2011 Season Recap

Normally I write my season recap at the actual end of the season but after an extremely disappointing final tournament last November I wasn't really in the mood to write. Since this blog is mainly about my tournament activities I tend to not post much, if at all, in the winter so it has had to wait until now. Honestly I considered quitting the blog but besides my readers I feel the process of writing this blog has actually helped my fishing. Obviously even before this blog I would go back over tournament days and evaluate them but the process of writing things down really does something more than just thinking about it. So for just personal reasons the blog will continue! I hope you guys get some enjoyment from it as well and maybe even learn a few things.

I consider myself to be a very consistent angler when it comes to my tournament results. I sure don't win as many as I want to (who does), but over these past few years I have had very few really bad tournaments. Last year was completely different though as my results were all over the place. The final tournament of the year illustrates that perfectly. I was fortunate enough to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship on the Ouachita River in Loiusiana. Qualifying for this tournament is a long road through the local B.A.S.S. club to the state TOC to Divisionals and finally to the National Championship. Making the Championship was and is by far the highlight of my tournament fishing career but my results on the Ouachita were anything but spectacular. I just wasn't able to get on the quality of fish I needed despite extensive practice and research and finished 42nd out of 54 anglers in the event. Here in Minnesota I failed to qualify for the Divisional team so my quest to qualify for the BFNC again will have to wait another year.

Over the past 4 seasons the team tournament trail my dad and I fish has been the Big Bass Bonanza trail. The first 3 years included several high finishes and our end of the year placement in the Team of the Year standings was always within the top 10 to secure a place in their Tournament of Champions. Despite a strong start with a 4th place showing and big bass in the first event, it was all downhill from there. We put up several of our worst finishes ever on the BBB trail and slid to 13th in the final points ending our TOC streak.

Closer to home I had a bit more success. Our club, the West Central Bassmasters, holds two open tournaments on Green Lake in Spicer MN every year. In the June event we were able to finish 2nd out of 32 teams and in the September event we found just enough weight to take 1st out of 34 teams! Obviously I love Green Lake and have had numerous high finishes out there but it had been quite awhile since I had gotten a win out there so that one felt good. Our club also runs Wednesday and Thursday night leagues. Those started off with a bang for us as my dad and I were able to win the first 5 nights of the year! With the competition we have fishing these events, that is no small feat. The rest of the year wasn't quite a strong but we ended up 2nd and 3rd respectively in the final points standings.

I didn't go over everything that happened last year so feel free to go back through my archives for more details if you are interested. As I write this our bass season here in MN is still not open yet but finally will this coming weekend! I have another full schedule of tournaments and league nights this year and am looking forward to them all. Besides being more consistent than last year my only goal is to win them all!