May 17th was the date of the Lake Shelbyville BFL with the FLW. There were 116 Boats entered, and on the same day there was another tournament on the lake that had 100 boats entered (so I heard). Anyway, the 12 mile lake fishes real small when you have that many high-powered bass boats running on it.
The day started slow, my co-angler caught a few short fish early, my bite didn't start until around 9am (which was pretty consistent with my practice sessions). From 9am to 10am, we caught a bunch of short fish and I even caught a big Drum, but the right-sized green fish were hiding from us. We both ended the day with 1 fish to weigh in, I was quite disappointed. Over my previous two days of fishing, I had developed a quite distinct pattern and on game day, of course, that pattern didn't hold. My co-angler was fishing Carolina rigs and getting a few bites, I chose the Parasite Stand-Up jig with a Gambler Ace in green pumpkin and other natural colors. He noticed that I was catching fish more frequently and better quality, so he switched to the same rig I was throwing -- we both caught our keepers on this rig. I can't say enough about the Stand-Up jig, fish just can't leave it alone. The main difference of this jig compared with other jigs is that through a unique line tie system, the jig always stands upright. Fish are not used to seeing a worm standing up, it appears that the worm is eating on the bottom. Because it is a different look, generally I have found that fish just eat it! On my home lake, I use it when the bite is tough and always can catch fish with it. I highly recommend the Parasite Stand-Up jig.
I will not be fishing the next tourney in Golconda, instead I will be a co-angler on a Bass Federation tourney on the Mississippi River.
Tight lines!