In the Boat
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
April 14th, 2024
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 20th place - 5 bass - 9.45 pounds
Practice: No practice for this one.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed to an area mid-lake that has been very good to me this time of year. Got off to a slow start and only caught one small keeper in the first hour. I made a short move to a different bank and got on roll. Caught three keepers and several shorts really quickly. I thought it was going to be on, but that's when things got slow. Finally at about 10:00 AM, I put keeper #5 in the boat. A small limit, but a limit nonetheless. Having fished everything I wanted to in this location, I headed back down the lake. Still thought I had a chance at a good day, but was only able to cull once more the rest of the day.
Keeper count:
Big Bite Baits Cane Stick: 8 Keepers
Final Thoughts: Zigged when I should have zagged... Stink, Stank, Stunk.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
March 24th, 2024
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 17th place - 4 bass - 11.40 pounds
Practice: No practice for this one.
Tournament: I got to my starting spot and there was a boat already there... Not the way I wanted to start the day. Fished around a while and could tell the fish were in a funky mood. Finally got on the board with a wacky-rigged trick stick around 8:15 AM. It was good to get on the board! Anyway, I left for area number two around 9:00 AM. Got there and within 15-minutes I put a good 3-pounder in the boat. For the next 3 hours, I caught one keeper here, one there with no definite pattern to enlighten me. About 12:30 my day took a turn for the commode when my starting battery died. I had to shift to a trolling motor battery and headed towards the ramp. Once I was close, I shifted batteries again and fished the rest of the afternoon without a keeper... Damn the luck
Keeper count:
Vibrating Jig: 1 keeper
Big Bite Baits Trick Stick: 1 keeper
Leone's Toad Jig: 2 keepers
Final Thoughts: Tough way to start the season. The fish were funky and a dead battery sunk the ship...
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series Championship
July 9th, 2023
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 8th place - 5 bass - 11.90 pounds
Practice: Hit the lake on the 4th of July and caught a small limit. Fun practice day though, as they were all on topwater. Took a day of annual on friday and tried some different areas. Only caught two keepers, I was looking forward to the rain forecast for Sunday...
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed to a stretch of grass that generally produces a keeper or two. Got there and the frog bite was on. Had 4 ion the boat by 6:15 AM and the day was rolling. I fished around the Bayou for a while and finally added number 5 around 7:30 AM. About 9:00 AM the storm rolled in and I quickly added a couple of quality keepers. I knew I needed a couple more decent fish, but didn't catch a keeper after 10:30 AM. My tournament and season's goose was cooked...
Keeper count:
Spro Poppin' Frog: 7 keepers - Denali Attax - 7' MH; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Black Buzzbait: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 6'10 MH; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Final Thoughts: Nice rainy summer day on the water! Tough season. I'll be back...
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
June 11th, 2023
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 11th place - 5 bass - 9.76 pounds
Practice: Took a day of annual on Friday. Decided to go upriver. I was hoping there might be a bite up there, but was only able to catch a small limit. I knew Sunday might be a tough day.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed to a stretch of grass that I wanted to start on. There was not 1, not 2, but 3 boats on it... Needless to say I headed to another stretch. Got there and on the second cast lose a keeper. It was at that exact moment that I knew this wasn't going to be my day. Anyway, I was able to boat a small keeper on a frog. At least I was on the board. Anyway, after a while I decided to head upriver a bit. I get to a grass bed and one gets all over my frog. Got her half way to the boat and she jumps off. Damn the luck!!! Shook that off and got on some rock. was able to add 4 keeper Kentuckies in an hour and decided to switch gears. From then on nothing worked until about 1:45 PM. At that time, I had one of the most beautiful frog strikes you'd ever want to see. Got the 4-pounder in the boat. Kind of saved the day.
Keeper count:
White Swim Jig: 1 keepers - Denali Kovert - 7'2 H; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Spro Poppin' Frog: 2 keepers - Denali Attax - 7' MH; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Leone's Swimhead Jig by Rope: 4 keepers - Denali Lithium - 7' MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Dardy's kind of on the tough side right now. No flow and clear water is making it tough on me. Lack of execution hurts as well.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
May 21st, 2023
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 8th place - 5 bass - 14.17 pounds
Practice: With a front approaching, I hit the lake on Friday. I knew damn well they were going to bite. Stayed off my best stuff, but still caught 40+ fish and 20+ keepers. Best 5 between 15 and 16 pounds... I was pumped, but knew Sunday would be a different day...
