Smith Lake Bassmaster

Jonathan Manteuffel (co-angler) – Day 2
Friday, February 6, 2004

Well, "Johnny Z" it is. No keepers today either, along with just under two-thirds of the amateur field. I fished with Rick Morris, who got three nice keepers. I two-hand "bear hugged" two of those 3-pound-plus spots into the boat for him. Now guess what he caught them on (he won't let me say since he made the Top 12 and will be after them again tomorrow).

Rick fishes hyper-fast, and I think I cranked the grease out of my reel trying to keep up with him. I got one short spot and a few bumps on my crankbait that didn't connect. They'd follow it, but then just swipe at it or headbutt it as it came up to the boat.

The lake came up 7-8 feet overnight with the big storms. There's a big rock hump just down from the Big Bridge in Ryan Creek. Wednesday when I went up there with Art Ferguson, an area the size of a house trailer was out of the water. Today with Rick there was a little bump the size of a bass boat out of the water, with a hazard buoy laying high and dry on top. When we came back down the creek this afternoon the buoy was floating upright with about two feet of water under it – about a 5-6 foot rise over that many hours. The lake changed quite a bit, and there are some spectacular waterfalls everywhere you go.

As the mud settles out a little tomorrow, those run-ins will probably figure in the winning pattern. Gerald Swindle had only one keeper in the storms yesterday, but four for 12-01 today. He understands how this lake works probably the best of the Top 12 guys.

I got a check even though I bingoed, because they split 17 money spots among all the guys who "tied for 59th place" with a goose egg. The ironic thing, if you want to think of it that way, is that BASS paid for the FLW rainsuit I bought this morning at 4:50 a.m. at Wal-Mart. My other two "breatheable" suits were soaked through from yesterday.

I'm tired and a bit sore after fishing 5 days straight, but even though I didn't catch a keeper when it counted (just one would have meant $500 more), I still had a good time. I learned a little from Jay Kendrick on how to catch very deep bass, and some from Rick Morris on how to key in on a pattern as it unfolds (and then collapses later the same day), and got to meet a bunch of the guys I had just talked on the phone with before while doing tournament reporting for BassFan.com. Maybe the best of all was I didn't think about work for a whole week.

Funny thing: When Rick Morris turned on his livewell pumpout to get some water in the bag to carry to the weigh-in, he didn't notice the car parked next to his boat had the window down, and the water sprayed out the back of the boat right in the window. The lady was very nice and didn't get too upset with him.

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John Murray – Day 2
Friday, February 6, 2004

I had one good one on all day. That was it, and it pulled off. The lake came up about 6-7 feet so I knew the patterns would change. I started running creeks because of the water flowing in. My partner had a good one, and I had that good one that came off. I also caught some shorts. There's a fine line between success and failure, and I hit the failure side today.

My partner caught that good one on a crankbait, and I was throwing jigs and shaking a skinny Senko. A couple of guys who did well caught them in the creeks, but they just got in the right creeks. I probably hit 25 creeks today and never found the right one. But I got off (that pattern) for a while and I shouldn't have. I should have stayed on it all day.

That 16-inch limit messes up your mind because I caught some nice 15-inchers. But now I'm going to Atchafalaya and they say the fishing's good there. And 50th place is 10 grand, so I want to catch them there. I can't wait.

I fished the jig, a 3/4-ounce Yamamoto spider jig in watermelon red with a double-tail trailer, on a 7' 2" Lamiglas jig rod (medium heavy) and Yamamoto 16-pound fluorocarbon line.

Paul Elias – Day 2
Friday, February 6, 2004

I caught one, but I'm still buried. I'm going to have to have four hellacious tournaments in order to make the E50s.

I didn't get a bite on that point I had those bites on yesterday. It got muddy, so I ran around fishing stuff that looked like it. Finally, with an hour and a half left to fish, I got on a point, had one break my line, then caught that one. Then I got a third bite, but it was barely hooked. I reeled it about three cranks and it came off. I was dropshotting about 40 feet deep.

I'm not too happy about my performance in the first two (Bassmaster Tour events). I'll have to really fish to win – I fish to win all the time, but I'll just have to catch big ones. I could be dangerous at Guntersville. I like that lake, and if I don't have to worry about catching a limit first, I'll fish for big ones the whole time.

Jonathan Manteuffel (co-angler) – Day 1
Thursday, February 5, 2004

Monday I was stoked. Today I'm just soaked, dampened in form and spirit. It rained from 6 a.m. on, pretty hard, with 20 mph winds to go with it. The lightning started around noon, and several times our lines hung in the air when we cast due to the charged field. We were kneeling on the deck to fish, like that would somehow prevent a lightning strike, but those were almost the only strikes we got.

