SHOOTOUTS HELP LOCAL ANGLERS

While it seems as though some anglers consistently catch fish every time

they go fishing……in reality it just doesn’t work that way.More

especially, when you are talking about bass fishing!

A recreational saltwater fishermen just looking for a bite that isn’t

species specific has a much better chance of catching something.The fact

that when all else fails he can turn to live or frozen bait as an option

greatly enhances his chances of some level of success.

I mention this only after having visited with an avid young bass

fisherman while waiting for a recent Sabine River Shootout to

conclude.“I am not ready to try and compete with those guys,” he said,

“but I fish on the river two or three days a week and they are a very

good resource for anyone that wants to catch more bass.”

He did mention something about their choice of lures and different

techniques, but the real value was using them as a barometer as to what

was going on at the time.“If you have some idea what to do before you

even launch, you are going to catch more fish,” he pointed out.

“I didn’t know how good some of these guys were until the Shootouts

started and the same teams were winning every time.If you can read you

know who they are so I paid more attention to the places I would

occasionally see them fishing.They don’t fish one little tiny spot, but

they will choose certain areas depending on the weather and tides.”

“If I can’t make a weigh-in and I see who won on Facebook, I have

already eliminated a lot of water.I never fish on tournament day and I

don’t beat their spots to death when they’re not fishing, but I know

what kind of water to look for.”

“I initially thought the Vaughans were going to win every tournament

because I was fishing some of the same water and they were catching big

numbers of nice fish when I couldn’t even get a bite. I knew there were

bigger bass than I was catching in one pond and I eventually caught my

first seven pounder after switching to a lure that I would have never

tried. I won’t tell you what they were fishing with, but no one else was

using it at the time!”

“I have since changed my mind about who will win each week,” he

concluded.“They have at least seven teams that you just can’t bet

against, but I only know where three or four of them spend a lot of

their fishing time.”

“They don’t have to worry about looking over their shoulder, but I

consider them a great resource for anyone trying to catch larger bass

more consistently.They have really shortened the learning curve for me!”

I don’t know why, but last week’s tournament drew only 32 teams.Someone

must have known something as the weights they posted were off a little

as well. Cade Black and Chad Linder didn’t mind the smaller field as

they won first place with an 8.39 pound bag and big bass money as well

with a 3.64 pound fish.

Chase and Chance Stone finished second less than two ounces off the

pace.Kevin and Steven Vaughan finished third and Bronson Kemp won the

Kids Division with a solid 2.70 pound bass.

I don’t recall ever having paid closer attention to the weekly standings

in the CCA S.T.A.R. tournament and it has already proven to be very

interesting.Of all of the folks currently leading a category, I still

don’t believe anyone is in better shape than Michael Fesco with his 8

lb. 2 oz. gafftop.

Curtis Widener’s 6lb. 5 oz. flounder is leading the Starteen Division

and could prove very difficult to run down as well.No less than three

individuals are tied for first with 5lb. 4 oz. flounder in the adult

division!

I think it is safe to say at this point that the Larson kids of Danbury

are on some very solid trout as well. Lillie is leading with a 7lb. 14

oz. trout and Andrew and William are holding down second and third

place.Andrew is only four ounces off the pace!

Only one tagged redfish has been caught and certified thus far, but

another one was caught by a fisherman that hadn’t entered the event.I

feel certain he is disappointed, but he did release the fish to give

some other angler a shot at a truck and boat combination!