Day 2 dawned with dense fog and light wind. After all the boaters and conangler's met in Walmart's parking lot (the site for the 4 pm weigh-in) we
headed to Elizabeth Park. I had a new coangler for the day. A very nice 22 year old guy who was fishing for his first FLW check in the 4 years of fishing with
them. He was a quiet guy who was a pleasure to fish with. After arriving at Elizabeth the tournament director decided to delay us for the fog. We left our
boats on the trailers until 8:30 and did not get going until almost 9! Ouch, I had the bulk of my wieght by 8 am the previous morning. I arrived at my first
stop at 9:20. I hook up instantly with a 2 pounder on my tube. Watching th graph, I noticed the fish were high off the bottom under balls of bait. I thought
about cranking, but decided to get my heavy action tube snapping rod out and begin snapping my secret tube. On the first cast one cracked it and after a short
battle came off. The next cast produced a hard slam and that heavy action rod strained as a giant jumper cleared the water to reveal her greatness. The second
run to the surface and she was gone after shaking the tube. My co began snapping his tube and also lost two good fish after short battles. My next cast
produced the same result with a hard slam and a mad monster jumping clear out of the water. This time I won though and put a 5 pounder in the box. My heart was
racing as I knew that many times in the past when you can start them up they don't stop. The next few casts produced missed hookups and then they were
gone! The boat had not move, but the fish left. I searched the area only to find that the fish had once again went to the bottom. Out came my drop shot and I
began vertically fishing individual fish. They were very unresponsive, but I finally fooled one 2 pounder into biting. I know had 3 in the 'well and
decided to hit the hole where I had caught the two 6's in practice, which is the same place that I stopped and saw the big school the day before. I cranked
it for a while and chased some diving bird's down only to have one lost fish that I did not see. My co did catch a small keeper on a crankbait while we
were chasing the birds. We were over 3 hours in with les than 3 hours to go due to the fog. I knew running further out to Erie with the bite this slow would be
gamble so I decided to try to finish a limit to get the edge off. I began to run to all of my numbers holes to not even get a sniff. I then decided to hit a
populat largemouth spot that almost guaranteed to produce and did not get a bite there either. With 2 hours to go I told my co it was time to go for broke. I
was only going to fish for two big bites the rest of the day. I ran to a big fish spot that was close by and instantly catch the smallest keeper I have ever
caught there at 14 1/2 inches. With no other takers I hit the next spot close by. On my second verticle drop to a fish I hooked up to a whale. A short intense
battle produced another 5 pound fish. I now had my limit, although not a great one. A couple drops later I hook another solid fishonly to have it come off. I
never saw it so I don't know what it was A few minutes later I hook my sixth keeper, a 15 incher which culls out the 14 1/2 that I caught earlier. I was
begging the Heavens for one more 5 pounder. With an hour to go I decided to run back to Elizabeth and see if I could cull out the little ones with some
retreads and my partner was all for that as he had fished for them before and knew how quick you could change your day. I had one key spot that usually
produces and after arriving I find another tourney competitor already there 
. He is a friend of mine and I pulled up next to him to see if they were on. He told me he had a bad day and only had 4 in the box for about 8 pounds.
He also said he just got there and had already lost tow good ones. Well this spot is only big enough for one boat and I gave him his space. In the next 30
minutes he culled out everyone of the 4 he already had and put a pretty decent limit in the boat. He was one place ahead of me in the standings. My co and I
caught a few very small smallies just off of him, but did not hook up the rest of the day with a good fish. Off to Walmart we went with hopes of a top 5 in
mind. Well, it proved to be a tough day on everyone. Only 11 of the 18 finalists on the boater side had limits and no one broke the 20 pound mark.
18'11" was the largest limitof the day. My 5 weiged in at 16'2" and finished me up in 6th. I ended the BFL season finishing 3rd in the points
cashing 4 checks in 5 tourneys including a 6th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and my points killing 56th place at Sandusky. It was a good year overall and the Coach and I
had a blast chasing those big brown fish all over the place. I will now be heading to Cherokee Lake for Regionals October 11-18th to try for a shot at the All
American. I have never seen this body of water and know it is a tough place to fish. If anyonehas ever been there and is willing to help let me know. God Bless
Everyone!
. He is a friend of mine and I pulled up next to him to see if they were on. He told me he had a bad day and only had 4 in the box for about 8 pounds.
He also said he just got there and had already lost tow good ones. Well this spot is only big enough for one boat and I gave him his space. In the next 30
minutes he culled out everyone of the 4 he already had and put a pretty decent limit in the boat. He was one place ahead of me in the standings. My co and I
caught a few very small smallies just off of him, but did not hook up the rest of the day with a good fish. Off to Walmart we went with hopes of a top 5 in
mind. Well, it proved to be a tough day on everyone. Only 11 of the 18 finalists on the boater side had limits and no one broke the 20 pound mark.
18'11" was the largest limitof the day. My 5 weiged in at 16'2" and finished me up in 6th. I ended the BFL season finishing 3rd in the points
cashing 4 checks in 5 tourneys including a 6th, 10th, 12th, 16th, and my points killing 56th place at Sandusky. It was a good year overall and the Coach and I
had a blast chasing those big brown fish all over the place. I will now be heading to Cherokee Lake for Regionals October 11-18th to try for a shot at the All
American. I have never seen this body of water and know it is a tough place to fish. If anyonehas ever been there and is willing to help let me know. God Bless
Everyone!