I fished with Jay Kendrick today. He had a strong pattern in practice, with four keepers a day and a 5-pounder one day. The change in weather annihilated what he had going deep, and they didn't hit shallow either. He didn't even hook a fish today. I managed to agitate some largemouths to hit a jerkbait from under a floating dock, and a spotted bass on a shakey-head worm, but none were keepers. I caught a fish in 6 feet and one in 62 feet, definitely the deepest water I've dragged a bass out of.

It turns out Jay and I had fished an Alabama BASS Federation tournament together back in 1992 on Weiss Lake. I didn't remember him, but he insisted we'd fished together, and we finally figured out where. He's just as nice a guy now as he was 12 years ago. I'm still amazed he remembered me.

I guess Art (Ferguson) will still be calling me "Johnny Z" unless I can catch one tomorrow. I'm fishing with Rick Morris tomorrow, and I also fished with him once before, at the Douglas Lake Megabucks in 2001. He had over 8 pounds today, so he found some. He generally fishes fast, so I may never get to take off my life vest. I guess I'll tie on a jerkbait, crankbait, spinnerbait, worm and dropshot rig.

Several guys who had nothing going in practice caught one or more keepers today by just scrambling and covering water. But guys who had decent patterns were almost shut out. The key factor in this event seems to be "luck," and the skill to be ready when the opportunity pops up.

John Murray – Day 1
Thursday, February 5, 2004

I caught one. I caught a 3-03 largemouth, and I haven't caught a largemouth all week.

I caught fish pretty well in practice, and was catching keeper spots on Yamamoto jigs. That's what I did today, and caught that one keeper largemouth and quite a few short spots. I fished inside today. I'll do a little more dropshotting tomorrow. I just needed a fish to keep my E50 points alive, so I'm pretty happy I got one. I didn't catch it until 2:30, so I was pretty happy when I caught it. I caught it on a 3/4-ounce Yamamoto Spider Jig in watermelon-red.

I was on a pretty good pattern (in practice), but I sort of got off it because I had bigger ones on a jig. But today (the jig pattern) didn't work well at all. It was pretty tough for me. And the weather was brutal. Spots don't seem to like rain that much.

Paul Elias – Day 1
Thursday, February 5, 2004

I didn't catch a keeper. I had one 15 3/4-inch fish, and my partner lost about a 3-pounder at the boat. I caught probably 12 fish, and I hate this friggin' place with a passion because it's a luck contest. I hate tournaments like this. About 10 guys have something going, and for everyone else it's luck. As important as these tournaments are for points and E50s and everything else, BASS really should've paid more attention to the lakes they went to this year. It's ridiculous when you turn tournament fishing into a luck contest.

So many people were cranking today, running points and banks cranking, that's probably what I'll do. I'll just go with the averages. I didn't do it for long in practice, just long enough to decide it wasn't the thing to do, but that has to be how most people caught fish. Too many people were doing it. Of course, Fritts zeroed, but if I know Clunn....

I've been doing this 25 years, and this might be the worst day I've ever spent on the water. When it's lightning and thundering out there, it scares you do death. It started around 11:00.

I finally started laughing today. This is ridiculous. One positive thing is that I got on a point in the last 20 minutes, and that when I had that bigger fish and my partner broke one off. Maybe I'll just camp out on that point all day tomorrow.

Jonathan Manteuffel (co-angler) – Practice day 3
Wednesday, February 4, 2004

This was the last practice day, and a short one since we had to quit at 4 p.m. to go to the pairings meeting in Jasper at 5 p.m. I fished with Art Ferguson again today.

Art got some keepers today, and more bites, so his confidence went way up. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get but one bite, and missed it, just like yesterday. So I went from a keeper and more fish than Art on the rainy first day of practice, and feeling good about my chances, to feeling discouraged after 2 days of no fish. Art started calling me "Johnny Z" (Z for zero). I need to change that tomorrow.

At the meeting I drew out with Jay Kendrick. We are boat 65, 6th flight. Jay said he's caught some good fish every day, but the wind may cause a problem for us. The forecast tomorrow is a balmy 62 degrees, but with a ton of rain and wind – SE 20-30 mph. The low tonight is only 40 degrees, much better than this morning's frosty 29. I brought a motorcycle helmet to this event, and I think tomorrow I'll be real glad I did.

I expect more than a few zeroes on the board tomorrow, and I sure hope I'm not one of them. It will probably take 2-3 keepers a day to make the Top 12 cut on the amateur side, about 8-9 pounds. Maybe a little more if the big ones start biting in the rain. The pros will probably need 19-20 pounds over two days to make the cut. I think there will be some 5-6 pound spots weighed in. Everybody talks like it's been a horrible three practice days, and for many it was, but
there will be several limits and some good weights, just not a lot.

John Murray – Practice day 3
Wednesday, February 4, 2004

I didn't do much today. I ran the lake a little bit looking around, but I didn't fish much. It was cold, and tomorrow it's supposed to blow and be very cloudy. I think they'll bite tomorrow in the wind and rain, but it will be miserable.

