For the Love of the Game

The last time I was in Texas was twenty six years ago, I have some very fond memories from the lone star state and this coming week I plan make some more. On wednesday my buddy and I will be headed to the Texas/Louisiana border to fish the Kayak Bass Fishing Open on Toledo Bend Lake.

Toledo Bend is not only a legendary trophy spot, it is also ranked as the top bass lake in the country by Bass Master Magazine. We'll be fishing waters that the legends like Rick Clunn and Roland Martin have fished...this one of Bass Fishing's Mecca.

 I’m hoping that the intense homework that I’ve done will pay off because the last thing I would want would be to draw a  skunk on the best lake in the nation. This lake holds water that I’m not used to fishing. Mainly, grass and vast stretches of flooded timber. My home waters are mostly clear, deep and rocky or shallow and muddy but in the past few months I have made a point to fish some grass lakes. I’ve recently been to Guntersville and Pickwick several times and on my last trip to Pickwick I felt I had made some progress fishing around grass. Some of you may say that you love grass and I have said that too especially in the waters of Northwest Georgia. We have very little aquatic vegetation and when it’s scarce, then visible grass can be a fish magnet. The grass on Pickwick and Guntersville is on a massive scale. It’s everywhere and I had a real problem figuring out where to start because it all looked good.

I ended up finding fish in areas that if you removed the grass the fish would still be drawn to it. Bait was a key and patches or edges of grass, not the huge  mats were where I found the largest concentrations of fish.
When I get on Toledo Bend early Thursday morning I will put this information to work while I try finding some quality bass. This lake will be a hefty challenge but that’s what tournament fishing is all about.

•Recognize the challenge and determine if you are up for it.

•Accept the challenge

•Prepare for it by reading every single thing you can find about the lake, study the maps, select a few areas that you feel will hold fish and seek first hand knowledge (if possible) to verify that you’re on the right ballpark, read more, map study more and tweak your style to the new lake's possible situations. I.e.; grass, timber etc.

This tournament will have the toughest competition that I’ve faced since March and win or lose I will have a great time but... my preparation isn’t to lose.  Peace

(Photos courtesy of Bass zone and FLW)

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