John Murray – Competition
Sunday, August 10, 2008
My gampelan was pretty similar every day – I'd dropshot a Berkley Gulp! Wacky Crawler for a limit of smallmouths on the reefs, then come in and work the deep grass for largemouths with a 1/2-ounce Yamamoto jig.
The first day I had four largemouths, the second day I had two and today I had three, but I never got a big bite. I was fishing pretty close to Ike and he got the big bites, and I didn't.
(On day 2) I probably caught 25 keepers, but it was more like 10 or 12 on the other days. I had a good pattern and I was in a good situation, but it just wasn't my week to catch the big ones.
John Murray – Practice
Thursday, August 7, 2008
It's definitely not like the last 2 years, that's for sure. I fished a half-day the first day after getting here from Erie and caught a few largemouths, but nothing over 2 pounds. Yesterday (Tuesday) was sunny all day and I fished for smallmouths, and I caught about 15 keepers but probably would've only had about 10 pounds for my best five. (Wednesday) I didn't go out.
It all boils down to getting that 4- to 5-pound bite to top a limit of decent fish. You've got to get that one big bite because everybody catches the same size fish.
I've always fished for both (largemouths and smallmouths) and gone back and forth. The kicker fish are usually largemouths, and the limit fish are those smallies. I'll just have to see if I can mix and match them right.
