Title 25

<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-201/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"> <div> <B>Making the Best of a Bad Day's Fishing</B></div> <bR> <div> Well, it's been a couple of weeks now since the first central division Stren Series tournament on BEAUTIFUL Bull Shoal Lake somewhere in freakin' Arkansas,  At the advice of my therapist I am writing this article, as he thinks it will help me deal with the colossal disappointment that fishing can be.  And as this was very possibly the worst week of fishing in my life, I need a lot of therapy at the moment. </div> <bR> <div> What a week! Five days of prefishing for four pretty decent fishermen on the Twin City Pro Staff with only a handful of keepers (and not too many non-keepers) between us to show for it.  As you can imagine, that kind of prefish tends to lower one's expectations.  Unfortunately, in my case, these low expectations were overly optimistic. Three days of hard tournament fishing only produced two spotted bass keepers, which were small even for spots.  So, with this background information, you can understand why I abandoned the planned topic of this article, which was “How to Catch Bass in Early March on placePlaceNameBull PlaceNameShoals PlaceTypeLake” for the more appropriate title above.</div> <bR> <div> How, exactly do you make the most of a bad day (or in my case week) of fishing?  You learn to appreciate what goes well.  In this instance a number of things went particularly well, although none of which will increase the balance of my fishing-only checking account.  </div> <bR> <div> First, having good friends with whom to commiserate is a huge plus.  In my case, the jokes and stories at night were the highlight of the day.  You haven't lived until you've heard Ken Sheets relive some of his more interesting “learning experiences”; or listened to Ed Kyle, who is a retired police officer,  talk about his wilder moments (while working, of course).  If you ever get a chance to swing by Twin City Marine off of Highway A (down from the General Motors plant about 2 miles off of Hwy 70), stop in and chat with these guys and you'll see what I mean.</div> <bR> <div> Second, if you have fished as many tournaments as I have, you learn to appreciate one that is very well run, which this one definitely was.  The Stren Series staff couldn't have been more professional. From the sign up through the weigh-ins, they were great.  I would name a few of them except that you would probably quit reading right here and I'm sure I'd leave someone out - which they definitely don't deserve.  I'm looking forward to the next tournament on PlaceNameplaceKentucky PlaceTypeLake beginning April 30<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> through May 3<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >rd</FONT>.  That should be a blast.</div> <bR> <div> Third, a real plus of participating in this sport at this level is that you get to fish with a lot of interesting people. Sure, every now and then, you'll draw up with someone that is less than social, but most of the co-anglers that I have fished with are down to earth - just my kind of people.  This tournament in particular was a real treat.  Day one I drew up with Mark Diffee from placeCityLittlerock, StateArkansas, who is down to earth more than most as he's an ex-bull and bronco rider. No joke, he's one of those guys whose sanity we've all questioned from the comfort of an easy chair watching reruns of “You Gotta See This”.   Up close he seemed quite sane, however and man, does he have some stories.  If you ever have the pleasure, ask Mark about his 40 plus hospital stays courtesy of a particularly mean bull named Fluffy (kidding - about the name).  Day two, I got to fish with Phillip Terry from Decatur, Alabama, who was a real-life world fishing record holder for 9 years as at the age of fourteen he caught what was then the world record spotted bass at 8-15 on March 18, 1978 on Lewis Smith Lake.  That world record stood for 9 years! That fish is still the state record in StateplaceAlabama. Now that's cool.  Not to be outdone, my day three partner was none other than Brian Branum, inventor of the Giggy Head Finesse Jig, among other lures.  Brian now has a job most fishermen dream about - he's the Product Development Manager for Gambler Lures.  He's also a good fisherman and caught a 7-0 pound rainbow trout on a drop shot rig during practice. Now that's cool.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0c8138e0.jpg" border=0 width="531" height="398" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> To sum it up in one sentence: when the fishing isn't going your way, try to appreciate the things that are.  So until next time, when my planned article title is “How to Kick Butt on Kentucky Lake”, with an alternate of “Proper Boat Waxing Techniques”, have a great day and thank God we can do this thing called bass fishing!</div> <bR> <div> Dwayne Luby's sponsors include:</div> <bR> <div> Skeeter Boats: http://www.skeeterboats.com/" <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>http://www.skeeterboats.com/</U></FONT></div> <div> Yamaha Outboards <FONT SIZE="1" 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> Lewis Engines, St. Charles, MO: http://lewisboat.com/" <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>http://lewisboat.com/</U></FONT> </div> <div> Minn Kota Trolling Motors (http://www.minnkotamotors.com/index_flash.asp" <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>http://www.minnkotamotors.com/index_flash.asp</U></FONT>)</div> <div> Humminbird Electronics (http://www.humminbird.com/flashHome.asp?ID=2" <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>http://www.humminbird.com/flashHome.asp?ID=2</U></FONT>) </div> <div> Performance Propellers, CityplaceSt. Charles, StateMO - (636) 494-3121</div> <div> B&R Outlaw Rods (<FONT SIZE="1" 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> <div> Ardent Reels <FONT SIZE="1" 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> Loc-R-Bar <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.locrbar.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.locrbar.com/"><U><U>http://www.locrbar.com/</U></U></A></FONT></div> <div> Lou Fusz Automotive <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.fusz.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fusz.com/"><U><U>http://www.fusz.com/</U></U></A></FONT></div> <div> Omega Tackle <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.omegacustomtackle.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.omegacustomtackle.com/"><U><U>http://www.omegacustomtackle.com/</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> For past articles visit by this author visit:  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.lubyfishing.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lubyfishing.com/"><U><U>www.lubyfishing.com</U></U></A></FONT> .</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>