My recent fishing tournament

Cool report. Good luck next time.

Good job, sounds like a lot of fun.

Question: If you catch your limit you can still swap out smaller fish with bigger fish correct? So the goal is catch your limit no matter the size then go for big fish to replace the smaller fish?

motosmith wrote: Good job, sounds like a lot of fun.

Question: If you catch your limit you can still swap out smaller fish with bigger fish correct? So the goal is catch your limit no matter the size then go for big fish to replace the smaller fish?

Yes you can Cull them out in most Tournaments.
I have have however fished regional team tourney opens where culling wasn't allowed,nets weren't allowed either,but that is normally for special type events during the spawn.


Congrats FLMxer!
Getting a check after a day of fishing is always nice.

If your ever in Calif, hit me up and we will fish the Calif Delta. I can put you on some fish here for sure. If the FLW tour comes back here again. I fished it on the co-angler side last time it was here. it sucks that I had to sell my Ranger 520VX a few years ago. If your out this way hit me up. Im 20 min from the delta and if you need a place to crash while fishing the tournament your more than welcome to stay on my couch. Topwater bite is off the hook in the mornings right now, a buzzbait or a spook and frogs are killing it. Then switch over to a 7" Senco in Watermellon/Red flake or a brown/green jig with a blue hula grub trailer. Good luck on your next tournament.

YZKEN250 wrote: If your ever in Calif, hit me up and we will fish the Calif Delta. I can put you on some fish here for sure. If the FLW tour comes back here again. I fished it on the co-angler side last time it was here. it sucks that I had to sell my Ranger 520VX a few years ago. If your out this way hit me up. Im 20 min from the delta and if you need a place to crash while fishing the tournament your more than welcome to stay on my couch. Topwater bite is off the hook in the mornings right now, a buzzbait or a spook and frogs are killing it. Then switch over to a 7" Senco in Watermellon/Red flake or a brown/green jig with a blue hula grub trailer. Good luck on your next tournament.

Is Cooch still tearing it up on those waters?
I met him at an FLW event up in Washington State about 8/9 years back or so.
Super cool dude.

YZKEN250 wrote: If your ever in Calif, hit me up and we will fish the Calif Delta. I can put you on some fish here for sure. If the FLW tour comes back here again. I fished it on the co-angler side last time it was here. it sucks that I had to sell my Ranger 520VX a few years ago. If your out this way hit me up. Im 20 min from the delta and if you need a place to crash while fishing the tournament your more than welcome to stay on my couch. Topwater bite is off the hook in the mornings right now, a buzzbait or a spook and frogs are killing it. Then switch over to a 7" Senco in Watermellon/Red flake or a brown/green jig with a blue hula grub trailer. Good luck on your next tournament.

I appreciate that big time. If you are ever in my area we will definately hit Okeechobee and some snook, redfish and tarpon fun. Anytime. Thanks again.

Nice fish and thanks for the insight into what fishing a tournament is like.


P

To be honest, I didn't know they had non-pro fishing tourneys.

Way to grind it out buddy!

FLmxer wrote: I appreciate that big time. If you are ever in my area we will definately hit Okeechobee and some snook, redfish and tarpon fun. Anytime. Thanks again.

Now yer talkin' ! We were out chasin specks just the other day. Great thread FLmxer.

FastEddy wrote: Is Cooch still tearing it up on those waters?
I met him at an FLW event up in Washington State about 8/9 years back or so.
Super cool dude.

Yup he still is the man when it comes to throwing jigs on the delta. I got my pb on one of his jigs, a nice 9 lb bass. He still guides out here and I went with him a few years ago and had a blast. One of the nicest guys you will ever meet.

