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My Mama Told Me

The gist of that event for me was a reminder that sight fishing is not my strong suit. Another lesson re-learned I guess. No excuses, you just have to make something work and I did not.

So here are the good things I can say about that. The temperature finally got above freezing, the rain stopped and the sun actually shone during the tournament. The forest surrounding the lake, especially the dogwood and redbud trees were stunning. The pine trees looked like they were on fire at times. When the wind would push through some of them, they looked on fire with pollen streaming out like some kind of alien smoke. This stuff was so thick on the water in places; it looked like a sand painting strung out with little squiggly lines and layers. The yellow on blue colors were really pretty there, not if you were looking for fish.

Here it is half way through the Elite Series season. Wow, time flies when you are on the road having fun. Tammy and I have been living in our camper for five weeks now with two more to go before we see Meers again. After five tournaments in a row, I really needed a break to re-focus my head and raise my optimism and confidence level.

We are spending a few days with good friends in Tennessee while relaxing and re-charging. We might even go fishing a couple times. We will probably catch some bream from a local lake. There’s nothing like drowning a few crickets to get the pressure off and unwind. They make a great fish fry too, the bream not the crickets.

Analysis of my season so far is a reminder of how tough the competition is these days. These young guys have learned how to catch bass at a success rate beyond belief. That’s no reason why I don’t catch them, just an obvious observation. I guess the results so far have been a reminder of the reasons I plan to stop competitive fishing. The disappointment and frustration have outweighed the joy. Combine that with the physical pain, mental stress and financial strain and it looks like a reasonable decision.

Still, I am anxious to get on to the next tournament at Guntersville. I know that opportunities for winning another event are winding down, so I am determined to give every one my best shot. With a few days to sort out my head and equipment, I’ll be raring to go at Guntersville.