Ouch, that left a mark!!!

Well, the standings just came out tonight and I fell from 9th place clear the hell to 16th with that crapping showing on Lake O the Pines. A fat 38 points now separate me and the coveted 7th place! Now add any expletive you with here….”*&%$”!!!!! This can not happen again.

The next tourney is in 2 weeks on my home lake of Cypress Springs in East Texas. I have to turn in a better performance.

The good news is that I’m looking to be able to pre-fish with a good buddy in the club next weekend. With our heads together…things should look up some. Not to mention, it’ll be cool hanging out with him, he’s a good dude.

With that said, this should be interesting. Time to make up ground!

Stay tuned……

Deep In the Crotch of Texas…….

Let’s face it; record high temps are harsh on a fat man.


This was one of my home lakes. This was to be the first of a string of 3 lakes in which I’d be able to make my run at “Top 6”. Wow, what a kick in the nads.

If stomach pains which had me doubled over for the first 30 minutes (during the best fishing of the day) weren’t enough, later the area would experience record highs.

When we left for Lake ‘O The Pines on Friday, the forecasted highs were in the low 90’s. While I knew this would be very hard on my VERY out of shape body, I figured I’d make it through. I was worried, but at the same time very determined to fish through it. As we all arrived back at weigh in after the tourney on Sunday we learned the area highs had reached a record of 99 degrees!

I drank 4 liters of water. I was also forced to use a combination of towels and cold wrap bandanas in order to keep my core temp at a level I could survive.

I’m not making excuses. I missed several fish any of which could have meant points beyond the courtesy 50 that you receive just for fishing the tournament. One solitary fish would have meant a minimum of 30 points for this tournament. This was something I desperately needed. I even had a wonderful draw (boater). Everything was set for success, it just didn’t come.

My boater ended up with 3 fish. Two were caught by a method I didn’t yet know of and 1 during the time in which I was in considerable pain. I’m still not sure what caused the pain….it could have been the local food.

At any rate, the road to “Top 6” is now paved with much difficulty. In fact, I’ll have to rely on MUCH LUCK to make it this year. Can it happen, yes, but now it’s not likely.

I hate to be the barer of bad news, but this did not go as planned. Frankly, it worries me as to what will happen next month at my home lake of Cypress Springs. Cypress Springs is by far my best lake. It’s the one lake I know very well. I don’t know why things happened as they did at The Pines…..all I know is in order for my season to “right itself”; I need every tourney to be a good one the rest of the way out.

I have to do well at Cypress, that’s all there is to it.

Oh Shh....err, I mean CRAP!

Why am I upset? Well, I shouldn’t be! Tonight’s partner draw once again treated me very well. In fact, I drew the Tourney Director and VP of the club whom I pre-fished with at the Ray Hubbard tourney if you will remember. He’s a great guy and I’ve been looking forward to drawing him all year long. So, that’s a huge plus.

Here’s the rub: I’m a fat man. I’m a huge man. Fat men do not do well in VERY HOT weather. Granted, we’ve not had a summer yet here in Texas. I know this and I shouldn’t be complaining.

With that said, it looks like highs for this tourney will approach 90 degrees with a decent heat index attached. It could be VERY miserable. That part, I am NOT looking forward to. I know we have to have a summer…..but geesh! Couldn’t we at least have a little wind? More cloud cover? Just a sprinkle or two?

Welp, no.

Please pray I survive through this….it could get interesting.

Number nine…..number nine….number nine……

I think about it at least once a day. Hell, who am I kidding…..I’m constantly thinking about it. I shouldn’t be, but I am.

The new club standings just came out and while I wished for better, I’d be a fool to complain. I’m currently setting in 9th place as I gained two full places with my 4th place showing at Cedar Creek. I was hoping for 7th, which is my current goal, but can not complain with 9th. In reality, I might as well be in a three-way tie for 7th. I currently have 374 points; the fisherman above me in 8th has 375 points and the coveted 7th place fisherman, 376. How many fish is 2 points you may ask? Well, let’s just say that isn’t even 1 full fish! It’s as tight as a race as you can get.

Sunday May 22nd is our next tourney. It will mark the second half of the season and the club’s return to east Texas.

Lake ‘O the Pines is a lake I fished once in a while as a kid. While I loved the lake, it was simply too far away to fish on a regular basis. It’s a beautiful lake. It has tons of shallow cover, lily pads, stumps and the whole kin-n-caboodle! I can’t wait! My confidence in fishing this lake comes from having such fond memories of it from my childhood. It’s a comfort level more than anything else. While I’ve never fished it from a boat, this makes no difference to me. It’s east Texas and a lake that has a special place in my heart…..that’s what I hope will make the difference.

