Fish Catching Travel
The Big Day
Today was the big day. After a couple of days of practice, with marginal weather conditions and falling water, it was time to try to win one of those trucks. The Ram Big Bass tournament is one of the larger ones in the country open to anyone, and with $250,000, 7 trucks and a boat, it attracts bass fishermen from all over the country. This tournament was about catching the best fish to weigh in at the hourly weigh in. With Fork being a slot lake you could weigh anything under 16″ or over 24″. Last year there was not a big fish in the first hour and a bass about 2 and half pounds won a truck, but the rest of the 6 hourly trucks required one I think over 9 pounds, with several in that class not even winning a truck.
I used to fish lots of tournaments in the 70′ and 80’s, but other than a couple of club or jackpot tournaments I have not fished for money in many years. And this format was completely new to me. There was a start time but you could launch anywhere. The local radio station covered it live so you were able to keep up with the hourly weigh in. With a truck on the line each hour, not to mention money to 15 places, it draws a crowd. While I am not sure how many fished, it was somewhere in the 1500 fisherman range.
Since you could be on the water anytime that morning, just not actually fishing until 6:30, when I got up at 4 there were already boats on the lake headed to their secret (and I use the term quite loosely) honey holes. Our plan was to hit the piles at the lower end then trailer up to the upper end to finish our day. We had some nice fish located on the upper end shallow and we thought we could make a good day of it. Since we were at his fishing camp which is full of good bass fishermen we knew the reports were terrible, but hope springs eternal.
As we were going to start on a brush pile that Aaron built this winter we were tied up to a tree close to it at 5:30. When the radio station said lines in, we started to cast. I caught one that was 1’15” and another a little smaller on the first pile, but that was the extent of that one.
Aaron said lets move to another one, what he called his “big fish” hole. That made me laugh, I thought that was what we were doing! I had to give him a hard time about that. Before we moved the first hour was won with one over 9 pounds, a good fish. Over the next couple of hours we fished 3 piles and the adjacent areas and I put 2 more small ones in the boat and I think Aaron boated 2, both to small. As we fished the hourly reports kept coming in, and for hour 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 a truck was won with a bass a little over 2 1/2 pounds. As I told you in the last post it was tough, folks it was really tough.
The lake had been falling to add to the fishing pressure and bad conditions and we made a mistake. Our fish were in a really shallow bay and when we got there they were either gone or probably just not having it. Aaron put another couple of small ones in the boat, and I never had another bite the rest of the day. I do not think I missed a bass bite all day. It sucks when you are mechanically fishing well, but just not getting the bites.
We moved around up lake and just did not get it going. Aaron has fished the lake since he was a kid, and is one of the best jig fishermen you will ever meet, and Fork is made for that style. He was stymied by the fishing, but that did not slow us down and we fished hard. We left there and hopped around to other places where he has been catching them, and has caught them for years, but they had lockjaw, period. Finally the time was up and as I knew what weight it was taking I let my 2 small ones go, and we were done.
When we got back to the ramp there was a guy pleading with people to let him cut in line as he had one to weigh and there was only about 15 minutes for him to trailer to the weigh in site. So everyone let him do it, and it looks like it turned out good for him. We talked to lots of guys who fish Fork religiously later in the day, and all reported the same luck.
With the big fish over 9 holding from the first hour all day, that poor guy had to wait it out. I am sure by then he was sure he had won a truck and the boat for the biggest bass of the tourney, but it was not to be. It looks like the guy we all let cut in line to make the weigh in made it by 10 minutes, and had one over 10lbs, a really good fish in any lake. So even though the guy from the first hour still won a truck for his first hour fish, he lost the boat at the last minute. I am sure the truck was some consolation, but that is some tough luck. Also a young kid not old enough to drive won a truck, good for him!
So what a tournament. This was not my first rodeo, I have been bucked off before, and will be again. But I had a great time. It has been a coon’s age since I fished a big bucks tourney, ran like a bat out of hell in 3 foot rollers, and did some night fishing. When Aaron cooked a ton of ribs guys stopped in and chatted at his camp. We traded stories, and gave each other a hard time. So ramp boy, and breaker boy, it was nice to meet you. Ramp boy had his new to him boat fall off the trailer and land on the ramp no where near the water the first time he ever took it out. And Breaker Boy got that name when he was practicing on Saturday and his boat quit. I mean everything went out, no power. He got lucky that someone pulled him in, and ended up over knee deep getting it on the trailer. Of course the guy who pulled him in asked if he checked the breaker on his system, which of course he did. To bad he did not see the little reset switch which Aaron pushed and everything was fine. Of course you can imagine the grief he got while we all ate ribs and BS’b.
And to the guy stealing the rack of ribs, it was great to meet you Paul and your brother. And as Aaron’s boat was still in the shop Paul was kind enough to lend us his Skeeter, what a guy. And to the other folks I met, thanks for your hospitality. Everyone was so nice to me, and it was great to spend time with some hard core fishermen, who happened to be great guys.
So am I disappointed? No way! I had a blast. It reminded me what I liked about tourney fishing – the expectation, the planning, and the extreme concentration. Will I be there next year? Of course! Where else for $150 do you have a shot at 7 trucks and a boat. Was there pressure? Of course. But it was not as crowded as I might have thought and that was part of it. And a special thanks to Aaron Fite. We did it up right, you call and I will do it again anytime.
Some stuff from the weekend.
Here are the few pictures I took that I could not post while I was gone. All I have to say is where were these guys on Sunday.
My second bite on Fork.
Nothing like a little night fishing. Notice the jig in the first one’s mouth, and in my hand with this one? I caught most of the fish I caught practicing on the same jig and Rage Craw. Did I get a bite on it the big day? Of course not!
This is Aaron with one of the fish from the good bunch we thought we had cornered for the big day. To bad they were gone. To bad this bunch did not hang around as we caught several of this kind there.
Now Aaron is not only a great fisherman, but he is a world class cook. He seasons them and then makes his own glaze. I have paid good money for ribs that were not even on same planet as his.
Who is this strange man stealing those ribs? Oh yea, it was Paul, and though we knew he was stealing them, it did not make him any less strange! In fact he was a lot like me, he had plenty to say.
So thanks for reading my stuff. It is back to my mundane life. If you read my stuff you know how awful it is. I will just have to tough it out until next year. So it is off to Coleto tomorrow. The winds will be 20 – 30, what’s new. But it is simply a matter of putting on my big boy pants and figuring out a way to catch some fish. And hopefully a couple of days at the Gulf soon. So keep stopping in. Thanks.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
