Central Florida Bass Anglers

Hello everyone,

Well the BFL season finally came to an exciting end this weekend at the last stop: Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. This tournament was a two day event which cuts the field to only the top 20% for the 2nd day. I had been out practicing Thursday and Friday trying my best to assure a place in the top 40 going to the Division Regional’s at Clarks Hill, Georgia. Thursday's practice was pretty good as my Father came down for the day to help find a pattern. We had success on Crankbaits and Jigs, they produced two nice fish: a 5+ and a 4. We had 5 fish that would have put 14lbs on the board for the day. Friday's practice started out great for me as I went to a spot where I’ve done well in the past. I caught a 7 pounder first thing and was confident that there would be more fish there for Saturday's tournament.

Saturday I was boat #89 out of 117 and ran right to my "hot" spot. I fished for about an hour and had nothing. I went to the spot where I caught them with my Dad and my Co-Angler lost a 2 pounder right away. I ended up catching 3 fish in those spots and then bumped into my friend and competitor, Josh Rowsky. Josh and I shared information during practice to help quickly break down the lakes. He came into this tournament in 34th place in the points for the season and he had to catch a fish to make the top 40 for the Regional’s. So when I bumped into him at 11am he said he had no fish. I gave him my best area and told him to fish it hard so he could catch a fish. I had 3 fish at that time and I knew that I had enough to make it to the Regional’s.

I went back to where I caught that 7 pounder on Friday and saw a fish sitting on the bank so I tossed my crankbait by its face and it jumped all over it. It was 4 pounds and my 4th fish of the day. I lost 4 bites 2 of which I saw and both were keepers (12” minimum) so I didn’t get to weigh in a limit (which is 5). I weighed my fish in and my total weight was 8 pounds 14 oz. The cut off for day two settled in at 9.6 pounds. I finished in 29th and 23 boats fished on Sunday. Now I really know what they mean about the one that got away.

Josh ended up catching 2 fish and finishing the tournament in 72nd place which was good for 35th place for his season. I made the Regional’s and ended my season ranked 14th overall in points (just one fish away from my goal of 10th place or higher). In spite of the disappointment in coming so close and missing, I'm very happy with my placing in the face of competing against 200 tough anglers. I learned a lot this year and look forward to having fun and doing well at the Regional tournament. If I place in the top 6 at the Regional, then I will make it to the BFL All-American. That’s my next goal. Thank you all for cheering me on and also a big thanks to the great support from all my sponsors: Jerry at Gitem Baits, Randy and Lisa at Creek Critters, Robert at B&R Outlaw Rods, and Paul at Harris Chain Bait & Tackle.

For more details on the rest of the anglers, check out the Harris Tournament Results page and the BFL Gator Division Standings page.

Nate