I’m feeling pretty good right now. Just finished the final round of the Empire Chase on Lake Erie, and I wound up in sixth place. I’m happy with another top 12 finish. I started the day in tenth place, got a bag of just over 20 pounds and wound up sixth.
Edwin Evers won. Nobody could catch him. I thought there might be some luck involved in this one, because most of us were generally fishing the same way. But Edwin led every day, and that does not sound much like luck.
Lake Erie is a fantastic place to fish, one of the great smallmouth fisheries in the country. Lots of two- to four-pound fish. Really, there’s probably not another place in the country like it for those kind of fish.
On Sunday, just like the first two days, I caught my fish in about 25 feet of water. Same strategy. And they just kept coming.
Now it’s on to Syracuse and Lake Oneida for a major tournament. If you looked at this blog, you heard me whining about being sick last week. Well, I feel better, but now I’m just plain tired. I’m doing this blog while driving from Buffalo to Syracuse, where it will be up again early Monday morning to start getting ready for another tournament.
It’s a good thing, but I am tired.
Here is are some photos from the tournament:
The 12 Elite Anglers heading out of Buffalo on Sunday
Talking to a reporter before the Sunday launch (above) and signing autographs (below)
Well, it was the first day of the Empire Chase tournament and it was a crazy day on an amazing lake. The wind made it hard to move, but I had a good day. I got 18-7.
As tough as it was, I hope we stay out there. I’m afraid they might decide that the wind is too dangerous and restrict us to the Niagara River. I don’t think I’ll do well if we have to fish the river, because I only spent about two hours practicing there.
This tournament is different. I can’t recall the last time, if ever, I’ve gone out to practice for a tournament and been able to see every other boat. That’s almost the situation.
We’re on Lake Erie and we’re all doing about the same thing. We’re hanging close enough in to the shore where our boats can get back. And we’re all fishing on humps and ridges that we’ve found. Luck might have a lot to do with who wins this tournament.
Before I complain about my not-so-great week, I’d like to tell you that since I’ve been working on this blog I’ve tried to look a little bit at what other people are doing. There are some good blogs out there, but I wish there were more of them in the fishing world.
I like the way ESPN Outdoors is offering blogs. There are good ones on that site, and you’ve probably seen them. If you haven’t seen my friend Angie Thompson’s site, you might want to give that a try, because it’s a really interesting. She’s a producer at JM Associates, a company that makes a lot of outdoor television for ESPN and others. Angie talks about what we do in the competitive fishing industry, and she does it from a front-row seat.
I had a few weeks that you’d think would be kind of quiet, but it seems like it’s never quiet. I was extremely busy with Southern Tank Leasing, my business. (Yes, I know, that’s a shameless plug.) I also have been moving. And that doesn’t leave a lot of time for fishing.
So, needless to say, after a busy couple of weeks it was important for me to get back focusing for my “real” business: fishing the Elite Series tour. Although it was going to be a little late, my plan was to start late last week fully concentrating on the next Elite Series stop: the Champion’s Choice on Lake Champlain, in upstate New York.
But sometimes plans don’t work. I got some kind of flu virus last week, and it’s really been working on me. I went to the doctor and got antibiotics, but it’s difficult to get back on top of things when you have to run as hard as we run during these tournaments. We’re always on the go, and we don’t get much sleep.
Well, all of that said, I’ve now completed two days of practice and I actually feel a little better. But not much, because the tournament starts on Thursday - and I’m not finding many fish.
