Skeet’s Beat – Back from Bull Shoals

That didn’t go how I had hoped.

I got on a pretty steady bite at Bull Shoals, and I’m pretty sure I was on the same bite that the guys that finished in the top 12 were on. But, I was in the wrong area of the lake.

I went there assuming that most of the bass in the upper ends of the lake would have spawned already, and that those on the lower end would be just getting there; but, I was wrong. The fluctuating water levels and all of the storm fronts that have been coming through the Ozarks must have kept the fish off of the beds. The water temperatures upriver were in the high 50’s and the fish that Brandon Palaniuk won on must have been prespawn.

Congratulations to him for a big win. It isn’t easy to beat this field like he did, he did a great job.

I’m pissed that I didn’t do better. I figured 13 pounds a day would end up being a top 25 finish, and it didn’t even make the top 50 cut with 26 pounds, 1-ounce.

The worst part is that I fell to sixth in the AOY standings and I’m not happy about that either. I know Brent Chapman is fishing lights out, and he has a 56 point lead now, but we’re still a long way from finished and I can make up those points.

After I missed the cut, I spent some time on the water Saturday with the folks from TroKar; who was the presenting sponsor of the Bull Shoals event – the TroKar Quest. We drove around the lake looking for spectators and people fishing and stopped and said his and gave them some samples and t-shirts and stuff.

The first boat we pulled up to had a family with two boys about 10 or 11 years old. We gave them each a t-shirt that I signed and some hooks, and they were thrilled. The dad told me that they had come to see the event because his kids wanted to see me, but then to pull up on them and give them some TroKar stuff was pretty cool.

I also gave a little girl in another boat one of my signature Wright & McGill Co. rods and reels; which I signed. I don’t think it made her brothers real happy, but it put a big smile on her face, and that’s all that matters.

I drove to Nashville after that to catch a flight home, and that drive ended up being a lot longer than I thought, but I was able to catch a flight and come home and see my girls. It was 91 degrees when I got off the plane in Sacramento; I can’t believe how hot it was.

I got home and found the girls trampoline flipped over by a gust of wind on our fence, so I fixed that up so they could jump on it. We spent the afternoon in the back yard and today I got up and went for a bike ride an am getting some work done to get ready for Douglas Lake.

I’ve got some ground to make up.

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