YZKEN250 wrote: If your ever in Calif, hit me up and we will fish the Calif Delta. I can put you on some fish here for sure. If the FLW tour comes back here again. I fished it on the co-angler side last time it was here. it sucks that I had to sell my Ranger 520VX a few years ago. If your out this way hit me up. Im 20 min from the delta and if you need a place to crash while fishing the tournament your more than welcome to stay on my couch. Topwater bite is off the hook in the mornings right now, a buzzbait or a spook and frogs are killing it. Then switch over to a 7" Senco in Watermellon/Red flake or a brown/green jig with a blue hula grub trailer. Good luck on your next tournament.

FLmxer wrote: I appreciate that big time. If you are ever in my area we will definately hit Okeechobee and some snook, redfish and tarpon fun. Anytime. Thanks again.

Racer92 wrote: Now yer talkin' ! We were out chasin specks just the other day. Great thread FLmxer.

Looks like "poppin cork" water there.

I love my chrome spooks though!!

Jakes Dad wrote: Looks like "poppin cork" water there.

I love my chrome spooks though!!

Yeah the wind picked up and the water turned brown, so we mixed it up. Spooks, ShePups, Spoons, and some poppin' corks.

Looks like my type of fun. I start a lot of my trips with popping corks for my guests. They are usually afraid to pop them hard thinking it scares the fish. I explain how fish are opportunistic and hear the sound of feeding and they head over to join in. I have them pop it hard, real hard 3 times then pause for a few seconds then repeat. After a few fish slam it durring pops they start over popping it. Lol It its very popular here. I have a spook tired on almost always too.

note to self : no egg salad before any tournaments.
Nice report.

fcr wrote: note to self : no egg salad before any tournaments.
Nice report.

Can we call you an old Chum ?

FLmxer, if you don't mind, I'd like you to make this a continuing topic in the future. If you're able to follow through with your plans of getting back into competitive fishing, I'd love to have you keep us posted on your journey to the top with detailed accounts of each and every tournament. Have you done much in the past on the redfish tournament circuit, or have you just stuck to bass fishing since there is more money to be made in that realm?
One of my old neighbors who charters in La. fished a lot of redfish tournaments. I remember him doing one out of Alabama, and he made the run over water back to our local southeastern La. territory and did really well. The length of the run over water only allowed him about an hour each day of fishing time, but that was all he needed to win.

One of the guys I work with has won the BassMasters tour a time or two. It's always fun listening to his stories.

I just got back from the lake today. Went to a couple of my go-to spots and both spots were productive. We were actually catching good sized 1 to 3 pound black bass on 1/8 oz white crappie jigs. And we were catching sand bass pretty consistently also.

My request for Christmas/birthday is a 12' kayak and I hope to enter into some fishing kayak tournaments next year.

Great thread FL!!!

Hey thanks a lot. I love to tournament fish in both salt and fresh water but mostly do fresh water tournaments these days and just guide in the salt. I would love to keep shareing the experience. Starting this coming month the bass tournament season gets in full swing and the fish move shallow as the water cools and the spawn begins. I have not done a saltwater tournament in a few years but try and do about 12-15 bass tourneys a year if i can. I was having motor problems quite a bit the last few years and had three rebuilds in the first year on my used bass boat and it cost me atleast 1 win and one of my co boaters a win as well. I felt horrible that we could not make it to weigh in after blowing a 4 inch hole in my motor. In a state federation qualifier I had a 9 pounder in the well and the motor cooked on way to weigh in. Paid a cheap mechanic at a mom and pops shop to put a new power head on and it cooked all the paint off the thing in the first ten minutes. I learned my lesson and bit the bullet and got a new one with warranty.

Here is an old redfish tournament shot. You can wade in this Flatsmaster series and I got 11 slot reds on a new penny colored gulp shrimp rigged on a 1/8th oz jig head. 20 lb flourocarbon leader and 15lb power pro braid. I had just got a good upgrade and put it in the net and handed it to my partner to return to the boat and cull out our other smaller one when I set on a real good one that looked to be the perfect upper slot fish but my partner had the net so i tried to reach out for it and it came off in my hand. With out missing a beat i shoot my bait back into same spot and get our big fish, a perfect upper slot fish over 7 pounds. The one that got off was our winning fish but it was a solid finish for us. Good times.

