Jared Helms
Dateline: Lakepoint, Lake Eufaula, Alabama. August 2010.
There I sat in a plethora of sparkly fiberglass bass boats. The smell of outboards in the air. The sun still not even peeking out yet. It was an adrenaline high most people get from jumping out of airplanes, doing flips on a dirt bike, or something of that nature. But, here I was getting all fired up just sitting still, in my grandpas 14' stick steer aluminum boat, all by my self. I looked like the dude in holy jeans and a cutoff flannel shirt at a high end wedding reception. But, I didn't care. I had all I needed. My boat went........as far as my 3 gallons of gas would take me. I had my livewell up to specs. It was a homemade type deal. A big Rubbermaid storage box, two minnow bucket aerators, and a nice ruler I drew on the lid myself. I had my rods laid out for the day. All three of them bad boys. One spinning, two bait casting. I had rigged and re-rigged them 100 times the night before in the parking lot. Time wasn't an issue since I got there at about midnight, eager to start my first bass tournament.
At day break, they called my number. Boat 17. I turned the key, she fired up on the first try, and I was off. I made a long monotonous run to my first spot. Luckily, I got there safely in about a minute and a half. It would have took less time, but blast off was so fun that I just wanted to drive for a minute. THE spot was right inside Cowikee Creek, on the right. Had some lily pads. Had some water. Had no bass. They were probably on edge since there were three doe swimming right through my honey hole. With nothing to show there, I ran straight across the creek to where the channel sweeps in close to the bank. With a slight breeze blowing from the west, I knew the fish would be positioned down current. I made a cast right to the backside of a little point that jutted out. Tick-tick. Bam! First fish of the day was a one pounder. He bit a Bass Striker Stealth Worm rigged on a 1/8 oz shaky head, which at this point in my career, might as we'll be the only lure to exist.
I spent the next little while looking around for more places with deep water access close to the bank. I finally found a few spots that fit the bill. One spot seemed perfect. Especially the wad of roots that was just under water, out of sight. At the time it felt more like I had a bite, so I set the hook. Now, not many people set the hook like Godzilla when fishing with 8 pound test, but I did. And, broke my only spinning outfit in the process. Without hesitation, I tied the small shaky head to one of my baitcasters and was back to work. This was a huge shot to my confidence. My go to rod and reel was out of order, and trying to cast this light bait with a baitcaster was quite the chore for an inexperienced fisherman. I thought I was done. I sat down, took a drink of water, ate a sandwich, and collected my thoughts. It was a sizzling 100 degrees by now so I decided to take a ride back to where I caught my first and only fish.
This decision turned out to be a good one. I made a cast to a small group of lily pads. With my mind elsewhere, I happened to notice my line swim off to the left. I set the hook and it was a hoss. He jumped. I jumped. I hollered. He rolled. Then, he wrapped my line around the lily pad stems that he was just sitting in. Next thing I know, I'm hanging 3/4 of the way out of my boat, hanging by my toenails, trying to get this fish in my hands. I won. He lost. After somehow managing to stay in my boat, I held a solid four pounder. There was another guy fishing several yards away, so like any good sportsman would do, I held up the fish and hollered a bunch of sounds that I had no control over. This fish was very significant for me, mentally. This fish taught me patience. This four pound bass taught me not to get down, no matter what happens. This fish changed my mindset toward fishing altogether.
My confidence had just went from an extreme low to super high. This was only fish number two, but both fish came off the same pattern. Bank. Channel swing. And, now we can add isolated lily pads to the equation. I ran up the creek a little ways and found a very similar area. Bank. Channel swing. Isolated lily pads. First cast in this area I landed a fish. Soon after that I landed my fourth. Then the action slowed. I tried to keep running this pattern, but it did not seem to pan out. With weigh-in at 3, I had about 45 minutes left to fish. I ran back to the the boat ramp to get a head start on loading up my boat. I didn't want to be in the way of everybody else when they showed up.
I pull into the basin, and see my Dad at the ramp. He had come to watch me weigh-in. When I pull up to say hey, he asked what time weigh in was. I told him it was in about 45 minutes. He asked how many I had. I told him four fish. He then promptly told me to go fish until I had zero minutes left until weigh-in. So, being he was my dad and all, I didn't question him. In what seemed like no time, I was fighting fish number five. Once he was in the boat I though I has done it. They weren't big by no means, but if had caught a limit in my first tournament. I thought. That was, until I overheard someone in another boat talking about how the minimum length for largemouth on Lake Eufaula was 14". On the River and other lakes I usually fish it is 12". I pulled up to the ramp and quickly measured each fish one by one. Thirteen and a half. Thirteen and a half. Thirteen and a half. Three of my fish were just short of minimum length requirements. (Later I learned you're suppose to close their mouth and tail to measure them, which would have put the all at 14".)
When all was said and done, I weighed in two fish for just under 5 pounds. More importantly, I learned many lessons from this one day on the water. I will never forget a single one. And, no matter how many days I spend on the water, I learn just as much every time. This sport just never gets old.
