Grand National Championships/2003

       Well, I finally made it back home after spending an extra night on the way back in Fort Stockton, Texas. As some of you might know, I-10 was closed for almost 2 days due to ice.

       The Grand Nationals was one hell of a tournament and the water on Lake Havasu was the clearest I had ever seen except for maybe a stock pond or two in Arkansas. I could see as far as 30 foot down and some times even deeper where ever I was at on the lake.

       On practice days (Feb 17th-19th) I was catching so many fish that I never fished past 2pm due to the fact I didn't want the remaining fish to have the ole sore mouth on tournament days. On all 3 days of practice I could have easily brought in 10lbs or more!

       Friday the 21st - first day of the tourney, I headed out along with the others to fish in high winds (20-25mph) as a low pressure system was moving through! I got beat to death running the trolling motor and didn't manage my first fish till 9am (not like the previous days) and had my limit by 11am. I did cull 1 fish before the day was over but once again I was afraid to wear my spots out knowing I was going to need another 5 fish limit on Saturday to make the finals. I ended up with 9lbs even for the day and good enough for 7th place!

       On Saturday I don't know what happen to my pattern, but the bite was slow (a fish about every hour & half ). It took all day just to get the fish I brought in and I was trying so hard to get the 5th one but time had just ran out! I ended up with 4 fish weighing 5.2lbs and a total for the tourney of 14.2lbs.

       Well, as it turns out I ended up 1 fish short and a 1lb 11 ounces out of the finals. I was very pleased with my performance but I sure would of wished I could have caught that 5th fish on Saturday!

       Thanks again and maybe with more planning and more work on my part this year I will once again be able to make the Grand National Championships next year with a better outcome than this years!

       Oh, by the way I did finish in 10th place overall and that not too bad since it was my first full year of Tournament fishing.

For more Photo's click on GNC Photo's below!