & Thoughts:
I fished a Thursday Night Tourney the week before and Dad and I managed to pull out the W on
that one fishing in the River. I also fished a little Fruit Jar tourney on Sunday and got the W there
fishing in the River again. So I thought I had a pretty good plan to be able to catch 5 in the River
and then go big fish hunting. Well as usual, Mother Nature threw me a curve ball as the river was
flowing over 100,000CFS!!
We were in 2nd in the Points Champion Race and I knew we had to have a good showing here to
stay in contention. Our competition had been consistent all year long so there was no doubt the
guys around us were going to catch them with a berth to the National Championship on the line. I
guess you could say this Tournament was for all the marbles!!!
June 19:
We drew out boat 9. Not a bad draw but to make the points race even closer, only 15 boats
came out to fish the last tournament of the season. I also forgot to mention that there were two
other derbies going on so the river was a little crowded to say the least. As our boat number was
called, we dropped the trolling motor and started fishing the rock dike in front of the ramp since the
water was slightly running over it. As the rest of the boats were taking off to their spots, I promptly
catch our first keeper of the day, a solid 3lber that had my crankbait in its throat. We fish around a
little more and I manage to catch a solid keeper spotted bass on a chug bug and miss a really nice
fish on a chug bug. We pull up to a little cut in the rocks, and dad catches keeper number 3 in the
current break on a shakey head. I am feeling pretty good as it is only 6:30 and we already have 3
in the box. We make a short little run upriver and hit a sand flat that I smoked them on last
Sunday. Dad catches our 4th keeper on the shakey head, a 13 inch spot. We make another short
move upriver and fish some unproductive water for a little bit and decided to run to one other spot
and check it out before we totally gave up on the river. It was a good move. Dad caught keeper
number 5, another solid spotted bass, on a C-Rig. 8:30 and we had 5, I was relaxed and told dad it
was time to go find some big ones. We ran into coal pile and fished the north end and dad catches
keeper number 6 on his trusty ol’ paca craw. This fish culls the small spotted bass from earlier. We
keep on with the grind and fish probably four or five hundred yards with out a bite. I flip my jig up to
a tree and it takes off but when I set the hook nothing was there. Just as I get reeled in, dad sets
the hook and we land our biggest fish of the day, a 4lber. That fish culls a small 15 inch black dad
caught earlier. After a little while without any bites, we made a move to another backwater area and
started to punch mats. No sooner than I started this grind, a 5lber chases my bait out on top of the
mat as I am pulling it out. She gets stuck for a second then just wiggles right back into the water.
She never had my bait in her mouth, she was just chasing it. I was sick….we needed that one. I
continue grinding it out and catch a solid keeper that culls a spotted bass from earlier. Then I catch
two more and cull two more times. When then make a move to another little area I knew had some
mats. I start punching them and catch a 4lber and we cull up again. I catch another keeper but it
won’t cull. With about an hr left, we make a move and run back and try for the 5lber again but she
just wouldn’t bite. Satisfied knowing we had done all we could do we went to the weigh in to see
how the cards were going to fall.
Keeper Count:
H2O CRS Crankbait: 1 Keeper
Storm Chug Bug: 1 Keeper
Spot Remover w/ Finesse Worm: 2 Keepers
Net Bait Paca Craw: 1 Keeper
Carolina Rigged Finesse Worm: 2 Keeper
Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver: 5 Keepers
Final Thoughts:
We ended up end second place in the tourney and in a tie for the point’s race. The tie breaker was
total weight for the year and Dad and I just managed to catch 4 more lbs than the other team and
we got the honor of being point’s champions 3 years in a row. My hat goes off to Foster Mitchell
and Jason Burt. Those guys are unbelievable fisherman and made the competition fun. This was
probably one of the most challenging season’s I have had in Fisher’s of Men. It made me a better
fisherman though and I really learned a new part of the mental game in fishing. Glad to get a
chance to go back to Guntersville for a little redemption on that place!! Until next time….
