[Swim and Jig]

Well I'm fishing this on Friday and am a little nervous. This is my first tourney and I'm on a run of bad luck. I believe there are 150 boats in the running. I'll take any advice anyone is offering. Is anyone here gonna be in this one? Also, there's an ice breaker tomorrow on post from 7pm to 9pm at Sports USA on Long Street.

 

[lewisfishing]

Are you a boater for the tourney?


To fish is human!

 

[trigger22]

I don't know anything about the lake and anymore know very little about bass fishing (I grew up doing it and it's likely like riding a bike but now I chase drum and speckled trout). The best advice I can give you is to not be nervous, go fishing and have a good time doing it. Put together a plan A, B, C, and D and then have a wildcard plan as well. You'll either catch fish and be a contender in the tournament or you won't, either way you'll come out a winner for taking a hero fishing.

 

[Neilslure]

I am fishing it as a boater, this is my 5th WoW event. I dont really worry about trying to win, I worry about giving my soldier an enjoyable day on the water. If he catches fish and we take atleast one fish across the stage that is a win for me. I know alot of guys who fish bigger tournaments like the BFLs as co-anglers dread getting a boater who bed fishes all day, therefore I try to do a minimal amount of it during Wow and keep my soldier casting at likely places instead of sitting there facing the bank for an hour while I try to jack one off of a bed.

 

[Swim and Jig]

I should've specified that I'm fishing the tourney. I think I get paired with a boat? Is that how it works? Thanks for the advice. I'll have a good time either way, but I wanna represent my unit with some big fish! Know what I mean?

 

[riverrat1]

Good luck in the tourney. A lot depends on who you draw as a boater. I would hope for a boater that likes shallow water with some color in it. If that happens, put a spinnerbait or shallow crank in your hand all day, but check a buzzbait too.

I think they schedule the WOW at a bad time. If they would move it a few weeks earlier or later, everybody would catch more fish.

 

[Swim and Jig]

Thanks much. Everyone seems to be saying the same thing about shallows with buzz baits, spinners, and cranks.

 

[Swim and Jig]

Well the ice breaker was amazing last night. This is my first WoW and I'm a little ashamed that I didn't know how big a deal this thing really is. Everyone affiliated really went out of their way to make the whole thing about the soldiers. I'm not a Joe, but there were plenty there and I'm sure they're gonna have a great time tomorrow on the lake. I wish I could thank all the boaters and sponsors personally. This is truly an awesome event. For anyone interested, I'll post a tourney report after I get my trophy to the house tomorrow evening.

 

[Neilslure]

I am boat number 48, gonna give you a run for your money on the trophy.

 

[BASSFAN07]

So how was the tourney?

 

[riverrat1]

20-13 won, couple of 19 pound bags too.

 

[Swim and Jig]

Well, my fishing day wasn't as productive as I would've hoped, but we still had a blast. We only managed to pull out 2 keepers. That was a tough day of fishing. All the good spots were taken pretty early. We actually caught a lot of fish, but they were dinks.

Neilslure, was that you in the top ten? 48? I can't remember all the winners. Congrats to any placers.

Also, did y'all see some of those (what had to be) $100,000 boats??!!

 

[Neilslure]

Yep, we were boat 48 and finished 10th with 15 lbs 6 oz. It was a very enjoyable day, we caught a limit and we both contributed about evenly to do it.

 

[Swim and Jig]

Well congrats! I'm sure you made that soldiers day. We really appreciate everything you boaters do with this event. I look forward to the 10th annual. Hal was saying it was gonna be even better, if that's possible. Congrats again!

 

[lewisfishing]

Neil did awesome! As for me...well, The past few years were much better than this one but SFC Evans and I still crossed the stage and weighed in...and he had a 5 to 6 pounder on at the end of the day that made it very exciting!

This IS the best tourney I take part in every year and I look forward to doing it again for many years to come!