Tournament: Got the ball rolling pretty quickly and boated four small keepers in the first hour. Although, they were biting, I could tell they were no where near as aggressive as they have been. Anyway, what happened next kind of took the wind out of the sails for a bit. I noticed my knot looked a little funky on my swim Jig. Double checked it and decided it was fine. It wasn't fine. Got to an isolated water willow bed and set the hook on a good one...That's when my knot gave out. Yep line broke. Literally caught well over 100 bass on a swim jig this year without an issue. Got to be tourney day...Anyway, went into a slump. Finally about 9:00 AM, the tide turned a bit when a 3.75 annihilated my frog. Got her in the boat and things were looking up.... for about 5-minutes. That's when another decent fish annihilated my frog again. This time got two cranks on her and she made like Houdini and threw my frog. Damn the luck! Anyway went into another slump. Finally broke it around noon with a decent cull. Anyway, made a move and was disappointed with the results. I was just about to leave the area and one nails my frog. Another cull. Moved to an area across the way and the crankbait bite was on!!! Made three culls and was feeling it. Time for one more move. I hit a little current break and bam one nails it. Felt like a toad but turned out to be a 2.5 pounder, still another cull though. Went to ramp knowing I was one good fish short of the money...
Keeper count:
White Swim Jig: 6 keepers - Denali Kovert - 7'2 H; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Spro Fat Papa 55 SB: 3 keepers - Denali Lithium - 7' M CB; 14 pound Sunline Crank FC
Hollow Body Frog: 2 keepers - Denali Lithium - 7'4 Heavy Frog Rod; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Spor Fat John SB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7 MH CB; 16 pound Sunline Crank FC
Vibrating Jig with Big Bite Kamikaze Swimon: 1 keeper - Denali N3 - 7' MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Fun day on the water, but needed better execution.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
April 16th, 2023
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 8th place - 5 bass - 12.45 pounds
Practice: Hit the lake on Friday with high hopes. I was planning for the big cold front and northwest wind that was going to come along with it. First half the day was brutal, but I found a couple of different deals in the afternoon... Hit the lake on Satuday on a mission to put my 6-year old son, Fox, on some crappie. He ended up catching six crappie and was thrilled. He wanted to fish for bass as well, so I got to make a few casts in my old stomping grounds. Not far down the first bank and I felt that thump and put a 4-pounder in the boat. Felt like old times but I knew I wasn't going to brave the 20 mph winds to get there on Sunday... Getting old!
Tournament: The morning started off painfully slow, but I finally got the ball rolling and put a limit in the boat by 9:45 AM. Felt good to have 5 in the boat, but two of those were 14-inchers and one was a 12-inch Kentucky, so I had a lot of work to do... Anyway, I ended up losing my next bite, a good 2.5 pounder. I got pretty dejected and went into a slump. Finally about 11:30 I decided to abandon ship and get on the secondary stuff I found in practice. Got there and it was on! Quickly culled out the three dinks and things were looking up. Unfortunately, winds were now damn near a gail and switched a little and blew out my bank. Went to another secondary area and didn't catch a keeper the rest of the day...
Keeper count:
White Swim Jig: 6 keepers - Denali Kovert - 7'2 H; 50 pound Sunline FX Braid
Big Bite Baits Cane Stick: 4 keepers - Denali Lithium - 7' MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Leone's Toad Jig: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Not the finish I was hoping for but it was a great spring weekend on the water!!!
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
March 26th, 2023
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 15th place - 3 bass - 5.66 pounds
Practice: With the flood and mud I just wanted to check out water clarity in a few areas. Caught 4 decent keepers and eliminated some water. Felt comfortable with catching 5 even though fishable water seemed limited.
Tournament: Got to my starting spot and was pleased to see no one on the bank I planned to start on. Got 3/4 pf the way down it and got bit. Ending up losing the fish... That's when I knew it wasn't going to be my day... Anyway my timing was way off all day and I was only able to boat 3 keepers...
Keeper count:
Vibrating Jig: 1 keeper - Denali Kovert - 7'2 MH; 16 pound Sunline Dostrike FC
Big Bite Baits BFE: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium Pro - 7' MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Spro Fat Papa SB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium Pro - 7' M; 12 pound Sunline Crank FC
Final Thoughts: Started the season with a bomb. I would later find out that one of the areas I eliminated during practice fired...Damn the luck.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series Championship
September 11th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 4th place - 3 bass - 6.45 pounds ($200 - 3rd place AOY
Practice: Practice was a dud. Caught one 11-inch Kentucky. I was dreading this derby...
