Straight From Davis

 
In practice, the first day I put my boat in the water and I fished in a creek down river. I fished shallow for a long time then I pulled out on a creek channel and I started to crank it and I found a little school of bass.

I caught a couple of them and I left. Then, I fished structure the rest of that practice day and I didn’t find anymore fish.

Second day of practice was really the key for me, I found lots of fish and lots of areas and good quality fish - I went to an area where I actually made the cut here last year. The fish were in shallow grass and it was full of bass. I went to a second area it was full of bass.

I was catching them on some buzzbaits. You could catch them a lot of ways, jigs, buzzbaits, tubes, spinnerbaits - just about anyway you want to catch them.

I found a place that day where I got 19 or 20 bites. They were all quality fish. The place that I told you I saved. And then (Greg) Hackney went there the second day out.

When I say I saved it, I mean I just didn’t go to it. I had 15 pounds the first day of the tournament so I thought ‘well, you want to make sure you make the cut, that’s all that matters is making the cut.’

I was thinking I’m not going in that area in hopes that no one else would go in there and I’d have it to myself for the second day and could go in there and catch another 15 pounds and lead the tournament.

Well it didn’t work out that way. You know, Hackney got in there and he caught them and he caught 16 pounds and he made the cut so that was okay. But I struggled that second tournament day due to the fact that I split my shallow fish up with Davy (Hite).

You remember Davy had 18 pounds the first day so he and I were fishing the same water. He had found that little area where I made the cut here last year.

So, we had to split them up. He stayed on one side and I on the other. I caught a good limit out of them and left and he stayed in there and beat on ‘em.

The second day had it not of been for the little school of bass that I found the first practice day on the little structure place. Had it not been for those I might not have made the cut, because I went down there and I crank me up and rigged up, Carolina rigged up, a limit of fish. They weren’t big, but a limit’s a limit. So anyway I made the cut.

I was in eighth so I didn’t get (the) good hole selection (Friday). And I felt at a big disadvantage because I had not fished on the river any. I had not made one cast on the main river. All my fishing was in backwater.

And looking at these holes you can see what’s there. You’ve got Catoma Creek backwater, you got Cooters Pond backwater and everything else is the river.

It’s got a few little pockets off of it, but basically it’s river. So I didn’t get a good hole to start in. The first hole I didn’t catch a keeper. Second hole I flipped up one keeper off the river on a jig. And the third hole I got into Hole 1.

Well I got in there and I caught seven fish, I caught seven keepers in Cooter’s pond. Caught them on crankbait, a shallow running crankbait and a jig.

After I left Cooter’s pond the first day of the tournament, I had only caught three other keepers and none of them really helped me. So I had 10 pounds and 3 ounces and made the second-day cut.

(Saturday), I was in fifth place so I didn’t have what I thought was a good hole selection. I got the fifth choice, so I took Hole 3.

Well, I got to Hole 3 and noticed that the water looked higher. It looked like it was up in the weeds so I went to the weeds, started fishing the weeds, and swimming a jig and I caught a nice one right off the bat on a Strike King jig.

And then between a jig and Zoom Brush Hawg, fishing in the weeds I caught four and lost one between 4- and 5-pounds that absolutely devastated me, losing that fish. I had that fish caught and I didn’t do anything wrong, the fish ate my bait. I watched her eat it she turned I dropped my rod, counted to three I set the hook, she jumps, she goes down, she comes off.

So, all day long I’m tore up because of this big fish that’s come off. But I was determined to go on and make the most of it. I went ahead (and) put together a decent stringer both by pitching my jig later up in the day cause after that, let’s see, my first two holes I caught them in the grass, after that every thing I caught came off wood.

Either on a little Strike King crankbait and another handmade crankbait that I’m throwing and a Brush Hawg and a jig.

I caught, I’m just rambling along here, I caught three keepers and lost another good fish in Hole 1. That was the hole I was most looking forward too.

I caught one of my better fish in Hole 6 and had one bite in Hole 2 and lost it. It came off.

And that was the day.

From Steve Bowman, FishFactory.com