Event: B.A.S.S. Elite 50

When: April 17-23, 2005

Where: Smith Lake, AL

Finish: 41st

Winnings: $5,000.00

The first day of practice I fished up the river targeting bass in the flooded buckbrush. I tried working a Houdini shad in and around the brush with only small fish being caught. I decided to work some of the brush with a YUM Mega Tube without any success. I then moved out on several main lake and secondary points, and I was able to catch several small fish split shotting a green pumpkin Notta Worm. I still had not caught a fish over sixteen inches. I decided to head back down the lake and target pockets off of the main lake. I caught a few keepers working a white Houdini shad around boat docks. The second day was much better as I found a few bedding bass and caught several nice keepers working the Houdini shad and a five inch, watermelon, YUM Dinger around boat docks in the back of pockets. The final day of practice I spent most of my time fishing a Carolina rig and a jighead worm on points in 5-15 feet of water. This produced one keeper and several other short fish.

During the first day of competition I made my way back up Ryan Creek to work the Houdini shad a YUM Dinger around boat docks. This produced four keeper bites, but I had two that pulled off and got away while the other buried itself into some buckbrush and pulled free. I finished the first day with only one keeper. So the second day I made some adjustments and concentrated on the main lake area fishing flatter points with larger rock. I worked these areas with an 1/8 oz., Spot Remover Head and a 4 ¾ inch, YUM Houdini Worm in green pumpkin. It was like turning on a light switch. The first point produced three keeper Kentucky bass and the next point produced three more. I finished the day catching a total of ten keepers. Boy, what I would have given for those fish on the first day!