Club Classic

This past Saturday was the end of the year classic for a small local bass club in the Jacksonville, FL area. Our season was eight events ranging from Rodman to Drs. Lake and a few other notable bodies of water within an hour’s ride of the Jacksonville city limits.  The first year for this club went well and brought close to 20 active teams together throughout the year for Saturday events that were fun and had low entry fees and full paybacks. What is not to like? It reminded me of a Saturday card game where friends came together for some healthy competition and plenty of good natured trash talking. I was fortunate enough to win the first event of the year at Julington Creek fishing with Dad, which actually turned out to be the last day I would ever spend on the water with him. 

Dad and I from Julington Creek

At the next event after dads passing the club came together and presented me with a trophy to commemorate that day on the water with dad. I was touched as this was not standard procedure to present winners with trophies to keep but it was a gesture from a group of guys that I will forever cherish. 

Trophy from Julington Creek

As the year went on my buddy Scott Williams from S2H Fishing picked up the slack and fished as my partner to fishing the year out. We took top honors at the Santa Fe event and although I had to miss a few events due to work I sneaked into the top 10 classic for the end of the year which was held at Lake Santa Fe as chosen by a blind draw. I felt good about the pick as it’s a lake I have won at in the past plus I just flat out love to fish that lake, the only issue is I was going at it alone. Scott was traveling with his wife and little girl and partner subs were not allowed for the end of the year classic. 

Our winning bag from Santa Fe

The morning came and I was rigged and ready but so was Mother Nature. Hurricane Sandy churned off our coast of Jacksonville and brought 20-25 MPH winds with gusts to 30 from sun up until weigh in at 2pm. The wind for the day was out of the NNW and my morning started on the leeward side of the lake and letting the wind push me down the west bank as I burned a spinnerbait under the windblown docks and grass mats. In tournaments there is always time to second guess yourself so you just have to learn to make a decision and go with it. At first I was throttled up to head to the big lake and run the pass but once I could see the condition on the water and the wind direction I made a quick adjustment that would pay off, quickly. I dropped the trolling motor and had a frog and spinnerabait on the front deck. The grass lines are unique here as they create a small wind break that bass get in and behind and will slam a frog but if they are in front of the grass a spinnerbait running parallel will get smoked. The first patch of grass I came to I dropped two casts behind and the frog walked out unscathed. The first cast with the spinnerbait was a little off target but the one that followed worked. My chartreuse and white Terminator T-1 hit the water and with two cranks of my Revo SX 7.1 and she slammed it. Fifty feet off the bow she came out of the water instantly and my heart jumped into my throat. Call for the net?!?! Yea right, who will help? I fought her to the boat and she made one last leap which happened to be right into the waiting net and the first fish was in the boat in under 15 minutes and she was over 5lbs. The rest of the day was not nearly as exciting but I made a few different stops around the lake as the spinnerabait continued to produce but I couldn’t add another big one and was only able to add 3 limit fish to the bag. When weigh in came most of the guys had a rough time filling out their limits due to weather and my hopes were growing that my bag might go the distance or at least I would take big bass honors. My four fish limit was 9.10lbs anchored by the 5.14 big bass which brought home second place and big bass by 4 ounces. Although, the weather was tough and I had to fish alone it certainly made my day being able to do well and bring home a little change in my pocket. Congrats to winners Hendrix and Gifford. 

Guys from the Club