As far as obstacles go….they’re made up of the usual suspects: Weather, and the luck of the draw (as to who my boater will be). I just hope it’s someone safe and friendly. I hope it’s someone who is easy to stay “loose” around. I hope he’s a good fisherman and a fun guy.

One week from today I’ll find out the answer to at least one of these questions. Be praying it’s good news!

“We all need a little help from our friends”……at Cedar Creek.

Having never fished this lake before, I was both nervous and excited. On one hand, I tend to pay more attention to detail while on a new lake. In addition, I try to stay away from the bad habits I’ve built on my more familiar lakes. On the other hand…it’s a new lake, so being nervous is to be expected.

I made a decision before the tourney to go with 5 rods instead of my normal compliment of 6 or 7. This would save space and hopefully create less hassle while selecting each rod one at a time.

In doing this I had to make the tough decision of laying the responsibility of 3 different rods upon the shoulders of just one. This would mean more time spend tying and re-tying…..but it had to be done.

I’m referencing this because the lure choice for that particular rod is what paid off the greatest.

At Wednesday’s tourney meeting I was given a beautiful ¼oz black/blue/purple bass jig by a fellow member of the club who’s new to us this year. This guy is one heck of a guy. This is the second jig he’s given me and it was a replacement for the first one which I lost to a hang up while fishing it for the first time. Somehow I just knew this jig would play a part in whatever success I would have during this tourney.

Sure enough, a little over 2 hours into our day that jig’s moment arrived. I landed a 5 ½ lb bass as my first fish of the day. A couple of hours later I landed a 3lb bass on a Carolina Rigged plastic lizard.

As my partner netted my large fish, caught on the gift from a friend, I remembered why I tied it on to begin with.

I have a motto: “When you don’t know what to throw, go with your heart.” In competitive fishing, one always needs a “little help from your friends” so to speak. It’s a sport in which you can never succeed totally on your own, no matter how individualized the competition itself may be. You’ll always (at one point or another) need the help of a friend. That’s exactly what this jig meant to me.

It needs to be said that this was a tough day at the lake. There were at least 3 other tourneys occurring on the lake at the same time as ours. The morning launch was a “cluster”, getting to the weigh in was as well…..and to say the least, the lake had more than its fair share of fishing pressure for the day.

While we had beautiful weather…..the day of competition was hectic!

To say the least….it was a very good day to have friends.

At the end of the day my combined weight of 8.47lbs was enough to take 4th place!

That’s big-time points folks! That’s big points when I need them most….at the literal half-way point of the season and the start of the home stretch which leads me straight into East Texas!

I don’t know what the next 4 tourneys will hold…..but all of a sudden, I could really find myself in the mix if things should turn out my way!

Keep up the prayers folks…..they’re needed, this “thang” aint over yet! :D


(PS, Just as RB netted my big “hog” I sang out, “We all need a little help from our friends..” RB rocks! So does JD the big bad jig man! Wow, class acts!)

One more time……with feelin’!

Well upon attendance of the tourney meeting I slipped my partner from the last tourney a check to help take care of his new seats. He purchased nice replacements which were an upgrade on what he had before. I was more than glad to help him out being it was my huge butt that put the final touches on the old set.

Who would have guessed that I’d be only the second person to test out those very seats! Yup, for the second tourney in a row, I drew my friend who we'll just call “RB”. Wow, what luck is that? It’s awesome because I’ve now fished with him before and know what to expect…..it’s an added plus that I get to put his new seats to the test!

The only drawback to this paring is the fact that a non-boater (me) can only draw the same boater (RB) TWICE during the same year. So, in two back-to-back tourneys, I’ve used up my chances to fish with my bud RB. That’s kinda the good news / bad news end of it. The good news is, he’s a really cool guy…..the bad news is, that’s the last time I can draw him for the rest of the year.

Well, there you have it…….RB and I once again! Maybe we’ll have calmer water and better fishing than we did the last time…we sure need it!

Wish me luck this Sunday!

Another Unknown…..

When it comes to Cedar Creek, I’m as lost as they come. However, there’s at least one talented fisherman in our club who has spent countless hours and much money developing top secret spots on this lake. He’s created brush piles all over it. He’s studied these spots during every season and every type of variation thereof. He’s a bad, bad man. He can tell you the fish’s name and what tree he’ll be in…..and at what time of day!

Many others in our club have frequented Cedar Creek as well. They, at least, have a starting point. They have some kind of game plan.

Me….I don’t have “spit”. I’ll anxiously be awaiting the partner draw come this next Wednesday night. As of now, I have every intention of entering this tournament. Of course: money issues, health issues, and family issues, should they arise, would be cause for sitting this one out.

Well, once again it should be interesting.

I’ll update the blog once the details become more certain.