2010 Forrest Wood Cup

Jay Yelas – Day 3
Saturday, August 7, 2010

> Day 1: 5, 8-11
> Day 2: 4, 8-00
> Day 3: 3, 6-06
> Total = 12, 23-01 (21st)

I spent too much time up on the bank fishing stuff like Andy Montgomery was – wolfpacks. That was my main pattern. I couldn't make it happen in a big way like Andy did today. It was just a hit-or-miss deal.

As I look back, I found a bunch of brush in 20 to 25 feet of water. Turns out that was the main deal here.

I think the Walmart news is huge. That's the biggest news in our sport in a long time. This year had to be the bottom. Our sport was at the end of its rope. Praise The Lord this year was the bottom and next year it looks like good times are going to be coming back.

Jay Yelas – Day 2
Friday, August 6, 2010

> Day 1: 5, 8-11
> Day 2: 4, 8-00
> Total = 9, 16-11 (20th)

My day was just so very frustrating out there. Yesterday I thought I had a little something going. Today I fished that little pattern until 10:00 and never had a bite. Then from 10:00 to 10:30 I caught three doing it. I did it the rest of the day and never caught another one on that pattern. I kept wondering whether I should keep doing it.

Obviously I'm not doing the right thing to win this tournament. I thought it would be won fishing shallow, but now I think it'll be won with suspended fish out deep. I didn't spend much time doing that.

One thing about these spotted bass is they never stop moving. Yesterday I had a bunch of big blowups in the backs of pockets. Today they were out in the mouth – my partner got a nice fish out there. Spots just never stop swimming. They truly never stop, and they'll be somewhere else tomorrow.

What's surprising me is how the largemouths are a total no-show in this tournament. The lake used to be a good largemouth lake. I think the drought hurt them. They're going to come back though – there's a lot of flooded willows now.

Jay Yelas – Day 1
Thursday, August 5, 2010

> Day 1: 5, 8-11 (29th)

I only caught five, but it went okay today. I got on a little deal the last hour of practice on the last day and that's pretty much what I fished most of the day today. It's kind of a pattern that works all over the lake, but it's not working everywhere. I'm running and looking for certain types of water. Since I found it in the last hour it's like I was going into the tournament with no practice at all.

Today I was able to find a couple areas that had some fish in there that I'll work tomorrow, and I might be able to catch some good fish. I just have to keep looking for new water each day. I wish I would have found it a little earlier in practice.

I'm throwing Berkley worms and topwaters, like most guys are. It's a tough bite. It's not going to take much, and a real oddball pattern could win this thing.

Jay Yelas – Practice
Wednesday, August 4, 2010

It's not easy fishing here, but of course, no place is easy in August in the Deep South. I've figured out a couple of different ways to catch them and I feel pretty good going into it. I just don't know what it's going to take to do well – I'm in the dark as to what weights guys are going to need. I have a hunch that anything in the teens is going to be a phenomenal day. I haven't caught that since I've been here, but I've been close.

I fished from one end of the lake to the other during my 4 days of practice and I tried a lot of different things. One of the ways I'm catching them is pretty unconventional for August, so I really don't know what to expect. I could have a good tournament, or I might not do much at all. I haven't put a lot of pressure on my patterns, but I've caught a few good ones.

Out of the two things I've got working for me, one of them is a pattern I can run all over the lake and the other one's an area thing. If the one pattern's as good as I think it could be, it'll be a good one for a 4-day tournament, and I like the prospect of that.