Hi fisherman,I'm here to talk and tell about my first bass tournament, but first I'm gonna quickly tell you how I got to where I am.
I've been fishing for whatever would bite my hook since probably before I could walk. But, last year, I realized in all my years of fishing I had never set the hook in the mouth of a largemouth (or any bass). Well, that led me to one thing; I picked up a rod and some plastic worms (10" Berkley Powerbait, Black Grape) and headed to my pond. I tried, and tried, an drug that worm, with nothing to show for. It was about sundown when I felt a bump, and I set the hook into my first bass. It was maybe a pound, if that, but it marked the beginning of an era that I didn't even know of at that time. After that I was at my pond every single day, scraping up advice from wherever I could get it. Eventually, I got to where I had hairlipped all my fish, so I moved on to fishing Lake Seminole. O my, what a whole different world a lake was.
Just over a year later from my first bass, I have decided I would love nothing more than to pursue a career in fishing. I have felt confident in my abilities, so (Last Saturday) I fished in my first tournament.
We blasted off from Lakepoint Marina on Lake Eufaula a bit before sun up, water temp in the mid - 80's.
I started the day in a nice little pocket with a mix of grass and some lily pads. I was throwing a Rebel Pop'r. I had no takers on the topwater bite, so I moved farther back into the creek mixing it up between a Booyah jig and a Spro LittleJohn shallow crankbait. Still, no takers. My first fish, a descent keeper, came at about 8:00 a.m. on a shaky head. He was pretty shallow on a nice stretch of bank I came across while running around. It was getting hot and the bites were extremely slow. I spent most of the day shooting back and forth between a few good areas I had found. About 10:00, I broke a rod (the only spinning outfit I had with me). So, I went to flipping a jig, because I had nothing I felt confident slangin' a 1/8 oz. shaky head on. I had pitched it in to the pads, got hit, and hooked a good 5 or 6 pounder and he just popped off. By now, I'm just drained and pretty much just casting not expecting anything good out of it. Finally, I got my head in it, and decided to atleast go down swinging, so I tied my 1/8 oz. shaky head on, of all things, my crankbait rod.Well, a few casts later I hung a 4 pounder on the same bank I caught my first fish. It boosted me. After that I landed a couple more small fish that didn't meet minimum length, so they got thrown back. I ended up weighing in two fish, 4 lbs 14 oz.
All in all, I had an awesome time on the lake, finally getting to compete. I feel good about the day I had, and I will definitely always remember it.
- Jared Helms
* All fish were caught on a Bass Striker Lures, Stealth Worm, rigged on an 1/8 oz. shaky head.
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