Size Matters

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="08bcca23.jpg"> <div>  <img src="HTMLobj-162/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="184" height="24">   </div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LubyFishing.com"><U><B>Home</B></U></A>   </div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sponsors"><U><B>Sponsors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Articles"><U><B>Articles</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tournaments"><U><B>Tournaments</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photo Gallery"><U><B>Photo Gallery</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A>  </div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> Article 1</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Lake Fork: When A 10-Pounder Just Isn’t Big Enough</div> <div> <B>(or Size Really Does Matter)</B></div> <div> <B>Date: </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial" >10/05</FONT></div> <div> It’s difficult to avoid getting wound up the week before you know you’re going to be fishing on one of the premier trophy bass lakes in the country, namely Lake Fork near Sulphur Springs, Texas, and I am no exception. The last week of May 2005 was just such a week for me and my close friend and fellow Skeeter pro staffer, Kevin Wiggins, 1994 Won Bass’ US Open champion and veteran of more tournaments than he can probably count. Kevin hails from Las Vegas but was more than willing to fly to St. Louis then drive to Texas to fish the Skeeter Owners’ Tournament; arguably the best owner’s tournament in the nation. After many hours of switching my 8-12 pound thread (by lake Fork standards) for 20 pound monofilament and 65 pound braid, packing every big bass bait I owned and buying a few new ones, followed by a quick trip to Lambert St. Louis International airport to pick up Kevin, we were on our way. </div> <bR> <div> Fast forward through about 12 hours of driving, riding and talking about how many giant fish swim the depths of Lake Fork, and you have two guys who were bursting at the seams to start fishing. So began one of the best weeks of fishing I’ve experienced in years. </div> <bR> <div> The Skeeter Owners’ tournament pays cash prizes for the three heaviest legal fish per hour beginning at 8:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. on the first day and 8:00 – noon on the second day. Most of the hourly checks are awarded for fish less than 16” (“unders”) but the grand prize, a high-end fully rigged Skeeter, invariably goes to the heaviest “over.” </div> <bR> <div> As serious bass fisherman, we of course planned to go for the gusto, so beginning with our prefishing on Monday, we used “big fish baits” and quickly got on a frog (a.k.a. Kermit) bite, using Zoom’s Horny Toad™ in a variety of colors with white being the most productive. If you haven’t had the experience, it is difficult to understand exactly how much fun catching fish after fish in the 4 – 7 pound range on a frog really is. </div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, that just doesn’t cut it on a lake with a 16” – 24” slot. The longest fish we caught during prefishing was a bit under 23” but, unlike horseshoes, when it comes to the length of a bass on Lake Fork, close doesn’t count. If you have any doubts about that, just ask the poor guy who brought a fish to the scales that he believed was over 24” only to find out it was only 23¾”. So instead of winning the hourly weigh-in he was awarded a hefty citation from a Texas Wildlife agent. </div> <bR> <div> Over the next few days of prefishing, after which our arms were sore from thrashing what on almost any other lake would be a near-dream stringer, our resolve waned somewhat and we began looking for different patterns, hoping to find heavy 15 – 16” fish as well as trying other potential patterns looking for hogs. Unfortunately, we didn’t find either during four days of prefishing and were thus a little disappointed prior to the tournament – at least until we arrived at the sign in – wow, what an experience! </div> <bR> <div> Registering 1,600 plus fishermen for a tournament should be a real problem but all the years Skeeter has been putting on their owner’s appreciation tournament have really paid off. After a short time in line swapping fish stories while being showered with all kinds of free stuff and looking at some of the latest and greatest gear and tackle, we were registered. Even the test drives of the latest and greatest line of fishing boats was accomplished unexpectedly fast. (Having fished from most of the bass boats Skeeter offers, Kevin and I decided to take a ride on Skeeter’s new bay boat, which was a real treat but that’s a story for another day.) Following the sign in, test rides, good food and signing up for a few of the cool items featured in the silent charity auction, we called it a day and headed for the hotel to make final preparations for Friday, day one of the tournament. </div> <bR> <div> In the early morning darkness on Friday, we headed for the lake. Fortunately Skeeter allows fishermen to land anywhere on the lake that they’d like – a real plus when there are over 800 boats with up to three fishermen each registered for the