Day 2 BASS Southern open- Lake Toho

Well day two is in the books and I just had another of those days. lol After adjusting too late on day one I had made the choice to learn from that mistake and make the long run one day two. That was until I saw my boat number and knowing the lock was packed and would cut my fishing time down atleast 3 hours total. I made a last min choice to run to one place first that I found in practice but not fished. I knew I could get there in less than 5 mins and while some lock thru I could have a shot at boating a fish before running to the lock to head south. Well I sat the boat down and after 3 cast I knew I had to slow waaaaaayyyyyy down due to the water temps dropping 8 degrees over night. I picked up a "go-to" bait and tossed it to the edge of a grass line. WHAM!! fish number one in the boat. within a couple of cast my Co-Angler, Houston Smith, boated a solid fish. I continued to toss the bait and after about 15 or so cast I hit my 2nd keeper. My co answered again with another keeper. Within the first hour I had 4 fish in the boat but the wind was picking up and switch directions. I stayed about another 30 or so mins then knew I had to move. Well knowing I had fish on Toho and knew areas that would prob produce I changed up and thought I'd make one more stop before going to my long run. Well we both missed big fish we couldn't turn on that stop which made me stick to that area and once I did that I was commited to not locking down. I hit several areas most of which were still dirty from the winds on Thursday. We grinded and flipped every inch of water we came too with a few missed and several fish just not hooking up solid. It was enough to "spin" most mortal men out but we held strong and stay focused. We ended up finishing where we started but with dirty water and no results. I fell a few spots but got some points that will count in the end of the year. I will give a detailed account of the entire trip and event in another report that will explain my pre-fishing, patterns, and baits as well as a few other funny things that happened.

Day 1 BASS Southern Open- Lake Toho

Well after a number of practice days I was ready to hit the water after a long year off the tour. I had a game plan and even a "plan B" already in my head. As I took off and headed to the first stop I sat down into high winds (in an area that had been semi-protected from a north wind all week prior) and rolling waves. Well knowing from past events that shallow water grass lakes with big fish really hate choppy water I knew I wouldnt be there long. I wasnt. I spent about 30-45 mins on the trolling motor blind casting to areas that had been very productive my first week here. To give you an idea on the winds the water I was fishing was fairly clear when I stopped and got nasty by the time I knew I had to move. I hit the gas and ran back north to an area Mike and I had fished with some good results for keeper fish and had one over 5 lbs shake off. Well I made the 10 min run and the second I sat the boat down knew that was not a good move on my part, again nasty wind blown water. I satyed about 15 mins before fighting my brain and pulling up the trolling motor. On to stop 3 which was fairly protected water wise and I knew it had to have some clear water in it. I had seen numbers of beds and knowing the water temps havent dropped all week, but really gone up I had to make the stop. Yep, you guessed it water was dirty, cleaner but still dirty and every bed was vacant. This is the point I talk about in most every class I teach on tournament Bass fishing NOT spinning out. I was at a loss, everything I had was going to be nasty and I knew there was only one thing to do, lock down. Mike and I had locked down one day in practice but never made the entire run to Kissimee. I just closed my eyes and went with my gut. I made the hour run down and once in the lake saw exactly what my gut was looking for, clear water with a drop near it. Once on the trolling motor it only took about 10-15 mins for my young Co-angler and first time BASS Open fisherman, Billy Mathews to validate my choice by putting a keeper in the boat. Once that happened it was like I knew I made the right choice. I boated a fish within another 5 mins and was back in the game. about another 15 mins went by and WHAM another fish. Not big fish but they were taking a boat ride either way. lol I call it part of the "Chris Jackson- Relocation program."lol Anyway, The sun got higher and the bite got slower but he and I both missed a limit of fish. That just happens sometime and I have learned to just accept it and stay moving forward. Once time ran close we made the run back which was a great ride to jar the Kidney Stone lose at 75 + in solid 3 footers. Once closer to the ramp had a little time left and knowing this lake has huge fish knew it would only take one to keep me in the game for the top 12. Well after missing two more that felt really good I was just out of time and had to return. I had a bad sack at 2.12 lbs but Im really not worried. The reason I say that is this is a lake that is famous for one bad day and one giant day. Looking at the standing, yes I am in like 160 place but the bigger picture is im only two realistic solid 4 lb fish from a check. I have seen many angler catch me on Guntersville the same way. Sitting nice and comfy in the top 20-30 and some guy come knock me out of a check on day two catching a sack of pigs. Friday I plan to be that guy!! Huge thanks to everyone for all your support and well wishes and I will be swinging for the fence Friday. You will see the Classic "hero or zero" Chris Jackson at its best.lol See you on the water and at the tanks. Best wishes to all the other anglers and my buds fishing the event.