Tournament: Started near the ramp with the frog. Seemed like a perfect morning for it, but the fish weren't interested. I fished it for an hour before deciding to venture out to the river. The cold front was passing through with a strong west wind... Not good for me. My primary area was pretty blown out. Got to the end of a long stretch and the water was a bit clearer. Tossed my squarebill up to the bank and that's when it happened... Hooked up with a good 3.75 pounder and got here in the boat. Felt awesome to get on the board. Fished another 10 minutes and added a 2-pounder on the jig. It was only 8:45 AM and things were looking up! Unfortunately. that's where the momentum ended. I was only able to add one more small Kentucky the rest of the day.
Keeper count:
Spro Fat Papa SB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium Pro 7"0 M; 14 pound Sunline Crank FC
Spro Fat Papa 55 MD: 1 keeper - Denali Attax 7'2 M; 12 pound Sunline Crank FC
Leone's Toad Jig: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium 7"4 MH; 16 pounds Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Glad this season is over. Dardanelle is brutal tough. Hoping for a better bite next year...
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series
August 7th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 9th place - 3 bass - 3.78 pounds
Practice: Took a day of annual leave on Friday and hit the lake. Hit some areas that I hadn't fished this year and only landed 1 bass all morning. I could tell this was going to be a tough event...
Tournament: Started off fishing a frog close to the ramp. Put a 14-incher in the boat within the first 15-minutes. I was relieved to put one in the well so quick. Made a move to some grass in the bayou closer to the main river. Lost a good keeper pretty quick. That's when I knew it wasn't going to be my day... Anyway was able to add a twelve-inch Kentucky before heading all the way upriver. Got up there and it was brutal. Added 1 keeper noon and I decided to head back and fish a main river bank down the lake where I caught them pretty good a couple of weeks ago. Didn't quite get there when my motor alarm started going off. Oh no! She kept running until I got just past Goose Island. Lost power. Not good. I lost power a few more times but made it in to the ramp.,,
Keeper count:
Spro Fat Papa SB: 1 keepers - Denali Kovert Inshore 7"0 M; 14 pound Sunline Crank FC
Spro Popping Frog: 1 keeper - Denali Attax 7'0 MH; 50 pounds Sunline FX Braid
Vixen Topwater: 1 keeper - Denali Kovert 6'9 MH; 50 pound Sunline X-Plasma Braid
Final Thoughts: My season has taken a turn for the worse. One more event to try to right the ship.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series Championship
July 10th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 6th place - 5 bass - 8.69 pounds (3rd Place AOY prize - $150.00)
Practice: Took a day of annual leave on Friday and hit the lake. I stayed on the lower end and managed only three keepers. Knew this was going to be another tough one.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed upriver to try to get around some current. To my surprise, there was zero flow. I knew some was coming, because the Corps App said Trimble was flowing 22,000, so I guess I would have to wait it out. On the second cast of the day I caught a 12-incher? A sign of good things to come? Probably not so much...Anyway, I got to my second stop and caught another short. Then a double of shorts (one Largemouth and one Spotted Bass). The fish were biting, I just couldn't catch a keeper. Got almost to the end of the stretch and finally got on the board! Felt good but knew I had a long way to go. Got to the third stop and I could tell the river was a flowing again! Woohoo! I was able to add a couple more by 9:00 AM and thought a limit would be easy. Wrong guess again. I went on a long dry spell until about noon. I had gotten back to a spot where I had caught one of my keepers earlier and quickly added two more keepers. Not gonna lie, it felt great to get 5 in the boat, even though it was just a small limit. Hit several more spots on the way back to the ramp, but it was nothing doing. I headed in with my fingers crossed that I had done enough to hold on to 3rd place AOY.
Keeper count:
Spro Fat Papa 55 CB: 3 keepers - Denali Attax 7'2 M CB; 12 pound Sunline Crank FC
Spro Fat John CB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7'0 MH CB; 16 pound Sunline Crank FC
Big Bite Baits 10" B2 Worm: 1 keeper - Denali Android 7'4'; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: A pleasant summer day on the water but keepers are hard to find this year...