tournament. Anyway, day one proceeded much as our prefishing had – lots of fish but none worth bringing in to the scales. The local radio station was doing live broadcasts of the weigh-ins, and kept reporting that many of the heavy unders looked to have eggs in them – which seemed preposterous to us at the time, considering it was June! Most of these fish were in excess of 2½ pounds and must have looked like footballs considering they were less than 16” long. We were also surprised at how light some of the “overs” were – as little as seven pounds. Having tossed back several fish in the 8 pound class during the week that weren’t particularly close to the 24” mark – we had a hard time believing those weights. There were, however, a few mommas in the nine-pound class, with one weighing 10 pounds two ounces. Regardless, day one ended for us with no trips to the scales. </div> <bR> <div> Day two started much like day one; several hours passed with no fish tempting us to the weigh-in site. Getting desperate, we decided to do something different, even if it was wrong. With that mentality and two hours to go, we tied on eight-inch lizards behind one-ounce tungsten weights and began punching through grass mats on a flat that was only a few feet deep but had a 20-foot deep creek winding through it. After only a few minutes, my bait got heavy and I hauled back for all I was worth. Then, my heart skipped a beat when I saw a monster of a bass come out of the grass heading for the next county. When my heart resumed its work and I managed to call (scream) for the net, I began what I call the “hog dance” – where I two-step around the boat following a fish that is clearly in charge. The dance included many repetitions of “oh my God, oh, my God, oh my God” in rapid succession – the longest 30 seconds of my life which fortunately ended with a 10½ plus pound toad in the boat! </div> <div> You may be able to imagine our euphoria – believing that we had a legitimate chance of winning a boat, considering that the heaviest fish to that point weighed 10.52 pounds. Realizing that we had a long haul to the weigh-in site, we quickly prepared to make the run. It was then that my kill-joy partner suggested we measure the fish – just to be safe. I thought he must be delusional to even consider that such a heavy fish wouldn’t be long enough, but I decided to humor him and whipped out the board. </div> <bR> <div> At first I thought there was something wrong with the board, as it showed that this monster was only 23<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >3/4</FONT> inches long. Unfortunately, further inspection and numerous attempts to “make it go” failed to grow this would-be tournament winning fish the necessary one-quarter inch. Talk about a downer! We then did what any self-respecting bass fisherman would do in our situation – we bemoaned our foul luck, took a couple of pictures and let her go, then resumed fishing. </div> <bR> <div> Less than five minutes later it appeared we had a repeat performance on our hands, except that this time I was on the net. When this one hit the board, however, it was only 23” and 8½ pounds – hardly worth getting excited about after our previous experience. Thirty minutes and a couple of slot fish later, we headed to the landing followed by a long drive home, richer for the experience and already planning strategies for next year. </div> <bR> <div> If there are any Skeeter boat owners out there, or if you know of one you can team up with, I strongly suggest that you consider participating in the next Skeeter Owners Appreciation Tournament – God willing, I know I will. </div> <div> For more information on Skeeter and the Skeeter Owners Appreciation Tournament, including final standings and numerous pictures, visit <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>http://www.skeeterboats.com/</U></FONT> </div> <bR> <div> <B>Submitted by:</B> Dwayne Luby, St. Peters, Mo</div> <div> <B>Sponsored by:</B></div> <div> Skeeter boats <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.skeeterboats.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.skeeterboats.com/"><U><U>http://www.skeeterboats.com/</U></U></A></FONT></div> <div> Yamaha Outboards <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/products/lifestylehome/home.aspx" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/pro"><U><U>http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/products/lifestylehome/home.aspx</U></U></A></FONT></div> <div> Twin City Marine <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.twincitymarineinc.com/tcm2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.twincitymarineinc.com/tcm2.ht"><U><U>http://www.twincitymarineinc.com/tcm2.htm</U></U></A></FONT></div> <div> Performance Propellers 636-949-3121</div> <div> Ardent Reels <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ardentreels.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ardentreels.com/"><U><U>http://www.ardentreels.com/</U></U></A></FONT></div> <div> B&R Outlaw Rods <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.broutlawrods.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.broutlawrods.com/"><U><U>http://www.broutlawrods.com/</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>