The Quest

The quest was over, but the dream has just begun.  The B.A.S.S. team Championship was just shy of two months away, and our dynamic duo had a lot to do.  There were maps to study of  both the lake and the route to Guntersville, polish the boat, grease the bearings, change the oil in the truck, organize the tackle, buy new tackle, put new line on the reels, and a hundred or more things to do before blasting off to Alabama.  Time passed and it was finally Friday, December 4^th , and time to leave!  The boat was hitched to the truck, the truck was gassed and Northeast’s number 1 team was on their way hopefully to make history and win a spot in the 2016 Bassmasters Classic.  Not only will Nick and Dave represent Northeast Bassmasters in The B.A.S.S. team Championship, but they will be the only team representing New Jersey in the competition.

Every journey begins with the first step or in this case the first mile of more than 900 miles to Lake Guntersville.  The trip took them from New Jersey into Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and a rest stop for food and gas.

After a short break and some time to stretch their legs, they were back on the road again.  After crossing into Tennessee and three more hours of driving, it was time to call it a day.  Time for a shower in the motel, and then a few cold ones at dinner and back to the motel to sleep. 

Here they go again, back on the road for the last leg of the trip.

According to the map, Alabama and Lake Guntersville were just down the road apiece… only 200 plus miles to go and four more hours of road time. They knew they were are getting close.

At long last, and after 900 miles and 14 hours of driving, the had arrived at the last stop on the Northeast Bassmasters challenge for the B.A.S.S. Team Championship. 

Here they were.  It was early Saturday afternoon, the temperature is in the low 60’s, and a beautiful lake right in front of them… time to go fishing.  Unfortunately, the fishing was going to have to wait because the lake was off limits until the first official practice day.  It was going to be a long wait until Monday, December 7^th before they can get on the water.  As the intrepid pair looked around it was hard to believe that they were the first team to arrive for the event.  Time for them to check into their new home at for the next week.  Check it out… they were are right on the lake and what a view!

Now that they have settled in, it was time to unwind. 

Sunday, December 6^th was spent getting ready for the first day of practice…  checking and rechecking their gear, meeting some of the locals and other competitors as they arrived, listening to dock talk and trying not to get rattled.  It was a long day when you are itching to go fishing and you can’t.  As the sun set on Guntersville, Nick and Dave have done all they can, and the only thing left to do is sleep.  Ya right, who can sleep the night before the first day of practice of the biggest tournament you have ever fished.  Lots of tossing and turning and finally it was time to get up and get going.

At long last the boat was in the water and they were on their way.  The morning temperature was in the low to mid 30s and by mid-afternoon the temp was in the low 60s.  The weather for the last week had been stable, and the forecast for the tournament should be the same.  The locals have said that the bite has been off for this time of year because it has been unusually warm.  Undaunted by this news, the dynamic duo pressed on to their first spot.  Dave put the first fish of the day in the boat, a chunky 15 inch large mouth that fell for a chatterbait in a foot and a half of water.  Later, Nick scored a 6.6 pounder on square bill crank bait in 6 to 7 feet of water. 

This is one they should have had in the tournament.  What a hog!!!  To their dismay these were the only two fish boated during the day.  Both Nick and Dave were throwing rattle traps and had several hookups, but the fish became unbuttoned before they got to the boat.  Tomorrow is another day of practice and hopefully a better one.

The fog and cold did not stop them from heading out into the lake.  Their plan was to fish Honeycomb Creek and fish it hard.  They spent most of the day there and found and caught fish. The ones they boated were not monsters but they saw some real quality fish in the area.  It was another tough day but they now have a plan for the tournament.  Nick said that everyone seems to be struggling but you know someone is going to get them.  With any luck it will be The Northeast Bassmasters Team.  Two hundred teams qualified for this event and 197 of them have registered and will blast-off tomorrow.  Nick and Dave are boat #61 in the second flight to take off.  

Wednesday, December 9^th

Nick and Dave were boat #61 in the second flight that means 60 boats took off before them and 136 were hot on their trail.  Undaunted, they stayed with their plan from day 2 of practice and concentrated on Honeycomb Creek.  When they arrived at the creek they found that the water level had dropped a foot from the day before.  This presented a problem since the fish that they were on were in the back of the creek in a foot and a half of water.  The drop in water made it almost impossible to reach some of the spots they found in practice, but they felt that the creek still held fish so they adapted their presentations to a new set of conditions.  Spinner baits, crank baits, and buzz baits put a 13-7 pound 5 fish limit in the boat for day one of the tournament.  Both Nick and Dave lost some good fish that would have brought their weight up to at least 17 pounds.  This puts our guys in 94^th place for day 1.  They are not happy with this, but they are determined to fight on and give it their all on day 2.

Even though some guys found some monsters and a 7-15 took big fish for the day and the day one leaders had 27 pounds, the tournament isn’t over until it’s over. Our guys are still in the running.  All they need is a little luck and a few big fish to turn the tide.  As Nick said, “On any one cast on this lake you can hook a 7 or 8 pound bass. The trick is getting her into the boat.”  Tomorrow is another day and the thrill of victory for today’s leader can just as quickly change to the agony of defeat.  So guys, keep on plugging… you never know.

Once the music came to an end, 197 engines fired up and boat #1 was off to their first spot.  Nick and Dave knew that they had to come in with a monster bag if they were to stand a chance of making the top 3.  Nick put the pedal to the metal, and his yellow Nitro headed to their primary spot Honeycomb Creek.  To say the least they were disappointed when they arrived because the water was muddy and down even more then it was on day one.  They knew they had to swing for the fence.  The better fish were coming from the weeds on the main lake and bridge pilings, but they wanted to give Honeycomb one last try.  They gave it their best shot and could only manage one bite.  It was a good one, but it wasn’t meant to be because it became unbuttoned before they could get it to the net.  They moved to the weeds that produced some fish during practice and some big fish for some of the other teams, but for our guys this was a bust too.  They tried the bridges, again no luck.   Top water, jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, you name it they threw it.  They refused to give up but even with all their efforts they could only manage to boat one bass for the day.  At the weigh-in that day three teams would be hoisting trophies over their heads in victory, and 194 teams would be heading home.  Sadly, Nick and Dave were one of the 194 teams.

It’s sad that lady luck shines each day on a select few, and seems to rain on everyone else in the parade.  She can be very fickle.  I spoke to Nick and Dave after the tournament, and they told me that even though they were on their way home, they had a great time and would gladly do it again.  They thanked me and Northeast Bassmasters for giving them the opportunity to make a dream come true and be a part of the Bassmasters Team Championship.    I was hoping to be able to continue writing their story, but unfortunately lady luck had other ideas.