The tournament always starts before the tournament right? Not for me. I wanted to prefiish the lake (Lake Konowa) the day before. My school basketball team was playing in the state tournament, so I was across the state cheering them on (which they ended up winning). That night I went through the usual routine: rigging, packing, preparing.
The tournament started smoothly, got there on time and was rigged and ready with time to spare. After a few short minutes talking with my dad, blast off! My dad and I made a mad dash to the spot we wanted to hit first, a very profound point. The wind however made it very difficult. Later in the day I moved to another shoreline I wanted to fish, but was again denied by the wind… I decided to ram myself into the weeds and fish shallow. About 15 minutes later I catch a 12 inch buck bass and had my pattern for the day, a texas rigged fluke jr. I originally wanted to sit in 6-8 feet of water and fish a lipless crank bait, but a lack of an anchor prevented that. I eventually went sometime without a bite and headed across the lake to fish new shoreline. During this time I had some camera trouble and my pictures were all messed up, which made for a fun time… I eventually decided to fish a weed point that was being hammered by the wind. On my second cast my fluke got hammered but I missed the fish. I made a second cast and bam, a 14.25 inch fish, by this time I had a technique to my picture taking and it wasn’t a major issue. I decided to fish the shoreline from the point for about 50 yards and then back tracked. About halfway back I managed a 14.5 incher and was pretty happy. I paddled over to another side but couldn’t manage another bite, and then it was time to head back.
The scoring was fine and all pictures counted. After a short rain delay then prizes were given out, some awesome door prizes that I didn’t win too. As a whole the tournament was a success, and I took home a $50 gift card to a local kayak shop, which I spent on an anchor trolley after that day full of wind!
Couldn’t have done it without my Lure 11.5 and the rudder! The tournament was a nice reminder of how fishermen have to be persistent, patient, and willing to adapt, I’m already prepping for the next tournament and what it offers!!
Chris Montgomery
Feelfree Fishing Team Member (Former)