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series
July 3rd, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 7th place - 5 bass - 9.94 pounds
Practice: Took a day of annual leave on Friday and hit the lake. I could tell the bite was going to be much tougher than I anticipated.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed out to the river to get around some current. First two stops were duds. Finally connected with a small keeper at my third stop. Felt good to get on the board! The next three stops were also fruitless. I was starting to think this was going to be another brutal day... I decided to hit a nearby jetty and caught 3 good keepers in 5 minutes! Now things were looking up!!! That's really where the momentum stopped. I was able to add 3 more small keepers, but also lost two that really would have helped. Didn't do anything wrong, the just came off. Just didn't get the breaks I needed.
Keeper count:
Spro Fat Papa SB: 2 keepers - Denali Kovert Inshore 7"0 M; 14 pound Sunline Crank FC
Spro Fat John CB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7'0 MH CB; 16 pound Sunline Crank FC
Spro Fat Papa 55 CB: 1 keeper - Denali Attax 7'2 M CB; 12 pound Sunline Crank FC
Big Bite Baits 10" B2 Worm: 1 keeper - Denali Android 7'4'; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Leone's Toad Jig: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium 7'4; 16 pound Suniline Sniper FC
Vibrating Jig with Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon Trailer - Denali N3 7' MH; 16 pound Sunline DoStrike FC
Final Thoughts: Another grimy day on Dardanelle...
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
June 19th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 6th place - 1 bass - 2.43 pounds
Practice: No Practice for this one.
Tournament: With no practice, I decided to just head to the river and give it a shot. I thought with the flow coming down just a tad, things may start happening. Got to a main river weed bed and caught a short on a swim jig right away. Thought it was a good sign, but I was wrong. The next 3 stops were fruitless and with the wind and chocolate milk water, I began to realize this was going to be a tough day... It was just that, and I only caught one keeper all day.
Keeper count:
Spro Fat John CB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7'0 MH CB; 16 pounds Sunline Crank FC
Final Thoughts: Brutal.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series
June 5th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 6th place - 5 - 8.20 pounds
Practice: Took off a day of annual and hit the lake on Friday. Started off in a backwater and things were slowwww! I decided to try the main river and instantly started catching fish. I decided that I'd start in a backwater and hit the main river after the 1st hour.
Tournament: When I got every one taken off, I still didn't really know where I wanted to start. I looked to my left and saw shad spawning under the bridge. Well, that made up my mind. Second cast and I hooked up with a short fish on a frog. With shad spawning somehow that was the only bite I got. I made a move to a water willow covered point. Shad were spawning here too. Second cast with a swim jig and a 13-incher. A couple of casts later and I put my first keeper in the boat. Two casts later and another keeper. These were just 14-inchers, but as tough as its been I was glad to put some fish in the boat. After the action died down I made another move. Started throwing a frog and one commode flushes it. As soon as I got the fish to the top he came off. Decent keeper. A few casts later and another flush. This one took the frog under and nothing there when I set the hook. Rats!!! I swear these Dardanelle fish could give Houdini a run for his money. Anyways, 5 minutes later I hit a rocky stretch with no grass and started throwing a crankbait. a good one hit me on short line and I bounced her off my Garmin on the boat flip. Cue the clown music now.... After this debacle I decided to hit the main river. Caught a keeper really quick, so I though I may be able to get back in the game. Hit a stretch of grass and started chunking the buzzbait. One commode flushes it, I got one crank on it and the fish comes off. To add insult to injury, I saw the fish just sit there for a moment before darting off. Looked like a good 3-pounder. That pretty much summed up my day. I was able to put together a small limit, but it was too little, too late.
Keeper count:
White Swim Jig: 3 keepers - Denali Kovert 7'2 H; 50 pound Sunline FX2 Braid
Spro Fat John CB: 2 keepers- Denali Lithium - 7'0 MH CB; 16 pounds Sunline Crank FC
Black Buzzbait: 1 Keeper - Denali Kovert 6'9 MH; 30 pound Sunline XPlasma Braid
Final Thoughts: Poor execution leads to poor results.
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
May 7th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 1st place - 5 bass - 15.36 pounds - $860.00
Practice: Hit the lake on Friday while a front was blowing through. Went up the Bayou and started throwing a buzzbait. They were on it! So good that I had to put it down... Anyway, found one area that I was really confident in. I figured I could still get 2 or 3 decent bites out of this area even though it was going to be post-frontal conditions.
