LOUSY WEATHER AGAIN!

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LOUSY WEATHER AGAIN!

By Ron Wilson

May 8, 2003.... Saturday Norval Pimentel and I fished the Annual Fish Sniffer Black Bass Team Fishing Tournament held at Kelsey Bass Ranch.

I got up at 3:30 a.m. to spitting rain and it was still raining at 4 a.m. when I arrived at Norval's house. The weather eased up a bit as we hooked up his Stratos bass boat but by the time we left the driveway, the rain drops were falling again.

The drive to Snelling was met with only intermittent raindrops, but by the time we got to the pond the rain was steadily falling and the wind was blowing. The rolling foothills surrounding the area seems to funnel the wind right through the lake. I have noticed that even in the summer, most afternoons have a nice cool breeze that blows through the area. However this was more then a nice cool breeze, try gale force winds!

The lake had been divided into separate holes for the tournament. Each of the teams would start in a different hole and spend a specified amount of time in each spot before rotating to the next hole.

We launched at safe light and headed to our designated starting spot, hole number 11. Heck this was the same
spot Dee Thomas and I had started in a few years back in a similar fishing tournament. We didn't fair to well in that event so I was hoping that this wouldn't be a repeat!

Norval quickly put our 3 fish limit in the boat, the fish all looked like they came out of the same mold, 2 ¾ pound bass. He caught three more that were the same size. I said "Hey Norval we need a kicker fish, we got all the fish this size we need".

On hole 12 I caught a bigger fish, probably about 3 pounds. I can't tell you for sure since Norval didn't have scales or a balance beam anywhere in the boat!

At hole 14 Norval culled fish on a measuring board, leaving us two that were 19 ½ inches and one that went 20 inches. We had some fatties that were smaller so I am not to sure how well his guess-timate worked, but I knew we needed that 6 pounder to be in the money, period!

When we got to the dam area, one of the best big fish areas as far as I am concerned, the wind was blowing white caps across the lake. Norval had to kick the trolling motor on high to fight the wind!

We soon found out that the trolling motor got stuck in the high position. Every time Norval hit the foot control, the boat would lurch one way or another, it was a wonder that one of us didn't get a bath!

We caught fish after fish after fish on senko's and brushog's but we couldn't get the big bite we needed.

Norval couldn't believe out of the 40 plus fish we caught, we couldn't get a 3 pound average out of our best 3 fish!

The fishing was great, the catching was great but the size just wasn't in the cards for us last Saturday!

Plus I didn't find out until I got to the lake that my son and grandson used up all my secret baits that were working for the better fish the last time we were out there! They didn't leave me any Yamamoto double tailed perch grubs to fish with!

Click here for more pictures of contestants that caught fish.