I hate that feeling whenever you miss or have a big bass break your line. Today I was pond fishing and I had a nice sized bass grab my lizard. As soon as I set the hook he started running and before I could set the drag he snapped the line. To add to the insult the bass jumped right after it broke my line and he was easily a 6lb large mouth bass. I dont catch many that size these days so when I miss a fish like that it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I had to sit down and take a breather after that tragic loss.

Yes that is the worst feeling. I have had that sick feeling way to many times. I qualified for the final ten of 200 anglers in a Bassmaster Elete qualifier as a co boater years ago and they gave the top seven co boaters boats. The top 5 boater's won nothing except the chance to fish the Elete tour and pay $55,000 up front for the season. LOL The Espn cameras on the boat all day was cool. I lost the one that would have had me in the top 5 and a boat in the last 10 minutes of fishing. she threw the crankbait right next to the boat. I remained in 10th with a small limit. They don't allow nets in BASS so you lose a few and it is tough on you.

I am really excited for this season. I feel I have an ace up my sleeve that I came across last year on accident. It was the coldest days of winter and it can get real tough because those fish are used to tropical warm weather and when it gets really cold they get real lethargic and the whole lake only averages under 10 feet deep and 99 percent of stucture is in 4 feet or less. Normally it takes 25 to 30 lbs a day to win but it can be tough to even get bit on the worst cold fronts and 10 lbs can win it. I usually put my boat in at a remote hidden ramp that is closest to my house and my favorite spots and is not used a lot. I was having motor issues and had to just fish around the ramp because I could only use the trolling motor. I came across this ledge in this manmade canal that had fish stacked on it and i was catching quite a few on a sexy shad colored crankbait. This is not a pattern anyone uses on this lake because it is just pure grass fishing. Thinking this is a fluke I return on even colder days and can not get a bite on the lake but catch one almost every cast on this ledge in the canal. It warms up and nothing on the ledge and then another cold snap and they are stacked up again. It is like clock work and I actually got second in a Bassbuster tourney on the last "cold" cold front of year and we were catching two at a time and had 4 at once one time , one on each treble hook. Definately looking forward to that this winter. Hopefully I make it to the final cut day and a monster cold front comes in and shuts it down for everyone. I have seen it happen every year and everyone struggles but I know what to do now.

FLmxer wrote: Hey thanks a lot. I love to tournament fish in both salt and fresh water but mostly do fresh water tournaments these days and just guide in the salt. I would love to keep shareing the experience. Starting this coming month the bass tournament season gets in full swing and the fish move shallow as the water cools and the spawn begins. I have not done a saltwater tournament in a few years but try and do about 12-15 bass tourneys a year if i can. I was having motor problems quite a bit the last few years and had three rebuilds in the first year on my used bass boat and it cost me atleast 1 win and one of my co boaters a win as well. I felt horrible that we could not make it to weigh in after blowing a 4 inch hole in my motor. In a state federation qualifier I had a 9 pounder in the well and the motor cooked on way to weigh in. Paid a cheap mechanic at a mom and pops shop to put a new power head on and it cooked all the paint off the thing in the first ten minutes. I learned my lesson and bit the bullet and got a new one with warranty.

ProXS? Sweet ! I absolutely love my Optimax ! Fires first turn of the key no matter what weather conditions and is a gas miser. Wish I had that jackplate!

i was catching quite a few on a sexy shad colored crankbait

We kill the white bass on sassy shad in February/March ! When the spawn is on, we limit out literally in 15-20 minutes. Two per cast, every cast. Its like hitting specks under the birds.