Tournament: When I got to my starting area I was glad to not see a soul around. Conditions were brutal, no wind, cold morning, and not a cloud in the sky. As you may have guessed, the buzzbait was not working. Tried a frog and nope. Swim jig - Nope. Finally started flipping and was almost out of my area when I set the hook on a good one. Got the 3.5-pounder in the boat and was on the board. Made a move and flipped a 12-inch Kentucky in the boat on the hook set. It was good to have 2 in the boat, but he would have to go later. Anyway, I shifted gears and was about to move upriver a bit when I seen a decent breeze around one of the bridges. Made a cast and hooked up with a "head". The fish was barely hooked and after some intense moments I got her in the boat. Catching a 5-pounder changes everything, and it changed my gameplan. Made a move to a confidence area in the Bayou and filled out my limit within a half-hour. Felt good to have 5 in the boat, but I knew that I had to cull two of them out if I wanted to have a chance at a high finish. I made the move upriver and was able to cull one of them out. I now had to 14.5-inchers in the well and needed to cull one or both of them out. Made my my to another confidence area in the Bayou and within 10-minutes flipped up another 3-pounder on the BFE. Really thought I'd get one more decent fish in the boat in the last hour, but it didn't happen. Went to the weigh-in with fingers crossed...
Keeper count:
Big Bite Baits BFE: 4 keepers - Denali Lithium Pro 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Spro Fat John CB: 3 keepers- Denali Lithium - 7'0 MH CB; 16 pounds Sunline Crank FC
Leone's Toad Jig: 1 Keeper - Denali Lithium 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Scratched and clawed my way to the W!
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series
May 1st, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 14th place - 5 bass - 10.24 pounds
Practice: Hit the lake on Friday. Ramp hopped to three different areas. Seemed like the bite was off a bit everywhere. Finally at my last stop, hit a couple of banks and had 3 keeper bites. Similar bite to what I found last week. Decision was made. I knew where I was going to start.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed to the last bank I fished in practice. Really thought I could catch 5 quick ones and maybe a "head" or two. Well, it didn't pan out. Caught one keeper and probably spent too much time on it. Anyway, I decided to make a run to the mid-lake area. Got up there and it seemed like more of the same... Finally hit a good stretch and caught 3 more keepers quickly. Things were looking up! Hit another bank and started culling around 10:30. Now I just needed a couple big ones... Well that never happened and the afternoon bite failed to produce. My goose was cooked,,,
Keeper count:
Big Bite Baits BFE: 3 keepers - Denali Lithium Pro 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Big Bite Baits Tour Flipper Tube - 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7'4 H; 20 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Big Bite Baits Cane Stick: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Leone's Toad Jig: 1 Keeper - Denali Android 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Spro Fat John CB: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium - 7'0 MH CB; 16 pounds Sunline Crank FC
Final Thoughts: Fished clean, just never got the big bites I needed. Beautiful day though!!!
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
April 10th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 2nd place - 5 bass - 14.53 pounds - $400.00
Practice: Hit the lake for a couple of hours on Saturday. The first thing I noticed was that my accessories weren't working. Caught a couple of keepers and everything looked and felt the same as the past three weeks. I took off early to get the circuit breaker for my accessories replaced. Wasn't looking good as far as finding one, so I replaced it with a heavy duty toggle switch. I was back in business and ready for the derby...
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed to where I caught them last week. Had a small keeper in the first 10 minutes... Things were looking up! Anyway, the first stop was kind of disappointing and I was only able to add one more keeper. Got to the second stop and added another keeper pretty quick on a jig. What happened next kind of amazed me... I got to a clump of grass where I caught a really nice fish on Saint Patrick's Day (March 17th). I shot the same bait in there and hooked up with a nice one. Got her in the boat and swore it was the same fish. It was a good 3.5 pounder and I ended up holding it up for a pic at the weigh-in. I also happened to snap a fish selfie of it when I caught it on the 17th. The fish had very distinctive markings and yep, you guessed it, turned out to be the same fish. I'll probably post it on the gram for y'all to check out... Anyway, I got on a roll and started culling. Probably had about 12.5 pounds or so and decided to check out an area in the Bayou where I caught them in practice last week. Got in there and it was on fire for about 5 minutes. Caught 3 good keepers and they all culled! I was thinking the last two hours were going to be lights out, but I was only able to add 1 more keeper (that didn't cull) the rest of the afternoon.
