Just last week I was reading Elite Series Rookie Brandon Card's blog entry on Bassmaster.com about his crazy pre-fishing trip to the St. John's. If you haven't read it, check it out; it's pretty crazy what happened to limit his fishing. My weekend was crazy but still not as bad as his was.
I planned to fish Okeechobee all day Saturday and then fish my club tournament today. That was the plan at least. It started when I hooked up the boat Friday night and noticed a nail in my truck tire and air leaking quickly. No big deal, I took it in and was at the shop at 7am waiting for them as they opened. A little later start than I wanted, but I was still on the water by 9:30.
If you saw the FLW Tour Open results and news stories, you probably saw that the weights got much lower due to the wind and cold front that came through. I fished all day yesterday from 9:30 until dark and caught one fish. It was frustrating seeing all of my areas filled with muddy water and waves crashing through the grass. I decided to expand my area a little bit and ran back into an area that would be protected from the wind only to get stuck on a mud flat. I tried with the trolling motor, outboard and a pole before finally realizing the only way to get back in was to get in the water and push the boat. After about 30 yards of pushing I could finally use the trolling motor. The water wasn't that cold, but getting back in the boat soaking wet with 25 mph winds was not fun!
This morning started off even worse. The temps had dropped to 37 degrees and the wind was already blowing 20+ mph at 5 am. Not a good way to get started when you are fishing in Florida. The wind seemed to get worse and I knew this fishing would have been tough anyways.
I got ready to leave and my truck wouldn't start and I was stuck without a chance to get to the ramp. After spending a few hours trying to figure out what was wrong with it and coordinating a tow truck on a Sunday, 75 miles from home and with a boat attached; I finally got a company willing to help. I started putting things away and getting my boat covered and decided to try the truck again....and it started. What a weird day. The good news was the club decided against fishing since it was supposed to get windier as the day progressed. It's now next week, so I'll get another chance the day after my BFL.
After those events, I was just glad I made it home safely.
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