Round Two

Day two started out a little better than day one, but as we were to find out later, it’s twin! We did get on the water a little earlier than yesterday and were actually fishing before 9:30 in cloud & sun. Winds were blowing out of the W/SW at about 15 to 20 knots as we headed to our first spot. The morning air was a little chilly at 54 degrees but with any luck it would climb higher during the day. Water temps had fallen slightly and were now below 58 degrees. Darren, Mark & Dave all got on the board early this morning with a number of fish caught in the first hour. Although the largest may have only gone in the mid 3 pound range, they were still strong fighters. Darren was climbing above all the rest, slamming several more than Dave & Mark combined and letting them know as well. Intermittent rain had us thinking “Déjà vu” and I didn’t like it! Another thing I didn’t like much was the wind direction, as the weather forecasters were wrong once again. It was a strong west wind instead of SW like predicted and was now gusting at over 40. It was blowing so hard at times that the rain was actually horizontal to the water! I had no choice but to hold the boat in the waves and take the punishment, allowing them to fish. Despite all this hell, everyone still continued to catch bass and made the best of it. In the afternoon we had a slight break in the weather and at one point it layed down completely. This was a welcomed treat but unfortunately short lived. Within a few minutes after it died, the winds and rains were right back on us and more intense. Along with this misery, the temps fell and now it felt more like December rather than October! Mark was the only one brave enough to keep at it while Dave & Darren took a break behind the windshield. By sticking at it, Mark was rewarded several times and with some of the better fish of the day. It did manage to clear up afterwards and everyone was able to get back to fishing for the remainder of the day. So much so that Dave bumped out Darren’s 4.5 pounder and took the big bass award with one just under 5 pounds. Dave & Mark had a long drive ahead and were hoping on leaving a little early, so they stopped fishing just after 4:00. Darren was travelling back with me and was in no hurry to leave, so he kept casting looking for another fish or two. Eventually after countless attempts to get the last fish, I was forced to make a few casts and closed it out with a three pounder on the second one. After all, we couldn’t wait all day now! Darren threw a few more casts as I headed to deep water, packing it all in for the day. The conditions were less than perfect to say the least! In the two days on the water, these guys had managed to catch plenty of fish and sever really good ones were in the mix. Today, Darren took the numbers and Dave managed to regain the “Big Fish” award. It was definitely a test of endurance as these last two days tried our patience to the max. Fortunately, the fish came through and everyone left feeling fully satisfied until the next competition. This annual shootout was another successful one, full of plenty of things to remember and weather took “Top Honors” this year!!