Central Pro-Am Association
December 7-8, 2002
Lake of the Ozarks
19th Place
$450.00
The first day at Lake of the Ozarks started out great! I managed to catch a nice limit of fish weighing 14.05 lbs. putting me in 8th place after the first day weigh-in. It was a fun day, because I got to catch all of my fish in a 3/8 oz. Riverside Flippin’ Jig with a Craw Bug trailer. The color that worked best for me seemed to be a black and brown jig with a watermelon red trailer. The fish were located around boat docks in brushpiles. During pracitce I was catching most of my fish in 6-12 ft. of water in the brush. The first day of the tournament I caught a few fish out deep, but most of the fish came very shallow on the back sides of the docks. The second day I caught another limit, but it was much smaller. I don’t really know why the fish were smaller, but they were. I tried the same areas in which I caught them the day before and several new areas. I ended up falling to 19th place with an eight pound limit. This wasn’t a great finish, but it allowed me to move into third place in the overall standings.
Central Pro-Am Association
November 9-10, 2002
Kentucky Lake
5th Place
$1,850.00
This tournament was a rough one, literally!! We had strong south winds both days of the tournament, which made getting to the areas you wanted to fish very difficult. Luckily I found a secluded rock pile in the middle of a marina. It was protected from strong winds. I used a Carolina rig with a 3 inch Wooly Hawgtail in green pumpkin with chartreuse on its tails. I worked the bait very slowly along the rocky bottom and through the scattered brush piles. This area produced five of my keepers for the tournament. The other keepers were taken on a Fat Free Shad Jr. in citrus. I used the wind to my advantage by throwing the crankbait onto windblown points. This pattern produced several keepers, including three largemouth for myself and one over five pounds for my amateur partner. It was an exciting tournament with many factors coming into play!
B.A.S.S. Central Open
October 31-November 1, 2002
Sam Rayburn
82nd
$0.00
I anticipated this being an excellent tournament with the results of previous tournaments held on this lake. There had been lots of great topwater action, but several days of strong rains and stained water seemed to change the mood of the fish. Practice was difficult, as well as the tournament. I caught a few fish Carolina rigging on secondary points. Most of the fish on the Carolina rig were taken on a Wooly Hawgtail in green pumpkin. The other fish I managed to catch came on a 3/8 oz. War Eagle mouse spinnerbait. The second day I caught 1 keeper on the War Eagle mouse spinnerbait and caught several short fish. I then switched tactics and tried a Cotton Cordell Super Spot and caught two more keepers and several short fish. This was a disappointing tournament for me. It only took fifteen pounds to make a check.
Central Pro-Am Championship
October 5-6, 2002
Smithville Lake, Missouri
$0.00
Lake Smithville was a very difficult lake to fish. It is a small lake, and due to other tournaments fishing on the same days, it was very crowded. During practice I caught a few fish on a small crankbait and also by flipping a small Riverside Tube along laydowns. The first day of competition I started out in the back of the creek close to take-off. I caught three short fish on a black buzzbait. We then moved further up the river to Lynn Branch. We caught a dozen fish, most on a 3/8 ounce War Eagle Spinnerbait in white and chartreuse. These fish were all short, but I did manage to catch one keeper flipping a Riverside Tube. The second day my partner and I went further up the river, where we each lost one keeper fish flipping laydowns. We caught several short fish, but we never caught that keeper fish.
B.A.S.S. Central Open
September 26-27, 2002
Lake Ouachita, Arkansas
98th
$0.00
This was a very tough tournament with very few fish being weighed in each day. Most of the fish were being caught out of the grass beds. Some anglers used heavy jigs on the edge of the grass while other anglers used scum frogs and rats across the top of the grass. The first day I had one three pound fish on a scum frog and also caught several just under the 16 inch length limit. The second day was even tougher for me. I only caught four fish and lost the only keeper I had on.
