I have had the chance to participate in a 3 day event each year for the last 5 or 6 years. Most years I manage to have a reasonable performance but nothing particularly stellar. The tournament is really a fund raiser for Make A Wish Foundation. Anyway, the fishery has been down for a few years but has come back over the last year. I was able to practice enough and got lots of help.Here is what I learned. The guys that make their living doing this are phenomenal. The ability to find and stay on fish they display is fantastic. Changes in conditions dont have the same impact on those guys as they do on me. They know where the fish are headed and, more importantly, why. They can adapt more quickly and effectively than I can. Trying to catch fish consistently is hard – especially if you have to catch 19.5 lbs per day to win. So this year I managed to catch 19.24, 19.38 and 7.3 over the three days. The weather killed me – highs were mid-60s on day 1, mid-40s on day 2 and low-40s on day 3. Water temperature dropped 15 degrees in my primary spot. Water dropped as much as 18 inches in another. So – to those of you who make their living chasing fish, I respect what you do. I also think you are crazy!John
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