My first day on the water (Wednesday Jan 29th) the water temp was a balmy 48-49 degrees. Oh that's just about 8-10 degrees colder than the temps had been as little as a week earlier. I guess being pounded by rolling cold fronts some of which bring sleet & snow can tend to do that to body of water no matter where it is. The temp would warm up to about 54 degrees after a few days with the fish becoming a little more active but they still seemed to relate to deeper water with a more stable overall temperature.
One of the things I learned over the years is that under extreme conditions bass like to have a quick means of escape when conditions take a turn for the worst. This was never more true than what I witnessed with my own eyes here. I found out quickly that they were relating to the most extreme vertical drops I could find. These drops would allow for a quick escape the next time the "Polar Vortex" came to town. I found that ledges with 40'-60' of water next to a creek channel with a bluff drop 80'-100' were money almost every time. The most consistent of these locations were the ones where main creeks or large drains met the main river channel.
Once I located these fish they didn't seem to move much until they got fired up on schools of bait and moved on out into the 80-100' creek beds in which case I really had to rely on my Lowrance units to keep up. When they were active in the schools I caught fish in a variety of ways but really only had confidence in 2 primary techniques at the depths these fish were working at.
One of my primary and most consistent techniques was the drop shot. I caught the majority of my fish vertically presenting a V&M Shaky Shad in either "Smokin Shad" or "Arkansas Shiner". There were a few key things that I really relied on to make this successful. I used 6lb test HiSeas fluorocarbon, Mustad #2 Drop Shot hooks and Elite Tungsten's new 3/8 or 1/2 oz teardrop weights. I used spinning tackle as a good smooth drag was essential with the pound test line I was using. The sensitivity and control I had with my new TFO Gary Loomis Tactical DSS 733 was absolutely amazing. In 40'-60' of water feeling a bite is normally out of the question. Not the case with this rod. All I felt was a slight tick and the fight was on. Fatigue was also never an issue as it's the lightest spinning rod I've ever had in my hands.
The other technique that worked well when the time was right was the old trusty A-Rig. As an LSU fan I refuse to say what the "A" stands for but most of you already know so we'll leave it at that. I did well with the rigs with willow spinners but the main ingredient was the 5 V&M "White Ice" Thunder Shad swimbaits in tow. They are extremely soft but durable and present a very lifelike kicking action that the fish just cannot resist! I ended up with 3 keepers on this setup with my biggest of bout 3 3/4 lbs. on day 2. I did lose 1 jig on day 1 and probably the 5th keeper that day because of clip failure when I had two hooked up in 1 cast. Oh well that's one of the risks. This rig worked well on a Lews Super Duty 5.4:1 with 50 lb braid on a TFO Gary Loomis Tactical 7'11 Mag Heavy casting rod. The long rod and smooth reel helped with long casting and the slow ratio allowed me to crawl the rig at depths of 30'-40'. Also the lightness of the TFO rod helped to cut down on fatigue.
Of all the techniques and equipment I used to catch fish throughout practice and the tournament I CAN NOT brag enough on my Lowrance HDS Touch 9 and Elite 7 units. The 9 is mounted at the console with StructureScan and the Elite 7 is flush mounted in the bow with DownScan. They were so spot on that one day in practice with a Coangler, I marked a fish on the StructureScan and touched the fish which allowed me to mark a waypoint. I then shut down, trolled up to the waypoint with my Elite 7 as it was connected via Ethernet, and I marked the fish that was by itself. I then (with a bet I couldn't from my Coangler) dropped strait down and caught that fish on the first drop out of 50' of water. I definitely made Justin Perry a believer in Lowrance that day. Without a doubt I couldn't have had success without my graphs.
Even though I couldn't get that 5th fish in the boat on day one I can't complain about a top 20 under those conditions. I was less than 2 lbs from the cut and I feel very strongly that I could have caught a limit Saturday, but that's the name of the game. You win some and you lose most! Well something like that. All in all I feel very good about this year and I know I am off to a great start. I have decided that I'm not going to drop my shoulder and swing at the fence on every event anymore. After 13 professional level events and only 3 checks I need to focus more on solid finishes from here on out. Now a WIN, a 9th & an 18th aren't bad but I have learned that it is very possible to obtain a top 10-20 in every event if you stay grounded, make good decisions and maintain "realistic" expectations. Don't lie to yourself when you know your not on the fish to win. Bring the best 5 you can everyday and let the cards fall where they may. More times than not I've seen events fall short of the weights guys predict and 8-10 lbs a day can go a long way. Took about 27 for me to win Texoma.
I really want to thank all of my sponsors that are behind me this year and hope that those of you who read this will give their products a try. Without their help, dependable products and service I couldn't do what I do. Legend Boats, Mercury Outboards, Lowrance Electronics, V&M Baits, Despino's Jim's South Tire, Elite Tungsten, TFO Rods, Power-pole, LB3 Outdoors, Livingston Lures, Bob's Machine Shop, Hamby's Beach Bumpers, Jack's Quality Collision, Jerry's Complete Car Care, and Commercial Power Equipment of Shreveport thank you. I can feel a good year coming on and I'm glad you're all behind me!
"The Fishin' Fireman"
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Lake Amistad Del Rio, TX
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