Central Pro-Am Titlist Tournament
September 13-14, 2002
Table Rock Lake
$0.00
This tournament was a challenge for me. Practice was slow, but I did manage to figure out a few areas to catch smallmouth. I was working main lake points with brush in 15-25 feet. The most productive bait seemed to be 1/2 ounce Riverside Jig in green pumpkin purple with a 3 inch Wooly Twin Curl Tail in green pumpkin. The first day my partner and I managed to catch only two keepers. The second day we caught four keepers all on a jig. We ended up finishing four pounds out of the money. Most of the fish were caught on jigs in the dam area fishing gravel points for smallmouth. The tournament was won using a Caroling Rig on a long, flat point. Some anglers also caught fish on a drop-shot rig and a spoon over submerged timber on channel swings.
B.A.S.S. Central Open
August 19-24
Red River, LA
26th
$1,500.00
The Red River was nice and hot!! The water was in the upper 80s to lower 90s, but the river was in very good condition. The water wasn’t muddy, which allowed me to fish the main river and backwaters. The first day of practice I fished in pool 5 in one of the upper rivers. I caught mostly small fish on a small crankbait and a 7 inch red shad ribbon tail worm. I caught a dozen fish or so, and I could have had a limit that weighed about 7 pounds. The only problem with this area was that there were a large number of tournament competitors fishing the same areas. The next two days of practice I spent in pool 4. I caught a few fish cranking rip-rap rock on a Rebel medium deep Wee R in the color swamp shad. I then switched to pitching a 7 1/2 inch red shad ribbon tail worm to main river trees. I caught several nice fish doing this. The last day of practice I found an out of the way buzzbait spot in a backwater. I caught two fish over 3 pounds, and I had another two blow-up on the bait. So I decided this would be a good place to start tomorrow.
During the first two days of competition I caught three keepers each morning in this spot on a buzzbait. I then moved out to the main river and caught one keeper per day on a worm. I finished 42nd, and I made the cut for the final day. As we started the day we headed to the buzzbait spot first. There we had no luck. I then moved out to the main river where I caught a limit on the 7 1/2 inch red shad ribbon tail worm. We were fishing a small sandbar that had current flowing across it. The fish were shallow, in 1-3 feet of water next to an 8 foot drop. I caught a nice limit of five fish, and my amateur caught big bass of his division. I finished the tournament in 26th place!
Central Pro-Am
June 29-30
Grand Lake
9th
$900.00
The water had been steadily falling from the previous week. The lake was just above normal pool. The weather had also been hot, and the fish were beginning to move out of the shallow water into brush along points or around boat docks. Practice was very good! I was catching quality fish, several in the five to six pound range. Most of the fish were moving out deep, in eight to fourteen feet of water, along points with brush. I also caught some fish, still shallow, out of willow trees. The first day of the event went well. I caught my limit on a Texas rigged, ten inch, Riverside, ribbon tail worm in plum. I finished the day in sixth place with a limit that weighed 13.70 lbs., and my amateur also caught a limit weighing 12 lbs., putting him in second place. The second day started out slower. I only caught one keeper on the ribbon tail worm on the brushy point that produced most of our keepers the first day. I then went a flipped a jig around willow trees and didn’t get a bite. After fishing several hours without a bite, I decided to go back to try some other brush piles. These brush piles were in six to twelve feet of water around boat docks. I quickly finished out my limit flipping a Riverside jig, brown/green pumpkin with a wooly twin curly tail in green pumpkin, on these brush piles. I finished out the day fishing other brush piles, in which I caught two other small keepers. I ended up placing ninth in the tournament with 23.45 lbs.
Central Pro-Am Team Tournament
June 23
Grand Lake
?
$0.00
Grand was about three feet above normal, and the fishing was excellent! Most of the fish were shallow in flooded willow bushes. The willows were in 1-3 feet of water. I used a Riverside flippin’ jig, in brown, with a green pumpkin twin tail grub. We also used a Riverside black and blue or green pumpkin big claw. We also caught a few fish around boat docks with scattered brush piles. My partner and I tried some Carolina rigs on points in the main lake area without any success. The day of the tournament we decided to flip willow bushes. We flipped the willows all day and caught twenty keeper bass. Most of the fish were 2-2.5 lbs., with one four pounder. Our final weight at the end of the day was 15.50 lbs., and it took 16 lbs. to finish in the money. It was a fun day, even though we didn’t make a check!