Wrap up of the First BASS Event 2013

Well here is the "skinny" on all the practice and tournament events of the last 3 weeks in Fla. First of all, yes I got it handed to me and I dont make excuses at all it is what it is. lol Upon my arriving at Kissimee, Fla I was stoked up and ready to hit the water. Little did I know I had some obstical to overcome along the way. One major thing was the battle with several large Kidney Stones that choose one of the worst times to deal me a fit. Now many of you that know me know I look at pain as more of an inconvenance that a probelm. I was raised and trained throughout my life to "suck it up and deal with it". Well I did but it also had a plan. I fished though not being able to bend much and when I did bend it was not really on my own accord.lol Anyway, I fished the first week in practice everyday except one and 3 main areas on Lake Toho that I knew would produce solid bags for the tournament. Many thanks to team mate and fellow angler/Guide, Scott Taylor for clueing me in on a few things as well. Scott is a guide there(Taylor Made Charters) as well as up north on the Great Lakes and one heck of an angler. He also owns a bait company that makes some awesome hand pours I have been using for sometime, Reveloution Bait Co. Be sure to check both out on Facebook and let em know we sent ya. Scott hooked a boother up with some great baits for swimming a jig in the grass and they produced some great fish including 3 over 8 and one over 7 in the first week. After week one was in the books I was very confident I could catch some fish and at worst nail a limit off bedding fish in two of the areas I was in. So the start of week two I wanted to run around and look at some new water. Monday morning of official practice I took my room mate and buddy Mike to some new stuff. We did a ton of looking on the sonar. I would be willing to say we spent atleast 6 hours at less than 1000 rpms on the boat just looking for shell beds and ditches. I was wanting to find areas the fish could move to or "highways" they would use to get to spaning flats. Well all that looking resulted in one ditch, one shell bed and a ton of gas out of the boat. Now most of you know I prefer to pattern fish NOT spot fish. I was a little worried because the only pattern I had so far was bedding fish and Hydrilia grass. Bad thing with the grass is that it is like Lake Guntersville, sometimes they are there sometimes they are not. I continued to search the next day for something odd or that others might over look. I never found anything that could convince me not to stay in Toho and battle it out with all my eggs in one basket. On the last day of practice I spent the day getting my game plan together and getting the boat ready. I do that in every event no matter how well practice went because the mental part of the event is just as, if not more, important than the physical part of fishing. We end up at the meeting and had a blast seeing old friends I havent seen in a year and introducing Mike to several people he should know. After the meeting we hit the bed and got ready for battle. One the first day I noticed the water temps had dropped a ton and while waiting for my number knew I was not going to be in the shape I had planned. I confirmed that on the first stop and went into scramble mode. One of the worst things an angler can do on the first stop is freak out and after taking a year off I was doubting myself and my gut a little. Now don't get me wrong I never lost focus or control like some do but I was close to the point of "spinning out", which in my book is just as bad as doing it. lol Anyway, I made a run even though it was too late to capitalize on it and came up with a way to salvage my day two(read the day one note). on day two I had a plan but catching 4 fish in the first 45 mins tossed a wrench in that plan fast. I made the move to stay where I was go to my bedding fish and swing for the fence. I knew this lake has a ton of big fish in it and I can catch them if I stay. I knew from day one I could catch a limit making the run but a limit wasn't going to do me any good if I wanted to mount a huge comeback and make the cut. So in true "CJ" style I said ROCK ON and stuck with the bigger bite and the gamble. Well that didnt fair too well as most of you know but I had to live with it and suck it up. One thing