I finally made the move to the bank and started fishing the coves with floating docks. It didn’t take long for the bites to start coming once I figured out the right coves to target. So much in fact that I could start calling my shots. That’s when fishing can be really fun. I was consistently catching between 16-18lbs every time out.

To start things out I was the last boat out on Saturday. So I took my time getting the boat in the water because of the drizzling cold conditions. I didn’t start backing the boat down the ramp until boat one was called for launch.

With the rain starting to come down, my co-angler and I both prayed for the rain to hold off for the remainder of day because we were both unprepared wearing tennis shoes instead of boots.

My weapons of choice were a Berkley Flicker Shad and a Rapala Shad Rap. I was throwing both crankbaits on spinning gear with Berkley Vanish 8 lb fluorocarbon. I was targeting southern facing pockets with floating docks. The southern facing pockets protect the water from the brutally coldnorthern winds and the black floats on the docks radiate heat from the sun. During practice, I was having to make super tight casts to those floating docks in order to get a bite.

My partner was throwing a Berkley Schooling rig. He had won the BFL the year before on Murray as a co-angler throwing shad raps behind his partner who was throwing an A-rig. So my partner felt completely comfortable fishing behind me throwing a schooling rig.

With the rain and overcast conditions, the fish didn’t have a reason to relate to the black dock floats. We caught most of our fish in between the docks. I caught a few off the dock floats but they were small. My two biggest fish came in less then three feet of water off the Flicker Shad.
My co-angler on the other hand only had two bites but they were the right ones. His first fish came off a dock in the back of a cove and it crushed his schooling rig. The other came out of the same pocket in between the docks. It hit the rig the so hard it about ripped the rod out of his hands. That one weighed in right at 7 lbs even.

So with his two fish he ended up weighing just under 12 lbs and winning the event as well as taking big fish. I was pretty excited for him even though I ended up with just over 12 lbs and missing a check.

With Julianne and I living together now, it was pretty awesome having her come to weigh in and just be a part of the whole afternoon. Even though I was pretty disappointed with my finish it was really great having her there to root me on.

My next event is going to be my first BFL fishing as a boater. I am excited because the BFLs are a little more competitive then the Bassmaster Weekend Series. It too will be on Lake Murray. So hopefully I can get some better weather conditions and bring in a big sack.

You can also see my blog on my website, www.kgfishing.com.

Until next time, never stop chasing your dreams!