ben23 Posted April 6, 2008 Posted April 6, 2008 Well, Friday early morning I left with my buddy, Frank Ippoliti, to head down to Smith Mountain Lake for the Shenandoah division BFL. Friday we were able to prefish for a couple hours and I whacked a nice 6.5 + largemouth with about 4 boats around us.......it was hard not fighting the fish- I had to slack-line it so no one saw.... Anyway, tournament day went great! Out of a grand total of 146 boats, I finished 3rd on the Co-Angler side! I caught 5 keepers for 11 pounds even, and the winning sack was 11-06. I was only 6 ounces away from taking home a healthy 2,400$ check!!!!! I can't complain though, I am not saddened by 807$ and a nice trophy. It will definitely help the boat fund! All fish came on a 3/16 Picasso Shakedown Shakey Head with a Green Pumpkin Shakey Worm made by Cache Custom Lures. I had it on 10lb Hi Seas Braid with a 3 foot 8lb Hi Seas flouro leader with a 6'7 Medium Carrot Stick Spinning rod. As much as I hate throwing shakey heads, it came through when I could not get my crankbait bite going. However, I am disappointed in my performance. If I fished a clean tournament then I would be much richer! I had 2 fish on that individually would have easily culled a small 14incher and upgraded my bag to well over 13 pounds, but both popped off do to light hooksets (I was an idiot and put a shakey head on rod with mono, and set the hook as if I had braid). One of the fish I popped off was a 4.5 pounder that we found on a bed........yes a bed.........in 50 degree water temp. While my boater was skipping way under the docks, I focused on the outside pilings because of the rainy weather. I did not feel like they would be pushed up under the dock, but rather on the outside due to the clouds. It was a great event and I am very proud to finish as high as I did. I look forward to the FLW State Championship that is being held on the Upper Bay in two weeks! Hopefully I can do well and make it to the BFL Regional and the FLW World Championship in the same year! Ben Dziwulski God bless Quote
ffmedic147 Posted April 6, 2008 Posted April 6, 2008 Well Congatulations on your great finish!!!!!!!! I am glad someone had a great tournament. By the way the Diawa Spinning reel works great on the Carrot stix and the Curado now has flouro on it. Great Flipping Rod. Also most of the creeks are now muddy due to the rain last night. Quote
ffmedic147 Posted April 6, 2008 Posted April 6, 2008 I also fished the SML tournament and heres my report. Being a nearby resident of SML i knew that the water temp. had been up and down the last few weeks. So i figured the fish were just off the docks and staging on points waiting to come up. After three days of practice I had planned on fishing points due to the quality of the fish i was catching and knowing the docks would be pounded hard by every other boat and fisherman. Throughout the three day practice I never caught a short fish but the first cast of the tournament i caught a short fish and I knew this wasnt going to be a good day. So i ran my milk run of points twice before noon and realized something wasnt right. After cruising through some pockets on the trolling motor I realized all my fish went shallow after seeing the first cruising fish i had seen all year. But by this time it was to late. I blame my 0s on the score board on my own ignorance and lack of kinowledge. This is a fast changing sport. One that can change over night and if you do not know how to adjust you will get whipped every time. Quote
ben23 Posted April 7, 2008 Author Posted April 7, 2008 Hahaha too bad I didn't leave a carrot stick down there!!! Don't worry, I'll be down within the net month to reclaim the gear I left and also try to bring home another check.....except this time we will be wailing on them together. Dude that place is going to go nuts in the next few weeks.......too bad Prom is the 26th or I'd be down there in a heartbeat. Ben Dziwulski God bless Quote
Super User Tin Posted April 7, 2008 Super User Posted April 7, 2008 Nice B-Dizzle!!! Nothing wrong with a 3rd place finish. I know what you mean about fishing perfect though. But you just learn for next time. Quote
Cigarlover 1 Posted April 7, 2008 Posted April 7, 2008 Out of a total of 146 boats I'd say 3rd is pretty darn good finish. I know though, it's not first. Live and learn. Congrats man. Quote
Super User 5bass Posted April 8, 2008 Super User Posted April 8, 2008 Dude that place is going to go nuts in the next few weeks...... You got that right....the bite was awesome yesterday. I spotted two good smallies circling/fanning beds in about 6 ft of water. Water temp in there was 56 early. Congrats on your 3rd place finish Ben. What did your boater do? Quote
RobbyZ5001 Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 I am jealous...you have no idea. I was there when the water was 45 degrees. Such a beautiful lake and I would love to be in your position Scott. Quote
ben23 Posted April 8, 2008 Author Posted April 8, 2008 My boater caught one fish for about 2.5 pounds....he didn't weigh it in though. Quote
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