Ahhh...fishing the birds. I had an assistant years ago who used to fish with her husband - very "casual" fishers, not hardcore like most down here. She would get pissed when I'd talk about all the fish we caught and they were getting shut out most trips in the middle of the summer. I asked her if they were fishing the birds and she looked at me like I was crazy. She said they were trying to catch fish, not birds, lol. I tried to explain the whole concept, and she wasn't buying it. She went home and explained it to her husband, and he said I was full of shit and was just messing with them. Wouldn't even consider trying it. I immediately contacted our local congressman and tried to have them deported from Louisiana, lol. There's nothing better when you are taking young kids with a short attention span on a trip and the birds are everywhere. Even if most are undersized, just catching them two at a time and tossing them back is a treat, but it's heaven when you find a school of 16-18" specks under the birds. We tended to hit the islands and wells for the bigger ones, then on the way in hit the birds to fill out our limit. Those smaller school trout in my opinion are the best for frying, but it is much more fun to chase the larger ones. For all of the guys who live in areas where 7 or 8 fish means a good trip, I just wish they could experience what we have down here in the Gulf. If I ever win the lottery, I'd gladly pay for each and every Vital MX fisherman to come down here and fish for a week. It is one of the few things Louisiana residents can take pride in (along with our unmatched local cuisine).

You guys catch them. Good times. Louisiana is definately a must do for the fisherman. I would love to do a trip catching reds and bass inshore and then some ARS action on the rigs. It is on the short list for sure.

Racer92 wrote: ProXS? Sweet ! I absolutely love my Optimax ! Fires first turn of the key no matter what weather conditions and is a gas miser. Wish I had that jackplate!

Jackplates can make or break a boats performance,especially with boats under 20ft.
Do tons of research before you go that route on that hull.
Just that little bit of set back can cause some serious squatting problems on the hole shot and add more drag ect..at top speed.

My personal experiences with jack-plates are....

I had a Bullet 20 XDC with a non-warranty extra-lite hull.
I ran a 12 inch Detwiller JP on that setup with a Merc Racing 2.5 liter that was dyno'd at 280HP at the prop (Jay Smith Racing in Texas built the motor).
When I was trimmed out on calmer water with no wind I could hit that plate and go from 95mph on the GPS to 102 with ease
and very little drag. But you had to drive the boat at that rate of speed and it was always sketchy.
But once I started trying to drive it at that rate of speed in a mild chop..... To where at times the motor had zero drag...Driveshafts started snapping. It got spendy.Hole shot was still good as long as the plate was all the way down though.

I then put a 10 inch jackplate on my pathfinder 19ft bayboat that I had,looking for better shallow water performance.
What a mistake that was.
Just with that little bit of setback,getting the boat up on a plane was a real bitch after adding the plate.
I finally just took the thing off and mounted the motor on the second set of holes.
The boat performed much better without the setback.
And with the setback from the plate it only ran 35 to 38mph.
This was my Pathfinder 19 here (pic below).
I could get this thing up on a plane with no jackplate by spinning it and creating a wake in like 10 inches of water and then\
when the wake lifted the rear of the boat,punch it and run just as shallow as anyone with a plate with the same draft.
This boat here only had a 90 Yamaha on it but was rated for a 115.... But it would dust most other boats in it's size range that had 115's on them. Especially in rougher water that was shallow. Top speed was about 40 to 45mph without the plate ...to as where the Kenners,Nautic Stars,Makos',Nitros,Ect.. and other smaller bayboats in the same range had trouble running 35 to 38 in most conditions with 115's on them and they couldn't get their boats up unless they had at least 2ft of water even with a plate. It was a great little bayboat and handled the bigger water like 22ft bay boat.
Maverick boat company makes some unreal stuff!

Nice looking Pathfinder, love the Riptide! Oh I know the plates can change things for sure, thats why Ive been reluctant to go there. As it is, I can go skinny as I need to and just pole the rest. I guess Im not one of those guys infatuated about running into 10" of water,,, I will put down my shallow-water anchor and just wade, Im just not that hardcore. I wont even spring for a Powerpole, I use Dig-In anchor.



As for WOT, I get 40 with the prop Im using. I prefer a good holeshot and could care less about going fast. Most often running way below that.