Frigid Sunday Club Tournament Report

[tpierce]

Our bass club fished out of the dam area on Sunday, February 15 from 7-3. Temperature at take off was 20 degrees, and it was 31 degrees when the boat came out of the water. Winds were pretty high most of the day, around 15-20 mph.

The fish catching was pretty good out of our boat today. My 11 year old son and I had 12 keepers between us on the day, all on the grub. Fish were on the bottom and pretty finicky. Depth was anywhere from 30-55 ft for us. Water temp was 44-45 degrees. Our fish were just keeper size with nothing to brag about weight wise. The day was truly a challenge we were looking forward to. I've talked a lot with Tristan about having to work for things in life and that it doesn't always come easy, but he wanted to give it a try....he would be put to the test.

He stood on the front deck with me all morning using the same equipment and set up and watched fish after fish pass his grub on the graph and hit mine. At 10:30 I had 8 keepers and he had one short. Frustration was starting to set in. I kept asking if he wanted his mom to come get him since we live close by and he adamantly said no. At 10:30 he took a 15 minute break in my truck to warm up and then got back in the boat with a new determination to catch a keeper. I asked him about goals and suggested that 1-2 keepers would be a nice aiming point and he responded he was shooting for 3 keepers. After another 2 hours of pretty slow fishing I asked where he wanted to go and he gave me his location. It is a spot he caught a few fish on back in December, and I reminded him of that, we took off to that location anyway. Well, I must say that every frozen guide we had to clear and every missed fish was worth it. At 12:45 Tristan put his first keeper of the day in the boat, a chunky 15.25 inch Kentucky. It would probably be pretty strange to see two anglers giving each other a hug on the water but that is what this father and son did. I told him, "you never ever give up... ever." He knew I meant that from the heart and that I was talking much more about life than fishing.

He would go on to catch two more keepers before weigh in, a 16.75 inch meanmouth and another 15.25 inch Kentucky. After weigh in and all the focus and work we put in, all we could talk about was what mom might be cooking for dinner... Another priceless day. Thank you Lord!

[Bill Babler]

Wonderful report, thank you so much for posting those personal moments. Something that we can truly relate to.

By the way what did it take on Sunday to win that derby and how did you all end up?

[willyfish]

This is the best post I've ever read on this board. Thanks for sharing

[merc1997 Bo]

that is great. that was a great life lesson about how hard work pays off. you also had a very good day of catching too.

bo

[tpierce]

3 anglers had 12-13 lbs. There were 3 fish in the 4+ lb range. I didn't have heavy stringer but Tristan and I had heavy boat. Good day for most all around.

[champ187xr6]

Great post. Lots of lessons learned.

[Champ188]

Thanks for that great post, tpierce. That's the real stuff. Tell you what, Tristan is the kind of young man that high school coaches are groveling for these days. That kind of heart, grit and determination are getting rarer by the day.

But instead of football, you might want to teach him to play golf. More money, less injuries. LOL

[jmes]

Thanks for the great report and keep making those memories that last forever

[motoman]

That was a fantastic post tpierce!.........what a great read.

-

Making memories with the little ones; that's what it's all about. He will always remember those moments, and learning good lessons along the way. Win-win!:-)

[troutgnat]

Way to bring education of life to the sport of fishing...many lessons to be learned on the water. I amwhere I am today because my father was smart enough to know when I was a youngster and fishing on the lakes in the neighborhood(sometimes even when I should have been studying or doing homework) it was best to leave me be. Later in life he always told me 'Son, I never had to worry about you being in trouble when you were out fishing'. I never fell to the temptations of drugs, smoking or excessive drinking or hanging with the wrong crowd. I had better things to do on the water