Weighing the Possibilities

Just looking at the current club AOY standings (can be found at: http://www.eteamz.com/EasternShoreBassmasters/news/index.cfm?cat=469039 ) and I am swirling around the prospect of taking this thing. I am currently sitting in 3rd place with 277.08 points with our Potomac river tournament coming up in May. My thought is this... if I can bring in a 2o or so pound bag, that would put me in position to possibly take the tournament. On top of that, I happen to know that the current leader (at 402.8 points) has a tendency to sometimes struggle at Potomac. So to put it simply, this is my chance to catch him in points. Or at the very least lessen the distance between us.

The importance of my superior performance at this tournament is chief, for the reasons I stated earlier. Only problem is say I do take the tournament with a ginormous bag that puts me at the top. There are still 5 more tournaments to go at different locations that I have a specific disadvantage. Knowledge and experience. Now I'm no baby in this sport but at some of the places we fish, I am. Sassafras, I only came up with 2 fish that were just over a pound, Wicomico I have never fished and Nanticoke I continue to struggle staying on fish... chronically. I know I have the power to change these facts. I can pre fish the Wicomico, find some more spots on the Sass and get my act together at Naticoke. But do I have the time and patience from my family? Do I have the knowledge that will at least allow me to put myself into situations I can learn from? If I search around the Chesapeake and find a little honey hole, unless I have an idea of what sizes I need to fill the live well with, it won't matter. I guess thinking that far into it just makes it seem almost impossible but when it all boils down, that's what it takes. I can't really speculate much about Wicomico river. Some places I have fished for the first time and it's like reading a children's book; easy to read. Nanitcoke or "Nantichoke" as it relates to me, is my horror story. I shock that river for Fish & Wildlife as my profession. I help run the shad hatchery, I earn my living on that river. I know it like the back of my hand. But when I go in my boat to hook and line bass, it's like they know I'm there. They know who I am and why I am there. I fish all the textbook locations for weather and time of year plus use all the same colors and presentations that other anglers use and catch fish with. That place just hates me.

What I encountered on Friday was total bull shit. I worked a retaining wall bank with a sandy shore line and a ledge sloping down to about 13 feet, docks, boats and everythang. To make a long story short, not a jig, spinnerbait, crankbait or shakeyhead would catch a single fish. End result... pissed off.