Bassmaster Classic

I don't really feel good about my finish, but I don't feel bad. I'm kind of indifferent. I came in with a certain strategy and the with the weather conditions it didn't work out.

It was windy, cloudy and all that. I wanted to sight-fish, and I did try changing. But I spent all my practice time – 4 days – driving around looking for bedding fish. I gambled that the fish would be moving in.

That's how I won the Classic before – committing to a certain area and technique. The conditions didn't line up for it.

But I don't feel bad. I caught about as much as anybody did sight-fishing in this tournament, except maybe Preston Clark.

It's a long shot, but I do have a shot. I'm a sight-fisherman, and the year Dean Rojas set the record (2001), I caught 36 pounds one day en route to a 4th-place finish. It's one thing to be dreaming of something like that, but I've done it before. Now the odds of actually doing it again are very slim.

The warmer the weather, the better it is for sight-fishing. If we get rain and the north wind, I don't know what I'm going to do. I might go to Kissimmee and throw a spinnerbait.

I've started each morning in my best-looking area. It isn't more than a mile from the takeoff. I've seen five shiner guides in there and I've watched them catch at least 30 fish over 3 pounds, and I can't even get a bite.

After that I started looking for bedding fish, and that's how I caught the 15 pounds.

Tomorrow could be the final day I'll fish in the Classic, and I'm sure I'll think about that at some point. I thought today might be my last until I started catching some fish this afternoon. It'd be good to finish strong.

I caught 13-03 (28th place). I was sight-fishing and I struggled all day. The weather conditions didn't lend themselves to sight-fishing whatsoever. Some of the good stringers were through sight-fishing though.

I was disappointed. It just wasn't the right kind of day for what I wanted do. We had tons of wind – probably 10 to 15 mph – and it always does hurt. This tournament won't be won sight-fishing I believe. There are certain areas out there where there are some good fish on beds, but I didn't find any good ones.

Really, a guy needs to figure out how to catch these things. I fished around a lot – trying to catch them out deep. I had some decent fish on the outside hydrilla line, but never got a bite out there.

I'm not out of it – not on this lake. If you get in the right place at the right time, you can load up in a hurry. But it's definitely not the start I wanted to have."

I came in 10 minutes early from practice today, so that should tell you something.

The water temps were 68 degrees this morning, but I saw some as high as 76 this afternoon. I didn't see any monsters on beds, but a lot of 6s. I'm guessing a lot of the monster fish have already spawned.

I'll probably go fishing first, then go for some sight-fish if I can. I feel good, and I think it'll take 60 to 65 pounds to win.