In the world of tournament angling, it makes all the difference! We fished our fourth tournament bright and early this morning (6am or 0600 for you military types). There were 25+ teams participating in this go round. The fishing was slow initially, but began to pick up as the morning progressed. We caught twelve bass evenly split between us at six a piece. The majority hit a 7" worm rigged weedless or a medium running crank bait.
Why does size matter? On this particular lake, state reg's stipulate that a largemouth bass must be 20" in length or more in order to be kept (i.e., put in a live well for weigh-in). A bass not meeting the 20" minimum must be released immediately. In addition, an angler can only have in his or her possession one bass that is 20" or greater. Since tournaments have to abide by state reg's, this means a two-angler team could only weigh-in two largemouth bass (one per angler). Because of these regulations, one good bass could potentially win a tournament.
Of the twelve bass we caught today, one looked like a really good fish when it came to the surface - definitely one that needed to be checked. We quickly put it on the measuring board and it was a solid 19 incher. Talk about disappointment! Unfortunately, no amount of pulling, tugging, coaxing, or stretching could make it a 20" fish. So back it went. One extra inch, or in this case, the lack thereof, made all the difference. One inch stood between us and potential prize money. On the flip side, weighing in a fish that is just one inch too short will cost you money. The Fish and Wildlife Resources guys take that stuff seriously. Naturally, the big fish hit during the last hour of the tournament and we ran out of time.
Even though we haven't won an individual tournament yet, we are on track with our points. There are two tournaments remaining - one in July and one in August. And both are night tournaments. Well, the word "night" is used loosely. They start at 6pm (1800 for you military types) and end at midnight which means there are several hours of daylight. If we complete both tournaments, we will have the number of points necessary to fish the regional tournament later this fall.
Size certainly does matter. In these tournaments, it can make a big difference!
9 comments:
HEY bjk! :)
nice to get an update from your piece of Blogland and glad you're getting time for tournaments.
somehow i can just see you and your fishing bud stretching that fish; trying to eek out one more inch of life...
bjk, appreciate your tournament update. A nice Bass even though it didn't go (20"). Good work hanging in there on the points. Keep us updated!
Wow, one only one inch shy, next time! It sounds like you had a good time, for the better part of the tournament. I find it interesting reading about fishing, something which I haven't done in forever. I don't even know if I could kill a fish anymore... that's how long it's been. All the best to you in the next tournaments. I'm looking forward to hearing about the one which measures up when you get it, and a photo to accompany it would be fantastic. :-)
Boy, 20 inch bass are not that easy to come by. That would have been a tough tourney and you and your bud did real well hauling in what you did. Hopefully the next one will be a little more realistic size wise and then you'll take home the bacon Brian. Thanks for sharing and all the best for this season. I think it's so neat that you are going the bass'n tourney route this year brother. :-) Stick 'em bro! lb
As long as your having fun, enjoying yourself and not looking at it like work then the inch is no big deal, but I still hope you win. They do have fish stretchers at Walmart, their called rolling pins. Not great for catch and release though. Keep smilin : )
That is a tough tourney and being so close to a 20"er had to be tougher.
I'm surprised you didn't step on him to get that extra inch!
It sounded like a tough tourney though...but you're not a quitter so I know you will kick butt at the next one. Wait! What? Was I just nice to you again? Something is seriously wrong with me this week ;)
I appreciate all of the support! I've never fished tournaments before this year so it's a bit of a learning experience for me. A lot of fun even if we don't weigh in fish!
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