Larry,
I think that sounds like a really great idea. Pretty fun.
Since it is too early to smack talk for the tournament trail, I will speak with a humble tongue. If I am lucky enough to win a WBC event this coming season, let me help you get started on my day-on-the-lake article:
(As written by Larry Sullivan)
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7:16 - Chris Sergeant pulls up to Lake X in his 6-cylinder 1996 F150 with a sagging plastic toolbox and over 120K miles. He has no boat. He waits on the shoreline for me to launch my boat so he can load his gear. After paying for my launch, I ask him where to point the trolling motor. He smiles and says, "Where do you like to fish on this lake?" I would offer him the front of the boat, but I am not sure he knows how to use the foot pedal.
7:30 - He starts the day by efficiently tying on a Senko rig in no less than 15 minutes.
"I once caught a two-pounder out of some lily pads with this bait," he says, and proceeds to cast the Senko to a featureless sandy shoreline.
7:32 - He gets a strike on the first cast. After ripping his knuckles on the hookset, he picks his rod up off the deck and finds a fish still attached. After a long fight, he pulls up a 13-inch brown bullhead.
"Mmmmm. A fine Ameiurus nebulosus," he says.
After releasing the catfish, he sees some swirling in the middle of the lake.
"YES!" he screams emphatically.
7:52 - Twenty minutes later he has rigged up a Mepps spinner and asks me to troll quickly through the middle of Lake X.
"I once caught four smallmouth using this very technique."
7:55 - Back to the shoreline. He takes about 13 minutes to eat a bear claw.
8:09 - After finishing the bear claw, he opens up a YooHoo.
"Larry, it is not only important to have good nutrition, but to also stay hydrated when you are in extreme conditions like we have today."
It is the middle of June, the lake is 70 degrees, and air temperatures are ranging into the high 60's.
8:22 - The bite is slow, and Chris decides it is time to look for "the big bite". He ties on a 1 oz. rat-l-back jig with a 6" senko for a trailer.
8:23 - The bait immediately elicits a strike and he sets back hard. A 4-inch largemouth flies over his head and lands on the other side of the boat. After he stops shaking and saying, "That's a good fish, that's a good fish," he measures it on the flatboard to find it is not a keeper.
2:05 - Chris has stubbornly stuck to fishing the jig. I am not sure why. He has not caught a fish today, and he hasn't actually used the front of the boat or a depth finder. With only 25 minutes to go in the day, he asks, "Larry, can I drive the boat, please, please?"
I unwillingly say yes and he starts up the big engine. We do some doughnuts in the middle of the lake and Chris starts to head toward the boat launch.
"There is one bed I saw over here in real shallow water that I want to fish before the day ends."
2:15 - The boat driving skills displayed by Chris are rusty at best. In fact, he is heading toward the bed he spotted earlier a little too fast. WAY TOO FAST!
2:29 - Chris helps me push the front of the boat off the shoreline.
"This reminds me of Banks Lake," he says with a grin.
We get back in the boat and Chris looks down into the water. A huge female largemouth full of eggs is belly up in the water. Chris reaches down and lips the 6 lb. pig.
"And that, Larry, is how a true WBC champion does it."
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So there you go, Larry. I expect big things from this program next year!
My apologies to those who didn't expect my post to go this long. I think it is because I have been doing nothing but boring writing lately, and I needed a distraction. Thanks for playing along
Chris