How do I say that I sucked and still sound positive?

The delta has once again feasted on my inadequacies. Honestly, it’s starting to piss me off. This was another tournament that I just couldn’t figure out where the bigger fish were hiding. Frustration’s starting to set in for me on this body of water; I guess I need to spend a ton more time discovering how to find bigger fish.

PREFISH
Well, I started Friday by just simply fishing water I had not seen in a long time or ever. Taking myself out of my comfort zone has been a theme for me this year I think when you get complacent you truly do yourself an injustice. But I didn’t try new baits – I took a technique that I had confidence in and applied it in different areas. Unfortunately for me this just didn’t pan out for the size fish I need to win here. My technique was to punch the penny wart on tule islands and then in between patches I would throw a white on white spinner bait in the clear water focusing on tulle points that came out off the island. This pattern was working well boating around ten pounds without much effort. Now I knew I couldn’t win with this weight but when you are fishing a tournament circuit the higher up you finish the more points you get and I’m looking to make the championship. I always want to win, but strategy reigns supreme when your’re fighting against an opponent that has your number and the Delta…well, enough said.

TOURNAMENT
So the day is upon me and this is were my mental game needs to be at its highest but I have been beat down so many times by this place that I cant help but to be apprehensive. So, what do I do? I fall back into a habit! This is a bad word for a tournament angler I went back to an area that in the past I had caught good fish but I hadn’t been there in months so of course I have no clue if there are still quality fish in this area – and there wasn’t. I wasted precious time on a run and fishing a poor area. Fortunately for me I was getting a lot of bites, just no size.

Finally I went to the areas I had pre-fished but I had waited too long. The bite I had on Friday was now a thing of the past. So time to improvise – oh yeah I’m on the delta, I don’t do well with decisions here. So I went back to my techniques and finished out my limit.

Looking back, I have no clue what I could have done differently. Hopefully in the future I can figure the delta out, but for now I can only say that my best foot is still behind me and until I choose to put it forward at the delta, 7 lbs of fish on a body of water that continually produces twenty pound stringers will be my fate.

So if you read this and are looking for tips on how to do well at the delta I will give you what I can: GO FISHING. Put time on the water. It’s the only way to get better and whether you have a great day or a poor day, remember in each there is a valuable lesson, so pay attention, work hard and the fish will come see you on the battle field.

~ BIG ED