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| | | Supreme Being
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| I have become quite accustom to fishing tournaments in adverse weather conditions. During the Paddle Fishing Tournament Series (PFTS) event this weekend, the weather was not as bad as expected. It was breezy and there was a small shower that passed quickly towards the end of the day. There were 59 anglers to show up for the “My Lure Are Better Than Your Lures” (MLABTYL) tournament.
Each leg of the PFTS has a different theme and rules to make it an interesting event to say the least. The MLABTYL event is based upon choosing the lure you have the most confidence in and pitting up against the favorites chosen by the other competitors. Each angler can carry as many baits as they think they need for the day but they must all be exactly the same. If a person chooses a topwater bait, all baits must be the same make/model and color. If someone chooses a jig, the heads must all be the same weight and color and the jig bodies must all be the same type and color. Each leg in the series is a Slam event and the length of each angler’s largest snook, redfish, and trout is tallied. The prize structure is set so that the top three winners split the cash collected for entry fees and gift certificates are handed out for the largest of each species.
When the day was done, we all met at the designated eatery for the weigh-in. Everyone checked in with the tournament director and then those in the running for prize winnings were asked to submit their photo for judging. A couple beers and a cheeseburger later, the prizes were handed out.
Largest Trout – “Paddlearoun”, Dan; 18-inches
Largest Redfish – “Al”, Alnorito; 27-inches
Largest Snook – “YaknNik”, Nick; 24.75-inches
3rd Place Slam – “JMSnooky”, Jason; 62-inches
2nd Place Slam – “Apollobeachsam”, Sam; 64.5-inches
1st Place Slam – “JLK”, John; 66.5-inches
So, how did I do? In a nutshell, I did not place in the day’s event but I did increase my score for the season long standings. Now, for the long version…
This was my first tournament in the new Hurricane Phoenix 160 and I must say this is the most comfortable boat I have ever used for a tournament. Aside from being physically comfortable while sitting in the boat all day, I did not feel confined like with other boats that have consoles molded into the cockpit. There was plenty of room for the bulky measuring board that kept it within reach when I needed it and out of the way when I was not using it. I am also used to having water in the footwell, especially when I get out and wade. This boat is bone dry! Any water that makes it into the cockpit flows right out the drain hole.
I started the day of to a great start. I stayed away from the areas the bulk of the other paddlers fished. Everyone headed straight back into the bayou but I paddled outside the barrier islands and worked the flats. The tide was flowing out at a good clip, so I knew there would be fish feeding in the current. There were schools of mullet running through and it did not take long for a 16-inch trout to pounce on the DOA ¼ oz Gold Glitter Shrimp. I waded around the area and hooked into a couple of redfish but they rolled the hook out. The water level became lower with the flushing tide and the action move off as well so I headed to the inside to see if I could find more fish.
The water level dropped so low that I ran aground with the kayak. Not knowing the contours of the bayou very well, I trudged through the muck in the direction of mullet jumping in the distance. Along the way I found a few potholes but because I was walking into the wind, my approach was not the best so I bi-passed them for moment. I managed to get to a stopping point and anchored on the edge of a pothole. I fished for a few minutes while surveying the area around me then I started drifting back towards one of the potholes I passed on the way in. Letting the wind silently ease me to the edge of the hole did not spook the fish out this time. Using the DOA shrimp was much easier with the wind at my back as well. The hole was loaded with snook and trout. Almost every cast yielded that magical “thump” often felt when using that bait. Most of the trout were smaller than the 16” I caught earlier and the snook were all in the 18 to 21” range. I did manage to jump a couple of snook that were in the mid to upper 20’s but they unbuttoned before I could get them in.
Running out of time, I still needed a redfish to complete the Slam so I had to pull myself away from the fun of catching and get back to fishing. Every place I went that looked perfect for redfish did not pan out very well. It was tough keeping those pesky snook off my line. Then it happened! I felt the line go tight and the pull was a bit harder than the other fish I hooked into. For once, this fish did not jump out of the water and I could feel him bulldogging along the bottom. It boiled and rolled on the surface a couple of times during the fight like redfish often do. I breathed a sigh of relief and I finally got it to the boat but saw there was a stripe down the side; another snook. I kept fishing, drifting and catching snook after snook but then it happened again. I hooked a fish that stayed on the bottom. This time when it rolled on the surface, I saw that it was a redfish because I was standing in my kayak and had a better view of the fish. I got him up to the boat and made a rookie mistake; I grabbed the tail and lifted the fish by the leader. The leader snapped, the tail slipped out of my hand, and I was out of time. The weigh-in deadline was quickly coming upon us and I was not sure how long it would take to get there because it was about 20 miles away.
Nonetheless, the outing was a good ol’ friendly competition with the best people one could ever be beaten by. Did I mention having to paddle into a 20 knot headwind on the way back to the launch? I’m off in search of the Advil!
~Mark~
CooKnFish Online |
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| | | Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/2/2008 12:18 PM
Posts: 1,236, Visits: 5,008 |
| Mark... It was a pleasure beating you 
Vegetarian: Old Indian word for bad fisherman.
Team CHB |
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