"In the Boat" presented by Jewel Bait Company |
Wal-Mart BFL - Lake Dardanelle - June 21st, 2008
Angler: Terrance Narveson (Co-Angler Division)
I drew Ralph Hirby for the Lake Dardanelle Tournament and as luck would have it we got boat #1.
What a change. We were both confused on what to do as most of the time we were bringing the
back up the back of the pack. This was an unexpected change and we decided to make the most of
it. Tournament day was foggy in the morning but it was patchy and moving in and out. I told Ralph
about a bank down from the park that was holding some good fish and having a early draw we
could benefit from it and possibly catch some early bites while others were still running to their first
stop. He agreed and off we went. Not even ten minutes into the day I had my first keeper and
second fish for the day. I could still hear boats still running trying to make their way in the fog. Two
casts later #2 was in the boat. We had found the fish and no body was around. Ralph catches his
first keeper ten minutes after that and he said wow we might fill this boat quick. Then we got on the
small bites. We were still catching fish but they all got small and with an occasional swirl on our
buzzbaits our fish had become lean. As we progressed down the bank the bites seemed to shutoff.
Not bad 7:30 we each had fish in the well and the rest of the day to get a few more bites. The sun
was up now and we moved to some new grass by Tyson cove. Nothing down some of the best
grass in the lake and we were baffled. Time for some cranking. Ralph pulled out his Bandit 200
black/red and started casting in the open water. He caught a short fish so we tried casting around a
point with a little brush. I caught one that felt good but it too was short. This gave me an idea and I
asked about trying a ledge that has brush and usually holds fish. We moved to Dardanelle Bay to
give it a try. Nothing on the ledge so we decided to go and punch some mats. The fishing got tough
so we figured some mats would be a good start to locating at least a few fish. 10:30 I catch my third
fish in the mats, a good 3lb fish. I caught him on a beaver with a 1oz tungsten weight. Ralph missed
one just after that just seemed to take his tail and not the bait. I flipped to the next mat and bam had
a good fish on but could not get him out to the thick grass. After hammering the mats I said I knew
where there were some more and possibly could catch at least a fish or two. We made it over to the
new grass and had no luck as it seemed this grass was a lot thicker and would not give up a bite.
Back to our starting location with two hours to go. We knew there were fish there and possibly we
could pick off another to add to our current small sack. Nothing again. It has been quite a while
since our last bite and time was running out. We both had emptied our tackle boxes with everything
from the always reliable Eakins Jigs to the old standard Bandit crankbaits. We could not get a bite.
Time had caught up to us and the day was at an end. Not the way we wanted to have it finish but I
did manage to get 20th place with my 6lb sack. It was a struggle all day once the bite slowed and
we could not connect on any more fish. I had a great time with Ralph and look forward to seeing him
again on the water.
Catch you at the next one.
Terrance
Angler: Terrance Narveson (Co-Angler Division)
I drew Ralph Hirby for the Lake Dardanelle Tournament and as luck would have it we got boat #1.
What a change. We were both confused on what to do as most of the time we were bringing the
back up the back of the pack. This was an unexpected change and we decided to make the most of
it. Tournament day was foggy in the morning but it was patchy and moving in and out. I told Ralph
about a bank down from the park that was holding some good fish and having a early draw we
could benefit from it and possibly catch some early bites while others were still running to their first
stop. He agreed and off we went. Not even ten minutes into the day I had my first keeper and
second fish for the day. I could still hear boats still running trying to make their way in the fog. Two
casts later #2 was in the boat. We had found the fish and no body was around. Ralph catches his
first keeper ten minutes after that and he said wow we might fill this boat quick. Then we got on the
small bites. We were still catching fish but they all got small and with an occasional swirl on our
buzzbaits our fish had become lean. As we progressed down the bank the bites seemed to shutoff.
Not bad 7:30 we each had fish in the well and the rest of the day to get a few more bites. The sun
was up now and we moved to some new grass by Tyson cove. Nothing down some of the best
grass in the lake and we were baffled. Time for some cranking. Ralph pulled out his Bandit 200
black/red and started casting in the open water. He caught a short fish so we tried casting around a
point with a little brush. I caught one that felt good but it too was short. This gave me an idea and I
asked about trying a ledge that has brush and usually holds fish. We moved to Dardanelle Bay to
give it a try. Nothing on the ledge so we decided to go and punch some mats. The fishing got tough
so we figured some mats would be a good start to locating at least a few fish. 10:30 I catch my third
fish in the mats, a good 3lb fish. I caught him on a beaver with a 1oz tungsten weight. Ralph missed
one just after that just seemed to take his tail and not the bait. I flipped to the next mat and bam had
a good fish on but could not get him out to the thick grass. After hammering the mats I said I knew
where there were some more and possibly could catch at least a fish or two. We made it over to the
new grass and had no luck as it seemed this grass was a lot thicker and would not give up a bite.
Back to our starting location with two hours to go. We knew there were fish there and possibly we
could pick off another to add to our current small sack. Nothing again. It has been quite a while
since our last bite and time was running out. We both had emptied our tackle boxes with everything
from the always reliable Eakins Jigs to the old standard Bandit crankbaits. We could not get a bite.
Time had caught up to us and the day was at an end. Not the way we wanted to have it finish but I
did manage to get 20th place with my 6lb sack. It was a struggle all day once the bite slowed and
we could not connect on any more fish. I had a great time with Ralph and look forward to seeing him
again on the water.
Catch you at the next one.
Terrance