Cops for Kids

[Bluff-Bassin]

58 minutes ago, darrencombs said:

Thanks Dave.  We just had a very fortunate and blessed day on the water.  We've all had those days where nothing can absolutely go right and then there are those that go almost perfect.  My partner likes to fish the state park area.  We did start the tournament there with out a bite. I did hear that some had good luck in the discolor water. We did make a little run to water I'm a little more familiar with.  We were fishing out of his boat and he wanted me to run the trolling motor because he didn't know the area.  I was hoping for a nice relaxing day from the back of the boat. I know that some will want more specific details. I will give as much as I can, but my partner has the CPA this weekend at TR.  The fish came in about 20' of water.  They were all caught on a bait like a jig, or worm that was in contact with the bottom.  The first cast my partner made he caught the five pounder.  His 7.02 was the fourth keeper of the day.  He ended up kicking their teeth in from the back of the boat.  I told him keep catching them I will set here eat my potato chips, drink a Pepsi and net your fish.  Some people try to out fish each other even in a team tournament.  I could careless who put the five in the boat.   We ended up catching 9 keepers in total.  We didn't catch a lot of fish total maybe 20.  I am a spot fisherman.  I might fish just a rock, stump, ledge, one log etc.  I can't hardly make myself just start going down a bank casting.   I figure if I have several little "confident" spots and hit most I have better chance than spending time going down a whole bank.  You have to understand that I have spent hours upon hours fishing those whole banks to find that sweet 10 foot stretch, or that log, ledge or what ever it might be.  The fish did come from steeper banks with rocks.  You don't under stand how hard it is to write this and give good detail, but not get criticized for not enough.  Trust me, I'm on here daily and she some of the post.  

Don't blame you for being a tad tight lipped with his derby coming up. Sounds like a magical day when it all just comes together. If it's anything like my fishing having a day like that every now and then makes the much more common tough days a lot more bearable. Congrats!

[dtrs5kprs]

That's more than we should have expected folks. I didn't press Darren at all because I figured there was more fishing to be done.

Think a lot of the fish spawned in dirty water, and guys just never saw them. There have been periods where the bite was just "odd", not off, just quirky. That tends to happen when they are really bedding. No doubt there are some more that will spawn, especially from 13 to the dam. Deep spawners, ledge fish, just plain late fish.

I completely agree with his assessment on the importance of having key spots, and learning at least a few areas inside and out. 

[Seth]

1 hour ago, darrencombs said:

Thanks Dave.  We just had a very fortunate and blessed day on the water.  We've all had those days where nothing can absolutely go right and then there are those that go almost perfect.  My partner likes to fish the state park area.  We did start the tournament there with out a bite. I did hear that some had good luck in the discolor water. We did make a little run to water I'm a little more familiar with.  We were fishing out of his boat and he wanted me to run the trolling motor because he didn't know the area.  I was hoping for a nice relaxing day from the back of the boat. I know that some will want more specific details. I will give as much as I can, but my partner has the CPA this weekend at TR.  The fish came in about 20' of water.  They were all caught on a bait like a jig, or worm that was in contact with the bottom.  The first cast my partner made he caught the five pounder.  His 7.02 was the fourth keeper of the day.  He ended up kicking their teeth in from the back of the boat.  I told him keep catching them I will set here eat my potato chips, drink a Pepsi and net your fish.  Some people try to out fish each other even in a team tournament.  I could careless who put the five in the boat.   We ended up catching 9 keepers in total.  We didn't catch a lot of fish total maybe 20.  I am a spot fisherman.  I might fish just a rock, stump, ledge, one log etc.  I can't hardly make myself just start going down a bank casting.   I figure if I have several little "confident" spots and hit most I have better chance than spending time going down a whole bank.  You have to understand that I have spent hours upon hours fishing those whole banks to find that sweet 10 foot stretch, or that log, ledge or what ever it might be.  The fish did come from steeper banks with rocks.  You don't under stand how hard it is to write this and give good detail, but not get criticized for not enough.  Trust me, I'm on here daily and see some of the post.  I fish a few tournaments, but now days I just take my son to his tournaments.  I consider myself as a recreational fisherman.   Champ188 to ease your mind not a single fish was caught on a bed.  Truthfully, I think they have all spawned.  Where, I don't know.  I haven't seen many beds in my area all year.  I kinda think maybe some spawned a little deeper this year.  That's just my opinion.    I have little cabin in the James river arm so I spend a lot of time there. So if you and see a dark gray Nitro Z8 with a 16 old boy up front and an old man sitting in the back stop and say Hi.  My son Dalton and Darren Combs.  As always hope the next time you go fishing you catch the biggest fish of your life and take a kid fishing.    

Congrats on the win. You guys picked the right day to have a dream day! As for giving up details, you gave us a pattern, which gives folks a starting point. People who expect exact spots are just being greedy.

I always love hearing about the different patterns that people do well on during tournaments. You mentioned that you were struggling in the dingy water around the dam area and ended up catching your fish out deeper in a different area. We did fairly well and caught around a dozen largemouths in two days on spinnerbaits, squarebills and tricks worms in less than 5' of water within two miles of the state park in coves. This sounds similar to how Stacey King's boat was fishing, which is just good old fashioned power fishing.

It just goes to show that while somebody smokes em on one pattern, the next guy is catching them good doing something totally different. Figuring out how to catch the fish is almost as fun as actually doing it.

[eyedabassman]

Darren, Nice post and congrats.on your win! 

[fozzype]

My partner and I had a good day and got 12th..congrats to Darren and Rick...good guys...

We definitely  did something different.  We flipped the brush on bluffs up the river.  I mean cast no one will make and a high likelyhood to never get your bait back. This was my partners idea and we smoked several until noon or so.  These are high productive spots with known history. Then that bite just quit.  Went back down to dam area and ended up with a couple of keeper smallmouth  on the shakey head.  One was 3 lbs and culled.  Never got that kicker fish but had 5 decent ones for 14.02 lbs.  The flipping deal was a gamble but paid off.

Get to fish for free next year.  Had a great time, great weather, and spent time with a great friend.  Caught up with several old buddies as well.

Blessed and feel like I will just keep my boat for now....if you have read my other post it has been a rough year until last two tourneys...

 

[Champ188]

Big congrats, Darren, and dtrs5kprs is right ... there's a lot of info there --- more than I would have given. This forum is no secret, and the "views" for each topic reflect that. For every active member, there are hundreds more who use this site to gather info incognito.

Happy to hear no bedding fish were jostled in the making of this victory but I couldn't fault you guys if you had caught some that way. As long as it is legal to do so and money is on the line, you are hamstringing yourself if you run across a big bedding fish and don't try to catch it.

Again, congrats on the win. Great job by one of our most talented OA members.

[magicwormman]

Congrats Darren! Great tournament and great report! I think most of the LM and SM have spawned as there has been some good quality fish taken in the 15 to 20 ft range. I know there will be some fish spawning clear into June, especially the Spots.The off color water in the Dam area just might be a blessing as it' tough to sight fish and may help with a more successful spawn. 

[m&m]

Darren, congratulations on the win. But more importantly congratulations on figuring out what needs to be done. Thank you for the information. You are one class act. 

Mike