Entries from July 2008 ↓

I looked over one time  today and I saw Jared Lintner and Stephen Browning. We looked like a bunch of crazy people getting tossed around in the wind and waves. It was a tough day for fishing.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad day, though. I caught over 18 pounds, and I’m in 25th place. Not bad, but it’s got to get better.

Please listen to this audio blog for more details.

[audio http://www.utterz.com/utts/b4/b4eadf4bc02befdf139f09b4b355edcf.mp3]

Mobile post sent by Boyd using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

It’s the bottom of the ninth for me. The Elite Series tour is has two more events and I’m not yet in the Classic cut. I’m close enough, but I need two good tournaments to make it, so it’s the bottom of the ninth and two men are on. I’ve got to get them home.

And what a place to be when the pressure’s on. We’re at Lake Erie - at the Niagara River. And this can be a scary place to fish. It’s not like any other place we go. We had 8-foot waves on Monday. So, obviously, wind is a major factor. Driving skill is a must. Guys that don’t have experience on big water are at a disadvantage here.

Funny thing is, I’ve always done pretty well here. I finished sixth last year catching about 20 pounds a day. Edwin Evers won last year. He’s a class act. He won because he’s a great fisherman and because he’s really good with electronics. That’s another thing that helps you out on big water like this.

I’m telling you, it can be rough. You have to wear a rain suit, because you’re going to get wet. You don’t get to stand up and fish, because you just can’t do it. You crawl on your boat, you keep your legs locked on whatever’s stable and you fish the best you can. … When you cast, you have to adjust here more than other places. You throw at an angle, so you’re kind of three-quartering your pitches. Everything’s an adjustment.

The other thing is that because of the wind and the waves, you have to adjust your rides. You can’t go but 10 to 15 miles an hour in the best water. So a 15-mile trip that takes 15 to 20 minutes on Guntersville takes an hour and a half on Lake Erie.

Anyway, here’s what I’ll do. I’ll go where the topography is right. There aren’t really ledges here, so you can’t look for those. You have to look for bottom strcture that allows you to fish. You look for things the glaciers left, normally rocky or sandy areas. And I’ll hope to get on the right spots and catch 18 to 20 pounds a day.

There’s one other interesting thing here. I’ll throw a drop shot, and like everybody else out here - everybody - I’ll throw gulp. I’ll specifically be throwing a Berkley Bulky Hog. It’s made with a biodegradable material fortified with something scientific that Berkley found. And the fish eat it like it’s crack.

Well, bottom of the ninth. We’ll see what happens.