Life On Tour
March 8, Eastern Open, Lake Martin, Day Two
Dan writes:
My pattern fell apart today. Well maybe the pattern didn’t, but my brushpiles did. We spent four hours trying to get bit somewhere there in Wind Creek, but by ten o’clock my partner had just one fish and I had nothing. We gave up on the spotted bass and went fishing for largemouth up the river. By the end of the day my partner had four, and I had two. This was a big disappointment, after having caught a limit yesterday.
The good news though is that my partner for tomorrow is another friend, Jack Bell, and he caught ’em good today. In fact there is every reason to believe that, fishing with Jack, I can catch the ten pounds I need tomorrow to get a check here.
The bad news is… I found out that the leader of this tournament is fishing the same little cove where Craig and I found those fish in practice (Monday afternoon). I am kicking myself now for not having returned to them during the tournament. My excuse is that I have to split the day with my partner, those fish were more than a half hour away, and all my other fish are (or were) right here close by. I wish I could make that decision over again.
What makes it even more frustrating though is that this is the second time this season that this has happened. I didn’t write about it back then, for I didn’t find out until much later, but remember the Okeechobee tournament back in January? I had found a pile of huge fish in practice, ten days before the tournament, and then thought that they had all left by the time competition got under way. During the tournament I didn’t go back to that area until the very end of the second day, at which time I culled my entire limit in the last hour. Well guess where the winner of that tournament fished… that’s right. That’s twice now in three tournaments where I have found the winning fish in practice, but did not even fish for them during the tournament!!!
Annie writes:
I woke up around 7:00, and had such a busy day planned that I knew I’d better get up. I spent the entire morning tearing down the campsite and trying to make it all fit in the back of the truck. It’s a huge job for one person, especially since Dan is usually the truck organizer, but I managed to get it all taken care of.
During the weigh in I found Larry Vann, director of the Alexander City Parks and Recreation Department. I told him about how I had taken our tent down today because it is supposed to thunder and lightening all day tomorrow, and it would have been no fun packing up in the rain. Our problem now is that the only four hotels in town are all booked. I asked him if he knew where we could get a room for one night, and without hesitation he said yes. When I asked where, he wouldn’t tell us, but said he’d show us instead. He brought us to a beautiful private house out on a long point with water on three sides, and with a fabulous rock patio about the size of a football field. He gave us the key and asked how long we wanted to stay. “Is two nights okay?” “Sure,” he said. We were shocked, and could not believe our good fortune.
We returned to the weigh-in, and when it was over went back to the house. It was nice to be able to cook dinner indoors again, and to be able to enjoy the evening knowing that the campsite was all packed up and dry, which is especially important since we are leaving everything for a month when we fly home again on Monday.
The hospitality here in Alexander City is incredible. I will say it again: You don’t find this kind of friendliness, hospitality, and people going out of their way to help you out, in a lot of places these days. But every time we come to Alexander City, they treat us right. They even feed the anglers during the weigh-in’s. All three days, and for free, right after you weigh-in you can go over to the tent for free hot dogs, pizza, and sodas. That’s something we don’t get ANYWHERE else, so we are sending a great big THANK YOU to everyone in Alexander City, Alabama. We really appreciate everything you do for us.