My Boone Beast PB
All anglers strive to catch the biggest fish and I am no different. A common goal in this part of the world is a 5 pounder. That is a lunker. I have come close. Last year i weighed in a 4.13 at Billington. This year I made it my number one goal. I was gonna try proven big bait tactics. I've been throwing around big swimbaits all spring. I bagged a 4.14 at my favorite honey hole. So close!!!! Leading up to the tourney at Boone my partner told me he may not make it and then confirmed that. I decided to fish it myself. We have all seen the pigs that Angler21 pulls out of there. Last year I lost one in the pads and to top it all off the tourney was the day after a goddam super moon (last year at Dudley there were some pigs caught the day after a full moon). All of this was weighing on me. I had a good feeling. I'm gonna go to Boone by myself. Last year I didn't stray too far from the launch so my plan was to try to get ahead of the pack and just get out to the main lake. I was cranking like crazy with a KVD 1.5 that has been catching fish all spring with only 1 pick to show. I went through all my cranks. All depths. Threw all my 4 inch swimbaits. Threw some jerkbaits and even threw a senko for a bit. By 9 I was thinking this isn't working. I gotta fish the bottom. Normally I would go with a texas rigged plastic but a little voice was saying try the jig. I only own 4-5 jigs that I bought from Boag Hog baits at the begining of the Spring and I had some plastic pork shaped trailers that I bought in 1999 or so. I was targeting any depth changes that I could find near structure. My boat was sitting in 15 ft of water and I was casting around a dock with a buoy about 10 feet away from it. It took all I had in me to slow down and let that jig get to the bottom and just sit there. Like 99% of my fishing is fast or too fast. That little voice was just talking to me...wait...don't move it...wait...then the line started moving. I don't know about you guys but I read a lot of fishing articles and one thing that gets repeated over and over (I've seen it here too) is CROSS HIS EYES!!!!! So I did and I knew it was a pig right away. I was using a 6'6" St Croix Mojo with a 7:1 BPS Pro Qualifier spooled with 10 lb Fluro (my 1st season using this as well). Sticking with the theme I stayed patient and played him out. I was praying to any god that would listen to let me land him and I was granted my prayer. When I lipped him and got him aboard my heart was pumping and my brain was screaming "GET THE SCALE"!!!! I fumbled around, got it out and powered it up...6.2 OMFG that's my biggest fish ever and in a tourney to boot. I snap a quick pic with my phone and call the other two Bassasin's. They both say the same thing, get back to fishing!!!!!! So I did. I stayed on that spot for about a half an hour with no results. I started moving down the shore line looking for the same water and picked up small fish that I didn't even weigh. I was thinking 1 1/2. Along come the bigmouths who I talk to a bit and we started the usual talk but I couldn't contain myself and told them what I had and even busted it out. I told them where I caught it too (I like competition but I'm not an a-hole) and they went to that spot and immediately caught a 3 pounder. I tried to get some of their second place cash but they weren't in a sharing mood. The wind kicked up so I crossed over to the other side hoping the windblown shoreline would produce some action. I picked up a 12 incher and put him in the cooler with a warning not to go near the beasts mouth. I fished my way back towards the launch but crossed back over to where I caught the pig around 12:45 hoping to put another one in the cooler. Nope. As I was heading back in I started wondering to myself how far away did I actually go? I was giving myself 30 minutes to get back. I pulled up the map app on my iphone and nearly sh*t when I saw how far I had to go. This is gonna be close. I threw the 40 to 5 and held on!!! Get outta my way kayakers!!!! I got a package here. The second I felt like I was losing power, I stopped and changed batteries. Wow a fresh battery and no partner...I was flying. Since all I had to do is steer, I ate my pb&j's that my wife had made me and chugged some water. The whole time I'm watching the little blue dot on my phone inch it's way toward the weigh in area. I got there at 1:55. YES!!!!! Now I was pretty sure I had lunker but like I said earlier, I've seen Jeff's pics. So after everybody weighed in, I was only thinking lunker, I didn't think I was in the top three. I heard my name for third and lit up like a little kid in a candy store. Total awesomeness. On the way back to the ramp I called Dunt who was suppose to be with me and in my best Donald Trump voice I said "Dunt, YOU'RE FIRED". Thanks guys. All of you have made me a better fisherman and a pretty good writer I might add.