I know from the years of competive Bass fishing is those who win are those willing to take risk and willing to put everything they have into getting 5 bites. Well Sometimes they get them and win and sometimes they dont and lose. Either way I am blessed to play the game and learn from each day to become better and more ready for the next time I face the same conditions. Here was the problem I had with my fish so some of you can learn from it as well. One: When fishing south Fla lakes cold fronts can kill a solid bite in less than a few hours. Two: NEVER fish dirty water!! Meaning if your water gets stained LEAVE it!! Well both of those happened to me. Water temps dropped on day one and killed my bedding fish bite. When I showed up to sight fish the winds were slamming my area but I had the beds marked so I didn't care. The problem was the water temps dropped 12 degrees and got muddy. That will drive a bedding fish out to a more secure area faster than anything. I knew I had to find clean water and made the adjustment. Although it was a 30+ mile adjustment and killed some fishing time. WHen I did find an area I have not even pre-fished in I caught fish but too little too late. The pattern I found waqs the right one and one that the winner was on oddly enough. I found a huge field of pads and had clean water. I flipped a Vertical Lures Creature X and a Lake Fork Live Magic Shad in the pads. One thing I found after two bites was fish were not just "in the pads" they were only positioned in the pads that were flat without any other grass near it. That was the best pattern I saw. I then narrowed the 1/4 mile of pads down to a few hundred yards of productive water. On day two I duplicated that same bite on my first stop and boated fish. My day two co-angler, Hunter, did catch his fish out of some slop so we did move deeper into some nasty areas to get a few bites. I ended up switching up baits a little from the Creature X to the Tube X in a watermelon red color to get in the grass better. One thing that might help some of you out there is the way I flipped it. The biggest weight I had was a one ounce Lake Fork Tungsten. Well I pegged one on then backed it with another 1 oz rigged backwards. That gave me a point at both ends to slip thru the grass better and also added the weight I needed to punch the grass without having to toss the bait in the air and make a "splashdown" with my bait that could spook fish that are under pressure already. After getting back to the ramp and "licking my wounds" I learned a few good things and was humble on stage even making a few jokes about my fish being "washed in hot water and shrinking" LOL I love to make the crowd laugh and cut up. I think even if you have a bad day and no matter how exhausted you are you should still make the best of the time the director gives you on stage. I am ready for the next event and hope my experience will help others think out of the box and salvage a bad event. I want to say a HUGE thank you to God for giving me the chance to do what I do and put me in the position to effect peoples lives in someway. My family, friends, and fans for believing in me and ALL the support during this event and trust me I read every comment and when we do WIN we WILL ALL WIN TOGETHER! My Sponsors, for being such an asset to our program. Ronnie Parker at Lake Fork Lures for making some awesome stuff and making sure I have what I need. My buddy and fellow tour angler JW for tossing me some Vertical Lures baits that helped me not zero on day two. lol Curt at Daiwa for everything you do and making sure my gear is in top condition. Brad at Topwater Clothing for making me look good on the water and we all know what a task that is. LOL Gator Grip for making my custom board so I could make sure I don't bring in a short fish with all the "dinks" I caught.lol Jim at The Rod Glove for keeping my tools all safe, sound, and organized. Then Judy and John at Clear Creek Cove, They made sure everything was nice and safe while I was gone and I cant think of a better place to stay on the water than that place. See everyone in the next few weeks at the Classic and looking forward to the Next BASS Event at Lake Douglas in Tenn. Going to be a great tournament with some awesome fishing. be sure to come check it out. Thanks again to everyone for all the support and see you on the water.