The first two Elite Series events of the year are in the books. Looking back I feel good about the results knowing I left everything I had out on the water. The St. John’s River was a great start to the year, the first day I was in the top 5 with over 22 pounds. I was fishing both a sight bite and “just fishing” as we say when we are not looking at all the fish on beds. I really thought the sight fishing would run its course over the first couple days and I would be right there. The sight fish held up though and the tides got the best of me.
Most of the guys were running south and the tides were not a big factor. I was fishing closer to the Palatka take off and the tides got progressively later each day. On low tide I could crush them on the Ima Square Bill. That window got shorter and shorter each day.
Okeechobee was a good event for me too. The wind played havoc with us during practice so the morning of the first day was quite a decision time. The winds were not as bad that day and I got to fish where I wanted. All in all it was another good event and I finished in 42nd place. It wore me out though. Big lines, big baits and big hook sets in the wind will flat out wear a man down. Good equipment is a must and I use the best there is.
