Boyd Duckett – Sabine Day 3: Moved up again… and, man, did it rain

What a day. Man, did it rain. It poured all, all, all day.

In the middle of that storm, though, I caught 10 pounds, 11 ounces. I would have thought going into the day that 10-11 would have gotten me into Sunday’s final round. In fact, I actually figured eight or nine pounds would have been good enough for a top 12. But several other guys caught them better than I thought they would.

So I finished 14^th. I’m not complaining.

But it’s hard to describe how intense that rain was today.

Rain is part of competitive fishing life. Simply knowing that everybody else is under the same weather doesn’t make fishing in the rain easier. Everything you do is harder when it’s raining. Gripping your equipment is different. Re-tying is a challenge. Eating a sandwich is almost impossible.

It seems like every time you turn your head, water starts running down your neck.

It was raining so hard today you could barely see, and for a while lightning was cracking all around the place, so I decided to get out of it. The only place I could find was under an interstate bridge, and that’s where Gerald Swindle I hung out for about 30 minutes while the worst of the lightning passed through.

As I said, fishing in the rain is part of what we do, and you just have to get used to it. But when lightning starts popping right in your ear, I start thinking things like, “I actually don’t want to die.” And not only was the lightning hitting close by, the wind was blowing the trees on the bank practically down into the water.

So that’s why I went for cover.

But here’s the amazing thing. I caught a two-and-a-half pounder while I was under that bridge. How’s that for some strategy?

The strategy I chose for the day was to return to a little 8-acre pond that I had fished the first two days. I thought it would be good for the 10 pounds I felt I needed to make the Sunday cut. But, again, even thought I got the weight I wanted, I still didn’t make the cut.

Overall, it was a really good way to start the season. Even in the good years I’ve had on the Elite Series tour, I’ve never had a really solid finish in the first regular season event. It always seems to take me a few events before I get into a groove.

Fortunately, this year is different.