Central Pro-Am
June 8-9, 2002
Table Rock Lake, MO
20th
$0.00
With several guide trips this week, fishing was fairly decent. We were catching numbers of fish out in deep water in depths of 28-40 ft. on vibra king finesse tubes and drop-shotting Riverside finesse worms. I also spent two days in the river looking for a crankbait or Carolina rig bite. I did not find any large number of fish on the crankbait, but I could catch two or three good largemouth a day on a fat free shad. The first day of the tournament I decided to start out deep and fish for my limit. I figured I needed to catch ten pounds a day to make the championship this fall. The first morning I caught my limit of deep fish in thirty minutes on a vibra king tube. After catching my limit I went up the river and began to throw my fat free shad crankbait. I cranked the rest of the day without catching another keeper fish. The weights were close, except for the first two places. They both found a school of crankbait fish, and they were setting the pace with 22 lbs.
The second day I caught fish out deep on the same baits. I just spent a longer amount of time out deep, which helped me to catch a better limit of fish. I finished the tournament in 20th place with 24.35 lbs. This helped me to secure a position in the Central Pro-Am Championship by moving me up to 21st place overall.
Central Pro-Am
May 18-19, 2002
Truman Lake, MO
1st
$7,000.00
The first day of practice was exciting! I caught four fish with three of them being in the 3.50-4.50 lb. range. I caught two of the fish on a spinner bait waking it across the flooded fields. The other two were caught while flipping a Riverside 4 inch, big claw, in black and blue. The next day of practice was rainy, and this allowed me to develop a good pattern. I covered a lot of water, from Bucksaw down to Tebo Creek all the way to Brushy Creek. During this time my partner and I caught several fish on spinner baits, Pop-Rs, and flipping. This made me decide, after finding the type of bank to look for, I would either throw a spinner bait, or if it was sunny, I would flip.
The first day of the tournament was sunny, but it started out nicely. I caught my first keeper flipping next to a shallow log, in about 1 foot of water. I continued to flip the rest of the day, because it turned out to be a sunny and calm day. I caught four bass and lost three other nice keepers. I finished with 11.95 lbs., and this put me in second place after day one. With the second day also being sunny, I decided to start out first thing in the morning with a spinnerbait. Then I would go to flipping once the sun got up. This strategy paid off with a keeper first thing on a little rounded point. I caught the fish on a War Eagle white spinnerbait. Then I flipped the banks that produced the four keepers for me the first day. I wasn’t successful at this spot. I went on to try two other new areas, but I failed to catch a keeper. I decided to make a gamble and ran down toward the dam. This is where I caught two nice fish, one being a 5.50 pounder, flipping my Riverside green pumpkin big claw. I then proceeded to catch one other keeper and two short fish. These three fish gave me enough weight to win my second Pro-Am Tournament!! It was surprising to win a tournament of this caliber of a tournament without catching a limit either day. It just goes to show you that you never know what a day on the water will bring you!!
B.A.S.S. Tour
May 5-11, 2002
Eufuala, AL
61st
$0.00
This tournament day started out great! I had a limit within the first hour of the day. I was using a spinner bait just under the surface, next to flooded, green bushes. The bass would swirl out of the bushes and inhale the bait!! I had a fairly good limit, but I lost two that would have given me fifteen pounds. I ended up with five fish that weighed 13.80 lbs. The next day was slower. I tried to catch fish on the spinner bait again, but due to the lack in cloud cover the fish were not as aggressive. This change prompted me to move to a different location on the lake. I traveled to a flat with isolated bushes in 2-4 ft. of water. Here I threw a Riverside big claw in green pumpkin to the bushes. I ended up catching another limit, but the limit only weighed 10 lbs. The last day started out better, because I caught a 3.50 lb. largemouth on a Rebel Pop-R. Then I went back out to the flat and flipped my claw. I ended up catching two other fish and lost one. I ended the last day with 7.50 lbs. This ended my opportunity to go to the Classic.
