This trip went infinitely better than my trip to Lewisville!  I drove the 13 hours by myself and made it alive and not really all that tired.  I had an awesome roomate and pre-fishing partner (Thanks again, Marcia) and caught some decent fish during practice on beavers and a tube. (Don't get excited- I said decent, not lunker-quality or anything.)

Me or my stuff didn't get lost anywhere. 

Day One-  I had a few bites and landed one keeper spot on a beaver bait. Bluebird skies and little moving water, I think, affected the bite. The Pro I was paired was great.

Day Two- Man, I thought this would be the day!  On my very first cast, I caught a short fish on a spinnerbait (my first fish spinnerbait fish)!  But I thought it was a good sign. I caught another short fish on a beaver.  I finally caught a keeper spot in the afternoon on a shaky-head but then no more bites. Again, paired up with a fun, nice Pro who, lemme tell ya, really knows how to handle a boat!

I finished 44th, right around the middle of the pack again.  At least I caught fish... and I'm consistent (just wish it was consistently more LOL)!!  I had a lot of fun this time.  I did break another rod, but it was my fault.  I don't know when/ how it happened.

I sped home with the pedal to the metal on Saturday to spend Memorial Day with my family (and  to make it in time for face-off of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, featuring our the Pittsburgh Penguins).

Left early Sunday morning to go to Yellow Creek (Penn Run, PA) to camp and fish.  On Monday morning, my Aunt and I found our third-choice bank spot, because our other spots were occupied. Now, wouldn't you know that I caught two really nice largemouth from that darned bank by fancasting a spinnerbait and then throwing a tube right where I left off with the spinnerbait? My aunt caught a nice one too.  Why couldn't I catch those fish at a tournament????? 

Fished a club tournament at West Branch (Michael J. Kirwan) in OH.  I caught one keeper and placed 9th.  Caught some short fish.  It was very windy. I have one this Saturday in OH and before I know it, I will be driving to Tennessee to do all over again!


5/16- Update before Neely Henry

I am happy to announce that I have a new sponsor- Gamma Lines. If you have not tried Gamma, please run- do not walk- to your local tackle store today and experience the difference in line strength, knot strength, and sensitivity. You can find a store here: Gamma Lines

Last weekend, I placed fifth in my club tourney (15 fished) with one largemouth 2 lbs. 12 oz.- 3 oz. from lunker!!! It was at Mosquito Lake in OH.

I'm leaving Sunday for Alabama to fish Stop 2 of the Womens Bassmaster Tour.

If you want to see I'm doing, please visit Bassmaster's Website and click on the "WBT" link and look around. There will be a live weigh- in and results will be posted daily starting on Thursday, May 22nd. 3 pm Eastern time.

In the meantime, wish me good luck!


4/21- Lake Lewisville WBT Stop #1

Well, I've had some time to recover from the first trip of the season and gain some perspective so here goes…

My trip started out rocky.  When I got off the plane at Dallas/ Ft. Worth, my tackle bag came off the baggage carousel with the front flap open and all my little plastic cases spilled out all over the place!  So there I was, frantically trying to collect my split shots, sinkers, hooks, etc. that were flying all over the carousel in front of people trying to grab their bags (hey- that stuff costs money and it all adds up)!  I lost a bottle of Reel Magic and who knows what other little things I had in the flaps that I haven't discovered yet.  Those flaps were buckled and velcro'd tightly when I last touched that bag, I will tell you that. (Later at the hotel, I found the TSA note that the bag had been opened and searched). My rod case never appeared.

I gave up waiting for the rod case after another 15 minutes passed, and eventually discovered that it wasn't going to be coming… because it was never put on the plane!!!   After some frustrating conversation with an apathetic airline worker, I was told it would be delivered to my hotel- but couldn’t tell me when.  So I gathered up my mammoth suitcase, my big tackle bag, and little tackle bag that I used as carry-on, proceeded to get my rental car, and drove to my hotel.  (Getting around from the hotel to all the places we needed to be turned out to be the easiest part!!)

My rod case turned up after 1:00 am in the morning, without anyone calling me to notify me that it would be there.  (Gee, didn’t the TSA notice they didn’t find a crystal ball in my luggage???) Instead, someone had the bright idea to call my home in Pittsburgh and awaken my boyfriend at 2:00 in the morning EST to tell him that they would be delivered.  Being too tired to deal with it all, I picked it up at the lobby and went back to sleep. 

I opened my case the next morning to find that one of the rods was broken- the one that I planned to use!  At that point, I saw many phone calls, emails, and faxes in my immediate future, some of which I still have to make…

We had a group dinner Tuesday night and registration Wednesday. We went to Academy Sports+Outdoors for a meet-and-greet.  Again, I met some really cool, nice anglers and found out who my partner would be for Day One. I also got to see some ladies I met last year and got the chance to catch-up a little.

As for the tournament itself, it was some tough fishing.  Tornado watches flooded the weather channel and newscasts.  On the nights leading to the tournament, some areas real close to Lewisville did get hit with tornados.  Our area got hit with thunderstorms at night, and a pretty bad hail storm a night or two before the tournament began. 

Day One ended up being a beautiful day, although pretty windy.  I landed some short fish before hauling a keeper into the boat in the AM using a T-rigged tube.  I caught another short fish during the day on a shaky-head worm. But I was happy to get to the stage with my one fish!

Day Two was a different story.  In my opinion, it was much windier than Day 1 and definitely colder.  As a beginner, my style wasn’t suited for the style necessary that day.  To make matters worse, I didn’t have the proper line spooled on or with me.  I went through the entire day without a single bite.  Even though I didn’t get a fish, I did learn some important lessons and can target some areas for improvement/ preparedness.  Because I didn’t add any weight, I didn’t make the cut.

I placed 43 spot out of 83 in the co-angler division and earned some points.  I fished with two more awesome pro’s who made the fishing pass with some great conversation, shared experience, helpful tips, and kindness. I learned a lot about fishing, baits, styles, etc., just like I did last year, so I can continue to improve and expand my arsenal.  One thing I learned is to never fly to a tournament again! LOL!

When I got home, I fished a club tournament the next weekend at Berlin Lake in OH.  In that tournament, I placed 4^th out of 14 and earned points, as well.  I caught 2 keepers, one just barely legal, using a T-rigged beaver, which was the first time I ever threw a beaver-style bait.  It worked out well!  LOL.

Next WBT tourney is May 22-24 at Lake Neely Henry in Gadsden, AL.  I have a club tournament before that, as well.  Stay tuned!