Oneida Elite Series

> Day 3: 5, 13-14
> Total = 15, 39-05 (34th)

I missed a nice one this morning on a Rico, but the topwater was slow, so I went to dropshotting a Yamamoto Skinny Senko in about 12 feet of water on outside ridges. I caught a 12-pound limit in the fist hour and a half doing that – all smallmouths.

Then at about 11:00 I went up and started flipping the largemouth stuff with a black/blue 1-ounce Yamamoto jig. I fished it on 22-pound Sunline fluorocarbon.

That bite was a little better. I caught eight or 10 good keepers, and got a couple over 3 pounds. I fished in the same area as Horton and Wolak, so I think they were sticking all the good ones before I got there.

Overall I feel real good about my finish. I moved up three places in the points, and anytime you get into that Top 50 cut, and keep your points up, you're happy.

Photo: Rebecca Edwards

Today was a slightly better day of fishing for me. Rapala jerkbait. I culled several times to catch what little weight I had. I learned a lot this week about the lake and the great fishery it is. Rumor has it that they'll be back next season, but only for a major. I guess we'll wait and see.

I underestimated the largemouth plan. There are still several quality fish being caught extremely shallow on Senkos, frogs and various hard topwaters. When I say shallow, I mean big fish in less then 1 foot of water. Should-of, would-of, could-of in this business.

It's amazing what you learn in a hard week of practice. I've never been here before, but it feels good when, after the weigh-in today, a bunch of locals come up and tell you that you found their best spots in less than 3 days. That's cool.

Well, I finished in 75th place – less then 2 pounds out of 50th. I hate missing the Top 50 cut, but I do look forward to visiting Champlain next week. Another giant lake to figure out in 24 hours. Good fishing.

> Day 1: 5, 12-12
> Day 2: 5, 12-11
> Total = 10, 25-07 (42nd)

It was tough for me today. I caught one this morning on a Rico topwater, then ended up dropshotting three more nice ones on a skinny Senko. I only had four with a couple of hours left, so I ran and started flipping a 1-ounce jig in the grass and caught a couple of nice largemouths.

I knew I needed one more nice fish to get in the cut, and I really felt like I could catch a largemouth in the afternoon. I knew I wasn't going to win at that point, so I was just trying to get in the cut.

Tomorrow I think I'll go out swinging. I'll try some totally different areas, and basically go practicing. I've got nothing to lose.

> 5, 12-12 (36th)

I hit one of those Oneida reefs on my way in today and it took my lower unit off. Luckily Skeet Reese was there to bring me in, and Jarrett Edwards grabbed my boat and brought it over some weeds to keep it from floating down the middle of the lake.

It didn't cost me any fishing time. I just ran over an area that looked fine and there was one pinnacle out there that got me.

And Mercury got me right back going, thank God. I was really stressed there for a while. The Mercury service crew – they save a lot of us every day.

Anyway, I caught all smallmouths and had a limit by 8:00 or 8:30, and that was pretty much what I had. I decided then, in another brilliant stroke, to go fish largemouths the rest of the day.

I never upgraded. I should have stayed on smallmouths I guess.

I'm going for a Top 50 tomorrow. That's been my goal all year. Those $10,000 checks are what keep us going. If I can get the same weight, I should be fine.

> 5, 11-04 (77th)

Today started off terrible with some mechanical problems which left me stranded for a while with no choice but to drag a tube, which was unsuccessful for the first 2 hours. Thankfully BASS, Triton and Mercury provided me with a loaner boat for the remainder of the day. I'm very thankful for the boat since, in most circuits, if you break down, you're done fishing.

My first spot I pulled up to was a large island in the middle of the lake surrounded by heavy weed growth. I fished this area hard with a 3/4-ounce football-head jig with a Yamamoto Hula Grub in the watermelon/black-flake color.

The bites were few and far, but I did manage to catch seven keepers out of there, with two being 3-pounders. I just couldn't duplicate the same pattern elsewhere today.

The bite was weird. You'd cast and it would be either a smallmouth or a huge gob of weeds. I was disappointed that I fished several other of my key spots with zero success. I'm not sure if the fish moved or if the cold front that blew in gave them lockjaw.

The fish I've been catching have been quality though. This lake has been fun to fish and the average size smallmouth is around 2 pounds plus. Who doesn't like those?

Tomorrow I'm hoping that the strong largemouth bite will fizzle for some and that I have a chance to play catch-up. I'm currently sitting in 77th place, but just a 1-pound difference will put me in 39th. Ounces are everything here and I'm working extra hard to keep all of my fish in good shape. A dead fish penalty of 4 ounces can really hurt a man here.

Tomorrow my plans are to fish reaction baits, such as a topwater popper and a Rapala X-Rap jerkbait all day long.

I need 14 pounds to have a shot at some good money and points. Wish me luck.

My practice period over the last few days has been hit or miss. On Monday I caught a 4- and a 3-pound smallie. They fought well and were in their usual habitat. I've been dragging plastics to catch my fish and location and depth are everything.

On Monday I probably had about 14 pounds in my best five. The problem here is this lake is so tiny and the same shoals and humps found on my Lowrance Hot Spots Elite card also show up on everybody else's unit too. It's tough to find a secret spot, if one truly exists.

Yesterday I had my GPS zoomed all the way in until I ran into what appeared to be the end of the cove, only to find out it was the end of the lake. It's that small, meaning there will be several people fishing on and close to one another.

I hear a few of my buddies talking about a decent largemouth bite going on shallow with frogs and flipping the few large mats. I tried it yesterday and quickly put a 2 1/2 in the boat. That bite seems to be tougher for me.

Being that this place fishes so small, it's tough to know what quality of fish you're on, and if they'll still be there. Rumor has it that 13 pounds per day will make the Top 50 cut for 10 grand. Right now I'm confident, but not overly confident.

It's anybody's game. I need a good tournament to pick me up mentally and get my confidence back up. I'm overdue.

Becca and I, over the break, flew back home to Lake Powell to do some filming and to relax. It was great being home, but the 3-hour time difference is really killing me now.

In reality, when I wake up at 4:00 a.m. here to launch, it's really 1:00 a.m. back home and my body has yet to adjust to it.

Speaking of next year, I hear that we'll have a few Elite events back in California. I love it. For once in a blue moon, the East Coast guys have to drive the other 2,000 miles past Texas. Can't you just hear them complain now?

This has been great fishing. Whatever you want to do, you can do it and catch fish – largemouths or smallmouths, shallow or deep. It's pretty impressive. It's like Champlain, and the fish are plentiful.

The fish are pretty much all nice, too – 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 pounds. Once in a while you catch some 3s.

I had one big 5-pound smallie chase me, and that's where I'm going to start. Otherwise, I just plan to go through some numbers and try to upgrade. That's probably the only way to catch a kicker. On some spots, you pull up, throw a tube and catch five in a row – all different sizes – then all of sudden you catch a 3-pounder.

What does that mean? I don't know. But it's been a lot of fun this week.

This lake is just full of fish. My non-boater Steve Tosh hooked about a 6-foot sturgeon yesterday. It finally broke off and started porpoising out there.

I think to make the Top 50 it'll take 14 pounds a day. I think everybody is going to have one real good day, then another day where they just hang in there.

I looked at some team-tournament weights from the other day, and 14 pounds barely won anything.