I think I'll fish shallow throwing jerkbaits, and I have a pretty good deep bite going fishing jigs and worms deep and slow like I like. Sixteen inches will be a chore, but hopefully I'll be able to catch a few of them.

Paul Elias – Practice day 3
Wednesday, February 4, 2004

I didn't catch any keepers today. I fished a total different section of the lake, and really had a slow day. I'm still kind of practicing. We'll see what tomorrow brings, besides wind and rain.

I sat by some local boys who are fishing the co-angler side, and they talk like they think a lot of fish will be caught. They said they caught several keepers today. But all the guys I talked to are crying, so I'm curious to see the weigh-in tomorrow.

Jonathan Manteuffel (co-angler) – Practice day 2
Tuesday, February 3, 2004

Today I fished with Art Ferguson again. We scouted a different part of the lake, the opposite end from yesterday. No rain but a little colder. This end of the lake was even clearer. You could see a lure almost 10 feet down.

We had a tough time, with only one fish on the day and a few misses. It sounded like it was tough for everybody, though. It was pretty discouraging, as we were hoping to duplicate the kinds of things we found yesterday in a new area, and we didn't get any feedback from the fish, no matter what we tried.

The most keepers I've heard of anyone getting either yesterday or today was two. The little ones and keepers seem to be mixed in together, as guys are saying they'll go through as many as a dozen short fish before they catch one over 16 inches.

I really am hoping to put at least one keeper in the boat on Thursday or Friday because the way some people are talking it would take only one to get a check. There's even talk that if less people (pros and amateurs) weigh in a fish (over two days) than there are money places (75), they will take the "leftover" money and divide it up among the guys who didn't catch any. That's how tough it is to get a keeper bite. I feel even better about my keeper yesterday, but it was three days early.

At the service trailers mid-morning it was a tie, three Mercs and three Yamahas needing major work.

John Murray – Practice day 2
Tuesday, February 3, 2004

This lake has a bunch of big, long arms and looks real fishy. It has ledges, rock, wood – it looks like someone designed it for spotted bass.

Yesterday I caught one over and three or four little ones in the rain. It rained all day. I didn't learn much. I caught them down to 40 feet and one on a jerkbait.

Today I got on a little better pattern and caught four overs, plus a couple really close (to 16 inches). I'm fishing a little deeper water, and I think I found something – not strong, but at least I caught more than one over so I'm happy about that.

Tomorrow I'm just going to run to a part of the lake I haven't seen. There's three big arms, and I've seen two of them. I'll run the third one tomorrow and see what's there.

I think this will be a pattern tournament. I'll get a pattern going and fish as many places as I can find.

Paul Elias – Practice day 2
Tuesday, February 3, 2004

Yesterday I just fished deep all day. I caught about 25 fish and had one keeper and maybe four 15- to 15 1/2-inchers. Today I had one about 15 1/2, but most were 12-13 inch fish.

I only caught about 12 fish today. It's real brutal out there. It's hard to catch a keeper. I think a guy will be better off getting on the bank and throwing something fast.

I fished kind of the same way today as I did yesterday, but just fished different water. I also fished shallow today, but didn't get many bites shallow.

I'm concerned because I blew the last tournament. Guys who blew that last tournament could really get hurt here.

Tomorrow I'll just change water and keep fishing the same way, and will try to find somewhere I have confidence in.

Jonathan Manteuffel (co-angler) – Practice day 1
Monday, February 2, 2004

I haven't fished a pro-am since three Top 150s in a row back in 2001: Toledo Bend, Wheeler and Douglas Lake. I finally had the time/money again and got the draw. Actually, I was pulled into this one from 11th on the waiting list. Got the call from BASS Jan. 14, 8 days after the deadline for entry fee balance payment.

I fished today with Art Ferguson. It was 44 degrees and rainy with some wind, and 46-degree water – miserable for the fishermen, especially the pros, who just drove up from Florida into an Alabama winter. Art committed to one of the three arms of the lake today, and one major creek in it. We caught our two biggest fish on spots I had fished in prior years (Art had never been to Smith and asked if I knew any places). I got one decent keeper out of six fish. Art caught four fish. They were 15-40 feet deep. We caught them on two different lures. The lake looks to be 15-20 feet below full pool, unusual for this time of year.

I need to get a decent rainsuit. Seems like every one I try for under $250 gets me wet at the end of an all-day rain. Hard to feel a bite when you're shivering. The rain should quit tomorrow, but they are forecasting rain on Thursday and Friday.

Even though it was wet and cold, it was good to get out on the water. If you don't take advantage of the 3 practice days to fish with a tour pro, you are wasting a tremendous opportunity to improve as a fisherman, and meet some great guys. Plus, it gets your head in the game for the competition, and tunes you up on your mechanics. Your equipment gets a little workout too, so you can fix or adjust things before the tournament starts.

Tomorrow I'll go with Art again and try some other areas.