Keeper count:
Vibrating Jig with Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon: 5 keepers - Denali N3 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Dostrike FC
4.8-inch Texas-rigged plastic Worm: 3 keepers - Denali Lithium Pro 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Vibrating Jig with Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon: 1 keeper - Denali Kovert 7'2 MH; 16 pound Sunline Dostrike FC
Big Bite Baits Cane Stick: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Leone's Toad Jig: 1 Keeper - Denali Lithium 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Just a day where everything I did worked. Didn't miss or lose any fish and had a nice finish. Love me some April!!!
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series
April 3rd, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 4th place - 5 bass - 12.88 pounds - $140.00
Practice: I took a day of annual leave on Friday and hit the lake on a chilly morning. I decided to hit a section of the lake that I really haven't fished in a tournament in a while. Anyway, When I got there the bite was on. Boated 18 pounds and got a lot of bites. I knew where I was going to start. With my Mom in town I got to practice on Saturday, as she was sitting for my son. Anyway, I was looking for a backup pattern and found it.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I made a beeline to where I caught them on Friday. I got in there and it was stagnant and cold. Just didn't feel right...Anyway after a fruitless two hours, I had to head to my backup pattern,,, As Mark Zona once said, "it make baby cry"! Got to my backup spot and my bladed jig just stopped... Put a 4-pounder in the boat and I was on the board. Felt good, but I had a lot of work to do! Had my 5 by noon and was feeling confident I could make a run at the win... Well the afternoon was a bomb and I didn't land another fish...
Keeper count:
Vibrating Jig with Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon: 3 keepers - Denali Kovert 7'2 MH; 16 pound Sunline Dostrike FC
Vibrating Jig with Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon: 1 keepers - Denali N3 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Dostrike FC
Big Bite Baits Cane Stick: 1 keeper - Denali Lithium 7'0 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Awesome Spring Weekend!!!
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Solo Series
March 27th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 14th place - 4 bass - 8.17 pounds
Practice: I took a day of annual leave on Friday to check the lake out. Checked out a different area of the lake and caught 5 keepers and lost a couple. I really didn't intend to fish this area during the derby...
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I had a decision to make. Where to fish. I decided to run up the river to the area I practiced on Friday. Got just enough bites up there to make me brave the wind forecast. Well it took a while but I finally arrived. Hit a couple of areas, caught a short fish and lost one. Not off to a good start... Anyway, caught two keepers at the second stop and had 2 keepers in the boat at 8:30 AM. Things were looking up!!! But that's when all momentum stopped. Finally at around 11:30 I pulled the plug and ran the gauntlet downriver. Pulled in at 11:59 AM and had keeper number 3 at 12:01. Really though I was in for a good afternoon, but I was wrong. Didn't catch another keeper until 10 minutes before I had to go in. Too little, too late...
Keeper count:
Leone's Toad jig: 3 keepers - Denali Android 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Leone's Toad jig: 1 keepers - Denali Lithium 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Pain...
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank
Tournament: Get5Bass Team Series
March 20th, 2022
Lake Dardanelle
Angler: Frank Leone - 11th place - 3 bass - 8.05 pounds
Practice: I took a day of annual leave on Thursday to check the lake out. The bite was decent and I landed 7 keepers and 12 fish total. Thought I had them figured out a bit.
Tournament: When I got everyone taken off, I headed to my starting spot. Two other boats in tight quarters wasn't going to work for me so I headed to spot 2. Spot 2 was worse, with two other tournament boats and catfish jugs everywhere. Next to stops were also fruitless. I was just zigging when I should have been zagging... Anyway, finally caught a keeper at the 5th stop of the day at about 10:00 AM. I told myself just catch one an hour the rest of the day until weigh-in and I would be fine. I did just that until the 1:00 hour. Picked up a different color jig and bam, fish on right away. Line broke on the boat flip. Must have had a bad area in my line because it broke twice while I was trying to retie. That took the wind out of the sails and I didn't get another keeper bite the rest of the day.
Keeper count:
Leone's Toad jig: 3 keepers - Denali Lithium 7'4 MH; 16 pound Sunline Sniper FC
Final Thoughts: Tough bite on Dardanelle. There are definitely some pre-spawn fish up but they are few and far between. This might be a long season....
See ya' on the flip side... side....
Frank