6/21/08: Lake Champlain Recap

Sometimes it seems like I spend more time on the phone or the computer that I do fishing, so after months of preperation and a lot of work, I was really glad to get the tournament season started.

The first tournament of the season was on Lake Champlain. If you haven't fished Champs it is really like three different lakes: the northern section is different from the central section, which is different from the southern end. Friday I practiced near the Plattsburgh Boat Basin which is where the tournament went out of. I practiced in the rain for about six hours and just couldn't get bit like I thought I should. Just before leaving I made a quick change from a Carolina rig to the same bait, a Tube X in Cayuga Craw, Texas rigged with a 1/4 oz. weight. Three casts and two two pound smallies later I decided I had made a good change and at least had a starting point for the morning.

My partner for the tournament was Rob Milliron from East Freedom, PA.. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. Rob busted his butt to make sure I had five in the box and I cannot thank him enough for that, but he made one crucial decision that really paid off - well, almost.

We were targeting smallies with tubes and drop-shots on off-shore structure that Rob had found in practice, but we weren't getting the big bites that he know were there. It was a little rough on the open water, but we continued to run laps on those reefs since he know there were quality fish in the area. At one point the sun came out and the lake went flat. we were on our way out to the main lake when Rob said, "changed my mind - this sun should get those fish moving; we're goin back to that reef". We turned around, made the six mile run back and began whackin' 'em. Unfortunately we only had an hour and a half left to fish so it was too little to late, but it really helped. I was able to add my fifth fish to the livewell and cull three more times, but still ended up with two "rats" in the box at weigh-in. I finished the tournament in 41st. place and out of the money by about 1.5 pounds, but I really can't complain.

All in all I fished a clean tournament, capitalized on every bite and did well in the points, so I am happy with the outcome. I did have one fish jump off, but it wouldn't have helped me so no big deal. The next tournament is at 1000 Islands. I fished well there last year so I am looking forward to it. To see the complete results click here.