Fish Hard,
Adam Starks
June 19, 2010
Arkansas River- Pendleton
Anglers: Adam Starks and Philip Starks
Place: 2nd Place- 5 fish- 15.59lbs
Practice & Thoughts:
I fished a Thursday Night Tourney the week before and Dad and I managed to pull out the W on
that one fishing in the River. I also fished a little Fruit Jar tourney on Sunday and got the W there
fishing in the River again. So I thought I had a pretty good plan to be able to catch 5 in the River
and then go big fish hunting. Well as usual, Mother Nature threw me a curve ball as the river was
flowing over 100,000CFS!!
We were in 2nd in the Points Champion Race and I knew we had to have a good showing here to
stay in contention. Our competition had been consistent all year long so there was no doubt the
guys around us were going to catch them with a berth to the National Championship on the line. I
guess you could say this Tournament was for all the marbles!!!
June 19:
We drew out boat 9. Not a bad draw but to make the points race even closer, only 15 boats
came out to fish the last tournament of the season. I also forgot to mention that there were two
other derbies going on so the river was a little crowded to say the least. As our boat number was
called, we dropped the trolling motor and started fishing the rock dike in front of the ramp since the
water was slightly running over it. As the rest of the boats were taking off to their spots, I promptly
catch our first keeper of the day, a solid 3lber that had my crankbait in its throat. We fish around a
little more and I manage to catch a solid keeper spotted bass on a chug bug and miss a really nice
fish on a chug bug. We pull up to a little cut in the rocks, and dad catches keeper number 3 in the
current break on a shakey head. I am feeling pretty good as it is only 6:30 and we already have 3
in the box. We make a short little run upriver and hit a sand flat that I smoked them on last
Sunday. Dad catches our 4th keeper on the shakey head, a 13 inch spot. We make another short
move upriver and fish some unproductive water for a little bit and decided to run to one other spot
and check it out before we totally gave up on the river. It was a good move. Dad caught keeper
number 5, another solid spotted bass, on a C-Rig. 8:30 and we had 5, I was relaxed and told dad it
was time to go find some big ones. We ran into coal pile and fished the north end and dad catches
keeper number 6 on his trusty ol’ paca craw. This fish culls the small spotted bass from earlier. We
keep on with the grind and fish probably four or five hundred yards with out a bite. I flip my jig up to
a tree and it takes off but when I set the hook nothing was there. Just as I get reeled in, dad sets
the hook and we land our biggest fish of the day, a 4lber. That fish culls a small 15 inch black dad
caught earlier. After a little while without any bites, we made a move to another backwater area and
started to punch mats. No sooner than I started this grind, a 5lber chases my bait out on top of the
mat as I am pulling it out. She gets stuck for a second then just wiggles right back into the water.
She never had my bait in her mouth, she was just chasing it. I was sick….we needed that one. I
continue grinding it out and catch a solid keeper that culls a spotted bass from earlier. Then I catch
two more and cull two more times. When then make a move to another little area I knew had some
mats. I start punching them and catch a 4lber and we cull up again. I catch another keeper but it
won’t cull. With about an hr left, we make a move and run back and try for the 5lber again but she
just wouldn’t bite. Satisfied knowing we had done all we could do we went to the weigh in to see
how the cards were going to fall.
Keeper Count:
H2O CRS Crankbait: 1 Keeper
Storm Chug Bug: 1 Keeper
Spot Remover w/ Finesse Worm: 2 Keepers
Net Bait Paca Craw: 1 Keeper
Carolina Rigged Finesse Worm: 2 Keeper
Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver: 5 Keepers
Final Thoughts:
We ended up end second place in the tourney and in a tie for the point’s race. The tie breaker was
total weight for the year and Dad and I just managed to catch 4 more lbs than the other team and
we got the honor of being point’s champions 3 years in a row. My hat goes off to Foster Mitchell
and Jason Burt. Those guys are unbelievable fisherman and made the competition fun. This was
probably one of the most challenging season’s I have had in Fisher’s of Men. It made me a better
fisherman though and I really learned a new part of the mental game in fishing. Glad to get a
chance to go back to Guntersville for a little redemption on that place!! Until next time….
Fish Hard,
Adam Starks