With the late ice-out here in Minnesota, I didnt have much seat time in my Puma before my first tourney this weekend, which made me a little nervous. Luckily the previous owner had really set it up well, and shes a very easy boat to drive. Other than a clusterfrack to start the day. The front sonar unit had worked a little loose on the ride to my first spot, and when I dropped off plane it bonked down on the bow Power Pole deploy switch…I tried to troll through a shallow spot to get to where I needed to go, and couldnt move! Then I noticed the PP down, went to the console and pushed the switch to raise it up, and it wouldnt go up…I thought it had broken and I was screwed! After a couple of minutes I noticed the sonar tilted down, put 2 and 2 together, raised and tightened it, and got the PP raised. But by that time, seven other boats had gone past me and my spot was filled!A few deep breaths and maybe a cuss word followed by some intense prayer, and I turned the Puma around and headed to spot number 2. Worked that area and put 4 OK fish in the box, then moved on to spot #3 which is where it really got better. Caught about 20 fish off that area, filling the limit and cullling several times. Spot 4 held nothing with pike, so it was time for a long run to spot 5. Upon arriving there, a Ranger was pulling out of the area, but my partner and I talked it over and we decided to fish it anyway since we know it holds a lot of fish. We were glad we did! We upgraded several more time, including trading a 2.8lb fish for a 4.74lb toad!Made the run back to the resort for the weigh-in, and registered six fish for 21.92 pounds which held up for 3rd place and a nice check. We missed big bass money as well by .03 lbs on our biggest fish!The Puma ran great – fast, smooth, and handled the chop very well. I also got a LOT of compliments on how she looked.I couldnt be much happier with my first tourney as a Bass Cat owner!Oh – and ignore the dorky hat. My hat blew off while making a run so I had to borrow a too-small one from my partner
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