Skeet’s Beat – Wrapping up The Season

Well, what can I say about this year?

I had a great year with a win at West Point, and was in the running for the AOY title until the second to last event, then I took a chance and it didn’t work out so well.  So, overall, I had a great year that leaves a little bit of a bitter taste in my mouth because I didn’t reach that one goal that I start each year with; win an Angler of the Year trophy.

Starting the St. Lawrence tournament, I was in second place about 30 points behind Edwin Evers.  I practiced the first day and had a pretty good day, then took day two and went to Thousand Islands, and got completely overwhelmed by sheer vastness of the water and the amount of islands there.  I practiced close again on the third day, and felt pretty good about what I found.

I fished pretty good on the first day, and was in the top 30, but the problem was that Edwin finished the day 15 or so places ahead of me.  So, instead of having a good day and gaining ground in the AOY race, I had a good day and lost ground.

I had to make a decision. I decided to go for broke, make a big run to Lake Ontario and find the one good group of fish that I found in practice on the second day.  I made the 80 mile run, and the water was slick, and the skies were overcast.  I didn’t catch any fish.

I knew I was in trouble, so I ran back t the fish I had close to takeoff, but it was too late, the window was closed, and I weighed three small fish.  My AOY chances were over, but I made a gutsy decision, didn’t fish chicken and gave it a shot.  I really didn’t have anything to lose because I was already qualified for the Classic, and everything to gain, so I went for it; no regrets.

Then on the St. Clair.

Between those two events I got to play in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pro Am at the Champion Series.  I love golf, and to get to play with those guys was really cool.  The pro-am is a scramble style event, and my team consisted of me, Matt Busbice, Matt Duff and Ron Baime from Dick’s.  We played with Jim Gallagher Jr.; he’s a great guy. We actually took second place in the event; which was cool, because now I’ve got a golf trophy to go with my fishing ones.

Thanks to Dicks, I got to walk inside the ropes on Friday during the actual tournament.  I followed Kenny Perry, Nick Price and Colin Montgomerie.  I got to talk with Nick and Kenny for a minute before everything got started, and found out that Kenny is a fishing fan and watches Bassmasters on ESPN, so he knew who I was; that was pretty cool.

Recent history has been that St. Clair proved to be where the highest finishers have come from, but this year it reversed.  Lake Erie and even Lake Huron produced the best results.  I decided to go shallow on day two after getting my but handed to me on the first day, and I got a bunch of big fish to chase my spinnerbait, but all they would do was bump it.  I think I would have done better if I had packed my smaller stuff, but I had big stuff for out in the lake, and it didn’t work out.

Honestly, I think I would have killed someone for a few three-inch Sick Fish, because I think they would have choked them.

After St. Clair, we fished and filmed our first Major League Fishing event for next season.  No, I can’t tell you anything about it.  But, I will say that it should make for some very good television.  Watch for it on The Outdoor Channel in January.

Now, I’m home with the family waiting to see if I get into the All Star Week, and getting ready for another Dick’s Grand Opening in South Plainfield, New Jersey on September 14 from 12 to 4PM.  Come see me if you’re in the area.

Other than that, I’ll check in again soon, thanks for reading, and keep up with me on Facebook and Twitter.