B.A.S.S. Central Open
March 18-23, 2002
Toledo Bend, LA
38th
$1,600.00
This is one of the best bass fisheries I have ever fished! I have been traveling to this lake once a year for tournaments, and I am always impressed. The practice was some of the best fishing in many years. The weather was warm, and the fish were moving up to spawn or spawning. The first day I fished south in areas like Six Mile Creek. I caught several limits on a Carolina rigged lizard green pumpkin with a chart. tail. I also found some fish on beds but most were just small keepers. I then went up north to the 1215 area and that is when the fun began! I caught lots of nice fish on spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and tubes. My five largest weighed over 23 lbs., and I caught numerous 3 lb. fish pitching a Riverside black neon tube into buck brush. The third day of practice I went further north with similar results. I felt my pattern was solid and was ready for the tournament. As always, mother nature threw in a good cold front, which cooled the water temperature down 5 degrees over night. My first day partner had found some spawning fish in Six Mile Creek, so we decided to try his fish first. After a few hours we went to my water and caught a limit of 14.4 lbs. on a Carolina rigged lizard. Due to high winds and the long distance up to 1215 I decided it would be best not to run. The second day my partner and I both wanted to fish up north. Fishing was slow, and I lost two nice fish. I only had two keepers weighing in at 7 lbs. The last day I fished up north again, and the bite was better. I caught a limit of 15.6 lbs. on a Riverside black neon tube pitched to buck brush. It was a good day and helped me move up to 38th place.
Central Pro-Am
March 9 & 10, 2002
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
63th
$0.00
The first day of the tournament was canceled due to high winds and cold temperatures. This was a good decision by the tournament staff. The second day was a typical post front day. The clear blue skies and lack of wind made it tough for most of the anglers. I wasn’t on any fish to speak of, so I put a crawdad colored crankbait on and tried to cover water. I caught only two fish and several shorts. Most of the top anglers caught their fish on Suspending Smithwick Rogues.
Bass Pro Shops Fishing Classic Tournament
March 1-2, 2002
Table Rock Lake, MO
7th
$500.00
The fishing was good but the weather was bad and got worse. The first day we caught four keepers swimming a Riverside grub in 25-35 ft. of water around docks. Then around 1:00 p.m. we moved shallow and caught 6 keepers on crawdad colored crankbaits. We worked the bait slow along chunk rock banks with standing timber. The bites would come when the crankbait hit the timber and you paused the bait for a second. The second day was one I will never forget. The morning started great with a 16 lb. limit in the first hour. All these fish came swimming a Riverside grub in 25-35 ft. of water around docks. Then the snow started and never stopped. It was so cold that our reels would just freeze and stop working. By the end of the day our boat was covered in snow! We must be crazy!
B.A.S.S. Central Open
February 18-23, 2002
Sam Rayburn, TX
76th
$0.00
The first day of practice went well but then went down hill. The first day I caught a limit fishing a Texas Red Cotton Cordell Super Spot over grass in 4-8 ft. of water. The next two days I only caught a few keepers. The weather was warming after a week of cold weather and the fish wanted to move up to spawn. The first morning of the tournament started out slow but finished well. My partner and I caught fish around shallow buck brush on floating worms. The next day I blanked, which cost me from getting a check. The final day I caught 4 fish that weighed 12 lbs. and lost another over 4 lbs. I just missed a check, but when you blank it’s hard to make up the difference.
B.A.S.S. Top 150 Tour
February 4-9, 2002
Lake Seminole, GA
32st
$2,800.00
The first two days of practice were very slow. The first day I only caught one small keeper on a Cotton Cordell Super Spot. The next day I tried the Spring Creek area with not much success. I spent the morning trying river channel ledges with standing timber. After several hours without a bite I went looking for spawning bass in the shallows. I only found a few small fish and with the cold weather I decided things wouldn’t be right for sight fishing. The last day I spent in the Flint River area with a little more success, so I decided to spend my tournament in this area. The first day was windy and rainy, which helped the fishing. I caught a limit in the first two hours on a Texas Red Cotton Cordell Super Spot. I did this for the next two days, but the calm conditions and sunny skies slowed the bite. I finished with over 26 lbs.
